Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Grace's 2013 Goals

Resolutions - sounds so old school, doesn't it? Does anyone say "I resolve to organize more!"? Naturally the start of the new year brings promise of change: starting that diet, finally painting that room, cleaning out your closets (and keeping them clean), yada, yada, yada. I am guilty of setting myself up for failure every year with a huge list of things to get done. While I don't plan on giving up on that list idea entirely this year - I love making lists - I am going to try and be a bit more realistic. And maybe putting it out there for the world to see will make me a little more accountable. So without further ado, below are my 2013 (somewhat Pinterest related or inspired) goals:


Personal/Family Goals



Test out some Toddler Activity type Pins:
Because I work full time, I am usually exhausted by the time the weekend hits. And then I am trying to cram in all the things I need to do: meal planing, cooking, shopping, parties, etc. When we are home, I am guilty of sitting on the couch and watching JJ play. This year I need to put the Ipad down, and test out some of the amazing stuff I have seen out there for kids. Homemade playdough, painting crafts, sensory activities, - all this stuff looks like fun!



Take more pictures and make Family Yearbooks:
See below for my Photoshop goal, but I definitely want to get all my photos organized and make a nice book for the year. I think its a great idea to get the pics off the computer and out to enjoy. I have to work on the picture taking as well - we tend to take lots of pics of JJ, but not enough as a family and definitely not enough if we are hosting something (like Christmas or a party).


Be more active/Take better care of myself:
Here it is. My obligatory "lose weight resolution". I am to going to lie, I would love to lose 25 lbs. But throwing out that number and starting some crazy diet is only going to set me up for burnout and failure. I want to take this in slow steps and just try and be healthier. Somewhat related to the above, I have gotten super lazy. I mean I can get out of breath giving JJ a bath and putting his pjs on, and no one wants to hear a bedtime story full of huffing and puffing - unless its the Three Little Pigs. I know I get a lot less headaches/migraines when I take care of myself also. So to start, I am going to try and take a multivitamin everyday, drink a lot more water, brown bag my lunches, and stop buying junk (peanut m&m's - I'm looking at you). Once I get into the groove with that, I can set up some bigger plans. I also plan on attempting the Couch to 5k program again when it gets a little warmer. I started it at the end of last summer, but got stuck on week 5 for a couple weeks because I could never squeeze in more than 2 runs a week and then after Superstorm Sandy I never went out again.


Blog Related Goals
Post at least once a week (or on average 4 times a month):
I fall into the habit of trying out all these pins, taking pics, and uploading them to the computer, but then never typing up the post. Before I know it, I have 10 things to post about, and it seems so overwhelming. I think by setting aside one night a week, I can type up one post and take it at a nice slow pace.

Remember to take progress pics:
I don't want to keep typing the phrase "I forgot to take pics of that". I know its going to happen, but I want to make a conscience effort to remember to snap some pics as I go along.

Learn Photoshop Elements:
I was lucky enough to receive Photoshop Elements 11 for Christmas. Let's face it, my pics can use a lot of help. I thought I would be able to install the program, play around a little bit, and come out with these amazing pics and graphics for the blog. I thought that knowing Autocad would help me out and I would be able to use those skills. Boy was I wrong. I am sure its very user friendly, but I have no idea how to even start. I started googling online videos and looking around for some books, but I am not sure I want to drop more money on that right now.

Home Related Goals


Work on the office:
I am currently typing this post from our "home office". It is the last room left in our house with the original yellow-oak moldings. We have never painted the walls, put up any window treatments, or done anything design related. Its honestly just a dumping ground for everything. There are piles of crafting stuff, the cards from JJ's birthday party, tons of books, misc video game stuff, etc. Joe and I bought a cabinet refinishing kit for the built in desk like a year ago, but its still sitting in the box. This year, I want to tackle this room and make it a nice office and maybe eventually mini play room. I have lots of ideas, I just need to bite the bullet and start working on the trim.


Keep Closets organized:
I have been slowly cleaning out and organizing my cabinets and closets the last few weeks. I did the pantry, my baking cabinet, a storage cabinet where we keep platters and stuff, a closet in our family room, and the coat closet. They look great. The problem is, they will quickly creep back to their cluttered disorganized states. I hope to keep up with how nice they are now, so I don't have to repeat the whole process all over again in a year. I still need to work on my clothes closet and the office closets, but they are going to take a lot of work.

Hang up some stuff:
I have a gallery wall in my upstairs hallway that's about 60% finished. I need to bite the bullet and go buy the last of the Ikea frames I need. But aside from those pics, JJ's room, and maybe 8 things hung up in the whole downstairs, I have nothing on the walls. Nothing has been hung in our master bedroom in the 4 years we have been here. Nothing in the bathrooms upstairs, nothing in the guestroom. I need to work on getting some nice artwork or photos and get them up. It looks like we just moved in upstairs!

Take on at least 1 Sewing Project:


I have Shannon's old sewing machine in my craft closet. Its been here for about 3 years. I once tried to thread it, but every time I went to sew, the thread would snap so I am sure I did it wrong. I would love to make some book slings for the family room and JJ's room (his books are out of control), and know it only involves a straight line, so I just need to google around and figure out how to get this thing working.

So there you have it. Seems like a long list, but I don't think anything is too crazy. I am not looking to remodel our kitchen or build an outdoor dining table (although I would love both), just some things I should be able get too or keep up with over the next year. I have some other things I would like to do like work on the backyard and back porch, perhaps sew some other stuff, but I am not going to beat myself up if I don't get around to that stuff. I plan on "checking in" sometime in June and reevaluate the list. Of course I will wrap it up next January and see how I did overall.

Does anyone out there have any goals for 2013? Can anyone point me in the direction of some basic Photoshop Elements tutorials? How about Sewing 101: How to Thread Your Sewing Machine?

Update: Click here to see how I've been doing.

1 comment:

  1. This is an awesome post I stumbled onto and to the author I am curious to know how you made out with these goals in 2013 - any thoughts for 2014. :)

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...