The Fabulous Life of Stefanie

 Oh what a difference a year makes! I just read through my 2019 recap , and then my 20 goals for 2020 and, like everyone, the world had a different plan for me. Our family was very, very lucky in how the pandemic affected us. The people close to us who got sick got better, we were able to keep our jobs and go to school (mostly in-person, even) and our village really stepped up and (metaphorically) held us up. Although we had a lot of changes in the plans we did have, I thought it would be nice to reflect on 2020 and bid it adieu (like, thank you see yourself out and lose my number, thanks).  January:  We rang in the New Year a little too hard and started our first Sobery January, hitting the reset button if you will. I spent time reading, hitting the gym (that time I took a Twerk 101 class dead sober) and soaking up some really sunny winter days with the girls. Playground time in January. February: We took my Mom on a Disney Cruise and spent some time in Florida, all whil...

Happy new decade, new year, two thousand and twenty!! Yes, I realize the month is officially halfway through, but I wanted to take some time to settle in to the year and think about what I want the next year, or five or ten to look like. Resolutions, goals, ideas, whatever you want to call them, I always like to have written down things that I am working towards so this year I challenged myself to think of 20 ideas that can make my 2020 better. Good luck to anyone out there trying to be better day by day, whether through one idea or twenty. Meditate: I have an app, I have the time, and now I just need to do it. I feel so much better after the minute of silent meditation we do at work before meetings and I know a regular practice would be so great so I am committed to making mediation a real routine.  Crow Pose: True story, I took my first yoga class 20 years ago and when I am focused I get to at least one class a week, and sometimes two, but I have never mastered this pose. ...

How are we already at the end of the year? This year has been so good - miles travelled, miles run, kiddos growing, goals met, getting to do it all with the very best husband and friends and dog while working in the best job. Here is a little recap with just a sliver of it all! Geaux Saints! Repping in NOLA over a po' boy. January: Rang in 2019 with champagne, friends and leggings. Watched my favorite dude crush my favorite marathon and then spent an amazing night in my favorite city of New Orleans watching the Saints, then the Pats, and somehow managed to make our 5am flight.  11 years and I could not love him more. February: Celebrated 11 years since the most handsome, wonderful human being in the world asked to buy me a beer over a super fancy dinner. Watched the Pats win yet anooooother Superbowl with my favorite cheer squad. Survived winter in Boston, again.  Parade squad! Mama had car bombs for brekkie! March: Reached my goal of doing a hal...

Happy New Year, y'all! People (me) are still saying this in greeting, and will until at least February, so I don't feel too behind in my first post of the year (even if my last post was in October). 2018 wrapped up pretty great - we celebrated Maddie turning 7 with a very epic Harry Potter party (that will get its own belated post because it was just too awesome not to share), a simple and sweet Thanksgiving and ALL THE CHRISTMAS fun that we could fit in throughout the month of December. Christmas Day goes so fast (about 35 minutes by my watch) so we did a bunch of extra special stuff to soak in the magic of the season: The Boston Ballet Nutcracker, lots of walks around the neighborhood to look at lights, near-daily Christmas music dance parties, The Pop's Home Alone show, a trip to Maine and Great Wolf Lodge and spending time hunkered under blankets watching Christmas movies together. All those fun times make it not so sad when I declare Christmas to be over about 12 ...

With just a few days left before 2018, I thought it would be fun to take a look back on the past twelve months of shenanigans and share a bit about what I hope the next twelve hold! Travel One of my most favorite things to do and we did A LOT of it. We started off the year with an amazing trip to Puerto Rico, where we climbed in caves, ate all the delicious things and spent every single day in the pool. This was one of Maddie's favorite trips ever and we have spent a lot of time talking and planning on how to give back to the people there in 2018 as they continue to recover. Over the summer we traveled across the country and back and all around the East Coast hitting up three beautiful weddings as well as a long visit down the Cape with family and friends. In October we watched Matt run the Chicago Marathon and took advantage of all the amazing museums and walking around there is to do. I love traveling with the girls and am glad that we decided from the get-go that this would...

Well, this has been a heck of a year, huh? I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that I will be glad to put some of the events behind me, but looking forward to keeping the motivation that those shitty things have given me to keep up the good fight in 2018. So here is what I am up to as we tick down to the final hours of the year. Reading My Goodreads app tells me I am 7 books ahead of my 2017 reading challenge with 24 books read so far this year. Considering that I only get to read when I am commuting to/from/during work on the train or sitting on the beach without the kids needing me (so, 5 minutes each summer), I am pretty pleased! I have read some really good books this year, and am currently on my second biography about North Korean defectors, titled A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea . It was one of the monthly free books available from Amazon Prime that I randomly downloaded onto my Kindle (which I rarely use) while I was awaiting my library ...

I wish I could say that I was ending the year on a bang, but really I am ending it on my sick bed (er, at my desk at work being sick). For the second time this pregnancy I have bronchitis, which is just as fun as it sounds. Luckily, I seem to be slowly getting better and not progressing towards pneumonia like had happened in September. It has definitely been the pits feeling crummy over the holidays and I feel sad that I haven't been able to play with Maddie and her new Christmas toys as much as she wants me to, but here is hoping I will be on the mend soon. 2014 was a pretty huge year for our family and I just wanted to do a little end of the year recap to say goodbye to a wonderful year and hello to another exciting one! The Big News This year we became homeowners! This was a goal that had been HUGE for us and while the process was anything but awesome, the day that we closed and opened the door to OUR home was amazing and (almost) worth all the chaos leading up to it. Then, ...