Saturday, November 27, 2010

The List!

The list is ready!

30 Before Thirty

1. Read the book of Mormon
2. Go to the Temple every month
3. Write 30 journal entries
4. Watch the sun rise
5. Get my 3 months of food storage
6. Pay off my credit card
7. Plant a Garden
8. Visit all the Temples in Utah
9. Sing a solo
10. Graduate from college
11.Make a quilt
12. Read
13. Take a class
14. Learn to use Photoshop
15. Hike to the top of Mt. Timpanogos
16. Loose weight
17. Run a 10K
18. Have a date night every month
19. Scrapbook
20. Cook Dinner
21. Teach Aliah to read
22. Blog every two weeks
23. Take a ballroom dance class with Spencer
24. Keep the house clean
25. Organize pictures
26. Decorate the house
27. Give handmade gifts
28. Organize my bookmarks
29. Finish my unfinished crafts
30. Float the Provo River

If you want more details (and a few insights into my soul) you can keep reading, but if you are just so inspired and off to make your own list, don't worry the rest are all repeats.

1. Read the Book of Mormon – I’m not sure I've ever actually done this. Maybe once for Seminary. What a wonderful thing to do to strengthen my testimony.

2. Go to the Temple Every Month - Ditto

3. Write 30 Journal Entries – I love to write in a journal. It’s really therapeutic for me. And what a wonderful thing to leave for my kids to read someday. My mom only kept a journal for one week of her whole life, but she left an incredibly powerful testimony in it that none of us have ever forgotten. I hope to leave something like that for my kids too. Kids, the church is true. Don’t forget it! And don’t forget that Mom and Dad knew it!

4. Watch the Sun Rise – I want to get up early enough to see it. That will be a mental determination that I need a lot of practice on. And I want to look at God’s beautiful creation and remember that I’m just a tiny part of it.

5. Get my 3 Months of Food Storage – We really need to be prepared. I know something horrible is going to happen and we will NEED our food storage. We've just got to buckle down and do it. Putting it here will make that happen. I might procrastinate this list, but you better believe I’ll try so hard to get all of these things done!

6. Pay off my Credit Card – The prophets teach that not being in debt means you aren't in bondage to anyone. Got to get out!

7. Plant a Garden – The prophet said to plant a garden. ‘Nough said.

8. Visit All Temples in Utah – This is part of something on my life list. My life list says visit every temple in the world. There are over a hundred so it probably won’t ever happen, but it’s worth a shot! There are 13 temples in Utah right now. (Two more were announced last General Conference but they aren't built yet.) I have another goal to visit the temple every month, so why not visit a different temple every month and check off two things!

9. Sing a Solo – This is just so I know I can do it. So I can conquer my fear, and be the person I once was. Not shy and scared, but friendly and talented. I need this goal more than any other I think. Just thinking about putting it on this list and knowing I’ll work so hard to accomplish all of these things this year is making me anxious. That’s how scared I am. I MUST conquer. I’ll probably be horrible at first, but being able to perform takes practice.

10. Graduate from college. Just 1 credit left. Literally 1. No reason I can’t finish. I need to say I graduated from college. Plus once I graduate I never have to think about it again! If I just bite the bullet and finish I’ll never again have to have that stress in my life, and I’ll always be able to tell my kids, “You can do hard things! I went to college and had three babies at the same time. If I can do it, you can do it.”

11. Make a Quilt – I want to learn to sew SO bad. More than anything else right now I want to learn to sew. A quilt is the perfect way to start because it’s just straight lines. Sure none of the corners will line up, but that will just add to the charm… I hope!

12. Read 12 Books – I’m not a reader. I use to be, and then some time in my old age I decided I didn't like it any more. I need to read. It's important to read, not just so I can have intelligent conversations, but also so my kids see it and see that I think it’s fun. Then they’ll want to be readers too.

13. Take a Class – No idea what, or when, but I think it’s important to always be improving yourself. I hope I’m always “taking a class.”

14. Learn to use Photoshop – I just think this would be awesome. I’m not gonna do anything fancy, just use it to edit my photos for my scrapbooking. But I’m gonna love it I’m sure. (Hmm... maybe this can go with #13.)

