The "taming of the shoes" :)

Meet my nemesis:  The shoe pile

I organize this area, weed out the shoes that don't need to be in the kitchen and yet in no time at all it has grown to this mess.  Add to the shoes the coats, backpacks and other random items that get dropped when we walk in the door.  This corner of the kitchen and I have been fighting for quite some time.  I've looked at many different ideas but none of them quite worked.  for one thing we have lovely old radiators (you can see it in the far right of the picture) and large low windows that don't leave any space for large storage options.  I had this cabinet between the two windows

this seemed to just add to the problem.  More things would get piled on the cabinet and soon that whole wall in the kitchen just looked messy.  Enter Pinterest!

I love browsing Pinterest and have used several ideas and recipes with great success.  I decided to search for storage and organizational ideas.  I found many but again, most I couldn't use because of the space restrictions.  Finally I happened upon a pin that showed a bench with large storage baskets that I thought might work.  After showing my husband (and finding out that the bench was on sale) we ordered it.  My husband also made a coordinating coat rack and shelf.  So here is what the area looks like now.

 The cabinet has been moved to the dining room and makes a great place to store fresh fruit and place the water pitcher during dinner.  We still have a rug with a couple pair of my husbands shoes (and space for visitors to place their shoes.  But all of the other shoes are neatly stored away.  The backpacks are off the floor and the shelf provides a nice spot for the kitchen radio.  I will be making new covers for the cushions (they are already quite dirty) that are more kid friendly.  I now love this area and the kids love the fact that they don't have to dig thru piles of shoes to find their shoes in the morning.

Another great organizational idea I found on Pinterest was something called a "family command center".  Basically an area to have all the lists, schedules, etc in one place.  I loved the idea and set out to find the supplies.

I found the calendar board at The Christmas Tree Shop.  The smaller "frames" were  for pictures but I simply printed up backgrounds on card stock for these areas.  One for a shopping list and one for our menu.  The frames below were also found at The Christmas Tree Shop and work great as chore charts.  I simply write on them with dry erase marker and then change up the chores as needed.  I customized each one with each child's name and a Bible verse about working/labor.  Here are a couple close ups of the chore charts.

So there you have it.  I definitely have a lot more work to do; especially upstairs, to really feel organized but this is a nice start. 

A summery summary, in Pictures.

I finally got the hundreds (literally) of pictures uploaded from my phone.  I still have some to upload from my camera but wanted to get this post up before summer officially ends (seems crazy that fall is so close).  So this will be a picture heavy post highlighting some of the fun times we had this summer.

In May I ran my second 5K with my friend Laurie.  I beat my previous time and had a lot of laughs before and after the race.

In June, we started the summer with a kid free trip to South Dakota to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.  The scenery was gorgeous and we had a wonderful time together.

The beginning of July included trips to different local parks

Lots of outdoor water play in our backyard

Ethan & Hailey had swimming lessons at the local lake

And many, many trips to the local library

A special day with Mimi at York's Wild Kingdom ended with all of the kids "winning" inflatable toys.

The end of July saw us going South to Virginia to visit family.  We also made a stop in PA to visit my brother & his family. A highlight of our time in Virginia was going to Jamestown Settlement.

August included more library trips, gearing up for school and a fun day with Grammie B. at Storyland.

We also enjoyed several Science Centers, family gatherings, tye dyeing tshirts, baking together, visiting local friends and many, many special times of just being together and being silly as a family.  God has truly blessed and it is wonderful to look over all that He has done over the past few months.

Projects, projects...

Once again my blog has been neglected.  Life is good but very busy right now as we wind down from the summer (hoping to get a post up about our summer) and gear up for the new school year which begins next week. 

One of my goals for this fall is to get our home organized.  Our house was built in 1923 and while I absolutely love the character of older homes some things are just lacking...namely storage.  We are fortunate to have a walk up attic and a full basement but there is very little storage space in the actual living area.  I have started to plan, measure and make a shopping list for this task.  In the mean time I decided to tackle some smaller places first.

In the dining room we have a built in hutch (which again, I love!)  I use one drawer as an "art drawer" for the kids.  It provides easy access to crayons, playdoh, etc.  The other day I opened the drawer to see this:

Oh my!  Things were everywhere and what you can't see in this picture is all of the bits of dried playdoh, crayons, paper, etc at the bottom of the drawer.  Thankfully we have a dollar store just around the corner so off we went.  One quick trip and an hour or so later and now the drawer looks like this:

Much better!  Yes, it's a small space but it felt good to accomplish.  The kids had a great time today using the items now that they can get to them.  The bins seemed to work really well for them only taking one thing out at a time.   The bins are divided by activity: paints in the red basket, playdoh toys in one bin, pencils (regular & colored) scissors, glue sticks and hole punch in another bin and crayons in their own container.  The pink bag at the back contains small note pads and stickers, underneath the pink bag are their coloring books and construction paper.

Another fun project that I accomplished was a sewing project with my girls.  The other day Hailey asked if they could have some paper to make purses.  I suggested we use fabric and sew them new bags since they would last longer.  I let both Hailey & Keira go thru my fabric stash and design their own purse.  They helped some with cutting and pinning and then I sewed them up on my machine.  It felt good to use my sewing machine since I haven't had a chance to use it in several months.  I'm certainly not an accomplished seamstress but these were fun, easy projects and the girls love them.

Keira with her new "Peter Rabbit" themed bag:

Hailey with her fleece bag:

Health(ier) Whoopie pies/ Ice cream sandwiches

A few weeks ago I posted the following as my facebook status:

lesson learned: Someone (who shall remain nameless) was kind and bought my kids a "treat" today of some whoopie pies from Steves Snacks. I made the mistake of not checking the package before they were purchased and on the way home the kids asked if they could have them. They each split one said treat..I get home to find out that each "treat" has 800 calories (400 from fat) and they contain propylene glycol & hydrachloric acid !?!?!?!? Thankfully they each only had half, the rest went into the trash. I tried e-mailing the laboratory AKA bakery but surprise surprise their link doesn't work.

