Since my 33rd birthday is only 2 months away (whoa!) I thought I should pop in and see how I’m doing on my list of goals for this year. The good news is that I seem to have plowed through most of my blog and shop goals.  The bad news?  Some other categories, like personal growth, have not received as much attention.

I don’t think I’ll make a list like this next year.  I think I’d rather get about 5 good goals that I can really focus on, rather than trying to do a number of things that correlate with my age number.

Blog & Etsy Shop

1. Register as a business.

2. After registering as a business, find out how to order supplies for Etsy shop at wholesale prices. 

3. Create another product to sell in a local shop. (The first one was my upcycled jute coffee bean gift sacks sold at Caffe Amouri in Vienna.)

This didn’t happen, but I’ve had wholesale orders and several of my products are being sold in small shops throughout the country.  I consider that good enough to allow for checking off the list.

4. Create a website for my shop. 

Got this done in June 2011, but as announced yesterday I have moved to Etsy.  More details as to “why” coming next week on the blog.

5. Learn to use the serger, for more professional-looking seams.

Found an alternate solution (for now).  I hem and then overlock-stitch all my raw edges, so that they are professional and fray-resistant.

6. Research how to design products & have them produced in a US factory.

This has been a tough one.  I reached out to several business owners to ask them how they got started doing this, and didn’t get any helpful answers.  It seems that they don’t want to share their secrets, or even advice on how to locate the factories.  So I’m stumped.  I’ll pick back up with researching this next year.

7. Grow the blog into a go-to resource for rental decorating ideas.

Even though, as my business has grown, my blog has sometimes slowed down, I’ve tried to keep focused on the rental decorating theme, with topics such as Beyond White Paint or Rental Remedies – because that’s what I’m passionate about, blog-wise.    This focus will continue into the next year, but I don’t think I need it as a written goal anymore.

8. Sell my products at a local craft fair.

I had a booth at the Viva Vienna! festival in my town on Memorial Day Weekend!

9. Write an e-book.

I have finally come up with a pretty solid idea for an e-book, and am slowly drafting it.  Well, I’ve gotten so far as writing down topics for chapters.  Next step, a real outline.  Third step, start writing rough paragraphs.  This goal will carry into next year.

10. Figure out how to add advertising (Google Adsense) to the blog. (I wouldn’t mind covering the costs of webhosting and maybe some site improvements.)  

I’ve added a few Google ads to the sidebar, and have more thoughts to share on ads, sponsored posts, and more – in a separate post.  I’m making just enough in Google ads to cover my site hosting fees, so I consider it mission accomplished.

Around the Abode

11.  Decorate the guest room. Build a bed for the master bedroom, so that the old master bed becomes the guest bed.

Hrm.  This didn’t happen . . . yet.  Partly because we’re re-thinking our whole bed plan.

12. Decorate the TV room.

As of this month, we’ve officially begun!

13. Grow a more successful Square Foot Garden with plants I start from seed.

This was a complete and utter failure this year, except for my “accidental beets.”  The rest of it just  . . .  struggled.  Probably because I forgot to take care of it.  Better luck next year.

14. Make being tidy in the house (including kitchen) a daily habit, rather than a 2x weekly habit

Well, I’m always working at creating tidier habits.  I’d say things have improved.

15. Re-upholster my secondhand Crate & Barrel sofa.

Not sure if this will be in the budget this year.  I’d really like to do white leather, simply because I have animals that shed . . . but that will be pricey.  I’m going to hold off and consider other options.  More details later.

16. Invest in a good mid-century modern dining set, or else build one.

For a ton of reasons, we’ve finally made a decision to buy a new table, and hope to purchase the table this weekend.  You can read more details about our decision here.

17. Decorate the [currently empty] dining space.

This will follow once the table is in place.

Personal Growth

18. Stop biting my nails. Pronto. Because I don’t want to be shaking hands at Blissdom with ugly nails!

This had been crossed off, but I had to un-cross it, because I didn’t stick with it.  Now that I’m engaged, I am working harder at really kicking it.

19. Take a Yoga class. 

I took a yoga class in January that rocked.  Then the studio moved.  I need to sign up for a set of classes so that I’m committed to a regimen of 1 or 2x a week.

20. Visit my aunt and uncle in the Minnesota wilderness, where they live in a one-room cabin off the grid.

This didn’t make it into the schedule this year.  I have a limited amount of vacation time and travel funds, constrained more by my day job.  We’ll push this over to next year.

21. Travel with my mom to Seattle, WA.

22. Climb a mountain with my dad.

Neither of the above happened, but instead we took a family vacation for Labor Day Weekend.  Next summer I do hope to take my parents to Washington state.

23. Take a summer vacation with Ryan. (He’s requested a week in a beach house in North Carolina.)

Ryan changed this plan, and surprised me with an engagement during our weekend in the mountains.

