January 13 in 2013 Update

I made some great progress on my 13 goals in the month of January. Of course, it's the first month of the year, so that is to be expected. However, progress is progress and I will celebrate the victories, no matter how small.

1.) Try 2 new recipes each month. 

Success! I tried two new recipes this month...one a big hit and one that was so-so. The first recipe I made was Cilantro Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa.

It was just as delicious as it sounds! Kory ended up cutting his chicken into smaller bites to put it all in a tortilla and make a soft taco out of it, which was a great idea. I will definitely make this again!

At my birthday dinner, I had some Sweet Onion Soup that was AMAZING!! I didn't even know I'd like a sweet onion soup, but this stuff was seriously delicious. I tried to recreate it, and didn't really make that happen. It had a TON of onions, first of all. The recipe called for 8-9 and I only used 6 because that was filling my pot. There was also too much milk, I think, as Kory and I both felt a little queasy after we ate this soup the first night. Sadly, we have LOTS of leftover soup and I will be eating on it the next few days until I can't stand the sight of it anymore because it was pretty pricey to make and I don't want to throw it away...at least not yet.

2.) Memorize the book of James.

I've done ok at this one. I'm trying to get all of chapter 1 re-memorized at this point. It's still pretty hard for me to do in the ESV, since I'm so used to NIV.

3.) Pay off the Camry. 

We already pay extra on the car each month, but we made a plan for how much more we'll need to pay each month to completely pay it off this year. I wrote the check and sent it off. We're 1/12 of the way there!

4.) Give away produce from my garden. 

Nothing to report so far. Maybe next month I can research when and what to plant.

5.) Complete 12 crafty projects. 

I completed one pretty big crafty project this month...but I can't reveal it yet because it's a gift for one of my friends. After I give it to her, I'll share a picture of the project.

I am also in the beginning stages of making a Quiet Book for my niece, Lucy. I am really excited for this project because I've found a ton of great ideas online.

6.) Make our house feel more like a home. 

We made a couple baby steps in this area. First off, we replaced the wooden toilet seats in our two bathrooms. I think they look much better now.

BEFORE:



AFTER:

You can tell we also have some lovely wallpaper to take care of someday, but that will probably not happen for quite some time. 

We also purchased curtain rods for our four large windows in the living room. They are 6.5 - 8.5 feet wide so these are some pretty big curtain rods, which means they were pretty expensive. We'll aim to buy some curtains in the February or March budget now.

7.) Take a break from my iPhone. 

I've done decent on this one, but not great. I'm trying to put my phone on the iHome in the kitchen when I get home, so it's not right by my side. I've noticed I just check it out of habit a lot, so if it's not close-by, I don't check it out of boredom.

8.) Keep in touch with our Compassion-sponsored children. 

I wrote letters online to Baraka and Patience this month. I just found out that if you write them online you can include uploaded pictures and put it on really cute stationery. Plus it's free! I think I'll be doing this more frequently, at least once per month.

9.) Develop a deeper prayer relationship. 

I'm finishing up the book Too Busy Not to Pray, which I've really enjoyed so far. I've also tried to make use of "down times" like when I'm showering or driving to work to spend some time praying. Lots of room to grow on this one, but I'm working on it.

10.) Play with Sky every day. 

Sky and I have played together almost every single day this month. We maybe missed 2 days? Our favorite game lately is to play fetch in street with his tennis ball. We live on a secluded road that gets very little traffic, so it works great for him to get some good exercise running from one block to the next.

11.) Clean, organize and purge one drawer, closet, or cabinet each month. 

I ended up tackling a few areas this month. I completely cleaned out my bedroom closet and got rid of about 3 grocery bags worth of clothing. I also went through all 5 of my dresser drawers and organized the spice cabinet in the kitchen.

12.) Spend time with and learn about people different than me. 

Kory and I have been volunteering this month at the Warming Center, which is a temporary homeless shelter that is set-up in a church building here in Roseburg when the temperature drops below 30 degrees. We've been there 3 nights so far, and really enjoyed it every time. This has been a great opportunity to serve and also to get to know some people in our town that we probably would never meet otherwise.

I've also been reading a book called Not Quite Adults, which is about how 20-somethings are taking longer to get "real" jobs, move out of their parents homes, get married, have kids, etc. I am very interested in this because it's about my generation and also because it affects my work (helping people find jobs) and my youth group involvement (what will the future be like for these high schoolers?), as well as my general curiosity about the world we live in. This has been really interesting to read about people my age whose lives have turned out so differently than mine.

13.) Plan quality, creative time for Kory and I to be together. 

We have instituted technology-free meal time, which has lead to some great conversation and also helped me with goal #7. We have also spent time this month looking at the stars on a (rare!) clear night, planning and working on home improvement projects, enjoying Netflix movie nights, and eating lunch together almost every day. I have an idea planned for February that I think will be a fun way to accomplish this goal and will also make a great Valentine's gift.