Bring on the Invincible Summer

As is tradition at this time of year, I always take a look back at what went on in our lives - good and bad, happy and sad, fun and... what's the opposite of fun that also rhymes with bad...? Mad?

Hmm the theme this year was maybe about being busy, about working more on the lives we want to create, about trying to find balance. And about Porter, it's always about Porter.

So let's round it up!

We started the year waking up from a night of camping beside the beach. Not too bad. Except that Porter found the electric fence. And he was so tiny. Poor guy. I was winding up the temping role I had taken on and dove into a ukulele class, a meditation class and weekly Zumba.

In February we made the trip up to Kawhia with friends for the kai festival to kick off the month. I was doing two days a week temping and starting to approach getting my business going and ended up with a contract to map the processes of the local tertiary institute and to make recommendations for increasing efficiency so that was a great start! Dustin was starting to get more and more technical with his beer brewing and continued to keep up the brewing fun.

March brought a roadtrip way up north to drop friends off on a massive bike ride they were taking on! Nice work girls!! The summer held on and it was hot, hot days! I got to get more involved with the coworking space a friend opened up since I started to have a bit more flexible time on my hands. Porter got into the St. Patrick's Day spirit...

We got to celebrate our tenth anniversary in April and hosted a wee party at our favourite watering hole (they serve the best beer in town). We mostly had a social month it felt like with parties and a beer fest - I got to make a couple baby shower cakes too!

Another sunny seaside beer festival!

We got to take Porter to his first pool party in May! He got right into it and loved jumping in after his new whale toy. There were at least a hundred dogs there though so it was pretty full on. On the work front, I got the chance to present the recommendations from the project I had been working on - there were about 50 people listening - and this reignited an interest in public speaking that had been dormant since about grade five. We also had a bike rave and another clothes swap!

Clothes Swappin' Awesomeness!

June brought our birthdays, of course, and a visitor! My cousin Jodi came over for a visit, and her and I hit the road to tour around a bit and also to go to a beer fest. (Hmm, maybe beer is a theme this year as well...) I also went south to Kapiti to take the first level of training to be a Zumba instructor. Dustin held down the fort with Porter and kept up with the rugby games. He also worked really hard and finished the flooring in the hallway, the bathroom, the kitchen and the laundry!! It's really made it feel like we're closer to being done the renovations.

In July there was an open day at the coworking space so I got a chance to give a talk about being organised and we welcomed people through to check it out. Winter gave me reasons to practice, practice Zumba as everything really tends to quiet down that time of year.

Coworking awesomeness!

Dustin had lots of change coming for his work life - he left his job as a builder in August. He took a couple weeks off in between jobs and we went down to Wellington for a couple of nights. He hadn't been away for a long time so it was due! There weren't enough meals in the day to eat all the good food and drink all the good beer that city has to offer!

Where did he change jobs to? Well, in September, he started working for the Department of Conservation which is the government department that manage the national parks here in NZ. He gets to spend most of his week outdoors and he fixes huts and bridges and all sorts of things out on the trails. He's really enjoying it and the stress he'd been under is greatly reduced. So, a hugely positive choice for him! Also, Porter placed second in a dog race. We're pretty proud of him. Also in September I took a trip over to Sydney to visit my cousin and do another level of Zumba training!

Porter's prize pack!

October was another full on month for us both! Dustin kept his enjoying his new "office" and I was reaching my peak involvement in events and activities - including taking part in Startup Weekend which was awesome. Also, my sister Sara came for a visit! She brought her 8-month old son and they stayed with us for a few weeks! It sure was different with a baby in the house and Porter had a cuteness-rival on his paws! Dustin was also doing a little building on the side so the weekend she arrived he was in the middle of a small business makeover project at the coworking space! (He's in the video they put together too!)

November was reaching very successful times for my business and I also launched a new workshop that I licensed and will be delivering over the next several months. It's called the Desire Map and it is all about creating the life that you want. It's pretty exciting to be encouraging people to go after what they want and to be feeling like we're living that way for ourselves. Dustin has been doing a few overnight work trips which is awesome because it's exactly what he wants to be doing in his free time!

And wow December brings us to a visit back to Canada! It's been a few years now even though it's feeling like it's gone by much quicker! It'll be interesting to see what's changed and to catch up with everyone. We hope that 2017 brings more life designing our way and that we continue to move in the directions we want to be heading. We hope that you are doing the same and send you hugs and wishes!