101 in 1001 Update

With the completion of this trip, I realized that I have checked off several of the things on my 101 Goals in 1001 Days list. I also realized that I haven't updated about it in awhile. I wanted to blog about it for my own record, and to document that I am still actively working on my list.

#3- Go to the temple 9 times in one year. DONE! I accomplished this in 2009. It was AWESOME!!

#10- Go on a trip alone with Sean. DONE! Although the end of this trip wasn't alone with Sean, the first 2 days were. We road tripped all the way to Mexico and hung out in Tijuana for a few hours. I consider that a trip alone with Sean. It was a blast!

#26 - Go on a picnic with the kids somewhere different and fun. DONE! I realize that I haven't blogged about this, but it was a blast anyway. Sometime in March, the weather was beautiful and we couldn't stay inside any longer. We packed a lunch and loaded the kids into the car. We drove to a park out by Cedar Hills Mall, so that they could play on a new playground. I think it's more fun for Sean and I to go to different parks than it is for the kids. They just play on the slides, regardless of where we're at!

#44- Burn all of our "family videos" onto DVD's for the kids to watch. DONE! I finally accomplished this daunting task about a month ago. I burned 2 copies of all of our videos, so that I can give a copy to a family member to store for us in case anything happens to ours. I have yet to do this part...but I will!

#53- Learn to tolerate broccoli, and try a new vegetable. DONE! I bought eggplant a few weeks ago and tried it out. I ended up breading it, frying it, then baking it and covering it with spaghetti sauce. It was actually really delicious. Even the kids liked it! How can you not like anything that is breaded and fried though, right? The broccoli thing...I cannot stand broccoli. It is entirely way to pungent, and it tastes disgusting. I know it's healthy for you though, so I have been wanting to like it. I've been working on this for the past 2 years, and I *finally* have it mastered. The trick? Eat it raw. It's WAY BETTER!!! Ugh...I cannot believe that I haven't tried it raw before! While in AZ, Aunt Cassie made a pasta salad. It had raw broccoli in it and to be polite, I ate some of it. Holy smokes...I didn't want to die. It was awesome!!

#57- Sew an apron and use it. DONE! I need to take a picture of my apron and post it, but I love it. I just finished it during this most recent conference. Yay!

#65- Become CPR Certified. DONE! While in AZ, I went to a CPR certification class with Uncle Rick. It was held at the church by a Physician in Uncle Rick's stake. It was free and although I hadn't preregistered, there were enough mannequins that I was able to participate. I passed the test and am now just waiting for my card in the mail.

#73- Meet Claire in person. DONE!! K...so I had a BLAST with Claire. Even though we didn't do anything super grandiose or spectacular, it was so nice to just hang out and watch our kids play together. It was fun getting to know each other, and we learned that we have even more things in common than we thought. Like the fact that when we're scolding our children we say "Look at my eyeballs!" haha, oh man, we had fun.

#75- Go to one new state or country. DONE! Mexico. 2 weeks ago. Awesome.

#77- Take the kids to Utah. DONE!! They had a blast. It definitely won't be the last time we go...that's for sure!

#81- See Amanda and Isaac. Partially done, but considering I saw Amanda, Haden, and Dillan? I'm considering it done. (Sorry Isaac!) We really wished that Isaac could have joined us in Cali, but his work schedule wouldn't allow him to come. (He's in the Air Force.) So, Amanda and her boys hung out with Sean me and our boys for 2 whole days. It was so great to finally meet her kiddos! Our kids got along great, which made it even more enjoyable. Nothing compares to hanging out with good friends. It's the best!

#86- Take a road trip and stop along the way at cool places to take photos. DONE! I accomplished this goal without consciously knowing I was passing off another thing on my list, but I'll still count it! The fact that we stopped tons to take pictures of the scenery, especially of the Grand Canyon marks this one off on my list. We also took pictures along the entire journey of the cacti, the red rock, etc. I just chose not to bore you with those photos :)

#34 - Completed!

Asher is weaned from the paci! Yay!! We have been meaning to do it for awhile but we just haven't gotten around to it. We accidentally left our only paci over at Heidi's last Sunday. This was the kick we needed to just do it :) Asher never got as attached to his paci as Brayden did, but we noticed that the older he was getting, the more he was depending on it. We never laid him down for bed with it, but for some reason he wouldn't take a nap without it. He still cries more than usual when we put him down for a nap, but it usually doesn't take him very long to calm down and fall asleep. So although it is still a little harder to get him down for his naps than before, at least he falls asleep so we consider it a success!

#50 - Done!

Goal # 50 in my 101 in 1001 was to run at least 2 10k’s. My run on Thanksgiving morning completed this goal! This run also brings my total logged miles to 212.6. There were a few times I ran without my Nike+ since it was dead but it was probably less than 10 miles. I cannot believe that I have run over 200 miles. This boggles my mind. Wasn't it only a year ago that I had never run even 1 mile and swore on my life that I never would? Here are some more stats according to my Nike+ (my favorite motivator):

• I have a total of 85 workouts equaling 40 hours, 47 minutes and 8 seconds.
• My average pace is 11'31" (Remember this is from the very beginning of when I started running.)
• I've burned about 21,951 calories.

