2014 Goals: First Quarter Update

In January, like I've done for the last couple of years, I put together a list of things I wanted to accomplish/attempt/improve in 2014. They're not resolutions, because those have too much of a pass-fail vibe and there's no need for that kind of stress. As long as you're trying then go ahead a put a gold star next to your name, am I right? This round as some bigger and more time-consuming items bulking around, so there are only seven this year. Let's see how things are going now that we're three months in:

1. Update the bathrooms. I've done a couple of things in the one upstairs (whitening the grout and getting a new bath mat) but nothing too exciting has happened yet. We'll make more headway on this when the weather is a smidge warmer.

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2. Go lighter with our paint colors. I'm starting this today, actually! Pictures will be coming in a few days, but if you want instant gratification you can follow along on Instagram.

3. Read one NEW book per month. Yep, and they've all been novels, too! I'm in the middle of one called The Alchemist's Daughter right now and it's okaaaaaay, but I've read better historical fiction. Next I'm going to do The Fault In Our Stars, which I know is a major tearjerker but it's been on my list forever and I need to just read it already. Feel free to leave recommendations in the comments; I'm always on the prowl.

4. Try one NEW recipe per month. Oh snap, I totally forgot about this one. See? This is why I keep a list.

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5. Add cardio to my workouts. Cardio AND some strength training are in the works now. Not because we got fancy machines for the basement, but I started going to the gym with Hubsey. (I know, it still sounds weird to me, too.) Neither of us are traditional go-lift-weights-and-then-run people, but a new gym opened near us that's all small group activities, and you get assigned things to do based on your fitness level. So it ends up being like a personal training session, but you have a few other folks around for motivation. It's really fun. In fact, all gyms should do this because I bet it would make more people go.

6. Re-learn to use the sewing machine. Zero progress here. I actually bought some more of that no-sew hem tape, which is the opposite of what I should be doing.

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7. Officially launch the design business. SO CLOSE! I just realized I haven't really told you about this yet. I've been working on something called The Room Kit, which is scheduled go live on its own website May 1st. It's a collection of fabric samples and color palettes designed to help people start decorating a space. I get the most questions about whether or not certain colors go together (and a close second is a general complaint that people don't know where to start) so I wanted to make something that took away a lot of the guesswork. I'll do a real post about it soon, but in the meantime you can sign up for the newsletter if you're too curious to wait.

How are your goals coming? Do we have any that are the same? Has anybody else totally forgotten about one of their items? I mean, my lapse was the one that involves cooking non-taco things so I'm really not surprised...