2016 Resolutions (and a 2015 resolution recap)

Resolutions time!

But first, a recap of last year's goals and a grade for how well I did at sticking to them:

2015

Spiritual:

* Go the temple quarterly  (A - I think we ended up going pretty much every other month; at least 6 or 7 times)
* Daily scripture study (C - arghhhh, why is this so hard to accomplish?  I do well in spurts and then usually get sleep deprived by a change in the girls sleeping habits and this is the first thing to go, which is totally wrong)
* Weekly FHE (B - it was our best year for this yet, I would say)
Physical:

* Exercise outdoors at least once a week (D - I totally didn't do this.  I did exercise plenty and on a regular basis, I just didn't do any of it outdoors)
* Lose weight (B - I had specifics in mind when I posted this and I definitely did lose weight last year, although I have already gained some of that back (not all but enough that I need to continue working on this again this year)) 
* Look into braces (A+!  I've had them for about 8 1/2 months now and my jaw surgery is scheduled for April)

Family:

* Date night 2x/month (A -  we have been lucky to have other couples who were also interested in a babysitting swap, and we have finally identified a couple alternative paid babysitting options - it has been great and I have especially loved the times when we have gone out to restaurants in the city)
* Travel outside the U.S. with the girls (A+!! - see previous posts about Thailand and Cambodia)
* Remodel the kitchen, living, and family rooms (A - this past winter/early spring; there is some finishing work to be done but by and large we are finished and it is so nice!)  

Personal:

* Read at least one book each month, maybe two.  And read a variety of literature - something classic, some non-fiction, a play, YA, etc. (A- I definitely got the number of books in but I didn't read as much variety as I would have liked. 
* Find other avenues to expand my mind and talents - practice the piano more, listen to podcasts, try something new (I learned to do handstands in 2014 and LOVED it), learn to make panna cotta, go skiing, see  play, swim in the ocean, etc. (A - I finally got hooked on the "This American Life" Podcast, which is awesome.  I also practiced cooking new things after a fun experience auditioning for Masterchef in LA as one of the Top 100 applicants.  And late in the summer I took a photography class where I learned how to shoot in full manual and have been practicing that and doing some other photography study/classes/groups since then)
* Get more sleep (C - yeah, this didn't happen.  Maybe 2016 is the year for better sleep now that the girls are a little older and sleeping in the same room together)

Now on to 2016.

I have never done a "theme" for the year before.  They always sounded fussy and overly complicated and I just never felt inspired enough by one word to feel like it fit for what I had in mind for my new year's resolutions.  But this year the word "clean" keeps popping into my head and it seems to fit with the majority of my goals for 2016, so I think I am going to go with that as a theme for the year.  I hope to dedicate 2016 to eating clean(ish), maintaining a clean house, and having a clean mind (this is more related to turning off or staying away from things that detract from the Spirit and embracing things that are good and praiseworthy, etc.).

Most everything in my "list" of resolutions falls within one of these three categories.  In no particular order, these are things things I plan to work on/accomplish this year:

1. Do Whole30 #2 (we're starting January 1 to knock this out and kick the year off right!)
2. Read all conference talks from October 2015 and both sessions of 2016 (I always want to do this but I never do)
3. Read Book of Mormon start to finish (both personally and as a family although probably using a modified approach for the girls)
4. Attend the temple every other month (last year the goal was once per quarter and we made it 6 or 7 times - the best we have done since before the girls were born)
5. Run a 10k (I haven't run in ages and ages but have been thinking for a while now that I would like to reincorporate this to some extent in my regular exercise regimen)
6. Figure out and stick to monthly savings account goals
7. Revamp and stick to the monthly budget
8. Learn to cook at least 3 foods from the following cuisines (mostly related to our ancestry) - Danish, German (spaetzle, apfelkucken), Swedish, English (I saw a Harry Potter cookbook which sounds kind of fun although I have no idea whether the recipes in it are any good), Scottish, French, Iranian (baklava), Mexican, Thai (mango sticky rice, pad thai, yellow curry (is it even Thai?)), Cambodian (red curry, crispy chicken wontons) (okay, those last two are just because of our trip and I want to learn how to make more dishes from those countries)
9. Cleaner house - get on a schedule for mopping, dusting and cleaning bathrooms 1x week; sweep daily, empty sink and clean counters at night, toys put away each day, laundry picked up from floor each day, clean laundry folded as soon as it comes out of dryer
10. Get Clara on a cleaning/helping schedule - by the end of 2016 I want her to be able to help dust, sweep, make beds every day, put away toys, empty and load a dishwasher, and even cook simple things.  She will only be 5 but I would like to move toward me helping her and not the other way around, and besides, she is at an age where a lot of the time she really LOVES helping - I think it empowers her and makes her feel good about herself - so why not give her those opportunities?
11. FHE - more consistent and with better planning.  We did much better on this in 2015 (maybe 70% of the time I would guess and with a pretty consistent structure of music, prayer, lesson, activity, treat but we definitely have room for improvement - this is another thing that the girls love so why is it so hard to do and stick to?)
12. More mother/daughter activities/experiments at home - more of the hands-on stuff or crafting things or nature walks or cooking lessons; less television and movies
13. Start reading chapter books with Clara - Little House on the Prairie, Illustrated Harry Potter maybe?
14. More reading with both girls - maybe designate a particular time of day as a reading time or make it part of a nightly routine since right now our reading is random and happens at all times of the day but never as a consistent part of a routine
15. Meal plan each week
16. Attend book club at least 3 times
17. Read 2 books per month
18. For Clara - learn to ride a bike with no training wheels
19.  Make a signature block for CM (a photography group I have been involved with for a few months now)
20. Apply for CMPro by end of year (more for the growth that will hopefully happen by having this goal, not necessarily because I think that I will be ready to be a CMPro by then - to accomplish this, stay active in the prep and challenge groups I have signed up for)
21.  Complete a Project 52
22. Complete a 365 project (still not sure whether I am going to go for this one but I'm putting it on here for now because I am thinking about it still)
23. Go camping (we didn't make it last year but I definitely want to take the girls outdoors more this summer now that Rose sleeps so much better and could handle it)
24. Date night at least 2x a month
25. Paul asked that I set a goal for both of us to learn a guitar/banjo duet to play with him

