Since it is mid-January, it seems high time to post some thoughts about 2013 concerning resolutions, goals, and accomplishments. Last year I only did one resolution – to walk daily. By admitting that I could not remember what that resolution was and that I had to check back here on my blog to figure it out, you should realize that I did not keep that resolution much past having made it. And it seemed like a good one to make!

I did make some physical changes that were very good for me, though. At the beginning of 2013 I had gone back to eating anything and everything, which led to a weight gain of about twenty pounds, up to my highest weight ever. Not good! So on June 17th, my youngest sister’s birthday, I started back to eating a (nearly) 100% plant-based diet. It was a good move for me and it felt sort of like getting reacquainted with an old friend. Many of the things that I had craved the first time I went plant-based (yogurt, cheese) no longer pulled at me. By the end of 2013, I lost fourteen pounds! Carrying around fewer pounds feels much nicer, but I have more pounds to go this coming year. The fun thing is that I have begun to eat so many different foods for breakfast! This morning I had vegetable stir fry and brown rice! One day last week I had soup. And I’ve begun to crave certain veggies, like celery. That’s not a bad thing at all!

Another big change I made in 2013 was getting rid of my computer chair and creating a standing desk. Last spring I bruised my tailbone, making it extremely uncomfortable to sit, and sitting all the time made the bruising worse, never allowing the tailbone to heal. It took quite a while to adjust to standing all day, but in the process my leg muscles became stronger and I had more stamina/energy throughout the day. Plus, my tailbone finally began healing!! While there is still some discomfort when sitting, it is not pain, and the discomfort is less and less each week. I love the standing desk, though, and have no intention of going back to a computer chair.

2013 was a year of limbo, as if we were constantly waiting for the other shoe to fall. Between unexpected endings to contracts, furloughs, and government shut-downs, Bill was out of work almost a month. That sort of uncertainty is not healthy! We hope to make some changes this year that will lessen that type of job uncertainty.

We didn’t travel much in 2013, other than many trips to Phoenix to visit family and for Bill to take certification tests. We didn’t take any square dance weekends. In fact, we haven’t been dancing since May of 2012.

Bill and I did drive to Alabama in late March, three days in the car to get there, five days there cleaning out personal stuff at dad’s and doing some repairs at both his place and ours (and getting to see Liana, Charles & Rebecca!), and then another three days drive home. I am pretty sure that is when I bruised my tailbone, all that riding in the Neon, me being heavier than ever and wearing tight blue jeans.

I did manage to accomplish a lot of crocheting, finishing some lovely projects, and I also spent good six months working at updates to my LeapingFromTheBox.com website. Oh, and I kept my Quicken up to date for a lot longer than I have done in any previous year. In 2013 I made it to late September! So that means I have just three months worth to catch up to finish up 2013 and be ready for taxes. Even though I didn’t make it through to the end of the year, I consider my Quicken progress a major victory!

Tomorrow I’ll post about my goals for 2014. Stay tuned!