New Year, New Goals

Rather than make some obscure resolution that will doom me to failure and a year of guilt, I decided to compile a list of goals I hope to accomplish in the year 2014. 

1. Lean to knit with needles, and complete three knitting projects.
2. Learn to crochet (more than a single chain), and complete three crochet projects.
3. Learn to properly sew and complete three sewing machine projects.
4. Go for a walk or bike ride every day in 2014, barring bedridden illness or acts of nature which last all day long. 
5. Build my tool collection by purchasing three tools this year. 
6. Complete one pending Pinterest project per month.
7. Publish a novel.
8. Take a self portrait daily, focusing on learning to love myself. 
9. Go for a massage...twice.
10. Get a physical.
11. Donate, sell, or trash six black trash bags full of belongings over the course of the year. 
12. Have a SPEND NOTHING month.
13. Save $1,000 in my personal savings account.
14. Write another novel. 
15. Make half of the gifts I'll give for Christmas. 
16. Start a business. 
17. Turn a profit. 
18. Make a piece of furniture from scratch. 
19. Grow some food. 
20. Take archery lessons. 

I have a plan in place for all of my goals. I'm confident I can reach every one of them. 

What are your goals for the new year? 

What a Year it's Been! Farewell, 2013!

Oh, what treasures my eyes have seen this year! What incredible journeys I've been on! What fond memories I've created! 2013 was an astounding year. Here's a little of what I did this year:

I won NaNoWriMo.

I learned to paint on canvas.

We visited two zoos in two countries: Nuremberg, Germany and Vienna, Austria.

We attended the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival.

We saw original van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne, Manet, and more at the Neue Pinakothek in Munich.

We went to the original, real, Oktoberfest in Munich!

I had my first German beer the day we went to Oktoberfest. I drank this beer at the famous Hofbrauhaus in Munich.

I fell in love with Vienna, Austria.

I saw the Lippazaner Stallions perform at the Spanish Riding School.

I attended my first classical concert.

I ate at the famous Sacher Hotel.

We went to France, twice.

Colmar:

Eguisheim:

Strasbourg:

 I bought a baguette from a French bakery in France, in French.

I ate my first macaron in France, in a French bakery. I ordered them in French.

We fed monkeys popcorn by hand, face-to-face. It was the coolest experience I've ever had.

I've driven in four countries. And I have three driver's licences.

I went to Prague, Czech Repuplic...twice.

 

I fell in love with Munich.

I went to my first Justin Bieber concert with my oldest daughter. It was a major surprise for her birthday present. We had standing at the stage tickets.

We visited Nuremburg, Germany, the home of the Nazi war crimes tribunal, and I cried like a baby, overcome with emotion in courtroom 600.

I made a Ghast pinata and assembled a pretty cool Minecraft birthday party.

We visited Regensburg, Germany and ate at the oldest bratwurst stand, and road a riverboat on the "Blue Danube" to see Walhalla.

I grew food from seeds.

I visited castles ruins regularly, trapsing in and out casually.

We went to five Christmas markets!

Bayreuth

  

Amberg

Velburg

Schloss Guteneck

Rothenburg

We went to Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles in the Bavarian Alps.

We visited Einstein's childhood hometown, and had a lightbulb moment when we realized his name means one stone in German.

I learned how to type € on a computer (hold Alt and type 0128, then let go of Alt)

I renovated my grandmother's wrought iron patio furniture.

I attended my first German wedding. They're, like, 12+hour-long affairs, and lots of fun.

I drove on the German Autobahn on a weekly basis. No sweat.

I've stood on the grounds of two concentration camps. It is as somber as you'd imagine.

I learned to speak basic, fluent, survival German. I wouldn't say I'm good at it, but I can shop anywhere, buy anything, get help I need, find my way, order in a restaurant, and hold a basic conversation in German.


...and this isn't everything I've done over the past year.

To conclude: I have a freaking fabulous life.

2014, you've got a tough act to follow, but it's going to be fun!