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Anticipation for the New Year—2017

posted:

12/29/2016

@caroline__potter

MEET

Caroline

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My husband and I are currently adventuring in Spain—loving every single minute, getting to know our new home and neighborhood for the next 3 years—and we couldn’t be more excited!

But as the year comes to a close, I couldn’t be more thankful for you all—thank you for bearing with me as I have been kitchen-less and “homeless” and living out of suitcases since the end of August!

Christmas this year didn’t come wrapped under the tree, but instead came in the form of a new and beautiful house we get to move into in just a few short weeks.

We are very much looking forward to ditching the suitcases for home cooked meals, evenings on our patio and decorating…and our new house has a lemon tree, which I am so excited about!

Spain has already been quite the adventure! We are figuring out how to order slices of prosciutto at the charcuterie counter (yes they have a whole section just for charcuterie—happy, happy me), learning that the meat that looked like steak was defiantly not steak, learning that the Spanish people are literally most friendly of sorts and laugh at us attempting to stumble through their language!

We are so looking forward to jumping into Spanish life and sharing new adventures and cuisines with you all!

Looking back at this year, I am so thankful for how it is ending, because in all honestly 2016 started off very difficult for me, something I haven’t shared much of but hope to share more of in the future to help others with similar struggles.

New Years Eve 2016 actually was spent in the ER in tears because I was struggling with such severe migraines.  Thankfully my husband was home and able to hold my hand through body scans and extreme pain killers, and thankfully nothing more serious was wrong with me!

But honestly, the first few months of the new year were some of the most difficult for me since my diagnosis wth Type 1 Diabetes.  I was in extreme pain from migraines about half of the time and probably also in complete adrenal failure.

I had no passion and lacked any momentum to move forward.  Truthfully, I didn’t want to do much more than sit on the couch and cry most of the days.  Food lacked all flavor to me and thankfully my husband was home to cook, because I had no desire to make anything but eggs.

In March after a lot of rest, Netflix and endless appointments to help my migraines (more detailed post on this coming), I slowly stated to see the light again.

I also expanded my brand to include more lifestyle subjects like Beautycounter, something I can honestly say was the best decision of 2016 for me both personally and professionally! I have absolutely loved still continuing my mission of helping YOU towards joyful, vibrant living and hearing positive responses from SO many of you!

Honestly, if you are interested in healthy living and encouraging others to do so, I highly recommend messaging me about educating others through Beautycounter!

Highlights of 2016

  • educating on safe skincare through being Beautycounter consultant
  • speaking at the Nutritional Therapy Association’s conference in March
  • quick and relaxing trip to Mexico with the hubby
  • trip to California to meet my best friend’s new little baby girl
  • starting a new podcast, Colorful Eats, with my lovely co-host Justine
  • driving through South Dakota for a friends wedding and seeing Mt Rushmore
  • Stephen’s commissioning ceremony
  • mother-daughter trip to Rhode Island and Martha’s Vineyard
  • spending 6 weeks helping my sister and baby nieces
  • experiencing fall in Virginia for the first time in 5 years
  • Thanksgiving with my entire family
  • moving to Spain with my husband and love of my life
  • receiving countless messages from you all and especially my Type 1 friends a little ones

I love approaching a new year with looking back on mistakes I made and lessons I learned!  I firmly believe that we have something new to learn each and every day and as long as we are always working on something new, we are doing life right!

This past year I learned a lot about boundaries, about saying no and not feeling guilty for saying no!  I learned that I have to take care of myself sometimes and that is in no way selfish—because when I take care of myself, I can be a better friend, better wife, better daughter, and better nutritionist.

I learned to set boundaries with my time and schedule—working from home and owning your own business, it is so easy to let life get away from you and just work all the time.  I set office hours and put my computer away at night and focused on being present—I didn’t always succeed, but I noticed this making a huge difference in my business and professional life!  In all honestly I feel like for the first time in my life I had more time on my hands—I followed a pretty strict schedule and learned to put down the computer.

I focused on quality over quantity.

I have SO many exciting things planned for 2017 and can’t wait to jump into this new year—a complete new website and re-brand is coming in a few short weeks as well as a lifestyle and nutrition program, so be sure you are on my newsletter list to not miss a thing!

Anyone that knows me knows I absolutely love a fresh start.  Whatever happened this year or even today, know that a new year brings a fresh start and a new morning brings a fresh start so choose joy, choose to wake up and adventure, choose to live vibrantly!

xo

Caroline

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