1. Went sledding with 30 Girl Scouts.
2. Gave up a volunteer position that was just too much…
3. Put trellises on my square foot garden boxed
4. Grew some tasty snap peas
5. Made my first batches of green salsa – and it is GOOD!
6. Helped put in the new fence around my back yard
7. Made my own glass storage jars
8. Made a bed skirt out of sheets
9. Hid the cords by the TV
10. Went on a road trip – just me and my mom
11. Saw Niagara Falls
12. Met my cousin in Vermont
13. Drove on a toll road for the first time ever
14. Went to my husband’s 20 year class reunion
15. Saw one of my best friends – only happens every other year
16. Made Scrabble tile & domino pendants
17. Read hundreds of books (children’s)
18. Read some grown-up books too
19. Took a weight-lifting class for women
20. Hung laundry out on the line
21. Spray painted things
22. Groomed the dog
23. Took my vitamins
24. Flossed my teeth (I’m not telling how often)
25. Went to some garage sales
26. Donated things we didn’t need anymore
27. Cooked over a fire
28. Walked across the Mississippi River
29. Went on a picnic
30. Created a few photo-books online
31. Completed a couple of other scrapbooks
32. Shoveled snow
33. Painted my nails
34. Celebrated my 16th wedding anniversary
35. Enjoyed my 38th birthday
36. Loved my family
37. Read my Bible
38. Counted my blessings

Looking at this small sampling of things I did in ‘09, I notice that there are fun & exciting “firsts” as well as everyday things that get forgotten in the hustle & bustle.  But isn’t that life?

2009 was a good year & I have every reason to believe 2010 will be just as good if not better!

Happy New Year!

1. Make caramel bars
2. Mend little boys ripped pants
3. Mend big boys ripped pants
4. Get stains out of laundry
5. Trim pets’ nails
6. Clean a floor
7. Get hard water deposits off faucets
8. Paint a room
9. Strip wallpaper
10. Make spaghetti & meatballs – homemade
11. Make monster bars
12. Bake bread
13. Pack school lunches
14. Grow salad veggies: spinach, lettuce, radishes & the like
15. Make/can salsa
16. Crochet a dishcloth
17. Cross-stitch
18. Sew a basic curtain
19. Make/can sweet relish
20. Bake banana bread
21. Polish shoes
22. Change diapers (quickly)
23. Put lights on a Christmas tree
24. Read children’s stories with “voices”
25. Use chalkboard spray paint
26. Make great chocolate chip cookies
27. Trim bushes/hedges
28. Dig post holes
29. Hang pictures on the wall
30. Unclog the garbage disposal
31. Change the furnace filter
32. Write a thank-you note
33. Check the oil & tire pressure on a vehicle
34. Set up a tent
35. Start a fire
36. Cook over a fire
37. Climb a tree
38. Do cartwheels a cartwheel.

What can you do?  What are you good at?  I’d love to know!

1. Put shampoo & conditioner in pump containers so it doesn’t flood out into kids’ hands.
2. Use cloth napkins.
3. Use more rags than paper towels.
4. Make our bread.
5. Pack kids’ lunches.
6. Keep milk to one glass at meals, refills are water.
7. Grow lots of goodies in our gardens.
8. Advocate simple fun when kids are bored.
9. Keep a good supply of board games and puzzles.
10. Save kids’ returned homework for internal printing jobs.
11. Print online receipts and payment confirmations to my computer instead of on paper.
12. Use the heels and little bits of extra bread for crumbs or croutons.
13. Use a programmable thermostat.
14. Set the heat to chilly for the 6 overnight hours when everyone is sleeping…then cuddle under the covers.
15. Dress for the season.  No tank tops allowed in the winter!
16. Do my own manicures and pedicures.
17. Stock my pantry at low prices.
18. Eat from my pantry.
19. Keep two lists.
20. Use cash.
21. Love the library.
22. Don’t rent movies.  Watch what we have, or see #21.
23. Shop thrift stores & garage sales.
24. Know the difference between a need & a want.
25. Cook from scratch as much as possible.
26. Do some simple mending.
27. Hang laundry out whenever possible.
28. Seal up the windows with that plastic film stuff in the winter.
29. Do many home repairs & projects ourselves.
30. Teach kids to be helpers.
31. Work together towards those common goals.
32. Use what we already have on hand.
33. Use it up.
34. Wear it out.
35. Make do.
36. Do without.
37. Don’t pay attention to the Jones.
38. Have an attitude of gratitude.

