March 14 in 2014

1. Eat {more} vegetables.

I did ok this month, but not great. I did try a new vegetable: parsnips. Our friend gave us some from his mom's garden and we used them in smoothies. I intended to roast them also, but I forgot and they were kind of rotten by the time I remembered.

I did have a significant victory in learning to like broccoli! We had it roasted twice and I had it in my yakisoba noodles several times. I feel like I can say with certainty that this vegetable moved out of the dislike category!

2. Learn to drive a stick shift (again).

Check! This happened in March! I would still like to get a little more practice, but I feel confident that I can do this now. There were a few stalling out moments, but it was when someone got behind me and I got so nervous with them waiting on me. To be fair, I was in parking lots the entire time (it was several that join together and I got up to second gear, so it was still good experience), and next time I hope to get some actual street practice. 

3. Read books.

I'm still working on The Signature of All Things. It's been very slow going for me, but not because it's bad writing. I really enjoy it and just need to take more time to read it, preferably NOT when I'm in bed and about to fall asleep.

4. Print and make albums with the pictures I take in the year.

Nothing happened here in March.

5. (Continue to) memorize the book of James.

I am not feeling good about this goal. I feel like I should have picked this goal or #10, but probably not both. I'm just not able to do them both well.

6. Crochet a blanket for Kory

Kory has now decided he doesn't want this blanket. It is understandable as we have quite a few already, and he feels like it would be too much work for me, considering he might not use it a lot.

So it looks like maybe I can turn my crocheting efforts towards baby items at this point.

7. Can 3 foods.

I have been looking through my canning cookbooks I got for Christmas to get some ideas. My current thoughts on what I might can include green beans, tomatoes, and possibly pickles.

8. Do puzzles.

We are getting SO close to finishing this giant! It's continuing to be pretty difficult at this point with so many of the pieces looking the same, but I have no doubt that April will be the month we finally finish this puzzle.

9. Make my blog prettier. 

Nothing this month, but I did get a comment last month with a great idea so I need to check out that website and see what I can do to spruce things up around here. 

10. Read through the entire Bible.

I'm still going, but it's a struggle. One of the main reasons is that I am so tired these days and reading puts me to sleep very quickly. I've tried reading while blow drying my hair, on my lunch break, right when I get home after work...so far, nothing is working really well. I'm giving myself grace and will continue reading when I can.

11. Eat more whole foods and, therefore, less processed foods. 

Hmm...I didn't do a lot of cooking in March. I have been SO exhausted in the evenings after work and Kory has been great about picking up the slack. I'm looking forward to the 2nd trimester energy boost I keep hearing about!

12. Get my braces off.

My most recent appointment brought good and bad news. It looks like I could get my braces off earlier than expected, but it means I have to wear rubber bands again. My new goal is to have my braces off before the baby arrives, so I'm still feeling positive about that happening.

13. Brush up on my Spanish.

I think I only worked on my Spanish one day this past month. I'm not too upset about that because I feel like it was a productive month anyway. Plus, I was really tired, and have lowered my expectations for myself a bit since discovering how worn out I am most days. 

14. Move out of our house.

Well, this is the 2nd biggest news in our lives these days. It's a long story, but we are keeping the house. We took it off the market in March and will continue living here. We do not plan to fix the foundation, but we do plan to do some repairs on the gutters/drainage situation and hopefully fix some of the seasonal settling we're experiencing.

We have a letter from a certified engineer stating that the home is structurally sound and all the damage was done in the first 10 years the home was built, which means it's not getting worse every year, like we originally thought. Finding out we were pregnant was a big part of making this decision. We started listing the things we wanted in a house...quiet neighborhood, big back yard, etc. It didn't take long to realize we already have that house! It's refreshing to not have to think about packing, selling, moving and buying a new house while I'm pregnant. I'm excited to be staying here as I really do love this house.

To someone on the outside, it might seem like we just went in circles for a year. To us, God did incredible work on our hearts and taught us trust and faith in very real and significant ways. The ways God grew us over the past year mean that this was not wasted time. Thanks again for your prayers and support as we dealt with this house situation. We feel like God led us to this house 2 years ago, and we're grateful He's allowing us to keep it now.

