Well, I successfully didn't write a single family blog post in 2013 after my New Year's post. Pitiful. There were blog posts - almost one every day, but they were for my kids in my class room, not the family. Oh well.
Before I can kiss 2013 goodbye, I figured that I needed a good laugh by looking at my resolutions post to see how poorly I did at keeping them. Since I could not even remember over half of them before I looked at the post, my hopes were not very high.
#1 - Read a book a month - HALF SUCCESS
Well, by my count I read about 6 novels over the past year. Not quite one a month and most of the books were read between the months of April to August. Needing to pick 4 summer reading books for our grade level actually pushed me to read a bit more than I would have on my own. My greatest recommendation for this year is Wonder by R.J. Palacio. If you haven't read it - kids or no kids - it is a great book and a quick read. It is a story of understanding what others go through that have far more challenges than I do.
#2 - Finish Aiden's room - SUCCESS!
Aiden's room is as finished as it is going to be - just in time for him to move out :)
#3 - Complete our wedding album - NOPE
Didn't even start. Didn't even touch the boxes. Celebrated our five year anniversary this past summer and no album to look through. Guess that means this one rolls over to next year...
#4 - Lose 8 pounds - TOSS OUT
Well, we are going to have to throw this one out. I did lose some weigh - possibly even 5 to 8 pounds - toward the start of the year, but then I got pregnant. While the first few months of a pregnancy are always typical weight loss times for me, it is safe to say the weight loss has now stopped.
#5 - Exercise - NOPE
I still can't say I have found a successful way to fit this into my schedule and life. Granted, I am not counting the last 6 months or so that I have been pregnant. I just still have not found the time to be the teacher I want to be, the mom I am desperately trying every day to be, the wife I continue to work hard to be, and then still have time in the day to take 30 minutes for me to exercise. Needs. More. Work.
#6 - Schedule time to clean - NOPE
Our house is still a mess. Adding another kid to the mix is only going to make this place worse. I am - by nature - not a neat person and this continues to be a daily struggle. There is far more digging we could go into this issue, but for now let's just call this a big fat fail.
#7 - Aiden's 2012 scrapbook - SUCCESS!
I am proud to say that this one is successfully completed! Photos are uploaded, organized, scrapbook was even made and printed and given to each grandmother.
#8 - Get involved at church - HMMMMMM
Can't say I can check this one off yet. We have gone to church more this year than last year, but I can't say we have become more involved. However, I am hoping that will change as Matt and I signed up for a program at the church this past week. Hopefully this opportunity will give us a chance to become more connected to other people there.
#9 - Focus on friends - SORT OF
I think I have made more time to see friends this year, but I can't say I am where I would like to be. The friends I see the most are my friends at work (even spending time with them outside of work), which is great - I work with amazing, supportive, caring women - but I also want to maintain relationships with my high school and college friends better than I am now.
#10 - Learn photography - NOPE
Fail. Still a goal for the future and still a hobby I enjoy and want to know more about. I even talked to Matt about possibly taking classes at Jeff State. Guess when the spring class is offered? Mid March into mid April. Not going to work for this family.
#11 - Sign Language - NOPE
I hate to admit, but I think much of what I learned from years ago is slipping away. This is actually another class I looked into at Jeff State, but much like the photography class, it is offered right after baby comes. Two words - summer term?
#12 - Grading papers - SUCCESS!
I am proud to say that I have done better at this than in years past. So much so that Matt has even made comments! That's progress! I can't say I have mastered the art of grading yet or completely had it all under control (I have spent the last two days grading and will spend most of tomorrow grading papers since grades are due for the semester on Thursday), but I have been consciously more diligent and organized and purposeful about it.
#13 - Write a children's book - NOPE
Much like the wedding album, I can't say that I touched this one with a ten-foot pole. I knew it was a lofty goal and truthfully, just wanted to have a concept and possibly even a draft done, but neither happened. It is still a goal, just one for another year.
