Weekly Recap - Week 3

Warning my friends: when you start living your life with purpose and with lofty goals, those that will make you a better person, stronger Christian, and impact the kingdom of God, satan will attack. I have been beat up and down these past few weeks, and things are not getting any easier. I'm by no means giving up on my resolve or my quest, but man, my spirits are down. I'm not gonna lie, I'm just downright sad. However, I'm not going to stop. I'm going to keep going on my quest, and maybe my heart will heal in the process.

So here's what I accomplished this week:

16. Try a new recipe every week - Week 3 done. I made chicken spaghetti from a recipe in our church cookbook. Tasty!

20. Catalog the church music - my stuff came in and I started this process.

26. Once a month lunch date with my mom - booked!

I also finished my second book of January, which I'll write about this week. I'm not counting it towards my goal, that is, of course, unless I come up short, and then I'm absolutely counting it. :)

And of course, the pictures from this week:

January 16 - We had a Chinese gift exchange at our staff epiphany party. I got Superman underwear. Much to everyone's surprise - I just put them on. :) (And this is SO not a flattering picture of me, but I thought you'd enjoy it, readers.)

January 17 - Thanks to my brother and future sister in law and our Christmas gift card, we went out to Olive Garden Monday night. I tried the new chicken dish - SO good.January 18 - This week was all about food apparently. Kyle made these pork chops from a new healthy recipe he found. OH so good.

January 19 - Sweet cold night snuggles with my puppy. I seriously love this dog.

January 20 - The chicken spaghetti I made. (Told ya it was all about food this week.)

January 21 - I had Friday off, so I spent the afternoon watching Crocodile Dundee and snuggling with Bryson and Kyle.

January 22 - Saturday was an all day seminar, and we did this card thing to determine what we truly loved and were good at. Here where mine:


And that's it for this week. I'm hoping for a much better week next week.

The Great Closet Cleanout

One item of my 30 before 30 list involved cleaning out my closet of things that I would never wear again, either because they wouldn't fit, or no 30 year old should be wearing them. I completed this task this weekend.

This actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

I had images in my head of finishing this job and having 5 things in my closet, which sounds like a dream come true, except I can't afford to replace any of it! So I got busy, and about 5 hours later, I had a closet my mother would be proud of. Here's a couple things I learned:

1. Just because you are turning 30 does NOT mean all things with glitter and bling go away. That's just me people, and I like sparkle.

2. It is amazing to walk in your closet and know you can wear everything that is in there!!

And I leave you with pictures of the finished product: (disclaimer: I do share my closet with my husband, so some of the weird things you see are his!)

Week 2 in Review

I'm not gonna lie, this last week? Well, it flat out sucked. There were some highlights of course, but for the most part, I'd like a do over. So not as much was accomplished this week, but let's take a look back:

5. Kyle's bday plans are well underway!

10. Clean out the clothes I will never wear again. COMPLETE! I'll be blogging about this one later this week.

16. Try a new recipe - Well, I made one I haven't made in about 6 years...does that count? I made a tasty chocolate amaretto cake for our staff party at work - it was wonderful!!

20. Catalog the choir music - ordered all my supplies!

28. Eat a four course dinner for free - dinner is booked!

So although I didn't have huge progress towards my goals this week, I did realize something: My goals are making me live life. I know that sounds cheesy, but most nights I'm pretty content to just sit on the couch and watch a movie with the hubs. Not that that's a bad thing either, but that's just not what I want to do every night for the rest of my life!

My friend Steffi had the same view, as she's also working on her list. She said, "It's making me be more creative with the time I spend with my friends." And it is! We're making dates to go make pottery, have dinner together, make aprons - I'm having the time of my life!

And now the picture evidence of the past week! (I decided to switch my days over on Sunday now, so you'll get eight pics this week!)

January 8 - Jessica's baby shower - Jess holding the baby blanket I made.
January 9 - Snow in North Texas!January 10 -This cute dog - I can't resist.
January 11 - Ok, I can't find this picture for the life of me, nor do I have any idea what it was.
January 12 - Same thing - I told you it was a bad week!!
January 13 - Baylor Women's Council Young Grad Event - my friend Ashleigh!January 14 - Girls Night at Catherine's - me and my friend Chelsie!January 15 - The goodwill pile from my closet cleanout! (and I know it's sideways - turn your head!)

Weekly Recap - Week 1

We're one week into January, and my list is in full swing! So what have I accomplished so far? Let's review:

1. Lose Weight - 1 lb. down! Yee ha!

5. Throw Kyle a great 30th birthday party - Party prep underway!

10. Clean out clothes I will never wear - Dresser is done, already filled one large bag for goodwill!

11. Finish one book a month - January, DONE!

16. Try a new recipe every week - Tried a new pasta dish. It wasn't great, probably won't be repeating it, but I tried it, and it was cheap! Success!

18. Blog about my adventures. Check!

19. Take at least one picture a day - Check! These are coming at the end of today's post.

Not a bad start for the first week! Also, here's my final five:

26. Have lunch with my mom once a month.
27. Spend time with my girls once a month. (January - check!)
28. Eat a four course dinner for free. (This is so happening, because one of Steffi's is to host one, and Jenica's is to cook one, so all I have to do is eat it!)
29. Make an apron. (I have a couple that my mom made for me, but I love them, and I want to make one myself!)
30. Say goodbye to my 20s in style!

