Life & Times of 5 Busy Nortons

Sunday, January 5, 2020

19 in Review and my 20 for 20

A Review of My 19 for 2019

This year, I have chosen the 1 word theme: Emerge.  I want to come out from under the pain and headaches I have been experiencing.  I want to be the person and wife and mother that isn't weighed down.  I'm working on this.  I'm excited. Hmmm...I didn't even remember that I had a word for the year in 2019.  Guess I didn't really focus on it.  But I did really try to emerge out of the headaches.  I think I have made some significant progress.  

I wrote a 19 for 2019 list to help me move forward toward my goal and created an accountability group with some friends that I love to help me do it.

1.  Call my mom daily/weekly (daily right now--I just love hearing her voice) I should probably have called more.  But I did see her more in 2019 that I have in the past several years!  Seeing her return to health was the best part of 2019. 
2.  Read The Case Against Sugar.  Yes, but it didn't help me give up sugar.  
3.  Read a finance book (haven't decided which one yet). I read The Year of Less. I loved it.  It gave me some good perspective. I think it helped me spend less for at least a few months.  I need to cue up another finance book. 
4.  Do physical therapy to help my neck, shoulder, and hip. I tried.  Many appointments, and add chiropractor to the list after my PT threw up her hands and sent me back to a surgeon.  Who cancelled on me several times.  I'm still debating next steps for my hip (the main dysfunction that is causing problems all along the chain leading to headaches and shoulder pain.) 
5. Get a mammogram (which I have already checked off!)

6. Underreact to problems (less swearing, staying more calm)  Hmmmm...don't know what to say here.
7. Weekly budget for expenditures (monitor every Sunday)  I gave this up after a few months.  But it did help me get back into check. 
8.  Hand off Rhinos.  YES! 
9.  Renew Teaching Cert (need all Clock Hours by June)  YES! 
10.  Get ACE CECs (for fitness cert--need 20 hours by Feb. 2020) YES!
11.  Improve family nutrition.  Hmmm...I read Helping Without Harming and it was a great help in thinking about how I feed my family.  Watching Sarah eat after I read it helped me to realize that her body wasn't regulating right.  So I took her to a metabolic specialist and we found out she is insulin resistant.  The meds are helping SO much.  She has lost (I would say, we aren't monitoring) at least 15 pounds, and she has shot up at least an inch since August. 
12.  Monthly time with each kid--YES!  And it was really fun. 
13. Go to the temple monthly (January--check!)  So I came close.  Not quite every month.  But close. 

14.  Drink more water (1 bottle before lunch, 1 before after school snack.)  Still working on this.  I set hydration alarms on my fitbit.  It helps.  But I need to reschedule the alarms so they are when my students are at recess, etc.  
15. Monthly Budget Review.  NO. 
16. Finish Adult Piano Book. NO.  The songs got harder and started taking me longer.  I got discouraged and stopped playing all together.  :(
17.  Write in gratitude journal most days.  YES!  
18. Say morning family prayers (alert in calendar to help) YES! 
19. Create an accountability group of friends to encourage progress :) and YES! 
I really enjoyed the atmosphere of growth created by these goals.  So, here are my goals for 2020.  I actually have 21. (And a few more on my back burner too.)
I have a word for this year too....SPACE.  I want to create more space in my life, so it isn't all crammed together.  More space in my clothes (by taking off the weight I have picked up with my headaches, not buying bigger clothes).  More space for my family.  More space on my calendar.  It's going to be a good year. 
Okay 2020.  Let's do this! 

No comments: