On Jan 1, 2012, I asked you to share with me your resolutions for 2012 and told you that we’d revisit it at the end of the year. I think its a good way to check if you truly want a change, or if you were just messing around 😉 Well, the moment of reckoning is here! How did you do in 2012?
I know many people don’t make resolutions. I never used to myself because you just KNOW you’re going to break them, so why bother right? Well, not true.
Over time, I’ve learnt that its a good way to keep a check and balance of yourself. It will prove to you just how strong your will power is, or how good your self discipline is, or just how much you really want something. So, I make a simple resolution every year. Something easy to keep up, and nothing too ambitious.
This year, I resolved to learn to cook better. Did I succeed?
Well, yes and no 🙂
I kept my resolution at the back of my head through the year and where possible, I cooked. I fell off the bandwagon sometime in the middle of the year, opting to eat out more than cook, but I slowly got back on towards the end of the year.
The thing is, I wanted to learn to cook more local and home favourite dishes better. In that regard, I failed. I did not end up cooking many local dishes. But I did end up learning to cook new and more interesting things.
Clockwise from top left: ABC soup | Stuffed Pita Pockets | Roast Pumpkin salad | 5 minute Broccoli soup
Incidentally, I’ve acquired a taste for pumpkin (which I used to hate) and have learnt that its a nice and healthy food stuffed with fibre and vitamins and its pretty filling so I don’t load up so much on carbohydrates. Lovely! 😀
I have since installed a phone app to help me plan my weekly meals and to keep track of what’s in my freezer so I wouldn’t keep my food too long. I saved money and I spent money but ultimately, I enjoyed it immensely. I’ve always enjoyed cooking, so reminding myself to cook, and to cook better meant I partially kept my 2012 resolutions.
Did you manage to keep your 2012 Resolutions?
Some of you may have shared your resolutions with us, and if you have forgotten what it was, you can revisit it here. If you didn’t share yours, tell us anyway if you managed to keep to any resolution this year. A new challenge arises come Jan 1, 2013 so if you didn’t do well this year, there’s still the coming year! Time to think of what you plan to better of yourself come 2013. I’ll issue you the challenge then so think about it and take my challenge come Jan 1! 😉
Paris B
I didn’t make any resolutions for year 2012 per se, but just to spend more time with my family, which I did 🙂 I have 3 resolutions for next year though, and they are the basics that I can stick to. You’re right about testing our will power. I’m always so fickle, and I swing left and right whenever my mood takes me. I think 2013 will be a good year to finally exert a certain self restraint. LOL! Thanks for the post Paris and happy new year.
Its good to know you managed to keep the 2012 promise to yourself 🙂 Spending time with the family is something we sometimes take for granted so its a good reminder! I’m looking forward to what you have planned for 2013 😉
What’s the name of the meal-planner app you mentioned? I’m crazy about planning and organizing, so I’m pretty sure the app and I will get along really well. 😛 LOL. Right now, I just use Evernote to keep tracking of everything from grocery list to recipes to weekly meal plans. 😀
Usually, I don’t make any “official” resolutions. Just little bits of stuff that I take note mentally. For 2012, my resolution was to be diligent with apply body lotion every night before bed and to use sunscreen daily. The later one I achieved later towards the end of the year, around Sept (better late than never). While I got the hang of the former one during the first quarter of 2012. Yahoo!
The app is just called the “Food Planner” and its available on Android but I’m not sure if its also available for the iPhone. I’m really bad at organizing and scheduling stuff, and I still can’t understand Evernote. I know, its mind boggling why I can’t get my head around something so simple! I just started using the app but so far, its been helpful. Its good to know you managed to keep part of your resolution and yay to sunscreen! I keep banging on about it, people must be so sick of me LOL!
I rarely make any new year resolutions for fear of not sticking to them! =D knowing how fickle I am I just stay away from making any of them. I plan to take heed of your advice this year and make one resolution that shouldn’t be too difficult to keep up with: put aside a certain amount of money towards a bag fund! Let’s see if I manage to keep up with it! 😉 Happy New Year to you, my dear!
I used to not make resolutions too but making a simple one does help me stay a little more focused. I know I can’t do the whole “Lose weight!” thing so I don’t even try anymore Haha!
i didn’t make any resolutions but I did quite a few things this year which has made it a little different 🙂 but, I am thinking of next year resolutions already!!
I hope your 2012 turned out better than you expected it to, Swati and good on you for planning your 2013 resolutions! Let’s make it happen!
