What in the World Have I Been Up To?
Inside: What in the world have I been up to? I’ll give you a hint: I’ve been busy painting wood!
What I’ve Been Up To
When last you heard from me, I’d revealed my word for the year and goals, which I’ve pretty much not followed (the goal part), aside from the non-specific goal of being a better steward. I’ve done that, Or at least started doing that.
The surprising thing, though, has been what I have done–or, rather, what Mike and I have been doing. He’s set up a woodworking shop in the old milk barn, making things, and I sort of fell into painting his creations. What happened from there is the idea that we should open up a store, and so we have. You’ll find us at Etsy under Milkhouse Woodworking.
I’ve gotten a lot of joy working with my hands and being creative this year. Thrive, my word for 2023, really describes how I’ve felt in this new creative endeavor. And getting to do this with Mike has been amazing! It’s like we’ve come full circle from our newlywed days when we dabbled in making crafts and selling them. Now thirty-five years later, we feel as giddy as kids again!
And now, just this past week, we learned that a booth has opened up in a local antique mall–we got it! So we’re plotting and planning our little 8 x 2 foot booth–you can fit a lot more than you’d think in such a seemingly small space.
Here is a sampling of some of our creations:
Here is the link to our Etsy shop, Milkhouse Woodworking. Right now we are having a 12 Days of Christmas 25% off sale, running through December 12, for everything in our shop.
Which reminds me. We will be running our annual 12 post of Christmas, though we’re doing it a bit different this year. Instead of the usual posting marathon starting mid-month, I will start posting now, and not necessarily every day, as the posts line up sequentially anyway. And I won’t be pulling my hair out in the process. Also, I will be rotating in older posts along with some new as I did last year.
In the meantime, have some hot cocoa, and I’ll be back soon with Day 1 of the 12 Posts of Christmas.
A February Discussion of Goals
Inside: This might seem like an odd time–a February discussion of goals–but I suggest that it’s the perfect time to reevaluate before moving forward into 2023.
My Goals for 2023
It’s late February, seven weeks past any timely discussion of goals. The blush of a new year is long past, and talking about goals for many people is not exactly a welcome topic. These best of intentions have been cast aside, abandoned, or if not entirely abandoned, on life support. And there it goes–another year.
But does it have to be that way?
Here are the goals I made at the beginning of this year. . .
Overall goal: To be a better steward of what I have
Practical goals:
- Finish editing my mystery novel and get it ready to send out.
- Keep working on my current novel.
- Organize and declutter my home.
- Read at least six books from my bookshelf.
- Take at least one online course.
- Post on my website without worrying about being perfect.
- Continue exercising, working on incorporating strength and balance exercises, and eating healthy.
How’s It Going?
To be honest, fair. I’ve moved the ball forward in a few areas. I’ve spent a little time organizing and decluttering. I signed up for an online course (go at your own pace) but I haven’t started it yet. I’ve been walking more, but I’ve only worked in a couple of new exercises to give me balance and strength. I am eating healthy, though. I’m posting, and I added some things to my website, but not as much as I’d like.
So far this year has felt like I’ve been putting out little fires. My focus has been scattered between water well problems and breakdowns and other distractions.
Basically life.
The Way Forward
So the question is, how do I balance regular life with this new slate of activities I hope to accomplish?
Before making my goals this year, I read an article on making vague goals, and it actually made sense for my personality. While it flies in the face of everything the experts have been telling us for years–make goals specific, measurable, etc.–when I make a goal such as “read one book per month” and I miss a month, it makes me feel like I’ve failed, which takes away any motivation I had. (I already failed, so why try anymore?) If you have an “all or nothing” approach to life, you’ll likely understand what I’m saying. But if I make a commitment simply to read books from my bookshelf and one month I don’t, I haven’t blown this goal.
This approach won’t work for everybody, but it does work for me. It’s all about moving forward. Making progress. Doing things better. One person from the article simply made it her mission to do her best, no matter what activity she did. Applying that same idea, my overall goal is to be a better steward of what I have: my health, my finances, my home, my relationships. So I take better care of my health by walking. I spend my funds wisely at the store. I take time to put things back and clean my home. I work at staying in touch with people, an aspect of better relationships.
Making Goals Doable
In reevaluating my goals, I looked at past successes and asked myself why a particular goal worked for me. Years ago I read a book called Mini Habits, which, when boiled down to its essence, shows you how to achieve habit goals by making them so ridiculously simple you can’t fail. For me, that was writing 25 words per day. Yes, 25 words. His point was that when you accomplish an easy goal, you oftentimes find yourself actually doing more. This also worked, so much so that I added 90 pages on to my novel that year. In this case, the goal was specific, yet the ridiculously easy part had me doing it. Obviously I wrote more than 25 words on some days, but only when it was easy and the writing flowed. Other days I simply put in my 25.
Along those lines, another good book, Atomic Habits, offers a great suggestion: Just do one percent better each day on your particular goal. (By the way, I found a lot of gems in this book!)
