Year Recap and Our Goals for 2019
When I look back on 2018 I have a flood of different emotions. We had one of the most challenging and difficult years of our lives with so many amazing milestones and moments. I thought I would share a little recap of our big moments in 2018. I love looking back and seeing the things that God has carried us through!
The year started with Matt and I in the middle of a long distance marriage situation, with me on travel nurse assignments in Minnesota/California while he was on clinical assignmenst in Tampa/Miami. For the first 4 months (January - April) of 2018, we lived/worked in different states. Being apart from Matt was by far THE MOST DIFFICULT thing I have ever done. However, we consistently reminded each other of our shared vision for the craziness of that long distance situation, and because of that we were able to reach our goals of moving to San Francisco.
In May, we reunited in Miami for Matt to graduate from Physical Therapy school. Both of our families flew in to Miami for graduation week to celebrate with us and after nearly five months of travel nursing, I finally got to sleep in my own bed! We had an amazing time spending our last sweet memories in Miami with our families soaking up the sunshine.
After graduation, we sold everything that didn’t fit in our Civic and moved cross country from Florida to California. I had taken a travel assignment in the Bay Area in March and during that time was able to secure a full-time staff job in San Francisco - a city we had our sights set on for over a year. We stopped in Austin, El Paso, White Sands, Phoenix, Sedona, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, and Las Vegas on our nearly 2 week road trip to the Bay Area. Things got pretty crazy once we got to California - I went back to complete my travel assignment and we spent nearly all our free time apartment hunting in San Francisco. After about a week of staying with friends, we finally locked down an apartment within walking distance from my new job!
We officially moved to San Francisco in June and Matt accepted his first position as a Physical Therapist shortly after! It was such an amazing feeling to actually see our plans come into fruition. Before starting our new jobs, we spent a week with my family in Montana at Glacier National Park. It was absolutely gorgeous and we were so thankful to be able to experience it with our family. We started our new jobs in July and began settling into our new lives in California. Over the last few months of the year we used our free time to explore the city, slowly furnish our apartment, build our community, and squeezed in a couple trips as well! Here are some of our highlights since moving to California!
August
Took a weekend trip to Los Angeles with friends.
Went wine tasting with friends in Calistoga.
September
Had our first bonfire at Ocean Beach.
I switched from night shift to DAY SHIFT at work. Human again!
October
I spent a weekend in Minnesota with family for my little brother’s birthday.
Took a weekend trip to Yosemite National Park.
November
Went surfing in Santa Cruz.
Got our first real Christmas tree.
December
Went to our first Warriors game.
Took a trip to Minnesota, went to a Vikings game (thanks Mom & Dad!), and spent sweet time with family!
… so now that the recap is over, we can talk about 2019.
This year is going to be very different from any year Matt and I have been together for one big reason - neither of us are students! It is an exciting thing for us after 7 years of supporting each other in our educational endeavors. We could not be more excited to just settle into life.
GOALS FOR 2019
Go on at least one trip each month.
For us this year, that is continuing to make San Francisco home and take full advantage of living in California! We started that goal with our first trip of the year this past weekend - a snowboarding trip to Lake Tahoe. It was absolutely gorgeous (our first time there) and we had a blast on the slopes. Throughout the year one of our goals is to go on at least one trip a month, weekend trips included!
Cook at home at least 3x each week.
We used to be really good about cooking at home, but last year was kind of a rough one for us in this category. Of course, traveling for work and moving to a new city with so many amazing restaurants to explore made it even more difficult. But this year our goal is to get back on track with our diets, and for us that that starts with cooking more at home!
Stick with paying down student loans.
Over the past few years Matt and I have stuck to our plan of getting debt free, even with the challenge of living on one income in Miami during grad school. In June of last year, we paid off my student loans from undergrad - 3 years after I graduated! We were also able to make a nice dent in our grad school loans last year thanks to finally having two incomes! This year we’re sticking with it and have our eyes on on being debt free in the next few years.
Join an adults sports league.
Both Matt and I played sports growing up and also in college. It has always been a big part of our lives! Transitioning out of playing competitive sports was hard for both of us and we really miss it! This year we want to join an adult sports league as a fun activity we can do together and also a place we can meet friends with similar interests.
Build community and depth in friendships.
We have been so grateful to have already developed some amazing friendships here in San Francisco. Finding community here through church, rekindling one of my childhood friendships, and being lucky enough to have one of my best friends from Miami move to San Francisco a few months before us has been so special! We have already felt at home by living life with our supportive, encouraging, and understanding group of friends! Our goal this year is to continue to invest into our community, deepening and developing our friendships and making new ones as well!
AND TO ALL OF YOU!
We hope you all have the best year, that you reach for the things you never thought were possible and enjoy all the moments along the way! Life is meant to be lived to the fullest - and that is our hope for all of you in 2019! Thank you for all of your support and following along with us <3