Wow...this is crazy to me. I never in my life imagined that I could claim stats like these. It is amazing the power we have as human beings, to accomplish things we never thought we could accomplish. Push ourselves further than we dreamed of being pushed.

What's next?

101 in 1001 update

I've accomplished a few of my goals and have worked on some others so I figured I should blog about them :)

#50 - Run at least 2 10k's or similar races -Partially completed - as of Saturday!

#51 - Lose baby weight - Completed! - I officially weigh less now than Sean has ever known me. I still have 5 pounds to go to get to my goal weight, and I don't know that it's possible for me to ever get a flat stomach...but I weigh now what I weighed in high school! It's exciting :)

#52 - Be swimming suit ready by summer 2009 - Completed! - This one kind of goes in hand with #51...but it's nice to be able to put on a swimming suit and not be uber self-conscious! I'm finally there. Which rocks considering we're going to Ocean Shores this summer! Yay!

#62 Get a new hobby - Completed! - I think I can officially say that running is a hobby of mine. I realized this yesterday when the Relief Society Presidency came over and asked what I liked to do for fun. When I heard myself saying "run" it kinda shocked me. You think I would be used to this by now, but I'm really not. I've been running for 6 months and at first it was something I did only to lose weight. Now, I find that I look forward to it and especially after the 10k I feel like I an officially call myself "a runner."

#68 - Read 50 books - Partially completed - In the week and a half that we didn't have internet I got 3 novels read. Granted they were super easy reads (LDS Fiction) but it was nice to get some reading done!

#95 - Live in our own space - Completed! - Oh man, this has been heaven! I am so excited to have my own walls that I can adorn with vinyl and pictures. I love love love living in our own place!

#99 - Get Asher moved into Brayden's room - Completed! - We are still in the process of getting them used to it, but the move has officially happened. He's in there for naps as well as night time!

I was feeling discouraged that I wasn't getting as many goals done as fast as I was hoping. However once I really looked through my list I realize that I am definitely checking them off! It feels good, especially knowing that I am working on more and have plans to complete others! I am so glad that I did this 101 in 1001 thing. It is definitely exciting checking things off the list!

As I'm typing this Brayden just came down from upstairs and put his finger up to his lips saying "Shh...blankie is sleeping." Now he's going back upstairs to "check on it." He's so cute!

#'s 9, 74 and 79 -- Done!

Goal #9: Attend a temple I haven't visited yet

Check! San Diego temple was beautiful! I loved it!!!!

Goal #74: Go to Sea World CHECK!

Goal #79: Find the perfect swimming suit

Check! I don't have any pictures to prove it, but I did...and I wore it in San Diego and I LOVED it! Oh how I love JC Penney Sales!

#81 Visit Everett Children’s Museum

Check! Saturday we went to the Everett Children's Museum with my parents, 3 younger brothers, sister Lisa and her 4 kids, and sister in law Jenny and her 2 kids. All 8 grandkids (and 1 in utero) were all in attendance for this fabulous fun filled day! The museum was amazing!! They had SO many cool little exhibits and toys. It was super fun for all ages. My favorite thing was the green peg board. Remember THIS toy that has all the tiny metal pegs? Well there was a massive green one at the museum. (See first picture and 1st video) We spent a good hour on this thing alone. We really wanted to make one so we did the math. We figured out that that there were about 31,725 pegs on that thing. Each peg being 5 inches long meaning 13,219 feet of the clear acrylic tubing. Then 26,437 of the green caps. PLUS the cost of the metal sheets and the frame. Add to that the thought of hours and hours of sticking pins through matching holes in lined up pieces of punched sheet metal. So, we decided that we weren't going to make one for ourselves afterall. But it would be cool! My second favorite thing was the magicians stage. (see 2nd video) There were some cool props and then a sound board in the back that you could control. It was fabulous!

William was my barber

Keith built this car and trailer in the "construction" room. The kids loved it!

And since I haven't posted a video in a long time, I decided to put lots of videos up :)

Sorry, you have to watch this one sideways!






After the museum we went to my sisters house and stayed the night. Then we left after church to come home for Sean's birthday dinner (Post to follow.) In the car ride, B was extremely happy. I'm not sure why, as he generally HATES being in the car, but it was too cute to not share. I love having 2 kids! They make each other laugh all the time. It's great!


And a video of Asher from last week...just cuz he's so dang cute!

101 in 1001

Today is my friend Claire's birthday. (Happy Birthday!) Her gift to herself is to do 101 goals in 1001 days. I thought this sounded like a brilliant idea, so I decided to join her. So, happy birthday Claire, and here's to the next 1001 days!

101 Goals in 1001 Days

Start Date: February 28th, 2009
End Date: November 25th, 2011

Ultimately my goals are to: increase my spirituality, strengthen my marriage, become a better mother, be more prepared/organized and become a better person through personal growth (health, hobbies, knowledge, and service).

