In 2011, I wanted to:

• Continue to improve my relationship with Corey.
• Finish reading The New Testament.
• Continue to get straight As in school. This includes As and A minuses.
• Read at least 25 books. This includes at least two classics (and The New Testament).
• Lose another 30 pounds through healthy eating and exercise.
• Show up for everything I’ve committed to. This includes school, church, work, 12-step meetings, and exercising (whether this is through boot camp or on my own).

Now that 2011 has come to a close, I’ve realized that I didn’t do a very good job at meeting my resolutions, except for two. My relationship with Corey continues to improve daily. I know it’s something we’re both fully committed to so it’s just a matter of keeping at it.

I also finished reading the New Testament in May. At that point, I started The Book of Mormon and finished in mid December.

I bombed my goal of getting straight As in school. I failed one of my classes during Winter Semester and I received a B and D this past semester in my two classes. What can I say? I’m burned out and my resolve to get As has waned big time. I’ve decided I need a break so I’m doing one more semester to complete the year and then no more until Corey’s done with his schooling in 2.5 years.

I only read 23 books this year, including the New Testament and The Book or Mormon. I read six books in December and just couldn’t bring myself to read two more during the last two days. Instead, I got lost in Skyward Sword, the new Zelda game on the Wii, and hung out with Corey and my niece Aymee and her family. It kills me that I was two books away from completing my goal, but I gave it my best shot. The two classics I read were East of Eden and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Losing 30 pounds didn’t go all that well. But, I’m making steps to make up for that, as the readers of this blog already know. As far as my commitments go, I basically gave up on those as well, but again, I’m making steps to make up for that as well.

In 2012, I want to:

• Strive to become a better, healthier me by accomplishing the goals I’ve set forth on this blog.
• Lose at least 30 pounds through healthy eating and exercise.
• Read the first half of the Old Testament and read The Book of Mormon again.
• Read at least 36 books. (This includes at least two classics.)

Because the first half of the year’s over, I thought it’d be good to check in on my yearly goals.  Looking back at the last six months, I realize that I haven’t done well this year.

In 2011, I want to:

• Continue to improve my relationship with Corey.
• Finish reading The New Testament.
• Continue to get straight As in school.  This includes As and A minuses.
• Read at least 25 books.  This includes at least two classics (and The New Testament).
• Lose another 30 pounds through healthy eating and exercise.
• Show up for everything I’ve committed to. This includes school, church, work, 12-step meetings, and exercising (whether this is through boot camp or on my own).

My relationship with Corey continues to improve daily.  I know it’s something we’re both fully committed to so it’s just a matter of keeping at it.

I finished reading the New Testament in May. After a year and a half of reading and plugging away at it, I finally finished. I started to read The Book of Mormon once I finished The New Testament, and I plan to read it in its entirety by the end of the year too.

I bombed my goal of getting straight As in school. I actually failed, literally not figuratively, one of my classes during Winter Semester. It was a conscious choice so I don’t feel sorry for myself. However, I do feel a little bit of regret for failing that class. All I can do at this point is not do it again. And, that’s what I plan to do for the rest of my school sojourn.

I’m definitely on my way to finishing my goal of reading 25 books this year. I’ve read 12 books so far. I thought I’d have more time during the summer to read, but I keep getting distracted by other things I don’t have time to do while I’m in school. Conquering Zelda: Ocarina of Time once and for all (I hadn’t played for almost four years and only had one dungeon and defeating Ganondorf left) and finally watching LOST (I’m in the middle of season 4) have been my major distractions. But, even with these distractions, I still feel like I’m on track.

Losing 30 pounds hasn’t gone well at all. I’m a little ashamed to say that I’ve gained all my weight back and then some. I know it’s my choices in eating and activities. And, I also think it has to do with some of my medications and their side effects. But, I’m woman enough to admit that my meds and their side effects are a very little part of my weight gain. I just need to get back on the horse….

As far as my commitments go, I’ve basically given up on those as well. I went to school while it was in session, but I missed a few days. I go to work, but I’m back into my old habit of using up my PTO (paid time off) as soon as I get it so I have no time for vacations and I’m even in the hole. I’ve stopped going to my 12-step meetings because most of the people in the groups bug me and I don’t feel like we’re there for the same reasons. And, church is really hard right now. But, that’s another story for another time.

I guess it’s time to step up to the plate for the last half of the year and do better than I have been. At this point, I’m not really committed to accomplishing all my goals (e.g. weight loss and commitments) by the end of the year. I guess that’s something I need to work on too. And, I need to remember my mantra, “I’m striving for progress not perfection,” so I can get back on the horse sooner rather than later. At least, I have accomplished a few things.

In 2010, I wanted to:

• Continue to improve my relationship with Corey.
• Read The New Testament.
• Go back to school.
• Read at least 35 books.
• Lose another 30 pounds.
• Go to church regularly (every week).

Now that 2010 has come to a close, I’ve realized that I didn’t do a very good job at meeting my resolutions, except for two.  My relationship with Corey keeps improving daily.  I know we can continue to improve our relationship, but it’s a lifelong process and one I’m fully committed to.

