April feels like it was a month of slowly chipping away at the bigger 52-in-52 items (my annual 52 goals in 52 weeks list). I didn’t complete much, but I certainly made some good progress.
Completed
Buy new sunnies
I have needed to buy new sunglasses for a couple of years now, and kept putting it off. With my recent weight loss, I had reached a point where my sunglasses wouldn’t stay on my head. They were a downright pain. And yet I still kept putting it off. Finally, I added it to my 52’s list as a way of forcing myself to finally get it done.
Turns out I’m an expert at manipulating myself.
Also, I hate shopping for glasses.
Having to look in the mirror is a large part of it. For many years, the mirror hasn’t felt like my friend. Thankfully, I’m starting to get over that, and the fact that I shared photos of myself speaks volumes to my growing self-confidence.
The last time I bought sunnies, I just did a casual glance in the mirror and said: “good enough”.
Folks, they were not good enough.
To quote my friend, these are the kinds of glasses you wear when no one else is around, or you just don’t care.
It was obvious I wasn’t good at picking glasses for myself.
Enter my neighbour, my hero, who works at an optometrist’s store.
I booked in for an eye check, and sure enough, my script needed updating too. My neighbour helped me to find two sets that looked nice – a pair of sunnies, and some reading glasses. Not knowing how long they would take to arrive, I also then bought a third “emergency” pair (non-script) so that I had a pair I could wear immediately without them falling off.
Three sets of evidence that you need a good neighbour in your life.
Also, I’m known for always wearing my sunnies on my head, particularly in photos. To my friend of nearly 30 years, Kim, if you’re reading this, I’d like to point out all the photos in my last post where no sunnies on the head were to be seen. Impressive, I know.
In Progress
Learn the Drums
I’m happy to report that I found an electric drum set on Facebook Marketplace for $100. I picked it up, only to find that one pedal was missing (that’s on me for not checking both were there) and that the hi-hat controller pedal didn’t work.
Handy husband to the rescue! He pulled it apart, realised that the ribbon inside looked a bit funky, so he cut it and resoldered it, and bam, it worked!
I’ve bought a new cable to connect the drums to my laptop, and my neighbour up the road loaned me a kick pedal to see if that worked. It did, which means I now have a fully functional edrum! I’m going to buy a replacement kick pedal so I can give the loan one back, even though he’s assured me he’s not in a rush.
Now it’s just a matter of finding the time to start learning. I’ve not really got a lot of time spare at the moment, so I’ve decided I’ll focus on getting some other stuff finished first, and then get started on some lessons. I just don’t want to be paying a monthly subscription for the software yet if I’m not going to be using it.
Create a Holiday Video from my trip to the US
I’ve started learning how to use Final Cut Pro so that I can begin to put my video together!
The trip was in 2024, so better late than never, right?
Right now I’m in the pre-game. I’m watching tutorial videos, and I’m organising my recordings. I’m so excited for this to eventually be finished, so that I can revisit one of the best holidays of my life, with some of my favourite people.
And share some of the most hilarious moments that still keep us cracking up all these years later.
“Mama, don’t forget to put your teeth in!”
(One day that will make sense for the rest of you. For us, the Disney Skyliner will never be the same.)
For anyone looking to learn, this 60-minute walkthrough from Ripple Training is fantastic to follow along. It includes a demo project so you can get hands-on immediately. The instructor is also very clear, doesn’t go too fast (though I had to pause and replay a few times), and explains why he makes particular changes. It’s a great, real-life example.
Make another resin tumbler
Maaaaan, resin is not my friend. I’m still making progress, but I’m still not where I’d like to be in saying that I’ve nailed this one.
As I write this post, I have a sanded tumbler sitting beside me waiting for another coat.
I’m learning some invaluable lessons so far:
- They’re not kidding when they say mix it for nearly five minutes. Since spending much more time mixing than I thought was necessary, the final result is much smoother.
- I think using latex gloves and applying the resin with my fingers is what’s affecting my final result. It comes out lumpy and uneven, and there are parts where the resin just bails altogether. I had wiped it down beforehand, so I know there weren’t any oils there. I’m almost positive the gloves have something to do with it.
- Use the silicone wand things my friend recommended. I’d avoided it because I find it hard to work with something when I can’t “feel” how it feels (hence the gloves). But my friend knows what she’s talking about. I did try using the silicone brush for one coat on the last tumbler, and it came out feeling much better. The only thing in common with bad coats is gloves and using my fingers.
So, this challenge continues on. Slow but sure progress. Surely my next coat, and then my third attempt at the tumbler, should be successful…right? Right?
Other quick ones in progress
- Make a gift pack for a friend – starting to put some ideas together on what I can do, this one will be fun.
- Print more photos – I’ve been printing and sticking more photos in my planner each week, so I feel like I can almost consider this done. I’ll do a post specifically for my planner, with some photos of what I’ve done, and then I’ll cross this one off.
- Grow the damage out of my nails – I finally nailed (heh) what’s causing my issues. I mentioned this in my last post about doing dip nails at home. I hold my hands at quite a curved angle when I type – imagine someone doing “zombie” hands. I think it’s because I have such long fingers. When my nails are long, it puts pressure on the nails, and because my nails are super solid from the dip nails, the pressure transfers to the nailbed. Since keeping my nails shorter and attempting a slightly flatter typing style, I have definitely seen improvements with my nails. I think I’ll be able to tick this one off in a month as well.
Current Status
As of the 9th of May, I have 34 items remaining, with another 12 in progress or scheduled for later in the year. Which leaves me with 22 that I’ve yet to plan for or make a start on.
I’m feeling good about the list this year. It has definitely helped by including them in my planner and writing frequent updates.
Are you working on a list of goals this year, or do you prefer to just wing it? Have you ever tried 52 goals in 52 weeks? Do you have any hilarious holiday quotes you wish you had caught on camera?
Man – you’re making me miss when I did the 52-in-52 years ago! Perhaps I should do it again sometime. How many weeks are left this year? 33! Perhaps I could do 33-in-33!
Also! I wish you lived closer and could teach me how to work with resin. I’ve had a resin project I’ve wanted to do for forever. AND I have a cajon and have wanted to learn to play for forever, too!
Yes!! Do it! That would be so fun!