I think that is it for goals/resolutions for 2016.  Or at least that is the list for right now.  It seems long and crazy but all doable.

As part of my reading goal, I've been gathering titles of books to read as they have been recommended to me.  If anyone reads this and has a good book to add to the list, let me know!

Books to read in 2016:
FICTION

1. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
2. What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman
3. Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner
4. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
5. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
6. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
7. Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
8. Lake House by Kate Morton
9. What Alice Forgot
10. Master & Commander Series
11. Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim
12. These is my Words by Nancy Turner
13. The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
14. Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls
15. Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin
16. Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker
17. The Ghost & Mrs. Muir by R.A. Dick
18. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
19. Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson
20. Wayward Pines Series
21. A Husband's Secret
22. Big Little Lies
23. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
24. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
25. Me Before You

NONFICTION

1. Glitter & Glue by Kelly Corrigan
2. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
3. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
4. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes: And Other Lessons From the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
5. Everybody was so Young: Gerald and Sara Murphy: A Lost Generation Love Story by Amanda Vaill
6. My Life In France by Julia Child
7. Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
8. I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali
9. Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan
10. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
11. Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan
12. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
13. The Creative Fight by Chris Orwig
14. Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson
15. Living Well, Spending Less by Ruth Soukup
16. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
17. The Truth About Eden by Alonzo Gaskill
18. Sacred Symbols by Alonzo Gaskill

Whole30 Results and Wrap-up

Welp, we did it!  30 days of no gluten, no dairy, no legumes, and no sugar.  Just meat (lots of it), vegetables (more than normal for us, for sure), and fruit.  It has been a little over a week and we have gone through the transition phase of adding back the foods that we had eliminated and I thought I would do a quick sum-up of my thoughts about the experience.

It wasn't as hard as we thought it would be.  It sounded intimidating and outrageous at first, but when we actually implemented Whole30 it just wasn't that big of a deal.  Yes, I had to meal plan and pack lunches and do more cooking than normal, but it just wasn't all that bad. 

We got to try new things and found that we really enjoy eating cleaner.  We generally felt less sluggish during the day, clothes fit better, sleep improved overall, we felt like we got much better control over our sweet tooths and snack cravings, and we got to try a bunch of new recipes and foods that we otherwise wouldn't have had tried.

And while it has been nice to be able to bake again and eat a cookie, in the week or so since we finished Whole30 we have realized that in many ways we prefer eating that way and will probably do it again or even continue to eat that way fairly regularly.  I have noticed since going back to pancakes or muffins or whatever for breakfast that not only do I get hungrier earlier during the day, but that it affects my snackiness all day long compared to when I start the day out much more protein heavy with bacon or sausages or eggs with vegetables (I love egg scrambles with peppers and onions and mushrooms) or nuts.  We also noticed a big difference in the level of sweetness that we experience after having gone without sugar for 30 days and I can cut the amount of sugar called for in some recipes by as much as half and not even notice a difference because they taste so much sweeter now than before. 

