Journal

So, what all did I get accomplished in 2013? Let’s start by looking at my goals for last year.

These are really more goals than resolutions; they are things I’d like to make priorities to focus my energy and money on. If I don’t get them done, it’s cool; this is a big pile of ambitious. But these are all areas I want to make progress in for the coming year.

750 words a day – more days of the week than not – not even close, but I did do a reasonable amount of writing.
Finish novel – nope. Although now I think this is a good thing. I have a renewed sense of ideas for it.
Start new novel – I’m close to finishing this new novel, and I’m actually pretty thrilled with how it’s going. I need to finish up here in January and start showing it to people to get feedback and ideas.

[various work-related goals; not shared here] – I’m really happy with work, suffice it to say.

Get insulation done – We were cautious about major house expenditures due to Stephanie’s job, but this will happen in 2014, for sure.
Get siding fixed – ditto.
Get house painted – ditto.
Get guest room organized – this one I’m disappointed in. It really needs to be done.
Get bed frame for our bed – we did. It’s nice.

Save 10,000 dollars – Above and beyond what we put away for retirement. We’ve done pretty well at this one, even with Stephanie not working for part of the year. I don’t know that we did $10,000 but we were close.
Get a new computer Really? I did that this year? Seems like I’ve had it forever. I love it.

Get split down to 2:00:00 – that was really unlikely.
Get an erg – Done. Very nice to have at home, too.
learn sculling – yeah, I don’t know. I was very frustrated with rowing this year for several reasons.

Read more books I own – I read 36 books last year, so I think I did pretty well. Many of them were graphic novels, but some of them were some heavy-hitters.
Buy new books on e-reader – eh. Changed my mind on this one. I’d rather read a book than an ebook.
Read first Proust book – Nope. Definitely this year.

Knit pillows – I did a large amount of knitting this year, but didn’t get around to pillows. We helped with two different cool yarn-bombing projects that were very fun.
Knit hats – follow design – did lots of hats this year.
Learn color work – also a non-starter in 2013, although I hope to do a small project in 2014.

Photo scanning & organizing – This is a rather herculean task that I don’t know if I’ll ever get to.
Design 20 new shirts – I definitely accomplished this one.

Overall, my goal was to create as much or more than I consume, and I did a good job of advancing my agenda there through a variety of different outlets, both personal and at work. I don’t know that the create/consume balance was equal but each year I’ve gotten closer, so I’m happy to have at least advanced that agenda.

We’ve had an up-and-down year emotionally. Stephanie’s job hunt was hard on her, as you might expect. She did ultimately find a job that she’s quite happy with. It comes with a lengthy commute that isn’t ideal, but we’ve managed to adjust our schedule to make that easier, and I’ve taken on more of the food preparation to make it easier on her. I haven’t quite hit my stride in the cooking department, but we’re managing.

Our cat Lucy died this year. We don’t know what was wrong. She had just had a vet visit and while they thought something in her blood work was off, they didn’t indicate it was life-threatening. It’s strange not seeing her and we miss her all the time.

Lucy

Spike continues to hold on, despite his heart problems. At the beginning of the year he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, and we began giving him medication. We didn’t expect him to make it through the year, but he has, and he seems to be doing pretty well. Unfortunately, it’s a looming issue that we know it won’t last, and my best little man will not be here at this time next year.

We also found out that Stephanie’s mom has cancer, and is very ill. That has been very difficult. For privacy’s sake I don’t want to say more, but this fall has been rather hard and I don’t expect the coming year to be easier.

On the bright side, we have a new niece this year. My older brother and his wife had a baby girl named Corbyn. That brings the tally of nieces and nephews up to eight, which is awesome. I think babies are intended to give us hope that the world doesn’t become more terrible and frightening as we get older. That sort of works. Mostly.

We also took a road trip for a family wedding in New Jersey, which was nice because we got to spend time with some of Stephanie’s family that we haven’t seen since we got married. At the end of the year I tend to think about people and connections more than accomplishments so those are the activities that I cherish.