So… How did I do with my 2015 goals that I posted last January? Let’s see how much ADHD and life came in the way of finishing my first list of the year.

Here is what I wrote last January with my how I did:
For the house:

• Paint the garage (Susanna finished it this year)
• Fix 4 windows. (Susanna repaired 3, with two more to go in within a week or so)
• Replace the bathroom floor. (I replaced the part of the floor that I had intended)
• Focus on cleaning up the yard. (Not so much as I had intended)

In the workshop:

• Finish the nightstands for the boys. Build nightstands for our bedroom.  I’ll be pretty sick of nightstands by then. (I finished the boys’ nightstands but didn’t make ones for our room)
• Build a bed. (Not done)
• Finish the workshop floor, and repair/replace the doors. (Partially done – floor is finished)
• Add better heat before next winter. (Not Done)

With the family:

• Take the sailboat out for an overnight trip. (Done)
• Go camping. (If you count camping in the sailboat – more than once)
• Buy a new car. (Done)
• Print books from Will and Ben’s blogs. (Done)

Personal Goals:

• Exercise more (Not done enough…)
• Keep writing in the blog (Done)

Overall I had a pretty good year. I didn’t do all the things on my list – but that is okay, a list is just a place to start and is always changing. Instead of a bed, I built a toy box. Instead of camping, we spent several nights on the boat. I sailed to Block Island which was a very long trip.  We redid the mud room (mostly)and the hall ceiling – I hadn’t planned on a major project this year.

I did pretty good with managing unfinished projects. I did start building a boat, but life got in the way, and I gave up on the project. But I think that is fine – as long as I am finishing most projects. At the end of the year, I have a couple of unfinished projects. I’m working on cleaning and organizing the basement, and it is half-done. I also need to finish the mud room and the toy boxes. I’m sure if I asked Susanna or the boys they would be able to point out a couple of more unfinished projects – but what fun is life is one doesn’t have way too much going on.

Not to think about what I want to do in 2015…. But that will be another post.

Ah, nothing says “Christmas” like weather in the upper 50’s, rain, and a flood of new electronics that need charging. I know, maybe some year we can try something traditional like snow and an Official Daisy Red Ryder Range Model 1938 Air Rifle BB Gun.

Our current charging station is a box that replaces the faceplate of an outlet and gives 4 USB outlets and 8 plugs, and a place for one or maybe two iPods to sit (off the counter). But we are now a house with four phones, three iPods and three iPads. So, now the corner of the kitchen counter with the charging station is a muddle of charging wires and expensive electronic devices. A brand new iPad is just what you want sitting on the counter next to the coffee machine.

We put an outlet high up on the wall in the laundry room so I could eventually build a charging station. I think that eventually meant “this week.” It will be nothing fancy, built from oak plywood and edged with oak. A fancy solid-wood charging station is on my long term list, but far enough down that it will probably never be built. But what fun is having a workshop if my “honey-build” list isn’t overflowing with projects that may never get finished (until all the things on the other never-ending “honey-you-really-need-to-build-it-before-I-give-up-on-it-and-buy-it” list are built).

Way back in January I sat down and put some thought into what I wanted to accomplish this year. Granted, it was cold, and I probably didn’t put as much thought into the goals as I should have. However, sometimes it is good to have something to focus on. It is way too easy to get distracted in life.

So what were my goals? And, how am I doing on these goals?

For the house I wanted to paint the garage, fix 4 windows, replace the bathroom floor and focus on cleaning up the yard.  How did I do? The garage isn’t painted yet, though we have the paint and the front has been scraped and cleaned for painting, so I am confident that we will make progress on the garage. I haven’t yet gotten to the windows, but that could be a good fall job – we are now talking about purchasing some quality storm windows to replace the crappy storm windows (I know, I flop on what to do with the windows at least twice a year). I have replaced the part of the bathroom floor that needed to be repaired. Susanna still wants me to finish the other half of the floor; that could be a good job to do when the weather cools off.  The yard, well that is another story.  This summer was crazy and I didn’t get to spend as much time on it as I had hoped.  There is always next year! Or maybe a weekend in the fall renting a brush clearing mower.

In the workshop I wanted to finish the nightstands for the boys and build us a pair of nightstands. I also wanted to build a bed, fix the workshop floor and repair the doors. I had also hoped to add better heat for next winter.  How am I doing? I finished the nightstands for the boys. The rest still haven’t been done.  But I think the floors are on the short list after I finish my current project. Not too sure about building two more nightstands for our bedroom.  Maybe if I have better heat I can get more done in the winter.  However, I haven’t been a total slacker in the workshop; I am working on building three outside toy boxes for Susanna’s preschool. The first box should go out the door next week.

With the family I had hoped to take the sailboat out for an overnight trip, go camping, buy a new car and print books from the boys’ blogs.  How did I do. So far I have done pretty much all of this list. I took the boat out to Block Island for an overnight trip and Susanna and I camped in the boat this weekend. The only thing that I had hoped to do was take the boys camping as well.  There is always next weekend (and the fall).  We got a new car and I printed both books from the boys’ blogs.

My personal goals included more exercise and continue to write. I did better exercising this summer over last summer, but still not as much as I want.  I did keep writing in the blog, even if the last two months haven’t had much writing in them. The summer got very busy at home and at work, and it was hard to find peace long enough to focus on writing.  I definitely think writing helps me reflect on what I have done as well as focus on what I want to keep doing. Both are good for someone with ADHD.

This summer hasn’t been perfect. I started at least one big project that I gave up on (the wooden dinghy). I felt that I had too much going on, so next summer I think it would be better to take things a little easier so I can enjoy more (maybe no garden next summer). It certainly helped to eventually find a way to bring the dogs with us on the boat – that reduces the stress of leaving the dogs home on the weekend after they have been stuck in the pen all week while we work.  Adding air-conditioning to the workshop was a big help during the (very short) hot portion of the summer – which makes me believe that better heat (and insulation) would be really nice for the (probably very long) cold part of the winter.