Jan 01 50 Goals for 2013: My Report Card

My 50 goals for 2013.  It’s Judgement Day…

1.  Make Life as a Zebra Foundation a 501 3c. Done!
2. Raise more than $12,500 at our Invisible Illness Benefit on April 13, 2013 for Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation, National Dysautonomia Research Foundation, and Vasculitis Foundation. Yup! We were around $26,000 this year.
3. Obtain sponsorship for the benefit. We had some awesome sponsors this year.
4. Secure an opener for the benefit concert for Chris Trapper. Yup. Joshua Davis Trio.
5. Be able to continue to work. Still working!
6. Organize the basement. Finally! After three years of being on this list we finally did it this past summer.
7. See someone new in concert. Josh Ritter, Avett Brothers, Jesse Terry, Matchbox 20.
8. Landscape our yard. Nope. Big fail.
9. Get a new deck. Nope.
10. Decorate the interior of our house; mainly the walls. Nope. Our poor house.
11. Try Crossfit or Zumba. I fell in love with Zumba!
12. Visit Philly after my new niece is born. No. I had to wait until they came to Michigan.
13. Dama-Herner Summer Vacation. Yup, in Suttons Bay. It was one of the best weeks of the year.
14. Visit the Cross in the Woods with my MIL. Not yet. I got really sick the weekend I was supposed to go.
15. Start a will. Nope.
16. Get a credit card for emergencies only. Nope.
17. Finish choreographing a dance. I did three with Allie. And taught them at Twistars gymnastics summer camp!
18. Visit Andy in Texas or Georgia, wherever he ends up. Still have not made it to Texas.
19. Visit Allie in Virginia. Or Virginia.
20. Take a dance class at Spartan dance. Nope.
21. Continue weekly date nights. Most Thursdays.
22. Throw a party. I’m counting the benefit and that we hosted Christmas Eve due to the power outage!
23. Renew my professional teaching certificate. Yup.
24. Create something.  I’m thinking a Scrapbook sort of thing. I created a lot on Shutterfly and a few slideshows.  Totally counting it.
25. Learn how to make Dad’s spaghetti sauce. Not yet.
26. Sponsor a family at the holidays who are in need. Yup.
27. Figure out how to balance posting what I want to post on my website with working and rehab and life in general. Not. at. all. This one is so, so hard.
28. Continue to advocate and educate about EDS and POTS (including myself). I did my best!
29. Go on a getaway trip with Brad, just us.  Doctor’s trips do not count. If the doctors don’t count, then nope.
30. Use more sunscreen. I did a teeny, tiny bit better. I still have lots of room for improvement.
31. Continue Mommy-Daughter time on Sunday afternoons. Yup! Most Sundays.
32. Continue making progress on starting a family. I don’t know.
33. When people pay me a compliment, accept it, and say thank you. I am getting better.
34. Do something NEW that I am afraid of. I taught aerobics and dance, I spoke in front of hundreds of people, I filmed a documentary and a “Tell Me Something Good” story.
35. Spend time in my happy places. Yup. The beach. The pool. At church. With my friends and family. 
36. Take Grandma Midge out to eat. Yup.
37. Continue a disciplined home-rehab program, that gets progressively more challenging. I think I did pretty well with this one. The key for myself is to constantly set harder goals…
38. Clean out all of our files. Most. Counting it.
39. Do daily toe rises. I swear they help keep the blood that pools in my legs to a minimum. Not daily but regular. Totally counting it. I’m proud of my calf balls.
40. Take more camera classes and learn how to use Adobe Lightroom or Elements. Nope.
41. Speak up when I feel inspired by something someone does or says.  This includes writing letters. I think I did well with this. Always room for improvement though.
42. Spend more time (than we did in 2012) with Meghan, Sebastian, and Jackson. Since I’m Jackson’s teacher, and get to see Meghan every morning at drop off, I would say yes, but as far as hanging out as a family, I would have to say no.
43. Try not to fixate on things I cannot control. Better. Still trying.
44. Do more 5ks or something else that gets my competitive blood flowing. I did two 5k’s, but I feel like I did better at competing with just myself to improve my strength and endurance.
45. Participate in a flashmob. Nope.
46. Launch the new Life as a Zebra Foundation website. Yup.
47. Make holiday treats for the homeless. Nope.
48. Decide about getting a tattoo. Still deciding…
49. Run through a downpour. Yup. One by choice. One not so much.
50. Pay the kindness forward that has been shown to me. Always working on it…