2014

 

HAPPY 2014 MY FRIENDS! My goodness, what a year 2013 was. Looking back, I can't decide it was a good year, or a bad one. From running my first half marathon, going on TWO trips, overcoming some emotional challenges, participating in Color Me Rad and building this blog, it was certainly an eventful year. One thing that remained consistent throughout the year though, was that I am so lucky to have such an amazing emotional support system. No matter what I went through this year, good or bad, I always had wonderful people surrounding me and I am so so so so grateful for that.

I'm VERY happy to say that I achieved almost ALL my goals for 2013, mostly because I wrote them down at the beginning of the year and checked back often to make sure I was on track.  This year I'm going to do the same.

Now, I've been reading up on how to make goals that will stick, because it's all good and dandy to write "Eat more healthfully" but that is a much too general statement to create something attainable. I think it is very important to make S.M.A.R.T. goals (as I'm sure we all learned back in grade school). This means that the goals need to be:

Image Credit: Heidi Powell

I'm also going to break them up into the categories I did last year (minus Career Goals this year as they are somewhat personal): Physical/Mental, Financial and Miscellaneous. I'm also going to add Blog goals since my blog has changed A LOT since last year (thanks to YOU wonderful readers!)

So, here goes!

Physical/Mental:

• Separate Self-Worth and Weight from each other
• Last year I reached my goal weight from 150lbs. However, I gained it all back. I beat myself up A LOT about this because I tie a lot of my self-worth to my weight.I know now that until I can separate the two, I won't be able to reach and maintain a healthy weight. This leads me to my next goal
• Improve my view on myself
• Not completely a SMART goal, but I have been working very hard to stop any negative, self defeating talk. When you start making a conscious effort to stop being negative towards yourself, it's crazy how often you beat yourself up without even realizing it. Any time I catch myself criticizing my body, I stop and say "Lisa, you are beautiful" and I will continue to do that until I believe it. 
• Reach and Maintain a Healthy Weight
• For me this is 150lbs - I will never be "skinny" but I can be healthy and for me, this is a healthy weight. Since I know I can loose weight, the key here is to maintain it for the whole year
• This also includes learning to eat properly and for nutrition instead of for sport
• Feel comfortable in a bikini by the time I go to Florida in April
• Can you believe that I've been trying to do this since I was 16 years old? The goal here is not to look GOOD in a bikini (because that is quite subjective) but I want to feel COMFORTABLE in a bikini...meaning I want to be comfortable with my body
• PLAN MEALS that are healthy, exciting and easy
• My lovely friend game me a meal planning system for my birthday last year (THANK MARIE!) and gosh darn I will use it this year!
• One meal a week I will try something new 
• Each meal will include at least 1 veggie
• Re-introduce my body to running
• Although my blog is called "Running to Bake" I have SERIOUSLY been lacking in the running department. My goal is to run/jog at least 1 time a week.
• Do the Warrior Dash - July 19, 2014
• A great way to get back into running is to have something to train for. This Warrior Dash is not only a blast, but it's a great starter run to work towards.
• I've also wanted to do this for A LOOOONG time, so this is the year that I will check this off my bucket list
• Run another Half-Marathon - October 19, 2014
• My first half-marathon experience was SO amazing, I want to do another one
• This year, we're planning to run one in October, the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon - if you're interesting in joining/training with me let me know!
• Continue to cross train my workouts
• I did maintain (for the most part) working out throughout the whole year. This year I want to try some new things like Pilates, Yoga, and other exercises that will help me tone & maintain my weight.
• I also want to learn to enjoy my workout and not just participate in it for the sake of doing it
• Join a sports team
•  I have crazy anxiety about playing team sports, so I'm hoping to combat that this year by joining a co-ed softball team.

Financial Goals:

• Continue to save for a down payment on a house
• This year we are setting up a separate savings account for JUST house savings. We only had 1 savings account last year and things often got mixed up, so this year it will be its own account that is not accessible on our bank cards.
• Money will automatically come out every pay and go into this account
• Save $$ to go on a trip in April
• We are well on our way to saving for this trip now! Very excited about this one.
• Have seperate accounts for different functions
• "Gas, Grocery & Spending Money" Account
• "House & Trip Savings" Account
• "Bills" Account
• Continue to pay down VISA/School Debt
• I plan on paying off at least 1 card this year AND my school debt. 
• School debt comes out automatically every month and we are focusing on paying of one VISA while still making payments on another.
• Finish Payments on my car
• ONE YEAR LEFT!!! WHOOHOO!

Blog Goals:

• Create schedule for posts/recipes 
• This is a tricky one, because often I'm just struck by a mood to bake something and then post it. I'm still going to try and have a regular schedule for posting so that my readers have a time they know something new is going to appear on my blog
• Have pre-written blogs in case I don't get a chance to bake that week
• I'm going to have weekends as my "baking" time and have a back log of posts that I can go to when I don't have time to bake
• Improve the look and feel of the blog
• Although my blog has come a long way from when I first started, I want it to look more professional than it does now. This includes better pictures (I got a fancy new DSLR from Hubby this Christmas, so that will help), better layout and better organization. I don't know how to do a lot of this, so I will need to learn
• Include posts on healthier baking
• Don't worry, I won't stop posting decadent goodies, but since my blog is about promoting healthy living, I do want to try making protein bars, healthy snacks and the like.

Miscellanious

• Convert everything over to my new married name
• I'm about a year and a half behind on this one, but I got the ball rolling while I was off between Christmas and New Years, so just have to keep the momentum going
• Need to change: Passport, Bank Info, Insurance, Car Ownership etc.
• De-clutter closet and add staple pieces
• I'll admit, I have clothes in my closet that I've had for 8+ years, that no longer fit and/or are stained and unwearable. Clearly, those need to go.
• I want to buy staple pieces of clothing that will help me feel confident and pretty, no matter what size I'm at - 1 awesome pair of jeans, a good bra, nice heels, fitted top etc.
• Do things to make me feel good
• Manicures, Pedicures, regular hair cuts, eyebrow waxes, massages etc.
• Continue to play piano
• I feel off this last year, but it was/is a great way to keep from snacking when I'm bored AND it is soothing so I really want to get back to this.
• Keep a Memory Jar
• I started to do this last year and then stopped, so I want to try again this year and keep on top of it!
• Keep on top of mess in the house and car
• Truth be told...my car is gross. Between 2 dogs, constant use, coffee spills, garbage and the like, my car takes a beating. So now, every Monday will be car clean-out day to get rid of all garbage, wipe up any mess and just keep it tidy
• House - we're better at this one, but again, with the 2 dogs, rarely being home and exhausting work schedules, cleaning often gets pushed to the side. However, I ALWAYS feel better when the house is clean & tidy, so instead of leaving it all to 1 day a week, we're going to make an effort to do a little bit every day.
• Stop biting my nails
• It's gross, I know, but it is one of the hardest things for me to stop. It's kind of my version of smoking. Good news is, I've gone almost a month without biting them. Getting my nails done/doing my nails on a regular basis will help me to keep this going
• Get more into photography
• I've ALWAYS loved taking pictures but I've been limited by my point and shoot camera. This year, hubby TOTALLY surprised me with a new DSLR camera, so I want to start taking more pictures and learning about all the fun things I can do with my new toy!