And yes, okay, we both lost weight, which certainly ends things on a positive note, especially since you spend the whole 30 day period NOT counting calories or worrying about stepping on a scale.  We both lost around 8 pounds, and that was with me doing about an hour at the gym 3 times a week and Paul doing no exercise other than normal every day movement and house projects and stuff.  Paul doesn't have his stats on this but for me that also translated into a loss of 2.5% of body fat, which has certainly made a difference in how I feel. 

Anyway, I have a couple more recipes to share on here, even though I don't have pictures to go with them.  And if you are interested I can email you the working copy of the 30 day meal plan with recipes that I came up with, and there are tons of others on Pinterest. 

Stir Fry

Paul declared this his favorite meal that I made over the whole 30 day period.  I wouldn't go that far because I way preferred the arctic char, tri-tip, and garam masala salmon steaks, but this still tasted quite delicious and made a nice change to have something Asian.

1 large ribeye (or other steak or package of precut "stir fry" meat from grocery store - you could easily do this with chicken too)
1/2 head cauliflower
1/2 yellow onion
1 yellow bell pepper
1 bundle large asparagus
1/2 box white mushrooms
1 small can water chestnuts
1/2 small can bamboo shoots
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
1/4 cup coconut aminos (this is just paleo soy sauce - you can get it at whole foods and sprouts or order it online like I did.  It really, honestly does taste just like soy sauce and you won't even notice a difference)
1/2 cup beef stock
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
OPTIONAL:  change out any of the vegetables above for whatever vegetables you want or have on hand which makes this a GREAT meal to use up the veggies in your fridge.  I would also add green beans, broccoli, zucchini, or even carrots)

Season steak with salt and pepper and sear over really hot heat on both sides in a large pan. Remove and set aside. Slice all veg small. Add oil to pan and sauté onions for 1-2 mins. Add rest of veg and sauté adding liquids slowly to keep everything from burning. Add garlic, vinegar and ginger. Stir constantly. Once veg is softened slice steak very thinly and add. Stir for another 1-2 mins until the steak is med rare. Remove and serve!

Cilantro Ranch Dressing

2/3 cup avocado oil
1 room temperature egg
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon dried or a handful of fresh herbs (I used some dried dill and a handful of fresh cilantro that I had on hand)
Juice of half a lemon or lime

Place the egg, vinegar, spices, herbs, and citrus juice in the food processor or blender (I set my Vitamix to 4 - you don't want to go too high on speed if you are doing this in a Blendtec or Vitamix) and pulse a few times.  Slowly pour the avocado oil through the top hole of the food process or blender while it is going at a medium speed to emulsify.  Seriously, go SUPER slow in a thin, steady stream and take your time to get it all in.  Refrigerate for about an hour and then serve.   

Scrambled Eggs with Salmon

This one is straightforward.  You just crack your eggs into a bowl and mix them with a fork and season with a little salt and pepper, then pour into a pan to scramble them.  Add a chunk of leftover salmon from a previous dinner or a piece of compliant smoked salmon (I found some at Whole Foods) and break it apart as you scramble the eggs.  It is so, SO good and one of my very favorite breakfasts. 

Zucchini Noodles with Marinara and Peppers, Onions, and Sausages

So we bought a spiralizer which is a tool that turns vegetables like zucchini, sweet potatoes or squash into noodles and it actually is pretty great.  We have tried spaghetti squash in the past and don't particularly love it but zucchini noodles are excellent.  But some friends mentioned that they had tried making them and their zucchini noodles turned out mushy so I thought I would explain the method I used.  After spiralizing your zucchini, spread your noodles out in a thin layer over a couple of layers of paper towel and sprinkle with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt, then lay a couple additional layers of paper towels on top.  This will help to draw out the water that is in the zucchini.  Wait for about 15 to 30 minutes, then roll the noodles up in the paper towel and squeeze as much water out as you can.  Transfer to a hot pan with a little bit of olive oil and saute for 2-3 minutes, just to soften it a little bit.  Then you can top it with marinara and serve it with a protein of your choice. 

For the marinara, I just used the recipe I use for Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Sauce (with a few modifications) and it is pretty perfect. 

2 tablespoons ghee
1/4 cup grated onion , from 1 medium onion (note, we left this out)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Table salt
2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (see note)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Ground black pepper

Heat ghee in medium saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add onion, oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and onion is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and baking soda, increase heat to high, and bring to simmer. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced to 2 1/2 cups, 25 to 30 minutes. Off heat, stir in basil and oil, then season with salt and pepper.