Increase my Spirituality:
1. Read the Book of Mormon
2. Read the Doctrine and Covenants
3. Go to the temple 9 times in one year
4. Do Visiting Teaching monthly for a year
5. Draw closer to the spirit. (Get better at pondering. Be more in tune and more aware of answers)
6. Have more meaningful personal prayer daily for one month
7. Read the Relief Society Lesson in advance for 1 month straight
8. Pay tithing each Sunday after we get paid for a year
9. Attend a temple I haven’t visited yet

Strengthen my Marriage:
10. Go on a trip alone with Sean
11. Eliminate all Criticism for 90 days
12. Dress up really fancy and go out with Sean
13. Go on at least 2 dates per month for 4 months straight

Become a Better Mother:
14 Enroll B & A in swimming Lessons
15. Take the boys on a walk at least once a week through July and August
16. Go camping as a family
17. Start doing FHE weekly
18. Potty train Brayden
19. Potty train Asher
20. Give Brayden monthly dates w/either parent each month for a year
21. Give Asher monthly dates w/ either parent each month for a year
22. Put together a collection of 52 educational folders with various games (colors, counting, shapes, letters, animals)
23. Enroll B in at least 3 different types of classes (tumbling, music, art, drums, dance etc)
24. Enroll A in at least 1 class other than swimming lessons (tumbling, music, art, drums, dance etc)
25. Use our family pass to the Zoo and OMSI at least 10 times
26. Go on a picnic with the kids somewhere different and fun
27. Take the family to Ocean Shores
28. Go an entire month without watching TV
29. Take both boys to the dentist
30. Spend 1 uninterrupted hour playing with the boys daily for 2 weeks
31. Play the piano daily with Brayden for 2 weeks
32. Play the piano daily with Asher for 2 weeks
33. Create a “family photo album” for the kids to look at during church, including pictures of their grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins
34. Wean A from Paci

Be More Prepared/Organized:
35. Get started on our 1 year supply of food and water
36. Open a savings account for B & A
37. Write a Will
38. Get Life Insurance
39. Improve our mail system (filing, bills, cards, etc)
40. Put together a collection of 30 recipes that we like to eat, are simple to make and use ingredients I typically keep on hand
41. Put together a collection of 50 recipes that we can make using food storage items only
42. Put together 72 hour kits for each member of our family
43. Get a system to organize DVD’s
44. Burn all of our “family videos” onto DVD’s for the kids to watch
45. Burn all pictures to CD’s and put away for safe keeping
46. Have wedding dress preserved
47. Set up financial goals
48. Create a cleaning schedule and stick to it for 2 straight months

Become a Better Person through:

Health:
49. Hike to Camp Muir
50. Run at least 2 10k’s
51. Lose baby weight
52. Be swimming suit ready for Summer 2009
53. Learn to tolerate broccoli, and try a new vegetable

Hobbies:
54. Attend a ballet, opera or symphony
55. Learn to Snowboard
56. Sew a scripture case and use it
57. Sew an apron, and use it
58. Make a quilt
59. Make jam from fresh picked berries (raspberry, strawberries)
60. Can fruit
61. Sing in the ward Christmas Program
62. Complete a stocking for baby #3 (no, we’re not expecting)
63. Get a new hobby
64. Memorize an entire new song on the piano
65. Play the piano daily for 1 month

Knowledge:
66. Become CPR certified
67. Take a class at a community college
68. Join a book club
69. Read 50 books (and journal them…title, author, summary, what I thought) including 3 classic literature book I haven’t read before

Service:
70. Donate blood
71. Contribute to the Perpetual education fund for 3 months
72. Pay a more generous fast offering
73. Teach kids about service by helping someone else

Fun:
74. Meet Claire in person
75. Go to Sea World
76. Go to one new state or country
77. Get family pictures taken professionally
78. Take the kids to Utah
79. Update wardrobe
80. Find the perfect swimming suit
81. Visit Everett Children’s Museum (done 2.28.2009)
82. See Amanda and Isaac
83. Take at least one photo a day for a month
84. Go to a concert
85. Attend a major live production (broadway show, Disney on ice, etc.)
86. Play outside in the rain
87. Take a road trip and stop along the way at cool places to take photos
88. Go to a spa
89. Turn my blog into a book yearly (August)

Business:
90. Design and make an original vinyl project
91. Figure out a new marketing idea and implement it (Create a promo DVD slideshow of my work?)
92. Get a definite UL Logo
93. Learn and consistently use Quickbooks for Urban Lettering (and possibly family bills)

Other:
94. Have another baby
95. Work on my family history for 10 hours (geneology, pedigree charts, etc)
96. Live in our own space
97. Start using coupons effectively
98. Create and send out Christmas cards
99. Decorate a room in my house (or apartment) with pictures that I took. (bathroom maybe?)
100. Get Asher moved into Brayden’s room
101. Don’t buy bread for 1 month. Make it instead!

Then:
Do a separate act of service for each goal I don’t complete

I will keep you all updated on how I'm doing...and hopefully blogging about it will give me the motivation to keep moving forward when motivation seems to be falling short. Feel free to nudge me if I haven't accomplished a new goal for awhile! :)