I had to look back at the 1st of Jan post to see what I wrote and this year was kinda miss for me. I wasn’t as sick as I was in 2011 healthwise but skinwise it was totally downhill. Looks like I’ll have to continue with my ‘better health’ resolution next year too.
Sorry to hear 2012 didn’t work out for you skin-wise. Hopefully everything starts settling down and getting better in the new year! 🙂
I didn’t make any resolutions for 2012. I usually don’t. I would like to take some cooking classes/photography classes in 2013, so that may be one I make.
I used to make a whole list of resolutions – you know the usual lose weight, do this and that things – but then I realised that by just picking one, its a lot easier to stick to so here’s to 2013! 🙂
Didn’t do too badly based on the resolution I made in 2012 – definitely tried a whole lot of new things…but alas, forgot to resolve to write about them! >.< Well, time to rectify that in 2013..it's going to be one interesting year coming up! 😀
2013 will most definitely be interesting! 😀
I don’t even remember if I made any NY resolutions beginning of 2012. Probably something about losing weight, getting fitter, exercising more, yadah yadah yadah. It’s the same every year. 2013 = don’t exercise any less. Good enough 😛
Sounds like a good resolution to me! 😉 I just pick one – much easier to stick to than having a list 😀
I don’t remember making any resolution for 2012…well, I’ve accomplish some little thing though in the past 12 months that i’m proud of – lost weight (a little :P), keep up with exercise (though abit lax lately), eat healthier, have more ‘me’ time to reflects & relax. Guess these are also the things that I should keep it up or do better in 2013! 😀
Good on you for accomplishing the things you set out to do! Sometimes it doesn’t look like much, but hey, its something! 😀 here’s to a better 2013
As I got older, I think I stopped making resolutions for unknown reasons (read: cowardice, procrastinate). Maybe it’s my fear of the committment and letting myself down if I don’t achieve them. Then I consoled myself with something I call rolling resolution – I roll as I go along hahaha.
I didn’t make any resolution for 2012 but I do know that I wanted certain things to happen. I aimed for bigger things at work and achieved it. And then I upgraded myself to iPhone when my Nokia N82 was dying or more like I succumbed to the smart phone era. My Nokia was not N95 (the one you mentioned you passed on to your dad lol). I learnt to be kinder to myself, this is a lifelong resolution I guess. So I made some purchases when I had the opportunity, i.e. duty free and sale. If not I will usually mull over it and before I know, the opportunity would have came and left.
Because 2012 was such a sorrowful year, I think I already have a few resolutions in 2013 and it’ll be a better one I hope 🙂
It sounds like 2012 was a half and half year for you – good in some aspects and not so good in others. I used to not make resolutions on the basis that hey, I’d never keep it so why bother? But its far easier wrestling with one than with a whole list 😀 All the best for 2013 – it can only get better!
Resolutions? What are they? 😀 I stopped making resolutions for a few years. However, I told myself it will be a good idea to make some for 2013 *lol* I guess that’s probably because 2012 has been such a bad year for me, especially with my health.
Haha that’s like me – I stopped making resolutions for a long time, figuring why bother? But I then realised that being able to keep to 1 made me feel a little more accomplished than having a whole list 😀 After all, we can always better ourselves 😉
Always the same resolutions or goals as I like to call them for me. Staying fit, healthy, eat well, look after skin, cook & bake better……..and so on and so forth! Keeping it simple & constant somehow allows me to achieve it year on year. Well sort of, anyway. Haha….
One I really didn’t come near to achieving was reading more books….a measly 12 books for 2012, how lousy’s that? lol!
Hey, one book a month isn’t too bad, considering that some people barely even manage that! LOL 😀 I don’t know how many books I read come to think of it. I re-read stuff a lot so maybe those don’t count? 😉 here’s to more reading in 2013!
resolution? humph, great. but do we really need end of the year to do resolution? When we see problem, solve it directly. We need to make everyday better than yesterday. However, Seriously, this entry moved me 🙂
Nope, never a need to make a resolution, but I think its good to take stock of what we have done at the end of the year and see if it has turned out the way we wanted/expected it to and if not, to do something about it 🙂 After all, there is always one thing we can better about ourselves 🙂
My resolution was pretty simple. after having bouts of headaches, I discovered that it was due to the tea used in coolblog drinks. So I stopped drinking them. And what do you know, I haven’t take a sip since Dec 2011!
Haha not laughing at you, but I had to look up Coolblog to see what it was LOL! 😀 I’m glad you worked out what was giving you headaches and personally, I’d skip all of these artificially flavoured drinks. Its unhealthy, so good on ya for giving it up 😀