Well, by my count that's 3 goals met, 2 halfway met, 1 thrown out, and 7 not met at all. Oh well. While it seems that most of the year was a fail, there were plenty of things that weren't really recorded on the list of resolutions that did see some improvement. I have cooked more thanks to the wonderful world of Pinterest (again, we are throwing out the past few months of pregnancy when I could barely step in a grocery store without getting sick). School work has been under a little better control and I have not had as many days of staying as late as I usually do. There are still many, many, many areas for improvement - but hey, that list is what the first day of the new year is for, right?
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
2013 Resolutions
Unlike many of the other posts, this one is NOT going to be all about Aiden. This post is actually going to be about me. (Mommies have to do those things sometimes) So, if you are looking for an Aiden update, you may want to stop reading. Oh - if you don't like New Year's resolutions posts, this also isn't going to be the post for you.
About two weeks ago I was looking for tape in my top bedside table drawer. In rummaging through the mess, I came across the list I made of resolutions from last year. There were about 10 on the list and most were not completed. Some were close, some were never even started. So, this year I am putting it all out there - all 13 resolutions for 2013 - in hopes that it will keep me accountable if they are in print and where others can see.
So here they are - in no particular order - my 13 resolutions in honor of 2013.
1. Read a Book a Month
Seems pretty simple, but I have realized lately I hardly read anymore (outside of my classroom or to a little blonde-haired boy). I read the Hunger Games series this summer and really enjoyed reading again and the conversation I was able to have with my kids about the book when school started. So I want to try to pick one book and read it each month. I am fine if the book is from the bookshelf in my classroom or if it is a book just for me, I just want to make sure I am taking the time to read.
2. Finish Aiden's Room
Yes, unfortunately, Aiden's room is not finished. Yes, he is 19 months old today. It's not too far from completion, but the bottom line is that it is still not done. It is something I sigh and groan about every night when I rock Aiden to sleep. In the last few days it has really bothered me more, so I think I have a plan. Now just finding the time to do it...
3. Complete our Wedding Album
Yes, that's right. Our 5 year anniversary is coming up this summer and we have no album to look at. Ridiculous, I know. It is a combination of things that I have led to this neglect. There was some time after wedding I couldn't even look through the pictures (we won't go down that road). Then we found out we were pregnant and sold the house in the same month, so we packed up the proofs in boxes and they haven't been touched since. It will be done this year.
4. Lose 8 Pounds
Let's go ahead and get the cliche' resolution out of the way. This is actually one of the resolutions I accomplished from my list last year. I wanted to lose 10 pounds, so Matt and I started Weight Watchers back in August and loved it. I met my goal, but felt there was a little more I could lose. Now that I have gained several pounds back from my goal weight, I think losing 8 pounds will be a reasonable goal to lose the weight I have put back on and then put me where I want to be.
5. Exercise
To follow up the weight loss goal, exercise seems appropriate. When we initially set out to lose the weight this summer and fall, there was not much exercise involved - the program just helped us learn to eat right. However, I need to exercise for more reasons than just losing weight. My goal: exercise just twice a week. Even if it is just running on the elliptical or playing Wii Just Dance, I am hoping if I start out small and simple. The challenge right now is finding the time to do it. If I can start out small and find little chunks of time to develop a healthy habit, I am hoping I can build on it later.
6. Schedule Time to Clean
It's no surprise that our house isn't as clean as it needs to be or I would like it to be. (Is anyone's house?) With a little one, I need to figure out a scheduled, methodical way to clean the house. A deep cleaning usually only gets done when we are having company over. (Like last night when I was scrubbing floors for my niece to come over) The problem? We rarely have people over. Eventually the job of cleaning the WHOLE house becomes so overwhelming I shy away from doing it. I plan on coming up with a schedule of small cleaning chores to be done on the weekend (by Matt and me) so that each month every part of the house gets cleaned at some point. I am hoping this will help us stay cleaner at the Tanner house!
