All Wrapped Up

It’s just about the end of the year and I cannot see making any more progress on my 13 in 14 endeavor. We tackled quite a few of the skills, and we’ve accomplished much more than planned over the past year.

And now, a final review of the 13 Skills we planned to “master”  in 2014.

1. Sewing – I did not sew a Halloween costume for the boys so the hem is the only project I’ve completed this year. I’m counting it. COMPLETE

I did, however, make an AWESOME turtle shell for Joe’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume.

2. Auto Upkeep – Complete fail here. I did not learn how, or even attempt to learn how, to change my oil. I know there is still time in the year…but it’s not going to happen this year. FAIL

3. Firearm Training – This weekend I am going to attend a Women on Target class with a good friend. I am extremely excited for and a little nervous about this class. IN PROGRESS

4. Wilderness Skills – Ray and Joe camped in the backyard one night. It was a great experience for Joe. He learned how to camp, clean up and that there are always snacks when camping. COMPLETE

5. Teaching – Still no space for learning downstairs, but I’ve realized that the space is more for me than for the boys. Our classroom is everywhere we go, and a quick check in for what Joe and Jake should be doing/learning at his age has shown me that we are doing a pretty darn good job. COMPLETE (and ongoing)

6. Reloading – Another fail…there’s always next year! FAIL

7. Health and Fitness – I do have a 5k in the running (pun intended). In December, I am going to participate in a Jingle Bell Run. Our team theme is “Santa and His Elves on the Shelf.” That is pretty much the extent of my health and fitness goal. We are still trying to eat better and the CSA and garden this year really helped with that. As COMPLETE as it can I am willing for it to be this year.

8. Raising Chickens – BEYOND complete. Still super stoked on how well these birds did and how awesome the chicken coop, designed by my husband and father-in-law, turned out. COMPLETE

9. Bee Keeping – This one is on hold for a few years per my previous update. COMPLETE (sort of)

10. Gardening – The two swales we put in have done a fantastic job holding water. We’ve barely had to water this year due to all of the rain and, with all of the trees we have planted, watering would have been a full-time job.

Next year, we need to research and do a better job of saving seeds. We’ve missed so many opportunities this year and we’re feeling a little bit silly that we will AGAIN be buying seeds next year. COMPLETE

11. Archery – Yeesh…yet another skill put off to next year. FAIL

12. Blogging – I’ve started watching 5 Minutes With Jack and am learning more about how to grow my blog audience as well as turn it into a little side business. IN PROGRESS

13. Canning – We canned mild salsa and plan to can some hot salsa. No pickled okra, beans or pickles this year but this is a huge improvement over last year. COMPLETE

Overall we completed 8 skills, 2 skills are in progress and we had 2 fails–which will be added to next year’s list.

Our goals are complete
In some areas we’ve failed
In most we’ve outshined