Goodbye 2016!
It’s become Everyday Cait tradition to evaluate my New Year’s Resolutions on the last day of the year, and then make some new ones. Tonight, we’re heading to a New Year’s Party, but we started the party a little early with a “Pre-ners” concert at the Dakota Jazz Club here in Minneapolis. I think it was a great way to end the year.
Anyway, what did I want to do last year?
2016
1. Get my makeup collection under control.
Yes! Kind of. I moved to Minneapolis (good job, me!) and that meant downsizing. Is my makeup collection still stupidly big? Yes. But it’s under control.
2. Get out of my makeup slump.
I have really been trying to get out of my rut and try new things when it comes to makeup. I think this one is an accomplishment.
3. Put my phone away.
This was entirely a fail. I can own up to that. I’m more attached to my phone than ever.
4. Make time for fitness.
Also a fail. I personally consider it an accomplishment that I’m the same weight as I was last year. This time I can blame this entirely on stress, which I’m hoping to have a better handle on this year.
5. Use all my vacation time wisely.
Yes! This year I went travelling everywhere. All over the US and Canada, and visiting the sights of Montana, Minnesota, and beyond! 100% success here.
6. Clean out my closet.
Also with the moving, this involved some considerable downsizing. Excited to be cutting back here too, as well as in makeup.
7. Travel somewhere intimidating.
I would say I achieved this, but in kind of a roundabout way. I decided to pursue a relationship and career in another city, which was incredibly intimidating. Now that I’ve done it, and I know that it turns out okay, it was one of the best decisions.
8. Get serious about YouTube
Um. Fail. It’s been months since I last filmed a video.
9. Finish my master’s degree.
Finished!
10. Drink more water.
Also a success!
11. Talk less about people
Yes! This year was filled with audio books, podcasts, and articles that gave me so much to talk about. So many ideas!
12. Actually do the readings.
So…I half-assed this one. After my new year’s resolutions were made for 2016, it turned out that I never took another class that required readings. I didn’t realize that at the time…so I won’t count this as a fail. But it’s not really a success.
13. Do the important adult things.
I would say getting a master’s degree, a real adult job, and becoming financially stable are all adult things. Check.
14. Comment on other people’s blogs
Yes! I tried so hard to be a better member of the community, and I’m proud of my accomplishments there.
15. Spend a night under the stars.
I didn’t go camping once this year. That makes me sad. Fail here.
16. Clean my makeup brushes more.
Success!
All in all, not bad. 12/16 (if you count the two half-assed ones). I think that 16 resolutions is too many…so I went with just 5 this year.
2017
1. Devote 5 hours per week to personal professional goals.
Right now, my blog and my side endeavors are more of a when-I-have-time thing. I’d like to change this in 2017 and dedicate a set 5 hours per week, using a timer. This works out to just one hour for every eight hours that I devote to my full-time job, so it should be doable.
2. Save 10% of my income.
This goes back to last year’s idea to be a better adult. Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it buys choices. Now that I have a teeny little family (just a boyfriend and a dog), I want to make it possible for us to have as many choices as possible, from where to live to when to travel to what to buy.
3. Grow to 500 Instagram followers.
Compared to a lot of people I follow on Insta, 500 followers seems like such a modest goal, but I think that it’s a good one. I doubled my Insta following this year, and I’d like to continue the growth there. Insta is definitely my social media of choice.
4. Cook every recipe in one cookbook.
I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. Pick one cookbook, and make everything in it. Everything. I’ll admit that I started this one a tiny bit early. I picked up Molly on the Range, by Molly Yeh, which you may have seen in a recent gift guide. We’ve already started cooking through the recipes and so far, so delicious.
5. Build my makeup portfolio.
This is something I have been wanting to dabble in for a while. I have a pretty good grasp of how to do makeup on me, but it’s time to work on more diverse faces.
That’s it! Just five ambitious, but totally achievable goals. Here’s hoping that 2017 is as good as 2016 was. I, of course, mean that from a personal standpoint and not from a celebrity deaths and Trump standpoint. But we’ll see.
Happy New Year, Adventurers. Let me know your goals down below!
