Before diving into my 2019 resolutions, I wanted to do a 2018 resolutions recap. My goal choices were attainable yet adequately challenging. I am happy to report I completed most of them!

1. Wednesday date night with Phil

We didn’t have date night every Wednesday, but we came close! In our first year of marriage, it was important to leave work early one night a week and spend time together.

2. See 20 movies in the theater.

Even though I only saw 18 movies, I am going to consider this one complete. This was an activity I came to enjoy doing myself when I had free time, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

3. Successfully propose dissertation

I am happy to say I completed this in March and became ABD (all but dissertation)!

4. Set up a home gym in the basement

This was by far my favorite goal of the year. Follow the links to see the process and the finished result. This is my favorite room in the house!

5. Stop biting nails

Not even close to completion…

6. Get name changed with all important entities 

This was actually an easier process than I thought it would be.

7. Donate $2,000 to charity

This was completed partially through my 30 for 30 for 30 project in October.

8. Wake up 4 times a week at 6 AM

I wouldn’t consider this one complete, but I really started to find a rhythm near the end of the year. Surprisingly, I find it easier to wake up earlier when it’s still dark outside.

9. Visit 5 National Parks

This was a nonnegotiable for PQ! We visited Death Valley and Crater Lake on our honeymoon. During spring break we were able to visit Petrified Forest and Saguaro. Our final park included a backpacking trip to the North Cascades.

10. Send thank yous for the wedding

Done! If you came to our wedding or gave us a gift, thanks again!

11. Make a wedding photo book

Completed this and am SO happy with the final product!

12. Plan (and take) extended honeymoon to Switzerland

We visited Ireland and Switzerland in August.

13. Try 10 new recipes

We definitely tried ten new recipes, but not many more than that. Early on, I found some winners that PQ kept asking me to repeat!

14. Submit 2 papers to journals

I submitted one. I worked hard, but didn’t push more papers to completion. PQ gave me a pep talk this week about the importance of doing A+ research, so this goal will carry over to the new year as well!

15. Volunteer once a month

I didn’t volunteer once a month, but I did volunteer well over 12 times during the year. I worked primarily with Girls on the Run and the University District Food Bank, but my favorite volunteering was with the Special Olympics.

16. Can pepper jelly and jam

I did this in January and never went back to it! I enjoyed it, but we have a friend who sends us jars of habanero pepper jelly so we are always well stocked…maybe I can try jam in 2019.

17. See family 4 times a year

We well-exceeded this. A family highlight: PQ was the first person to hold his new nephew, Daniel, in Switzerland the day after he was born!

18. Read 31 books

I read 43 books this year, some of which were AWESOME. I hope to post about my top five favorite books from 2018 soon.

That’s my 2018 resolutions recap! How did you do with your 2018 resolutions?