January Goals

A new year brings resolutions, promises to oneself, and goals for improvement. Some last longer than others. Some never even happen. But whether or not goals were met, I think it is always important to take time to reflect. To stop and think, "what went well?", "what didn't go so well?", "why did it go that way?", "what can I do differently next time?" Reflection is a big part of education not only for the teacher but also for students and I believe that in life we are always learning. Even when we graduate and don't have to turn in homework, we are still preparing, studying, learning, and hoping to pass some "test" (interview, new recipe, marriage, important thing at work, etc.). Life is about learning and I don't think you can move forward very well unless you know how to first look back. Think of it this way, "Life is a Highway" and reflection is your rear-view mirror--you gotta have it and use it before you can ever change lanes.

So let's reflect, shall we? :)
Last year I made some goals, which you can look back at here. Looking at them again, I would say I was fairly successful at accomplishing them. The word "more" is a bit vague and I didn't measure in any way to know if I truly performed more in 2013 than in 2012, but hey, life's still a work in progress right? :)

For 2013 I hoped to...
~exercise more: I did become a member at our gym, took some classes, and biked to work for a month.

~to read more: sadly "more" in this case didn't take much. From what I can remember, I read 2 books for pleasure ("The Great Gatsby" and "The Astronaut Wives Club") and while 2 books for a whole year is not much to speak of, it is more than when I was still in college and planning a wedding.

~to craft more: I did use my Silhouette quite a bit, I sewed some pillows, I started work on my first Project Life album, and hubby and I made a few little wood projects. I also made several handmade gifts for birthdays and Christmas this year.

~to make a recipe binder: this did not even the slightest begin to happen. Oh well, I still found recipes and we still ate.

~to grow my blog: this DID happen! Compared to lots of blogs out there, this was on a small scale but it was very exciting for me. With the help of linky parties and Pinterest, my DIY Chevron Mug post has had over 2000 views, I hosted a giveaway which had almost 500 views and I now have 63 followers on Bloglovin.

Besides my goals, here were some things I was hoping would happen this past year:
~be re-hired at the school I currently teach at, but I would prefer 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd: if you read my post "Back to (a new) School" then you know I did not get re-hired at the same school but am now teaching a 3rd/4th combo class at a private Christian school, which is going very well.

~start a couple's Bible study with a few couples we know: we tried! We attempted to have a monthly game night over the summer with 3 other couples to get to know each other better and then hopefully it would transform into a Bible study during the school year. However, summer just offers too many fun things to do and we weren't able to all get together except for the first month.

~take a fun trip somewhere: we took a road trip last spring break which you can read all about here

Not too shabby huh?

For this year, I have decided to make monthly goals. The thought of making goals for the entire year this time was a bit daunting to me. I wanted to work on a smaller, more attainable scale and be able to alter my goals based on the busyness, trends, and desires of life throughout the year.

So here are my goals for January:
1. Go to the gym 4 times
2. Read 1 book
3. Blog 2 times (other than this post)
4. Cook 1 new recipe

That sounds manageable right? Oh, I have lots of other ideas in my head for things I would like to do. But these are the only ones I am writing down and calling my "goals". That way, if I accomplish more I feel like Super Woman and if not well then hey, I still met my goals!

Be sure to check back at the beginning of February to see how I did and find out my goals for the next month.

Have you reflected on last year? How did you do with your 2013 goals? What goals do you have for 2014 or January?

Time: Looking Back and Looking Forward

Another year has come and gone.  Another chance for reflection on what has been and anticipation of what is to come. Time is a funny thing. We say we never have enough,  we use it as an excuse and yet we also recognize its value enough to read books on how to manage it.  Time is ironic.  It can stretch out every painful second of a tragedy,  bad experience, or dull meeting but then it will whiz by when you are visiting with long-distance friends, trying to accomplish everything on your to-do list,  or just taking a "short" nap.  And then you have God who is outside of time and that just blows your mind.

So how do we cope?  How do we maintain our sanity?  How do we find a balance? 

I think if we can learn to recognize each year, month, day,  hour,  minute, and second as a gift,  then we can begin to truly value and make the most of each moment. And I am totally preaching to myself here too!

I'm sure you've been asked the thought-provoking question,  "what would you do if you only had 1 day/week/month to live?  Tim McGraw even has a hit song about it. When we answer that question we never say worry, be jealous, argue, stress out, etc.  And yet, how many minutes, hours, and days do we spend engaged in those sinful wastes of time?  (again, preaching to myself here too!) I know some people (my husband and brother come to the top of the list) who are admirable role-models of what it means to live in the moment and focus on what's really important. I aspire (and quite often fail) to follow their example, but I'm not going to give up because 2014 is a new year, a new chance,  and a new gift of time. There will be wasted minutes and stress over such wasted minutes,  but every morning when I get out of bed, I receive another opportunity to live that day to its fullest potential. And as a wise teacher once said to a certain precocious red-head,  "every day is new, with no mistakes in it yet! "

So in looking back at some of the good times from 2013, I was reminded of big, small,  and even just-another-day occurrences. Here's a few highlights:

January--surviving teaching full-time Kindergarten (two half-day classes back-to-back)
February--signing the papers on Valentines Day to begin building our new home
March--home construction began
April--teaching 3rd and 4th grade math in the afternoons
May--spending a day sightseeing around eastern Washington with friends
June--moving into our new home
July--being a bridesmaid in my friend Jill's wedding
August--the Color Run with my family
September--starting a new school year at a new school and two new grades
October--coaching volleyball
November--a birthday weekend filled with fun activities
December--a quick weekend in Seattle to see all my girls

And with another year upon us, here are some of the good times I'm looking forward to:

January--Disneyland!!!  and the kick-off of Wyldlife
February--our new couch arriving
March--March Madness
April--a trip to Ireland
May--seeing my brother graduate from college and seeing Wicked
June--finishing my second year of teaching
July--being a bridesmaid in my friend (more like my sister) Abby's wedding
August-- being a bridesmaid in my friend Katie's wedding
September--new school supplies
October--hopefully coaching again
November--turning a quarter of a century
December--the Christmas season