a look back at my 2012 resolutions
December 29, 2012
2012 is winding down so I wanted to give a little report of how I did with my resolutions from this last year.
In 2012, I resolved to…
- Simplify! – I said “no” a lot. I made routines and stuck to them. Our schedule was certainly jam packed at times but we were never overbooked. I just plain refused to deal with the stress of running from here to there. Maybe we missed out on something important but I didn’t notice. I planned and scheduled and thought ahead and it made things easier. I took vacations and didn’t plan a thing and it was still fun. I threw out and donated and consigned a ton. I was laid back and took things in stride. This was HUGE for me and I feel a lot more calm and peaceful as a result.
- Buy second hand as much as possible. – Definitely. I’m a sucker for savings so I think I did well on this one. I found lots of good deals at consignment this year plus we have a new Facebook trading group for my area that has been awesome! I’m also so excited that we have a new Goodwill right here in Donelson. I’m still a fan of Ebay and Craigslist and will continue to utilize those resources as well.
- Complete my doula training. – This one I’m REALLY proud of as it has been a goal of mine for a while. I completed my training through Childbirth International and I’ve been attending clients as a certified doula since June. I also created and have started to brand nurturing YOU naturally. I even became a professional member of the Nashville Birth Network. Right now, I’m in the process of furthering my studies by working towards my Hypno-Doula Training. It’s been an amazing process and I absolutely LOVE working with expectant families!
- Eat more whole foods. – I’m cooking from scratch now more than ever before. I had an “ah-ha” moment regarding my child’s behavior and the foods she was eating. Even seemingly harmless snacks are packaged with preservatives and don’t even get me started on the amount of things with HFCS and dyes that shouldn’t. I started reading more labels and making homemade snacks for her and we saw a HUGE improvement. This year, we also had a farmer’s market come to our area, which was a big help. It’s so much more fun to cook with fresh, local produce. I even attempted canning for the first time with my mother-in-law and we successfully made applesauce and apple butter.
- Live beneath our means. – FINALLY! Two things happened that helped to make this possible. 1) Mike got a promotion. 2) I started a new job.
Between the two raises that accompanied those job changes, we are finally living beneath our means. Best of all, there is a little bit left over for savings each month. This is a major milestone for us.
This was a really good year for me. Yes, I was able to accomplish my resolutions but there were many areas of my life that saw growth. As I continue to age, I become more and more comfortable in my own skin and that’s a good thing. I guess being in my 30’s isn’t so bad after all. 🙂 I’m looking forward to 2013 so stay tuned for those resolutions.
For the record, I don’t always accomplish my goals each year. For proof, you can see how poorly I did on my 2010 and 2011 resolutions.
How about you? Did you make resolutions for 2012? How did you do?
