Several readers have been asking for me to share my goals again on the blog, something I have stopped doing.
I even said recently that I didn’t plan to share goals again.
And then I began to reflect on my goals for 2024, and I realized, there is plenty to share.
I want to get back to doing things I haven’t done for some time, including sewing, painting, and calligraphy. I want to continue my language study; I have long admired the abilities of my polyglot friends who speak four+ languages, and three months ago I started learning a third language: Urdu. At some point I hope to add a fourth and maybe a fifth language, but right now, one at a time.
I have many garden goals as well.
Some of these goals have been on my past years’ goals and I still haven’t found time for them (sewing curtains for my bedroom, ahem). But I will try again this year and see what I can do.
Art goals:
Complete the Constance Spry rose watercolor course my son bought for me for Christmas from Anna Mason Art. It’s 54 pages of instruction and it’s very detailed. I haven’t painted like this in decades and I am excited to paint again.
Complete the Modern Calligraphy book that I purchased for myself several years ago. This is a different style from my favorite Spencarian and Copperplate styles.
Sewing:
Sew curtains and sheers for my bedroom windows.
Sew a curtian for a bathroom window.
Sew a skirt for myself using a skirt I have as a pattern.
Sew the pillow that I embroidered a front for for my bed several years ago.
Sew at least three small 1950’s style purses for myself.
Sew some baby gifts for a friend who is expecting this spring.
I have the fabric for all of these projects, save the lining for the curtains.
Jewlery projects:
Make at least one necklace and a pair of earrings for myself using supplies I have on hand.
Remake two bracelets that broke.
Language learning goals:
Complete two lessons a day on the app I am using (Ling). I have a little over three months left in my subscription. Then I will evaluate if I will renew my subscription to it or not, depending on how far I have gotten.
Listen to AT LEAST one YouTube video AND one audio language learning book (from the library via the Hoopla app) per week. Once I have gone through all of the library books, I will aim for two YouTube videos a week. I may also repeat the books to repeat my vocabulary learning.
Read two blog posts a week from the Innovative Language Learning blog for my target language.
Watch short videos and comedy clips in my target language on Instagram daily. I also follow several language learning accounts on Instagram for my target language.
Listen to music in my target language several days a week.
Our library has a free Rosetta Stone subscription. I signed up for it and I just need to figure out how to access it. I will then add this in to my language study as well.
Other learning:
Watch and learn a video making course that I purchased months ago.
Home Decor:
Take new photos for the house, order prints, and hang them in frames that I already have.
Buy and hang new light fixtures in two bathrooms.
Paint at least one room.
Cooking Goals:
Try two new recipes a month.
Weight losss goals:
Lose 25 pounds. I was 4 pounds from my goal weight after having baby number 8 and again after baby number 9, but I ate a lot of cookies and ice cream during Covid. I would like to fit into the new clothes I bought for myself after my two youngest were born, ideally before the summer heat. I am returning to calorie counting and tracking. I lost weight before doing this and I have tried without tracking it (with no progress and then gaining more), so I will be counting again since this worked for me. No, I do not plan on doing lots of exercise other than gardening. I have exercise-induced asthma and also I have a great loathing for sneakers and workout clothing 😂 If I could go dancing every week in heels that would be more my style. But also–I am on my feet almost all day from very early in the morning, and gardening burns quite a few calories.
Garden Goals:
Take cuttings and start new hedge plants to surround the garden beds in the backyard.
Try air layering roses to make new roses from the ones I have. I ordered these air layering containers and some mychrorrizal fungi to start these along with peat moss and worm castings that I bought locally.
Move a couple of roses in the garden to different spots.
Plant new trees. I had some trees die and I will be planting other trees in their place. I also will be planting some trees in large pots that I bought on clearance last year. A friend of mine started a Shangri-La mulberry and a White Marseilles fig for me (the one he gave me last year that I shared on Instagram died). I am planting the mulberry in the ground and the fig in a pot. These will be tiny plants no more than a few inches tall to start this year.
Tie my climbing roses to the arbors.
Prune and spray my roses.
Prune and spray my fruit trees.
Fertilize my fruit trees and roses more often than I have been.
Redo the lower garden bed in my front yard by the street. I want to amend the soil and plant some nee plants there.
What are you goals for 2024?
I have thought long and hard about my goals because I never write them down and therefore don’t accomplish them. In 2024 I am hoping to: 1. return to making sourdough bread and water kefir (I already am starting back up with my Kombucha), 2. return to exercising at a gym and getting 10,000 steps a day. 3. Get back to sewing. I want to sort out my sewing room. I have inherited a bunch of fabric and several half done quilt tops. I would like to finish one quilt this year. 4. Declutter.
