In January, I joined Leslie, Mireille, Joanne, Bo, and Christie to blog about our bucket lists and goals. Now, if you’ve followed me for very long, you know I’m not good with setting and keeping goals. It’s like I set a goal, and then I do everything I can to not even try to meet the goal. I have had bucket lists in the past, but they’ve existed primarily in my head. Some of the women are doing just one; others are doing both. There’s also a link party, and you can find it at the end of the post.
A little more…
Well, if you read my initial post (found here), you’ll see I was supposed to post updates. But, in my defense, I also warned you I probably wouldn’t do it! There were a couple of things I should have put on my lists, but I didn’t for some goofy reason. Finishing and presenting my mini-retreat should have been a goal. Don’t worry. I’ll update you on that.
Without further ado…
My goals were about cleaning things and exercise as well as a couple of financial goals. Here they are:
- Clean out vanity and linen cupboard in primary bathroom. – I did this one quite quickly. And, yes, I use boxes to organize my drawers. I could get fancy and cover them, but why? The only person who sees them is me! There was so much hair!! I was relentless as I threw out partial tubes of who knows what as well as those small samples you get. I was hoping to keep up the momentum. Alas and alack, it lasted but not very long.
- Clean out closet in second bathroom. – This was completed quite easily. This is very small closet so I was able to accomplish this in a few minutes. I also took it a step farther and cleaned out the vanity. This is the bathroom Nigel uses, and he can be a bit messy.
- Continue purging my closet. – This is an ongoing goal. I am constantly purging. I did take several items to a local consignment store. Most of the items have sold, but the two big ticket items haven’t. I’m crossing my fingers they sell before the owners mark them down. Consignment pays pennies on the dollar, but there’s no messing about with listing, negotiating, and shipping. I have been really merciless in my purging, asking myself two questions: Does this item spark joy? Does this reflect me accurately? If the answer is no, out it goes.
- Clean out Nigel’s closet. – Surprisingly, I didn’t get this one done. I honestly could have done it, but I wanted Nigel to be there to give the yea or nay to items. There are lots of things in there I’d toss, but he’d say they’re perfectly fine! I had that closet so nicely organized when we moved in, but now…it’s all jumbled together.
- Begin walking routine. – Nope. It’s been so cold and windy here. I really need to get on this because my knees really are hurting. I know walking will help tremendously with this.
- Join gym. – Nope. There are several gyms within a couple of miles from us. Part of the reason I didn’t do this is because just the idea intimidates me. I think (though I don’t actually know) many of these gyms are kinda self-serve gyms. By that I mean they’re not class-centered, but the one I’m primarily interested in seems to have lots of different classes.
- Continue to save toward new shower in primary bathroom as well as fall trip. – I was doing really well on this one, and then Nigel decided we needed new carpeting in the living room. I’ll continue to save, though.
- Do Not buy any new eye shadows! – You may have noticed from the photo above…it speaks for itself. I did not buy any eye shadow just so y’all wouldn’t judge me!
- Clean out closet in front bedroom. – This was not fun. It’s a double closet, but we have those crappy (pardon my French) sliding doors. I wish I’d thought to ask for either bi-fold doors or doors that swing together in the middle. Somehow or other, I maneuvered my cedar chest into the closet last year. It holds all my jeans…the ones that don’t fit. I needed to go through it to find ones that fit again as well as to purge several pairs from it. I also took some clothing off hangers and placed in containers as they didn’t need to take up that space.
Bucket list…
I look at bucket lists as something that is not necessarily easy to accomplish. I am not going to feel badly if I don’t accomplish anything on this list as I can always move it to the next quarter.
- Go out to lunch with a friend. – I truly meant to do this many times, but I just never did it.
- Wallpaper accent wall in primary bathroom. – Stick a fork in it! This one is done. You can read more about it here.
- Paint primary bathroom. Again, done! I did this before the wallpaper.
- Begin planning trip to London/Liverpool. – Fail! I have drastically disappointed my youngest son. We had narrowed it down to a weekend. There are several problems associated with this. The first is it is Easter weekend. I don’t know if things will be open that weekend or not. The next is he only has five days (including Saturday and Sunday). That means we really would only have three days when you consider we lose a day each way to travel. So, then I proposed we just go to Liverpool because that’s where he really wants to go. Well, you don’t fly into Liverpool. You fly into Manchester. I just don’t know that area at all so I need more time to figure out how to get from Manchester to Liverpool. I’m still hoping we can do this…maybe this fall…but with his five day time constraint, it’s just not that easy.
