Auf Wiedersehen, 2011

Nearly a year ago, I made some goals for 2011. They were pretty SMART. They were certainly detailed. And I'm fairly certain I never looked at that post again, until January 1, 2012. Whoops.

Needless to say, I didn't accomplish all the goals on my list, mostly because I didn't remember they were my on my yearly goal list. In spite of my lack of attention to my goals list I did accomplish some great things this year.

Here's a run down of my (itemized) goals list from 2011 (check the link above for detailed descriptions if you are interested), good, bad, accomplished or otherwise.  

Blog
1-Use my words. Frankly, I forgot this was a goal for 2011. That being said I have been much more contentious about employing good writing skills on a regular basis. I still have plenty of room for improvement in this department, however.
2-Make a move to self-hosting. I've always said that I'm true to my word, I just operate on a slow time schedule and that is very true of this goal. I have actually purchased my domain and am working on setting up my very own webpage/transferring everything over. I hope to have everything live by February of 2012!
3-Up my photography skills. This too is a work in progress. I am getting much more comfortable with all the settings on my camera and have been doing some research on setting up a small light studio at my house, since most of my time in the kitchen is spent in the evenings.

Food and Cooking
1-Cook one new meal a week. Considering I do this 90% of the time, I'm calling this goal a tasty success that I hope to continue for the rest of my life. I love learning new cooking techniques and experimenting with flavor profiles.
2-Buy more local/organic foods. Not unlike the cooking one new meal a week, I follow this rule about 90% of the time. I do have a very strong love of Hass avocados from California, so that is one local rule I can never follow. I'm a Florida Gal, but Hass trump Florida 'cados every time! 
3-Bake more bread. Didn't happen. I didn't even remember this was a goal. Whoops.

Health and Fitness
1-Be consistent with workouts. Still a work in progress, but I'm feeling better about this goal over all after a year of trial and error in 2011.
2-Master the 5k. I ended up focusing on training for my first triathlon this year, not running. But I also came to grips with my battle between running and racing.
3-Manage my food portions. Like most of my life, and apparently all my goals of 2011, this too is something I will continue to work on long past the close of the year, but I feel like I'm developing a better balance between worth it splurges on a second helping and eating just for the sake of eating.
4-Consistently floss and whiten teeth. A huge check on the flossing...still working on finding a whitening treatment that doesn't hurt my apparently sensitive teeth.

Personal/Random
1-Balance my checkbook monthly. Hahaha, thank goodness my Mommy loves me and still is willing to do this one for me 2x a year. (Just a note-I do keep up with my fiances both in my checkbook and online, I just don't "reconcile" my accounts each month against the bank statement).
2-Save 10% of my income. I did pretty good on this. Of course I spend a good deal of those savings in Europe over the summer, but that was totally worth it, and likely the trip would not have happened without the additional cash I scrimped away.
3-Watch less tv. I still watch a lot of TV, but I've gotten away from getting sucked into repeats of shows I've seen before, so this is a success in my book!
4-Brush my dog's coat weekly. My baby boy is beyond spoiled, but this was another goal I was not successful with. In my defense (aka an excuse) he doesn't really enjoy being brushed, so this wasn't a total loss for either of us. Now, my clothes being fur free is another story.
5-Travel, hardcore. Check. Seriously.

Now, what would a good post be without some photos? Enjoy a visual reminder of the year gone by.

2011 will always stand out in my memory because it was my first trip abroad. 

While those three weeks in Europe will remain prominent in my memory forever, I was a busy gal in the entirety of 2011.

 

 

 

2011 may have been a tough year for us as a nation and a global economy but it was a pretty incredible year for me personally, and I cannot wait to see what 2012 will bring.

Love to all,
~the "it's best to reflect on the messes, successes and everywhere in between" gal, Jess