2011 was quite the year.

Mike got the green light to bring mock turtlenecks back in style.

I fell in love with my road bike & trainer.

I met Alana in real life! I also met a bunch of other social media and blog friends IRL at St. Malachi including Heather who is now one of my IRL best friends!

Molly and I took a road trip to Washington DC to visit Amy!

I talked about how much I’ve learned since finding out I was pregnant.

I lost my grandpa.

I set my oven on fire. It was scary.

I had serious self doubt during marathon training. I was ready to throw in the towel.

Mike and I celebrated 5 years of marriage! I got into those jeans!

I had one of the worst weekends EVER when Heather’s dog went missing while in my care. Don’t worry, he came back. But I also did my first duathlon that weekend and LOVED IT.

I ran my first relay race with all Muskie gals and had a ball!

I RAN A MARATHON. Like the whole thing. Like 26.2 miles. Someone pinch me.

I hurt my knee during aforementioned training and marathon and took some time off. It was good.

I got a first hand lesson in race cheering from Sarah OUaL.

And that my friends is a busy year! Looking forward to another year of sharing a slice of my little life with you!

In early 2011 I stated my goals/resolutions. I even did a halfway check and a final wrap. Goals and resolutions are fun! So without further ado, let’s see what 2012 has in store… it’s only a few days away!

Better skin care!

Years of summers in the sun, visits to the tanning bed and somewhat lackadaisical skin care now have me a tad worried about my future skin health and appearance. I’ve stopped the tanning bed visits and am more conscious of my commitment to SPF but I’m somewhat lazy about the before-bed wash routine and anti-aging goodies.

I proclaim today that I will make my best effort to wash my face before bed every night! I will also try to keep up on weekly mud masks and lots of moisturizer and SPF!

Sweat!

I have a few sweat related goals I’d love to reach!

• Race a half marathon – I somehow skipped over this race distance in 2011.
• Run, bike and have fun! I still have zero plans for another full marathon and just want to keep on sweating and having fun with it!
• I’d still love to get down to my goal weight. I still have about 11.5% to go!

Do work!

Literally. I really really do love my job and want to continue to grow into my career. I have big hopes to accomplish some kick ass things at work this year!

Miscellaneous

• As much, or more, quality time with Mike & Miles as well as other family and friends. I really want to do some fun things with Miles this year like aquariums, zoos and museums!
• GOLF! GOLF! GOLF! I did not get to golf nearly as much as I’ve wanted to the past few seasons. This year, it’s on! I can feel that 5 iron in my hands already.
• Travel a bit! No huge euro trips on tap but I’m definitely going to VEGAS in August and would love to plan a trip of some sort that involves this gal and also a few other locations in mind.

I’m sure I’ll be setting some other goals along the way, but these are the big buckets!

What about you? What’s on tap for 2012?!

It’s almost Christmas! YAY!

However, Mike and I already exchanged our gifts last weekend. We’re like little kids… whatever. We also already gave Miles his gifts last Sunday. We have busy plans both Saturday and Sunday this weekend and figured it was kind of cruel to be like, “Oh hey Miles here are a bunch of awesome toys! OK, time to change and leave. Drop the toys.” Plus, he doesn’t know that it’s really Christmas so whatever.

I’ve been attacked by germs this week. Cold from hell. Isn’t it funny how a common cold is so debilitating? Seriously, I feel like I got hit by a truck. I think I’m on the mend, but my head is still throbbing like I had 8 Christmas Ales last night. Oy!

I decided at the last minute to make cookies last night. I was all like, “Hey, it’s Christmas… I’m gonna splurge!” So I made these yummy cookies…

Then I put some on a plate for Mike and I and I didn’t even eat mine. I just felt like poo. Christmas fail.

Mike’s new hobby is bourbon and whiskey. It all started with a gift bottle from his brother from another mother, Nate. Ugh, I can’t drink that stuff. Beer me a beer please!

