2023 New Year’s Goals - What I Accomplished

Today I’m recapping my 2023 goals!    

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

CONFIDENCE        

That’s not a word that I ever thought I’d choose, but after having a pretty great 2022 and finding new confidence in myself (in more ways than one), I thought it would be a great direction to take in 2023 to encourage myself to continue nurturing it.

I’ve always been a very cautious person – I worry constantly about how my actions affect others, I care too much about what other people think (although, I’ve gotten much better at this the last couple of years!), I overanalyze the heck out of every little thing before I take a single step towards making any decision, and then I second guess myself for days and even weeks after some decisions have been made. 

While I’m sure some of these traits can be beneficial to some extent, they are also unhealthy habits much of the time, and I was hoping to continue finding more confidence in all of my roles, especially when it comes to making big decisions, connecting with other people, and sharing our lives here on the internet.   

How did I do? 

Well, as you all know, after having a really fantastic 2022, 2023 ended up being a really hard year for me… little did I know, I was reeeeally going to need that confidence to get through it, so I was grateful that was at the forefront of my mind.

For starters, I kicked off the year with a breast cancer scare.  I tried my very best to remain confident throughout the whole waiting process and it was hard.  I was a mess at times, but I did feel confident that God was going to see me through it no matter what the outcome was.  Thankfully, all ended well.

Then, in February, I got braces.  As an adult.  If that doesn’t require confidence, then I don’t know what does!  The old me would have probably been inclined to hide my smile for the next two years, but the confident me has been smiling more than ever, bigger than ever, and embracing my new metal mouth.  These braces (and my rubberband wearing) have straightened my teeth so much and corrected my jaw so well, that I’m honestly pleased with the progress that has been made and I’m soooo happy that I finally decided to take this step.

Instead of shying away from the camera more because of the braces, I actually ended up being more confident in front of the camera this year than ever, and I’ve been getting on Instagram stories and chatting with y’all constantly.  I used to hate being in front of the camera like that.  It always felt awkward.  But this past year I’ve been much more comfortable.  I’ve even gotten on there with no makeup (I always use a filter, though… I love a filter.  Haha).  And I’ve posted pictures on the blog with no makeup as well… something I never thought I’d do.

I also started posting all of my monthly what I wore pictures with my face in the picture.  I used to post from the neck down, but now my whole body is in there, head to toe.  Hiiii!

Little did I know, that my biggest hurdle for confidence was going to strike midway through the summer, and continue until present day… as most of you know by now, I started experiencing vertigo on July 11, 2023 after a bad bout with anxiety due to a string of really crappy things that happened back-to-back of the course of a couple of weeks.  The worst of it lasted for nearly four weeks and I couldn’t drive, I was barely able to walk, and there were days when I was confined to the bed or a chair.  Thankfully, the really terrible spinning has mostly subsided, but I’ve been left with extreme dizziness every single time I recline, every single time I sit up from reclining, and every single time I tilt my head up.  There are also still days where I feel like I’m rocking on a boat, or I feel like I’m bobbing up and down.  I cannot tell you what a challenge this has been for the last six months, but even on my worst days, I’ve been trying to channel the confidence to make it through all of this.  Despite my vertigo/dizziness, I have continued to walk, run, work out, attend concerts, get together with friends, and do most of my day-to-day activities even when they are hard (the Dave Matthews Band concert was especially hard this year because that was when I was at my worst, but I was determined to make it there, and I’m SO grateful I went), because I know I don’t want to look back one day and have regrets from canceling plans because of this dumb vertigo.  There are, of course, days where my confidence has gone completely out the window, but I have tried really hard to remember why I chose this word for the year, and I truly believe that God put this word on my heart at the last-minute at the end of 2022 because He knew I was going to need it. 

Which brings me to…

My confidence in God and my confidence in my relationship with God has SOARED this year, and that is the absolute best thing that came from the year 2023.  I’ve had a good relationship with God my whole life, but I feel like 2023 was the year that I truly learned to put Him first, to put my full trust in Him, and to really understand the importance of relinquishing control over the things that we aren’t meant to control.  And not only that, I’m also learning to accept that some things in life will forever be a mystery and that I cannot and will not have answers or understand certain things no matter how hard I try.  I have struggled my entire life with the need to control everything or at least have answers for everything, and I’m finally learning to accept that’s just not possible.     

