Halfway Through the Year...Already?!

I cannot believe we are already over halfway through the year. It seems like just yesterday I was sitting in our little studio apartment evaluating what I hoped to get out of this year.

Shall we look back and see if I have accomplished any of what I put on my list?

- Get back into a better 'after-work routine'
     Well, this has definitely been on and off again. I'm glad that I'm on again as I'm writing this post! ;) I've added a Chalkboard Cleaning List which should help me get back into this routine of cleaning.


- Watch less TV
     I can say that both Jesse and I definitely watch less TV now. This in large part can be attributed to the fact that the free TV we get at our new apartment only comes with the regular network channels, DIY and HGTV networks (are all that we've found). Probably also that our DirecTV remote doesn't work and we've never called to get it replaced (though really should) and are usually too lazy or don't care enough to get up and either turn the TV on or change the channel.


- Try a new recipe or a variation of an old recipe weekly
     We have been doing this pretty steadily. We don't always have a new recipe depending on what is on our agenda for the week, but there have also been times that we've made more than one new food during the week. Now if only I would keep a list of all of the things we like to make it easier to meal plan!


- Try to have craft time often, weekly and keep a list of wanted craft to do's
     This is one that I have done well to keep! I'm addicted to crafting and bookmarking every single thing that I find. I don't even want to begin to count how many things I want to try. Here is my short list.


- Take more pictures
     I haven't been doing too well on this one except for taking pictures of all the little projects I start up. I want to edit this task to be "Take more pictures of what is going on and the people in our lives"


- Constantly declutter
     Oh yeah, with moving and then going back through rooms and reorganizing, I'm always finding things to get rid of....now if only I'd stop bringing things into our place...but I don't see that happening anytime soon.


- Buy less and figure out what kind of minimalist I want to be
     I wanted this figured out by the end of March. I haven't really researched much of what kind of minimalist I want to be or if what I want would even be considered a minimalist life. Plus, I just confessed above that I keep bringing things home (mostly crafting supplies). I like to have this task here to keep me on track and remind myself that I don't want to get overrun my stuff.


- Coupon and sale shop more
     This hasn't been a high priority for my lately and I do keep telling myself I want to get back to it, but right now I just can't find the drive to.


- Spend less, Save more
     We aren't spending less and saving more, but we aren't spending more and saving less. That at least is victory!


- Buy locally
     Ack, shame. Again, I keep telling myself to go to the farmer's markets and have not made it to one this year....add this to my to-do list!


- Get a library card from Ames Public Library and read more
     I still haven't gotten the library card, but I've done a good amount of reading....Five books in!


- Research growing own veggies/herbs inside
    This one I wanted accomplished in April so we could grow our own. Well, I didn't do a ton of research on it and I'm sure there are ways to do this that aren't too difficult but this did become something that I decided to push aside. I'm holding out for my own piece of land and a garden!


- Drink more water
     I've been making sure to drink at least two glasses of water at work everyday. I think the interns that sit by bathroom probably think I have some serious issues (which I probably do) and am pretty sure my bladder has shrunk as I am constantly peeing!
 - Have date nights
    We haven't had a ton of these where we go out somewhere. It usually ends up that we would rather stay in, order food, and watch a movie on TV.

- Set our goals for an emergency fund and saving for a down payment on a house and when we want to get there.
     We have our goal set and are well on our way to getting there. Since we are now in a nice two bedroom apartment, we aren't as determined to get a house as we were in the tiny studio apartment. Although, we do still talk about it frequently we will probably begin seriously looking again soon and when we do, we are confident we will have our goal for the down payment.


- Try once a month freezer cooking - at least once
     I wanted to get this accomplished before June....that didn't happen so I'm pushing it to September. I really would like to do this in July, but our weekends are booked!


- Slowly decorate our new apartment
    The decorations we have slowly been adding to our new place are near 100% homemade and I love it! Check some out: Street Art, Framed Fabric, Spring Wreath, Rosette Pillow #1, Rosette Pillow #2, Tissue paper trees.


That's my update for now! It was good to go back over these to remind me of what is in the back of my head. I need to prioritize what I do and not all of these are top of my list. In fact, the top of my list actually isn't even shown here. The top of my list is enjoying my life and filling it with memories with family and friends. I've been doing quite a bit of memory making over the past few months and for that reason I'm not too upset with myself that some of the other items above haven't quite made the cut yet to getting my attention.