Happy New Year Archives - 2 Cats and Chloe

31 days late… But here you go anyway!

So it’s the last day of January. In a new year. A new, fresh start. 2016 is behind us. 31 days behind us to be exact. We made it. We can keep going.

Looking back over my last year and a half - gosh what happened? Or maybe I should say, what didn’t happen?

We went on vacation. We moved. We found out we were pregnant. We moved due to mandatory bedrest. We spent a week in the hospital for me. We spent 77 more days in the hospital because of Lorelei. We experienced loss. We experienced miracles. We moved again. We were finally home. Lorelei was finally home. We learned. We grew. We cried. We cried a lot. We had unexpected surgeries and procedures, and more hospital stays. We began to fall into our new, uncomfortable normal.

Lorelei in Stander

And here we are. In a new year. A new start. A new normal.

If you’re not new here, you know every single year I try to write something on my blog with goals, aspirations and plans for the year. I feel like if you write it and throw it out into the universe, maybe, just maybe it will happen. Looking back on past years’ goals… eh. Some of them didn’t happen. But a lot of them did. I mean, hello paleo life! Thanks for making that one finally stick, 2014.

This year, I’m not going to make resolutions. Because if 2016 taught me one thing, it taught me that God blatantly, albeit lovingly, laughs at my plans. But only because his plans are so, so much bigger than I could ever dream up. That being said, I’ve learned a lot about who I was, and coming out of a dark 18 months, I’m still trying to figure out who this new Suz really is… this year I am going to try to make a few lifestyle changes.

I’m going to turn music on and shut the TV off. (Not all the time, but more frequently.) Even if it’s 90’s classics like *NSYNC or Counting Crows. Music is good for the soul. And it’s gotta be better than the same negative stories over, and over, and over again on the news…
I’m going to be present. When Lorelei is around, if I am not working (I work from home) I will not be on social media or scrolling mindlessly through my phone. Guys, this is hard. I can’t be the only one who struggles with this, can I? (Bueller? Bueller?) I’m not promised forever with her. The last thing I ever want are my memories of staring at cat memes to ever outweigh my memories of Lorelei cuddles and playtimes.
Fundraise. Fundraise. Fundraise. Other than God, our only hope to find a cure for my daughter’s disease is to raise funds for Mitochondrial Disease research. We are lucky enough to have the opportunity to raise money to go directly to the lab at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia that is studying her exact FBXL4 Mitochondrial Disease genetic mutation. This is a progressive disease that could easily affect any future children we have… we need to find a cure!
Be creative. I miss writing. I miss creating. I miss being crafty and working those “think outside of the box” juices. So in my free time… I will write. I will read. I will create. I will take advantage of nap times and do something other than watch reality television!

So there ya have it world. I’ve thrown it out there. We have 1/12th of the year behind us… let’s see what the rest of 2017 has in store.

2 cats signature

With Hope, Love and Gratitude…

by Susan

Dear 2017,

Welcome to this crazy pickle your older brother, 2016, created.

Not to be a tattletale but, 2016, to say it politely, was a bi-polar jerk. One day, he was super sweet. The next, he would walk in, smile at us and then flip our dining room table upside down.

While he was crazy and did whatever the heck he wanted to do, I will always have a soft spot for 2016. Because without him, I wouldn’t have learned, grown, cried and prayed harder than I ever have in my life.

2016 was by far the most challenging year ever. I faced things I never even could have possibly imagined I would be faced with throughout my lifetime, never mind in just a mere 12 months.

Within one year’s span I went from living in my grandmother’s room over the garage, to bedrest at my parents house and multiple hospitals, to an emergency OR, to 77 days in the NICU, then finally home in our new “it’s-never-gonna-be-completely-unpacked” home in Suffolk, VA.

I unexpectedly lost loved ones. I witnessed fellow NICU moms and dads hold their babies one last time, while fearing we could be next. We faced surgeries and scary procedures. I mourned and battled (and continue to battle) depression and anxiety.

But I also witnessed miracles and felt the presence of guardian angels. I witnessed love from family, friends, church members and strangers who hugged us, called me so I could cry because no words would do justice, brought us food, and who literally picked me up off the floor of the hospital, the nicu, my home and even during those random break downs in Home Depot and Target. I have witnessed my tiny 2 pound 14 ounce baby gain weight and “thrive” thanks to her magic button, proving them wrong by holding her head up, giggling, licking our border collie, and melting hearts with her crazy hair and dorky glasses.

I made new friends and met people who I would’ve never have had the opportunity to meet. I was reminded who my true friends and support system are. I’ve been beyond blown away at how outstandingly supportive our “village” is. I learned more about genetics than I ever wanted to know. I learned how to replace a feeding tube and a plethora of other medical tasks. I changed my first diaper. I celebrated my first Mother’s Day. I exclusively pumped for eight long and sleepless months.

And somehow we had time (and just barely enough energy) to go on vacation in the OBX the week after brain surgery, to go camping a few times with friends and to go to the river during the summer with family.

2016 packed a wallop. It was a storm. It was hard. It put things into perspective. It changed me.

But in the end, 2016 did his thing and here I am, facing you 2017. With bags under my eyes and faith in my heart. I know you aren’t going to be easy, dear 2017. I know we will face our hurdles together and have our fair share of tear-filled days. But you are new here so make a good name for yourself. You, 2017, are sparkling, fresh and full of HOPE.

And hope is exactly what my family, our country and our world needs right now. So let’s do it 2017! Let’s do this.

With hope, love and gratitude,
Suz.

2015 Goals and Resolutions, before February!

by Susan

You know, I’ve waited as long as I possibly could for this post. Every year I tell myself this post needs to be live by the end of January. While almost every other blogger publishes their New Year’s Resolutions the first week of the new year… I take my resolutions seriously, so I purposefully wait.

