The 2023 Rewind - The Banner Year.
January
To kick off the year, I had a photoshoot where I met other entrepreneurs in Nova Scotia. It was a great time and awesome to see my friend excel in her business. Also, In January I started trying to host virtual coworking and networking. It’s fun to be able to experiment in my business.
On top of this, I ended up being sick for a month because of the cold medication shortage that Canada experienced.
February
In February, we had the 12 days of patience testing. Managing the home alone for a couple weeks would prove to be challenging. Car lights broke, cat pretended to be sick and dying, pipes froze, AND my favourite social media manager quit.
Then I got bored and flipped the orientation of our living room so that was fun(ny). It was a true test to patience and being alone with no support. But I did it.
March
For my birthday month, I decided to get a hotel in downtown Halifax and spend the weekend wandering around the city and going for drinks. It was really fun to experience the city in that way - we didn’t get that experience when we first moved here so it was great to treat ourselves to that. Shortly after my birthday, I had my second heart surgery which was successful.
The other cool thing that happened was a film crew came and did an interview on how I use tools, payroll, and how my business runs with different softwares.
April
I kicked off April with what would surely lead to the most hectic year of my life but also incredible year. I got asked to be an Ambassador with Xero. I signed my contract and hopped on a plane to Xero HQ in Toronto for three days of cool meetings and fire hose of info - it was great to see some of my fav people and get to spend time in Toronto (my first visit as an adult).
May
In May, suddenly business picked up again and it was all I could do to keep my head above water. On top of this, we made the decision to switch our mortgage payments to weekly so that we can start getting this thing paid off before our renewal coming up in 2024. Yikes, is all I’ll say about that.
May also brought some bigger, deeper, more complex conversations and friendships. In some ways, I’m glad for it. In some ways, I could have gone without the hard, tear-filled days.
June
In June, we headed to Fernie for 10 days with my family. It was filled with games, coffee shop hang outs, and ice cream runs. We also celebrated finishing training, and that kind of thing. This would be the last of the calm before the storm.
I started therapy again - I felt lost and after April and May I needed someone to talk to. We came up with coping strategies and my head felt a lot better.
July
In July, the heatwave started. It was kind of fun because I started spending my days in the basement getting the house painted. I had an allergy attack, diabetic tests, and a doctor being absolutely infuriating. I also learned how to better cope with congestion in my ENT and that was a life saver.
And for once, nothing broke while M was away.
August
Oh. August.
Firstly - we celebrated our five year wedding anniversary. That was fun - M took me for truffle fries for breakfast, we walked around, and we had a cute dinner downtown. We also went exploring for lighthouses and spent six hours driving around looking for them. That was a fun weekend.
And then August quickly turned into….
Turmoil. Heartache. Tears. Frustration. Turn my phone off. Kind of month.
We found water damage that was hidden by a previous owner. The next night someone tried to break into our garage. And other nonsense that I can’t really discuss online.
The major part of the Reno would last until mid-September but the hardest part was in August. The damage kept going, we had to find where it ended and then repair it all. All by ourselves. Ooooof. But we did it and it’s good.
Now, these things happen and ultimately we learn and grow and develop strategies to make sure that we protect ourselves. I’m thankful for a partner who does life with me.
September
In September, I start my insane four weeks of travel.
I was in Toronto twice and then ended up in Calgary. My step-grandpa passed away this year and we celebrated his incredible legacy at the end of the month.
Between my trips to Toronto, we had family visits and one WILD flight home (a near go around due to children literally jumping on the seats).
Both of my trips to Toronto saw me on two stages talking to accountants and bookkeepers about how I use Xero and why I use Xero. The other talk was on change and how I manage change with clients or employees. It reminded me that some people want checklists and others want experiences. Interesting.
Also, experienced my first in person hurricane which kind of turned into a tropical storm and nothing really happened other than losing a small tree that the hurricane last year planted in our garden.
Oh. And. I had my fiscal year end and had my biggest year financially yet. I’m on track to double it next year.
October
I continued my journey to the west coast by staying with my parents for two weeks. I enjoyed a great thanksgiving at home and enjoyed seeing my niblings. I jumped into my role as ambassador again and helped out in Calgary with the mini-conference.
Then I headed out to Vancouver and had an incredible time. This would wrap up my conferences and then I headed to Victoria for a two day on-site with a client. During these two days I fought stress and some kind of sickness.
Going ‘home’ to Victoria was interesting. I didn’t really have time for much of anything other than business meetings, but I could tell that it’s changed. A lot of the downtown core seems to be boarded up now and there’s just a shift in the culture. Not good. Not bad. Just a shift.
Then then finally went back home to Halifax where I would get sick anyway. But it didn’t last long and I was back on my feet. We hosted a halloween party and I finally had time to sync up with my therapist. Wahoo!
November
As the year started winding up, I only seemed to pick up steam. Funny how that works. I headed back to Toronto for 18 hours and it was good for the soul. Then I hopped up to Fredericton for 12 hours (but about 18 hours with travel) and had a delicious dinner.
Finally, my sister visited and brought her boyfriend. This was a first for us but it was a welcomed experience and it was fun to get to know her person for a week. Plus, it’s always a good time trying to bake with her and also navigate all our food allergies together.
Bless M for putting up with cooking for an allergy list a mile long.
Oh, and my employee quit and gave me two days notice.
December
I’m writing this as we sit on a train to Montreal from Ottawa. From Montreal we will head on a train to Halifax.
December brought 26 hours a week of meetings, hiring two new employees, and then taking a week off to go to Ottawa to spend time with my in-laws. It would turn into one of my favourite christmases in recent memory. Turns out I’m getting pretty okay with French and could keep up with 30-50% of the conversations and the rest would either be understood through context or translated for me.
We met up with some friends that we haven’t seen in a long time and met their kid. We met a new cousin. And also just felt like a breath of fresh air being home for the holidays.
I’m not sure what 2024 will hold for me, but through all the work I’ve done this year (both professionally and personally) I bet it will be another amazing year.
Here’s my TL;DR of 2023
Solo home life was a test of my patience but we got through it.
Heart surgery in March
New consulting job and four trips to Toronto
More travel
Learning new things and learning new ways to communicate
Meeting new people
And spending time with our family