January Update: New Year’s Resolutions

At the beginning of January I published my New Year’s Resolutions for 2014. I have decided to revisit the list every month to keep my goals fresh in my mind and hold myself more accountable. I know that if I have to share my progress with you, I will be more likely to get things done!

1) Leave the country – I have not yet left the country, but I have a trip to China scheduled for March!

2) Write at least one post a month in Spanish – So far, I have published two. I wrote a version of my project list in Spanish, Lista de proyectos, and a recap of what we accomplished last year in January, Enero del 2013.

3) Move more – I did not keep exact records of how long each exercise session was. For example, I counted every walk with Kahlua as 15 minutes even though some of them were almost a half hour. I am also pretty sure that there were days that I forgot to record my activity, but I decided that if it was not in my agenda then I would not give myself credit for it. This will keep me from cheating.

So, in January, I walked for 4 hours and 45 minutes, biked for 4 hours and 30 minutes, swam for 30 minutes and did yoga for 8 hours and 45 minutes. This gave me a total of 18 hours and 30 minutes. My goal was to do at least 30 minutes, five days a week. I did way more than that. Yay!

4) Visit one of the last six states on my list – I still have not visited Maine, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Hawaii or Alaska. Boo.

5) “Finish” the kitchen – We are making progress. We removed the old countertops and had templates made for the new ones. This weekend Douglas patched the holes in the wall and the new counters are scheduled to be installed today! You can check back for an update on Wednesday.

6) Take better care of the garden – This will have to wait for spring and summer, but I need to start thinking about seeds. I did harvest seeds last year, but I need more.

7) Do more for Douglas – Douglas says I am doing well, but his tone was not enthusiastic. I can do better!

8) Finish cleaning out and organizing the basement – Nothing has happened in the basement. Need to get in gear down there.

9) Paint all of the trim in the living room and dining room – No trim has been painted. We did get the chaise lounge reupholstered, though, so things are happening in there!

10) “Finish” the dining room – No work has been done in the dining room, and we will probably wait until we finish with the kitchen before we begin.

11) Regrout the tile in the bathroom – This is another project that is on the back burner until the kitchen is done. I made a decision, though. I have been planning to use white grout since that is what is there now and what is more common. However, after deciding to use black grout on the kitchen backsplash, I think that I want to use black in the bathroom as well. What do you think of that idea?

So, progress has been made on the list. I am satisfied with the work I accomplished in January, especially considering that it is a busy time of year for me. I coach swimming in the winter, and that takes up a great deal of my time. The season ends in the second week of February, and I am ready to be done!

Happy Homemaking!