Friday, August 9, 2013

30 by 30: The Final Results

Okay.  Tomorrow is my 30th birthday.  Where am I on that 30 by 30 list?  Let's see:
  1. Read thirty books off of the list of top 100 banned books.
    • Fahrenheit 451
    • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
    • Catcher in the Rye
    • In the Midnight Kitchen
    • Brave New World
    • Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone
    • Of Mice & Men
    • Their Eyes Were Watching God (in progress)
    • Bottom Line: I did read more overall, but less than 1/3 of my goal for banned books.
  2. Make thirty crafts I have not tried before.  Bonus points if each serves a practical purpose. 
    1. Stencil t-shirts.
    2. Flower barrettes/headbands
    3. Girl's skirt from t-shirt
    4. Tree for stuffed animals for Miles' room
    5. Polka dots for Miles' wall.
    6. Silhouette art for my wall.
    7. Nap sheet and bag for Miles to take to school
    8. Crocheted hats for Samantha
    9. Crocheted headbands for Samantha
    10. Pillowcase dresses for Samantha & my niece
    11. Storage boxes for Miles' toys
    12. Steampunk Jewelry

  3. Choreograph a dance for my children's group.  All by myself.
    1. Finished!  It was performed at the 2012 Renaissance Festival.
    2. Bottom Line: Goal = Accomplished
  4. Take 30,000 pictures. 
    1. 7,000 as of August 2012
    2. Bottom Line: Honestly? I lost count after that.  I doubt I hit that goal, but I have used my camera a lot
  5. Cook or bake 30 dishes I have never made before.
    1. Homemade salsa
    2. Stuffed pork chops
    3. Weeknight chicken & noodles
    4. Chicken Noodle Soup
    5. Indian Chicken
    6. Bottom Line: Um, yeah... 30 new dishes was a little . . . optimistic.
  6. Watch 30 classic movies I've never seen.
    1. Movies?  Who has time for movies.  I think I've seen 5 or 6?
  7. Learn to knit or crochet.
    1. Hand-Knitting: Accomplished.  Not fond of it, but I can do it.
    2. Crocheting: Accomplished.  Multiple baby hats, headbands, and various accessories created.  Crocheted headband sold on Etsy.
    3. Loom-Knitting: In-progress.  Hated it.  Never even finished my first project.
    4. Bottom Line: I did it!  Goal = Accomplished!
  8. Take a dance lesson, or preferably, a dance class.
  9. Take Miles to a new museum/event/activity/experience at least once a month.
    1. August 2011 through March 2012: Don't remember what all we did, but I did keep up.
    2. April 2012 - WonderScope
    3. May 2012 - Floating Lanterns trip planned for Memorial Day weekend
    4. Lost track . . . but pretty sure we did it!
    5. Bottom Line: Goal = (Probably) Accomplished!
  10. Simplify my life by getting rid of things I do not need.
    1. Donated 4 boxes to Goodwill between Dec. 2011 and May 2012
    2. Gave away all maternity clothes after Sam was born.
    3. Still working on selling off/giving away crap, but  I have definitely done what I set out to do.
    4. Bottom Line: Goal = Accomplished
  11. Organize all of our household paperwork, and keep up on it.
    1. Bottom Line: Big.Fat.Fail.
  12. Start my own business.  Even if it's just selling a few craft items online from time to time.
    1. Etsy business established.  Hand-crocheted flowered headband sold, custom made, and delivered.  Positive feedback!
    2. Bottom Line: Accomplished!
  13. Finish illustrating the children's book I wrote in college.
    1. Bottom Line: Nope.  Still not done.
  14. Open a savings account for Miles.
    1. Bottom Line: Still need to do this.  And now, one for Samantha, too.
  15. Send birthday cards to everyone in my immediate circle of family/friends for at least one year.
    1. Bottom Line: Nope.  Not even one. :/
  16. Take Dominic through obedience classes.
  17. Decide if/when I'm going to go back for my Master's degree, and what I'm going to study.
    1. Decision is that I will decide later, when the kids are a little older.
  18. Audition for a musical.
    1. Nope.
  19. Quit my Festival job and become a full-time stay-at-home mom. Find a better balance between work and mommyhood, whether that means quitting my job or not.
    1. Quit the Festival.  Still working on Balance.
  20. Compile my music collection into one place.
    1. In-roads have been made.  Technology is fighting me. Boo.
    2. Bottom Line: Incomplete
  21. Get a digital copy of every important photograph I have, and store them in a safe place.
    1. Hahahahahahaha.  Totally forgot about this...
  22. Finish my digital family tree.
    1. Using Ancestry.com, family tree is now accurate to at least three generations on every side. Not sure when I'll consider it "finished".
  23. Exercise every single day for at least 30 days.
    1. So far, twice a week has been my best record.
  24. Learn at least 30 new signs for use at Special Olympics.
    1. "How many tickets?" - Need refresher.
    2. "Which?" - Need refresher.
    3. "Where is your coach?" - Need to learn.
    4. "Which events are you competing in?" - Need to learn
    5. "What time?" - Need to learn.
    6. Responses to "What time?" - Need to learn.
    7. "Where is your interpreter?" - Need to learn
    8. "She's/He's not here." - Need to learn.
    9. "She's busy with her child(ren)." - Need to learn.
    10. "I don't know much sign language." - Need to learn.
    11. "Do you want:" - Need to learn
    12. "Stuffed animals?" - Need to learn.
    13. "Candy?" - Need refresher.
    14. "Ball?" - Need refresher
    15. "Puzzle?" - Need to learn
    16. "Necklace?" - Need to learn
    17. Bottom Line: Still have a lot of work to do.
  25. Learn to play at least ten new games.
    1. Um. No.  Didn't happen.
  26. Become more involved in the financial planning of our household.
    1. Downloaded an app to help track finances.  It was horrible, and reset to zero at the end of each month.  Trying to find a better one.
    2. Took over household expenses and budgeting.
    3. Bottom Line: Finally!  One I actually accomplished!!!
  27. Set up our wills, and arrange for custody of Miles (and now Samantha), should anything unfortunate happen.
    1. Nope. 
  28. Find a church where my family is comfortable, and become an active member.
    1. Nope.  Tried.  Failed.  Gave up... 
  29. Participate in a flash mob. - DONE!
  30. Contact at least ten of my teachers from elementary, middle, high school, and college, and tell them how they have influenced my life.
    1. Mrs. Alexander - Freshman & Senior College-Bound English
    2. Mrs. Heath - Kindergarten
    3. Mr. Simmons - Middle & High School Gifted
    4. Bottom Line: 3 out of 30.  That's 10%.  Fail. :/
So, where does that leave us? Well, I tried a lot of new things.  I pushed myself.  But in the end, my goals turned out to be a little ambitious.  To be fair, I didn't know we were going to add to our family when I wrote these.  Had I known, I might have cut myself a little slack.

Am I disappointed that I failed so many goals?  A little.  But the goal of this was to make me try things, and I definitely did that.  So, in the end, I consider this a success.  Maybe my 35 by 35 goals will end with better results.  Only time will tell. :)
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