At 60 years old I returned to college to get a Masters Degree while working full-time. I graduated in 2020 and have been playing catch up ever since. I watch 2 grandchildren twice a week while their mom works. I turn 70 this February and while I love my job working with families in crisis, I am retiring at the end of January. So high hopes for 2024 for traditional cooking skills, exercise, sewing a quilt and decluttering.
Hi Mary,
those goals seem quite realistic. I hope you can achieve them. How lucky to have all those quilt tops to work on. I like Kathy Bowman, she’s a biomechanist. She has lots of ideas to include movement in your daily life. I think you would like her ideas, especially when you have the grandchildren.
Hi Brandy and everyone
I was so pleased to see this post, I love the new year and the turning of a page ready to begin afresh.
I am impressed by your thirst for knowledge particularly for languages. Many of my goals are rather similar to yours and I hope that following along with you and all our friends here on your blog will hold me to account.
I am going to do the Swedish death clean this year in the house and garden sheds.
I have picked the easy fruit of sustainable living and this year I’m going to address some of the harder actions and maintain consistency. So continue to replace disposables, cut food waste, buy things second hand where possible, mend more and maintain items, cut energy and fuel use etc.
Cook some different vegetarian recipes that my family will find palatable.
Practise prayer.
Lose ten per cent of my body weight as a starter.
Swim more and establish daily routine for physio exercises.
Re establish regular German language learning on Duolingo.
Sewing- finish Christmas reindeer wall hanging, make new roller towels, make more fabric gift bags, finish cross stitch card, practise technique learnt at sewing class and make gifts, make progress on large quilt.
Make more flower arrangements.
Watch more ballet both on catch up TV and live streaming to the cinema.
Garden goals are a shared venture with my husband –
Invite friends over to share our garden more often
Work harder at cleaning up after ourselves and maintaining order
Pot up more self sewn seedlings to keep and give away
Sow some different annuals in the cutting garden
Feed the roses and fruit trees/ bushes more regularly
Research and plant a clematis that will be happy in a big pot
Expand the range of salad greens we grow
I think the rest is keep on keeping on!
Happy New Year to you and your family Brandy and to all your readers.
You can waltz in the gardens with your heels on.
We have decided to grow more of our own food, buy our meat from local butcher shop, owned by local family who butchers for the local farmers. More expensive but I am so tired of worrying that the meat I repackaged for the freezer is part of the recall. I plan to start more of my own seeds for plants.
We are focused on paying off the mortgage and increase savings to 6 months of emergency funds. We just finished 2023 with 3 months emergency funds for the first time in over 20 yrs.
I’ve lost 30 lbs. due to illness, don’t intend to gain it all back but will need to do some sewing on what I have to get it to fit.
We have started telling those that ask, we are not keeping up with the Jones, we are trying to keep up with the Amish.
Prayer for Peace
Blessed Be
https://chefowings.blogspot.com/2023/12/goals-for-2024.html
Juls, I love that you will be keeping up with the Amish, much more sensible than the Jones!
“keep up with the Amish” love it! Thanks for the laugh. Happy New Year!
Keeping up with the Amish – this is a great mantra for 2024 and beyond! Love it!
Juls – Your Amish comment is spot on and reminds me of one of my long-time favorite quotes – “A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.” — Henry David Thoreau. Works for us! Best to you and yours in 2024! 🙂
Brandy thank you for sharing your 2024 goals with us all and I truly hope that you get most of the items done on your goals list time permitting 🙂 . From our family to yours we wish you and yours a fantastic 2024 full of accomplishments.
2023 was a good year for us and we managed to pay off our home mortgage in 4 years 3 months and 11 days and became debt free in April this year after 10 cash interest rate rises from the Reserve Bank of Australia from May last year on passed on by our banks to us and another surprise rate increase that our bank put on too. We also saved up for a new car which we replaced as DH’s collapsed on the side of the road and a new ride on lawn mower too both of which we paid cash for.
This year we have a few goals we would like to accomplish being –
Financial –
Save up at least half the money this year to replace my 15 year old car.
Keep more to our budget categories and new budget we have set for the new year that we had revised after looking at our spending this year and added another 5% to our bills money to put away to account for price rises in 2024.
In the gardens –
– Amend all our garden beds one by one so we can start planting our vegetables again as we have the money to do so. Our soil her is a mixture of sand and clay so it is challenging and we will have to order soil, compost and manures in to amend the soil to make it suitable for growing veg more effectively in.
