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12 Goals for the New Year

My 22 Goals for 2019 – Week 52 of 52

By Mavis Butterfield on - 18 Comments

My 22 Goals for 2019

Goal #1 — Spend More Time Doing What I Love  DONE

What a year it has been. There have been so many twists and turns, and you know, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. January – March were pretty much spent indoors watching movies and rug hooking up a storm. And then in late April we got a letter in the mail. May was pretty uneventful with garden chores taking up the bulk of our days.

In June we had a mama turtle lay eggs in our driveway and most of July was spent gardening like mad, fighting the humidity and dodging the black flies and ticks.

By the time the end of August rolled around, the turtle eggs had hatched, the garden was overflowing and we began to get the feeling the people who sent us that letter back in April, were actually serious about their offer.

And so we packed our things, and headed for coastal Maine.

Going from basically a 4,000 square home on four acres with a large garage, a barn, and a greenhouse to a 1,500 square foot house on a quarter acre city lot has been a bit of challenge. And we’ve been trying to catch up ever sense. There is still a ton of painting, updating and organizing to do. But we are getting there… s l o w l y.

It has been a crazy, chaotic and frustrating at times kind of year. But still, we are both happy with the decision we made to move to the spot we did, and know that once we get everything the way we like it, things will calm down and fall into place once again.

One a scale of 1 -10. I’d say this year has been an 8.

Goal #2 — Garden, Garden, Garden  DONE

Oh how I miss walking out the back door and taking in this view. Only time will tell if I’ll be able to create another gardening sanctuary at our new place. While we didn’t grow the amount of vegetables we have in prior years we harvested plenty of homegrown goodness.

Goal #3 — Plant an Orchard {Called it quits on this one early.}

At the beginning of the year I thought it might be nice to line the driveway at the old house with fruit trees, but for some reason or another the task kept getting pushed to the back burner. And well, in the end, I’m glad we didn’t because it would have been a waste of money.

We did end up buying a Meyer lemon tree though, and she’s still alive. So there’s that.

Goal #4 — Gussy Up the Potting Shed DONE

Once the ground thawed we laid a fresh layer of pea gravel in the potting shed, strung party lights and the HH even built me a wonderful potting bench so I’d be able to start my seedlings each spring. When we moved we left the bench behind {it was the perfect fit for that space} but took down the party lights and brought them with us.

I don’t know if I’ll have him make a new bench, a potting shed or just order a greenhouse for the house we are in now, but I do know I’ll need somewhere to store all my garden gear in the spring. Only time will tell.

Goal #5 — Grow Enough Extra Vegetables, Eggs and Flowers to Earn $1500 at my little roadside vegetable stand.Total Bust

With the bulk of garden bearing fruit in August, I only had a few opportunities to set up shop before we moved. I tried selling just eggs a few times, but didn’t have many takers so I stopped putting our extra eggs out and just gave them away instead.

Goal #6 — Finish Every Single Unfinished Rug Hooking Project in My Pattern Bin + 10 Things from back Issues of Magazines/Books I’ve Been Meaning to Make.  Close. But no cigar.

  • 73 rugs in my pattern bin {now down to 12}
  • 183 hooked flowers {finished 159, now down to 24}
  • 10 “things” from back issues of magazines {finished 10} 🙂 🙂 🙂

While I managed to get those 10 “things” from back issues of magazines finished late last night,* and 9 more flowers and 3 more rugs hooked this past week, I fell short on my rug hooking goal this year. But the biggest tragedy in all of this is that when we moved I had to give up my beautiful craft room. With the exception of the bathrooms and The Girl’s room, every single room in our house had wool, in one form or another in it.

At this point in the organization game, it’s so pitiful, it’s funny. Because really, what can you do besides shut everything down for a week and GET ORGANIZED. But I’ll talk more about this tomorrow.

* Feeling like I was down to the wire, but wanting to get those 10 things checked off my list, I ended up making 10 of one the same thing {but with a little variation} and I will be sharing a picture of the final product {and a tutorial on how to make them} on Thursday. 😉

Goal #7 — Create 12 New Rug Hooking Patterns {with at least half of them being large ones} DONE!

I rocked this goal this year. ABSOLUTELY rocked it!

This year I added 12 new rug hooking patterns and 14 beginner rug hooking kits to my Etsy shop. {And will be adding THREE more on my next Etsy shop update on Friday, January 3rd at 6pm EST.}

New rug hooking patterns I’ve created and added to My Etsy Shop this year:

Rug Hooking Kits

Goal #8 — Split and Stack 2 Cords of Wood for Next Winter Sometimes failing at a goal is a good thing.

