My "To Learn" List

New Year’s Eve is upon us. And I thought now would be a good time to see how I did on all my resolutions from last year:

1. Get out of debt- For about 5 minutes last fall, it happened. I want to get there again, and stay there this time. I rate the effort a solid B.
2. Lose weight- I made significant progress, but since it wasn’t all added in a year, I can’t expect it to be all gone yet. Here I give myself an A from April till October, but a D the rest of the year, so a C+ overall.
3. Exercise more- This is B+; who would have thought belly-dancing?!? And Zumba- I really love Zumba.
4. Support charities more- I did a lot more charity at home, helping out those I know this year. A+
5. Spend more quality time with my children- I think my efforts were a solid B…does it count that at times it was the kids who didn’t want to spend time with me?
6. Cook at home more often- I give an A+ to our Thanksgiving efforts. But a C overall.
7. Spend less and save more- C
8. Lower my expenses- C. It was a B up until I bought a new car… so I am back to a car payment and full insurance…
9. Work on my retirement fund- I am up to 15%...still a long way to go. B+
10. Declutter my house- the more I get rid of, the more there seems to be… The effort is an A, but the progress- or lack thereof- drops me to a B.

2011 was about a B overall in the resolution arena.

So what about this year? What resolutions to make? What do I want to do, see and learn?

I want to grow spiritually, emotionally and mentally, while shrinking physically.

I want to live a more fiscally aware life. Quicken and TurboTax should help.

I want to spend more time with my family. I want to learn more of my family history and share it with my children.

I would like to learn how to bake/frost a cake from scratch and it would be nice if it doesn’t look as though something went horribly wrong.

I want to learn how to make my blog a place people want to visit.

I want to learn how to hem pants- though that may be a lofty goal, so I may settle for learning to use a sewing machine and copy my favorite dress. And I would like to learn to knit.

I want to learn Microsoft 2010. I still find there are many things I don't know how to do anymore.

I want to learn the ins and outs of adding my photos to my blog in a timely way.

I want to learn to grow a garden and can veggies. Clearly my first year success was beginner's luck as EVERYTHING died last summer.

I want to learn how to be content with where my life is at the moment- be in the moment instead of wistfully wishing for a better past/future life.