- Begin to think about fall trip with my travel buddy. – We actually talked about this Saturday. She and her family have big plans for this fall/winter so we’re talking about next spring.
What did I do with my time…
Here’s the thing. I have plenty of time compared to the women in the group who are working or have families. But, I honestly didn’t realize how much time I would spend in reading, going to lectures, and preparing for being a docent. I also spent most of the month of March honing my presentation at my church.
The mini-retreat…
The mini-retreat was this past Saturday (March 22). Twenty-six women attended, including me. Our church has a food pantry, and this Saturday was a food pantry day. A few of the women wanted to attend but were working at the food pantry. We decided to change it from a brunch to a light luncheon. That meant some slight changes in the menu. Luckily, all of the women on the committee came through with what we needed. We had a beautiful fresh fruit salad, mini quiches, chicken salad on romaine leaves, and other yummy foods. Part of my presentation was creating a booklet to go along with my talk. This year, the subject was love. Did you know love is not the most common word in the Bible? It doesn’t even make the top 10! Anyway, one of the things the women had to do was list the people they loved. During the last part of the retreat, I switched from loving others to loving ourselves. They had to respond to a prompt about how they loved themselves. Dead silence! I was surprised because when the questions were about how they loved their families and others, there was lots of conversation. After a bit, there was some talk. Then, I asked them, “How many of you listed yourself as someone you loved?” Would you believe none of them had? I was surprised and yet, not really. All in all, I think it went well. I haven’t gotten any feedback yet.
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Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style, Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World and A Fresh Cup of Coffee. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop (Esme’s Salon) and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, and Sue. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!
And, now, it’s your turn!
Please link up your favorite posts, DIY, baking, gardening, fashion…you name it…as long as it’s family friendly! Link up with me, visit a couple of others, and leave a comment or two! No worries if you don’t have a blog, just look around! You may find a new blog just waiting for you!
You make me feel like such a slacker, but that doesn’t surprise me because one of my many middle names is Slacker, along with Procrastinator, and some more that would fit in here.
Well done you for getting so much done!
Hahaha!!! You can have Procrastinator as a middle name, but I’m still the Queen of Procrastination! Trust me, I am a major slacker. I had three months to accomplish those things!
Thanks, Cat!
Marsha, You can take the train from Manchester to Liverpool. A direct route (no changes!) takes between 50 minutes to one hour. Download the RometoRio app for help getting almost anywhere!
Great job on cleaning your vanity and linen closets and especially with purging clothes you no longer wear! Such discipline
Thanks, Allison! When I was in the UK years ago, it was fairly easy to navigate the trains, but I wasn’t sure if that was still the same. Someone along the line had told me the train service had been privatized. Do you have any suggestions for where to stay in Liverpool or London? Since we’re on a budget, that changes where I’d usually stay.
I’m working on paring things down! It’s not easy with the clothes, but it was fairly easy with my vanity as I had so many partially used items.
Like NYC & most other big cities, London has gotten so expensive. We stayed in Kensington at the Millennium Hotel: large rooms, huge breakfast buffet, near the Gloucester tube stop. It was perfect for us. I have not been to Liverpool
Oh just go to Liverpool! Never mind how to get there, public transport is good. And start going to the gym, haha.
Hahaha!!! Nancy, you are such a breath of fresh air! We are now planning to try for this fall and take extra time to go to London, too. The biggest thing was spending two entire days on a plane just to have three days in the UK. I’ll try to get to a gym, I promise!
Well done with your mini retreat session, I think that the women not thinking about loving themselves is common across the world. And it needs changing!
I don’t go to a gym either, but I do go walking and yes it can be a grind on a cold or wet day, but just getting outside is so good for us.
I always think its easier to have a workout buddy (and this coming from an only child). But I love classes better than just going to the gym.
Organizing is so fun for me but I need to work on a bunch of areas soon. Summer is the perfect time for that since we won’t be spending it outside!
