My 14 Goals for 2020
Goal #1 – Take Full Advantage of Having My Husband Home 24/7
It snowed last night {6″- 8″ who knows} and since Captain Awkward won’t run the snow blower before 10 am on a Sunday, he’s out there shoveling snow so The Girl can get to work. I guess that means I should make muffins or something this morning. That’s what a good wife would do, right?
Goal #2 – Take Better Care of Myself.
I made an appointment to get my hair done. Can you believe it? I can’t even tell you the last time I paid someone to touch my hair. Maybe 10 years? I just woke up one day last week and was like, you know, I need to change things up. And so I made the call. I have very fine hair, so it’s not like I have a lot of options, and I truly don’t even know what I’ll have done. Life, why not make it a little exciting?
Goal #3 – Get Organized
In an effort to get more organized, I have decided to have “theme weeks” for the next 6 weeks in hopes it will help keep me on track, and so far it’s working!
January 12th -18th – Hooking and Pottery{The electrician came out and installed an outlet for the kiln!}- January 19th – 25th – Paint and Make Shades for the lime green room {that will soon be white}
- January 26th – January 31st – Finish up new offerings for my February 7th Etsy Shop update.
- February 1st – 7th – Dye Wool
- February 8th – 14th – Kitchen Backsplash and Fixtures
- February 15th – Hooking and Pottery
Goal #4 – Get Proper Window Coverings on All Our Windows.
The plan is to make 8 shades to cover all the windows in the sun room next. Hopefully by this time next week I’ll be able to show you the space.
Goal #5 – Master Bedroom Make Over
I’m planning on working on the bedroom makeover for late February. First I need to finish with cutting all the wool I ordered {which I am still cutting!} and pack up the folding tables and then I’ll paint the walls and start researching what to do about refinishing the hardwood floors.
Goal #6 – Kitchen Update
We ordered the tile, fixtures and hardware yesterday! I’m hoping that by the end of next week the HH will have removed all the kitchen tile and have the walls prepped for the new stuff. I tried to convince him that we {he} should lay the tile all the way up the wall at the sink area, but he doesn’t think it would look good {and cutting tile pieces for around the crown molding would be too tricky}. I’ll work on him.
Goal #7 – Install Vegetable Garden
Nerd alert! He bought the drone!
And even though I have PROMISED myself not to think about the garden until March 1st so I can concentrate on getting the indoor projects finished first, I totally admit it’s kind of cool to have an aerial view of the backyard garden space.
The great thing about this property is the size in very manageable, and if for some reason there are skeeters, at least I’ll be able to set out a few zappers to catch them. I don’t think I’ll have to garden in ski plants and a puffy coat here. 🙂
Goal #8 – Explore More of Maine
On the radar for exploring Maine this month:
A ferry ride to Isleboro, Maine {anyone been there?}Done!- Maine Mineral & Gem Museum in Bethel, Maine {On the agenda for this week!}
Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, MaineDone!
Goal #9 – Host Some Sort of Get Together
No get together yet, but hey, I snagged an oak table and chair set off Craigslist for $75. It was the EXACT size {42″} I was looking for and once it’s painted out white, I think it will fit the eating area off the kitchen perfectly.
The plan was to use our old square {and clunky} table from World Market until we could find the right table and well, it has served us well. Once I get the other table painted I’ll have him move it down to the basement so I can use it as a sewing table. It’s such a good solid piece of furniture, I don’t want to get rid of it.
Goal #10 – Read/Listen to 12 Books
I didn’t read any books this week but I’ve got a collection of seed catalogs to look through when I get the chance. I just LOVE the packets from Hudson Valley Seed Company. Has anyone used their seeds before? Did they do well?
Goal #11 – Learn A New Skill or Craft
Need to get with my buddy Heather on this one. She’s usually up for anything.
Goal #12 – Visit 12 Museums, Historical Homes or Botanical Gardens
January – Maine Maritime Museum
Goal # 13 – Reach 5,000 Etsy Sales by the End of The Year
As of this morning, I have made 2,900 sales on Etsy. That’s up from 2804 on January 1st. Wahoo!
