Update Master List-July 9, 2007-57 DONE! 44 to GO!!!!
01.21.07
Updated Master ListThe Body
1. Go for a walk 1x/week at least 15 minutes
2. Go to bed earlier (~11pm) 3x/weekDONE! April 6/06
3. Meal plan for the week every Sunday STARTED-We dont plan all the meals but we do think ahead, which is a nice alternative to staring into the fridge at 5pm with no clue what to cook
4. Eat greens 3x/week minimum DONE! July 30/06We have always been conscious of eating greens but since both girls are vegetable freaks, it is never a meal without greens!
5. Drink 1 glass of water every meal for a month-STARTED-When I remember, drinking a glass of water isnt as hard as it used to be
6. Eat breakfast with the kids every day As pf July 07, we eat as a family every morning
7. Moisturize face every other night DONE! January 2007 Now that we are in Fort Mac, the air and winter are so dry, if I dont moisturize, my skin cracks!
8. Have a long (45 min-1hr) kid-free bath and reading in bed 2x/week STARTED- Dwayne is very good about reminding me to put down the kids and go, though we still forget about half the time
9. Get a haircut every 6 months DONE! January 2007 It doesnt say a GOOD haircut otherwise it would be trouble for me, sigh.
10. [private item]
The Mind
11. Write a handwritten letter 1x/month and send it in the mail--STARTED-I sent a care package and some cards to people
12. Do a crossword puzzle 1x/week DONE!! I think that I can officially call this one done. STARTED-I got a huge book of crossword puzzles which are all interesting and challenging
13. Take a course in arts
14. Learn how to quilt
15. Talk to a councillor about depression DONE!! July 30/06. Met with a very nice lady and have gotten some insight in to PPD and the possibility of reoccurance and severity. STARTED-I attend a mom's group just before Rhymes where we talk quite frequently about PPD and its effects. It's not really a councillor but it is pretty effective for me right now
16. Meet one family (with Dwayne) to hang out with DONE! Jan 2007 J and A have been a nice addition to our weekly get togethers!
The Spirit
17. Re-read "Conversations with God" by Neale Donald Walsh
18. Sing in a church DONE! I sang in Karen and Paul's wedding
19. Meditate 1x/week for 6 weeks
The Homefire
20. Frame and hang 10 family/friend pictures/collages
21. Save for and buy new dining set of good, lasting quality DONE!! April 25/06 We bought a table and six chairs that I adore!
22. Plant and maintain flowerbeds DONE!! We planned a flowerbed and planted it with the right blooms coming up at the right times before we left the townhouse. Will start again in the new house.
23. Paint back porch so it is all one colour DONE!! We finished this before we sold the townhouse. Will also do this again in the new house.
24. Save for new living room set (couch and chairs)DONE!! April 06, we bought a beautiful olive green sectional.
25. Re-finish downstairs stairwell
Our Julia
26. Continue going to school regularly STARTED-Julia now recognizes what I mean when we talk about school and she can describe the things she is supposed to do there DONE! January 2007. As of September of this year, Julia has attended a Early Entry program 4 days of the week!
27. Potty train-STARTED- We started putting her in Pull-Ups but even though she asks to visit the potty sometimes, she's only gone twiceDONE!!! Dec 10/06
28. Encourage love of animals by getting a pet DONE!!! Misty and Storm joined our household on Jan 19/05 :)
29. Enroll in outdoor/sports activity DONE! As of July 4/07, Julia is taking skating lessons and she is loving them!
30. Teach entire alphabet (reading/recognizing upper and lower case)STARTED-As of Jan 31/05, Julia is able to recognize 20 out of 26 upper case letters, as of March 30/05, she can recognize 23 out of 26 letters DONE! As of August 05, she reliably recognizes all 26 letters
31. Write entire alphabet (Upper case) STARTED—As of July 30/06, Julia can write her own name and part of Elena’s name! DONE!!! As of July 8/07, Julia can write the entire alphabet!
32. Read simple words/books--STARTED-Jan 2007. Julia is learning to sound out letters and words in school!
33. Number recognition and counting STARTED-As of Jan31/05 Julia knows how to count to 10 and can recognize the numbers from 1-5, DONE!!!As of March 30/05, she can count up to 12 and knows all of the numbers by sight
34. Wean from bottleDONE!!! We weaned Julia on March 26/05 with no problems!!!
35. Learn to set table for mealsSTARTED-Julia is able to bring forks and cups to the table and point to where they should goDONE!! As of July 30/06, Julia can and does set the table for meals
Our Elena
36. Attend Rhymes that Bind groups DONE!!! We attended two Rhymes groups, one on Tuesdays that I facilitated and one on Wednesdays at Norwood
37. Potty train-STARTED!! As of July 30/06, she has indicated GREAT interest in the potty and has peed once on her small potty. UPDATE-Jan 21/07. Elena wears underwear in the evenings and is beginning to be great at letting me know when she needs to use the bathroom! DONE!!! As of July 8/07, she is both night AND day trained!!!
38. Recite alphabet and numbers to 10 DONE!!! As of July 30/06, Elena can sing the alphabet and count to THIRTEEN!!!
39. Wean from nursing to sippy cup--She is able to drink from a sippy cup, mostly, although we are not weaning just yetDONE!! April 11/06, Elena has not nursed in over 3 days
40. Start preschool
41. Recognize and name shapes DONE!!! As of July 15/06, Elena can name circle, square, rectangle, star, oval and triangle with incredible accuracy.
