My Word of The Year and A Look Back at How I Did With My December Goals

 I've been debating for weeks now if I want to continue making monthly goals this year.  I do think they helped keep me on track far better than setting just a yearly resolution or two.  But, I also feel like so many of my goals each month are just the same thing over and over again and the rest of them fall more under either my to do list or my bucket list items.  


I decided what I'd rather do this year is jump on the Word of Year bandwagon and pick a word... but I struggled like crazy to come up with a word!  I finally did though and I'll talk about it in just a minute.  

My plan is to use this word to reflect back on each month of new year and see how well I did putting my word to good use. 

First I want to look back at my December goals and see how I did:

December's goals:

Begin tracking ALL my foods on Weight Watchers-- 1/2 a check! I did great with my tracking right up until Christmas Eve and then I seemed to have forgotten about Weight Watcher's altogether until January 2nd rolled around. 

Drink 60 ounces of water a day-- Check! (most days)

Slowly add in daily exercises like yoga and using my stability ball at least a couple days each week- Sort of?  I did do a few yoga & stability ball workouts when it was too cold to go outside but mostly we stuck to hiking and snowshoeing for the month of December. 

Hike whenever the weather allows-- Check! We even added in a few snowshoeing hikes!






Finish up all Christmas shopping by the 14th-- Check!  

Host Christmas brunch-- Check!  We were up making croissants before we opened gifts so they could rise while we did. We also cooked up some scrambled eggs, bacon, my mother in law brought over muffins and my sister in law baked up two breakfast casseroles.  




Try at least two new recipes for Christmas-- Check!  We made butterscotch truffles, croissants (using a new recipe), and a really delicious loaded broccoli casserole.  



Take Ian to get his license-- Check! He passed with flying colors and we waited on pins and needles for his actual license to arrive in the mail before his temporary one expired. 

Enjoy one last date of the year with my husband -- Nope!

Not that bad!  

My word for 2021 is Embrace. Not only do I want to embrace life more fully but I also mean that in the physical sense too.  I have been hugging my family members this year but tend to rarely initiate any sort of physical contact with friends or family because I tend to be more on the shy/ reserved side but I want to change that this year.  


Not entirely sure how to do just that I did brainstorm a list of ways and things to embrace:


















Comments

  1. Danielle @ A Sprinkle of JoyJanuary 6, 2021 at 7:42 AM

    I love your word of the year! Embrace is such a good choice. I honestly don't know how much better 2021 is going to be, so making sure to embrace what will happen is a great idea.

    ReplyDelete
  2. HollyJanuary 6, 2021 at 8:22 AM

    I LOVE this...that's all

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tanya January 6, 2021 at 8:31 AM

    That is a wonderful word for the year! Embrace life and also embrace others around you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dara @ Not In JerseyJanuary 6, 2021 at 9:13 AM

    That's a great word. My words usually just come to me with what I'm thinking about and I think I'm choosing Hope.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 6, 2021 at 5:20 PM

      I can see that; what a powerful word to pick. I think we could all use more hope.

      Delete
  5. Kari January 6, 2021 at 9:22 AM

    Embrace is a significant word. Lots of layers there. I think it is a great idea to make goals for yourself, even if you can't keep them. At least you are challenging yourself in some manner, and that is good for motivation!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 6, 2021 at 5:20 PM

      That's how I usually feel-- I mean at least I tried! :)

      Delete
  6. Lindsay's Sweet WorldJanuary 6, 2021 at 11:02 AM

    I love this as your word of the year, and it's even more special since the meaning is two-fold. I think we're all ready for physical embracing again... I miss it so much!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 6, 2021 at 5:21 PM

      I've been hugging my family right along as my mother in law declared on day one of lockdown that she was not going to go weeks without hugging her grandkids and my mom immediately chimed in with me neither. LOL. So we've been hugging them but I do miss hugging friends and family members we only see once or twice a year.

      Delete
  7. EllibelleJanuary 6, 2021 at 12:12 PM

    You did fabulous with your December goals even if you didn't get another date night, but I'm sure you can make that up!
    The food looks delicious and the snow shoeing looks like so much fun!!

    Love your word of the year! I've never picked one, but just now after reading your post I decided it's going to be "water". It may not be a traditional word of the year, but I really NEED to drink more!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 6, 2021 at 5:22 PM

      We had a date this past weekend! I'm trying to shoot for one a month in the new year... whatever that date might look like!

      Delete
  8. Memphis BridgesJanuary 6, 2021 at 1:25 PM

    I love your word of the year! This is an inspiring, challenging word for us all.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Kate at Green FashionistaJanuary 6, 2021 at 1:53 PM

    You rocked your December! Love the word Embrace <3

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sparkles and LattesJanuary 6, 2021 at 7:16 PM

    I like the word that you chose. Embrace is a good one. You did a great job on your December goals. Now to get a date night in with your husband!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Jo TraceyJanuary 7, 2021 at 4:12 PM

    I reckon you did pretty well! I don't set goals as such (I work to a list of 101 things - big, small, mundane, meaningful - over a 1000 day period) but do set a word of the year which overlays how I approach that year & my goals. Embrace is a lovely one & encompasses so much..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 7, 2021 at 6:26 PM

      I like your 101 things in a 1000 day period approach; that sounds so neat!

      Delete
  12. NatashaJanuary 7, 2021 at 5:20 PM

    I love "embrace" as the word of the year. I really hope I get to embrace my friends and family this year. It's been so long.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 7, 2021 at 6:26 PM

      I know so many people who haven't been able to embrace their families in nearly a year and I feel so fortunate that we have had that chance... not with all of them obviously but with our parents, siblings, and immediate family within our little bubble.

      Delete
  13. MarielleJanuary 8, 2021 at 2:56 PM

    Well done on your December goals! You're not alone in feeling like goals are on repeat. ;) I love your word of the year and your brainstormed list. Thanks for sharing, and happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnnJanuary 9, 2021 at 7:46 PM

    Embrace is a great choice of words for the new year. Hopefully we can all start doing that again. Thank you for sharing at Party In Your PJ's!

    ReplyDelete
  15. GlendaJanuary 10, 2021 at 8:14 AM

    i enjoyed seeing the pictures of your hike. Like you I also try and chose a word for the year but as of now I still haven't decided on one. But today is a lazy day with my son vegging out and the perfect time to talk to him about a word of the year and chose together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 10, 2021 at 6:59 PM

      I have such a hard time settling on just one!

      Delete
  16. Shelbee on the EdgeJanuary 13, 2021 at 3:00 PM

    Oh wow, Joanne, for the first time picking a word of the year, I would say you totally nailed it! What a great intention for the coming year. Embrace all the things. I have been reminding myself a lot lately to also let go of a lot of things while embracing the ones that should be embraced. I have this mantra, "If it is out of my hands, I must put it out of my head." And it really works for letting go of stress and anxiety and worry. Which, in turn, leaves so much more time and energy for embracing the things that matter. Beautiful post!

    Shelbee
    www.shelbeeontheedge.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 13, 2021 at 6:14 PM

      That is a great mantra! I am totally going to steal that!!

      Delete

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