This goal will now transition to one I set last year and never really achieved because we found out about the foundation damage: Make our house feel like a home.

Pinterest Reviews #3

It's time for me to share again about some of the recipes and projects I've seen on Pinterest and then attempted to recreate. These have been done over the past year, so don't go thinking I've been amazingly productive recently.

Project: Homemade Pretzel Dough
Link: http://smells-like-home.com/2012/01/soft-pretzel-bites-with-cheese-sauce/
Verdict: Yummy! I took them to an Oscars watching party last year and they were a big hit with the fondue.
Best Part: They were soft and golden brown and just the perfect mix of buttery/salty.
Advice: When the recipe calls for parchment paper, don't ignore the labels and use wax paper instead. There is actually quite a difference between the two.
Next Time: I will use parchment paper so that I don't have to cut the bottom off every pretzel bite that has burned to the wax paper.

Project: Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix
Link: http://cincyshopper.com/homemade-taco-seasoning/
Verdict: Easy and tasty!
Best Part: You get delicious taco taste without the added junk you find in a pre-made packet.
Advice: Make a large mix while you have all of the ingredients out and are measuring everything.
Next Time: I will add a little more chili powder and red pepper to give it more of a kick. It tastes good, but I would like it to have a little more of a kick.

Project: Crochet Headband with Flower
Link: The one I used is now blocked...sorry. I can't find it again.
Verdict: Very cute!
Best Part: It's a pretty simple stitch so you can easily create the whole thing in one sitting.
Advice: Try the headband on several times as you go to make sure it's still going to fit your head comfortably.
Next Time: I will make one for myself. I keep making them for other people and really want one for me to wear!

Project: Lasagna Roll-ups
Link: http://www.cookingclassy.com/2012/02/lasagna-roll-ups/
Verdict: So much better than Stouffer's! (And I love Stouffer's!)
Best Part: Single servings make for great and easy left-over storage.
Advice: Follow the recipe writer's advice and grind the beef/onion mixture for better texture.
Next Time: I will get some help so we can assemble these quicker. It took me a long time because there are several steps and I had a hard time juggling the noodles and sauce and meat/cheese to get them all assembled and cooked.

Project: Easter Egg Wreath
Link: http://momandwife.com/2011/03/diy-easter-egg-wreath/
Verdict: I really love it!
Best Part: I got my plastic eggs from Walmart and they were super cheap and had fun designs.
Advice: I left the grass off my wreath, mainly because I thought it would be messy. I think it actually looks cuter without it, so I'd advise you to go with just the eggs also.
Next Time: I really don't know that I'd ever make another one. How many Easter wreaths does one need? One seems plenty for me. If I did, I would roughly plan out the egg placement before getting started.

Project: Date Night Jar
Link: http://theraysofsunshine.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/date-night-in-a-jar/
Verdict: Great in theory...
Best Part: I already had the jar and markers, so I only had to purchase the popsicle sticks.
Advice: Well, I hardly have room to give advice since I made this over one year ago and we have not used it once. I had the best of intentions...
Next Time: I'm sure there won't be a next time since we never use the one I already made.

Project: Valentine's Snack Mix
Link: http://www.glorioustreats.com/2013/01/valentines-snack-mix.html
Verdict: Delicious! Two thumbs up!
Best Part: Melted white chocolate covering everything.
Advice: Use the Ghirardelli white melting wafers you can find in the baking section. They are especially decadent.
Next Time: I will not pour the popcorn out of my paper bag directly into the mix because then the un-popped kernels fall in there and you have to pick them out individually by hand.

14 in 2014: January Update

Well, we're 1/12 of the way through 2014, and I'm pleased with my progress on these goals so far. I don't actually remember all of them, so this monthly check-in will be a good way to remind myself of what I'm trying to do this year.

1. Eat {more} vegetables.

It's safe to say I consumed more veggies in January than in December. I started drinking smoothies again, which is the easiest way for me to get more fruits and vegetables in my diet. I also made a veggie pizza one night, which looked far better than it tasted.

