2015 under review

I have a strange love for annual reports. This surprises no one given my love of data, behavioral tracking, and goal setting. It isn't just the numbers and trajectories but also the way I feel when I see the results (those unscientific feelings; let's quantify them!). I also like patterns and routines so it is only natural that I will repeat my 2013 and 2014 New Years Eve activity of summarizing our last year and weighing in on how we did with our goals. But first--Happy New Year! We were so happy to get to spend it with our new friend, Amanda.

This year brought a lot of joy and also some sadness. I guess that's the way all years will go, of course. We were so sad to lose Jasper and we continue to be sad/angry/confused by the OSU Homecoming parade tragedy and so many heart-breaking events in the world. But we had wonderful visits with family and friends. I got to travel to a number of interesting places and have fantastic food. Good friends welcomed new babies. We made some new friends and I got to see some old friends. These are the moments I hold close to my heart. But there are many other moments that made this year unique.

• We had our first visit to the Emergency Room. 
• A had her first haircut
• We tried to make each holiday special
• Sweet A turned 3, had a fun paint party and attended LOTS of birthday parties this year
• We transitioned A to a toddler bed and revamped her room and bathroom
• We had fun trips to the zoo, the Science Center, the Wondertorium, and A's first trip to the Aquarium
• A started gymnastics and tried out soccer
• I finally hung pictures on the walls in all of the rooms in our house
• I started stitch fix 
• I took the position as Director of Clinical Training
• I lost 16.5 pounds (we will temporarily disregard the 3 pounds I regained over the holidays)
• I made reading a priority and I killed my book goal

Overall, I think it was a good year. In many ways, this year has been the hardest in awhile on me and Chad. But A is thriving, work is going well, and we truly are incredibly blessed. I am working hard to continue to be grateful and use that gratitude to be kind to others.

In terms of behavioral outcomes, I took a quick look at my goals and have determined that I must pare these down for the upcoming year. And I should revisit them often.

Family, Parenting, & Intimate/Social Relations

• Be more present in relationships. Put down my phone from 6-7 and 8-9pm. 

This continues to be a struggle. Downloading the app Moment was helpful because I set a time limit per day and times that were supposed to be "screen free". However, sometimes I shut down the app or ignore the warnings. :( I don't like this. Not a good start.

• Call a friend at least once per week. 

Yikes. Not this one either.

• Go to dinner or a movie with Chad once per month.

Man, this is tremendously discouraging.

We did better this year. We hired a sitter a few times but haven't hit anywhere near monthly.

• Start getting A ready for bed by 8:45pm.

We are close here. Most nights.

• Do not do any work on Wednesday nights.

I did really, really well with this one for awhile. And then I taught three classes over the summer (mistake) and the end of the fall semester got out of control and I did not adhere to this as closely as I wanted. I should be able to pull this one (and the Fridays or Saturdays I added) back in for the spring.
Work

• Submit 2 grants

Done.

Both were scored but neither were funded. 

• Attend 3-4 national conferences (with submitted oral presentations)

I attended CUDCP in Albuquerque in January, NASSPD in Boston in March, ARP in St. Louis in June, and ABCT in Chicago in November. I gave oral talks at two of those conferences and my students presented posters at three (along with some local conferences). Additionally, I gave one invited talk at a university. 

• Submit 7 manuscripts (as well as revise/resubmit the 4 manuscripts which are currently under review, hopefully with an opportunity to revise where they are now but if not, to new outlets)

I need to be in my office to check on this one but I know we did fairly well with this goal this year with several acceptances, R&R, and new submissions. I made a goal to submit a new or revised manuscript each month and we did achieve that. 

• Catch up on clinical note signing

And now we are back to the discouraging parts.

• Submit journal reviews by the day before they are due 

This is only getting worse.

• Continue with Sunday night meetings, protecting writing time, and using the RescueTime web app

I continued with the Sunday night meetings through November and then I struggled to keep my head above water. My writing time also suffered in the fall semester. The RescueTime app has been helpful but I think I need to be held more accountable to it again, perhaps posting screenshots on occasion.
Personal Growth, Spirituality, Recreation, Physical Well-being

• Stop glorifying busy

I think I hit genuine change on this one. I am still busy and I try not to resent the busyness but I certainly am making good efforts to stay out of the competitive complaining mode. Now I need to work on not judging others who have not made this their goal.

• Find a church (after flu season) 

Not yet.

• Go to bed by midnight at least 3 nights per week

What was I thinking in making this a goal?

• Run on the treadmill or go to the gym 3 days per week

I did this incredibly well August through October. November and December were much spottier.

• Read Savor and begin to eat less mindlessly

I started this book but it came at a terrible time (from the library) so I am back on the waiting list for it.

• Participate in an organizational challenge but also give myself a break about laundry piling up. I don't like it and folding it right away (...or days/weeks later) really doesn't matter

I completed some parts of the organization challenge sponsored by Apartment Therapy. I really enjoyed it and some aspects of the challenge stuck all year.

• Read 15 books

Guys, I crushed this goal. I didn't even recall that I originally set this to 15. I said 30 on goodreads at some point in January. 58 books. I can't even believe it. The only thing that comes close to this is the number of journal articles I review. ;) I started feeling antsy last week when I realized that, with some dedication, I could double that and hit 60. But then the next book that arrived was one that begged to be savored. And journaled. And I realized the antsy pressure I was feeling reminded me of glorifying busy. So. 58 it is. Definitely a win.  

• Write 4 blogs/month

This was widely variable. This will be my 63rd blog entry for the year but that includes series of posts like for Christmas and the organizational challenge. 

• Enjoy my puppies

This one crushes my heart. Sadly, I did not spend enough time enjoying Jasper this year. I spent the summer frustrated with him and I will always wonder if/fear that the frustration prevented me from noticing how sick he got so quickly. I still can't think of this without crying. I, along with the help of A, have made a real effort to make sure that Madeline gets extra love each day. It has become some of the most bittersweet time in my day, as I can't help but feel guilty that it took losing Jasper to really appreciate them. 

Day 25: Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas Day this year, once again. 

I surprised Chad with Virtual Reality glasses he had no idea I had even heard of. 

Christmas was a success for A, in part, because her 86 year old self got a watch and a suitcase this year. I wish I had her exclamations of excitement on video upon discovering the watch. 

Of course, she got many other presents as well.

Including a ream of paper, which she used for more coloring and stamping. It was almost bigger than her.

Madeline also had a good Christmas. 

Merry Christmas to all!

Day 24: Christmas Eve and an abundance of Santas

I laughed today when I saw the original picture of A with Santa. We didn't make it to see Santa in 2013 and last year she refused to even be near Santa. We got some good pictures this year though she definitely has an ambivalent relationship with him. 

Tonight, A opened Twas The Night Before Christmas, from Nana and Chad and I took turns reading it to her. 

We also baked some nondescript cookies for Santa and A spent some time watching Santa on the Google Santa Tracker (so cute!).

This also seemed like a good place to post evidence from A's toils over the last week. Every day she places one or more drawings, coloring pages, etc. under the Christmas tree. I have no idea where it came from but we have quite a collection as you can see (they literally are all over though). 

The week before Christmas is so magical and really makes me try to see life through A's eyes. Like last year, it's nice to have some quiet time late at night to really take it all in.