What. A. Year. Somehow, many things have changed and yet nothing has been happening. Scrolling through our photos is the most obvious way to see what a strange time it has been. Pre-Covid: photos of amazing trips, fun times with friends, and numerous dishes from dining out. Post-Covid: photos of us with horribly grown out hair-mostly taken from the couch, experimental dishes made with love, and our new puppy Finley. We’ve gone through ebbs and flows like most people. Getting extremely fit, giving up alcohol, full of motivation to take on new hobbies. Getting less than extremely fit, giving up on our macros, unmotivated to put jeans on because who cares. The phase we’re in now is a fairly healthy one. We can see light at the end of the tunnel, some sunshine lifts our spirits as well. We’re looking toward the future when all of this is behind us. We have a lot to be thankful for at the moment and just as much to be excited about.

There’s one BIG thing (that’s getting bigger every day) keeping us busy and on our toes lately. A few months ago, we added a fun-loving fur baby to the family: Finley. Maybe we’re biased but she’s incredibly intelligent and is the sweetest girl around. She’s an example of a positive thing to come from being on lockdown. We would’ve never considered getting a puppy before with how much we love to travel. But being at home with plenty of time to focus on training one gave us a window. By the time we are able to travel, she will be *mostly fully trained and be able to enjoy many trips with us. She has given us extra laughter, new knowledge, stress relief (but also the cause of some stress let’s be real), and the motivation to simply go outside and walk with no agenda. All at a time when we need those things the most.

Another big change is Andrew took a new role at work and we will be moving to the Netherlands this fall! We don’t know which city we will be in just yet. Living in Vienna has been an interesting chapter but when we think of this relocation it makes us excited. As if we are washing away the lingering Covid vibes and starting fresh. Andrew is also really looking forward to the move from a career standpoint so we are going into it very positively! He has been (and will continue) working from home. It took a moment to adjust but after a few additions to the apartment it’s one more nice thing to come from lockdown. Sure there’s cons, but there’s also plenty of benefits of the work from home life. As for me, I’ve maintained clients in personal training and am excited to get back to my group training at the gym. This has been the biggest challenge, particularly during the winter months.

It’s crazy to think that within 2 years we will have lived in 3 different countries. Not to mention the moving process is nothing like moving from state to state in the US. There’s always so much that goes into it… visas, registrations, driver’s license exchange, new bank, new phone, various rules to learn for each country, all in a foreign language. Thankfully we have help from Andrew’s company with the bigger items. We’re feeling fortunate to have a new opportunity to learn, grow, and explore. We hope everyone is staying healthy and sane during these times. There’s ALWAYS a reason to be happy, some days it might be small but it’s there. What are you most excited about when Covid is past?