Xoxo
Jodie
Thanks, Jodie1 I just need to break down and go. See what’s what with each of them. There are literally three of them in the same block of offices less than 3 minutes from our house.
Thanks, Rosie! It took me so long to write that presentation. I had a good start, but didn’t know where to go with it. Once I’d settled on self-care/love for ourselves, it became so much easier to write. I do hope I made a difference in just one woman’s life. I usually do go walking, but have just gotten away from it. I can’t wait to be out in my little gardens.
Oh I hear you on struggling to get outside when the weather is not so great; we have had a real windy and cold March! I find gyms very intimidating as well; perhaps if you found a buddy to go with? I like having that accountability! You did quite well with all your organizing projects!
Thanks, Joanne! I don’t mind organizing when I have the space. It’s when you have to cram big things into small spaces. Your March sounds like ours…very cold and windy. Well, a buddy would be nice, but that’s kinda the problem I have with not going out to lunch! No buddies close by that would go to the gym.
It feels so good to clean out bathroom cabinets! As much as I hate tossing products I spent money on, I just love seeing less clutter.
I hope you do join the gym, don’t feel intimidated – go for, it!
Your retreat sounds lovely! I am not at all surprised that the room got quiet when you asked how they love themselves. We have a hard time doing that- and admitting it. It seems selfish but it is necessary.
xo,
Kellyann
Thanks, Kellyann! I never end up with an empty drawer because I always have back ups ready to fill that spot. But, I get so impatient when I’m almost done with a jar, bottle, tube, whatever. I know I need to just go to a couple of gyms to see what they have to offer. I honestly was so surprised (and a little saddened) by how silent the room was. We just don’t ever think that loving ourselves is what God wants for us. I do hope I made a difference for at least one woman.
It feels good when those drawers and cabinets are decluttered, doesn’t it? Your retreat sounds wonderful, and I’m glad it was a success! I just switched gyms to one that is all group exercise classes and I love it so far. I hope you can find one!
Jill – Doused in Pink
Thanks, Jill! It really does feel good. It wasn’t like the drawers were a wreck. It was more just tidying up and getting rid of all those little half filled tubes of whatever. I wish retailers wouldn’t even hand them out. They never give you enough to truly know how the product is going to work. I really just need to force myself to check into some of the gyms around here. There are so many just minutes away from my house.
Go out to lunch with a friend. – I truly meant to do this many times, but I just never did it. – Girl, do this one!!!
And if you are and Liz are able to make it to the next crafternoon, maybe she can help you with that planning?
Wow. That is really powerful when you think about it – I don’t think I would have listed myself as a person I love either! Your mini retreat sounds like it was a great experience for the attendees!! Congrats on that!!
Thanks, Erin! I know, I know! It’s such an easy thing, but, but, but!!! I’m going to do it. Honestly, I am. Oh, that would be good to talk with Liz to see. I hope to make the next ones. Have you figured out the dates?
I honestly didn’t expect the room to go so silent. It was sad. When I pointed it out, all the women seemed as surprised and shocked as I was. I do hope everyone enjoyed it. I know I didn’t give them near enough time to talk, but I also knew they didn’t want to be there for four hours!!
My friend Karen has enlisted me the help her purge her closet. Way more fun than purging my own! Haha.
Katie, my Feng Shui mentor, says that often when you declutter a space, your house mate (partner, spouse, child) might spontaneously declutter their own area. It worked! I deep cleaned some pantry shelves and Severo hauled two dead appliances out onto the street. Two more to go! Maybe I’ll vacuum next.
Hahaha!!! I wish that work with Mike! He does ask what he can do, but the answer is not much. Plus, even when he had two good hips, he was like a bull in a china shop. It’s just easier when I do the cleaning! Hmmm…interesting that you’re helping a friend purge her closet. I don’t think I could do that nor would I want a friend to come in my closet. They’d probably talk me out of lots of things!
Thanks, Anne!
I really need to write down my wishes and things to do somewhere because I’ve been putting the off for too long! Thanks for reminding me! <3
http://www.couture-case.com/
You’re welcome and thanks for reading! I find, when I write lists, I usually will do the things on it. Put it on a blog, and there’s a whole lot more accountability, right?