2012 Goals

Yes, its February and I'm only now publishing my 2012 goals, despite the fact that they were written just after the first of the year.

I have a feeling 2012 is going to be a fantastic year (and its already off to a great start).

Here are my goals (and some 1 month in updates):

Knitting

• I don't want to get too specific as to plans for knitting projects simply because I do get a lot of knitting done every week/month and I'm always craving new things.
• But, I don't often knit for myself. I may cast on something for me and then I get an idea for a gift and I go to town on that, neglecting my own knitting. Partly its because I work best under deadlines (which are built-in when you're gifting something) and partly just because I truly enjoy seeing others enjoy my knits...
• Goal: Knit at least 3 items for myself (not counting the shawl that's nearly done)

Progress to Date: So far so good! I have a pair of fingerless mitts nearly finished and I'm going to swatch for my sweater this weekend!

Photography

• Goal: Take a class. Any class. Anywhere. Any format. Just learn something new and valuable.

Handmade Gifts

• I did well for Christmas this year but I could have started some things (beyond my knitting) earlier in the year and gotten even more handmades complete.
• Goal: Start real planning (not just for knits) in May.
• Goal: wrap gifts early. Be creative. Be green.
• Goal: Try something new in handmades for Christmas 2012.
• Goal: Track all gift giving in 2012, not just Christmas giving (note: I started this in 2011 but didn't keep up with it).

Use it Up

• Dan and I have had a stack of gift cards for years- some nearly as long as we've been together. This is the year we're using them! (What a problem to have, I know!)
• Goal: Use up all of the gift cards we received in 2011 or prior! No excuses. Aiming for at least 1 per month.

Reading

• I've been listening to a lot of podcasts and radio shows lately and I love them all. I really feel like I've learned a lot (especially about knitting) and have thought about things/people/topics I otherwise wouldn't have. But with all the podcasts I haven't listened to an audiobook in months. I need to get back to that, as I'm truly missing it at this point. I think there's something to be learned in books that you can't get elsewhere and I can't completely shut that medium out of my life.
• Goal: Read more! At least 1 book per month.

Progress to Date: Fail. No books read in January.

Get Healthy!

• Disclaimer:: I hate the typical "lose weight" new year's resolution. It irks me. I hate the influx of people at the gym and the ads on tv... but here I am adding it to my list of goals (not resolutions, mind you). I saw Jennifer Hudson looking smoking hot on the Weight Watchers commercial and Dan and I chatted about how great she looked, and I signed up the next day. Its only been a week but I'm obsessed. I've realized I'm a rule-follower- in fact I'm having a hard time using the "extra" points they give you each week because that feels like cheating to me, but I'll figure out how to use the system to work best for me. I need more structure- this seems to be working and I'm already feeling better. I'm hoping this momentum will sustain me through the year.
• Goal: Get moving. Do some form of physical activity at least 3 times per week for 30+ minutes (ideally more).
• Goal: Take vitamins every day!
• Goal: Be lighter at the end of 2012 than at the beginning.

Progress to Date: I feel weird actually publishing this here, but in the interest of full disclosure- here goes. I've lost 6.6 pounds as of today! I feel great. Its not exactly easy but its not super hard either. I feel better. I am starting to notice small changes in my appearance and I'm happy. I'm also taking my vitamins and easily exercising 3 days a week. So far I'm hitting this one out of the park!

Taking Stock- 2011

Nearly 12 months ago (geeez time flies), I set some goals for this year. Some big, some small. Some accomplished, some not, some purposely put aside because they just weren't as important as I had planned, and that's OK too.

So here's how it went!

Photography:

1. Take another class.

2. Take more photos of the everyday.

3. Try my hand at some more semi-professional photo shoots.

Update: I didn't do so well with this one. I had seriously considered taking another course at NESOP this Spring but around the time of registration, we learned that Jeff, Melissa, Riley and Garret would be moving to Illinois, and I chose to spend a bunch of Thursday nights at Mom's with the kiddos instead of in a classroom. Definitely the right decision, and I'm glad I did that. I have no real excuses for not taking more photos the rest of the year though (about 5000 in my albums instead of the 10,000 I took in 2010)! I really hope I can get back into it in 2012.

Crochet

I've done a little dabbling with this craft both during 2010 and already a little bit in the new year. I'm not convinced I'll ever love it as much as knitting, but I already know that it is has a lot of great applications and I want to learn at least the basics with crochet. I have a book that my friend Ellen leant to me over a year now (if you need it back please just holler), and I'm looking forward to tackling some of the squares from that book, even if its just to make a doll blanket for one of my nieces!

Update: I've crocheted!! Not a lot, but enough that I feel fairly comfortable with it. I made a few small items for Christmas, and I made a flower which felt more complex than most things so that helped get me going. I can't wait to try some new fun things now that my gift knitting is finished.

