From Resolutions To Challenges

As I explained at the beginning of the month, I'm doing monthly challenges instead of resolutions this year.  January is at its end so it's time to see how it has gone for me.

Overall I am very happy with what I have accomplished.  I've discovered I was a bit ambitious in just how much I can do in a month so I have made adjustments here and there.  And as I explained to Himself, some challenges are to be finished by the end of that month and for some challenges the goal is to get started and continue... perhaps for the rest of my life.

My 'home' challenge was to KonMari the upstairs and our downstairs laundry room.  Got it done!  I was amazed at what I missed from the first go around.  This is one of the challenges that continues after the first month.  February I will finish my studio.  I've already started and am making huge progress.  A big part of that comes from deciding what creative projects I really want to do and enjoy doing.  Stash that doesn't work for those is going away.

For the yard I planned on pruning my lilacs.  They had gotten WAY tall and Himself took down about a third of their height.  I realize I won't have the best flowering this year but I'm OK with that.  And while he had the pruner out, he lowered the crepe myrtle and the hibiscus.

Making a shopping price guide was the kit of the month.  I'm not done with this one because it is pretty labor intensive.  I will be finished by mid-Feb and will show it then.  But so far it is proving rather interesting...

It has been so cold that my "sloth running" has been more like "stone running".  Snow, ice, and temperatures that didn't get above freezing stopped that.  Even the elliptical was a no go... my basement studio where it sits average 48*F.  No thanks.  

A new hair and skin routine didn't get far either.  Kept forgetting.  But earlier reviews of the coconut oil for skin is good.

In the creative challenges, that went a bit slower.  Didn't do a thing with my assemblage projects.  Again, too cold to work in my studio.  The quilting project I got started... the components for the two quilts I'm going to do this year have been gathered and put into a tub each.  And I decided to do a small lap quilt for Himself's auntie in MN.  It's called a "Fidget Quilt" and is a very tactile quilt that calms dementia patients.  That will also be done in a couple weeks and you'll see it then.

My writing challenge was haiku and this was definitely a 'starter' month.  So easy but so complicated too.  I'm working on a piece for an EHC writing contest, the deadline is the end of Feb.

Photos... oh my goodness!

For basic photography I made my first challenge to deal with the photos I've already taken... both on my laptop hard drive AND on my external back-up hard drive.  What a nightmare.  Double...triple... even quadruple mass saves from different times.  It all had to be consolidated and then the duplicates deleted and then deleting of all those photos I just didn't want (like when you take 50 photos of the baby playing with her new toy).  I worked every single day of January on this.  Seriously, I have deleted at least a quarter million photographs.  I have learned a lot in the process.  Not quite done, but I will be by mid month Feb.  This is NOT going to get this way ever again!!!

I finished ~ as in done-stick-a-fork-in-it ~ my photo album from my Mexico trip in 2006.  Journaling is complete and excess photos have been dropped in the trash.  Done!

My photo book on the Scotland 2011 trip is also done.  Blurb has put up a 40% off coupon so I am doing my last proofreading today and hitting 'publish' tomorrow.  (I'm only going to publish when they have a good coupon!)

And finally my bonsai.  I have planned my new bonsai garden for when they wake up in a couple months.  I've cleaned up my tools, taken stock of my pots, and reorganized what I have.  I'm ready for spring!