We’ve been living in a constant state of battle with our personal lives and work lives. There seems to be somewhat of a balance, but maybe I’m saying “somewhat of a balance” because we just get it done. Whatever the task – be it at work or home – we just get it done. Looking back at 2016 so far, I’ve learned that accomplishments don’t necessarily represent balance.

I will be turning thirty years old this November. Most of us by now have learned that life generally has its own path laid out, regardless of what plans we’ve made. We’re at the age now where many of our friends have children or are currently expecting their first bundles of joy. Sure, S and I have talked about having children – how many, names, what kind of parents we think we’d be… all of it. We truly appreciate everyone’s excitement at the prospect of S and I becoming dads, but that will not be happening for a long while (lol).

First of all, I’m married to a CPA. Do you really think we’re making any major moves before making sure our pennies are in order? We own our loft condo in Indianapolis and plan on upgrading the hell out of it before having a home built; hopefully in Bloomington. We were forced to upgrade the majority of the whole downstairs last fall when we discovered an internal leak. THAT was not fun, but we survived. Kids will be lovely down the road, but for now we’re good with our one-year-old pup, Reynold.

Both of our careers are at explosive levels right now. By explosive, I mean we’re both making major moves and are both being looked at for possible manager roles at our respective workplaces. We were both just promoted a handful of months ago, so work for both of us has been a whirlwind of sorts. “New levels, new devils.” I heard that bit of wisdom on a podcast I listen to called The Friend Zone. It’s so true. With any type of growth comes new challenges, especially in the work world. S has been going through this all while working on his Masters of Accounting degree. Thankfully, he’s just started his last couple courses and will be done in December. He pretty much went full-time school and full-time work this summer so he could finish early. What a beast, that hussssband of mine.

Success at work, with a heavy dash of continued education, has lead to a serious lack of us time and time spent on our personal projects. I laid out a plan to write more regularly months ago and develop the blog more, and it’s been a struggle to get any of that work done. I try to write for the blog and for my book whenever I can, but most days we’re too tired to do anything but Netflix and chill with the dog. We know that in order to be happy we have to keep things like a personal projects on track to have some fun. We both actually don’t mind our jobs so much, but we’re fighting for a balance – that happy medium of success in all areas of life, all while managing to relax on regular basis and do what we want. We’ll get there one day, but for now, we realize we are entering the next phase of our professional lives and that there is still a light at the end of our tunnel.

You can only plan so much in life and that’s a fact we both know to be true. Security isn’t so much a worry as it is a responsibility. If we’re going to do most of what we want, and in a timely manner, financial responsibility is a major key. Before we bring children – and my future French bulldog – into the picture, we’d like to have accomplished some personal goals; maybe travel the world a couple times. I’ve said a number of times now “this is the year I figure out how to work for myself.” Keeping this blog, pitching to local publications, and working on a book is all part of that plan. S has his own plans and doesn’t plan on letting those slip away by any means.

There’s so much we’d like to accomplish and in realistic time. Balance is a requirement if we’re going to maintain our sanity while growing into a couple power queens and planning for a fun, full life. We love the one-step-at-a-time approach. Right now our jobs are the main focus, only until things calm down. Once S is done with his studies, he’ll be able to re-center his zen and work a little less. Without losing site of our hopes and wishes, we’ll figure out the balance and continue to move forward. One day at a time.

Oh? The kids question? Before we’re 40. There ya go 😉