Happy New Years Eve!

How are you this wonderful New Years Eve day? Do you have any big plans for this evening? The Aggies have their Bowl Game today so we are having a watch party over here. The first batch of goodies are in the oven right now! Whoop! This evening, my brother and sister-in-law are coming over to help us ring in the New Year.

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Before I move on to 2012 and begin focusing on my goals for the New Year, I thought it was important to look back on the goals I set for 2011. I set five goals for 2011, and I would say I did so-so in sticking with those. If you want a full recap on my 2011 goals, you can check them out here. Here we go...

1. Complete at least 4 half marathons. Technically, I only ran in  two official half marathons (Dallas Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon in March and the Dallas 13.1 in October); however, I have run a couple of half marathons on my own around White Rock Lake so I give this resolution a half check. Those dang races just get so expensive when I can just go run that far on my own whenever I want. Don't get me wrong, I love racing but I'm pretty picky about which race I shell out cash for.

Kristen and I at the Dallas 13.1!

2. Deepen my Yoga Practice. My goal was to practice yoga more regularly in 2011 and to try out new studios. Again, I give this one a half check. Hey, I'm being honest here. I definitely practice yoga regularly for the first half of the year, tried out numerous new yoga studios, and took from a variety of instructors. However, when I started my new job in April I really started to get more into Pilates. We have an amazing Pilates studio at my new facility and wonderful instructors who I so enjoyed learning from. Since this is a mind/body class as well I still think I reaped similar benefits (increased strength, flexibility, stress reduction, mind/body awareness) that I used to see from my yoga practice. I still love yoga, but as I begin my Pilates equipment certifications, my focus has definitely switched which I am ok with!


3. Be more daring in the Kitchen. I can give myself a full check on this one. I tried out quite a few new recipes in 2011. Some turned out great, and some did not, but hey I tried! I love cooking and trying new things. Some of my favorite include:

Chia Power Balls

Easy and Healthier Bead Pudding

Pumpkin Bread

4. Improve my blogging skills. Hmmmm how are my skills? Well, I definitely didn't post 5 times a week consistently all year (thank you grad school), but I realized that I should never force myself to blog. When blogging feels like work that's when I know I need to take a break. I love this silly little blog, I love my readers, and I love the whole healthy living blog community, but sometimes life just gets in the way. With that being said, I do feel like I learned a lot about blogging this year. I made my first video blog, met lots of new bloggers, kind of improved my writing and photography skills (hopefully), and had a great time along the way. Those are all good things in my book, so I'll take it! Sometimes, you just gotta do what you can and roll with it.


5. Make 2011 my healthiest year yet by achieving balance in life, health, happiness, and mind. 2011 was a great year and I made great strides toward stressing less and enjoying life as it happens; however, I still have work to do in the not worrying department. I admit it, I'm a worry wart and I don't think that's ever really going to change, but so much change happened in 2011 that I really did have to learn how to roll with the punches a little more. I will continue to look for the positive in every situation and focus on the things I can control and not stress so much about the things I can't in 2012. You know what, that's really all you can do! :) This is still my favorite picture!

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Even though I didn't score a perfect 100 on my goals for 2011, I still consider the year an immense success! So many wonderful things happened in 2011 and I feel truly blessed going into 2012! Bring it on!

I'm off to finish cooking goodies for the game and getting ready for company. I hope you have an absolutely amazing last day of 2011!

In health,

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