2006 Year in Review - A great year!

I took a bit of a Christmas vacation from this blog, and missed trend of year-end reviews, New Years resolutions, and 2007 goals that were posted on so many other blogs, but I'm going to catch up and post them now. This post will cover my 2006 review, and the next post will be my 2007 Goals.

2006 Year in Review

Last year was an awesome year for me! I accomplished two of my life goals, had a baby, and simply transformed my life in so many ways. Let me count them briefly:

* Marathon: Starting in early 2006, I wrote a column every two weeks that ran in the local newspaper here on Guam, chronicling my journey to my first marathon. I just started running in early December 2005, and did my first 5K later that month, so this was a very big goal for me. It was also a lifetime goal. I had a very up-and-down year in my marathon training, but to sum up a long story, in early December 2006 I completed my first marathon! Running is now a part of my life, and I love it.

*Novel: It's always been a goal of mine to write a novel, and in November 2006 I signed up for the life-changing NaNoWriMo, with the goal of writing 50,000 words in a novel by the end of Nov. 30 ... and I did it! It will probably never be published, but it was quite a challenge and accomplishment.

* Noelle Cayce: On March 23, 2006, the latest joy of my life was born ... our youngest daughter. That makes six for us. She is a godsend and a brat, all in one incredibly beautiful package.

* Veganism: In September 2006 I became a vegetarian, with the eventual goal to become a vegan. Well, I haven't touched meat (or any animal carcasses) since, and I have drastically reduced my intake of dairy and eggs ... basically, I don't eat dairy or eggs anymore but only take them in as trace ingredients in some foods. I plan to cut them out completely so I can have a cruelty-free diet by the end of 2007. It's been a great transformation of my diet, and one that I do not regret a bit. One of the best things I've ever done.

* GTD: Even though I didn't actually read David Allen's Getting Things Done until the end of 2006, I grasped the basic concepts and procedures on the web and began implementing GTD before the summer. By the end of the year, I was much, much more organized than ever before. It's an incredible system that I would recommend to anyone. It can take awhile to adopt the habits of GTD -- I have most of them down by now but am still improving. My desk is clear, my files are organized, my email inbox is empty and I know where everything is. Perfection!

* Early riser: In 2006, because of running, I became an early riser. I started waking earlier and earlier, and now regularly wake up at 4:30 a.m. (some days at 5 a.m. if I sleep late). It gives me such a great start on the day, and the mornings are quiet and beautiful. I love it! Over the next couple of weeks I'm going to try to accomplish at least 1-2 Big Tasks before 6 a.m. ... with the option of tackling instead 2 things I've been procrastinating on. I think it will make my days even better.

* Finances: I made great progress in eliminating my debt (with even bigger plans for 2007) and began an emergency fund that is so great for ease of mind. I am still trying to get on stable financial ground, but compared to a year ago, when I couldn't make ends meet, I am light years ahead. And I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

* One Year Quitversary: On Nov. 18, 2005, I quit smoking. It was the beginning of the transformations in my life, and gave me the confidence and showed me the way to even more accomplishments. On Nov. 18, 2006, I quietly celebrated my one year Quitversary, and have never been happier.

* Misc: There have been many other great things that have happened to me in 2006, and small failures as well, but on the whole this has been a GREAT YEAR!!!!!! Here's hoping that 2007 will be just as great.