I started this rug a while ago but got hung up on what shades of wool strips to use for the house and roof so I put it aside for a few months hoping the color combination would come to me. Well, it didn’t and so I finally took the unfinished rug to the local rug hooking store and asked someone there for advice {someone with more experience hooking than me}.
She suggested I used shades of charcoal and navy blues and handed me a stack of wool that would give the roof a slate tile like appearance. Even though I was unsure, I bought the wool and hooked the roof the way she suggested. The entire time I was hooking I was like…. I don’t like this. It doesn’t flow with the rest of the rug. All the other wool in the rug was hand dyed {by me} and adding un-dyed wool just didn’t look right.
And so I pulled out the strips and when I did, the colors finally came to me.
Mixed browns for the top and grays for the house. I finished hooking the rug last night and I think it turned out PERFECT! The plan is to steam the rug and finish the back today. Hopefully I’ll be able to share a picture of the finished rug tomorrow because I just love how it turned out.
Goal #14 – Once a Month Menu Planning {for 2}
Going well! I’ll share an update tomorrow. 🙂
Have YOU made any goals for this year? If so, DO TELL! We all want to hear about them.
Have a great Sunday everyone,
~Mavis
Libby says
I know you think HH is being weird about not running the snowblower before 10:00 on a Sunday morning, but these unwritten social “rules” are what allow so much of New England to NOT have home owners associations with written rules and pedantic residents patrolling others.
That being said, in my neck of the woods the guideline is no outside noise before 9:00 on a Sunday and 8:00 on a Saturday 🙂
Mable says
Ditto where we live.
Gina says
We are not allowed to use any outside power tools on Sunday per city. We have no HOA.
Mel says
I’m actually a little jealous of the drone project. We’ve done a lot in our yard, but the area is pretty heavily wooded, so I don’t think we could have documented anything with aerial photos. Also envious of the hair appointment–my hair is super thick and curly, so I can only pull it back. Even then, it’s pretty unwieldy.
It’s been a rough week for goals here since my husband had a horrible cold, which I caught after taking care of him, so I’ve barely been able to get off the couch for 5 days.
1. HEALTH: I wasn’t able to run more than one day this week due to this awful cold, but I mostly stayed hydrated. I didn’t lose weight (since I couldn’t get off the couch), but I didn’t gain any and kept up with eating better. I also scheduled another doctors appt. I was behind on due to being so busy in the fall.
2. HOLIDAYS: I want to carve springerle molds and need to reorganize our holiday stuff so it’s easier to decorate. These are summer projects, but I did manage to pack up all the Christmas stuff pretty neatly before I got sick.
3. COOKING: I haven’t gotten to making yogurt, brioche, or custom spice mixes. Our slacker chickens finally started laying eggs, so that will help with the brioche, and I picked out jars for the spices.
4. HOUSEWORK: I’m slightly behind on laundry due to being so sick, but not hugely. My full-house deep clean is scheduled for Spring Break, and I will reupholster our living room ottoman this summer.
5. SEWING: I couldn’t sew this week. Maybe today.
6. DIGITAL STUFF: I finished one Kindle book but haven’t gotten to organizing photos or Pinterest boards.
Pam says
I think optional things, like yardwork or chainsaws are not ok before 9:00 on a Sunday, but I’ve yet to meet a New Englander that will be upset by someone snowblowing to get to work. It snows, people work. Most people should be understanding.
Stephanie in Utah says
So which tile did you choose for the backsplash?
Rita says
Wondering that too!
chickengrandma says
My HH had surgery so I am playing nurse for a while and not going places . After the last snow storm of 6 inches, I think we will just sit here and watch the snow melt ! Maybe we will get out by April !! But I will be able to work on my goal-to do list- while I am stranded.
Jennifer S. says
I live in NY’s Hudson Valley, and have been using Hudson Valley Seed Co seeds since they were a seed library! Highly recommend – esp the Emerite Pole Bean, Double Yield Cucumber, Aunt Molly’s Ground Cherry, and Blue Beech tomato. Blue Beech is a later tomato, but worth the wait for sauce. Good customer service, too – my mailman dropped the package a puddle once, and the seeds started to sprout. HVSC replaced them promptly.
