Monthly Goals Update: June 2022

And just like that, it’s July!

Crazy how fast time moves. I’ve still got so much work to do to get us ready for school in mid-August, though we’ve already started doing math (thankfully, that doesn’t need any planning; the curriculum is extremely straightforward and we were able to dive right in). Planning has taken up a lot of my time, but it’s something I’m happy to do, though I wish I didn’t have to do it inside!

I’m still so surprised how well my daughter has taken to being homeschooled. She still doesn’t want to go back to school. Occasionally, she’ll have a moment of missing it (mostly the ‘other kids’ part of it), but 99% of the time, she’s adamant that she doesn’t want to go back and she wants to keep being homeschooled. I never would’ve predicted that. This morning, she’s having an outdoor playdate at a park with a friend from her former school, so she’s really looking forward to that (my husband is taking her; the friend is coming with HER dad, so the guys are having a dude playdate as well, haha).

Anyway, here’s how I did this month. Progress some places, not so much in others. Such is life.

 

Read 100 books.

 

If I don’t get there next month, it’ll be right after. Slower than usual, but that’s par for the course in this season of life. I’m happy that I’ve been able to focus enough to read 83 books this year at all, though. That’s really not a given, the state of the world being what it is.

 

Subgoal: read all the ebooks on my list.

Progress! Down to five ebooks left (and there would have been fewer, but they were all checked out when I last looked). Pretty happy about that!

 

Sew at least one thing.

Nope! No progress on this front.

 

Knit at least one thing.

 

Progress! I *could* stop here; it’s long enough to make for a decent lap blanket, but I would like it to be a little wider, so I’m going to keep going with it for a bit.

 

Crochet one thing.

As I said before, I’m kind of a one-project at a time person. I’ve got plans to make this earwarmer for my daughter, but I’m doing my best to get the blanket finished first. IF the weather gets cold and the blanket is still on the needles, I’ll take a break and whip this up quickly, since it’s only a small project.

 

Work my way through Prayerbook Hebrew the Easy Way.

This is the one thing I really can’t seem to find space for, unfortunately. I *will* get to it, but I’m just not sure when. Hebrew is a tough, tough language, grammatically, so it takes up a lot of mental space when I’m actively working on it, and with everything else I’ve had going on this year, the spoons for this just haven’t been there, as much as I want them to be.

 

Read at least one book in French.

I did make some progress in Le Petit Prince this past month! \o/ I’m now over halfway through the book, so things are looking up. More to come this month!

 

Bonus: write something and get it published.

Zero time for this.

 

Do at least six drawings.

I really hoped I’d have something to show here this far into the year, but come August, I should. We’re going to arrange our school weeks so that Wednesdays are our art and music days (in addition to doing a unit of math first), and I’m planning to do art right along with my daughter.

 

Watch more Karl Johan.

I wish.

 

So, overall, not a bad month. Progress, not perfection and all that.

My son and I are going to head out and go geocaching in a little bit while my husband and daughter hit the park for their playdate. (So long as my body cooperates, that is; I had another migraine yesterday, but thanks to catching it almost immediately, like within a minute of the flashes-of-light starting, and two doses of prescription rescue meds, I was able to keep it decently controlled. I already took a dose of Excedrin Migraine this morning just to ward off anything lurking in the shadows…) It’s a beautiful day out, so I’m sure we’ll have fun. And then I come home and read, and cook, and – ugh – do laundry. So fun!

How are you all doing on your monthly goals?

Monthly Goals Update: May 2022

Another month! Here we are in June. The weather hasn’t quite got the memo that it’s supposed to be warm full-time, so we’ve either been having 90 degrees or high 60’s/low70’s (with a ridiculously cool breeze). I’ve stopped trying to even figure it out.

This month wasn’t the flurry of productivity I’d hoped for near the end, thanks to the Migraine-a-palooza that my body decided to throw, but I think I did okay in some parts. I had been planning on sitting down this past weekend with Le Petit Prince and my Prayerbook Hebrew; instead, I hung out in bed and threw up a few times. NOT quite as fun, but I’ll make up for it!

Here’s how I did this month!

 

Read 100 books.

 

Coming along swimmingly! It’ll be a slower year overall, but that’s okay, too. I’m feeling good about where I’m at in my TBR, and I’m getting a decent amount of reading done each day.

 

Subgoal: read all the ebooks on my list.

Making progress here! I now only have six left. I did remove two that I wasn’t really interested in reading anymore, and my library no longer had one of them available as a kindle book anyway, so that was definitely a sign!

 

Sew at least one thing.

Nothing yet. If I do end up sewing something, I’m going to have to hand-sew it. My son is back home, so using his desk as a sewing table is out, and since I’ve been waiting on my husband to clean up his mess off the kitchen table since December (I WISH I WERE JOKING. I HAVE PHOTOGRAPHIC PROOF), it doesn’t look like there will be a place for my sewing machine, anyway. I’ll have to figure out what I’m doing here…

 

Knit at least one thing.

