Check

Tomorrow, we close on our first home!  Major life goal, check!

Wow...30

So far, I don't feel so much different.  My birthday was nothing magical, and quite frankly wasn't a whole lotta fun so I don't really feel like I'm 30... or maybe that's what 30 is supposed to feel like??? I dunno.  But I do know that I got a few more things done before I hit the big 3-0.

#20 Read all the General Conference talks.  They were so good.  Must continue reading and re-reading.

#21 Read another classic.  Little Men.  It was lovely.  Maybe it's just because I have kind of an obsession about Jo March Bhaer and Laurie.  I loved it and am definitely going to finish the series.  Plus, it's free on Kindle.  And around here, we do free.

#22  I have finally switched every single cleaner I use over to "green" or "natural" cleaners and I love it. Vinegar, baking soda, borax, washing soda, etc.  I have been making our own laundry soap for years now, but it's taken me awhile to get the rest of my cleaners switched over.  Plus I didn't want to waste what I had already bought, so I used what we had until it ran out and now it's all out of the house except for a few lysol wipes that I keep for tough jobs.  I've been washing my hair with Baking Soda for a few months now and I love it as well.  I just can't bring myself to call it "No 'poo" like everyone else on the interwebs.  I'm not a super big tree hugger, but I wanted to try and keep the toxins out of our house.  Especially around November when Cory gets Bronchitis and Jocelyn gets Bronchiolitis every year.  I just want to do what I can to keep that at bay.  Plus, it's cheap.  And around here, we do cheap.

#23  I wanted to read one more parenting book so I read "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Ted Tripp.  It's another Christian parenting book.  The first part of the book was completely life changing, and my copy is totally marked up.  The middle part I completely disagreed with.... and then there was some more good stuff at the end.  But the first part of the book was so fantastic, and was reinforced by the General Conference talk "What manner of Men and Women Ought ye to be?".  It pretty much said the same thing but in different language, so it was a nice reinforcement.  It gave me a lot of food for thought and a lot to work on.  Maybe I'll get it down in the next 20 years.  It feels a little daunting, but I'm up for the challenge!

So, I didn't get to 30, but I was definitely better for having tried.  I am still going to try and get my last 7 in before the end of the year.  I still need to learn how to use my camera, lose the baby weight, finish the Book of Mormon as a parenting manual, Jesus the Christ (still on chapter 2ish... whoops),  and finish the Bible.  I did all the reading for the Bible when we studied it for Seminary, but the reading schedule left big chunks out and I wanted to say that I've read the whole thing from beginning to end.  Every word.  I've read the New Testament over and over again... it's that blasted Old Testament that's been a struggle.  I'm aaaaaalmost there.

Most people get depressed about getting older.  But when I think about all the wonderful things that have happened in my 20's and see how I am getting more comfortable in my own skin every year, I am looking forward to what the 30's will bring.  In my 20's I got 3 college degrees, got married in the temple to my best friend, had 2 beautiful babies that I love, bought a home, made some great friends, traveled to some amazing places, got a great career-job that I absolutely love, and have learned so much.  Every year gets better and better.  Not that we don't have hard times, because believe me, 2011 has not been my friend so much.  But there's a deeper sense of joy and meaning that has come as I have gotten older that has overridden some of the difficult times.

Thanks, Amanda, for setting up this blog to make me accountable to someone for trying to change my life for the better, and for turning a good idea into something a little more tangible and concrete.

Now here's to 40 before 40! (I bet we could get some great stuff done with 10 years to do it in!)

Um...October?

I can not believe that 30 is about 30 days away, less for Shayla, of course, but still, it's coming.  (Sorry for all the comma's. Murlene -help me out)  Which means I should be finishing up my 30 goals, and yet I haven't posted since May.  Big oops!  I was reading back through my goals, and realized I have a few I set and haven't accomplished, so I'm going to try very hard to get through those goals in the next thirty days.  And maybe the thirty goals will be accomplished by the end of my 30th year. I decided tonight, that I would work towards that instead of hurrying to accomplish goals that don't really mean anything and won't have lasting impact.  I am pleased however to report, we are doing much better in our family prayers, and our 72 hr kit is at least purchased and I will put it together soon.  Check and check! I will be participating in a community service project in the next couple of weeks, so check-er-oo on that.

