Saturday, January 31, 2009

Love is in the air in February!

Which means that I get to fulfill my "goal" of making a new recipe! Hooray! What should I cook? Oh, the possibilities are endless! I scored an Alice Waters cookbook today (she of the famed Chez Panisse and just an amazing person who emphasizes fresh, local ingredients that are simply prepared) for $1! Holy cow! Can you believe that? Barnes and Noble was having a big sale, and I promised P that we'd head to the mall for some Thomas fun (never mind that he has a train table at home).

While at the beloved book store, I grabbed the February issue of Vegetarian Times to peruse while P played with the trains. The trains, as you may know, are located in the kids area, so unless I want to read a kids book (not so bad, but I like to pretend I'm an adult sometimes), I gotta grab something QUICK before I'm dragged by a surprisingly strong almost 4 year old to the magic area.

Let me tell you something about Vegetarian Times. Every single recipe made me want to eat it. NOW. Wow! I had never looked at that mag before, and it was definitely cool to have every single recipe be meat-free! I'm not used to that, as I'm used to more mainstream mags that will always include chicken, fish, beef, and pork and since "times are tough" and we're all "trying to eat healthier" may include some token vegetarian recipe, usually with a butt load of olive oil, probably to make it "taste good" since it doesn't have any meat. (Can you sense my sarcasm? Sorry. Living in Texas is NOT conducive to a vegetarian lifestyle, illustrated by the fact that I am ready to shove the next person who tells me that they couldn't NOT eat meat, or who asks what I could possibly eat! All right, all right! I get it! You like meat! Now shut up and leave me alone with my kale)

I simply had to great the magazine. I had to. And fortunately for me, I have slightly more money than I thought, due to a budgeting error that worked in my favor (when does THAT happen??), so I could afford this little splurge! You see, I've decided that getting out of debt is a gigantic goal, and I've been doing exceptionally well at avoiding extras. But bookstores are my kryptonite. So, I suppose I should be glad they were having a sale!

That Body and Soul Challenge

BTW, I always want to write "sould". Hmm. Wonder what that means?

Anyway, how's that going? Yeah. Not well. Totally off that wagon. Oops!

I think the problem is twofold. First, the second week was all about eating better, adding fruits, veggies, and whole grains to your diet. I don't eat as many whole grains as I would like, pretty much stopping with whole wheat bread and brown rice, tossing in couscous occasionally and every once in a while some whole wheat pasta. Other than that, I already do those things! When I'm feeling well (and that's the second problem, but more on that in a moment), I eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies. I go to a local farmer's market on Saturdays (and you would be surprised just how many farmer's markets there are in Houston. It's odd, really. Such a yuppie, Walmart-y town, but there are some serious pockets of resistance! And not all of it is the rich, spend $300/week at WholeFoods crowd) and get a HUGE bag of produce for about $17. All of it fresh and organic, most of it local. Nice! I then purchase some basics and use that produce for my meals.

Another thing that I do is get a giant box of organic salad blend from Sam's Club for about $4, which is only .50 more than the 4 oz you can get at the grocery store. I also get a lb. of prewashed organic spinach for about the same price. Then, I eat salads all week, mixing the spinach and greens. I also need a quick breakfast that is filling, so I make a "breakfast sandwich". I get English muffins from Walmart (I know, I'm part of that dreaded Walmart crowd, but times are tough)--12 for about $1.50--and briefly saute a handful of spinach, then cook one egg, toast an English muffin and spread it with chipotle mayo (take a can of chipotle peppers and puree the whole thing. Then use the puree! To make chipotle mayo, add between 1 tsp to 1 tbsp to about 1/4-1/2 cup mayo (can you tell I just eyeball this?), depending on how spicy you want to make it). Top with the spinach and egg, and you are eating! Yum!! I get a really fast breakfast that has some greens in it!

Because I already eat relatively healthy (and by relatively, I mean that I still love chips and have been known--ok, ok, I am known for--to overindulge on the margaritas and chips and salsa at my favorite dive Mexican restaurant), I really didn't take the second week seriously. That was the beginning of my derailment.

