Monthly Goal Check-in (January)

January flew by but I attacked my goals with a vengeance! I actually crossed off 3 of my 18 goals and made great great progress on a few of them. I'm quite happy with how I've started off 2018 in relation to my goals. 

2018 Goals

1. Workout 218 times in 2018 - I worked out 23 in January. I hit January hard but I did so because we are headed to Australia in February and while I plan to keep working out, I know that travel + exercise can sometimes be hard. 
2. Go Skiing - I went skiing three times and it was AMAZING! My muscles remembered how to do it after a long 15 year break and I'm hooked! 
3. Complete "The Artist's Way" - I started this goal on January 1 and have been doing morning pages, weekly tasks and Artist Dates with my Facebook support group. I have 8 more weeks to go and I'm excited about it. 
4. Learn Hand Lettering - I sorta started this goal. I got a handlettering kit and played around with the pens but decided to put it aside for now. I want to take time to practice and now was not that time. 
5. Paint the Bathroom - I'll do this one later. I have the paint and supplies. I just need some time. 
6. Find a picture for the oval frame in my bedroom - I completed this goal! This was an easy one once I sat down and reviewed photo choices. I printed out the ones I liked on regular paper and then showed them to Scott. He helped me make the final selection and I printed it out on photo paper before sticking it in the frame. and DONE! 
7. Replace the sad Rhododendron plant with a Dwarf Japanese Maple (or another plant) - This goal needs to wait until late summer or fall so I won't even be thinking about it until then.
8. Build (or buy) a trellis for my vegetable garden - This is also a later goal. I'll do this one in May to prepare for my summer garden. 
9. Buy a new dishwasher - I also completed this one and it was not as easy as I had hoped. Our old dishwasher was leaking and warped our cabinets which totally sucks. We do plan to remodel the kitchen but not for a few years. Handwashing dishes for a few years did not sound appealing to Scott or I. My brother has been working hard to help us fix our problem. For now the dishwasher is installed and working but is not completely in place. My brother needs to rebuild part of the cabinet and then properly install the dishwasher. I'm, however, counting this as done because my goal was to buy a new dishwasher and I did that. 
10. Embrace Minimalism by doing the Minimalist Game for an entire month - I'm planning on doing this goal in March or April
11. Reduce our food bill and food waste - I've been working hard on this goal. I noticed that my overall grocery shopping isn't terrible but the little add-ons, like meal delivery services, produce boxes and milk delivery add up. I've been more aware of them and only buying meal deliveries when it absolutely makes sense. I've also been trying to eat more leftovers for my lunches to reduce food waste. I tend to make enough dinner for 5 people thinking I'll have it for lunch and then I go out to lunch or eat something else and waste the leftovers. 
12. Read War and Peace, Moby Dick, A Tale of Two Cities and The Grapes of Wrath - I have not yet started this goal but plan to bring Moby Dick on vacation with me. We have a long plane ride there and back so it might be perfect reading. 
13. Read the Bible - I've been reading the Bible daily and slowly making my way through it. This is a year-long goal and it only takes about 10 minutes a day. I've been doing my best to do this during quiet moments when everyone is gone so I can concentrate. There is a lot of information packed into each sentence so I read them slowly. I've been intrigued about some of the stories. For instance, most of us know about Lot's Wife turning to salt when she looked back on Sodom. I always thought it was a long story. It is literally a line - "But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." I am going to assume since I have not done any research that this story is mentioned in other religious texts and expanded on in them because this story is so much bigger in my head than this one little line. 
14. Knit Nanoo - I started Nanoo and hope to get a lot knitted on my upcoming flights. 
15. Knit 12 hats for charity - I started one hat and need to get two done this month. 
16. Repeat Goal: Complete TKGA Master Knitting Level I by March 15th. - I plan to start this when we are back from vacation.
17. Repeat Goal: Finish my Miter Square Blanket  - Plugging away
18. Repeat Goal: Catch up on my yearly photo books of the girls - Making slow but sure progress!