"Don't Go Through Life Without Goals" Wall Art by Walls That Talk on Etsy

To that end, I thought it might be good to create some goals for 2012. Originally, with 40 looming next year, I was thinking of resurrecting my 101 list from back in 2008, modifying it to a more reachable 40 items, but really, the whole process just left me feeling like it was all so rushed. I just haven’t had time to contemplate what I really want to complete to feel a sense of accomplishment before the big 4-0.

Instead, I pared down my list to this varied 12 goals. One goal a month seems achievable. I suspect most of you would agree.

So here’s the plan for the next year:

1. Catalog stray recipes
2. Grow an herb garden
3. Clean out garage (mainly so I create a kickboxing setup and use the fantastic 100lb hanging bag hubby bought me for Christmas – oh yea)
4. Clean out spare bedroom (my mom is retiring this year, so it can no longer be my craft room)
5. Learn to play suduko
6. Run a paperless office (otherwise known as scan and shred all stray papers)
7. Read 4 self-improvement/work-related/biography books
8. Take a photography class
9. Whittle down my photo backlog from 2010
10. Try a craft I’ve never attempted before
11. Create memory board
12. Sew an outfit for Baby Girl

Sure… doesn’t seem like a lot, but with baby girl running in tow, even the littlest of tasks can seem like a mountain to scale. Who doesn’t know that feeling?

What about you? It’s the second week of the year, have you finalized your goals – made plans for the things you want to accomplish?

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Mini Goals Clockboard by MaryKateMcDevitt

With that, my goals have clearly changed. The focus with this website/blog is still the same, but I’d really like to continue destashing/using the gemstones and other supplies I already have. In full, I’m aiming to:

1. Build new light box.
2. Select new theme background for photos.
3. Clean and reshoot or repurpose older jewelry pieces.
4. Destash excess supplies once a week.
5. Create at least two new piece a month.
6. Create an organized and compact storage/craft area for my jewelry business.
7. Prep new website for launch after baby girl’s birth when things fall into a routine.
8. Clean up newsletter mailing list.
9. Create mailing list templates for the next 12 months, setup mailing schedule and alerts in calendar to verify and update content.
10. Fix broken back links in blog due to new backend. Done!
11. Catch up on my 52 weeks blog posts.

Sadly, I feel like I’m running out of time to really work on many of these. As one of my twitter peeps pointed out, it’s not long now before baby girl is due and we’re in a single digit week countdown!

But enough about me… how are you doing with your lofty goals?

This post is part of the 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion {affiliate link} series by Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl. If you’re interested in participating in the group, pick up her e-book today! {affiliate link} You can start at any time.

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Success! One Lofty Goal Complete!

So simply, I’ve learned that goals are nice to have, but life happens and really you have to learn to roll with the punches…or hugs…or whatever. Which is why it’s high time I sat down and revised my 101 list. That’s my main goal for next week. I’ll make sure to let you know how I do.

If you’re taking part in the 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion, you’re probably already sharing your goal on your own blog. If not, let me know what your latest goal is…and even if you are part of the 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion group, share with me anyway. It’s nice to chat on the blog. :)

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But I’ve made a few waves with my 101 list! I’m so excited to share that with all of you. First on the list…

Create a budget

Can you believe that? I finally finished reading Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover book. J and I sat down last weekend and worked through all the worksheets. We haven’t quite started yet, since we are near the end of our month which is bill paying time, but once they are all paid, we will start our budget with the next check.

Woot! We made a budget! Cross that one off my list!

Grow my business so my husband can stay home and work with me

This particular goal actually needed to be broken down into a few pieces. The first one was making my main business website more usable by moving it to a different platform. I’m almost there with that, which is great. Then I can start blogging on that website regarding web development topics. I also have some great ideas brewing in my head to help small businesses get started with their own web shop/blog/website like mine! Not to mention, a redesign for A Pretty Rock in the works. I’m so very excited.

And finally…

Photograph and post at least 10 ebay or craigslist items for destashing 1x month

I’m finally getting back to the destashing. After having cleaned the house for an all too short visit from the brother-in-law, I’ve been refreshed on my mission to declutter. Cleaning the house was amazing motivation, so I’ve already started listing some purses on my A Pretty Rock eBay account:

I love it when the ball gets rolling, don’t you?

