concrete aspirations 2013 in summary

After completely missing the mark on my concrete aspirations in 2012, 2013 could only get better! I didn't knock everything off the list, but I think I didn't do too bad.

1. Build and stick to a schedule that includes regular bible study, exercise (yoga and running), meal planning, and budget tracking. While bible study and meal planning is still not as regular as I would like, I nailed exercise with a twice a week yoga class at work and running during the summer (I'll pick back up this year when the weather is nice again). Budget tracking is the biggest success, thanks to You Need A Budget. If you check it out and want to purchase, click here for 10% off (full disclosure, we get a small commission, but we love YNAB so much we sing it's praises for free!)
2. Go through my French textbooks and Rosetta Stone to be functional again by May (for our planned trip to Paris!). I was semi-functional for our trip (multiple simple yet successful conversations), but I hope to continue my efforts to get back to my previous fluency level.
3. Write for “Riding with Charlie” once a month. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12) Fail, but I'm not beating myself up about it.
4. Organize and clean up photos in iPhoto. It's fairly organized, but I could cull more.
5. Declutter the apartment again. This seems to be a never ending effort. We did a good job in 2013, but I want to do this again in 2014.
6. Make grandma’s cinnamon rolls, angel food cake, and potato sausage. I declare 2014 the year of potato sausage and cinnamon rolls.
7. Call/e-mail a long-distance friend each month. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12) Not great, but I'm motivated for 2014.
8. Video chat with (or call) family twice a month. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12) Not perfect, but more often than last year, and I plan to continue the trend!
9. Go on a creative date with Ian each month. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12) Again, not perfect, but I plan to continue this in 2014.
10. Make plans in real life with friends each month. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12)
11. Design and order a bookplate stamp or embosser. We ended up purchasing a few letterpress S stamps at the Paris Flea Market, which we've been using in our books. I love the history and story of them!
12. Research how to advance my copy editing skills. In the spring, I completed Emerson College's copyediting program!

More details on my progress are in related posts.