Time to reflect on the year

Today I took a look back at my goals for 2012. Last year I made lofty goals but only a few of them so they were attainable.  I think we did okay as you will see...

 

2012 Sara’s personal growth goals

This year I plan to bake a cake a week. I have never loved baking and think of myself as more of a cook. This year I’d like to increase my knowledge in the kitchen and teach myself to be a good baker. I have stared a blog: 52 Cakes to chronicle the adventures of this particular goal.

 

How I did: I was religious about my cake baking right up until summer.  The summer sun came out and I didn't want to be inside my kitchen as much and I think that's understandable.  I picked cake-baking back up in September, my blogging skills were lacking!  Overall, the year of the cake was a successful one.  I learned many things including the difference in texture from using solid fats or liquid fats. Liquid fats tend to make for a more dense cake while the opposite is true of solid fats.  I've also learned that a chocolate cake goes over much better with the general population but that I prefer a non-chocolate pound cake!

I would also like to take better care of myself this year. Last year I didn’t make time for exercise, doctor appointments, haircuts or the like. This year I would like to start caring more about how I present myself to the outside world, knowing that it will help me to feel better too.

How I did: I still have yet to make it to the dentist this year and I'm behind on a physical but I did make it to the eye doctore and I have the new prescription in hand (I just need to get the glasses).  I have had my hair colored twice, both times I decided to be bold!  I opted for purple streaks once and blue the next!

2012 while being the year of the cake was also the year of the 5K.  I couldn't have done one without the other!  I started running in March and ran right up until August when I had to start doing body pump and circuit training because my knee started giving me trouble.  We hiked the Grand Canyon in October and I picked running back up in December.  I'll plan to incorporate exercise in my 2013 goals somehow.

 

2012 Goals for Jackson

Jackson loves to listen to stories read and rushes out of the house to not miss group story time at school. If I arrive to pick him up at school during story time he asks me to stay until the book is done. He can sound out three letter words but when it comes to sitting down with a book, he’d much rather have me read it than spend anytime trying to learn to read it himself. This year I would like to make a point to have him help me read every book we open.

 

How we did: Kindergarten has been absolutely great for this kid!  He is the best reader in his class, two book levels above everyone else and we are so proud.  He loves to read and reads every sign along the road that he can see.  He reads books and writes stories.  It has been a joy to watch this kid grow in his abilities!

I would like for Jackson to help more around the house. Right now he brings in the trash barrels after they’ve been emptied once a week. He will do things when I ask him to but I would like him to feel responsible for some chores around the house.

How we did: Jackson is pretty good about bringing the trash barrels in every week adn taking his plate to the counter after meals but I need to find more age-appropriate tasks for him.  He will put away his own laundry occasionally but that's all I've really tried with him.  This is a good goal to continue into 2013.

 

 

2012 Goals for Addie

We’d like Addie to follow Jackson’s footsteps in his Spanish learning. I would like to incorporate more Spanish in our house for Addie to catch on. I hope to teach her the colors first.

How we did: Addie has started Spanish lessons at Children's Discovery once a week.  She knows her colors and a lot of holiday words!

Potty Training!!! We’ve been working at it for the last couple of months, but Addie is slow to catch on. She has some good days and some bad. This first half of the year I plan to work very hard to move into underpants fulltime.

How we did: We've been a pullup-free house for almost all of 2012! She was doing great most of the year but November was a hard month for her and we dealt with a lot of nighttime accidents and accident when she is too busy playing to stop for a bathroom break.

 

2012 Goals for our house

I’ve had this goal before and was not very successful in the past, so I will work at it once again. I’d like our family to produce less food waste. This will mean a lot of meal planning and sticking to the plan. I will keep less in the fridge so that things can’t make it to the back and get lost. This will also mean that I will have to shop more often.

 

How we did:  Once again, we fail!  We have way too much garbage in this house! Food waste and so on.  This year I hope to start working harder and want to report back in 2014 that we finally made a better attempt at reducing our waste.