– Trim all the star jasmine and lilac shrubs in the gardens.
– Fill divots in the lawns with the soil we take out of the garden beds mixed with some compost gradually.
– Keep clearing the back boundary to the creek by cutting it down with our blade attachment from our whipper snipper, we are are half way there.
– Level some areas further down the property so they are flat.
– Get some more fruit trees and border shrubs for the front of the property and plant them to screen the property more from the road.
In the home –
– Sand back the home wooden window sills, garage, tank stand shed and shed down and undercoat and paint them bit by bit as time allows.
– Keep cleaning interior walls of the home till all are done, about half the home done now.
– Get back to listing my homemade homewares online for sale.
Hobbies –
– Get back into painting and drawing again after so many years for relaxation. With DH having many surgeries for brain aneurysms, treatment for a heart complaint and a few surgeries for pain relief on his back I have had little time as I was looking after him and traveling for medical appointments until now.
Hope everyone achieves what they set out to this year and Happy New Year to all.
Lorna, congratulations on being debt free, you have worked hard to get there and I know that wonderful feeling!
Thank you Nancy and we are really so happy being debt free now considering all those interest rate rises 🙂 .
Lorna, so good to hear from you and that you are now doing well. Glad your husband is improved. That sounded like many medical concerns to worry about.
Congratulations on paying off your house! I remember how hard you saved to purchase it and the many ingenious ways you used to do so.
Wishing you success in your 2024 goals and much happiness!
Thank you Lynn from NC Outer banks and such a relief to have paid off the home with all the interest rate rises 🙂 . We were blessed in so many ways along the way and DH’s car broke just as we had saved the money to replace it as we had planned.
Wishing you and yours success on your 2024 goals and happiness and good health.
Thank you for posting this Brandy – it has helped me to really think about what I want to accomplish in 2024.
1) I need to be more selfish – in that I need to prioritize myself and my health. This means eating better so as to lose weight – I had been doing really well but Covid lock-down scuppered all that I had accomplished so it is time to get back in gear. Nothing too drastic – I eat mostly from scratch but know that I need to up my fruit & veg content, eat less carbs and move to more fish & seafood so that I follow a more Mediterranean style diet. I have quite a bit of meat to use up in my freezer and pantry but as I use this up I intend to add in the seafood rather than so much red meat and then do a better job of rotating from one to the other. My small weights and stretch bands are all looked out and I am going to start getting off the subway a few stops early when I go into the office to up my daily step count. Small things but doable – I just need to be consistent. I know what works for me so that is what I will focus on. I have 3 sets of clothing – all different sizes – so my first goal is to go from the largest size to the mid size by the end of May and then to get down to the smallest size by the end of the year. Again, very doable if I stay on track.
2) Finances: I am getting a raise – my pensions will go up slightly so that more than helps with my increase in rent etc. I’ve inventoried the pantry and I need only about $125 per month at most for the next few months to cover fruit & veg, dairy and some non-food items that I need to top up. If I can get away with spending less then I will be ecstatic. Then, each month I will add a lump sum amount to a specific “envelope”. December’s pay will cover the entire cost of my theatre subscription for next year and January’s will go to the Christmas fund. After that I need to look at tech – I am being forced to get a smart phone as my landline option looks to be disappearing. My personal laptop is on it’s last legs but I’m thinking of just going with an Ipad as a replacement. Once these expenses are covered then it’s new furniture. I have some NEEDs – a new mattress – and some WANTS – a new dining table and chairs – but I want to pay cash for everything! At the same time I am making extra payments each month on my two outstanding debts – still a ways to go but progress is being made. Again, it is a matter of being consistent and not letting cash just be frittered away.
3) My home: I don’t have a lot left to de=clutter but somehow there always seems to be a few boxes or bins lurking. I am going through everything over the next few months and getting things purged and/or organized in a more efficient manner. I already have plans to move a few things around but again, it will be done step by step so that I’m not overwhelmed. I also need to get the building’s handyman in to do a few things for me – I’m happy to pay him as it just makes things so much easier – no more climbing ladders for me!
4) Self-improvement: Aside from losing weight, I want to return to more reading – no more endless hours of screen time and I want to read more non-fiction. Specifically, I’ve always wanted to read the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius and more about the Stoics so that is a goal for this year. I’ve also been listening to a lot of lectures from C.S. Lewis and want to read more about him and about “The Inklings”. I am also thinking of returning to language classes – I speak some French and some Gaelic, along with a bit of German, but would like to improve them all. I also need to check in with my university and see where I stand. I believe that I only need 3 more courses to finish my honours BA in history so if I can do this online now it would be foolish not to.
