A Year in Review – 2022

This is the 9th year in a row that I’ve answered this exact set of questions looking back at the year that is quickly slipping away & looking forward to the new year that is upon us! 9 years in a row – that’s so crazy to think about! It’s really fun to look back now over the past 8 years and read what I was most proud of, what I learned, and what I was most excited for – it’s fun to see the progression of my goals growing and changing.
Shout out to Jamie Delaine for originally inspiring & sharing the outline to this post 9 years ago!

If you’d like to go back and read over what I wrote the previous 7 years I have done this, click here for 2014’s version, click here for 2015’s version, click here for 2016’s version, click here for 2017’s version, click here for 2018’s version, click here for 2019’s version, click here for 2020’s version, and click here for 2021’s version!

And if the ridiculous amount of words in this post intimidate you – I promise I’m not offended by you choosing to skip this one (there are over 4,500+ words!). In the next few weeks, I have a lot more “pretty” posts planned – my favorite wedding & engagement session images from 2022, as well as some Abby Saturday bloopers, plus the ever-popular “behind-the-scenes” look at me while I’m “on the job”! So, stay tuned!

Of course, if you’re into reading words – let’s dive in!

LOOKING BACK

What are you most proud of this year?

What I’m most proud of this year really piggy-backs off of what I was most proud of last year.

So, last year I was most proud of myself for creating a solid morning routine that revolved around getting up and exercising 3-5 days a week. In 2021, I finally found an exercising “method” that I ENJOYED, so I stuck with it (and with the exception of when I was sick with that nasty pandemic bug), I purposefully got up and exercised 50 out of 52 weeks in 2021.

That being said: one of my goals for this year was building on that morning routine and refining it to make it better. And I’m very proud to say: I did it.

My alarm goes off at 6:00am every morning. I get up and go straight up to the 3rd floor to exercise (I rotate between spinning and strength training depending on the day). From there, I move into a time of reading my Bible and prayer. This is an element I knew I was missing from my life, but with two small (energetic) children, I was struggling to figure out how to fit it in. I tried reading immediately upon waking up, but I would usually fall back asleep – so reading after exercising means I’m wide awake. It has become my “quiet time” and I love it. (Although, there are plenty of mornings that it’s not exactly “quiet”.)

I officially just hit 52/52 weeks of consistent exercise this year! I also hit my 1,000 Peloton class just a few weeks ago! Needless to say: this routine works for ME and I truly love it.

On top of refining my morning routine, I also drastically changed up our diets this year.
At the end of last year: I was frustrated. Sure, I had lost some weight (about 15 pounds), but after a whole year of consistent exercise, I was frustrated that I hadn’t lost more. I knew that I was exercising well and checking off that box, so I turned to our diet and overhauled it. In January of 2022, we started eating “Trim Healthy Mama” style. It sounds scary and overwhelming, but it’s super simple and easy. In fact, it’s really not a strict “diet” at all, but more of an eating “lifestyle” (which is why it works). In a nutshell, it’s a low-glycemic index diet – you center every meal/snack around a protein-source, then add in either healthy fats or healthy carbs (one or other, not usually both). So, I still eat bread (sprouted wheat bread), pasta (quinoa based), and rice (brown). I still eat cheese, yogurt, and milk (almond). And I still eat chocolate (dark), peanut butter, and drink coffee (black). I’ve never felt “deprived” of anything for the entire year! Sure, there have been days where I’ve eaten “off-plan”, but this “diet” is so simple, it’s easy to tweak around and make work on a regular basis – and the best part is: if you go “off-plan” for a meal or a day, you simply jump back “on-plan” in 3 hours. No guilt, no shame – easy-peasy.

Between changing up how we eat plus my exercising, I’ve lost over 30 pounds this year.
Derrick has also lost over 30 pounds (and he hasn’t even been trying that hard!)

I feel wonderful and amazing and so excited to see where this lifestyle continues to take us!
I am beyond proud of this accomplishment. I have been trying to “get healthy” for years and have always failed and failed and failed again. I honestly was starting to believe that I could “never” lose weight – until this year. This year, it all clicked. And I am SO proud of myself.