For the peppers, onions, and sausages:

3 to 4 medium onions (I think I used 2 really large onions so you just have to use your judgment on how much you like roasted onions)
3 to 4 sweet red, yellow, or orange bell peppers
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
Season with a combination of salt, pepper, & Italian herbs (go as heavy or as light as you like but my estimate is at least 2 teaspoons of Italian herbs - if you don't have a blend from the store you can google how to make it yourself using basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, thyme, and probably marjoram or rosemary or something
4 to 6 links of uncooked Italian link sausages (I found some compliant chicken sun dried tomato and jalapeno sausages that worked perfectly)

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut onions and peppers in even-sized chunks. Drizzle with olive oil, add garlic and sprinkle with seasoning. Mix well and spread on a large baking pan lined with a silicone liner or parchment. Place uncooked sausages among the vegetables (if using pre-cooked sausages, add during last 15 minutes of cooking). Roast for 30 minutes or until sausages are completely done and vegetables are browned.

 

Goals for 2015

Resolution time!  Oh boy, first ... accountability for 2014.  Here are links to last year's resolutions in case you really care to see (post 1 and post 2).  Um, it was lousy.  At least if we are going by a strict, did I do these to 100% standard of accountability.  In my defense, this past year involved a new baby, a failed adoption, a job change, selling a house, buying a new house, and remodeling.  So, yeah, it was a crazy year.  So here is what I want to say about accountability for my 2014 resolutions:  they helped me do better than I otherwise would have.  No, I didn't read scriptures every single day.  But I did read the entire Book of Mormon this year and quite a lot of the Old Testament, too.  And while we didn't do FHE every week, we did it WAY more than ever before and on a pretty consistent basis to the point here I honestly think we can achieve a goal of weekly FHE for 2015.  I read quite a few really excellent books but I didn't keep track very well so I can't say for sure whether I met my 2-books-a-month goal.  My guess is that I was close but not quite there.  We did lots of date nights and special family outings so I'm going to say that we accomplished those goals.  Anyhoosier, enough about 2014.  Let's move on to 2015 resolutions.

So, first off, I want to say that these resolutions are not about overhauling my life.  I don't want a life-makeover at this point or anything.  Most of these are more about tweaking and refining some practices that I am already working on.  Not that I am saying I am so great or anything:  I just don't think making unrealistic goals that I have very little hope of achieving is going to do me a heck of a lot of good at this point in my life.

Spiritual:

* Go the temple quarterly.  I would love to say monthly, but, well, let's just say I'm hoping to take an underpromise and overdeliver approach to this goal.
* Daily scripture study.  Yes, daily.  I really, really want to get that one down. 
* Weekly FHE.

Physical:

* I think I've got the exercising 3+ times a week thing down pretty well.  But it is always in the gym.  So I want to set a resolution to get some exercise outdoors at least once a week.  It doesn't even have to be a workout.  I want to do Saturday morning runs outside some weekend or going for family walks in the evenings now that Clara has got some speed under her using her scooter or go hiking or play tennis or something.
* Lose weight.  I'm not going to be more specific about this on the blog.   
* Look into braces.  If I could change one thing about myself, it would be my smile.  Its super embarrassing to admit, but totally true.  This has a significant financial aspect to it that might make it a non-starter from the get-go, but I'm hoping 2015 is the year to get going on this.

Family:

* Date night with Paul 2x/month (or more - hopefully more, since we love date nights).  We are hoping to do more of these in SF and try out some of the amazing restaurants there.  We have had a bunch of recommendations from friends and are excited about this one.  It is so easy to get so caught up with parenting and work and life and forget to set time aside for each other without any distractions (not that I think of the girls as distractions, but you know what I mean) and it is important to us to maintain and nurture our marriage by taking time for the two of us to connect in a meaningful way. 
* Travel outside the U.S. with the girls.  This has been on my resolutions list for years, really, and hasn't happened yet.  But because of that we have got some decent travel rewards accrued AND if we are going to do this it would be nice to do before Rose turns 2 and we have to pay for her airfare also, so maybe 2015 is the year to make this happen. 
* Remodel the kitchen, living, and family rooms. 

Personal:

* Read at least one book each month, maybe two.  And read a variety of literature - something classic, some non-fiction, a play, YA, etc. 
* Find other avenues to expand my mind and talents - practice the piano more, listen to podcasts, try something new (I learned to do handstands in 2014 and LOVED it), learn to make panna cotta, go skiing, see  play, swim in the ocean, etc.  I know this goal is way underdeveloped and loosey-goosey, but I want to keep it flexible while I am figuring it out and seeing what I can do while maintaining other priorities and taking care of my little family. I like how this approach worked in 2014 because it opened me up to new possibilities of things that I otherwise might now have done, like performing in the Nutcracker. 
* Get more sleep.  Seriously, I need to focus on this goal.  I need start going to bed before 11:00 on a regular basis (10:00 is the goal). In order to do this, I have a couple of other sub-goals that need to happen - watch less tv, do dishes, laundry, living room clean up earlier in the evening so I don't end up staying up late to clean the kitchen/laundry/living room because it is driving me bonkers.