Another goal that was a total bust this year. But it was a good thing we dragged our feet on getting that wood chopped because we ended up selling all of it when we moved anyway. Oh well.

Goal #9 — Do Something with the 5,002 Photos on My Phone Happy with the results

I started the year with 5002 photos on my phone and ended with 1903. So while I didn’t send anything up to “the cloud” or turn anything into photo gifts like I thought I might, I did manage to delete a ton of pictures as well as share a bunch I had taken for the blog.

Photos are such a funny thing. While it’s nice to capture a moment on a screen, it’s also nice just to leave your phone in your pocket and just enjoy the moment.

Goal #10 –-Lose the Muffin Top DONE

I would rather be constantly on the move {gardening, walking, doing ANYTHING} rather than restrict food or treats any day of the week. I’m not into diets, and I believe you can eat anything you want, if it’s done in moderation. But I’ve found that as I get older, I do need to be more active.

Goal #11 — Run, Walk or Crawl a 5k, 10k, Half Marathon and Marathon DONE!

I walked an entire marathon in a mall, {and watched The Girl and her friend run the Boston Marathon} walked/jogged a 10k {and came in second to last HA HA HA} did a half marathon in the snow {and later in my pajamas} and walked a 5K with the HH on Veteran’s Day. So I did it.

And I never want to sign up for another marathon again. I’m good. I have no more mountains to climb. No more lofty athletic goals I have a burning desire to accomplish.

Goal #12 — Read or Listen to 26 New Books I finished 21 new books this year

I think I started and stopped more books this year than I finished. And that’s okay by me. I was also able to listen to my favorite book of the year Marilla of Green Gables again last week as well as check out NPR’s Favorite Books of 2019 List for some ideas on what to read next.

And so while I would have liked to hit my reading target for 2019, there’s always next year.

Books I’ve Read This Past Year:

Goal #13 — Try 52 New Recipes. DONE!!

The HH and I were able to whip up oodles of new recipes this past week {all that will be featured on the blog in the coming weeks} and I am so glad to have that monkey off my back AND a fridge and freezer full of leftovers to start the new year with. I have a really cool cooking goal for 2020… but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to hear all about it. 😉

Goal #14 — Clean Up 52 Old Recipes on the Blog Major FAIL

I only took the time to clean up 9 of my old recipes on the blog this year and it was the one goal I kept putting off and putting off until it was too late to do anything about. I guess I should feel bad that I failed, but I don’t.

Goal #15 — Fill 100 Canning Jars 81 down, 19 to go. If this were high school, 81% would still be passing. 🙂

This is another goal I thought for sure I’d have no problem completing. But in all fairness, we did move during the height of canning season and I feel like I did my best.

So far this year I’ve I canned:

Goal #16 — Finish Furnishing Our House

Back on December 31st, 2018 when I sat down to write out my goals, this is what I had put down for this specific goal:

Things I’d like to acquire:

  • Coffee table for the family room {Found a free one at the recycle center}
  • Console, cupboard or sideboard for the one and only tv in our house which is in the family room. I could totally live without a television, but my husband says the tv stays. {Found an old chest at the recycle center}
  • Long rectangular table for the craft room. {Found one at the thrift store}
  • Table for the formal dining room that nobody will ever sit in. {Never found one}
  • A wing back chair for the family room. {Yes!}
  • I’d also like to decorate the mantel in the keeping room as well as put up some sort of decoration above the other 3 fireplaces in the house. I’m not one for a lot of things on the walls, but it would be nice to throw up a little pilgrim bling on the plaster. {Decorated the mantel in the keeping room with mashers, hung a wreath over one fireplace and a banner over the other}

So while we still had 3 months to go when we moved out of our old house and into the new one, I’d say I did pretty good on that particular goal. 5 out of 6 wasn’t bad.

Goal #17 – 52 Dates with the HH 48 date days in 2019

48 out of 52. Not too shabby if you ask me. A few years ago it was like pulling teeth to go out once a month, let alone once a week so all in all, we did great.

Goal #18 — Take One Adult Education Class Done {I took 3!}

  1. Block Printing Class with my neighbor.
  2. Spoon Carving Class with Heather.
  3. Mini pottery lesson

Goal #19 — Secret Holiday Project{s}

This goal didn’t pan out exactly as I had planned, mostly because of timing. When I made the goal at the beginning of the year I had planned on spending the hottest months of the year {August and September} down in the basement working on holiday projects. So when we had to put everything on hold to pack up/unpack the house, it kind of threw a wrench in the works. And so while I was able to get a few of the projects on my list completed, I wasn’t able to get to them all.

