Today I thoroughly did my business recap and all that that entails (the money stuff).
Last year I started out an annual tradition of writing out a financial report and while it's really terrible to start working on, pretty soon the numbers get me and I love to see the trends, see which products sold better, which months were good, which were the best clients, etc.
Interestingly, for the first year ever, my main income sources were products first, then coaching (coaching is usually first, as it should be), then blog advertising (!) and then speaking. Now that I know that I want to do some different things with my blog.
Yesterday D and I had a date. The stuff we like to do - bookshops, eating, shopping, talking :)
Over lunch I showed D my 2013 goals and my 38 things list (I have 12 completed and some in progress so I'm on track). We chatted about all of them which was SO great and he joked, "what will we talk about on New Year's Eve?!" because that's the time we usually talk about the year ahead, well, in the pre-baby days mostly. These days we're both too tired after the kids go down.
Anyway, moving on.
This has been an amazing year of friendship for me.
Totally AMAZING. Totally surpassed my expectations.
(if I was more motivated I'd take all these posts, edit them and put them in a nice free ebook for the site - something like "a year of friendship")
Everything hasn't always been rosy - I was friend dumped, I wondered if another friend was blowing me off and I've also been a less than stellar friend at times. And that I don't let go easily. There are a couple of friendships who are not where I'd ideally like them to be but I'm putting it down to busyness since when we are together it's still really good.
However I do think that I really made the effort to be there in person for friendships this year. I set goals at the beginning of the year and made sure I said yes more often than not.
My goal was to have 20 one on one friendship dates and I did. I actually stopped counting months ago when I reached it.
I also suggested in my friend goals post that I should perhaps meet up with 5 brand new people - I managed 6 in South Africa - Mrs FF, Blackhuff, Julia and three friends through work, and then of course, on my USA trip, another 5 lovely blogger and now real life friends - the two Mandys, Beth, Puffer and Heather.
Mandys, you'll get a kick out of this. When I refer to one of you while chatting to Beth, I say "the first Mandy or the second Mandy" because of the order in which she met you :)
See what setting intentions does?
God has been soooo good to me in this area and I feel like this year was a reaping year for me after a number of years of being unfulfilled in this area of my life.
Not only have there been quantity but the quality of friendships has increased. We connected well with a number of very old friends and I feel like I've built on newer friendships too. Even at work in our tiny little team, I've become really good friends with 3 of my 4 team members. The 4th is a man and is very closed as men are usually in the workplace... ;)
I feel like I can be open with so many more people who "get" me, support and encourage me and for that, I'm so very grateful.
I love getting an email now and again, or a text, or even a handwritten card like I got a few months ago just to say this reminded me of you and I bought it for you :) I literally squeal at my desk!
I could gush on and on and on...... but thank you for a wonderful year of friendship.
I've loved the comments on these posts too - for challenging me, for making me laugh but also just for reading.
I feel like I also want to say a special thank you to Rachel and Lesley - I appreciate you two so much.
I put together this collage. It took sweet forever because I first added every friend pic I had from this year. Of course the pics were all super tiny since there've been so many. And then I whittled it down and I love this version. I want to print it out and keep it at work to make me smile... while God works in the background to make my new job come through!
I would LOVE to hear on a scale of 1 - 10 how your year of friendship has been. 1 is bad, 10 is super awesome (my score is 11 :)).
Have you set any friend goals for next year? Have I inspired you in the least?
PS People on my list for next year - Laura of the big Christmas spread, Sweets and Se7en in CT, and Lynette in PE :)
Ha, #2!
ReplyDeleteGo you! That's amazing! You should totally print that off and frame it. As an aside from last week, I framed your picture. :) Friends and extended family get one picture in the house, which kills me when my niece sends 5-10 pictures every year that go straight into the filing cabinet.
Oh, and I'm sooo not ready for 2013! Nothing has been reviewed yet. Maybe some friendship goals will get me out of the house more, I could only hope!
I'm on your list! Yay :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that you brought this into my life. THANK YOU. Next year I want to continue with the friend dates, I want to work on a few friendships that I'm not that happy with (also time issues that get in the way) and I want to get better in bigger groups because I become a bit of a wallflower. I also want to work on couple friendships. But I need Lance on board for that one. You coming to CT? When?
ReplyDeleteMarica, I have really enjoyed finding and reading your blog this year, it has been so lovely to see each new post! You are so encouraging.
ReplyDeleteMy year for friendship hasn't really been that great - that's what lead me to yours and Julia's blog in the first place- Friendship Fridays. BUT....
you have inspired me to GET out there and be more pro-active in friendship - have even set some goals : )
So for that i truly thank you. xx
I enjoyed the friendship posts! Thought provoking and helped to see many times you are not alone. I will say 2012 was a 7 because I made new friends irl and in the computer. I hope 2013 will be a 10 and the plan for now is to nurture the friendships made this year
ReplyDeleteIf you get to come to Ireland add me :)
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year
Meeting you was so fabulous too! I loved that it was all four of us that got to meet up and I was so excited to read your blog post after we met and see that you really "got me" too! I can't wait to finally leave the USA for the first time (other than Canada before you needed a passport) and am so excited that South Africa is my first international trip! I can't wait to see you again!
ReplyDeleteYou'll also really be very proud of us! We've come up with our word for 2013!!! And it was DH's idea and it's perfect! I'll blog about it tomorrow for the new year! He was sitting in the kitchen and said, "Remember this year your word was 'Action'? I think I have a word for us for 2013." He shared it with me and it was perfect!!!!
Hahaha! Mostly when I read your Friendship Friday posts (or those of Julia) I think to myself, am I the only person who doesn't really think about things and just go with the flow? ;-)
ReplyDeleteOn a scale of 1-10 I'd rate mine at about a 6. I've had some amazing great times with friends, though not nearly as often or regular as you. I have negelected most of my not-online friends for yonks now and I suspect that we've all kind of moved on. I often find now that when I see one we don't really have anything to talk about anymore. I closed the door on a friendship that I rated very highly and thought was going to be significant in March, and even though I know it was the right thing to do - it hurt like hell.
Not the best year for me and friendship really...not the worst either though. It compares quite favourably to 2002 at which point I only had seven friends willing to speak to me after my divorce. ;-)
thank you for the friendship inspiration and gentle pushes (challenges?) to put myself out there a little more. maybe this coming year i will actually blog about some of it??
ReplyDelete:)