Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013!

This has been a crazy year for me, lots has happened, but you wouldn't know it reading my blog :-) Still, I do like to check in here and I do have things to say--just not a lot of time to say it. I published three books this year and wrote three more, by far this is the most intense 'writing' year I have ever had. I presented at numerous conferences, attended my first out-of-state conference, and had a couple of trips to Southern Utah. Lots of work to be done, lots of great opportunities, lots of fabulous people I got to meet and talk to.

And amid it all, I had some goals I set this time last year. So, here is my report on how I did, how I feel about it, and what I plan to do this year.

Report on 2012:

1--Run a 1/2 marathon in 2:10--Smoked it! I ended up running 2 half marathons under 2:10, with my fastest time being 2:03.

How do I feel about that?

I am beyond thrilled by the accomplishment of this goal, it is the result of hundreds of hours and miles run and I was really glad to see it pay off. HOWEVER, I finished that last half in August and have run less than 10 miles since then. In part this was because I had two really intense deadlines I had put off, but in part I feel like I burned myself out on running. It had become such a focal point that it wasn't really fun anymore. I'm hoping this will change next year, but I'm not pushing it.

2--Sit down meal twice a week. --Nope. For the, what, fourth year in a row cooking for my family did worse than ever.

How do I feel about that?

I hate this but feel as though I have tried all kinds of things to do better and they just don't stick. I'm at a loss of knowing what to do now. I have tried calendars and schedules and meal plans and having-stuff-on-hand but with my kids schedules, my schedule, some eating considerations, and my lack of ambition I have been completely unsuccessful. I made dinner two to three times a week, and then we eat leftovers or have cereal or whatever. I don't know what to do about this.

3--Take a crochet class. --Nope. I looked into a few but the timing was bad and they were 30 minutes from home and I couldn't make it work.

How do I feel about that?

That said, I did more crochet than I have done in the past and have made a lot of dish-scrubbers out of 100% cotton yarn and taught myself a new stitch/patterns. I have a very hard time sitting still or just watching TV or whatever, so having something to do with my hands is stress-relieving for me and allows me to be still. I wish I had taken a class but I'm glad that I at least progressed.

4--Journal once a month. --Nope. I did journal seven times.


How do I feel about that?

I'm glad I did more than I'd done the year before, but frustrated that I didn't find one time every 30 days to write in my journal.  I'm a writer; I love words. I'm frustrated that I didn't complete a goal that used those gifts and abilities.

5--Attend the temple once a month. --Nope. Fail on this one too.

How do I feel about that?

Frustrated. I went five times, which is better than I did in 2011 but not even half of the goal I set. I know part of it is because there was no local temple for much of the year which meant I had to go to Logan or Bountiful. People who live farther away than I do are surely rolling your eyes--go for it--but it won't change the fact that I am used to having a temple within 20 minutes and I don't anymore and it's hard for me to make the extra time. No, that's not a good enough reason, but it's the truth. I have no good excuse for not having even attended the new Brigham Temple yet, other than time and hassle to make the phone call necessary for a session. Again, not a good enough reason, but it's an honest answer. And yet, one of those five times I attended resulted in one of the strongest answers I have ever had to a personal situation. It's not something I will ever write about in a journal, but it involved a physical reaction and a very strong impression of exactly what to do. I've never experienced anything like it, and, honestly it was a little freaky, but very, very good. I did as I was told and experienced a rush of relief and assurance that I had listened right. I'm very grateful for that experience and my goal of going once a month is part of why that happened, which I'm grateful for as well. So, in a nutshell I had a positive result from this goal and I'm glad for that.





6--Be nice.--I did better.

How do I feel about that?

Good. I think being nice is important and I made a conscious effort to do this. In the process I found myself more empathetic of others and less judgmental. Though I have a long way to go in regard to judging others, I do feel like I made progress and I'm glad for that. I found myself reminding myself over and over again that "Christ would be nice" which helped me to take a breath and calm down. 

Overall, I think I can say that I accomplished 2 of the 6 goals I set, which is discouraging to me. I believe that confidence is created by setting goals we can accomplish. I think when we do this, connections are made in our brain that make us feel strong and successful. And I did not fulfill 4 of the goals I set. I am glad to say that I improved in 3 of those 4 areas, and that is good, but they weren't ridiculously difficult goals to accomplish.

And so, 2013 . . .  what will I do with you?

My answer. Nothing. Yet. I need some time to ponder and evaluate and decide in what ways I want to become a better person. And I need to set goals I know I can accomplish. So, I guess that means I'll blog at least twice this year.

To be continued . . .