New Year's goals 2016

As we wrap up an eventful and awesome 2015 and look forward to 2016, let's take a moment to reflect on last year's goals and set some new goals for next year.

2015 GOALS

• Move in with my wife!!!!
• It's pretty awesome living with your best friend.
• Learn Arabic to the 1/1 level by end of year
• Jack's arrival pushed back the start of Arabic from September until November.  I am making some progress and feel like it is going well, but I am probably not yet to a 1/1.
• Go on an awesome honeymoon
• We took our honeymoon to Cape Cod and Boston and it was awesome.
• Weigh under 200 lbs by September 1 (about 2 lbs/month)
• I met this goal over the summer.  Despite a few fluctuations here and there, I have stayed below 200 the rest of the year.
• Complete at least one long race (over 10 miles)
• I had planned to run the cherry blossom race last spring, but work issues forced me to delay my trip back to the U.S.  The baby's arrival has made it harder to prepare for and plan for a long race.
• Complete a triathalon (short distance)
• I didn't even get close to this one
• Do a pull-up (or three)
• I spent a lot of time working in Crossfit on this one in the first half of the year.  If I had stayed in Frankfurt and kept working out at Crossfit, I know I would have met this goal.  But, I didn't.  I managed to do pull-ups with bands, jumping pull-ups and negative pull-ups, but never managed a strict pull-up.
• Visit family and friends on home leave
• With trips to Phoenix, San Antonio, and Omaha, I met this goal
• Become a football referee
• Forgot about this and never even tried it.  Wouldn't have happened with Jack's arrival anyway.
• Visit at least 3 new countries and 3 new states
• I visited Greece and Luxembourg for the first time, in addition to return visits to Morocco, Austria, Netherlands, UK, France, and Italy.  I technically missed the mark on this one, but still pretty good.
• Only new state this year was Massachusetts.
• Watch at least two sunrises and two sunsets
• and they were all fabulous
• Use our wedding china at least three times
• not even close. I don't think we used it once.
• Read 15 books in 2015
• By my count on good reads, I finished 14 books this year.
• Get promoted at work
• I was evaluated as promotable, but did not get promoted.  :(

For 2016, I am adding a new element to my annual tradition.  In addition to setting a goal for the year, I am choosing a word for 2016.  This word will serve as a mantra, a goal, a plan for the year.  A few possibilities I considered included "adventure", "family", "aspire", "fatherhood", "experience", "listen", "focus", and "stretch."  The word I decided on is "support."  We have lots of changes coming in the next year: crawling, talking, growing, eating, walking and more for Jack.  New jobs, new cities, new language, new roles for Sara and me.  Sara and Jack will be living abroad for the first time.  We will be new parents dealing with a growing child.  We have to move houses and make new friends.  Support will be key for all of us and I plan to make it my "word" for 2016.

As for the goals - 

• Pass my Arabic exam with a 2/2 or better (I need a 2/1)
• Move to Saudi Arabia
• Train for and complete a triathlon before July (sprint triathlon)
• Watch at least two sun rises and two sunsets
• Weigh 175 lbs or less (losing about 20 more pounds)
• Visit at least 3 new countries
• Skype with Jacks grandparents once a week
• Visit with Jacks grandparents at least twice
• Post on this blog at least twice a month (this post counts for January)