Goodbye, 2013: Wrap-Up + Year In Numbers

2013 was good to me. It started out rough--with lots of family issues and stress--but blossOMed into a beautiful year full of growth, discovery, and eventually, big change. 

Although I often use my December 31st post to look back on the past year and discuss all of the momentous events and memories, I thought it would be fun to change things up a bit this time around, and instead, use some lists to capture a snapshot of the past year: 

2013 in Numbers (inspired by Susannah Conway):

• Yoga Classes Taught: 272
• Trips Taken: 9
• Therapy Appointments Attended: 34
• Cavities Found: 5 {I was SOOOO upset!}
• Yoga Classes Taken: 181
• Dresses Painted: 107
• Moves: 1
• Pictures Posted to Instagram: 565
• Workshops Taught: 10
• Commissions Painted: 41
• Pre-Cancerous Moles removed: 1
• Pancake Breakfasts: 2
• Blog Posts Written: 291 {Not counting the 100 dress posts}
• TMJ Mouth Guards Acquired: 1
• YouTube Videos Created: 27
• Graduations Attended: 2
• Pet Adoptions: 1 {Yay!}

What I'm Leaving Behind from 2013:

• Being ruled by my inbox. NO. MORE. Done with it.
• Days without time spent outside. I want a walk every day, and I want to do it with Sayde! I won’t accept anything less in 2014. [Unless the temp goes below about 10 degrees—I have my limits!]
• Being “bad with names.” I don’t like being one of the people who claims to have issues with this, so I’m going to make a major effort to be better in 2014. 
• Judgement [of others and of self]. Life is SO much more pleasant without it.
• Being gluten-free. I did it for an entire year, and the verdict is in: I think eating less gluten is good for me, but being strictly gluten-free is probably overkill {for me} and unnecessary. Since I am not allergic to gluten, I can eat it, I just think that eating less gluten and avoiding it when it’s easy to do so is a good choice. 
• Working before bed. New rule in this household: No working after 8:30pm. Time to wind down.
• Teaching yoga with cold muscles. I must always warm-up before I teach. I must. I will do this in 2014.

Lessons I'm Taking With Me into 2014:

• Change can be good. It's scary and sad and weird and hard, but in the end, it can be good.
• No amount of money or security is worth having a job that isn't fulfilling {lesson from Ben's job transition!}
• If you want to become a more learned, well-rounded person, start listening to Podcasts. 2013 was the year I discovered and fell in love with Podcasts. 
• Everything is easier when you get 8 hours of sleep every night.
• Regular pedicures are wonderful, but you can live without them.
• Therapy is useful both when you're struggling emotionally, and when you're not. As you know, 2013 was my year of rediscovering therapy and I'm so glad that I did so. 
• You should get your haircut regularly. You really should. 
• Hootsuite = life-changing. 
• Life with a dog is way better than life without one!
• Saying no is simpler than you think. You just say it, and then move on with your life. So simple. 
• If I want to stay in touch with people, I just have to schedule regular phone calls/Google Hangouts. This is something I've come to accept about myself.

 I could probably go on and on, but that's where I'll stop for now. Tomorrow, we talk dreams for 2014. 

What are you leaving behind from 2013? What are you taking with you into 2014? I hope you'll take some time to reflect, plan, and dream over the next couple of days...

Thank you for being such a wonderful part of my 2013!