New Year's Resolutions

No I'm not starting early for 2011, but I was about to write out a To Do list when I came across my 2010 New Year's Resolutions. I'm so glad I kept this, because it's fun to see which of those things I've crossed off, which I still haven't done and those I completely forgot about even promising to do.

1. Exercise 3x/week and go to yoga 1x/week.
I haven't kept this up consistently throughout the year, but this was by far my healthiest year yet. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that I'm not commuting 45 min or more each way to work and have an extra 90 minutes a day to spend at yoga or working out. Funny enough I also canceled my gym membership this year, because with 2 people and 1 vehicle having to drive to a separate location to work out was not convenient. Instead I've switched to yoga classes down the street from my train station, running outside and Jillian Michael's 30-day Shred at home in the living room.

2. Take a trip to a different continent.
This was one of the worst years for traveling. Although the bearded man and I managed to fit in a lot of shorter trips: Grand Canyon, Vegas, Seattle, San Francisco (twice), San Diego; there was no international travel. Our last trip of the year will be to another national park which is great since we'll probably not be able to fit one in next year with the wedding.

3. Consolidate IRAs.
A major fail on this one, especially since it's been on my list for 2 years! I hate dealing with the paperwork, but I'm going to make a concerted effort to try and get this done by the end of the year. Due to my plethora of jobs, I have about 5 disparate accounts all just languishing.

4. Cook food I like.
I have to hand it to Real Simple for all of the awesome easy recipes with a few ingredients. The bearded man and I cooked through all 20 of the dinners listed in their 4-week menu plan for dinner. I would say we enjoyed more than 75% of them and there are some we have already made again! I also need to credit again my lack of a commute for my ability to cook more often.

5. Organize apartment/purge.
We have a constant "outbox" where we put stuff that we want to give away and every so often I go through my wardrobe to look for items I no longer wear, are worn out or don't fit. The best plan I can think of for doing this is Apartment Therapy's Home Cure, which just finished but there are awesome short videos to lead you through it. Coupled with the book makes it easier than you might think.

6. Invest in home furnishings/art.
Only made modest progress on this one. We bought a big mirror for the living room and finally framed our favorite photo from a trip to Brazil, but that's it. The majority of our walls are still just plain old white. As for furnishings we purchased a chest for the living room to hold the pull-out bed sheets/blankets, a liquor cabinet/board game holder, and some new throw pillows, but that's about it.

7. Run two half marathons.
I ran three this year, so here's one resolution officially checked off complete.

8. Finish college scrapbook.
I have made so little progress on this one that I wonder if I'll ever want to finish it, but I think I'll make the commitment to finish this one and then maybe go for easier digital versions in the future (Shutterfly, Costco photobooks, etc.) I just never want to take the time to get out all of the supplies, make the necessary amount of mess and clean it up.

So out of 8 resolutions I've managed to do at least most of them a little and 3 of them completely. Guess it's time to start thinking about some new goals for 2011, maybe blogging a little more frequently?