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. 

October 2015 Fix Review: Box #3

Stitch fix has become my favorite cardboard box, which is saying a lot given our love affair with Amazon Prime. 

This month, I had a new stylist and she delivered some lovely items. I again indicated that I am interested in professional clothes--blazers, dresses, and maybe a fun necklace. 

I have had a different stylist each month and I haven't yet requested to keep one, just because I have been curious what new people will send. This month's fix was fun but not quite as exciting as the first two and the note was definitely less personalized. Again, though, it is incredibly impressive to me that they are able to ever get anything right given how little time they have to spend on each customer. And they do extremely, extremely well.  Maybe one day soon I will post pictures actually trying on the clothes but for now, this will do!

I didn't take a picture of the beautiful necklace they sent but I have linked it here.

The Tart Blithe Chevron Knit blazer was pretty interesting. It was one of the softest pieces of clothing that I have worn and it was not structured like a usual blazer. However, the back was a different pattern from the front, which I didn't love. Also, I already have a gray blazer from Loft so I probably don't need another one anyway, especially for the cost.

The Papermoon Myra blouse was similar to the roll tab blouse I received in the last fix. This is a really flattering cut and can be dressed up or dressed down. I highly recommend it!

I was not a fan of the Sabrina Yoke Detail Blouse. It felt funny and the fit was really off. This one was sent back without any regret.

Finally, the last item was the 41Hawthorn Finola dress. It was a great dress--navy/black and a really good cut and very professional. The fit wasn't great for me but I might be willing to try it again in the future.

Stitch fix box 2

Sorry if you have been anxiously awaiting my review of my second stitch fix box, friends (haha). Every time I thought I might knock this out, I felt guilty about my multiplying to do list. Tonight as I finished up a journal review, I realized I should go ahead and stay in the reviewing mode and finish this up before going to bed.

As I mentioned in the post about my first box, this is super exciting mail day around my house. I have been super lucky that the stylists seem to be really paying attention to my notes and both of them checked/referenced my Pinterest board (I actually think I probably need to clean up my board a bit as it is looking pretty cluttered). This month I had a different stylist assigned to me and she was just as detailed as the previous one. I love the personalized notes so much. I had included a couple of references to TV characters that I liked in terms of style and dress and I laughed when I saw that she referenced them directly in her note back to me (it made me feel pretty silly and I actually considered not posting that here but oh well). 

The interesting thing about this fix is that it was a little bit further from my style than the previous one. However, I followed the SF primary rule--try everything on (and try not to pre-judge)--and I was really surprised that I loved almost everything she sent! Once again, I think the style cards are so much fun.

In terms of the clothes, she sent a gorgeous dress. I was a little disappointed that the dress was on the thinner side. While it fit, it just did not look great on me in the hips and stomach. But the style was great! She also sent two blouses that I never in a million years would have even given a second glance in a store. I actually really liked both of them! The teal henley blouse was too expensive for me in a shirt that wasn't my favorite thing ever, though so I opted not to keep it (but I have regretted it a teeny, tiny bit). The blue roll-tab blouse was also amazing on. I loved the sleeves, the cut of the shirt, and the neckline. Surprisingly, I also found the color and pattern very flattering. Ultimately, I decided not to keep it though because I prefer a little more room along the bottom of a shirt than this one gave. The only item I didn't love was the cardigan. While it was super comfortable, a great color, and could have been cute for fall weather, it was knitted and I know I would have snagged it upon first wearing. I did like the length and that it was a thick open front, though. My last item was the moto jacket. I had been seeing that jacket around quite a bit. While it was a little less structured than I hoped for, I decided to keep it. I am really excited to try it out when the weather cools off. It is super soft and comfortable! 

In general, sometimes people are disappointed when everything in their box doesn't work (they don't keep 5/5) and I think that's a mistake. For one, I definitely couldn't afford to do this regularly if I was buying all 5 items each month! Additionally, I have left stores empty handed after spending hours trying on 20+ pieces of clothing in one trip. Also, just seeing the clothes and the style card (and joining a few relevant FB groups) helps me to think more about what colors and styles I want to try and then possibly finding them elsewhere (old navy, tjmaxx, target). So I still highly recommend it. Again, I've included a referral link (if you use it and schedule a fix, I do receive some credit which is a fun and exciting perk but one you should know upfront!). Anyhow, if you're interested but have questions, feel free to comment or send me a message! I'll try to update on A (or at least post some cute photos or videos) soon, though there really isn't a lot going on with her/us currently.