Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy 2013!

I can't believe it is already a new year!  So much has happened this year, but the time went so incredibly fast.  2012  was definitely a good year, but it was also full of challenges.  I may write some more about those later.  In this post I'm going to give you an update on my resolutions from last year and update the new ones for 2013.
So...first, how did I do on my 2012 resolutions?
1. Read the Book and talk to Dad every day.  Honestly failed at this one.  I'm not sure I'll ever reach this goal because of my fallen state, but I'll keep in on my list of resolutions and I'll never give up on it.
2. Change my 2nd grade curriculum enough that I am no longer bored with teaching.  2nd grade changed a lot this year and now I'm only mildly bored which is a vast improvement.  Plus, we got a really hard class this year.  That has made things interesting in a not so fabulous way...So, things will keep changing in 2nd grade probably until I'm done teaching that grade.  Who wants to stay the same anyway?
3. Get to book three in my Chinese lessons.  So, embarrassment at my level of Chinese prompted this one.  And I honestly didn't get to book three in my lessons (not even close), but I learned a lot this year.  I have a fabulous teacher who just speaks to me in Chinese for most of our lesson (forget the book) and I learn new words that way.  My Chinese still isn't great, but I've gained a lot of confidence and vocabulary this year.
4. Take a road trip across America and visit every person who asks me to come see them. I did this!  It was incredibly fun!  I visited something like 26 states and saw about 100 people.  I loved seeing everyone and being in new places.  One of my very best vacations ever!
5. Go at least 3 places (city, state, or country) I have never been before.  In 2012 I definitely made it to more than 3 new places.  I went to the Philippines, Bangkok, Seattle, DC, and saw tons of other places that I had never been to while on my road trip.  I really like traveling. :)
6. Try a new recipe every week and start a recipe blog.  Failed.  Honestly, I was doing really well with this one until I went on an 8 week road trip in the summer.  Then in September I found out I was allergic to almonds and peanuts and that I was lactose intolerant.  Finding out you can't eat cheese or drink milk or eat peanut butter can be very depressing.  In fact it was really depressing since most Western recipes have milk or cheese in them.  I didn't really cook anything for weeks.  I've gotten over that slump and I'm working on figuring out what I can cook now.  And who cares if I can eat it or not?  I can still cook it for friends, right?
7. Read 52 new books.  I read 53 books actually.  It was fun.  And intense.  The best book I read was called "The Hush" by William Flowers.  If you haven't read it, you should.  It was superb.
8. Do one thing that scares me.  Did this too.  I learned how to scuba dive.  It didn't scare me as much at first, but our first two dives were really rough.  I hated them.  I started trying to find ways not to finish, but my dive instructor/principal/friend talked me into.  I'm glad he did.  I loved the last two dives...even though I found out I had an ear infection during them and that made it really hard to go down.  Still, I'm really glad I conquered that fear.  And it really is beautiful down under the water.

Ok, so for the new resolutions.
1. Read the book and talk to Dad every day.  That's right.  I'm trying again.  Here goes.
2. Visit at least 1 new country. And I have to tell you that I'm planning to spend next Christmas in England, Scotland, and Wales.  And I'm thinking about going to Malaysia with a friend over Chinese New Year.  So I'll probably blow this one out of the water. :)
3. Bake and decorate a cake each month.  I'm intimidated by cakes and cupcakes.  I want to conquer this by making a bunch of these things this year.  I may recruit some help with the creativity part, but I'm really excited about this one.
4. Read 2+ books each month. Significantly easier than 52 books.  Yet still a challenge to keep reading. :)
5. Publish my recipes somehow. I want to share my recipes with others in a way that they can access any time they want rather than having ask me for them.  This will probably be in the form of a blog, but we'll see.
6. Get a 2nd tattoo. I reserve the right to change my mind on this one, but I really think I want to get a second tattoo.  I still have to figure out where, but I think I definitely know what I want.  I'll keep you posted.
7. Make 5+ crochet projects. I love crocheting and would like to dedicate more time to it this year.  I'm currently knee deep in project number 1.
8. Learn to knit. If I like crocheting, will I like knitting?  It's time to find out.
9. Decorate my house. I have my very own house now.  I want to make it pretty.  I've started working on this already, but I want to have it well and fully decorated this year.
10. Try 50+ new recipes. Have I mentioned that I love cooking?
11. Get more healthy. Ok, so here's the hard one.  I want to get more healthy.  Drop weight, start exercising more frequently, eat better, etc.  I want to take charge of my life and stop being a couch potato.  We'll see how it goes.

So that is it for today.  Hope you made resolutions too.  It's nice to have goals to strive toward.  Happy 2013!