Goal #20 — Create 12 Wowie Zowie Party Platters Ended up making 9 out of 12

What started off as a really fun challenge at the beginning of the year, slowly turned into something that wasn’t much fun towards the end because of all the cheese board “hype” floating around on social media.

Our family has done the pickety bits things for years… but all the sudden everyone was making them and I felt like our little platters of cheese and salami weren’t enough. They weren’t styled, didn’t have a lot of variety like the ones all over the internet had. But mostly I didn’t feel the need to go spend $50 – $100 on little bits of food just for the sake of taking a ohhh look what I just made picture. With just two of us eating {and sometimes 3} at home these days, it just seemed silly to me.

Goal #21 — Visit 12 General Stores We visited 10

We just ran out of time. 🙁

Goal #22 — Compete with Carole….. Get on My Front Door Game On DONE

This was a silly little goal I made last winter while I was looking out across the street at my neighbor Carole’s house. Hands down that woman has the BEST front door decorations around. I would later learn that she had owned a primitives store for many years and that’s why she had all the good loot.

No she didn’t know I had made the goal, and since at that point I had only seen/met her a handful of times, and because she didn’t know I had a blog {it’s not something I tell most people about} it would have been totally weird to have knocked on her door and asked to take pictures of the front of her house all bedazzled up and everything.

I don’t know what it is about New England, but they do love to decorate their front porches around these parts. And while it hasn’t been my thing in the past, I do look forward to keeping up with the Joneses {at least front porch wise} from here on out. 😉

Front Door Bling I’ve Made So Far This Year to Compete with Carole:

  • Late January : Valentine Heart
  • Late February : Shamrock
  • Late March : Giant Carrot
  • May: White wave petunia hanging basket
  • June/July: Tin Star and Flag Bunting
  • August : Sunflower
  • September: Indian corn and pumpkins
  • October: Pumpkins and spinner do hickeys
  • November: Indian corn and big pumpkins
  • December: Leg lamp and nutcrackers in the window and giant Christmas balls on the porch

**************

It was a good year. Even if I didn’t get to check everything on my list. Some years a like that. And that’s okay. There’s always next year and new goals to make. 🙂

How about YOU? What do you think went well for YOU this year?

We all want to hear about it.

Happy New Years Eve everyone,

♥ Mavis

You can read more about my 22 goals for 2019 HERE.

Have a Great Day!

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Comments

  1. Christa H. says

    Loved seeing your weekly updates! It sure encouraged me to keep going. I think I did pretty good considering moving, having some health issues, being busy teaching, and having a family member in the hospital numerous times. Here’s my final tally:

    Week 52 of 52:
    1. Establish our farm- DONE- We finished building the age-in-place modern ranch farmhouse and moved in February; put in a radon mediation system; put in a water treatment system for the well water; installed a reverse osmosis faucet to the kitchen; bought a zero-turn lawn mower; organized every single room and closet except the attic; extended the driveway and added a carport area in the woods; had additional crush and run installed for it; good dirt was spread and leveled in all the holes and uneven areas in the front and backyard; two truck loads of mulch was spread; bought aerator and seeded yard; scheduled and put down payment for fence builders for garden; screened porch deck and garage/front of house wood arbors were stained; we installed over 60 bushes around the house; bought plans, got permits and the carport area is being installed right now, just waiting on subcontractors to finish as they are behind
    2. Decide upon side hustles for farm money- DONE- selling my honey
    3. Build a chicken coop- CANCELLED and hopefully moved to next year. HOA amendments were filed incorrectly so no one can have farm animals except horses right now. They will refile in the future, so this is on hold for now.
    4. Establish my bee/butterfly garden- DONE- large water fountain installed; water spigot and electric was added to the area; beehives are in place and still active; put down payment on fence, once materials are in they will call to schedule installation; area is prepped and ready for additional dirt to be added and then ready for spring planting
    5. Plan the fruit/vegetable/herb garden- DONE- It is planned out but we need a fence for that area; bought a weed dragon that hooks up to a propane tank on wheels and have been burning weeds like crazy
    6. Grow broomcorn and mammoth sunflowers- MOVED TO SPRING- bought seeds but will have to plant in spring once fence is complete
    7. Create a bee lawn on the west side of the house- MOVED TO SPRING- new lawn mower has broken part and is still in for repair so we can aerate the area to plant the seeds
    8. Start a fruit orchard- MOVED TO SPRING
    9. Create a sitting area near the beaver dam- CANCELLED- found downed tree you can sit on
    10. Begin a wish/prayer tree on the path to the beaver dam- DONE
    11. Water bath can at least 10 items- FAIL- didn’t get my garden going this year for canning
    12. Learn to use the pressure canner- FAIL
    13. Ferment at least 10 items- DONE- Fermented some pickles; Fermenting organic celery and mint; ginger; carrots in 4 colors; green beans; cauliflower; sauerkraut 2 ways; preserved lemons; radishes; got two fermenting books for my birthday with interesting recipes to try
    14. Try at least 10 new recipes- DONE- Made your meatloaf recipe; fresh salsa and jalapeno ranch dip similar to Chuy’s restaurant; smacked cucumber salad with sumac, onion and radishes; homemade sauces; brisket; cola cake; key lime pie
    15. Find and make a good Vietnamese beef pho recipe- DONE; got all ingredients and am making it today
    16. Get new pantry very organized- DONE and looks fabulous, I love standing inside and looking at everything
    17. Organize art supplies/paint glass jar lids- DONE
    18. Hang art on the walls- DONE
    19. Inventory all my cookbooks so I know what I have- DONE; I used the app Libib
    20. Make Christmas ornaments and garland- DONE- Had two ornament parties
    21. Make potpourri from foraged and garden items- DONE
    22. Finish at least 2 embroidery projects- FAIL- One is half way finished; the other I have hooped and have decided on the colors; got my prescription eye glasses in October so I can see detailed stitching again; the holidays have been too busy and I don’t feel like stitching
    23. Make at least three paintings- FAIL; Bought some large canvases and have been collecting images
    24. Find furniture for the screened porch- DONE- bought the set we wanted when it went on sale. It was delivered and is perfect
    25. Get my Instagram up and running again- DONE

