What with it being the season of resolutions I thought it fitting to look back to 2011 and list some of the things I actually got right. It wasn’t easy. Seems coming up with things I ought to improve upon is a much easier task. That said, looking at my list, I guess I didn’t do half-bad last year. Here’s to raising the bar (if ever so slightly) in 2012.
1. We sponsored a child through Compassion. He’s a 15-year-old orphan from Rwanda. Learning about his life there and praying for him regularly has not only grounded our family in realizations about the world beyond us, but so, too, has it reminded us just how blessed we truly are.
2. I exercised with regularity. Typically, I work-out four or five days out of the week. My activities of choice are kickboxing and weight training, but I could definitely use some variation in my schedule. I’m not so much into dancing (which rules out Zumba) but I’m open to suggestions if you have something that works for you.
3. I didn’t pay a single dollar in credit card fees. That’s not to say that we don’t use our credit card–boy do we. We use it to pay for EVERYthing, from groceries to gas. I keep track of every purchase throughout the month and pay the whole balance off before the billing cycle ends. The beauty of doing so is that we earn between 1 and 5 percent cash back on our purchases, which, for us, equates to roughly $800 per year in absolutely free money. Score!
4. I read to Jayce nearly every day. At five, this boy is not only reading independently, but he also still loves to be read to. I think our having read to him since he was an infant has instilled in him a love of literature, which is such a huge building block in encouraging lifelong learning.
5. We took further steps towards ridding our leftovers of toxins. By investing in a couple sets of quality glass food storage containers we’ve all but stopped using plastics (which can leach BPA). I hope to dispose of our lingering unsafe plastics in 2012.
6. I wrote a second novel. A good one at that ;)
7. We prioritized experiences. We’re definitely a family that values experiences more so than things. Jeff and I don’t own an iPad or the latest versions of iPhones or even a single e-reader between us. We do, though, enjoy experiencing adventures with our family. This year, we soared on a zipline through a Colorado canopy, swam with dolphins in Grand Cayman, cruised with three generations, rafted the Animas river, and visited local vineyards to taste their handcrafted wines. We toasted marshmallows over a campfire, visited my grandparents at their winter home, and floated across the sky in a hot air balloon. It was a good year.
8. We planted a garden for the second year in a row. While we’ve definitely had some output, these last two years are probably best described as learning ones. We hope that 2012 will bring us a more fruitful harvest!
9. I organized our pantry!
10. I honked less. I tried really hard to extend more courtesy to people on the roads, in public places, and on the phone (yes, including telemarketers). I’m definitely going to continue working on this one during 2012, but generally speaking, my patience for and tolerance of people who get on my nerves has increased, which is definitely a biggie for me.
I challenge you to try doing what I’ve done in this post. I’m curious if you, too, find it easier to pick yourself apart rather than identify your strengths. Post a link in the comments if you blog it; I definitely want to read it!
jen@odbt January 4, 2012 9:20 am
Experiences. Love this especially after our trip to disney. I know we can’t do Disney every year, much to our kids’ dismay, but I really want to experience more with my family, even if it’s in our own backyard (camping!) and see more of our country.
Great list!
Darcie January 4, 2012 7:24 pm
I keep patiently waiting for a Disney post, but seems you skipped right over it :( Not that I can throw stones, cuz’ I do that often. I’m so glad you guys had a great time, though!
jen@odbt January 5, 2012 6:19 am
I just finished a photo book for us. I will work on it…promise but it will be backdated to December b/c I like to keep things in chronological order ;)
O Mom January 4, 2012 1:43 pm
honked less! hahha! You are so funny (even when you’re being serious!) :)
Darcie January 4, 2012 7:24 pm
I’ve missed you!
Laura January 4, 2012 7:03 pm
http://lauraakamommy.blogspot.com/2012/01/10-things-i-succeeded-at-in-2011.html
That was so hard!
Darcie January 4, 2012 7:24 pm
I completely agree.
Jo-Lynne {Musings of a Housewife} January 5, 2012 3:31 am
“I honked less” – LOL! LOL! You are hilarious.
We will be doing our second garden this year. Also joining a CSA. Can’t wait!
Would love to know about your glass containers. I still use more plastic than I’d like. I NEVER put it in the microwave and try not to put hot or even warm foods in there. But I’d still rather use glass.
