New Year's Resolution 2013 Update and New Resolutions for 2014

Last year's resolutions in black. My response to them is in red. 

I have a few goals. So here are some of my goals for 2013.

1) Don't gain any weight. If I lost a little bit more, I wouldn't be sad, but I like not being in the 140s anymore and I'd like to keep it that way.

Did it! Not one time in 2013 did I get into the 140s again. I went all the way down to the 120s for a bit and now I'm hovering in the low 130s. I can dig that. 

2) Register for Warrior Dash, finish Warrior Dash, and cross the finish line with some friends (that's you... tell me if you want to play!) Warrior Dash 2013

Nope. I can't get ONE DAMNED PERSON to commit to this with me. Epic fail. 

3) Continue to dress nicer at work. This is something I've really worked on the past semester but I want to continue it. When I dress more professionally, I feel like a more competent professional and I can't help but notice I've gotten a lot more responsibility since doing so. And I have gotten some CUTE clothes over the break so I'm pretty excited about it.

Nailed it. In fact, I can probably count on one hand how many times I went to work in jeans. And most of those were on half days. And I'm going to keep this one going. 

4) I am committing to cleaning my house for 10 minutes a day. This one I hate but for the past week I have managed to keep the house I clean and that is the longest I've ever gone. Once I got it clean, I noticed keeping it clean wasn't that big of a deal. Basically the rule is "Put the shit up." Now my garbage service not coming for two weeks has made it interesting but hopefully they rid me of the last few weeks of trash and I can begin to take the garbage out again. I'm not pissy about it though.

Yeah... fail again! Although in the last few months Justin and I have gotten better about setting the timer at night to 15 minutes and cleaning until it goes off. It is better than nothing! So in Mythbusters fashion, I'll say "plausible." Even though it was pretty much a fail. 

5) I want to read one book a month for recreation. This one is astonishing to me because I actually like reading. But I don't like reading about pain in the world. I'm aware of pain in the world. I'm not going to indulge in it for fun. And it seems like many of the good books that are out are about pain and suffering. If I want to know more about that, I'll watch the news. So anyway, if you  know of any funny books or just good reads that don't involve rape and abuse, send them my way. I need at least 12.

I'm pretty sure I nailed this one too. I didn't keep a great count because some months I didn't read any and some I ready 3 or 4. I know for sure I at least read 11 by the head count I just did. I have to be forgetting one. 

6) It is my goal to never walk to work from home. I'm pretty sure I can achieve this goal.

Nailed it! 

7) I'm going to limit myself to only checking Facebook/Twitter twice daily while at work. Believe it or not, Facebook/Twitter actually does help me in my job, but it is a large distraction as well so that is why I'm limiting it to a few times a day (this means logging off in the mean time... ugh).

EPIC FAIL! We are going to try this one again this year. 

8) Teach Sam the alphabet. Not only saying it (which he pretty much already does as long as he is certain you aren't listening) but I want him to recognize the letters as well.

This is pretty much a success. He doesn't recognize ALL the letters, but he does most of them. And he can sing that damn alphabet song like a drunk champ. (mellow mellow p doesn't quite count). 

9) Stick to at least one legit date night a month with Justin and at least one night a week where we spend uninterrupted time together (watch a movie, play a game, not just sit in each other's presence while the TV drones on about something Ted and Robin are up to). Justin help me with this one.

Sort of kind of ish... if you go by number of times, we definitely hit 12. However, we didn't do fantastic about it monthly. We can definitely do better. 

10) Wear shoes to work every day.

Not one time did I forget to wear shoes. #winning

So I accomplished 6ish. That's not bad. I'll take it. Here is my list for 2014. 

1) Have over 200 followers by the end of 2014. On the blog, not in real life. That's stalking. 

But for real, I want to grow this blog. I think I can do some pretty positive things through this outlet, it is a great therapeutic outlet for me, and I seem to have a talent for it. So do me a favor, SHARE SHARE SHARE! 

2) Stop drinking diet sodas. This starts today. It hurts my feelings to do so because I can't drink the fully-loaded sodas because of all the carbs. So I have to drink diet if I want the bubbles. And I love the bubbles. 



But with my mom fighting leukemia and my mother in law now fighting leukemia, I feel like I'm slapping them in the face by drinking something that very much could put me on the same road. So they are gone. Sad Rikki. 

3) Keep my weight in or below the 130s. No reason to ruin a good thing. And it is helping my confidence and cholesterol! 

4) Be a better wife. I fail here way more than I should. I need to actively appreciate Justin and make "us" a bigger priority. Keeping up with our date nights will be big kicker here. 

5) This one is a lofty goal, but I want to do at least one paid speaking engagement this year. This has been a long held dream of mine, even since I first heard motivational speakers in junior high. My last year getting involved with Toastmasters has finally gotten me to realize that I have the talent to do it. So it is time to start acting! (FYI this is scary as hell!) 

6) Complete Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. #ugh That bitch knows when I'm quitting and I tend to catch a cold in the middle of it which means to me, "Sign from God that I'm allergic to exercise!" 



7) Facebook check in the morning and at lunch during work days. That is TWICE a day. That's it! I can do this. I need to do this. 

8) Pray/read Bible every day. I go on streaks where I'm really good at this and I go on streaks where I do neither. This can't be anymore. 

9) Going with #8, get up at 5 am every week day. I'm not going to commit to weekends as well just yet but I feel like it will happen naturally. I'm an early riser by nature but that hour to myself every morning where no one needs anything from me is a great time to be peaceful, pray/read, exercise, and make some daily goals. 

10) Budget every month! I hit about half the time this year and while we are still pretty savvy with money, we could have done WAY better and it makes me sick to think about how much we wasted just because I didn't go get cash out of the bank. So this one is happening as well. 

What are your resolutions this year? How will you make them happen?