January 2013 Goal Review

I guess since it's already the fifth of Februry, I should review my goals from January. Sheesh. It's like I have no respect for the calendar or something. If you are just interested in the list of goals, here's my post from last month (it includes my goal review for Decemeber, so it's kinda lengthy). This post might actually work better for you. Goals with an asterisk (*) are new goals (for this year).

Before I get started, the photos included in this post were all taken over the course of the month. Most have been edited in Instagram and re-sized in Photoshop.

This would have been a perfect picture for Sally's Focusing on Life prompt this past week, "Capture Our Hearts". Oops!

Eat right/better: I did okay overall, but most days had an "except that I ate ____" included in my record keeping. I definitely need to watch those late night cravings a little more. 
Read more books: I need to buck up and book up!! I finished one book and started two more that I'm still working on. Not quite what I had imagined. I just didn’t seem to work in enough reading time this month. 
Make a real effort to keep the house clean: My house was pretty clean overall this month. There were a couple of days where I slacked and let it get out of control, but I busted my butt to get in back in order later. I'd say it was fairly clean most of the time. YAY!!

A bike ride on the Backwoods Trail at the Greater Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores.

Take better care of my face and skin: I started the month off hot and heavy with the face washing at least once a day, but that's gradually starting to drop off again. I definitely need to work on it as I'm having a pretty bad breakout right now.
Make a real effort with my blog: By my account, there were only seven days this whole past month that I didn't blog something. I'd say that's pretty darn good. It didn't feel like I posted that much as I did schedule several of my weekend posts while I was busy with other things. It really worked out for me. I should TOTALLY do that more often. However, there are several other blog-related tasks that I need to take care of (header and sidebar issues) which got no attention. So, there's work still to be done.
Be Grateful/Thankful: Blarg, I attempted several methods to work on this goal. I started by writing down at least 1-3 items in my calendar daily, but the original calendar was messed up so I had to get my new one. From there, I downloaded and app called Gratitude! to help me since I'm a bit of an app freak. I used the darn thing TWICE. This needs OH so much work!
 

An obligatory beach picture.

Declutter/organize at least one drawer/cabinet/area a week: I did pretty good on this and only missed one week. I'm running out of places to de-clutter though. . .except for the Craft room. I need some SERIOUS help in there. For now, I should just be happy that the rest of the house is looking pretty good. Thinking about the craft room's chaos just stresses me out.
Include more tutorials on the blog: I kinda did one tutorial with my calendar pretty-up. But I'm hoping to get a few more in eventually. Maybe.
Continue to get published (if not published then at least submit to a few publications): I did not work much on getting published in January but found out that an item I submitted in December was accepted for Jewelry Stringing Summer 2013!! So. . .that's something. 

Some brass pieces I etched this month

Think outside of the box: I attempted a few things that were a little more 'out of the box' but not exceptional. This could use some work.
Learn to operate my nice camera better *: Other than learning how to use the self timer option on my camera, I really didn't accomplish much on this goal. The days fly by and I've got them filled with so much that I'm not sure how soon I can get to this goal. I'm hoping that Sally's Focusing on Life series does help me focus in on this goal a bit more.
 

I accidentally grew this onion sprout. I tried to keep it, but it didn't last the month.

Craft other items than jewelry (make 2 non-jewelry items a month) *: I got my calendar organized with just some ribbon and paper clips as well as made some backers for my jewelry. However, I really want to dive into some larger, different projects like doing some embroidering, sewing, paper crafting, etc. Again, I'm already filling my days with so much it's finding the time that's hard.
Use analytics more efficiently *: I found a tutorial on creating goals (shared here on the blog earlier in the month) as well as played around with looking at what searches/keywords brought visitors to my blog. Somehow I need to combine those two and learn quite a bit more. 
Grow some plants inside and out: I bought a primrose at the farmer's market to replace the succulents that were there. I also had an onion sprout in my pantry that lived up there for a little while. However, that's about the extent of our plants at the moment. We've already begun discussions of what to plant in the next month or two as it warms up though.

My kitchen window a few weeks ago.

Make my visions of my dream house and this house co-exist: I've thinking more and more about getting some more stuff up on the walls, but other than getting the kitchen window looking pretty (above) at one point in the month, not much has happened on this front.
Go to the doctor/dentist: This really needs to be made a priority, I know. Yet somehow it just falls by the wayside. sigh.
Explore other venue options for selling my jewelry (in the community): I had dinner with some old friends and we talked about options/venues for me to explore. They really helped me realize that I need to get out there more. I did start looking up local craft fairs but need to do more research.
Find some confidence and exert it: There's nothing new here. I just can't seem to find it. . .yet.
 

This gorgeous field of dandelions was in a ditch outside a gas station/package store.

Learn to sew *: There's a place up the street that I think offers sewing lessons and I just haven't made that call. It's on the list, I look at it every day.
Learn use photoshop better *: I did make a few attempts to try some new things in the program, but just made a bigger mess. I need a tutorial I think. I know where I can find one too, but if you have any tips, feel free to share!
Start buying Christmas presents earlier in the year *: This goal is really intended for all gifts. . birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I didn't do so well with mama's birthday and Valentine's day is fast approaching also. I really need to get other "gift days of interest" entered into the infamous calendar along with reminders about the actual gifts.
Support my local bead shops and other etsy sellers more *: I have been to both Hobby Lobby and Michael's over the month but I also made purchases from Miss Fickle Media and Gaea online as well as went to Knot Just Beads in Mobile for some items. So, it had its ups and downs. In all honesty though, I did buy more online than I usually do.

I should note that the Red means I didn't do so well, Purple means needs improvement, and Blue means doing well, keep it up. There's a bit more red up there than I'd like to see, but this is just the first month for several of these. I can't work miracles in a month.

I saw this is a local establishment and laughed out loud when I spotted it!

Overall, I'm pleased with what I have done and am looking forward to this new month.
How are you doing on your goals, resolutions, and words for the year?