December was filled with highlights. I finally finished my Master’s program (even though I don’t walk at graduation until March…WOOOOOO!). I reached one of my long-term goals of the year (more on that below). I had some fun experiences with new people (including a holiday DIY day with Lex, featured in the post picture), and the BEST time with my close friends. That being said, I would still count this as one of my least favorite Decembers in memory. Christmas was the absolute worst. I know that it’s not fair to leave the fate of an entire month in the hands of a couple of bad days, but sometimes, that’s how it goes…

Back to the positive! Here are my other reflections for the month of December:

One

I mentioned in my December Bucket List post that I had been working on getting into the 100 Rides Crew at Ascend Cycle for quite some time. At the beginning of 2018, I made it my goal to finally have my name written on the wall and this was the month that I did it! I celebrated the milestone by having a private ride at Ascend Cycle led by my favorite instructor. We rode to my customized playlist and shared a mimosa toast after the ride. My favorite part of the experience was being able to share with family, friends, and some of the Ambitious Fam the exercise activity that helped transform the way that I think about my body. I promise a very personal post about my physical journey is coming soon!

Two

It’s official! I have fulfilled my final graduate course requirements!! The first half of December I put a lot of time into making sure that I finished off the program strong. It was such a relief to be able to relax and not be completely glued to my computer the last week or so. Next stop, graduation!

Three

I am pretty pleased with how Pressure Cooker Thursdays went this month. Only 1 not-so-great recipe! I enjoyed how simple it was to use the kitchen appliance (I bought mine here) and I was amazed at the ease of cleanup. It’s nothing like cleaning a slow cooker, which can be cumbersome. The inner pot has a not stick coating and it has held up well so far! I will be sharing the recipes that I did love soon in a “Tried it, Loved it” post.

Four

The end of December also marked the end of the 3-month challenge that I committed to taking in effort to promote healthy habits. The Last 90 Days really helped me form better habits that I plan to continue into the New Year. I will be giving a more detailed debrief of the challenge on my Instagram Live this Sunday!  

This month I completed 6 out of 8 items on my December Bucket List. I didn’t make it out to Zoolights or to ICE! At the Gaylord. However, I did squeeze in a few holiday activities in the week between the end of my school semester and Christmas.

That’s almost a wrap on 2018. Last year, I wrote this letter to myself as a reflection of the year, and I want to make it a tradition. Stay tuned for this year’s letter!