My 18 for 2018 has been in full effect for a quarter of the year at this point so I thought I would reflect on how far I have come or how far I have yet to go. Of course, the first quarter of this year has not been normal, per say, in terms of my usual free time, energy levels, or schedule with the studying and the baby growing…but I was well aware of this when I created this list so there is still loads of time in the year to make up for lost time during the first quarter. Of course the list hasn’t gone completely by the wayside, I’ve tackled or worked on a few.
- De-clutter the house and organize the garage.
- So far I have gone through our old nightstands in the bedrooms, the bathroom cabinets, the miscellaneous drawers in the kitchen, our interior mail box, and the wardrobe in the guest bedroom/nursery. Bryan (though this isn’t his list) completely redid the garage; hanging ski racks and bike racks and organizing everything into sensible storage bins. We hung some new racks in the kitchen to store less things on our countertops and I’ve slowly been working on what I want to use them for. Bryan and I built new nightstands for our bedroom (from Ikea) and Bryan also assembled the new dresser/changing table and closet storage unit for the guest bedroom/nursery and I sold the existing armoire in that room. So far I feel great about our progress and in a few weeks and with warmer spring weather our next items to tackle are the office/workout room (Chelsea) and guest room/nursery (both) (pictures still to come for our progress…they are worthy of their own posts).
- Cook 20 meals at home every month.
- Our average for January – March was 22 meals/month and I’m more than pleased with that. We have FareStart a night every week and we have enjoyed a few mystery dinners out as well as a few splurges.
- Revamp my wardrobe, making it easier to pick out outfits by getting rid of what I don’t like and storing away seasonal stuff. Focus on buying quality pieces in the store versus cheap items online.
- I got rid of a lot of clothes…though my problem is always buying more, and now I am moving in the direction where nothing will start to fit.
- Visit my grandaddy.
- Buy a family car.
- Prepare with organization and structure for the SE exam. Prioritize this for the first three and a half months of the year.
- I have literally covered all material and have done 3 full days worth of practice exams and questions. The test is next week but I won’t be taking it. I now have to wait to October, at the earliest, to try and take the test. My priorities will be different by then but I am trying to look at the bright side so I’m also looking at it giving even more time to tab material and study for it come fall.
- Have fun learning guitar.
- Make at least six girls nights happen.
- So far we have successfully had one; making candles. I would have liked to have another official one but pushed those to post-exam. I am trying to organize a group lunch for those of us that work downtown for Seattle Restaurant Week, so I am definitely going to count that as #2.
- Maintain a healthy skin routine.
- Have been doing an okay job with this. Still a work in progress.
- Re-learn our lindy hop choreographed dance from the wedding.
- Pack five picnics somewhere.
- Not sure you can count it as packing but we did pick up Subway sandwiches and brought reading/study material and our picnic backpack and blanket to Discovery Park one Sunday after church when we had great weather and that was a glorious way to spend the afternoon…I even got some color on my cheeks!
- Work through my devotional book and pray nightly with Bryan.
- Reading anything has been tough the past few months with the studying going on. I can’t wait to read more books for fun, for the baby and for #13. I have committed to reading at least the books of the Bible that we are discussing in church each week. Fortunately, we spent two months on Colossians and it is like 10 pages total so that accomplishment was not that great.
- Read ten books for fun or learning.
- Swap reading/music/puzzles for TV one night a week.
- Not too good with this but have worked at limiting social media/phone time.
- Cross stitch something.
- Make at least two recipes from three different cookbooks.
- We have tested out a few dessert recipes that are new for me.
- Travel to visit a friend.
- Dine at five new-to-me restaurants.
- Marine Hardware, Rumba, and Outlier were all new restaurants to us. We have also been to tasting dinners this year that are a splurge and a worthwhile even for us.
So far there has been progress but I think the second quarter holds a lot more hope thanks to potentially having a lot more time on my hands.
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 