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Renewed Inspiration

• Exercise 3x week (0/143) to Establish an exercise habit – I think I can easily say I’ve gotten back on the wagon with this one…now I just need to make sure I only break it when I’m sick.
• Kickbox 1x week (0/143) to Grow my Kickboxing skills – We have a new instructor at the school who comes from a hardcore mixed martial arts background. Watching her, I clearly know I need more work on my skill. I’m up to the challenge.
• Clean my desk 1x month (3/36) to Declutter house. Seriously, every room in my house has some sort of clutter. From stacks of papers, to stacks of clothes to bags of recycling…I just can’t get away from it. I’m sure my mom taught me better, but clearly I need some help. So, I asked for a decluttering book (I throw a book at most issues when I need help) which I got for Christmas and am tackling this issue this year!
• Fold laundry 1x week (0/143) to Fold laundry 1x quarter – Because really, who wants to feel like a failure for not folding laundry every week? Yes, we really are that lazy.
• Write a blog post 1x week for A Pretty Rock to Establish a blogging schedule for A Pretty Rock – I think for the most part I’ve done a decent job of posting at least once a week last year (with a few exceptions here or there.) Now I think I need to set myself on a schedule instead of this feast or famine posting I have.
• Keep a daily one-sentence journal for a year (3/365) to Create a book from my Grateful 365 project. The one-sentence journal fell through. Don’t even remember why. I think my book will be more interesting to review later anyhow. It also falls right in line with “Learn how to handbind a book”. :)
• Apply to 5 high end shows 1x year (1/15) to Pay off A Pretty Rock debt. I don’t know how it happened…well, I DO know, but I refuse to live with debt in all aspects of my life. This particular one is the most manageable and possibly the easiest to attain quickly. And while shows are fun, they don’t really seem to be for me…or this year, they have not had the bang for the buck of previous years. Just not worth it, it seems.
• Start a cooking blog with a friend – I removed this completely in lieu of “Do something towards my goals every week”. I’m actually helping my friend setup a business venture and am very excited to do that with him. I would rather he concentrate on that than a recreational project. I’ve let him off the hook.

And while there are so many other things on the list that I’m just not sure about, I realize that for some, I don’t have replacement goals. I’m not ready to give them up until I know what I want to do in their place.

Have you reviewed your goals? Still maintaining your New Year’s resolutions? How are you doing at getting where you need to be?

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Regardless, I have completed some items on my list, so here is my latest update:

* Yes, I did make it to the dentist twice last year. My teeth are really thanking me for it. ;)

* I finally figured out how to type Spanish language characters on the keyboard. While I don’t remember how to type all of them, I do have a handy dandy cheat sheet bookmarked. Works just fine for me. (¡Wepa!)

* Boriquas: Influential Puerto Rican Writings — An Anthology read. Interesting book. Sparked many a conversation between my mom and I. Made me look at some things differently.

* Participate in project 365 – I mentioned this in my last blog post. (And I’ve already started a new one!)

* Purchase a dSLR – Well, technically, *I* didn’t purchase it, but I do have a dSLR and that was the point. ;)

As for things I’m changing, I’ll have to save that for another post.

How about you? Have you completed any goals this past year? What have you planned for this year? Or…are you joining me on the list? ;)

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So all I have to show you is a picture of a failed attempt at flan. (Notice I have not crossed it off my 101 list…yet!)

I didn’t write down the recipe my mom gave me in January when she was up for a visit. So, I called my mom for the recipe in hopes of surprising our friends with some dessert. In my defense, the only reason the flan turned out lopsided was because she halved the recipe for me. Instead of using the two pans I remembered from earlier this year, I really only needed one. Unfortunately I didn’t realize this until it was too late.

Couldn’t let a good flan go to waste, so I went ahead and cooked it all lopsided…no matter how odd it looked. Let me tell you it was just as good. ;)

Now I know, though, and I have plans on making this again real soon.

If you’re feeling brave enough to try the recipe yourself (without one of my wonderful photos to cheer you on), here’s you go:

FLAN

SPECIAL SUPPLIES
A double sauce pan

INGREDIENTS
5 eggs
1 15oz. can of condensed milk
1 15oz. can of evaporated milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of water

DIRECTIONS
1. Place water in bottom pan of double sauce pan.

2. Place pan in the oven and heat to 350 degrees.

3. Beat together the eggs and the two milks. Set aside.

4. Put sugar and water in a microwavable bowl. (I use a glass measuring cup, saving me the cleaning of an extra measuring cup.)

5. Microwave on high for 6 minutes or until sugar has caramelized to a deep brown (like the cognac color of a dark hessonite garnet.)

