I started out 2012 as the mother of a tiny infant, and ended it as the mother of a rambunctious toddler. That in itself has made 2012 one of the most dynamic years in recent memory. Add to that some unexpected changes in my fitness plan, dealing with the death of a loved one, and getting more focused on my job, and you can probably guess that this has been one hell of a year.
Category Archives: year in review
2011 Year In Review
One of my photography professors once said that the only truly profound things in life are birth and death. If that’s the case, 2011 was the most profound year I’ve had in quite some time.
Normally, I summarize things like what music I listened to (Daft Punk still steady from last year at #5, Stenobot barely missing my top ten), what restaurants I ate at, how my weight fluctuated, that sort of thing. This year will be just a little different. I still have some fun and frivolous stats to report, but some of them fell by the wayside over the course of the year, due to me focusing on more important things.
I started back on the Pill in the Fall of 2010, due to some female issues I was having. As promised, it regulated my cycle and lessened my cramps and fatigue. It also made my periods lighter, and by January, they seemed to have nearly disappeared altogether. In fact, it was so light for January and February that I started to worry that something was amiss, so I called my OBGYN.
Long story short, I was pregnant.
2010 Year In Review
Last year, I thought I’d join the infographics revolution and show my Year In Review in all graphs and numbers and stats. As it turns out, that doesn’t even work for me very well — it’s difficult for me to really pin down what happened and when, with everything aggregated to such a degree.
This year, I’ll be mixing text and graphics to spice things up. Hopefully it’s a little more engaging than either alone.
It’s also going to be a bit lengthy. You have been warned…
2009 Year in Review
NOTES:
This presentation of annual data is highly influenced by the Feltron Annual Reports. Nicholas Felton is a master of infographics and data visualization, and I continue to be influenced by his work.
Percentage of Miles Walked in 2009 only includes data from 27 April 2009 forward, since that is the date on which my Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer
Dining Out in 2009 is missing some of September’s and most of October’s data, due to my ignorance of the fact that Weight Watchers Online only saves 60 days’ worth of tracking data. I switched from pen-and-paper tracking to eTools tracking after 27 September 2009.
Top Ten Musical Artists of 2009 is derived from data at last.fm/user/dianaschnuth.
2008: Year In Review
It’s become a New Year’s tradition for me to write a retrospective of what has happened over the course of the past year, and I’ve found that I really enjoy going back and reading past years’ reviews. They tend to encapsulate the important things, the high and low points, and some things that I would normally have forgotten by the end of the following year.
For quick reference, I have Years In Review from 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and now 2008.
Instead of going entirely chronologically this year, I’m going to group the major happenings by topics.
Hot topic #1 for 2008: Weight Loss. I started out the year with a weight-loss challenge against my friend and former co-worker, James. We both started out strong, but fell off the wagon after about a month and a half. In March, we spearheaded a new Spring Challenge, which lasted for another couple of months before we mutually decided to call it quits.
I didn’t call it quits entirely, though. Shortly before we decided to end our Challenge, I joined Weight Watchers — on my 32nd birthday, in fact. Since then, I’ve lost about 20 pounds in eight months. Aaron’s joined up, too, with the online program, and lost over 60 pounds in six months. We’re both looking and feeling much better, and a “normal” and healthy weight is just within reach.