Also, I was talking with my mom and realized my most important goal, and the main one of my life was realized this spring when I (#18) received my endowment and was (#19) sealed to my sweet husband and my best boy.  This was the best day ever and I couldn't have asked for more.  Which goes right into (#20) which is that I have attended the temple every month so far - I know - it hasn't been that long, but I'm proud of my record anyway.

Here is another goal I'm working on:

#21 Set aside a month worth of expenses in a savings account.  Then don't touch it.  Seriously.

#19

Have a baby...check.

Conference Talks

I'm trying to get through all of the conference talks before the big 3-0.  Making good progress...

Ah! I mean hello

I hope you'll allow me to wander off subject, and by you, I mean Shayla. 

How you do answer the 101 questions that pop into your mind everyday?

Is this the best cereal for my son to eat?

Am I bathing him enough?

How do I keep his ears clean?

Have I done any good in the world today?

Are we teaching our son all he needs to be successful?

And I guess it all boils down to:

Are we good parents?

Because, well, that's why I'm here.  Sure I'm here for myself, but I also have this person that I am in charge of, and that I love more than anything.

And that's my random thoughts for the evening.

It's coming...

Okay, I have done some more things on my "bucket list"!  (Which is good, because September is coming quick!)

#17- One of the things on my list was to take a piece of choreography to the Regional Dance America/Pacific Ballet Festival.  So far, my choreography has only ever been performed locally and I wanted to get out there!  So, away we went to Las Vegas where my students performed my piece "Foxhole".  It was received very well and was performed for 21 other ballet companies in the Pacific Region.  The students did an amazing job and I was very happy with the results.  One down...

#18-Dejunk the house in preparation for and to make room for another little one!  I have been working on this for about a month now.  It is not done, but it is much much better than what it was.  All the clothes I have for him so far are washed and put away (after having made room in Jocelyn's dresser for them).  I still need to get some bigger items for him, and make room for them, but we are making progress.  And, of course, dejunking is a constant battle.  It's never done.  But it is close enough that I am going to count it.  I still have the dining room table to clear off and get stuff put away.  Then the baby can come when he wants (but hopefully not for a little while still).

One of my bucket list items is to have another baby before I am 30...definitely can't check that one off yet, but I am working on it!  I also am reading the Book of Mormon through as a "Parenting Manual".  It is taking me longer to get through because there are so many new insights I've had since beginning it with this mindset.  So maybe I'll get done before September and maybe I won't.  But I'll definitely be better for doing it no matter when I finish.

Photography

I want to know how to use my nice expensive camera before I turn 30.  Why buy more than a point and shoot if all you know how to do is point and shoot?  I got a book from one of my students who is self-taught and has the same camera as me and has turned into quite the photographer recently.  I don't know when I'll get time to start learning, but it's on the docket.

12? Really?

I'm in trouble.  Less than six months away, and I have two goals done. So, here are a few more.

• #12 - Lose 30 pounds - Why yes, yes I have.  I know I still have ten to go, but I'm feeling pretty good.
• #13 - Learn a new skill - This year I have starting learning about Photoshop- I've been able to design business cards, a presentation poster, and a real estate yard sign.  And although it's been freaking hard, I am pretty proud of what I can do.
• #14 - Pay off my Kohl's card - Yup - did it
• #15 - Learn how to make whole wheat bread - I make fantastic whole wheat bread- not gonna lie.
• #16 - Get Paul potty trained - seriously was getting to the point where I thought this was never going to happen - but yay!  It did.

That's all for right now.  Even though it appears I just sat down and thought of things I'd already done and set them as goals, not true.  I have so many things I want to do, I just don't take the time to write down.

Ohhhh - just thought of one - 

• #17 - Write consistently in my journal - At least once a week - Thanks Chels!

Working on it...

One of the things I have always wanted to have done is to have read "Jesus the Christ".  I've started it probably no less than 50 times, but never made it far.  This time, I'm persevering.  You can't be 30 and not have read it, right?

One more down

Finished David Copperfield last night!

Oh Dear...

