And just like that, the first half of 2015 is over. I’ve both loved and loathed this year. For the most part, it’s been a great one. I’ve been able to travel. I’ve helped my mom plan her wedding. And I’ve really taken the time to let myself be. There have been low moments. Moments where my anxiety overwhelms me. Moments where I worry I’m not doing enough with my life. Moments where I get so scared for the future that it’s hard to breathe. C’est la vie, right?
In any event, we’re done with two quarters of the year and, as I did for Q1, I wanted to take the time to reflect on what was good and challenging in Q2, and make some goals for Q3.
Q2 Review – The Highlights
- Going on my seventh cruise
I had such a wonderful time on my cruise in mid-May. It wasn’t the perfect cruise, but it just felt really good to get away from reality. I got to spend time in the Bahamas again as well as three new-to-me islands (St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, and Grand Turk). I’m already looking forward to my next cruise!
- Chopping off my hair
I’m so glad I took the plunge and went back to a bob. I ended up taking 9 inches off and it has been such a delightful change. My hair feels so much more manageable now and getting ready in the morning takes no time at all!
- Helping my mom plan her wedding
It has been really fun helping my mom plan her wedding! We hadn’t done much in the way of planning until we got back from our cruise. Since we knew the wedding would be small (originally, we were thinking around 15-20 people, but the guest list has since grown to be closer to 30) and we wouldn’t need to book a fancy hall for the ceremony or reception, we managed to tackle all the to-dos in these last two months. Every weekend, we’ve had different wedding tasks to complete (such as: taking engagement photos and designing the invitations, scoping out the perfect area in downtown St. Petersburg for the small ceremony, finding my mom’s wedding dress and my maid-of-honor dress… things like that). All that’s left is to put together wedding favors and do all the day-of getting ready and setup! I honestly cannot wait!
- Helping with my mom’s surprise bridal shower
My mom’s work BFF (who is actually going to be the officiant at the wedding!) put this whole surprise bridal shower together, and she did a fantastic job. Not only did she most of the decorating and planning, but she also helped everyone keep mum about the whole event, so my mom was super shocked. I was so touched to be included in the festivities and it makes me so incredibly happy that my mom has such a great support system at her work. She deserves it all!
- Meeting Emilie
I had such a fun afternoon in Downtown Disney with Emilie and her fiance, Pete. From the get-go, it felt like I was hanging out with old friends, not people I had just met! But that’s the way it goes with blogging friends, eh? It was quite wonderful to meet them!
Q2 Review – The Challenges
- Spraining my ankle
Oh, it’s just no fun at all to get injured while on vacation. Spraining my ankle during my zip-lining and hiking excursion in Puerto Rico turned what was a super fun excursion at the start into my personal version of hell. Luckily, the tour guides were super nice and helpful once I told them about my injury, even helping me down some of the more treacherous terrains. Since then, my ankle has just been very tender. I can walk on it fine now, but stepping down onto that foot or walking downstairs still causes shooting pain. Hopefully, I’ll be 100% soon!
- Dealing with a sick pup
My poor Dutchie-Boy. As I mentioned previously, Dutch has been dealing with a bad UTI. After three weeks on medication, he was still not getting better so last week, he went back to the vet. This time, he had blood work done and another urinalysis. His blood work came back normal, but his urinalysis showed signs that he still has a UTI. SIGH! The vet sent him home with two new types of antibiotics to get rid of the bacteria causing the UTI. (He’s also on new food + a probiotic to help with some stomach pain the vet noticed.) I am just hoping and praying this gets rid of the UTI for good because I hate that he’s still suffering!
- Eating healthy
It’s been such a struggle. It just hasn’t been easy to summon the motivation to cook healthier meals, eat out less, and do everything else that falls into eating better. But something has to give because I’m tired of not feeling good – both inside and out. I’m hoping a combination of using MyFitnesspal more regularly and going low-carb will get me to where I want to be.
Q2 Review – The Goals
I set five goals for myself to complete in Q2. Let’s review them!
- Refinance my auto loan
Check! I have been working with an advisor at my bank to refinance my auto loan and we’re in the final stages of it now. I’m just so happy that I finally got this done!
- Schedule an appointment with a therapist.
Incomplete. And I really, really need to start seeing a therapist. I must make this a priority in Q3.
- Launch a brand-new blog theme.
Check! And I love it so!
- Make a decision on an apartment.
Incomplete. My move-out date has been pushed back to possibly August, maybe September. I’m okay with it, though! With all of Dutch’s recent vet visits, saving money has not been possible so I’m not really ready financially to move out. But I’m pretty sure I’ll be writing my Q3 review from a South Tampa address. Squee!
- Start writing fiction again.
Incomplete. I haven’t been able to get into the habit of it. Maybe I need to give myself some sort of word count or time goal? Hmm.
Looking ahead to Q3 (July, August, and September)
As I did last quarter, I want to set five achievable long-term-ish goals for this quarter. While I still love the purpose behind setting yearly intentions, it’s nice to break those intentions up into smaller goals to strive for. So, without further ado, here are the goals I want to accomplish in Q3:
- Move to South Tampa
- Start therapy
- Lose 15 lbs
- Take a social media and blogging break
- Start writing fiction again
What were the highlights of Q2 for you?
It’s hard to believe that the 2nd quarter of the year has already come and gone! Time is flying by! It’s hard to even think about what all happened in the second quarter… It was a busy time at month as I presented at several conferences so I guess having those speaking engagements behind me was a highlight. Another highlight was my trip to Colorado with Kyria. I can’t think of too many other highlights besides that, though. I just sort of feel like the last 3 months exhausted me between work stress and moving so I am looking forward to a (hopefully) quieter second half of the year… but that’s probably wishful thinking as I’ve got some changes at work coming (which I am excited about) and change is always stressful for me so I am sure there will be bumps in the road. But something I am really looking forward to this quarter is my trip to visit Amber!
So many good things for you in the first quarter AND love that you got some of your big goals checked off. Loan refinances are huge and such a great thing to get done (and have off your plate).
Highlights for my Q2- seeing one of my oldest and dearest friends get married; a visit from friends in Chicago, a successful trip with my bonus daughters, and doing so well on my workouts (well, except for the last two weeks. Ha).
I love this idea! It’s really great to to look back, reflect, and set goals more than just once a year. Your next quarter looks super exciting, especially with the move… yay!
I hope Dutch is back to normal soon… poor little guy.
You achieved a lot in Q2, and I hope that Dutch is back to being healthy very soon too. I just started using MyFitnessPal again this week so far I’ve found it helpful for keeping my snacking in check and hopefully this will lead to Q3 highlight 😀 Q2 Highlights were a couple of concerts, pumpkin festival, corn maze, sports games, trying out trail racing for the first time and of course the awesome trip to the geothermal Lost Spring.
Woo for meeting some of your goals! The second quarter has been all about this tiny man who entered our lives. I’m finally starting to feel a little bit more like myself and that is SUCH a nice feeling. Now, to juggle returning to work – ha!
Holy cow, I can’t believe this year is halfway over! It’s insane how fast time goes by as we get older.
Some highlights from my Q2 were my 30th birthday celebration and starting a new job!
Great job on completing 2/3 of your Q2 goals. Can’t wait to see the progress you make with your goals in Q3!
Our meet up was a highlight for me as well and I’m so looking forward to another one this fall! Woo! You made great progress on your Q2 goals and have really exciting goals for Q3! Other highlights include buying our house FINALLY, crossing off some big wedding planning to-dos, and making it a point to devote more time to scheduled girlfriend dates. I cannot believe we are more than halfway through 2015. Slow down, time!