Final Update 04.2023: Winter Goals and Bucket List, WOTY

 

Hello dollies!! Wanted to share one final update 04.2023 on I fared on my winter goals, winter bucket list and my WOTY.  Should have written this post about 3 weeks ago.  And I did get it started back then.  But kept thinking if I waited another day or two, I might accomplish one more goal or activity.  Finally decided what I didn’t get to can be bumped to this season’s goals and bucket list.  Will get that post out this week.  If the stars stay aligned and LIFE cooperates.

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WINTER 2023 GOALS

 

As I have mentioned, making seasonal goals works better for me than New Year’s resolutions that I lose track of before the second week of the year.  If I get my goals scribbled onto my goal blackboard in some sort of shorthand, it puts them out where I see them as I begin my day.  Trouble is, this season I wrote them in such small hand that I can hardly read them!!

You might remember that I divided my goals into 2 categories.  Things that are external I categorized under House.  Goals specifically affecting me, my body, my personality I categorized under Home.

Key to My Progress:

• ⏱️ = work on goal underway
• ✔️ = goal met
• ❌ = goal not met

HOUSE

• organize loft after flooring project is finished, purge books – oh, how I love our new flooring.  I purged probably 20 books, taking them to our neighborhood Little Free Library. – ✔️

• purge and organize scrapbooking supplies – bought this new cabinet from Michael’s for paper.  Organized my paper by theme and pattern.  Purged paper I won’t be needing.  Organized embellishments. – ✔️

• clean garage, go through seasonal bins and purge – we have been slowly going through the garage; I am purging holiday decor as I prepare to put it away for the next year. -⏱️underway
• clean kitchen, toss expired food, unused gadgets, drinking glasses I am coming for you – cleaned pantry and cabinets; have ordered several items to organize with; need to purge small, unused appliances, pots and pans, dishes. -⏱️underway
• purge clothes – seriously, using Alison’s guidelines:  I need to take a picture of my empty hangers.  Took 2 laundry baskets full of clothes to Uptown Cheapskate Consignment.  What they didn’t take, I have begun adding to my Poshmark closet.  – ✔️

 Have I worn it in the past year?
 Is it a classic piece that will stay in style?
 Is it still in good condition?
 Do I feel good when I wear this?
 Does it fit?
 Would I buy this again?

• gather things for yard sale, add to my Poshmark closet – added to my Poshmark closet made a sale last week; have begun gathering things for the yard sale. -⏱️work in progress

HOME

• get up early for quiet time 3X a week, finish reading Faith that Moves Mountains by Harris Faulkner; continue using my Prayer Journal for Women: 52 Week Scripture, Devotional & Guided Prayer Journal each week –  have been doing better at this again, funny (sad) how a health scare will do that. I haven’t finished Faith that Moves Mountains but I have been reading it.  And I haven’t missed a week in my prayer journal.  Also, bought a new gratitude journal, The One-Minute Journal.  Told myself I should surely have one minute every night to express my gratitude for all that’s right in my life. -✔️
• meet my Supernatural goal of 4X a week, 140 calories, 25 minutes – added 4 weeks to my streak and 27 sessions since my last post. – ✔️

 

• find time for sit-ups, leg lifts, weights 2X a week – have only done sit-ups and leg lifts once and an arm workout 3 times.  Going to get serious about this tomorrow…ha!!  No, really.  Will punt it to my spring goals. – ❌
• jog on the treadmill 2X a week, 15 minutes a time; try to get back to running 1.5 miles in 15 minutes – running twice a week for 15 minutes/1.5 miles; ran in the “Run for the Fallen” 5K at Ft. Bliss, this week I am adding a third day of running each week and pushing myself to run 1.6 miles.  And while I am bragging, I also met my StepBet challenge and have started another.  Do you StepBet? – ✔️

• work my way through at least 25% of Creative Live “Writing Your Story” with Joyce Maynard – very much enjoying the writing tips Maynard has shared. – ✔️

• listen to The Power of Writing It Down by Allison Fallon on Chirp and work through exercises – working through something Fallon calls the ‘infinity question’ exercise in writing about an experience this past fall…stay tuned, I might share it here. – ✔️

• join church writing group, “Let’s Write” and attend at least 3 meetings – we have attended exactly 5 meetings so far and really look forward to the next one.  The people are very uplifting and encouraging about writing and life. – ✔️

Onto my bucket list activities.