I wait to make sure these goals are what I really want to focus on for an entire year. I wait to make sure that I get past the hype and excitement of calendar shopping. I wait to put them in writing because these goals are my “mission statement” for 365 days and I need to make sure they are just right. So without anymore of a delay here are my 2015 goals:

Listen to my Body + Be Healthy.

Become Active.

Get + Stay Organized.

Embrace Change.

Have as much fun as possible.

I had really high hopes for last year. My goals were simple. But due to health issues and experiments, I didn’t achieve those goals. So this year, my plan is to do better. As of December, I now know as much as I am going to know about my eating issues. I know what my body can and cannot handle. I have learned that I need to listen to my body. My body is a temple. I need to protect it and make it the best (healthy wise) it can be.

While I’ve become a pro at clean eating over the last year, there is one huge aspect to overall health that I lack: Movement. Y’all I passionately hate exercise. I honestly think I hate that I hate it more than I actually hate it though. (Did you understand that last sentence?) Because I hate how much I dislike exercising - I think that means there is hope for me yet. Until I find a sport or exercise I love, I am going to try a new one each month. If I find something that I love - I will stick with it. I think if I give any activity a solid month, I will know how I really feel about it. (FYI - In February I will be lifting heavy things 5 days a week with my husband!)

With the big move-out and then probably six months of living out of a suitcase, followed by another move into the brand new house - there is no question that my husband and I need to get organized and stay organized. From the packing, to the unpacking, to the packing and unpacking again. It’s going to be a trillion times worse if we aren’t organized.

All of that being said - this year I really need to work hard to embrace change. I need to learn to appreciate the crazy moments. I need to practice patience. I need to remember to breathe.

Lastly, I want to have as much fun as I can possibly have. Seriously. I assume that in the next few years we will have a child or two. I’m not saying that the fun will stop… but from what I can tell, it’s a very different kind of fun. While I’m still footloose and fancy free - I want to travel. I want to craft. I want to be creative. I want to try new foods. I want to spend time with my husband. I want to live on the water. I want to drink wine in Europe. I want to have as much fun as we can possibly have.

So there ya have it. Call it a five on friday post. Call it a resolutions post. Call it “late” if you really want. When I take time to write down my goals, they become more real to me. While it may not be January First, this post was live before February and that was a goal in itself!

Did you put your 2015 resolutions in writing? What are they?

SWS - Word of the Year

by Susan

Just like Pantone picks a color of the year {it’s Marsala, btw and it reminds me of the red wine that I am currently missing from my life!} albeit trendy, I think it is really important for people to pick a “Word of the Year.” Maybe this is the business owner in me writing - but I think it is important we all have a goal or some sort of mission statement. Which is exactly what your Word of the Year accomplishes. Yes, long resolutions and to-do lists are great. But a one word mission? That’s excellent.

Meet My Sponsors: Liz from I Heart Vegetables and J from A Hot Southern Mess.

While it has been a really rough start to a new year {three days in and we are facing an unjust criminal charge and my hard drive crashed, losing tons of client and blog work} I need to regain focus, optimism and organization. While I would love to say that my 2015 word is either “focused” or “organized” my heart keeps telling me that I need to be:

Last year I had goals and very good intentions when it came to my health and my life. Due to a few bumps in the road - I didn’t accomplish my 2014 health goals. Now that the doctor’s test have been done and we have the answers, it’s time for me to kick ass and take names. In order to accomplish my 2014 goals AND my 2015 goals I am going to have to be determined.

What is your 2015 Word of the Year?

NYE: sunsets, pizza, gambling and naps.

by Susan

If you need to know one thing about me, you need to know that I love to throw parties. We had planned to host a bunch of friends and family at our house for New Year’s Eve. The menu was created, the facebook event was live, the glitter was ready. But then we just decided last week that we would rather save the money and head to the river. No offense to our friends - we just needed to get away.

We spent the eve of 2015 with my family and some close family friends. And a trillion dogs. Did you see this picture on my instagram account? How many dogs can you count in this picture? {Hint: there more than 5.}

The evening started when the fire pit came to life. Even though it was quite brisk on the water - we enjoyed the last bit of 2014 around a fire, watching the prettiest sunset of the year.

With my Whole60 starting on January One - I was thankful we stuck with our tradition cottage NYE dinner - personal pizzas. I bought a ton of pizza toppings and a gf pizza crust. My mom bought dough and sauce from a little Italian restaurant. Paired with an amazing bottle of wine that my cousin and I bought in Switzerland from a legit Italian vineyard… it really was the perfect dinner. #thisisnotpaleo.

Now nothing says holiday tradition like our NYE game: the Left Right Center Game. Guys, if you haven’t heard of this game before you need to grab it and pencil it in for your next shindig. This game never ceases to provide tons of entertainment. Pre-plan and tell all of your guests to bring three $1 bills each… unless you’re extreme high rollers and you wanna up the ante.

My dad thought it would be a brilliant idea to mix it up a bit this year… so we decided to play LRC twice. The first time with dolla dolla bills y’all. The second time with lotto tickets! Yes the winnings and stakes were raised, but unfortunately, despite the fact that the lotto tickets were a lot prettier and more colorful… they only grossed $3 of winnings in my mother’s pocket.

I didn’t win a darn thing, except a selfie with chloe and a New Year’s Eve kiss from my husband. It was probably one of the most calm and laid back New Year’s Eves that we have had in a very long time - but it hit the spot.

How did you spend your New Years Eve? Partying like rockstars or maybe a quiet evening like ours?

I hope y’all had a wonderful celebration and that you are as excited for 2015 as I am! Can you believe it’s Two Thousand and Fifteen?! Geez Louise. Let’s take a quick nap and then show this year that we mean business.