To be fair, it wasn't the vegetables fault...it was the bad crust. I tried a new kind of yeast and should have just stuck with what I knew worked. The real kicker for me this month was that I brought a salad to our monthly staff luncheon so we could have something healthy.

2. Learn to drive a stick (again).

No progress here this month, but it will come.

3. Read books.

I did really well on this goal in January. Granted, two of the books were started in late 2013, but I finished them in 2014, so they go on this month's list. Dear John was a re-read for me, as I was just wanting something really easy and thought-less to get me through a couple days of cold weather where I just wanted to be curled up on the couch. I forgot just how awfully sad it really is and bawled my way through the last 1/3 of it. It's awful. I mean it. Don't read it. But if you keep it on your bookshelf long enough, you'll forget and re-read it a couple years later and be saying all over again that it was the very last time. For real this time.

4. Print and make albums with the pictures I take in the year.

I needed some new pictures for my desk at work, so I printed several (5 I think?) from our Christmas trip to TX. They were all taken with my phone and so they aren't fantastic quality as prints. I've been thinking lately that I should probably either dig out my old camera or buy a new one and start using it to take pictures if I want some in print form. I am sometimes impressed with the quality of photos I can take on my phone, but it is just not great quality for printing. No matter how clear it is on my phone screen, the prints always come out just a little bit blurry.

5. (Continue to) memorize the book of James.

I didn't get any memorizing done in January. I'll try to work on that in February.

6. Crochet a blanket for Kory

I haven't started on the blanket yet. I need to get Kory to pick out the colors so I can get started and that just keeps getting pushed down the to-do list with other, more important things in our immediate future.

7. Can 3 foods.

This will be more of a summer/fall goal for me, so I'm feeling fine that nothing has been done on it yet.

8. Do puzzles.

I've been working a lot on the 2,000 piece puzzle that Kory got me for Christmas. I had no idea how big 2,000 pieces would be. It takes up pretty much the whole table, so I can't even get a lot of pieces out of the box because I'm out of space. It's really coming together though and I've enjoyed some relaxing evenings working on it.

9. Make my blog prettier. 

Not this month.

10. Read through the entire Bible.

This goal is probably my biggest success for this month, which I'm very happy to report. I've kept up with my daily Bible reading plan and am still going. I got behind for a few days, which I expected, but I caught up fairly easily. This is a chronological plan, so I started in Genesis and am now in Job. It's kind of weird for me because I expected Exodus to be next (I just forgot it was chronological), but I'm excited that I've found something I can stick with and enjoy.

11. Eat more whole foods and, therefore, less processed foods. 

This goal is really just about baby steps for us. I have started grating our own cheese instead of buying pre-shredded. It's a really easy step and saves us from eating the chemicals that they put in shredded cheese to keep it from clumping together. Plus, it's cheaper! I also stopped buying low-fat items like sour cream after learning they contain similar chemicals. After a significant amount of research, I've discovered that the full-fat dairy items are actually healthier for you, so I have cleared our fridge of all the low-fat groceries. We also had some really good coupons for organic meat and produce this month, so I was able to purchase that for the same price or cheaper than regular groceries.

12. Get my braces off.

We're on track to meet this goal. My orthodontist said I did a great job wearing the rubber bands (Woohoo! Glad to know the pain paid off!) and so he took them off this month. I might have to have them again later on, but I'm very grateful for the break. 

13. Brush up on my Spanish.

I did really well using the DuoLingo app early on in January, but haven't used it for a couple weeks now. I realized I kind of gave myself a hobby over-load with these goals, and there are just not enough hours in the day to do all of them all the time. I'm ok with that and I'll just try to focus on different goals in different months.

14. Move out of our house.

After almost a year of bad news about our house, God answered our prayers and gave us some really good news! We had a certified engineer come look at our house and he deemed it structurally sound and safe to sell. He will write us a letter stating that it is his professional opinion that all damage done to the foundation was done in the first 10 years the house was built and no further damage is being done. There will always be seasonal changes because of the rainfall and dry weather, but that is nothing too major. We're working with the realtor now and getting estimates for his charges as well as the engineer's so we can put it on the market soon. We hope to spend the next week cleaning things up and getting it ready to sell before Kory goes to Guatemala for 2 weeks. We are still cautious and know there could be a long road ahead, but we're very grateful to have some good options ahead!