I think that is more than enough to be going on with – good luck to us all – and Happy New Year.
Have you read C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce? It is excellent.
No I haven’t – I will add it to the list. I am currently reading “Mere Christianity”.
I also really enjoyed The Screwtape Letters.
I’ve just finished 3 non-fiction books that were all excellent. Killers of the Flower Moon, The Childrens Blizzard and Cobalt Red. I read a lot and read most books very quickly. Cobalt Red was a difficult read for me. It’s about cobalt mining in the Congo and all the corruption and other associated problems that go along with it. My oldest grandson was adopted from the Congo and I think it just really hit too close to home for me. It took me a lot longer to read 250 pages than it normally would but I would still say it’s worth a read.
Thank you for sharing your insights on Cobalt Red, Kristin – it has been on my Kindle for a few months as I’ve felt that I would need to be in the right mindset for reading it. I suspected it would be a difficult read and appreciate you confirming it. I’m looking forward to reading it in 2024, but thanks to your thoughts, will make sure that I have something lighter to take breaks to between chapters, so I can process it accordingly mentally. <3
You are most welcome. Definitely worth a read, but very difficult. It’s certainly smart on your part to have something light to read to break up the intensity. Good luck!
Have you read Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan? It gives some really neat insights into C.S. Lewis.
Brandy, I was so happy to see your post with goals. These were always so helpful to me, whether your annual posts or monthly posts. These posts kept me motivated throughout the year as well as kept me accountable to get things accomplished. I hope you will consider doing your monthly goals post this year. I know you are busy but they are so helpful to me and I would guess to others as well. The monthly posts always reminded me to consult my annual goals list. All this to say I really appreciate the time it must take you to do any of the great posts you do. I wish there was some way I could repay you for all your encouragement and information you have provided over the years.
I also like the way you categorize your goals. They are excellent prompts to get me thinking. My husband and I need to learn some basic Swahili before we go to Africa in June on a mission trip. I aim to make 4 small quilts to donate and learn to master my new sewing machine. It has a lot of bells and whistles which would be useful in many of my projects. I will be sitting down today and creating a list using your categories to get me thinking.
I really love your today’s photos. My favorite is the one with the coral colored roses. I wish I could grow roses. My only success is with Knockout roses which have no fragrance sadly. I will look forward to seeing your new bedroom curtains and your family foto wall in a future post this year. I, too, love to dance. This would definitely be my exercise of choice!
May God bless you, your family and our frugal friends in 2024.
I just looked and you can use the same resources that I am! The Ling app has Swahili and Innovative Language Learning does too. Look up Swahilipod101.com
Thank you! I have that on my to do list.
jamba marley- fantastic trip to look fwd to… i grew up in malawi and so i know life there though i an south indian in ethnicity… its slow and things take awhile to happen but u will love n will fall in love with them- let us know how it goes
Brandy, oh my you have a lot of goals! Thank you for sharing them. I was aiming for a smaller number, four or five, but I can see the wisdom in having more specific tasks, rather than a few large goals. I will ponder this ;). Happy New Year!
Love reading your goals!
1. I want to lose ten lbs.
2. I want to continue walking one hour a day, four days a week. They was my goal last year and I averaged 3.5 hours per week.
3. I want to get my cholesterol under control without meds. I am borderline. I intend to up my vegetable intake even more. 4. I hope to save $2400 a year for two round trip plane trips to Utah, and hopefully a little leftover for spending money.
5. I hope to cut back a bit more at work, which will mean a corresponding salary reduction. 6. I hope to explore perhaps moving to the old family home place, part time on weekends, that is a couple of hours away.
Financial
Pay off truck(owe 10,500. I need to bump payments up to 900 a month to get it paid off this year)
Take an additional $25 out of each paycheck for savings. I saved $600 just by immediately taking $25 out of my check.
Invest that $600 into a CD or something to earned higher interest.
Get my Perkins loan paid off
Continue on paying off credit cards.
Pay off Home Depot card by February, March at the latest. (We had to put our water heater on it)
Keep unnecessary spending to a minimum. I went a little nuts toward the end of the year.
Examine if continuing on a getting my Bachelors will be worth the money or just stopping at my Associate’s will be sufficent.
