2022 New Year’s Goals - What I Accomplished

Today I’m recapping my 2022 goals!    

As a refresher, my word and overall focus for the year was…

EMBRACE

After a lot of self-reflection in 2020 and 2021, I realized how much of a “resistor” I am – I have always been a planner, a Type A personality, a control-freak, and therefore, I build expectations for every little thing in my life… always.  Then, when things don’t go the way I had planned in my head (which is often), it throws me into a tizzy, and my immediate instinct is to resist.  This resistance has always caused even more stress and it also steals my joy, so this year I set out to embrace things as they come – the changed plans, the spontaneous invitations, unexpected cancelations, the messiness in life. 

How did I do? 

Y’all, I have to say, I am giving myself a HUGE pat on the back for this, because I did pretty darn fantastic EMBRACING all the things.  And not just at the beginning of the year, but all the way until the end.  I was more spontaneous this year, I didn’t stress out over the dumb little things as much as I usually do, and I remained relaxed and let some pretty big things work themselves out. 

One example was when one of my longtime best friends got married this year, Brian came down with Covid right before the wedding.  The wedding was in Atlanta, and I LOOOOATHE Atlanta traffic.  I actually loathe driving in general these days as it’s one of my biggest triggers for anxiety.  Since B got Covid and couldn’t go, I was devastated, but I embraced the fact that I was going to miss it surprisingly quickly, and you know what?  It all ended up working itself out.  B was well enough to take care of the kids by the time the wedding day rolled around, my best friend offered to ditch her husband to ride with me so I wouldn’t be alone, and I found the courage to drive through Atlanta traffic.  I even embraced the drive home alone the next day.  We had a BLAST at the wedding, and I can’t imagine having missed it. 

Another example was our trip to New York City.  We had hoped to go in 2020, but that, of course, fell through, and we’d been toying with the idea of going this year for months.  There were so many reasons not to go, but instead of resisting, I just decided to go with the flow, and we all know how that ended – we ended up going at the last minute, and it was an absolute perfect trip.  I can’t imagine having not gone now.

I also embraced new roles at the kids' school as a member of our Home and School Advisory Board and a member of their Alumni Affairs team, and I helped co-chair several events throughout the year, too.

There were many other instances, big and small, of me embracing things as they came, trying new things, and being more spontaneous in general in 2022, and I’m proud of myself for really letting go this year… I’ve had less anxiety, I’ve felt better mentally, and I feel much healthier over all because of it. 

Now for the rest of my goals…

 

Relationships

N   Try to go on one date per month with B. – We ended up making it on five date nights this year, which is, obviously, much less than our goal.  While we’re pretty much back to normal from Covid now, some of the year was still spent being cautious, and there were several occasions where we didn’t want to ask someone to watch the kids because of exposure and germs flying.  A couple of our date nights were also canceled due to someone being sick, like when B missed my friend’s wedding because he had Covid.  Hopefully we can do better at this in 2023!

Y   Spend more time just “being” with the kids even if we’re not doing an organized activity. – Yes!  We did plenty of this during the summer especially.

Y   Try to get together with a friend/friends at least once a month. – Yes!  These are much easier to arrange since we don’t have to find a sitter, so I managed to make it to every single one of our monthly girls nights!

Y   Spend more time with my parents since they’re both retired. – Yes!  They were able to make it to more school functions for the kiddos this past year, and we also donated blood together several times.  They also joined us on our trip to the mountains this year, which was fun, too!

 

Personal/Health/Wellness/Fitness/Beauty

Y   Meditate, quiet time, affirmations every day. – Okay, I’m giving myself a yes for this, but I did miss one day last year… December 31.  Forehead smack!!  We had so much going on that day and I was totally off of my routine and I didn’t think about it until bedtime which was 2 AM since it was New Year’s Eve.  I was so sad because I broke my streak of 520 days.  Boooo.  I still managed to do these things for the other 364 days of the year, so I think that deserves a yes!

N   Write some of my own affirmations… personalize them for myself. – I actually never did this, but I did continue using my affirmations cards that I have.