So there you have it…some of the simple ways we save a little cash.  I’d love to hear your ideas!

My kids amused themselves by filling snow in on the stairs. They spent a lot of time sledding down their homemade ramp.

We had a lovely Christmas.  It was a small, relaxed event with our main activity being Christmas Eve church services.  And shoveling.  Did you hear about the blizzard that struck the Midwest?  That included us.  A foot of snow fell over the three days, which in Minnesota terms really isn’t that big a deal.  Happening over Christmas with some areas getting ice & rain too?  That is what makes it tricky.  We were thankful it wasn’t our year to travel.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with many new memories to cherish.

I was having fun with my 38 lists.  I have a couple more started, so you’ll see those this week.  I figure since it is still my birth month and this week is sort of a weird one…that space between Christmas and New Year, where new routines haven’t been started and Christmas is still being savored.

So come back and see the hodge podge of things I’ll put together this week.  It could be amusing.

1. Calligraphy
2. Crochet
3. Knit
4. Ballroom Dance
5. Play piano
6. Decoupage
7. Create jewelry
8. Bake pastries
9. Decorate cakes
10. Quilt
11. Put binding on a blanket
12. Sew clothing (other than pj pants)
13. Cook rice
14. Create gourmet meals
15. Iron without leaving creases
16. Snow ski
17. Stamp cards
18. Upholster furniture
19. Cut hair
20. Salsa dance
21. Speak Spanish
22. Sign language
23. Pressure can venison
24. Make jelly
25. Make my aunt’s orange rolls
26. Make my grandfather’s dumplings
27. Make pfaerten
28. Eat with chop sticks
29. Troubleshoot my own computer problems
30. Fix a leaky toilet
31. Fix a drippy sink
32. Hem pants
33. Embroider
34. Paint decorative things
35. Grow lush plants
36. French braid hair
37. Grow a healthier garden
38. Carve pumpkins with a drill

1. I always cross my Ts but rarely dot my Is.
2. I have blue eyes.  Very blue.
3. I have had 6 surgeries in my life.
4. I am relatively healthy.
5. I have just one sibling, a younger sister.
6. I am the oldest grandchild on my dad’s side.
7. I have not met some of my cousins on my mom’s side.  First cousins.
8. My mom’s family has always been really spread out.
9. I love to travel but don’t get the chance very often.
10. I’m more emotional than most people would expect.
11. I tend to come across as very matter-of-fact.
12. Family comes first…I’ve lived my life that way.
13. I have a dog & cat.
14. My home phone number has always contained numbers in the 50s.  xx5-3052, xxx -5150, xxx -5155
15. I love to scrapbook.
16. I need creative outlets more now than I did when I was 28.
17. I love to have freshly painted toenails.
18. I married my high school sweetheart.  We started dating Sept. ‘87.
19. My parents were high school sweethearts too.
20. My sister married her high school sweetheart.
21. I generally think I can do anything, if only I try.
22. Sometimes I find out that I can’t.
23. Autumn is my favorite season, followed closely by Winter.
24. I do not like hot weather.
25. I love Mexican food.
26. I love to read Dr. Seuss stories.
27. I read more non-fiction than fiction.
28. Most fiction I read are light mysteries.
29. I like most music.
30. One of my favorite movies is Better Off Dead.  It makes me laugh – every time!
31. I like to laugh & will usually try to find the humor in things.
32. I talk to the television.  Often.
33. I also talk to other inanimate objects.
34. Sometimes I don’t leave my house/yard for almost a week at a time.
35. I’m usually ok with that.
36. One of my favorite things is a new snowfall.
37. I love blizzards and thunderstorms.
38. Generally, I’m a pretty happy gal.

1. Decide this will be a good day.
2. Crawl in bed with Stanley @ 4am  so he can go back to sleep (still battling abdominal pain)
3. Get ready for church.
4. Run and get a few groceries while Grace is at youth group.
5. Pick up Grace & go home.
6. Clean up dog’s mess.
7. Be thankful the mess was on the linoleum.
8. Put away groceries.
9. Take out butter to soften.
10. Scrub all of kitchen & dining room floors for good measure.
11. Make a list or two.
12. Delegate emptying the dishwasher to Grace.
13. Check on Stanley.
14. Make lunch.
15. Make sugar cookie dough and put in frig.
16. Make Toffee Bars.
17. Make Caramel Bars.
18. Roll out & bake sugar cookies.
19. Make Pecan Tassies.
20. Make Chocolate Drops.
21. Check to see if I’m still smiling.
22. Wash 3 loads of laundry.
23. Maybe do one more load of laundry.
24. Make sure all laundry is folded & put away.
25. Listen to Christmas music. (5 hours worth is already in my CD player, on shuffle)
26. Sing along to Christmas music.
27. Make tea & take a break.
28. Bake chicken for supper.
29. File papers in office.
30. Clean up pile-o-junk in office.
31. Write newsletter for work.
32. Start updating checkbooks.
33. Update holiday planner.
34. Wrap some gifts.
35. Address final 20 Christmas cards.
36. Light Advent candles.
37. Read my Bible.
38. Pray.

