Year Word and Year Goals

Well, it is currently blowing like crazy and we are forecasted to have up to eight inches of snow today. The drifts are over the drive, and we are tucked inside admiring the view. Part of the joys of having kids is reliving your childhood. My oldest and I went out exploring snowdrifts just like when I was a kid. This storm is definitely fulfilling my winter bucket. Hopefully the wind will slow down and it will warm up so we can go play in it.

2020 is looking to be a very active year.  My goals may sound a little crazy, but you have to have something to aim for. :-)

Here is my list of goals for 2020:
1. Read 10 books: yes, I know this is less than last year's goal. But I've been doing a lot of skimming of health and nutrition books lately which don't really count towards my goal, (skimming vs. reading) but allow me to learn a bunch of helpful information.  So, I decided a more reasonable goal is reading 10 books this year.

2. Cook/Bake/Make 52 new recipes: I have some cookbooks I'm excited to try, and my eye on a couple more I want to add to my collection. My husband is also urging me to 'attempt' meal planning so he's not met with the same 3 meals each time he asks what's for supper. ;-)

3. Secret Family Project (no, we are not moving again)

4. Plant trees: While we don't know anything about orchards, we are hoping to plant one in the NW corner of our property. We also need to add in wind break trees around our house to help with protection from the weather.

5. Plant a large garden: I'm excited to have our garden at the house this year, instead of having to drive there. We 'll have space to plant longer growing season crops (pumpkins, squash, etc) and we can add to the soil as we wish.

6. Get chickens: We are hopeful......but again this is something we have never tried before.

7. House projects: Our next project is carpeting our stairs and installing trim work in the hallway. I say 'we', but it's mostly my husband and I just get to help as needed.

8. Set up a school routine (which means we need to set up a school room first): my oldest is begging me to teach her to read...which means the school room needs to be set up in functioning order so I can mentally process better.

9. Nature Journaling: We regularly hike with our Wild and Free group, but I haven't done much with nature journaling yet. There's a Wild and Free nature class I would like to take and I would like to learn about watercolors and phenology wheels.

10.  Unpacking/decluttering: I feel like unpacking comes in stages. There's the initial unpacking where you unpack the main things (clothes, toys, kitchen, etc).  Then you unpack more in each room as you build or finish projects in those rooms (installing a bathroom vanity, hanging up laundry room shelving). There's also the downsizing that happens as you unpack (Why do I still have this?).


My word for this year is focus. I'm highly distracted by 'shiny things' and all the things I'm 'supposed' to be doing to be a good person/mom etc.  There's a thousand research articles and books promising to make you smart, and a lot of 'good' activities calling us to be part of them. But when you focus in with a camera, the background becomes blurry and only the main object stands out. I want to focus on what's most important (what the goal is), and not get sidetracked by what's in the background.

How about you? What do you hope for in 2020? What areas would you like to grow in? How can I help you with that? Please send me a message or leave a comment. :-)

Sojourning with you,
 Felicia