2013 -> 2014

And that's about it for 2013. At the beginning of the year, I set out to do something big... "Make no little plans" I said.

I did manage to publish my book (books 1 and 2 of the trilogy, actually) and that alone was enough of a learning experience to count as a big plan. And I think I kind of pulled it off, even if I haven't made any money...

We built a cool treehouse/fort thing for the kids, which they love.

We did a lot of work on the front and back yards, removing some really bad trees and about 1/2 of the front lawn. We built our take on an herb spiral, and it provided an overabundance of rosemary, sage, thyme, and basil. Tons and tons of basil. Our mint garden did it's usual thing, growing like a weed for most of the year. We planted a lime tree, to go with our dwarf Meyer lemon, key lime, and other dwarf lime trees.

The vegetable garden was a mixed bag. We had a bumper crop of arugula, bell peppers, and mild chiles, but the potted corn was a bust. We got quite a few tomatoes and a few small eggplants.

We lost our alpha hen, so we brought in a golden laced Wyandotte named Cinnamon to bring our flock back up to the maximum allowed (three). Then we lost another bird.

I wrote a 50k word novel in November as part of nanowrimo, like I've done each year for the last 8 years.

I did a ton of crocheting. I visited my mom, and then my dad. We had a great Christmas in Maine with my siblings and nephews and nieces and parents.

In 2012, I focused quite a bit on my health. 2013 was not exactly unhealthy, but I did not exercise as often. I ate well, though.

I discovered, as we all do I suppose, that life does not always align with our goals. I try to spend more time with the kids, but as they get older, they get busier. It's harder, it's more work. We had to get a bit more creative.

And now it's time to start it all over again.