Project 52 Review

Way back in January 2011 I decided to participate in Project 52. I came up with 40 goals that I wanted to complete in 2011 and listed them here on my blog. And for awhile I even updated my progress. And then I stopped. Updating, not necessarily working on my goals. Though I did kind of give up on some of those, too. One thing I learned is that keeping up with and keeping track of weekly goals is just too much trouble. I quickly got overwhelmed with all the "bookkeeping". But since I'm a complete Type A personality, I feel compelled to report on my progress. While I wasn't completely successful, participating in Project 52 did help me keep focused on some things that are important to me.

While I enjoyed participating in Project 52 and felt that it was a worthwhile endeavor, I've decided not to participate in 2012. One thing I spend too much time on is organizing, list making, archiving and generally "keeping track of" a myriad of things. Did I mention I'm Type A? Anyway, my goal for 2012 is to let go of some of this behavior. All the time I spend organizing is actually starting to take too much time. I need to give myself permission to stop unnecessary record keeping type behaviors. OMG! I sound completely loony. I'm really not - at least not completely. But it is time for more balance.

Now for the update. Ummm... Wait a second. I was going to go through the goals one by one and give an update, but in light of what I just wrote *slaps forehead* I think I'll just hit the highlights and reflect on what I learned during the process.

Many of my goals had to do with cooking. I really don't like to cook and find it a terrible chore. While having some specific goals did help me try new recipes, I came nowhere near my goal of cooking three times per week. I'm just going to accept this about myself and not fight it anymore. C'est la vie!

I did somewhat better on my exercise goals. While I didn't join a gym, try Pilates or go to a Zumba class, I did take a 6 week yoga class. And I far surpassed my walking goal of 3 times per week. I have consistently walked an hour a day, 5-7 times per week since the first week in January! I've decided that I'm no longer going to worry about going to a gym or weight training or resistance training or flexibility or any of that. I enjoy walking, I've been keeping it up and it's something I can do anywhere, any time and for the rest of my life. Having this revelation and making this commitment feels like a true success.

I also had some success with my reading/book goals. I did read a Jane Austen book, one book that has lingered on my tbr list for quite awhile and I visited one new to me library in RI. I did not however, read a Shakespeare play or a nonfiction book by Alison Weir from my tbr list. And I only managed to write book reviews for 12 of the 21 4 or 5 star books that I read in 2011.

I accomplished 2 of my 6 travel related goals. The most important of which was a getaway with my husband. I'll count that as a success.

I did a pretty good job with my explore RI goals. I did manage to eat at three swanky restaurants and to explore Hope St. in Providence. And while I didn't make to any of the big, ocean beaches here in RI, which is what I intended when I set the goal, I did visit my little town beach on Narragansett Bay a number of times. And I really do enjoy that. Maybe I need to focus on that and stop feeling bad about not going to the "real" beach.

Accomplishing my family goals proved to be a little harder. Maybe because they were tied to cooking. I set a goal of inviting my mother to dinner once a month and hosting 4 dinners for extended family. I made some progress, but not as much as I would have liked. I did, however, spend more time with my mom this past year doing other things and that was really the idea. So, I'm going to count that as a success. And I did spend lots of time with extended family, just not necessarily at dinners I hosted for that express purpose. So again, the spirit of the goal was met.

As for some of my miscellaneous goals, I did very well on some - keeping up with politics, buying flowers for the family room, saying "no" at work, donating to charity - and not so well on others - posting once a week, watching more movies and scheduling mental health days.

Overall, I think I did pretty well. Having the accountability of Project 52 definitely helped me keep some of my goals in mind, which certainly help me accomplish what I did. But having one more thing to track and organize was definitely not a good thing for me. And that is probably the best thing I got out of participating in Project 52. The realization that too much organizing, record keeping, etc. can actually make you less, not more, efficient. A valuable lesson to learn. And one I need to focus on in 2012. My goal - to become a Type A minus personality. Baby steps.

How about you? Have you set any goals for yourself in 2012? I'd love to hear from you.

Project 52 - Weeks 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

Well, so much for updating my Project 52 goals once a month. Since I'm a week late, I'm including Week 19 as well!

