31x31 - Reality Strikes

I have just under 7 months left until I turn 31. So I decided it was time to revisit my 31x31 and see how I'm doing. And decide if I need to make a few realistic changes, since so much of what I have on the list is lifestyle stuff that is hard to cross off... So here's the list that I so neurotically made for myself (let's see how I've done)...


Date Night
This is going very well. Date night is something that's almost religious for me. It was pretty much a cheap shot to include it in the 31x31...

• January
• February
• Date Night in March
• Date Night in April
• Date Night in May
• Date Night in June
• Date Night in July
• Date Night in August
• Date Night in September
• Date Night in October
• Date Night in November
• Date Night in December

Pretty Toes Fridays

I've been slacking with Pretty Toes Fridays... Some weeks, it doesn't get done. Some weeks it's not on Fridays. There have been a TON of weeks when Emma hasn't wanted her toes painted, or I haven't done Fia's toes because it's just that much more difficult. But my toes have been painted since my birthday. So that counts for something. (Also, I'm branching out with colors. It's not just Grand Central Carnation anymore. And that's a lot of fun.)

• In January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• Pretty Toes Friday In June
• Pretty Toes Friday In July
• Pretty Toes Friday In August
• Pretty Toes Friday In September
• Pretty Toes Friday In October
• Pretty Toes Friday In November
• Pretty Toes Friday In December

Outdoor Playhouse

I did email the cousins and got the plans for their playhouse. I've talked it over with my dad and with Mike. The decision I've come to is that the plans are way too complicated for what I want to do. So now I have to figure something else out. The girls WILL have an outdoor playhouse soon, though...

Create a Will

I asked Mike & Barb who did their will. I emailed that attorney. That's as far as it got...

College Accounts
Yay! I should probably write a quick post about this, but it was much easier than I thought. The girls now have college accounts and that's where all their money goes. :)

Love Letters 

I wrote a couple, Then I stopped. I have no excuse. They're coming with me on our vacation so I can do the May ones... in June...

• Sophia in February
• Sophia in March
• Sophia in April
• Sophia in May
• Sophia in June
• Sophia in July
• Sophia in August
• Sophia in September
• Sophia in October
• Sophia in November
• Sophia in December
• Sophia in January
• Love Letters to Emma in February
• Emma in March
• Emma in April
• Emma in May
• Emma in June
• Emma in July
• Emma in August
• Emma in September
• Emma in October
• November
• Emma in December
• Emma in January

Finish the Playroom
We've barely gotten anywhere. And I keep bringing more toys in. I need to get that hammock up and the book nook together!!!

Less TV
I'm happy to say that Em's down to a MAX of 1.5 hours a day. She gets three shows - one after breakfast, one after lunch, and one after dinner. It's going well. I am happy about it. :)

Family Fun Day 

I'm pretty religious about these as well. I love them. We've done something different each time. I should be taking photos and blogging about them. There's a lot on my plate right now. (Insert excuses here...)

• in February
• Family Fun Day in March
• Family Fun Day in April
• Family Fun Day in May
• Family Fun Day in June
• Family Fun Day in July
• Family Fun Day in August
• Family Fun Day in September
• Family Fun Day in October
• Family Fun Day in November
• Family Fun Day in December
• Family Fun Day in January

Play with my girls in the snow

This was so much fun that I'm looking forward to doing it again next year. Blog post with great photos at some point in the future. I have such great ideas... 

My Tattoo

Yay! I love it. So much. Which is good since it's on me for the rest of my life.

Continue to Work Out & Make it to 150 lbs

I hit 150 lbs right around Fia's birthday and stopped working out because her nap schedule changed and my life got super-busy again. I told myself that if I could maintain 150 (or below) and not work out, I wouldn't worry. But I'm slowly creeping up again. So as soon as we get back from vacation, I'm back on the elliptical.

Purge the Stuff & Bring it Home

Well... I went through the stuff at Mike & Barb's. I brought some of it home and took some of it up north for Mom. I even made a list of what can go. But I need to save SO MUCH of it. And since my basement is an exercise room/craft room/cat room/laundry room/work bench/storage area there's not much space for a ton of boxes. But I do need to coordinate with Barb about how/when to Freecycle the rest of it.

