End-of-year resolution assessment

The year is over and it's time to see how I did!

Resolutions:

Meditate daily

Did fairly well on this throughout the year, not necessarily in a regular sit practice but in trying to be mindful in quiet moments. I signed up for a meditation challenge in January on the Insight Timer app, and the hubs also wants to do more meditation, so hopefully we can be each other's accountability buddies on this. 

The book I read this year on focusing reminded me how important that meditation is as a "defragging" exercise for our brains.

Improve my bread making

I baked quite a bit of bread in August and December, not as much in-between. I made chocolate babka in the first half of the year, so I made cinnamon babka in the latter half. I tried a new recipe for squash sticky buns, which were really quite too squashy. I made two boiled baked goods - bagels and soft pretzels - each could have used a bit more time in the oven, as they were sort of wet or something after coming out. Gotta have faith that it will not burn. So, anyway I learned something.

Speaking of learning things, I also tried to make sourdough bread, which did not pan out - likely it was too cold in my house and the yeast died. I will try again in May when it's warmer in the house.

Eat more plant-based food

Great success - I have been enjoying cooking healthy vegan meals at home, as well as leaning into plant-based eating when going to restaurants. I will continue to go this route.

Learn about foraging

Mostly I focused on this in the first part of the year so that I'd be able to forage during summer. I could eat more dandelion next year; we didn't go on many hikes where we identified items to forage. I should probably find a class with a nature preserve or something if I want to get deeper into this, especially re: wild mushrooms.

Stay under 160 lb.

Struggled with this through the year, then successfully got under this weight in December and hopefully will maintain through the holidays. 

Work on a fitness routine

Took regular spin classes at Colby - free for me as a staff member - and started rowing. It's tough during the holidays because the gym is closed until the students come back in January, but we've been traveling, too, so we've been able to use the gym at the hotels. A goal I'm anticipating for 2024 is to get some movement every day - stretching, cardio, lifting.

Write down more quotes

This has been sporadic throughout the year - I've really enjoyed doing it and looking back at ones I've written, but I need to keep doing this. The key seems to be having the notebook on hand rather than trying to remember it for later.

Bring tupperware for leftovers when we eat out

Mostly a success - even when we forget, Dave is willing to go back to the car to grab it. I thought people would make fun of us, but restaurant staff seem appreciative and sometimes impressed.

Don't buy superwash yarn

I slipped a few times in the latter half of the year, but I want to focus on this, as well as buying more yarns from the "fibershed" of wherever I'm buying it - i.e., yarns produced, dyed, spun, etc. within 150 miles. This is probably easiest at fiber fests.

Travel for work more

Success, especially in July, October, and November, when I traveled for conferences and fit in donor visits.

Bring Chicago to Maine

I keep listening to WXRT, but one way to bring Chicago food to Maine would be to rent a cookbook or try to make some of my favorites, such as Mexican food (if you want good Mexican food in Maine, you pretty much have to make it yourself). We also started "The Bear," which was intense but good.

Relax better

Overall a success - I've had stressful times this year and lost some sleep, but overall I tried to leave it at work. Working out is helpful, I could take more days off (including vacations) and try to not do much on those days.

Goals:

Finish up the Down East pizza list

Completed in June!

Go camping

Completed in May!

Visit Wisconsin

Had a successful visit to the mother ship in November, just before Thanksgiving, and got to visit our favorite places (although New Glarus Brewing was temporarily closed) and one of my favorite law school friends.

Visiting downtown New Glarus

Do a 5k run

Completed in May!

Propagate Stan

Completed in March, so now I have Stan Jr. I was going to give him away, but I haven't had the heart. Both are doing well, but Stan Sr. needs continuing maintenance.

Make certain recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Completed in September! This was really fun, and I have a few recipe goals for next year, as usual.

Make acorn flour

Completed this in November, with acorns collected in October and November. I tried the cold leaching method to reduce bitterness / tannins but maintain the starches. I have used it in a few recipes, just easing it in just in case it's still quite bitter. I will probably keep using the good acorns for things.

Can / preserve this summer

Also completed in September, although I could certainly make more next year. This year all I really did was make tomato sauce, but that was a lot, as our garden plot probably produced a bushel and a half of tomatoes over the course of a few months.

Infuse olive oil

Completed in January, but I used up all my lemon-garlic, all of the chile oil, and almost all of the chile crisp I made, so I need to do this again. The lemon garlic was fantastic and I'd hit that again.

Knit the Fanastil Lang Jakke

Sadly I did not finish this - I was working on a lot of other stuff, and I did get through three balls of the gray yarn for the body, but I think I found it both stressful (because of the threat of steeking for the first time) and boring (because the first half is just knitting rounds and rounds of gray. I hope to finish this next year.

Do 6 yarn bombs in Maine

Completed in August! This was super fun, and apparently our town in Maine just did a call for public art, so I'm going to try to do some in downtown Waterville in addition to campus and other places.

Students on Colby's campus even took a picture of my yarn bomb for an art project! The project was a conversation in photos; Student A would take a photo, then Student B would reply with a photo. Pretty cool.

Student photo of my yarn bomb