    Reply

  2. Mel says

    I so hear you about the need to shut things down periodically and organize. Craft materials are especially challenging to keep organized because the quantities are always shifting and there are always bits leftover. I was supposed to use this week to get back on track, but I broke my finger.

    I had three sewing goals for 2019, all of which started to feel jinxed:
    1) Sew a Christmas tree skirt. I actually made two, but I couldn’t quite finish quilting the second one due to my broken finger.

    2) Finish a quilt and start another. Nope. I had a bunch of fabric ruined in the wash (including some for the tree skirts in Goal #1), and then the space I needed to lay out all the squares was taken over by 24 baby chicks (we only ordered 4!). I may still finish the quilt I started next year, but I have learned I am really not set up for quilting. My sewing space is too small, so I may have to make yarn-tied quilts instead of machine quilted.

    3) Sew myself waterproof snow pants. Nope. The fabric I wanted was discontinued. I couldn’t find a replacement anywhere. I sewed myself a pair of work pants and a pair of shorts instead.

    My 4th goal was to adjust my goals as needed and add where I could. Between the fabric issues and the absolute chaos of this year (I had medication issues in January, our dishwasher flooded our kitchen in February, our dog needed emergency surgery and two weeks of 24/7 follow up care in March, our 24 baby chicks required 3 hours of daily cleaning in April, and I then had to move my entire office home in May and into a new location in October), I really needed that flexibility. I decided that sewing was not really a priority for this year and instead did the following:
    -set up cat, dog, human, and chicken first aid kits
    -put everything away that had drifted out of place during a chaotic year
    -cleaned and reorganized every room in our house (including bathrooms, closets, laundry room, and storage room)
    -gathered tons of stuff to donate
    -went back to running
    -cleaned all our appliances
    -froze 120 freezer meals to get us through the fall semester
    -set up my new office at work and the related student spaces (this included spending weekends making curtains, pillows, and bench cushions plus working the occasional 14 hour day to install white boards, move furniture, and clean)
    -picked and processed 100 lbs of apples
    -tried loads of new recipes and rediscovered some old ones
    -grew vegetable and herb starts for us and 4 other people
    -installed a pollinator garden
    -made door decor for Easter and summer
    -made reusable birthday gift wrap to go with our reusable Christmas gift wrap

    So, still a productive year, but I’m hoping to have a bit less chaos in 2020.

    Reply

  3. Carolyn says

    Thank you for showing me how to set goals. I called 2019 “The year to get things done.” We have a history of talking about things but not doing anything.

    So – We had been talking about updating our kitchen so my mother could have a gas stove like she had dreamed about for years. In January we bought the stove and refrigerator on clearance. By May I had a basic layout of the kitchen. Just after Labor day we stripped everything out and the kitchen was operational again just before Thanksgiving.

    This also led to refinishing all of the hardwood floors, repainting the common areas and more trips to the dump than I thought possible. We disposed of 48 years of accumulated things and replaced furniture that needed replacing.

