2011 Resolutions Revisited

in Resolutions

Ahhh.  It’s that time of year again – New Year Resolution time!  I know some people despise NYRs with an undying passion, but I really love them.  I think of January as a fresh start; a chance to try again; an opportunity to wipe the slate clean.  Happy-New-Year-31

(Source)

I like to publicly proclaim my resolutions on the blog because it helps me stay committed.  Last year, as usual, I set personal, professional, and fitness goals.  How did I do?  Let’s check it out…

 

2011 Resolutions Revisited

Personal Goals:

  • GOAL:  Save enough money to buy a home without needing PMI.  REALITY:  We went through the process of trying to buy our first house this year but were thwarted at the last moment by lenders because of new, tighter rules that especially impacted newly self-employed folks (despite having excellent credit and a decent down payment).  We’re planning to try again in 2012 after filing our taxes; our broker thinks we have a decent shot.  Fingers crossed!  I’m willing to wait (and save more) for my dream.

IMG_5563 IMG_5564

  • GOAL:  Prepare body, relationship, and bank account for eventual pregnancy.   REALITY:  Done, done, and done!  Body ready, relationship solid, and bank account happy.  Baby is baking and due to arrive in June.

 

  • GOAL:  Learn to speak Chinese with the Husband.  REALITY:  Total and utter failure.  Never even ordered the program.

 

  • GOAL:  Keep in better touch with my old friends by calling them more often.  REALITY:  Not a huge success but not a complete failure, either.  I could’ve done better at maintaining friendships, but given how busy work has been, I’m satisfied.

 

Professional Goals:

  • GOAL: Write the Operation Beautiful 2 book, which is due February 15.  REALITY:  Done!  And I beat deadline by 5 days.  The official title will be Operation Beautiful For Best Friends, it is geared towards 8 – 14 year old girls, and it will be released in mid-July.  Here’s a preview of the jacket!

operation-beautiful_CV_thumb

  • GOAL:  Write the Healthy Tipping Point book, which is due in September.  REALITY:  Done!  The Healthy Tipping Point book will address emotional health, physical wellbeing, and balanced eating, and it will be released in June.  I have seen the cover design but am not sure if it’s public yet.  I’m excited for the HTP book to be released!

 

 

  • GOAL:  Help the Husband grow his acupuncture practice.  Reality:  Done!   The clinic is doing quite well, and we have high hopes for the future.  I work as the secretary and help with some marketing efforts.

 

Fitness/Health Goals:

  • GOAL:  Get back into ideal racing shape and run a 1:55 Half Marathon in March.   Reality:  Not achieved.  I ended up injuring my leg and had to drop out of my planned Half Marathon entirely.  However, I did walk a Half Marathon in New York City in April, which was a really cool experience.  My Half record stands at 1:58 – maybe one day I’ll break it!

IMG_2151

 

  • GOAL:  Do yoga at least three times a week.  Reality:  Epic fail. I was pretty into yoga at the beginning of the year but totally fell off the wagon.

 

  • GOAL:  Use my indoor bike trainer when watching TV instead of just sitting on my butt (at least twice a week).   Reality:  While I definitely rode my trainer more often, I didn’t do it as regularly as I would’ve liked.

 

  • GOAL:  Drink more water and regularly take my supplements.  Reality:  Definitely achieved!  I was a water-drinking machine this year.

 

So, in summary, I feel pretty good about 2011.  Looking back, I achieved all of my professional goals and fell in love with triathlons and swimming.  And we achieved our #1 goal, which was to get preggers!  Despite a few rocky moments, 2011 was a great year, and I’m excited to see what 2012 brings me.

 

On that note…. here are my resolutions for 2012.  The list is shorter because life is changing so much!

new year 2012

(Source)

Personal Goals:

  • Emotionally and intellectually prepare myself for motherhood.
  • Coach Girls on the Run through the end of pregnancy and then transition to sitting on a committee in the Fall so I can continue to stay involved with the organization.
  • Buy our first home or move into a larger rental before the baby arrives.
  • Make a greater effort to keep in touch with old friends.
  • Read at least one book a month.

 

Professional Goals:

  • Have two successful book launches for Operation Beautiful For Best Friends and Healthy Tipping Point.
  • Continue to help out at the clinic as much as possible.
  • Work with the Husband to balance our work schedules so we can both be ‘part-time-stay-at-home-parents’ (more on this later).

 

Fitness Goals:

  • Exercise three times a week through the rest of pregnancy, health permitting.
  • Do a super sprint triathlon by October, health permitting.

 

Did you achieve your 2011 Resolutions?  What are you gunning for in 2012?

{ 36 comments }

 

  • Emily December 26, 2011, 12:58 pm

    Congratulations on following through with so many of your resolutions! I don’t even remember what mine were, but I don’t think I did well on any of them. Eek. I may post a blog entry on my resolutions as well, that way I feel pressure to achieve them since I have an audience watching!

