June Update – New Year’s Resolutions

It is hard to believe that we are already halfway through the year and five weeks into our summer vacation. I have not accomplished nearly as much as I would have liked to, but that does not mean that I have not made any progress.

Here is where I am on my list.

1) Leave the country – We went to China!!! We were there from Sunday, March 16 until Thursday, March 27. You can read the announcement of our trip, our arrival in China, our trip to the Great Wall, Beijing and the 798 Art District, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven Park, Nanluogu Xiang and the Hutong and the Lama Temple and Natooke. After writing those posts, I decided to fit all of the events in one day per blog post. The posts from our time in Shanghai are by date: March 20, March 21, March 22 and March 23. I stalled a bit, but I will write the last several posts soon.

2) Write at least one post a month in Spanish – I did not write a single one in June, so I am behind on this one. Yet another resolution that I am going to have to make an effort to fulfill. If you can read Spanish, check out my project list, Lista de proyectos, and a recap of what we accomplished last year in January, Enero del 2013, February, Febrero del 2013, March, Marzo del 2013 and April, Abril del 2013.

3) Move more – I did well on this resolution this month. I did one hour of pilates, eight and a quarter hours of yoga, I walked for over eight and a half hours and swam for a half hour. This gave me a total of eighteen hours and fifteen minutes of official exercise. I also spend countless hours in the garden and working around the house. I did not spend hardly any time watching television or sitting, so I am proud of my progress towards completing this goal. Now, I only wish that I could lose some weight.

This is Boone, one of my walking partners in Oklahoma.

4) Visit one of the last six states on my list – We have been to Florida, Texas and Illinois so far this year, and in June I spent a week in Oklahoma and a week in Maryland. There are still no concrete plans to visit  Maine, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Hawaii or Alaska. A trip will most likely occur in August if it happens at all. I am starting to lose hope that I will accomplish this.

Here are some of the friends I visited in Oklahoma.

5) “Finish” the kitchen – We finally had the outlets rewired!!!!! Progress has resumed! I am hopeful that the backsplash will happen soon.

Before we ran into a problem with the electrical, we had removed the old countertops and had templates made for the new ones. We had a new countertop installed, and I refinished the cabinets and hardware,  organized the cupboards, and installed under sink tip-out drawers.

6) Take better care of the garden – The first steps were taken in April to prepare the garden for summer.  Then, I planted the garden when my mother came to visit for Mother’s Day. While I was in Oklahoma in June, my loving husband built me a trellis for the green beans and sweet peas. I am proud to announce that the garden is alive and kicking. We are just beginning to eat the rewards of all our hard work, and they taste good!

7) Do more for Douglas – I took a Facebook quiz to tell me what kind of wife I am. It informed me that I am a “Peacemaker.”You’re the “yes” woman. Sweet, supportive, gentle, and very easy to get along with. Because of your personality you may be misunderstood, but once people get to know you, they realize how lovely and fascinating you really are. You’re perhaps the greatest supporter of leaders, and are very loyal and committed. You love your life and know that others envy you.” It is an online quiz, which reached it’s conclusion based on the answers to a few simple questions, so it must be true, right? Douglas is lucky to have me, since I am so sweet, supportive, gentle and VERY easy to get along with. I ignored the fact that he laughed when I read him the results.

Also, I brought him beer while he was out digging up weeds in the yard and another one right after he arrived from his two triathlons in one weekend. He pronounced me the best wife ever. Both times. I must be doing something right, or he is just an alcoholic.

8) Finish cleaning out and organizing the basement – I made some progress down there in early May, but nothing was done in June. I am happy to announce that we have been working down there this week and will have more to announce next month.

9) Paint all of the trim in the living room and dining room – This will hopefully happen sometime this summer, but it has not started yet.

10) “Finish” the dining room – Still nothing.

11) Regrout the tile in the bathroom – This is on the docket for the next project after we tile the backsplash in the kitchen. It has not yet begun.

Although I had scheduled too many projects for this summer, I have spent more time traveling than I have actually working. In the long run, I believe that I will be happier if I travel more and work less, so I do not feel too badly about postponing these projects. If they do not get finished this year, than we will just have to do them next year. We are not going anywhere for a while. I hope that you are doing better than I with your New Year’s Resolutions!

Happy Homemaking!