Hmmm, Did You Meet Your Goals Last Year? Did I? Let’s See!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope yours is wonderful!

There’s been a trend of folks moving away from setting goals at the new year. Personally, it keeps me motivated to have a vision of what I’m moving to. Some people do life without a specific written list and just move naturally toward their goals. For me, I always got a thrill by seeing it written and then checked off. It somehow gives my life validity, a purpose, and shows my reason for existence. But that is just me.

I still think we should enjoy life while we are busying ourselves with trying to be better, be better at it, shooting to hit our marks, making strides toward dreams, or simply just moving toward being happy, a better improved YOU, and living your best life. So, I have changed my 2023 phrase of the year to: “Laugh more, enjoy more, share more, learn more!” When you click on the blog, it’s there in the quote section. More on that in another blog post. More on the 2023 goals, tomorrow! It’s coming.

But for today, on New Year’s Day, let’s reflect back and see where this gal (moi) came in with her goals.

Here they are listed on my board. I’ve since erased them and put up the new ones.

Progress or NOT in Hitting my 2022 goals?

Appearance. Well the reason this one even became a goal is that 2020 and a chunk of 2021 still had us in masks, at home a lot, “ungathered” and social distanced from others. I didn’t see any point in wearing makeup only to have it turn around and rub off on the mask. I let my hair grow and didn’t style it much, gave up makeup, and dressed pretty slouchy. I needed a boost into looking better and feeling better about myself again. While “Appearance” is always a work in progress, I didn’t put it as a 2023 goal. I am back in the habit of trying to look better. Did I succeed? I guess I’ll let you answer that on your own since it’s others that have to look at me, but I think I improved from what I was. lol

Nutrition Changes. Less ISA (that company that I was using). Ok so 2021 had me look at trying to be nutritious without spending all the money I was spending toward a network marketing company that has a premium dollar tag attached to support the ranks. I loved the products and it’s ashamed it is so dang expensive. I also was getting tired of the flavors and tastes and just wanted to eat regular food. That said, I’m still on my search approach for making homemade smoothies, drinking green juice, making juices, and taking the right supplements. I spent 2021 and 2022 finding substitutions for the ISA products that I was buying. I’m still taking one that I found on Amazon reasonably. And for the most part I was so tired of “shakes” that I took a year off except for a few. So yeah, I made the switch off of ISA and we began putting more fruits, greens, and veggies into our diet and we started Hello Fresh wish aided us in that effort toward a balanced meal. I also including “greens” and “fruits” in various challenges that I did over the course of a year.

Switching from Cable to Streaming. I pulled the plug on Cable and saved us I think around $75 a month. I did the research, found that we wanted to do the Hulu with Live TV packages that came with some other perks. I cancelled cable but kept Xfinity internet, which gave us a free box to make a tv that wasn’t smart, smart after all, and we got an upgrade to our internet as well. We are happy with the switch. I think we can keep this on the radar annually or at least every other year, to look at Subscriptions and Apps and Streaming services and make sure what you have is still right for your needs. We are very happy and that was a completed goal.

House Cameras/Windows. Well, the house cameras YES, they are installed all around the house. The clean windows sadly, was not accomplished. I’m not good at doing windows but we really need to do them. Sadly I didn’t even put them on the new year 2023 list, but it can fall under another category that I’m doing, lol. So 50/50 on this one.

Jewelry Project. My intent was to go through my armoire and get rid of jewelry I did not want nor ever wore, and to reorganize it where it was easier to use – make the armoire more functional. I did that. I still have to give away the pieces I’m not using and I have a plan for that. And I still need to polish the silver jewelry pieces that need it, but that it’s ok. I set out to do what I accomplished for the armoire so I’m marking it done.

