2011 Dids, 2012 To-Dos

Things I "did" in 2011, things I'm going "to-do" in 2012.

Don't worry - this isn't a list of 2012 things I'm going to do this year. I would never do that to you.

Remember when I made a list of all of the things that I wanted to accomplish in 2011?

There is absolutely no reason for this photo other than it's pretty and delicious and makes me happy.

Probably not, but last year I wrote all of my New Year's goals in a blog post, which is kind of awesome because I don't remember another year in which I was cognizant of my New Year's goals for the entire year.

Sorry I just used the word cognizant. That was weird.

In looking back at those goals, I think it's pretty cool how they guided my year, but also how life got in the way of them, but mostly for the better. Let's take a stroll down 2011 Lane, shall we?

Goal #1 - Get my personal training certification.

Reality #1 - Fail. I went to quite a few of the classes but in the long run it didn't really end up making sense for my life, and given that I have a full-time job I wouldn't have been able to do any training anyways.

Goal #2 - Become a rock climber with Kenzie.

Reality #2 - What was I thinking making this a goal? I don't think rock climbing once counts as "becoming a rock climber". But we did it! And now I can probably convince her to do it again. Maybe we'll do it twice in 2012?

Goal #3 - Run at least 4 half marathons.

Reality #3 - I ended up running 2 half marathons - the Naples Daily News Half Marathon and the ND Holy Half Marathon - and my first trail run, the Mountain King Run, which was a 10k. Unfortunately, I had a major setback with my running due to a Crohn's flare-up, so I didn't meet my 4 half-marathons goal.  But now I'm back in my sneaks and ready to hit the pavement in 2012!

Goal #4 - GET A JOB.

Reality #4 - NAILED IT. Not only did I get a job, but I moved halfway across the country, moved into an apartment, and oh yeah, these people are actually paying me to do my job. I'm just go ahead and say that I knocked this one out of the park. Since you know, I kind of failed my last three goals...

Goal #5 - Blog.

Reality #5 - Done and done. I blog at least once a week now, and most weeks I get three posts published. I love it so much, and I hope you kind of dig it too. I'm also really proud of how far they've come. For nostalgia's sake, check out my first post ever. I wrote it almost 2 years ago. 101 weeks! Sheesh, I'm old. And yeah, I still miss London.


As long as you're hanging with me, there are a few things that happened in my life in 2011 that I could have never seen coming, and I'm so thankful that they happened. In a way, not sticking to some of my resolutions allowed me to make even more positive changes to my life.

Accomplishments:

1) Yoga Love
Remember when Hot Yoga was a new thing? Well, nary a week goes by now that I'm not on my mat. Mun even told me recently that he was under the impression that I was "a lifer". I have so much yogi spirit now that I don't even know what to do with myself. What up.

2) Sushi-Vegetarian

Yeah, I'm a vegetarian who eats sushi. Deal. The bottom line is that my stomach is happier, and it's easier to say I'm a vegetarian than explain the philosophy of my diet. While I still miss eating ribs at a tailgate, eating a plant-based, whole foods diet has encouraged me to expand my horizons and unconsciously work more vegetables into my diet. I eat beans and spinach now (whoa), and I feel better. Matt's still conviced that it's "just a phase", but for now, it works for me.

Even if I do have to order the Thai chicken salad from Panera with no chicken.

3) Real Personhood
That's kind of the essence of this blog - everyday things that are special because I managed to do them. I think the biggest lesson that I've learned is that it is totally legitimate to have a meltdown (believe me, I've had my share), but that meltdown always seems to put everything into perspective.

Einstein said, "Putting your hand on a hot stove for a second feels like an hour. Sitting next to a pretty girl for an hour feels like a second. That's relativity."

Ever since I read that, I try to remind myself that in reality, the hardest times are really just like a second on a hot stove. It'll be over soon - it's all relative.

This is it! Here we go! 2012 To-Dos!

1) Get involved.
Tutoring on the weekends? A big sister program? I'm looking into it. I think it might be too good to be true if someone needed a volunteer to take care of puppies, but that would be the bees knees.

2) Six (6) races.
I'm not going to classify the type of race, but I'd love to do more trail runs, as well as a duathlon or a (gasp!) triathlon? Hopefully my leafy diet and all the yoga will help keep the Crohn's at bay this year.

3) Flow into a headstand.
Yep, it's a yoga goal. I'm still way too self-conscious to pull my mat over to the wall during a class to do a headstand inversion, but I'm a big weirdo who practices headstands at home and I'm getting better at it. If anyone is willing to spot me and possibly get kicked in the face I'd love the help!

4) Learn how to use my new camera.

I already feel like I've learned  lot, but for as much as I learn I feel like I need to learn eight more things. By the end of 2012, I would love to be confident in fully manual mode, snapping all sorts of pictures like nobody's business.

5) Take life as it comes, when it comes.
If you've been reading this blog for two seconds you know that I like a plan. In 2012, I'm still going to make plans, but I'm only going to plan for the things I have control over. When the unexpected comes my way, I'm going to do my best to take it in stride, one step at a time.

What are your goals for 2012? Tell me!