2013 goals

Lots of people make New Years goals, but they're rarely mentioned at the end of the year....I thought it would be fun to go back and briefly note which of my goals I actually accomplished. Everything written in black was written this same time last year (January 2013) so here I am 1 year late grading my progress...

2012 was a whirlwind! I would like this year to be a little more tame-I want to do a ton of fun things of course, though I just want to take a year to cool it on major life changes. I have a lot of things I want to finally get to but the main thing is to improve-just to improve. It dawned on me while I was thinking about my up coming aspirations that I have so many interests it's easy to overwhelm myself thinking about all that I want to do and how I am going to even try to attempt it all...then it hit me that I will be satisfied simply if I improve in some way! I don't have to become fluent in Hebrew- if I learn even 1 phrase in Hebrew that's more than I know now. I don't have to do a 2 hour performance with my flamenco group-I would be happy to just continue to go to practice, take a couple of lessons, improve on what I do know and maybe learn a new dance. I have to 45 more pounds to go before I reach my goal weight-if I only lose 10 of those pounds this year, I will be satisfied-not overjoyed, but glad to be improving and taking steps in the right direction. Standing still is never an option for me. Whatever I do, I want to simply become better than I was last year.
There are some trips I am planning and there is one goal which I am emphatic about accomplishing...

Every thing written in black I wrote at the beginning of 2013, I found it interesting to go back and actually what I did (and did not) accomplish. I'm really pleased with myself and my results with several of my goals for 2013, a few I didn't even touch but there were a couple that took me much farther than I could have ever imagined. At the beginning of last year I said I wanted to take a step towards getting more translation work, well, I was hired by a company that pays me more money than I could have ever dreamed of making....the only problem is that this only happens when I'm at their beck and call and often times involves travel, so this is highly inconsistent. 

 This is how I look at the ones I did not succeed-first of all, there's always next year, it's 2014, a new year, a new Allicat and a whole new world of possibilities available. I'm not too disappointed with myself for not completing every goal. I have a tendency to spread myself a little thin so I'm not surprised and I feel like it's ok, it certainly isn't like I was sittin on my butt not doing anything so it's ok. Though I do feel like reprimanding myself for not doing some of the easier things...for instance-above I wrote quite a little inspirational speech to myself about the idea of 'just improving' and even if I only learned 1 word in Hebrew, that's better than learning none at all....which is true, of course I don't expect to be great at everything I try, just be better than before. I had 365 days to look up 1 Hebrew word or phrase and did not...it would have taken about 5 minutes.

Here they are....

things to improve upon-or start...then improve

1. flamenco-not one lesson, not one group practice, I did practice at home a little
2. home improvements-we did! We redid the living room and 1 bathroom.
3. make money....goal to work about 5 hours once/week-I did! I'm working 20+/week
4. freelance writing inquiries-I applied for 1 but another MUCH BETTER one came to me!
5. refine my book proposal-I gathered more research- still need to create a more formal proposal
6. inquire to more literary agents than last year (3)-didn't need to, I have one who's interested
7. start piecing the book together-still need to just take a few weeks and sit down and do this
8. begin home schooling my daughter-working on Languages each day, and she's in preschool
9. read more than last year (3 books last year)-Not really.....I read only 1 book
10. make my loved ones feel special on their birthdays-Well...I was about 50% successful 
11. put together my Christmas book-no...got more ideas, but didn't actually do it
12. finally volunteer-I did! I began in Jan 2013 and I'm still volunteering with my church
13. get my flower business going-I did 4 events out of my house in 2013
14. improve my wardrobe-I did! I bought more clothes in the past 6 months than the past 6 years combined....part money/part weight related- I'm feeling great now! 
15. take a step towards getting translation work-I did! I am officially employed with a large nationwide translation firm, in fact, they've offered me so much work I had to turn a lot of it down! 
16. make adjustments to my blog-I did! Nothing major, just trying to make it majorly better
17. plant a garden in my front yard- I did! I grew Sunflowers that were over 8 feet tall!
18. spruce up our garage-We did! We painted that ugly somebitch!
19. watch more French movies-no....not so much as a commercial in French :(
20. my teeth-I did! I actually got my braces off!
21. continue with Hula class-We did! Took 3 more classes AND danced in our 2nd recital!
22. at least submit my application to Graduate School-no...but had several very long conversations with an adviser....I'm going in a different direction.
23. improve my Russian-Well....I have my Russian student so sometimes she helps me a little
24. improve my Arabic-Well...apparently I had a long conversation in Arabic with someone at the bar a few weeks ago.....I said 'really? I don't even speak that much Arabic!' 
25. learn a little German-No...but I would not be surprised if I have a very different answer next year
26. learn a little Hebrew-No....man, am I disappointed in myself right now!
27. lose more weight
28. grow out my hair to donate to locks of love-I went a very long time without a haircut with the serious intention of doing this...but I had highlights and it would actually take a VERY long time to completely grow them out...I basically gave up on this one for now :(

trips loaded with new experiences and LIFE LIST items

1. trip to Disney World attractions, lodging, restaurants, experiences etc-WHAT A GREAT TRIP!
2. a big media trip including attractions, restaurants, experiences etc-Chicago, Kansas City, St Louis!

LIFE LIST things to begin, work on, and complete

1. learn how to make a hat-No....I did not learn how to make a hat.
2. make a blanket-I worked on my blanket...it's way more time consuming than I had anticipated.
3. have a pumpkin patch-Kind of...I planted them, they did great for a few weeks, then were eaten
4. put together a media kit-I did! 
5. finish redoing our bathroom-We did! With one exception, we cannot find a solution to one issue
6. aerobics-nope
7. join the D.A.R.-I totally made a little headway on this-it's more work than going to grad school
8. try donate my milk (again)-no
9. take a hula hoop class-no...where you CAN hula hoop alone...you really shouldn't- I did take ballet

the ONE LIFE LIST thing that I will work my butt off to complete this year

1. pay off all debts of credit/loans - ardently working on it...though still not there

I'm going to go ahead and give myself a "B" for effort but an "A++" for my gusto, my positive attitude and my confidence! (Hahaha...for the newcomers I like to joke around a lot)

If you would indulge me, I think it would really like to see your responses to the following 3 questions, I am particularly interested in the last question...comments do not post until after moderation. 

What letter grade would you give me?

What grade do you give yourself?

What was your best moment of 2013? and/or greatest achievement?