7. Complete Aiden's 2012 Scrapbook
For Christmas we gave my mom, Matt's mom, and my grandmother another volume of Aiden's Adventures, the photo book I started last year. The problem is that it hasn't been created yet. I want to make sure I get the photos organized, BACKED UP, create the photo book, and then get it printed. I would love for this to be done before I need to worry about creating his book for 2013. (I am a little overwhelmed just typing it!)
8. Get Involved at Church
We joined a church and love it, but we are only going to service on Sundays. The problem is that we have had some bumps in the road with an episode that happened with Aiden in the nursery. It took me a little while to go back to church to trust to leave Aiden in the care of the nursery. (Truthfully, it was not until he graduated to the next room with a different teacher) Since then we have started going back when we are healthy, but it has been a struggle. Aiden SCREAMS when we drop him off and if he actually makes it through service without us being paged out, is usually is still crying when we return. All that to say, I don't concentrate much while we are actually in church. Then that means I am definitely not jumping at the chance to go to Sunday School and leave Aiden there another hour. (Just sounds like another hour of worry, crying, and anxiety to me) I am hoping we can find another outlet for us to get involved - maybe attending a Wednesday service or find a small group that meets outside the Sunday time and Aiden could spend a little more time at his grandparents.
9. Focus on Friends
I have developed some great relationships with my coworkers, but I feel like they are really the only people I see and then hang out with on personal time. I feel like I have fallen out of touch with friends from high school and college and miss those relationships, the girls, and the new chapters in their lives. My high school best friend now lives about a mile away in a division of our neighborhood and I barely see her more than before they moved. A good friend from high school lives about 25 minutes away and I have still not been out to see her now-three-month-old little boy. I have a college friend that had a baby on the same day I did, and she has since had another child and moved away all before I was able to meet Aiden's birthday buddy. I feel like I am missing out on these relationships and the events these important people to my life are going through. I want to make a concerted effort to spend one evening a month with friends, be it one friend or many.
10. Learn Photography
I have been saying for quite some time I wanted to learn the art of photography. As a birthday present last year my parents gave me a photography class session (which I loved) and as a Christmas present this year I was given the money from my parents to get a better lens to practice these skills. I want to purchase the lens and learn a little more about how to manually take better photos.
11. Sign Language
As I have said before, I love sign language and wish I knew more. Aiden seems to enjoy it and learn quickly. I want to find a way to learn more sign language myself, either through a video or book, and then teach to Aiden.
12. Grading Papers
I needed a "teacher" goal and tried to think what aspect of my job (that I can control) that provides me with the most anxiety - grading papers. Teaching American history AND English sets me up with a lot of papers to grade for 2 classes. I need to be better about getting feedback to my kids quickly. So my goal will be to get all graded assignments back to my kids within one week of the assignment being turned in. All writing assignments need to be back to my kids within two weeks. Matt even laughed at this one and said it will be the hardest goal for me to reach. Not only will this task be a challenge within itself, but it is truly a year-long goal, not one that can be accomplished and put a checkmark next to. This one will certainly keep me busy!
13. Write a Children's Book
This is something that I have really wanted to do for the past several years. I collect children's books and have plenty at the house, so I have done my research. I want to really focus on writing one of my own this year. This goal will be a challenge, especially because it is not one I plan to focus on until school is out this summer. After writing I want to begin research on how to get it published. I am not crazy enough to think this can all happen this year, but I would at least like to draft and write my own book and then begin the process of getting it published.
There they are - my 13 of 2013. I am prepared for the challenge, because it will surely be one! I am curious to look back at this post in the summer to see how progress is coming. These resolutions are going to make my daily planner a necessity in my life! I know resolutions can get a bad wrap, but I am hoping to turn that around and turn them into the reason for a family, friend, fulfilling, feel-good year!
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