2010 was a crazy, busy, and exciting year! I still cannot believe that it is almost over.
One of my favourite things about having a blog is the ability to look back in time and assess my progress. I tend to have a bad memory for these things and a blog helps me pretend like I have my life in order. I was never an organized person until I started my blog in 2008!
Tonight, I’m going to take a moment to review the 10 goals I set for myself last December. If you are curious, here are the goals I set for myself in 2009 and the recap of how I did is here.
Goals for 2010:
1) Work at the local Farmer’s market this spring/summer selling bakery goods- goal accomplished
Eric and I worked at an organic farmer’s market for a couple months this summer. It was a crazy, busy time!
2) Retail Glo Bars– goal accomplished
I sold Glo Bars at a health food store for the better part of the year.
3) Run my 3rd half marathon (May 30, 2010) and set a new PR (sub 1 hour 56 mins.)- goal accomplished
I beat my half marathon PR by 1 minute and 20 seconds, finishing in 1 hour 55 mins and 10 seconds. For the recap, see this post.
4) Write a book- not accomplished
I will be talking about this in my goals for 2011!
5) Furnish our bedroom and decorate- goal accomplished
Our bedroom was a plain bachelor pad…with old university furniture at the beginning of 2010…
It wept, my friends.
Then, I did a surprise Ikea redecorate for Eric in February 2010 which was an improvement at a low cost.
Then, Eric did a surprise redecorate for me in September 2010 painting and installing hardwood throughout the bedroom and hallway.
The surprise continued into December if you catch my drift…lol.
We finally got rid of this old carpet!!
Here is what our room looks like as of today, after installing hardwood, painting, and purchasing our very first set of bedroom furniture:
We splurged on our first ever King sized bed. It is GLORIOUS! No more fighting a 6’2” male for space.
We still have lots left to do, including wall art and installing a new closet organizer, but we are happy with how it is coming along. I will be sure to post after pictures when it is complete!
6) TRAVEL goal accomplished
In 2010, I traveled to Florida, Chicago, Paris, and Calgary. It was a welcomed change after not traveling at all in 2009.
7) Attend a Blog Conference goal accomplished
I attended the Healthy Living Summit in August!
8.) Save MONEY goal somewhat accomplished
I saved money in 2010, but I did not track exactly how much I saved. We also stuck to our cutbacks (we have had no cable TV for 2 years now, no pricey text/data cellphone plan, etc). We also recently sold Eric’s car and we are a one car family now. Despite the positive changes, I need to be more specific in 2011 and set a precise goal of how much I want to save!
9) Get new packaging for Glo Bars and purchase UPC codes for Glo Bars not accomplished
This was not in the budget for 2010.
10) Raise money for those in need! goal accomplished
I donated over $500 on behalf of Glo Bakery to charities such as NEDIC and also raised over $2,100 in Shop 4 A Cause for Cancer Research. The total amount we have raised for Cancer is now $6,525. Thanks everyone!
Of course, there were a few things in 2010 that I did not anticipate when I set my goals back in December 2009…
1) Eric and I trained for and participated in our first beginner’s triathlon! (Part 1 and Part 2)
2) I ran my second 10k race in Sept 2010, finishing with a chip time of 49 mins and 50 seconds. I beat my PR by 7 minutes! This was a real turning point for me because it showed me just how much I could improve when fueling my body with a healthy diet and being kind to myself.
4) I pushed my limits as a blogger from September until December and made it to the final round in the Project Food Blog competition.
5) Eric and I produced our first ‘professional’ recipe video. It was pobably the most challenging task of the entire year!
Often, the exciting things in life are the things we do not plan for or anticipate.
I think a successful goal list is one that is made up of a couple ‘very difficult’ or ‘unlikely’ items (such as my goal of writing a book, which would have been very difficult in 2010 with my busy schedule), items that are attainable with hard work (the half marathon, fundraising, and farmer’s market), and then a couple fun items (such as travel).
I like to create my goal list so that it has 1 or 2 ‘not accomplished’ goals leftover at the end of the year. That way, I know that my list was neither too easy nor too hard. Expect my 2011 goal list to have a couple ‘out there’ or ‘unlikely’ items on it too!
Coming up…my goals for 2011. I will be asking you what yours are too, so get those wheels turning.
Did you accomplish or experience anything in 2010 that was not originally on your radar and hit you by surprise?
Way to go on accomplishing the majority of your goals and more!! I can definitely see a book in your future =)
Great job Angela! You accomplished most of your goals and that’s awesome. Love the bedroom now, btw. ;)
I posted about this last week–I definitely achieved some goals, failed on others, and did some awesome things I never expected. Here’s hoping 2011 keeps surprising me!
