Happy New Year (13 days late)! This year has started off so well, and getting the news that I am melanoma-FREE has been the best bit of 2020! I have high hopes for the next 353 days and big BIG changes ahead: Walter will start a new school this fall, we’ll be moving to a new place in Orlando by the summer, Peter will have more training with the Coast Guard that will be longer than the last one, annnnd we might get a furry family member?? Like I said, this year is going to be full of changes, but full of fun! With this year starting so well, I wanted to share twenty resolutions I have for… ** drum roll please ** 2020!
1. More family weekend getaways
I was looking at photos the other day with Peter and realized that we haven’t taken a weekend away in Miami since OCTOBER of 2018! This must change ASAP! Our favorite place in Miami that is super family-friendly and just all-around wonderful is Loews Miami Beach, and you can see our weekend review here. BRB, booking my next weekend getaway right now!
2. Restaurant reviews, and Weight Watcher recipe reviews
I love a good unicorn milkshake (hello Magical Dessert Bar Houston!), and finding these fun things is, well, FUN! I want to be posting more of these unique finds wherever we are (that is planned, see next goal), and in the same breath here (laugh all you want!), I want to be sharing more Weight Watchers recipes and healthier options as well. Peter is considering the idea of writing a series on the blog with dietitian-approved family meals! I think he’d be a wonderful guest blogger, what do you think?!
3. Eating at home more often
I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ll order UberEats for the kids and I if I know that Peter is working late. Chickfila has been our evening go-to if I don’t have a dinner idea ready to go after skating on Tuesdays and Thursdays and this needs to stop! My goal is to stop relying on quick meals (that become expensive FAST) and be intentional with my meal planning.
4. Creating a grocery shopping list weekly and sticking to it
This goal should really say, don’t go to the grocery store hungry! This has been a trend, that I go to the grocery store when Peter gets home and it’s before dinner is ready. And when I go, things that don’t need to be in my shopping cart end up in there (read: cookies) and I won’t stick to my meal plan. So, this year I want to try to grocery shop in the morning after breakfast while the kids are in school so I’m not rushed, and not distracted.
5. More Disney Photopass Photos
As annual passholders at Walt Disney World, we get unlimited FREE PhotoPass photos that are available as free downloads in our MyDisneyExperience app. I’ve realized that I don’t take enough photos with my kiddos, and it’s even harder when Peter isn’t around to take photos for me. I’m going to keep myself accountable and take as many PhotoPass snaps as I can… even if the kiddos aren’t into it (see above photo).
6. More styled shoots and collaborations
I recently had the honor to be the photographer for a styled shoot with PixieCases, and I had so much fun! This is actually what I primarily used to do as a photographer, and working with companies to showcase their products is what I really love. My goal is to have more of these on my schedule this year!
7. More solo dates at Disney
While I love going to Disney with my kids, I also love going by myself (gasp!). I still ride all of the rides, eat the eats (and not have to share with two small mouths!) and enjoy the day at my own pace. These days don’t happen often, but my goal is to do one at least once per month.
8. Making healthier lifestyle changes
For years I’ve said I want to lose weight, and if we’re being honest here, I’ve half-assed it for way too long. I want to do at least three CycleBar classes per week, walks daily, and just being outside more. I honestly don’t have any excuse for not going on a bike ride or walk daily because we live in the Sunshine State, so it’s time to get active.
9. Another international travel as a family
Last July we took the most incredible INCREDIBLE two week vacation in France and Switzerland with my parents and brother. I had been so nervous about taking the kids on a long flight, worrying about Eloise’s condition and being scared that she would end up getting sick and being hospitalized there. I finally got over my anxiety about all of it, and we had the trip of a lifetime. Literally, the trip of a lifetime. Walter still talks about Switzerland almost daily, and we can’t wait to go back! Now that we’ve flown a 10 hour flight with the kiddos (and they were wonderful!), we’re ready to do another again soon.