After being rather frustrated/disappointed by this I decided to set out to make a healthier version of whoopie pies.  These are by no means low fat or low calorie (they each have 350 calories) but they are much better than the 800 calories in store bought pies and also contain only real ingredients.  No hydrogenated oils, corn syrup, artificial flavors/colors or other weird ingredients/chemicals.

The filling for these was quite soft so I decided to freeze them into "ice cream" sandwiches.  I'm going to work on the filling some in the future to see if I can get one that's a bit thicker.  

Whoopie Pies/Ice cream sandwiches:
4 C all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 C cocoa powder
1 C butter, softened
2 eggs
2 C brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 C thick sour milk
1 C cold water 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sift together flour, baking soda and cocoa; set aside.  Mix sour milk and water; set aside.  Cream together butter, eggs, brown sugar, salt and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients & milk alternating until both are used up.  Chill dough for 15 minutes. Drop by 2TB onto greased cookie sheets (I used the medium Pampered chef cookie scoop which worked well).   Bake for 8-10 minutes rotating pans half way thru cooking time.  Carefully remove to cooling rack (they will be delicate) and cool completely. **It is important to keep the batter very cold between batches so it doesn't spread too much when cooking.  

After cookies are cooled make filling:
1/2 C plain greek yogurt
1 C powdered sugar
2 tsp unflavored gelatin
8 tsp cold water
2 C heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla

Chill bowl and whisk attachment.  Mix together yogurt and sugar; set aside.  Dissolve gelatin in cold water and set aside to thicken.  In cold mixer mix cream and vanilla until slightly thickened.  Heat gelatin and water over low heat until liquid.  With mixer running slowly drizzle pectin into cream.  Turn mixer to high and whip  until stiff.  Fold in yogurt mixture.  

Place one cookie, bottom side up, on piece of plastic wrap top with ~ 1/4 C filling and gently top with another cookie.  Wrap in plastic and place in freezer.  Continue until all filling & cookies have been used.  I got 22 sandwiches with a couple extra cookies that broke. Enjoy!

Book list

I have so many posts floating around in my head but not nearly enough time to get them all down.  I did want to post a list of books that I've read recently that have truly blessed and challenged me.  These are in no particular order.

- Kisses From Katie - a wonderful testimony of how one girl "lost her life" and gained the world.
- One Thousand Gifts - great teachings on how we are to be grateful for everything that God allows to enter our lives; even what seem to be the ugliest things.
- The Mission of Motherhood - Seeing our children as our mission field.
- Heaven at Home - how to truly have a peaceful haven for your family
- Crazy Love - (reading this now) what does it really mean to love Jesus and how we as a church & individuals have lost sight of this.
- How to worship Jesus Christ - a wonderful short book on what true worship looks like.

I also have a small pamphlet titled "My heart, Christ's home" which I'm reading thru again. In doing some searching I found that there is this devotional book which expands on this pamphlet.  I'll probably be ordering this soon.

So, what are you reading?  What has challenged, blessed, encouraged you lately?

Chicken chili for Nachos

While on vacation this summer by brother-in-law made us nachos for dinner.  My kids really don't care for beans so I was shocked when they ate large helpings of the chili topping and even requested it for lunch the next day.  Once we were home I attempted to recreate this chicken chili.  I guessed at some things but the kids really liked it and once again ate it right up.  It's a bit sweet due to the brown sugar.

Chicken Chili:
 2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped or shredded
 1 TB olive oil
10oz frozen (or fresh) corn thawed and drained
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 jars spaghetti sauce (I used Newman's Own Organic tomato & basil)
1 large onion chopped
Chili Powder
Garlic powder
Cayenne pepper
*all spices are to taste
1-2 TB brown sugar (divided use)

Heat oil in large pan over medium high heat.  Add onion and saute for a minute, then add 1/2 of the brown sugar and continue to cook onion until lightly caramelized.  Add in all other ingredients and cook until hot and bubbly, checking to make sure spice level is right.  Serve in bowls topped with cheese or over cheesy nacho chips.

Vegetable goat cheese quiche

A few weeks ago I was looking for a recipe to use up some goat cheese I had purchased.  I had already made a beet & peach salad to use up some of the cheese but had about 4oz left.  After looking at a few recipes on the internet I decided to make a goat cheese quiche by combining two separate recipes.  I have made this quiche twice; once using asparagus and once using two large bunches of swiss chard (leaves & stalks). Both quiche variations were well liked.  Here is what I did (links to the original recipes are at the bottom).

Vegetable goat cheese quiche:

For the Crust:
2 tablespoons butter, softened, plus more for pan
1 package (1 pound) frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 large eggs

For the filling:

2 tablespoons butter
12 ounces asparagus, chopped**
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 cup sliced green onions
4 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled
4 large eggs

3/4 cup milk

To prepare crust, Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 9-by-2 1/2-inch springform pan with butter. Line the sides of the pan with strips of waxed paper (the same height as pan); brush paper with butter.Squeeze excess moisture from hash browns. Mix in a bowl with butter, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pat into bottom and up sides of prepared pan, using a moistened dry measuring cup. Place on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until set, 15 to 20 minutes.

Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees.


To prepare filling, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus to pan. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper over asparagus; sauté 8 minutes or until crisp-tender, stirring frequently. Add onions; sauté 2 minutes or until asparagus just begin to brown. Remove from heat. Spoon asparagus mixture into prepared shell in an even layer. Arrange goat cheese in an even layer over asparagus mixture.

Combine eggs, and milk. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Pour custard into pie plate. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until quiche is almost set in the center. Remove from heat, and cool 5 minutes on a wire rack before slicing.

**If using swiss chard; rinse well. separate leaves and stems.  Chop stems and cook in butter for 8 minutes.  Add chopped leaves with green onions and saute until wilted. 