42. Recognize and name colours—STARTED As of July 06, Elena can parrot colours but sometimes gets them confused with one another, but tried to identify colours all the time! DONE! Jan 07. Elena is very good at sorting and recognizing colours!
43. Set up bedtime routine and wean from our bedDONE!!! As of April 06, when we moved to our new house, Elena has slept in her own big girl bed ever since!
The Family
44. Do family day/night 1x every 2 weeks (at least 3 hours)
45. Explore 6 Edmonton attractions (museum, skating rink, zoo, etc.) per year
46. Eat dinner together around 6pm 4x/weekDONE! Living here at the in-laws have given us at least a dinner time together
47. Decide if our family is "complete"DONE We are happy with our little family EDITED!!! We are expecting Baby #3 in May of 2007!!!
The Involvement
48. Volunteer for Santa's AnonymousDONE! I wrapped gifts for Santa's Anonymous in Decomber 05
49. Donate $100 to charity DONE! I donated money to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and Epilepsy Foundation
50. Watch/read news 5x/weekSTARTED-Now that I have a TV in my room, I watch the evening news
The Books
51. Read 60 books in 12 months STARTED- I have been reading an enormous amount lately
52. Keep book log DONE!See sidebar for link to my Book Log. Now I only have to update it as well :)
53. Read 5 non-fiction books (excluding parenting) DONE! January 21/07 Have read 5 books on the issues surrounding the Da Vinci Code-esque type stuff!
54. Cull book collection 1x/yearDONE! As of Jan 06, I culled my book collection considerably
55. Read 10 "classics"
56. Read chapter books to Julia at bedtimeDONE!! As of June 07, Dwayne has read Julia chapters of longer books!
57. Do not accumulate library fines for 6 months--STARTED! As of Julary 07, I have a new libary membership and no fines!
The Writing
58. Successfully complete novel
59. Successfully complete NaNoWriMo again DONE!!! November 30/05, I crossed the magic 50,000 word mark
60. Write in book log 1x/week
61. Write in journal online 1x/week minimum
62. Write and submit 3 short stories/year
63. Write and send 2 personal e-mails/week
The Money
64. Pay off one credit card DONE! As of November 05, we are down to one credit card
65. Save money for family trip to Olympics 2010
66. Buy only what is on the grocery list 10x
67. Build up kids RESPs by 50%
68. Keep track of spending with money log for 1 month (keep reciepts, etc)
The Experience
69. Make a king size duvet quilt cover
70. Make 3 scrapbooks DONE!!! As of July 23/06, I completed 3 scrapbooks-one bridal shower scrapbook for Michelle, one scrapbook guestbook for Matt and Michelle, and one scrapbook guestbook for Keith’s sister.
71. Keep girls' scrapbooks up-to-date by end of year
72. Have the 10th Annual Cookie Party
72. Host and cook a 10 course dinner
73. Faciliatate Rhymes that Bind group DONE!!! I facilitated the Boys and Girls Club Rhymes that Bind on Tuesdays
74. Go for professional massage 2x
75. Learn more HTML to build websites
76. Incorporate 10 new recipes As of May 07, Dwayne's culinary interests have rocketed and we have been eating like royalty!
The Peace of Mind
77. Sort and file print photos into albums
78. De-clutter house of 50+ garbage bags/boxes (garbage/charity/freecycle)STARTED-More spring cleaning brings us up to 20/50 bags decluttered as of March 30/05! I threw out and gave away over 50 bags by moving to Fort Mac alone!
79. Organize scrapbooking stuff to one location (downstairs)DONE!!! March 3/05
80. De-clutter and prioritize school-related items (restrict "keep" pile to 4 Rubbermaid bins)DONE!!! As of March 20/05!
81. Create art and craft area for kids in basement
82. Find suitable place for jewelry DONE! As of December 05, I have a little jewelry "chest"
83. Move infrequently used kitchen items to storage room DONE!!! Jan.23/05
84. Re-organize closet and drawersDONE!!! March 30/05
85. Sort and donate baby items to Healthy FamiliesSTARTED-I sorted the things I'd like to get rid of, now I just need to actually get it out of my house and to Healthy Families DONE! Jane came to pick up the huge mound of donated items in May05!
86. Decide on career vs. SAHDONE! As of Jan 06, I return to full-time teaching
The Record
87. Maintain girls' websites (update every 3 months minimum)DONE!!!March 15/05 Xeryfyn's Brag Book can now be found here
88. Create a 101 in 1001 blog DONE!!! Jan.15/05
89. Create copies of digital pictures every 6 months
90. Maintain digital picture files in ACDSee with relevant titles-STARTED-I re-named about 500 titles and now only have about 150 to go
91. Update and complete baby books for both girls
92. Create filing system for family (1 drawer each)DONE!!! March 4/05
93. Create "hope chests" for girls
94. Write letter to each child 1x/year about achievements, adventures and experiences. Include picture from January and December of same year, bedroom and favourite toys
95. [private item]
96. Have a garage sale 1x/year DONE!! Have had two garage sales in two years.
97. Write down memories of wedding day for wedding scrapbook--STARTED-I am halfway done my wedding scrapbook
98. Take inventory (with serial numbers and pictures) for insurance
99. Create and maintain address book of all relevant people (include current working email, address and phone number) on computer--STARTED-January 07, I have an address book on my computer
100. Keep agenda up to date so it is useful!DONE! As of April 06, my agenda is updated and useful
101. Compile and keep frequently used recipes on computer (perhaps useful for future cookbook for girl's hope chests?)