Weeks 15-19 were all pretty good weeks for me. I did a decent job of keeping up with my weekly and monthly/multi-event goals and I even crossed off 2 of my one-time goals! But I have noticed that my motivation on my weekly goals is definitely waning. Not only the motivation of keeping up with them, but also the motivation to keep track of them. One thing I've learned is that if I participate in Project 52 next year, I will not include any weekly goals. Here's my accounting of how I did:

Weekly Goals

3. Cook 3 times per week - Epic fail! I didn't accomplish this at all in Weeks 15-19. Ugh! Score: 9/52

10. Walk/Exercise 3 times per week - I'm still going strong on my exercise goal. I walked 7 days in Week 15 and 19, 6 days during Weeks 16 and 17 and 4 times during Week 18. I think I've been successful in making exercise a permanent part of my routine! Woot, Woot! Score: 16/52

30. Pay attention to local politics - Check! I'm still doing a good job keeping up with local politics. And I did do a better job of keeping up with international politics during the month of April, which I had set as a goal last month. I'm going to continue to work on that in May. Score: 18/52

33. Post at least once a week - Nope. I missed Week 18. Score: 16/52

34. Write a weekly letter to Katie - Done! Score: 14/32

36. Keep fresh flowers in the family room - Check! And today I was given a lovely bouquet in honor of Mother's Day. It was made even more special because Geoff and Madeleine both remembered my favorite flower, Gerbera Daisy, and chose a bouquet featuring a lovely light pink one. Score: 18/52.

Monthly and Multi-Event Goals

1. Try one new non-soup recipe a month - April was a bust! But I have already made one new recipe in May - Moroccan Zucchini Lamb Chili (Geoff and I loved it. Madeleine, not so much. What else is new?) Score: 4/12

5. Invite my mother to dinner once a month - Gulp! Another failure in April. Are you noticing a theme here - anything to do with cooking is a real struggle for me. Madeleine and I did take her out to a Mother's Day Tea today. I'd like to count that for May's dinner, but I won't. That's really not in keeping with the spirit of this goal. Score: 3/12

31. Watch one Netflix month a month - I am really on top of this one. Not only did I watch a Netflix DVD in April (Mad Men Season 4 Disc 1) I have already watched one in May (Conviction). I loved both, btw. Score: 5/12

32. Go to the movies once a month - Another success! I saw movies in April - Jane Eyre with a girlfriend (loved it!) and Water for Elephants with a group of girlfriends from my book club (we all loved it!) I also already met this goal for May since I saw Something Borrowed last night (exactly what you would expect from a romantic comedy). Score: 4/12

37. Donate to a charity or cause once a month - Done! In April, we donated to a political cause whose values match our own. Score: 4/12

38. Just say "no" at work - Without going into details, I did have an opportunity to express myself about an issue at work and I got up the courage to be honest about my opinion. It was a little nerve-wracking, but in the end it all worked out. However, I have a very specific event in mind when it comes to saying "no" at work. An event that should be coming up in the next few months. Let's see if I can stick to my guns on this one. *fingers crossed* Score: Making progress

40. Schedule one Mental Health Day a month - I did follow through with the plan I formed in late March to have a Do Not Disturb day in April. On April 8th I stayed home, cozied up on the sofa and caught up on DVDs I'd been wanting to watch (Never Let Me Go, Made Men and episode one of Cranford. All excellent!) Score: 3/12

One Time Goals

4. Buy a Dutch Oven - This one happened quite by accident. I was shopping at Sam's Club and saw a gorgeous bright red Dutch oven for a very reasonable price. Sold! Score: Completed!

13. Join and complete Shape Up RI - Back on February 7th, Geoff and I joined a group of 9 other friends to form a team for the our statewide health and fitness challenge - Shape Up RI. The idea of Shape Up RI is for participants to track their exercise minutes, steps per day, weight loss and number of fruits and veggies consumed for twelve weeks. The challenged ended on May 7th and I'm proud to state that both Geoff and I finished in good standing. Over the course of the 12 weeks I lost 8 pounds, walked 870,178 steps and exercised for 3,790 minutes. (Geoff lost an amazing 25 pounds!!! I'm so proud of him!) I did not do as well on eating my requisite 5 servings of fruit and vegetables per day, however. I always thought I ate lots of fruits and vegetables, so I was very surprised to see that in reality I do not. Ugh! Perhaps that can be a goal for 2012's Project 52. Score: Completed!

