We Are Marching Through February

February always seem like a whirlwind. Maybe it is the two missing days, maybe it is the shorter days so that it seems all I do it get up, go to work, cook dinner, go to bed and start over. I am not sure, but it flies by. Here we are 5 days in and I asked someone yesterday how their new year has been, like 2017 just got here.  February is the month of love, so I wish it was longer.  We find out about colleges in March, so I wish it would fly by. Such is my life.

If you have been paying any kind of attention, you know we have a new president and at least half of
the country does not like him. I personally think he is a salesman and everything he does is motivated by the highest bidder. I have so much to say about how he has the potential to cause the fall we have been saying is coming for years for the US. However, no effect is without a cause, so suffice it to say for now, we are reaping what we have sown. An ignorant, uneducated populace who sees the return to the "good old day" that none of them lived through as the answer to their problems.

Why Not and A List

At our team meeting at work on Wednesday, we were asked what our New Year's resolutions are for 2017. Since I don't make resolutions, and I set the same goal every year, I shared my usual "read 100 books". I also explained that when I used to blog, I kept a list going month to month (at least for the first few years) of what my goals for that year were. When asked if I kept that up, I muttered something about computers and being busy and that "No, I am not doing that anymore". This felt really lame. I am not going to lie, I was a little embarrassed about the whole thing. 

The reason I was embarrassed is two fold. One, a dear friend had just stated that she was trying to read a book a month in 2017. So, I sounded like I was one upping her. Two, I set that same goal every year, and have for at least 10 years. LAME. Nothing is new  and I sounded like the ass clown I sometimes am. 

Dirt: The List...April

The list...

The list gets skipped here and there, but I love making and keeping up with it...in  my head!

Easter...5 years ago!

April...The List! 

• Get the piano tuned- back seat! 
• Start piano lesssons (Me!) -back seat! 
• Read 55 books including the Ken Follet Century Books- Have read 16 including one Ken Follet Century Book! 
• Cook one new ethnicity meal a week: Going okay... Greek this week! 
• Hike 50 hikes: 7! 
• Redo my kitchen and bathroom floors (learn to tile!): Nope 
• Take the popcorn ceiling down in my living room:Nope
• Paint the downstairs ceilings: Nope
• Take girls on dates: Going well 
• Read the Bible: going okay
• Start phase II of landscape plan: Delaney and I have started our plan
• Purge, purge, purge! :Going well.
• Say YES! :  Still saying yes! Ask me to do something! 
• Exercise 5 days a week; 20 workouts last month! Two already this month! 

Whatever: Februrary The List

Here it is already, the first day of February. That weird month of president birthdays, Valentines days and cold weather.  I always associate February with cold. Even growing up in Texas, it seemed February was the "real winter". Now it is that month that is full of holiday breaks (kids), chocolate (me) and being cold.

My parents celebrate an anniversary this month. The loonies got married on Leap Day. So weird. Just like them. Happy anniversary month, Mom and Dad! I love you and the weirdness that makes you both so awesome.

 


I am working on my list this year, keeping it in mind when I plan meals, workout, plan for the future... I love lists and this is a good one this year. A doable one, for sure.

February 2015 THE LIST 

• Get the piano tuned : I'm on the list for the tuner to call. Apparently they are in high demand this time of year.
• Start piano lessons (Me!): See above
• Read 55 books including the Ken Follet Century Books : I have read 7 books so far this year! Truly a record!
• Cook one new ethnicity meal a week: So far, Thai, Italian and Mexican. Turns out, I don't need new ethnicity, just new recipes.
• Hike 50 hikes :Three hikes so far. Prentice Cooper, Sunset Rock and Point Park. Total: 11 miles
• Redo my kitchen and bathroom floors (learn to tile!): Later this year.
• Take the popcorn ceiling down in my living room:Later this year
• Paint the downstairs ceilings:Later this year
• Take girls on dates: They are busier than me!
• Read the Bible : Not a page
• Start phase II of landscape plan: Starting planning.
• Purge, purge, purge! : Three bags already left. Working on books next
• Say YES!  Joined a bookclub AND a running group.
• Exercise 5 days a week. So far so good! Yesterday, twice!

The List: April

I am getting so bad about blogging. Work and kids eat up most of my creative juices. However, the light is back and so I hope to continue with my beloved rambling blog.

My dad came Sunday and helped with some repairs and hopefully will be back in a week or two. I look forward to helping repay him by tearing stuff up at this farm. Being outside right now is a precious commodity and I don't get enough of it.


My house is always on the bottom of my lists. Hanging out with Steve and the kids is taking higher priority. So, my windows are grody, my deck needs painting, my floors are sticky, but I am hanging out with my family in the little free time I get.

Trade off? You bet! Worth it?  You bet!

Dirt: The List Update

I somehow missed the list February and now it is the 10th of March.
HOW? I don't know, but I love it.

