Goals for 2014

This year, rather than writing down a list of completely unrealistic New Year's resolutions for myself, Andrew and I sat down and compiled a list of things that we wanted to complete this year. Most of these things were goals that we already had for ourselves and plans that we were already making, which makes them seem far more achievable. Typically the resolutions that I set for myself are just difficult to accomplish for a variety of reasons. For one thing, they are often written in a book and then forgotten. For another thing, I often have too many highly specific goals that end up being very far-fetched and unrealistic for me to accomplish. As an example, I present my resolutions for the year 2010 (my senior year of high school):

*learn ukulele
*write in journal at least 3 times a week
*blog with every journal entry
*make one more wonderful friend
*see mountains
*become less (openly) boy crazy
*buy an energy drink
*develop a reputation at college
*ask an amazing guy to prom
*listen to more music
*attend more concerts!!!

Of course, some of these are totally achievable, like buy an energy drink (which I didn't actually accomplish, and still have not accomplished to this day...), but for real...some of those things are plain silly. Of course, this was a completely different time in my life, so that is part of the reason that it all looks a little silly. Looking past that though, and looking at what huge changes I wanted to make to my life, to myself, to my social status. I was a little optimistic. 

Because of my tendency to make lists like this around New Years, I have actually avoided making resolutions for several years now. I know that once I start thinking about what I want to change about myself and where I want to be in a year, I will become far too carried-away with things and begin imagining my life in a year as a completely fairy tale place, where I am this perfect, interesting, healthy, productive person. 
Plus, I usually abandon these resolutions after about a month, so that has made me less inclined to participate in this New Years tradition of late. 

This year however, like I said, Andrew and I sat down and composed a list of very achievable things that we were already planning on doing this year. And now, mid-February, we're still slowly working toward achieving our 2014 goals with no sign of abandoning them yet. 

The first thing that we decided to do as a way of motivating ourselves to accomplish our goals was to make something listing all of our goals, something that we could hang up and that we could check off the things as we go. 
Here's what that looks like: 

Since you probably can't read them, the goals go as follows:

-Andrew would like to learn Greek. Not necessarily fluent Greek, but learn some Greek nonetheless. 

           *accomplished so far: alphabet flashcards have been made and almost completely memorized. 

-Plant a garden

           *accomplished so far: permission to use the backyard; rough plan of what we want to plant

-Make Planet Fitness membership worthwhile

           *accomplished so far: Andrew has to go 10 times a month to get a reimbursement from work; I try to go 3 times a week. 

-Teacher Stuff: licensing by end of March and apply to jobs in April.

            *accomplished so far: found a site with study materials for the test; have the money to pay for the test when I'm ready; have plans to get together and study with a friend in the next week or so.

-Make more creative things (like beer and fancy DIY projects)

            *accomplished so far: plans to get beer supplies and make beer with dad; a few minor crafty projects have been made

-Read at least 5 books

             *accomplished so far: Andrew's almost done with one; I'm working on three different books at the same time. 

-Before May (when the baby's born): Go to IKEA one more time and visit Marcus

             *accomplished so far: we'll go to IKEA after the shower, but I do have a list compiled of things that I would like to purchase there; we have potential dates for when we will be visiting Marcus, and we will be requesting off work soon.

-Andrew wants to become a skilled barista

             *accomplished so far: I don't know. Ask him...

-Make our house a home

             *accomplished so far: more and more decorating! Here are some pictures of our recent projects:

The little art display happening in our living room. I would like to add more things to it in time. 

Icons are finally hung up!

Cafe lights strung across our ugly fluorescent lights.  

Hung up some stuff in the bedroom. Still a work in progress though. 

And there you have it! Achievable goals are so nice. 

Lazy Days

it is my understanding that when many women are 6 months pregnant, they spend a good amount of time readying themselves for the baby. i'm sure there are a great many lists out there of things that all mothers should do before their babies are born.
i have a list of things that need done before the baby is born. somewhere. and yeah, there is a lot to think about and get done. my husband and i have found, however, that it has been difficult to get our act together. whenever we have a day off together, we make grand plans about what we will accomplish, then we may sleep in, or do something else that throws everything off. we will often spend the rest of these days doing nothing but complaining about how unproductive we are.
today was no different. we accidentally woke up late, but we got up and immediately did what we had to do to get our day started. by the time we had digested our breakfasts and gone to workout though, it was already 1pm. we spent the next hour and a half groaning about how lazy and useless we are, and how annoyed we are with ourselves.
but then it hit 3pm, and i think both of us just came to grips with what our day had been. yes, we hadn't accomplished anything off of our long list of things to do, but we had spent the day reading, blogging, listening to music, watching doctor who and most of all, just being with each other. talking, laughing and enjoying one another's company.
and then it occurred to me that this is something that the two of us will likely not experience often once the baby is born. once i realized that, this time became precious. now we are just sitting, enjoying music and writing our own respective blog posts. soon we will meander into the kitchen to prepare dinner, and we will probably spend the evening watching the opening ceremony of the olympics. and i will love every second of it.

time is so precious. as i look around at our cluttered living room and contemplate our extensive list of to-dos, it is hard to not become overwhelmed by everything. it's nice to step back every once in a while and realize that right now, this very moment...is the most important. this moment of contentment and peace. always looking at what needs done for the future (whether that future is tomorrow or in May) often causes us to lose sight of the present.
so i am happily in my pajamas at 5pm, and i will not let the lists bother me any more tonight. maybe i'll get something done tomorrow.