Since all of 2010 was lived out on this blog, it's much easier to look back and see what we accomplished here at An Oregon Cottage, what we had hoped to accomplish, and what still needs to be considered as goals for the new year.
One thing I've learned above all else? The writing-it-down part is the easy part. Actually completing the goals? That's harder.*blush*
Here's the recap from 2010:
We had some financial goals of paying off garage debt, saving for a newer used car, and refining our budget that we've had some success with:
- We've lowered our debt, but still need to step up the pace this year.
- Our oldest used car died, we were given another old car that our son totaled a few months later (really just a fender-bender, but this car couldn't handle it!), but allowed us to save enough for a used 2001 sedan. We're just excited to have our first car that was made after 2000!
- Using a computerized spreadsheet for our budget is now a habit for us and so much easier to keep track of things and save for various items. We don't know why it took us so long to get on the bandwagon!
Sort of related to financial is the area of food:
- We made more changes toward eating only real food (the holdouts? Dark chocolate M&Ms, and Doritos- although we're down to just a few times a year for the Doritos, which Brian thinks goes hand-in-hand with football!). My biggest success has been keeping my sourdough starter alive for more than 8 months and using it to make the best waffles ever, and even some serious bread...after a couple of failures.
- I made my first bulk purchase through Azure Standard. Hmmm...not sure about it, as I went over my food budget that month. I'll probably only order a few times a year. Also tried Trader Joe's again- it's still just too expensive for me, and too tempting- I'm always coming home with lemon curd and those yummy sesame cashews, which are definitely not needs...
- Chickens and pigs are not a reality....yet.
I actually accomplished the goals I had for the blog, mainly because they weren't all that lofty.*smile* But, oh, do I have plans for the future!
Here was the shocking part for me looking back at the goals we had for house projects in 2010:
We did not accomplish any of them!!
Excuse me?
What about our son's Extreme Room Makeover?
Finally finishing our year-and-a-half-old Master Bath Remodel with this Dresser-Turned-Vanity?
Playing fair with the kids by giving our daughter her own bedroom makeover?
Both the kid's makeovers, by the way, included the brown-paper DIY flooring option detailed in this how-to video that was by far our most popular post and video of the year- and it's also slated to be featured in a magazine in the coming year- wahoo!
And finishing the year with a whole-house exterior paint job?
So- I guess I picked the wrong things for our "to-do list" last January, lol. While we did accomplish these things I listed above, we did not:
- replace the grody living room carpet
- or the replace doubly grody kitchen counters
- and we continued to walk on our crumbling back deck- or I should say walk around all the holes and boards covering the holes.
- And since I'm pretty much dreading refinishing the existing wood floors, I'm sorta OK this didn't happen!
But as I stated last year- goals are just something to aim for, not something to fail at like resolutions. So no resolutions here for next year- just things we'd like to see happen.
Maybe.
So tune in tomorrow for some new goals (hmmm, I'm sensing that you will be able to guess what a few of them will be...) for the new year.
And I'd love to hear how you did with your goals last year!