How about you? How are you doing on your Project 52 goals or New Year's Resolutions? I'd love to hear about your progress.

Project 52 - Weeks 10, 11, 12, 13,14

Well, so much for updating my Project 52 goals once a month. Since I'm a week late, I'm including Week 14 as well!

Weeks 10-14 were all pretty good weeks for me. I did a decent job of keeping up with my weekly and monthly/multi-event goals and I even crossed off 2 of my one-time goals! I like those the best. Crossing things off of lists gives me a real sense of accomplishment! Here's my accounting of how I did:

Weekly Goals

3. Cook 3 times per week - I was able to do this for weeks 11, 12 and 13, but I only cooked twice in week 10 and a measly one time in Week 14. Not too bad, especially since this is one of the hardest goals on the list for me. Score: 9/52

10. Walk/Exercise 3 times per week - Success! I blew this goal out of the water. Weeks 10 and 12 I walked 5 times and Weeks 11, 13 and 14 I walked 6 times! Woot, Woot! Score: 11/52

30. Pay attention to local politics - Check! I'm still doing a good job keeping up with local politics, especially education. I've also been paying close attention to the discussion surrounding RI's unfunded pension liability and the suggested reforms. I could be doing a better job of paying attention to national and international news. I'm going to try to focus on that in the month of April. Score: 13/52

33. Post at least once a week - Nope. I missed Week 12. Score: 12/52

34. Write a weekly letter to Katie - Done! Score: 9/32

36. Keep fresh flowers in the family room - Check! Score: 13/52.

Monthly and Multi-Event Goals

1. Try one new non-soup recipe a month - I nailed this one in March. I actually tried 4 new recipes! (I'm really tempted to count three of those for future months.) Score: 2/12

2. Try 6 new soup recipes - I finally found a soup that we all like - Winter Casserole Soup. Delicious! This may be the last new soup recipe until Fall. Soup season is (thankfully) almost behind us. Score: 4/6

5. Invite my mother to dinner once a month - Yup. During Katie's Spring Break we celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner, which is something my mother loves. And as a bonus she had a chance to spend some time with Katie. Score: 3/12

14. Write book reviews for all 4 and 5 star books read in 2011 - In the past few weeks I have read 5 really great books, four of them back to back. One book, The Moonflower Vine, scored it's own review, but it was impossible for me to keep up with individual reviews for the other four so I wrote one Book Feast blog post. Score: 7/7

31. Watch one Netflix month a month - I did finally watch The Last Station, which I thought was a terrific movie about the last years of Tolstoy's life. I was so fascinated that when the movie was over I did a little research on Tolstoy and decided to read his novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich. It was interesting to read it after learning more about Tolstoy's philosophy. Score: 3/3

32. Go to the movies once a month - Geoff and I saw the Adjustment Bureau. I really enjoyed it. I usually have a hard time following the plots of action adventure movies, but this one was written in such a way that I actually understood it! Amazing! And it was a even an intelligent story. Imagine that. A thinking woman's action adventure movie. Go figure! Score: 2/12

37. Donate to a charity or cause once a month - As it turned out Geoff and I had three opportunities to donate to charities/causes this month. Our planned donation was to our town's Education Foundation, which provides "extras" to our local schools - items such as digital cameras, video equipment, technology supplies for the libraries, etc. Sadly, we also made a donation to a local church in memory of the mother of one of Geoff's friends/employees. And lastly, we made a contribution to a political cause that is important to Geoff after receiving a fundraising phone call and letter. Seems like there is always a good cause to support. Score: 3/12

40. Schedule one Mental Health Day a month - Nope! During the last full week of March, I realized that I hadn't scheduled a Mental Health Day and there was no opportunity left in the days remaining. I suppose this is actually a good thing, since I didn't feel the need to "check out" for a day. But I plan on remedying this early in April. As a matter of fact, tomorrow is already earmarked in my calendar as a "Do Not Disturb Day"! Score: 2/12

