Reflections on 2023

2023 was a year of incredible change for our family! We made the painful (to be fair more painful for some of us than others!) decision to leave Texas and move to Maine to start a new adventure. In addition to a whole new state, Kate started high school and got involved with technical theater which does my little inner stage manager heart good. Mia has had a massive developmental leap and it now doing amazing drawings and reading anything she can get her hands on. And Xander has fallen in love with all things snow and winter sports! He and Kate just started ski lessons at a little learn-to-ski area in our town and Xander especially is obsessed. As for me, I fulfilled a lifelong dream and went on safari in southern Africa which vastly exceeded my sky high expectations. 🙂 With that in mind, let’s take a look at the 2023 annual goals.

1. Old Project Life. OK. I’m going to be honest here, very little scrapping happened once we packed up the house in Texas. But, my new scrap/ sewing room is close to set up and I’m hoping to get a ton done in 2024! I did a whopping 5 layouts from old Project Life albums this year.
2. Current Project Life. I did marginally better here in that I made a few layouts at all. I ended the year with 15 layouts done in 2023. So only a bazillion to go.
3. Old Scrapbooks. See above re old Project Life. lol. I got 25 layouts done this year from older albums.
4. Current Scrapbooks. I did 15 layouts? Y’all. I only did 61 total pages in 2023 across old and new Project Life and scrapbooks. I need to do better this year!
5. Lose 30 pounds. I was doing horribly on this one until we moved, but thanks to the cooler temps and lack of a fenced backyard, we are taking the dog on multiple walks a day. So I’m proud to say that I lost 14 pounds this year bringing my grand total up to 59 pounds lost! I’ve officially lost the baby weight! Now if I can just lose the taco weight…
6. Africa. Best trip of my life and I’ve been to some pretty darn cool places. 🙂
7. Hexagons. I’m not done, but I’m getting closer! I’ve started binding it while I quilt it and it’s helping me to see more progress.
8. Try New Things. Oh yeah, you betcha.
9. Crafty Nights. I had a bit of a slump this fall, but I think I’m finally getting my crafty mojo back.
10. Felt. I did make some progress on the advent calendar! It’s still not done, but it is getting closer. 🙂

So now goals for 2024! This year, I kind of just did big categories.

1. Books. I read pretty much every day, but I’ve gotten into the bad habit of just reading trashy romances. My goal this year is to read 12 books from different genres. I’m not talking War and Peace here, but just actual real books that have a plot and character development. Once I finish the book, I’m going to print the cover and make a teeny tiny copy of the book for my dollhouse. I think it will be so fun to add real books to it!
2. Project Life. Here’s the deal. First priority is 2024. Second priority is the second half of 2023- once we arrived in Maine. If I can look at 2021 and 2022 without being sad, I’ll work on them too.
3. Scrapbooks. The plan is the same here, except that I have unfinished scrapbooks going back to 2019. ::sigh:: So I think the main goal will be 2024 and the second half of 2023, but I have got to put 2019 out of its misery…
4. Home Projects. So many fun house projects I want to tackle! Among them, rainbow stairs, painting all the things, built-in lockers for a mudroom area, wallpaper for the dining room, and finishing out the laundry area.
5. Monthly Theme. I’m so excited about this one! I set up a little area for Mia to have a sensory bin and some Montessori trays. Currently, all it has is the (adorable) snowflake themed sensory bin, but I’d love to add some Montessori trays and little activities. Also following under this goal is craft projects for the house. Now that we have space (yay basement!) I want to make a tub for each month and then when I see something cute at the dollar store, I can throw it in the tub. I think I might need to turn this goal into its own blog post, but I’m counting it as a win if I manage to have a singular themed item…
6. Hexagons. Oh boy. I’m taking the kids back to Texas in February for their break and I really want to have the hexagons at least stabilized and bound so that I can bring them down to show my grandmother. It’s doable, but I really need to stay focused on it if I have any hope of finishing.
7. Quilts. Speaking of quilts, I do have a few other quilts that I need to just buckle down and finish- the log cabin, hearts, and the color wheel. Not sure what else but I’m sure I’ll come up with something!
8. Game Night. We are really enjoying game nights in Maine! I’ve always wanted to be a board game family and I feel like the kids are finally at the right stage to play games that are actually fun. (Candyland is not my favorite.) This isn’t a super measurable goal, but I wanted to put it up here so I could continue to make it a focus this year. I know, I’ll say 12 game nights this year. I actually want to make it a weekly thing, but maybe we’ll work our way up to that.
9. New Friends. I’ve got to put myself out there more and make some friends! Maybe I’ll set a goal to go to an event or meeting once a month? I also just turned in my application to start subbing so I’m hoping that gets me out of the house a few days a week.
10. Explore Maine. I’d like to average 1 new place or experience a month.

Should we push on and do January goals? Why not.

1. December 2023 Project Life. I think I have 2 weeks left to do.
2. December 2023 Scrapbook. I need to edit/ print photos and do this. Honestly, I’m probably only going to have 3 or 4 layouts and I’m ok with that.
3. Rainbow Stairs. I was doing some research and I think the best way to approach this is going to be to order a set of vinyl from Etsy. Initially, I was planning to paint them, but by the time I bought 14 different colors of paint, I figured I might as well just order the vinyl. I’m quite sure it will be easier and look better! RaptorDad suggested that we order 1 piece to try it out before we order the whole set and I’d love to get that done this week.
4. Snowflake Theme. The sensory bin is already done! Maybe now I’ll try to make a few Montessori trays? Or a wreath? IDK.
5. Stabilize Hexies. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.
6. Start Subbing. I turned in my application yesterday and I have an interview tomorrow! Eeeppp!
7. Prep for Trip. I need to pack and get organized for our trip in February! It’s coming up soon!
8. Walk Every Day. I was going to put 10K steps a day, but it’s the 3rd and I’m already failing on that one. But you know what? I did manage to go on a walk both days!
9. Paint Bedroom. An alarming number of walls in this house are this awful mauve color and I’m slowing painting over them. Next up is the master bedroom.
10. Thank You Notes. Kate and I still need to write ours and I need to actually mail out Xander and Mia’s. I want to get this done this week!

And now that I’m done with my annual way-too-long blog post, I’m going to post it and get to my to do list for the day. 🙂