2013 projects and goals

I did some refining and completing on the original goals post I’d written on New Year’s Eve. I guess I’d like to make my first goal to stay out of the hospital except for lab work! That could also be something out of my control, so I’m not making it a goal. One thing I was sad to learn when I was in “the joint” was that there are some bad levels showing on my liver panel. What that means is it may be a side effect of Gilenya, what I call my miracle drug that I’d knock off a liquor store to keep taking. I’ll be getting full blood work, including liver panel, done at the end of this week or beginning of next and my regular doctor and my neurologist in Cleveland will get the results, They said if the abnormalities weren’t just caused by the virus I had, I’ll need to switch my MS meds. I’ll deal, but it’ll mean I have to take shots instead of pills and pray it makes me feel as good. Shoot me a good thought or prayer that it was just the virus!

But let’s get on to things I can control.


Projects and Goals for 2013

"There is no happiness except in the realization 

that we have accomplished something."
Henry Ford

Organizing project:

One thing that blue end of 2012 taught me is that I need to redefine realistic in my planning! My biggest failure was the White Tornado Project. I accept that the project failed, not me. I am just not capable of doing the physical moving to reclaim storage areas in the house as livable rooms. And the truth is we weren’t using them as rooms so we weren’t missing anything.

For 2013 I am NOT putting that project back in the plan. David and I agreed that we need to reorganize some space in the kitchen/annex areas to make it more usable and free up space and that is the only organizing and fix-up project I have planned for the year. We have 2 very full and unused storage rooms and we’ll continue to have 2 storage rooms. I’m okay with that; I’m giving up one idea to help insure the success of a better one!


Blog goals:

I did well in committing myself to comments on other blogs and not having too many long stretches of time that I didn’t blog on Chronicles of Nani. I did not do so well with my desire to offer a scrapbook freebie every month and because I have a growing backlog of scrapbooking to catch up, I won't repeat that goal for this year either. I’ll offer a freebie when I can and I am inspired to do so. I am planning on offering a small non-scrapbook giveaway when I reach 100 blogger followers. I’m not going to make a huge deal about that until it happens. I want “my regulars” to visit because they enjoy my content and style, not just to try to win a prize. Besides, if I reach a number and then people unfollow me, well, what was I celebrating anyway, right?

I’m also going to commit some time early in the year to restoring Davlicious Recipes. I haven’t replaced the lost photos from the great Google Plus error and I want to bring it back to life and start adding new recipes. In keeping up with the “January Detox” that will include some simple and healthy recipes that offer great flavor, a good nutritional balance and fit in comfortable with Weight Watchers points system.

I also want to be more disciplined in keeping up content, even if it’s a short entry, on my MS bog and the cats’ blogs.


Reading Goals:

This is an easy goal, but I have to have some balance and I need to make some me time in my goals too. I was originally thinking a book a week, but there are some times and some books that make that rough, I read The Black Dahlia when I was in the hospital, It’s pretty long and actually not a book I enjoyed. I read the very end as fast as I could to get it done with. Now I’m half way through my second book of the year and the second week is almost over. It’s the book club book for the month at Ginger Scraps. So far it’s a cute book. Still, with other things to do now that I’m back to non-hospitalized life, I can’t see me finishing it in 2 days and I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on myself for something I do strictly for fun. So, my actual goal is 2 books a month. I’m going to make a point of writing a brief, non-spoiler, review for Good Reads as I finish books this year and I’ll repost those reviews here at The Chronicles too.


January Detox/Health and Wellness:

January detox is simply recovering from December. My plan there is to lose the weight I’ve gained through the holidays and really since August when I allowed myself to feel defeated for the year. That in itself is a daunting task, or could be. In the past and going forward I’ve had my best periods of wellness allowing myself to become food obsessed. If I am really concentrating on my food, how to make it balanced and how to make it taste great and look good on my plate, I stay more committed to being balanced and portion controlled. I also know that my chocolate cravings are best controlled if I make a point to include 25-100 calories of chocolate in my diet every day. Sound weird? In keeping track of that I found that there were days I didn’t meet that goal and “had” to have a Hershey’s kiss with my evening tea or decaf coffee. That's why I call Kisses “supplements.” Treating chocolate like a vitamin really has worked in the past.