I know this looks like a lot.  I am really looking forward to 90% of it…I love baking cookies, wrapping gifts & just generally being home to take care of things.

Consider this list a glimpse into the overachiever in me…it really is an illness sometimes.  I don’t understand those people who say to limit your to-do list to 6 things.  If I only wrote down 6 things it would say: holiday baking, finish Christmas cards, do laundry, clean office, bookkeeping, work prep for week.   I would still have the BIG list in my head anyway, then I would also maybe not make it to the Bible reading and praying. So while my list looks long, that’s ok…I’ve learned not to beat myself up to bad if I don’t’ get it all done.

I’ll let you know how I do…but right now, I better get started!

1. Briefly woke up a few minutes after midnight to my son waking my husband.  He had a bad stomach ache.
2. Slept about 20 minutes later than I should have.
3. Remembered that I didn’t have to pack lunches…a birthday present to myself.
4. Remembered that I still had to change the cat litter (garbage day).
5. Changed cat litter.
6. Started my work day to a little blonde girl wishing me happy birthday.
7. Drank a delicious Chai Tea that another daycare family brought me.
8. Made my bed.
9. Made a doctor appointment for the boy.
10. Changed diapers.
11. Cuddled a baby.
12. Read a Christmas story to little girls.
13. Got lots of birthday hugs from kids.
14. Wrapped a couple Christmas presents.
15. Took my son to the doctor.
16. Held his hand as he had blood drawn.
17. Waited.
18. Talked with doctors.
19. Explained doctor appointment to my husband.
20. Made decision as to whether we would still leave for the night.
21. Ate grilled cheese and tomato soup with my son.
22. Packed my bags for a night away.
23. Talked to my best pal from Washington State.
24. Opened my birthday present from said friend.
25. Accepted package from FedEx guy…Christmas presents I ordered.
26. Looked through the mail.
27. Opened my Christmas present from my hubby & kids.
28. Cashed in change at the bank.
29. Went back home for things I forgot.
30. Traveled with my family to nearby town for the night.
31. Checked into hotel.
32. Hugged & kissed my husband (not first time today).
33. Answered calls from friends wishing me happy birthday.
34. Ate wonderful supper.
35. Did some shopping with my girl.
36. Came back to hotel.
37. Relaxed.
38. Wrote this list.

It was a great day.  My son is feeling much better and while I still think his pain was possibly appendicitis, the surgeon did not.  There are good medical facilities here so we felt confident that if he got worse we were still in good hands.

I am looking forward to another great year!

Today is my birthday!  I love birthdays and think everyone should live it up on their birthday!  I would love to tell you about my wonderful day, but I am really busy enjoying it right now.  I’ll be back around tomorrow to fill you in.

Also, my birthday will kick off a week of posts that will help you get to know me.  Stay tuned…

Yesterday I decided that I could whine to myself about not having started my holiday baking, or I could do something about it.  So at nap time I tried to get the gingerbread cookie dough mixed up, only to find that I didn’t have enough molasses.  Determined not to let that get me down, I resolved to just pick up more on my way to pick up Stanley from the community center after work.   I got my gingerbread dough done, along with a batch of Spritz dough and out to chill while we ate dinner.  Once the supper dishes were cleaned up I hurried to get the Spritz in the oven.  Then Stanley helped me get the Gingerbread cookies made.  He loves those.  He also loves working in the kitchen.  Half an hour after his normal bedtime he was tasting one of his cookies before brushing teeth and crawling into bed.

I’ve decided to make Sunday my baking day.  After church I’ll put on my apron and get to work.  I love spending days like that…so I am truly excited to see what I can get done.  I have no doubt I’ll have plenty of help as both Grace and Stanley enjoy time in the kitchen.  Now to think up something yummy to put in the crockpot that day so I don’t have to stop baking to get dinner on the table.