My goals for 2017
Get 7- 8 Hours of Sleep Each Night
I did a really good job getting plenty of sleep last week and even squeezed in a few naps. Well, until last night. 
I ended up staying up until 2 am working on the computer and listening to 80ās music. I must be getting old because staying up past midnight is a once of year thing for me these days.
Nowā¦ If I could just feel motivated to get dressed before noon, that would be something. What is it about summer and wanting to stay in my pajamas all the time? Is it because itās so warm and cozy inside as opposed to the winter when the temperature indoors is cooler? Maybe Iāve got my seasons backwards. Who knows. But I have an inkling I should feel embarrassed about gardening in my pjās. And yet I donāt.
Make Saving a Priority, Not an Idea
Well, there was that sticker shock at the optometrists office episode that rocked my frugal world last week. But other than that, things have been pretty mellow around here spending wise. Iāve started to work on next years budget {itās going to take me awhile} and itās something I look forward to every year. I feel like if I can get our household budget done well before the end of the year, I can go into the new year nice and calm because I have a solid plan for our spending/savings goals.
Live a little
No hot pants or clubbing this past week. Thereās always next week.
Visit 52 REAL Bakeries
So far this year Iāve blogged about 20 of the bakeries Iāve been to {and have been to another 4 that I wonāt be blogging about} plus one Iām waiting to tell you about until this fall {because the pictures have snow on the ground and wouldnāt that be weird to see on the blog this time of year?!}. So if my math is correct, that means Iāve been to 25 bakeries so far this year. And I can still fit into my pants. HEY, thatās not to shabby if you ask me.
So far the best lemon tart I had was from Coyleās Bakeshop in Seattle, and best overall bakery food/experience was Mikeās Pastry in Boston. But hey, the year isnāt over yet and I still have a list of places to try. So stay tuned.
Have 1 āno spendā week each month
I had a no spend week earlier this month and was planning to do another one this past week but then I was over by Winco yesterday and I decided to pop in a pick up a bunch of fruits and veggies. I have absolutely nothing on the calendar for next week so I think Iāll try again for a second no spend week in July. Iām way over budget for groceries for July and if I stay home, I wonāt spend.
Start a Line of Rug Hooking Patterns
Instead of working on patterns, Iāve been dying wool this past week. {Which is weird, because only a crazy person willingly turns on their store in the summer time.} So far I have 8 rug hooking patterns listed in my Etsy shop with 3 more drawn out but not completed. Iām finding it hard to get much done right now {the weather is so nice!} and thatās okay. As long as I get 12 patterns done by the end of the year Iāll be able to mark this goal off my list.
Turn My Wool Stash into $2,500
Last week I sold $152 worth of patterns and sunflowers in my Etsy shop and Ebay store. That brings my total to $4831.76 for the year. Iām hoping to get some pumpkins and other fall items listed online by next weekend. Normally I wait until around mid-August to do this but people seem to be buying earlier this year so I think Iāll give it a try.
If you are at all crafty, I highly recommend setting up an Etsy shop. Seriously, what do you have to loose? Iāve earned enough so far this year to nearly pay for my property taxes. DOING SOMETHING I LOVEā¦ in the privacy of my own home. Hobbies are cool, especially when you earn money from them. And you wonāt know if youāll do well if you donāt try. SO JUST DO IT.
Purge 250 Items Including Selling Larger Items We No Longer Feel We Need
After purging 223 items and selling them along with last years leftovers at the neighborhood yard sale last week {and making $704!} I am enjoying a break from finding things to get rid of. I do have my eye on a few more things around the house to donate, but Iām going to need to find 27 more if I plan to hit my goal of getting rid of 250 things this year. 27 things might not seem like a lot to youā¦ but things are pretty bare bones around here these days {and Iām loving it!}.
Learn to Crochet Mission Accomplished
Dote on My Husband Even More Than I Do Now.
I made dessert 3 nights in a row this past week {a rare treat around here} and last night the HH asked what was for dessert and I felt totally bad because I hadnāt made anything. Poor poor husband. I guess it means Iāll need to come up with something special for tonight.
Lose the Muffin Top. {again}
I was craving something sweet yesterday so I made a pan of Rice Krispies treats {which apparently donāt count as a dessert according to my husband}ā¦ And before I realized it I had circled the pan a few too many times. Ha! I will NEVER stop loving sugar. Iām convinced of it. But if I could just curb my enthusiasm for sweets just a littleā¦. that would be nice.
Wear out {most of} the clothing I already own.
Working on it. Although if Iām totally being honest here my favorite blanket is getting more of a workout than my clothing lately. I just LOVE to be snuggled up in it. Even if it is 80 degrees outside.
Try 52 New Recipes
Last night I tired out a new quinoa salad recipe and let me tell you Bob, it was delicious! Iāll share the recipe on Tuesday. Itās a good one.
Read 52 Books
I need a new {audio}book. Iām thinking about listening to Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe. Have you read it?
Give Back to 12 Different Organizations in My Community
January ā Donated to Quilts from the Heart in Memory of my brother.
February ā Donated to Empty Bowls Fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club.
March ā Donated to my daughterās mentor who was in a horrible car accident.
April ā Donated again to my daughterās mentor who was in a horrible car accident.
May ā $100 Tip to a waitress on Motherās day.
June ā Started collecting menās shirts to donate this winter.
July ā
And then, thereās those top secret goals weāre not talking about yet.
Secret Goal #1Sell East Coast House Mission AccomplishedSecret Goal #2Chickens! Mission Accomplished- Secret Goal #3
- Secret Goal #4
How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2017? How are they coming along?
~Mavis
Read About My 2017 Goals HERE.
Marcia says
That salad recipe looks awesome!!