(This isn’t the first time I’ve eaten Trim Healthy – I actually ate this way for the second half of my pregnancy with Leander. It DRASTICALLY changed my pregnancy! But, that’s another store for another day.)

What was the biggest risk you took?

Well – 2022 was the year of the “new business” for me.
And it failed.

Okay, “failed” is a harsh word. It didn’t go as I had planned.

Let’s back up:
At the end of 2021, I was gearing up to officially start a brand new business centered around family home movies. I had a slower year photography-wise ahead of me and I saw that as my green-light to move forward with this new venture. However, if I was going to pursue building a brand new business from the ground up (while still maintaining my photography business and my sanity), I needed help. So, I hired my sister to come babysit my kids one day a week so I could fully dive-in to this building process.

I’ve never had a regular babysitter, so having Ruby come over once a week for a few hours was incredible. I got SO much accomplished (and my kids LOVED having their favorite Auntie all to themselves every week! They would go to the park, go on walks, play on the 3rd floor – it was the best!)

I officially launched Abbey Family Documentaries in January/February of 2021. And, I was so convinced of it’s immediate success (after all, I’d gone through a 6-month “guinea pig” period of creating free films for families and was met with rave reviews from that process) that I went through all the steps of registering my new business, setting up accounts to pay taxes, even getting an LLC. I was official and ready to roll.
I created my website and launched this new business into the world. I created a new Instagram account, started gathering in followers, and did a giveaway. I created an email list (complete with an opt-in freebie) and wrote monthly emails (and sent out discount codes!) – I worked so hard.

There was just one problem: there was no movement forward.
Looking back, I’m not sure if I explained my concept well enough? (It’s a simple concept, but I feel like I tend to over-complicate and over-explain things because I like words – if you can’t figure that out from this 4,500+ word blog post, well duh.)
Everyone that I explained my new business to were instantly in love with it. Everyone agreed that this was an incredible idea. Everyone said that this was what people needed.
But no one was jumping on board.
I knew I wasn’t reaching the right people, but I figured that would just take time. So, I kept pressing forward. I was creating Instagram reels, YouTube videos, writing blog posts, sending out emails – I was working my tail off to push forward.
And still, not a single speck of interest.

I pushed all spring and summer.
Fall arrived and with it a crazy busy wedding and portrait season. So, I put the video business on the back burner. After all, I did have another business to run – one I’ve run successfully for over 10 years. I pushed “pause” on Abbey Family Documentaries.

As my photography season ran it’s course and came to an end, I looked to pick back up with my new business. There was just one problem: by this point, I was tired. With not a single perspective (paid) film in the works, I was discouraged.

Look, I know these things take time. This was a brand new concept to a lot of people and I knew it would take time to marinate and take root and grow. But, I was really hoping that I would see the needle move at least a smidge.
I was conflicted. I had seen 2022 (which turned out to be one of the slowest years in my photography business ever) as the time to push forward and create this new business. Did I get it wrong?

I decided to give it one last PUSH to see if I could get some movement. I put together a solid offer based around videos families would take around the holidays. I articulated the whole thing out as clear as I could and then put it out there to the world. I announced the offer to my email list first, and then I announced it to my social media following.
And then, I waited. And waited. And waited.
And not a single bite came in.
Nothing.

So, with that, I took it as a sign that this is simply not the right time for Abbey Family Documentaries.
I had been working toward this goal for about 18 months. I made a lot of free films. But I failed to bring in a single penny.

I could look at it as a failure and a negative.
I could look at it as a waste of the last 18 months of my life.
I could look at it as a financial loss (it was).
But instead, I choose to look at it as a learning experience.
I did truly learn a lot through the last 18 months – about starting a new business from scratch, about social media, about editing videos – all things I never would have learned otherwise.
So, as much as it was a failure, it was also a learning experience.

I will never stop making my own family films. I am 100% obsessed with recording my own family’s memories in video form (as well as photographs).

It was a big risk that I truly had gigantic dreams of taking off – and it just didn’t happen.
(In 2022 at least. Maybe I’ll give it another shot down the road. Maybe not. Who knows?)

