Where Have We Been?!

2015 to 2019 - Where have we been? Let's catch up!

Annetta | 2014 was a year of growth creatively and in my friendship with Stephanie. We talked through 365 of journaling and it was no easy feat. Looking back we see how amazing the project was and all that it cultivated, but we both knew that another year of 365 was just not something we could do. That's where we decided to do the 52-week project but had no idea it would be cut short. You see Stephanie had a surprise pregnancy that year and my husband and I decided we were going to travel to America for a whole year.  None of it was planned, but all of it contributed to our halt in A Year To Inspire. We had to put our energy in a completely different direction and any additions would have caused a lot of stress for us both. What's interesting to me is that we both had something major in our lives. To my sadness, I had to leave Stephanie during her pregnancy and couldn't be there as a true friend should. She experiences some hardships on her own while I too experienced loneliness on the road without a true friend like Stephanie. That year she had a beautiful baby and I had gained the beauty of what America had to offer. Why continue almost 4 years later? Well, we never wanted to stop in the first place, but that's where life took us. Also, I moved to Slovakia after our year of travelling was up and Stephanie moved to California this past year. Our move to Europe was unexpected for everyone including ourselves, but we felt like that's where our family needed to make a home. None of it was a right time to pick up the project we both loved so much until now. With Stephanie settled in California and me finally settled in Slovakia we have the perfect season to continue in our pursuit for creativity. What is so beautiful about this project is how it connects two friends in a way that is truly meaningful, in a way we can look back on and marvel. This year Stephanie and I went different directions in our projects, but we will share more in detail later. For now, we are happy to give the backstory of what happened to our beloved project.

Stephanie | 2014 left me exhausted. We took on a huge project and saw it to the end. Annetta and I were both proud that we were able to do A Year to Inspire for the full 365 days, we weren't ready to let it go, we wanted to continue being creative, but on a less demanding schedule. So we figured a weekly prompt would be perfect. Little did we know what 2015 would look like for either of us. Looking back now, I am surprised we almost made it 1/2 way through the year before we both just fizzled out, we were both done! I was in my first year of homeschooling my oldest. She has started Kindergarten in the fall and we were navigating a whole new chapter in our lives, all with my 2nd child in her terrible twos! January 2015 rolls around and I find myself expecting baby number 3. This was very unexpected and I had a hard time coming to terms with the idea of having another child - I wasn't ready. Things intensified when they discovered a cyst on my ovary that was growing rapidly. I was monitored carefully and saw specialists and prepared for the idea that it was cancerous. In the middle of all that chaos, my best friend was packing up and leaving me to travel around the US. And then the ultimate blow, she was moving out of the country!! It was a very lonely time. Luckily my baby was delivered without issue, the 6-pound cyst was not cancerous. Life had been pretty quiet for us after that until November 2017 when my hubby was offered a job in California. After a lot of uncertainty, we made the official move from Seattle in May of this year. We bought a house on 5 acres and plan to put in a flower and veggie garden along with a small orchard. During our absence, Annetta and I have continued to talk about resuming A Year to Inspire, and now we both feel settled enough to pick this up again. We are excited for this next phase, we hope you are too!