18 Jan Resolutions 2022

Happy another fabulous year! Before I make new resolutions, I want to reflect on last year’s goals. Here are 5 goals that I wanted to accomplish last year.

1. Learn Japanese dishes and cook more.
2. Go out more to explore locally and globally.
3. Buy a house
4. Don’t bring my phone into bed.
5. Be on time to meetings both online and in person.

1: I definitely cooked more last year and good number of dishes I made were Japanese. We set a new finance goal last year to buy our first home. Eating out is not cheap in California so cooking was very necessary. I pretty much cooked dinner 6-7 nights a week which contributed to our saving account a lot 🙂 Erik is not picky so he ate whatever I cooked including Japanese food. While I was pregnant, I was craving for Japanese meals so that made me cook more. I am very proud of myself and looking forward to explore more Japanese recipes.

2:  In 2021, we were still dealing with pandemic situation + I got pregnant so, I had to be extra careful not exposing myself to any virus out there. We did not get to travel globally for that reason, but we had a babymoon in Hawaii and traveled locally when we could! It was bitter sweet to travel with Erik knowing that soon, it won’t be just 2 of us but instead, we would be traveling with tiny member of our family! I would say we did what we could do in the situation and enjoyed trips with just us 2 😉

3: Housing market was definitely not right for us, and it was too competitive to get a house! For one of the houses that we put offer in, we offered more than $50,000 on asking price and waived all contingencies but still could not get the house! It took us 4 tries to finally landed on our first house and I am very proud of that! Also, I felt so lucky to go through this significant moment of my life with Erik! WE DID IT!!

4: I failed! 🙁 My obsession with my phone was real! I definitely could have done it better! I honestly forgot I even had this goal (Guilty as charged!) But after I had Katya, I realized how much I missed sleeping and for many nights, I didn’t even look at the phone in bed! I desperately needed to sleep! Regardless of some wins, I still need to take a look at my relationship with my phone!

5: Not so successful! I have been on time for my work meeting and trying to be even early on online meetings. On the other hand, I was late time to time when I hung out with my friends 🙁 When I went to events with Erik, I was never late because he kept reminding me how much time was left till leaving the house. However, when it was just me, I was not successful to be on time! Any tips for that?? I think I will start asking my friends to intentionally tell me earlier time than actual one haha. There is definitely room for improvement!

As for this year’s resolutions, I have just few! Here is the list!

1. Spend no more than 8 hours at work and more time with Katya and Erik.
2. Find a way to be more active and tone my body.
3. Continue to save and prioritize to spend money on house renovation and family activities.

1: I went back to work today and surprisingly it went well! I had been afraid to go back to work since I went on maternity leave. As I shared my anxious feeling on Instagram, I was worried to miss Katya’s “firsts” and to not being able to spend quality time with her. I love working and I always dedicated a lot of my time to work. It was not rare for me to work more than 12 hours which wasn’t required but I did it anyway. I mean I was working on my wedding day and at the hospital getting ready to give a birth. Now, I feel that the time with my family is the most precious thing for me and I hope to create many memories with them. Especially with Katya because she is growing up so fast! Thing that she couldn’t do yesterday, suddenly she does it today. I tried to be optimistic by reminding myself that “It’s not baby’s first until I see them” 🙂 This year, I wanna balance my work and personal life well!

2: Fortunately, I went back to my original weight 2 weeks after giving a birth. Number wise there is no difference in before & after pregnancy, but my body is not as toned as I like it to be. I feel weak and less energetic. It is definitely because I am used to sitting around in the house and not doing any physical activity. I hope that hanging out with Katya makes me more active! As starter, I am planning to go outside to walk with her as much as I can! Let me know if you have any recommendations on activities with a baby!

3: We are planning to sell our first home in few years and buy a bigger house! Remodeling it for more modern style is a great investment when we sell it 😉 This year, we will continue to save money to modernize our home and to one day, buy our big dream home! Now that Katya is here with us, I have more reasons to save money! Also, I hope to spend it on Katya’s first trip to many places!

Hello 2022,

Fatima

(PC: Annie Mason Photo)