A Final Point to Consider
While considering my goals, I thought ahead to December and where I want to be by year’s end. It occurred to me that the clue to getting there was to work backward, focusing on my day-to-day activities. This quote perfectly expresses it:
“Success in life is founded upon attention to the small things rather than to the large things; to the everyday things nearest to us rather than to the things that are remote and uncommon.” –Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery
Okay, pep talk over. Time to get busy!
Resources and related posts:
This day in previous posts:
Trending Spring, Garden Talk, and Other News Fresh From the Farm 2018
25 Ways to Be Good to Yourself 2019
My Word for 2023
Inside: It’s the beginning of the year . . . a new hope, a new direction. Check out my word for 2023.
My Word for 2023
Wow! I can hardly believe I’ve been doing this in some shape or form for nineteen years! It started more like a phrase, the first one being, in 2005, “Don’t compare yourself to others.” Somewhere around 2017, my phrase boiled down to a single word and has been that way ever since.
But one thing has never changed–my words pick me, not the other way around. Nothing against others who choose their own word. If it works for you, do it! For me, it takes prayer and listening. Usually by year’s end, I have it. If not, by the first blush of January, I have my word.
This year’s story for my word started off by purchasing a membership in an online grocery market in November. Then, about a week later, my sister-in-law used the word during one of our video chats, and I started to suspect. From that point the word did what my words always do–they seem to lift off the page when I’m reading or I see the word in advertisements. Everywhere, really. Then I know.
Without further ado, the word is THRIVE.
THRIVE! To prosper, be fortunate or successful. To grow or develop successfully. To flourish or succeed. To do well in a situation in which you are given.
Oddly, I have thought a time or two in previous years that THRIVE would be a good word to have, and here it is. . .
I will post updates on what it means to THRIVE, for me, as we go through 2023.
A Word About Last Year’s Word
Last year’s word was “opportunity,” and it didn’t play out the way I had thought. I had envisioned some big change (good change) looming in front of me that would benefit me in some way. Life would improve substantially. Or, if not one big opportunity, several smaller opportunities that would make life better for me and my family. . .
Didn’t happen.
In fact, I had wondered if I somehow had missed “my opportunity.” I’d prayed about it, asked to be aware of whatever I needed to see so I didn’t miss what God had for me.
On the other side of it, 365 days later, all that comes to me is that I had an opportunity to pray, and I took it. Also, I had little opportunities. Opportunities to give of myself, my finances. Saying “yes” to life rather than the “no” that had so often been my default. It still seems pretty uneventful to me, but my ways are not God’s ways.
Back to the Thriving
This year I really don’t have a lot of excitement about my word like I usually do. And with such a life-affirming word at that. But maybe that’s for the best. With no preconceived notions, I’m free to discover what God has for me, and see what it means to THRIVE.
Related posts:
When Your New Year Didn’t Go as Planned
This week in past posts:
Simple Suppers: Classic Broccoli Cheese Soup
Winter Conversations, Clarence Hiding, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Taking Inventory 2022
Inside: I’m looking back over the past year to bring perspective, as well as closure. . . Taking inventory 2022.
Looking Back and Taking Inventory 2022
If you’ve landed on this page and are unfamiliar with this blog, each year I take the time to try and process the previous twelve months to bring perspective and closure. These ten questions are a great place to start. (If you’d like to answer these questions for yourself, click here for a printable copy.)
In many ways this year felt like 2021 version 2.0. I find I’ve moved past being hungry for change to being more like starving at times! Maybe next year.
1. What worked?
Praying more, especially focusing on being thankful. Doing steps while praying.
Picking up a gallon of raw milk every other week at a local small dairy. One of the best things we started doing this year because it keeps me in touch with my dairy farming roots.
Grocery shopping Mondays with Mom.
Eating whole foods.
Watching classic television to unwind.
2. What didn’t work?
Focusing too much on one person’s advice for health and diet.
Struggling to lose weight and get in shape.
Reading too much negative news.
Letting the dishes and laundry pile up.
Eating too much sugar this Christmas.
3. What surprised you? (Whether good or bad.)
The unrelenting barrage of hardships we have encountered this year. Part of me feels like I’m making way too much out of it because I haven’t dealt with major illness or death or crippling financial problems like other folks have. It’s been a lot of breakdowns and rodent infestations and strife and frustrations seemingly one thing after another. December has been particularly difficult.
I am hoping next year that I will actually have something good to say when answering this question.
4. What disappointed you?
Unanswered prayer. I will leave it at that. Hopefully one of these days I can be more specific.
5. What were you most proud of?
That I got some work done on one of my novels.
6. What gave you the most joy?
Spending time with my nephews. Shopping for and planting flowers.
7. What drained you?
See #3. The unrelenting barrage of hardships.
8. What wasted your time?
Too much reading news and political commentaries.
Too much television (at times).
9. Who did you enjoy spending time (or connecting) with?
Mike, Mom, Emily, Jared, my brothers and their families, Patty, my critique group, Joy. Video chats with Karisa.
10. What gave you the most peace?
Trusting that God’s plan is turning things around, not only for me but for our country.
Again, not much different than last year. That tells me I’m in a rut. I’d like to do better. Hoping some good changes will be a part of 2023!
If you would like a copy of these questions to take your own inventory, click below:
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