After years of not bothering to make resolutions because I never achieved them (and then felt crappy about myself) I did things a little different for 2014. I declared a list of 6 attainable goals on January 2nd and actually kept them in mind throughout the year.
So now, it’s time for me to be held accountable…
Goal #1: Use my camera more and my iPhone less.
When putting together Jack’s annual birthday book the previous year, I realized that most of my pictures were taken with my phone rather than my super cool camera. Over the past year, I made a conscious effort to bring my camera with me to various events so that I could have better pictures. Even though it added weight to my already overfilled purse (hmm… maybe that should be a goal for next year) I really did make this a habit. I mean, I still use my phone a lot for pictures because Instagram is totally addictive, but I feel like I stepped it up a notch a little more often. So I’m going to call this goal ACCOMPLISHED and try to stick with it for 2015!
Goal #2: Make a workout habit.
Okay, this one started out pretty darn well with my DietBet earlier this year. I got on the workout train and worked my butt off. Literally. I lost almost 15 pounds in the spring through healthy eating and making a consistent date with my elliptical machine. I was super proud of myself… and then I fell off the wagon. I’ve been maintaining my weight loss since the Spring (yay, me), but I haven’t actually jumped back on that elliptical machine in MONTHS! I need to get back to it and have planned to incorporate regular workouts again ASAP.
Goal #3: Eat out less and at home more.
Now this is a goal that I have totally rocked! Not only have I added some new recipes to my arsenal (thanks to Ward and Amanda for the best meatloaf crockpot recipe I’ve ever had!), but I started using Hello Fresh and I love it! With my regular recipes, an occasional Let’s Dish and Hello Fresh deliveries, I feel like I’m finally enjoying cooking at home again! I’ve also really loosened up with my definition of “dinner” and now believe that pancakes or sandwiches on a busy night are totally acceptable. I’d still like to try doing some freezer group meals with a friend, so I’ll add that to my goals for 2015.
Goal #4: Take Jack somewhere new each month.
This goal was the one that stressed me out the most AND the one that I ended up enjoying the most. It’s so easy to just get sucked into life on the weekends – laundry, grocery shopping, house cleaning, etc – and not have the time or energy to go out and do something fun. We made it a point to do something fun with Jack every single month in 2014 and it has been so great.
Here’s what we did:
January: Annapolis Mall choo-choo train
February: Rolly Pollies trampoline/bouncy house birthday party
March: Baltimore Aquarium
April: Mommy & Me Swim Classes
May: Busch Gardens, Williamsburg & Smithsonian National Zoo in DC
June: Ocean City, Maryland
July: Baughers Petting Zo
August: Peach Picking at a local farm
September: Piney Run Apple Festival
October: Hershey Park after Dark
November: Festival of the Trees
December: Symphony of Lights Festival
I’m so happy we were able to do all kinds of fun stuff, while still holding down the fort with our full-time jobs! This is another goal that I absolutely want to keep up with in 2015.
Goal #5: Be more like the ant.
This goal was actually one of the hardest for us — saving money is just SO STINKING HARD! It seems like no matter how much you bring in, it just flies right back out of the door. My main goals with money in 2014 was to grow our savings account, start a college savings plan for Jack and pay off our last vehicle loan. So, we accomplished two out of three. We were able to open a college savings account for Jack in August and have been faithfully adding money to it each month. We also paid off our last remaining vehicle loan… which felt AMAZING. However, our savings account has NOT grown a bit. In fact, it may be even sadder than ever. I’m hoping to give it a boost with our tax refund (fingers crossed) and then continue to build it up through 2015.
Goal #6: Be the best blogger I can be.
As much as I love this blog, it is really hard for me to keep from being jealous of more successful bloggers. Also, it is really easy for me to get down on myself and only focus on page views, comments, etc. I forced myself to open up to new blogging/writing opportunities throughout the year… some of which went great and others totally bombed (post coming soon). So, all-in-all I certainly have lots of room for improvement in 2015!
So, there you go… I did pretty well on my six goals for 2014! When I look at them and think about all that I have accomplished in the past 12 months, I have to say that it feels pretty great. It’s like that feeling of checking something off a long to-do list! So now, I’m thinking I might need to set some new goals for 2015…
Do you make resolutions or goals each year? What is one resolution that keeps appearing over and over and over again?
I love this method of accountability. What is a freezer meal?
I do make goals each year. In 2014, I wanted to volunteer more and make finding a job closer to home a priority. I give myself an A on both – I volunteered with K-9 Lifesavers several times, and FINALLY got a job closer to home… No more commuting to DC! Talk about a life-changer.
My goals for 2015 (so far) are:
1. Volunteer more.
I already help animals through K-9 Lifesavers and I plan to continue that, but I’d also like to help humans.
2. Try something new (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu).
BJJ is in parentheses because I don’t know if I’ll like it once I give it a real shot and I don’t want to give myself an F just because I didn’t like it or force myself to stick to something I don’t enjoy. So, I decided to start with BJJ and, if it works, great! If not, I can find something else new to try.
3. Cook more.
This means learning and accepting that dinner does not have to be an all-day event. Baking is my jam, but cooking is stressful for me. Trying to find easy, healthy recopies that taste good has been a challenge, especially since it’s not just me I want to please. Ben loves cooking so much that I use that as an excuse not to do it. I have a couple of recipes, but I can’t really “throw things together.” This will be my toughest goal, so I’m starting small with a goal to cook dinner once a month.
Your goals for 2015 sounds great! A freezer meal is when you get together with other people and make a bunch of meals at the same time. Then, everyone takes some back home with them and puts them in their freezer until they need them. =)
I actually don’t routinely make New Years resolutions but this has inspirede to think about ‘resolutions’ in more broad stroke ongoing goal terms and I think I might just make some this year!
That’s awesome Joy, good luck!
I think you did really great! I wrote some goals down at the beginning of 2014 and now I can’t find them so I’m just going to say I accomplished them all.
Thanks Holly. I think accomplished by default is a great idea! 😉