Crust Recipe
Original filling recipe

Weekly Goals 7/2/12

Here are last weeks goals and how I did on them: 
1) Have a daily quiet time = Didn't do this every day, I think I only missed one day though.
2) Exercise 6 days - Done
3) Do one craft/project with the kids - Nope, unless you count the playdoh, clay that they played with for a few hours one day.
4) Make bread, etc for week. - Done
5) Keep up with laundry & ironing - Done
6) Clean off random papers from desk & counters. - Done.




And here are this weeks goals:
1) Daily quiet time
2) Exercise 6 days & Run 5K on Saturday
3) Keep up with laundry & Ironing
4) Do "fun" days with kids (park, etc)
5) Menu plan and grocery list


The next several weeks are very hectic/different weeks for us.  My goals will pretty much be the same and will be pretty light as I'm expecting to have to make many adjustments as we go.  We have several get-togethers, day trips and a family vacation thrown in so much of my time will be spent just preparing for those as they come up.


I'm hoping to get a post up soon with a few highlights from our recent trip to South Dakota.

Weekly goals for week of 6/25/12

Thought I would post some goals for this week.

1) Have a daily quiet time
2) Exercise 6 days
3) Do one craft/project with the kids
4) Make bread, etc for week.
5) Keep up with laundry & ironing
6) Clean off random papers from desk & counters.

Last week Matt & I went on a trip to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. It was a great time away but now I have to get back into the normal routine.

God's "linky" party

I love that God's Word is so perfect; that it links together so beautifully.  For my quiet times I have been doing a couple different things depending on the day.  Some days I will work on some summer "homework" from a Mom's Bible study I attend during the school year.  Other days I will read thru a chapter in the book "Be Satisfied" by Warren Wiersbe and on other days I will simply choose a Bible passage to read.

The summer homework consists of reading a magazine put out by Insight for Living which profiles 20 women that Jesus ministered to during his time here on earth.  The other day I did the profile for the Widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17)  she was a widow whose only son had died and as they were carrying him to be buried Jesus entered Nain, was so moved with compassion for this widow that He raised her son from the dead.  The theme for this profile focused on Jesus' compassion but also on how we handle when God closes a door on a dream.  The question was asked "Now what?  What do you do with your faith now?"  Do I rest in God and His perfect wisdom or do I set my shoulder and keep pushing against the door thinking I know better?

That particular morning I had a bit of extra time so I decided to read in "Be Satisfied"  the title to the next section was "Wisdom helps us see life clearly (Ecc. 7:11-18)"  More on God's wisdom!  The opening paragraph in this section ended with this statement "When you have God's wisdom, you will be able to accept and deal with the changing experiences of life."  My immediate thought was that once again I was being challenged in how I deal with "slammed doors", with changes in my life that I never anticipated.  The following is another quote that really spoke to my heart that morning:

"We don't fully understand all the works of God, but we do 

know that "He hath made everything beautiful in it's 

time" (Ecc. 3:11).  This includes the things we may think are

twisted and ugly."

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" Proverbs 9:10

Often those rough days, that I spoke of in an earlier post, are opportunities for us to see God make the twisted and ugly beautiful and to build a deeper reverance for Him in our hearts.  Yet how often, in my selfishness & sinfulness, I miss that opportunity.

I wanted to close with a glimpse of not just God's wisdom but of who God is!  By what authority He can grant such wisdom and strength, for everything we might face.  Tuesday night I attended a Bible Study and one of the women shared a few verses from Isaiah 40.  This morning I decided to read thru this chapter.  Many people have memorized and often quote Isaiah 40:31 but I would challenge you to read thru this entire chapter to get a bigger picture of Who the God is that can give us such strength.  

Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.

(40:26)

 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.

(40:28-29)

And the most "miraculous" link for me this morning was that God brought all of these lessons full circle in my thinking about needing His wisdom in parenting when, in verses 10-11 He says

  

Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.

He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.

God is ready, willing and more than able to carry my family and gently lead us with our children!!!

 

Wisdom lessons

I wanted to share a couple things that God has been reminding me, teaching me over the past couple of weeks.  They've been an encouragement to me and I hope they are to you also.

Last week we had a very rough day.  It seemed that all of us were just grumpy and no matter what we tried, obedience was not happening.  We were tired, frustrated and overwhelmed.  That night, practically in tears, I said to my husband "I just don't know what to do.  What will make them listen and behave."  Now, I was not doing my best at keeping my own emotions in check which I know lead to much of the friction so I'm not absolving myself of some responsibility.

The next morning I was in the shower and God brought a couple verses in James to my mind.  The first was James 1:5 & 6

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, 

who gives to all liberally and without reproach, 

and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no 

doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea 

driven and tossed by the wind.

I may not know how to raise my kids, or how to always control my emotions but God does!  He is just waiting for me to seek His wisdom so that he can lavish his love and wisdom on our family.  I need only rest in Him having faith that He will keep His promises.  So, the next question that came to mind was "what does God's wisdom look like?"  Again a verse in James sums this up very well.

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, 

then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and 

good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. ¹⁸ 

 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

James 3:17 & 18

Ouch, those words hit my heart hard!  I had certainly not been pure in my speech to my children or husband, I had not been peaceable or gentle.  I often fight against yielding to God's will or showing His mercy to those, who ironically, I love the most on this earth.  In order for God's righteousness to bear fruit in my life I need to be a peacemaker.  I must give up my "rights" and sometimes even my comforts (how many times I would rather sit with a book & cup of tea rather than help one of my children in the bathroom, wipe a nose, etc).  But thru all this God promises His wisdom!  Wow!  What a far better treasure than a cup of tea & good book! 

It's always fun to see how God links things together so in another post I will share a couple more things that God has showed me this week building on trusting in Him for wisdom to all of life's circumstances.  In closing I want to leave you with two more verses from James.  These verses are ones that, while I often struggle to follow, is something I often find myself quoting in my head.

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift 

to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; ²⁰ for the wrath of

 man does not produce the righteousness of God.

James 1:19 & 20

Do you get a "high" from spending time with God?

