Happy 39th---

Well, I have made it to 39. Not quite the big 4-0, but close.

Just survived another Valentine's Day, my 28th if my count is correct. Maybe next year will be the last; it will be bittersweet!

Still working on Project Life, thinking about taking pictures everyday or having a spread for every week. Not sure how it will all turn out. Gave up on the Collect at the end of January. Too many gadgets to carry around to document life events on.

I have a friend that is doing 13 half marathons in '13. I know that it could not be a goal that I could achieve, but I have thought about doing 13 5k races this year in the same spirit. I have about six already on my schedule, so what is another seven? We will see where this goal leads me.

I did invest in a new camera two weeks ago and am itching to start another fleece project, but work has also kept me pretty busy. Need to update the Smash books and do some de-cluttering. Thought that I was going to get all these things done this weekend, but really need a break to relax, rest, and recharge, so who knows what I will get to, but definitely need to do some laundry.

At 39 I am very fortunate to have my family and friends with which to share my good times and bad. Looking into the future, I have Disney to look forward to next year! GO MICKEY!

2013

Wow! I can't believe that it has been almost a year since my last post! We have done so many things and even though I have thought about my blog often, I have not really given up time browsing on the web to write. Well, that is going to change this year!

In the last year I went from completing NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) to completing NoBo (No Boundaries) and running in my first 5K races last spring. Yes, I said running, which I never thought that I would do or enjoy doing. I got a bike for my last birthday to help with cross training and am hoping to teach my youngest to ride a two-wheeler this year so that we can go on family bike rides.

I gave up running for this summer because we went on a family trip to Thailand, and I found that I don't really like to run in the heat. I was going to plug on and just join MIT (Marathoners in Training) this winter and do my first half marathon this spring, but my best friend convinced me to do NoBo again this fall. Doing NoBo again this fall was definitely easier than the first time around, but it also convinced me that I am not ready to do a half marathon. So, the goal right now is to complete the quarter marathon in May training with NoBo and do a half marathon before I turn 41. We found that training takes a great deal of time, and it is time that we do not have to devote to running especially in the winter time when daylight hours are minimal.

I have started using a sewing machine and hope to complete more projects using it. I have also just started making no sew fleece blankets. I know that I am behind the times, but once I made some for my kids; they were so soft and warm, I kept stealing theirs and had to make one for myself. Of course, I made mine big enough to share! Once I am done with the no sew blankets, I hope to get to the fringe fleece scarf that I originally wanted to make with the sewing machine. Before we left for Florida after Christmas, I made the kids seatbelt pillows. They didn't really care for them, but I thought they were quite comfy.

I have also started Project Life this year along with Collect. These are both projects that are based on 365 Project which is taking a picture a day for a year. I have been doing pretty well so far, but we are only nine days into the year. I am using Project Life to document our family life and events and Collect just for fun. I bought the Project Life Album and Kit from Amazon and really hope that it turns out nice.

As you can see, my new year is off and running. Hope that the blog post are off to a great start also!

Decluttering

For me, the significance of being able to park in the garage is huge.  It represents hard work that has paid off.  I keep seeing a few ideas on Pinterest that have really interested me.  One is from The Family Handyman that shows a way to store bins on the ceiling of the garage.  This idea appeals to me because we have a really tall ceiling in our garage and with two bigger vehicles, we need to minimize the things that are on the ground on the sides of the garage.

Another idea that I have gotten from Pinterest is how to store LEGOs.  We sat around one Saturday morning and organized all of our LEGOs by color, but the bins were different sizes and not easy to put back where they belong.  In fact, my son has not been able to play with them since we have separated them.  I want him to be able to play with them, but also put them away in an organized fashion.  This is the idea that I copied from Heather J's Life.  I would like to add this idea from Better Homes & Gardens and make a LEGOmobile for the LEGO plastic shoe boxes.

Parking in the Garage

Tonight, as I was driving the van into the garage, Reese says, "Ooh, I have never done this before." When I thought about it, she was right. I don't think that in her whole lifetime we have parked cars in the garage. It has always been a storage unit for mostly restaurant things including a 6 foot grill with a trailer hitch. Even though we have not had the grill in the garage for awhile now, the garage still never got clean enough to put a vehicle in last year. We still had kid outdoor toys and other storage items including some of my work crates and boxes that got in the way.  Through dilligent cleaning, storing, and donating in 2011, 2012 is the year we finally accomplished what was for many years impossible.