Last March...middle schoolers...this March...HIGH schoolers

Whatever: The list check in

So far, February has been so much better than January. No snow (I hate snow), no missed school, no sickness and I have finally gotten my tooth started. Implant in in safely...now the 4 month wait for the graft to take and then I get my real front tooth! 

The girls and I worked on storage solutions for their rooms. Ellie is actually almost keeping hers clean. Almost. I am in need of a deep house clean (this weekend, maybe) and we are all ready for Spring. 

Thank goodness January is over!

 

2014 Edition of *The List*

• Make more lists (home, exercise, kids, etc.): Better. I have been better
• Read more books :reading #6 !
• Eat less sugar: snow storm ruined this, but I have been better this week!
• Find a new activity: Looking
• Plan for workouts:This is better. I printed what I want to do and with the exception of this week, have been successful.
• Paint the shed: Too cold!
• Spend more time with my friends: Went to dinner with four the other night!
• Watch more tv- I am so out of the pop culture loop! :Sherlock, Downtown, Goldbergs, Modern Family and Carrie Diaries.
• Find a church that works for us all: not yet...
• Find a cause other than my children :Food bank
• Organize my office: Sorta have done this. Removed a piece of furniture and got rid of the piles on the floor
• Organize my attic/crawl space: not at all!
• Organize my holiday crap stuff : Got rid of some, not really organized
• De-scary my basement:Started on this...long road
• Go hear more music Jake Bugg with the girls!
• Finish the crafts I promised last year (remember that 5 person crafty thing...well, I never finished it!) :NOPE
• Go see my sister in Ohio (after the state thaws):Too cold!
• Less technology, more conversations :Working on this. I have been leaving phone in purse at home
• More family activities, together, with no complaining (Hello! I am such a whiner!) : Not yet.
• Keep our saturday trail running dates :Too cold
• Finish the backyard project- it's a freaking mess! Too Cold!
• Plant a tree :Too Cold (pattern here!)
• Learn to make bread : Made biscuits.
•  Finish the freaking painting (I freaking hate freaking painting freaking trim in my freaking house): Nope
• Save more $ than I did last year : Working on this. We started the Dave Ramsey series at a local church. So far so good.
• Take my kids on more dates;  Nashville
• Spend more fun time with Steve doing new, fun things: Not yet...going next week to ball.
• Go get real glasses (I have been wearing the drug store reading glasses and I love them!) Amazing how much faster I read now that I can see!:  Hahahaha
• Spend more time with my sisters: not yet
• Create something:Working on it.
• Eat more goat cheese; None at all this year!
• Start running again...GRRR!: Too cold

Cooking: Menu and back to it

We have a new tradition at our house. 

Daddy's Sunday night pizza. 

Daddy aka CBITW aka Steve got a new Lodge pizza pan for Christmas and he can toss a mean pizza crust. So, winner, winner chicken dinner...we have pizza for dinner on Sunday. Last night my favorite group of blonde women came to dinner and brought yummy red wine and we ate roasted peppers, kitchen sink salad and four types of pizza. I love my life.

Dirt: I am lazy and need a list

I live and die by lists. Literally. Work, home, grocery store, etc., if there is no list, the rate of completion dips drastically.

This has  nothing to do with lists...I just miss summer.

Dirt: I want a new list...

Because I write for two blogs for my job, I have had a hard time finding the time for my own...

That has made me a little sad. 

I thought back on the reason I started this blog. I started it to share my life thoughts and to keep track of making myself a better person. A little "putting myself out there for the world to hold me accountable" if you will. Recently, I went back and reread some of my old posts and I was a little awed. My writing is decent and I actually had a plan that I have brought to fruition. 

So...not like me.

One thing I really did like was my list and if going to work full time has taught me anything it is that I need a list. A real list. Not only of my daily to-dos, but also of my long term goals. Since I don't really believe in "New Years Resolutions" I thought it might be good to start a new list  now. Before the holiday hubbub and insanity has a chance to set in,while my mind is clear and I have a few seconds. 

So, on that note, here is the NEW list.

1. Use my phone less when I am with my family
2. Make one room a priority each day
3. Take my children to church more often
4. Talk to my five every week (I actually have 6, but I think the commercial is 5)
5. Work out five times a week 
6. Clean out my closet and really purge
7. clean out Steve's closet and really purge
8. Take each of my daughters on a date once a month
9. Continue my trail run date with Steve (I love this)
10. Write one handwritten card once a week
11. Make 10 new friends in 2014
12. Make a gingerbread house with my girls. A real one. A HUGE one.
13. Talk to my parents more often (texting does not count0
14. Make time for my favorite people
15. Watch more television ( I literally watch 1  hour a week...I am so out of the loop)
16. Spend less time on my computer when I am not working
17. Finish the damn outside project I started in May BEFORE Christmas
18. East more protien
19. Connect with my two nephews that I have lost a connection with
20. take my vitamins
21. Craft more with my daughters
22. Paint my bedroom
23. figure out how to use a saw so I can build the outside table I want
24. Read more books 
25.  volunteer for something and stick with it...
26. Spend more time with my sisters...