A few more resolutions...

I already posted about my major and "real" resolutions back here, but I have been thinking of a few more.  This list is more my "yeah right, of course I'm not going to be able to stick to all of these and probably won't even give it more of a half-hearted effort but I might as well put it out there because one of these years maybe one or two of these resolutions will stick" kind of list.

- Never go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink
- Make the bed every day (this is kind of a freebie "goal" because I am really good at this one and maybe only miss a few days here and there during the year anyway)
- Fold laundry and put it away the day I wash it all
- Expand my repertoire of vegetarian meal options
- Go on a real trip somewhere (pretty much needs to involve air travel to qualify)
- Floss every day
- Go through our food storage/emergency supplies and update and inventory everything
- Read all the conference talks from each General Conference
- Go to the beach a lot more during the summer
- Do more photo shoots with Clara (I feel like I take lots of pictures but I'm not capturing things the way I used to and I miss that - this may sound totally crazy to anybody who reads this blog and feels like it is always flooded with photos of her)
- Try new restaurants
- Prepare my Sunday School lessons for Gospel Doctrine more in advance than day of (shouldn't be too hard to keep this one since our church is moving to a 9:00 a.m. meeting time so I won't have the morning to prepare like I have this past year)
- Work on Family History (I may just count increased journaling on my part as fulfilling this but I would love to do more)
- Read classic literature (I already have reading goals for the year but I have a tendency to read just the overtly "fun" stuff and I feel like I am missing substance that I know I love but have been too lazy to get back to)
- Grow a garden
- Give Paul more foot massages because I know he loves them or alternatively (and maybe preferably or additionally) go get pedicures with him every now and then
- Take family photos (even if it is just using the tripod, I like having pictures of us as a family that are up to date and to compare to previous ones.  But I would love to have a professional take some for us.)
- Take Clara to the zoo, the aquarium, the discovery center, and a museum
- Be a better friend
- Do my visiting teaching every month
- Read the Ensign each month
- Use all 20+ tiny tubes of sample toothpaste that have somehow collected in the medicine cabinet before buying any more full-size tubes
- Comment on blogs more regularly

I think that list is more than sufficient for now.  I feel like I am forgetting some that have been on my mind the past few days but I can always add those later.  Like I said, I'm not totally serious about holding myself accountable to any of the above, but I would love to be able to improve on or do at least some of the above to a better extent than 2013. 

Resolutions Post

Most years, I would already have thought out my New Year's Resolutions and typed them up in a blog post and written them on a piece of paper to stick on the fridge--probaby by December 14th--and here we are, more than a week into the new year, and I am just getting around to setting these goals.  Really, I have already been thinking through my resolutions for a while now but it took seeing my sister's blog post about her resolutions that gave me the boost I needed to get these in writing.

In 2010, I had one big goal--to get us ready to buy a house--that was somehow accomplished even though it seemed impossible when Paul's job fell through and house prices in the Bay Area seemed completely out of our reach.

In 2011, our big goal was to prepare ourselves to become parents--again, it seemed almost impossible that it would happen that year but lo and behold, Clara came into our lives.

Since these big goals have been miraculously achieved, I think that my major goal for 2012 should be about looking like a supermodel improving my health. Who knows, maybe another miracle will occur and I will end up weighing in the mid 130's (where I was when Paul and I got married and again when we got home from our bar trip around the world in 2009) by the end of the year?  Maybe I will run another marathon?  Besides, I had a physical exam on Friday for our adoption paperwork and the doctor got on my case again about my pre-diabetic status and told me no rice, bread, pasta, potatoes, or sugar. I seriously wonder how she listed off all of those things as needing to be banned from my diet while keeping a straight face.

For now, I am not making goals about dropping X lbs. this week or month or anything like that. Because going back to my desk job and commuting and having pretty much zero desire to figure out what to make for dinner all tell me that if I try making a goal about losing a specific amount of weight that it won't happen, and frankly, I don't even know when I would get around to weighing myself in the first place. Instead, I plan to: 1. Stop eating cookies every day. Some people are addicted to diet Coke. I am addicted to cookies. 2. Ease up on the snacking at work. No more trips to the vending machines. Bring fruit or veggies or maybe nuts from home to snack on and drink water or chew a stick of gum instead. So far, so good. 3. Back off foods heavy in cheese and ease up on some of the carb consumption. Not all carb consumption like the doctor suggested, but some at least. 4. No more eating late at night. I am cutting myself off at 9:00 p.m. I would say 8:00 but sometimes with work and Clara I just can't get to dinner until after 8:00 once our little lady is asleep. 5. Go for more walks with Paul and Clara in the evenings, something we used to do all the time (hopefully this will be easier as the days start to get a little longer). Try going for a run at least twice a week, even if it is just to do a mile or two on Saturdays and an evening run one other day of the week after Clara is in bed.

