2013 Goals Wrap Up

Well, I knew when I was making this list that I was being a little bit ambitious. I was able to cross off a lot of the little things, but the bigger things really didn't happen. I'm not going to feel bad about the things that got away; I did a lot of things I normally wouldn't have - and I think I've grown a little as a person. That's way more important that having a completely crossed off list.

The 2013 Goal/Dream List:

1. Complete Happily Ever After Quilt - and give it away 
2. See 'Les Miserables'  1/5/13
3. Read 4+ books per month for the entire year 
4. Complete 3 Welcome Baby Packages (at a more reasonable size than the Baby C one from 2012)
1. 3 baby sized quilts 
2. 3 hooded towels? Decided to only make one, and to have my mom make it since I know her kind is preferred by this particular family.
3. 3 bibs? 
5. Get a new-to-me car
6. Sell our two old cars
7. Another photo challenge or something to help me improve my photography
8. Get up the courage to share a link to this blog on my facebook (after March June?)
9. Steps toward more regular and affordable health care
10. Attempt to learn to knit? (I was recently given a book about what to knit while expecting. Since I don't plan to make progress on the 'expecting' part in 2013, maybe I'll try my hand at the 'knitting' part, assuming I can afford another hobby)
11. Trip to see Baby C and her family -The weather and work schedules has put this off for now. It'll probably be spring before we try again. That said, we did get to see them when they came this way (narrowly avoiding bad weather already). 
12. Go visit in-laws 
13. Join a band/orchestra/choir?  - Okay, so it's only for a month and a half, but I joined a Christmas cantata orchestra. 
14. Get serious about menu planning, grocery shopping, and an eating out budget
15. Finish A Song of Ice and Fire series - Argh. Can't believe I'm still slowly working on this series! It's taking me forever. I only made it through book. There are some characters I really want to know what's going to happen to, and some I don't care about at all. I'm not sure which kind of chapter slows me down more: "when are horrible things going to happen, I don't want to turn the page" or "ugh, I'd rather do housework than read about this person." Must focus on this more in 2014. 
16. Finish Hunger Games series - I actually gave up on this one. Although everyone I know is raving about this series, I really didn't enjoy the first one, nor the first few chapters of the second, and there are enough books I want to read that it isn't worth my time forcing myself to read something I'm not interested in or enjoying. 
17. Read 5+ non-fiction books 
18. Wear nail polish on my fingers one day a month (or more) (Except July)
19. Donate or dispose of 100 things from within the house
20. Get the pattern for this little jam jar quilt block or something similar (link goes only to my pin)
21. Renaissance Festival trip 
22. Attend my high school reunion
23. Put aside $250 in a special account 
24. Put an extra $50/month toward savings (most/all months)
25. Photo shoot for work 
26. Take a family photo every month season Time to admit this is not going to happen this year.
27. Make 2-3 Birthday packages (nothing too elaborate) 
28. Have the piano tuned
29. Move some of my quilts into my new-to-me quilt chest (which lives at my parents' since I don't have room for it yet) 
30. Make a memory game for my house
31. Get a clothes line
32. Replace the coffee table (it's falling apart and not worth the effort to fix) - Nope, but I did replace the loveseat with a much better sofa - and now the coffee table is even more desperately in need of changing out!
33. Print our photo album/year books - One made it here, one is going to have to be redone completely thanks to technology failure. 
34. New rugs for the kitchen
35. Fix or replace the duvet cover - In Progress! 
36. Caulk the kitchen window 
37. Finish reading "The Outlaws of Sherwood" (Robin McKinley) aloud, and "Scarlet" (Marissa Meyer), and "Steadfast" (Mercedes Lackey) 
38. Be more genuine 
39. Walk away / avoid drama (on facebook): 
40. Do something more social with sewing/quilting: join a swap, or a bee, or a quilt along. It's time to meet some people and make friends. 
41. Take a class in something. Preferably not online. 
42. Update the dvd storage in the living room - What I want to do is too expensive so far. Boo. 
43. Do a (full) fish tail french braid 1/5/13 
44. Fold and put away laundry after every load (within 24 hours of drying) Hahaha. This did not happen. 
45. Talk to Laura once a week (on the phone or in person)
46. Zero late fees at the library - Well, 8 of 12 without is better than last year... 
47. Progress on the shoe situation: new flip flops, new winter boots2/15/13 and 5/1/13, possibly new black pumps
48. Try a new restaurant or cuisine at least twice this year Thai food 4/24/13, PF Chang's 6/13, (homemade) Korean style stir fry 7/13, (homemade) Korean BBQ 8/13, 
49. Use stash fabric. More of it, anyway. 
50. Surprise my husband at least once (I'm talking a big surprise, not a jump-out-from-the-dark surprise)

Things to Make in 2013

1. Start a sampler style quilt (on my own or from an established quilt) Started 2/13
2. Make the Ditto quilt (I own the pattern and the tool, just haven't used it yet)
3. New kitchen curtains  1/4/13 
4. Cross stitch sampler (small size, more modern style) 
5. Bookshelf mini quilt  (link goes to tutorial) 1/3/13 
6. This kind of stack and whack quilt (link goes to tutorial) 
7. A 'solids' quilt
8. 3 baby quilts (for Welcome Baby packages)
9. 2013 cross stitch portrait
10. Another quilted bag How about two four quilted clutches? 3/13, And two more as of 6/13, and one more as of 09/13, one in 11/13

I didn't accomplish as much as I had hoped - but that's okay. Nothing too important slipped through the cracks (though I really need to get rid of that car) and most importantly I was able to maintain a fairly comfortable balance between work and non-work activities. So, I'm pretty happy.

Time to start thinking about the 2014 goals and dreams... Hmm....