This was the question that pressed upon my mind this morning as I was showering.  For the past several months I have been on a consistent exercise routine.  I've gotten to the point where (for the most part) I look forward to my exercise time.  I also know when I've really worked hard; I get that "high".  A couple weeks ago I switched my exercise routine and noticed that some of the workouts, while still working my muscles just aren't as intense and I don't get that high.

All of this led me to think about my time with God.  This is another area I've been working on consistency in and God has been blessing both in providing the time and also teaching and challenging me.  Often times, while my time in God's Word works my spiritual "muscles" I don't take the time to intensely meditate on what I've read, what God is saying to me and miss the "high" that comes from pushing myself to the next level of communion with my Father. 

My prayer is that I will not be satisfied until I have pressed God, searched His Word and pushed myself to the point of being high on God!

Book Recommendation - Kisses From Katie

I don't normally do book posts on here but I have to share about a wonderful book I'm reading.  The title is "Kisses From Katie" by Katie Davis.  This book is autobiographical and is very inspiring.  Katie shares how she chose to walk away from all that the world calls successful, to truly die to self and follow God's leading to Uganda.  She is honest and open about the heartbreak, poverty, war, and disease faced by the children she works with but also the joy, mercy, grace and unending love that God has for these children. 

Katie left the US right after high school and moved to Uganda to teach kindergarten in an orphanage.  She now lives there and is adopting 14 Ugandan girls.  Her mission Amazima helps to feed hundreds of children and to send them to school all while sharing the love and Gospel of Jesus.  To read more about Katie and the work God is doing in Uganda you can follow her blog The Journey. 

I highly recommend Katie's book.  I guarantee you will be challenged, blessed and your perspective everyday life will be changed. 

Goal update...a bit late..and another low cal treat

So, here is how I did last week on my goals:
1) Read chapter in "Be Satisfied" - Nope
2) Clean off desk - I'm calling this done because I did clean off all the old papers, even though some have been replaced with new things I need to deal with
3) Finish last week of bootcamp. - DONE
4) Run 5K on Saturday - DONE and I beat my previous time by over 5 min!
5) Have family for dinner on Friday - DONE
6) Keep up with daily housework - DONE
7) Finalize plans for teacher gift - DONE
8) Get (and mail) card/gift for friend in hospital. - DONE
9) Decide on next verse/passage to memorize. (Yes, I finally finished Matt. 5:1-12) - Nope, forgot all about this.


So, this week I do have some goals but since it's Thurs. I'll just wait until next week to post new goals.  In the mean time, here is another low cal treat for you to enjoy.  I'm sure this could easily be made with gluten free flour for those with diet restrictions.  It is also egg free and could easily be made dairy free by substituting a non-dairy yogurt (such as soy or coconut based).

I love "mug" desserts but even those single servings can be very high in calories.  Here is a low calorie version of the mug brownie.  I really enjoyed it!

Weekly Goals 5/14/12

Despite thinking about, and wanting to, write down goals last week it obviously didn't happen.  We had a very busy week and I did get a lot accomplished.

Here are my goals for this week:
1) Read chapter in "Be Satisfied"
2) Clean off desk
3) Finish last week of bootcamp.
4) Run 5K on Saturday
5) Have family for dinner on Friday
6) Keep up with daily housework
7) Finalize plans for teacher gift
8) Get (and mail) card/gift for friend in hospital.
9) Decide on next verse/passage to memorize. (Yes, I finally finished Matt. 5:1-12)

Low Calorie Pumpkin Bread

Since I've been eating healthier I've had a few days where I really miss baked goods.  The other day Keira asked for Pumpkin bread so I decided to go on a search for a lower calorie version.  Many recipes replace the oil with applesauce but since Keira is allergic to apples this wasn't an option for me.  I finally found this recipe over at Dame Good Eats.  It was okay but I wanted to see if I could reduce the calories even more (I was aiming for 100 calories per slice).  This comes close with only 117 calories per slice (compared to the 384 in a "normal" slice).

Here is what I did:
Low-Calorie Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

1 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 cup solid pack pumpkin puree
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 TB ground flax seed in 3T warm water**
2 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).



Place the ground Flax seed in the water and allow to "bloom" for 10 minutes

Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice into a large bowl. Mix in the pumpkin, brown sugar, buttermilk, egg and butter until well blended. Pour into a 9x5 inch loaf pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

**I had seen soaked flax seed used as a substitute for egg in other recipes but had never tried it myself.  I was very pleased with the results and will definitely be using it again. These measurements are to replace 1 egg.

The Verdict:
This bread may be low in calories but definitely not in taste!   It is moist and delicious.  My kids all love it!  I doubled the recipe to make 2 loaves since I knew 1 wouldn't last.  The second loaf is already almost gone and was the first thing they asked for as a snack after school.  Keira has already asked when we can make some more.  Enjoy!

Weekly goals for 4/30/12

Goals for week (4/23):
1) Have a daily quiet time - Nope, did good most days but fizzled at the end of the week :(
2) Work on Matthew 5: 11 & 12 - Done..still getting stuck on some of the wording but doing better
3) Read chapter in "Be Satisfied" - Done
4) Finish all Bible study work - Nope, I missed a page so I need to get caught up.
5) Steam clean area rugs - Done
6) Go thru and clean off all the papers on my desk - Done
7) Enjoy a Girl's night out and a Date night out - Done, these were great treats :)
8) Plan Titus' birthday party.  Get gift & supplies. - Done (today is his birthday Happy 2nd Birthday Titus!!)
9) Do all 7 days of boot camp & 5 days of running. - Done


Goals for week 4/30/12:
1) Daily quiet time
2) Read next chapter in "Be satisfied"
3) Get everything ready for Hailey's party on Saturday
4) Do all 7 days of boot camp & 5 days of running
5) Catch up on all laundry & ironing


Not too much this week as preparing and baking for Hailey's party will take up a good amount of time.