I did offer the one space that we have in the garage to my husband because he drives the older of our two vehicles (although mine has more miles on it).  He said that it was for me because he has time to warm his truck and scrape in the morning because he has to wait for the kids to get on the bus anyway.  Score for me!

Trying to Develop New Habits

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to eat better.  I have not been that good at this resolution, but I believe that with our routines go back to normal tomorrow, and I go back to work, I am hoping that eating better will become easier.  Routine means eating breakfast in the morning and not getting up so close to lunch that skipping breakfast is easy.  All the cake is gone from the house, and most of the Christmas sweets are thrown away.  I have to start drinking more water, and that is a tough assignment to start considering that I cannot go to the restroom when I have the need.  Going to continue trying to develop these new habits, cannot go on like I am invincible of all health problems.

Beginning the Year

In our house we always start out our year with a birthday celebration!  My husband is born on the first day of the year.  We contemplate the past year and make goals for the coming year.  He feels that 2011 was not so great and so has big aspirations for 2012.  My feeling is that 2011 was a mediocre year; does not go down as the best year, but not the worst either.  I am thankful for a job, pretty good health, and healthy and happy kids.  There are things that I want to accomplish in 2012, but don't feel that 2011 was a complete waste.

Looking Forward to the Gift of a New Year

The NaBloPoMo theme for January is Beginnings.  As this year ends, I am looking forward to the beginning of another year.  The year ends with a celebration of life for a relative of one of my close friends, the celebration of two more birthdays, a family lunch on New Year's Eve, and some one-on-one time with my husband to ring in the new year.

As I look back upon the year and look at the goals I set for 2011, I realize that my goals changed as the year passed.

1.  Participate in three 5Ks and run at least one. (I did not achieve this goal.  One of the 5K we normally do was on a weekend that we were out of town.  Instead of walking another one, I volunteered with the kids' activities.)

2.  Help Riley organize LEGOs and finish LEGO table. (This is a half-done project.  The LEGOs are sorted and binned by color, but the table is not complete.  This project also became organization of the whole house rather than just LEGOs.  I spent the summer reading organization books/websites and trying to apply some of the tips to my life.  My goal became to declutter and use what we have and get rid of what we did not need.)

3.  Finish garage so that cars will fit.  (Another almost complete project; we decided that rather than store some of the items, we would sell them.  Need to get them posted to sell; then cars will fit.)

4.  Clean out crawl space. (This is one that did not get accomplished.  The main floor and the garage are mostly clean/organized, but the crawl space still needs work.)

5.  Keep up with laundry.  (Not particularly successful at this one.  I find that I can gather it up, take it to the washer, wash and dry it, and carry it back upstairs, but lack motivation to fold it and put it away.)

For 2012 most of my goals are the same with some tweaks.

1.  Participate in three 5Ks.  I would still like to do this one, but I have no desire to run in one anymore.  When the weather gets warm and the days get longer, I will start to walk the neighborhood again or hopefully, invest in a bike so that I can ride with the kids.

2.  Organize the house.  I will continue to use what I have learned and read to keep my house in better shape.  I will work on the daily chores of laundry and dishes as well as continue to declutter and get rid of what we do not need.  I will teach my children how to play and put away their LEGOs and toys properly.

3.  Eat better.  For many years I have been able to eat what I want, but I have found that I need to eat healthier so that I feel better.  Plus, I could lose about 15-20 pounds and watching what I eat would help me to do it.

My Gift to Myself

I have decided that my gift to myself will be a clean house for Christmas and the New Year.  I stopped mid-cleaning to get this post off tonight.  I have really the kitchen, bathrooms, basement floor, and the rest of the great room left to do.  It is still a lot, but I am trying to clean and throw things away at the same time plus put things back where they belong rather than just shove them in a box, basket, etc.

Tomorrow will be for making beds for guests and probably cleaning the bathrooms so that they are nice and fresh for the guest coming Christmas Day.  It will also be my wrapping day as I have not started that yet!

The First Day of the Weekend

Saturday did not bring the gift that I wanted.  I wanted a clean house, inside, that is.  Instead, I got the outside clean.  That would include sweeping up after the man who mowed the grass and cleaning out under the lawn mower so that it can be stored for the winter.  The flower beds are clean of leaves and as ready as they are going to be for the winter.

The gift to myself would be if I can really get cars in the garage this winter.  I tried last year.  I was out on New Year's Eve cleaning the garage out.  I threw lots of things away and even took some things to the scrap metal place, but it never got beyond that.  The vehicles never did make it in the garage last winter.  It was a mild day, close to 60 degrees.  This year, today was the day to put up the things that we do not need for the winter, bike, balls, etc.  It was also time to throw away some things that have not been used and are not useful anymore.  Finally, it was time to put those things that need to go to Goodwill in the truck.

