33 Things

I have finished my list of 33 things to do before I turn 33. That gives me until the end of May. I'm actually looking forward to all these things. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Run a 5k--scheduled for Race for the Cure in May

2. Lose weight--at least 10 pounds

3. Decorate for a Holiday

4. Get a Massage

5. Buy myself a floppy gardening hat

6. Finish a cross-stitch project for Tucker

7. Make a Summer Fun List with the kids

8. Surprise for Mom and Dad--more details to come later

9. Start Mom and Me Journal with Zippy

10. Princess Day for me

11. Sing loudly in the car with the windows down--until I get funny looks from other people

12. Try a new food

13. Play a hymn in Sacrament Meeting on the organ using the pedals--this is going to be hard

14. Play with the kids at every park in my subdivision

15. Sleep with the kids in a blanket fort

16. Memorize Psalm 33

17. Listed to a 33 rpm record--this will take some help from friends

18. Learn how to use power tools

19. Take pictures in a photo booth

20. List 33 ways to be like my Mom

21. Sing Hymn 33

22. Read the biography of someone I admire

23. Try 33 different flavors of ice cream

24. Finish the scrapbook of Tucker's first year

25. Spend a night without the kids--probably a sleep-over at Grandma's house

26. Watch at least one movie of each Jane Austen novel

27. Spring Cleaning--the whole house this time

28. Attend Leah's ballet recital

29. Get William baptized

30. Make end-of-the-year gifts for all the kids' teachers

31. Start a smash journal

32. Spend a day alone

33. ?--this one is blank on purpose. It will stay blank until I find that one most awesome idea to fill it with.

I can't wait to get started--and I better not delay anyway. Some of them will take a fair amount of time.

How Do You Know?

I’ve been thinking about my goals a lot over the past few weeks. Some of them I’ve made progress on, and some not so much. I’ve realized that I set very high expectations for myself. It will be interesting to see if I can reach them.

My #1 goal (improving my relationship with God) has been on my mind a lot. This is a difficult goal in that there isn’t a tangible, easy-to-see way to track my progress. For me, this is a goal that is both never done (because I can always improve and draw closer to God), and done as soon as I take the first step (because I’m then one step closer with all the blessings that come from that). I’ve felt both discouraged when I second-guess my worthiness, and hopeful when I feel the Spirit stronger than I have for quite a while.

Which is all a long way of saying I’m not sure where to go with this goal. I want to continue reading scriptures every day, praying many times during the day, fasting, attending the temple, and all the basics of my religion that keep my on the path I want to follow. But beyond that, how do I track where I’m at? And should I even attempt to track that? Am I far enough along with the changes I wanted to make that I can take some of my energy and focus and apply them to another goal? Can I rely on the habits I have started over the past month and a half to keep me moving forward and avoid standing still or falling back?

These are all questions that plague me when I try to evaluate my goals for the year. And none of them have an easy answer. I have definitely felt an increase of the Spirit. I find myself humming hymns and craving the spiritual lift I get from the scriptures. These are all good signs.

I think I’m at a point where I can readjust my attention onto other goals. I hope that as long as I keep the desire to draw close to God forefront in my mind when planning everything else, I can rely upon the habits I have created over a lifetime (and renewed just lately) to direct me. But it’s a little scary with something so important to relax any effort without being absolutely sure of where I am. Unfortunately, I have a long way to go before I could come close to being able to claim guaranteed salvation (really, who could claim that?). And I can’t neglect everything and everyone else in an effort to improve myself. That would be counterproductive at the end of the day.

I would love to hear anyone else’s thoughts on this.

2012 Resolutions

1. Improve my relationship with Heavenly Father
2. Become a more deliberate and involved Mother
3. Reach a healthy weight and run a 5K
4. Pay off all debt except our mortgage (Dave Ramsey step 2)
5. Organize and redecorate the entire house
6. Earn an income from writing
7. Finish all my unfinished crafts and projects

Does this sound a little overwhelming to anyone else?

I’ve worked out a system (using bits and pieces of recommendations from tons of sources) to break each one into itty-bitty bites. Things that I can handle. I list each mini-step on my to-do list for the week, and so far, that’s been moving me closer to my goals than I would have imagined I could be by now.

