13 in 2013 – February checkup

Going into February, I felt pretty confident that I could be as productive as I was in January when tackling my 13 in 2013, even considering that February is a short month and the new-year excitement is wearing off. I wouldn’t say my second month of 2013 was a slam dunk but I would say I did pretty well. Here are the highlights on progress I’ve made:

Creative projects

Just two months in, I’m already halfway through my goal of twelve creative projects for the year! I work late at nite when it’s quiet so I don’t get as much sleep but I haven’t minded one bit.

I don’t want to get ahead of myself but I may need to increase my goal amount soon. Wouldn’t that be awesome?!

I’ve enjoyed all of my projects, especially realizing that I can be creative even when I don’t “feel” it in the moment (it comes to me!) My favorite part is learning that yes, I can do this.

New places

Last month we went to an outdoor hockey game for the first time and this month we hit up a new sushi/seafood fusion restaurant (so good!) and saw matchbox twenty at a venue we’d never even heard of before (post tomorrow!)

The purpose of this goal was just to encourage me/us to expand our horizons and be open to new things. I’m thrilled I can already X this box as done (my goal was to try three new things) but I’m even happier to learn that trying something new comes so easy for us.

Should I increase the goal or just be happy with what I’ve done already? I’m thinking of increasing it to… six? eight? ten? Your thoughts are welcome and I’ll keep you posted on what I decide.

Blogging

Holy crap. I had no idea that blogging regularly would be so “easy” for me. (Not saying it’s easy all the time but it just kind of comes naturally and I enjoy it). Setting a goal to share with you more often also means that I have to do things worth sharing! For me that means reading, creative projects, going places, seeing friends and family, and finding fun new things to try.

Inspire someone

A few weeks ago, Sara came over to watch J-slice for the evening while John and I went to an over-21-only show. It was one of J’s favorite bands so J-slice was disappointed he couldn’t come but he loooves hanging out with Sara so that made it all better.

As a thank you, I gifted her a recipe binder and dividers much like mine only prettier. We had been talking for many, many months about her getting started with recipes and cooking more so I was hoping the binder would help her out. When I gave it to her, she said that definitely qualified toward my goal of helping someone achieve one of their goals for the year. Yay!

Turn photos into something

Duuuuuude. Have you seen my Project Life album?!? I’ve only got the 2013 cover and January done so far but I think about it all the time, drool over it, dream about it, constantly add items to my amazon wishlist for it, and am pretty much in love with it.

I’m excited to continue Project Life throughout the year!

My themes

My themes for 2013 are “work hard, play hard” and “be Janelle.” I think I’ve definitely followed those guidelines over the past several weeks. We’re still hard at work at John’s house but I’m also taking time for fun, like two concerts this month and a few of my own creative projects.

What have you been up to so far in 2013? If you set any goals or resolutions, I still want to hear how you’re doing!