Happy New Year! I hope your 2020 is off to a great start. I certainly can’t complain, having just returned from a trip to Taos, New Mexico with my family. This is a trip we have done many times, and one of my favorite things about it is celebrating New Year’s Eve – Taos Style. We spend the day skiing and then, after the lifts close, and just after dark, around 6 pm, there is a torchlight (ski) parade and a fireworks show. It is beautiful and magical… and we are usually in bed by 10 pm, exhausted and happy!

New Year’s Eve can be such a fraught holiday; how you ring in the new year feels high-stakes for some reason, like the perfect evening will set the tone for the rest of the year. Yet, I’ve never bothered to plan a big bash, and frankly, I’m not much of a night-owl anyway. To me, a day of skiing, fireworks and an early bedtime is basically a perfect New Year’s Eve. I don’t suffer any FOMO (fear of missing out) over a glitzy party with noise makers and a countdown at midnight.

Regardless of how you like to spend New Year’s Eve itself, the beginning of a new year (or decade in this case) is a time for reflecting and planning and setting goals or resolutions. I’ve set some ambitious goals for myself in 2020, both personally (like increasing my strength and endurance) and professionally (such as being the best possible help to my clients). The next step is to sit down and put a plan in place to achieve them. I don’t know what goals you are setting for yourself, but it’s likely we have many in common. I care about my family, and being healthy, doing work that matters, learning and laughing every day, planning for retirement, and making a difference in the lives of people around me. Any of those sound familiar? Perfect, let’s get together and share expertise, point out pitfalls, and find ways to make the total way more than the sum of the parts.

Speaking of planning, I would like to start the year off by helping you NOT get stuck on that other high-stakes holiday, Valentine’s Day! Each year, when February 14th rolls around, a special night on the town is one of those things that requires planning ahead because reservations fill up fast. Well, I’ve thought ahead, and already booked preferred seatings for two at several of Austin’s most sought-after restaurants. As this month’s Item of Value, I am offering to pass along these valuable reservations so you can have a Valentine’s Day dinner date that is worthy of the one you care about most—be that for the love of your life, a long-time gal pal, or perhaps a daddy-daughter date. Just enter for your chance to win at www.HindsiteAustin.com and bask in the glory of being one step ahead.