Oh sleep eludes me these days. Iāve been at 6 hours for about a week. I just wake up after six hours. Stress I think. Canāt shut off my brain.
We are on vacation, so Iām hoping after a few days I start to sleep. Although sharing a hotel bed with a five year old is not conducive to good sleep. He keeps wanting to touch me.
Nancy says
How is your pay down on the mortgage going, Mavis? I have enjoyed watching the time left on the mortgage going down.
Mavis Butterfield says
Good! I will update again next week.
Delores says
I have read your beginner budgeting post, but have you ever done a post for beyond the basics on budgeting? I use YNAB, and so have the basics down (sticking with it is another matter some times). But I am curious how much you budget out for the yearā¦. do you plan out gift amounts? Do you have a āmiscellaneousā category? I guess I am just wondering if you try to plan out to fairly minute detail before Jan 1 or if you have a more general outline and then fill in more detail as you go.
Mavis Butterfield says
I do plan on doing a more in depth post and sharing it once I get everything figured out. But yes, I try and plan out to fairly minute detail before the beginning of each year.
Sarah says
Iām looking forward to your annual budget post. We have monthly ābudget meetingsā and it never occurred to me to do an annual plan.
Delores says
Excellent! I look forward to it. Just please be sure to include what you do when life happens.
That is really where I need help!
Sharon says
I really enjoyed Stories I Only Tell My Friends ā and I usually hate autobiographies. But Iāve always liked Rob Lowe, and it was at the library for free, so I listened to it. Enjoyed it so much that I went looking for The Outsiders and the other ā80s movies he was in to watch (never found them at the library, so I still havenāt seen them). And because I liked that book so much, I listened to Tina Feyās Bossy Pants and Amy Poehlerās Yes Please, neither of which I liked and Iāve gone back to hating autobiographies.
Sarah says
This gave me a good chuckle. Thanks for commenting!
Mavis Butterfield says
I LOVE autobiographies and wasnāt thrilled with Tina Feyās Bossy Pants or Amy Poehlerās Yes Please either. Donāt give up!
Laura says
Only read the Tina Fey one and I think the issue is that she comes off as pretty self-absorbed which I personally find a little off-putting. Thanks for the Rob Lowe recommendation.
If you need another good autobiography (and I am in Mavisā campāhave loved them since I was 10!), Andre Agassiās auto is a great read. Amazingly good!
Laura A says
Hi Mavis, I was curious about the same thing- how do you set up a budget for the year? Sometimes you canāt anticipate things- like needing a new refrigerator, medical bills, etc. Looking forward to reading about how you do this!
Deborah says
Iām still in the process of gathering items to get rid of in Sept/Oct this year. We are having an inside garage sale at my dear departed MILās house to get rid of a few things that none of the family wants. Iām also trying to get my closet back in order, and decluttered. Today, I kind of took the day off from my day to day work. Although I did mow the back yard, and sprayed some weed killer. I have to make a place, by getting rid of some extra furniture, for a Secretary, piece of furniture that my MIL gave me long ago. It was her neighborās mother. Mom got it when the neighbor passed away and she gave it to me. (For the ones that donāt know, itās an antique ladyās writing desk.) I still have to get my iron bed frame out of storage, and get it sanded and repainted. Iām changing beds in our (now) spare bedroom. My grandfather bought it and gave it to me before he died in 1973. I donāt think Iām going to use the metal springs, but the boxed springs with the mattress we already have.
Emily says
Loved that audio book. If you havenāt listened yet, Born a Crime by Trevor Noah is perfection. I love when they self narrate and he is a natural born storyteller.
Mel says
Iām working on goals in a sort of haphazard fashion, but Iāve moved along on learning to sew (progressed from making pj shorts to altering the hem on pants so they fit properly). I plan to tackle altering jeans next. I also just finished my freezer meals for the year, but I vastly overshot my goal on that. I normally aim for about 4 months of freezer meals, but I ended up with nearly 8 months. Oops. Other than that, I wrapped up some more house projects last week, and I have a few more to wrap up this week (carpet shampooing, baseboards, etc.).
Mavis Butterfield says
8 months? Holy cow man! That is AWESOME.
Mel says
Yes. 223 meals to be exact, made over 3-4 weeks. There are something like 55 different types. Itās hard to know exactly how many meals some recipes will yield, so thereās always some guess work, but Iām still not sure how I miscalculated by so very much this year. The odd part is, I only filled our 2 chest freezers (not the freezer attached to our fridge), and there were something like 8 meals I didnāt even get to.
My husband was overwhelmed by the options, so he installed a spinning wheel (like on a game show) in our kitchen with all the freezer meals written on it, so he can just spin the wheel and choose randomly. Weāre weird that way.
Mavis Butterfield says
LOVE the spinning wheel. Go hubs!
Debbie says
Yes Mavis, I too garden in my pajamas, isnāt it fun?
Carolina says
Under your ālive a littleā section you mentioned no hot pants and no clubbing. But, you did tell that guy at Costco last week that you were paying for your glasses with small bills that you got from striping! That was a little vicarious ālivingā and I gottaā tell you it gave me my laugh out loud moment for the day. HILARIOUS!!!
Mavis Butterfield says
So true. I totally forgot about that!!
Lace Faerie says
Sold the east coast house!?! I thought you loved it. What did I miss?
Connie says
My favorite robe is stained from morning weed pulling and watering. Totally worth it.
Vicki in Birmingham says
May I suggest the audio book, Hallelujah! The Welsome Table by Maya Angelou. What a multi talented woman with such entertaining stories (and some great recipes), plus she is the one doing the readingā¦I love that voice! I think you will enjoy it.
Mary says
Have you read/listened to The Beekeeperās Lament?