How to Change a Flat Tire

How to Use the Drill

How to Sew

How to Knit and make a Sky Scarf
I got sick back in February and stopped recording the sky. So maybe just "How to Knit"? And then make a Sky Scarf next year... or learn to knit and start the Sky Scarf as soon as that happens that work on it for a year after that? I really wanted one for my 30th year. Oh well.

Learn How to Bake Bread
This one has been so much fun. I've made at least three types of bread. I love it. The only problem I have right now is that the bread goes bad before we eat it all. And I need to find a better sandwich loaf. I'll keep trying. I love baking!

Take a Cooking Class

Hang Out With Friends 

Oops. This hasn't happened. Why? Because I'm really busy. Because it's not a priority. Because I'd rather spend my time at home with my family. Because I hate asking Matt to be the primary caretaker for the girls. (I don't know why...) So this one might need to be revisited.

• In January
• Hang Out With Friends In February
• Hang Out With Friends In March
• Hang Out With Friends In April
• Hang Out With Friends In May
• Hang Out With Friends In June
• Hang Out With Friends In July
• Hang Out With Friends In August
• Hang Out With Friends In September
• Hang Out With Friends In October
• Hang Out With Friends In November
• Hang Out With Friends In December

Read 25 Books

1. We Animals
2. How to Raise An Amazing Child the Montessori Way
3. Money Hungry
4. Right Behind You
5. The Sojourn 
6. The Outliers (only counts for half)
7. Dreams from my Father 
8. An Island Like You
9. A Step from Heaven
10. Monster
11. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
12. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
13. Skim
14. American-Born Chinese
15. Persepolis: Part 1
16. Persepolis: Part 2
19.  

Roller Derby

Matt & I went and I loved it. It was a great date night. We completely want to go again with Joe & Nina. Hopefully that'll work out... I have it on my calendar. 

Sunroom Garden
This one is in-progress, finally. I've got part of it weeded. I need to keep working. It's never-ending. Plus I've started thinking about the other gardens that need some love, and the new garden I want to put in up front...

Kitchen Herb Garden
I bought everything (except Cilantro... I want Cilantro...) I need to figure out a way to attach my boxes to the wall and then I'm going to plant them. This may happen tomorrow. It needs to get done before we leave on Friday....

GJB Business Plan
Haven't formally done the business plan yet, but I've written a few ideas down and things are going better with GJB. Five tutus in May alone. Plus some new items. I just need to sit down and formalize it. Yep.

Locavore Month in June August
We have a CSA for veggies and a CSA for meat. I tried the goat-milk share but didn't like it, so I canceled it (but I made cheese!). I know how to make bread. This will be easy with the farmers' market going on. It just can't be in June because we've got our vacation.... And I still need to set my parameters... What do I mean by "local"? What percentage? How local? Any exceptions? These are things I need to figure out soon.

Wired-less Wednesdays
I thought I was doing terribly with this, but according to my previous parameters for what "wired-less" is, I'm not doing too bad. I don't watch TV, I don't get on my computer except for class. But I need to do better with checking FB and my emails. And it'd be nice if I could nurse without playing games on my phone... :/

Daily Housecleaning - DAILY!
I suck at this. It needs to be removed and something else put in its place. Besides, I have a monthly maid service.

MilkShare - pump daily/weekly
Well, I pumped at first. Then I donated all that milk to a local family (50+ oz). Then I stopped pumping. And gave my pump to Mariah. So this one needs to be replaced too. Or. Does it count, since I did share my milk? Hmmm. Let's count it.

Stone Circle

I should probably start memorizing my poem. Immediately.

Dinner Crawl

I have this all planned out. I cannot wait. And I hope that a certain couple will still be able to come with us, for at least part of it, even if they should have a newborn by my birthday... or be ridiculously pregnant... 

In conclusion (I hate when people say that), I should have spent this time working on my midterm instead of writing this. Also, I'm not doing as terribly as I had thought. I need to replace two (monthly with friends and daily housecleaning), so I'm going to take a look at my longer list to see what's there that's worth anything. I've gotten a lot done partially. I've completely taken 6 things off the list (one a month, pretty good... but that means I have 24 to do in the next 6 months...) So I need to kick it into high gear if I'm going to cross everything off!