Saturday, December 31, 2011

Resolutions review

It's the last day of the year and time to look back before heading into 2012. Here's how I fared on my resolutions:

Be Good to Myself: Be intentional about and take ownership of my life

Do

  • find a new job -- Nope; still working on some ideas, though.

  • find a new home -- Yes! I love my lil' studio!

  • travel internationally -- Yes! Japan, Jamaica, Italy

  • join a book club -- Nope. But I read a lot this year: White Teeth, The Year of Magical Thinking, The Glass Castle, The Kite Runner, On the Road

  • blog regularly -- Yes! 76 posts: much more than in 2010.

  • finish all current WIPs (craft projects + books) -- Nope; they are still stating at me.


Learn

  • learn how to use my dslr -- Nope; I actually stopped using it in favor of my iPhone camera. Then I had a problem with the lens. But it's fixed now, and I have a friend who will teach me photography in 2012, huzzah!

  • maximze iPhone capability (Evernote or Springpad?) -- Yes! In addition to Springpad, I discovered Instagram, audio books, podcasts, and a bunch of other apps for news, music, and getting life done.  I love my iPhone!


Make

  • build a piece of furniture -- Nope. I was all set to build a daybed for the studio but found one on Craigslist.

  • sew a garment -- Yes! I made vests for MyKo's kinder kids.

  • knit for myself -- Yes! Striped cowl, rainbow stripe knee highs, and a pink shawl that was never blogged


Explore

  • buy a new food at each farmers market -- Yes! Eggplant

  • try a new restaurant each month -- I didn't keep track, but I don't think so.

  • watch a movie in the theater each quarter -- Yes! 50/50, Midnight in Paris, Cars2, Puss in Boots, The Naked Island, Postcard

  • do a new activity each month -- Yes! January -- Explore Abbot Kinney Boulevard & discover Intelligentsia coffee; February -- Rose Bowl Flea Market; March -- Ash Wednesday at Our Lady of Angels Cathedral; April -- Hike the Sam Merrill Trail to Echo Mountain ; May -- Jamaica!; June -- Help plan and throw MyKo's bridal shower; July -- Visit the Bowers Museum; August -- Read prayers in three languages at MyKo's wedding!; September -- First visit and purchase at estate sale ; October -- Wine tasting in Italy!; November --  watch my brother's debut taiko performance; December -- Drive alone up to San Francisco


Be Good to My Body: Maintain a healthy lifestyle + gain five meaningful pounds

Rhythms

  • don't be online after 10p -- Nope

  • sleep by 11p -- Nope

  • wake up at 6:30a -- Nope

  • eat breakfast (not just coffee) -- Nope


Exercise

  • stretch daily -- Nope

  • 30 situps + pushups daily -- Nope

  • run -- Yes!  I started in May!

  • take a yoga or pilates class -- Nope


Be Good to My Wallet: Invest in myself

  • pay off debt -- Nope (but almost there!)

  • invest -- Nope

  • tithe regularly and joyfully -- Yes!

  • start a savings account -- Yes!

  • don't buy anything new -- Nope.  I strayed here and more recently with a pair of long running pants for cold days.


Be Good to Others: Deepen relationships

  • spend time with God daily (prayer, BCP, My Utmost for His Highest) -- Nope (not daily)

  • write one letter each week; remember birthdays -- Yes!

  • quit taking it personally (qtip) -- Not entirely, but much improvement made.

  • seek healing and reconciliation in strained or broken relationships -- I'll always be working on this; am learning to both draw boundaries, and to accept.


There are slightly more "Nopes" than "Yes!s" but I can live with that.  Some of the "Nopes" were actually successes -- for example, I didn't join a book club, but I read more books last year than I had for at least two years before that. And, I didn't build a piece of furniture, but the Craigslist score was better in terms of price, time, and energy, and it was the exact piece I wanted.  I'm most disapponted in my fitness failures, but at least I started running.  It was a huge leap not just in terms of feeling stronger, but to witness and push my own transformation.

This review will help me shape my resolutions for 2012, which I'm still working on.  I'm also using this set (pdf) of questions from the Simple Mom blog.  Did you make any resolutions?  What are they?!  Do share!

3 comments:

  1. I don't do New Year's resolutions myself—partly because I'm just not that organized, and partly because hitching all of those hopes/dreams/plans to the beginning of a new year increases the stress level for me. Sort of like "if I fall of the wagon, then my entire year is shot, and I can't start anything big again until next January." Silly, I know, but my inner dialogue isn't always rational. :)

    I like your list here! But I think you are missing a few things. Like cats: http://icanhascheezburger.com/2012/01/04/funny-pictures-new-years-resolution-cats/.

    Heh. :)

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  2. A few folks laugh or rolls their eyes at my making resolutions, and tell me that they don’t do them because it’s silly to wait until Jan. 1 to implement self-improvement or behavioral change. I totally agree, and change things along the way, too, as soon as I realize there’s a change needed. But I still like to have Jan. 1 as a time stamp to look back and see how far I’ve come. If I couldn’t mark my progress over a period of time, I’d probably never get anything done, and get discouraged along the way.

    Cute cats — and that’s coming from a non-pet-lover! Thanks for the link.

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  3. You are the first person that I know who would conduct a review of their resolution - and with such a comprehensive list of resolution and actionable items to begin with! The sum of your sincerity, the intention and attempt completely outweighs the end result. Admirable!

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