Then, I got sick. Over and over again. Sigh. First, I got a UTI. In order to get rid of it, I took antibiotics. This just wiped out my healthy flora and fauna, and I got a cold. After the cold, I got this really nasty virus that knocked me out for about a day and a half, and I'm still recovering (bland foods,such as white bread, noodles with butter and parm cheese, and pb&j sammies, have been my preferred diet for nearly a week, and I'm just getting back to my regular spicy and flavorful diet). This was the second blow to that challenge.

This week was supposed to be the exercise week, but I have barely moved at all, aside from my regular dancing throughout my classroom, alternately trying to motivate and yelling at my students.

I've decided that if I want to try that challenge again, I'm going to need to revamp it. Obviously, it's called a challenge for a reason, and if something isn't challenging to me, then it shouldn't be a part of a challenge, right? So, this may be an unfulfilled goal, or perhaps I will come up with my own variation of the challenge, and proceed accordingly. Either way, I'll keep you posted.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Hoo, baby!

TGIF, man. Wow. The past couple of weeks have just been insanity. That's not my idea of a good time.

I've had a UTI, a cold, a horrendous virus (that is currently crippling J), I went to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts and saw the King Tut exhibit (really awesome!), J's job is in peril (possibly) and my child has entered this really annoying stage where he is alternately demanding, then whining. When I'm lucky, he sleeps.

The museum was great, and the best part was spending the day with a select group of students who are pleasant, motivated, and friendly. It made me remember why I wanted to teach in the first place. The kids were really funny. They didn't want to leave Dallas and come home, so they suggested we take them to the mall. Then, when that didn't work, they wanted to go to a park. Next, they suggested we go to a parking lot and hang out. Really. Just hanging out in a parking lot with a bunch of teenagers. You know us chaperones were thinking, "Great!! Let's go!" Finally, they tried to get us to stop at Walmart! Those poor kids would have done ANYTHING to prevent getting home! I remember that age, and I don't miss it one bit!

P is trying to sleep on my arm, so I better get him to bed. I'm looking forward to a few days off, and I hope to be able to update a bit more regularly. That is, if my life can settle down a bit!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Blog by!

This is a blog by. Like a drive by, but bloggier.

Let's just say that life has been crazy. And I'm quite tired, and need to get the kid ready for bed, but I'm actually still here and still remember that I have a blog. Which means that the chances of me updating substantially are marginally in your favor. Yay!

Nite, all!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Leaky tub, no more!

One of my goals was to complete 6 home improvement/home repair projects. Well, I'm ashamed to admit it, but my tub faucet has been leaky for the better part of a year. Oh, what a bad hippie I am. Horrible! Finally, yesterday I decided it would be fixed.

We removed the panel out of P's room to turn off the water to the tub. What a surprise! There was no water valve, just wall. What??? Apparently, the shoddy construction of this house never ends. I assume there is a valve behind the wall, it's just closed it. Sigh. So, we went outside and opened the other panel, only to discover a hole that had literally been punched in the wall, giving us access to the main water valve. Wow. Just wow.

After I got over my anger towards the now defunct Royce Builders (who went out of business for good reasons, obviously), we turned the water off and removed the faucet handle. Yanked HARD on the thing-a-ma-jig (which is why I can never be a plumber. My lack of technical terms) to get it out and commenced to the hardware store to get a new one. Oh. Except that people decided to crash into one another, completely shutting down a major highway and forcing us to take a scenic detour on a two lane road. And it was dark, so the detour was not all that scenic. When we finally reached the store, long after we should have been home, we could not find the exact part. What we found was pretty darn close, so we crossed our fingers and prayed. Also, we hoped for a good return policy.

Back home, things were uneventful as the part fit, we put everything back together, and turned the water back on. Ta-da!

The most beautiful part was when I woke this morning and did NOT hear the drip-drip-drip of water from the tub! Ahhhhh. A good steward of the Earth, am I.