Sewing

I think a Thursday Night Sewing Club is already forming and I love that prospect. My Aunt Florence has graciously offered to teach Mom and me how to sew (Mom knows some basics. I do not). My friends Ryan and Kim are also very interested, and so I think us ladies (plus Nathan when he's free) may just have a grand old time learning how to sew. I'm very much looking forward to it. If I can sew a button on a shirt by the end of 2011, I'll consider that a success since I can't even do that. Anything more is a bonus!

Update: I'm still a very basic seamstress. In fact that's not even the word for it, but sew-er just looks like sewer, so I'm at a loss. I haven't put a lot of time into sewing, but in needing to show Kris how to set up a machine and get going on a project (with no adult supervision on hand), I was able to get us through it. So that's gotta be a sign!

Knitting

I've learned a lot about knitting in 2010 but there's more I'd like to learn and projects I'd still like to accomplish. This year I'm planning to make at least 1 more hat and 2 more afghans (one is in progress now). I will also learn to make mittens.

Update: I blew away the number on the hats (more details in my Christmas knits post). But I realized I really don't enjoy making blankets very much. I get really bored. What else is new.... I moved on to more challenging interesting things, and I'm very happy about that transition.

Make More Handmade Gifts

1. I very much enjoyed this part of my Christmas routine this year. I am planning to update this post with an exact percentage of how much of my gift giving was handmade by me (or others) this year with plans to increase that percentage for next year's Christmas season.

2. Start Christmas crafting by May at the latest. There simply wasn't enough time to do all of what I wanted to do this year. I have zillions of notes saved in Evernote. Lots of ideas. Just need to start executing earlier.

Updates: Done and done. I made more gifts this year and bought more green items when making purchases. Still not as great as I'd have liked, but I'm making progress. Next year I'll do even better! It's all about starting early. When I'm crunched for time, I'll order any old thing online. Starting to knit this summer made things a lot better! I'll definitely be doing that again next year.

Think about Simplifying on a Daily Basis

I'm finding that there is a lot of clutter in my life lately. When I am mindful about how I am spending my time and what I am wanting to accomplish I can do a lot of these things that really make me feel productive and happy.

1. I am aiming to watch less television on weeknights so that I can spend more time reading and crafting.

Update: I have no way to prove this, but I think I do watch less tv than before. I listen to the radio or my ipod while I knit, clean or just putter. I enjoy that.

2. I want to be better organized with my work bag and items I always think I need on a daily basis and yet rarely do (until the moment I need that specific thing and its inevitably at home)... I need less stuff and I need to be more organized= the bottom line.

3. Cleaner car & cleaner home. To be fair neither are actually dirty. But they are both cluttered. It's part of who I am. I'd rather work on something until I drop than to stop 15 minutes early and put everything away (really, that doesn't sound like it's any fun at all does it??). However, at the end of the week it looks like 2 adults, 6 kids and 3 circus clowns live in this small house and as much as it doesn't take me 2 days to clean, its still mildly overwhelming and let's face it, unnecessary. It drives Dan crazy and that's not fair. I am happier when the house is clean and clutter-free and I need to do the little things every day to make that happen. If I put stuff away at night, it will make my morning's easier... It's a good thing all around. I just need to push myself.

Update: No real progress here. Many times this house and my car looks great. And then life gets crazy again and there are piles everywhere and the dust bunnies run faster than I care to admit... and I can't find my lip gloss in any purse I own, but its gotta be there, right? Ugh. Life's a work in progress :)

Pay It OFF

1. Pay off my Student Loan.

2. Pay off my Car Loan.

Update: Done and Done! I'm super proud of this one. Not that I owed much a year ago, but I'm officially debt free and that feels fantastic! :)

All in all, not bad. I'm pleased with the year behind us and looking forward to 2012!

