Quarterly Goals - Autumn 2016

This is apparently a goal-heavy week.  I didn't mean for them all to get posted together, but hey, goals happen.  We'll get through this.

Summer Seasonal Goals (June, July, August)

1. Kindle Catchup - Check!

I honestly didn't think I was going to make it, but Erin and Dani's challenge got me started and I powered through (discovering some gems in the process).

2. SEO Tutorial - Check

Sooo... I thought I had this amazing tutorial, but when I reread it to follow the steps, it was not anything new or helpful.  Not sure why I decided it was the best thing ever and bookmarked it, but there you have it.  Jenn's tips for good SEO: keywords (content and metadata), don't do anything spammy, have lots of social media accounts and other sites that link back to you.  Also XML sitemaps and a Google webmaster account.

3. Escape the Room! - Check and check

We did it!  Twice!  The first one was a zombie-themed room in Philly, with about 12 people, most of whom were strangers.  I mostly stood around and gaped while everyone else solved puzzles with brilliant ease.  The 2nd room was pirate themed, so we started hand-cuffed together like the prisoners we were.  Since there were only 4 of us, I got to participate quite a bit more BUT we weren't exactly brilliant puzzle solvers and we wouldn't have escaped if it wasn't for the handy little hints they gave us at 10 minute intervals.  To sum up: good fun but I'm starting to doubt my intelligence.  :P

4. Toast/People Training - Check

We finally had a trainer come out and give us some ideas for how to improve things with Toast.  She surprised me by suggesting medication, which I'm still not quite sold on, but also gave us lots of good games to play with her, and told us basically treats, treats, and more treats.  (Now that Ryan brings cheese with him when he enters the bedroom, she has almost entirely stopped growling at him.)

5. Task List Zero - Check!!!

Omg, this!!!!!!!!!  I did not think this was going to happen.  For the longest time I've had just one thing on my list: finish touch up paint.  It got pushed off for MONTHS.  Then one day I watched with horror as other things started piling on top of this ancient uncompleted task and I knew it was time.  Crushed it.  Kept the list clear for 3 days by immediately doing any task I thought of, and then finally accepted my return to task list life.  But it was so nice to finally feel done, if only for a couple days, and I'm making more of an effort to do things as I add them instead of letting them pile up.

6. Belated Spring Cleaning - Check!

When I wrote this initially I was all excited about how awesomely clean everything was and how all the Toast-accident spots had been properly sanitized and carpet-cleaned, but 3 months have gone by since, so we're probably due for another deep clean.  Ahhh, dogs...

7. "Finish" Bedroom/Office Decor - Semi Check

The office is done, though... it's going to be a baby room at some point, so perhaps I was a bit hasty to claim that room for myself.  I don't think I'm going to redecorate though.  Baby can get into maps and mythology and fantasy!  My plan is to add some cute animals and call it good.

See?  Cute little whale.  Totally a baby room!

The bedroom we got so, so close.  We have a new bed (tempurpedic and it's amazing!), along with new bedspread and sheets that match the "spa/nature" feel of the room.  But we spent all our extra money on the bed, so headboard and fancy bamboo painting for the wall got pushed off and now we're just trying to save to get ready for baby expenses.

8. Complete the Month of Happy - Check

I finished out the month, but I didn't get around to every single suggestion (although some I tried out later in July) and my summary of it was a little sloppy because so much time had elapsed.

9. Take 1 Day Per Month to Do Nothing - Mostly Fail

Meh.  I'm so bad at this.  I did have a couple of long gaming sessions with Ryan, and a couple weekend days where I read for most of the day, but setting aside an entire day to not do anything productive?  That requires planning, and the only time it happened was last Saturday, because we specifically set aside the day for anniversary celebrating.  Gaming, books, and dog walking!  

8/9 - What up?!  Not bad, if I do say so myself.  (half points given for partially completed categories)

Here's what I've got for fall.

Autumn Goals

1. Try something new each month
2. Finish Zelda, Twilight Princess (it's not about finishing the game so much as the time spent together)
3. Passive income project (t-shirts, templates, something)
4. Go to archery!  (we joined an archery club and haven't been in months - not exactly getting our money's worth)
5. Write 60 more pages in story (20 per month, 5 per week)
6. Toast house training (we've gotten really good at preventing accidents, but never allowing her to be alone is NOT the same as teaching her what the correct behavior is)
7. Finish sorting photos (I was going through old memories and realized in some of my folders I have so many pictures that it's not even enjoyable to look through them all.  I want to delete duplicates, pictures of scenery, pictures that don't mean anything, and winnow down until I really just have the fun part of those  memories without all the hassle of "Why is this even in here?")
8. Family scrapbook!

I'm kind of surprised I got so many of my goals done.  About half were accomplished in June and then nothing happened until the last couple weeks of August.  I guess that's the beauty of seasonal goals!

Do you make seasonal goals?  What are you planning for this fall?