**warning, this is a long post**

So... we have 6 months and counting until the big 3-0, so we're supposed to be on about #15 right?

HA!

Okay, I have been busy, but since I have only documented up to #3 (that's right, three!), let's see if we can check some more things off the list!

Okay, so one of the biggest things I have wanted to do/become before I turned 30 is to eat healthy, cook healthy, and feed my family healthy stuff so that we can all do all the things that we need to do.  I have always had an interest in this, but, let's face it, there is an ocean of misinformation out there and every little magazine you pick up at the Dr. office has advice on nutrition.  It IS difficult to sort through all this information and find the truth, which is why I've never really done it before.  It takes TIME!  (and who has time these days?)

But when it got to the point where it was affecting the health of my family, and my energy levels in trying to be pregnant and take care of the craziness that has been our life for the last few months, it was necessary.

So...I started with reading.

Shayla's item #4

Pretty much The-Best-Book-I-Have-Ever-Read-And-It-Changed-My-Life... 'nuff said.  I recommend it to anyone, whether you have kids or not.  It's just good information on how to live a long, healthy, disease free (including cancer free, diabetes free, asthma and allergy free, heart disease free, etc.) life and have the energy to get the most out of it.  Maybe I was just ignorant before, but I've always thought that cancer especially was not anything you could control whether you got it or not...such a stupid idea.  The book is very research based and it's almost frightening what we do to ourselves with our "western diet".  It gave me the kick start to get in gear and initiate major changes in our lives, and we've already seen some great results.  It has a lot of recipes in the back too.

We've been working with a specialist who has been saying a lot of the same things that I've been reading, so I asked him for some book recommendations.  He recommended the next 2 books.

Shayla's item #5

The specialist we've been working with warned me about the language of the book, but he thought the content was good enough to recommend.  I think he was right about most of the content. Obviously, they were marketing it to appeal to a certain type of person... and that person is not me.  So I didn't LOVE this book.  Good information, yes.  Bad language, yes.  And let's just say, not everyone is interested in eating healthy to have a sweet a**.  I just want to live a long and healthy life... so I don't necessarily recommend this book.  Also, there was a huge section of the book that was about animal cruelty, and while I think it is an issue, I don't think you have to scare people into not eating meat any more.  People are smart, and we can make informed decisions.

Shayla's item #6

This book was also recommended by that specialist.  It had a lot of really fantastic information, but it was not very well written at all.  It has a lot of information how hydrating your body properly actually can take care of a lot of common illnesses like colds, migraines, etc. and can help with bigger issues like diabetes, etc.  It jumped around a lot and read a lot like a medical journal in some parts, but again, good information.

Shayla's item #7

This also goes into the category of The-Best-Book-I-Have-Ever-Read-And-It-Changed-My-Life.  And I'm not even finished yet.  Why is this information not public knowledge?  If it was...I can't even imagine how life would be so different.  So good!

And I still need to get to:

and

and

So, I have been challenging myself to learn about a new kind of healthy food (or actually use a food I already know to be healthy) and use it in my meals.

Shayla's item #8

Quinoa.... a super food and one of the best protein sources on the earth.  I have had some mild success with this.  I made a good pesto quinoa tomato salad and it was pretty good as a hot cereal in the morning, but I need to continue to work on it.  I just found some good looking slow cooker recipes for it.

Shayla's item #9

Kale...Dr. Fuhrman's website sells a bumper sticker that says "Kale is the new Beef".  I thought it was funny, but I'm not sure I'm buying it yet.  But, I did make a Kale-apple smoothie this morning that was deelish.  Click here for the recipe.

Shayla's item #10

Bran...I've found some good recipes for this and need to keep experimenting.  The best so far has been homemade raisin bran. yumm.

Shayla's item #11

Flax seed...I know a lot of people that are really good about putting flax seed in everything, but I've never known what to do with it before, nor why it was so important, though I've bought it a few times.  So now, ground flaxseed goes in everything at our house.  Everything.

Shayla's item #12

Agave...meaning 100% raw organic agave in place of white sugar.  We have not used any white sugar at  our house in 2 months and already seen huge improvement.  Cory had 2 sebaceous cysts that have almost disappeared completely.  And yes, I've read the debate about agave.  I'm still doing some research and looking into stevia and other natural sweeteners.