One Time Goals

18. Read one book on my tbr list that has been on the list for at least 3 years - I got a really pleasant surprise when I looked through my tbr list to find a book to meet this criteria. Seems I've either done a good job of keeping up with my list or of weeding out stagnant books, because the oldest books I could find were added to the list in March 2009. And those books were all non-fiction books written by Alison Weir. Reading one of Weir's book is #17 on my list, so I decided to pick the next oldest book to meet this criteria. That was The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carlson, which was added in December 2009. It was fabulous! Score: Completed!

25. Spend the weekend in Portsmouth, NH with a friend - I've started the preliminary planning on this trip. My friend, Margaret, and I talked about going some time this spring, but could not find a date that worked well. So, we've decided to go in the fall. New Hampshire in the fall! Sounds like a good time to visit. Both Margaret and I have a lot going on during most weekends next fall, so we'll see if we can squeeze this one in. I sure hope so.

26. Explore the shops on Hope St. in Providence - This goal turned out to have a added bonus attached to it. Not only did I explore the shops, I did it with Katie! Before Katie came home for spring break she mentioned that she wanted to put a day aside to spend with me! I was so surprised by this. Usually when she comes home she just wants to sleep and spend time with her friends. So this really touched me. We ended up spending the day on Hope St - shopping, browsing, having lunch at an adorable diner and getting dessert a local bakery. It was a great day! Score: Completed!

How about you? How are you doing on your Project 52 goals or New Year's Resolutions? I'd love to hear about your progress.

Project 52 - Weeks 7, 8, 9

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't posted a Project 52 update in a few weeks. Rest assured that even though I haven't been posting about it, I have been busy keeping up with all my goals and chipping away at my Project 52 list. I simply decided that since posting every week was beginning to bore me, it must really be boring the rest of you. Since many of my goals are weekly goals, I really felt as though I was saying the same thing week, after week, after week. Boring! So I decided to do one update at the end of each month, reflecting back on my progress. Hopefully, that will be less boring for all of us!

Weeks 7-9 were all pretty good weeks for me. I did a decent job of keeping up with my weekly and monthly/multi-event goals and I even crossed off one of my one-time goals! I like those the best. Crossing things off of lists gives me a real sense of accomplishment! Here's my accounting of how I did for the past 3 weeks:

Weekly Goals

3. Cook 3 times per week - I did manage to cook 3 times in Week 7 and 8. But Week 9 was my Home Alone 2 week and I did not cook at all. And I'm proud of that fact! Project 52 goal #3 be damned! Score: 6/52 weeks

10. Walk/Exercise 3 times per week - Success! Weeks 7 and 8 I actually exercised 4 times. Week 9 I just barely got my three times in. Score: 6/52 weeks

30. Pay attention to local politics - Check! I've found that I'm mostly following what's going on in education in our state. But I have forced myself to read other political articles - both local, national and international. I am definitely making a conscious effort to do it (Project 52 is calling...), but if that's what it takes to make me accomplish some of my goals - so be it! Today Geoff even forwarded a political website to me that will send me an email any time RI is mentioned in the news nationwide. All I had to do is subscribe. Now it will be even easier to keep up. This one is harder to score, but as long as I read one article a day I'm counting it as meeting my weekly quota. Score: 8/52

33. Post at least once a week - Yes, by the skin of my teeth. Score: 8/52

34. Write a weekly letter to Katie - Not only did I write to her each week, two of those letters were in care packages! One package was full of Valentine's Day surprises and the other, less exciting package, consisted of shorts and a To Do List she left behind. Gotta love those To Do Lists! Score: 5/32

36. Keep fresh flowers in the family room - Ummm, define "fresh". Week 7 and 8 were no problem. As a matter of fact, Valentine's Day fell during Week 8 and Geoff gave me the most gorgeous bouquet of 3 dozen red roses I have ever seen. They were flown in from Colombia - not sure why- but they are truly lovely and have lasted a long time. However, in Week 9 many of them are looking a little sad. Some are still in good shape, though. I really need to weed out the wilters and make a smaller bouquet of the survivors. So, I'm going to be generous here and give myself Week 9. Score: 8/52.

