Happy 2020! I cannot believe it’s not only the New Year but it’s freakin’ 2020, y’all…a whole new decade. Also, Happy first Friday of 2020!! I originally wanted to have this blog post up on January 1, but instead, I enjoyed the past few days and took time to really reflect on the past year and lay my goals out for 2020. That’s a big part of 2020 for me…to really take in the special days and soak in the memories.
2019 was a heck of a year in so many ways. It was crazy, wild, fun, adventurous, a lot of learning, hard, emotional, and to sum it up, beautiful chaos. I’m not going to sit here and bore you with all the ins and outs of why 2019 was this or that, but I do want to reflect on how the year went and how excited I am for 2020! It’s gonna be a good one y’all.
January 2019
I was ringing in the New Year in North Carolina with my family and my baby boy who was only 3 months old (he’s 15 months now and I really don’t know where time has went). I stopped working as a hairstylist at the first salon that I ever worked in. That salon took me in and that’s where I grew as a stylist. Thank you to everyone who allowed me to not only work on your hair, but be a small part of your life, and for believing in me as I was just starting out. Studio Thirteen (the salon) will always hold a special place in my heart. I stopped working because my husband would be coming home from deployment soon and we were about to take on an adventure as a family with our little baby boy. Hubby was still deployed in this month, but we were so dang excited for him to come home.
February 2019
I had hopes that hubby would be coming home this month from deployment, but the dates weren’t certain so we didn’t know. I also didn’t know that I’d be getting a surprise homecoming from him on February 13. This was the first day he met our son and we were all three united. You could definitely say this was a highlight of 2019. Our family adventure started this month with a move. Not just any move, this was a big move. This girl has never moved, like ever, so this was huge. My family and I moved from NC to CA on February 26, 2019.
March 2019
Me, Brandon, and Krew go from a living in a hotel for a few days (waiting on our house to be ready) then move in to our first home. Ready or not, here we go! I was scared, excited, overwhelmed, and felt so blessed all at once. This was the first time me and Brandon were going to be living together on our own, and as parents, first time parents. Holy moly!
April 2019
We start making this house of ours a home. We slowly furnish it, decorate it (but is it ever truly decorated enough?), and start to navigate living together on our own, and to anyone who knows me, y’all know that I am insanely close with my family. This move was hard on me. I missed them, and still miss them every single day. We FaceTime or talk on the phone literally all day every day. I couldn’t survive without their support and my husband’s support in this big step of life. I also turned 21 this month, and celebrated with mimosas and my first tattoo!
May 2019
I got to fly home to North Carolina for a little while! I was so excited to come home for a little bit and we also were getting closer to my sister’s due date to welcome her sweet baby into the world! We also started spending more family days on the beach in CA and welcomed our first fur baby into our family, Koda.
June 2019
I went for a dream I had been wanting to do for a while. I started up my blog, Snapshot of Cass. I can’t thank you guys enough for all the support you’ve given me in this. I love having a place to share thoughts, tips, recipes, and just all the crazy in between.
July 2019
Summer is in full force in CA, we’re grilling out more, getting closer with our neighbors, and just enjoying life with our baby boy. Krew started pulling up this month so we know things are about to get real crazy with him trying to start walking. Me and Krew flew back home to NC again this month so we could be here when my sister delivered her sweet baby girl, Maeleigh Grace. She wasn’t due until August, but whew am I glad we came in early, because Maeleigh decided to make her appearance into this world on July 28, 2019. My sister became a mama, I became an aunt, and Krew got a cousin.
August 2019
Krew and I are still in NC and soaking up every ounce of family time. Brandon also got to join us and come home to NC toward the end of this month and we celebrated Krew’s first birthday a little early so we could celebrate with family. It was amazing. I’ve really learned to enjoy the moments while they’re happening because they flash by way too fast.
September 2019
Our baby turned ONE this month! All I want to know is how the heck does time go that fast? And where does it go? I’ve loved every single day of watching our baby grow, but man do I wish I could have a pause and rewind button.
October 2019
We’re doing all the Fall things, pumpkin patches, pumpkin foods, decorating for Fall, and gearing up for some special visitors. My mama, sister, brother-in-law, and niece come to CA to visit!!! I was so so excited for them to see our home for the first time and just to spend more time together, blessed isn’t even the word.
November 2019
Brandon and I attended the USMC Military Ball, and this was the first time we ever left Krew with anyone other than family. Mama was a slight wreck, but it was good for me and hubby to get all dressed up and have a night out to ourselves. We also celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary, and hubby’s birthday. My online boutique, Saltwater Honey was also born this month. This was another dream that I had been thinking on for a while and decided to jump into it. None of my dreams this year could have come true without all of you guys’ support. I cannot say thank you enough. This month was full of celebrations!
December 2019
This month definitely went by the quickest, and I feel like that’s always the case. There’s so much hustle that comes along with December. Christmas shopping, Christmas get-togethers, decorating, and just trying to keep up. Throw in the fact that Brandon got sick, then Krew started to come down with it, then down goes mama 2 days before we fly back home to NC to celebrate Christmas with family. Y’all have no clue how happy I was to get to celebrate Christmas with our families in NC, it literally made my heart burst when I found out we were getting to. We all got through the colds we had, and Christmas was beyond magical. The memories we made this Christmas (and truly from the whole year) will be tucked away in my heart forever. Also, the icing on the cake for December…we were supposed to go back to CA on December 30, but Brandon surprised me and changed mine and Krew’s flights to stay in NC a little longer and spend some extra time with family while he went back to work.
2019, you were a big year.
Here’s the thing, a lot happened in 2019, but I think 2020 will be bigger and better. I don’t plan on changing in 2020. I plan on growing. There’s no need to change when you can grow into a better version of yourself. I plan to grow into a better mama, wife, daughter, follower of God.
How I Plan to Grow in 2020
I like to write out my goals. It helps to get everything mapped out and put in front of me so I can visualize and put the goals into action. Shoot, put them on the front of your fridge so you see them everyday if you have to. You’ve got this. Here is how I want to grow in 2020.
- Spend more time with God. I want to do this by myself, with my husband, and as a family with my husband and son. God is the reason for everything I am and everything I have. I need more time with Him.
- Do better at not sweating and worrying about the small things. I spent too much time worrying about small things in 2019. I’m done with that.
- Be more present. 2019 really taught me to slow down and enjoy the here and now. Time is not slowing down, y’all. The only thing we can do is breathe in and enjoy each moment as they come.
- Make my bed more often in the mornings. Did you see what I said? More often, not every day. I know that I will not make my bed every morning so I’m not even going to set up that kind of failure. By saying it more often, this will help me to be accomplished and have small victories on more mornings. Small victory first thing in the morning = more successful days.
- Read a book a month. I love to read, and I don’t do it enough. This year is different, I am going to do this because it’s something I love, and it will better my mind.
Words for 2020
Present, Priorities, Purpose, Grace
I’m not gonna go into why these are my words, but I plan to live by these words and put them into my daily life. They are special words that I thought about and couldn’t decide on just one.
2020 is a new year, a new decade, and each day is a new day to work toward our goals. No matter how small they are, they matter. You matter!
I pray that everyone has an amazing 2020. I pray that it is a year of growth and meeting goals. I pray that you take time for yourself, your needs, and spend time doing things you love with the people you love. God, let this year be a year full of blessings from you. I am so grateful for another year. Let’s do this!
I’m just a mama with big goals and excitement for 2020!
Snapshot of Cass 