Weekly Goals

Goals for this week (4/16):
1) Work on Matthew 5:11 & 12 - Nope, I read over it a few times but didn't really work on this.
2) Read chapter in "Be Satisfied" - Done
3) Run the Stonyfield 5K - DONE!! Very happy about this!
4) Finish Week 1 of B210K (in preparation for 5K on Saturday) - DONE
5) Have friends over - DONE


Goals for week (4/23):
1) Have a daily quiet time
2) Work on Matthew 5: 11 & 12
3) Read chapter in "Be Satisfied"
4) Finish all Bible study work
5) Steam clean area rugs
6) Go thru and clean off all the papers on my desk
7) Enjoy a Girl's night out and a Date night out
8) Plan Titus' birthday party.  Get gift & supplies.
9) Do all 7 days of boot camp & 5 days of running.


We have two birthdays in our family in the next week (and two separate parties) so life will be busy around here :)

Rainbows in dirt

 (Photo Credit: kimberlysnyder.net)

A few weeks ago God used a conversation with my 3 year old to teach me an important lesson; that His promises are always true,  it is only our focus or perspective that makes it seem not so.  It has been a blessing and great reminder to me so I thought I would share.

I was walking into the local grocery store with my 3 year old when the following conversation took place:

K: "Momma, do you see the rainbow?" said excitedly
Me: "What rainbow?"
K: "Right there" as she points to the arc made in the dirt of a car's rear window by the windshield wiper.

I said that I did see the rainbow and was a bit amused that she would see a rainbow in the dirt.  Throughout, that day and since then that scene has been brought to my mind many times.  How often do I look at life, the inconveniences, the annoyances and everyday mundane things and merely see dirt when in fact God is showing Himself faithful, true and blessing me thru each one of those.  If I only changed my focus from the things to the One in control of all then instead of dirt I would see the rainbow.

Easy dinner idea.

This week's weather has been warmer than usual so many of the recipes I had planned, such as soups, didn't sound appealing.  Tonight I made a salad that is easy, nutritious and my whole family really enjoys. 

Sweet Potato & Beet Salad:
3-4 whole fresh beets
5 small sweet potatoes
6 C shredded romaine lettuce
1 C chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts work well but use your favorites)
4oz goat cheese, crumbled (optional)

Cook the beets and sweet potatoes however you prefer* peel and chop into large chunks.  Place lettuce on platter top with beets, sweet potatoes, nuts and cheese (if using).  Serves 6
*I boil the beets and about 1/2 way thru add the potatoes & boil them.  After they are boiled the skins peel right off; no need to peel or wash first.

The first time I made this salad I served it as a side dish to roasted chicken.  Tonight I served it by itself for a nice light meal on a hot night.

Weekly Goals

Last week's goals:
1) Memorize Matthew 5:11 & 12 - Worked on this but haven't got it down
2) Finish C25K !! - DONE!! Very happy about this one!
3) Wash floors - DONE, finally :)
4) Continue with water intake & eating improvements. - DONE
5) Finish all work for Bible Study - DONE
6) Read one chapter in "Be Satisfied" by Warren Wiersbe - DONE
7) Spring clean our bedroom.- DONE

Goals for this week (4/16):
1) Work on Matthew 5:11 & 12
2) Read chapter in "Be Satisfied"
3) Run the Stonyfield 5K
4) Finish Week 1 of B210K (in preparation for 5K on Saturday)
5) Have friends over

**This week I'm keeping things pretty light as the kids are on vacation so my focus this week is on enjoying the time with them.  I'm still keeping up with the normal housework, etc but not focusing so much on accomplishing extra tasks.

Quick, Easy & Healthy recipe

I wanted something different for lunch the other day and came up with this, it was good, filling and only has 92 calories per patty.  It's adaptable too, add whatever veggies & seasonings you have on hand.

Black Bean Patties:
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1/2 onion, chopped fine
1 lg stalk celery, chopped fine
1/2 C oats
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp tumeric
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 T olive oil, divided
2 T sherry (or other liquid)

In skillet heat 1 T oil.  Cook onion & celery until soft.  Meanwhile, in medium bowl, slightly mash beans.  In blender or food processor, pulse oats & spices just until oats are smaller.  Add oat mixture and vegetables to beans, mix/mash well.  Splash in sherry (or other liquid).  Heat griddle and grease with remaining oil.  Measure by 1/4 cup onto griddle, press down to form patties.  Cook 2-3 min per side or until golden brown.  Makes 5 patties. 
* I had this on a bed of romaine lettuce with a few homemade tortilla chips. My husband had his "burger" style with cheese and ketchup.  Definitely a recipe I'll be making again.

Weekly Goals

God knew that I would need a light week last week.  In addition to the planned activities we had some unexpected things also so this shorter list of goals worked well.
1) Spring clean bathroom - Done
2) Finish memorizing Matthew 5:1-10 & start on 11 & 12 -Finished 1-10 but haven't started on 11 & 12 yet
3) Finish week 7 of C25K - Done
4) Drink 64oz of water each day (I've started filling 2 32oz jars in the morning and drinking those.  Makes it much easier to track.) - Did this most days.
5) Continue to limit sugar and no nighttime snacking - Done, I also started tracking my total calories using myfitnesspal.  It's been good to be more aware of portion sizes.  I'm not planning to track longterm, just until I'm used to what normal portions look like :)
6) Wash floors - Didn't get this done, hoping to this week as it's a much less busy week.

Goals for this week:
1) Memorize Matthew 5:11 & 12
2) Finish C25K !!
3) Wash floors
4) Continue with water intake & eating improvements.
5) Finish all work for Bible Study
6) Read one chapter in "Be Satisfied" by Warren Wiersbe
7) Spring clean our bedroom.

Some thoughts for Easter

We have very few Easter traditions but one that we all enjoy and that gives a wonderful hands on illustration of what Easter is all about is to make resurrection cookies.  These are cookies you make the night before Easter and have Bible verses to go with each step. 

If you'd like to try them you can find the recipe here.