10. More needlepoint! #ndlpt20in20
If you know me, you know that I’m a stitch-obsessed needlepointer. I love canvases, I love stitching, I just love all of it. This year, thanks to the wonderful needlepoint community on Instagram, there is a needlepoint challenge for the year: stitch 20 canvases in 2020! So far I’ve completed four of the twenty, and I can’t wait to share what’s been finished!
11. Teach an online needlepoint class
I have had so many inquiries about needlepoint, where to buy canvases, how to get started, and everything in between and I am THRILLED that needlepoint is becoming so popular! I would love to teach an online class both live and with pre-recorded videos, and my hope is to team up with a canvas designer to make the class even more fun. Expect to see something later this year!
12. More skate dates with Walter and Eloise
Walter has had ice skating lessons every Tuesday and Thursday for three years now, and for the most of those lessons I leave my skates at home and I don’t get on the ice; you can usually find me on the bleachers just watching him. My goal is to get on the ice with him (and Eloise) at least once per week and enjoy our ice time together.
13. Buy a house
I have a feeling that this is the year for us to buy a house! For two years Peter and I have been looking to buy a house in Orlando, and our goal is to be in either Baldwin Park or Winter Park by the end of the summer. House hunting is so stressful, but we have a wonderful realtor that has been patient with us and so helpful during this crazy process. Who knows, maybe we’ll find a darling blue door house like this one that we found in Washington DC in 2018!
14. Getting, and keeping, my house organized
Last spring while Peter was away for training with the Coast Guard, I hired Hannah and her girls at Home Refreshment to completely overhaul our house. Within a few sessions, everything in our house had a special place and the things that didn’t magically went away. The kids’ rooms were spotless, my pantry was organized, and things were great! … and then life happened when Peter came home and I didn’t stick to the organization that we all worked so hard to do. This year I want to organize my house, purge the closets and toys that need to go, and really downsize. I’m hoping to do this before we buy a house so that the move will be (somewhat) easier.
15. Exploring more of Florida
One afternoon we met Peter’s parents in St. Augustine and stumbled upon the sweetest little neighborhood with the most beautiful buildings, and this photo is just one of the many B&Bs there. I’d love to see more of the state we live in, and take more day trips to explore!
16. Finally take a cruise
We live just forty minutes away from one of the largest cruise ports in the country, and as Florida residents we have opportunities to take last-minute cruises that are dirt cheap. We need to do this! I’d love to take a Disney cruise, but this year I’d be so happy with taking a quick three-day cruise. Why not?!
17. Use my day planner every single day
At the beginning of each year, I am the over-achieving person who has her day planner color coded for each family member, stickers included, and looking really organized… and then I stop. I haven’t set aside the time to actually write down everything for the week, and I want to be better about doing that. Fifteen minutes per day is what I want to allot for my day planner to keep me organized.
18. Schedule a weeknight date night every month 
I didn’t realize until having two kids that finding the time to have a date night, just Peter and I, is actually really difficult. I have to remind myself sometimes that Peter and I were together before we had Walter and Eloise, and that dating our spouse is really important. I’d love to schedule out date nights a month in advance and make that evening just about the two of us. Whether it’s a dinner, a movie, or even just an evening bike ride together, I want to make time for Peter and I.
19. Write down three positives every day
Every night I ask Walter before he goes to bed what three happy/good/positive things that happened that day, and it’s really helped him to forget any negatives that may have occurred. Walter sometimes fixates on not-so-happy situations so this has been a huge help, and I need to be doing this myself. I’ll be jotting these down in my day planner each evening, and I hope this will help me stay more positive and less stressed.
20. Spend more time with the people that we love
I didn’t realize how hard it would be to find friends, and I as a parent I had no clue that finding a friend group who genuinely love our kids and understand our family’s chaos would be even more difficult. But Peter and I have found our group of friends that are all the above, and we are so incredibly grateful for them. I want to spend more time with the people that care about us, and distance myself from those that don’t offer what is right for our family.
Alright 2020, the Weiss fam is ready for you!!
I’m grateful for having you as a friend!