14 in 2014

I haven't participated in many "blog series" over the course of my sporadic 5+ years of blogging (wow, I just realized it's been over 5 years!), but I really love Regina's yearly goals that she blogs about at Live Delightfully. As a fellow list-lover and goal-setter, this series speaks right to my heart. So, without further ado, here are my 14 goals for the year 2014.

1. Eat {more} vegetables.

I am not a huge fan of vegetables. However, I understand the necessary nutrition they provide, so I am trying to put more of them into my belly. I'm hoping to try some new veggies this year that I've never eaten as well as making an effort to actually consume some every day.

2. Learn to drive a stick (again).

I learned how to parallel park in 2013, (which wasn't officially a goal of mine). I just never learned how since it wasn't required in my driver's ed classes. Anytime I drive to Kory's office downtown, I have to parallel park and I got tired of circling the block looking for a space where I could pull in nose-first. Plus, there was a lot of teasing from Kory and I couldn't handle it anymore. How did I learn? Well, I just watched another driver do it one day and then tried it myself. I'm not perfect at it, but I think I'm pretty good for being self-taught.

Anyhow, the point of that tangent is to say that I did have to learn to drive a stick shift in high school, but I haven't done it in years and wouldn't feel confident doing it now. Our friends who are also our neighbors have two vehicles which require this skill, so the plan is for them to take Kory and I out and re-teach us both how to shift gears gracefully.

3. Read books.

Jon Acuff launched a new project in December called the Empty Shelf Challenge. The idea is that you take a picture of an empty book shelf and then continue to take pictures of that book shelf filling up all year as you place all the books you've read on the shelf. I love to read, but often find myself spending my spare time doing mindless Facebooking or TV watching, so I'm committing to read more books this year. (I didn't keep track of how many books I read in 2013 but I would guess about 6 or 7?)

4. Print and make albums with the pictures I take in the year.

I know I'm not alone when I say I haven't printed any pictures in a couple years. I take a ton of pictures on my phone and they get put on Facebook, maybe the blog, and then get stuck on the phone or computer for the rest of time. I was noticing at work the other day that my most recent pictures at my desk are from my wedding, 2.5 years ago! I always loved looking at picture albums when I would visit my grandparent's house and I would love to have keepsakes of our life now for future generations of our family. I really doubt my kids will want to scroll through my Facebook page to see pictures of what life used to be like in the good ole days...assuming we still have Facebook, which is another reason I want to put the pictures in some form that will last a bit longer. 

5. (Continue to) memorize the book of James. 

As I mentioned previously, I did memorize the first chapter of James in 2013. I'm going to continue working on this goal and add another chapter or two in 2014. It is my favorite book, but I learned most of it in the NIV growing up, so now memorizing it in the ESV version is proving to be quite a challenge. 

6. Crochet a blanket for Kory

Kory bought me a book of crochet projects in 2012 and asked me to make him the blanket on the front cover. I agreed to and forgot about it, so this goal is about following through with a commitment I made long ago. Kory gets to pick the colors, so I don't really know what this will look like when it's all said and done. 

7. Can 3 foods.

I got quite a bit of canning equipment for Christmas, so I want to put it to use and find a few foods (ideally that I've grown myself) and can them to be used at a later time. I don't actually know how to use all the equipment, so I guess I need to do some reading and learn what all the different parts do before I get too involved in the process.  

8. Do puzzles.

I really like to do puzzles. I think it's the sense of accomplishment along with the fun of watching the picture come together slowly to form something really beautiful. I often find myself feeling like I need to be productive and work on "important" things like cleaning the house or paying bills or whatever else might be nagging me...which is true, some of the time. However, I also believe I should be able to do puzzles for the simple fact that I enjoy it and find it relaxing. So, I really don't have to convince anyone but myself that it's ok, but I plan to complete several puzzles this year.

9. Make my blog prettier. 

Last year, I was really into simple looks. I liked having the clutter and extra stuff gone from the blog. Now, it looks sad and lonely and far too white. It's been a long time since I played around with blog backgrounds and templates and such, but I plan to do that in the near future, so I'll enjoy looking at my blog more...and hopefully that means I'll post a little more too.

