Halfway to 2020.

Tropical Storm/Hurricane Barry is here (I think?). I'm not complaining about the lack of rain and wind, the steady stream of air conditioning keeping me cool, and the power of WiFi keeping me entertained. But the city is locked down and hibernating as we wait to see what Barry brings this weekend. And that means I have time to check in and reflect. We're halfway through 2019. 2020 is around the corner. That happened when??

A return to the blog was a nice reminder that I had a word/mantra for 2019: COURAGE. Choose courage over comfort. I'd forgotten. So thanks blog for anchoring me back to where I began the year.

And what a ride the past six months have been. Dare I say nuts? I'm on target with many of my goals/resolutions I set at the beginning of the year. So how have the first six months of 2019 treated me?

• Kickball: Stepping up to serve as Co-Captains of the team this spring was stressful at times but gosh, oh so worth it. We won! 3rd place in the Spirit Competition (our theme was Under the Sea), 2nd place in Congeniality, and Glitter Champions (our league has a competitive bracket and a social bracket. we won the social bracket, the Glitter League). Looking forward to returning to the fields this fall to defend our title. 

• Real Estate: I've completed 5 transactions so far this year and made more money than I did last year! My clients have been a blast to work with and I'm hoping to have 2-3 more transactions this summer/fall to close out the year with 7-8.

• New Job!: Still getting my bearings 100 days in. I'll admit there are days where I really miss my old job. The comfort of it. The perks of it (hello massive amounts of time off, 8% retirement contribution, free coffee, and being the boss). But I don't miss feeling stagnant. And this job keeps me on my toes. I've learned a ton in these first 100 days and I know I'm contributing to culture change. Trying to take it day by day (or week by week) and keep reminding myself that I likely won't feel totally comfortable for at least a year.

• Reading: I think I've read 7 books so far this year and am tackling my 8th. Good stuff!

• Travel: I need to step up my travel/vacation game in the second half of 2019. Aside from a trip to visit my childhood best friend in Pittsburgh over the 4th of July, I've been planted in NOLA. Well, excluding my leadershape trip to Ohio in January. Hoping to get to Seattle for a week or so this fall. And who knows...maybe somewhere else.

Other 2019 highlights so far? Mardi Gras. My cousin's wedding in March. One of the Stitches got married! Beach days in Biloxi. PRIDE and the HRC Gala. Treating myself to a new MacBook, Apple Watch, and some new clothes/shoes. 

And of course there's been some lowlights. Ants are the little engines that could and just. won't. die. Termites came back for a 2nd round of feasting. A break up. A couple rounds of a bruised heart. But if life were all rainbows and no rain, how would we appreciate the rainbows? You can thank Dolly Parton for that little outlook.

Halfway to 2020. Hopeful I can be more present in this 2nd half of 2019, remember COURAGE, and celebrate the little victories. Here we go!