Here are some other resolutions I intend to work on this year:

1. Do FaNcy-ScHMaNcY blogposts with fun colors and fonts and stuff.

2. Memorize poetry and recite it at Orchard Valley Coffee, the local coffee shop that has live music and that kind of thing.

3. Start a fashion/style/design blog.

4. Travel to at least three new countries.

Yeah right - I'm totally kidding. I won't be doing any of that stuff this year because I don't have the time and I'm not that cool. Instead, here are the hum-drum resolutions that I know will actually make me a happier, healthier, and better person.

1. Daily prayer and scripture study. I don't know when and how I got out of this habit, but it happened and it is time to get back to it. I am always happier and better able to handle stress when I make this a priority.

2. Work on my temper. Be kind. Think of others. Talk to people.

3. Plan meals ahead of time, budget household expenses, and start saying "no" to every little thing I feel like I "must" have including treats, clothes, toys, etc. Not always, but right now I say "yes" to myself too often to be good for me.

4. Take photos. Live adventurously. Blog. I love to get out and experience the world around me but it is so easy to get so busy with the day-to-day that it feels like there is no time to be spontaneous and adventurous and awesome. And dadgummit, I have an indominatable nature and a insuppressable NEED to be awesome.  It is not that I care that others think I am awesome, I want to truly BE awesome.

5. Show my family how much I love them rather than just tell them that all the time. This entails reading books to Clara, dancing with her outside in the sunshine and under the stars, footrubs for Paul, going on dates, etc.

6. Read. Audiobooks are amazing and I love them, but I also want to do better about physically picking up a book and perusing its pages. Go to the library. Even though I tend to prefer just purchasing my own books rather than checking out used copies, I think the library is healthy for the human soul and modern civilization.  It is also healthy for our bank account when I borrow books rather than buy them.

7. Get approved to start our next adoption. Not freak out when waiting for birthmom contacts after our adoption profile is approved. I don't want to get so caught up in what might happen that I miss out on what is happening.

8. Do two personal progress goals each month. In the one month that  I have been in my new calling as the Young Womens' 2nd Counselor in my ward, I have realized that I somehow don't seem to interact as well with the Beehives as I thougth I would. Basically, it feels like they kind of ignore me.  I want to them to come up to me in the grocery store just because they think I am so fun to be around instead of darting down the dog food or kleenex aisle. Maybe doing personal progress with them will help me relate? How do I make 12-13 year olds understand how great and fun and hip I am?! Although, that age bracket was convinced of my nerdiness when I was in it, so I don't know why that would have changed as I have aged out of my teen years.

9. Travel to at least three new countries. Okay, I'm kidding again. But I really, REALLY would love it if we could. My little sister is doing an internship in Belize this summer after all and I would love to go visit her while she is there...

Short notes

Dear Metabolism,

Remember how we used to be friends?  I'm not sure when we grew apart, but I have a birthday coming up next month and I would love it if you came back as a present.  I miss you.

Lovingly,
Amy

Dear 17-year-old Self,

Remember when you vowed that you would never weigh more than 120 pounds?  That was totally unrealistic.  And unhealthy.  And your body freakin' rocked even though you felt chubby.  Contrary to what you thought back then, you did not have rolls on your stomach and you looked great.  Seriously, amazing.

Your fond friend,
Amy

Dear Present Self,

I know you feel a little chubby and running hasn't been helping.  The honest truth is that you CAN go a day without cookies.  I promise.  And even though your stomach isn't flat and your jeans aren't loose around your legs, you still look pretty hot (if-i-do-say-so-myself).  Just lay off the sweets, m'kay?

XOXO,
A secret admirer

Dear Cookies, Cupcakes, Brownies, Ice Cream, and Pie,

It would really be better if we weren't on speaking terms anymore.  It's nothing personal.  But this is not just a weight thing and if I don't put an end to our seeing each other every day soon, I will become a full-blown diabetic thanks to some lousy genes and we don't want that, now do we?

Sincerely,
Amy

Dear Biggest Loser,

Every season you continue to inspire me.  Why do I get choked up while watching you?

Fondly,
Amy

Dear Treadmill,

I conquered you yesterday and you know it.  But I cowered in fear today and took Clara on a short walk outside instead while pretending it was exercise.  Tomorrow, I will own you again.  Consider yourself warned.