  • Amber @ Bold, Busy, Blessed December 26, 2011, 12:58 pm

    I don’t think I really made set resolutions for 2011. And if I did, I don’t remember them! My resolutions for 2012 involve running some 5Ks and possibly a 10K. I haven’t set anything in stone yet, but I really want to become more dedicted to running, and I (just like you) think signing up for some races will be a great motivator!

    I also want to eat less meat/more whole foods, but I need to spell that out in more specific terms.

    Guess I need to do some brainstorming!

  • Brie December 26, 2011, 1:05 pm

    My 2011 resolutions were a mixed bag. My only goal for 2012 is to get and STAY pregnant.

  • Sonia the Mexigarian December 26, 2011, 1:06 pm

    Ithink I hit most of my goals for 2011, all except 2 big ones. Find a publisher and get my book published and show my artwork in a gallery. Those two will be the big main ones again for next year.

    I am writing out my goals for 2012 and will be posting them soon. One of the goals does involve running more races and actually do a tri 🙂

  • Shannon @ Mon Amour December 26, 2011, 1:17 pm

    It makes me so happy to see others meeting their goals. 2012 is definitely going to be a huge year for you with that baby arriving in June!

  • Ellie@Fit for the Soul December 26, 2011, 1:20 pm

    I love your #1 and #5 resolutions for 2012 Caitlin~I think it’s so important to keep in touch. And seriously, great job on getting so many books done! haha, it’s hard enough to get a paper done at school 😛

  • Becky @ TOHG December 26, 2011, 1:30 pm

    I usually dismiss the idea of creating new year’s resolutions thinking they are something you create, start out gung ho, and quickly fizzle out with the motivation to follow through. Seeing your goals and reflections has motivated me to make a serious effort to make some SMART goals for the next year. Thanks for sharing your experiences (and providing some inspiration)!

  • katie @ KatieDid December 26, 2011, 1:37 pm

    Nice work on your goals, you had a hugely successful year it seems! I did a recap of my 2011 goals last week which I accomplished just about all of. And I’m in the process of some 2012 goals. I too am a hugely goal oriented person, love checking things off and looking back and reflecting on a year as a whole.

  • Army Amy* December 26, 2011, 1:39 pm

    These look like great goals! It can be tricky to make big plans when your life is changing in big ways. When my husband finishes his deployment, we’re supposed to move. Since I don’t really know when that will happen, I think I’m going to skip making a resolution this year. There are just too many unknowns.*

  • Amber K December 26, 2011, 1:41 pm

    When resolutions are set out like this, clear defined goals, I think it is much more likely that they are achievable. P.S. Can’t wait to see your books coming out next year!

  • Annette @ EnjoyYourHealthyLife December 26, 2011, 1:42 pm

    LOVE it! ANd nice job on achieving the baby goal 🙂

    I am going to do a Half Ironman tri next year and AIM 1 of the elite BodyPUMP instructor training. Eeeek! SO excited.

  • Khushboo December 26, 2011, 1:44 pm

    2011 was a great year for you! I like that you added ‘health prrmitting’ next to exercising during pregnancy!

  • jackie December 26, 2011, 1:47 pm

    Congrats on all the resolutions achieved! I love making lists at the beginning of the year too. I started one early this year (train for a half marathon- my first race in may 2012) but just sprained my knee and can’t do much of anything right now 🙁 I’m hoping the dr. will eventually give me the ok to keep training but for now i’m just focusing on not getting discouraged and keep aiming toward other fitness/health goals for 2012 🙂

  • Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat December 26, 2011, 1:47 pm

    Well done Caitlin!! You had such an amazing year! I am the same as you on the yoga front – my goal was 4x/month and it was a total fail! But there were a lot of other wins that outweighed it. I’ll be declaring my 2012 goals when I unveil my masterpeice (LOL) of an inspiration board on the first Monday in January, but I’ve got lots planned including getting back into racing, and a few professional development goals. I’m sure your book launches will be uber successful!!

  • Katie @ Peace Love & Oats December 26, 2011, 2:06 pm

    I’m working on my resolutions at the moment, but right now my biggest one is to run a half marathon and then a marathon!

  • Ingunn December 26, 2011, 2:23 pm

    Oh, I would love to read a post about preparing your body and your life for pregnancy!

    As for resolutions, I think my main one will be to blog more often and write more trip reports from our adventures. It’s like making a great scrapbook without all the work.

  • kathleen @ the daily crumb December 26, 2011, 2:41 pm

    i did pretty well on my 2011 resolutions! yoga was a big one for me and i am happy to say i am consistently practicing 4 days/week now. on the 2012 list is a baby! fingers crossed 🙂

  • Chelsea December 26, 2011, 3:11 pm

    I don’t have a New Year resolution. I just tend to make month to monthly goals, and try my best to stick with those. I achieved every single one last month whoop!

