In 2016, I started working in an organization that encourages vision statements. The thought is that by stating an intention, you’re more likely to achieve the goal you’ve set than if you just think about it without writing it down.

I’ve found that to be true, and it also helps to inject some accountability into the process by sharing it. So, before I share my 2019 Vision Statement in a separate post, I thought I should review 2018’s and see how things shook out.

I’m a visual person, so I like using green (#nailedit), yellow (some progress, but not complete) and red (nope) to score each element.

This year, my 20 goals came in at 8 green, 6 yellow and 6 red. That tells me I set the bar high! It was a challenging year, and I’m grateful for the love and support of my family and friends.

Family:

• Visited NYC together and saw some Broadway shows. My daughter and I went to NYC together in June to see the David Bowie Is exhibit at the Brooklyn museum. It was such a treat to share that experience with her. While we were there, we saw Mean Girls and The Book of Mormon.
• Both kids are growing up to be independent, happy young adults. It wasn’t an easy year for my son, but I’m really proud of his progress.
  My daughter is enjoying cheerleading at Paly and is a happy 9th-grader.
• Enjoyed a fun Vegas Girls’ trip with my mom. Mom and I saw the Moody Blues in Vegas, on their 50th anniversary of the Days of Future Past album. It was a great concert, but we forgot that Vegas is COLD in January, so no pool time for us!
• Did a family vacation to a new spot. No new locales this year.
• Visited my parents in Tampa. I took the kids to visit over the long Presidents Day weekend.
• I finally met the partner I’d hoped for and we are building a life together. Dated a really nice guy for a few months at the beginning of the year, but he’s not the long-term partner I’m looking for. I’m hoping I’ll find someone to love in 2019.

Friends:

• Finally did our international girls trip! Did a girls trip to Laguna Beach, which was awesome, but not international. 🙂
• Hosted a dinner party for my WHIP friends and our partners. Unfortunately, didn’t host any dinner parties this year. Will need to remedy that in the new year.

Work:

• I successfully supported AHE in our move to GBM It was a challenge the first half of the year, but by the end of 2018, I felt like our team was performing strongly again.
• In our new team, we have radically improved education for all of our customers. My team is now creating help and education content that’s customer-centric and holistic, across a multitude of education modalities. I’m super proud of how far we’ve progressed and grateful for working with such talented and passionate people. 
• I was able to get an investment for community and we’ve increased the engagement which has helped support and education. Had my hands full with the changes for my team, so I didn’t put a proposal together in 2018.
• I started a Women@GBM group and helped support women in our org. Started  Managers Circles in GBM to help create more community within our org, but not the specific women’s-empowerment training I’d hope to create, yet. 

Community:

• Started a Facebook group for my neighborhood and at least half of my neighbors (13 of 26) joined. I started the Facebook group and 12 of the 25 neighbors joined…so close to my goal of 13! It’s been great to feel a little closer to the people who live around me; I cherish the real-life connection.
• Continued supporting veterans transitioning to tech by participating in VetsinTech and other vet orgs. I participated on several veteran-focused panels, including the Bob Woodruff Foundation, Breakline and VetsinTech, and spoke at functions for NPower, Facebook and DropBox. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to support veterans who are transitioning out of the military. I remember the anxiety and fear of wondering whether or not I’d be able to translate my skills to the civilian world, so I’m happy to be able to share my experience and, hopefully, ease stress that others may feel.

Me:

• Painting: I attended the International Encaustic Conference in Massachusetts in June. I set up my art studio and completed 20 paintings, enough to sign up for Open Studios in 2019. I have posted my paintings to my art website, encaustech.com, and have sold a few. I’ve begun talking with Facebook about doing an encaustic installation on one of the walls at work. I didn’t realize when I signed up to attend this conference that it was the same weekend as my daughter’s 8th-grade graduation – aagh! So I wasn’t able to go, and I have a wedding to attend over Memorial weekend in 2019, so I might not make it back to a conference until 2010. Did a little bit of painting in the beginning of the year, but focused more on flying and work during the second half, so I hope to get painting more in 2019.
• Design: I completed a web development course and was able to use what I learned to redesign encaustech.com, which I am now using to both exhibit and sell my artwork. Investigating how to do a small installation at Facebook.I updated my Facebook Page for Encaustech, but not much else. Did not do any coding this year.  😦
• Writing: I sold the screenplay I wrote in 2017 and wrote another one. Wrote a better ending to the existing screenplay and am working on turning it into a television series.
• Fitness: I rode the Peloton bike 3-4X a week and did yoga at least 2X/week. Took a pole dancing class and loved it. I’m exploring options to get certified in teaching yoga. Rode the Peloton on average 3-4X a month, and was sporadic in yoga. I had an injury in June that set my workouts back for about 2 months. Oy, the joys of getting older…
• Travel: I visited two new places this year (options include Bulgaria, Lisbon, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Prague, Berlin, Costa Rica).Visited Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Queenstown and Sydney. Loved the travel I got to do, but by the holidays, I was ready to take a break.
• Flying: I renewed my medical and got current again in a small plane. I fly every 3 weeks or so and enjoy taking friends up for flights. Renewed my medical and am ready to take my tailwheel checkride, just got delayed because of travel and weather. Should finish this in January – yay! I’m looking forward to taking my friends flying…who wants to go?