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Five of the Best Decisions I Made in 2018

Published on December 28, 2018 By Emily. Updated on December 28, 2018

Generally speaking, 2018 was not as remarkable a year as 2017. My daughter was born at the end of 2016, so 2017 was a year of transitioning into parenthood. In addition, I began a new and very different role at work. There was a lot of change in my life.

2018 was more about going with the flow. Even my word for the year, cultivate, indicated a lack of novelty. It wasn’t a bad year at all, but in sitting down to write this post, I’m definitely not as struck by the decisions I’ve made in the last 12 months. Nevertheless, there are some choices worth sharing in the hopes they help you too.

paying off my last student loan

Certainly paying off my loans wasn’t entirely a decision I made in 2018. I’ve been paying more than the minimum and throwing extra money at my undergrad loans occasionally since I graduated in 2007. I wasn’t nearly as dedicated to getting rid of the loans as some awesome people I know, but I still managed to make my final payment last spring. It has been very, very nice to not be paying for college anymore.

taking the summer “off”

For the first time in our professional careers, neither Brian or I went to work this summer. It was a good thing too, because it turned out to be one of the most full and fast summers I can remember. Between required school trainings and travels to see family, we were away almost as much as we were home. I am grateful that we had the freedom to spend time with E and the foresight not to schedule the additional obligation of employment into July and August.

visiting Charleston

This summer, Brian and I took advantage of the generosity of his parents and traveled to South Carolina for a few days. It was our first trip as a couple since E was born and it was really nice to get away alone. We soaked in as much culture, food and history as we could during our time and we’ve already made plans to take a child-free vacation in 2019.

participating in my workplace health programs

Last spring I was made aware of a program offered by my employer through my insurance. Mine is through MIIA, but apparently many states and employers offer similar opportunities. MIIA’s Well Aware program provides monthly health-related challenges (exercise, drinking water, mindfulness, fermented foods, decreasing sugar, etc) that are rewarded with prizes and, if you complete enough challenges, gift cards. It’s been really fun to try some new healthy habits and get rewards in return. I highly recommend seeing if your health insurance and employer offer something similar.

using my teacher discount for Todoist Business

Todoist is one of the most essential tools in my life and I adore it. I’ve been using it to track all my to-dos (from grocery items to grad school assignments to work meetings to plans with my husband) since at least 2014. This year I discovered that Todoist offers a 70% discount on its business plan for teachers and students, making it cheaper than the premium plan I’d been paying for. I’ll definitely continue this approach to purchasing Todoist in the future; I’m happy to support an app that I rely on and help fund the improvements they continually release.

Missed last year’s post? Read Six of the Best Decisions I Made in 2017.

Related Posts

Looking Forward to 2010
Strengthen In 2015
My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Goals in Progress: September
Did you enjoy this post? Share it!

Filed Under: life Tagged With: cultivate 2018, goals, new years

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Emily
Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring a sitter for a rare night out. We went to dinner at @publicna and took advantage of the opportunity with drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Pictured:
- Citrus Braised Beef Tacos
- "Chicken and Waffles"
- House Fries with Garlic Aioli
- Fried Chickpeas
- Blood Orange Cheesecake
It was no surprise that Public was close to full on a Wednesday night - everything was so good. 

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#igers413_food #igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #PublicEatAndDrink
New year, new theme word! This year's word is "enr New year, new theme word!
This year's word is "enrich" and I'm really excited about it.

I've written more about this year's theme on the blog. Click in the link in my profile or follow the link below to read the post.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-2023-theme-word-enrich/
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#YearlyTheme #MyOneWord #2023 #enrich2023 #NewYearsResolution
It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post. It's It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post.
It's almost all #Berkshires content this year, which is great.
1. A pasta salad reel that took longer to create than the recipe took to make.
2. A reel from North Carolina where I could have watched birds all day.
3. The @thelazygenius book giveaway.
4.@plantconnector 
5. @berkshiremuseum 
6.@sculpture.now at @themountlenox 
7. @massmoca 
8. @mountainviewfarm413 
9. The #AshuwillticookRailTrail
New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year' New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year's theme word - resume. 

I was able to get back to many activities that were meaningful to me this year and I'm calling this theme a success. Follow the link below or click the link in my profile to read more.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/reflections-on-resuming-in-2022/
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#resume2022 #newyearsresolution #myoneword #yearlytheme
New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022. For New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022.

For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
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Read the post by visiting the link in my profile or 
https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-favorite-recipes-of-2022/
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#RecipeRoundUp #BestRecipes2022 #FavoriteRecipes
@coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one @coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one of the highlights of all my return trips to Boothbay and their annual Gardens Aglow event continues to impress. It was great to be back to walking the gardens instead of the pandemic drive through and there seemed to be more lights than ever.  I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#Boothbay #BoothbayMaine #CoastalMaineBotanicalGardens #GardensAglow #BotanicalGarden #MidcoastMaine
It has been a while, but there is finally a new CS It has been a while, but there is finally a new CSA menu plan on the blog! Visit the link below or in my profile to see how I plan to make use of some of the @mightyfoodfarm produce seen here.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/welcome-to-winter-farm-share-csa-menu-plan-148/
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but t Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but this year we've had weather that has also been outstanding. The past 2 weekends have included time at Jaeschke Orchards, the Greylock Glen, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail as well as stopping to photograph any random foliage I see. 
Check out the last slide for video of some feathered friends we saw on a walk.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #FallFoliage #FallColors #autumn #AshuwillticookRailTrail #JaeschkeOrchards #GreylockGlen
@freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favo @freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favorite events each year, and it doesn't hurt that it's just minutes away from home. Enjoying the festival with my kids is definitely a different experience than without, but it's still a good time. The weather was especially cooperative today which was great for all the laps I did around the @massmoca campus pushing a stroller. I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #FreshGrass #FreshGrassFestival #MassMoCA #MusicFestival
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