Twenty eight. 28. I am 28. Still getting used to saying that! I will recap on last night a little later, but I will say that I had the best time. The headache I have right now? Yeah, not such a great time, but that’s ok!

I am not big on setting goals, mostly because with my personality, if I set a goal and don’t accomplish it, I will be so hard on myself. I lose sight of the whole purpose of why goals are made and end up focusing solely on whether or not I can do it, which kind of defeats the purpose of making a goal, right? So instead, I try to think about things I might want to accomplish this year and go with that. But this year, before I do that, I want to take a second to reflect on the past year. I often focus too much on all of the things I WANT to do and things I haven’t done yet and forget to acknowledge all of the accomplishments that I’ve made, so today I am going to change that. I am going to look back on my 27th year and feel grateful for everything I have done. I know I am forgetting some things, but here are the big highlights from last year:

•  I started Burpees to Bubbly! I have been reading healthy living/fitness blogs for years and years and never really had the urge to start one, only because I was afraid no one would like it. I was also afraid that I would get too obsessed with it and with posting on a regular schedule and, in turn, it would become a chore rather than a source of enjoyment. So far, so good. I feel frustrated at times because I want to be a huge blog, but I try to remind myself that I have only been doing this for a few months and it’s all about baby steps. I’m still working on finding my “groove,” but I have had fun thus far experimenting with post styles and topics and can’t wait to do more of it this year.

• I got my AFAA certification and started teaching fitness classes. I have been an avid class-goer for as long as I can remember and now that I am finally teaching my own classes, I wonder why I waited so long to start. I like to think I am making up for lost time when I cram in teaching 6 or 7 classes in a week, but more recently I realized there is no need for that. I am still learning how to say “no” when people ask me to sub or take on new classes, and although I am still not great at this, I think I am getting better. Recently, I let got of some classes in order to free up some of my time and even though it was hard to do, I think it was a smart choice. I was feeling overwhelmed and frustrated that I didn’t have time to GO to any classes. I was bored with all the workouts I was teaching and wanted to go to classes to get new material, but teaching 5 or 6 days a week, I didn’t have time. Now that I have more days off from teaching, I am excited to “gym hop” and try out new classes and new instructors. This year, I am also excited to go to more conferences and trainings so I can learn about new types of workouts and exercises and become more involved in the fitness community.

• I was promoted at my “real” job. I don’t talk about my real job much on the blog, but I am very grateful for it. Not only does it pay my bills, but it gives me incredible flexibility which allows me to teach classes:) I also get to travel because of my job, which has its ups and downs, but most of the time it’s fun to have a chance to have a change of scenery and get out of town for a bit.  I also work with really great and fun people (even though my bestie, JP, got a new job and won’t be there anymore), which makes going into the office better.

• I’ve become more financially stable. For years I was spending more than I was making and I have spent the last year or so trying to pay off that debt. I am finally debt free (well, besides school loans) and looking forward to building up a savings so that I can be a responsible 28 year old. I am also going to move into my own place in September, so I need to save up for that. Having extra income from teaching has been awesome. Not only is it great to get paid to workout and do something I love, but having “extra” money every two weeks is amazing!

• I have made a conscious effort to try to relax and slow down. Obviously, this is still a HUGE work in progress and is one of my biggest challenges, but I really am trying to be better. I have treated myself with spa days and meals out and have been easier on myself if I don’t get all my things done that I think I “need” to do done. Like I said, I have my good days/weeks with this, but I think being actively aware of my issues and trying to fix them is a step in the right direction.

Well, there you have it! Granted, these are just some of the things I am proud of myself for, but since they are the bigger ones, I thought those were the good ones to list out. This year I want to be more mindful of my accomplishments- no matter how big or small they are- because I shouldn’t wait until my birthday to pat myself on the back for things I do on a daily basis, right?

Here is to 28 and officially being in my “late” 20’s. I’m excited for what is in store for this year and I hope that you all stick around with me as I share my journey via Burpees to Bubbly.

Questions for you: Tell me- what is something you are proud of accomplishing over the past year? Do you like to make goals?