New year, new goals

Well... probably mostly the same goal -- Get it done.

So here's a current picture of my "projects to do" board.

The notes on the bottom are completed projects, big and small.  One sticky note holds "monogram hairbow" and another reads "reupholster 2 chairs" -- full spectrum for size and scope of projects....but a visual reminder to me of how much I have actually managed to physically create this year.  The notes on the top are projects still waiting for their turn to be completed; pink notes are from 2019 and orange were added to the board today. I'm considering taking the completed pinks off the board (it is a new year, after all)....but I might leave them up there and just tack the completed notes from this year on top and in between.  We'll see as the year progresses -- I'm not ready for that decision today. 

So my big goals in the craft room this year are:

1. Reupholster the love seat. This one has been on the list for a while, now, and is probably about to get its turn, when the rest of my family heads back to school next week.  

2. Quiet book for "the baby".  He's two; he'll start sitting with us for big church soon; he needs an entertaining book to keep him busy and quiet in the pew.  Or at the doctor's office.  Or waiting for big sisters to finish dance class. Or wherever, really. 

3. Start a scrap quilt.  Use up the zillions of accumulated bits and bobs and turn them into something useful....or at the very least, get started on it.  Use a variety of different block styles (improv, maybe? or cut them all into matching sized squares?  or do a mixture of anything possible to use up and combine the fabric into something useful?) -- whatever I end up choosing, to make use of the ample scrap stash, hopefully reducing it. 

4. Clothe myself.  I have some fabrics and patterns (thanks, Rae!) that I've mentally matched.  It would be pretty awesome to be able to replace a few ill-fitting items currently in my closet with some newer, nicer, hand-made, better fitting items.  These include a Beatrix top, Isla dress, Jade tee, and if I really get brave, maybe some Rose shorts or pants. 

Some smaller goals in the craft room are:

5. Turn our old bathroom curtains into kitchen curtains

6. Monogram some clothing (dresses, bathing suits, hairbows, bloomers, toddler clothes) for the kids

7. Doll bed mattresses, pillows, and doll stroller labels

8. Drawstring lego playmat

I think all of these goals are reasonable, especially since I have walked away from my return to the classroom.  Which still doesn't feel real, because students haven't returned to school from break yet, and still don't know that I'm not returning (my principal discouraged me from telling them goodbye -- I still have strong opinions about that, but also -- I'm not going back.  So I don't need to worry about that.)

In addition to my goals in the craft room, which I'm sure will evolve and change (hopefully be completed and added to) over the year, I have some goals related to health and family. 

For health:

1. Physical activity, beyond toting around a 2 year old.  Like, re-learning how to walk/run for exercise.  One year, I ran a 5K or higher organized race each month -- it definitely kept me motivated to keep going out regularly to stay in shape, since I was spending money on the races.  I am not in shape to start this year with a 5K in January....but maybe by March or April. I'll be working exercise into my daily (weekday) schedule as I figure out and set my new daily routine, beginning next week. 

2. Better meal planning and resuming grocery shopping duties.  Something tells me that it would be a good idea to start buying and cooking vegetables again.  (That something might just be my belly poking over my very tight jeans waistband.)

3. Spend time in the Word regularly.  This will also be built into my new daily routine, starting when my family goes back to school.  I may look for a Bible study group to participate in; I may not -- I'll see how that goes over the next few weeks. 

For family:

1. Plan to send sweet hubby to see his Mama before, during, and after her brain surgery to remove her re-grown tumor

2. Plan a vacation for our family, that involves going somewhere other than the beach

3. Spend time at least once per month at the beach, as soon as the family beach house is habitable (currently undergoing interminable renovations)

4. Clear out and re-organize the clutter spots -- so we can enjoy and use the space we have in our house.  Immediate projects in this area include the toys, last summer's bathing suits, upstairs closet, all the baby gear, and the craft room. 

So, plenty of things to look forward to this year!  2020 is going to be great.  It feels like a lot of lofty goals....but I also will have a lot of time in which to accomplish them, if I stay focused and use my time without children in the house wisely.  Developing routines that maximize my time and help me to form productive habits will be key.