What struck me about this list is how heavy the home improvement category is. I mean, it really shouldn't need its own category! I spent a great deal of time on this house and it looks like it will continue for much of this year. That's ok with me. I enjoy the process and it's very important to me to live in a pleasant, orderly environment. Still, I plan to work on shifting the balance at least a little bit in 2010.
Writing out the list was definitely a valuable exercise. I already felt like 2009 was a good year for me, but I had no idea that I did all of this! I am also in the process of writing out my future goals, and I used the Accomplishments list to remind me of things that I am already doing that I want to continue, or which fit into broader goals that I have.
I edited the list a bit for public consumption, and I'm sure it's quite a bore to anyone but me, but just like the Three Good Things, planning to put it up here on the blog helped motivate me to both start and finish it. I bolded a few of the most significant accomplishments, but really, 2009 was a year of many Little Things. Here they are, loosely categorized but otherwise in no particular order:
Personal
- I did the Three Good Things exercise for about 6 months out of the year
- Made significant progress in my introspection work (details omitted)
- Organized and decorated and shopped and cooked for a great Christmas at home
- I took a fair amount of pictures and got some of them organized into photo albums
- Did volunteer work for ARI
- Got a fish
- I walked the dog regularly when the weather allowed
- I started getting monthly massages
- I managed my pain through massage and stress reduction, so that I had almost no pain all year
- I changed my diet and worked on new habits of shopping and cooking to suit it
- I started listening to music again
- I started listening to LP and DH podcasts
- I lost 8 pounds (and gained them back)
- I showered about 75% of the time
- I found an inexpensive hairdresser
- I joined a book club
- I read a few books in the Great Books Series, Ten Years of Reading project.
- I read many books
- I went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
- I went to the Reston Zoo
- I went to Mt. Vernon
- I started practicing the piano again
- Adam and I decided to have another baby
- I got pregnant
- I grieved a lost pregnancy
- I hosted a party for the first time since 1999
- I visited North Carolina
- I visited Florida
- I visited NYC
- I took a lot of videos of Sam
- I attended a talk by John Allison at The Ayn Rand Center
- I found a dentist
- I watched the entire Battlestar Galactica series
- I kept in touch with my friends
- Started using Skype with a few friends
- I hosted at least 23 different guests at my house
- I hosted a couple of playdates and took Sam out for a few.
- I attended a Tea Party protest
- Visited the Jefferson Memorial
- Visited the Smithsonian
- I found a dermatologist
- I graded essays for ARI
- I celebrated my 7th wedding anniversary
Blog
- I maintained my blog regularly all year – 554 posts
- I upgraded and added a few new features to the blog: subscribe to comments, search Objectivist parenting blogs, and Feedburner
- I more than tripled my blog readership during the year
- I added advertisements to my blog
- I made my first money with ads on the blog
- I hosted the Objectivist Round Up 4 times
Writing
- I decided to try fiction writing
- I started my first novel
- I came up with a few other story ideas
Home Improvement
- Found a good housecleaner
- Installed a mirror in the bedroom
- Created a prioritized list of home improvement projects
- Got the toilets fixed and put on new toilet seats
- Got the basement laundry sink fixed
- Put up all of our art
- I designed and Adam put together my new, personalized office space with a short desk.
- Replaced the eat in kitchen light fixture
- I did a lot of unpacking and throwing away old junk from the previous occupants of this house, and continued the cleaning process
- Adam and I got rid of all of the cardboard boxes that we had been saving and hauling around for all of our moves.
- I cleaned the grout in the kitchen (a 2 month project)
- Had new windows installed
- Moved playroom to kitchen and created dining room
- New lighting in kitchen, dining room, basement, and foyer
- Got the roof fixed
- Started planning for painting the house
Financial
- I created and stuck to a budget for 10 months of the year
- I did the taxes
- I moved Sam’s 529 to VA
- I paid all the bills and did all the financial planning and reporting
Parenting
- I was Sammy's mommy for 365 days and nights and there is no way to list all of the accomplishments this involved
- I explored Positive Discipline parenting techniques
- Took Sammy to see “Go, Dog, Go,” the musical
- Did an “observation” at MSO
- Found a good and cheap babysitter
- Took Sammy to the pumpkin patch
- Planned and executed Halloween with Sammy, including lots of decorations
- Re-read Faber and Mazlish
- The daily schedule whiteboard
- The cooperation chart/new task chart
- I found Sam a new doctor
- I made up many songs
- I made 31 Valentines day cards with Sammy
- I found a Montessori school after a long quest
- I registered Sam for Montessori and helped her through the transition in starting school
- I attended a 7 week Montessori for toddlers program with Sammy
- I potty trained Sam
- I took Sam sledding
- I took Sam to the water park and helped her conquer her fear of the water slide
- I started teaching Sam to read
- I attended 2 homeschooling conferences and made significant progress on my homeschooling plans.
- I taught Sam how to dress and undress herself, all except for shoes.
- I continued to arrange the house in a way that allows Sam to be very independent, including many stools, the light switch extenders, her own broom, rake, and shovel, her low-slung closet, her low mirror in the dining room, and her low coat rack.
- Moved Sammy from her crib to her toddler bed
- I arranged for two occasions where Sammy spent a couple of nights away from mommy and daddy.
- I made up dozens of stories
- I taught Sam how to know it is morning using her teach me time clock.
- I planned and executed Sammy’s 3rd birthday party
I've been thinking about this post ever since I read it on Saturday morning. There are a lot of good ideas here (some of which I hope to emulate), and you did a lot in 2009! Good job!
ReplyDeleteI was reading it on my iPhone, in a room with a great view, away from my home and daily life. I like my daily life, but it's routine-oriented sometimes, so I find it's useful to get out of my usual environment to ponder the wider issues of life.
I don't know if I'll post a list publicly, but I like the idea of making such a list. A personal "State of the Union" so to speak, and much more useful than the President's :)