2018 goals

Last year I had a long list of very specific measurable goals that I was making progress on, then halfway through the year my world flipped upside down with several job changes! This year I am going to stick with more overarching themes/goals that I can focus more specifically on monthly.

1. Financial

Save at least half of our income. This would include strategies for contributing to both our 401Ks, our child's education fund, and personal savings/investments

2. Personal 

Get out of the habit of the default activity of watching tv.

3. Spiritual

Read or listen to something uplifting every day!

I plan on giving myself grace with these goals and remembering that I have an entire year to get these habits down/fullfil these goals.

I am hoping we can still travel a decent amount in 2018 despite the changes! We are going to Bermuda with a day trip in NYC in February and then hoping to do something with family in the summer and at least something else in the fall with our new babe.

Next year I want to be more focused on the present and less worried about the things that don't matter. With a baby coming into our lives I know a lot will change and I want to grow as that change comes.

I cant wait to see what 2018 has in store!

2017: the year of change

2017 was the year of embracing change! We accomplished so much and it flew by.

Travel:

One of my resolutions for 2017 was to take a trip every month, and I actually delivered on this one for the most part. It was so much fun going new places and experiencing new things. I am always happy when I have a trip to look forward too no matter how big or small that trip might be.

January- Jackson Hole
February- St. George & California
March- Iceland
April- London
May- Major Job change! 
June- Northern California 
July- Exuma Bahamas
August- Idaho for the total eclipse 
September- France 
October- Kauai, Hawaii for work 
November- California 
December- Christmas at home with family 

Work: 

I had an unexpected job change in 2017. I said goodbye to Qualtrics, my workplace of 3 years, and hello to BioFire, where I have now been for 6 months.

The move to BioFire was unexpected because I wasn't actively looking for a job, and happened to get a random message on linkedin from my now current manager, who I had almost no connections to. The best part of the story is that his message went unnoticed by me for almost 3 months. When I finally saw it and sent him a message back that I was interested in the position I was pretty heartsick cuz I thought there would be no way the job hadn't been filled. I was so happy to hear later that night that not only had the position not been filled, but they were looking for very specific experience/education that was basically exactly what I had to offer. We chatted the next week over the phone and I started the application process and was hired a month later.

Biofire has given me more flexibility with work life balance (a less work-a-holic culture overall, every other friday off + much better PTO) + more challenging and exciting opportunities day to day. Plus the company makes tests for infectious diseases, which with my epidemiology background is something I am very passionate about!

After my second semester teaching for BYU-I online I decided to take a break to focus on my new job. I also decided to stop selling for Shop Stevie after a year of lots of fun, for similar reasons.

Travis also had an unexpected job change at the end of the year. He left Teva Pharmecueticals which he had been with for his internship during college and for the last 2 years after he graduated. We received a text from a good friend from church that his senior engineer was leaving and that he wanted travis to apply for the job, two months later he is working for Integra Life Sciences and is enjoying the added responsibility and change of pace.

Personal: 

In case you didn't hear, we found out I am pregnant with a baby boy this year! Definitely the most exciting thing to happen to us in 2017! We are living up our last months together before baby is born, but cant wait to meet him and know our lives are going to change forever!

2017 goals

Another one that has been sitting in my drafts for months! I absolutely love setting goals, and a new year always feels like the right time to sit down and assess how the last year went and where we want the next year to go.

This year I had 5 categories of goals that I documented for my own personal growth as well as some business goals.

Personal: 

Quality time- 
1. Stop watching tv every night after work, find new activities to do during the week together
2. Only work Monday and Wednesday nights and don't let it seep into every other night of the week
3. Invite people over for dinner!

Health- 
1. Start getting ready for be around 9:45 every night so I can get to sleep earlier
2. Formally exercise 3 times a week

Spiritual-
1. Read my scriptures every night
2. Attend the temple at least once a month

Financial- 
1. Get the full match on Travis' 401k add 5% to my 401K
2. Save at least 1/4 of our post tax income

Emotional- 
1. Read 52 books this year or one book a week
2. Take more pictures
3. Take one trip a month (even if its something small like a weekend getaway to St. George)

Monthly trip ideas:
January- Jackson Hole
February- St. George & California
March- Iceland
April- London
May- ?
June- San Fransisco
July- Caribbean or Thailand
August- California?
September- Washington DC?
October- ?
November- ?
December- ?

Business goals:

1. Grow instagram to 10,000+ followers this year
2. Be able to pay our mortgage with my profits each month
3. Find new ways to express my creativity through my business (photoshoots, marketing, etc)

Telling people about my goals and having them in a place where I can regularly be reminded of them is the best way I have found to stay accountable! I have them printed on my nightstand so I can see them daily! What are your 2017 goals?

Life lately

I started writing this post in September, clearly the last couple months have gotten away from me. Here's a little update.

We put in our backyard and got a fence! And now we are done with our major house additions. After shutters, the backyard, and the fence we are tapped on house projects/expenses! I am sure we will have small furniture or maintenance expenses in the near future, but I feel like our house is basically complete at this point. I absolutely love it, and wish I was able to spend more time at home.

Had an amazing trip to Florida with my fam

If you haven't seen on my other social media channels, I have started my own business as a Shop Stevie rep. Its already been 6 weeks and I am so overwhelmed with the support people are giving me and the success its had already! I am also having a blast figuring this new small business out. I love that I am in charge, and that I decide where to go with it.

I have also started my first semester as a BYU-I online instructor! Ive been interested in teaching for a while, and this opportunity came up and I couldn't say no! I am teaching Introduction to Community Health this fall and am excited to get back into public health on a weekly basis.

I can definitely say I am excited for the Holidays coming up. We already have a Halloween party and Thanksgiving party we have been invited to outside of all of our family stuff. We also decided that this year we are going to stay home and actually pass out candy to the kids in our neighborhood for Halloween! I am SOO excited to just chill, watch disney channel halloween movies and meet more people in our neighborhood.

I may be working 80-90 hours a week right now between my 3 jobs, but I couldn't pass up any of these opportunities! Things are crazy, but I figure now is the time in my life to take risks and see where things can go. I am lucky to have a super supportive husband who is picking up the slack and supporting me in all my crazy ideas!

My sister took these amazing pics last weekend on the Alpine Loop! 

Here's to the next few months of craziness. Before I know it it'll be 2017.

Buy things through my website from my blog!

I have been totally MIA from the blog lately. Managing my full time job with online teaching and my new shop is kind of a juggling act, I've been working about 80 hours between the three of them over the last 3 weeks.

I just added a new feature to the blog that lets you purchase from my shop directly from it! Navigate to the shop tab to do this! Here are some of the beautiful things we've added to the shop lately:

I plan on posting more of an update on our life lately shortly.

Thanks for your love and support!

My website is Live

As you may already know I am now a shop stevie rep!

As you may not know, my website went live last night! Jess.stevierep.com

I am so excited to make the ordering of these amazing clothes a lot easier :)

Yesterday I had my launch party for my business and so many people came to support. I am so grateful for the people in my life that encourage my new adventures! We tried on pretty clothes, chatted and caught up, I met some new people, and we ate amazing homemade ice cream. Then watched the BYU/UTAH game and we were brought back down to earth :/ haha

Here are some pics from the event:

Shop Stevie Rep!

I have decided to become a rep for Shop Stevie! I absolutely love their clothes and think you will too!

Travis and I decided together that this was a pretty low risk way for us to take a chance and try our hand at running a business. I've always wanted to try owning my own business and this is the first opportunity that has felt right for us. 

One of the things that got me really excited to get involved with Shop Stevie is that they are NOT running as a multi level marketing company. If someone wanted to sign up as a rep there is not a way for them to be under me or down the line from me. I would not make money from someone I helped to sign up as a rep, so I will never pressure someone into starting this up themselves. This is seriously one of the major things that sold me. I also have no quotas, recurring minimum inventory purchases, etc. this will give me the freedom to run this business in the best way i see fit and allow it to grow naturally and not out of force. 

First and foremost this is a hobby, something that we will learn and grow from and can work on together. I will never pressure someone to buy something, host a pop up shop, etc. I just don't see the point in alienating friends and family to help my business grow.  

This side business will be in addition to my current job at Qualtrics. I plan on doing Shop Stevie around my schedule at Qualtrics to answer questions, fullfill orders, and help my customers find clothes they love! So expect early morning, lunchtime and evening replies :) 

I launch as a rep 8/29. With my website and inventory going up hopefully by 8/30. Let me know if you have any questions! Thank you so much for your love and support!

Follow along to get updates on inventory, giveaways (we have an Instagram giveaway starting 8/29), sales, etc
Instagram: @iess.stevierep
Facebook page: jess.stevierep

Website: jess.stevierep.com

1 year house update

We've already lived in our house for over a year! I can't believe it, time has flown by. We still love our house as much as the day we bought it. We've been slowly decorating and adding to our house this last year. Since the six month post I did a while back, a lot has changed!

The major things that have been updated: We switched out our bedding for the guest bed since we now have one of those, We got shutters, and put our back yard in!

Entryway:

Im completely obsessed with our new entryway table from West Elm. Normally I wouldn't have spent so much on one piece of furniture but I have been lusting after this table for over a year now and got a really nice bonus last quarter so I decided to splurge. 

Now I just need to buy some things to style it. 

Office:

Still at the same standstill as 6 months ago. I know I want to blow up a big picture from our Europe trip to set over the piano, outside of that Im still not certain how to finish this space up.

1/2 bath:

Same as before, still love it and feel like this space is simple and complete.

Living room:

We have our new shutters in and I am smitten with them! They turned out gorgeous and give us just the right amount of light vs privacy. We also have a new ottoman and I repurposed some old pillows to accent it. 

Kitchen:

The kitchen has pretty much stayed the same! And I am good with that, Im still loving this space. 

Guest room:

We got a guest bed and used our old bedding for it. Next I need to get some kind of side table and a bedskirt. I think thats all we'll really need in this room for now. What else do you put in a guest bedroom?

Guest Bathroom:

Same and complete!

Laundry Room:

Same, eventually I want to make this space a little cuter, but for now its totally functional and Im just so grateful we have a laundry room!

Empty Bedroom:

Someday a kids bedroom, for now we never even walk into this room.

Master Bathroom:

Our newest edition to our bathroom is shutters! I also bought a cute marble bathroom set to finish this space up.

Master Bedroom:

Saying I love our master bedroom would be an understatement. Its PERFECT. I've always loved the frilly french countryside look and I feel like this white bedding we got is that to a "T." The only things we might get in the future are a full length mirror and a dresser (still love the bunch of different size candles idea).

Backyard:

Last month was all about putting our back yard in. We spent weeks tilling the yard, getting rid of rocks and organizing everything we needed to to get it in. We put in the sprinkles, top soil, and sod all ourselves-- it was a TON of work. Travis also built the most beautiful garden box where we are growing tons of veggies.

Our next steps are to extend our patio several feet so we can fit in the beautiful outdoor dining set we got on major sale at IKEA and to get our fence in!