It's almost 2010! Let's see how I did.

Last year, I made a mini album listing my goals for 2009. Before I start making the 2010 edition, I thought it would be a good idea to look back and check out my progress for the year.

The cover. Man, I love the puffy paint. And that flower. :)

I'm very happy to report that I not only met, but exceeded my goal. I ran two 5Ks races from start to finish with no walking breaks. I'm very happy that I achieved this, but I also discovered that it doesn't take a lot of serious training for me to finish a 5K without walking. So this year, I'm thinking about setting a goal of running a 10k. This scares me a little bit because I've never ran that far before, but at the same time, I want to challenge myself. Also, I would have to take running more seriously, because right now, I would not be able to run 6.2 miles without stopping.

I think I did okay at this. We've done a good job of recycling bottles. I bought a set of food storage containers to pack my lunch in, using far less plastic baggies. Brewing our own coffee has all but eliminated our trips to Starbucks, so less cups to throw away. And we take our cloth bags almost every time we go to the grocery store. (We do recycle or reuse the plastic bags that we end up with -- the majority of them go to our local food bag program for low-income students.) Do any of you have any other things that you do that would help me improve in this area? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Technically, I did not learn to knit. I mean, I did finger-knit a garland for my yellow Christmas tree, and have made one arm warmer with a knifty knitter loom, but as far as knitting with needles goes, I can cast on. And that's about it. I did, however, get pretty darn good at crochet. Specifically, amigurumi. So I don't count this one as a loss, because I learned something new.

Mike and I have been doing Financial Peace for the last few years. Through this, we managed to save a sizable down-payment on our house. So yes, together we've gotten very good at saving money and working on a budget. But this year we learned that part of keeping our momentum when it comes to saving money is having a goal. And after we bought the house, we didn't have a big goal. Now, mind you, we didn't go out and spend, spend, spend. But for a few months, we got lazy. But we're back on track with some new goals in mind...eventually replace the cheap shingles on our roof with dimensional shingles or metal, replace the cheap windows. Yep, parts of our house were done on the cheap. Another aspect of this goal was to save more of my monthly allowance (we give ourselves an allowance each month to spend however we want). It's fun money, but I want to do bigger things with my fun money. Somehow, I manage to go though it pretty fast. Some of it is for stuff I want to do, some of it is for things my classroom needs. Whatever the reason, this year I want to start saving part of my allowance to the next month so eventually I can do things like buy a new camera lens, etc.

This one I have some problems with. This is an issue that manifests itself in my perception of who I am socially. I am not the girl people are drawn to, for whatever reason. I've stuggled with this a lot throughout year. Specifically with the girls my age at church and work (which, let's face it, takes up a lot of my life, and is therefore very significant). I'm usually the odd girl out. Whether it's because I'm quiet, don't have kids, work at less-frequented corner of the building...I often think I'm just different enough to seem boring to most people. Now, for all the self-imposed mental beatings I've given myself, there are positives. I have become very good friends with three wonderful gals from church. I've found out that we're very similar in that we haven't really clicked with certain social circles (social circles are a funny thing), but I love being around these girls, and I think they like being around me. :) I have a wonderful friend at work. We're sounding boards and encouragers to one another, and we share a love for good Thai food. And, I know to some people this might sound pathetic, but I have some amazing online friends. And I truly count them among my friends. So, at the end of the year, I think it's important that I recognize the special bonds that I have with these people, and to realize just how incredibly blessed I am to have these people in my life. Which sounds like a good 2010 goal.

Ummm...yes and no. Yes, at times I drink more water. But I'm still pretty much hooked on soda. Stupid Dr. Pepper and your wonderful flavor. Today I saw this PSA on the news today that warns people about the effects of drinking one can of soda per day (warning, it's kinda gross). Now, I think the results they warn viewers about (10 pounds of fat gained from drinking 12 ounces of soda per day) are on the extreme side (yes, it could probably happen to some people, but I don't think your average moderately-active person is going to suffer this). Nevertheless, soda isn't healthy. I know this. And I still drink it. And I keep trying to quit. And I do pretty well for a few weeks. And then I have a big moment of stress and I break down and buy my Dr. Pepper. So, I think this year, my goal is going to be less vague. I'm going to make a very serious effort to stop drinking soda. Oh, that's still kind of vague. I'M GOING TO STOP DRINKING SODA! There, that's better.

I am not satisfied with my progress toward this goal. I consider this a good thing.

Eh. Yes at times. And no at times. It really depends on my level of stress. I can be a very postive person when life is pretty low-stress. But the inverse happens, too.

And the back cover. Just because I can't post all those pages, and not post the back cover.

If you have goals for the new year, I would really encourage you to write them down. It doesn't have to be as fancy as a mini-album, but making a list can be very helpful. And also keep it somewhere where you can go back and look at it from time to time. I didn't do that this year, but next year will be different. And if you post them online, I'd love to see your goals!