2011- 2012

What. A. Year.

Times Square on New Year’s Eve (a first)

2010 year felt like the fastest of my life, and 2011 felt like the most surreal. There’s really no other word to describe it. I went back to school. My heart broke, and I thought I’d never be the same again. Adele played on repeat.

But someway, somehow, things turned out okay. I’m not a religious person, but the one Life Idea that’s always spoken to me has been Shakespeare’s Wheel of Fortune. Have you heard of it? Basically, the way I learned it (in English class back in the day) what goes up must come down, and what goes down must come back up again. So you just had The Worst Day of Your Life. On the flip side? Things can’t get worse! They always have a way of working themselves out in one way or another. They may not be the way you want them- or thought you wanted them- but you can put a lid on them and call it a day.

Last year, rather than make sweeping New Year’s Resolutions (which I don’t think I’ve ever actually set for myself), I made “small (yet joyful) goals for 2011.” The philosophy behind this was to focus on the positive (cook new foods each week!) rather than the negative (gosh, Katie, you’d be a much better person if you _________). I also didn’t want to set ridiculously high goals for myself that I’d never have a chance of following through with.

So, let’s see how I did.

1. Put $1000 in savings by the end of the year. Done and done! I’m most proud of this one, actually, because I haven’t had any source of income since August. My nest egg may be small, but should I ever need to pack up and get out of Dodge, I can do it.

2. Run another half marathon, pain- and injury- free; and 2b. Run 9 races in order to qualify for the 2012 NYC Marathon. Ha! Nope. The longest I’ve run this year is about seven miles, and that was an isolated incident. My sweet spot is somewhere between two and five, and the idea of training for something longer was so unappealing that I didn’t sign up for a single race. I run when I want to and when it’s fun, and if it’s not, I don’t. Obviously there are things in life we have to do that we’re not completely excited about, but voluntary racing is not one of them.

3. Travel. I started the year at a resort in Florida, went to Bennington, spent a couple days in Michigan for our weekly trip (fingers crossed I can spend the whole week this year!), had a great weekend in the Hudson Valley with my mom, went to Montreal for a weekend and met the Green Giant in Minnesota. I didn’t make it to my top three US destination cities (San Francisco, Portland and New Orleans), but I’m going to do my best to get to at least one this year. And do a lot of traveling, whether it’s a twenty minute trip out of the city or an overnight flight to Turkey. A girl can dream!

4. Journal more. Check.

5. Say yes when I want to say no. This one will probably be on my list every year, but it’s a good reminder for me to distinguish between needing some down-time alone and not wanting to miss out on something.

6. Live guilt-free. Another one I need to remind myself about. There’s a massive correlation between stress and illness (both physical and mental), so finding a healthy way to manage and reign it in is so, so important.

7. Drive more. With the exception of a five block trip to move a friend’s car, I haven’t gotten behind the wheel since August. Granted, there are some extenuating circumstances for this, but I’m really going to make an effort in 2012. Plus, it’ll help me achieve #3!

8. Cook a new recipe once a week. This was my favorite and most fun goal. And because I was sharing my progress with you each week, it was a great way to both remind myself to do it and hold myself accountable. I did miss two weeks in August, but again, they were due to extreme circumstances and I didn’t feel guilty about them (what’s up, #6!). I’ll keep this short and sweet, but will write another with a list of my favorites.

9. Continue showing the people in my life how much I love and care about them. Always and forever.   

My small goals for 2012 don’t have any real end date. Again, nothing big and dramatic, but they’re things I’ve wanted to work on for a while now, and can only be positive improvements in my life.

1. Unplug once a month. This is #1 for a reason! As more and more things go digital, it becomes increasingly difficult to detach from electronics and social media. So once a month, I’m going to forego TV, the internet (e-mail, web browsing, Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Instagram, etc.), computers, my camera, and anything else that has a screen. I’ll use the phone to receive calls, but won’t use the text function. I haven’t yet figured out which day I’m going to do this as I receive my work schedule via e-mail, but the first time I try it I’ll let you know.

2. Embrace spontaneity and live without regrets. This is similar to my 2011 goals to “say yes” and “live guilt-free.” By being open to spontaneity, I’ll have more opportunities for random fun and creating new memories, two things that help keep your mind sharp and your brain happy (according to my Psych 101 professors). And as far as regrets go, I don’t want to live my life harping on past mistakes.

3. Dance. Soooo I haven’t talked about this before, but I get extreme social anxiety when it comes to dancing in public. It sounds silly, and I wish it were something I could laugh off and just suck up and do, but I can’t. I hate being that person at weddings sitting alone at a table, or that girl at parties who keeps shaking her head in terror when someone tries to get her to shake her groove thing. Dancing is something you have to do in a lot of different situations in life, so I need to find a way to feel comfortable with it.

4. Ask for help. I can be pretty stubborn sometimes, so I’m trying to be better about realizing when I’m in over my head.

5. Continue to explore new directions for my blog. Thank you all so much for your feedback! I’m excited to try out new things and see where LVP is a year from now.