Get my substitute teaching certificate so I can work as an after school tutor. Additional $$
House
Try to reduce use of disposable products. I have a bad ziploc habit, lol
Try to reign in grocery spending. I buy stuff, then Hubby buys stuff, and I really don’t want to know what we are spending
Continue on decluttering and listing stuff for sale on Marketplace
Replace aging pieces of furniture (hopefully, with money I make from selling stuff)
Self
Get back in the gym more. I think I went twice all of December. I should have more time now, since I only have one class this semester, and I won’t be in charge of the kitchen at work
Read more books. I barely managed 13 for fun this year. I did listen about just as many Audibles, but 4 of those were for school
Meet with an admissions counselor for the four year university. I’m not sure finishing out a Bachelors (I’ll have an Associate’s in May) is going to be worth it, since I’ll have to come up with a minor, which is additional hours to pay for.
Do something with Hubby at least twice a month, ideally, out of the house.
Congrats on finishing up your Associates this year! That’s a huge deal! I’m just curious why you’d need a minor for finishing a BS? Is it a requirement for your degree? I always thought minors are optional.
Lea
A minor wasn’t optional for me many years ago. It was required.
That’s interesting! I’ve never taught at an institution where it was required – I wonder if it depends on the major?
Lea
I have never committed before..love your blog!! My goals as we end this year and I have watched my father decline in dementia, my father in law pass from dementia and several friends deal with cancer this year is to focus on our health and food intake. As the daughter of a farmer I can see that the crap the FDA allows into our foods is ridiculous! My goal is to grow more, monitor more, and remain as healthy as possible while sewing and cross stitching my way into the future!
Carla, big hugs and strong shoulders to you. Wishing you lots of good moments with your dad.
Hi Brandy.
Your goals are very ambitious and interesting!!
I thought I might mention that I have had severe asthma since I was 2. When I severely broke my arm
a couple of years ago, the spiral fracture was not healing after 9 months. Magnesium really helpful
for healing bones so I tried it. An unintended consequence that it greatly helped my asthma. You cannot take a high dose
but a low dose (after consulting with your. gp or pharmacist) might really help. 65% of North Americans are deficient
in magnesium because our soil is depleted and our foods don’t contain as much as they used to. Anyway, it is something
to contemplate.
My goals:
I don’t believe in sharing how much weight I would like to lose as sharing a number seems to doom me to failure.
I am pleased that in spite of lapses I have not gained any weight over the past two years. I have a goal to lose weight slowly.
I will be decluttering the house over the next year.
I want to write a children’s book.
Last year’s goals included writing a poem every day. That did not happen but I did write 50.
I want to save enough money that I can donate enough money to a charity to finance 100 cataract operations.
I would like to try sewing a skirt. I have lots of material. As a reward for losing weight, I think I’ll get a tailor to sew me a suit from some Irish tweed I bought many years ago.
I would like to get back into a routine. I’d like to play the piano every day, if my arm allows it
Note to Margie from Toronto: My old gp years ago suggested getting off the bus two stops early as a way to get more exercise.
Happy and healthy New Year to everyone…
Good to know. I do take magnesium on occasion but I forget to do it daily in addition to my multivitamin. I need to be more consistent on taking my vitamins this year.
Magnesium is very good for preventing leg cramps, if you get those.
I have taken it in the past for this while pregnant.
Magnesium and potassium taken daily, have greatly reduced my legs cramping. These are taken under my physician’s direction. Check with your health provider, and good luck.
Happy New year to all.
In 2 years I hope to have my house paid off. Loss 10 pound’s walking more, eating more vegetables and fruits.
I only have one goal in 2024, and I hope I am up for it: FLYLADY. But I haven’t shined my sink yet (the rebel in me probably won’t) and I am definitely not going to sign up for e-mails.
1. Give. (I am often too afraid for the future to be generous, or too wrapped up in my own projects to think of others.)
2. Real. (Be real and vulnerable with people, and also spend more time in the real world and less in the digital world.)
3. First and second. (Make my family my genuine first priority but also realise I have time for some second priority things like writing if I sort myself out.)
I can relate to the challenge of revisiting past goals, like sewing curtains, and appreciate your determination to give them another shot. By the way, have you considered sharing your sewing and crafting projects on platforms like etsy? It could be a fantastic way to connect with a community that values creativity and DIY endeavors.
Like sharing patterns, you mean? I have considered it, but right noe, just completing my projects for myself is my main goal.
Happy new year, everyone!
I’m still discerning my goals for 2024, but here is where I am currently.
Health: Weight loss would be great but improved a1c would be better. Taking a caregiving and health class in January online. Rebuilding exercise routine.
Home: Garden for 3 seasons. (I stopped early last year, was just mentally spent.) Continue to declutter home.
Professional: Still praying that I get more work that meets my family’s needs or that my husband finally gets disability. It’s been since October 2022 that he’s worked, and is a lot on my shoulders. Also discerning a possible book project, recognizing that I haven’t made much of anything from previous writing.
