Monday, December 31, 2007

The celebratory New Year's Eve post

Here in the A&R household, we've resolved to see in the new year with risotto, mead (the champagne of beers, though it really isn't a beer at all), and video games. I was going to make baked oysters, but one look at the supermarket convinced us to put it off until later in the week. Shopping madness. I was gone all week! What's their excuse?

Being the last day of the year, it's time to look back on the goals I set for myself at its beginning. To recap:

The Goals:

1. Continue exercising several times a week, and don't slack off when school gets busy. Just think of all the complements you got this Christmas, and also keep in mind Grandma's quip about how she hopes they can also expand the ring when you told her about how you had to get it re-sized smaller. Grr.

2. Continue doing the readings for class on time. It really paid off last quarter, so don't get lazy.

3. Get a firm figure on how much money Dad will be contributing to the wedding. We don't want a repeat of what happened when we went of to college, now do we?

4. Reserve a ceremony and reception location and a caterer this summer for next summer's wedding, so that these tasks don't have to be done during the school year.

5. Post, on average, every other day. I think I'll be shooting for every day, but life just gets in the way sometimes.

6. Send people cards on their birthdays.

How I fared:

1. I've actually been quite successful in this endeavor. I slacked off a bit after moving to the new house, but have since recovered since becoming the owner of a nice new treadmill. Our continuing passion for mountain biking, snorkeling, and other outdoor activities has also helped. I haven't really lost any more weight, but have changed shape a bit. I'm just prone to adding muscle, which masks any changes in fat mass.

2. I did my best for the first half of the year, but have since given up. I almost didn't buy the books for my classes this past quarter and somewhat regret doing so (or at least buying all of them). However, most of my classmates have similarly given up, as the books, while containing useful information, have little to do with what we are doing in class and take up valuable time that could be spent planning or sleeping.

3. Not only did I get a figure from my dad, but the money has been sitting in my bank account for the last six months collecting interest. Score! I'm really relieved to have it conveniently accessible for when I actually start making reservations and the like. Oh, February, you can't come fast enough for my taste!

4. I've done the best I can at this one, but unfortunately the place we've picked doesn't finalize its booking schedule until February. We're on the top of the list, but could get bumped by a summer camp or some other big event, however the lady handling the whole affair says that August is normally a calm time so it shouldn't be a problem. The place requires us to use their caterers, so that will be two birds with one stone. We just have to wait a little longer (can you tell I'm slightly antsy for this all to be put in writing already?).

5. Success! I've got a total of 259 entries for the year--more than meeting my goal. Even breaking it down month-by-month, I've still posted (on average) at least every other day. Go me!

6. Medium. I did better than last year, but I still think I could be better at this.

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