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A Look Back at my 2014 New Year's Resolutions (One Month Left to Complete Them!)

Back in January, I made a short list of 2014 New Year's Resolutions that were specific to the blog and my hobbies.  With only a month left in the year 2014, I figured it would be a good idea to take a quick peek at my list and see if I:
A)  Have completed any of my original goals
B)  Have a shot at completing any goals that aren't yet done
or
C)  Totally suck at completing goals.

My first goal was to complete at least five sets from a list of 15 selected sets from my want list.  By my count, 14 of the 15 sets I had listed still haven't been reduced by even a single card.  This is about as close to a total fail as one could get in terms of completing a resolution.  Luckily, there is still another month...

My second goal was to grow my Barry Larkin Collection to at least 300 cards before the end of 2014.  Unlike my first goal, I actually completed this goal already (and then some)!  In fact, as of yesterday, I have posted 314 different Barry Larkin cards from my collection.  Even better, I still have another 100 Larkin cards fully scanned (front and back) waiting in my "to be posted" folder on my computer!  I'll be all set for this goal in 2015!

My third goal was to not lose money on my various hobbies.  I ended up not paying much attention to what I spent but I can safely say that I lost money since I basically didn't sell anything of note on eBay this year.  In fact, I didn't pull anything of note this year...  I had one of the worst years of opening Allen & Ginter's ever - so my hopes of breaking even were basically dashed back in July.

My fourth goal was to complete at least 100 trades with blog readers.  While the year isn't over, I'm sitting at a paltry 65 completed trades so unless there is a huge flurry of trade activity in December this will be another goal where I'll fall short.

My final goal was to expand the reach of my blog.  I don't have any good way of measuring that besides the fact that I have traded with a few new people this year and I did have a few new people join my Topps Stadium Club group break.  According to blog stats, I haven't seen a noticeable uptick in readership (but happily, I haven't seen a noticeable decline in readership either).

Looking back at my progress through 11 of the 12 months, I would say I have some serious work to do if I'm going to complete my original 2014 Resolutions.  In fact, I can say for sure that one of the five goals was met (the Barry Larkin Collection) completely.  I'll give myself a pass on the final goal - but that still leaves lots of trading and lots of acquiring cards from my want list as the two main outstanding goals to be completed in December.

Of course, I can't do that without your help - so please check out my want list and make an offer!

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