Historically, December has been a jam-packed month for me, and it goes by fairly quickly. I’m usually scrambling to fit in as much as I can in the month before the holidays. This past December, however, things seemed to go at a slower pace. It didn’t feel rushed or as if it had gone by in a flash.

Holiday Party Season

Ryan’s and my holiday parties were scheduled for the same day around the same time (only staggered by 30 minutes) during the first week of December. Rather than rushing across the city to attend both, we opted for mine at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. There were enough familiar faces in the crowd to make it a fun night. We ate, drank, wandered the galleries, and hung out with my work friends. I feel fortunate to be able to consider them friends because it hasn’t always been the case in the past.

Last Disney Trip in 2019

In the second week of the month, we headed to Orlando for our last trip to Disneyworld for the year. The weather wasn’t ideal (read: thunderstorms) this time around, so it wasn’t quite as packed with activity as our other trips. Highlights from these five days in the parks:

• Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party became Mickey’s Very Rainy Christmas Party because Ryan had convinced me to leave the ponchos that we had brought in our room. Had we not purchased extra tickets for this event, we could’ve just chilled in our room rather than hang out in the rain. Once we were at the park, it was too far to go get them, and we were not convinced that we should buy new ones. I made sure to give Ryan a hard time about it the whole night since it limited our movement around the park.

• We rode the new Star Wars ride - TWICE! Since it only opened up the week before, it was quite popular, and you’re only allowed to get on the ride once a day. It was definitely worth waking up early those two mornings to wait in line!

• We dined at the fancy Takumi-Tei in Epcot. Their tasting menus for the evening were either beef-heavy or a complete opposite - vegan. We decided to order a bunch of items on the menu and create our own seafood-heavy tasting menu. It’s a little spendy, so we only went there once, but it was DELICIOUS. If they would allow it, I would go back just for drinks! Their cocktails are creative and tasty.

Christmas in SoCal

We spent time with Ryan’s mom’s family in SoCal this year. Instead of flying, we drove down with Fresca in tow. We made a stop along the Central Coast on our way down to visit friends, zebras and elephant seals. Since I hadn’t officially taken any time off from work, I worked remotely on Monday. We had Christmas Eve dinner with the fam, and the rest of the time leading up to this dinner was spent preparing for said dinner. It was a good time, and most of the differing opinions were kept at bay. To avoid traffic and bad weather, we drove back on Christmas day.

Star Wars

Neither Ryan nor I are big Star Wars nerds (despite following the latest movies), but we have been loving The Mandalorian on Disney+. We ate up all 8 episodes in Season 1 and are looking forward to Season 2, which won’t be out till next fall. We would recommend getting Disney+ for a month and binge-watching if committing to a full year isn’t your thing. You’ll get to see what the “Baby Yoda” hype is about!

Holiday Council

This year, I signed up for Holiday Council to reflect on 2019 and to spend some time planning for 2020. I was following along live for the first two calls, and then I fell behind a bit while we were traveling. I caught up before the month was over, so now I’m all set - armed with a vision board, theme, three big goals and five “ways of being” for 2020.

Theme:

Bloom with Grace

3 Goals:

• Financial Independence - save more $$, moving towards not having to worry about it
• Feel Alive - establishing morning/evening rituals
• Reduce Impact on the Planet - making the most of life while maintaining a positive relationship with the planet

Ways of Being:

Resourced, Intentional, Joyful, Discovery, Savor

Do you spend time reflecting on the past and planning for the future? What is in store for your 2020? What are you most looking forward to?