Y   Continue seeing my therapist. – I saw her monthly all year long and it’s been really great.  I plan to continue this in 2023.

Y   Take more downtime throughout the day. – I did this for most of the year, but there were definitely times in April, May, November, and December when I was just to busy to even think about downtime.  One thing that I always hold sacred is my evening TV time with B, though… we do that every single evening no matter how busy we are.

Y   Worry less, be positive, complain less. – In keeping with my EMBRACE theme for the year, I truly think that I did better on all of these things.  Setting little to no expectations for things and embracing things as they come truly makes a difference in my stress level and attitude.  It’s much easier to be positive when you don’t have any expectations to begin with. 

Y   Be present in all things that I do… less multi-tasking. – I have always been a queen multi-tasker and I’ve always prided myself on that, but this past year, I made it a point to be more intentional with the way I spend my time.  I mean, yes, of course, I still multi-task here and there when I have to, but a lot of my time was spent  more intentionally this year than ever… especially this summer when I was with the kiddos.

Y   Drink 64 oz. of water every day. – I would say that I hit this goal 90% of the time, so I’m giving myself a yes for this!

Y   Work out at least 3-4 times per week most weeks. – I nailed this goal, y’all!  NAILED IT.  I completed 296 workouts this year which averages out to 5.69 workouts per week.  Nailed it!!!!

Y   Decrease processed foods and sugar intake. – Well, this is actually a funny one… I totally did cut out some sugar here and there throughout the year, although not as much as I wanted to, and then in early October I got Covid, and… I completely lost my sweet tooth.  And I still haven’t gotten it back.  Three months later.  Sigh.  Soooo, by accident, I have almost completely cut out sugar.  Haha.  I used to have a small handful of dark chocolate peanut M&Ms every single day after lunch as well as a small bowl of frozen yogurt before bed every single night, and I haven’t had either since early October because somehow Covid cut out my cravings for it.  CRAZINESS.  I did indulge in some cookies around Christmastime, but honestly, I just don’t want sweets anymore.  While it’s a little weird not craving sweets anymore, I have to say, I’m quite enjoying it because my body feels better than it ever has.  I’ve been told I look like I’m “glowing” on several occasions lately, so I’m attributing that to my lack of sugar intake (that, and maybe also because of my more laidback personality that I’ve taken on – haha!).  I’ve also lost 10 lbs. since I had Covid (not intentionally, probably just because of cutting out all the sugar), but I feel fantastic so I’m not complaining. 

Y   Meet with an orthodontist about Invisalign. – Sure did, and it turns out that while Invisalign will straighten my teeth, it most likely will not fix my bite completely, so I actually have to get full braces.  February 1.  SIGHHHH.

Y   Donate blood at least three times. – I donated blood three times, and I also recruited my Momma and Daddy to donate with me, too!  Big check!  Woo hoooo!

 

Family/Fun

Y   Give the kids more responsibility. – This year, we let the kids have more freedom with electronics, but we’ve been teaching them to manage them responsibly.  I also worked to make sure they know what’s expected of them on a daily basis around the house, and while I do get some pushback, they have been pretty good at following through most of the time.  We didn’t quite do all of the things I’d hoped to do this year, but I’m giving us a yes for this goal because we accomplished quite a bit, especially with regard to the kids making their own decisions about certain things.

Y   Teach the kids some new life skills. – The kids finally learned to ride bikes this year so that was HUGE after years of them not being interested in it/hating it.  They also both learned how to chop veggies and fruits and do some other random things in the kitchen, and we also had several important chats about some of the big things to come in life, so they’ll know what to expect when they reach those milestones. 

Y   Encourage the kids to explore new passions and try new things. – Big check for this one as Jacob has found his passion in piano playing!  He started taking lessons this past summer, and he has loved every single minute.  He also started a new sport – golf – and he has been enjoying that much more than baseball.  Olivia started taking voice lessons to supplement her dance obsession, and now she is also interested in acting so she can work her way to becoming the triple threat she wants to be… so she can be on Broadway one day.  ;o)  In addition to those things, we also took the kids on their first flights to explore a new-to-them part of the country – New York City! – and we also tried new things like ice skating.

