Happy birthday to me!

It’s hard to believe I am in my mid-thirties.

It feels like just yesterday that I was learning to drive a car, studying for midterm exams, or even getting married! Yet here were are at the end of the most memorable year any of us have probably ever experienced, on my birthday, with a global pandemic raging around us, and everyone trying to find a “new normal” in life while simply surviving. Aside from all of that, though, this year has also been memorable for me in other ways: my baby turned three, we sold our first home and bought a new one, I quit my job with NO back-up plan because I was miserable, and I decided that I was tired of suffering imposter syndrome. So, I’m determined that this will be the year I gain my confidence back.

That last one is super scary for me, but also incredibly exciting! When I was younger, I truly felt like there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do and I was already ready to take on the world. Somewhere in my late twenties, however, I lost all that mojo and I’ve had a really hard time feeling like I was worthy of anything. But this year, my 36th year, I’m reclaiming my confidence. And to help me do that, I’m looking at all the life lessons I’ve learned up to this point. Some of these I’ve known and followed for a while but some of them took me a little longer to learn. It’s not that I hadn’t heard them before, but rather that I didn’t know that they applied to me, too.

So, here are 36 life lessons I’ve learned so far:

Hi, everyone! These last few weeks (months?) have been a bit of a whirlwind with lots of changes and new routines to get used to. I’m here with an update on all of the newness in our lives including a new job, Invisalign, new daycares, and a new furbaby!

Beauty

I cut my hair and I started Invisalign!

You can’t even see them!

In middle school, I wore braces for two and a half years. Over these last few years I could tell that my teeth have been shifting. I was becoming increasingly unhappy with my smile and finally decided to do something about it – Invisalign! I started mid-November and wear a special set of trays for one week and then change to the next special set. Each set applies the right amount of force to move my teeth to where they need to be. I’ll be wearing them for about 9 months, which is a piece of cake compared to the years I spent in metal braces. I’m slowly acclimating to them but the best part is I’ll be done before you know it!

Work

In November, I started a new job at Duke University as a program coordinator for the Center for AIDS Research and I’m housed within the Department of Population Health Sciences. I coordinate the social and behavioral sciences program for investigators who research HIV/AIDS, so I’m still working in the field of sexual health – my passion – but in a slightly different capacity. I’ve been with this job for a little over a month now and I’m loving it so far. My team is amazing, my office is bright and happy, and I really like the work I’m doing it. It was a much needed change of pace and a great step up in my career.

My sweet digs at the new office.

Home & Family

As if a new job and new teeth (sort of) weren’t enough, we decided to move Sebastian to a new daycare and then we adopted another dog!

New School

Santa visited Sebastian at his new school. He was so excited! He told Santa he wanted cars for Christmas.

Seb’s new daycare is about 10 minutes from my new office and I like being so close by in case anything happens. It’s located farther away from our house than his previous daycare (about 20 mins vs. 7 minutes) so we’ve had to create a new morning routine to make sure we’re ready and out the door without being late. It has been worth it, though, because in the short time that he’s been at this new daycare he has flourished! He’s happier, speaking more, and singing songs. At his old daycare, he was having a bathroom “accident” almost every day but at this new daycare he hasn’t had a single one. I had had some suspicions about his former teachers not paying enough attention to the kids and this kind of confirms it. But the important thing is that he’s thriving now!

New Puppy

Meet Milo, our new puppy!

Milo Pilo

He’s a 1.5-year-old Chihuahua mix, and he’s quite the snuggle bug. We adopted him at the beginning of December and fell in love immediately. He’s such a sweet, wiggly little guy and we’re so happy to have him. We had a few early hiccups but he’s settling in quite nicely! We chose his name because we thought it sounded good with our other dog, Mia. Mia and Milo… kind of rolls off the tongue! His full name is Milo Pilo with ‘Pilo’ being a subtle nod to Nick’s and my favorite TV show in the whole world, Parks and Recreation per the clip below…

…and also because we make our dogs’ names rhyme! Chico Antonio, Mia Sophia, and Milo Pilo. It’s just what we do 🙂 I mean, look at how cute they are!

