I Did What I Could

Since my birthday is Sunday - today seemed like a good time to review my 15 before 51 list from last year.  The whole Covid-19 thing put quite a damper on my plans.  Despite being mostly in isolation for 7 of the last 12 months, I did manage to mark a few items off the list. 

1. Reach my goal weight:  I did a whole lot of stress eating especially in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic and I'm afraid my weight tipped in the wrong direction as a result  Boo!!
   
2. Get into an exercise routine.  I would like to blame this one on the pandemic, but it's no fault but my own.
3. Attend a crochet group
4. Learn how to make Key Lime pie (one of my favorite desserts) from scratch  I did find a simple recipe for Key Lime pie on Pinterest.  It was easy to make and the result was a creamy, delicious pie.  I would like to keep working on this skill until I get to a point where I can make the perfect Key Lime pie.  But I'm not disappointed by my efforts so far. 
5.  Read these 5 classic novels
•  The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
• Watership Down
• The Secret Garden 
• The Count of Monte Cristo
• The Picture of Dorian Gray
6. Attend a play
7. Take a class I did a few online learning webinars from the local community colleges Small Business Center.  And I was gifted a year to MasterClass, which I forgot about until recently - but now I have access to many learning opportunities through that membership. 
8. Road trip!   We managed a couple of road trips before Coronamaggedon shut everything down in March.  In November, The Man of the House and I drove to Cleveland for a football game.  And in February we made the trip to Memphis for a weekend.
9. Eat meatless meals one day per week It hasn't been every single week, but most weeks I tried to plan at least one meatless meal.  One of my favorites is a vegetarian taco salad made with a seasoned mix of black, kidney, and pinto beans.
10. Start a sketchbook.  I'm not singing from the rooftops about this accomplishment, but I did start a few little sketches and doodlings in a sketchbook this year.  
11. Go on a spontaneous weekend away with the Man of the House.  It wasn't exactly "spontaneous", since going anywhere takes a bit of consideration and planning these days - but we did rent a cottage at the lake and got away for a long weekend back in July. 
12. Get a family photo with the kids and grandkid
13. Go to a movie by myself
14. Donate blood at least 3 times this year
15. Crochet something for charity

Halfway Through

Since May marks my halfway point between birthdays, I thought I would give y'all an update on the 15 Before 51 list that I shared back in November.

As you can see - it's been sort of a mixed bag so far.  It has been more of a challenge to do some of the things on the list than I anticipated.  Made even more difficult by the Corona Pandemic Era.  Hopefully, circumstances will allow me to check off more items before I reach my next birthday. 

1. Reach my goal weight I've been doing a whole lot of stress eating over the past two months and I'm afraid my weight has tipped in the wrong direction as a result  Boo!!
   
2. Get into an exercise routine.
3. Attend a crochet group
4. Learn how to make Key Lime pie (one of my favorite desserts) from scratch
5.  Read these 5 classic novels
•  The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
• Watership Down
• The Secret Garden 
• The Count of Monte Cristo
• The Picture of Dorian Gray
6. Attend a play
7. Take a class I've done a few online learning webinar's from the local community colleges Small Business Center.  And I was gifted a year to MasterClass, although I haven't actually taken any of those courses yet.
8. Road trip!   We managed a couple of road trips before Coronamaggedon shut everything down in March.  In November, The Man of the House and I drove to Cleveland for a football game.  And in February we made the trip to Memphis for a weekend.
9. Eat meatless meals one day per week It hasn't been every single week, but most weeks I try to plan at least one meatless meal
10. Start a sketchbook Just started last week! 
11. Go on a spontaneous weekend away with the Man of the House
12. Get a family photo with the kids and grand kid
13. Go to a movie by myself
14. Donate blood at least 3 times this year
15. Crochet something for charity

Another New Year

Happy Monday y'all!  I had a lovely birthday weekend.

Typically I start the week off by sharing my goals for the next 7 days.  But, this week, instead of weekly goals - I want to talk about the coming year of my life.

You may recall my Before 50 post of a year ago and which I recapped just last week.  A list to keep me focused on things I want to work on - or things I have been working on and want to finally accomplish.  I enjoyed having a list of plans, goals and wishes to work toward achieving throughout the year so much, that I decided to make it a regular thing.

You'll see a few are items that didn't get marked off last year's list.  Many are new.  Some are simple.  A couple of them will tug me right out of that ol' comfort zone.  (Which is a good thing.) 

So, without further ado - let's take a look a the 15 Before 51 List!

1. Reach my goal weight.
2. Get into an exercise routine.  .
3. Attend a crochet group
4. Learn how to make Key Lime pie (one of my favorite desserts) from scratch
5.  Read these 5 classic novels
•  The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
• Watership Down
• The Secret Garden
• The Count of Monte Cristo
• The Picture of Dorian Gray
6. Attend a play
7. Take a class
8. Road trip!
9. Eat meatless meals one day per week
10. Start a sketchbook
11. Go on a spontaneous weekend away with the Man of the House
12. Get a family photo with the kids and grand kid
13. Go to a movie by myself
14. Donate blood at least 3 times this year
15. Crochet something for charity

And there you have it.  I'll be posting updates periodically over the next year.  Are you ready to follow along on my journey?