Last night when I arrived home from work, I was greeted with the typical excited exclamation..."Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" But when I tried to pick her up as our normal evening greeting routine dictates, Jacinda stopped me.
"Mom, I am too heavy for you tonight," she said sticking her stomach way out. "I have too many sugars in my belly."
Guess I know who got into the Easter candy dish, now don't I?
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
40 Things to Do Before I am 40 - Update 1!
One month into it I have made some progress, but there are still several areas I could stand a lot of improvement on. I am not going to focus on the slippages, but instead celebrate the successes and make plans to do better this month!
So here it goes!
40 THINGS TO DO BEFORE I'M 40
Activities
1. Take Jacinda Camping
2. Go away for a Girls weekend with my friends Sherry and Nikki (Update: We are kicking around some dates to get this booked - way excited about it!)
3. Take Jacinda on a tour of the Tygart Dam
4. Get some friends together and go Christmas Caroling
5. Have a yard sale
6. Enter a contest
7. Take a fall driving tour to go leaf peaking
8. Fly a kite - Well I bought a kite, so I think that counts as a step toward the goal.
9. Discover/Experience four new places/events in WV
10. Try Letterboxing
Reading
11. Read the Bible in chronological order - While I am not totally where I would like to be on this reading plan, I have made some progress.
12. Read at least 6 of the parenting/adoption books sitting on my book shelf - I have the first one picked out. :o)
13. Read more in front of and to Jacinda (at least two times a week) - This I have done. In fact one night I was reading and Jacinda asked me what I was doing. When I told her reading, she asked WHY? I don't think she understands the concept of pleasure reading, which is why this goal is so important.
14. Read at least 6 books for pleasure - Part way through this one..it's called Emily Ever After. A Crossings book of the month selection from a million years ago, that I am finally get around to reading!
Artistically speaking
15. Take an Art class/workshop
16. Attend at least 6 live theater performances
17. Attend at least 3 concerts
18. Blog at least 10 times a month (I know a stretch for me!) - DID IT!
In the Kitchen
19. Try two new recipes a month - Tried two great crock pot recipes...Peanut Lime Pork and Balsamic Chicken with Spring Veggies. Both were DELISH!
20. Organize my spices into some kind of usable system
21. Come up with a new storage system for my canned goods
22. Come up with a cost-effective, creative solution for a simple/striking counter top/back splash
Better Home & Garden
23. Plant some flowers
24. Create the playroom
25. Fix that pesky leak
26. Get bathroom lights, towel rack, etc. up
27. Add more lighting
28. Get the garage organized
29. Add French doors and a patio
30. Design my dream bathroom and dressing room for when the time comes
Personal Growth & Development
31. Be a better mom
32. Become a better daughter
33. Nurture my friends more
Health and Fitness
34. Lose 40 pounds – (should it be more? Of course, but this is a great place to start)
35. Learn to love some form of exercise (This is by far the hardest one on the list)
36. Eat no processed foods for one month out of the year
Ethiopian Experiences
37. Start attending the Ethiopian Adoption Group meetings in Pittsburgh
38. Expand my Amharic skills – add 40 new words to my repertoire (Well I added a few...the words for water, table, coffee, yellow, How are you?...so I am on my way!)
39. Do a fundraiser/drive for the children at Miskaye
40. And Last and by no means least…BEGIN PAPERCHASING FOR LITTLE J!!! (I identified my new adoption agency and my new homestudy agency. People are writing recommendations for me...however I need to be honest the two trip requirement took a little wind out of my sails, but I will carry on...cautiously!)
All in all I am quite pleased with my progress! So until next month...
So here it goes!
40 THINGS TO DO BEFORE I'M 40
Activities
1. Take Jacinda Camping
2. Go away for a Girls weekend with my friends Sherry and Nikki (Update: We are kicking around some dates to get this booked - way excited about it!)
3. Take Jacinda on a tour of the Tygart Dam
4. Get some friends together and go Christmas Caroling
5. Have a yard sale
6. Enter a contest
7. Take a fall driving tour to go leaf peaking
8. Fly a kite - Well I bought a kite, so I think that counts as a step toward the goal.
9. Discover/Experience four new places/events in WV
10. Try Letterboxing
Reading
11. Read the Bible in chronological order - While I am not totally where I would like to be on this reading plan, I have made some progress.
12. Read at least 6 of the parenting/adoption books sitting on my book shelf - I have the first one picked out. :o)
13. Read more in front of and to Jacinda (at least two times a week) - This I have done. In fact one night I was reading and Jacinda asked me what I was doing. When I told her reading, she asked WHY? I don't think she understands the concept of pleasure reading, which is why this goal is so important.
