Resolution Check-In

This year I was a little late making my New Year's resolutions, but hey! There's nothing wrong with September, right? It's like cramming for a test. We've all gotten away with it!

Anyway, back in September, I set 11 goals to accomplish by the end of the year. Here's how I did:

Goal #1: Do 2022 push-ups.

Status: Fail

I did 811, and then at some point, completely forgot I was doing this. Can I do 1,211 push-ups in four days? Methinks nah.

Goal #2: No soda for the rest of the year.

Status: Fail

I drank soda when we went to Disney World in October. 

Did you know that the water in Orlando tastes like fart? (it has a high sulfur content). 

I swore to myself I wouldn't drink any after I got home. I am not a woman of my word. In fact, I have a Coke in front of me as we speak. 

Goal #3: Take a week off social media.

Status: Success!

Goal #4: Work with my doctor to get off high blood pressure medication.

Status: Fail

Goal #5: Go kayaking by myself.

Status: Fail

After I made that goal, there were only about two days that I could have actually done it (with a combination of warm weather and an open schedule), and I missed my window. 

Goal #6: Go back to the temple.

Status: Half and half

I went with the youth to do baptisms for the dead last week. I didn't do any ordinances, myself, but I acted as witness. 

Goal #7: Try ten new recipes.

Status: Success!

Thai Crunch Salad with Creamy Peanut Dressing - this was a big fail because I overlooked the peanut butter in the dressing. Regardless, I probably won't make it again, even properly. 

Crescent Roll Burrito Bake - my family really liked this.

One-Pot Chicken Lasagna - "meh"

Szechuan Chicken and Noodles - we really liked this and have made it twice. I omit the bell peppers. 

Pumpkin and Rosemary Dinner Rolls - these made amazing turkey sandwiches after Thanksgiving. I made some with rosemary and some without. I think I prefer them with rosemary, but I will use a smaller amount next time because the rosemary lingered a bit much, and I don't like to taste my food hours afterward. 

Cheeseburger Soup - gross.

Corn Chowder - "meh." I've been trying to find a good corn chowder recipe for years, and they're all about the same. Just okay. I have a certain taste in mind that might not even exist. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies - I don't have a "go to" chocolate chip cookie recipe because I'm not a huge fan of cookies. These are acceptable, though. Someday I would like to do a chocolate chip cookie taste off and compare a few recipes side by side like I did with the banana bread. 

Homemade Egg Noodles - I actually tried two different egg noodle recipes in chicken noodle soup, but I didn't save the first one, so I have no idea what it was. This recipe was fine, but I need to perfect the craft of noodle making. I think I rolled them too thick. 

Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup - "meh."

Creamy Chicken Ramen Soup - "meh."

I also tried two fudge recipes and two banana bread recipes. 

Goal #8: Shampoo the living room couch. 

Status: Success!

And it's time to do it again.

Goal #9: Implement a new chore schedule with the kids.

Status: Fail

Oh gosh! I didn't even try! 

We had a pretty good schedule for a few years, and then sometime in the last year, we just stopped enforcing it, and we've never gotten back on track. 

Goal #10: Don't go over on the Christmas budget.

Status: Mild Success

We spent more than I had set aside for Christmas, but we walked away with everything paid off. So I wouldn't give us two thumbs up, but one seems fair. 

Goal #11: Read ten "school" books.

Status: Sucess!

Here are the books I read:

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

Timothy of the Cay by Theodore Taylor

Weasel by Cynthia DeFelice

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

Okay, just kidding. I didn't make it to ten. At least not ten from own school days. I did read a few books that my kids have read in school, though, so does that count? 

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, New Kid by Jerry Craft, Took by Mary Downing Hahn, Ground Zero and Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, and Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier. 

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I would say that puts my success rate around 50%, which is down from my usual 75%. I confess, I'm getting worse at meeting goals as I get older. I tend to live more in "survival mode" than "achievement mode" nowadays.

For the coming year, since I'm now serving in Young Women, I feel like I should use the format for the youth program to set some goals. So for 2022, I'll be focusing on one or two goals in each area: spiritual, intellectual, physical, and social, and I'm hoping for more than 50% success. But I can't make any promises.