Goals, new and old.

And just like that, 2014 is over. I thought I'd take a few minutes to remember that I have a blog (because, you know, I've blogged twice since Charlotte was born) and reflect on my goals for 2014 while also sharing my goals for 2015.

I went into my 2014 goals with the idea that they were just goals. They weren't "resolutions" to hang over my head and make me feel like a failure; they weren't yet another checklist in my life stressing me out. They were just supposed to be a list of goals that I wanted to work towards. I had every intention and desire of completing them, but I made a promise to myself that if I didn't get them all done I wouldn't beat myself up. And I think that's where I can honestly say that I am. I didn't finish the whole list. There were a couple things that just didn't happen (like my reading goals...more on that later), some that I just didn't work hard enough to make happen and they are now on my list of 2015 goals, and a big chunk that I did actually get done. I'm proud of those. And I'm proud of the books I read even if I didn't get as many read as I wanted to. I got things done and I crossed things off and really, isn't that the point?

When I started thinking about what I wanted 2015 to look like, I had to take into serious consideration that I have an infant now. I still want to do things and accomplish things and grow, but I also realize that Charlotte has changed how I spend my time so much. As I continue to adjust and figure out what being productive with a three month old looks like, though, I want to start getting back into some of the things I haven't been making time for. So I have goals, but only the truly important and/or realistic made the cut this year. They range from deeply personal to basic and somewhat silly, but they're my goals nonetheless.

Reading Goals: instead of setting a number of books as my goal, I'm choosing instead to focus on a list of books that I want to make sure I actually read this year. I hope to read many more than just this short list, but this is the list that I've been interested in and putting off and I want to actually get them read. So this year, it's happening. 

• Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand
• Monster, by Walter Dean Myers
• Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
• The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion
• Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, by Mindy Kaling
• Yes Please, by Amy Poehler
• finish my book-to-movie challenge list
• finish Harry Potter series

Personal Goals: 

• Figure out the exercise routine that I didn't make happen in 2014. So here's the thing: like every single person's New Year's exercise goals, I started out strong and joined a gym and got pregnant and had severe, round-the-clock nausea and stopped going to the gym. I did go on a ton of walks this summer (when I had the gall to claim that I had successfully achieved my exercise goal), but basically...I didn't get this done. My Christmas present, however, was a treadmill and I'm in love with it. Plus, I had a baby three months ago. So, yeah. 2015 is my year. 
• Get into a better place with the dogs. Without getting too far into this, having Charlotte has done some really bad things for my relationship with our three dogs. A lot of feelings and frustrations that I'd ignored or failed to realize were even there have come out swinging in the last three months. It's not been super enjoyable for any of us, and at the end of it all what I've realized is that I have a lot of work to do. 
• Redo wardrobe. I've been thinking a lot recently about downsizing and the value of having a smaller, more intentional wardrobe. Using fewer, key pieces to mix and match rather than having a million pieces that are outdated, don't fit me well, and don't serve much of a purpose. This one is probably going to be a gradual process but I'm excited about it. 
• Rediscover Jesus. This one is extremely personal so I'll keep it short as well, but I felt like I couldn't leave it out. I've done a terrible job of investing in my relationship with Christ, and I wish I could say it's just been since Charlotte was born. Again, I'm keeping this one short but I have an incredible amount of work to do here as well. 
• Learn sewing basics from Mrs. Mayhew. On a much lighter note, I didn't learn how to sew last year. Not even a little bit. A friend's mom did offer to teach both of us the basics sometime though, so this is me saying I remember your offer, and I'm cashing in at some point this calendar year. Kelly, let's make this happen. 
• Clean the shower. Yes, I'm a little embarrassed that this is on my official New Year's goals list. But you know you don't clean that stupid thing either. They're the worst. The absolute worst. I scrubbed ours yesterday and it was awful, and it occurred to me that maybe if I do it more than three times a year it wouldn't suck so much. 

And that's my list. Short, sweet, but there are some pretty heavy things in there that I'm diving into headfirst. Bottom line, I want this year to be meaningful. I want to get to the end of it and see tangible change. Tangible results. I want to be able to point to things in my life and say "I did that. I accomplished that this year, because this time last year I saw a problem in my life and decided to fix it." I'm excited for this year. I'm excited for what's ahead.