This year was a bit of a mixed bag when it came to “my 2014 bucket list”. I had several successes (some of them major), several life priorities changed, and some things just didn’t get done. I knew it would be hard to impossible to do every single thing on my list, but I wanted to stretch myself and I believe I succeeded.

What Went Well

I had three travel goals on my list, of them I traveled twice. My trip to Croatia was moved to 2015 because a friend will be able to go with me then. Instead of going to New Orleans, I went to Alaska and visited my family…a good exchange in my opinion. And, I did make it to Belize for the fourth time. Considering I had just got back from a 9 ½ week trip at the end of January, I’d say that’s a lot of travel for 2014.

My dogs got a permanent “stay at home” solution…a large playroom. I have quite a commute for work and at times I’m away much more than I should be. Now they have their own space with food, water, heating/air, a comfy couch, and even a place to go potty if they need to. I love it!

As for experiences this year, I went skydiving in Australia in January and stand-up paddle boarding through mangroves in Belize just a couple of weeks ago. Closer to home, I snowshoed for the first time this year…I see more of this for 2015.

I’d say the most successful part of 2015 was my finances. I had the goal to pay off all my debt and I didn’t start until mid-year. That goal will be met in January (as planned). In addition to this, I have created a knockout plan for the future. I should be able to save almost 75% of my take home pay in 2015 due to plans I started this year. Talk about setting myself up for success.

I was light in the home improvement area, but hope to remedy that I bit in 2015. I did plant a garden, but a trip early in the summer combined with a house sitter that didn’t keep up on the watering resulted in less than stellar results.

Learning…so much to report here. I attended a photography workshop in May, painting workshops in April, I added more than 10 PDUs to my professional accreditation, and I ended up reading approximately eight books (twice my goal).

I both rocked and failed in the self-improvement category (failures below). I could give lots of excuses, but the honest truth is I just didn’t focus myself. I setup and continue to follow a good skin regiment, take vitamins every day, definitely created a 5-year plan, did some personal training, exercised three or more times a week, biked and hiked, eliminated meat and processed food once in a while, significantly cut down on eating out, and even went on three dates (all disasters, but I still did it).

Not bad for 2014.

What Changed

I decided not to spend the time and money on additional obedience classes for my dogs. I may do this sometime in the future, but they actually know basic commands pretty well and I just didn’t see the benefit.

Instead of taking piano lessons I decided to get rid of both pianos. I haven’t yet, but that’s the plan.

And, I already talked about the fact that Croatia got postponed to 2015.

What Didn’t Go Well

Let’s face it; I really challenged myself in 2014. I accomplished a lot, but I fell down in some areas as well. The only excuse I can give is that as the year progressed priorities changed. In some cases, I opted not to spend money in order to fulfill my other financial goals. In other cases, I just flat out didn’t do the things I planned to. In all cases, I have no regrets. 2014 was a successful year no matter how I slice it.

I didn’t make my goal of blogging every week…on either of my blogs. I didn’t whitewater raft, sea kayak, or do flying trapeze. I didn’t fix my living room wall, sell a piano, or eliminate enough material things (although I did make a lot of donations to Goodwill). I didn’t take Spanish classes or attend a writing seminar. I didn’t learn to properly throw a Frisbee, properly throw a football, play tennis, swim better, get my scuba recertification, or free dive gracefully. I didn’t go target practicing. I didn’t visit a natural path, eliminate dairy, try a new food every week (I did for several weeks…just no follow-through), or write thank you notes. I didn’t go backpack camping.

But, my biggest disappointment of 2014 was that once again I didn’t hit my goal weight. In fact, I didn’t even come close. I guess there is always 2015.

Where Does This Leave Me

While I like the idea of dreaming big and creating a “yearly bucket list”, I ended up finding it a bit overwhelming. A lot changed in 2014; my priorities shifted throughout the year. Luckily I gave myself the opportunity to make adjustments without a feeling of failure. For 2015, I’m going to try something different. Stay tuned for that on New Year’s Day.

How was 2014 for you? What will you be looking forward to in 2015?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!