In addition to my larger goals, which I delineated at the beginning of the year, I have expressed the intention to attack 23 hard things in 2023. These are things that I believe will add something of value to my life or they are things that need to be done but I have struggled to prioritize. I am ready to check in and evaluate my progress.
1) Write 12 snail mail letters. I am notorious for NOT sending snail mail yet I know that others, important folks in my life, value it so I am trying to connect with those people in this way. I rocked it this month. I even sent my mom two Mother's Day letters. One was a card that all but one of the kiddos signed well over a decade ago. I had the missing kiddo sign it, wrote a message, and sent it off. Mama was tickled! Altogether, I mailed six letters this month. 10/12 done!
2) Initiate three dates with hubby. No progress yet.
3) Purge 1200 items. In April I purged 101 items and in May I purged another 115 items for a total of 1018/1200 purged this year!
4) Read 48 books. By the end of April I had read 24 books. This month I have completed another 11. 35/48 done!
5) 12 of the 48 books read need to be books that I own. Two of the books that I read this month are from my personal stash. 10/12 done!
6) Have one adventure per month. For me, an adventure is doing something new or something that takes me out of my comfort zone. In April, I attended Easter service at an Anglican church and I took a road trip. There were so many adventures encapsulated within the adventure of the road trip, more than I can even list. I am so proud of myself; I did so many hard things. In May, as a favor to friends I photographed a wedding and learned how to use Google Drive. I like photography but I am an uber amateur. I don't even understand the settings on my camera. I, however, overcame my anxiety and did my best. I just sent the couple the photos today and hope they are happy with the results.
7) Make and maintain a minimum of six monthly journals. I am working on finishing up my journal for May. I got behind, significantly, with April's journal, which then set me back on May's journal but I am pushing myself to complete it. So, presently, I have completed four journals but will soon have number five completed.
8) Make a minimum of 36 blog entries. This will make my 12th published post but I have several drafts in progress. I need to get caught up.
9) Repair camera. DONE.
10) Repair mandolin and learn to play one song. NOPE.
11) Dance. I do not have enough of this in my life yet. I must change that!
12) Learn to tiptoe (move like a child). YUP, I can do this now!
13) Learn to skip (move like a child). I am working on this. I have made progress but am not able to do it with litheness yet.
14) Do a cartwheel, although a round off will do ( move like a child). Absolutely not.
15) Remove tree from front yard. DONE. I had noted before that after the tree removal the front yard felt "heartbreakingly empty" but it no longer feels that way. Now that the tree is removed the flowers that are in that bed are thriving. That flower bed is beautiful!
16) Repair front porch stairs. DONE. It is such a relief to have this project completed and it looks super nice. Now we have traction on home related tasks and have completed more than just the tree and stairs. We have replaced windows and addressed some plumbing and electrical issues. More to come!
17) Write letter to Carole's mother. The rough draft is written but, otherwise, this project has stalled out.
18) Take vitamins a minimum of 275 days of the year. I have taken my vitamins daily for a total of 125 days (out of 150 days). I am still on track to reach this goal.
19) Floss teeth a minimum of 275 days of the year. I have flossed 99/150, thus far. I really need to focus if I am going to be successful with this goal.
20) Track expenditures a minimum of 275 days of the year. I still have a 99% success rate on this one. I struggled to stay up to date during May. I need to refocus, reset, realign.
21) Do not go to Andy's alone. In January, I went once alone; otherwise, I have not gone alone. Multiple times I have been jonesing for it and have nearly convinced myself that it would be ok to go but I ended up not going. Just yesterday I had convinced myself that I would go. I was in the Jeep, preparing to leave the Panera parking lot when Roxie called and ended up distracting me. It was a lengthy conversation and by the time I was done I had no desire to go to Andy's anymore.
22) Try 15 new smoothie, salad, or vegetarian recipes. No progress on this yet. I need to get started!
23) Complete at least 75% of Balance the Sword, Volume One. I am still going strong with this one. I haven't calculated the percentage of completion but am certain that I am on track. I will have to crunch those numbers soon.
In regards to record keeping and journaling, May was a rough month for me. I have been coming from behind, seemingly all month. I am doing remarkably well meeting my purging, reading, letter writing and Bible study goals. Additionally, I focused quite a bit of home maintenance related goals. I'm doing it. I'm doing the hard things.