Also, Sketchie has such a beautiful coat!
I hope you get to publish a book next year! I know I’d buy it:)
Looks like 2010 was an amazing year for you! Can’t wait to see your goals for 2011! :)
hi! i have read your blog for about 6 months now-love it! i am not vegan but still love your attitude towards food and exercise! i just had to comment-your bedroom looks fantastic, what a change. also, wanted to say that i started drinking green monsters this past summer-yum yum!!
Sounds like you had a great year!! I think a few goals in common – I definitely am trying to get a book under my belt in 2011 as well.
I traveled a ton in 2010 which was absolutely amazing and totally not something I thought I would be doing at the beginning of the year. I went to New York, London, Morocco, and Chicago and now that I have the travel bug I will be adding more travel to my 2011 goals.
My main goal for 2011 is to start my own blog! I have a name, theme and design in mind. All thats waiting is for Jan 1st to come and for me to stick to it. So since I know I’m beginning to blog, I guess my goal is really to keep up with it and make it successful, inspiring, and fun for myself to write and others to read. Reading your blog everyday for 6 months has definitely been my inspiration and I’m so blessed to have found it. You’re the best!!! :)
your 2010 goals/accomplishments are extremely impressive! i really should be more specific about goals… this was so motivating!
Wow. I really love how you set goals for yourself and then put yourself out there publically and evaluate how you have done. Even though I have a blog and am possibly the most public person that I know, I really have to get some cahones to do this. Very interesting!!!!!! You go girl! Can’t wait to read what your goals are in 2011 and then follow your progress.
Congratulations, what a year you’ve had! I absolutely loved every single one of your entries into the Project Food Blog (you were robbed, eh hem, sorry did i say that out loud??)! So I’m not answering your post question, but I have 2 for you. The Healthy Food Summit in Chicago, I think you mentioned that you were going to post your notes from the conference. Did I get that right? But I don’t ever remember seeing them. If you did, would you pointing me in the right direction? Question #2, I thought you made something delicious very recently with pearled barley but now I can’t seem to find it. Can you steer me there too? Thanks so much Angela! I don’t write often but I just need to tell you that I read your posts every day and I LOVE THEM!! Jennifer (Philadelphia)
That is funny you mentioned pearled barley because I have never used it but im planning a recipe this week using it! You must have read my mind? :)
I did not post notes from the conference because there were videos provided online that are much better than my notes would have been! View the vids here: http://healthylivingsummit.com/watch-hls-now/
I had to tell you…I just looked at my barley and I got ‘pot barley’ by mistake. I wonder if that will make a difference?
Pearl Barley works wonderfully in soup! :)
Sorry to butt in – I believe pot barley takes longer to cook than pearl barley, which is more highly processed/polished. I have used them both with success. Hope this helps!
Thank you! maybe it was millet and I’m losing my mind…
Thank you!!
I love your room redesigns they’re so cute. Its awesome that you achieved so many of your goals. I didn’t set any for 2010 but I definitely will for 2011.
i like how you organized your goals with some stretches and some fun ones. i will keep that in mind for my goal setting for 2011.
Beautiful bedroom! It looks so nice and cozy.
Are you still selling bars in stores? Any plans to sell them in Alberta?
Love your blog Ang! Can’t wait to see the 2011 goals! :)
I definitely should be more organized. I’ve already began writing down my goals for 2011. Finishing my book and getting it published (11 years in the freaking making) is my main goal along with getting my art in a show in a gallery in San Francisco, solo or with others. Can’t wait to see your goals for 2011.
Wow, 2010 was a really awesome year for you! Congrats on acheiving most of your goals! :)
I did so much this year that I never anticipated doing! Expecially running- I never would have thought I would be able to run distances, or do it for fun!
Great post! I loved reading this – well done on your achievements this year! – it made me think of my own situation. it is nice to see how far you have come :)
Heidi xo
I didn’t really have any goals for 2010 – so I guess that’s one of my goals for 2011 – set more goals :) I did achieve one thing in mind which was to run my first 1/2 marathon and run a sub 2-hour, which I did, so that was pretty good! Setting goals is important, but it always makes me nervous!
Woah, you had quite a year!
This year I ran 2 marathons! This time last year you never would have been able to convince me that I could do that!
Good job on accomplishing your goals! I would love to see a book in the future. This year, I transferred schools & majors which was not in my original goals. It was scary at first, but it ended up being the best thing for me!