Yours truly,
Amy

Commute, Neurotic Tendencies, and a Dolly

Paul started his new job today. We drove to work separately because we weren't sure whether he would be done at 4 and I would be staying at the office until 8 or whether it would be the other way around. That is just the way work has been lately as I have been wrapping up my cases to go on maternity leave. Since we left the house at the same time, we had sort of a non-race into the office because one of us would get in the fast lane of traffic and pass the other only to be slowed down where two freeways merged and the other driver sped by. We waved, grinned, and made faces at each other every time we leap-frogged like this and it made me feel silly but it was a weird kind of fun.

In other news, I have been fighting the urge to create a "To-Do" list for my maternity leave. The idea of 6 months off work is too tantalizing to resist and it starts all the neurotic juices flowing for list-making I guess. I know that in all reality, there should only be two items on the list and it should look something like this:

1. Take care of a newborn
2. Try not to have any sleep-deprived episodes of craziness

So why is it that I have a list (only in my head, I haven't committed this to paper and stuck it on the fridge yet and blogging about it only gets me halfway there) that consists of the following:

1. Train for a half marathon or at least a 10-k
2. Finish writing the book I started in law school
3. Make Halloween costumes for Clara, me and Paul (it's my favorite holiday and I am a slow sewer, okay?)
4. Remodel our kitchen/living room
5. Do all the Christmas shopping (since I am going back to work just after Thanksgiving, I figure I might as well plan ahead.)
6. Get Clara sleeping through the night
7. Make dinner 5 nights a week
8. Learn how to use Photoshop (because Paul probably won't have time to develop all the photos I plan on taking of the babe.)
9. Go to the beach, the lake, the mountains, the desert, at least two national parks and somewhere tropical (can we say aloha?)
10. Read a book a week
11. Make the bed every day

Hmmm, I know I've always been something of an over-achiever, but even I am questioning my judgment about the wisdom of such a list with a newborn.

Finally, Paul's cousin's wife, who is insanely talented and has three scrumptious kiddos that I adore, made the sweetest dolly for Clara, pictured below next to Clara's green corduroy owl. I would be remiss if this never made it to the blog.

Thanks Maren - Clara is going to love her.

House Remodel Phase 1 is coming along

This post is really for Paul's brother Dave.  Paul says that every time he talks to Dave, all Dave wants is to see photos of how the texture looks on the walls now that they have been painted.  And since this "finishing" stage of trimwork and baseboard are taking a little bit longer than I anticipated, I figured we would go ahead and post something now rather than wait for the final "reveal."  I have a feeling that these photos may look boring and repetitive since they are all just of blank walls.  Sorry about that. 

A little list of what we have done so far on the bedroom remodels:

• moved everything out of the four bedrooms into the garage and/or living room
• stripped the old trim and baseboard
• installed new light fixtures
• replaced all the windows
• had insulation blown into all the exterior walls
• installed new doors
• textured all walls
• sanded the texture
• removed old carpets
• painted walls
• installed trim around windows, closets and doors

We tried to be smart and buy paint samples to put up on the walls before committing to a color, but that didn't work out so hot.  We totally repainted three rooms after a first coat.  The green was too vivid and as much as we wanted a green nursery, we went with a neutral color.  And although we both LOVED the gray colors in small quantities, once we painted an entire room gray, it just felt too cave-like.  So, we went with two different shades of a neutral khaki/brown color that we are very happy with. 

We really liked the darkest color, but it just didn't work in this room.

We tried the second green from the right in the middle of the far wall.  It was just too much.

Beige.  Much better.

I helped with the painting too - we just don't have photos of it.  I painted all of the corners and edges of the rooms.

Oh, and did I mention that we had our fence redone?  I haven't taken very good photos of it, but you can see what it looks like through these window shots.  Before:

That palm frond hanging off our neighbors house came from our tree.  We have had a couple of those fronds fall on our house and they freak us out every time.  It sounds like somebody fell from a plane onto our house!

 After:


The fence is now a couple feet taller which provides much more privacy.  And it is not falling down.

 Paul has done a great job on all of the trimwork.  He would call Dave to get instructions on what to do, then go do it.  I am super impressed.

Yucky nasty old sills.

Nice lines, eh?  Dave, do not say anything mean if these are not 100% perfect.

The master bedroom.  Door to hall, door to bathroom, and closet - all trimmed out and ready for baseboard.

Paul is currently finishing up the baseboards, then we will be patching nail holes in the trim, caulking the trim, taping around all trim, and finally painting the trim.  Then carpet goes in.  We are hoping to be done within the next 2-3 weeks so that we can have everything moved back in by the end of March. 

