2018 is officially here.  To start the year off, here’s a look back at 2017.

School Life
This past fall, I finished the semester by teaching four courses.  It was the heaviest workload I’ve had in years.  The teaching wasn’t the biggest challenge, it was all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes.  I’m thankful for my friends and for R who endured too much whine and not enough cheese as I dealt with these challenges.

I also lived in four different places.  However I am now officially and fully settled into my accommodation, and I’m quite happy with the apartment and the location.

Health
I’ve had three MRI’s in the last few years.  I’m still having some problems with my knees, especially going up the stairs, which has become unpleasant enough that I’ve started taking elevators to avoid the pain.  The doctor actually recommended this as well. Due to my workload this past semester I had to delay getting physiotherapy, but I’ll be looking into that now that exams are done and things are settling down. I didn’t get any triathlons done last year after Abu Dhabi, though I am hopeful that this year I’ll do better.

Gizmo
Gizmo is back!  Gizmo came back into my life back in September.  I’ve enjoyed having the little guy around.  Gizmo has adjusted well to his new life in the desert and remains incredibly spoiled.

The Goals for 2017… in Review

Each year I set out to do stuff.  I’m currently working on my list for 2018.  In the meantime here’s how 2017 played out.  Sadly, I only accomplished 2 of 8 big goals.  I plan to do better this year!

1. Be debt-free by… May 2018! 
This unfortunately won’t happen.  I took on extra debt during recent vacations, and I have restructured my savings.  So while I have debt, there is also now money in the bank.  This actually relates to my goals for 2018 (more on that later).
2. Do three triathlons.  Yeah… no.  I had great intentions with this goal but the blockade meant losing out on the triathlon in South Africa, and my knee troubles didn’t allow for proper training and prep for the Calgary triathlon, and any hope of rehab and training for something in December was pretty much killed by my work schedule.
3. Cook something new (at least once a month).  Did it! The highlights of 2017 had to be the momo’s chutney and Italian Pizza.
4. Finish QU’s level 2 & 3 Arabic courses. This one was another casualty of my crazy fall schedule. I went to part of the first lesson and I just wasn’t particularly impressed with the teacher.  Once the semester really got under way, it was clear I wasn’t going to get it done anyway.
5. Present at a TESOL Conference. Done twice over! I had good presentations at both TESOL Arabia and IATEFL.
6. Get Published! I should have worked on this one back in last January/February.  It just got lost amongst all the other things happening.
7. Make a blog entry at least once a month. Almost made it, did 9 blogs in 12 months.
8. Become healthier and STAY healthier. This was the biggest disappointment of 2017.   I had started out on the right foot, but then fell back into my old comfortable habits during the second half of the year.