14. Read at least 6 books for pleasure - Part way through this one..it's called Emily Ever After. A Crossings book of the month selection from a million years ago, that I am finally get around to reading!
Artistically speaking
15. Take an Art class/workshop
16. Attend at least 6 live theater performances
17. Attend at least 3 concerts
18. Blog at least 10 times a month (I know a stretch for me!) - DID IT!
In the Kitchen
19. Try two new recipes a month - Tried two great crock pot recipes...Peanut Lime Pork and Balsamic Chicken with Spring Veggies. Both were DELISH!
20. Organize my spices into some kind of usable system
21. Come up with a new storage system for my canned goods
22. Come up with a cost-effective, creative solution for a simple/striking counter top/back splash
Better Home & Garden
23. Plant some flowers
24. Create the playroom
25. Fix that pesky leak
26. Get bathroom lights, towel rack, etc. up
27. Add more lighting
28. Get the garage organized
29. Add French doors and a patio
30. Design my dream bathroom and dressing room for when the time comes
Personal Growth & Development
31. Be a better mom
32. Become a better daughter
33. Nurture my friends more
Health and Fitness
34. Lose 40 pounds – (should it be more? Of course, but this is a great place to start)
35. Learn to love some form of exercise (This is by far the hardest one on the list)
36. Eat no processed foods for one month out of the year
Ethiopian Experiences
37. Start attending the Ethiopian Adoption Group meetings in Pittsburgh
38. Expand my Amharic skills – add 40 new words to my repertoire (Well I added a few...the words for water, table, coffee, yellow, How are you?...so I am on my way!)
39. Do a fundraiser/drive for the children at Miskaye
40. And Last and by no means least…BEGIN PAPERCHASING FOR LITTLE J!!! (I identified my new adoption agency and my new homestudy agency. People are writing recommendations for me...however I need to be honest the two trip requirement took a little wind out of my sails, but I will carry on...cautiously!)
All in all I am quite pleased with my progress! So until next month...
Friday, March 19, 2010
A Rare Glimpse of Us All Together!
My BFF Aimee once said she liked the idea that our girls would never have to look very far to see a family like theirs. I will never be able to explain how much strength and sanity I gleam from our friendship! Thanks a million, man!
Where I'm From
It's probably been a year or so ago that I read a post from Gina's blog where she talked about the Where I'm From writing assignment. I was instantly smitten with the idea and couldn't wait to write my own Where I'm From piece. I started it, but never could finish it until today. For whatever reason, today the ideas, memories and words just flowed. I think this is a great exercise that allows you to reminisce about your roots. There are many sites out on the web to get you started. I deviated from the plan, but that's the idea. If you're interested you can go here for a beginning template.
I hope someday when Jacinda is older she will want to write her own Where I'm From piece and I also hope that when she reads mine, she will have a real sense of who her mother really is and where I am from.
Where I'm From
I am from silver screaming pressure cookers and gleaming glass canning jars, from Heinz ketchup and tiger-striped farm cats.
I am from an ordinary home perched on family land that has been passed down from generations, from goodnights hollered down the hall before bedtime, black Carbon tape, kitchens boiling over with summer heat and barefoot mornings walking in fresh cut green grass still wet with dew.
I am from the blushing pink rose bushes that you could never pick, a rock big enough to sit on with your cousins surrounded by Grandma’s Irises, luscious smelling lilacs whose fragrance I would inhale, a garden full of brightly colored vegetables and a hilltop lined with happy yellow daffodils.
I am from cousins saying grace before family Sunday dinners and strong-willed, good cooks who took turns washing dishes and red plastic Solo cups that Papa insisted we reuse. I am from Beulah Bernice and Billy Frank and Aunt Louise who always had the most interesting things growing in her greenhouse. I am from Aunt Elaine who served chocolate pudding for breakfast and from Easter Egg hunts where the recycled pantyhose eggs always held candy and coins. I am from Clark Bars on Halloween, Saturday night pizzas eaten while watching Hee Haw, opening Stockings first on Christmas Day and summer Saturday nights at the Drive-In.
I am from uncles who played basketball for hours with an old ball and a rusty rim without a net. The same ones who would steal my nose, tug at my pony tails, lovingly call me McGillicutty and asked me if I could hear the Whippoorwill. I am from church-going, community minded, self-giving aunts who wore their hard headedness like proudly earned medals.
