So, that was 2011. I’m sure a whole bunch of stuff happened, and if you click on that archives link in the sidebar, you can read all about it.
It can probably be summed up by saying “We had a baby, and were quite busy with the care and feeding and globe-toting of said baby. Also, there was poop.”
I did write some resolutions at the beginning of the year, so let’s check in on those, yes?
Figure out / Survive the first 9 months of parenting. Well, I certainly survived. Figured out? Sure. I’ll be bold and say the first nine months were pretty awesome. We were blessed with a happy baby who didn’t have colic, started sleeping through the night with some regularity around 5 months, lets us drag him across continents and over oceans without melting down, and is damned cute to boot.
I’m feeling pretty well-rested and also dropped the baby weight and then some while eating shocking amounts of whatever I want. I am riding this wave of good-baby hubris as far as it will take me. And now that I have been an incredible braggart, I am sure the other shoe will drop any second. But, the resolution only stated ‘first nine months’ so for this one I say Resolution: WIN!
Take more photos. I didn’t exactly get to the “photo a day” thing I was aiming for, but I did take a lot more pictures in 2011 than the couple years prior. A new baby and the amount of travel we did this year made for a natural increase in picture-taking. We also picked up a couple new lenses (10-20mm Wide-Angle and 50mm f/1.4) that makes using the camera and getting the shot I really want a lot more pleasant than the kit lens ever did.
I also finally got our more portable camera fixed this year after breaking it in 2009, so between that and my iPhone I’m more likely to have a camera on the go as well. I also developed a medium-sized instagram habit, which upped my (cheezy and heavily-filtered) photo count considerably. You can, of course, see the year in (seriously baby-heavy) photos on flickr. Therefore, I’m also calling this one a Resolution: WIN!
Increase our net worth by 10%. Blew this one right out of the water. As of the 1st of December, our year-over-year net worth is up 22%. Basically because we landed on a combination of being totally miserly, saving all of our big tax refund from 2010’s investments, and having our condo appraisal up this year (though the condo value only accounts for 4% of that 22%). Other than that, we stuck to our modest savings goals throughout the year, and let our managed accounts do their (mediocre) thing. Looking at projections for next year, assuming most things stay the same, we can expect the same kind of performance. So perhaps 10% was really lowballing it. Regardless, it’s the number I picked, and while we’ll aim higher next year, for now I can firmly call this a Resolution: WIN!
Run 5K (again) by the end of the year. Hah. Hahahaha. HAAAAAAAH. No. Did I run at all this year? Unless warmup jogs for bootcamp count, no. But, as I alluded to back up at the top, I’m in better shape now than I was before I got pregnant. Partway through my third trimester, I ended up with a lot of SI Joint trouble (where the hip bone connects to the… something… bone?) which sent shooting pains up and down my back and legs whenever I did things. Like walking. Or sitting. Or getting out of bed. Cure? More cowbell less activity. One of the few “injuries” where not walking or staying mobile is actually the best thing for it.
By the time Isaac came along I was intensely stir-crazy. And that feeling really just hasn’t gone away. I started attending Fit4Two classes, starting with the general mom & baby fitness, then moving into bootcamp & aquafit, and it’s been amazing to keep moving and get stronger. I never did get back into running, since I really dig this little family thing we’ve got going on, and the last thing I’ve wanted to do when Neil gets home is dump Isaac and literally run away from them, but I’m certainly into a habit of fitness that I want to continue once I’m back at work full time. Nonetheless, I did not run at all, let alone 5k in 2011, so I have to say Resolution: FAIL. But maybe a Life: WIN.
Three outta four ain’t too shabby. Did you make any resolutions? How did you do?
