Resolution Reality Check

I recently heard that by this time in the year, most people have already given up on their New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t know where I heard that, but the funny thing is, the date that my mystery source referenced was actually March 10th. So I figured a little accountability post would be PERFECT for seeing just how successful (or unsuccessful) I’ve been thus far with the resolutions I set back in the beginning of the year. Truth time, folks. I’m bearing my soul to you. 🙂 Want to see the original post? You can read all about my ambitious goals here.

1. (Personal) Read a book before bed, not a screen. 

It’s been my goal to finish my night reading pages instead of scrolling through PinterestInstagramFacebook on my phone before falling asleep. So far, it’s gone… pretty well! I’ve been working through the Harry Potter series and been really enjoying some of the magazine subscriptions that come in the mail each month. There are definitely nights when I resort back to the ‘ole screen, but habits take awhile to break, which is why we show ourselves grace and try again the next night.

Progress so far: B+

2. (Work) Give lesson planning more of my time and energy.

Grrr, so much to do and so little time! Especially in ministry. While I plan out my lessons for a good chunk of the year beforehand, my goal was to spend more time each week praying about the topic, thinking about games that could be played to go along with the theme or message, etc. I’ll keep plugging away at this one- some weeks I do great, others get so busy I forget to remember.

Progress so far: C

3. (Personal) Drink five large cups of water every day.

Pretty self explanatory. I’d say I’ve been capping out at 1-2, sometimes 3 per day. Not great. Mitch did say he saw someone with a HUGE water bottle that was designed to be your entire recommended water consumption for the day and showed you just how much further you had left to drink. This might be a future investment for our family…

Progress so far: D-

4. (Blog) Decide if February will be the end of an era or if we’ll press on.

Decision made! Clearly (as we’re all still here and reading) we’re continuing with Oh, the Fun… see the full post about that decision here.

Progress so far: A+++

5. (Personal) Clean the house in small bits throughout the week, not all on one day.

In order to avoid having to spend a full day (or worse, weekend!) cleaning, we wanted to get a daily system in place. I’d say we’re progressing, but don’t quite have it down pat yet.

Progress so far: B

6. (Personal) Find an accountability friend. 

Someone to connect with about life and faith- someone to encourage me to keep seeking growth.

Progress so far: B

7. (Work) Try new games at Youth Group.

We’ve been working really hard to come up with and try new games at youth group, just to keep things fresh. Some have been #fails and others have been crowd pleasers… either way, we’re expanding our repertoire! Let me put it this way… I may or may not have just placed an order for 200 plastic ball pit balls for this week’s game. That might warrant it’s own post, depending on how things shake out. 🙂

Progress so far: A

8. (Personal) Make some healthy changes.

This goal is going exceedingly well. Better than I would have thought. As of the beginning of January, Mitch and I committed to a period (exact length to be determined) of NO SWEETS! No sweets meaning no processed sweets- candy, cookies, cake, ice cream, etc. It’s been a ride. When all is said and done, maybe I’ll gather my thoughts about how it went, how we managed, etc. into a post. In other news, our YMCA membership is being fully utilized. I love the work out classes and Mitch is a pick-up soccer fiend. Less than three months until bathing suit season… time to kick it into gear!

Progress so far: A

9. (Personal) Work on a Family Yearbook.

The motivation is there, just not the system. I’ve had folders of pictures organized into each month of the last year all ready to rock and roll. Problem is, I’ve been using a program called Blurb to make the book and there’s definitely a learning curve that I’m not sure I have time to attend to. I really want to just go through Shutterfly (we’ve used them for all of our trip books and even our wedding album), but they have yet to release a layout that allows for a vertical 8×11 size… and I really want it to look like an actual yearbook! So I’m waiting.

Progress so far: C

10. (Personal) Have at least one planned adventure and one unplanned adventure this year.

At first I was thinking that we haven’t done this one yet. BUT THEN I remembered that just after going out to dinner for Valentine’s Day, Mitch and I found ourselves in a bit of a dumpster diving situation. Meaning that I told Mitch that I wanted something out of the church dumpster (that I had known was thrown away the day before) and Mitch begrudgingly went in to get it. Yes, it was pitch black. Yes, we looked like hoodlums. Yes, Mitch was not the happiest of campers. But yes, it was an adventure. I can’t tell you what it is that we were looking for because there’s a secret project coming your way this season. Rest assured though- it was well worth it. If nothing else, the weird looks we were getting were priceless.

I’d still say, though, that we’re due for an all-out, load up the car and drive to who knows where for a day of unanticipated adventuring. Those are the best.

Progress so far: C C+

So as you can see, the journey has started, but there is a lot of road left to travel when it comes to my New Year’s Resolutions… but I have not yet given up! That counts for something, right? 🙂 We’ll check back in a few months from now- that kind of accountability might be the only thing that gets me to complete some of these crazy ideas.

How are your resolutions (for those of you that made them) coming along? Still going strong or did you give up on January 3rd? No judgement here. 🙂