Mia & Milo

Anyway, I think that’s it for now. With the holidays coming up, we’ll be even busier but I have a few things in the works for the new year so I hope you’ll stick with me. Wishing you all the best!

Xo, Nicole

Earlier this year, I created a list of 19 things I wanted to do in 2019. As of mid-June, I’ve scrapped one and completed about three of them, so I guess I should probably get on that. Here’s a recap of what I’ve done so far.

Happy Monday!

It seems a little early for a Life Lately post but I know I’ve been quiet the past few weeks, so I thought this would be a good way to check in. Life has felt both boring and hectic at the same time this whole month. Do you know what I mean? I’ve been really busy with work and family and life and once the day is over, the only energy I have left is reserved for sitting on the couch, binge watching Queer Eye and eating ice cream from the carton. Even though there was a lot going on, it still felt pretty boring because we were in a survival mode of sorts.

via GIPHY

I’ve seen several bloggers create a 19 in 2019: A list of 19 things to do in the year. I know I’m a few months late since we’re now in March, but I thought this ideas sounded like a fun way to help me tick off some of the items on my New Life Resolutions list, so I decided to do the same.

So, in no particular order, here are my 19 things to do in 2019:

1. DIY a big boy bed. Nick thinks we can put together a toddler bed for Sebastian pretty easily. We’ve found some detailed plans on Pinterest so we’re going to give it a try. Wish us luck!
2. Attend a wine tasting. I’ve done this before but I want to do it again! Taste all the wines!
3. Complete one big house project. I swear this one was on our list before the flooding mishap, so I’m leaving it on this list and will count our new floors toward this one.
4. Go camping. My family went camping a lot when I was kid and I have very fond memories of toasting marshmallows on campfires. I also love being outdoors, especially at night when you can hear the tree frogs and crickets playing their beautiful songs. I’d like to pass this love on to my own family.
5. Volunteer. I’d like to do more volunteer work in my community and include Sebastian, especially as he gets older.
6. Read a classic. There are a lot of classic novels out there that I’ve missed out on so I want to read at least one now that I’m an adult.
7. Complete a landscaping project. Namely, our back yard. We need to clean it up and put in better drainage. The back yard is one of the features that sold us on our house but a lot has happened over the years to destroy it so we need to take care of it. This is the year we do it.
8. Participate in a yoga challenge. I don’t know what kind of yoga challenge yet, but I figure this might help me get back into practicing yoga more regularly.
9. Host a small, fancy dinner party. I just think dinner parties are fun. And I want to host one where we can all dress up, because I feel like I never get to dress up anymore!
10. Paint/renovate the laundry room. We’ve wanted to do this since we moved in so it’s about time we do it.
11. Konmari my closet. If it sparks joy, I keep it. If it doesn’t, I thank it for its service and move on.
12. Bake a fancy cake. Maybe it’s all the cooking & baking shows we’ve been watching lately but I want to try my hand at baking a fancy cake with pretty icing, fondant, and decorations.
13. Do at least 3 new things. It’s time to get out of my comfort zone!
14. Create a new family tradition. Because we’re a family of three now and it just feels right.
15. Take a photography/Photoshop class. I’ve had a nice camera for a while but I need some guidance on taking (and editing) truly awesome photos.
16. Catch up on my scrapbooking. I love scrapbooking and have several of them, but after Sebastian came along, I didn’t have much time to devote to them. I have a ton of photos and things to put in my scrapbooks, so I’m going to intentionally carve out some time to spend with my glue sticks and books.
17. Plan a weekend away/staycation. How fun it is to be a tourist in your own town? Or even to visit the next town over that you hear good things about but you’ve never actually been. For example, I’ve heard lovely things about Hillsborough, NC but I’ve never been there. It’s only 20 minutes away, so a weekend get-away there is a perfect way to have a vacation on the cheap.
18. Send a hand-written letter/card to one person each month. There’s nothing better than receiving a hand-written letter or card in the mail, and I find writing and sending them to be just as fun.
19. Write a short story. I want to be a writer. I have lots of ideas. But I have a lot of confidence issues that keep me from writing. So this year, I want to write a short story. I don’t care if it’s good or bad, I just want to write one.

I’m looking forward to doing all of these things and make this the best year ever.