In order to keep up with my goals for 2016 a little better, I have been trying to do monthly mini goals. :) See my 2016 goals here.
December Goals:
1) Finish Christmas Gifts (planning, purchasing, wrapping, sending/delivering)
Whew, you guys! I feel like a Christmas miracle in terms of getting this stuff checked off! :) Our plans went quickly, mine for KC just rabbit holed into this great idea! The purchasing was overall easy and met with lots of lovely holiday discounts for Cyber Monday, etc. We spent a few days wrapping and knocked that out quickly. How cute is the fox paper?! I even got Olya's blog swap gift shipped out a full day early! :) We got small gifts shipped a few weeks into December, and the big ones shipped out in time to meet their folks. I feel good about it all! :)
2) Do some reflecting on 2016 goals, and set goals for next year!
I did a tiny bit of thinking about goals early in December, but most of the big thinking came at the beginning of 2017.... and I'm excited to share my goals with you soon! :)
3) Decide what project life size and method I want to do next year
Blegh, I was waffling between another 6X8 and a 9X12. Leaning 6X8 because it was fun and easy.... now I'm thinking I'll decide as I go, but each month will probably end up being a book. I got a mini 4X4 album that I think will be fun to use. :)
4) Watch 2 Disney Movies - almost there!!
We did it! We watched Big Hero 6 and Frozen. Big Hero 6 is the stinkin' cutest thing I've ever seen. Baymax is my favorite. KC even got me a Funko Pop of him for Christmas! :) We watched Frozen on a snowy day.. .so all was right with the world.
5) Get an essential oil diffuser
Nope...
6) Decide if we want to buy a new bed or not....
WE DID THIS ON THE LAST DAY! Yay, 1 year later on our anniversary (again!) we actually made the purchase. SO. JAZZED. CANNOT EVEN TELL YOU! :) Hello, decent sleep. Let's be BFFs!
7) Read some fairy tales!
I read half of The Snow Queen... LOL
8) Find a way to celebrate the holidays with our friends. :)
We ended up having a New Year's Day game night. It was fun and basically counts. :) hehe
9) Work on Simply Alexandra Stationery holiday cards & giveaways!
I finished up my three orders... and didn't do any giveaways. Perhaps new year giveaways. :)
10) Finish KC and I's holiday Cards!
Yes, I did this and I think they turned out super cute! :) After doing everyone's holiday cards we end up doing New Year's letter type post cards. :) These are not our cards... just my thank you notes... because I'm feeling #lazy .
Overall Total: 7/12
Overall December was a calm month as expected right up until the holidays. Work was relatively low-key, we didn't have tons of events to plan or host, we didn't even have lots of social stuff on our calendar. Praise Gouda. However... I was being kind of lazy... or like random busy... ? Like my friend and I hung out longer after dinners in December. We slept in more... I didn't want to spend my nights designing our cards.. or coming up with TONS of giveaways like last year... so it's a mix of laziness and that most of my goals only benefited myself and had no urgent timeline! HA.
2016 Goal Review:
Where did the year go??!?!?!??!
Read 50 books57!- 7 classics - just 1!
- 2 eco friendly books - zero!
- 25 fairytales, folktales, myths, legends, etc. (some of which may not be full books, could be short stories, poems, etc.) - 17
Calling this a pass! I finished the 50 (passed it actually!) woot! I only read 1 classic, and 17 fairy tales. I didn't read any eco books. Overall I am pleased with the variety and number of books that I read. I tried to read diversely... but I am hoping for even more in 2017 (including classics and non-fiction!)
- Get TSA Pre Approved - (Oh, the time we'll save!!)
We decided not to do this mid-way through the year.
Get a New Bed
We decided with everything else going on this year that we would just get a new mattress rather than a whole new bed. Plus our apartment is so small. Thinking about how to fit a huge bed into our tiny space was stressful! We had lined up to purchase it at the same time as KC's sister so we could share the IKEA delivery (~$150). Unfortunately we got home from Savannah and they had already finished all of that. Pretty disappointing... but we did all the deciding on our anniversary.. .so we technically passed. YAHOO! :) We just got a mattress/box spring thingy... but it counts! :)
See Coldplay / Get Tickets to See Coldplay - if they ever announce their North American tour dates...
Check! We purchased tickets for August and it was a great show. We took a short weekend trip to Tulsa, and a road trip with my friend Jessica so we could check Coldplay off of her bucket list! :) See the trip, here.
Visit 6 New Places1 on our list for a long time1 road trip
Check, check, check! We have more than completed this one! We visited Houston,Galveston, San Francisco, Carmel, Big Sur, Weston, Missouri, Savannah, Tybee Island, and Jekyll Island and Las Vegas and Boulder City, NV. We also went back to Nashville - which was a true road trip.
Try 50 New to Me Recipes
Check! This goal was surpassed! Lots of new favorites, and a cake book I will NEVER give up!
Plan 12 Date Nights
Check! I did this. Most of our date nights were concerts, movies, dinner, nothing too creative. I hope to get more creative about it in the future... but it's still a pass.