life right now

• Sons of Anarchy is back on television and it makes me as giddy as the 10 year old version of myself shopping for binders and folders for back to school!
• Knitting cables is definitely more effort but the results are so stunning I'm surprised I don't work them into everything I knit.
• Nora Ephron is amazing. Her books I Feel Bad About My Neck and I Remember Nothing are delightful. Short and funny. So real and relateable. She reads the audio-version herself. Well worth it! (Here's one excerpt from the latter- #20 cracked me up!!)
• I have so much trouble waking up in the morning lately.
• I'm fairly addicted to Chipotle's rice and beans!
• I am still thankful not to be coughing (I was literally starting to think I'd cough for the rest of my life after the events of this summer)
• I am looking forward to apple picking and wearing sweaters, and eating honeycrisp apples
• I desperately need to get new glasses. On a nearly daily basis I find I can't see most things at work. Yet I'm too busy at work to leave for an hour to get an eye appt, so that remains unresolved!
• Meal planning during a crazy work week is absolutely useless. I was so excited to eat my tidily prepared lunches but was too busy to get back to my desk to eat them. Instead my very kind co-worker Dan brought me a boxed lunch. 1/4 of which I ate on a bench in the lobby of one of our new units, 1/4 I ate in small bites when I was alone in an elevator. 1/2 went in the trash.... meal planning take 2 next week.
• Sleeping in on the weekend feels luxurious!
• If I get my nails done every week or two I can actually have beautiful, girly nails. Who knew?!
• I now have the skills of a nearly more than amateur DJ! Dan taught me how to do it, and I DJed for my cousin Megan's wedding! Granted, I didn't actually mix anything until everyone was packing up. But I did it, and I didn't screw it up. That's gotta be a good sign right?!
• I finally got new LL Bean slippers (in Berry). My first pair have been washed so many times they are stiff and uncomfortable- the 2 least desirable qualities in slippers. I'm not in love with how these look but they are SO comfy and warm.
• Dan's finally on the motorcycle trip he's always dreamed up... he got off to a late start, has gotten rained on nearly every day, and had to shorten his route. BUT he's having a great time and after working countless hours at work for months on end, he so deserves this! I got a postcard from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame yesterday. Who knew he'd think of something so sweet to do!? Love that guy.
• I got to Skype with Riley & Garret the other night from home. Not always easy to do both from a timing perspective but also because I have a data limit on my internet use, but it was SO wonderful SEEING and HEARING them. I miss those two munchkies and can't wait to meet their little brother or sister in December (I think I'm getting a new niece for the record) :)
• so many things. this is what happens when i don't blog. photos coming next time :)

Update on 2011 Goals

When I am this behind on blog posts I never know where to start, but another blog post I read today made me think about the goals I'd set for this year... and as usual, the year has flown by and I couldn't for the life of me remember all of what I'd written down, so here I am.

So here's the latest:

Photography:

1. Take another class. I'd like to go back NESOP in the Spring for their Advanced Digital Camera class. And if that does work (schedule-wise or otherwise), I will find a similar class to build upon the basic understanding I learned in my Beginning Digital Camera class.

I haven't taken a full-on class, but I did a Boston Photo Tour through Chimpsy last Saturday with Mom, Kim and Ryan. I learned a couple new things and was reminded of a few things I'd forgotten! Definitely a fun and useful 2+ hours. It made me want to take a fall class at NESOP but I'm feeling like Spring will be a better opportunity for that. And I'm ok with it.

2. Take more photos of the everyday. I'm going to make a point to leave my camera in specific places around the house in hopes that it will remind me to capture small moments at home, or take it with me when I hop in the car to go somewhere that I wouldn't normally take my big honkin' camera.

I did well with this earlier in the year but come the late spring and then summer (during which I was sick for over 5 weeks), that definitely fell off the radar. No excuses. It just didn't happen....

3. Try my hand at some more semi-professional photo shoots. I really enjoyed working with Angela & Barry, Dave & Cara, DJ & Manda, and little Mackenzie & Brielle. Definitely wanting to try some more challenging photography in 2011. If you're interested in a free session, let me know!

Haven't done this, but perhaps some Christmas cards? :)

Crochet

I've done a little dabbling with this craft both during 2010 and already a little bit in the new year. I'm not convinced I'll ever love it as much as knitting, but I already know that it is has a lot of great applications and I want to learn at least the basics with crochet. I have a book that my friend Ellen leant to me over a year now (if you need it back please just holler), and I'm looking forward to tackling some of the squares from that book, even if its just to make a doll blanket for one of my nieces!

Nothing. Really want to!! :)

Sewing

I think a Thursday Night Sewing Club is already forming and I love that prospect. My Aunt Florence has graciously offered to teach Mom and me how to sew (Mom knows some basics. I do not). My friends Ryan and Kim are also very interested, and so I think us ladies (plus Nathan when he's free) may just have a grand old time learning how to sew. I'm very much looking forward to it. If I can sew a button on a shirt by the end of 2011, I'll consider that a success since I can't even do that. Anything more is a bonus!

We started the year out strong with our sewing lessons. As a result I sewed a whole pile of cloth napkins (which means we do not buy paper napkins or paper towels anymore)!! :) And I made a few other small items- a fort kit for Riley's birthday complete with a drawstring pouch to put it in. Not bad for a beginner. And then we had Riley and Garret a couple nights a week as Jeff and Melissa got them ready to move to IL, so time was better spent giving baths and snuggling and cleaning baby food out of Garret's ears... and those are the trade offs in life. I'm happy with how those hours are spent. I have no grand dreams of being a seamstress. If I can sew a few things if/when the urge strikes me, I'm happy with that.

