Projects for 2013

So, in case you didn't know, it's 2013! I know I'm a little late to the "New Year" bandwagon. We vacationed in Florida with my entire family during the holiday break this year, which was wonderful!

But, it also meant it didn't really feel like The New Year until after we got home and back into our "normal" routine. Plus, I've been battling a cold (NOT the flu!) for about a week, so that put a damper on New Year Projects. But this weekend, it will really begin! 

I like starting the new year by thinking about what I want to accomplish in the year to come. I don't really think of this process as making resolutions as much as goal-setting. In 2011, I established a self-imposed sock club, in which I knit a pair of socks each month. In 2012, I set goals related to getting my home more organized. 2013 will continue the organizing trend and add a few other goals to the mix.

• Kitchen:
• Install crown molding and paint cabinets
• Reconfigure cabinet interiors (pull-out shelves)
• Get rid of our ugly circa-1972 counter stools and get new attractive ones
• Bug my dad to build the trash can cabinet I drew up plans for and gave to him ages ago.
• Front room:
• Build daybed and get rid of futon
• Find a new place for the file cabinet and/or paint it 
• Misc. Organizing:
• Tackle my closet. It's a mess. Seriously. This is a high priority, and I hope to get it done this weekend.
• Sort/weed/purge purse/bag collection. Seriously. No one needs the quantity of bags I own. 
• Label yarn stash bins.
• Cables and Wires: we really need a central location to keep these things, and a solution that allows us to easily put our hands on exactly what we need. I'm tired of wandering around the house searching for a USB cable when I want to download pictures from the camera. 
• Reading:
• Read more, and keep track of what I've read! I don't quite know what kind of measurable goal to set here. I just know I don't read as much as I'd like to. 
• Listen to one audio book each month (I joined Audible) in addition to actual reading.
• Personal Goals (in other words, make my health and myself a priority)
• Eat more healthfully. So far, I'm doing this by eliminating sugary cereals (a huge weakness for me) and taking my lunch (a big salad and cup of homemade soup) to work every day. After a week and a half, I can honestly say I feel tons better all day as a result of this change. I don't get that icky mid-afternoon energy dip like I used to when I'd eat Apple Jacks for breakfast and a burger or pizza for lunch. And, my craving for candy during the afternoons is almost completely gone. I keep a box of granola bars in my office in case I get a little munchy around 3 or 4. For some reason this feels completely different than anything I've ever done before. I don't know if it's the attitude with which I'm approaching it or what. But something is working. I'm not looking at this as a diet. Maybe that's the difference?
• Move. Seriously. Forget about losing weight, although that would be awesome. Just move. Go for a walk. Use the elliptical machine for 10 or 15 minutes before hopping in the shower in the morning, and maybe another 10 or 15 minutes in the evening. Whatever. I just need to get off my ass.
• Knitting/Crafting:
• Spin more. At least one evening a week--Mondays? Wednesdays? I need to establish a specific day. I bought a chair last week to make this an easier goal to meet.  Still need to move my wheel downstairs. 
• Knit more from my stash. This is NOT a stash diet. I'm not going to limit my purchasing. That's just silly talk. But, I do have some really nice yarns in my stash that have been speaking to me. How about this goal: Six projects this year knit from yarns that have been in my stash at least a year (relative to the date the project is started).
• Sew some more project bags. (Yes, I realize this seems in direct contradiction to the bag weeding project mentioned above, but it's really not. Here, I'm talking about small project bags for carrying knitting projects in my purse. One can never have too many project bags.)

I think that's probably a sufficient specific list for now. What are your goals for 2013?


I'll leave you with a picture of Diego enjoying the chair I bought last week