Looking back over this last year, 2019 has been a truly transformative time for me. All of the things that happened this year, good and bad, made me evaluate what is important to me. I’ve learned valuable lessons, grown closer to the people that care about me and I’ve done my best to enjoy all of the wonderful things that 2019 brought me. Here is a peek at my year in review.
At the beginning of 2019, Kirby moved in with me and Odie and our entire world changed. Odie gained another person to love and care for him, and I gained a partner that would take on every part of life with me, from renovations to visiting my Grama in the hospital with me.
Speaking of renovations – we did A TON this year. Our bathtub was leaking into our suite early this year, so we had no choice but to fully renovate our main bathroom. It was an extremely frustrating renovation and it didn’t come out exactly how we wanted it to, but all in all, I’m very happy with our new main bath.
After we completed the bathroom, our irrigation lines broke! Good times. We spent most of the summer working on the backyard to put in new irrigation, finish our fence, add a planter box and remove a bunch of overgrown plants and garbage. We also cleaned out the creepy shed and the garage and did so many dump runs that the staff there know Odie by name now.
On top of all of those renos, we busted our asses to complete our half bath before the holiday party and Kirby surprised me with baseboards and casings throughout the house! This place doesn’t look anything like it did in January 2019.
Amidst all of the renos, we were able to enjoy three vacations in 2019.
First, we took a road trip to Ucluelet with our friends in March to surf and relax.
In July, we visited Disneyland with my family to celebrate my mom’s 50th birthday and my Grama’s 70th. It was Kirby’s first time to Disneyland and we got him hooked!
He was so into Disneyland, that we ended up going back in October with Kirby’s family. While in California, we got to see Kirby’s sister get married at Laguna Beach, with the sun setting over the ocean. It was beautiful!
Kirby’s sister’s wedding was our second wedding of the year. We were lucky to share in my best friend Shayla’s wedding to her husband Derek as well!
Odie also had a big year. He made enormous steps this year in his training, made a few new friends and allowed us to have some guests over. Although it may not seem like a big deal for a dog to play with other dogs or allow people in his house, it’s a really big deal for Odie and we are so proud of him.
It sounds like we had a lot of fun in 2019, and we did, but there was also a lot of work. This year, I quit my full-time job and began a full-time freelancing career. It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done, but it felt like the right time to take this risk and start doing work that I’m passionate about.
My greatest achievement this year was definitely launching my blog. It’s something I’ve been talking about for years and I finally hit publish in August! And let me tell you – I absolutely love working on this blog. It has given me the freedom to create, to write and to share stories, which is a dream of mine.
2019 has been a really great year, but it wasn’t all roses. In November, my family lost a very special lady to cancer. There has been plenty of grieving, and we all miss her very much, but it was also a reminder to all of us to spend more time together as a family and not take a moment for granted. I’m grateful to her for bringing us all together, even when she can’t be there.
I have a lot to look forward to in 2020, and a long list of goals that I want to achieve, but it’s nice to take a moment to reflect on what 2019 has given me.
What does your 2019 Year in Review look like? Share it with me by emailing sammy@sammmyhill.com or by sending a DM to me on Instagram.