Resolution Check-in: 1st Quarter

The first quarter of 2013 is quickly coming to an end. How did it get to be March already? The first week is gone and I have no idea where it went! Anyhow, I thought it would be a good practice to go back and look at the “resolutions” I made and goals I set in January and see how I’m doing. It is probably also time to either set some new goals or reevaluate the old ones. So here we go.

Let’s look at the original lists and go from there.

Sewing/Crafting Goals:

• Continue to whittle away at my fabric stash by sewing up existing fabric in the never-ending stash conversion to wearable garments project. I’ve made a little progress on this one. I made a pair of jeans out of some twill I found but they are still too small. Hopefully another 10# gone will convert them into wearable garment. I also made at least one work top and some yoga clothes. But of course I had to go and add to the stash with fabric that I didn’t really need and haven’t made into anything yet. Baby steps!
• Make more pillows for the living room. This one I did. I still have a couple more to do but I did make one for the living room and one for the den.
• More machine embroidery projects. My new machine can do some amazing things and I now have Bernina V6 software. My goal is to learn as much as I can about it and master more Machine Embroidery skills and maybe even some digitizing. Not yet. But I’ll keep it on the list for the rest of the year. I have been using the embroidery unit but haven’t had time to delve into the software as much as I’d like.
• Yoga clothes. I signed up for a 7 week yoga class starting in a few weeks. Yoga clothes are expensive but with the skills I learned last spring in making bathing suits, I think I can knock out some cute tops and pants in no time for a fraction of the cost. I made one outfit and bought fabric for more.
• Embroidered yoga mat carrying bag. I want to embroider these chakra designs on linen for a bag to carry my mat and other stuff to class. Competed this one and it turned out great. Blog post with photos coming up next!
• Finish the king-size scrappy string quilt for my bed. Still in progress. I try to do a block or more whenever I’m sewing but sometimes I just don’t get much done.
• De-stash, sell, use or otherwise reduce the yarn around this place. Like fabric, it has grown to ridiculous quantities. Have not done anything on this one yet. I think there will be a de-stashing sale in the near future that will get this one moving.

Household Goals:

• Clean out and purge the following areas: mudroom, sewing/laundry closet, guest room closet, garage and shed. Some progress made here. I did clean out and purge the front closet and some of the mudroom. The crafting/sewing stuff upstairs needs more time than I’ve had recently and the weather hasn’t been good for the outdoor areas. It will get done!
• Plant pumpkins in the area where the play-set used to be. This one may be getting revised. I am now wanting to turn that area into a raised bed garden. It doesn’t get enough sun for a conventional veggie plot but I think it will be perfect for growing greens and some herbs.
• New living room sofa – the one we have now is very nice but it has a few issues. We bought it from a friend this past year but it isn’t meeting our needs. It is leather and the seat cushions don’t stay in place. You get in it and can’t get out. It has sucked the dogs and/or Emma down into its deepest recesses numerous times. Until we can afford to replace it I resolve to try to fix the velcro that is pulling away from the bottom of the cushions so that they will maybe stay in place a bit better. (I’ve been saying this for about 4 months now!) I did finally sew the velcro that is supposed to hold the cushions in place back into position. But it hasn’t helped a whole lot. It is a beautiful leather sofa, but the seats are so deep that it kills my back.
• Community Garden Plot. I’ve been putting this idea off for about 15 years! When we lived in town I had a beautiful vegetable garden and I canned my own veggies. When we moved out here I didn’t have a sunny spot for a garden and the girls were little and I just didn’t make the time or effort. I’m going to go to the park district in March and reserve a plot for this coming summer. Even if I just get some fresh tomatoes and basil I’ll be very happy. The plots are about a mile away from our house and adjacent to a forest preserve where I like to walk. Registration for these is in 2 weeks. I will get one.
• Work on living simply and intentionally. As my goals to use and reduce my fabric/yarn stash suggest, my life has gotten too full with STUFF and I’ve lost sight and room for new and fresher things.  This is a process. I am clearing non-essentials out of my life where possible. One way this has manifested is in the food we’re eating. I’m trying very hard to eliminate as much pre-packaged and prepared foods from our diet as possible. We also cleaned the basement over winter break and made numerous trips to Goodwill.

