Setting Goals

I’ve put up my new goals for 2010. Right over…

Yeah, I know, there’s a lot of them. It’s probably mathematically impossible for me to achieve them all, especially given how much knitting is on the list when I am such a very slow knitter. But my favorite part about making that list last year was having one dedicated place for all my crafty goals, so when it was time to start a new project I could pull what inspired me from this one organized list and I could stop obsessing. You may have picked up on the fact that I’m a touch obsessive. What with the OCD and all. And I can get carried away thinking about the projects in my head.

For example. There in the home projects list is the vague description “decorate door.” Our family room is kind of oddly constructed due to the remodel job of a previous homeowner. Where our neighbors have a closet and a laundry room, I have a home office and under the stairs nook. See?

That extra space is invaluable, but it means that the industrial fire door leading to the garage is flat in the middle of the wall we spend the most time staring at. So every single time. And I mean Every. Single. Time. I see that door I think, “I need to do something to make that door look better.” Going out to do laundry, back and forth to gather all the baby stuff before leaving for an outing, sitting and watching television, typing on the computer, there was this steady drumbeat. Decorate the door. Decorate the door. Decorate the door. Just in case I forgot or something, my obsessive mind kept bringing it up. Decorate the door.

Now every time I hear that voice, I can tell myself, “I’m working on it. It’s on the list.”

I may have just overshared on the crazy a little.

Most of the projects are probably to be expected from me – I make my Christmas cards this time every year and pack them away with the decorations, I have a new themed tree on the agenda – and others are to stretch my skills. In all the knitting I’ve done, I’ve never actually made a sweater for myself. I lucked into the perfect yarn at a steal of a price, so now is the time to learn how to fit.

I’ve also got a couple of things I’ve been meaning to do for EVER. Like write a draft of the memoir I’ve been thinking about since I was 15. And then Atti is so the cobbler’s kid who has no shoes. All the scrapbooking I’ve done over the years, and my poor neglected kid has nothing to show for it. I’m thinking of doing the traditional scrapbook, but maybe something else too. Something text heavy that tells his story. Like the blog, but with pretty papers.

So much of the house is as decorated as it’s going to get. I still have plans for art on the walls, but the big project this year is going to be decorating my bedroom. Back when we did all the housepainting, the color I chose for our room turned out lavender instead of gray, so it’s finally time I did something about that. And then built that headboard I wanted to do last year and got some lamps and things. Maybe then I’d feel inspired to actually make my bed once and awhile.

On top of the things I want to do, I always try to learn one new skill a year. Last year I took up gardening. This year the skill I want to learn is more like one I want to re-learn. Like every mother everywhere, I have let myself get carried away with the frump. I have done almost nothing to shed baby weight because I don’t enjoy exercise and I had precious little time to even fit in the things I loved. But now that Atti’s older and I feel like I have a little more of a handle on things, it’s time to get serious. Don’t fear, I’m not going to turn this into a weight loss blog. I’m only interested in writing about losing weight if it relates to cute clothes. There was a time in my life where I was known as the most stylish person in the room. I want to get back to that person, and I think I’m going to have to let go of the yoga pants in order to make that happen.