And 9 times out of 10... I have failed. Miserably.
A few years ago, I stopped making resolutions and started just jotting down a list of intentions for the year. Hopes, dreams, and goals to keep in mind as the days turn into months. Things to be mindful of and keep me on the right path, or make my path better. Some are very practical. Some are hoop dreams. Sometimes I forget about them. Sometimes I go back in my journal throughout the year to refresh my memory. And several have been written year after year because I never do them, and who knows, maybe I never will.
As I sat down on New Year's Day to write my intentions for 2020, I first went back to my 2019 list and checked off what I had actually accomplished. I surprised myself. I would say at least half of my list got checked off, which is more than I've been able to do other years. 2019 was pretty darn good!!
So I thought I would share some of my 2020 intentions and the reasons behind them, in the hopes that it will drill them into my brain even more, and keep me even more mindful of them going forward.
Get under 200 lbs.
Oh, might as well get it out of the way.
One of my 2019 goals was simply to "move more", and while you might not think that worked out so well just by looking at me, I did actually move more in 2019. And I feel so much better for it. My knees work better, my heart is happier, and my overall physical ability and energy is improved simply by getting up half an hour early in the morning to do a light workout, and making sure I get a lunchtime walk in whenever possible. I worked to reach 10,000 steps a day, and while I was often unsuccessful, I was at least mindful of it pretty much every day. So I thought I'd try to take it a step further this year and really take aim at some of this weight I'm carrying around. People say to set realistic goals, so I'm just going to say that I'd be really happy to be under 200 lbs. at this point. And that's a loftier goal than I'd like to admit, but I know if I got serious about it, it's also very doable. Now if only I could get serious about it...
Buy new blinds
This is one of the goals that keeps getting bumped from year to year, but I'm determined this year to make it happen. My main living room would so get a boost by new sets of vertical blinds, in white. I painted the walls grey quite a few years ago now, and the drab old beige blinds have never looked right since. They are ancient and it's time for them to go!
Buy a new car
Already in the works - stay tuned!!
Do money saving challenge, but in reverse
For several years now, I have done that weekly money saving challenge. Week 1 = $1. Week 2 = $2. And so on, until at the end of the year, if you've been diligent, you should have over $1300 saved. Some years I've dipped into it before the end of the year, but last year I didn't, and it was so nice to have that extra money to pay off Christmas and add a little to my savings. But those last few weeks - the $50, $51, $52 weeks during the Christmas season - suck big time. I decided to flip it and start there now, when I actually have a little cash saved up and money isn't so tight. So far, so good!
Keep crocheting - maybe selling?? (and finish The Beast!!)
OK, so I added that part on about The Beast after the fact, but it has become my Everest, and I am working hard at conquering it! I remember when I started The Beast last winter (actually a Cosy Stripes afghan), and the starting chain for the pattern was 196. I thought, Hmm, that seems really big. Well guess what. It IS. I have only done small throws and baby blankets prior to this, and I swear I'll never attempt another blanket this large ever again. It's not hard to do - just so tedious. I eventually set it aside last year to move on to other projects, but over the holidays, I picked it back up and I'm now in the process of weaving the 8 million ends. *sigh* I know it will feel good when it's done, though, and I can't wait to dive in to some other projects when it is!!
Also, I decided to try out a Temperature Blanket. It's a crochet fad that has you record the highs every day for a year, have a yarn colour associated for certain temperatures, and watch as it grows and changes colour! Neat concept. However, very early on I realized that a blanket that has 365 rows is, quite frankly, MASSIVE. For reference, the aforementioned Beast has only about 200 rows. I have decided to scale back and only pick three days a week to crochet a row. It should make the blanket more reasonable in size, and still have a neat variation of colours.
Up PAR Givings
These are my pre-authorized remittances to the church. I signed up many years ago and have never "upped" my givings, though I have intended to for quite a while. I really need to make that happen.
Make Danica's scrapbook
Ohhhh Danica's scrapbook. LOL! I made a terrible mistake of making a scrapbook for her older brother of his first year, and gave it to him on his second Christmas. He is now 14. Danica was born a few years later, and she has been waiting for her scrapbook ever since. (Not to mention Neve and Noah!) I actually bought the supplies and organized the pictures for Danica's, but I have never actually gone ahead and made it. Which is sad, because she actually would really appreciate it. Maybe this year... ?
But first... I must clean the junk room.
My crafting/scrapbooking room long ago turned into the junk room. I couldn't find a place to work on that scrapbook in the state it's in right now even if I wanted to. I swore my winter project this year was to clean out the junk room. So far, we are 15 days in to 2020 and all I've done is move all the empty Amazon boxes to the recycling bin. I guess that's better than nothing, but it's barely a drop in the bucket. I really do need to get at it. It's embarrassing.
Read 15 Books
I love to read, but I am not a fast reader, and I have struggled with what goal to set for reading each year. Long ago, I tried for 20 and didn't even come close. For a few years, I tried for 10 and reached it no problem. I have done 15 for the past few years and it seems to be the most attainable while still being a challenge.
Host a Sip & Sign
I have been wanting to do one of these for a few years, and there's a lady in town who does them now, so I'm hoping to set up an evening with some friends in the next few months!
Paint with Shannon again!
My neighbour Shannon used to have paint nights at her place, and they were AWESOME. I loved painting with Shannon. But then she kind of quit doing them, and then she moved away for a while, and I was worried I'd never paint again. BUT! She's back!! Her first painting was sooo good, but I never managed to find a time during the holiday season to get there to paint it. I'm booked in for an alcohol ink workshop this Saturday, though, and I'll be watching for other opportunities to come, because I so miss painting!
Those are some of the big goals on my list that I'm really thinking about. There are others - write more, play guitar more, spend time with family, enhance the hygge, but they kind of speak for themselves.
What are YOUR goals or intentions for 2020?? Hope you are all having a great year so far. :)
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