In January, I wrote a list of 21 things I wanted to achieve during the year. I have to admit I kinda of forgot about it in the summer, so I thought I'd have a look at what I've accomplished so far and see whether I'd get close to my goal by December 31st.
1. Read 21 books
Things are going pretty well. There definitely a couple home decor, cooking and DIY books here and there in my reading list, as well as easy summer reading that I grabbed in the "Hot title" section of the library before my road trip, but I'm overall happy about how much reading I've done this year.
2. Find a way to treat my parents from afar
I'm still hoping for a reunion if and when the borders open again in November 2021. But a gift idea recently popped into my head and I'm currently working on it.
3. Write 12 letters
Oh this is bad. I wrote 4 of my handcrafted cards in 2020 and only 1 in 2021! Will I catch up before the end of the year. New Year cards maybe?
4. Go on a multiple day hike
I replaced this one with shorter one day hikes. I'm still not sure my body is able to withstand strenuous efforts for long periods of time. I first need to figure out why it is that I severe menstrual cramping when I do HIIT or go for a run. I keep a symptoms diary and will hopefully soon do a thorough health check-up.
5. Host a party in our backyard
We've had a couple pizza parties in our backyard. Not a party-party per se but something that we felt comfortable enough organizing in the midst of the pandemic (and in-between smoky days).
6. Sell stuff
I've sold a bunch of stuff on Poshmark and gave away some stuff through my neighborhood Buy Nothing group. I still have a couple items (a screen, a robot vaccuum, a Kitchen Aid) to list and sell via Craigslist or FB Marketplace. I'm putting it on my list right now...
7. Pay off my credit cards
There have been a couple ups and downs, but I'm happy about where I'm currently at.
8. Watch 12 documentaries and classic movies
Oh this does not look good. I've watched Emily in Paris twice and just started Girlmore Girls again! Also, I've gotten really into following people on Youtube and watching their videos on our projector screen, there's just no time for movies. Octave and I have a hard time wacthing movies together. Maybe we should start hosting movie nights with friends?!
9. Donate blood
Having grown up in France, I am not eligible to donate blood in the US and will most likely not go back to France this year so this will have to wait. If you can donate blood where you are, please do it for me!
10. Re-launch the Zero Waste Switch Challenge
As you may have noticed, the blog has been on the back burner for a couple months, so I definitely did not work on this project. Also, zero waste seems like the last thing on my mind during this pandemic. Maybe next year? You can always sign up for the challenge and be notified when it's relaunched (your email will only be used for this particular challenge, no spamming, pinky promise!).
11. Travel to Hawaii
Bwahaha. This will never happen. Leave Hawaii alone!
12. Go on a yoga retreat
Money, time, pandemic. Also... people. I might simply do another 30-day yoga challenge before the end of the year. Shall I chose November or December?
13. Plan and plant a garden
It happened! And the gardening season is just about over here in Central Oregon. I was also on the board of my local Community Garden this season, so I feel very accomplished!
14. Host a canning party
My gardening experiments have been successful, but not that successful, canning will have to wait. I also am waiting to know that I'll stay in this house (and this country) long enough to make the canning thing make sense.
15. Make jam
There might still be time for this, I was actually talking about this with a friend just last weekend. Who has a great recipe to share?
16. Build a fire
I was definitely not gonna play with fire this summer. Now that it's safe and could be useful to do so, I might experiment in a safe environment.
17. Weave a basket
I've done a lot of DIYing this year, but basket weaving hasn't been one of them, so far...
18. Knit a sweater
Optimistic much?! I did just ordered a beanie and a sweater kit from We Are Knitters. I'm taking things really slow and am making sure I'm not skipping important steps. I've learned a couple stitches and feel confident I'll have a beanie by the end of the year, and maybe a sweater by the end of winter?
19. Take a first-aid or an avalanche course
Covid, timing, price. This has not happened last winter, maybe at the beginning of next year?
20. Make my own chai mix
I like it when I set easy goals for myself. I did it and even wrote an article about it!
21. Make soap
This has been a challenging endeavor and after one failed attempt, I shadowed my friend Em and ended up following her recipe. Blog post coming soon!
So, let's see 7 goals reached, 6 in progress, 2 adapted, 5 not met, and 1 postponed. Wow, that teaches me about letting go of expectations and learning to aim for progress, not perfection!
Have you met any of your goals for this year yet?