Assessment of My 2008 Resolutions

I learned a few things about resolutions this year.
A. It helps to share them. 2008 was the first year I posted mine publicly, turned out to be a good idea, I had support!
B. You need to look at them often. Some of my resolutions I totally forgot about, this year they will hang by my desk.
C. They can be really quite enjoyable, as long as you pick things you really WANT to do.

Here's my year end report.

1. Climb, Kayak, Backpack and Mt.Bike twice as many days as I did last year.
ACCOMPLISHED. Thanks primarily to Joe, Lacey, Claudia, Kim and Brian I nailed this one!

2. Wear Sunglasses more often.
SORT OF. I did wear them more often than usual however I didn’t wear them as often as I had envisioned. I can’t help it, I just get too disoriented, I will continue to try.

3. Do Five pull-ups.
ALMOST. I can do 4, and I got up to 4 without trying so maybe next year I will be up to five, also without trying. I thought about it a lot so maybe you really can you things if you just put your mind to it.

4. Gain 2 pounds…of muscle.
SHOOT. I weigh the same; I guess it could be worse.

5. Take Ari backpacking.
MY BIGGEST FAILURE. It was not for lack of trying! We tried this several times and things always feel apart last minute. I’m so ashamed.

7. Journal more consistently and more often.
YES…ISH. I did journal more by way of my blog, which is now sort of my journal, sort of. The rest of it is in a big pile waiting for me to do something with it.

8. Make a Budget and keep it, or at least come close.
I TRIED. It’s hard to have a budget when you don’t have any money to budget.

9. Discover 10 new hikes.
CLOSE. Did I really say 10? Wow. Lets see I could count Antelope Island, I found a new fork to Spring Hollow, Babylon, Card Canyon Loop, Lone Peak, ventured further up Cottonwood (aka Lost Kenny), part of White Pine lake, and my backpacking trip with Kim could technically count for several different hikes…right, and I did wander around some cool new places? I would say I got pretty close.

10. Take a solo trip.
FAILED. I’m ok with failing on this one because I took several non-solo trips that were just as rejuvenating.

11. Go to an Opera.
NOPE. Maybe next year.

12. Write more thank-you’s, remember birthdays, and act on impulses…
I DID OK. I liked this one, gave me added intensive to do nice things. Yes, there is room for improvement I will definitely continue to do this. If I forgot your birthday you better let me know when it is.

13. Help Olivia get her deposit back.
OOH THE SHAME. I talked to a lawyer AND even showed up on her landlords doorstep but still was not able to accomplish this. I would have taken this farther but by doing so may have drove Olivia crazy.

14. Do something really great for my 30th Birthday.
NAILED IT! Spent the day in the Valley of the Gods with good folks, good food and good scenery. Thanks to this trip and my birthday gifters I have to admit it was the best birthday ever.

15. Consider Dreads.
THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT. Thanks to Lauren’s experience with dreads I now know that while dreds can look quite becoming (especially on Lauren) they can actually be quite a pain in the butt.

16. Enjoy being a Mom.
100%. It was a great year.

17. Take 20 photos that I would deem “portfolio” worthy.
Ehhh. I would say I have maybe…5ish, maybe even 10.

18. Spend time with my camera (and Photoshop) every week.
YES AND NO. I did accomplish this…just didn’t really get the results I wanted, still working on that.

19. Get ready to start my own photo business in 2009.
I DID PRETTY WELL. I own a website now. My brother designed it and Joe’s brother hosted it, advised me greatly and actually got it up and running for Christmas this year (so that I would have it by the time this resolution was due). Jon and Travis helped me so much; I really can’t thank them enough. Not sure that 2009 is “the year” but I’m really happy at where I’m at with this. I’ve learned a lot this year and will continue to asses the situation and work on the website.

2009 Resolutions coming soon!