And I'm completing goals in the process. Yay!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Concluding Week 1

Well, I haven't been around both because this week has been a bit of a whirlwind, but also because part of my detox week was a media detox, meaning that I was supposed to limit my various media intake, including the lovely 'net.

I didn't follow ANY aspect of the detox week 100%, but I don't feel bad. For once, I'm giving myself permission to do something without having to do it 100%. Whew. That feels nice! Who knew that you could actually cut yourself some slack! So, let's do a recap, shall we?

Diet: Low fat, vegan. Steamed veggies, little seasonings, brown rice, etc. I effectively eliminated coffee from my diet and replaced it with an equal amount of green tea (1 traveler's mug). That was not an issue in the slightest, surprisingly enough. I do miss coffee....the taste and the ritual.....but I think I am going to try to keep my coffee drinking limited to the weekends, when I can savor my cup. During the week, I think green tea is a smarter choice that I can easily live with.

Breakfast was oatmeal with fruit and a bit of cinnamon, and this was bland, but doable. Kept me full, too. And oatmeal is supposed to help you lose weight, it's heart healthy, and keeps ya regular, so really, there are no problems there!

Lunch was supposed to be steamed veggies, a whole grain, and a legume. Equal parts of each. Well, I started the week eating a delish black bean stew with tons of veggies. It was low-fat and high flavor, thanks to the beauty of those ugly little chipotle peppers, so that got me my legumes and veggies. Now, I broke the rules because I think it was more highly spiced than it was supposed to be, but whatever. It wasn't a double cheeseburger, right? I added brown rice to complete the trifecta. When the stew was gone, I switched over to that Chickpea-Broccoli casserole I had made, and while I was able to eat it, last night I threw away most of it. This stuff was just WAY too "health-food" for me. It was chickpeas, broccoli, carrots, onions, veggie broth, and bread crumbs, baked together. Yeah. That doesn't sound like the best casserole ever, does it? I mean, it WAS good, in its own way, but after a while I began to shudder when I thought of it. Oh well. I tried.

Dinner was more veggies and whole grain. I did this, but instead of steaming my veggies, I had baked sweet potatoes, or sauteed kale, or saurkraut. I also had some steamed broccoli. So, my veggies were a tad more flavorful than I think they were supposed to be, but I kept with the program, and that's important. Steamed veggies may have made me go AWOL. Also, I made some prepared cous-cous that had seasonings. Whole grain? Yes. Plain? Not so much.

Snacks: I snacked on fruit, raw veggies, and nuts (cashews, almonds, and macadamia nuts. It doesn't get better than that). I probably went overboard on the nuts, but that's what I do! I'm nutty! Hee hee!

My thoughts on the diet: I feel great! I feel level headed and I didn't get so angry with my classes as I normally do. Now, I did make two classes do silent book work, but that was more because they need to learn how to act than me flying off the handle. However, I struggled with wanting junk food and thinking that this diet is boring. It really isn't, and every time I ate I thought my food tasted great, but my brain kept wanting tortilla chips, or chocolate, or whatever other junk food might pop into my head. This may just be a habit. However, it's a life-long habit, and it's STRONG. I'm hoping that this week has helped to weaken that habit somewhat.

Media detox: Well, this wasn't that hard. Partially because I was busy at school, and then P got sick and I got a UTI (ugh! Is there a connection?), so I was often quite tired and ready to go to bed by 7:30 (which we did on a few nights). I did listen to the radio somewhat, but it was public radio, so there are few ads and I am only able to listen during times when the main programming is music, so I felt like it wasn't a huge conflict. P watched movies, and so I saw them, too, but again, I'm not sure that is the media that is meant. I think that media meant news, ads, etc. Obviously, all media is stimulating and part of the goal was to reduce stimulation, but movies are definitely better than tv shows that are laden with fast-paced, loud, bright commercials. Talk about OVER-stimulation! Not watching the news in the morning helped me move a bit faster and feel less stressed. That was surprising, although it makes sense that I would move more slowly as I watched the news.