I hope you all have a blessed Easter!  A friend shared a thought on his Facebook status the other day and I wanted to share it here

"Why do bad things happen to good people?  That only happened once and He volunteered" 

I can't fully wrap my mind around all that that statement entails..how the God of the universe would volunteer to take my sins upon Himself.  I am so thankful that He did!!  Happy Easter!

But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

Weekly Goals

Weeks goals for 3/25/12
1) Work on Matthew 1-10, I still get a little tripped up on the order - still reviewing this..almost have it.
2) Finish work for Bible Study - Done
3) Read 2 Chapters in "The Power of a Positive Mom" - Done, finished the book
4) Spring clean kitchen - Done
5) Organize 2T clothes for Titus & put them away - Done
6) Keep up with cleaning schedule (I wrote one out a while ago that I've been using) - I didn't get to washing the floors but otherwise I did this.
7) Finish week 5 of C25K - Done
8) Do meal plan - Done
9) Continue to work on water intake - Nope, didn't do well on this.
10) Continue with sugar limits & no nighttime snacking - Done

Weekly Goals for 4/2/12
1) Spring clean bathroom
2) Finish memorizing Matthew 5:1-10 & start on 11 & 12
3) Finish week 7 of C25K
4) Drink 64oz of water each day (I've started filling 2 32oz jars in the morning and drinking those.  Makes it much easier to track.)
5) Continue to limit sugar and no nighttime snacking
6) Wash floors

I'm keeping my goals "light" this week as we have several activities out of the house this week and we also have a busy Easter weekend planned.

Goals & a healthy snack idea

1) Exercise 5 times - be able to at least do Day 1 of Week 4 of C25K by the end of the week - DONE (I finished week 4!!)
2) Review Matthew 5:1-8 and work on memorizing verses 9 & 10 - DONE
3) Park playdate with friends if they are available DONE
4) Chaperone field trip - DONE
5) Do the Mother/Daugher Devo each night with the girls - Did most nights but not all.
6) Go thru Titus' clothes and return 12M & 18M to my sister and get size 24M/2T - DONE (now to just organize them)
7) Keep up with laundry & ironing so that on Friday it is completely caught up. - DONE
8) Take the kids to storytime at the farm - DONE
9) Drink 64oz of water 3-5 days (I need to work on this again) - Nope, I drank more but not 64oz
10) Continue to limit sugar to just fruit sugar and continue to not eat after 8PM - Nope, I did great except for Saturday night.  We got together with some neighbors and this kind of went out the window for the night but Sunday I got right back on track :)


Weeks goals for 3/25/12
1) Work on Matthew 1-10, I still get a little tripped up on the order
2) Finish work for Bible Study
3) Read 2 Chapters in "The Power of a Positive Mom"
4) Spring clean kitchen
5) Organize 2T clothes for Titus & put them away
6) Keep up with cleaning schedule (I wrote one out a while ago that I've been using)
7) Finish week 5 of C25K
8) Do meal plan
9) Continue to work on water intake
10) Continue with sugar limits & no nighttime snacking

I also wanted to share a great snack idea that I tried today.  These were easy and very tasty. I found the original link thru Pinterest.

Sweet & Salty Roasted chickpeas

• 1 can (14 oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon or your spice(s) of choice (I added a couple dashes of cayenne to add to the spiciness)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Place chickpeas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat.
2. Bake at 450 F for 30 minutes. (You didn't miss anything here.  You don't oil or season them until after they are done.  In fact, for an extra healthy treat, try them when they get out of the oven before even adding the oil.  They are enjoyable all on their own.)
3. Transfer chickpeas to a bowl and mix thoroughly with the rest of the ingredients.
4. Enjoy hot, or bring to room temperature and store in an air-tight container.  Like popped corn, the chickpeas are never as good the next day.  However, they are still quite enjoyable 3-4 days after making them.  

I also made Salt & Vinegar chickpeas from another site.  They were also great but some of them did burn so I would suggest using the roasting method in the first recipe for these as well (i.e. don't oil them before roasting).

Salt & Vinegar Roasted Chickpeas

• 2 cups canned chickpeas*
• 3-4 cups white vinegar
• 1 tsp Coarse sea salt
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions: Line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper. Take chickpeas and vinegar and place in a medium sized pot. Add a dash of sea salt. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Let sit in pot for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425F. Carefully drain chickpeas. Place on lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sea salt. Massage with fingers until fully coated. Roast for 45 minutes, flipping once half way through. Keep a careful eye on them after 35 minutes of cooking to ensure they don’t burn. The goal here is crispy and golden chickpeas, not black…lol. Enjoy as a high protein snack or as a side to a lunch or dinner.

Enjoy!

Weekly Goals

I have a few minutes so wanted to post my goals for this week.  Even though I haven't posted every week I have been setting goals and it has been very helpful to have something concrete to work towards.  Here are my goals for this week.

1) Exercise 5 times - be able to at least do Day 1 of Week 4 of C25K by the end of the week
2) Review Matthew 5:1-8 and work on memorizing verses 9 & 10
3) Park playdate with friends if they are available
4) Chaperone field trip
5) Do the Mother/Daugher Devo each night with the girls
6) Go thru Titus' clothes and return 12M & 18M to my sister and get size 24M/2T
7) Keep up with laundry & ironing so that on Friday it is completely caught up.
8) Take the kids to storytime at the farm
9) Drink 64oz of water 3-5 days (I need to work on this again)
10) Continue to limit sugar to just fruit sugar and continue to not eat after 8PM

A 10 Minute dinner recipe

There are just some nights when a fast dinner is needed.  This recipe is not only fast but healthy.  All my kids really liked this.  The original recipe calls for this to be served over puff pastry but since I don't keep puff pastry on hand and we're trying to eat healthier I switched to using a seasoned couscous as the base.


