Reflecting on 2015

2015 was an awesome year for my family. We accomplished so many things as a family together and individually. As the year ended, we all tend to reflect on those precious moments we’ve had either by ourselves or with family, friends and even strangers.

To me, 2015 was a long personal journey; much of the focus was on self-improvement and self-development. As many people know, I have been a stay at home mom for 7 years and by far it has been the best decision I have ever took as a mother. But time has passed by so quick and my kids are growing up and they are starting to love going to school more than staying home with me. Well… it’s time to let go of them …. just a little bit:) I finally found some free time and made 2015 pretty much about ME and my goals 🙂

But before I even mentioned those personal “aha!” moments and those self-accomplishments; I wanted to give a special shout out to my dear husband, Paul. I couldn’t have done all the things I have accomplished without his support. He was there cheering me on every step of the way. Thank you, Babe, I promise 2016 will be another awesome year… even better than the last.

As I mentioned, 2015 has been an amazing year for my family. Most of the highlights were from our travels since my little family live to travel and explore. I wanted to say thank you to those people whom we made friends with along the road and to everyone who made our year so much fun.

• The first quarter, we visited my husband’s family in Portugal. It was such a joy to see my kids spent time with their Portuguese family. This was the first time they met their immediate and extended family in Madeira, Portugal. By the way, this is a must visit Island in Europe, add it in your bucket list if you haven’t already. Beautiful Island of Madeira

• We visited Berlin in March, it has been a dream to see the Berlin Wall (and what remains of it a little more than 25 years after it was torn down) and it was extra special since we shared the moment with the kids. Check out my blog about Berlin with kids

  

• Our first time to do a road trip in Europe and we had an amazing time. From Dusseldorf, we drove to Brussels, Luxembourg,  Strasbourg and ended the trip in Frankfurt. (Subscribe to my blog so you can be notified of my future blogs on those cities I haven’t yet gotten around to)

• Every year we like to make sure to fit in a beach getaway or two. So, in 2015 we went to South Padre Island, TX and Hilton Head, SC. Please check out my blog about our trip to Atlanta, Savannah and Hilton Head.  We also did few road trips with friends – in Oklahoma and Arkansas.

  

• A special year for me and hubby because it was our 10th year wedding anniversary. We celebrated at home on the day of our anniversary and we went on a Disney Cruise few days after.

  

As I said, 2015 was about ME. In the beginning of 2015, I decided to return to the blogging world. I started blogging in 2008 with blog spot but never really got the chance to continually add to my content. This time, I decided to blog about our family travels. I was really motivated and launched my site in March 2015, just before we headed over to Europe. I was so excited just thinking about what I was going to blog about. I am also so grateful for all the support the blogging community gave to me and to all my followers and readers out there. It truly was an amazing year with y’all. Thank you.

In line with my travel blog, my husband Paul got a brilliant idea. Since, we travel a lot and most people actually asked me about travel deals and travel ideas, “why not start a travel agency, he asked?” YES! I was immediately sold on the idea so I enrolled with Travel Leaders of Tomorrow program; finished it in 6 months; and pass my Travel Proficiency Exam with flying colors (99%… I thought I should brag a little… HA!). I started my own home-based travel agency by July with the help of Travel Leaders of Tomorrow and my host agency, Nexion. I finally found my calling and it’s true, “If you find something you love to do, you will never work a day in your life”.

You see?!? I got featured in Travel Weekly, From blogging…an opportunity arises Not bad to kick off the year right.

In as much as I love to help people with their travel needs, I found another opportunity to help families manage their finances (it does cost to travel even ‘on the cheap’ so a perfect balance indeed). I wanted to give big thanks to my good friend, Jie Abarca, who showed me this opportunity of a lifetime. She introduced me to World Financial Group and let me dream again… not just to dream but showed me how to achieve those dreams. I will forever be thankful to Jie, James Schwartz, and their team… they welcomed and embraced me as the way I am. Thank you. YES, “No families left behind”.

This year, I am turning 40 and I am going to make it a meaningful year – to help families get their finances on track and help them plan their exploration of the world in whichever way suits their fancy. As for myself and my family, we will make some little changes at home (like adopting healthier eating lifestyle) as we continue to travel the world and inspire families to travel more. This year is a better year with God’s grace.

Thank you all for reading.

xoxo