And you know how else this has helped me grow this past year?  I’ve been able to let go of (most) of my social anxiety, and miraculously, I’ve been speaking up more often, I’ve been giving my opinion more often to people who I’m not as close with (If you know me well, then you know I’m very opinionated, but when I’m around people I’m not close with, I tend to stay quiet for fear that people may think my ideas/thoughts are dumb), and I’ve been striking up conversations with random strangers, reaching out to people who I wasn’t as close with and initiating new friendships, and stepping out of my comfort zone to try new things.

And finally, I flew without Brian for the first time in years.  He has been my travel companion for the last 20 years, so it’s rare for me to fly anywhere without him (I’ve only flown without him once for a work trip), and that took confidence, as he’s always been my crutch.

So yeah, overall, I’d say that I did really well this year in the confidence department.  Did I have days where I had zero confidence?  Yes.  But overall, I really worked hard on this last year, and I do not think it was an accident that I ended up choosing this word at the last minute after having a completely different word picked out for 2023 months in advance.  I know with full confidence that God put confidence on my heart.  He knew I was going to need it.  

Now for the rest of my goals…

Relationships

Y   Go on one date per month with B. – While we didn’t go on a date every single month, we did go on 12 dates, so that averages to one per month and we’ll take it!

Y   Get together with girlfriends at least once a month. – Yes, my core group of girlfriends got together every single month and we had so much fun doing Galentine’s Day, going to trivia nights, going out to eat, having Friendsgiving, making flower arrangements, and having a Christmas ornament swap.  In addition to that, I got together with plenty of other friends outside of my core group.  It was definitely a fantastic year for connecting with friends, new and old.

Y   Spend more time with all loved ones in general. – Yes!  Lots of family time, extended family time, time with friends from our school family, time with my core group of girlfriends, time with new friends… again, it was a great year for connection.

Y   Put myself out there more to connect with other people who I don’t know well. – Yep!  See above.  I’ve connected with lots of new people this year, most of whom are from our school.

 

Personal/Health/Wellness/Fitness/Beauty

Y   Meditate, quiet time, affirmations every day. – There were two days where it looks like I missed meditating in the app, so my record shows as 363, but it was because I meditated after midnight and missed the cutoff for it to count for that day.  But on those two days that I missed, I mediated twice those days… once after midnight and then again that same evening, so technically, I did meditate 365 times.

Y   Write some of my own affirmations… personalize them for myself.

Y   Try not to ruminate on the past so much and try to be at peace with decisions I make.

Y   Continue seeing my therapist.

Y   Drink 64 oz. of water every day. – Towards the end of the year, I struggled with this, but I definitely did this most days in 2023.

Y   Work out at least 3-4 times per week most weeks. – I worked out 5-6 days a week almost every single week of 2023 so this was a huge yes… aside from the first couple of weeks when my vertigo started.  There were days that I physically could not do it no matter how badly I wanted to.

N   Incorporate new workouts into my routine. – I did approximately zero new workouts.  Woops.

Y   Incorporate more stretching workouts into my routine. – I started doing a yoga stretching session every Sunday morning, and I have also started stretching a lot after every single walk or run.  I’m definitely more flexible today than I was at the beginning of 2023 so this was a huge success.

Y   Continue maintaining a healthy diet that’s low in sugar and processed foods. – I did well with this most of the year as well.  During Christmas break it was all out the window, but for the majority of the year, I did well.

Y   Serve/volunteer even more. – This was another huge yes.  This year, I served as room parent for Olivia’s third grade class, Jacob’s seventh grade class, and Olivia’s fourth grade class.  I served on the Home and School Advisory Board.  I co-chaired the Father/Daugher and Mother/Son dances at the school.  I helped out with Teacher Appreciation Week.  I helped clean out the Home and School Association shed.  I helped decorate the school campus for fall.  I co-chaired Grandparent’s Day in the spring and the fall.  I procured items for three auction baskets (one in the spring and two in the fall).  I chaired the Reindeer Run at the kids’ school.  I know there’s more that I’m forgetting, but I definitely served the school well in 2023.  I’m so grateful that I can do so much there.