We are almost there.  Most of the garage floor is clear.  Some of the things need to be hung up and we should be good to go.  Pray that the rest can be done; with the vehicles getting older, it would be a lot easier if they could be in the garage at night.

I Made It!

What did you learn from doing NaBloPoMo?

I have learned that I can blog everyday.  I have something to say everyday, some days are more profound than others.  Some days are worth more in the memory bank than others, but all are worthy of being written about.  I am glad that I was able to stick it out.  I did not do what some thought was the best course of action, get up early to make sure a post got in everyday, but I still managed to sit down every evening and write something.

Blogging everyday also encouraged me to download my pictures to my computer more quickly so that I could use them in my posts.  My camera's memory stick is grateful!

I am going to go for it again next month.  I like the topic of gifts, but we'll see if I stick with the prompt or strike out on my own!

National Parks Visited

These are the National Parks that I have visited before I even knew I should/would want to keep track:
Statue of Liberty National Monument
Delaware Water Gap National Reserve Area
Appomattox Court House National Historic Park
New River Gorge National Reserve
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
First Ladies National Historic Site
James A. Garfield National Historic Site
Grand Canyon National Park
Lake Mead National Reserve Area
Haneakala National Park
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Lincoln Memorial
Washington Monument

I look forward to sharing in many more National Park adventures with my family in the years to come.

Passport To Your National Parks

We visited the First Ladies Historic Site today.  I bought my Passport To National Parks book today.  The last park we visited was the James A. Garfield National Historic Site, and I bought the Kids' Passport To National Parks Companion.  Once I bought theirs, I decided that if I am going to take the kids to the national parks, I wanted to collect cancellations also.  And, once I had flipped through their books, I realized that I have been to many of the parks and not even realized it!

I like the kids' books because there are checklists for the national parks, whereas, the adult one just has a map with the places listed at the bottom and blank pages for stamps and cancellations.  I wish that their books had blank pages for cancellations, and my book had the checklist.  Oh, well I will make it work.

The Pile of Books

The list of books that I want to read and have to read just keep getting longer and longer.  I should be reading for professional growth and have an assigned reading right now, but have not started it yet.  I go to the library often enough that I see things that I want to read all the time.  I also have my book club book to read for January that I should get started on soon or I will not finish it!  But, I find that my time for reading has diminished.  Some of the reason is I find that I am reading more online.  Another is I am participating in NaBloPoMo and have spent time writing and reading other blogs.  And, finally, I am reading so much to do my job that I do not find the time to read for pleasure as much or am too tired to read for pleasure except for the People magazine that I just started getting weekly this fall.  I love getting People, but only have the subscription because of expiring frequent flier miles.  I don't love it enough to actually buy the subscription.

Mission Accomplished

I went to buy the plumber's putty today, and the new garbage disposer is up and working!  Every once and awhile we are able to complete our own home improvements.  The things that I am hoping to get done this winter are a window seat in our bay window, painting the master bedroom, and new blinds for the bedrooms!

This coming week is suppose to be warm so it is time to finish working on the outside of the house, raking, mowing for the last time, cleaning up dead plants and putting winter fertilizer down.  Fun, fun...

NaBloPoMo

Last summer when my son was taking swimming lesson, I ended up talking to one of the mothers and she mentioned NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) where people commit to writing a novel in a month.  It takes place in November and for some reason, I thought of this at the end of October.  I signed up for NaNoWriMo and then thought, "I don't have time to write a novel in November, and I don't even want to write a novel!"  What I really wanted to do was keep more current on my blogs.  So, I started researching if there was some type of program out there for blog posting and found NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month).  I decided that I wanted to participate because I like to write, but have absolutely no desire to write a novel!  The goal is to write a blog post everyday for 30 days including weekends.

In addition, I have been reading 52 Things Kids Need from a Mom by Angela Thomas.  The 24th thing is "To Keep a Family Blog".  Many years back I started individual blogs for each of my children.  I have not been able to keep up with either of them and have found that many of the things that I would put on one, I would put on the other also.  I have now decided to start a new blog for our family history and memories.  I can tailor individual posts to the development and memories of each of my children, but also write to both at the same time.  Through labeling my children can find the posts that are only about them if they would like or read the post chronologically.

Welcome to my first NaBloPoMo post!