10. Read through the entire Bible.

I don't even know how many times I've tried to read the Bible through in a year, and I have never successfully made it past January or February. This year, I'm doing a Chronological Bible Story reading plan on my phone and think it will go much better. I really love that it gives me a reminder each day to read and that it only schedules reading for 6 days a week so I always have a catch up day when I get behind.

11. Eat more whole foods and, therefore, less processed foods. 

I stumbled upon the blog 100 Days of Real Food a couple months ago and have been following her on FB ever since. I also have a friend who's been talking to me about organic and non-GMO foods and why she believes it's important to make smart food choices. I've been pretty overwhelmed with the whole topic because I know so little about it, but here are a couple posts that really got me thinking this was doable, even for me:

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/02/real-food-tips-5-easy-changes-for-2013/

I like junk food. Quite a bit! I'm already working to eat more veggies, but this goes a little bit further into more cooking, less fast food and less pre-packed everything.  

12. Get my braces off.

Hey, 14 is a lot! I need an easy one. Plus, this does partly rely on me wearing my rubber bands and following orders so I can get them off on time. Target date is November 2014...ideally right before Thanksgiving!

13. Brush up on my Spanish.

Kory is going to Guatemala on a mission trip in February, so he's been trying to re-learn basic Spanish. He and I each downloaded an app called Duolingo to work on our Spanish on our iPhones. We can compete against each other to see who gets more points, so that's the real motivation to keep going at this point. There is a lot of trash talking going on (in broken Spanglish) in relation to this app.

14. Move out of our house.

2013 was the year of searching for options in relation to our home. Plain and simple, we found no workable options. Kory and I both believe 2014 will be the year that we leave this house. My feelings about that are very different from day to day. I don't know what our exit strategy will be exactly, but I do hope to celebrate Christmas 2014 in a home other than this one.

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Well, as you can see, I've got some pretty lofty goals for the year. It's always amazing to me how long a year feels in January and yet how very short it seems come December. I'll try again to update on a monthly basis to check in on my progress with these goals. Did you set any goals or make any resolutions for this year? I'd love to hear about them if you did. 

13 in 2013 Review

As I look back on the past year, I see a lot of time dominated by our house situation. Ever since finding out about it in March, I have spent a lot of hours calling contractors, researching foundation repair, praying, crying, and just generally thinking about our home. I most definitely got derailed from my 2013 goals because of it, which is understandable in some ways, but also disappointing to me. I feel like I lost a lot of motivation and productivity due to the bad news, and I hate that I let so many of my goals go by the wayside. However, I did accomplish some of these so I will celebrate what was done and move on to 2014 and try to do better!

1.) Try 2 new recipes each month. 

I don't know if this happened, to be honest. I definitely tried new recipes, but I wasn't very intentional about it. I'd say that, most likely, I didn't try 2 new ones each month.

2.) Memorize the book of James.

The first chapter of James is safely tucked away in my memory, which means I have 4 chapters to go. This one will be carried on to 2014 and I'll keep working on it. Despite my snail's pace, I really am enjoying this one!

3.) Pay off the Camry. 

Check! This one goes in the win column. We paid the car off completely in August.

4.) Give away produce from my garden. 

Two in a row! I was able to give away zucchini, tomatoes, apples, mint, basil and cilantro to friends and co-workers this summer and fall.

5.) Complete 12 crafty projects. 

Yeah, not even close. I did make a few things including a crochet baby blanket, Easter egg wreath, baby turban/beanie, and a crochet ear warmer. My crafty projects mostly stopped when we found out about the house because we went into overdrive on trying to save money, so I was pretty strict about not buying things we didn't need.

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

We bought curtains for all our living room windows and painted the living room in February/early March. I know you're tired of reading about the house (and I'm tired of typing about it), but it honestly made no sense to keep investing money into our house this year, so we didn't do anything else in the way of upgrades or renovation.

7.) Take a break from my iPhone. 

I did take some intentional steps towards this goal. I would still say I spend far too much time on my phone, but I have made big strides toward not looking at it during conversations and meal times.