Camera Learning. (To use with manual settings.) I love my camera. I’m happy with it and proud of it. I want to use it more often. But honestly with my busy schedule the iPhone upgrade last year with it’s new and better camera – is really what I do most of my blogging/vlogging with. I have struggled with this mainly because of 1) time and 2) age. I will learn it, think I have it, time will pass, and I have to go relearn it. I will say that I accomplished about 30% here and I ordered some tools to help me. I’ve improved the use of it, but it’s not where I really wanted it to be. And the iPhone is so quick and gets the job done. So it’s not gonna be on the 2023 list next year, but it’ll always fall under Vlog improvement. Nothing beats the use of my iPhone for quick and automatic transfer of photos and it meets the mark every time. While I work, I’m allowing myself to just stick with the iPhone b/c it is so much easier. I’m sure this makes professionals and those with huge YouTube channels cringe, but for now, it is what I can do. So Whah Whah…no I didn’t really meet this goal, but I made strides toward it. I still want to use my camera though and get some good shots from it for photos. And I plan to practice with it and learn to use my lenses. It’s not a loss cause. I am proud to own it. And I will use it but maybe not for vlogging.

Vlog Growth. Yeah it grew. Not as much as I wanted. I have improved a lot of things and that was a goal too, but the bottom line is that it’s just hard to grow a YouTube channel. Reaching your niche of folks and getting away from your family and friends as main watchers, is very challenging. Not all your friends/family like to watch a reality video channel lol. A few do and I appreciate you so much. However, as I put more out there, I’ll have some analytics to look at as to what worked and what didn’t and I can get better and better. So yes I got better, and I really didn’t make my specific numbers. But it grew. So yes and no on this one. I imagine you will see this again next year. lol

Blog Growth. Yeah, I met my goal well, I really had intended on having 900 followers b/w WordPress Reader, WordPress Email, Facebook Followers, and Twitter. I reached 899 as of yesterday. George said “I think I’d give that to ya!” I was thinking the same thing. Truth be known, it was met by 99%, so I’m rounding up and saying “yep”. I met my goal. George doesn’t follow me, unless he has a made up name, lol. So the fact that he said that, I will count him as the extra follower. You’ll see this one again next year. I’m going to be doing some things with the blog to improve it, to protect it and me, and to increase the SEO (Search Engine Optimization). There’s been so many things that have swirled over in my head or on lists that are never done, but I am intent on getting a few things accomplished this year. Come hell, high water, or the devil’s fury. The tribe has spoken.

Decorate the Office at Work. Did it. This is because our office moved and it was going to take a considerate amount of time (and money) to dedicate toward making the office “right for me”. So it had to be a goal. There’s a couple of spots I could hang another pic. But I’ve not cared to. I’m pretty happy with it the way it is. I made it inviting as I want to see it daily. I love my office and feel good and cozy in it and its surroundings. I especially love the map of the World because I use it often to see where certain countries are or even cities in the US. So this one is a win! Done!

Basement. Ugh…complete failure. 1) Time 2) Weather (too cold) 3) So much of it is George’s and I’m not sure what to do with it. So I think you will see this one again next year and I’m going to have to develop a strategy with it I guess. ::sigh:: I did work on it though. But I need a better plan and honestly, more time! But I will work up a plan that might work better in 2023.

Travel. Yeah I was ready for travel last year and we managed to go to Texas twice and Hot Springs to see “the kids”. We went to Knoxville and Crossville and Cookeville. We got out more. It was fun. I anticipate 2023 will have some travel as well. It’s not going to be a goal though. I really want to see a beach in 2023. But it’s not a goal either. We’ll see what I can work out though. 😉 Because I am really needing to see a beach! But this goal was met for 2022.

Dog. Oh yeah, we got us a dog. Happiness level increased so much. Dexter takes a lot of stress off too. I love him so much. We are so happy with him here. Who knew it would be a big dog. I prayed for a lap dog. Well I got him. Every day all fifty something lbs comes barreling up from across the room and lands on me. I’m sure he is keeping us stronger. We run after him, bend and stoop all the time now, and have to really hold on to his leash when he sees a deer or squirrel. It was unintended but he’s helping with the health plan, lol. Goal accomplished on getting a dog in 2022!