What goals are you working on? Any ideas or advice on my goals? Does anyone else love setting and planning goals as much as I do?

Announcing the Arrival Of. . . .

Daisy!!!

Yes, we've added another dog--a puppy to be exact.

She's a little mischievous:

But she's also cute, so we forgive her:

Really, who could stay mad at this:
She's very young, and very little. But she won't be either one for long. She's a boxer, and will likely be 50-60 pounds based on the size of her parents. The Z-man has been wanting a boxer for years, so now we've gone and done it. She's a lot like a baby--she even wakes us up a couple times a night. But at least I didn't have to be pregnant to get this baby. :)

We love her, and the kids love her. As soon as we get her house-trained, we'll be set.

P.S. This post was supposed to be on Monday, but of course, my good intentions are no match for my bad luck with technology. Both the camera and the computer were giving me fits the past few days. Hopefully, we're beyond that and I can start updating regularly.

This Is Me--Holiday Traditions

As with most families, we have many Christmas traditions we enjoy. A short and in no way inclusive list would be:

singing carols by Mom's tree on Christmas Eve

opening stockings from youngest to oldest

receiving books from Santa Claus

homemade eggnog (now made with egg substitute due to my pregnancies)

playing Scrabble at some point on Christmas Day

Melissa's cheese balls

advent calendars for both my kids and the Z-man

But one of my favorite Christmas traditions is just a little wacky. That's the way I like it. Growing up, we played a lot of Christmas songs on the piano. Anyone who knows my family will not be at all surprised by this. We also played a lot of Christmas duets. When I was young, my favorite duets were those I got to play with Mom. It wasn't often either of us had time during Christmas to be alone together, so I savored those moments. But then, Melissa grew up, and matched my skills on the keyboard. And Mom started having us play together instead.

I probably balked at first. I don't remember doing it, but it would have been in line with my teenage angst to do so.

Eventually, we fell into a rhythm and enjoyed playing together. Then, we found the song. The most fabulous and wonderful song ever: "Jingle Bells." But not just any Jingle Bells. It's the duet arranged by Dennis Alexander. It's not terribly difficult, although it's not easy either. But that's not why we love it.

We play it fast.

And when I say fast, I mean take-a-deep-breath-brace-yourself-this-is-gonna-be-bumpy-race-you-to-the-finish-the-first-one-there-wins fast.

Literally, we play as fast as we can--which, with the number of years we have been playing, is very very fast. And each time we play it, we try to go faster. We mess up, we bump each other out of the way (accidently on purpose of course), and we always end up giving up because we're laughing too hard to play at all. It's glorious.

And what makes it even better is--I get to do it with my sister.

She's far away this year, but she'll be home for Christmas. And I can't wait.

So, sis, you better practice. I'm waiting for you.

One Track Mind

This is all I have been working on last week, and all I have planned to work on the rest of this week:

I wish I could show you what is inside, but not quite yet. I'm barely keeping my head above water with all the shopping, and making, and holiday stuff to do. But I'm loving it. I'll have lots more of these pretty presents done by the end of the week. And then next week I can relax and play with my kids while they're home.

I have TONS of projects and lists and things to make and do planned for January and beyond. But for now, there's not a lot to share--just some mystery presents in pretty paper.

Playing Catch Up

It's time for me to unload my phone and my camera and post a few pictures of what we have been up to.

In October, Z-man, Little Man, and I went with Munchkin on a field trip to Hee Haw Farms. The kids had tons of fun. Most of the pictures are on Z-Man's phone (which I haven't emptied yet), but here are a couple I had:

I know they're the wrong direction, but I'm too tired tonight to figure out why or how to fix it. You have to love me anyway.

Early this month, the kids helped me decorate for Christmas by cutting out many, many colorful snowflakes:

Just last week we went with Munchkin on another preschool field trip. This one was to Cabela's. In addition to watching the huge fish, feeding the fish in the pond, and looking at all the stuffed animals, we got to try the shooting gallery. Z-Man couldn't get the rabbit to jump, but Munchkin did!

Munchkin must have inherited her great-grandma's skill with a gun--makes me wonder what she's teaching them before she sends them down to me.