So I managed to do 2 posts with goals in the same format! Whooo! (Edit: Actually, I'm taking out the lifelong goals and just doing those once a year, along with the bucket list update. Consistency - who needs it?!)
Also, for the next 2 weeks I'll be out and about. Ryan and I are driving down to Alabama/Mississippi to visit his family, flying from there to San Diego to visit mine, who happen to be having the family reunion on the holidays this year, and then flying back to finish the trip and drive back home. I haven't experienced the holidays in blogland yet, but I imagine most of you will be busy with travel and family and generally enjoying having some time off work, so I'll see all of you in a couple weeks. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Próspero Año y Felicidad!
Back to the goals post. Here's how I did with my Autumn Goals.
Autumn Seasonal Goals Update
1. Bake something! - Check! I made a few things for Halloween and then a ton of stuff for Thanksgiving (including a couple pies), which I hosted (for all 3 of us, my what a hostess I am!).
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The top right is Roommates beautiful cupcakes that made an appearance once before. They really shouldn't be in here, but it made the collage pretty so, just, like, deal with it. The top left is the Jell-O shots with gummy worms for the Halloween party - also not a baked good, but fun and crafty! The middle is the mummy hot dogs and the bottom 2 are my Thanksgiving feast. Brag moment: I didn't follow a single recipe in its entirety and it all still turned out delicious. |
2. Do something crafty with pumpkins - Check! Had a girl's night to discuss books and carve some pumpkins. I used a pattern! And made something other than a regular ol' jack-o-lantern.
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You may be wondering why there are so many cups with various hues of orange and green. My friend Melisandre, whose hand you see in the bottom picture, despises all forms of alcohol. But, once upon a time, a bartender made her a drink that she found palatable - a "junebug." So now, years later, we looked up the recipe and made several drinks, with varying amounts of alcohol. Result: she still hates alcohol and we failed to reproduce whatever it was the bartender made those many years ago. |
3. Sort clothes and take to Goodwill - Check! I got rid of a bunch of stuff, and then a month later we organized the storage area and we had EVEN MORE stuff to give away.
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Not the books, but everything in front of them. Clothes, curtains, mismatched comforter sets, a humidifier, old laptop, bike helmet, etc. It's nice to have the extra space back. |
4. Drink all the ciders! - Check! I think I was feeling more ambitious about this when I made it (like go to a tasting or something), but I did try all the ciders available at the local liquor store, as well as enjoy a couple cider/liquor beverages. Favorite by far: hot cider and peach schnapps, although hard cider and fireball is an old favorite.
5. Organize closets (bedroom and hall) - Check! Rearranging my clothes was a good start and then I bought even more organizers to handle the shoe situation.
6. Help Ryan put together new exercise bike! - Fail. He did this without me. But hey, it's done and is an awesome alternative to running when the weather outside is frightful.
7. Attend the Renaissance Faire - Check! I love the Ren Faire so much and I'm so glad we didn't miss it this year. (The joust at the end was BRUTAL! Spoiler: everyone died.)
8. Organize storage room & basement - Check! Three times actually. The first time Ryan and I condensed some of the boxes and arranged it more neatly. The 2nd time was after I purchased storage bins for the holiday décor and a few other sundries. It got messed up surprisingly quickly, but after adding a new set of shelves I'm confident (aka I really, really hope) it'll stay somewhat under control.
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| Look at those tidy rows! And all that empty space! Is it not a thing of beauty? |
9. Rehang decorations that fell down (sticky tape not terribly effective) - Check! I replaced the back fixtures we had removed, and Ryan put the nails up. We went above and beyond and also hung some of the paintings we made in Painting with a Twist.
10. Get an A in Programming 101 - Check! (This one was a bit of a surprise to me, since I had a couple of iffy weeks, but after a strong final project and some extra credit, I squeaked by!)
9/10. Works for me. And the new goals!Winter Seasonal Goals
- Start Strong at AAU - I got into grad school for web design and was super excited about it. But... then I got a job, and everyone I talked to seemed to think it was illogical to take expensive grad school classes, so I withdrew. I've regretted it ever since. Now I'm back in and I want to prove that this time I mean it!
- Sign Up for a 5k and Set Training Schedule - This will probably be reoccurring, just as added incentive to stay in shape. Training plans tend to die if there's no reason to keep doing it (especially in winter when the weather sucks).
- Don't Stress Over the Holidays - Try to stay calm and not worry, despite all the traveling and leaving Luke with Roommate for 2 whole weeks. Luke will be fine, our flights will be fine (and if not we'll figure something out), and our families will be happy to see us no matter what. Rinse, repeat.
- Help Sansa Host a Harry Potter Party - We've talked about doing this for years now, and we finally picked a date for it. Not hosting is awesome, because there's less pressure, but I still want to be involved with making themed treats and decorating.
- Start My New Self Actualization Project - More on this for the New Years and Bucket List Update.
- Organize Portfolio and Computer Files - I always go back to my old portfolio book or folders to figure out what I have already and what needs to be added or removed, and usually I find a mess. I need a more consistent organization system and, most importantly, I need the original project files in one place so they can't accidentally be saved over because they're named something stupid, like "portfolio1."
- Organize Craft Supplies - I have a lot of duplicates and if I'm going to be a little craftier this year, it'd be convenient if things were put away in some kind of logical order.
- Painting with a Twist - Take another class with Ryan and rotate out the paintings in the living room.
Winter Priorities
My fall priorities were a mix of fails and successes. Unclutter: This was incredibly satisfying, especially because maintenance is much easier once you do it. Unlike exercise, you can get it over with in one big burst of energy and cross it off the list. My favorite! Routine: More challenging. I feel like I never really got into the swing of this. Unwind: I'm going to call this a success, because despite all the cleaning, planning, organizing, and socializing, I found time to read (a lot!) and play games with Ryan. We instituted Friday night game night and it's been something I look forward to each week.
Here's the new priorities!
1. Design/Creativity
I was down for a good portion of the summer and fall and I think a big part of it was dissatisfaction with my work. It's not terribly creative, and if I don't do some design on the side, I get bummed out. So I'd like to make more of an effort to be involved with design (clients and classes), but also to take on more creative projects in my spare time.2. Exercise
Winter is when my exercise routine is most lax. I don't want to completely lose my conditioning after working so hard to get back to normal, following the broken leg incident.3. Routine
I know following a routine is good for me. When I get enough sleep I'm more likely to be motivated and follow through with everything else. But, for some reason, this has been so incredibly challenging for me. I've been struggling for the better part of a year to follow the routine I've set for myself and it's still a work in progress.What do you want to accomplish this winter? Do you have ongoing goals?