Knitting

I've learned a lot about knitting in 2010 but there's more I'd like to learn and projects I'd still like to accomplish. This year I'm planning to make at least 1 more hat and 2 more afghans (one is in progress now). I will also learn to make mittens.

I've finished 1 afghan and I've got one in progress!

I've made 8 hats (holy cow!!), 2 cowls, 2 baby vests, 3 dresses, a baby sweater, and a pair of legwarmers. Not too shabby! Mittens will likely strike my fancy as these cool temps roll in.

Make More Handmade Gifts

1. I very much enjoyed this part of my Christmas routine this year. I am planning to update this post with an exact percentage of how much of my gift giving was handmade by me (or others) this year with plans to increase that percentage for next year's Christmas season.

This is a good reminder for me. I've already knit a number of Christmas gifts :) And I've been keeping an eye out for local and handmade gifts (a few of which I've purchased).

2. Start Christmas crafting by May at the latest. There simply wasn't enough time to do all of what I wanted to do this year. I have zillions of notes saved in Evernote. Lots of ideas. Just need to start executing earlier.

Success! I started in June I think. Close enough :)

Think about Simplifying on a Daily Basis

I'm finding that there is a lot of clutter in my life lately. When I am mindful about how I am spending my time and what I am wanting to accomplish I can do a lot of these things that really make me feel productive and happy.

1. I am aiming to watch less television on weeknights so that I can spend more time reading and crafting. Sitting in the quiet by the fire right now is so amazingly peaceful. I am in the midst of a stressful week at work and yet I am not stressed. I write this to remind myself of how well this CAN work.

This comes and goes... I've done well with this this week while Dan's been away. I put on the radio throughout the house and putter around... if he's already got the tv on, I'm easily sucked in. I'll have to work on that.

2. I want to be better organized with my work bag and items I always think I need on a daily basis and yet rarely do (until the moment I need that specific thing and its inevitably at home)... I need less stuff and I need to be more organized= the bottom line.

I found a great, big bag this summer and use a large Vera Bradley cosmetics case to hold most of my normal purse things (lipgloss, gum, pager, etc) and its worked REALLY WELL! :) Yaay for a $15 target canvas bag.

3. Cleaner car & cleaner home. To be fair neither are actually dirty. But they are both cluttered. It's part of who I am. I'd rather work on something until I drop than to stop 15 minutes early and put everything away (really, that doesn't sound like it's any fun at all does it??). However, at the end of the week it looks like 2 adults, 6 kids and 3 circus clowns live in this small house and as much as it doesn't take me 2 days to clean, its still mildly overwhelming and let's face it, unnecessary. It drives Dan crazy and that's not fair. I am happier when the house is clean and clutter-free and I need to do the little things every day to make that happen. If I put stuff away at night, it will make my morning's easier... It's a good thing all around. I just need to push myself.

I did well with the house portion (for the most part) except when I was sick. Then it got really ugly around here ;) I got my car detailed and have been good about keeping it looking nice ever since. I may have created a monster though because now I think daily about wanting to get it detailed again. Must find another Groupon!!

Pay It OFF

1. Pay off my Student Loan.

2. Pay off my Car Loan.

My car is paid off!!!!! WOO HOO!

Student loan is well on its way. I should have this done by December! :)

Not bad, all in all!

Still some work to do. But manageable I think.

Looking forward to fall, crisp air, relaxed weekends and Progress!

a list for right now...

listening// to the quiet hum of the fluorescent lights and computer equipment in my office. enjoying the relative silence and the rhythmic tapping of keys.

eating// nothing at the moment. breakfast was a whole wheat everything bagel. super yummy.

drinking// water

wearing// khakis, my new navy Land's End tank with the ruffle at the collar with a turquoise cardigan from Target and a really funky white beaded necklace. on my feet- my favorite Liza B flip-flops that Kris got me for my birthday a few years ago!

feeling// fantastic. i love that summer's here and vacation's coming up (despite my to-do list of approximately 1 million things that need to be done before we fly out)

weather// a little muggy, near 80. sunny for this morning but getting cloudier all the time.

wanting// a 50mm 1.8 lens to bring on vacation. i'm seriously considering the splurge to get some great once in a lifetime pictures of this awesome impending trip.

needing// a massage. more time. some motivation and focus at work today.

thinking// about everything i need to pack. and hardly believing i haven't yet made a packing list! this has to be a new record for me. i'm a list maker (haven't you noticed?)

enjoying// my nieces and nephews as they grow day by day. as much as i miss the 'babies' it is so much fun to be able to do things with them- running, jumping, swinging, really playing.

wondering// what the afternoon will bring. so many possibilies all of which excite me. babysitting? hanging out? borrowing a niece? shopping? starting to pack? walking? yoga?