6. BEFORE THE CARAMEL COOLS, pour it on the bottom of the other sauce pan (the other portion of the double sauce pan not in the oven.) Make sure to tilt the pan, making the caramel cover all portions of the bottom of the pan.

7. Pour the custard into the caramel lined pan.

8. Bake for approximately 1 hour. Flan is done when a toothpick test comes out clean.

9. Remove pans from oven and let cook in refrigerator for 1 hour.

10. Invert flan onto a serving tray. The caramel sauce is served over the custard.

I want pictures if you make it!

If you’re looking for more Christmas traditions & recipes or a Christmas shop spotlight, make sure to check out the Etsyblogger’s blog on December 22nd for our blog carnival post.

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I’m so delayed on getting these posted. April turned into May, and May into June, so here I am playing “catch up” with the supplies that have been accumulating on my desk. Maybe next month I will get caught up with June as well. :)

In this batch you’ll find a lot of Swarovski pearls and a few crystal rondelles. There are also some new yummy peacock freshwater pearls that are definitely worth checking out.

Here is my Etsy mini with a few of the supply listings:

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See these blossoms? They make me sick. Or rather, they signal the beginning of a season where I have to watch myself. Take lots of Allegra, wash my hands a lot, nag J to switch out the air filter. What should be a carefree season turns into a season of prevention. Makes me feel like the boy in a bubble.

Once the pollen dusts everything in sight with its familiar yellow glow, it’s almost a sure bet I’ll get a sinus infection. This time around, however, the flu was the culprit. As you can see, what should have been about a 5 days break from the blog almost turned into a full two weeks!

Being sick is the pits and I’m not one who bounces back quickly. Once I get sick, I’m down for the count. I’ll be in bed the whole week. The house will look like what the hurricane left behind. It’s even worse when J is sick, too, like he was this past week.

That’s how we ended our friends’ trips. We said goodbye to most of them before the symptoms hit hard. However, I dropped Garrett off at M.A.R.T.A., hoping desperately that I wasn’t sending my friend home with a little something extra.

As I mentioned, things fall apart when I get sick. I forget to pay bills. We end up with no groceries in the house. (Or rather, we end up with a bunch of mismatched food items. Dry Cheerios with brown rice, anyone?) I’m not working, so we’re short my income. (Life of a contractor.) I fall waaaay off the wagon with my list.

But I’m back! And I’ve updated that list you see so prominently on my blog. I changed a few things, such as #9. Anyone who has visited me knows that this will never happen. Cleaning my desk off once a week was highly idealistic. However, once a month is certainly not too much to ask. Especially since I could combine it with the scanning of the home documents. I can call it a “clean and organize” day.

As for others? I got a real hair style…check #20! Bought a tumbler and shot…check #37. Add to #19, #36, #41…woohoo! I’m not keeping up with everything, but I’m also not doing so bad…and that’s good.

Next week I’ll be picking up with the 90 Features in 90 Days posts again. I’ll be posting these on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule. Every day turned out to be too much of a stress for me and left me neglecting things I should pay better attention to. A girl’s got to have priorities, right?

So am I completely better? No, but at least I don’t feel like my only option is to become one with my bed all day again. Oh and my tummy is reminding me that I haven’t eaten anything but crackers and orange juice in a week. So I’m off to find something to eat downstairs…hopefully something other than the dry Cheerios and brown rice.

Check out my Etsy mini with a few of my latest supply listings:

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Several things have already sold, but just like last time, there are some good things worth scooping. This time, I added some of the extra Mother of Pearl buttons I use to make my rings in designs I did not care for once in hand. One listing of those already sold.

There are also some great coconut heart beads large enough for pendants and some pink shell flowers which make cute dainty earrings…sadly, just not quite for my market anymore, I think.

I couldn’t help myself, though, and ended up making these sweet little hairpins with the pink shell flowers to list.

Check out my Etsy mini with a few of my latest supply listings:

Tonight I’m off to pick up my mom at the airport, so here I go doing a quick clean of the house. I hope you have a fantastic Saturday!

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Last week I made mention of how I was able to generate so much blog press about my sale. I promised I would talk about it this week and since my week is almost over, I figured I should get to that now. :)

I read someplace once that if you want your product to be remembered, you need to present it to your target market at least 5 times before they actually start remembering you. (If anyone can confirm or deny that, please let me know. I can’t seem to find my source for that anymore.)

Seems like a lot, doesn’t it? When you think about it, most of the time you only have one shot, whether that be your website’s landing page, a random blog post, or when someone walks by you at a show and something catches their eye. Not much room left for error with first impressions.