Faith: Continue to nurture my faith even when the answer is no or not yet.
Wishing you all blessing in this new year!
Robbie
My goals this year are to make 24 sewing projects (I have fabric for 3 quilts and several clothing items ready to go – one quilt top is even pieced!) and to spend 24 days off social media. Playing with the ’24’ in 2024 this year 🙂
Goals and Habits for 2024!
Body – focus on nutrition specifically vegetables and whole grains, more movement including water sports at least 1x week
Financial – pay off remaining student loans! Husband graduated vet school in 2017 and we were able to make “payments” to a CD account during covid, so we made a big lump sum in 2023 when they started up again and will finish paying them this year! Woohoo!
Children – encourage my children in their specific education goals, including music and sports
Start up on flylady routine again! It’s been a few years, but it is one that is really motivating to me.
So inspiring to read these goals for 2024…
My husband this morning said to me “I want to maintain and be healthy in 2024”. It was a rough 2023 but that was then and this is now..onward and upward.
Motto for 2024 is “Use it Up/Let It Go”. I wrote this down and posted on my wall calendar.
Happy New Years.
I choose a theme word for each year and this year my word is going to be POWER. P is for physical…I really need to add more veggies to my diet so I have a plan to do that. O is for order…I have some cleaning and organization goals. W is for writing…since I graduated from college last month, I want to continue to develop my writing skills, this time with trying my hand at fiction. E is for enlightenment…I read voraciously, but rarely non-fiction. My college classes have taken care of that the last four years, so I need to be more deliberate now. I plan to read one non-fiction book a month. and R is for reverence…I want to continue to deepen my personal worship by expanding my study of scripture and gospel topics. So, that is the framework of my 2024 goals. I feel like all these goals together will give me more power in living life the way I hope to. I have the second cataract surgery this week and am beyond excited to see well through both eyes! I wish everyone a lovely New Year!
I love this Becky!
Thank you for sharing,
Lea
I love this Power structure! I think I’ll consider it for myself.
Goals are one of my favorite types of posts. Here are my goals:
Take an online class.
Buy more local products.
Have 12 monthly challenges: declutter, eat from the freezer, walk daily, go to the gym daily, meditate daily, intermittent fasting, journal, walk in the forest, reduce sugar, whole 30 diet, 2 meatless meals a week, lose 10 lbs.
New Hobby: Archery
Eco friendly habit: If eating out, take a to go container. I will help one in the car.
Preserve the following foods: collards, apples, apple cider, orange juice, strawberries, peaches, blueberries,and blackberries.
Have one adventure a month with my husband. We are currently chasing waterfalls. (visiting). We have hundreds of waterfalls in our area. They are so beautiful.
What a good idea to take your own “to go” box to a restaurant. I like that and will try that myself! Thank you!
My goal this year is. very simple. Work at being healthy and keeping my family healthy. I’ve been to the hospital 4 times and to an express care clinic this past month and was hospitalized for 3 days. I’ve been very, very ill. I’m grateful for my husband and my mom’s help taking care of my son and me. My husband has been so good to me and my son. I’m still recovering. After I am healthy again. I may think of other goals. I would like to record some songs with my husband. But now, I am very tired. I’d like to read my Bible more and go to church in the morning again when I have the energy. I am not looking forward to the bills. But happy that we have insurance to cover much of it. I’m also grateful for friends that care and pray. It takes health first before I can achieve any other goals.
Yes, it does. Take care, Tammy.
Thank-you Brandy.
I’m sorry you have been so ill Tammy. Thank goodness for your family looking after you. I wish you a full recovery.
PennyP,
Thank-you. I am happy I’ve had family to help.
I will be praying for your health.
Renee, thank you for your prayers.
Oh Tammy, I just now read this. I hope you are continuing to recover and that you soon will be well again. My prayers for you.
After babies and backward slide over the past few months, I need to get back to tracking my food. My exercise has been consistent but eating is much harder for me. I have some running specific goals as well.
I want to get back to using duolingo to work on my Spanish.
In the garden, I want to add more cold frames by my house for winter greens. I want to take out some blueberry bushes that aren’t producing and add in more raspberries or something else. I want to grow shiitake logs again, which don’t take up much space and are perfect for shady areas.
My family hunts but I’ve never gone by myself. I want to go deer hunting this year, which will require a class and asking for some help from friends and family. Venison is much healthier than grocery store meat and costs much less.
I want to work on disconnecting from social media more. I’m going to try and schedule business posts a week or a month in advance.