Y   Embrace my new role at the kids’ school as an Alumni Affairs contributor. – There honestly hasn’t been much to this, but I’ve done the few tasks I was asked to do.

Y   Find a clean-er body lotion and make the switch. – I made the switch from Bath & Body Works lotions to CeraVe cream, and I haven’t looked back.

N   Create a signature scent from oils to use as perfume. – I still haven’t done this, but I’m honestly not missing having a scent because I love my shampoo and body wash scents so much. 

Y   Get braces. – Sure did!!  And I’m ROCKING them. 

Y   Read at least 12 books. – I read 32!!!!  I’ll list them all below.

X   Donate blood at least three times. – Well, I would have 100% met this goal if I hadn’t gotten vertigo.  I was able to donate twice before I got vertigo in July, and I haven’t been able to donate since then.  Since that is not by choice, I am just crossing this one off the list rather than giving myself a NO.  It breaks my heart that I haven’t been able to donate in so long.  I was on such a great streak, donating 10 times from July 2020 to May 2023.

 

Family/Fun

Y   Give the kids more responsibilities around the house. – This year, in addition to doing all of their own laundry, they’ve also started deep cleaning their own bathrooms (scrubbing down countertops, cleaning toilets, etc.).  Jacob has started helping set the table on the nights that Olivia is at dance, Olivia helped out in the kitchen a lot while Jacob was at golf, and I also recently taught Olivia how to vacuum since she’s constantly playing with glitter and slime.  Haha.  They’ve also started making their own breakfast on the mornings that I don’t cook something big, among other things. 

Y   Teach the kids some more new life skills. – While we really didn’t focus on this as much as I’d hoped to this year, both of them did learn some new things.  For one, we finally taught them how to use the microwave in most situations they’ll need it… yes, I realize it was pitiful that they didn’t already know how to do this, but it’s one thing that slipped through the cracks over the years since I’m the one who always makes the meals!

Y   Continue to encourage the kids to try new things, be spontaneous, and shake things up. – While I do think that routines are important in everyday life for staying healthy and balanced (good sleep, eating well and somewhat scheduled, etc.), it’s also super important to explore new things and to be able to go with the flow when things don’t go as planned.  We were spontaneous many times throughout the year, we traveled to a couple of new places the kids had never been, we changed up our annual fall trip to experience new things, we tried new restaurants, we encouraged the kids to try new foods and new activities.  Both kids spent the night out for the first time ever this year (with people other than their grandparents).  And there were many other things that we did as well.  This was a big win. 

Y   Continue to stress the importance of good hygiene with the kids. – I’ve been drilling in their heads the importance of washing your hair and body well, brushing your hair (Olivia), brushing your teeth, etc. and I feel like it’s not sticking as well as it should yet, but I’m hoping they’ll both realize how important it is soon.  Both kids also started wearing deodorant this year.  Since I’m trying with all my might, I’m giving myself a yes for this, even if the kids don’t find it to be as important as they should just yet.

N   Read through The Body Book with Olivia and prepare her for things to come. – We started this late in the year of 2022 and I think we read some at the beginning of 2023, but we never finished it.  We definitely need to revisit this.

Y   Spend more time with friends than ever and do lots of fun stuff. – This was a huge yes.  We spent tons of time with friends, we did so many fun things, the kids had many sleepovers, and we’ve been filling so much of our free time with friends.

Y   Spend more one-on-one time with each kid. – While I didn’t do this as much as I would have liked to, I did do this more than in year’s past.  We’re in a phase of our lives right now where we still pretty much do everything altogether, and while B is working, I’m always with both kids, but I did manage to make time for this.  Jacob and I spent hours together playing the piano until I got vertigo and could no longer do it.  And Olivia and I spent many an evening together just hanging out in her room.  Jacob also did lots of errand-running with me this year while Olivia was at dance, and Olivia did lots of helping in the kitchen with me while Brian and Jacob were at golf matches.

Y   Use the One Second Everyday app to record our entire year. – Sure did and I can’t wait to put it to music and get the final video done!

 

Home

Y   Clean out the whole house. 

N   Update the laundry room. – Nope.  Sigh.

