Thursday, January 22, 2015

2014 ROUNDUP + 2015


the start of 2015 was uneventful. as most of my new years have been. the most eventful one was the night of 2012 when we planned to tell our chicago friends that we were having a baby, but then at the stroke of midnight a champagne bottle was severed as well as a thumb, so i did what any sober pregnant girl would do... i took my friend to northwestern and spent the night watching the glories of nye injuries unravel before my eyes. as well as try to explain to all my friends that i was indeed pregnant and it was not a joke. now that was eventful. but this year was most definitely uneventful.

i was sleeping at mignight, made a bottle at one, and tended to two sick kids on and off throughout the start of 2015. and yet, with a completely-un-epic start, the beginning of 2015 has actually been very good to me.

last year, around this time, i thought about what i wanted to accomplish. you can find that post here. i thought it would be fun to look back and roundup the past year. so here we go...


1) Budget like it's my job. check. aaron and i have a pretty solid budget going on. it took a while to really find something that worked for us/me. cash does not work for me. writing everything down- not helpful. keeping receipts in a pile- nope. budgeting for lower-than-actual income on a pre-made spreadsheet- ding ding ding! aaron and i have worked it out so i can get out of the house and sit at the library and go through things a couple times a month so we stay on track. we've been able to stick with it and be in the green for the most part- and that feels really good.

2) Learn how to cook a whole chicken and use all it's parts. check. i follow this recipe and then make stock. i buy two small chickens every two months from bjs and it works out wonderfully.

3) Spend more time reading than watching tv. i'm going to say that i failed at this one. i think i did read a lot more than i have in the past few years, but i've also watched a lot of tv. more tv than books that's for sure. oh well.

4) Make homemade meals and snacks. check. i've made a big change in our house (much to aaron's chagrin). i've almost 100% stopped buying premade snacks, processed food, and milk products. we've really been eating very well and being very creative in the kitchen. my whole way of food shopping and meal planning is different than it's ever been. and it's different because i've finally figured out what works for me. yay! i'll probably post about this later.

5) Buy less. Buy used. Save more. Live with less. check. check. check. check. the past few months i've overhauled our house. purged of almost everything we don't need. i went through books, closets, kitchenwares, the bathroom- and it feels good. not that i couldn't breathe before, but i feel really light. happy even. we have a place for everything- almost. i'm wondering if it's always a constant dance with the things you own...probably.


overall- i kicked butt in 2014. so, now that it's 2015 i've been trying to think of my five things. here's what i came up with:


1) a fitness challenge every month. it's the easiest way for me to get a quick workout in. and it starts out easy and gradually gets harder. i've been doing a challenge for the past few months and it's fun. and i try to keep up but i'm not going to beat myself up about missing days. january is straight up squats. february is squat and push-ups. that's all i have officially planned and written down.

2) learn to knit. i'm already signed up for a 101 class at joann fabrics at the end of the month. i'm really excited about this. i can't remember the last time i learned a new art. hopefully i'll get the hang of it quickly. i'm not a very spatial person, so i can't really imagine myself making something by knitting! we'll see how it goes.

3) read more. i'm intentionally making this one vague. i just want to read more. i don't want to read certain books. i don't want a number challenge. i just want to try to remember to stay in the "oh, yeah... i do love reading" mindset. currently reading: wild by cheryl strayed. on deck: love does by bob goff

4) be creative. i'm really enjoying having a shop. i love the creative mess it leaves me in. i love all the ideas floating in my head becoming realities. i love making things. i just love it. it leaves me the best kind of tired at the end of the day. i don't know where the shop will go in 2015, but i just want to keep doing what i love.

5) take a break. i think an accurate description of myself would be a chicken with it's head cut off. i'm amazing at getting things done. at time management. at doing. but what i'm the absolute worst at is relaxing and being and sitting and not doing. i'm not sure what this last one means completely. because i do think i'm very good at being in the moment and appreciating the little things and stuff like that. but my mind thinks it has to be continuously busy and it's just silly. i need to slow down every once in a while. more than that. i need to rest. rest more and rest often.

so there's 2015 for me. what do you want to do differently this year?

1 comment:

  1. I love the recap and the new guidelines for 2015. I want to join you in #1-4. I'm already pretty good at #5 though ;)

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