This has been a huge year for me. I'm honestly a little worried that 2019 is going to have a hard time living up to my expectations after this year. I really wanted to make sure that I captured some of the major happenings of 2018, so that I could look back and never forget.

Travel

This was my biggest year yet of travel. I traveled to 5 countries and 2 states this year.

For the wedding/honeymoon:

  • Munich, Germany
  • Prague, Czechia
  • Budapest, Hungary
  • Vienna Austria

For my husband's friend's wedding:

  • Tampa, FL

For work:

  • San Jose, CA
  • Richmond, CA
  • Barcelona, Spain

My favorite place that I went this year is a toss-up between Prague or Vienna. They were both stunning. While it was lovely visiting all of these places, I'm honestly pretty traveled out. I would be very happy if I didn't have to go to another airport for a long while.

Hobbies

I went into this year wanting to spark my love for reading once more. I had set a resolution to read a book a month. I ended up reading over 40 books this year. I documented the new books that I read this year (not the ones I re-read) here: http://www.aevrah.com/about/books-ive-read/.

You might be asking how I got into this habit again. It was really just reading 15 min in the morning and 15 min at night very consistently. I would always be reading 1 nonfiction and 1 fiction book at the same time. In the morning, I would read the nonfiction to get my brain thinking and at night I would read the fiction to help me chill out.

Just 15 min may not seem like much but it adds up over time. For example, I read about 2 pages each min. So 30 min of reading a day was around 60 pages. Multiple this by 5 (to adjust for some missed days) and that's about 300 pages/week. When I wasn't traveling, I finished about a book a week. Weirdly, while traveling I didn't read at all despite bringing books with me. I'm hoping that next year I reach 52 books.

I really learned the power behind small, consistent actions this year. The approach I took to getting back into reading can be applied to anything, and, over time, can lead to some big results.

This year I also continued my skincare hobby. It's still one of my favorite forms of fun and self-care. I've had the opportunity to experiment with lots of new products and brands this year. My top new favorite would have to be the Tatcha Violet-C Radiance Mask. 

As far as video content, I didn't watch a ton of new things. I tend to re-watch shows and movies rather than go for anything new, but this is the current content that I was into -

My Favorite TV Shows

Brooklyn 99, The Good Place, Lucifer, Younger, The Good Doctor, Elementary, Madam Secretary, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

New Movies That I Liked (That I Remember)

Incredibles 2, Bohemian Rhapsody, Deadpool 2, Crazy Rich Asians, Black Panther, Ocean's 8, To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Set It Up

Favorite Restaurants

  • Latke Love
  • Cranelli's
  • Gabriel's

Favorite Recipe

  • Veggie dip

Favorite Big Purchases

Washer/Dryer - I felt like such an official grown-up when we received these. We went fancy and it's huge, and I absolutely love it. It's way too big for the current laundry room of the house we're renting, but will fit in perfectly to the long-term house we have in mind to move in soon…

Litter Robot - This is a luxury that is absolutely worth it if you have a cat. Basically, you never have to sift through litter again. Also, you completely avoid the litter scent because it cycles every single time the cat uses it. It's definitely pricey but I haven't regretted it once.

Little Random Happenings

  • Josh learned how to make the best cookies from scratch
  • Finished 100 Days of Code
  • Found contacts that work with the Colorado dryness
  • Went to the Taylor Swift Reputation tour
  • Gave out full-sized candy bars for Halloween! (life-long objective)
  • Learned to make mushroom risotto
  • Josh made latkes from scratch for the first time
  • I switched my diet to plant-based. The original plan was just to get rid of red meat, but then I ended up giving up all meat except for fish. I don't define myself as 'vegetarian' or 'vegan' because when I travel, my diet is forced to be a little more lax, but I love the changes I've been able to make at home, and how much better I feel for it.

Big Life Events

Starting a new job!

In February, I started a new position as a Technical Product Manager Lead for a remote software consultancy company. I'm leading teams, handling clients, and building out new tech. I love it and I'm so proud of how far I've taken my career so far. This was the first year that I made more than the dream salary number that I held in my head as a child. Being only in my mid-20s, I feel like my childhood self should have dreamed bigger ;)

Getting married!

Josh and I have been together for what's felt like forever, and this year we officially tied the knot in our dream wedding. We had a destination elopement at a castle in Prague. It was gorgeous and romantic, and I'm still not over the pictures. The day was everything we could've hoped for. I'm really happy that we didn't cave and go a more traditional route because this day felt so perfect for us.

Josh's name change also went through :) He's now an official Goldberg. I love us having the same last name.

Moving to Denver!

Josh has been commuting for work to Denver for years. In 2018 we finally had the opportunity to move up here, and we took it. There's way more to do where we live now and we like it more than Colorado Springs. We're currently searching for the perfect community to settle down in.

Starting my own business!

This wasn't supposed to happen this year, but the stars aligned. After years of working remotely myself, I recently started Remote Work Prep, a company training businesses to create effective work environments for their remote employees. I have my own LLC and business accounts, and it honestly still feels a little unreal. Starting my own company has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. We're still in the very early stages, and it's a lovely journey.

I'm incredibly thankful for such a beautiful year of positive growth. Looking forward to what 2019 brings next.