Last year was a pretty good year for me personally. I ran two half-marathons (both under 2 hours), created a new course Running and Math (best class ever), started Tae Kwon Do and have worked my way up to a green belt, adjusted quickly when my husband stopped working from home (only a few meltdowns) and except some slight things stayed injury free (right now I am battling a sore left hamstring). The summer was a rough time for our household with my husband being laid off and my Laney dog losing use of her left back leg. It wasn’t long before things turned around though. Laney will always have a slight limp, but it only took her a couple of weeks before she was running by my side again. As for my hubby, he got another job that started right after his last job ended! We are blessed!
So now it is time to think about what goals I have for 2012.
- Publish a paper: I had this goal last year and although I made progress there was no paper written. I love my research (it deals with modeling the HIV epidemic), but finding the time for it is always challenging. I have four publications, but my last was 3 years ago. That is an eternity in the research world. It is time to get back in the game!
- Improve at Tae Kwon Do: I was originally going to say stay with Tae Kwon do, but honestly I don’t think that will be a problem. I am really enjoying it and have gone from a beginner white belt to an intermediate green belt during my first year. If I stay on track, by the end of 2012 I should be an advanced brown belt. It isn’t about the color of my belt though. I want to really know what I am doing and be able to utilize what I am learning.
- Read to my Kids (almost) Every Night: My hubby brings the kids upstairs every night. They watch a TV show and then get ready for bed. When they are all ready I am called to come upstairs and read stories to them (expect Thursdays when I am at karate). Sometimes I am so beat or up to my eyeballs in work I ask my husband to read books. Really it doesn’t take long and I need to make time. My boys are growing up way too quickly and soon story time will be a thing of the past and I will miss it terribly.
- Back-up Videos and Pictures: Since I got my iPhone in September my regular camera and video camera have been unused. That’s okay, but I have to remember to back-up those pictures. It is pretty easy to lose a phone or have something go wrong with it. It is also easy to put pictures and videos on your computer and/or memory stick, etc.
- Keep up with Diet and Exercise: I am happy with my diet and exercise in 2011 so I would just like to keep up with it. With Steve not working from home my schedule is not as free as it used to be. This summer I will have the kids and can’t just sneak out for a run at 8am before it gets to be a million degrees. I see a lot of summer night runs in my future.
- Run Another Half-Marathon: I ran two last year, but with my hamstring bugging me right now it is hard to imagine running two this year. I know this will pass. I will run the Seaside half in October and we’ll see about one in April. I promised myself last year that I will not train injured so if my hamstring does not heal soon April may be out. I want to make sure that just because April may be out I don’t give up on October. With my much less flexible schedule training is a lot more difficult for me, but I know it is possible as long as it is a priority.
- Potty-Train Andy: Andy will be three February 24th. We have already explained to him that when he turns three Pull-Ups go bye-bye. We did this with Joey when he was three and he was trained in a day for peeing in the potty and a week for pooping. I have a feeling Andy will give us a lot more trouble. He really should be using the potty now, but he’s stubborn.
- Get Rid of Stuff: We have so much stuff. I have gone through toys and clothes and we have donated a lot, but there are also bags lying around waiting to find a home. I am determined to end 2012 with less stuff in this house than we started with.
- Re-Evaluate my Courses: There are courses I have taught over and over again. It is time to re-evaluate these courses and change/edit/add to them. It is very easy to do the same thing over and over again. After having taught two new courses this year and having to start from scratch with them it has got me thinking about how I can improve some of the courses I teach every semester.
Goals for my Boys:
- Steve: Get a colonoscopy and a stress test. He has a family history and it is time to start getting tested. He wants to lose 20 pounds before he goes back to the doctor so that is his 2012 goal. I promise to encourage him and not make cookies he can’t resist. Last summer I was great about giving him all the time he wanted to go bike riding like he does for me with running. I will do the same this year. Now we just need to find a form of exercise for the winter that he doesn’t despise (not easy).
- Joey: Learn to swim. Joey was only 18 months when he could swim across the pool at the YMCA with just a small float on his back. At two they dropped him off the diving board and he was traumatized. He still swims great (with the same float), but will not jump in. In the past few months he started to do small jumps off the side of the deep end, but not the diving board. Then two weeks ago he started jumping from the shallow end and submerging himself. He also allowed the teacher to remove his float and he swam a few feet. We have a pool in the backyard and I would love to watch Joey swim across it without a float this summer.
- Andy: Become Potty-trained (as discussed above).
There are other things I would love for my boys. I would love for Joey to learn to ride a bike, behave better in school, adjust well to kindergarten and continue to love and do awesome at karate and soccer. I would love for Andy to learn to swim, jump off the diving board at the YMCA, continue to nap (Joey stopped before he was three) and start karate. Yes all of these would be wonderful, but if they are happy and healthy come 2013 than I will consider 2012 a successful year.