My thoughts: I'm going to continue limiting my screen time of all sorts during the work week, as I need a lot of sleep to be fresh and clear headed. This was painless for me.

Exercise: Ok, here's where I ought to hide! I didn't exercise one lick this week. Like I said earlier, P got sick this week. In fact, he's still sick! And he doesn't get sick often, so when he does, he does so in dramatic fashion. In addition, I got a UTI (which had been a-brewin', but I chose to ignore the tell-tale signs of slight discomfort while urinating and waited till I felt like I needed to pee WHILE peeing. Sigh). Further, I had various after school duties AND P had a dentist appointment this week (and he has a cavitiy, boo!). With all of that, I just couldn't find the time to squeeze it in. This is a weak spot for me. I like to exercise, but I can't find the time. I really need to start doing small things in 5 minute increments. I'm just not quite there yet. Oh, and my iPod broke, so now I have no music or podcasts to listen to while I exercise! Boo-hoo!

Next week of the Body and Soul Challenge focuses on diet. Adding more fruits and veggies (I currently have about 12 grapefruits thanks to a co-worker!), whole grains, herbs and spices. Yum! I can't wait!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Starting the Body and Soul Challenge!

And I've gotta say....I'm tired! lol You can find the Body and Soul Challenge here, and the first week consists on a slow and lovely detox, which means cutting back on caffeine! Dear me, can I do it? Last night, when I set up my coffee pot to make only 1 cup of coffee, I was quite upset. That tells me that I need to cut back on caffeine! However, having only one cup of coffee, combined with the continuous effort of watching my crazy teenage students and keeping them from trashing my room, has left me exhausted!

This week, I will be cutting back on caffeine, abstaining from alcohol and junk food, limiting my sugar to that which is found in fruit, and eating a low-fat, vegan diet. As we speak, I'm baking a Chickpea-Broccoli casserole from my current fave, Vegan with a Vengeance. I'll also be doing a bit of a media detox, limiting my TV, internet, and newspaper habits. This won't be that hard, since I'm generally so busy that by the time I get P to bed, there's only enough time to keep the house from becoming a hovel and preparing for tomorrow before I collapse into bed.

I have done the Master Cleanse before, where all you drink is a strange (and strangely GOOD) lemonade sweetened with maple syrup and spiced up with cayenne pepper, and while that detox was AMAZING, I can't afford the time and side-effects of that kind of a detox right now (side effects including fatigue, moodiness, and lots of time on the toilet!), so I'm very excited about this gentle detox regime. This is also one of my 101 goals, so scratching another goal off the list always feels great! :)

I'm currently relaxing with a cup of herbal tea, and I feel very serene and like the hippie I strive to be. So, go brew your own cup of tea, cuddle up to your lap top while I keep you posted, or, better yet, join me in the challenge! What have you got to lose?

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Adventures in waffle-making, part 2

I've become obsessed with waffles, as I am sure that every person in the history of the world who receives a waffle maker must be, in the beginning of their waffle-making career.

I love waffles, but I've only ever had plain waffles, at restaurants. While those waffles are amazing (there's a little diner in New Orleans--that I can't remember the name of, but I know my friend could, so if you want to know, let me know and I'll find out--that makes the best waffles in the whole wide world. Yes. Really.), they are plain, and probably contain about a stick of butter per waffle.

My vegan cookbooks have really neat waffle recipes that I've always wanted to try, and thanks to Santa, I now get to! Whee!!! Last week I made Lemon-Corn Waffles, which had an interesting texture due to the cornmeal, but didn't turn out that well. Likely because I didn't add enough batter to each waffle-well. Or whatever you call where you put the batter to cook.