Salmon & Pesto with Couscous:
1-2lbs salmon cut into portions (as much as needed for your family)
2TB pesto per piece of salmon
Chopped fresh tomato
2 cups couscous (measure dry then cook)
1-2 TB lemon juice
1-2 TB parsley
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400.  Place salmon on foil lined baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, cook couscous according to package.  When couscous is ready toss with lemon juice, parsley, salt & pepper.  To serve place salmon on top of each serving of couscous top with pesto and chopped tomato. 

Homemade Larabars

I discovered Larabars a few weeks ago and really love them.  The great thing is that there are only a couple of ingredients and no added sugars, just the fruit sugars.  I also loved the fact that there are so many variations of flavors and the fact that they are high in fiber, protein and good fats.  The only thing I didn't love about them was the price.  The cheapest I found them was $1.25/bar (and the bars are small) so I set out to find a recipe for making them myself.  I found this  recipe at Oh She Glows and after doing a bit more research just changed it up again.

The basic premise is equal parts dates and other dried fruits and just adjust the nut amount accordingly.  Grind up the fruits into a paste, remove from food processor.  Grind up nuts until very fine and starting to stick together add the fruit paste back in and process until well mixed.  Press into 8X8 pan and refrigerate.  Once firm cut into 12 bars and, if desired, wrap individually.   Depending on the type you make you may need to add a couple tablespoons of water or for added flavor use 100% juice.

Here are the combinations I've tried so far (with good reviews from my husband and kids).

Cranberry:
1 C dates
1C dried cranberries
1 1/3 C almonds
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Chocolate Coconut:
1 C dates
3/4 C coconut
1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/3 C almonds

Cinnamon Raisin:
1 C dates
1 C raisins
1 1/3 C almonds
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

You can use whatever nuts you like; I just have almonds on hand.  Depending on the flavor Larabar uses pecans, walnuts, cashews, peanuts or almonds.  Here is the link to the Larabar product page, if you click on a flavor they list all the ingredients.  Enjoy!

Weekly Goals

I'm actually getting around to posting goals this week.  :)

1) Continue with water intake
2) Continue with no evening snacking
3) Exercise 5-6 times (I'm training for a 5K so I'm really trying to push myself with this)
4) Memorize Matthew 5:5-6 & review verses 1-4 (I'm memorizing the beatitudes with my sister-in-law)
5) Type and print 8-10 recipes for my recipe binder
6) Take Gram shopping
7) Organize Co-op orders (end of week)
8) Take Keira & Titus to story time at the farm on Friday

Review/Catchup

The last two weeks have been busy; but definitely in a good way.  Last week the kids were on school vacation so we had dentist & doctor appointments along with some fun things like visiting the Museum of Science in Boston and a day trip to visit my parents.  We also had some friends over here and Hailey had her first solo sleepover at her cousin's house. 

(Ethan & Keira having some fun at the MOS)

This week has been getting back into a routine.  I also had Bible study on Wednesday (it's every other week) which takes up the morning and yesterday the kids had their first snow day of the year.  I love having them around but they are always ready to go back to school, they love seeing all their friends! 

As for my goals, I have done pretty well with keeping up with them.  I've kept up with my water intake, exercising and not eating after 8PM.  I've also written in my "Gifts' journal and have started memorizing the Beatitudes; so far I have verses 1-4 down.

I also made this little guy for a friend of mine.  Last year I participated in a kind of "pay it forward" thing on Facebook.  If someone commented on my status I was supposed to make them something handmade.  I finally figured out what to make this friend (who loves anything owl) and will get it sent out to her in the next couple of days.  I'm still debating adding a keyring to him to make it useful, another thought I had was adding magnet tape to the back, just need to figure out how to finish him.

So, that is what I've been up to the past few weeks. 

A prayerful poem

I am attending a ladies Bible study and we are going thru a study on Titus 2.  The following poem was at the end of the lesson on having a sound mind.  I found it a wonderful challenge to my thinking and thought I would share.

Father I know that all my life
Is portioned out for me;
The changes that are sure to come,
I do not fear to see;
I ask thee for a present mind,
Intent on pleasing thee.

I would not have the restless will
That hurries to and fro,
Seeking for some great thing to do,
Or secret thing to know;
I would be treated as a child,
And guided where I go.

I ask thee for the daily strength,
To none that ask denied,
A mind to blend with outward life,
While keeping at thy side,
Content to fill a little space,
If thou be glorified.

In service which they will appoints
There are no bonds for me;
My secret heart is taught the truth
That makes thy children free;
A life of self-renouncing love
Is one of liberty.

~Anna L. Waring, 1850

Scripture memory challenge.

I recently started following Ann Voskamp's blog entitled A Holy Experience.  She is the author of "One Thousand Gifts".  I just love her style of writing; how honest and "real" her posts are.  She recently posted about how they are memorizing the first 14 verses of the Sermon on the mount.  I used to have notecards with scripture and would memorize verses but it's something I've gotten out of the habit of doing.  I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to jump back into memorizing Scripture. 

If you're interested, there is a link on the blog where you can download and print the verses on cards already to be bound into a little booklet to carry with you. 

Weekly update

1) Continue to drink ~60oz of water per day. - Did this
2) Continue to not eat after 8PM - Did this
3) Bake heart cinnamon rolls for Bible study on Wednesday - Did this
4) Take Gram shopping - Did this
5) Type up & print 8 recipes for recipe binder. (I have several loose recipes in the front of the binder that I need to type and put into the binder) - Did this
6) Work on making necklace (this is a new project as I've never made jewelry before) - Did this (I definitely need a lot more practice but it was a fun project)
7) Exercise 3 times this week. - Exercised 4 times for 30 min each
8) Continue writing 2 things in my gifts journal ( I downloaded the 1000 gifts app for my phone so I can record them while I'm out and about :) ).  - Did this on my phone, need to transfer them into my journal
9) Read one chapter in "The Power of a Positive mom" (I need to finish this book) - Didn't get to this.

Post 101!

I just noticed that my last post was my 100th post.  I thought of doing a giveaway but since I have a grand total of 6 followers and this is more a place for my own accountability I thought that might seem a bit ridiculous :)  So, for the 101th post I thought I'd share my new favorite timesaver tip.

