Looking ahead (again)!

A while ago, I posted an entry about looking ahead to 2014.  Given how much I blew the end of this year, I'd like to take a moment to look at that list again, edit, remove and add some things in preparation for the New Year.

First, here's a list I posted of some items I wanted to buy before the year was up:

• Mattress Done!
• Box spring Done!
• Four pillows Done!
• A new sheet and comforter set Done!
• A digital camera
• Laptop Done!
• TV
• Cat tree

Not too bad.  I already know which camera I want, but it's particularly pricey, so I think I'm going to wait until after the holiday season to purchase it.  I also have my eye on a cat tree, but I'm concerned about the materials being too flimsy.  Might just have to make one myself.  Aaron and I decided against the TV this year.

Revisiting my 2014 list:

Become an active participant in the KC Pagan Community (spiritual).

Attempt to attend all sabbat rituals led by Lushede Grove.

Attend at least four Coffee Covens.

Attend at least two Mystic Treasures classes.

Get my own health insurance, either through Aaron or myself. (health/financial). Done!

Begin looking into investing money and retirement options as a freelancing illustrator (financial/career).

Buy a dining room table (home/financial).

Begin thrift shopping again and update Thrifty Difty (personal).

Make an effort for a weekly post.

Begin a balcony/indoor garden growing the following (personal/health/spiritual).

Herbs: Basil, bay, mint, sage.

Vegetables: Cucumber, carrots, green onion, leaf lettuce, tomato, spinach.

Fruit: Blueberries, lemon tree.

Other: Aloe, garlic. 

Crossed out ones are already started!

Buy our first tent so we can camp more often (relationship/financial).

Swap all of our storage items and memory boxes from cardboard to tupperware and reorganize (home).

Be able to speak basic Spanish again by taking two courses at the local community college (knowledge).

Spring: Elementary Spanish 1

Fall: Elementary Spanish 2, Latin American Humanities.

Continue in 2015 by taking Intermediate Spanish 1 & 2, and interpreting courses. 

Husband MAY be getting Rosetta Stone from his job because of their connection with Spain - in which case, I won't need to take the courses at MCCKC.

Learn how to swim (health).

Attend one convention related to my career (career).

Get a set of armchairs (home/financial).

Maintain savings and add an additional 20% (financial).

Complete a Wreck This Journal (personal).

Pay off 1/4th of Aaron's student loans, starting with the highest interest (financial).

Lowered from 1/3rd to assure attainability.

Finish weight loss adventure by June and begin maintenance (health).

Complete and maintain budget for 2014 (financial).

See an endocrinologist for my thyroid condition (health).

Have monthly girls' nights with my friends (relationship).

Do 30 minutes to an hour of quick caricatures three times a week to update my caricaturing skills. (career).

All of these goals seemed like a lot to take in.  If I have this many goals, was 2013 so bad?  I decided to arrange them visually like I did last year.  For example, here is last year's 2013 Goal Sheet:

So, drum roll please!  Here's 2014's visual goal sheet:

Again with the loading weird on the table's borders.  Strange!

Here, I get a clear vision of the changes I've made over 2013.  Five of my eight areas are improved this year, starting off at percentages higher than 2013.  That means I'm happier with those areas than I was in December 2012.  Boom!

For home, to be fair, the single "organization" goal of last year was a HUGE feat.  Much bigger than the mere 12% I gave it.  In addition, if our financial position wasn't better than last year, two of those goals wouldn't even exist.  So I consider home to be relatively equal.  

On relationships, I definitely think I neglected some of that for other goals this year.  It was necessary, but I miss being more social.  I'm keeping monthly date nights and adding monthly girls' nights.  In 2012, I had weekly girls' nights.  I miss them deeply.  I want to try starting off with monthly and see where it goes.  In addition to that, as with home, one of the goals also involves our finances and wouldn't exist if things hadn't changed in 2013.  Besides, that tent will only add to the prior - mine and Aaron's monthly date nights.

Finally, spiritual hashes out to be relatively equal.  I left off volunteering from last year since I now regularly do that and don't feel the need to track it.  I swapped it for my desire to become more active in the community.  I've already reached out and started attending Lushede Grove rituals, so I'm on the right path!

In the end, only one subject area "suffered" this year, dropping by 25%.  Even keeping the percentages as they are, I upped my "general happiness number" (or however you want to consider it) by 100 points.  That's an average of one shaded block an area from last year.  Not too bad!  Not bad at all!

Eventually, I'd like to get to a point where I really only need two things per area, making 16 goals a year.  That, to me, would create "personal happiness maintenance."  It's kind of like weight maintenance, only sweeter.

With that, I need to get my rear in bed for volunteer service tomorrow.  However, writing this entry has made me very hopeful for 2014.