15. Hike to the Top of Timpanogos – Can’t live my whole life in Utah and never get to the top! I’ve gone to Emerald Lake, and that’s almost worse than not trying at all. Giving up is way worse. I need to cancel out my lame attempt by signing my name at the summit.

16. Lose 20 Pounds – Or some other amount that will get me back into my clothes. Plus I need to learn to exercise every day. I’m sure it’s a habit I'll need for the rest of my life. Better start now before I’m too old to care.

17. Run in the 10K at the Freedom Festival – See above!

18. Have a Date Night Every Month – Spence and I SO need this. When we get a chance to be alone we really come together. We talk so openly and recommit to working hard to always be happy together. I would love to say go out weekly, but for the sake of accomplishing all the goals on this list, I said every month. It’s more realistic for us. As our kids get older hopefully our date nights will increase.

19. Scrapbook 30 Pages – This is solely because I love to scrapbook and want a good excuse to shirk my family duties.

20. Cook a Full Dinner Once a Week – I’ve got to learn to cook. My poor family. My kids are so small now that it doesn't matter, but soon enough they will be big and actually NEED me to cook. I guess I need to learn and form the habit now. I know it will make me feel a lot better about myself. And I know it will strengthen my marriage because it means a lot to Spencer when I cook and clean.

21. Teach Aliah to Read – I don’t like teaching. End of story. So I know I’m going to struggle with helping her learn. I want this to be a goal so that I don’t give up. If she doesn't actually learn, that’s okay, she’s only 4/5 this year, but I need to try. I need to be a good mom and try.

22. Blog Every Two Weeks – My blog is more like a list of things my family does, so it’s like a journal for the day to day stuff that I rarely write about.

23. Take a Dance Class with Spencer – Spencer loves to dance. And he’s really good at it. I hate to dance, I think it’s embarrassing, but I need to do it for him. It would make him so happy. And you know I want him to be happy. (A satisfied man has no reason to stray!) (Not that he ever would, but I’m just sayin’.)

24. Clean Each Room in the House Once a Week – Again, this is for the fam. They need this. And frankly I need this. I’m such a better mom when the house is clean! I feel better about myself, and the lifted spirits bring encouragement to be better in every way.

25. Organize ALL Pictures – So needs to be done!

26. Decorate the House – Aside from the arguments Spence and I will have because we have completely different taste, I think this will be the funnest thing I’ve ever done!

27. Give Handmade Gifts – Honestly I probably won’t do this, but I want to try, Well I shouldn’t say I won’t do this, but I know I won’t do it till January. And that’s okay, I’ll still count it if I start then!

28. Type up and Organize my Craft Bookmarks – I hate that I’m always loosing all my good ideas, and crafty blog bookmarks. I’ve got to get them in an online archive I can get to from any computer!

29. Finish my Unfinished Crafts – Part of de-cluttering the house.

30. Float the Provo River – 100% random. I just want a tan.

So what do you think?

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A Visit with Steph

Visiting my BFFITWWW Steph was the highlight of my year. (Wait... did I have a baby this year?) Okay, okay my Kimbo was the #1 highlight, and then this. I was just so thrilled to stay up late talking, play games, go bowling, and eat the most delish doughnuts in the world at the best farmers market I've ever been to. But what I'm most happy about are these 2nd generation friends!

Letter D

Dinosaur Museum at BYU. (Bad lighting...fun day.)
Doughnuts! Watching them make doughnuts at Krispy Kreme... and then enjoying them!

Letter C

Crowns! This was a twofer because we did Crowns for letter C but not till the end of Family Night were we talked about being of royal birth. Perfect!

No letter C week would be complete without a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese! (Luckily Rex was having his birthday party there that very week!)

Letter B

We had another GREAT week!
We read Books at the library,
made Beaded Bracelets,
took a Bubble Bath,
and OF COURSE ate at Baskin Robbins!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Sorry

Sorry I've missed my two week deadline. The cable to get pictures from the camera to the computer is broken. Hopefully we'll get a new one this week.