I’m so glad you are bringing this back, Brandy! Your goals are so inspirational.
I have six categories of goals for this year and I’ll revisit them in July to see where I’m at with them.
Work (this is in addition to my regular responsibilities):
1. Organize my file drawers.
2. Scan and organize all the papers I don’t need a hard copy of anymore.
3. Re-establish a regular routine at work (this has gone by the wayside since 2020 happened)
Graduate School:
1. Make sure I have met all the graduation requirements
2. Defend my Dissertation
3. Graduate!
Home:
1. Basement reorganization
2. Clean out and reorganize the garage
3. Finish the front yard re-landscaping, install a strawberry bed
4. Repaint the upstairs bathroom and install a new shower curtain rod
Finance:
1. Pay off the last credit card debt
2. Pay off the van
3. Save a specific amount for a new vehicle
4. Track our spending each week to keep us on track
Family:
1. Weekly time with my parents
2. Time with extended family once per month
3. A 1-2 week vacation
4. 2 dates with my husband each month
Personal:
1. Attend or teach 200 classes at the fitness center
2. Eat a salad 5x per week
3. Photograph each item I eat for 1 month twice this year
4. Catch up on all of my medical appointments (I’m behind on two due to a variety of circumstances)
I think that’s plenty for this year!
Lea
Thank you for posting this! Ever since I saw it, I have been thinking over what is in my power to make myself and my home more of what I want them to be.
I came up with monthly actions, as that timing that makes sense for how I work. January is return to clearing out stuff in the basement, which I had started last fall and got away from doing. February is two specific rooms and a black hole closet. March is paperwork, taxes, old bills, stuff from my parents’, (and photos if I am really good, though that might wait). April is preparing for city (free) clean-up week, clearing out the garden shed, and a yard sale. May is yard work, post-last frost date, and power washing and sealing the deck. Then I will look and see what should be next!
I have a bad habit of thinking about doing things and mentally making them take longer or be harder than they actually are.
I also need to find, among my undone craft ideas and existing supplies, something to keep my hands busy when I watch TV, and to set this up right next to where I sit so I will work on it.
I set intentions instead of resolutions knowing I won’t give up on intentions if I miss a day or two.
1 Clean my kitchen before bed daily. It is easy for me to just leave it for tomorrow.
2 Walk at least 15 minutes daily. Hopefully this will increase as my stamina improves.
3 Daily intentional conversation with my husband asking 3 specific questions. Tell me about your day. What is on your plate for tomorrow? How can I pray for you?
4 Learn how to use my Cricut.
5. Complete the quilt for my granddaughter before her March birthday.
I started cross-stitching again a few months ago. I want to continue doing that once a week. Also, I want to be stronger. My 10 year old son can lift as much as me. So I am going to start lifting weights three times a week. I already belong to a streaming exercise group and it has a section for arms so that should be doable.
Plan one or two homeschool activities for the group my family is in. Also, make the time each week for Science experiments. I don’t care for those but my kids love it! And now with two teenagers they can take charge so I can take a step back and just manage it. Same for art supplies. Let the kids use what we have.
Follow through on the garden. I do a great job getting it in the ground and my kids water it. But without the fertilizer and love and care of some pruning things don’t thrive 1. Keep my annuals alive. Two years ago I planted 2 rose bushes, cone flower that I grew from seed, yarrow, and two red raspberry bushes. I would like to see those continue to thrive. Plant and follow through with tomatoes, green beans, lettuce, zinnias, and marigolds. A few years ago I discovered planting flowers in my garden is necessary for the pollinators.
Thank to everyone who posted their goals. It has given me a lot to consider in forming my own goals.
This will be a focus on health and finances this year. I’ve finally got a court date in February for obtaining disability. It was delayed due to covid. Fingers crossed. Also, after several years trying to get in. I’m approved to go to the pain clinic at a big nearby university. So the plan is pt locally in January, then intensive treatment at the university once I’m strong enough to tolerate it. This has been a big goal for several years and it’s finally happening, so I’m trying to keep expectations low, though my excitement is high.
I’m hoping to get back in the garden this year too, if health allows.
I am grateful you posted this as it has got me thinking. Being a caretaker – which is no longer needed, I haven’t given much thought to goals. I read this post originally a few days ago and have been writing down what I would like to do. Also, I can speak/read Spanish but do not have conversations like I used to. You mentioned the videos are an excellent way to help keep my Spanish fresh. Thank you for that as well.