To that end, I developed a simple marketing plan. If you’re familiar with my 101 List, you’ll see one of my goals is to submit my website to at least 4 different blogs for a write up once a month. Last month, I did just that and went a bit overboard, submitting to over 50+ blogs. (Blog submission is just one of the items on my marketing plan. I’ll talk about that some other time.)

Now, I think my little secret is pretty clear: self-promotion. It’s as simple as that. Open your mouth, or in this case, whip our your keyboard and get to talking. I absolutely know this is why I was lucky enough to have all these wonderful blog mentions on my sale. Had I not touted my own horn (which is okay to do as a business), I don’t believe any of these blogs would have known about what was going on at my site.

So, don’t be shy. You want people to know you exist? Then blow your own horn here and there.

How about you? Do you find when you talk about your product, there seems to be more interest?

There are some good things in there, like several pieces of Thai hill tribe silver that was purchased when the market was lower. There are also some vintage lucite beads that are worth scooping up. Hopefully all of these will go off to new homes!

Here’s an Etsy mini with a few of my latest supply listings:

Now to go grab some breakfast…

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I do want to be successful with my list, so I know I’m going to have to tackle this problem differently. Having the list public on my blog is just not enough. Which means I have to learn from my failure quickly so that I can get back on track and not be demoralized.

I did manage to photograph some supplies for Goal #12!

This morning, I was reading my blog roll and I believe I’ve found the solution! Zen Habits had a post last month on 16 Killer Apps to Put On Your Brand New Christmas Mac. (I’ve had my Mac for quite a while now, but I didn’t believe that precluded me from using the list.) :) I downloaded and installed several of them, among them iGTD, which I was going to use, but I had just setup a good system that I want to give a fair shot. For this though, I believe it’s a good alternate use for application…so I’m going to fill it up with my 101 list items!

I’m really excited about that and should be setting it up this weekend. Since there are so many different goals on various “time limits” (not sure what else to call them), I think iGTD will work well for what I need. This will also allow me to get familiar with the program in a non-urgent kind of way.

When Week 3 rolls around on the 18th, I should be in a better position to succeed. (I’m crossing my fingers here.)

Does anyone have any other programs they can suggest for tracking to-do lists? I’d love to check them out.

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As promised, my list of resolutions…but with a twist. Personally, I don’t care much for resolutions. They’re just a way to set you up for failure. At least for me, that’s how they’ve always played out…too many, too unattainable, too much guilt when I let myself down, quickly followed by a food binge. So I’ve avoided them for several years now as I merrily welcomed each New Year with no expectations of myself weighing on my shoulders.

However, I’ve been reading The Flog (WoW geeks will recognize Felicia from The Guild episodes) and having read her 101 Things post, I felt oddly motivated to make one myself. I tried to shrug it off, but three days into the new year and there I was still thinking about the stupid list. Really, the whole issue with resolutions is that we make them and the first moment that we break them, we feel like crap. Why would I want to do something like that to myself?

Against my better judgment, I’ve done it. I’ve made the list. It’s not just any ordinary resolutions list though. It’s a 1001 Day Project list. If you’re not familiar with the project, here’s more information from the website:

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay Focused. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.

3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.

4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.

5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

With so many things on my list that don’t just encompass items related to jewelry, I’m also posting the list on my work website, YazminMedia. I can write about work related items over on that blog. I’m sure you jewelry readers don’t want to read a bunch of code; just like my work readers probably don’t want to read about my jewelry adventures.

There are certain things I didn’t put on the list, like visiting my brother again in Hong Kong or taking Jason to Hawaii. I think those things are just out of our reach for the next 2 1/2 years, especially with some of the other plans we have in the works for the next few years.

However, we did promise our friends a trip to Europe with them for their anniversary, so we have to add that to our budget and savings plan. Also, I don’t think a weekend trip to New York would be too much of a stretch, as well as a quick trip to Puerto Rico, provided we get the super cheap rates from an airline and Jason is not working for someone else anymore.

So I think I’ve been fairly realistic about this list. If you think differently, though, please let me know. I have been known to be some what of a dreamer…Just ask my friend Judson, who went to see National Treasure with us last weekend and witnessed first hand the extent of my dreaming when I exclaimed “I want to be a treasure hunter!” as we walked out of the movie theater…

Without further ado, check out my 101 list in the right column of my blog. I’ll be crossing off items as I complete them and possibly modifying the list as I lose interest in certain things. We all change as the years go by, so why not my list?

Regardless, I’d love to hear what you think.