What did you learn this year?

This probably isn’t going to make much sense, but I’m going to try to reason this out.
I learned that I need help and can’t do this life/mom/entrepreneur-thing alone. And that asking for help is okay (even though I’m still the worst at it – why is it so hard to ask for help?)
At the same time, I learned that I’m capable of much more than I give myself credit for. I’m much more efficient than I realize, I work harder/faster than I believe to be possible – and when up against a deadline, I never fail.

What do you wish you had made more time for?

One of my goals for the year was to make my morning routine better by adding a devotional time AND a time to do “morning pages” (that’s just a way of journaling as introduced in the book “The Artist’s Way“). While I successfully accomplished the first (and I’m so proud of that), I didn’t even attempt the second. And I regret that.

I (obviously) love words. I (obviously) love writing. But, it’s been one of those things that’s just fallen off the bandwagon once I had kids. I used to journal/do morning pages/brain dump every single day – for years. And looking back, I can see the benefits from getting what’s in my head out onto paper. And looking at my life currently, I can see where I am definitely missing that practice. So, I really wish I had made time and found the gumption to start that practice back up again in 2022. (Maybe I can only make one major change to my morning routine ever year: 2021 was the year of exercise, 2022 was the year of Bible reading, which means 2023 is the year of journaling!) It’s definitely at the top of my list of goals for 2023!

What are 3 highlights (business or personal) of your year?

1. We went to Walt Disney World!! I still can hardly believe that the trip was real. We took 10 days and drove down to Florida – we visited Sea World Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Magic Kingdom (and Carowinds on the way home). The 14+ hour day we spent at Magic Kingdom was the best day ever. We had SO much fun and made so many beautiful, wonderful memories – it literally feels like a dream.
   Derrick and I also took a “solo trip” in February – it was the first time we’d ever left both Braelynn and Leander home and went on an overnight trip without them! (Before that, we’d only left Braelynn overnight one time.) We hopping on a plane and flew down to Orlando to visit Universal Studios. We knew our kids – who are FANTASTIC at navigating amusement parks – would NOT enjoy Universal. There are just too many dark/scary rides – but we’d been dying to ride VelociCoaster, so we jetted down for a whirlwind trip alone! It was the fastest, most exhausting trip we’ve ever taken, but it was so much fun (we missed our children horribly.)
   We also took a 3rd “major” trip in 2022 – we visited Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri! Silver Dollar City is actually about the same distance away as Orlando – just in a completely different direction. We rented a big SUV and took my Mom and sister, Ruby, along with us on that trip! Again, it was so much fun and we made so many beautiful memories.
   I am beyond thankful for all of the traveling we are able to do in 2022! We traveled more than ever and it’s all thanks to Derrick’s work with XscreamThrills! His channel and social media accounts paid for (almost all) of our travels (the only way we would ever be able to travel the way we do!) Of course, running a roller coaster brand is a catch-22 in itself: you make money by posting new content, but you have to travel to create that new content. I could think of worse arrangements.
2. I officially grew my YouTube channel to 100 subscribers in 2022! I know that’s not a lot, but it was a big milestone for me (and the goal I had set)! For context: I had 42 subs last year at this time, so I more than doubled my count! Derrick’s been pushing me to really work in tweaking my YouTube channel to make it more “discoverable” and “followable” – up until this year, I haven’t really pushed my channel. It’s simply been a place where I store and easily access the films I make for our own family. It’s an avenue I’d love to explore more of and grow though, so while it’s a highlight of 2022 – it’s a goal for 2023 as well!
3. We put a brand new, blue, METAL roof on our house, and we sided our house as well!! (Okay, well “we” didn’t do it, but we paid to have it done). A new roof and siding have been on our “house-to-do” list since we moved in (our house has always been this orange/red/yellow color – not the prettiest to look at). When we renovated our 2nd floor (7 years ago) and put new windows in, some of the siding around the windows was damaged. We shrugged it off because “we’re going to side the house someday soon anyways.” Well, fast forward SEVEN years and we finally did it! Our house has gone from being the scariest house on the street, to the prettiest! We still hardly recognize our house when we pull up – it’s crazy the huge transformation that a new roof and siding provided! We LOVE it and are 100% obsessed. It was the biggest renovation project we’ve undertaken on our house and it’s provided the biggest punch.
   Speaking of house-stuff, before we sided the house, we closed in our front porch to create a mud-room (love that). We now have an official “entry-way” and it’s fantastic. We also replaced all of the windows on our first floor (so, with the exception of one set of windows – all of the windows in our house have been updated and are new!) So, we accomplished quite a lot with our house this year!
4. Oh, and how could I forget? We paid off all of Derrick’s student loans this year! With the exception of our house, we are now completely debt free! I don’t like to shout that from the rooftops (even though I feel like it) because it feels a bit too much “Look at us! Look at us!” But, it is a GIGANTIC milestone we’ve finally reached and we could not be happier to be rid of those stupid things (we’ve been paying on those loans since we got married – so it took us about 12 years to pay them all off). Dear mortgage payment: we’re coming for you next!
   (I would be remiss if I did not mention that I am so thankful for a wise husband who has not only dedicated himself to learning about money but implemented so many careful and prudent actions in regards to our finances over the years. Again, I hate to say it because it feels like we’re “tooting our own horn”, but we’ve never carried credit card debt, and we’ve slowly but steadily chipped away at our car loans and student loans. Sure, we’ve made some poor money decisions along the way, but we’ve also made some really great decisions – which has led us to where we are today! I am SO thankful for Derrick’s leadership in this area of our marriage!)