Recently I find myself always wanting more time...more time to play with the kids, more time to make treats for my family, more time to spend on other things than cooking.  Don't get me wrong I love to cook & bake but there are times when I would love to just pull out a box mix.  We avoid box mixes and processed foods due to all the additives, etc.  and I figure why spend the extra money when I'm home and can make the same thing for much cheaper, and healthier. 

I found this post on Pinterest and was so excited.  Homemade mixes!!!  I had made homemade spice mixes before but hadn't thought about other mixes.  So far I've made a chocolate chip cookie mix and a pancake mix.  I'm planning to make many more mixes to have on hand.  They are quick to throw together and makes for a quick treat/meal.

A quick Google search will yield many, many different recipes for mixes.

Weekly Goals

Another Monday and another busy week ahead.  Here are my goals for the week.

1) Continue to drink ~60oz of water per day.
2) Continue to not eat after 8PM
3) Bake heart cinnamon rolls for Bible study on Wednesday
4) Take Gram shopping
5) Type up & print 8 recipes for recipe binder. (I have several loose recipes in the front of the binder that I need to type and put into the binder)
6) Work on making necklace (this is a new project as I've never made jewelry before)
7) Exercise 3 times this week.
8) Continue writing 2 things in my gifts journal ( I downloaded the 1000 gifts app for my phone so I can record them while I'm out and about :) ). 
9) Read one chapter in "The Power of a Positive mom" (I need to finish this book)

Better late than never, right?!

Despite the fact that I didn't post my weekly goals on Monday I did still have some.  Most of them were things that I didn't accomplish last week with one or two new ones.

- On drinking more water I decided to actually measure how much my water bottle holds.  It's actually 24oz not 20oz so I'm probably hitting close to the 60oz mark since I drink over two a day..just not the full 3 I was wanting originally.

- I finished the sewing projects/mending that I had in my pile (last weeks goal).

- I didn't make the goal with the gifts list but it has helped to have it more in the front of my mind.

- A new goal for this week was to not eat anything after 8PM.  I actually started this one on Tuesday and so far so good (I know, I know, it's only been two days but it's a start).

So, there you have it.  Hopefully I'll get a list up Monday although next week is very busy so I'm not sure how many added goals I'll have.

(and yes, I realize it's only Thursday but I highly doubt I'll have time to post tomorrow and still wanted some accountability for myself this week).

Weekly update

This week turned out to be a very busy week with lots of changes needing to be made.  So, I didn't do well on my goals.

- I drank about 40oz of water a day.  I think I'll stick to this for now, 60oz would be better but I'm happy with the 40oz for right now.  (it's usually more than 40oz but not quite the 60oz).

- I wrote in my gifts list most days but not all.  I still have a couple to write down since I was out and about when I thought of them.

- None of the sewing/mending got done because of other needs.

- The freezer meal did get made and delivered.

Weekly Goals

This week has turned into a rather busy week.  We'll see how I do this week with my goals.

1) Be completely caught up in the Titus 2 study by Wednesday's Bible Study (I had surgery which completely threw me off on this one)

2) Drink the 60oz of water a day I was shooting for last week (didn't make it today)

3) Finish the 3 or 4 small sewing projects I have in my pile (mending/hemming)

4) Make & deliver a freezer meal to a friend having surgery

5) Continue adding 2 items per day to my gifts list.

Once again it's not a huge list of goals but I think it will be manageable with everything else I need to accomplish this week (everyday tasks of child rearing and keeping home).

Friday Thoughts

(photo credit: tribulation-now.org)

Week one and I actually made my goal of posting an update :)  Here's how I did on my goals for this week.

1) Finish reading "Mornings on Horseback" - Completed

2) Finish Ethan's red Angry Birds hat - Completed

3) Drink ~ 60oz of water per day - I ended up being closer to 40oz of water, which for me is still good I need to work on remembering to drink water throughout the day

4) Write down at least 2 things per day on my One Thousand Gifts list - Completed (I actually had more than 2 per day)

I've already been thinking about some goals for next week and will hopefully have them finalized and ready to post on Monday.

And now I had another thought I wanted to tack on here at the end.  I've been going thru a Mother/Daughter devotional with my girls and at the end of each week there is a "meditation moment" where the author gives a passage and some thoughts and then has you pray and meditate on that passage to see what God reveals.  Tonight as we were doing this we chose to pray thru the passage.  If you've never tried praying Scripture I'd highly recommend it.  Since, as I mentioned in my previous post, I lose focus easily; praying Scripture helps me to stay focused on praying and also helps me to focus on God and not so much on myself.  If you'd like to try this, the passage we prayed thru tonight is Psalm 139:1-6, a great encouragement to think of God's thoughts toward us.

Goals...New year, New thoughts

Every year I have grand plans to accomplish several goals, and...I fall flat come February or March.  You see, I have an issue with focus, I have none.  Oh, I can stay focused for a week maybe even a couple of months on something and then I just lose interest.  It's not that I don't finish things, I do, but I usually end up taking several months (or years) to actually get back to what I was doing.  I have half finished craft projects, half read books, half written stories for my children....you get the idea.

So, this year I decided that while there are several things I'd love to do and accomplish rather than setting goals for the year I'll set weekly goals.  Many of these weekly goals will focus on finishing some of those half finished projects. :) This may not happen every week (probably won't) as life gets in the way..and did I mention I have a focus problem..yeah, that will get in the way also.  But, this week I have goals! So, I'm using my blog to keep me accountable.  My hope is to report back on Friday to see how I did.  They aren't lofty goals just things I'd like to accomplish this week:

1) Finish reading "Mornings on Horseback" (biography of Theodore Roosevelt)
2) Finish making Ethan's Red "Angry Birds" hat (this was supposed to be done before Christmas)
3) Drink 3 bottles of water each day (my refillable water bottle ~ 60oz daily)
4) Write down at least 2 things each day on my "One Thousand Gifts" list.

There you have it.