Progress!

 

This isn’t going to be a full-sized blanket, more like a lap blanket, and it’ll go to my daughter when I’m done (which I’m looking forward to, since I’d like to knit another pair of socks). She doesn’t know this yet, though, so it’ll be a nice surprise for her.

 

Crochet one thing.

I think I’ve made up my mind I’m going to crochet my daughter an ear warmer, likely this one. I’ve got some really plushy yellow yarn that might work well for this, but if not, I have others that will definitely work. I tend to like to focus only on one project at a time, though, so this may continue to be put off until I finish that blanket!

 

Work my way through Prayerbook Hebrew the Easy Way.

LOLOLOLOL not this past month!

 

Read at least one book in French.

As soon as my head starts cooperating and the medication side effects are gone, I’ll be able to dive back into Le Petit Prince again!

 

Bonus: write something and get it published!

There’s a reason this is a bonus…

 

Do at least six drawings.

I haven’t drawn anything yet, but this is coming! My daughter and I decided to switch her schedule around in the fall so she has time for art and music, and so on Wednesdays, we’ll do math, then leave the rest of the day up to art projects and music lessons and gym class (this is what her school’s schedule was during first grade, so we’re going off of that). I enjoyed doing art with her during virtual first grade, so I’m looking forward to participating with her again!

 

Watch more Karl Johan.

Nope.

 

So, despite a crummy end to the month, with back-to-back-to-back migraines, I feel like I’ve made decent progress on these goals. They’ve been in mind, even if I haven’t been physically working at them, and that’s sometimes a huge part of the battle right there. Even knowing what I’m going to crochet gets me that much closer to being able to sit down and whip out the final project.

Wishing you all a wonderful, healthy, safe, and productive June! : )

Monthly Goals update: April 2022

 Welcome to May! The promise of warmer weather is right around the corner. Our temps are sloooooooooowly creeping up; we have a day or two in the 70’s in about a week or so, and more days in the 60’s – which is better than the 40’s and 50’s we’ve been having! We’ve had some Mays when it’s STILL in the 50’s at the end of the month, so I’m trying to not get my hopes up too much, but it’s hard!!!

April was an entirely ridiculous month for getting much  of anything done on my list of goals. Homeschooling just sucks up so much of my time, and then throw in the daily cooking, cleaning, and exercise (which is not helping my back hurt less, but I’m still doing it anyway!), and my time to do anything else is fairly nonexistent. Which is a bummer, but I’m doing the best I can.

Here’s what I mostly didn’t get done in April!

 

Read 100 books.

 

Ten more than last month! Not quite halfway there, but not bad. Could be worse. Ten is a really slow month for me, but slow is the name of the game right now!

 

Subgoal: read all the ebooks on my list.

I did read one ebook this month from my list, so there’s that! Nine more to complete before I knock all of these off the list.

 

Sew at least one thing..

So, no progress on this yet, but I did have a very informative conversation with someone online who was talking about how she learned how to hand-sew, and she does all her sewing like that, even quilting and clothing. This absolutely fascinated me, so I asked her a few questions and she provided me with a list of links and resources, which I immediately bookmarked. I still need to fix my sewing machine, so this appeals to me because of that, but there’s also something lovely about the idea of sitting here in my cozy chair, stitching away. Something to consider!

 

Knit at least one thing.

In progress! Not enough time to work on it, but it’s lovely when I do.

 

 

Crochet one thing.

Not yet! I’ll likely wait until I get done with my blanket to start this (or wait until I’m at a pause point, meaning, I need more scrap yarn and am on the lookout for it on Freecycle).

 

Finish my grandmother’s cross-stitch.

Completed!

 

Work my way through Prayerbook Hebrew the Easy Way.

No progress this month. I’m thinking I’ll get much more done on this during the long summer days out on my porch swing. Little bit of study before I read whatever I’m reading for fun is usually my MO, so hopefully you’ll start seeing more progress in this category by the end of this month or next month!

 

Read at least one book in French.

Nope, not this month. This is also something I’ll work on more out on the swing: a chapter or two of Le Petit Prince before moving on to my regular reading.

 

Bonus: write something and get it published.

LOLOLOLOLOLOL I’ve struggled keeping up with my blogging this month. No progress in this category.

 

Do at least six drawings.

NOPE.

 

Watch more Karl Johan.

Absolutely not.

 

Creeping along and doing my best. I wonder what this list would have looked like if I’d been homeschooling when I wrote it. I just have to keep reminding myself that slow progress is progress, and some things take priority, like ensuring my daughter gets an excellent education (which she is! I’ve been so impressed by her progress. Her counselor asked her this week if she knew the word ‘perspective,’ and she whipped out an excellent definition right away. And just now, she brought up a scenario about evolution to my husband – who is a molecular biologist – that showed me she was very much paying attention to that book we just finished about evolution). I’m at least doing *something* right here!

