December Goals Revisited

I find I'm so much more successful and accountable when I make specific, strategic monthly goals instead of broad yearly resolutions.  So lets see how I did last month:

1. Savor the season. I think I truly did savor the season. I found that being finished with shopping and wrapping before Christmas Eve gave me more room to enjoy the season and feel the joy and peace this season is truly about. I don't think I'll ever wait until Christmas Eve to buy and wrap gifts again! It robs me of the joy of the season when I'm stressing out like that. I watched all the Christmas classics and cheesy ABC Family movies and listened to copious amounts of Christmas music and enjoyed every second of it. I loved all the wrapped gifts under the tree and I loved the evening walks with Manny looking at all the Christmas lights. Such a magical time of year! I'm kinda sad it's over and even more surprisingly, sad we didn't get any snow.

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2. Lose five pounds this month. This didn't happen. But I did lose one pound making my grand total ten pounds! I didn't stress too much about it. There was so much good food and gatherings and life is too short to stress to much about all that. I maintained and I'm happy with that. I'll enjoy this season and the yummy foods and get back on track in January. That's what January is for, you know?

3. Do a morning devotional every morning. This happened about 50% of the time. I had a hard time waking up this month. Maybe it's just the tiredness of the end of the year and busyness of work and the parties and darkness in the morning, but I could not wake up in time. I'm giving myself a bit of grace and know I'll be back on track when things get back to normal. When there aren't so many after work obligations, the decorations are put away, we aren't watching Dexter or Christmas movies late into the night and I can get back into a routine.

4. Do one craft this month. Check! I started making a winter wreath. I'm about 85% done with it which is a success in my book. I hope to have it done by the first week of January so my door isn't bare for too long.

5. Read 3 books this month. I read The One and Only by Emily Giffin. It wasn't my favorite Giffin book. It may actually be my least favorite of her books, but she is still a great writer so I still enjoyed it. I read Tempting Fate by Jane Green and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one and couldn't put it down. I just finished Skinny Bitch Gets Hitched by Kim Barnouin. It was a fun, easy read. 

6. Cook one new recipe a week. Check! I made a killer slow cooker breakfast casserole, a garlic onion dip for a party, a curry garlic pot roast that has quickly become our favorite recipe and been in the weekly rotation, anddddd... Well I guess I only made three recipes this month. So this was kind of a fail, but we did cook the pot roast a few times this month and I'm still eating breakfast casserole and pot roast leftovers. We did cook a lot of old standbys this month: spaghetti, tacos, Italian chicken, and taco bowls so I'll call it a win. I'll be better next month. I'll give myself some grace for the holidays.

7. Host dinner once this month. Check! We had my parents over for dinner a few Sundays ago and a couple from work the first week of December. It was nice. I go back and forth if I really do enjoy hosting. On one hand I do love it because I love opening up my home and serving people. On the other hand it can make me so stressed out that I wonder if I really do enjoy it. But hosting these two dinners weren't stressful. I think the older I get the more laid back I get. The more I'm realizing everything doesn't have to be perfect. It's not about perfection it's about community. All that to say, I like that I hold myself accountable to host once a month so I don't forget that. I grew up in a house where my parents were always entertaining and I loved that. I want to do that too.

So the theme of this month of goals is grace. I met a few goals, but fell short on a few others. But it's okay. I'm giving myself grace. The holidays is a busy time and that's okay. That is what January is for. 

How did you guys do?