…I’m overwhelmed with self reflection.
At first, I thought to myself, “Oh my God, I barely survived this year. I just scraped by.”
I saw a meme on Facebook that said something along the lines of, “now is the time of year when everyone recaps their amazing year. If all you did was survive, that’s worth celebrating, too.” I totally agree, and I felt that someone had written that post just for me: the broken, uncomfortable, sad, and anxious woman that I have become over the past couple years.
That thought was interrupted by a video montage of posts from 2019, reminding me that we did a lot of traveling, too- Colorado, then Florida, then Colorado again, then California, then Colorado AGAIN, twice!
Traveling with Teddy is fun but crazy, especially when I’m traveling by myself.
Maybe I did more than just survive?
We made it through Teddy’s FPIES diagnosis, found him some specialists, and carefully discovered what food he could eat.
I resigned from my city council position and haven’t regretted it.
I sang the National Anthem at the D3 NCAA Hockey Championship and our family cheered the Pointers on to victory.
At this time last year, I was the heaviest I’ve ever been, and my grief felt awfully heavy, too. I lost 40 pounds this year, and through therapy and EMDR, I have more good days than bad. I’m so thankful that I’ve been making a return to running. I ran several 5K and 5 mile races, and even a half marathon- my first real postpartum distance race!
I was able to relaunch my business, heidi oberstadt media, and took on new clients and some fun new projects.
We took roses to the tenants in NaNa’s (Norma’s) building to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
I threw a beautiful first birthday party for Teddy and spent the day celebrating him. I’m so thankful that he’s here and that he’s mine.
Teddy started daycare, which was a big change for all of us, and I went back to work at the University of Wisconsin: Stevens Point, where my students called me “Professor Oberstadt” for the first time. It’s still kind of weird.
We moved into our new home, our Bukolt Estate, which is the first two story home I’ve lived in, and is just perfect for Teddy and Abbie to run around.
The interior is almost finished and I often can’t believe that this beautiful home is mine. Brian has done an incredible job.
In general, I feel like I’m just now starting to pick up the pieces. After my mom died, and worsening after Teddy’s arrival, I felt so overwhelmed by even the simplest tasks. Emails and text messages went unanswered for weeks. I forgot EVERYTHING, and I stayed in this limbo, struggling to get out, for a long time. In many ways, I am just now cleaning up the mental, physical, and emotional disaster that I was living in. It feels really good to start getting caught up on everything, and I’m so thankful that my friends/family/clients are so incredibly understanding and supportive of me on this journey.
I still have really bad days, but they are coming less and less frequently. I still cry Teddy to sleep sometimes as I rock him in my mom’s rocking chair.
I have so many hopes for 2020- if I can just keep going, and keep improving, then I’ll be in a really good place at the end of the year once again.
There is so much to be proud of and so much to be thankful for. I’m looking forward to sharing more of it with you. ❤️
I burned off all that gummy candy with a super windy and hilly nine miles with Lydia on the Wau-king trail. 
We refueled with beer at Chain Bar, and I headed home to pack for a crazy week.
I had such a busy day- when Brian got home, we headed up to Wausau for a ballroom dance lesson with our first dance teachers, Missy and Jeff! We hadn’t seen them since they taught us to dance before our wedding. Eight years was too long! Of course, I was too excited to see them and I forgot to take a picture, but after our lesson, we headed over to the election headquarters for our alderman Mike Wiza, and we were present when they called the vote, making Mike our new Stevens Point mayor! Congratulations, Mike. 🙂
Brian and I spent the week in the Valley, while he was at a training for work. It was pretty cool for me- since most of my work is portable, I can work from anywhere. I was able to catch up on some photo work, make all the games for Amy’s upcoming bridal shower, and shoot a gorgeous pastry (with the cutest edible orchid!) from 
On our last morning at the hotel, we went out for breakfast at this fabulous cafe- Molly’s. They had sweet potato hash browns! Made. My. Day. I loved the treadmill at the hotel, so I headed back to our room, changed, and logged a few miles in the hotel gym. After a quick shower, we packed up and headed down to Chicago to celebrate my great aunt Eileen’s 75th anniversary of being an active member of the ancient order of Hibernians.
It was a beautiful party where I got to see a lot of my family, including my brother and his family. Happy National Sibling Day!
We caught up with everyone and danced until we dropped! It’s fun to visit my Hoffman side, because I’m the short one among those cousins, and I’m 5’8″! 🙂
I think she was upset that she wasn’t invited to the party. She wouldn’t smile for me! 🙂 We left very early on Saturday morning to head up to Wausau for Amy’s bridal shower! My car celebrated a little palindrome milestone of her own somewhere in northern Illinois…
We stopped at home for a whirlwind half hour- showered, changed, styled my hair, brewed some iced tea, boxed up the shortbreads, made simple syrup, then packed it all up in a cooler and took it to the Hirn home for Amy’s bridal shower. Becky, Brooke, and I planned this adorable tea-themed shower, and it turned out beautifully! 
Congratulations, best friend! I’m so happy for you and thrilled to be your matron of honor. ❤️ 
This is Stef. She’s an absolutely stunning woman (seriously, those eyes!), with a sweet personality and a powerful creative streak. I met her on dance team back in my high school days, and it was really fun to reconnect with her over a couple shared brides as clients. The salon is beautiful, and filled with fabulous products! 
Thanks for bringing me in, Kasha staff! It was a pleasure working with you all! 
I had a busy week, but was able to steal away for a Skype coffee date with my first sole sister, Nancy. 
Nancy moved to warmer climes last year, so we’ve only been able to keep up our dates virtually. 🙂 I hope to get out to the Vegas area to visit her soon!
Of course, I ate them as soon as I was done, and I washed it down with my newest favorite food- bug macaroni and cheese!! 
As a fly angler, I have a special appreciation for all things buggy. 🙂
…and I finished off the work week with a beautifully rich French Napoleon from Andersonville’s 
I spent Saturday at 
I hurried home on Saturday night, and packed for Sunday… the highlight of my weekend was a trip to Chicago with this little love… 
…my niece, Ember! ❤ My sister, Erin, and I had a chance to catch up, and I spent a little time down in Chicago, including lunch with my cousin, Max. 
A whirlwind week, filled with my favorite things. With spring around the corner, spirits are high!
The ceremony was at St. Therese, where my Grampie built the altar. It was a sweet and short ceremony.
I’m lucky. ❤
artist & athlete | a glimpse into real life, Heidi style 