Whatever: The list is back

August is here. My least favorite month of the year. This dates back to being a child. My birthday aka The National Holiday is in early September, so August is a brutally long month. Also, school starts in August. ALL school, elementary, high school, college...I loathed it all. Summer ends in August for most people and I love Summer. Like it is my job.

Dirt: The List, April

Here it is the 9th of April.

I remember someone telling me once, how time is so relevant, depending on our age.

That is a truth for sure. As a 10 year old, a month is so very long.

 As an adult, it really is just a blink of the eye.  

April is a good month. My beautiful sister has dominated it as her month, at least in my mind, my entire life. I associate it with flowers, raincoats and my sister, Karen.

 

Of course, 18 years ago, I started dating the cutest boy in the world in April. 15 years ago,  I married him. So, now April is also the beach and a barefoot wedding on a dock in Key West.

 

 

 

Ah, April, you lovely girl. Don't rush off and leave us too soon.

 

 

 

The list is constantly influx. I work on it and add and subtract from it daily.

April Update of "The List"

1.  Cut the laziness out of our family's life:I took the passwords off my kids ipads and laptops for Netflix and Hulu. We cut cable months ago, still don't miss it. Delaney organized her closet in her free time. Ellie has been outside every second she can be, even in the rain, even in 40 degrees! We are working as a family on outside projects (Well...some of us.) Still find candy wrappers in beds and dishes in rooms, room for growth for sure.
2. Stop cursing:  Ha ha ha....
3. Drink more water. Got a fancy cup that I loved, filled it every time I emptied it, dropped and shattered it. Now back to Tervis and filling it up when I walk by. The habit is just about instilled.
4. Be a better friend: I have gotten lazy in my friendships and my mental status shows it.  Still working on this. I feel like a turtle. However, my plan of calling people when I think about them has really started working.
   
5. Put myself out there for God.Listening when he answers is the better task.
6. Read  100 books. 11 down!
7. Do a creative project a month.  Not a priority last month, but I am working on something.
8. Exercise with a purpose. Gym 6 days this week. Boo YA!
9. Teach my baby girl to cook. Muffins. She set the microwave on fire and then cooked a fork it in. Baby steps.
10. Go back to school. Fall
11. Finish our list of house projects. Working on taking up brick path and today, building a compost bin. List is so long.
12. Organize my stuff.  Basement, closet, shoe closet, linen closet, top of Delaney's closet, office. ALL DONE!
    
13. Stick to a financial plan to pay off all our debt by 2018. Boring, but working.
    

Whatever: The List, February

 

 February is already making herself known. In my neck of the woods, January went out with a roar of tornadoes and flooding. February brought her cool and cute self calmly in with a blast of cold air and sunshine. We are cold here this weekend at Casa Swann, but we are happy. This Sunday my oldest daughter makes her Rite of  Confirmation, a path she sought out on her own. I personally feel confirmation and the rest of the Catholic rites, should be achieved with your own free will and heart. You must decide how you will celebrate your faith in God.

 

I was a busy girl in January. Cleaning out closets, looking around town for a rental space for our last Little Piggies sale, working, painting, etc. were attacked with the gusto that I feel at the start of a new year.  Lots of prayers have been lifted up as I struggle to find my place and watch my children grow and find their own. 

We are all growing and working towards goals. My husband has hiked dozens of miles with 6 bricks in a backpack training for an event he will do in June. He never ceases to amaze me.

I miss these old school Valentines.

2013 is starting off as a year of reflection and hopefully personal growth. 

AND a year of checking things off. 

My lists keep me on track. 

 

 

2013:THE LIST

1. Cut the laziness out of our family's life: This is actually working! I hide Facebook on my phone, took iPads away from bedrooms, and we still don't have cable. Family time is evolving slowly.
2. Stop cursing: As my daughter likes to remind me, I am not doing so *&^% good.
3. Drink more water. Check. Started filling up a water for the car.
4. Be a better friend: I have gotten lazy in my friendships and my mental status shows it.  Step one of my plan is to call or text my friends when I think of them. If you are hearing from me a lot more lately, you now know why.
5. Put myself out there for God. Lots of prayers and the light is emerging....YIKES
6. Read  100 books. 5 down, 95 to go!
7. Do a creative project a month. Working on a wine themed project. Crocheting still on table.
8. Exercise with a purpose.  5 workouts a week, but no spin yet. However, I am seeing change, very very slow change.
9. Teach my baby girl to cook.  We made cookies!
10. Go back to school. Summer or fall.
11. Finish our list of house projects.Ellie's room got painted. Boom.
12. Organize my stuff. Cleaning out closet is scary, but I have taken 3 bags to charity.
    
13. Stick to a financial plan to pay off all our debt by 2018.  Work in progress.