I am from “You kids stay out of the Red and Blue rooms,” “you’re old enough that your wants won’t hurt you,” “You don’t sit down, you fall down” and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
I am from the little white church full of spirit-filled, God-fearing people who didn’t mind hard pews and lengthy church services. I am from the The Old Rugged Cross, Let’s Just Praise the Lord and Jesus Loves me. I am from Rex Humbard, Billy Graham and Jimmy Swaggart. I am from Vacation Bible School with sandwich cookies and red Koolaid, from Sunday School rooms separated by a curtains and Baptisms in the river on warm summer Sunday afternoons. I am from altar calls, Thompson Chain Reference Bibles, Friday night youth crusades, weekend retreats at Mission Farms and revivals that would last for weeks on end.
I'm from eating at the kids table, playing 8-ball with my hands because we weren’t allowed to use poolsticks, being giddy with excitement when the Indianapolis bunch would come in only to find they would tickle me until I almost wet my pants. I am from playing Batman and Robin with my cousins and getting in trouble playing a made-up game called Sticky Glue Part Two. I am from Grandma’s golden Macaroni and Cheese, Anne’s Sweet Peppers simmering on the stove and Aunt Lynne’s Seven Layer Salad masterpiece. I’m from Mom’s Potato Salad and Broccoli Casserole and from the best sweet tea ever made.
From a red-as-a-beet summer face that had to be cooled with a damp washcloth before dining on chicken pate and cocktails which turned out to be a tube of sandwich meat spread on a cracker and an ice cold Coke served in a plastic champagne glass that would come apart if you held it the wrong way. From playing dress up with all of Anne’s jewelry and teetering around in her multicolored heels making clomping sounds on the old wood floor. From being hovered over a silver sink as the stench of the perm solution invaded my button nose and being told it was the price we women pay for beauty. I am from manning the guest book for practically all of my older cousin’s weddings and never being chosen as the flower girl I longed to be.
I am from my daddy’s black plastic lunch box with a green metal thermos covered in black dust. I am from Zest soap, pet bunnies and dogs that never had to be walked. I am from Big Wheels, baby carriages and books read under the covers with a flashlight.
I am from the beloved orange album, handmade Barbie clothes, painted wooden donkeys and milk cans. I am from cloud watching, star gazing and getting my first kiss between the two pine trees at the top of the hill. I am from summers at the Little League field learning first-hand what hard work is all about. I am from placing flowers on a tombstone and still talking to the woman I lost so long ago as tears well up in my eyes. I am from loyalty. I am from loss. I am from love.
I hope someday when Jacinda is older she will want to write her own Where I'm From piece and I also hope that when she reads mine, she will have a real sense of who her mother really is and where I am from.
Where I'm From
I am from silver screaming pressure cookers and gleaming glass canning jars, from Heinz ketchup and tiger-striped farm cats.
I am from an ordinary home perched on family land that has been passed down from generations, from goodnights hollered down the hall before bedtime, black Carbon tape, kitchens boiling over with summer heat and barefoot mornings walking in fresh cut green grass still wet with dew.
I am from the blushing pink rose bushes that you could never pick, a rock big enough to sit on with your cousins surrounded by Grandma’s Irises, luscious smelling lilacs whose fragrance I would inhale, a garden full of brightly colored vegetables and a hilltop lined with happy yellow daffodils.
I am from cousins saying grace before family Sunday dinners and strong-willed, good cooks who took turns washing dishes and red plastic Solo cups that Papa insisted we reuse. I am from Beulah Bernice and Billy Frank and Aunt Louise who always had the most interesting things growing in her greenhouse. I am from Aunt Elaine who served chocolate pudding for breakfast and from Easter Egg hunts where the recycled pantyhose eggs always held candy and coins. I am from Clark Bars on Halloween, Saturday night pizzas eaten while watching Hee Haw, opening Stockings first on Christmas Day and summer Saturday nights at the Drive-In.
I am from uncles who played basketball for hours with an old ball and a rusty rim without a net. The same ones who would steal my nose, tug at my pony tails, lovingly call me McGillicutty and asked me if I could hear the Whippoorwill. I am from church-going, community minded, self-giving aunts who wore their hard headedness like proudly earned medals.
