I just went back and read two posts from the end of last year. This one discussed 2010 and what we had in store in 2011... & this one talked about my goals for 2011. Although not everything went exactly as planned, everything worked out very well!
Year End Review:
*Crochet: I've been loving the posts I've seen showcasing finished crafts from the past year, but unfortunately I'm out of town and I didn't bring my computer, so I don't have my pictures... However, I'm proud to estimate that I've made around 100 hats in the past year!!!!!!! I've made an array of other things, from baby blankets, to amigurumi, to bracelets, to ereader covers! I've tried to make a variety of things to offer for sale on my Facebook page, and I love experimenting with new patterns. I have even started writing some of my own patterns!
*Business: I orginally started trying to sell on Etsy... While I still have things for sale, it didn't take off the way I had hoped... In fact, I haven't sold a single thing. Not long after starting my Etsy site, I began my Facebook page, 4Hankins Crochet. It was very important to me that I make some money and buy something for my husband. I am not used to this whole SAHM thing! While I LOOOOOOVE it, I want to contribute to our finances, and when I buy my husband gifts, I want to earn the money for them myself. I decided to buy him a Playstation 3 last Valentine's Day, and I had made enough to pay for half of it myself! Recently I recorded a "How to Crochet" class, which is for sale on DVD (and I will post a link to that later). I made enough money off of that to buy him an iPod Touch and a few other Christmas presents!
*Sewing: I learned how to sew! I learned in middle school, but I have never been very girly. I swore the day would never come that I began to sew!! I finally broke down and learned, because I started wanting so many handmade things for my daughter, and I didn't want to take up ALL of my sister's time, lol. I have made my daughter 2 or 3 dresses and a shopping cart cover now! I had a friend help out A LOT with the shopping cart cover, but I can't believe I accomplished it!
*House: Our big amazing purchase last year was a new car... Oh, how excited I was! My newest car had been a 2001, but before that I was driving a 1989... I felt like I took a big step up in the world when my husband and I bought a 2010 Malibu! I love that car and it still smells as new as it did the day we got it!!! This year, we one-upped ourselves! We bought a HOUSE!!! I keep joking that in 2009, my husband bought my diamond ring. In 2010, he bought me a car. In 2011, he bought me a HOUSE! What in the world could 2012 bring!?!?! ;) I digress... Our house is amazing. We don't plan to stay in WA much longer (although we have no idea how long we'll be there), but we were so tired of living in an apartment. We really wanted a house of our own. We lucked out and found an amazing deal on a brand new house, and it's ALL OURS!
*Education: I finished my Master's degree in Mathematics Education in March. I'm not planning on going back to work until 2014, maybe sooner if we don't end up having a third child.
*Family: On March 25th, my daughter was born. That is most definitely the best thing that happened in 2011!
2012 Goals:
*Crochet: I want to continue expanding my knowledge of crochet and master more crochet skills. I want to learn more about writing patterns, and I want to finally crochet a full size afghan.
*Knit: I'd like to learn to knit... We'll just have to see how that goes! I enjoy the instant gratification I get when I'm able to crochet a hat in a couple of hours, so trying to teach myself to knit might require a little too much patience.
*Sewing: I would like to make my daughter a few more dresses and learn more about reading and following patterns. I have a pretty good friend in WA who is good at sewing, so hopefully we will just have some girls' days that we can sit and sew on!
*Scrapbooking: I have got to catch up on my scrapbooking. I have got to catch up on my scrapbooking. I have got to catch up on my scrapbooking.
*Business: I'd like to expand my business into writing and selling more patterns, and making less. I am making some changes to my store, along with price increases, but I would definitely like to start selling more patterns. I've sold one so far.... Sometimes the amount of items I need to make and ship out interferes with my other household duties and the time I get to spend with my kids. I want to get faster, but at the same time, I sort of want to make less for other people and more for our house and family. I'd like to increase my fan base on Facebook and start participating in blog hops here. I love getting ideas and inspiration from other blogs, and I think it'd be nice to start communicating with people via Blogger, since the Army life makes it difficult to have really close friendships.
*Family: I want to spend more time with my kids. I want each of them to get more one-on-one time with me, and I want to spend more time just being playful and fun with them, and I want to do more crafts with them... I just want to see them smile more than ever before. When it comes to my marriage, I am always growing and learning and I want to continue that. I have learned a lot since August 14, 2010 and I want to continue learning and genuinely striving to make my husband a happy man.
*Education: I want to teach myself new things, and I want to start exercising my brain on a regular basis. I'd like to learn more about photography and editing, and maybe even find a short photography class to take. I would also like to learn about html or whatever I need to learn in order to make my blog cuter, lol! I want to start reading again; I may even set a goal of one book a month. I want to stop making excuses for not having time to read, and just sit down and enjoy a book!
*Exercising: I am going to exercise 5 days a week -PERIOD-
*Cooking: I used to try at least two new recipes every week, but I stopped when I had my daughter... 9 months later, I think it's time to start doing that again. I have too many cookbooks and too many ideas saved on Pinterest not to!
*Organizing: I need to get better organized, both physically and mentally. I used to be a person of lists, and I need to start that again. I am too forgetful not to be! I have already started making a list of things (more like a schedule) that will make up our daily routine and a list of things we would like to buy for/do to our house (both out of necessity and just for decorating). I think this will help me actually get things done, because I'll have those tasks in writing to remind me and check off as I complete them! We left for vacation less than two weeks after moving into our house, so I still have unpacking and actual organizing to do when we get back as well.
*Spiritual: I want to reach more into my spiritual side. I hope that we are able to find a church that we can agree on in our new city, and I would like to start reading the bible everyday. I have a daily devotional that I actually got last Christmas that I have (shamefully) never even opened. It's time to open it and start my day with something that REALLY matters (sorry, Facebook!). With this, I also want to bring out my GIVING side. I want to start donating more, so I'm going to use my business this month and begin with this family. They are AMAZING... and my next post will be solely about them.
Well... I know this has been quite a long post, and it's absolutely BEAUTIFUL outside, so I'm going to go outside with my sister, my niece, and my son and enjoy this seasonally inappropriate weather.
Happy New Year! I hope 2012 brings you much love and happiness!
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