Learn Final Cut Pro. Yep did it. Am I perfect, no! But I got around the learning curve and got a video out. I love it and enjoy it. There’s always room for improvement and I’d love to be more advanced. I don’t have it as a goal next year though. But it can fall under Vlog improvement and growth. But I’m checking this one off. My goal was to learn enough to get videos done on it and I did it.

Exercise, Nutrition, Health. Well, the truth is, I still weigh about the same as I always did, but maybe with a little more muscle and a little less fat as we eat more and more greens and fruits. I began exercising and then quit when I needed the time back. We increased our nutrition so I’ll give us that. I am always adjusting my supplements about every six months to what works the best. It’s been interesting to learn more about when to take each supplement and with what. So I am interested in learning more about that in 2023 to get the most out of each supplement. So we made strides, slid backwards, made more strides, and it’s just always going to be a work in progress. I’m not going to ding me and say we didn’t accomplish this one, but I’m not going to give me 100% either. Bottom line is I still need to lose weight, still need to be healthier, still have some focuses and changes to make, so you will see this one again in 2023 as well. It just has to be there. Gotta keep trying to live as long as we can.

So It has been a blessing of a weekend. I love the 3 day weekends. And I need it so badly too. After Christmas clean up is exhausting and takes a while to get it done. Also the change in year and the year end recap and the new year goals – it’s all very overwhelming if you let it be. I have taken notes since October though in preparation for the new year, my goals, my bucket lists, my word of the year, phrase of the year. I’ve taken stock as to what I want 2023 to look like and the goals I want to reach, and the person I want to be, and the success I want to see. So tomorrow I will be happy to share those with you.

Today I’ve done mega loads of laundry, collected Christmas stuff, put up Christmas gifts, shopped on Amazon and ordered things and put other things on my wish list to use with Amazon gift cards.

I ordered my birthday dishes – gift from George. Prayers that they come unbroken. I had to pay extra for shipping! I can’t wait. I’ve cleaned some, organized some, read some, blogged some, changed purses, and finalized my 2023 goals. It doesn’t sound like I’ve been busy, but I’ve changed sheets on both our beds, and also put on the new bedspread. I’m also cooking dinner tonight and have that marinating. Here’s the new bedspread (quilt). I absolutely love it.

I’ve ramped up reading time this weekend to finish this book! Gosh I’ve been reading so slowly due to lack of time mainly.

The fellas are liking the bedspread too. I was afraid Dexter would pee on it so I had to keep telling him to sit and be good. He was. He likes it. George likes it. It’s perfect. I had a nice comforter before but 1) DEX was not kind to it and it had a lot of white in it. 2) It wasn’t easily washable and I needed to be able to do a periodic wash. 3) Honestly I like the way the quilt feels with its cotton and breathability over the synthetic materials in the comforter. When I traded it for a quilt (an old one before I got this one) I felt much more comfortable. So I’ll keep the other one for a back up, but I really like having a washable topping on the bed and sleeping under a thinner breathable material.

So the Christmas gathering up – took quite a while. And a lot of walking back and forth.

Putting up Christmas gifts took a while too. As things often had to be cleaned or organized in the process. Tomorrow we’ll actually box things up. Next weekend I’ll focus on decorating and getting the house ready for our Northern55 party which is what I’m calling it. George also has not put up all of his gifts.

I also did some vlogging today. Tomorrow will be a big day as well. Much on the “to do” list. And a whole day to try to make some headway. I’ve been good to stay on task but the day flies by so quickly. I’ve enjoyed the last two days. One more to go to get it all done.

Gotta plan our party coming up and work on the menu, finish packing Christmas and get it downstairs, take down the tree, which probably won’t happen tomorrow – work on the Target order, finish my book, work on the bucket list, finish the last loads of laundry, and order a birthday gift, as well as get started on the next video. That’s quite the load but I’m looking forward to tomorrow!

Did you have a happy New Year’s Eve? I fell asleep and woke up with the fireworks at 12:04. I was glad to have slept good other than that though and not stayed up to late, I was in bed by 10:00.

Gotta go cook dinner!