Ten years ago, at the end of 2004, I was pretty sad the year was ending. It was a pretty epic year full of travel and changes and big moves. I didn’t know how 2005 or any year after it could measure up. Tonight, as I was walking on the beach just before the sun went down, I decided that 2014 was finally a year that measured up to 2004. But this time I’m not quite as sad to see it go. I’m a little more settled than I was back then, so I know 2015 is lining up to be a great one, too. Fingers crossed, anyway.
About those resolutions…
Work
PMP Certification – FAILED
ITIL Certification – FAILED
Salesforce Administrator Certification – ACCOMPLISHED – Certified Salesforce Administrator, September 26.
Salesforce Advanced Administrator Certification – ACCOMPLISHED – Certified Salesforce Advanced Administrator, December 30.
Force.com Developer Certification – FAILED
Attend Dreamforce again – ALMOST – I didn’t make it to Dreamforce, but I did make it to the Salesforce1 World Tour Event in New York City on November 19.
Successfully get data governance committee up and running – ACCOMPLISHED – Launched data governance committee, January 10. Second data governance meeting went really well, February 25. Meetings haven’t been quite as organized since we went live with Salesforce, but we do have some data initiatives going on right now.
Develop a new strategy for keeping my email under control – ACCOMPLISHED – This awesome out-of-office message made it so I didn’t need to worry about drowning in e-mails the entire time I was on vacation: Aloha! I will be on vacation in Hawaii from March 28 through April 5. I will be checking emails intermittently, so if your email is urgent, please write me back and let me know by putting URGENT in the subject line (but keep in mind I’ll be six hours behind EDT). If it can wait until I return, please write me again on or after April 7 because it’s quite possible your original email will be lost in a sea of unread messages in my Inbox by then. 🙂 Pineapples & palm trees, Lisa DeNoia. After we went live with Salesforce, Chatter became my strategy for keeping my email under control. The new Google Inbox is helping me keep my personal email account under control, too.
Blog
Redesign the blog (again) – ACCOMPLISHED – Redesigned and renamed the blog, January 26.
Post a series of gluten-free recipes (I’m hoping this will motivate me to cook more?) – FAILED
Participate in Nicole‘s “Finish This” series – ALMOST – Co-hosting Finish This… series. Wrote four posts in January. I haven’t been doing quite as well with this in February — I’m going to catch up, though. I completely failed at this in March. Sorry, Nicole! And continued to do so in April. I posted one of these in May, but I seriously need to get it together. 🙁
Write something hilarious – ACCOMPLISHED? – My out-of-office message above? 😉 I also wrote the clues and the script for the Where in Salesforce is Carmen San Diego? training game we created for sales training in December. Parts of that were pretty hilarious.
Plan a link-up for next year’s resolutions – FAILED
Travel
Plan a girls trip – ACCOMPLISHED – Went to Disney World with Kate, October 2-6.
Visit Nicole in Texas – FAILED
Visit Regina in Colorado – ALMOST – Regina never moved to Colorado. So I visited her in Pennsylvania, December 29.
Visit Tara in Ohio (or meet her somewhere cool) – ALMOST – Tara came to visit and stayed in my new guest room (which is definitely somewhere cool), September 7.
Visit my brother in Jacksonville and take a road trip down the coast of Florida to Key West – FAILED
Eat pineapples in Hawaii – ACCOMPLISHED – I ate pineapples every day in Hawaii, March 28-April 5.
Play poker in Las Vegas – FAILED
Taste wine at some vineyards – FAILED
Take pictures of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse – FAILED
New Things to Do
Shoot a gun (well) – FAILED – I almost crammed this one in at the last minute, but we got to the range at 3:30, and they closed at 4pm for New Year’s Eve. Next year.
Learn to play the guitar ukulele (at least one song) – FAILED
Eat a clam – ACCOMPLISHED – Ate a clam @ Metropolitan Oyster Exchange, early April. I didn’t love it, but I ate it.
Acquire some kind of bar cart or wine rack (liquor bottles are taking over my counter) – ACCOMPLISHED – Acquired wine rack/bar, January 12.
Take a dance class – ALMOST – I took a MixxedFit class at the gym by my house in October, does that count?
Start a good things jar (or maybe a virtual one) – ALMOST – Started virtual “good things” jar in Evernote, January 4. I started it, but I didn’t really keep up with it. Oh well.
Get that damn container of books out of the back of my car – ACCOMPLISHED – Container of books out of car and put away on a new shelf, January 12.
The Usual
Keep up the horseback riding – FAILED
Go surfing – ACCOMPLISHED – Surfed in Waikiki, April 1.
Go ice skating – ACCOMPLISHED – I went skating twice in December at the Oceanfront Ice Park — once by myself and once with Allison and Caroline.
Do yoga – FAILED
Host a party @ my house – ALMOST – Hosted a crab party…at John’s new house (does that count?), September 13. Hosted a holiday brunch at John’s house, December 21.
Read at least 10 good books – ALMOST – Crystal Blue by John H. Cunningham, The Wet and the Dry: A Drinker’s Journey by Lawrence Osborne, Another Roadside Attractions by Tom Robbins, Hawaii by James Michener, Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins, Hoot by Carl Hiassen. I started a few others, but I never quite finished any of them.
Attend a few good concerts – ACCOMPLISHED – Yarn @ The Jewish Mother, January 27. Taimane @ the Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii, April 3. Frankie Valli @ Chrysler Hall, April 8. Bruce Springsteen @ the Amphitheater, April 12. Jimmy Buffett @ Farm Bureau Live, May 24. Avett Brothers @ Ntelos Pavilion, June 8. Party Fins @ Town Center, August 27. Vertical Horizon @ Neptune’s Park, August 29. Rusted Root @ Neptune’s Park and Cherry Poppin’ Daddies @ 17th Street Stage, August 30. Train @ 5th Street Stage, August 31. Virginia Opera in the Park @ Town Point Park, September 6. Chicago @ Ntelos Pavilion, September 27. Starship @ EPCOT, October 4.
