As 2010 Comes to a Close, Let's Look Back at My Resolutions...

On January 1, 2010 I posted the following resolutions on my blog:

1. I am going to try to eat a bit healthier. We got a toaster oven for Christmas and I'm looking forward to using it to cook some more meals at home.
2. I am going to try to exercise a bit more. Exercise bike, real bike, and my land paddling will be the ways I go about doing that. I was doing pretty well with the land paddling last year until it started to get dark earlier.
3. I am going to try to save a bit more money. I want to be able to start taking regular trips places, and I feel that the easiest way to accomplish this is going to be by saving a bit more money. I would like to get to the point where I can take at LEAST one trip a year to somewhere cool.
4. I am going to try to be a little more patient with the dogs. They are getting older and they are stubborn, but I'm going to be more patient with them.
5. I am going to continue enjoying life with Cathy.

Now, let's take a look at how well I did (or didn't do) on those resolutions.

First, eating healthier. For a good part of the year, I did very well with this. I had cut all regular soda out of my diet and was eating less junk food and more diet type foods. I even managed to lose nearly 35 pounds. So I did pretty well. But then I got bored with those foods and started eating junk again. I put a bunch of the weight back on, but I'm still down from where I started. So overall, I did well, but not nearly as well as I could have. I'm disappointed in myself for not sticking to it...and I have promised myself to get back to eating better again. Maybe for another resolution??

Second, exercising. This was another thing very much like the first. I started out with a workout program that quickly became boring. But then I started riding bicycles and was doing pretty well. Then I somehow managed to hurt my leg a bit, and it was sore for a couple of weeks. By the time it felt better, I had pretty much given up. I then started another workout routine here near the end of the year, and again I managed to hurt myself a bit, this time my back, but I'm planning on getting started on it again in the next few days. I pulled a muscle in my back a long time ago, and it seems like ever since then every six months or so I aggravate it a bit. I think it's because I never let it fully heal, so I stopped working out to make sure I'm back to 100% before getting started again. Also, I have plans for other things to do to work out this summer...so it will be ANOTHER resolution again.

Third, saving money. I actually did pretty well with that this year. I managed to have nearly $1,000 extra by the time the end of the year rolled around. Of course, quite a bit of that was spent on Christmas gifts...but that's okay, it's a good start. I don't think I had ever had an extra $1,000 to spend on Christmas gifts before. It was nice to be able to buy gifts for everyone while not struggling to pay bills or anything like that. I've got some plans to make sure I continue doing good saving...which is good, because Hawai'i will be here sooner than I know.

Fourth, being more patient with the dogs. This one was hit or miss. I think that overall I was much more patient with them this past year, but there were times when I really couldn't take it and just needed some peace. However, I would say that this resolution was a success...and that's even including the fact that Cooper has been really bad with his nails lately.

Fifth, continue enjoying life. This one was something that I know I accomplished. I had a lot of fun this past year and can't really think of anything that is a real downer for the year. Sure, some things at work were aggravating, but nothing that would really matter in the grand scheme of things. I continue to really enjoy spending time with Cathy, and look forward to a long time of having fun with her.

I'm sure I'll have some resolutions to post for 2011...and I'm sure that some of them will be the same as last year. I guess if I can continue to progress with them, then maybe by 2015 I'll actually be able to stick to all of them for the whole year!!!