LOOKING FORWARD

What “word” do you want to define 2023?

Hospitality.

Something both Derrick and I have been talking about A LOT recently is opening up our home & inviting people in. We’ve been HORRIBLE at doing this over the last few years (I blame it on having small children and being in “survival mode”.) We’ve never been super good at inviting people into our home (on a regular basis) anyways – so add in kids and it just makes it harder. We did do a little bit better at having friends over for dinner when we lived in NEPA, but we’ve been horrible ever since living in SWPA.

But, that all ends in 2023! We’ve been talking about it a lot (and Derrick is really spear-heading this, which is good, because at heart, I’m an introvert, so I have no problem staying home and never inviting anyone over ever). But, we have a whole list of people we want to invite over and get a good “rotation” of people coming into our home. We need it. And we’re excited to see what happens.

What are 3 big goals (business or personal) for 2023?

1. I already mentioned this, but I really want/need to get back into journaling/doing morning pages. And I need to remove the “stigmatism” that if I don’t write at least 3+ pages, that it doesn’t count. There will be days when I am able to write more, but there will be days when I write less – and that’s okay. My insanely strong perfection streak is part of what keeps me from actually sitting down to write my thoughts out every day – and that just needs to go away.
2. I created Derrick’s website a few weeks ago and now I need to do something with it.
   I need to start blogging for him on a regular basis (and when I say “blogging”, I simply mean pushing his YouTube content over to his blog so Google starts to recognize his SEO).
   I also need to figure out how to pitch to brands for him to book some collaborations.
   Last year at this time, Derrick had 13.1k followers on Instagram and today he has over 161k (WHAT?!) He has the following, the solid brand, a website/media kit – it’s time to put all of that to good use and let it make us some money. I’m just super clueless as to where to start. I’ve asked for advice, and all the answers I’ve gotten have been super vague. I’m entering uncharted waters and it’s slightly terrifying.
   I also need to figure out: where do I fit into Derrick’s brand, XscreamThrills? Am I just his PR person? His behind-the-scenes person? His social media person? Or is there more?
   We started “ERT with Derrick and Kara” a few weeks ago (a “show” on his YouTube channel) and we’ve really enjoyed that! It’s been a fun project for us to work on together (and quite the learning experience – don’t even ask me how many “shows” we’ve recorded that have never seen the light of day due to technical issues – yikes).
   Anyways – Derrick has pitched me a few ideas over the last few weeks and I need to figure out what to pursue, how to pursue it, and how to make it fit into my schedule. Part of me feels like Derrick and XscreamThrills is on the precipice of something really amazing and big, but I just feel clueless as to how to push it over the edge so that it can soar.
3. I would really love to continue to grow my own YouTube channel. Video is something I’m very passionate about and I should buckle down and actually learn how to run a YouTube channel properly. Like I said, up to this point, I’ve really been super lax in my YouTube stuff – but I’d like to learn more to figure out how to grow.

