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.