Monthly and Multi-Event Goals

1. Try one new non-soup recipe a month - I'm hoping to get this one in under the wire. I'm planning on making a Chicken Piccata recipe tonight. However, I've got a crazy late afternoon today and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to pull this off. We'll see. Score: 2?/12 *fingers crossed*

2. Try 6 new soup recipes - I made Italian minestrone and barley soup. Geoff and I loved it. Apparently, barley makes Madeleine gag. She tried one bite and couldn't even manage to let the soup leave the spoon! I've never seen anyone put a spoonful of food in their mouth and then take it right back out. Hysterical! She could not tolerate the texture of the barley. Who knew? I, on the other hand, love barely. I guess I won't be having more any time soon. Score: 3/6

5. Invite my mother to dinner once a month - Does lunch count? Somehow the month got away from me and I never did invite her over. I feel badly about that. But, I did take her out to lunch one day, which is not something I do regularly. Again, I'm going to be generous with myself. After all, it's the spirit of the goals that is really more important than following them to the letter. At least, for me it is. Score: 2/2

14. Write book reviews for all 4 and 5 star books read in 2011 - Well, I'm halfway there. During Weeks 7-9, I read 2 books that I rated 4 stars - The Crucible by Arthur Miller and Inconceivable by Carolyn and Sean Savage. I have written a book review for The Crucible. I will be writing and posting a book review about Inconceivable soon, but it's not ready

yet. Score: 1/2

28. Try 3 swanky restaurants in Providence - 1 down, 2 to go. On Sunday Geoff, Madeleine and I went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse to celebrate my birthday. It's a beautiful restaurant with a magnificent view of the city. Our meal was delicious and it was a great way to celebrate my birthday.

32. Go to the movies once a month - Nope. Maybe next month.

37. Donate to a charity or cause once a month - Check. Geoff and I like to support our town and this month we donated to the town Boosters. Even though our girls have not been too involved in sports in high school (Katie was on the JV tennis team for two years), we feel that a strong sports program is important to the health and well-being of our town's teens. For us, it is a worthy cause. Score: 2/2

40. Schedule one Mental Health Day a month - I think having 5 days and 4 nights to myself at home definitely qualifies! Score: 2/2

One Time Goals

20. Make a day trip to Boston to explore and get my bearings - Done! I visited the area of Boston around Northeastern University with my friend Barbara. She is somewhat familiar with the area, since her son is a Freshman at Northeastern. We had a great time and I definitely feel like I have a better sense of the city as a whole and that area in particular. I hope to make more trips to Boston to explore further, but this was a good start. Score: Completed!

How about you? How are you doing on your Project 52 goals or New Year's Resolutions? I'd love to hear about your progress.

Project 52 - Week 6

Week 6 had some ups and downs. I managed to accomplish all my weekly goals (cook, post, pay attention politically, write to Katie, buy flowers), with the exception of #10 - Walk/Exercise 3 times per week. In addition to some icy weather, my back condition took a serious turn for the worse and I was hardly able to walk around my house, let alone go for a real walk outside on the icy roads. The good news is that after seeing the chiropractor three times, I was able to get out and take a walk on Sunday. And I'm happy to say I'm feeling much better. So hopefully this week will be a lot better. *fingers crossed*

And I really rocked one of my weekly goals - #30, Pay attention to local politics. Education is a hot issue in RI now. About a year and a half ago the state hired a new, no nonsense Commissioner of Education - Deborah Gist. You may even have heard of her last spring when RI made the national news when the entire teaching staff of one low performing school was fired. Anyway, most regular people in RI are big fans of Gist and she has folk hero status for her unwavering efforts to improve education in RI. Of course, the teacher's unions are not big fans. And, in case you didn't know, RI politics are pretty much run by the unions. Anyway, last night Gist visited our town and gave a talk and a Q&A session at our local HS, which I attended. I am even more impressed now. And I'm sure to pay extra close attention to the issue of education now that we have a new governor and a newly appointed Board of Regents. Hopefully, Commissioner Gist will get the support she needs to continue her Herculean efforts. I have my doubts.

