Long time, no life of Katie! January to me always brings about a nice change of pace – a fresh start, a time to create new habits, and a chance to try something new. I’ve said this before and I will say it again: I hate the phrase “new year, new me”. BUT, changes can and will happen in 2022 and I am looking forward to what is to come during this brand-new year. As always, here are some updates into the life of Katie!!!
- A Marshmallow World – *cues the Christmas song what that exact same title!!* earlier this week, snow came to Northern Virginia. This is my first time seeing snow and a big snow of 10+ inches since before my college days. I LOVED getting to enjoy the snow from my own home (I am NOT one to be out walking in the snow HAHA!). I got some adorable content photos for an upcoming giveaway and for fun, too. It is ALWAYS a gift to be able to see snow – it is magical to me to see. Such a rarity that snow is, yet it’s such a beauty!
- Lilly Pulitzer Sunshine Sale – If you know me, then you know I am a SUCKER for any sale, especially Lilly Pulitzer’s sales! This past Monday commemorated the January biannual Lilly Pulitzer Sunshine Sale. This year’s sale was so unique that it was only ONE DAY – usually the sale is 2 days. I luckily had a great sale experience, as I shopped online and ordered everything and waited in the waiting line for a mere 2 minutes. The funniest part?! I logged onto the site and was placed into the waiting line, grabbed my coffee, and was in the site once my Keurig finished working its magic. Needless to say, I felt extremely lucky that I was able to shop so quickly and snag so much, too. I am SO excited to be able to shop the sale, as it rarely comes around.
- Committees at Work – I am excited to say that I have been getting involved in committees at work. My company has so many opportunities for folks to meet and mingle with one another amongst my team of ~100 people, Women in Data Science as well as friends/company members interested in data science, and Early Career Professionals. I have LOVED getting to plan events for friends within my Meredith Community and am so excited to get to do it as an extracurricular at my job, too. Who knew that jobs offered extracurriculars too?!
- Healthier Eating Habits – During 2022, I want to focus on creating more healthy eating habits. I have subscribed to Hello Fresh and am SO excited to get healthy meals delivered right to my door each week! Papa and I are going to subscribe together and try the meals together, too. We are very excited, as I know that Hello Fresh can help with establishing healthier eating habits in the most convenient way possible (I get my first box this Monday!). At the same time, I am striving to enjoy some healthy meals for lunch and breakfast, too, as meal preps have become the win for this new year!
- Focus on Faith – This year, I am also hoping to focus on getting connected within my church community. I was actually really involved in my church community back in high school – a facilitated Youth groups for middle schoolers, went on 3 mission trips, 3 church retreats, and many many many church events in between. I have SO many great and meaningful memories from church! Papa goes to a church nearby that I want to get connected to. Back in June, I attended a Celebration of Life for a classmate and family friend of mine who went to heaven much sooner than he should have. It took place at Papa and I’s church, and it made me miss the days when I was regularly attending and connected to a church community. Needless to say, I optimistically signed up for a course to introduce new members to the church starting in-person on January 30!
You could probably say that this blog post screams “new year, new me” – haha! However, through it all, I am excited to make some changes in my life for the better. I have always seen the new year as a time to reflect on the old year and essentially go out with the old and in with the new *cues High School Musical!*.
XOXO – Katie <3