12 in 2012 Update #2

I figure the end of the month is coming so I should do an update. And oh do I have things to update!


1. Lose weight -  First weigh in I lost 4 pounds. I weighed in today and I am down 12 pounds. That is impressive to me. My cloths do feel a tiny bit looser. I have a way to go towards my goal. I am being good and mainly sticking to keeping my calories to 2000. It is tougher when we go out to eat. The app on my phone helps. Many restaurants are listed in there. I also think my soup for lunches may help my immune system. Except when I spilt my soup in my lunch bag the other day. Messy. 

2. Get to selling - Oh yes, I did it. I opened the Etsy shop and I potsed items again on ebay. This time I sold 3 on ebay and 2 on Etsy just in the last couple weeks. Of course I lost money on the first few, but it is a learning experience. I am figuring out shipping and how to set things up. I posted more items on Etsy and people are looking at it, just no more sales. I will keep plodding along. I have a bunch more books so I need to get to taking pictures. I reckon I should change this goal to Post More Products. I even made a spreadsheet that shows how much the item cost, how much it sold for, the fees, the shipping and if it was a gain or a loss. Yes, I am spreadsheet crazy. Just ask my coworkers. Plus by mailing the packages from the tiny, small town post office on my way home helps them stay open. The lady who works there is so nice. 

3. Pay off my mom - I am still sending in monthly payments toward her funeral costs. My goal remains for payoff in June. Once I get the tax refund I will send a good chunk. We will see if any other family members send in money as they said they would. Fingers crossed. 

4. Put down flooring - We put down flooring in 3 rooms on vacation. That leaves the two bedrooms and the bathrooms that need flooring. We are well on our way to having flooring in 2012 in the whole house.  

     

5. Paint 2nd bedroom - Still no paint. The flooring took up time and money so far this year. I think I still want a light grey. I missed the Valspar deal at Lowes the other week. Maybe I will start looking at the messed up paints to find a deal and a color. There are so many shelves in there you only see a bit of the walls. 

6. Paint and try to start redo on the kitchen - Tile floor is complete and barely squeezing out glue anymore. The husband needs to put the one set of cabinets together and repair them. We have the wood. Then I thought about how I wanted to take down the cabinets that are between the dining room and the kitchen that blocks the view. I can't stand when they do that in trailers. It will really open it up when they come down. We are now talking about taking them down and putting them over the window.

We found a bifold door for $5 the other week. The husband just needs a couple pieces of wood to put it up to cover the AC unit. Another thing we get to paint white. Yippee :) We still have the paint to buy and put on. The husband put up one of the two shelves over the washer and dryer in the laundry area. I love it.

I finally broke down and bought a small wall clock for the kitchen. Yes, I don't need another clock, but I thought the one wall needed a cool retro piece. I used my paypal earnings to buy the clock and paid the difference. It arrived yesterday.

7. Get the shed out of the 2nd bath - Most of the things are out of the bathroom shed. I am still trying to get the husband to clean up the rest. Now that his knee is better I am hoping I can get him on that goal so we can cross that one off. 

(http://paxtonprints.com/index.php?x=process_image_multiple_times)

8. Green it up - Still only one new plant for 2012. Now that the stores are full of gardening items and the weather has warmed up I should be planning, plotting and potting. February is a good month to start in Florida. 

9. Take care of the finances - I sent another payment. This bill is down to less than $500. Not only do I have a plan for that, but I am working on a business idea for when it is paid off. Of course the plan involves furnishing  an office. I am trying to find the best deals on couches and chairs, maybe a small desk or table. Definitely something on the walls. I can't get into it until after I am done with this bill. 

10. Do more, compute less - Yes, I read one book this year. With the piles of books I have I should have done more. I received two magazines this week and still haven't read them. The online selling has been my excuse for being on the computer. I need to cut that back way more. The husband still has us playing cards at the inlaws. With his purchase of a poker table cover and more poker chips we will definitely keep playing. He joked about getting a bingo game to play over there. His mom would beat us all. She is a bingo professional, semi-retired, now only playing online. 

11. Downsize - The give away box is growing. I cleaned off the bed that was covered with everything in the other bedroom on MLK day. The second bedroom closet is half organized, with the husbands tools and what not still all over. I have been thinking of ways to get more out of that room, maybe even get rid of that ugly bulky dresser that keeps a bunch of junk. 

By selling books online I am getting rid of the thrifted books and I am starting on the collection I have. I want to pare it down to one bookcase if possible. Do I really need a rag tag paperback of Clive Barker's books that I may never read again. Or should I find it a happier home or many hands it may fall into? Do I need a whole shelf of text books? Text books on topics I never refer to?

(from http://inhabitat.com)

12. Sew something - On vacation I did sew some clothing. I was very proud of myself. The next step is to sew something out of my accumulated cloth and stuffing. How can I justify wanting a small sewing machine if I never sew. I have tailoring in my blood thanks to my grandparents. I should be embracing my culture.