I also completed one of my monthly goals last week - #31 Watch one Netflix movie per month. Geoff and I watched Nowhere Boy, a British biopic of the early life of John Lennon. It was a very good movie, both enlightening and moving. If you have any interest in Lennon or the formation of The Beatles I recommend it.

And most exciting to me (since I love to cross things off of lists) is that I completed one of my one time goals - #19 Visit one new to me library in RI. This one happened by serendipity. I had placed a hold a book I needed for my book club meeting quite a while ago. And as sometimes happens, it just never came. Finally, in desperation I decided to just find out which libraries own the book and go get it. It just so happened that the closest library that had the book available was the Mount Pleasant branch of the Providence Public Library. I Googled it and since it was only 25 minutes away, I decided to make the trip. It may as well have been in a different world. As I got closer and closer to the library, the neighborhood got dicier and dicier. I began to wonder if I had made a mistake in venturing into this neighborhood. When I pulled up to the library, I was disheartened to see the worn out and dreary looking building. It made me feel sad. I wondered what I would encounter when I entered the building. The first thing I noticed as I entered the small, separate foyer was that the posters and bulletins were all in Spanish and English. That got me wondering. How many non-English speaking people actually use the library? I figured the place would be deserted and barely hanging on to life. Boy, was I ever wrong! The library consisted of one large room, separated into different areas by the placement of tables, sofas and book cases. The staff was bright and cheerful. And the place was packed!!! It was humming with activity and life. People of all ages were looking for books, using the computers, sitting at tables and quietly interacting with each other. And then it hit me. The Mount Pleasant library is a vibrant and integral part of the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. I was thrilled to witness this. The library my have been furnished with shabby and scarred furniture, the DVD collection might have been a little thin and the books were a little worse for wear, but this particular library was full of life. It was living, breathing, organic part of this community. I wish I could say the same for the small library where I work. It makes me wonder - what exactly is it that makes one library so much more alive than another? I don't have an answer, but the Mount Pleasant Library is doing something right.

*As soon as I stepped out of my car, I wished I had my camera with me. Instead, I've added some photos that I found on the I {Heart} Rhody blog.

Project 52- Week 5

Last week was a pretty good one for Project 52. I met all my weekly goals. I cooked three times (#3)(garlic/lemon chicken, Italian Meatball soup and homemade macaroni and cheese), I walked three times (#10), I read several articles about local politics in the newspaper (#30), I posted at least once a week (#33) and I bought another bouquet of flowers for the family room (#36). And since Katie went back to college last weekend, I was able to add #34 - write a weekly letter to Katie. The only weekly goal I haven't tackled yet is #12 - walk to work at least once a week, weather permitting. So far the weather has not been very cooperative. I think this one will need to wait for the spring.

I also made progress on 2 of my monthly goals -(#2) try 6 new soup recipes. I made Italian meatball soup and luckily this one was a hit! I'll definitely be making it again. I also invited my mother over for dinner (#3). I included this goal because I really don't spend very much time with my mom and I feel badly about that. She retired in October and now has more free time on her hands. She was happily surprised that I invited her to dinner and we had a nice evening. It felt nice to have spent the evening with her.

Lastly, I got started on one of my one time goals. Geoff and I joined Shape Up RI (#13), a statewide exercise and weight loss challenge. My friend Margaret created a team of couples and we decided to join. There are four areas in which you can participate : weight loss, exercise, 10,000 steps per day and eat more fruits and vegetables. I decided to tackle all four. The challenge doesn't officially start until February 7th, but I've been trying to be aware of these four things now. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be. And I may have to drop out of the exercise group since I'm having some back issues that seem to be here to stay. Ugh! I'll keep you posted.

How about you? How are you doing on your goals/resolutions?

