This weekend marks our year anniversary living in Georgia, and what a year it's been. It is still crazy to me, sometimes I will be driving along the highway looking at the tall pine trees and magnolias in bloom and think, huh, I live in Georgia? There are days I feel like I have lived here a week and still get lost in our own neighborhood .... and other days I feel like we have been here for years, and Minnesota seems like such a distant memory. It hasn't been an easy year by any means, but it was actually a bit easier than I ever imagined. I tend to go in to things expecting the worst, and hoping for the best. Generally ends being pleasantly surprised. This held true for our move as well.
In our year here, we moved into our dream home which we love. We learned new jobs, new corporate cultures and have made many many new friends for which we are so thankful for. We have had more house guests in one year than 13 years in MN combined, we call ourselves Hotel Steinemann. Lucky for us we are the half way point between Siesta Key Florida and Centerville, Ohio.. so we get a lot of friends and family passing through and saying hi. We love seeing everyone. We have been able to explore Atlanta, go on more little weekend vacations, and enjoy the beach which we love. The summer was HOT, but the winter was worth the two months of humidity. We have enjoyed the 65-70 degree Jan and Feb days and being able to bring the kids to the park and play outside all year long. Life is good.
Looking forward, we are ready for a little relaxation in 2012. I have goals of getting to bed earlier than 11pm and sleeping in past 5:30am. The storm has passed, I am looking for the calm. I think I unintentionally declared 2012 the year for me to get "my" life back. Moving has forced me to be more social than I have been in the last 5 years, meeting new friends and making time to build those relationships. ( even though what i really want to be doing is hanging out with my mn friends :( )I don't turn down offers to grab drinks with girlfriends after the kids go to bed anymore, and the best part is that I don't feel guilty about it anymore either. I have always been the type "a" personality that is always harried, I snap, I over schedule, I don't know how to say no, I take on more than I can do, and rarely ever made time for myself and feel guilty if I do. I put a lot of pressure on myself to accomplish all that I want to do. I want to raise warm, grateful, and intelligent kids and give them everything they need in life, I want a successful career, I want a happy marriage, a house decorated like a magazine feature, close friendships, a weekend wardrobe outside of sweatpants and running shoes, and my kids to eat a homemade meal once in a while.What I realized is above all else, I need to make time for myself, and not feel guilty about that for everything else to fall into place. For the first time since Hannah was born I am starting to feel like my old self again. I feel settled, knowing we don't have the pending conversation of "moving". I can invest in friendships, our home, family, and most importantly, myself. I work out 4-5x week, I make time for lunch time work outs, even with a Tuesday night spinning class and Saturday mornings runs that allow me some quite stress relieving time. The best part.. my skinny jeans even fit again. Tis the year of self, balance, and guilt free indulgence in a healthy mind and body.
Thanks to all our family and friends, new and old that have been such a wonderful support team over the last year. We love you guys.
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