Feb, March, April 2013 Goal Review

Good Gracious Almighty!! Apparently it's been THREE MONTHS since I've done a Goal Review. I'm guessing it's time to catch up.

Those three months included two vacations and one long stint without a computer so I've got gaps in my record-keeping for the goals. I'm just going with what I did record. Without further ado, here we go!

1.    Eat right/better: I was good or okay about half the time and awful the other half of the time. I really need to be good ALL the time and cheat only now and again. Blarg.
A healthy lunch I did eat
2.    Read more books: I read Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (started and finished in Feb), started The BFG by Roald Dahl (on hold at the moment), read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, read The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton, and started Voices from Chernobyl. I am also working on The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald and James Potter and the Hall of Elder's Crossing by G. Norman Lippert, fan fiction book. It looks like I'm reading more, but just not finishing it.
3.    Make a real effort to keep the house clean: I did awesome on this over the past three months. I've come to realize just how much I like a clean house and how rewarding it is to have it nice.
How refreshing, the beach!
4.    Take better care of my face and skin: Dismal failure. I actually did the best while on vacation and away from normal routines. Sigh.
5.    Make a real effort with my blog: I did some work on my sidebar, added a link to my Instagram page, and re-did my header. However, posting was sporadic especially while the laptop was in the shop. I got WAY behind on weekly challenges and am trying to catch up.
6.    Be Grateful/Thankful: FAIL!!
Precious!
7.    Declutter/organize at least one drawer/cabinet/area a week: Feb was awful, not much accomplished in this area. March was similar. In April I started kicking some butt and conquered some areas that were intimidating. This included FINALLY starting on the craft room!! I'm getting there I think. I'm actually running out of 'hidden' areas and need to start on some of the more visible ones.
8.    Include more tutorials on the blog: The only time in those three whole months that I came even CLOSE to a tutorial was when I shared the links for the Pintrest Pins that inspired how I decorated my Foyer for St. Patty's day.
Mardi Gras 2013
9.    Continue to work on getting published: I've been trying to keep my calendar updated with submission deadline dates, but I'm a little behind at the moment. In March, I DID submit to Bead Trends but am waiting to hear back. I also have another piece that I think would be perfect for a certain publication but I need to wrap my head around their submission requirements. I'll definitely continue to work on this.
10.    Think outside of the box: I feel like I didn't completely fail at this one. While I don't think I was exactly thinking outside the box, I was truly THINKING more about the designs I've been making as well as playing with some materials a bit more. I like the direction I'm progressing for sure.
Found!
11.    Learn to operate my nice camera better: I really haven't done MUCH on this goal. I did discover a few settings in early Feb that I had forgotten about until I read over my notes. As well, I've apparently got a few photo tutorials pinned that I need to read. This is a skill I desperately want to work on some more.
12.    Craft other items than jewelry: In Feb, I did pretty well with my Bead Soup packaging and all the work I did on the Foyer decorations. In March, my 'other' crafting was nil, but in April I made a ton of decorations and whatnot for a wedding shower I co-hosted. This still needs a bit of work as I realize how much I enjoy breaking out of my jewelry confines now and again.
Bridal Shower decoration and pin
13.    Use analytics more efficiently: I've done NOTHING with this. Totally need to work on it.
14.    Grow some plants inside and out: This just hasn't worked out for me so well. I think about it often. In fact, I was thinking about it while at the Farmer's market earlier today. Alas, I need to work on it.
15.    Make my visions of my dream house and this house co-exist: I did OKAY on this one. Basically, I've kept the Foyer decorated for the seasons/holidays and kept the kitchen window sill looking nice. I also found some watercolors painted by my grandmother and my sister and plan on framing them at some point.
Foyer decorations

16.    Go to the doctor/dentist: Sigh. no.
17.    Explore other venue options for selling my jewelry: Have donated to a few silent auctions, but not much more than that. Since I haven't really sold anything in my Etsy shop in ages, I need to try a bit harder on this front.
18.    Find some confidence and exert it: I handed out a few business cards at a dinner with some friends, but that's the most of me EXERTING my confidence. Yikes.
Waterfall in Northern Georgia
19.    Learn to sew: I looked up a local place online to see if they offered lessons, but came up with nothing. Now I need to start calling to check it out.
20.    Learn Photoshop better: This is one skill I can say I've worked on a little more in the past few months. And, I'm really happy with what I've learned. Now to just learn how to work some more of the controls so I don't have to ask the hubs every time I want to alter/create an image.
21.    Start buying presents earlier in the year: Still not doing great at this. It seems like these dates just sneak up on me or something.
Fancy wrapping for a friend's birthday gift.
22.    Support my local bead shops and other Etsy sellers more: I haven't done much bead shopping at all, but have purchased some from local businesses and Etsy artists. Yet, my impulses make it hard for me not to visit the chain retailers from time to time. However, I have backed off on even shopping there lately.

It looks as though I need to take some time to focus on these goals more in the coming months as I've let them fall to the wayside a little too much. Now that I've actually done this review and can see it all laid out, I'm hoping to become re-committed to them.
Cute sign at friends' wedding

How are you doing on your goals/resolutions/word for the year thus far?


3 comments:

  1. You've got a lot of goals to keep up with. Just remember to pat yourself on the back for what you do get accomplished, even if you don't get it done consistently.

    As for me, I have not even tried since the end of January when I was very ill. And now I'm trying to get back into a routine, mainly because my son is graduating from college and we are hosting a party here for him. Nothing like having company to kick me into hig gear. It's gloomy out today so it will be a good day to clean and organize.

    Best of luck with all your goals, and keep on keepin' on!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow. I'm impressed with your list of goals. Just making that list should fulfill a goal!!! Seems like you are expecting a lot from yourself. Not that aiming high is a bad idea, but be kind to yourself and recognize how much you have done instead of how much is "left". Seems to me like you are doing JUST GREAT.

    By the way, is that duck tape on the gift? Cracked me up. You may have inspired me. Maybe I'll get the fancy colored stuff and start using it to wrap presents. Lol!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Liz- Ha! Thanks. I'm not expecting too much I think, I just have it laid all out there so I know and remember what I want to accomplish. I know I will ALWAYS be working toward something. As far as the gift, yeah. It was a bottle of rum we gave to a friend for his birthday. Hubs decided he liked it in the brown sack it came in and added some duct tape for effect. We laughed and laughed over it. I'm glad you think it's funny too.

    ReplyDelete

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