The End of the Century - 2014 New Year Resolution Year End

In the beginning of 2014 I set out with a series of resolutions, now that the year is nearly over I thought I'd reflect on how I did.  To take a look at my official resolution list click here.

Photo from camping 2013 courtesy of A.W.

Here's my progress from the last bit of 2014.

Read More Stories to Molly and Jack
Reading becomes a bigger part of Molly and Jack's lives every day which both Chris and I find really exciting.  On weekend days when Jack wakes up earlier than Molly I find myself on the couch with him reading two or three books and taking our time examining little bits of the story and pictures together - it's some of the best one on one time I get with my Jackie Bear.  Each night we get to two or three stories and over the holidays, particularly since Jack's been feeling under the weather, we've had two or three story times a day.  Favourite books right now are Pinkalicious, The Pigeon Needs a Bath and The Duckling Gets a Cookie.

Read More Books For Me
I like to think that the looming December deadline for my Public Relations final thesis was the main culprit behind my lack of extracurricular reading the past few months, except I haven't picked up a book over the holidays either.  With the three (plus) books I read over the past few months I read 20 books this year doubling 2013's 10 which I consider a big win.  Here's what I read recently.

Jennifer, Gwyneth & Me: The Pursuit of Happiness One Celebrity at a Time by Rachel Bertsche - This is a one year journey of self-help where guinea pig Rachel takes on one celebrity at a time where she tries to be fit like Jennifer, a superstar supermom chef like Gwyneth and a stylish fashionista like Sarah-Jessica.  An interesting story with great narrative, but I would have really liked some pictures about the journey and some highlights of what she learned including what habits stuck post-project.

Fan Girl By Rainbow Rowell-  The Queen of Teen showcases a relationship of identical twins in their first year of college.  Moments of brilliance include incorporating an S.E. Hinton's Outsiders reference and some tender real moments between the main characters. It was a solid read, but the ending really felt like a non-ending to me and left me a little underwhelmed.

Adulting, How to become an Adult in 468 Easy(ish) Steps by Kelly Williams Brown  - A nice easy quick read with some items I already knew and forgot and some great tips on not sweating the small stuff, like "Will I care about this in six months, In a year".  I felt about ten years too old to have read this book, but enjoyed it all the same.

My Boyfriend Wrote a Book About Me by Hilary Winston - I really wanted to like this book, but after three solid attempts at it and it sitting in my purse for nearly two months I tapped out.  I just couldn't get into her writing style and expected a lot more humour in this than I got.


Have More Dates With Chris
We've managed a couple of dinners out over the past few months.  Something as simple as an hour or two at a record shop followed by a coffee shop or pub for some great conversation can reconnect us and remind me that we still like each other and why we're together.  It can be hard to remember these things when you're surrounded by two little ones all the time.

Book More "Me" Time
I have been good with getting more "me" time, but it's a tough balance when you also want time with your kids and your spouse.  This will continue to be a priority moving forward.  I have come to the realization that "me" time doesn't always have to occur at a yoga studio, coffee shop or spa, it can be as simple as trying out a new recipe and blasting Adele on a Thursday night, which is something I'm excited to focus on more next year.

I've begun the resolution list for 2015 and will share it in the next few days.  While there are going to be healthful items like "drink more water" I doubt I'll report on that publicly  In 2015 I plan to focus on promoting and publishing my writing elsewhere and putting myself out there.  I also want to use my writing as an inspiration to drive more memories and activities with my family.  This is the first year I've stayed connected with my resolved changes, even when I haven't been so successful and it was an awesome exercise.  What is the best resolution you ever had?  Do you have any planned for 2015?

To view my three month check in click here.

To view my six month check in click here\.

To view my nine month check in click here.