14 in '14 Review

So, it's no surprise that Peter took over my brain and my life in 2014. I honestly forgot I even made these goals for the 2nd half of the year. Oops! I did a few recaps in January, February, March, and June to show my progress on these goals, so if you're interested in what I actually accomplished, I'd recommend checking out those links. This will be more of a quick recap with my bragging for doing well or my excuses for why I failed. =)

1. Eat {more} vegetables.

I did well here because I made the goal simple and easy to measure. I ate *more* than I did the year before. So what if I still eat way below what I should? I'm improving and that's good enough for me. 

2. Learn to drive a stick (again).

Yippee! I did this one and am happy to say I could drive a stick shift in an emergency, if needed. I don't plan to ever buy a car that requires it on a regular basis, but I can drive someone else's and keep the car moving, even if it is a bit jerky at times. 

3. Read books.

I did read books, so this gets to go in the success category as well! I didn't complete The Empty Shelf Challenge as I hoped, but part of that was because I was borrowing books or reading them on my iPhone/iPad.

4. Print and make albums with the pictures I take in the year.

This one didn't happen, but I have faith it will this next year. More on that in my 2015 blog post.

5. (Continue to) memorize the book of James. 


I failed here and don't even have excuses. I didn't make the time or the effort. 

6. Crochet a blanket for Kory

I didn't do this one either, but it actually wasn't my fault! Kory decided half-way through the year that he didn't want the blanket anymore. I decided to do a baby blanket but then we were super blessed by family and friends and have a ton of baby blankets and don't need another one. So...I realize I could have finished my blanket I started like 3 years ago and never finished, but I didn't.

7. Can 3 foods.

I did it!! I canned strawberry jam, dill pickles, and salsa. I'm still very much a novice when it comes to canning, but I really enjoy the process. 

8. Do puzzles.

Another yes! I think I did 4 puzzles this year? That's not a lot but one of them was 2,000 pieces and took months and months to complete, so I still spent a good amount of time doing puzzles. I think I should do another one soon before Peter's old enough to help me out, aka grab and eat the pieces.

9. Make my blog prettier. 

Umm...technically, this is a yes. I added a background and changed some fonts. I don't love it, but I do like it. I'd still like to make it better at some point, but it's pretty low on my priority list these days. Still, it's prettier than it was before so I'm calling this a win.

10. Read through the entire Bible.

This is the one goal I am most ashamed of failing at because I failed miserably. I just quit trying. I still had a reminder each day and I dismissed it day after day without even trying to read. I have a whole list of excuses why, but they're all selfish and dumb and embarrassing. I've got to do better here. 

11. Eat more whole foods and, therefore, less processed foods. 

Again, the goal was *more*, so I succeeded. I'm toying with some ideas for how to kick this up a notch in 2015, but haven't made any decisions yet. I still have a deep love for junk food, but I did take some positive steps in the past year. 

12. Get my braces off.

Yeah baby!! This happened! I got them off on October 27, which was my due date. Peter came 9 days late so I easily reached my goal of having them off before he was born. I'm wearing a retainer now, but it's still so nice to be able to take it out to eat or brush. Flossing is so easy now! 

13. Brush up on my Spanish.

No. Yo no hice esto. I had to look up how to say "I didn't do this" because I don't even remember that much. 

14. Move out of our house.

I am very grateful that this one didn't happen. We spent Christmas 2014 in our home with our new baby and it was awesome! 

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Alright, so the final total I accomplished was 8 out of 14. That's over 50%, so I'm happy with it, particularly during a year where I grew a human being!! Because I consider him the best part of 2014 (obviously!), I can't finish this post without a picture of him.