LAST 2013 Check List!

December 2013 GOALS

Month is currently 7% over.
Overall: 5% complete.

CAREER - 14% Complete

Hit target number of monthly illustrations. - 18% complete.
Number illustrations completed - 0% complete.

Make target income for the month. - 18% complete.
Correct income shortcomings from the scleritis incident. - 18% complete.

Some notes:  Surprisingly, my "income shortcomings" are not that short!  I technically don't even have to make my target income for this month to make my target income for the year.  Gigs were good this fall

FINANCIAL - 6% Complete

Create new budget and financial goals based on current bills and new job. - 0% complete.
Make target income for the month. - 18% complete.

Keep budget. - 0% complete.
Some notes: Aaron and I need to completely re-evaluate our budget and 6-month savings target.  That will happen sometime this week.

HEALTH - 4% Complete

Continue taking thyroid meds. - 7% complete.
Lose at least 3 pounds by getting back on the diet. - 0% complete.

Some notes: Losing all the weight I wanted to lose this year is not going to happen.  I gained most of it back when I was laid up and unable to do anything.  Still, I'm determined to not make this year a total waste there.

HOME - 0% Complete

Reorganize final storage closet. - 0% complete.
Some notes: This is it.  Organize this and we are fully organized!  I'm sad I never got this far in the past few months.  I probably could have done this without 20/20 vision.  Nonetheless, here it is.

KNOWLEDGE - 2% Complete

Continue taking thyroid meds. - 7% complete.

Continue taking supplements. - 0% complete.

Continue daily mental exercises. - 0% complete.
Read one book. - 0% complete.

Some notes:  I even have the book I want to read this month selected!

PERSONAL - 2% Complete

Continue taking thyroid meds. - 7% complete.

Meditate three times. - 0% complete.

Lose at least 3 pounds. - 0% complete.

Adhere to my planner schedule. - 0% complete.

RELATIONSHIP - 0% Complete

Do one date night. - 0% complete.
Some notes: Need to choose a date night for the month.

SPIRITUAL - 10% Complete

Meditate three times. - 0% complete.
Volunteer for T.A.R.A. for 5 hours this month. - 0% complete.
Volunteer for ESFOA for 2 hours this month. - 0% complete.
Coordinate the COT Yule event. - 50% complete.
Attend Lushede Grove's Yule event. - 0% complete.
Some notes: Nothing new here.

Going for the last hurrah.

It's so easy to neglect this blog.  I hate it, but I pander to my multi-hundred followers blog far more than I do to a blog that only has two.  What can I say? I'm a crowd-pleaser.

November didn't fair very well either.  I got the official release from my ophthalmologist during mid-November.  The scleritis is finally clear!  I spent the rest of November trying to catch up on work and sink back into some semblance of a normal life.  But even there lay a cornucopia of obstacles.  The last time I knew normality, we lived in an entirely different place.  Everything has changed, some good and some bad. 

The new apartment proved to be difficult, between a bat sneaking in through the flue in the middle of the night to a leak that sprung over our new bed and even a bug infestation thanks to our neighbors. I've been stressed to the extreme.  I'm fairly certain I've made enemies of all our neighbors from turning everything in, but I cannot stand to be woken up at 3 AM to cigarette smoke from someone puffing away in the hallway (I have asthma, dammit!) or feeling my chair vibrate every Sunday from the football game (seriously, things were falling off our mantle).  Things are slowly mellowing down on that front, but I must say I've never had so many problems with a single apartment complex in my entire life.

Not all of it has been bad.  Caricature gigs picked up significantly this fall.  I'm used to being booked every weekend, but I finally hit multiple times a day every weekend.  It was exciting!

We also added a new fuzzy baby to our pack - a little abandoned kitten whom we named Apollo.  We had noticed a mom and four kittens nesting in an apartment in our complex.  I think the residents finally kicked them out.  One night, we saw the mom on the railing of the walkway in front of their building.  The next morning, we heard desperate meows from under the same walkway.  There was little Apollo stuck in the mud and scared.  Mama cat and siblings were nowhere to be found.

He's a sweetheart and a bit of a handful, but as a volunteer Cat Caregiver with TARA, he's still the most laid-back kitten I've met.  He fits in very well with our other fuzzy babies too!

So between a pick-up in work and trying to play catch up after my scleritis incident, and the apartment, our new kitten and the holidays, I simply didn't have time to do anything.

I know, I know, it's an excuse.  That's what I always tell myself when I try to explain why I couldn't get around to exercising or cleaning.  But it's the best explanation I've got.

So today is December 2nd, two days into the last month of 2013.  I'm still determined to try to make 2013 semi-successful.  Expect another post within a few minutes outlining my final goals for the year!