1. Share your 2021 New Year’s Resolution. How did last year’s turn out?
Feels a little strange to be writing about personal resolutions after the White House was stormed today, but Writer’s Workshop must go on…besides, it’s kind of fun to look back every year and see if I hit the mark on anything. The title of last year’s post was “Show Me The Money in 2020” and I don’t even have to read it right now to be able to tell you that it looks like we’re still working on that goal!
My official goals for 2020 were:
- Keep Harper from having any seizures at all in 2020. :)
- Keep working out. (Don’t you dare cancel that gym membership.)
- Double my earnings in Pat’s eBay shop.
- Pay off credit card debt.
- Foster 20 animals in 2020. (I fostered 18 in 2019!)
- At least two of those animals should be Greyhounds.
- Remodel my office space.
- Remodel the upstairs loft space.
- Remodel my bedroom.
- Remodel the kids “playroom.”
- Read 20 books in 2020. (I read 12 in 2019 so this is going to be a challenge).
1. Harper is Back! = WIN (kind of)
Considering what a huge mess 2020 has been for the world, I will say that after looking at these goals I didn’t do half bad! First and foremost, the best news to come out of 2020 is that the medication and Keto diet that Harper has been on to help her seizures has WORKED! Harper was diagnosed with Doose Syndrome back in 2019 and after a year of nonstop seizures she was deteriorating right before our eyes. But today? Our girl is 9 months seizure free and has her pep back. That’s not ALL of 2020, but I’m counting it as a win. She is chatty (a bit sassy) and smart. She loves fitting puzzles together and has joined an online dance class. It is amazing to see her flourish right now and we are SO grateful!
2. Workout = FAIL
I did not workout consistently all year. The Pandemic shut down my gym just when I was starting to see some positive results and now I am totally back to square one. I do plan on making exercise a consistent part of my year ALL YEAR LONG in 2021. This is just for health reasons, I want to be strong again.
3. Ebay = WIN
I was able to help double the income of Pat’s eBay shop and I started two more “spin off” stores. One to sell holiday decor and the other for new items, while the original store is mostly vintage items. My goal for 2021 is to double that income again…we have three kids to get through college and debt to pay off.
4. Pay Off Debt = FAIL
We still have debt to pay off and with three kids to send to college I don’t anticipate we will ever have a life without debt. Maybe if I make this goal a bite sized goal for 2021 I’ll have more success. My financial goal for 2021 is to pay off HALF our debt…before we put ourselves into more debt for Maile to go to college.
5. Foster 20 Animals = WIN
We fostered more kittens than I can count during the pandemic AND we adopted two of them. Actually, Laina adopted two with her own money and I’m so glad she did. They have been a lovely distraction while we’re all home and I think giving her something to take care of has had a positive effect on her as well.
6. Foster Two Greyhounds = WIN
We fostered Jordan and Roman in 2020. They were such good boys and as always it was fun to see their little personalities blossom as they headed off to their forever homes.
7. Remodel Rooms = WIN(ish)
I was extra motivated to finally make some progress on rooms in my house that still look like “little kid” rooms even though my kids are now teenagers. I needed updates and my sister helped me get started. My office space is the most finished, but I have made great progress on the other rooms as well. I suppose if we’re going to be stuck at home for nine months (and counting) we might as well love the space we’re stuck in. That being said, my own bedroom is the only one that has not been touched. For 2021 I’d like to see my bedroom completely made over.
8. Read 20 Books = FAIL
I read 12 books this year and I blame The Game of Thrones. Those books are massive and they took up most of my reading time. For 2021 I will read 21 books…feels like a stretch, but I like that the number matches the year so I’m going to try!
Additionally, for 2021 I would like to see my long hauler niece (Harper’s mom) make a complete recovery from covid and I would like to get through the year without anyone else in my family contracting the coronavirus. I hope that in 2022 when I’m re-reading this post to see which of my goals I failed at, I will read the word “covid” and be like “oh yeah I forgot that was a big concern!” I desperately want things to go back to normal. I want my kids to go to school and play sports again. I want to stop feeling nervous when I go to a store. I want to make plans with friends and hug family again. THOSE are my goals for 2021. Just be normal!
The Prompts:
1. Share your 2021 New Year’s Resolution. How did last year’s turn out?
2. Did you pick a Word Of The Year for 2019? Share!
3. If the way you spent your New Year’s Eve is any indication of how the rest of the year will go, how would you say your future is looking right about now?
4. Share your top 12 blog posts from 2020.
5. Share your top 12 photos from 2020.
6. What were you blogging about a year ago? What has changed since then?
Patty says
2020 was a complete failure in many ways. So many ups and downs with a lot of just coasting through each day.
But, we’re here, ready to launch a defense to whatever this new year brings. Sadly, at least for a few months, I doubt if things will change much. I think people felt that there was some invisible “switch” when 2021 started that would bring all the negativity and suffering to a screeching halt.
I continue to weep for the future.
Stay safe, Kat!
Astrid says
Oh, you did so well. I’m so glad Harper has been seizure-free for most of 2020.
As for the books, I read only like 13 books in 2020 and have set my goal at 20 for 2021. I don’t have a huge book to blame for the lack of reading though.
Mama Kat says
Yeah, I also found Game of Thrones to be slow moving and wasn’t at all inspired to keep at it. I find when I get sucked into good books it in inspires me to read more and faster. This series just inspired me to sleep. ;)
John Holton says
Hey, you actually did pretty well. I just looked it up, and there are 292,727 word in it. Figure 250 words per page, that’s 1171 pages. The average length of a novel is 300 pages, so that one book was the equivalent of (roughly) four average-sized books, and *voila!* you read 15 books.
Ya gotta work the angles, as my father-in-law used to say.
Very happy to see Harper back on her feet and thriving, and you are a wonderful great-aunt for all you did. You had some great victories, too. Happy 2021!
Gigi says
*crossing my fingers that this goes through* I am SO very happy to hear that Harper is doing so well!