And now, the pictures!

January 1 - Rang in the New Year with Kyle and Catherine!


January 2 - My cutie pup chillin' on the couch.
January 3 - I'm pretty sure right before I took this, it was 11:50, and I said, "Oh crap, I didn't take a picture today!"

January 4 - Kyle's wearing my headband.


January 5 -This girl came in while I was getting my car inspected. I have never seen so much sparkle - everything she had was sequin covered!

January 6 - While packing up Christmas this year, we found that this candle thing from Germany we've had for 4 years had little houses that went over the lights. 4 years. We're idiots.

January 7 - My new recipe I tried.
So there you go! Week 1 in Review!

30 before 30: Reading Challenge - January

One of my 30 before 30 items was to finish one book a month. I'm an avid reader, so this will probably be the easiest thing on my list! In fact, I finished my first book last night.

Jennifer Weiner's Fly Away Home was wonderful. What I love most about her writing is that she often tells different chapters from different perspectives. For instance, the first chapter is told by the mom, the next chapter, one of the daughters, and so on. I kept reading because I couldn't wait to find out what happened when the mom found out about what was going on with each daughter...I just couldn't stand it!

In the story, the main character, Sylvie, is the wife of a senator, who finds out her husband has had an affair with a colleague. She of course finds out about it on the news, and the remainder of the book is how she and her two grown daughters, Diana and Lizzie, react to the news, how it affects their lives, and how they all go about rebuilding what came crashing down.

I've got to wait a little before starting another book, or I will fly through these books before February gets here!

30 before 30

As of today, I have exactly 6 months until I turn 30.

Yikes.

When my friend Steffi turned 29 this past month, she began to make a list: 30 before 30 - 30 things she wanted to do or accomplish before she hit that lovely milestone that says "I'm officially supposed to be an adult now." (You can follow her adventures here.) I loved this idea, and took on the challenge as well! I've got half the time to do it in, but anyone who knows me know I work best under a shorter deadline anyway, so I figured, why not? I'm only at 25 currently, so I'm taking suggestions for my last 5!

1. Lose weight. And yes, I have a number and a plan, but it's none of your business. :)
2. Publish some music.
3. Write a book.
4. Write a business plan for a potential music studio.
5. Throw Kyle a great 30th birthday party. (He hits the big 3-0 on January 30th!)
6. Sell our house and move.
7. Finish scrapbooking 2006. (Don't judge.)
8. Start a once a month bunco group.
9. Take a class once a month and learn something new.
10. Clean out the clothes I will never ever wear again, either because they don't fit, or no 30 year old should wear them.
11. Finish one book a month.
12. Kyle. (Yes, he wanted to make sure he was on this list!)
13. Get rid of my Mary Kay inventory and go to an order only system. (Yay for more closet space!)
14. Get my wedding album ordered. (Again, don't judge me.)
15. Decide on a go to cocktail.
16. Try a new recipe every week.
17. Ride a horse.
18. Blog about my adventures, print them out, and put it in a book for my kids to read one day. (Look, I'm already doing this one!)
19. Take at least 1 picture every day.
20. Catalogue the choir music at church.
21. Take a getaway trip with my hubby.
22. Miss a Sunday of church. (Haven't done this since October of 2009. Yikes!)
23. Sew a quilt. Just for me.
24. Learn to play the hammered dulcimer.
25. Watch the entire series of Sex and the City. (Those girls flew fabulously into their 30s, just want to make sure I do the same!)
26. ??
27. ??
28. ??
29. ??
30. ??

I've already worked out and blogged today, so I'm off to a good start! Make your suggestions now for the final 5. :)

Public Service Announcement

Let's talk about manners today, shall we? I'm going to shoot it out there plain and simple:

Do not ask a woman if she is pregnant unless a baby is currently shooting out of her vagina.

While this might seem obvious to some, let's talk about the implications here. You may think you are being cute or hoping to share a little secret with someone, but you aren't. Ever. Let's talk about some scenarios:

1. Woman is overweight. Not pregnant. You ask her this question, and you have just ruined her day. Odds are, she knows she's overweight, and you suggesting she might be hiding an 8 pound bundle of joy under there are not going to do any favors for her self esteem.

2. Woman is sick to her stomach. Not pregnant. What do you do when a man is sick to his stomach? Is he pregnant, too? Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but there are actually other causes to being ill besides being knocked up. And for those of that have serious stomach issues and are sick almost every single day, that question gets real old, real fast.

3. Woman is of child-bearing age. Again, do NOT assume she might be pregnant! Here's the clencher - this woman might be desperately trying to have a child, maybe just lost a baby, might not be able to financially have a baby, but desperately wants to be pregnant. While you think you are asking an innocent question, you are shooting a dagger through her already hurting heart. Think I'm being dramatic? Whoever you just asked that question and/or the often follow up "Why don't you have kids yet?" might have gone home and cried, because you just reminded them that their dream is not a reality, and it might be very much out of their control. I'm speaking from experience here, and from the experiences of those close to me.

And for all the mommies that want to throw out something about "it's such a great joy and we just want you to share and are eager for you to share too!" We know. And we want to, but for some reason, right now we can't. So please have some tiny consideration for our feelings and quit rubbing it in our faces.

And for the rest of you - just stop being so rude!