I feel like I need a really good sweat session today to get out these germs but I’m too afraid I’ll pass out while running so I’m going to have a nice date with my bike. I’m even going to wear my sweet padded bike shorts so I can’t be all like, “Ouch, my butt hurts… I’m cutting this ride short!” Though, to be honest, my butt will hurt anyways.

Everyone is complaining about this no-snow Christmas weather. I’m ok with it. I’m always OK with it NOT snowing. There is a reason Mike won’t let me have a car that isn’t all-wheel-drive.

Alright, you peeps have a fantastic Christmas weekend… if you are into that sort of thing!

What’s your favorite kind of cookie? Do you like whiskey?

Well it’s been almost a year since I made those 2011 resolutions. Let’s see how I’ve done…

1. Be a size five 5/6 for my 5 year wedding anniversary on August 12, 2011. This one may surprise you. NOT. Hehe. But really, this is a big goal for 2011. Time to do work!

Hmmm I’d say I made it 75% of the way. My goal jeans fit on my anniversary but not to the point I’d want to flaunt them. I’m very comfortable in my size 8 pants right now so still a bit of work to do!

2. Decrease recreational and unnecessary spending. This will be a tough challenge, and I’m not going to set a specific monetary number to it. But I want to spend less, save more. This is going to require some sacrifices but I’m ready. We’re considering “cutting the cord” so to speak on our Dish Network and going with just basic cable, hulu, Netflix. It’s time to take some of those credit cards out of the wallet to prevent some impulse shopping and I really need to stop doing so much online shopping. Amazon just makes it so damn easy dangerous. And with this I really want to stick to my menu planning.

Meh, I’d say I got about 50% of the way to success here. I’ve cut back some spending, but still like to shop and splurge. Mike and I have already started saving spending money for our August Vegas trip so that’s a positive step! But sometimes you just gotta…

3. Accomplish at least three of my fitness goals.

CRUSHED IT. From my fitness goal list I did the following in 2011:

• Ran a 10 mile race
• Completed a Duathlon
• Ran a marathon
• 30 day Shred

4. Become a better blogger. I need to spend more time editing, fixing errors, doing more quality writing, etc. I just kind of jumped into the blogging world with no preparation so it’s time to get things done right.

I think my blog is better than it was a year ago, but I’m still not spending any time editing, proofreading, etc. I’ve just decided to write and not stress over it. I’ve probably lost some readers or had some roll their eyes at a grammar mistake here or spelling mistake there… but whatever. It’s my blog.

5. Be a better mom and wife. I’ve learned a lot this year about being a mom, and will continue to learn. I want to have more patience and less frustration. My husband has been a rockstar this past year and I want to return the favor and be the best wife I can be.

Well I guess Mike and Miles are the judge of this but I think I’ve learned how to better balance my individuality with motherhood and continued to learn how to be a wife. 2011 was a fantastic year with my boys!

6. Get, and keep, my life organized. I have several closets and drawers that are always a disaster and I avoid them. It’s time to tackle them. It might take me all damn year to get to them all, but that’s OK. This also goes for other aspects of my life too. I want to keep my finances organized, my email inbox, etc. Part of this goal is also to take more everyday photos.

Did pretty good. I was looking at tax stuff the other day and I have 6 different donation receipts for Goodwill. That means I cleaned and organized a piece of our house at least 6 times. Our guest room could use another go too!

7. Set small goals and rewards. It’s easy, especially this time of year, to get caught up into making big goals and become overwhelmed and set up to fail. I want to make goals for myself on all levels. I also want to reward myself when I reach some of them. You may see some mini-posts this year with my small goals.

Yes! I am really enjoying my monthly challenges with myself and also with friends. I hope to continue to do so!

So overall I’m pretty happy with my 2011 goals and outcomes. I’m excited to set some 2012 goals soon!

What about you? Did you make any goals/resolutions and are you succeeding?

Oh hey friends… do you have facebook? Do you like me?

Click here, ‘like’ the photo. That’s all. Thanks a bunch!