Y   Teach the kids to not sweat the little things AND LEAD BY EXAMPLE. – Because I was on my EMBRACE kick, I do feel like I was able to set a good example for the kids most of the time for this.  Jacob is laid-back a lot of the time, but there are things that set him off easily, and Olivia is already very laid-back naturally, so honestly, we didn’t have a ton of work to do in this department.

Y   Try new foods and find new things to add to the kids’ plates.  They’re so picky. – Well, I can’t say that I didn’t try as I tried a variety of new recipes this year.  However, we didn’t really find much for them to like, and they’re still as picky as ever.  I guess we’ll just have to wait for them to grow out of this.  We did try, though, so I’m giving us a yes for this one.

Y   Continue to stress the importance of good hygiene with the kids. – I also tried in this department, but both of them still couldn’t care less about taking a shower, brushing their hair, or brushing their teeth.  I constantly have to stay on them about these things, but I guess this is just another thing that they’ll eventually outgrow.  I hope, anyway!  Haha.

Y   Continue to focus on the importance of having compassion for others with the kids. – This is something that I try to keep at the forefront of conversation as it’s so important to be kind, especially in today’s climate.  I feel like both of them are pretty great kiddos, and I hope that they’ll continue to be.

Y   Use the One Second Everyday app to record our entire year. – Sure did, and I’m excited to add music and finish it up!

Y   GO TO DISNEY WORLD ONCE AND FOR ALL! – YESSSS!  Finallyyyy!

 

Home

Y   Clean out the whole house. – Sure did!  I used the first quarter of the year to do this, and per usual, it was a success!

Y   Update the front sitting room. – If I’m being honest, we didn’t totally finish this, but we did sell our old red couch and replace it with a neutral couch, and we also added a larger end table and a new lamp.  There are still a couple of minor things I’d like to do in there, but it’s mostly finished.

Y   Update Jacob’s bedroom. – We made some big changes in Jacob’s room to accommodate his growing Lego collection, and it has been wonderful.  We moved some furniture around in there, removed his nightstand, and added an entire wall of shelving to hold his Lego collection.  He now has his very own Lego museum and he loves it.  ;o)

Y   Update Olivia’s bedroom. – There wasn’t much to do in Olivia’s room, but we did give her the desk area that she had been begging for.  I acquired my Mama Cass’s old childhood desk when I was younger, and I sanded it and painted it this year so Olivia could use it in her room.  We bought a big bulletin board to hang over it, and she has enjoyed having that space for herself.

N   Update the laundry room. – I had big plans to paint the cabinets and add a shelf in there, but I never got around to it.  I did add some wall art and a cabinet in there, so I did make some progress in there, but the main things I wanted to do in there weren’t accomplished, so I’m giving myself a no for this one.

Y   Sell all old stuff, and whatever doesn’t sell, donate by the end of the year. – I struggled with whether or not to give myself a yes or a no for this one.  I ended up listing and selling SO MANY ITEMS this year, so I feel like I put a massive dent in this project, but I didn’t technically get every single thing listed as I still have a small pile in our bedroom to photograph and upload to Poshmark.  Ultimately, I decided to give myself a check since 95% of this task is done.

Y   Organize recipes. – This is another project that’s 95% done, so I’m giving myself a check for it.  This was a huge project that spanned many months, and I’m mostly done in that all of the recipes are finally organized.  The only thing left to do is to make a cute coversheet insert for the binder I’m using and label the insides.  I plan to share how I organized all of our recipes on the blog, hopefully soon.

N   Start working on family yearbooks. – Y’all, I literally didn’t take a single step to tackle this project.  This is going to be a huge project and the more I think about it, I’m honestly not even 100% sure I want to attempt to do this at all.  Haha.

N   Be intentional with the things I buy to keep clutter light. – Well, I feel like I was intentional with purchases some of the time this year, but I was guilty on many occasions making impulse purchases at Target and other stores, so I wasn’t quite as intentional as I wanted to be.  Giving myself a no for this one and going to add it to my list of goals again in 2023.  The older I get, the more I truly hate clutter, and sometimes I kick myself for buying things after I get them home and can’t find a place for them.  I can’t tell you how many things I returned this past year after realizing I really didn’t need them after all.  Haha. 

