It’s that time of year again! New Year’s Eve and as I look forward to a new year, new start, new possibilities, I also am reflecting on the past year.

While I think about all the things that I had set out to accomplish, and the many that I failed to finish…achieve…start…I am also looking at the bright side of things.

If you follow me, my last post (near Thanksgiving—I am still working on getting posts out quicker) had me using gratitude to change my attitude. And in this fashion, I will use that to also address this past year.

Career/Employment

At this point in 2018, I was on unemployment, which only had a few more weeks left to go in January. The panic was on of how I was going to make money. You see, even though I was not working full-time the last six months of 2018, I had unemployment money coming in which helped me a lot to pay the bills.

But when January 2019 rolled around, I knew that income source was going to end. I did panic awhile, like for months and months about money. I still do.

So, in that respect, my not working full-time is still an issue.

I became creative in a variety of ways to make money. One, not very creative way, was using some investments that I had. I really did not want to have to go into that stash, but I had saved it for a rainy day, and it was pouring over here (or a blizzard in my neck of the woods-major snowy area).

I had liked and grown accustomed to being at home, so I was trying to pursue making money that way. I was, and continue to be, an online tutor, secret shopper, reseller, and I also sold my own items that were gathering dust.

These did not bring in a lot of money but were helpful for odds and ends. Every time I made a little money, it was money that I did not have to take out of the bank.

My biggest part of my employment this year, 2019, was going back part-time to what I have done for 30 years, what I have put my heart and soul into, what really is a part of me at my core…teaching.

In this case…substitute teaching. I had come full circle. The irony was not lost on me. It had been exactly 30 years since I had graduated college. I had started out as a substitute teacher. It was the way “to get your foot in the door”, supposedly back then. And here I was again.

Although this time it was different…because I was different. I had the experience, the academic knowledge, and the kid knowledge.

I also did not have the pressure of finding a job. I was not sure if I even wanted to teach full-time again. This was my way of putting my toe in the water to see how the water was.

And it paid money, at something I was already good at, with the credentials to back it up.

I ended up doing this at the end of the school year in May. It was a start. I continued doing it into this school year, so this is something that has helped me to pay the bills.

It also still gives me the freedom because I can choose the days to work. I am not locked into a fixed schedule.

I like being back in the schools. It is different at this point because I spent my career in the Catholic Schools and subbing in the public schools was a change of pace.

Writing Career/Blog

When my teaching career changed, it opened up new possibilities of what to do next…hence, the writing career.

But where to start?

Of course, I had to research and learn as much as I could. I had just spent 30 years running around with my teaching career and putting everything else on the back burner. But now I could turn up the heat!

At the end of December 2018, I was trying to absorb everything I could about freelance writing and blogging. Actually, at this point last year, I was in the midst of designing my website from scratch, yea, I said it, from scratch.  

That was a huge accomplishment for me. In February 2019, I launched my blog and website. There are still lots of aspects of blogging to learn about and I am working on learning about them. It is so much more than just writing these posts.

The best part about the blog is the writing though. That is what I love to do. I never know if I am connecting with the people reading it, or sometimes, even if anyone is reading it, but there are times when someone will comment and make that connection and it is amazing!

I am still learning about the freelance writing opportunities. Hopefully, 2020 will be the year for starting that.

Weight Loss Goals/Health

The whole idea for the blog, even before I was not working full-time anymore, was a way to hold me accountable to lose weight.

It took me a long time to figure out how to start the blog. Even before it was launched, I worked on getting healthier, which for me meant trying to lose weight and to move more.

At the end of 2018, I was moving more. I had been going to the gym faithfully in the fall and was working my way up to three times a week on the treadmill for a mile and a half. Not too shabby.

But as the start of 2019 rolled around, there was no weight loss.

I felt better. I felt stronger. But the scale did not move, at least not in the right direction. Ha!

It took me a while to figure out what the experts already know.

Weight loss is 80% food and 20% exercise. Sometimes, you may see it as 70/30 also or 75/25, but you get the picture, you are what you eat.

I started looking at what I was eating and tracking it (on My Fitness Pal free app). I started making adjustments and healthier substitutions.

My first goal was 10 pounds. This was how I looked at it, breaking it up into smaller goals. The second goal was the next 10 pounds, and so on.  

Well, I did hit my first goal. It took about seven weeks but at the end of June, I had lost the first ten.

And there I stayed. And there I remain today.

The good news is, I did not gain any back. When I saw it creep up a few pounds, I went back to making better choices for a few days to get it back to where it was.  

There is no time like the present, or in this case, the future, tomorrow.

I plan on getting back to tracking and moving more and making better choices. Holidays are over, too much eating and snacking on the wrong things. Delicious things but the wrong things.

Next ten pounds…I am coming for you!!!!

What It All Means

We can spend our New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day lamenting all the goals that we did not accomplish in the past year! Or we can think about what we did achieve and plan for the next goal.

Each year, our goals or resolutions, whether we keep them all year long, or abandon them in the second week of January, gives us something to look forward, to aim for, to think about, and even sometimes to modify.

If we achieve them…great!

If we miss…then it can be a learning experience that we get something out of, hopefully!

In my case in 2019…

I started my blog, which I enjoy writing;

found ways to make money other than my full-time job;

understand that I can survive on less income;

realized that I enjoy teaching again, even if it is part-time;

lost about 10 pounds (so far);

and the best part of the year was spending more time with my daughter.

Happy New Year!

May the year 2020 bring you happiness, prosperity, and peace!