Project 52 - Week 4

Week 4 was not quite as successful as the previous two weeks when it came to weekly goals. I only managed to cook twice (#3) - spaghetti and meatballs and chourico and potato casserole- and walk twice (#10). Though I did try to walk two other times, even getting so far as to get dressed like Nanook of the North, head outside and walk part way down the street. Both times I had to turn back because it was just too icy. I figured if I nearly fell three times in the first 5 minutes, it probably wasn't safe. Of course, I could have done some other exercise, but since I haven't joined a gym yet (#11), my options were limited. Excuses, excuses. I know! There are still flowers in the family room (#36) and dining, (though they are looking a little sad) and I did write at least one blog post (#33). And finally, I did a bang up job on (#30) paying attention to local politics. Last week our town held a special election for a School Committee member. Not only did I vote, I went out in a sleet/ice storm to do it! And I reminded my husband to take Katie (who was still home from college) to vote in her very first election! I even attended a support party for my candidate as we waited for election results to come in - he won in a landslide!

Well, that's it for me for last week. Not great. But I am working on a couple of my monthly and one time goals for this week. And hopefully I'll get my three days of exercise and cooking in. I'll keep you posted.

Project 52 - Week 3

Week 3 and so far I'm still on track for all my weekly goals and I accomplished one more monthly goal. Not bad for Week 2!

3. Cook three times per week - 2/52 - Make that 4 times! I made beef bourguignon, hamburger, pesto chicken over spaghetti and chili (which was also a new recipe, but I already did that this month. Darn!)

10. Walk or exercise 3 times per week - 2/52 - This was a real challenge this week due to the 12 inches of snow we got on Wednesday. But, I traded by sneakers for boots and forced myself to go. And would definitely not have done that if I was participating in Project 52!

30. Pay attention to local politics - I read at least one political article every day in the Providence Journal, even though my initial inclination was to skip those articles.

33. Post at least once a week - 2/52 - Yup!

36. Keep fresh flowers in my family room - The flowers I bought the week before are still going strong, but I bought another bouquet anyway. Bonus - flowers in family room AND dining room.

37. Donate to a charity or cause once a month - 1/12- Madeleine attended a Sweet Sixteen birthday party for her friend, Camille. In lieu of gift, Camille asked her friends to donate money to the Lillian Chason Memorial Fund, in honor of a local HS girl who died in 2009 of swine flu. Contributions to the fund will support activities that had great meaning to Lillian, such as community theater, Friends Camp and drama scholarships. How could we say no? This was almost too easy.

Project 52 - Week 2

Like most people who make New Year's Resolutions, I am off to a great start on meeting my Project 52 goals! Here's how I did last week:

1. Try one new non-soup recipe a month - 1/12 - I made German Schnitzel for my husband's birthday. It was delicious and I will definitely make it again.

2. Try 6 new soup recipes - 1/6 - One down, 5 to go. I made hamburger soup. I liked it, but the rest of the family was not all that enthusiastic about it. Too bad.

3. Cook 3 times per week - 1/52 -Done! Major accomplishment. I actually cooked 4 times this week! Can I roll over the fourth one to next week??? This is probably going to be one of the harder goals to complete week after week.

10. Walk or exercise 3 times a week - Oh yea! I walked three mornings last week with my neighbor. This one is going to be a challenge as well. I'm already behind this week.

31. Watch one Netflix movie per month - 1/12 - Another real challenge. Last week it just happened to work out that I finally finished watching the final season of The Tudors. Who knows when I'll find time to watch another full length movie or entire disc of TV episodes.

32. Go to the movies at least once a month - 1/12 - Another difficult goal for me, but Madeleine and I did go see The Fighter this past Saturday. I really enjoyed it. If you are interested, I highly recommend it.

33. Post at least once a week - 1/52 - So far, so good!

36. Keep fresh flowers in my family room - Check! I have to admit that this was a cheap victory. When I was trying to think of goals for Project 52, I noticed the flowers I had bought on my weekly grocery shopping trip and thought that it would be nice to have them there all the time. So really I had already completed this goal for last week before I wrote the post. Let's see if I can keep it up.

38. Just say "no" at work - I had something very specific in mind when I wrote this goal. And even though I haven't had an opportunity to meet that goal, I did have a chance to say a minor " no" and I did it ! And it's thanks to Project 52!! If I hadn't put this on my list of goals, it probably wouldn't have occurred to me to say no in this case. So I'm counting this as a minor victory in the bigger war.