I have been a slave-driver and have been making him work every night, so these photos were taken tonight and the lighting isn't so great, but you can see the texture on the walls a little bit better I think.

My dad doesn't read this blog, but Mom, you can tell him that I posted a picture of the air compressor and nail guns that you guys got Paul for Christmas.  He is obviously making good use of these tools.

Texturing.

More texturing.

I think I tell Paul at least once a day that if he cuts off his fingers I am not going to find the little nubs and take him to the hospital so he better be careful with these power saws.

This picture is to show some of the baseboard that Paul already has up in the nursery.

Another shot of the nursery closet.

Sleeping in our living room hasn't been so bad.  It has meant having the TV in our bedroom for the first time in our marriage, which Paul enjoys although I prefer not having a TV in the same room where I sleep.  I have enjoyed having a fireplace in our bedroom.  Not for the bow-chicka-wow-wow factor, but just because I'm something of a pyromaniac. 

Blech.  We are still living with dust only this is from all the sawing outside that gets tracked in.  I want my bedroom back.

And finally, one of me pretending I am cool by making a peace sign:

That's it!

If I could, I would...

• Adopt twins
• Go on 'Survivor'
• Climb Mt. Everest and Mt. Kilamanjaro
• Make fudge
• Stop eating ice cream
• Get a book published
• Sail around the world on a yacht
• Go skydiving
• Shave my head
• Learn to speak Chinese
• Move to Germany
• Open up a dessert shop just so I could try out recipes and not have to be stuck eating all of the results
• Go on 'The Amazing Race'
• Start a scholarship for my alma mater
• Visit the Galapagos Islands, Easter Island, Madagascar, and New Zealand
• Swim with dolphins
• Run another marathon
• Redo college all over again (without changing a thing)
• Pay off all of our student loan debt
• Go to Disneyland
• Build an addition on our house so we could have a full-size master bathroom and walk-in closet
• Plant tulip bulbs
• Do a family history tour of Scotland, Denmark, and England
• Permanently darken my blonde eyebrows
• Practice yoga twice a week
• Dress like Emma Pillsbury from Glee
• Donate my hair to Locks of Love
• Take ballroom dance classes with Paul again

Resolved

Do you want to hear my New Year's resolution?  Probably not.  And I won't force you to read through all of them although I will mention some in this post.  But I will say that I really love making New Year's resolutions.  I do it every year.  Not that I expect myself to keep all of them, because really, who does that?  But I totally get the point of evaluating yourself and being honest about where you are and where you want to go.  I can dig that.  I tend to make my list of resolutions while sitting in church, usually between meetings on scraps of paper that I keep in my scriptures.  That works well for me because then I can pull those papers out each Sunday and think about my resolutions.  Which are slightly different from goals if you think about it - more of an optimistic, introspective, and can-do approach I think.

Some of my resolutions are really basic and unimaginative, of course.  Like resolutions to go to the temple once a month or read scriptures every day or exercise three times a week.  But my favorite resolutions are the ones that really challenge me to do something hard or maybe even a little uncomfortable, all in the name of becoming a "better" or "more interesting" or "well-rounded" person.  Like past resolutions to talk to at least one random stranger a week (like the checker at the grocery store or the person next to me on the treadmill at the gym) or to get a passport and travel outside of the U.S. (this has turned into an all-time favorite resolution that I have been very successful in keeping but that at one time I thought there was no way I would ever achieve).  One of my more interesting resolutions for 2010 is to try my hand at new recipes this year - especially international ones - by making something different for dinner at least once a week.  Which may or may not be accomplished depending on how motivated I am to cook for just me and Paul after a full day of work.  Maybe that resolution will be modified to a once-a-month resolution.  We shall see. 

Other resolutions I've been tossing around are community-related - like a resolution to attend community events like concerts in the park or outdoor movies or something.  I really want to get to know my new stomping grounds in the Bay Area this year.  I also want to be more involved with the people from my new ward at church this year because in the past I have been really bad about attending social events like dinners and parties and service projects and such. 

Anyway, last year I made up my list of resolutions and then asked my dad, my sister, and Paul what resolutions they had made.  Each told me seperately that they were perfect (or some other joking statement to that effect) and proclaimed that they didn't need resolutions.  And since lots of people don't make resolutions and I was getting a little ribbing about my yearly practice of making them, I threw out the scraps of paper where I had jotted down my thoughts.  Now with two days left in the year I find myself really missing those lost aspirations for my own personal betterment.  And I'm not going to let it happen again this year.  I've got my list all made out.  I may add to it periodically throughout January. 

And if you are a resolution-maker yourself, I've got your back, okay?