Did I keep my promises?

Y'all know that I don't make resolutions but instead, every year I make promises to try.  This is what works best for me because as long as I give it an honest go, I totally succeed.  Why set myself up for failure at the start of the year by making a resolution when I can do something more positive and simply make a promise to try.

Now that the year is winding down, I wanted to take a look back at my promises for 2013 and see how I did.  I kept things relatively simple this year but they were huge for me.  These promises are never about putting on airs or keeping with anyone named Jones, they are simply things that I want to do to make me a better version of me.  So here goes, the moment of truth...

1. I promised to read one book a month.  Welp, I didn't make the quota but I did complete 5 books this year so that just a tad more than one book a quarter.  I can live with that because it means I made time to read more which ultimately was my goal.  To bring reading back into my life and make it important again - given my reentry to the working world this past year, I think knocking out five books (there were three I just didn't like and quit reading but I'm not counting those) is pretty awesome.
2. I promised to make my first sweater.  I so totally did this!  I don't personally own it any more because Peanut became it's new owner on Thanksgiving, but I still made it and it came out pretty okay... I might even attempt another!
3. I promised to save $1,000 this past year.  Hang on, let me crunch some numbers... up to today, we have saved $960 this year.  That's the good news.  The honest flip side is, we had to use $890 of it over the course of the year.  There are two ways to look at this, one is positive and one is negative.  The negative says that we flat out didn't reach our goal because we only have $26 in our savings account.  The positive side says that because of our constant and vigilant attempts at saving money, we were covered when those unexpected life emergencies cropped up this year AND we even have $26 left over to start off our savings plan for next year.  Guess which way I'm choosing to look at it...
4. I promised to visit my folks at least once a month.  I have totally lived up to this one.  Yes, the drive is expensive and tiring but the time spent with my family is well worth it.  Sure, it will get harder now with just one car but Pokey is totally on board and this month, we're going up twice!!  What makes it even better is that my folks make the same effort to come down here if we can't make it up there which makes me very happy.

There you have it - all of my Promises to Try for 2013 and their end results.  I must say, I did better than I thought so I'm rather pleased with the how well I did this year.  It's nice to take stock in our accomplishments, regardless of size, and take a second to say "good on you" for a job well done.

Now, what will I challenge myself with for 2014...