Darcie January 5, 2012 6:22 am
We bought a couple sets of these: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=real+glass+rubbermaid&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=11043187217806326242&sa=X&ei=TKMFT-ztNe_ZiALP5-GlDg&ved=0CGwQ8wIwAQ
I love that the lids all nestle into one another–makes storing them much more space efficient. The sizes are great, too (we bought a few of the larger pieces individually). They’re really economical.
Darcie January 5, 2012 6:24 am
I forgot to mention: Walmart had a really great price on the set. I think it was $24.
Jo-Lynne {Musings of a Housewife} January 5, 2012 3:51 am
Oh, and if you like weights and kick boxing, you would LOVE TRX. See if your gym offers it. I have been doing it now once a week (lifting weights once a week as well) and I feel it EVERY TIME. It’s awesome and fun too.
Darcie January 5, 2012 6:26 am
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll definitely look that up. Unfortunately I don’t go to a gym because we live so far from EVERYthing. I have to rely solely on fitTV’s offerings and any DVD’s I can get my hands on. Maybe I’ll luck out and Amazon will have a TRX video?
Christina January 5, 2012 8:59 am
Wow, compared to you I pretty much did nothing this year! Good for you! Have you blogged about your sponsership? I don’t recall it and I’d love to hear about it!
nicole January 5, 2012 11:47 am
What a great exercise! I will give it some thought. I am afraid I might be disappointed in myself.
I did not have an e-reader until Husband got me one for Christmas. I had long held on to reading real books. But, our library became Kindle-borrowing friendly recently so I won’t have to be buying books. Also, I was reading Dance With Dragons, borrowed from a friend. It is in hardback and is 900+ pages. It physically hurt to read it, so awkward and uncomfortable. Reading it on my Kindle is much easier. So it turns out I love my e-reader.
Darcie January 5, 2012 7:29 pm
Don’t get me wrong; I want an e-reader. I just don’t want to pay for one. I can completely understand why you love yours.
Kara B. January 5, 2012 5:56 pm
Have you ever thought about a cookbook? You are so amazingly health-conscious with your family’s food choices, even the storage of food. They are mighty lucky!
I wish I could be as consistent with healthful choices. sigh.
Darcie January 5, 2012 7:36 pm
Aw, thanks Kara. I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m definitely not worthy of my own cookbook. I’m fairly good at cooking the recipes other creative types come up with, but I don’t make up my own. And as far as being consistent, I imagine that if I worked full time–like you do–I would be far less reliable in the kitchen and everywhere else!
Becca - Our Crazy Boys January 9, 2012 7:46 pm
What a great post! I’m not into resolutions, but I try to make little changes as they come up.
I’ll think about it and see if I can make up a post :)
And P90X. There are 13 videos, I believe. Totally different, and all of them are great. :)
Darcie January 10, 2012 7:34 am
I want to try that. I’ll have to look into whether or not the price has come down at all…thanks!
Funkdivagirl January 10, 2012 9:28 am
This indeed is an interesting post. If I do blog this week, I will come back and post the link.
As for exercise, P90X is great and I did it, but a HUGE time commitment. I LOVE LOVE LOVE kettlebells. I take a class, but I also have dvds at home (made by Lauren Brooks) and you can buy kettlebells at Target or Wal-Mart.
Stephanie January 10, 2012 10:08 pm
So much to be proud of! You’ve had a good year indeed.
Questions/Comments for you:
(1) Do you do the weight-training and kickboxing at home? If so, do you use DVDs and/or follow a particular system? Tell us more!
(2) When did Jayce start reading? Kayla is close, but not quite there…and I can’t help but think that I should be doing more.
(3) Can’t wait to see your book in print!
Darcie January 11, 2012 2:44 pm
1. I do all of my exercise at home. I have a whole bunch of Taebo DVD’s (Billy Blanks), most of which were purchased at Bookman’s. I also DVR a show called Total Body Sculpt with Gilad, which I love for weight training.
2. Jayce *started* reading about three months ago I’d say. Once he started, it really took off like wildfire; he’d read road signs and junk mail and just about anything with words on it. He’s improved significantly since then and continues to do so each day. In my experience, the reading thing will “click” eventually and when it does you won’t be able to hold her back! I do think that the 100 lessons book is very helpful. But also, just for reassurance, reading to them every day is probably one of the best things you can do.
3. Me either ;)
Funkdivagirl January 11, 2012 12:40 pm
Here’s my post: http://funkidivagirl.com/2012/01/10-reasons-why-2011-was-a-good-year/