Teri says
Can’t wait to see your new haircut!
tia in boise says
Have been sick this week and A LOT going on at school (work) this week, so my goals pretty much took a backseat; I decided to nurture myself and not beat myself up about it.
1. Organize 20 areas of the house.–nothing done here–but I did get the men of the house to do a few chores!
2. Pay down 20% of debt on one card.–this won’t be worked on for a couple months…
3. Cut back on sweets.–I indulged myself this week–oh well…
4. Soda only on pizza night.–again–“needed” a Coke to get through 2 days this week–I’ll get back on it next week
5. Create and implement cleaning schedule. still haven’t typed it up and shared with those living in our house–I’m a wimp.
6. Set up sewing machine and complete 20 projects.–this won’t be done for a couple months
7. Go on 20 dates with DH.–we’ve been on 1 date! looks like 2 to come next week
8. Lose 20 pounds.–afraid to get on the scale this past week…
9. Exercise 20 minutes every day.–I jogged while it was snowing early in the week–bailed for the rest of the week once my cold came on stronger
10. Make 20 new recipes.–nothing this week–I might have a hard time as DH is very excited about the air fryer I got him for Christmas!
11. Get rid of (trash or donate) 20 things.–nope
12. Never be without water.–have done great during school week–okay on weekends (can improve there)
13. In bed by 11:00 on weeknights.–it’s good to have a goal!
14. Complete 20 acts of kindness.–I organized a bake sale on behalf of my reading group for the entire school–to benefit refugees in our state. (We recently finished reading an historical fiction novel about refugees from 3 different eras.) This was a huge event for one person–luckily, I had awesome 5th graders helping me out–we raised over $130! (Kindness Act #2)
15. Purchase and use journal–food, exercise, gifts… Purchased and have written some rough draft info, but need to put it together–should happen this (long) weekend.
16. Classroom: Stay focused and leave by 4:00 each day. I’ve done pretty well with this one! Really using my time more wisely. and have enjoyed my “extra” free time, so that’s incentive to keep at it.
17. Stop swearing. Not sure why I thought “stop” completely was going to happen, but I quickly found this was a really good goal! I swore (even muttering to myself and thoughts) A LOT. Now I am more conscious of it, and have been surprised by how easy it’s been to curtail–I’ve enjoyed coming up with replacement words!
18. Complete Book Nerd Challenge–50 books. NOT. One. Single. Book–despite the fact that I have started one work book and one YA book a few weeks ago and have 5 books checked out from the library. I’d like to finish 2 of those this weekend.
19. Track found money and items and freebies. Officially changing this goal this week–no tracking of freebies–it’s WAAAAAY too much work–which is a good thing, right? I don’t have time/energy to put into tracking all the free things I acquire during one week (box of Saltines and bottle of BBQ sauce). I do still (not so secretly) enjoy the brag, but it stresses me out to worry about missing something, so I’m letting it go…. I found a nickel yesterday, so I’m up to $.16 for the year!
20. Put stuff away once used–each day. I’ve done okay at school–could be better, but I let myself slide this week. Put almost nothing away at home this week. Once this cold clears, I’m all over it!
Staci says
I’m aiming for the Diet Coke only with pizza too, stopping cursing and leaving the classroom at 4 – I’m intermittent fasting so lunch gives extra time and keeps my mind off eating
Mable says
Another intermittent faster here, using the eat 12 hours and fast for the next 36 schedule. It is the only routine that I have found successful. I have lost 40 pounds and husband has lost 30. Some days it is hard but it beats counting calories or restricting myself to certain food groups. Once I lost the last 20 pounds, I am switching to the eat only 8 hours a day fasting.
Maria Huntsman says
This is so interesting, could you please let me know how is it done? i would love to do it and lose the 20 punds i am carrying and that affect my body’s health. Thank you 🙂
Honeybee says
Your lime green room makes me laugh every time you comment on it. We too had a green room in our new to us home. The walls were painted two colors of green, green carpet, and green curtains. 20 years later we still refer to it as the green room.
Jeanine says
That is so funny…we have a small garden area next to my hobby house, that we call the rose garden. The roses have been gone for years, but we still call it the rose garden!