N   Cut down my Master To-Do List by 10%. – As of January 1, 2022, my Master To-Do List was 167 lines long, so I needed to do at least 16-17 items to accomplish this goal in 2022.  I ended up crossing 11 items off the list, so I didn’t quite make my goal, but I did whittle away some of it!

 

Blog

Y   Post more rich, evergreen content. – I published more recipes and organizing posts this past year than I did in previous years, so this was a win!

Y   Write the top posts that have been requested by readers. – I definitely get a check for this one!  I had several posts that were highly requested that I finally hit publish on this year – I posted about my organizational lists, I posted about how I organize the inside of my vehicle, I posted my Hot Toddy recipe, I posted about my ultimate holiday checklist, and I posted about how I keep Christmas gifts organized plus a few other things…

Y   Decide whether or not to move to WordPress (and actually do it if I decide to). – I decided not to move to WordPress.  It’s just going to be really complicated and I’m worried about it destroying my built-up Pinterest traffic, so I’m staying with Blogger.

N   Install a new blog template for Blogger or WordPress (whichever one I decide to use). – I actually looked into this pretty seriously at the beginning of the year, but I never pulled the trigger.  It gives me anxiety making major changes like this to my blog because I’m so worried about messing something up.  And I am my own IT person, so if something goes wrong, I won’t know how to fix it.  Haha.

Y   Share more projects, cleaning, organization, and everyday life on Instagram. – Yes, I was definitely more active on Instagram than ever before, and I even started doing a few Reels here and there.  ;o)

 

Summary

 

32 items accomplished

7 items not accomplished

 

Yearly Stats

Books Read: 20

    The Wish – Nicholas Sparks

    The Midnight Library – Matt Haig

    It Ends with Us – Colleen Hoover

    Reminders of Him – Colleen Hoover

    Golden Girl – Elin Hilderbrand

    Just Last Night – Mhairi McFarlane

    Wish You Were Here – Jodi Picoult

    Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships – Sarah Grunder Ruiz

    Don’t You Forget About Me – Mhairi McFarlane

    Beach Read – Emily Henry

    Meant to Be – Emily Giffin

    The Summer I Turned Pretty – Jenny Han

    Oona Out of Order – Margarita Montimore

    The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid

    It’s Not Summer Without You – Jenny Han

    We’ll Always Have Summer – Jenny Han

    Every Other Summer – Carley Fortune

    Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing – Matthew Perry

    Verity – Colleen Hoover

    Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions by Joyce Meyer

Meditation Days: 364

Workouts Completed: 296

    Core Training: 5

    Dance: 0

    High Intensity Interval Training: 5

    Hiking: 2 (1.23 miles)

    Mixed Cardio: 61

    Outdoor Run: 16 (33.84 miles)

    Outdoor Walk: 100 (174.45 miles)

    Pilates: 0

    Pool Swim: 4 (1,331 yards)

    Stair Stepper: 41

    Strength Training: 52

    Yoga: 10

Time Spent Working Out: 164:42:19 (hours:minutes:seconds)

Calories Burned During Workouts: 47,170

Donated Blood: 3 times

Total Blog Pageviews: 331,850

Goals By Month

January 2022 Goals

February 2022 Goals

March 2022 Goals

April 2022 Goals

May 2022 Goals

June 2022 Goals

July 2022 Goals

August 2022 Goals

September 2022 Goals

October 2022 Goals

November 2022 Goals

December 2022 Goals

2023 goals + my word of the year will be posted soon so be sure to check back!  And if you want to see previous yearly accomplishments, you can see the summaries below.

2016 New Year’s Goals – What I Accomplished

2017 New Year’s Goals – What I Accomplished

2018 New Year’s Goals – What I Accomplished

2019 New Year’s Goals – What I Accomplished

2020 New Year’s Goals – What I Accomplished

2021 New Year's Goals – What I Accomplished

 Happy Monday, y’all!