40. Schedule one Mental Health Day (MHD) per month - 1/12 - Mission accomplished! I had originally scheduled a MHD for tomorrow, but then something came up that I couldn't work around. The next available day wouldn't have been till Friday. And I REALLY needed a MHD (which is why I put it on the list. Again, kind of cheap, I know.) Then everything fell into place so that Sunday could work as a MHD. Geoff and Katie are out of town and Madeleine is such a quiet and unobtrusive presence, that I knew I could have a peaceful and relaxing day even if she was home. And it worked and it was wonderful and I feel so much better today! Yay!

Not bad for Week 1. But it's early days yet. Let's hope I can keep the momentum going.

Project 52

Last year I followed along in fascination as Karen of A Peek at Karen's World tackled 65 goals in 365 days in her Face it Friday Challenge. I was amazed that Karen was able to come up with 65 tangible and very specific goals that she wanted to meet and was awed as I watched her accomplish them week after week. This year she and her cohort Jennee have switched things up a bit and they have now started Project 52, in which they will attempt to accomplish 52 goals over the course of the year. And to keep them accountable they will report their progress each and every Monday. To top it off, they are inviting other bloggers to join them. You can read more about Project 52 at A Peek at Karen's World, but here's the gist of it in Karen's words:


" You don't have to do 52 things. You can do as many or as few as you want. It's entirely up to you. The point is just to do something. To wake up next January 1st knowing that you finished something you set out to do. That's what it's all about."


I'm not one to make resolutions, but this idea of making a list of goals and actively working at them intrigues me. This is just the kind of challenge that a Type A girl like me thrives on. But I wasn't sure I would be able to do it. At first I thought it would be impossible to come up with anywhere near 52 things I want to accomplish. But then I realized that I do have a list of things in my head that I want to do "someday". And another list of things I should do, but never get around to. Project 52 is just the thing to make those things a reality. I've been wracking my brain for two days now to come up with a list. And so far I have 36 items. This may not be the final list, however. I will not remove any items from the list, but I just might add some as I think of them. But I want to get started as soon as possible, so here's my list of goals for Project 52.


1. Try one new non-soup recipe a month
2. Try 6 new soup recipes
3. Cook 3 times per week
4. Buy a Dutch oven
5. Invite my mother to dinner once a month
6. Host 4 Sunday dinners for extended family
7. Take a yoga class
8. Take a zumba class (added 1/7/11)
9. Take a Pilates class (added 1/7/11)
10. Walk or exercise 3 times per week
11. Join a gym
12. Walk to work at least once a week - in nice weather

13. Join and complete Shape Up RI (added 1/7/11)

14. Write book reviews for all 4 and 5 star books read in 2011 (modified 1/8/11)
15. Read one Shakespeare play
16. Read one Jane Austen novel
17. Read one non-fiction book by Alison Weir from my tbr list
18. Read one book on my tbr list that has been on the list for at least 3 years
19. Visit one new to me library in RI
20. Make a day trip to Boston just to explore and get my bearings
21. See a Broadway show in NYC
22. Ride the subway in NYC
23. Go away for a long weekend with my husband
24. Go on a relaxation and rejuvenation retreat - alone
25. Spend a weekend in Portsmouth, NH with a friend
26. Explore the shops on Hope St. in Providence
27. Go to the beach at least once this summer
28. Try 3 swanky restaurants in the Providence area
29. Visit Linden Place in Bristol, RI
30. Pay attention to local politics
31. Watch one Netflix movie per month

32. Go to the movies once a month

33. Post at least once a week

34. Write a weekly letter to my daughter who is away at college

35. Buy a scanner for my computer

36. Keep fresh flowers in family room

37. Donate to a charity or cause once a month

38. Just say "no" at work

39. Stabilize my kitchen shelves with new supports

40. Schedule one Mental Health Day per month (added 1/7/11)

If anyone else wants to join in, there is a linky posted at Karen's Blog. Think about it. I really think this could be fun! And I'll be sure to post here every week and let you know how I'm doing. Wish me luck!