Michèle from Oregon says
If I were your neighbor I’d bake your husband a cake of his choice for not starting the snow blower before 10 on Sunday! LOL!!
Vicki says
Have you heard of Fedco Seed Company? It’s located in Clifton, Maine and they sell all sorts of gardening goodies.
dj_1973 says
That’s Clinton, ME. But it’s not as awesome as my workplace, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, in Winslow, ME. Just up the road from Big G’s Deli, home of the largest sandwiches you’ll ever eat (and similarly sized whoopie pies).
Susan says
It is a beautiful day in SW Washington today! Sunny and 48 degrees.
I noticed there were still some green plants growing in the garden. Went out to check it out and ended up with 20 rutabagas and a bucket of kale.
Cooked the rutabagas and mashed them up. They cooked quickly and not woody at all! SWEET! Put the kale on the dehydrator . LOVE surprises from the garden.
Some of my goals are :
NO food waste- I do really good at this one!
Plant every inch of the garden
Try some new things in the garden
Wednesday adventure day- DH and I did this in 2019 (he retired) and it is so much fun! We literally pick some random place in WA or OR and go spend the day. You know….those towns you see on road signs as you are zipping down the freeway to someplace else…..
Get rid of crap….after 48 years of marriage we need to minimize. Have done some of this
We are doing a Homemade Christmas this year so need to figure out what to make for everyone!
Leslie says
I sure appreciate anyone not doing snowblowing early in morning. I actually hate the sound of leaf blowers, snow blowers anyway. So bravo for husband.
Patti says
You have convinced me to set goals on paper and to give accountability weekly:
1. Lose Weight – lost 1 pound since Jan. 1
2. Exercise Every Day /Move More – went to one yoga class, two water aerobics classes and walked around a new town this past week.
3. Walk 12 Trails in 2020 – none so far
4. Prepare one new recipe each week – none other than adding ham and cheese to eggs today (not new but different than usual)
5. Sew 12 items or more – finished two remote control pillows and 3 baby bibs
6. Learn to fit a blouse – decided which measurements to use and cut out pattern
7. Knit 5 items or more – knit a swatch and wound three skeins into balls
8. Learn 1 new knitting skill – none
9. Read 24 Books- The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
10. Read one magazine each week – none this week
11. Read Sunday School Lesson each week – did not have one to read this week
12. Read through the Bible this year – this is a goal of my husband but we decided to do it together but have not started
13. Declutter – took 2 boxes of magazines to recycle center, gave away 2 items, used fabric scraps and two camp bandanas to make baby bibs
14. Camp/Travel once a month – none
15. Eat out with “new” friends once a month – not this week
16. Visit one place outside of my town each month – went to another town for a lunch meeting and walked around the downtown afterward.
Mavis Butterfield says
I like the idea of walking 12 trails!!
Ali says
I’ve lived in New England all my life and I have never heard of an “unwritten law” that one does not plow or use their snowblower before nine o’clock on weekends! The fellow who plows my driveway came in the early morning. I can’t dictate his schedule to him. Most of my neighbors drives were cleared by nine. Weekend or not, people need to get to work, church or wherever they need to be. Using your snowblower after a winter snowstorm is a lot different than using a leaf blower or sawing wood early in the A.M.
Kim says
Re: hairdresser appt. Beware of layers as it requires more “foofing” than a quick ponytail.
Not sure how y’all have been able to fall asleep in a lime green room. White sounds lovely and restful. Can’t wait to see the results of your hard work.
Mavis Butterfield says
The bedroom is purple. The lime green room is downstairs. I think white walls will be a nice change. 🙂
Robin Martin says
I don’t see Baker Creek among your seed catalogs, if you haven’t checked them out it is a must!! Heirloom seed, gorgeous catalog and an amazing selection for wonderful prices
Mel says
I love Baker Creek and order from them every year, but they seem to keep discontinuing my favorite varieties, so I keep having to hunt down certain varieties elsewhere.
dj_1973 says
So, I hate to be a negative Nellie, but I just wanted to leave this here regarding your note about bug zappers.
https://thewirecutter.com/blog/do-bug-zappers-work/
TL;DR: they kill a lot more insects than they’re targeting, especially beneficial ones. Better to wear personal insect repellent.