Of course, any health and wellness plan must be custom-designed for the person living it. Read up and put the right plan together for yourself, or ask a nutritionist to help, but remember to never let someone else put together a “healthy” eating plan for you that you can’t stick with. If you don’t like the food and don’t eat it, it’s not healthy for you. Strive to find the right balance that will taste good and make you feel good; that’s the healthy plan for you! The way of eating that works best for me incudes lots of soup and a big bowl of crunchy veggies to munch on in the afternoon. And a little taste of chocolate every day.


Scrapbooking:

In May I presented Tori and Rina with the scrapbooks I’d been working on since early 2008 as their high school graduation gifts from me. Especially at the end with the editing and preparation for printing process I was pretty much doing nothing but those books. Then I had a smidge of burn out where I took a bit of a scrapping break, a slowdown. Now I look at my “to be scrapped” folders. I have the majority of 2008, from April on, all of 2009 (which includes our wedding reception and honeymoon) September to the end of 2011 and all of 2012. No, 2010 because I met my goal of having all of 2010 done by the end of February 2011.

What I’ve organized my folders to do for this year is that I am sticking to each current month. In January, I can scrap any pages from any year, as long as they are January pages. If in any current month I complete that month for all four years I have folders for, I can go back to work on open fielders from the previous month, but when that month is over, I move to pages for the next month. This way when I look out the window and see snow, I’m not trying to get myself in the groove of beach photos. The pages I’m scrapping fit my current world and surroundings. I think that will get my natural creativity working better.

I’m going to try to have a tally at the end of each month with how many layouts I got done, and how many folders I’ve closed. So far this month I’ve done the last week of Journal 366, the one allowable from last month and the week that just finished will always be okay to do from the last month to keep up with the year’s project. I’ve also done the first week on 20134 52 topix, 5 layouts completing 3 folders from 2009 with 5 to go and 2 layouts completing 2 folders for 2012 with 5 to go. 2008 and 2001 don’t have January folders. I only have one folder for 2013 right now. Since this is a smaller month as far as undone folders go, I might finish January this year!


Project 365/52:

I’m kinda pumped for this year after actually completing last year’s Journal 366! For this year I’m going to have a weekly theme and my layout will include photos and journaling about my week and how it relates to the week’s theme. I already posted my 2-pager for the first week’s theme; “healthy.” I’ll write and scrap this week’s theme tomorrow or Tuesday. The theme is “fresh fruit.” Tuesday starts “scrapbook” week.


Employment Goal:

Perhaps the most disheartening goal I completely blew off last year was the job search goal. I have always been a person whose external area reflects the internal balance. When my rooms were in order in my suite at my parents’ house, I was mentally in order and could tackle anything. I tidied my office before I went to Chamber of Commerce meetings with my business because if the office was straight, I had more power, more confidence at meet and greets. It enabled someone on the shy side to be more professional and aggressive. I’m trying to redirect that concentration to my computer now and it does make sense because so much in the job seeking process is done through online applications and email now. If my hard drive is organized and my desktop is clean, the confidence level should be up, no matter how many dirty dishes are in the sink.

With a change in insurance, the power chair process is on hold. I’m not going to wait for someday when I have a power chair to get to work on this very important part of my world. I’ll use the manual chair to go to appointments at the Vocational Rehabilitation Bureau and get started on evaluating my abilities. I have the determination and resourcefulness that can fit many places. Plus, hey I’m a disabled woman, a double click on the minority scale! I learned in one of my trade school classes some 20+ years ago that it was foolish to be “too proud” to take an opportunity offered to you because an employer needs to fill a quota you fit. It’s your opportunity to prove that there were even better reasons you were a perfect fit! With a decent job I can save up to get the power chair outright, to heck with insurance. I’d love to tell the insurance companies I don’t need them.


So there are my 2013 goals and projects. They are slowed down and toned down a little for me than in years past. I also have a few outs to accept a smaller accomplishment on occasion; as an example, while I have 2 folders that have January pages in them in the scrapbooking project, completing just one of them is a job accomplished As always and especially now, if a preferable goal can be met, I have the right to change a goal to better suit my needs. I feel cautiously optimist about 2013. I have many smaller goals that are parts of larger ideas, but no large goals will go totally unmet. Perhaps that meets the biggest goal of all; keep my own attitude positive and strive to always make meaningful contributions, no matter how small, to the world.

All of this, or something better.

And by the way, that goal to have these posted by midnight tonight? NAILED IT!