    All of this done as a single mother, working full time, caring for her ailing mother, and raising a teenage daughter. Crazy busy, but seeing a goal set and basically finished has been a joy.

    I look forward to setting my goals for the New Year tonight.

    Reply

  4. Cathy says

    I enjoy your goals , and You/we don’t have to finish them. A quote I heard and have no idea who said it . “ How do you know where your going if you don’t have a goal.”
    We also try and make a goal / vision what do we want the next 5 years , ten years look like. Not saying we do it.

    Reply

  5. Ellen in Clackamas says

    I too set goals this year for the first time. Some were easy ( read 50 books), some self-fulfilling ( go outside evert day…I have chickens…of course I’m going out!), and some complete fails…(clean out every drawer and cupboard in the house). I did get my carport/ storage area cleaned up and purged my closet of 90% of my work clothes (I retired in January…no need for all those outfits). So I feel pretty satisfied. I will be setting up new goals for the year..need to include more physical activity and a learning class, but will try and consider things that are do-able. Also, my word for the year will be HOPE. Happy New Year everyone.

    Reply

  6. KC says

    I’m not a timed-goal-making person (unless there are external deadlines involved), but I got a surprising distance this year in a number of areas, and there were a number of Big Life Things that were in 2019 to work around, as well. Not exactly a pleasant year, but maybe a good year.

    Reply

  7. sarah b says

    Your goals have inspired me to make, and keep track of, my own goals each year. I was very ambitious with about 35 goals for 2019, and had about a 50% success rate. One goal for 2020 is to make fewer goals, ha ha. Happy new year!

    Reply

  8. Patti Hall says

    I just started to read your blog and have been fascinated by your goals and how accountable you have been. I asked for and received a beautiful leather journal which is going to be My Goals Book and have started writing my goals for 2020. While I have always set monthly goals in my calendar for what I like to do (read, sew, knit, needlepoint, work, etc.), I am setting up yearly goals like you have. Even if I never reach them, I have identified what I want for my life and will be working toward that picture.

    Reply

  10. Joely says

    Mavis, what was your favorite accomplishment of 2019? You had a whirlwind year! I’d love to know your end of year reflections…

    Reply

  11. Sharon says

    I just wanted to recommend an audiobook for you to listen to next year. “Running With Sherman” by Christopher McDougall was my favorite book of the year (and I listen to a LOT of audiobooks). It was just a fun book — funny and fun. I think you’ll enjoy it.

    Reply

  12. Laurie Gaither says

    I too have a book recommendation. Hands down my favorite book of 2019 was Where the Crawdads Sing. I got the e-book from the library and binge read it in two days. The author totally takes you into the coastal marshlands of North Carolina. I kept telling my husband he needed to read it before I had to send it back. He kept declining until a couple of days before it was due. He read it and loved it as much as I did. Our second favorite was Beneath the Scarlet Sky.

    Reply

  13. KATHY says

    Here’s my list
    Drink more water – I am consistently drinking 64 ounces per day but plan to add that as a 2020 goal to step it up.
    Spend more time with family – doing well with that
    Learn to crochet – I made a chain, LOL
    Apple cider weekend with my family in Sept/Oct – 73 gallons made 🙂
    Declutter and sell $500 worth of decluttered stuff – Decluttered over 1000 items from home and storage and sold $546 worth. When I declutter I count everything (ex. 3 old rubber bands, 4 hairties, etc) so it sounds impressive but its really not that big of a deal. I did manage to do away with our storage which was $30 a month.
    Save $1500 – meh, I only ended up with around $800 saved because we had a leaking bathtub catastrophe that ate a big chunk of savings.
    Clean out and give one freezer to my daughter – done
    Work on anxiety and ibs control – Feeling so good about this one! I started 3 probiotics and a high dose of ashwaganda and have been able to do some things I haven’t been able to in about 6 years. Its helping so much.
    Spruce up my pet cemetary – Added a couple of statues and working on headstones for my fur babies.

    Things I didn’t accomplish – I didn’t get a new chicken coop or new chicken babies- maybe in the spring. I didn’t spend more time at home, lol. I didn’t stick to my exercise program nor did I stick to eating out only once a week. I didn’t get the inside of my house painted or new carpeting since we had to gut and are knee deep in remodeling our master bath. I also started but didn’t finish my kids history boxes.

    Reply

  17. Nancy E. says

    One of my first goals for 2020 is to paint the living room/kitchen and hallway. And I’ve decided to go much lighter than what we currently have. Mavis do you mind sharing what brand and shade you used for your living room? And do you go with flat or a sheen? Thanks!

    Reply

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