An Update on Goals...Finally

Way back in November I set a handful of goals for myself.  Pretty ambitious goals, says she looking back on them.  For accountability's sake, here's how I fared.

1.  I want to be the best wife and mama I can be.

• I will find my mama mantra.
• I'm not sure that I officially found my mama mantra, but I spent much of the month finding myself coming again and again and again to the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).  I want my every action as a mama to be marked with the fruit of the Spirit.  Some days I focused on one or two words (often gentleness and self-control) and other days I needed to hear the whole thing over and over and over.
• I will schedule play dates so that Elijah and I can get out of the house and meet new friends.
• We play dated!  Success!  Play dates are an interesting thing, probably something I could write an entire post on if I had the time.  I'm learning that the flexible, "my kid is awake and in a good mood, how about your kid?" kind works best for us in this completely unpredictable season.
• I will plan 2 at-home date nights for us.
• Fail.  Complete and utter failure.  But we've been already had two at-home date nights in December.

2.  I want to invest in this space.

• I will post consistently throughout the month of November.
• Ha.  I think this one needs no further comment.  Obviously I did not meet this goal.
• I will watch the instructional DVDs that came with my new camera.
• Or this one.
• I will read at least three of the photography tutorials I have pinned.
• Or this one!  I just didn't prioritize this goal throughout the month.  Maybe next time?

3.  I want to create.

• I will make good progress on a secret, special knitting project.
• I did not make any progress!  Can you believe it!?
• I will complete 10 repeats on Elijah's baby blanket.
• I did make progress on Elijah's blanket, though I certainly did not knit 10 repeats.  I did manage to knit a couple of repeats before falling asleep while watching "ELF."  I fall asleep at the same part - decorating the Christmas tree illegally procured from Central Park - every single year!
• I will compile a list of Christmas gifts we will give.
• Done and dusted.
• I will design our Christmas card AND prepare the list of receipents.  
• MmHm.  Well, we're working on it now.  And that's what counts, right?
• I will make an Advent calender.
• Sort of.  I pulled out an old advent calendar that I'd made several years ago and repurposed it.  And that was perfect.  Every day I get a little bit better at figuring out what I can and can't tackle and how to make do with what we've got.  

4.  I want to develop an exercise rountine.

• I will move for at least 20 minutes at least 5 times a week.
• I nailed this goal.  After complaining about my lack of motivation to get moving, I developed and proposed a workout challenge to a very good friend.  She took me up on it and I am thrilled to tell you that today is the very last day.  We challenged ourselves to run three times a week (a goal I'm happy to tell you that I met) and to a 30 day ab challenge (I hit this one at about 95%).  I also set a goal of trying to walk with Eli at least once a day.  We didn't make it every day, but all told I think there have probably only been one or two days in the last month that I didn't move and that has felt great.
• I will try at least 2 of the post-baby workouts I have pinned.
• Yep.  Our ab challenge came straight from good old Pinterest.
• I will do yoga at least once a week.
• Sort of.  I found a post-run yoga routine that I've followed, but haven't yet developed a stand alone practice.  

5.  I want to study Scripture.

• I will continue my study of Philippians.
• Yes and no.  I'm still plodding along through Philippians, but ended up pausing on that study so that I could take part in another study with a few neighborhood women.  
• I will continue my study of Ephesians with Ben.
• Yes!  We are still at it and loving it.  I am so impressed by Ben's diligence in preparing for the study and that has inspired me to dig deeper into the Word.  Our time together to discuss what we're learning and to talk through the passage is quickly becoming one of my favorite times of the week.  

So there you have it.  Some successes and some failures.  I think that this goal setting was an interesting exercise for me.  I set way too many goals, but I liked having a goal for most areas of my life.  It did help me to figure out how to best prioritize my time (read: Eli's nap times).  It's definitely something I would consider doing again.

What about you?  Did you accomplish any big goals this month or last?  Fail completely?