Happy working towards your goals in May, friends! May (heehee! Pun absolutely intended) we all make excellent progress this month.

Monthly Goals Update: March 2022

 Here we are again, at the start of another new month! I keep having to remind myself that slow progress on my projects is still progress, and I don’t have to get everything done all at once. I’m doing my best, and that’s all anyone can ask for (especially me. No one is harder on me than I am on myself!). Life looks a little different than it did when I made out this list, so I need to adjust accordingly. It’s tough!

Here's where I’m at so far, in terms of my goals for the year.

 

Read 100 books.

 

March wasn’t a great month for reading, unfortunately, but I’m picking the pace up a little right now. I have zero doubt I’ll make this goal for the year, though. Summer and long, lazy days of reading on my backyard swing are coming!!!

 

Subgoal: read all the ebooks on my list.

No progress on this one. I still have the original ten books on my list!

 

Sew at least one thing.

Not yet. I do think I know what’s going on with my sewing machine (I think it’s a problem with one of the spool pins), so that’ll be helpful. Next up will be trying to see if I can fix it or if it needs to see a sewing machine doctor!

 

Knit at least one thing.

In progress! My log cabin blanket is coming along swimmingly!

 

I have other projects in mind here. I want to knit some lightweight produce bags so I can move away from using those plastic bags when I buy produce. I also have a bunch of sock yarn that I bought at a thrift store years ago that I would like to turn into some socks, so I may go back and forth between these projects and the blanket. : )

 

Crochet at least one thing.

Nothing picked out yet.

 

Finish my grandmother’s cross-stitch.

Completed!

  

Work my way through Prayerbook Hebrew the Easy Way.

No progress on this this month; I haven’t made the time to study. Possessive endings are really intimidating to me, so I’ve been putting off studying, but I’ve actually got the book open next to me now!

 

Read at least one book in French.

So, I said when I started this that I was going to read Le Petit Prince and something else, but with homeschooling devouring SO much of my time, I may have to count Le Petit Prince as my one book and consider anything else I manage to squeeze in as gravy. This is one of those ways I’m going to try to be flexible!

No progress on this this month, but I’m going to work on this a bit this afternoon. : )

 

Bonuses: write something and get it published.

LOLOLOLOLOL no writing has been done.

 

Do at least six drawings.

NOPE.

 

Watch more Karl Johan.

Absolutely not.

 

I suppose it’s not as bad as I originally feared! I’m just going to have to give myself some leeway. Progress is being made around here: on Friday, my daughter wrote me a note, and every word was spelled correctly. Her spelling was nowhere near as good two months ago, so I’m absolutely thrilled about the progress she’s making learning at home. If I have to slow my goals and progress down a little so she can grow, I’m happy to do it.

Onward to making progress in April, friends! We can do it! How was your March?

Monthly Goals Update: February 2022

 Here we are friends, two months of 2022 under our belts! How are you doing on those goals and resolutions?

I started the month out strong, and then, as you all know, things changed, as things often do. I now have far less free time on my hands, due to emergency homeschooling my daughter, so my priorities have shifted quite a bit, but I’m still working towards those goals I set- the work is just a little bit slower now, and that’s okay. Slow movement forward is still movement. :)

Here’s some of the progress I’ve made, or haven’t made, as the case may be!

 

Read 100 books.

 

Definitely a slow reading month for me. I count the chapter books my daughter and I read out loud at night, but I’m not counting the (sometimes lengthy!) books we’re reading during our school hours. If I counted those, I’d be done in no time!

 

Subgoal: Read all the ebooks on my list.

Ten ebooks left on my list! I haven’t made as much progress on the list this month as I’d like, since I got trapped under a stack of paper library books, due to my time crunch. Once I’m done with this stack, it’ll be back to the ebooks with me!

 

Sew at least one thing.

I did repair that sheet, but I want to create something. This will necessitate my figuring out what’s wrong with my sewing machine first, which I will do soon.

 

Knit at least one thing.

I finished the two squares for my friend’s memory blankets, and they’ve been shipped off to another friend, who will stitch them all together, but I want to knit something for myself. I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete picked out or cast on yet.

 

Crochet at least one thing.

Nothing picked out yet.

 

Finish my grandmother’s cross-stitch.

So I finished the table runner! And then I dug through the bin all her belongings are in and found the four napkins that go with it, so I’m working on those. One is finished; one is stitched and waiting to be backstitched; two are still waiting for me to finish completely. It’s getting there!

 

Work my way through Prayerbook Hebrew the Easy Way.