WINTER 2023 BUCKET LIST

 

• “Alice in Wonderland” at El Paso Playhouse – we met Lauren, Lucia and Cami for the play and it was so well done.  This theater does so much on such a meager budget – always impressive. – ✔️

 

• “Cinderella” ballet at Plaza Theater – A day or two before this event I checked for tickets but then we got the news about PC’s cancer and that kind of knocked the breath out of us.  – ❌
• celebrate PC’s birthday on 02.28.2023 and Lucia’s birthday on 03.18.2023 – we have celebrated PC and Lucia’s birthdays in grand style. She had a party at Peter Piper Pizza and then we went home to open presents. Her favorite gift was probably a plush version of her beloved pet kitty Doughnut who died when Cia was 2 years old. – ✔️

 

• McKelligon walk or similar hike – we haven’t hiked or walked our familiar McKelligon Canyon yet this season.  Adding this to my spring bucket list.  – ❌
• winter 2023 photo challenge; share some of the photographs of Tyre Nichols  – well, I didn’t capture photos for all of my prompts but I did enjoy looking for them. Please find some of my photos, here and here.  My final post published this past weekend.  Also wanted to share the photography of Tyre Nichols, a young man who was killed by Memphis (Tennessee) police after a traffic stop early this year.  I was moved by some of his lovely photos of my hometown.  Such a tragic loss of life. – ✔️

Then There’s…

• reading challenge on Goodreads – staying caught up; are we friends on Goodreads? – doing well on this challenge and staying ahead of the game so far.  Of course, I count picture books toward my goals so there’s that!! I have just signed up for the Read 30 Minutes a Day in April Challenge to support St. Jude Children’s Cancer Research Hospital.  – ✔️

 

• scrap Santa Fe, Declan’s birth – finally finished up a 2021 trip to South Padre Island and have printed out pictures of Declan’s birth and his first birthday. But that is as far as I have gotten.  Bumping this to spring. – ❌

• attend Kiwi Lane online new release and scrapbooking party –  oh, girls…the folks at Kiwi Lane introduced the cutest kit, Nature Walk.  I am hoping it will go on sale soon so I can afford it!!  – ✔️
• “Come Read With Me” book club Zoom in honor of 125 members – we are up to 127 members now!!  Just amazing.  Have to think of something to do with the gang on Zoom – ❌

• pub crawl or sample and compare Margaritas at several places – nothing yet but looking forward to this.  Maybe for St. Patrick’s Day? Nope.  We haven’t been in much of a celebratory mood.  Moving this to spring. – ❌
• try 3-4 different restaurants for dessert and/or breakfast – we have tried a new breakfast restaurant, Weck’s and liked it so well that we went been back 2 more times.  Then branched waaaaay out and tried a restaurant that was 27 miles from home.  Black Bear Diner.  Happened to see an old friend there so that made the drive worthwhile.  Food was delicious – sweetest pancakes – big portions but pricey.  This week we tried La Coa for a Mexican-style breakfast. – ✔️

• sample several crockpot meal prep packages from Crockstar Dinner Club – we have enjoyed the chicken pot pie twice and the sausage and tortellini once.  Have a baked potato soup package and their Carribean Jerk chicken yet to try. And about to order some more. – ✔️

And that’s how I wound up with my winter bucket list items.  Didn’t exactly set the world on fire.  Of the 12 activities on my list, I accomplished (to some degree) 7 of them but failed to complete 5.  Just a little over 50%.  Will try to do better on my spring bucket list, where a couple of the activities are going to look quite familiar.

 

2023 WOTY:  CONSISTENT

 

I tried to find a prettier synonym for consistent but none of the words that I liked really meant what I am looking for in my 2023 word of the year. What I hope to accomplish by selecting this word is more consistency in all areas of my life.  To continue to work on going with the flow (flow=WOTY 2022) so that I can consistently write, craft, exercise, eat well = Enjoy Life.

In the past month, I have been most of consistent in my exercising and writing.  Have done pretty well with Supernatural workouts and have been very consistent with my StepBet walking goals.

And have been consistent about my treadmill running.  Although the speed below reads 1.7 mph, I assure you I do jog faster than that.  My treadmill will only go to 6 mph but I run between 5-6 mph most of my run.  Had just slowed the treadmill down to snap this photo.  I promise!!

I have consistently worked on my scrapbooking and a recent craft project.  Have been pretty consistent in my reading and writing.  There’s room for improvement on getting up for quiet time and will continue to work on that. And work on tracking my Weight Watchers points…which I did just now!!  Just wanted you to know I haven’t been a complete slug.

Your Turn

 

Did you set goals for winter, create a winter bucket list or put together some new year resolutions?  If so, how did you do on yours?  Is there anything in particular you are most proud of accomplishing in 2023 so far? I am THRILLED that our pool has been repaired we fought so long and hard to get it fixed.  And we have a shiny (ok, not so shiny) new roof.

Off to blog read, fold laundry, run on the treadmill, fix dinner, take a walk…in the name of consistency!!  Enjoy your week, sweet friends.  Hope to get by to say ‘hi’ to everyone in the next few days.

Hugs and kisses,