Shayla's item #13

Almonds... I always knew they were good for you, but I've been trying to eat some almonds every day.  I put them in all smoothies I make and you can't even taste them.

Shayla's item #14

okay, this isn't really incorporating a new thing, but eradicating an old thing.  We haven't used a stitch of white flour for a few months and I gotta say, I don't feel like we're missing anything.  good riddance!

Shayla's item #15

Lentils...I just made the best lentil soup the other day.  I've been trying to incorporate a lot of other types of beans too, especially black beans.

Shayla's item #16

I'm just going to throw all of the little changes we've made into one.  Things like Almond milk instead of Cow's milk.  Raw peanut butter instead of the "regular" kind... plus this provides entertainment too: Jocelyn loves watching the machine smash the peanuts.  Our snacks are now mostly nuts and seeds and raw fruits and veggies.  I'm trying to buy organic more than I used to when affordable.  No cheese, etc.  Just little things that have added up.  And I'm not even going to count our failures... that's right, homemade brown rice milk IS as disgusting as it sounds, as is Burger King's Veggie burger (puke).

I'd love to start incorporating avacadoes, kefir, buckwheat, millet, amaranth, rye, barley, kamut, and spelt more... but line upon line, I guess.  Also, I need to be a lot better about when we eat away from home.  At this point, we are eating really well when at home, but when at others' houses and at restaurants, it's been harder to stick to.  Let's face it, I've always disliked those people who, when then come to your house, look down on your food and ask "well, what's in it?". 

So... there you have it.  A journey towards better health that will continue.  And if any of you have any great healthy recipes, send them to me, please!  I am starting to build our repertoire little by little (the first month we pretty much ate the same thing over and over)

 And...I'm caught up!  Here's to the next 6 months!

Moving right along do do do do do

Our relief society lesson today was sharing and discussing our wards goals that were set by our ward council.  There were several that have been running around in my mind for a while, but now I'm ready to commit. So here are some goals:

• #6 Family History and/or indexing four hours each month
• #7 Community service project at least once a year
• #8 Give a Book of Mormon to someone once a year

Check! on #8.  I gave one to a friend I work with who asked me some questions after seeing Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD's in my collection. It's the first one I've ever given away so I was pretty proud of myself!

One of my friends is using the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants about having a house of God.  119^aOrganize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a ^bhouse, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;

So this month we are working on:

• #9 Becoming a house of prayer - this means we are trying to say morning and night family prayers.  Mornings are hard for us, so we are really trying. 
• #10 I'm also trying to step it up in personal prayers - I'm pretty good at praying with Paul and Jared, but don't always take the time to pray myself.

Also, Shayla gave me the Deceptively Delicious cookbook, that you puree fruits and veggies and use them in kid-friendly recipes.  Because you have to plan to have the purees ready, I decided I'm really ready to plan my weekly meals.  I already use Cozi.com as my calendar, so I just have started planning a week at a time.  What my goal  is to 

• #11 Get to the point where I have a month worth of recipes, and can simply change they day they are on.  I have included ingredients in the notes section so I can include them on my weekly shopping list.  I have done one week so far.  

I'm excited to go part time next week (I hope!) and will do better on getting my goals done.  I have seriously slacked on the playing the hymns, so I need to get some headphones and do that while Paul is napping. So, there you have it.  Time to step it up!

Cheating doesn't work

Well,  I was hoping to "borrow" some of Shayla's goals and make them my own.  So far, though, cheating doesn't work. Since my choreography skills are about the level of the Macarena, I will not be attempting that.  Since I got a Kindle for Christmas and consequently don't have to haul David Copperfield around to read it, I may try that as well.  Maybe cheating will pay this one time.

• Goal #3 Read David Copperfield

My next goal comes from the fact that the craft section of my closet overfloweth with unfinished projects.  I am super good at starting projects.  Something always happens.  I run out of money to finish the project, I forget how to do it, it takes a lot more time than I think, blah, blah, blah.  So my

• Goal #4 Finish all my crafts in my closet before I start another one.
• Goal #5 Get my 72 hour kit together

So, there we go.  One goal down, 29 to go.