Y   Sell all old stuff. – I sold so much on Facebook this year in one of my local selling groups, I got almost everything listed on Poshmark (and sold a lot of it), and I got a ton of stuff donated that didn’t sell. 

Y   Be intentional with the things I buy to keep clutter light. – There were so many times this year that I didn’t purchase something just because it was cute.  And I think this was the first year ever that I didn’t purchase a single new Christmas decoration (other than our artificial tree that we finally decided to buy).  That said, I still could have done better on this, and I hope to buy even less in 2024.

N   Cut down my Master To-Do List by 10%.  As of January 1, 2023, my Master To-Do List was 156 lines long, so I needed to do at least 15-16 items to accomplish this goal in 2023. – I checked off 13 items from this list this year, so I didn’t quite make 10%, but it was very close.

 

Blog

Y   Utilize LTK and post more fashion content. – I used this a good bit for about half of the year and then fizzled out.  I prefer to post direct links because I’ve found that they generate more revenue.  A lot of people do not like to have to visit an LTK page in between, and they would prefer to have access to the direct link.

Y   Revamp monthly What I Wore posts. – Sure did!  I no longer take the aerial shots that I did prior to 2023, and now I take full-length mirror shots, which I prefer.

Y   Get in front of the camera more (confidence!). – I started doing my car line chats this year and I have a ton of them saved in my Instagram bio.  This was a huge win.

Y   Create at least one Instagram Reel per month. – I did 15 this year.

N   Create more recipes and holiday content. – I only did one recipe and I didn’t really increase the holiday content, so this was not a win.

Y   Start tracking steps in my monthly goals blog posts. – Yep!

 

Summary

 

32 items accomplished

6 items not accomplished

1 item that couldn’t be accomplished due to the circumstances

 

Yearly Stats

Books Read: 32

    People We Meet on Vacation – Emily Henry

    It Starts with Us – Colleen Hoover

    Before I Do – Sophie Cousens

    One True Loves – Taylor Jenkins Reid

    Float Plan – Trish Doller

    November 9 – Colleen Hoover

    After I Do – Taylor Jenkins Reid

    The Road Trip – Beth O’Leary

    All Your Perfects – Colleen Hoover

    Love and Other Words – Christina Lauren

    Everything After – Jill Santopolo

    Regretting You – Colleen Hoover

    The Girl He Used to Know – Tracey Garvis-Graves

    In This Moment – Karma Brown

    The Golden Couple – Greer Hendricks

    Things We Never Got Over – Lucy Score

    Happy Place – Emily Henry

    The Last Thing He Told Me – Laura Dave

    The Soulmate – Sally Hepworth

    Hello Beautiful – Ann Napolitano

    A Flicker in the Dark – Stacy Willingham

    I’m Glad My Mom Died – Jennette McCurdy

    Too Late – Colleen Hoover

    The Guest List – Lucy Foley

    Mad Honey – Jodi Picoult

    Heart Bones – Colleen Hoover

    The Summer Place – Jennifer Weiner

    The School for Good Mothers – Jessamine Chan

    The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman

    The Idea of You – Robinne Lee

    Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking… – Craig Groeschel

    Strength for Each Day: 365 Devotions… - Joyce Meyer

   

Meditation Days: 363 days, 365 times

 

Workouts Completed: 357

    Core Training: 5

    Dance: 0

    High Intensity Interval Training: 0

    Hiking: 0

    Mixed Cardio: 61

    Outdoor Run: 31 (71.52 miles)

    Outdoor Walk: 100 (195.17 miles)

    Pilates: 0

    Pool Swim: 0

    Stair Stepper: 64

    Strength Training: 55

    Yoga: 41

 

Time Spent Working Out: 198:40:03 (hours:minutes:seconds)

Calories Burned During Workouts: 58,200

Donated Blood: 2 times

Total Steps Walked: 3,134,239

Goals by Month

January 2023 Goals

February 2023 Goals

March 2023 Goals

April 2023 Goals

May 2023 Goals

June 2023 Goals

July 2023 Goals

August 2023 Goals

September 2023 Goals

October 2023 Goals

November 2023 Goals

December 2023 Goals (coming soon)

2024 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

2022 New Year's Goals – What I Accomplished

 Happy Monday, y’all!