Today, I made Ginger Pear Waffles. FYI, this is a recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance. The link takes you to Recipezaar, but it's the exact same recipe. And, once again I de-veganized it by using regular milk instead of soy milk. Doesn't that sound great? I added some finely chopped crystalized ginger (which is one of mankind's greatest achievements, in my opinion), and used a red pear, since that's what I had. Now, a super cool thing about these waffles? They have only TWO, count 'em, TWO tablespoons of oil. Da-zam!! That's what I call low fat! (I did top them with a big ole pat of butter, but hey, I probably would have done that anyway, and if you are really being healthy and good, you don't have to do that)

These bad boys filled my house with the most amazing spicy smell! It didn't make me hungry, like some smells can, but did make me want to smell only this smell for the rest of my life.

Learning from previous mistakes, I added more batter to each well. As you can see, this made a bit of a mess.

I freaked out a bit at this point, but it was really too late to turn back. The strange thing is that I used to work at Ben and Jerry's, and we made waffle cones, which would make a mess that looked a lot like this. Apparently, I had forgotten that waffle making does make a bit of a mess. Anyway, when the waffles finished cooking, they looked AMAZING! You know, like waffles should look!

Eat up, friends!

Monday, January 5, 2009

First day back

...Almost. The kids weren't back yet, so it was a day of preparing and training. Blech. No fun. Especially since the training was to basically help us identify the "bubble kids" (and holy cow, she actually USED that phrase, even though she was saying that is what people USED to call these kids. Umm-kay.)--those kids who would pass the TAKS test with a little extra help, versus those who absolutely will not pass regardless of what we do and those who will pass regardless of what we do. The answer does not seem to be in spending more money, in obtaining more data. The answer lies in reducing our dependency on a single test score, on wanting to TEACH children how to think, how to learn, how to be curious. When our focus is on what the students want to learn, and the students are engaged enough to WANT to learn, we will be successful. But not until then.

This, ultimately, is why I want to homeschool my child (hopefully, children). I see how much P loves to learn, and I love being able to tailor what we do to his interests. No matter how good a public school is, there is no escaping the fact that he will be one of many, and his individual needs simply cannot always be met. And honestly, with education, that is what I want for my child. When I went to college, I was able to obtain a tailored education by choosing my major, my classes, etc. And during graduate school, it was basically a free-for-all--I chose exactly what I wanted to learn about (now, I didn't do the best job of CHOOSING what I wanted to learn about, and then got stuck with that subject, but that's a completely separate issue). But why should people have to wait until COLLEGE to obtain this kind of individualized education? Sure, if I had oodles of money I could send P to some fancy private school where class sizes are smaller, his interests are valued, etc. That is unlikely to happen, though.

And, if I am being completely honest, I am being selfish. I love to teach. But I really don't enjoy teaching in the public school system. Sure, I have good days. But those good days are too few and far between to sustain me. By teaching my children, I will have a vested interest in their education (as I would even if I was not the one teaching them), and I will be able to explore what they would like to learn. Plus, there is the added bonus that the interests of my child are far more interesting than the interests of some random child. :)

In addition, I really don't like this schedule. Heck, P slept 14-15 hours at a time over this break! This tells me that he's exhausted! I had noticed some black circles under his eyes, but just disregarded it. Now, I'm feeling like a bit of a jerk because my kid is so tired! I hate that!

He's going to have to "suffer" (and I put that in quotes because he adores his pre-school) for the rest of this school year and almost certainly next year, as well. But, if I get my way, he will NOT need to enter the public school system, where a child is a commodity that can have value added or taken away, test preparation can begin as early as kindergarten, and recess and physical activity are reduced in order to add time for such worthwhile activities as worksheets over the letter A (which he is already doing, incidentally, in addition to his play time).

Lucky for me, I love anticipation and plan to enjoy the process of becoming financially solvent so that I can stay at home. Yay for the bright side, the silver lining!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Trying a new recipe!

Aka #86. Hooray! And heck, it's only the 4th. Good job, me!

