Annual review and goals

Each year around my birthday, I make some goals for myself, and review my "bucket list" of what I have done, and anything I want to add to it.

The only thing I was able to check off this year on my bucket list was complete a triathlon.  I did it in 1 hour and 58 minutes.  Although I had no official goal other than completing it, I was hoping to be under 2 hours.  I did, barely.  There was only 1 person who finished after me.  I was surprisingly not that sore afterward.

 Also on my bucket list is to take a cake decorating class so I can decently finish my cakes.  I'm a decent to good baker.  I enjoy baking.  However when I go to frost my cakes, they come out less than great.  I have read some website and learned how to make and use fondant.  My cakes are looking much better, but I still would really like to take a class.  So progress was made, but I can't check this one off.

So looking ahead to this next year, what I would really like to work towards on my list is getting my SLR camera.  I would somewhat like to get this for living more time with diabetes than not.  Financially, it isn't so smart.  I'm not much of a coupon clipper/user.  I have been thinking of trying to do this more and anything I save by using coupons put in a fund for my camera.  My true goal on my bucket list is to take a photography class, but in many ways I would like to have my camera before taking the class so I can use it while in the class.  Maybe I could take the class next summer, I have more consistent baby sitters during the summer that I could get away for the class and do the homework.

Another item I have on my list is to keep a daily journal for a year.  While at least this point I'm not planning on posting daily, and a blog is not exactly a journal, it is closer to one than anything else.

Moving on to my general goals for this coming year:

My diabetes was a lot easier to control while I was training for the triathalon.  I told myself I was going to keep up on the running, but I haven't.  I really need to do this.  However, knowing me, I need to find another race and sign up for it.  I need a tangible immediate goal.  In high school I used to consistently run 5k's in the 22-23 minute range.  The 3 mile race I ran in June I did in 28:11.  So my goal is to run a 5k race at least once every 3 months, and be running it in the 26 minute range by next summer.

Get and keep my A1c in the 7's (Note: A1c is a 3 month measure of how well your diabetes is being controlled).  I know the official position of the ADA is now UNDER 7, in light of my hypoglycemia unawareness, for me 7's is a better goal.  When I get into the 6's, I have a LOT more lows, which are dangerous in themselves.

Along the same lines, I need to lose 30 lbs to get to my ideal body weight.  I haven't consistently weighed that amount since my freshman year of college (I did briefly weigh that amount during my first 18 months I was married, when I'm stressed I either over eat or under eat, and I was definitely doing the under eating for some time).  I know getting to that weight and maintaining it will help with both my exercise goal and my A1c goal. I'm not fond of low carb diets, but they are the ones that really work best for me on several levels.  I do a modified South Beach Diet.  The weight doesn't come off fast, but it does come off slowly and consistently, particularly if I am also regularly exercising.

Read 50 books.  Reading is a way I relax as well as learn things.  Since Obsidian has been born, I just haven't made the time to do this.  And I miss it.  Before Pyrope was born, I regularly read over 1,000 pages a week.  This past year I bet I barely topped 3,000 pages for the year.  This gets to be about 4-5 books a month.  I should be able to do this with minimal effort.

Read the kids 100 books they have never read before.  This would be 8-9 new books a month.  We go to the library typically once a week, I can easily get 2 different books each time, even just reading them there.  Pyrope in particular asks questions and wants details about so many different things, it would be good to help look at different subjects.  I'm sure I will read many books multiple times, and that is good for them.  I sometimes get into a rut though and never work to expand and explore different books.  This is laziness on my part.

So that is my year in review and looking ahead to the next.