Well, I don’t really have all that much exciting to talk about on the dinner front tonight. Just some leftover soup from last night and a piece of toast that really didn’t seem worth enough of me grabbing the camera. Sorry, guys and gals. But I think we all know what that looks like.
No worries though, because even though dinner wasn’t exciting, that doesn’t mean I didn’t have some other excitement in my evening. For example, check this out…
If you head on over to the Fitness Magazine site, you’ll see that my Pumpkin Oats were featured! Pretty cool, right? That was definitely my fun excitement for the night.
The not-so-fun excitement came in the form of a text message from my hubby on my way home from work, prompting an immediate freak out reaction from me…
THANKFULLY, it turned out to be a false alarm and the intense gas odor that we smelled coming from our garage was not coming from the house. Thank god, because the last thing I wanted to have happen tonight was have my house explode. Yikes.
So last but not least, there’s one more exciting part of the evening. I finally took the time to review my 2011 goals!
Reviewing My 2011 Goals
Exactly one year ago today, oddly enough, I decided to put together some goals for myself in 2011. What can I say…I like to hold off a bit and wait until most others are done talking about it.
I finally took a peek at those goals today and figured I’d do a little check-in to see just how well I did. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Fitness
- Run my first 10K – DONE! On April 30th, I ran the 10K Spring Run Off in just a little over one hour. Considering this was the first time I had ever attempted to run that many miles at the same time, let alone outside, I was thrilled.
- Run the Boilermaker – Ahhh, not exactly. This was a tough decision to make, since I would have had to cut my vacation short in order to run (okay, who am I kidding, the vacation was more important). I was, however, able to defer my entry to 2012, so who knows…maybe I’ll give it a go this year?
- Commit to Yoga – I’d give myself about a 50% on this one. I was doing pretty good at incorporating it at least once a week, but as the year progressed, I sort of let it fall to the wayside. I’m hoping to pick it back up again soon.
Life
- Improve my time management skills – Ughh. Let’s not talk about this one.
- Get our finances organized – Slowly but surely, we’re getting there. We had a lot of changes in 2011, so it was tough to get ourselves on a schedule. I’m feeling much more confident about 2012 though!
- Be more spontaneous – Hmmm, I’d say this one was a so-so. Jay and I did have some fun, spontaneous events with friends and family, but I still think we could do better!
- Read more books – Yes! I finished the Emily Giffin series of books, includingBaby Proof, Love the One You’re With, and Heart of the Matter. I really hope she comes out with another one…I love her books!
- Visit 2 new states – Try FOUR new states…HOLLA! Massachusetts, North Carolina, Virginia, and New Jersey.
Blog
- Continue to keep you all coming back…and keep spreading the word! – This was, by far, my most successful goal. My little ‘ol blog grew a tremendous 253% in 2011, thanks to all of YOU! I can’t thank you all enough for continuing to come back and for showing your overwhelming support. I’ve put my heart and soul into STSL this past year, and it’s such a wonderful feeling to keep seeing all of you hanging around. You.guys.are.awesome.
- Invest in a DSLR camera – Yes!! Thank you, Santa! I have been having a BLAST with my new Rebel T3 and seriously can’t wait to continue to learn more about it.
Well, there you have it, folks. Not too shabby, but there’s definitely still room for improvement. That being said, I’ve decided to take a little more time before I decide what (if any) my goals will be for 2012. I think I’m gonna have to wait until I get my goal-setting mojo; too much to think about.
Lauren @ Chocolate, Cheese and Wine says
Great job on your goals! You win some you lose some, right?
Tina @ Best Body Fitness says
I have no doubt your blog grew by that much. As it should because its awesome and one of my very favorites. Love you!
Courtney says
Thank you Tina! Love you (and your blog) just as much! Miss you…
Jana @ Newly Wife Healthy Life says
Sounds like a great year! Yoga is something I want to get back into as well! I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to stick with it when I absolutely love doing it! If I could just remember all the mind and body benefits It gives me I would be more likely to incorporate yoga into my workouts on a regular basis.
alyssa - fashion fitness foodie says
Yoga is something I would like to focus on as well – Theres rarely a day I feel so relaxed that I’m going to head to yoga though! I need a permanent vacation
Erica @ For the Sake of Cake says
It looks like you had a very successful year with your goals! The blog growth is incredible! I’ve been reading since early-summer 2010! :-)
Courtney says
Yes, I know you have!! Thank you SO MUCH for being such a loyal follower, Erica :)
Mallory @ Have Your Cake and Eat it says
i think it’s just as important to reflect on previous goals (maybe more) than it is to set new ones.. more power to ya for not rushing into setting your 2012 goals!
Andrea @ Andrea Out Loud! says
Awesome Courtney! So cool to see that you accomplished a lot of what you set out for last year!
Stacey says
Emily giffin has a new book coming out. You can preorder on amazon.