I have goals, not resolutions, too:
GET MORE SLEEP. I am a night owl by nature and almost 50 years of needing to get up early has not changed that one bit. I “kick in” around 8:30 or 9 at night, and getting to bed and calming down to sleep is hard for me. My goal is to get to bed so that I have at least 7 hours of sleep each night, although 8 would be ideal. I get up at 5:30-5:40 a.m., leave the house at 7 a.m. and don’t get home usually until 6:30 to 7:30 at night. It means I have little time to do the things I need to do outside of my job and still get time to relax, read, garden, work on a project or watch a movie. But I need that sleep, so my goal is to get more sleep for 90% of my days.
I don’t post on social media but I go there to catch up on family and friends that do, and find myself sucked into that vortex of wasted time while I’m there. Another goal is to cut screen time by half or more.
Finally, lose a few pounds. I don’t have many to lose, but since I developed thyroid disease, I’ve gained a few extra, and losing weight is incredibly hard, even while taking medication for the disease. I know I have to reduce portions; my diet itself is actually quite healthy, I just eat too much of it. For most of my life I could eat a lot of food all the time and not gain weight, so changing that habit is hard, (my stomach says, “What? That’s all?!”) but it’s a goal I’ve set.
Happy New Year!
My goals for 2024 are to get healthier. I need to lose some weight and exercise more. My knees have not been very happy with me.
My other goal is to pay off my car loan.
Wishing you, Brandy, and your family and all this blog “family” a very Blessed, Happy and Healthy New Year! I love goal ideas, and I am also a list maker. I haven’t given it much thought for 2024 yet, as I am away from home. The end of 2023 went off the rails a bit for me. I returned from 10 days in Florida the beginning of November (spent Halloween with the two grandchildren…ages 3 and 2) to send hubby off to DC. He arrived home on the 17th and off we flew to Kelowna, BC, to visit oldest daughter and her family for an American Thanksgiving. We were supposed to fly back together, but I ended up making a three day drive back with my daughter to sell her vehicle back to the dealer she bought it from (long story, but unfixable electrical issues). Hubby went off to DC again, and I scrambled to get the house up and running and Christmas going. Youngest daughter had a baby boy on the 19th (10 days late), and grandma (me) got influenza A two days later😡, just in time for Christmas. Oldest daughter and hubby picked up the slack and I gave up the ghost. Started feeling better on Christmas, and hubby came down with it. Two youngest daughter-in-laws and our sons announced they are expecting (June 18 and June 20)! Left hubby at home to recuperate and oldest daughter and I traveled to Florida to see the five kids down here. Not the most frugal trip because more hotel nights than we thought until I was certain we wouldn’t pass anything to middle daughter who has a weakened immune system due to an illness. We have been grocery shopping and cooking at the hotel. I sat down yesterday to review the budget and regroup. It doesn’t look near as bad as I thought and I think we will meet all the financial goals I had set. When I return home, I will be setting up my 2024 calendars, and switching out the file folders for the new year. I am looking forward to getting back into the swim schedule I had started and that went down the tubes with travel and illness. I lost 25 lbs last year and hope to lose at least that this year to get down to my goal weight. My goal is also to get myself as healthy as possible. It takes longer to heal as you age and things take you down faster; I’m 65 now. I need to start focusing on senior discounts more; I still don’t think of myself as a senior and so don’t think to ask. I also want to start really using points, sales and coupons more effectively. I know a lot of you are whizzes at combining all of these as well as Ibotta, etc. I still haven’t gotten the hang of that. There will be more trips this year (baby showers and baby visits, and oldest son wants us down here for Christmas this year with the oldest two grandchildren (4 and 3 by then)), so I will have to be diligent. We will be eating down our freezers and pantry, continuing to sell off, in anticipation of retirement in the next year or two. So, I guess I have some goals in mind, but I really need to break it all down to make it manageable. Looking forward to continue to hone the frugal skills, and so blessed to be part of this like-minded community.
Hi Brandy, You have very specific and actionable goals and to do’s. That’s awesome because the more specific the more of a check list it can be.
My goals for this year…
See my Mom
Go on 24 dates with my son
Earn an extra $1,000.00 a month
Fundraise for Tree Giveaway
Have a Yardsale
Make Laundry room more usable
Read or listen to 12 books
I love reading people’s goals for the New Year.
I thought I’d tell you about how I successfully started a David Austin rose plant. My friend gave me a beautiful fragrant bouquet of David Austin roses when I had my last baby. 2 stems looked like maybe they’d grow so I dipped them in rooting hormone and stuck them in nice dirt on the north side of our garden shed. This was done in April 2 years ago and last year I had lots of blooms on a healthy rose bush! I am so excited to have it.