I am from “You kids stay out of the Red and Blue rooms,” “you’re old enough that your wants won’t hurt you,” “You don’t sit down, you fall down” and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
I am from the little white church full of spirit-filled, God-fearing people who didn’t mind hard pews and lengthy church services. I am from the The Old Rugged Cross, Let’s Just Praise the Lord and Jesus Loves me. I am from Rex Humbard, Billy Graham and Jimmy Swaggart. I am from Vacation Bible School with sandwich cookies and red Koolaid, from Sunday School rooms separated by a curtains and Baptisms in the river on warm summer Sunday afternoons. I am from altar calls, Thompson Chain Reference Bibles, Friday night youth crusades, weekend retreats at Mission Farms and revivals that would last for weeks on end.
I'm from eating at the kids table, playing 8-ball with my hands because we weren’t allowed to use poolsticks, being giddy with excitement when the Indianapolis bunch would come in only to find they would tickle me until I almost wet my pants. I am from playing Batman and Robin with my cousins and getting in trouble playing a made-up game called Sticky Glue Part Two. I am from Grandma’s golden Macaroni and Cheese, Anne’s Sweet Peppers simmering on the stove and Aunt Lynne’s Seven Layer Salad masterpiece. I’m from Mom’s Potato Salad and Broccoli Casserole and from the best sweet tea ever made.
From a red-as-a-beet summer face that had to be cooled with a damp washcloth before dining on chicken pate and cocktails which turned out to be a tube of sandwich meat spread on a cracker and an ice cold Coke served in a plastic champagne glass that would come apart if you held it the wrong way. From playing dress up with all of Anne’s jewelry and teetering around in her multicolored heels making clomping sounds on the old wood floor. From being hovered over a silver sink as the stench of the perm solution invaded my button nose and being told it was the price we women pay for beauty. I am from manning the guest book for practically all of my older cousin’s weddings and never being chosen as the flower girl I longed to be.
I am from my daddy’s black plastic lunch box with a green metal thermos covered in black dust. I am from Zest soap, pet bunnies and dogs that never had to be walked. I am from Big Wheels, baby carriages and books read under the covers with a flashlight.
I am from the beloved orange album, handmade Barbie clothes, painted wooden donkeys and milk cans. I am from cloud watching, star gazing and getting my first kiss between the two pine trees at the top of the hill. I am from summers at the Little League field learning first-hand what hard work is all about. I am from placing flowers on a tombstone and still talking to the woman I lost so long ago as tears well up in my eyes. I am from loyalty. I am from loss. I am from love.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
End of an Era
What I neglected to mention in my last post was that on my way to meet Aimee for our weekend getaway, my beloved Great Pumpkin (aka my 2002 Ford Focus) decided she had been pushed to the limit and started sputtering just miles away from our meeting place. I had just had her in the shop a few hours before to get new headlights to the tune of $323 (they were very special headlights, you see).
After some diagnostic tests, I got the bad news...her transmission was shot. Due to her age and the fact that I rely so heavily on my car and didn't want her to become a money pit...I cut my losses and let her go. It was a sad goodbye, but she had a life well lived and will probably be seen cruising down the road by someone else in the next month or so.
Which meant car shopping...not my favorite activity. However I found a gem of a car that on my second day driving her, I am thoroughly enjoying!
Introducing...SWEET PEA! (Thanks Aimee for the great nickname!)
After some diagnostic tests, I got the bad news...her transmission was shot. Due to her age and the fact that I rely so heavily on my car and didn't want her to become a money pit...I cut my losses and let her go. It was a sad goodbye, but she had a life well lived and will probably be seen cruising down the road by someone else in the next month or so.
Which meant car shopping...not my favorite activity. However I found a gem of a car that on my second day driving her, I am thoroughly enjoying!
Introducing...SWEET PEA! (Thanks Aimee for the great nickname!)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
She blinded me with Science!
Last weekend Aimee, the girls and I were finally able to get away from it all. We took a short drive to Pittsburgh and made a mini-getaway out of visiting the Carnegie Science Center. The girls had a lot of fun and I think the moms had a great time just getting away and not feeling so stifled or cramped in our everyday surroundings. Jacinda loved the Science Center. She was in awe of many of the exhibits and whispered excitedly "Who knew...what a great surprise!" This totally cracked me up!
After our visit to the Science Center, we headed over to Tana for some really tasty Ethiopian food. The girls loved the injera and I was able to add another couple of words to my Amharic repertoire. A great time was had by all!
After our visit to the Science Center, we headed over to Tana for some really tasty Ethiopian food. The girls loved the injera and I was able to add another couple of words to my Amharic repertoire. A great time was had by all!
Monday, March 8, 2010
SUNSHINE
I finally see the sun...the white snow is melting away and I am so excited to be able to see some green and feel the warm rays on my face!