Watch 12 Disney Movies
We were doing really badly at this one, until June. Oddly enough, we were very busy, but managed to stay home some nights for Disney movies. We are also adding Disney DVDs to our collection which is good! We finished this goal right before Christmas, this year we watched: Snow White, The Little Mermaid, Finding Dory, Tarzan, Mulan, Tangled, Pocahantas, Beauty & The Beast, Cinderella, Big Hero 6 (OMG!), and Frozen.
- Do Yoga / Dance / DVD Workout 150 times
Fail! My friend Rachel and I tried to use a google doc to track our workouts and/or text about it. We did SO well at this in April, and I did OK in May... but June was a wash. Rachel has still been doing fine, but I fell off the wagon. Since then I did pitifully at DVD workouts. One weird discrepancy is that Rachel and I count walking... but my 2016 goal doesn't include it. I also count a good day as taking as many stairs as possible (I work on 7!) And that doesn't count either. So, we shall see how it all shakes out. I only did about (a pathetic) 30 DVD workout sessions. Walking and stairs happen multiple times per week now... so I really don't know how to count this. But it's basically a fail.
Make a Point to Eat Lots of Veggies at least once per day
Check! This is a poorly written goal, but overall I think we have been making veggies more of a priority. We've been doing mason jar salads, some meatless meals, and even eating more fruit. So, I think we are reasonably on track here in terms of progress, I hope to do even better in 2017!! But I want to keep eating more veggies. The end of the year has been worse... but overall I think this is enough improvement to constitute a pass.
- Get All Dental Work Done - I'm a big baby, and I'm TERRIFIED
Fail! None of this yet. I just need to suck it up and make the appointment!
Learn About (or how to do) 5 New Things
Check! I learned how to make Vanilla Extract, Blackberry Jam (canned it too!), how to use Airbnb, a little about the history of lingerie at a WWI Museum event, and about Halloween Trivia for a work party. Also, you cannot deny the awesomeness that is learning to do a crockpot hot chocolate. :)
- Get an essential oil diffuser
and eco-friendly candles
Half way on this one. I did get some lavender vanilla candles from The Honest Company. I also bought a few more Aura Cacia oils from Target. I now have Lavender, Orange, Vanilla, Peppermint, Tea Tree, and I can't remember the others off the top of my head. Now I just need to find a diffuser - and eventually a case to put the oils in.
Save Money - we did great at this in 2015!
Check! We did way better at this than we did last year! (and we did pretty well last year!) Mostly because we didn't really start last year until August/September. We have been able to set aside money every other paycheck, and most of that is still in our account. We do take some out when we travel, but we try to limit that. Half way through the year, we adopted a key strategy in intentionally planning the fun things we'll do... and having that limit there for our wallets as well as our sanity. We have not been home enough and it really takes a toll! I did not start at a new grocery store yet, and I still have some other savings goals. I am happy with where we ended up. Even if we lost a chunk of change on the mattress. #investments Also, yay for that book ban! :) (even if I'm only doing so/so on it.... :P )
Find a Treasure
Check! This one was written ambiguously on purpose. What a romantic notion to find a treasure. As it turns out, treasures are everywhere when you look... so I may just have to do a post on finding treasures. :)
Seek Out Water - drink it, be near it, hear it, look at it... you get the idea, as much as possible.
Check! I have always been pretty good about drinking water. I carry around a 20 oz tumbler of icy water every day and always finish it, and usually refill it multiple times. Our new strategy of freezing a bit of water in the empty tumbler and then filling it full with water in the morning works really well and is saving on ice. Though it does make the straw float as the ice melts hahaha!
We are fortunate that many of our travels have taken us near water this year. In Galveston, San Francisco, Carmel, and Big Sur it was too cool to actually get in the water... at least in the passing amount of time we had there. But just being near it made me feel good. & it never hurts to dip your feet. When we went to Georgia, we made sure to plan some beach time. We really enjoyed swimming at Tybee's north beach and getting caught in a seriously scary/exhilarating storm afterward. We also swam in Jekyll. Just being near the water so much has been really nice!
Even though I feel good about my water goal for the year so far, I'd like to try some of these things in future years: going to our apartment complex pool more, visiting the local lake, trying SUP, trying kayaking, having some type of water fountain, etc. in our house. Or maybe listening to those nature sounds.
Bottom Line: I think I did pretty well with these goals this year! We abandoned the TSA Precheck, which is ok! I didn't enjoy the struggle of getting a new bed (but we did it!!), going to the dentist was a fail, and DVD workouts were pitiful...... But I think that chunking out my yearly goals into monthly goals helped... and that possibly doing it more intentionally into weekly goals will help in 2017! Another thing that majorly helped was my ECLP and using it to plan better and be more organized! Because you all were interested ... I filmed a goal setting video using my 2016 ECLP. It is coming soon if you're looking for planning inspiration! :)
How did you do on your 2016 goals?
How does your progress influence your goals for 2017?
Have you made your lists for 2017? If so, I'd love to read them! I promise to share mine soon! :)
Anyone else doing a 101 in 1,001 list? Check out my 2 year progress HERE.
XO,
Alexandra
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