  • Allie December 26, 2011, 3:16 pm

    Congrats on accomplishing so many of your goals! That is fantastic!

  • Emily December 26, 2011, 3:43 pm

    I’m excited to read about the part-time sharing parenting thing! Its my dream that when I have a family I can do things in a more equal way (not because I don’t want to be a full time mum, but because I always feel sorry for dad’s who don’t get to see their kids very much). It will be interesting to see your ideas on how this may work for you guys.

  • Jen@FoodFamilyFitness December 26, 2011, 3:49 pm

    I didn’t make any resoultions for 2011, but I have high hopes for 2012 and will be posting my goals within this next week.

  • Gina @ Running to the Kitchen December 26, 2011, 4:01 pm

    Nice job on your reolutions! I never set resolutions but I have some goals in mind for this year that I’m thinking about publicly announcing. We’ll see 🙂

  • Wendy December 26, 2011, 4:28 pm

    I’m not a big resolution-maker. I’m a teacher, so my goals usually go by the school year rather than the calendar year anyway. Maybe I should try making a handful this year?

    A few things: we just refinanced, and even though we had to go under PMI to do it, it’s still a better deal because interest rates are so low. Just something to think about.

    Other thing: I am friends with a married couple who both work in the medical field, and they have arranged their schedules so either one or both of them is at home with their children. I hope you can find the same balance. I was a stay/work-at-home mom until my oldest started kindergarten and wouldn’t trade those years for the world!

  • Gillian @ The Greener Bean December 26, 2011, 5:43 pm

    I love this format of personal/professional/fitness goals. I will definitely be using this guide as an outline for my own goals for the coming year. Congrats on achieving so many of your goals… 2012 is going to be an exciting year for you guys… am excited to follow along with 🙂

  • Luv What You Do December 26, 2011, 7:54 pm

    I met my goals of starting a blog AND running my first marathon! I m still working on 2012…luckily I have almost a week to go : )

  • Kim @ vegan mama-to-be December 26, 2011, 8:19 pm

    I achieved probably 5 out of 10 of my 2011 resolutions. But a couple of them were thwarted by an unexpected, but very welcomed pregnancy, so I’m not counting those as failures 🙂

    In 2012, my focus will be about being an awesome new mama; navigating the changes parenthood will bring to my marriage; continuing our minimalistic lifestyle w/ a baby; spending more time w/ friends & family; and getting back in shape after childbirth. So basically, 2012 will be all about baby 🙂

    P.S. I love seeing your baby bump pictures – I think it’s amazing how different every woman carries. My bump was very low from the beginning and still is now!

    • CaitlinHTP December 28, 2011, 11:30 am

      Mine seems so high! Funny 🙂

  • Kristen @ The Concrete Runner December 27, 2011, 6:50 am

    You did great on your goals! Regarding PMI, when we bought our house 5 years ago, we avoided paying PMI by taking out 2 loans. We could only put down 10%, so we took out a loan for 20% and put our downpayment towered that and took out a 2nd loan for the remaining 80%. I don’t know if that helps your lending issue at all but thought it might help.

  • Alett December 27, 2011, 7:53 am

    Super job on completing those 2011 resolutions!

    You’ve inspired me to create some of my own for 2012, thanks 🙂

  • Madison December 27, 2011, 8:51 am

    Random, but did you know you could actually pay PMI insurance upfront? Like you, I was really opposed to purchasing a home and having to pay PMI month after month… but with the interest rates where they are, it didn’t make too much sense to just keep waiting/saving. That being said, my hubby and I had about 12% to put down, and simply paid our PMI upfront at closing… I think it costs us around $2700—much better than the quoted $115 we would have had to pay each month for 5-10ish years! Neither our lender or agent shared this with us—we had to ask! Just FYI! 🙂

    • CaitlinHTP December 28, 2011, 11:30 am

      I did not know this! I am definitely going to look into it.

  • Melissa @TryingtoHeal December 27, 2011, 10:50 am

    Sweet accomplishments and goals Caitlin! I did pretty well with mine, if you want to check them out at my site! http://tryingtoheal.com/2011/12/20/what-i-wanted-in-2011/

  • lauren December 27, 2011, 2:10 pm

    I’m loving the comments you got regarding pmi, even though they probably don’t apply to you anymore – I’m taking note!
    One of our goals is to buy a house next year!
    I did pretty well on last years goals, the two big ones were to chill out (kind of achieved) and train for and run a half marathon injury free (achieved). I started a list for this year, but it isn’t complete.

  • Jolene (www.everydayfoodie.ca) December 29, 2011, 7:46 pm

    Great job on your 2011 goals, and all the best to you and your family in 2012!

Healthy Tipping Point