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

I think I sent about 4-5 letters to our Compassion kids this year. They sent back about the same and it felt like a good amount of correspondence. We also sent Christmas and birthday gifts to them, which are really just donations we make and then Compassion picks out appropriate gifts for the kids.

9.) Develop a deeper prayer relationship. 

Wow. It's amazing to look back and think about what my prayer life looked like when I set this goal in January 2013. I can say with 100% confidence that I accomplished this goal over the past year. There has been very little good that has come from our house situation so far, but the drastic improvement in my prayer life has been one of the positive results. I read a really powerful book called Too Busy to Pray early last year and I also co-led a small group for our high school girls that was focused entirely on prayer--specifically the ACTS prayer model.

10.) Play with Sky every day. 

Nope. Didn't happen. However, I did train for and run a 5k this summer and that means Sky was going with me on at least 3 runs a week during that time. We also spent many nights in the (hardly ever busy) street in front of our house playing fetch with a tennis ball and tennis racket.

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

Hmm. I am sure I didn't do one per month, but I did do a few this year. I cleaned out the medicine cabinet, camping closet, wrapping paper closet, and two drawers in the guest bedroom.


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

I spent quite a bit of time volunteering at the Warming Center in the early and late months of 2013 and that was probably the best time spent towards this goal. One of my favorite moments was when I was sitting at a table with a group of homeless men after dinner one evening and each person was going around the table teaching everyone else the card games they learned while in jail. When my time came around, I shared that I'd never spent any time behind bars, but I was able to teach them Golf, a game none of them had ever played before.


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

Well, this happened some, but not a lot. We have a fair amount of date nights, but that's not too hard since we don't have kids yet. It seems like the best times we have together tend to be unplanned, spontaneous moments, so I am trying not to focus too much on the planning.

Overall, I think I did ok for the year. I accomplished 7 out of 13, so it wasn't an overwhelming success, but I don't want to measure my life in numbers and accomplishments, so I just look back on the year and am grateful for the progress I made and lessons I learned along the way. I thought a lot about making new goals for next year, particularly after reading a few blogs suggesting we should stop trying to plan our lives out and just enjoy God's blessings. I see a lot of good in that, but, ultimately, I like making goals. I like to plan. I get a strange high off thinking about a new year and a new start and planning what I'd like to do in the next year. I don't think it's one or the other...I think I can set goals for the year and also KNOW that life will happen as God has ordained it and that may or may not coincide with my plans. Trust me, I learned that lesson well in 2013.

February 13 in 2013 Update

February was a difficult month for working on my goals. We spent the first 11 days in Texas/New Mexico and then immediately came home and began working full-speed on our 30 Hour Famine for the youth group. That being said, I'm still pleased with how much I did accomplish in the month.

1.) Try 2 new recipes each month. 

I successfully made two new recipes in February. The first was a spinach, sausage and tortilini soup. I thought it was REALLY yummy and I'll definitely be making it again. I bought the wrong kind of Italian sausage though (should have been links), so I'll correct that next time. 

I also made Italian stuffed zucchini boats. They turned out pretty well, but didn't have as much flavor as we would have liked. I used ground turkey and thought I seasoned it a lot, but obviously it needed some more. Here's the progression so you can see the basic idea of how to make them. 

2.) Memorize the book of James.

I am really struggling with this one. I even set aside some time to work on this and am just stuck in the first chapter still. There is this one verse that I can't seem to get down, but I am bound and determined to get into chapter 2 in March!

3.) Pay off the Camry. 

I made our regular and extra payment on the Camry and I love watching that balance drop so quickly. I am getting really excited to have that extra money when the car is paid off to go towards other things.

4.) Give away produce from my garden. 

I did a little bit of research and planning for my garden this month and have just about nailed down what I'm going to plant. I'm trying to stick with vegetables and fruits that we really love and will eat in abundance. I'm looking forward to starting some seeds indoors next month!

5.) Complete 12 crafty projects. 

I finished the craft I alluded to in January that was a gift for my friend, Kecia. I crocheted this baby blanket for her little girl, Harleigh, and love the way it turned out! It was really fun to be able to give this to Kecia in person while we were in Texas. Mailing gifts just doesn't have the same effect.

