Our first CrossFit open competition.

With a push from a fellow athlete, we took the leap and signed up at CrossFit Waipio. I got sick a month prior so there wasn’t much preparation that could be done. I spent most of my time trying to recover from a sore throat that somehow morphed into the flu, and then somehow became a cough that we could not shake. Honestly, I think it was all of the stress that you were going through that made the recovery so long. We gotta work on improving that immunity system, girl.

This competition helped us become consistent at the gym. Going to CrossFit classes became fun again. And if it wasn’t at CrossFit we were lifting some weights at YMCA. Getting stronger with each visit felt intoxicating.

So let’s sign up again in 2025! This time, let’s avoid getting sick. 

A big work project finally wrapped up. 

The campaign, which began in 2023, finally concluded this year. I have to say, I’m impressed that we were able to take the lead and make it happen.

For context, we developed an integrated marketing campaign that had two parts an internal campaign geared toward employees and an external campaign geared toward the public. The campaign’s goal was to reach new audiences, increase branding awareness, generate leads, and support the messaging themes of the new advertisements. It included several tactics like giveaways, lead generation, and multiple distribution methods – all with one central theme.

Along the way, we were able to use the production skills that we learned during our time at PBS Hawaii, meet new people, and wore several hats. It was a complex campaign that I will always be proud of.

Made more time for the day ones.

Cristal visited Hawaii and we even met her other half, Troy.

We intentionally made more time with our immediate family, Lyle and CeeCee. Every time you get mad at her, just remember you only have a short amount of time with CeeCee.

In April, we went on a spontaneous girl trip with my mom and aunty to visit family in San Diego. This was quite possibly, the best decision you made this year. Good job, figuring out how to make it happen. We went strawberry picking, fed some ostriches, and took a trip to Solvang. Who knew there was a Dollar Tree version of Holland in California?

You FINALLY launched your YouTube channel. 

After talking about it since, what 2020, we finally did it!

I’m glad you’re taking content creation seriously this year.

For the longest time, we got stuck on what to call our channel and decided on heystephaniemae. On top of YouTube, we launched Instagram and TikTok, this blog is live thanks to the extra push we needed. Now there are so many possibilities to monetize! Affiliate marketing, UGC, brand deals, partnerships – the opportunities are endless.

All of this stuff takes time and effort. It’s a long road ahead but guess what, you did the hardest thing – start. That’s something to be proud of. Our dream of doing this full-time (and making money) is slowly coming true.

Call me, Mrs. International. 

We took your first international trip to Japan and Korea for our first wedding anniversary. We spent months meticulously planning, researching transportation, apps, and the best places to visit and eat. Talk about thorough.

We even vlogged every single day. We had to fight our way out of that comfort zone but we were able to practice vlogging in public, camera skills, and even the types of shots. With any new skill it takes practice to become a master so consider this part of our apprenticeship.