Courtney says
That’s RIGHT! I totally forgot about that! Yippeeeee :-D
Julie says
Love the pumpkin oats!! I made those in the fall months, and they were a perfect breakfast!
Also, good work on the goals!! and I’m so jealous of that camera ;) I need one like that, maybe Santa will bring it to me next Xmas!
Shari says
Emily is my favorite author! I met her last year and she’s such a genuine, kind, truly wonderful person – makes you love her even more. Her new book comes out this summer :)
Courtney says
No way! You got to meet her?!? How awesome!!
Shari says
Yes! She was in Philly for her Heart of the Matter book tour – she did a Q&A and a signing. We must have talked for ten minutes. She is so sweet and gracious!
chelsey @ clean eating chelsey says
Great job on your 2011 goals!
Last year I got a phone call from my school at 6 AM on a day where there was no snow. Turns out, we had a gas leak. Hey – I’m not one to complain!
Colleen @ Jimmy Choos on the Treadmill says
I’ve read all of Emily Giffin’s books, too, and I loved them! Have you read any of Jill Mansell’s books? A friend recommended them to me and I think they might be similar. I just bought Perfect Timing and I’m hoping it’s a good, girly read (aka the best kind of mindless books to read after a long day!).
Lena @Fit on the Rocks says
Not too shabby at all! I’m glad I was able to stumble across your blog this year!
Mary DeSantis says
I couldn’t help but see you wanted to run the Boilermaker!! I’m from Utica, and friends and family run it every year. I’ve been waiting for the right year to run it myself, and I’m thinking about signing up!
Good luck training if you decide to try it this year :)
Mary
Brandi @ Faith Fitness and Laughter says
Oh goodness! Thank the Lord it wasn’t a gas leak!
I know that I am glad that I found your blog!
Have a great night :)
Lindsay @ In Sweetness and In Health says
I’d say you did a really good job with your goals!! How are you doing with your new camera?? I’ve been trying to play with it a bunch, but I feel like I need to take a class or something to really learn how to use it the best haha.
Alexa @ SimpleEats says
Awesome job this year, girl! So excited for you this coming year with all of the great stuff you’re working on :)
Courtney says
Definitely jump on the yoga band wagon 100% ;) ! Yoga gives me focus which helps me to accomplish all of my other goals! I am taking on a 40 day yoga challenge starting this Sunday!
Courtney says
Definitely jump on the yoga band wagon 100% ;) ! Yoga gives me focus which helps me to accomplish all of my other goals! I am taking on a 40 day yoga challenge starting this Sunday!
http://freshman-minus-fifteen.blogspot.com/
Susan @Happy Hippie says
Congratulations on getting your recipe posted on Fitness Magazine’s website!! :) And even more congratulations on the blog growth!!! Your blog is seriously one of my favorites to read and you have inspired me so much with the development of my own! :)
Khushboo says
Great jobs on meeting your goals..I’m not surprised your blog grew so much- definitely one of my favorites :)
Casi DeSarro says
AH YES! Run the Boilermaker, it will be my first time doing it this year!!! I JUST signed up and I’m pumped already…do it :)
Miz says
girl you rocked 2011.
and IMO it’s because your goals were so well rounded.
fitness YES and **life**
xo
Laura @ LauraLikesDesign says
Hi Courtney!
I found your blog last year and have been a regular reader ever since–I always look forward to your delicious breakfast posts! Can’t wait to keep reading this year!
Carissa says
Courtney – I just wanted to compliment you on what you’re doing with your “new diet”. You’ve always eaten pretty well, but you’re showing those who want to diet and lose greater amounts of weight how to do it the right way. With the help of a trained professional, slowly, and with frequent, small, nutrient dense meals.
Great work!
Shana says
Congratulations on the recipe being featured in fitness! That is so exciting! And yummy!
Suzy says
I love Emily Giffen books! They are so good! She has a new one coming out in July!!! Where We Belong: http://www.amazon.com/Where-We-Belong-Emily-Giffin/dp/0312554192/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1326291888&sr=8-8
SO EXCITED FOR THIS!
Glad you had a very successful year, & hope it continues on! ♥
Lexie @ This Aussie Eats says
Great job on the goals!
Don’t be too hard on yourself about the time management – I often read your blog and wonder how you fit all you do into just one day! So it can’t be tooo shabby ;-)
Jodi @ Southern Flavored Life says
I LOVE your goals…and the fact that you met most of them.
I am thinking about stealing your map idea for my husband’s and my 1st anniversary!
Nikki @ Heels to Sneakers says
Good job on accomplishing so many goals! I just made my list for 2012 and I am hoping that next year I can look back and see what I was able to cross of the list.
Do you plan on running any more races in 2012?
Rebecca says
A fellow Emily Giffin reader! I love her books and I hope she publishes a new one soon. It sounds like you did a great job with your goals from 2011, congrats!
Karlee @ BringingBackBalance says
Wow your blog grew 253% in a year?? That is amazing! Keep up the good work :)