I also made another craft in February, but I'll talk more about it on goal #13.

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

This was particularly difficult since we spent half the month away from home and only had one weekend at home. (We spent that weekend doing laundry and recovering from our trip too, so we didn't get anything house-related done.) It was good to have a break though because we were able to save a chunk of money for some bigger projects we have planned for March. The curtain rods are still sitting in the guest bedroom because we need to know the length of our curtains before hanging them. We learned that lesson the hard way in our bedroom.

7.) Take a break from my iPhone.


I feel like I'm making good baby steps in this area. However, that has meant that I left my phone at work 3 times this past week alone! Thankfully I have remembered fairly quickly and been able to go back in and get it each time. Putting it on the iHome when I am at home has been really helpful. I've also made it a point to put it in my purse and put my purse out of reach when I'm out to dinner or hanging out with a group of people.

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

I didn't do anything for this goal in February. It did kind of feel like I just wrote to our kids and didn't have much else to say, so I think writing every other month might be better/more realistic.

9.) Develop a deeper prayer relationship. 

I finished reading Too Busy Not to Pray this month and I really enjoyed it! I highly recommend it if you're looking for a helpful guide with some really practical advice on praying.

10.) Play with Sky every day. 

I'd give myself a 7/10 on this one. There is more sunlight in the evenings now which is really nice, but there were a lot of nights where we had events in the evening (prep work for 30 Hour Famine, high school swimming awards banquet, Small Groups, art event at the high school, etc.) so I didn't play with Sky on some of those nights where I just came home and went to bed. Ideally, I'd like for him to get some exercise with us every day, but I know there is not enough hours in the day to do everything I'd like, so I'll just continue to do my best to make it happen as often as possible.

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

I cleaned out the cabinet under my bathroom sink and went through of all of our medicines. A lot of the medicine expired back when I was still in college, so I ended up getting rid of quite a bit of it. It was also a time I could be really grateful for our good health, because we really don't have to take very much medicine at this point in our life. Thank you, God!

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

I'm still working on Not Quite Adults and plan to finish reading it in March. The one night the Warming Center was open in February was during our 30 Hour Famine, so we didn't get to help there this month No, the irony is not lost on me that we slept outside in cardboard boxes while the homeless shelters were opening up because it was so cold outside. It was an authentic experience for sure! 30HF was a great opportunity to learn about people whose lives look SO very different than mine. It was humbling and challenging and encouraging all at the same time.

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

For Valentine's Day, I made a Date Jar for Kory and I. You've probably seen them all over Pinterest, but just in case you haven't, it's a mason jar with date ideas written on popsicle sticks. You pull a stick out to see what date you'll be going on that night. They are color-coded so you can decide if you're staying in (no $), going out ($$), or spending a significant amount of money ($$$).

(Mine isn't very creative because I had 2 days to work on it and had to throw it together, but it still does the job.)

You definitely have to be spontaneous to enjoy a gift like this (which I don't think I am!) so we're still trying to put it to use. We were supposed to use it for Valentine's Day but Kory already had a specific movie and dinner place in mind, so we went with that. I'm hoping we'll give it a go in March and really do the idea we draw out.

2012 in Review

This past year was a wonderful one for our family! We were blessed in so many ways and made some amazing memories. Here's a look back at some of the highlights for the Mereness household last year.

In 2012, we...

Bought Our 1st House
After what seemed like a long search, we finally closed on our first home the end of March. It's very spacious, has a wonderful backyard, and has more storage space than we can use. We have had so much fun hosting out-of-town visitors, Ladies Nights, Monday Night Football watching parties, and lots of friends over for dinner and hanging out.

Got a puppy named Skywalker 
Skywalker, who we call Sky, is a Border Collie/mini-Australian Shepherd with more energy than any dog I've ever seen! He was about 5 months old when we got him and just turned a year old in November. We don't exercise him near as much as he would like, but he definitely helps keep us active.

Started a garden
I had my very first garden this Spring/Summer and I had so much fun with it! I'm looking forward to planting a little earlier this year and knowing a bit more about what I'm doing. My favorite garden produce included strawberries, zucchini, and green beans.