I also went back to school this year.  I’m so happy to be back in school! Even though my life is extremely busy and hectic with school added into the mix, I feel like my life has purpose again and that I’m striving for something better.  If you count the two A minuses from this last semester’s classes, I’ve received straight As this entire year. (I know A minuses aren’t technically As.  But, with everything I had going on this last semester, I’m happy I got A minuses.)

I started reading The New Testament at the beginning of the year and I’m just barely in Romans.  I pretty much gave up in March.  I made a new commitment in July, but I didn’t follow through with that either.  I don’t understand it as well as I understand The Book of Mormon.  And, I don’t feel like I get the spiritual “high” from reading The New Testament like I do when I read The Book of Mormon, which makes “wanting” to read it each night a chore or a hassle.  But, I’m determined to get through it!  And, once I get through it, I’ll reread The Book of Mormon before I tackle The Old Testament.

I only read 19 books this year.  I wanted to read 35, but let’s be honest–I had a ton going on this past year.  School alone kept me from reading as much as I wanted to.  The fact that I was still able to read 19 books is a feat in and of itself.

I didn’t lose another 30 pounds.  In fact, I’m pretty much where I was last year–a few pounds lighter actually–but that’s both good and bad.  I know I could’ve done a better job with my weight loss this year, especially before I started boot camp and during the last month.  I know what I need to change for next year so I can keep on track.

I didn’t go to church regularly at all last year.  It was only in the last two months that I went to church regularly.  I can’t use the 9:00-am church time as an excuse because that was sleeping in compared to the rest of the week.  I just get into a frame of mind where I don’t want to go.  At the beginning of November, however, I made a commitment to myself and my counselor that I wouldn’t miss a single anything between then and the end of the year, even if I was deathly ill.  For the most part, I came through with this commitment; although, I did miss going to church twice (last two weeks), I missed two 12-step meetings (bad weather and birthday party), and I missed one day of work (bad weather).  I have recommitted and I’m extending this commitment to the end of next semester (for now as I’ll keep extending this at the end of each semester since semester by semester seems more doable than an entire year all at once).

In 2011, I want to:

• Continue to improve my relationship with Corey.
• Finish reading The New Testament.
• Continue to get straight As in school.  This includes As and A minuses.
• Read at least 25 books.  This includes at least two classics (and The New Testament).
• Lose another 30 pounds through healthy eating and exercise.
• Show up for everything I’ve committed to.  This includes school, church, work, 12-step meetings, and exercising (whether this is through boot camp or on my own).

My mantra for next year is the following: “I’m striving for progress not perfection.”  I know I’ll make mistakes and I know I’ll cave under pressure every now and then.  But, the important thing to remember is what I do with those mistakes and how I respond to them.  As long as I’m determined to better myself, I can’t fail. Here’s to making the next year successful!

Technically, there are still 14 hours until 2009 ends in my neck of the woods.  However, I wanted to reflect on last year’s resolutions so I can do any last-minute penance while there’s still time. Just kidding.

In 2009, I wanted to:

• Continue to improve my relationship with Corey.
• Read The Book of Mormon.
• Go back to school.
• Read at least 30 books.
• Lose 100 pounds.

I actually did really well with my resolutions this year.  I’m quite proud of myself really.  I only missed one of my goals, but I started the ball rolling to make it a reality for 2010.

I feel like my relationship with Corey has definitely improved.  We’re communicating better and I think we’re both doing better at not being so co-dependent or selfish.  I know our relationship can continue to improve, but I think that’s going to be a lifelong project and accomplishment.

I started reading The Book of Mormon at the end of March and I finished it a week before Thanksgiving.  I’m really glad I accomplished this goal since I just gave up in 2008.  I think being so faithful in my reading helped me a lot this year.

I didn’t make it back to school in 2009, but I’m returning in less than a week!  I’m really excited and nervous at the same time.  I have a lot of irrational worries plaguing me right now.  I’m pretty sure once I start school on Monday, I’ll be okay … hopefully.  What are my irrational worries?  That’s a story for another post, maybe in a couple of days.

During the months of January, February, and March, I read three books each month.  In April, I only read two, but I made up for that by reading five in May.  In June and July, I only read one book each month.  But, I read another three in August.  I went back down to two for September and only one for October.  I jumped up to four books in November and read my typical three this month.  How many books does that mean I read?  (I really want to do a Clue reference here, but my math is much longer than the math in Clue. Sad.) Anyway, I read 31 books! Not only did I meet my goal, I exceeded it!  I’m very proud of myself! I also kept track of the number of pages I read.  My total page count is 11,995. That’s an average of almost 400 pages per book.

I didn’t lose 100 pounds this year, but I realize now that was unrealistic.  I did lose 33.4 pounds.  (I’m still fluctuating between 30 and 35 pounds.)  I know this is only a third of my original goal, but I feel like I’ve done an awesome job because losing weight is hard!

As for 2010, I have similar goals from 2009 that I want to accomplish.  I want to:

• Continue to improve my relationship with Corey.
• Read The New Testament.
• Go back to school.
• Read at least 35 books.
• Lose another 30 pounds.
• Go to church regularly (every week).

Hopefully, I’ll be as successful in the coming year as I was this year.

Anyway, I hope you have a great holiday and I wish you great success in the new year!  Have fun and stay safe tonight!