What do you want to stop doing in 2023?

Okay, but seriously, I always dread this question because it’s so challenging to answer (because it’s backwards, you know?)

So, I did a TERRIBLE job at “resting” in 2022.
Let me rephrase that: I always do a terrible job at “resting”.
I tend to run myself into the ground, then dig a few feet deeper, before I finally collapse from exhaustion and die.

I guess you could call it my “fatal flaw” – I have this (long) running list of things I need to do, and if that list isn’t empty (newsflash: it never is), I don’t feel like I’m “allowed” to not be doing it. I’m especially driven and have an addiction to just sitting down and getting things done. The problem with that is I tend to ignore my own mental and physical health in the process, which leaves me stressed, burned out, and on-edge.

Last week, a few days before Christmas, I saw it coming – my breaking point. I was wrapping gifts, organizing things, cleaning up before Christmas, baking cookies, making sure all of the “Christmas things” were getting done, prepping my own business (and Derrick’s) to run on “auto-pilot” over the next few weeks – and I was going insane. I realized if I didn’t stop immediately and take some down-time, I was going to lose my mind. So, as difficult as it was, I took an evening “off”. I soaked in a bath, I read a book, I watched some TV with Derrick – and it was exactly what I needed to get up the next day and keep running.

So, with that experience (“light-bulb-moment”) behind me, I need to stop running myself ragged in 2023. I need to schedule in breaks and times to rest. I haven’t precisely figured out what that looks like yet, but I’m working on it.

What things excite you about the upcoming year?

Of course, as usual, we have some exciting trips in the works for 2023.
Nothing is set in stone yet (we’re way too spontaneous for that), but we have plans to hopefully visit the major California amusement parks (don’t tell our kids, but Universal Hollywood and Nintendo Land is on that list). We plan to get our passports so that we can visit Canada’s Wonderland (which truly isn’t that far away from us). And, we’re planning a trip down to Dollywood. Like I said: nothing set in stone yet, there are a few moving pieces (outside of our control) that are in play that will determine when/how we make all of that happen – but it’s all exciting none-the-less!!

Further, Abbey Family Documentaries might have “failed” in 2022, but that doesn’t mean I’m giving up as an entrepreneur! I will never give up pursuing new ideas and ventures! I plan to continue working for XscreamThrills and helping Derrick push that forward, plus Derrick just tossed a few new ideas my way centered around something else entirely! Who knows what might be right around the corner? (I’m really hoping those are “famous last words” for 2023!)

What do you want to learn in 2023?

I know this is so cliche and vague, but I just want to be better in 2023. I feel like, I know what I need to do – to be healthy, to be happy, to be sane, to be successful – and I just need to do those things that I know .. better. It seems so simple, and yet it’s so very hard.
But truly, when you boil it all down to as simple as possible: at the end of 2023, I want to look back at the year and say: “I did better than in 2022. I was healthier, happier, less anxious, and more successful. Maybe not a million times better, but just better.”
It’s simple, yet it’s so hard. But that’s what makes the coming year exciting.

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So, there you have it! If you’re interested in playing along and looking back over 2022 & looking forward to 2023 along with me – here is the list of questions to copy & paste! If you do, would you tag me in your post either on Instagram or on Facebook? I’d love to read up on your year in review & your goals for 2021! You can even grab my graphic to use! Here’s the link to download it!

LOOKING BACK
What are you most proud of this year?
What was the biggest risk you took?
What did you learn this year?
What do you wish you had made more time for?
What are 3 highlights (business or personal) of your year?

LOOKING FORWARD
What “word” do you want to define 2023?
What are 3 big goals (business or personal) for 2023?
What do you want to stop doing in 2023?
What things excite you about the upcoming year?
What do you want to learn in 2023?