This morning I made "Lemon Corn Waffles with Blueberry Sauce" from Vegan with a Vengeance, which is a great vegan cookbook. I'm not vegan, by the way, although I do get a smug little feeling every time I eat vegan, but I really enjoy cheese. Anyway, this recipe ALSO allowed me to use my new waffle maker, which is another neat thing! I'm not great with waffles, apparently. Mine didn't look so great, although they tasted nice. Next time, I'll add a bit more flour to thicken up the batter a bit, and I will put MORE batter in the waffle holder-cooker-thing. Oh, and I de-veganized this recipe by using cow's milk and yogurt, and I'm sure that's forbidden. So, let's keep it between us, ok? Thanks.

These waffles were really yummy, with a bright flavor. I used Meyer lemons, since that's what I had, and it was very hard to zest these since they have such a thin skin. Keep that in mind! Also, the blueberries were kind of icky (they were frozen, WM brand...probably the problem right there). The sauce tasted good, but I imagine that was due to the fancy Whole Foods syrup and organic vanilla extract (wow! I'm such a yuppie!). Also, the sauce called for arrowroot powder, which I don't have. So I used corn starch, and that worked just fine. I subbed it in a 1:1 ratio.

In summary, I would TOTALLY make these again. I would make the sauce, too. Heck, I would eat the sauce over ice cream! But I would use better quality blueberries.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

More about the list

I was really surprised by J's reaction to my list. I had told him I was making it, and aside from 2 entries, I let him read it all. I caught him reading and re-reading it. This was definitely a surprise to me! Usually, he kind of rolls his eyes at whatever notion I have, possibly thinking, "Ah, youth!" or other nonsense. But this time, I think he was impressed! He is also a list maker, and definitely one of those people who has random things like, "Scoop the cat box", "Get paper towels", and "Go to business school" all on the same list!

I asked him if he would make a list, and I think he is now planning on it. The cool thing is that if he does, some of our goals should be the same (financial, mainly). And as far as I am concerned the more people actively engaged in obtaining something, the more likely they are to get it!

This activity might be really perfect for J, as he IS a list maker but tends to get bogged down in the present and doesn't think much about the future. 2.5 years isn't that far away, but it's far enough away that it's fun to dream about and make some grand sweeping gestures. ;)

I'll let you know if he makes his list, and I may even post a few highlights, with permission, of course.

For now, I need to go get dressed and head out to the Farmer's Market, where lovely organic and often, local, produce awaits! (If you are in the Houston area and interested in learning more about this market, let me know!)

Friday, January 2, 2009

The list!

I did it! It took about a week, and I have a few more categories than I originally intended. But that's ok. :)

Making this list has been an interesting activity. Some of the goals came to me so easily and readily. Some were shy, hiding behind louder thoughts and only peeking out when I was quiet or otherwise occupied. While reading other lists for inspiration, I realized that this list is very telling of a person's character and personality. I didn't expect to expose so much of myself by making this list. You may notice that some of the entries are marked private. Those entries expose more of myself than I am willing to share here. However, I may write about them upon completion. You never know! You may also notice that one of my goals is to update this blog. I am hoping that this helps me actually CONTINUE to post, even when life gets crazy.

So, without further ado, may I present.....the list that will guide my next 1001 days.

101 in 1001
Start Date: January 2, 2009
End Date: September 29, 2011
Legend:
Not Started
In Progress
Completed

Health and Fitness
1. Eat vegan 1x/week for 2 months
2. Take a prenatal vitamin nightly for 2 months
3. Do yoga 2x/week for 2 months
4. Get pregnant
5. Lose 20 lbs before getting pregnant
6. Complete Body & Soul’s healthy challenge
7. Set a new fitness goal—and meet it—for 12 months (not necessarily consecutively)
8. Record all food eaten daily for 3 months
9. Drink 6-8 glasses of water daily for 1 month
10. Private :)
11. Floss daily for 4 consecutive months
12. Reduce coffee to 1 cup/day
13. Eliminate coffee from diet
14. Add tea to diet
15. Track my monthly cycle
16. Use that information to better understand my moods and cravings
17. Perform monthly breast exams (0/32)
18. Find a naturopathic doctor
19. Eat nothing after 8 p.m. for 2 consecutive months
20. Private :)
21. Get braces
22. Reward myself with something sensual each months that I meet a fitness/nutrition goal (ex: pedicure, manicure, massage)
23. Learn CPR
24. Private :)