Went to Canada for our 1st Anniversary Trip
We celebrated one year of being married by traveling to Canada for the first time. It was one of the only times (besides our honeymoon) we have had a week off work to just enjoy each other; typically we're either traveling to see family or going on a youth group trip, so we really enjoyed a relaxing week with lots of sleeping in, eating, and naps every day.

Lost a total of 40+ pounds and kept it off!
All the jokes about gaining weight after marriage are no joke. Kory and I each lost about 20 pounds in 2012, which was weight we had put on over the past 2 years post-college. We used MyFitnessPal, which is a website and app that helps you track your food intake/calories and exercise to help you meet your weight-loss goals. It worked really well for us and we would highly recommend it to anyone interested in losing weight.

Climbed the highest mountain in Southern Oregon
In August, Kory and I climbed Mt. McLoughlin and it was really difficult!! It was still a great experience, though, and it's fun to know we accomplished such a great feat.

Spent a LOT of time with our Redeemer's high school youth group
We are so thankful to have such a great youth group! We truly do love hanging out with these teens. Some of our favorite activities this year included 30 Hour Famine, floating/rafting on the river, CIY summer camp, Fall Retreat, and leading small groups.

Super Bowl Party in February

The Amazing Spiderman in July

Floating the River in July

CIY Move in August

We welcomed quite a few visitors :)
My mom spent a quick weekend with me in our new house in April. (We didn't take a picture together...but she did buy and plant these beautiful flowers for me.)

Kory's parents came to see us in May.

Our college friends, Marty and Melissa brought their kiddos and spent some time with us in September.

My mom and dad spent 10 days in the Northwest in October. (We somehow didn't get a single picture with them again...but we did see this beautiful scenery while they were here.)

In November, my friend Lynsey and her two daughters came to see our house and visit Roseburg for the first time.

And, as I just blogged about, my parents- and grandparents-in-law were here just a few weeks ago in December.

As for my 2012 goals, here's how I did:

1.) Read 12 books

I didn't quite reach this goal, as I was still trying to finish in the final days of 2012. Initially, I thought I would have no problem completing this goal, but picking up several new hobbies (gardening, crocheting, sewing, dog-owning) took up a lot of my previously allotted reading time. Here is my reading list from the past year (at least the ones I remember):

1. Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne 

2. Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks 
3. The Last Juror by John Grisham

4. Real Marriage by Mark & Grace Driscoll

5. 10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe by Larry Osborne

6. Crazy Love by Francis Chan

7. Duck Commander Family by Willie and Korie Robertson

8. Red Letter Christians by Tony Campolo

9. Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie

10. A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans

I am still reading these final two books, so they don't really count. I'm about 1/4 through the first one and 1/2 way through number 12.

11. Not Quite Adults by Richard Settersten and Barbara E. Ray

12. Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels

2.) Learn how to crochet (again)
I definitely met this goal by completing several crochet projects this year. I made a headband for my friend, Abby, some coffee cozies for my mother-in-law, Jackie, and some slippers for my one of our youth group girls, Jordan.

I'm also working on a blanket made in Roseburg High School colors (Artesia Bulldogs colors also!) for me to have at soccer/football games next Fall. It looks like it will take about a year to finish at this rate. It's a black, orange, and white chevron blanket...and last week I realized I had mis-read the pattern and done it all wrong and had to start ALL over! Man, that was really frustrating. You can see I had gotten fairly far with it.

I've started over and am about 13 rows into my new blanket, which is done correctly this time!

3.) Use my new sewing machine

I didn't do as much sewing this year as I had hoped, but I still met my goal of using my machine. I even helped my friend, Abby, learn how to thread the needle and load the bobbin on her machine too, so that was pretty exciting.

The three sewing projects I completed were: 1) I made these burp cloths for Jacinda's baby, Judah, 2) I hemmed a pair of my dress pants, and 3) I made this nursing cover for my college room-mate, Deonna. I've got a couple more friends expecting now, so I am excited to do a little more sewing for them.

God blessed us big time in 2012 and we are excited as we look forward to the adventures ahead in 2013! :)