I love the spring...it is a promise of all things new and rebirth. I can't wait to see the flowers blooming, the birds singing and the days getting longer.
And just like mother nature for whatever reason...I really do feel like I am on the verge of reblooming after a season of winter all my own.
And I can't wait to see the beauty that is waiting to unfold.
I love the spring...it is a promise of all things new and rebirth. I can't wait to see the flowers blooming, the birds singing and the days getting longer.
And just like mother nature for whatever reason...I really do feel like I am on the verge of reblooming after a season of winter all my own.
And I can't wait to see the beauty that is waiting to unfold.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Three Friends
My junior year of college...I met two freshmen and quickly developed a soft spot for them and the crazy messes that they were! And somehow I pulled my BFF Aimee along for the ride. These two freshmen were the sweetest, kindest and craziest kids I had ever met. I will never forget on my 21st birthday the pair made me a mix tape (kind of like a compilation CD for you youngins out there!) that made me cry. The two pledged our sorority and were a lot of fun to be around, even when they did need Aimee and I to rescue them!
However they didn't return for the sophomore year and so they were absent during my last year of college. We lost touch with them, but I often fondly thought of the twosome.
Years later, one of these friends re-entered the canvas of my life. She had gotten married and was living in Hawaii. It was a hoot. Sadly we lost touch again but through facebook reconnect last year. I was still waiting for a court date and had mentioned a daughter in one of my updates...she sent me an e-mail asking for "Details, honey!!" I filled her in on my adoption journey and then sent me an e-mail that shockingly stated that she was just finishing her home study and working on her dossier to adopt an infant from....ETHIOPIA!!!
This week my friend leaves to go pick up her gorgeous new son.
And while it may not seem too big to anyone else...I still stand in awe that three women from three seperate towns attended a small liberal arts school with 700 people, pledged the same floundering sorority and years later would follow the same path to motherhood by traveling to a land far, far away! I further stand amazed that through all of this God is not surprised...He knew when we met (before we met) what paths our lives would take and how that young, crazy friendship would someday grow even thicker roots of support and encouragement just when we needed it most.
So safe travels my friend! You're going to love Ethiopia! And your new baby boy is going to love you!
However they didn't return for the sophomore year and so they were absent during my last year of college. We lost touch with them, but I often fondly thought of the twosome.
Years later, one of these friends re-entered the canvas of my life. She had gotten married and was living in Hawaii. It was a hoot. Sadly we lost touch again but through facebook reconnect last year. I was still waiting for a court date and had mentioned a daughter in one of my updates...she sent me an e-mail asking for "Details, honey!!" I filled her in on my adoption journey and then sent me an e-mail that shockingly stated that she was just finishing her home study and working on her dossier to adopt an infant from....ETHIOPIA!!!
This week my friend leaves to go pick up her gorgeous new son.
And while it may not seem too big to anyone else...I still stand in awe that three women from three seperate towns attended a small liberal arts school with 700 people, pledged the same floundering sorority and years later would follow the same path to motherhood by traveling to a land far, far away! I further stand amazed that through all of this God is not surprised...He knew when we met (before we met) what paths our lives would take and how that young, crazy friendship would someday grow even thicker roots of support and encouragement just when we needed it most.
So safe travels my friend! You're going to love Ethiopia! And your new baby boy is going to love you!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Basket Ball
Basketball season ended last week, so I wanted to post a few photos of Jacinda's first season. She really loved playing it and while I am not thrilled with the level of instruction that was given in her "instructional league." So I have some plans to get her into a program that can better "teach" her. And while I may be partial, I think she is going to be a force to be reckoned with on the court. She's got height and speed and isn't afraid to go in for those rebounds! I am one proud momma!
Monday, March 1, 2010
40 Things to Do Before I am 40
I turned 39 a few weeks ago...it was my first birthday as a mommy. And it was a lot of fun being greeted that morning with a rendition of Happy Birthday to You that warmed my heart! As with every birthday I do a little self-reflecting and this year was no different. Unlike a lot of people I am a BIG FAN of birthdays. I believe they should be celebrated and that you should be able...no should want to...celebrate who you are on those days! And so on Feb. 20th I decided that I am pleased as punch with who I am, where my life has taken me and the path I am traveling.
And since I am love LISTS as much as birthdays, I decided it would be tons of fun to come up with a list of things I want to do before next year - separated into subsections, of course! And before you get the wrong impression...this is no way, shape or form a bucket list!
