Saturday, December 31, 2016

New Year // New You -- 2016 Reflection

I've never been one to stick to resolutions.  I'm ridiculously good at starting something and not finishing or following through - workouts, projects, eating healthier, getting up earlier, starting this blog back up, you name it...  I'm a creature of habit, I'm not great at welcoming change, and I'm far too hard on myself.  I'm not sure what 2017 will bring - I'll say that I hope that it's a healthier, more intentional year with lots of travel and lots more time, sweat [and probably tears] put into this home.


2016 was a year of change.  It started in January with a New Years Day trip to Minneapolis, different responsibilities at work, and house hunting - mainly to see what was on the market and what we liked/agreed on.




February was a very painful change with the unexpected loss of my step-dad.  March kicked off with a signed purchase agreement of Lot #19 in Audubon Heights.  In April, Josh started a new step in his career as an industrial mechanic, we made some big decisions on our home and "finally" broke ground on our roots.  I took a leap on listing my condo 'FSBO' after a few disappointing showings via Facebook, and was surprised to get an asking price offer just days before I planned to list it with a realtor. 





May brought more challenges with lots of travel for work, packing, finding a 'temporary home' and moving most of our belongings into a storage unit.  We celebrated my step-dad's life one afternoon at the Lighthouse.  Josh finished school and we celebrated with a small party at Old Chicago.  Challenges continued into June with more travel for work, and a delayed closing on my condo which lead to a rental agreement.  However, June ended pretty sweetly with a trip to Chicago to celebrate the completion of my MBA, and a [COMPLETE] surprise graduation party at Mulligan's & some fun at Sturgis. 









July was a big month with closing on our home on the 29th, and was quite stressful between work - traveling + testing for a new payroll system - and FINALLY closing on my condo on the 27th.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I closed on my condo a day and a half before we closed on our home.  I cannot thank my attorney enough for dealing with the changes and questions I had on an almost daily basis! 







In August, our new payroll system went live and I spent a much needed week away fishing in Minnesota with my two favorite guys - much to my surprise, I caught the most fish for once!  The weather was pretty crappy, but nothing beats those sunsets and the peace that place brings - oh, and me catching the biggest crappie. :) Josh celebrated his 33rd birthday and we became pros at lawn care by watering our sod and new plants. 







September began with an annual camping/kayaking trip on Labor Day weekend and continued with unpacking lots of boxes & totes and finally getting things organized at home. 






October was a fun month - mostly because the Cubs were on fire and we had so much fun having date nights at home watching them on TV.  We took a trip to STL for the Blues home opener and surprisingly, I'd go back in a heartbeat.  We had our entryway/mudroom area & my office done by an old friend of mine and it all turned out absolutely gorgeous.  I celebrated my 29th[!]birthday with a dinner date at the Brown Bottle and a Cubs W.  On Halloween, Josh discovered a dead mouse in his work boot in the garage and we had an unplanned but so, SO fun night on a party bus dressed up as Leo & Michelangela. 






November was a THANKFUL month that started with the Cubs winning the World Series, and Josh & I being emotional wrecks with Anthony Rizzo!  I still can't believe I witnessed a game 7 World Series W!  I had fun decorating our home for Christmas and spent some much needed quality time with family - both in November and December. 






We hosted our first annual holiday party with an ugly sweater party on National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day and had quite a few overnight guests this month.  We hosted Josh's family Christmas on Christmas Eve Eve and our hands, home and hearts were beyond full.  This week between Christmas and New Years was well-spent at home with lots of movies and time to reflect, laugh and cry, and plan for what's to come.







This holiday season was a hard one, and I'm sad to say that it just didn't feel quite like Christmas.  I had more tough moments than I'd like to admit, but again, I am thankful and blessed to have what and WHO I do in my life - on Earth and in Heaven.





Happy New Year, ya filthy animals.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Guess Who's Back?

It's been awhile, eh?


Sadly this isn't my first blog post using those four words...  There has been some exciting moves in the years I've been away from this space. I've pondered different ways to document my thoughts and photos, and I keep coming back to this. I have always liked writing and am much better at expressing myself through words in a setting like this, regardless of who is reading. 


In a nutshell, there has been:  a heartbreaking & unexpected loss, too many school papers and projects to count, several road trips, mountains and valleys, changes and challenges, tears over things not turning out the way I planned or expected - many of which I later laughed about, my first trip to Florida, enough work trips that I could navigate to Horicon or Moline with my eyes closed, a for sale by owner on the first home I purchased (+ MANY headaches but an overall good experience, and no, I won't be doing that again), a diploma - a MBA diploma (finally!), and in THREE days... moving into a forever home with my best friend. Most of that has happened in just the past year alone! I can't wait to share more, but we have a condo to close on, an apartment to pack up & clean, a storage unit to pack into a U-Haul, a brand new house to close on, and a brand new home to move into. There's sure to be some good laughs & snaps in the next few days and I. can't. wait.


Here's how beautiful the view was last night - more progress on my Instagram (@lindseyschuler).


Now if I could just pick up photography - surely a Canon captures better blog photos than my smartphone... ;)