Finances
25. Build up $1000 mini-emergency fund
26. Pay off debt
27. Build a 3 month cushion
28. Put all extra $$ (bonuses, raises, gifts, etc) towards financial goals
29. Eat out on special occasions only (birthdays, anniversaries, last day of school, etc)
30. Sell this house
31. Have a monthly finance meeting with J
32. See a financial planner
33. Open retirement accounts for J and myself
34. Make a Christmas budget
35. Keep the Christmas budget!
36. Live on one income for a year to simulate the actual experience
37. Use a cash economy
38. Add to P’s college fund monthly ($5/month is ok!)
39. Donate $2 per each goal NOT met to a charity of my choice
40. Set aside $5 per goal MET to do something fun at the end of the 1001 days


Love Life
41. Have a date night with J once/month
42. Private ;)
43. Private ;)
44. Private ;)

Social Life
45. Have a potluck dinner
46. Throw a dinner party

Travel
47. Take a cruise
48. Go on 5 day trips alone
49. Visit 5 Texas attractions
50. Camp for a weekend at the Ren Fest
51. Go to Las Vegas for my 30th birthday!
52. Take 3 day trips with P
53. Take 2 overnight trips with P
54. Leave the country!
55. Visit Galveston 4x/year (1/10)


Getting the stuff you want….priceless
56. Get a tattoo
57. Find the most perfect pair of black boots and buy them, no matter the cost.
58. Find the perfect Little Black Dress
59. Get a vitamix


Being a good person
60. Make 2 positive parent phone calls/month for 4 months—2 now, 2 next year
61. Explore volunteer opportunities for P and I
62. Volunteer with P once/week during the summer
63. Give blood 6 times
64. Give 10 compliments to strangers
65. Pay for the person behind me at a drive-thru
66. Obtain no new plastic bags for 3 non-consecutive months

Spirituality
67. Buy one book about paganism and one about Wicca and read them both!
68. Meditate 30 min, 3x/week for 12 non-consecutive months

The House
69. Replace carpet in house with wood floors
70. Complete 6 home improvement projects (1/6)
71. Create a “work-week home management plan”
72. Follow said plan for 3 months!
73. Set a new household goal for 12 non-consecutive months

So Creative!
74. Update blog 2x/week for 3 months
75. Practice guitar 3x/week for 3 months
76. Knit a scarf
77. Make 3 things using my sewing machine
78. Create an altar
79. Create a gift book for J
80. Make all handmade gifts for one Xmas
81. Dress up for the Ren Fest
82. Create a wardrobe that I adore—no “meh” clothes allowed!
83. Create a family cookbook
84. Finish t-shirt quilt or throw t-shirts away!
85. Do a craft project 4x/year with P


Foodie Love
86. Make one new bread machine recipe per month for 6 months (0/6)
87. Learn to make sushi
88. Make one new recipe each month (1/32)


Miscellaneous
89. List those things in my life that I do out of a sense of duty, not love or desire.
90. Reduce that list by half
91. Make “sucks/rocks” lists every 6 months (0/5)
92. SAH w/ my kids
93. Develop a homeschool curriculum for P
94. Meet with a life coach
95. Get life insurance
96. Read 101 books
97. Complete “Brenda’s Wardrobe Companion”
98. Take a class
99. Write my will
100. Turn off computer nightly for 2 consecutive months
101. Be fitted for a bra and only own bras that FIT!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

How's it going?

With the 101 in 1001 project? Well, I'm on 66, so I'm doing well. I've been perusing other lists, and honestly, I want to make sure my list is more reflective of my desire to grow as a person than to acquire, as some of the lists I have seen seem to be.

So, it's coming. Be patient. (Yeah, I'm not good at that, either)