Personal Goals:

• Yoga. As I already mentioned I signed up for a Fundamentals of Yoga class at a local yoga studio. Even though I’ve done yoga for years, I thought a “real” class at a studio would be a good place to rekindle my love of yoga. Most of the classes I’ve taken in the past have been at gyms and the teachers were usually fitness instructors who had taken some classes in teaching fitness based yoga rather than true yogis who understand the full spectrum of yoga and what it all means. Last week was my last class of the 7 week course. I am going to find another class in their curriculum to keep me moving forward. I have also been doing a lot of independent study of yoga off the mat too. I also have a friend who is an experienced yoga instructor who I am making plans to barter some sewing for a private lesson and practice plan to help me continue on my yogic journey.
• Walking. I want to continue my meanderings and wanderings at local parks and forest preserves. We finally got some real winter weather here so for the last month this changed into regular snowshoe trips. I will continue these and look forward to watching the seasons change again here soon.
• Eating. No weight loss goals, even though I definitely need them. Instead I’m focusing on eating fresh and as homemade as possible this year. I think the garden plot will help  motivate me. Funny how this one is working out. I didn’t make any weight loss goals but just by changing from processed to fresh and mindful eating, I’ve lost 15#. I’ve discovered foods and flavors and cooking skills I didn’t know existed as little as a month ago.
• Get massages. I have a couple friends who are massage therapists. One friend does Thai Massage and she really helped me out this summer when my hip/lower back went cablooey. I want to start getting regular massages to continue to work on my back and neck issues in conjunction with regular yoga practice and visits to my NUCCA chiropractor. Haven’t done this yet. My neck destabilized recently so I’ve been afraid to mess with it too much.
• Deepen my spirituality. Read more books, explore different beliefs, meditate more. Maybe even go back to church or find a new church that meets my needs better. I have been deepening my yoga practice which has deepened my spirituality but I haven’t done anything formal with it. Don’t know that I will as far as finding a church or group. I’m just going to leave myself open to possibilities.
• Continue Random Acts of Kindness year-round. This is just  a way of life. If I see an opportunity to do something nice for someone else I take it. I would like to make more Giving Bunnies for the Easter season and get them out there in the world.
• Regularly reach out to people in my life and tell them what I love/admire about them. This is also one of those that is just happening naturally. I have become more open to people and am less afraid of telling someone that I love them or admire them. It feels amazing to reach out and tell someone that you think they are awesome or that you were thinking about them randomly. The more I put this kind of intention and energy out into the universe the more it has built up and come back to me too. I can’t explain it right now but maybe this one deserves a post of its own.

Family & Friends:

• Continue to work on my relationship with Steve. We’ve come a long way this year but we still have our moments. 2014 will mark our 25th wedding anniversary so this year will be all about building up to that monumental achievement so that when we get there we can be stronger than ever. This is obviously an ongoing mission. We’re doing pretty good. He’s in another busy travel period for work so that has its challenges both when he’s gone and when he’s home again.
• Host more dinner parties and play matchmaker to my friends. Not in a romantic matchmaker kind of way but instead I’d like to introduce different friends from different parts of my life. I have an eclectic mix of friends from many different areas and I’d like to start getting them together and see what interesting conversations and new friendships can develop. I think smaller groups, sharing a meal together, is the perfect way to do this. We talked about this one but haven’t had a chance to implement it yet. I was going to have an eclectic party for my birthday but I don’t know if that will happen this month or not. I still like this idea and will definitely do it, maybe when the weather starts to warm up.
• Continue to find new things to share with friends. Go places, explore new interests, share my discoveries with friends. Recently I’ve discovered the simple joy of meeting a friend for breakfast. As much fun as big parties are with a large group of friends, small one-on-one get-togethers really help strengthen and deepen friendships. This one has been a fun one to make happen. I’ve had a few lunch dates, girls’ nights out and couple dates with friends and neighbors.
• Make the time to visit my siblings, parents and nieces and nephews this year. This might be the summer to reinstate the family camping trip! I did make a trip to Michigan to spend a few days with my parents last month that was really nice. It was just the 3 of us and we got to talk and I got to help them out a little. Glad I made the effort to do it. I haven’t been the greatest aunt or sibling recently so I’ll put that on the to do list going forward.

Now I should add if I have anything new that I’d like to try.

• Run (?) the Color Run in Chicago in June. I did sign up and plan to join a Couch to 5k group at the local Dick Pond store in April.
• Grow my hair out. My youngest daughter has convinced me to let it grow out again.
• Continue to eat 90% vegetarian. I like the way I feel and it’s good for not only me but the planet too.
• Do another juice fast. It really kick started my metabolism and freshened up my taste buds. I’d like to make them a regular quarterly thing.
• Start composting again. I want to get a compost tumbler for the back yard (to keep the dogs out of the composting veggies) and maybe a worm composter for in the house.
• Write more.