And I am also going to commit to update my progress on the 20th of every month, leading all the way up to Feb. 20, 2011 - my 40th! So here it goes!
40 THINGS TO DO BEFORE I'M 40
Activities
1. Take Jacinda Camping
2. Go away for a Girls weekend with my friends Sherry and Nikki
3. Take Jacinda on a tour of the Tygart Dam
4. Get some friends together and go Christmas Caroling
5. Have a yard sale
6. Enter a contest
7. Take a fall driving tour to go leaf peaking
8. Fly a kite
9. Discover/Experience four new places/events in WV
10. Try Letterboxing
Reading
11. Read the Bible in chronological order
12. Read at least 6 of the parenting/adoption books sitting on my book shelf
13. Read more in front of and to Jacinda (at least two times a week)
14. Read at least 6 books for pleasure
Artistically speaking
15. Take an Art class/workshop
16. Attend at least 6 live theater performances
17. Attend at least 3 concerts
18. Blog at least 10 times a month (I know a stretch for me!)
In the Kitchen
19. Try two new recipes a month
20. Organize my spices into some kind of usable system
21. Come up with a new storage system for my canned goods
22. Come up with a cost-effective, creative solution for a simple/striking counter top/back splash
Better Home & Garden
23. Plant some flowers
24. Create the playroom
25. Fix that pesky leak
26. Get bathroom lights, towel rack, etc. up
27. Add more lighting
28. Get the garage organized
29. Add French doors and a patio
30. Design my dream bathroom and dressing room for when the time comes
Personal Growth & Development
31. Be a better mom
32. Become a better daughter
33. Nurture my friends more
Health and Fitness
34. Lose 40 pounds – (should it be more? Of course, but this is a great place to start)
35. Learn to love some form of exercise (This is by far the hardest one on the list)
36. Eat no processed foods for one month out of the year
Ethiopian Experiences
37. Start attending the Ethiopian Adoption Group meetings in Pittsburgh
38. Expand my Amharic skills – add 40 new words to my repertoire
39. Do a fundraiser/drive for the children at Miskaye
40. And Last and by no means least…BEGIN PAPERCHASING FOR LITTLE J!!!
And since I am love LISTS as much as birthdays, I decided it would be tons of fun to come up with a list of things I want to do before next year - separated into subsections, of course! And before you get the wrong impression...this is no way, shape or form a bucket list!
And I am also going to commit to update my progress on the 20th of every month, leading all the way up to Feb. 20, 2011 - my 40th! So here it goes!
40 THINGS TO DO BEFORE I'M 40
Activities
1. Take Jacinda Camping
2. Go away for a Girls weekend with my friends Sherry and Nikki
3. Take Jacinda on a tour of the Tygart Dam
4. Get some friends together and go Christmas Caroling
5. Have a yard sale
6. Enter a contest
7. Take a fall driving tour to go leaf peaking
8. Fly a kite
9. Discover/Experience four new places/events in WV
10. Try Letterboxing
Reading
11. Read the Bible in chronological order
12. Read at least 6 of the parenting/adoption books sitting on my book shelf
13. Read more in front of and to Jacinda (at least two times a week)
14. Read at least 6 books for pleasure
Artistically speaking
15. Take an Art class/workshop
16. Attend at least 6 live theater performances
17. Attend at least 3 concerts
18. Blog at least 10 times a month (I know a stretch for me!)
In the Kitchen
19. Try two new recipes a month
20. Organize my spices into some kind of usable system
21. Come up with a new storage system for my canned goods
22. Come up with a cost-effective, creative solution for a simple/striking counter top/back splash
Better Home & Garden
23. Plant some flowers
24. Create the playroom
25. Fix that pesky leak
26. Get bathroom lights, towel rack, etc. up
27. Add more lighting
28. Get the garage organized
29. Add French doors and a patio
30. Design my dream bathroom and dressing room for when the time comes
Personal Growth & Development
31. Be a better mom
32. Become a better daughter
33. Nurture my friends more
Health and Fitness
34. Lose 40 pounds – (should it be more? Of course, but this is a great place to start)
35. Learn to love some form of exercise (This is by far the hardest one on the list)
36. Eat no processed foods for one month out of the year
Ethiopian Experiences
37. Start attending the Ethiopian Adoption Group meetings in Pittsburgh
38. Expand my Amharic skills – add 40 new words to my repertoire
39. Do a fundraiser/drive for the children at Miskaye
40. And Last and by no means least…BEGIN PAPERCHASING FOR LITTLE J!!!
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