 I’ve completed six chapters! I would’ve been through much more if life hadn’t taken its sudden turn, but that’s okay. Slow progress is still progress. There are twenty-one chapters total, so I’m a little less than a third of the way through.

 

Read at least one book in French.

Oof. I haven’t touched my starter book, Le Petit Prince, in weeks. What with school and errands and having to get dinner ready and some days just being exhausted, I haven’t had any time to work on this. I’ll figure it out!

 

Bonuses:

Write something and get it published.

Nothing written yet. I have a few ideas, but haven’t had time to put anything together.

 

Do at least six drawings.

Nope, not yet.

 

Watch more Karl Johan.

HA. Zero time for this.

 

So I guess this month wasn’t *quite* as bad as I thought it was, despite being laid up with two migraines and seeing my daytime hours whittled away to zero. I knit things for a friend; I did two chapters from my Hebrew book; I got *some* reading done, and I worked on my grandmother’s cross-stitch. The sewing machine is at least upstairs, though it seemed to be cranky when I attempted to use it last weekend. I’m going to make it a point to figure out what’s going on with it in March so I can at least get that going!

Hoping to get more Hebrew going in March as well, that’s super important to me to keep up with. It’s definitely not easy, but not all important things are, and that’s okay!

How are you doing with your yearly goals so far?

Monthly Goals Update: January 2022

 We’re one month into 2022, friends! How are we all doing on our New Years goals???

I’m going to make this a monthly post, on or around the 1^st of the month, depending on what day it falls on. If the 1^st falls on a regular posting day for me, I’ll push the monthly goals update a little further back, but I’d like to keep myself accountable for what I’ve set out to do! I have the list here in the original post, and I'll check in, goal-by-goal, each month to see where I'm at! 

Here's where I’m at so far on all the goals I set.

 

Read 100 books.

 

Bit of a slow start for me, but I had quite a few days of no reading at the end of the month, what with the Killer Migraine of Doom, but progress is progress, and I’ll take it! 14/100.

Subgoal: Read all the ebooks on my list.

Twenty-four of the books on the list of books I want to read from my library are ebooks; as of right now, I've read eleven of them, and I'm currently working on another one! Some of these had been on my list long enough that my library no longer owns them as ebooks, but the goal still stands and I’m reading those in paper format, thanks to interlibrary loan.

 

Sew at least one thing.

No progress yet, though my daughter and I did have a discussion about what I might sew, so I have a few ideas!

 

Knit at least one thing.

Currently I’m working on the squares for the memory blankets for the children of my friend who died of cervical cancer. I’m not going to count these as my one item; I’ll eventually find something else that I want to knit.

 

Crochet at least one thing.

Nothing worked on or decided yet.

 

Finish my grandmother’s cross-stitch.

Y’all.

If it hadn’t been for the Killer Migraine of Doom that took me out for so long last week, I would have finished this already! I’m SO close to being done. SO close. The set of grapes pictured above is the final thing that needs to be backstitched, and then the piece will need to be ironed. And then it'll be completed! I'll make a new post when that happens.

 

Work my way through Prayerbook Hebrew the Easy Way.

I’m making good progress. I've completed four chapters so far, and I’ve already noticed that I read quicker and with greater ease than I did before. (Occasionally I can even pick out words that I see online that DON’T have the vowels, which feels huge.) I skipped this week, since Hebrew often makes my brain feel like soup anyway, even without being in a post-migraine stupor, but I’m looking forward to getting back to work on this!

 

Read at least one book in French.

I’m starting off with Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, as kind of my 0.5 book, my trainer book. It’s easier and lighter and I’m very familiar with it. I’m six chapters in (again, skipped this week; French is much easier for me than Hebrew, since I’ve been using it daily since I started learning it at 15, plus my husband is a native speaker, but I’m giving my brain a little get-better vacation) and enjoying it greatly. Still not sure what I’ll read next; I have SO many French books on my shelves, thanks to my mother-in-law!

 

Bonuses:

Write something and get it published.

Haven’t had the chance to write much of anything other than blog posts this year.

 

Do at least six drawings.

Not yet!

 

Watch more Karl Johan.

Nope, not yet!

 

So basically, this month, I did a lot of reading and cross-stitching, but not much else, and that’s okay. My grandmother’s cross-stitch is my longest-running project and thus has been my first priority, and I’m extremely pleased with all the progress I’ve made this month. 

What’s on the docket in February? More reading, obviously; that’s just a given for me. More Hebrew and French as my brain cooperates. I’ll be finishing my knit squares, hopefully quickly, since those need to be sent out by the end of the month. And then we’ll go from there and I’ll maybe start looking for fun knitting and crocheting projects! Despite huddling under a blanket and feeling gross for a lot of days at the end of this month, I’m pleased with the progress I have made. Baby steps are still steps. : )

How are you doing on your yearly goals so far?