See a few good plays – ACCOMPLISHED – Vagina Monologues @ ODU, February 15. Sweeney Todd @ Harrison Opera House, September 28. Peter Pan @ Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, October 11. HMS Pinafore @ Harrison Opera House, November 11. On the Town @ Lyric Theater (NYC), November 29. Wicked @ Chrysler Hall, December 5. A Christmas Carol @ Sandler Center, December 6. If/Then @ Richard Rodgers Theatre (NYC), December 27.
Publish something I’ve written somewhere other than my own blog – ACCOMPLISHED – I published a lot of stuff on Chatter and into libraries in Salesforce — training, instructions release notes. This isn’t quite what I had in mind when I wrote this resolution, but due to the sheer volume of content I posted there, I am counting this as done.
Financial Goals
Put more money in the 529 college savings plans I opened for my BFF’s kids – ACCOMPLISHED – Money transferred for Christmas gifts, December 24.
Increase monthly TD Ameritrade transfer to $325 in January and $350 in June – ACCOMPLISHED – Increased monthly TD transfer to $325, January 4. I don’t know why I said June here. I meant July. But this is done, July 5.
Start a new business (preferably with another person — I think it would be more fun that way) – FAILED
Create a 2014 budget and track my progress against it monthly in Mint, Quicken or some other tool – ALMOST – After 10 months, I’ve decided Mint isn’t my cup of tea. Quicken reinstalled, November 2. In the end, I’m going to say I created the budget, but I never really stuck to it.
Achieve the savings and net worth goals I wrote down in my budget – ACCOMPLISHED – Savings goal for TD Ameritrade account achieved, November 10. Net worth goal achieved as of sometime in August or September from what I can remember.
For My Well-Being
Get back in the habit of getting regular facials – ALMOST – I had a few facials, but not as many as I used to have. They got more expensive.
Have a vegetarian week – FAILED
Find a new cleaning service – ACCOMPLISHED – New person has been cleaning my house since early August. 🙂
Watch less TV – ACCOMPLISHED – I’ve been watching so much less TV. I don’t have time to watch TV.
Get contacts or prescription sunglasses – FAILED
Join a gym – FAILED – Took a class at the new gym up the street, no membership required! I think I’ll go back now that it’s dark when I get home from work. 🙂 Um, failed. One class doesn’t count.
Run in the R&R Half Marathon (I said I’d never do it again, but I changed my mind) – FAILED – Fail. I changed by mind back. 🙂
Log 3,650,000 steps on my Fitbit (that’s an average of 10,000 per day) – ALMOST – Walked/ran 246,032 steps and 99.56 miles in January. Walked/ran 214,419 steps and 86.76 miles in February. Walked/ran 183,128 steps and 81.32 miles in March (got a little behind while I was sick for a few days). Walked/ran 258,099 steps and 103.10 miles in April. Walked/ran 237,871 steps and 97.05 miles in May (lost one day because my Fitbit’s battery died). Walked/ran 183,714 steps and 73.57 mils in June. Walked/ran 157,811 steps and 62.77 miles in July (lost three days because my Fitbit’s battery died). Walked/ran 209,014 steps and 83.75 miles in August (lost one day because my Fitbit’s battery died). Walked/ran 192,226 steps and 76.46 miles in September (lost one day because my Fitbit’s battery died). Walked/ran 270,799 steps and 107.85 miles in October. Walked/ran 150,31 steps and 59.79 miles in November (lost nine days because my Fitbit wasn’t syncing right). Walked/ran 172,994 steps and 69.06 miles in December (lost two days because my Fitbit’s battery died). That means I lost about 17 days for various reasons. Since I averaged 7,298 steps per day, I multiplied that by 17, and added it to my total. That means in 2014, I walked/ran about 2,663,838 steps and about 1,070 miles.
And, as usual, make one new resolution every month – ALMOST
January: Get new running shoes – New running shoes arrived, January 8.
February: Complete Salesforce Administrations Essentials for New Admins (ADM201) training online – I’m almost done, but I have about an hour and half left. However, I’ve accomplished more than eight average human beings this month, so I refuse to insinuate that I failed at this. I’m going to get it done as soon as I can.
March: Complete PMP application – Fail.
April: Stop leaving work after the sun goes down – Accomplished. Thank you, DST.
May: Put a bed in my guest room – Bed in the guest room, May 23. Mattress on the bed, May 25.
June: Have the VHS of my high school history project converted to digital media – Failed. I forgot I even wrote this down.
July: Apply to volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters – Kind of. Apparently Big Brothers Big Sisters only exists on the Peninsula, and they don’t accept volunteers from the Southside. Which makes sense — it would be difficult to commit to driving all the way up there at least once per week. I’ll look for something else.
August: Fail because I didn’t post my update.
September: Sign up for the Salesforce Administrator exam (and take it). Also, beach days. As many beach days as possible. – Passed my Salesforce Administrator exam, September 26.
October: Fail. Didn’t post a resolution update, but if I had, I would have said, “Have an amazing time at Disney World.” Which I did. 🙂
November: Complete Salesforce Administration Essentials for Experienced Administrators training – Fail.
December Fail because I didn’t post an update, but I did finally finish November’s.
20 ACCOMPLISHED, 11 ALMOST, 18 FAILED. Sounds about right, and I’m good with that. 🙂
Happy New Year!