24. Reach goal in entrepreneurial freedom fund.

Ugh. This has been my biggest challenge.  Still working on it.

Career Development

25. Take a Graphic Design class.

Not happening this year.

26. Become involved in my community. Volunteer?

Volunteering:  Also not happening this year, but I am contributing a portion of my proceeds from Janery to a local homeless shelter.

27. Learn how to do more behind-the-scenes work with WordPress.

Getting better, but still so much to learn.  Considering that it may be more worth it to hire a real web developer next spring.

28. In one year, go to part-time at corporate job.

This can not happen with my new role at work as a Small Business Advocate.  However, it’s a lot more fun – and more aligned with my passions – than my previous position.  And my boss is an exceptional role model.

29. Develop more work as a small-business communications consultant.

Having trouble fitting this in.

30. Write an article for a local paper or magazine.

Another item that I just haven’t had time for.  Think this goal should roll over to when I’m not in the corporate world full-time.

Health and Wellness

31. Backpack / camp and overcome my fears at night (caused by this).

Not going to deal with this during this year.

32. Develop more muscular body again: Get back to 125 pounds, and keep it that way.

Stuck at 133.  There are worse problems to have.

33. Train myself to wake at 6:30 a.m. every weekday.

Still working on making it a habit, but have improved.  I now get up early many mornings to blog before going to work.

Somebody smack me now.

It’s seriously March.  Two-thousand-eleven.

I’m 2 months into my 32nd year on this planet, and I need to check in on my {33 before 33} goals list and see how I’m doing.  And, because accountability really helps, share that progress with you all.

The list items below are the ones I’ve started tackling.  For the full list, hop over to my 33 Before 33 page.  I’ll try to keep it up-to-date.

Blog & Etsy Shop

7. Grow the blog into a go-to resource for rental decorating ideas.

I kicked off a series, “Rental Decorating 101,” with my tips on painting rentals. I’ve got a list of topics to cover with that umbrella, so stay tuned!  I also opened my virtual doors to provide free help with rental decorating challenges, and have several in the works (sorry I’m taking so long, guys!).  Until I finish them, I won’t be able to take on any more.

8. Sell my products at a local craft fair.

I bit the bullet and bought a booth at Viva Vienna, a huge arts festival that takes place in my town on Memorial Day Weekend.  That’s right, I’ve got 3 months to create a huge stash of products, register as a business, design my booth, and get ready to meet a million people and sell, sell, sell.  I can’t wait!

10. Figure out how to add advertising (Google Adsense) to the blog. (I wouldn’t mind covering the costs of webhosting and maybe some site improvements.)

I looked into loading Google Ads onto the blog.  After much consideration, I decided against it.  I’m focused on Fair Trade Shopping, and if I don’t like to support “made in China” and sweatshop labor, then I probably wouldn’t like most of the ads in Google Adsense.

I’d love to open up the blog to ads from small and handmade businesses, for a low rate.  But first I want to develop my content more, and settle on a blog design that I can stick with for the long haul.

Around the Abode

13. Grow a more successful Square Foot Garden with plants I start from seed.

I’ve thought about starting seeds…does that count?  Seriously, though – is it time to start my seeds indoors?

14. Make being tidy in the house (including kitchen) a daily habit, rather than a 2x weekly habit.

Hmm.  This has been a tough one, but I’m trying to keep the kitchen neater, as well as the rest of the roost. I think we’re averaging 4 clean days a week, which is much better. We’ll have to ask Ryan what he thinks.

Personal Growth

18. Stop biting my nails. Pronto. Because I don’t want to be shaking hands at Blissdom with ugly nails!

I hate this topic.  Because I’m not succeeding at it.  When I’m stressed, when I’m surfing the internet and wasting time, I bite my nails without even realizing it.  And I hate how they look.  On the up side, I managed to have them 60% decdent for Blissdom.  But after that they went downhill again.  But not as bad as they’ve been in years past. So I’ll keep on trying.  Baby steps, people.  Baby steps.

19. Take a Yoga class.

In January I updated my Goals page to read:  1/19/2010: Took my first Yoga class tonight, and it was great!

It WAS great.  But I haven’t been back.  Need to buy a package deal so that I can get on a schedule there.

23. Take a summer vacation with Ryan. (He’s requested a week in a beach house in North Carolina.)

This beach house isn’t going to happen if I don’t budget, so I went ahead and set up a budget and savings goal in Mint.com (my favorite free financial tool) to help me track my progress on that goal.  In other news, we’re heading to Miami in the first week of April and I can’t wait to show Ryan all my favorite spots.  I’ve been going there in late winter/early spring at least once every year for the last few, and it’s one of my most favorite places on earth.

