Coffee Break

 
Happy New Year’s Eve! But… How is 2018 over already?? It still feels like just a couple of weeks ago that I spent 2017’s New Year’s Eve watching Harry Potter movies, followed by the New York City Times Square special on TV, all while working on this extremely fun and nerdy puzzle.

Yet here we are, on the brink of 2019, ready to usher in another year. It’s crazy how time flies!

And with this year almost over, I thought it was the perfect time for a Coffee Break post, where I share a little about what’s been going on behind the scenes, just like if you and I were sitting across from each other at a coffee shop and catching up. So with that in mind… Here we go!

Quite a few years ago, I actually stopped setting resolutions. For me, “resolution” has a negative connotation, where it feels like that word refers to something you know you should do but don’t exactly want to. Even though most of my resolutions revolved around helpful things, like cleaning my house every week or scheduling blog posts almost a month in advance, I still occasionally felt a little sense of dread and obligation when I approached those activities. I really disliked those negative feelings, so eventually I quit setting New Year’s resolutions.

But when I learned about my friend’s tradition, where she picks a single theme for the entire year instead of a resolution, I thought that sounded more positive and doable. Her themes varied from year to year, ranging from “exercise” to “business” to “home,” but she always achieved everything she wanted to, all with a smile and upbeat attitude.

So I decided to adopt her New Year’s theme idea, instead of setting a resolution, and this year I’m focusing on…
 

 
Quality.

Quality of work, quality of daily life, and especially quality time with my friends and family.

After running my own successful business for nearly six years, and reflecting on how those six years have looked, I’ve realized that even though I’ve consistently produced high quality work in the recipes, photos, and blog posts I’ve shared with you, I’ve lacked quality in my personal life. I often work 60+ hours a week, I only occasionally took off time to visit family or meet up with friends, and I felt burned out many times.

So over this holiday break, I decided to get a jump start on my “Quality” theme for 2019 in my personal life. In a span of six days, I didn’t share any new recipe blog posts here (perhaps you noticed?), I traveled to both Arizona and Northern California to see family, and I drove around looking at Christmas lights with my parents on three different nights.

I also…
 

 
Woke up early to head over to my family’s favorite brunch restaurant almost an hour away, where we saw our favorite waiter and looked through his sweet photos of his adorable grandson.

Met up for coffee with a friend from college and sat in the comfy armchairs in that Starbucks for what felt like just a few minutes, yet actually lasted for over an hour and a half, as we caught up on what had been going on in each other’s lives.

Sat on my grandparents’ walkers in two different assisted living facilities, the room full of family members with not enough chairs, listening as they told stories about growing up and their childhood Christmases.

And I truly loved and cherished every moment.
 

 
So that’s what I’m focusing on in 2019, quality (and balance!) in all areas of my life… Not just work. I’ll still spend many afternoons like this, sitting or kneeling on my kitchen floor to get the perfect fudgy brownie or gooey cinnamon roll photo (along with new recipes!) to share with you, but I’ll also spend more time out of the office with my family and friends.

If you want to follow along, I’ll be sharing more about what my life looks like here!

I’m a little nervous yet incredibly excited, just like I always feel before I try something new. And from what I’ve learned over the years, that feeling usually means I’m taking the next right step in this incredible journey called life. ♡