4th Annual Birthday Goal Post
May 20, 2009 | Navel Gazing
Firstly, please enjoy this hilarious picture, because I’m about to get all navel-gazey on you. Caption suggestions are welcome in the comments.
A little late, but it’s that time of year again. I make my resolutions on my birthday instead of in the dead of winter, when I’m more likely to be couch surfing with a pint of icecream and an entire season of some show. Now then. Let’s see how we did. Here are last year’s goals:
1. Continue learning to be a proper geek. Specifically, not just learn complicated stuff at work, but try to apply these skills to things I like to do, like design and whatnot. I’d like to get over my fear of Photoshop, and also, perhaps tackle redesigning this blog.
Wellll… hmm. I’d say I did fairly well on this front. As you can see, the blog is still the same, but I did manage to finish out another contract at Microsoft without breaking anything. Recently, I’ve been doing all kinds of scary techie-type things related to photography, so I’d say my geekiness is coming along quite nicely. I still hate all things Sci-Fi related, however, much to SB’s dismay.
2. Figure out how to keep this job or get a different one in IT, but improve my quality of life. Do I need to spell this one out? GET OUT OF THE FREAKING CAR. Get back some of those 20 hours a week, 32.5 days a year I spend sitting in traffic.
Christ on a cracker, I feel so badly for the me of last year with that STOOPID commute. Four hours a day, dude. I really can’t believe I did that. Well, needless to say, my quality of life has GREATLY improved.
3. Keep up the fitness regime. Achieving number 2 will greatly improve the odds of this.
I will say I definitely did well on this one, until Clark was born, that is. (We’ll get to my current sloth later.) Let us not forget that I am crazy insane and actually trained for a marathon whilst pregnant. I walked 20 miles at 26 weeks pregnant, and completed a half marathon at 30 weeks. I walked an hour on the treadmill the day before Clark was born. I’m actually quite proud of myself for all that! Yay me.
4. Complete a couple of fitness events. SB and I plan to do the ALS DoubleDay, an 85mile bikeride in July, (Dude. We need to start training. Kristina? When do you start kicking my ass in gear?) and also… three friends and I plan to walk the Portland Marathon in October. There I said it.
Check and check! *high fives*
5. Get pregnant. Have easy pregnancy. Birth beautiful child. Be perfect mother. That should be easy.
Well, now. I DID get pregnant. And in retrospect, my pregnancy WAS easy. This is not the amnesia hormones talking, I seriously lucked out. Once I got the lower back issues sorted, I was fine. He came a week early, even, so I never got that uncomfortable in the end. And I DID birth a beautiful child. He’s so SO beautiful. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Sometimes I trip out on just his eyelashes or his porcelain skin.
About the perfect mother part. I’m doing my best. I think I do okay.
6. And what kind of goal list would this be if I didn’t put Spanish and the guitar on here? Maybe this is the year!
FAIL. I was busy.
So! 2009. My 33rd year.
1. Keep improving my photography. Not just the quality of my images, but all the related technical aspects. I want to know how to use everything in Lightroom, and to continue rocking my Manual Mode. Keep learning, too. Attend as many seminars or workshops as I can. And always remember that I love it. Trust my eye. And if I say it’s a good picture, it is. Don’t get stuck imagining the criticism of my peers.
2. By this time next year, I want to be in the height of fitness again. And I want to appreciate it. I think back to the time, around the fall before I got pregnant, when I was going to Bikram 3-5 times a week and being asked to DEMONSTRATE POSES TO THE CLASS. Did I appreciate my awesomeness? No! And I probably still would have told you I needed to lose weight, because I am a stoopid stoopid girl. If I ever get back there again, I’m going to KNOW I’m strong and powerful, and I’m going to be kind to my body.
3. I want to become a more positive person. Lately, I’ve been trying to repeat to myself over and over that I’m too blessed to be stressed. It’s SO TRUE. I mean seriously, on a global scale, you , me, and everyone we know has hit the freaking jackpot. Again with the awareness. I want to always appreciate how incredibly awesome my life is. Also, negative thoughts cause wrinkles. It’s true.
4. Be the best mother I can be. I don’t mean this in a ’setting expectations too high’ kind of way, or a ‘never letting him eat dirt’ kind of way, just that he deserves my best effort always. Ensuring his health, well-being, and prosperity as a human are my most important jobs in this life. I hope to always remember this. My alma matter, PLU’s mission statement is “educating for lives of service”, and without sounding to matyr-y or like I’m always going to let him have his way, I want to think of parenting as service to the person I want him to grow into.
5. So, Spanish and the Guitar. I’m hoping that we do some traveling in the next year where I can get some practice on the Spanish. And as for the guitar, as much as I wanted my kids to grow up in a musical household, it may just have to be when he’s a little older. So, consider the slack cut on that one for this year.
As always, if you’re still with me after all that navel-gazing, thanks so much. That’s what blogs are for, right?
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May 20th, 2009 at 10:28 pm, dahli Says:
Blogs are for navel-gazing indeed & I always love reading your gazes!
Was that photo taken at the Safeway on Proctor? Maybe not, I think I just like to feel like I could still recognize a grocery store in gold old Tacoma even though I’ve been residing elsewhere for nearly 8 years.
Nice work with last year’s resolutions!
xoxo
May 20th, 2009 at 10:45 pm, Rona Says:
Amen to #3 for all of us, sister! I’m going to make that one of my goals, too. XO.
May 21st, 2009 at 12:17 am, Edward Gibbs V Says:
I have good geek design books. You are welcome to borrow some.
May 21st, 2009 at 10:45 am, Melinda Says:
Happy super belated Birthday! I love your list. I’ve been reading your blog for a while and rarely comment but had to tell you this: thank you for talking about Me Ra Koh. After learning about her on your blog sometime last year, I’ve been reading her blog and finally took the plunge and registered for the upcoming workshop in Tacoma. I’m so excited! Just wanted to thank you for mentioning her and reminding me how much I love photography. Your pictures of Clark are super awesome. Can’t wait to shoot in manual and feel like I know what I’m doing.
May 21st, 2009 at 12:13 pm, sizzle Says:
I didn’t realize cereals were categorized like that? Too funny.
Those are great goals! I’ve wanted to pick Spanish back up for years and am also sad that I gave up guitar too quickly when I was younger. I’ve been thinking about taking it back up and maybe become a third Indigo Girl. Think they’ll have me?
May 21st, 2009 at 4:01 pm, emilie Says:
Clearly when you’re an adult you eat things that: 1) Sound as intelligent and sophisticated as you wanna be (witness, “Smart this” “light that”) or 2) Will make your pooping experience more pleasant. mmm… yeah, sounds about right.
But where, oh where is 3) Includes handcuffs as free prize and a cut-out karma sutra pose on the back of the box?
Congrats on making goals in the first place, and then meeting dang near all of em! I particularly agree with #1 … making something you HAVE to learn work for something you WANT to do… good call.
Have fun in LV!
May 22nd, 2009 at 7:04 pm, Noreen Says:
Jenny Jacobs, you’re my hero. I love to read your blog and I am endlessly impressed by you. All your notes to Clark absolutely touch my heart and I know you are such an awesome mom. Congrats on kicking crazy booty!
May 5th, 2010 at 11:28 am, Zesty Enterprise » 5th (!) Annual Birthday Goal Post Says:
[...] New Year’s because I’m pretty useless in the dead of winter. Let’s see how I did. Here’s what I said last [...]