24. Reach goal of 10k in emergency savings /entrepreneurial freedom fund.

I’m squirreling away about $800 a month in savings, but recently had to rob the fund for things like . . . $900 car repairs . . . $550 vet bills . . . but I just keep chugging along.

Career Development

28. At end of year, go to part-time at corporate job.

Still working towards this via goal #24.

29. Develop more work as a small-business communications consultant.

I don’t want to spill the beans on this yet, but I’ve got a new client whom I should start working with in the next month, and I’ve been making some great potential business connections in my community just by being more outgoing.

Health and Wellness

32. Develop more muscular body again: Get back to 125 pounds, and keep it that way.

Ryan started a special diet at the beginning of January; it’s basically low carbs and sugars.  It’s worked wonders.  Just by cutting out carbs 6 days a week, and focusing on eating lean proteins and tons of veggies, I dropped 10 pounds in less than 2 months.  No exercise.  But of course exercise is crucial to health, so I need to start running again now that the weather’s better.

33. Train myself to wake at 6:30 a.m. every weekday.

Ha. Very funny.

This one, while it’s being attempted regularly, is not going so well.

I’m really good at turning off the alarm at 6:30, though.  Does that count?

I think I’ve gotten up at 6:30 twice since January 8th.  It doesn’t help that I’m staying up until 12 – 12:30 – 1:00 am every night trying to sew, blog, etc.  I created a schedule for myself but I ignore it.  So clearly more self-discipline is needed in this category.

Bonus Goal

*Overall, my first and foremost goal is to FOCUS on one task at a time, one project at a time – to ensure I make the most of every moment of every day.

Also not going so well.  I haven’t even finished decorating my studio, for heaven’s sake.  And I started that project at Christmas.

So there you have it.  My list of successes and not-so-successes.  Are you sticking to your New Years goals and resolutions?

Introducing . . . . Jane Version 3.2 !

Yep, just like my fellow partner-in-trashcycling, Sunny, I’m turning 32 today.  Actually, Sunny’s only turning 31. But close enough. :)

I didn’t make New Years resolutions this year.  I decided that I’d rather make a list of 33 goals I’d like to accomplish before turning 33 in 2012.  I’ve seen other bloggers do it, and the New Year always strikes me as somewhat arbitrary.  It’s only a new year because we’ve called it such on a calendar.  If anything, the Winter Solstice (marking the longest day of winter, and promising the hope of longer days ahead) provides more optimism than Jan. 1.  But anyway, since my birthday’s so close I decided to do goals for my next year on this planet.

So here’s my list.  And because I like lists, I’ve categorized it into different sections.

Blog & Etsy Shop

1. Register as a business.

2. After registering as a business, find out how to order supplies for Etsy shop at wholesale prices.

3.  Create another product to sell in a local shop.  (The first one was my upcycled jute coffee bean gift sacks.)

4. Create a website for Flourish Pets & Home.

5. Learn to use the serger, for more professional-looking seams.

6. Research how to design products & have them produced in a US factory.

7. Grow the blog into a go-to resource for rental decorating ideas.

8. Sell my products at a local craft fair.

9. Write an e-book.

10.  Figure out how to add advertising (Google Adsense) to the blog.  (I wouldn’t mind covering the costs of webhosting and maybe some site improvements.)

Around the Abode

11. Decorate the guest room.

12. Decorate the TV room.

13. Grow a more successful Square Foot Garden with plants I start from seed.

14. Make being tidy in the house (including kitchen) a daily habit, rather than a 2x weekly habit.

15. Save up and have sofa re-upholstered.

16. Invest in a good mid-century modern dining set, or else build one.

17. Decorate the [currently empty] dining space.

Personal Growth

18. Stop biting my nails.  Pronto.  Because I don’t want to be shaking hands at Blissdom with ugly nails!

19. Take a Yoga class.

20. Visit my aunt and uncle in the Minnesota wilderness, where they live in a one-room cabin off the grid.

21. Travel with my mom to Seattle, WA.

22. Climb a mountain with my dad.

23. Take a summer vacation with Ryan.  (He’s requested a week in a beach house in North Carolina.)

24. Reach goal of 10k in emergency savings / cubicle escape fund.

Career Development

25. Take  Graphic Design & marketing classes.

26. Become involved in my community. (Volunteer?)

27. Learn how to do more behind-the-scenes work with WordPress.

28. By end of year, go to part-time at corporate job.

29. Develop more work as a small-business communications consultant.

30. Write an article for a local paper or magazine.

Health and Wellness

31. Backpack / camp and overcome my fears at night (because of this).

32. Develop more muscular body again:  Get back to 125 pounds, and keep it that way.

33. Train myself to wake at 6:30 a.m. every weekday.

Bonus Goal

*Overall, my first and foremost goal is to FOCUS on one task at a time, one project at a time – to ensure I make the most of every moment of every day.