Lots of Projects on the Go

My Official List

Because I love Jesus and want to know Him more:

1. Read one spiritually inspiring book every two months (1/16).
2. Spend at least 20 minutes a day alone with God.
3. Tithe regularly.
4. Join a cell group again.
5. Volunteer in at least one area of ministry at church.
6. Write in my prayer journal daily.
7. Read my Bible every day.

Because I love my family:

8. Surprise Miguel every other month with something to fill his "love tank" (3/16). **Made him a special birthday treasure hunt with gifts HE likes not I think he needs.
9. Pray with T every night before bed.
10. Have a date night with Miguel once a month (2/33).
11. Take Trinity to the zoo as a family.
12. Read T 1001 new books (11/1001).
13. Go to a cabin with my immediate family.
14. Write Chy one letter a month and actually mail it (for as long as she lives in Australia.) (2/32).
15. Go away to Pinewood Lodge alone with Miguel.
16. Get a will written up.
17. Have another Purple Pamper Party with my mom and sisters.

Because I am a work in progress and need to keep improving:

18. Go to the dentist.
19. Attend aquacizing classes (with T until January then in the evenings by myself).
20. Go for at least two walks a week.
21. Drink 8 glasses of water a day.
22. Get a massage.
23. Make a weekly exercize rountine and stick to it.
24. Buy at least 3 sets of matching underwear that make me feel great (0/3).
25. Only use the computer when my to do list for the day is complete. (Urg!)
26. Pick up the phone and call one friend a week for 3 months in a row (0/12).
27. Leave Trinity at home (with Miguel) and go out with a friend once a month (1/33).

Because my house is also a work in progress:

28. Finish painting dragonflies in Trinity's room.
29. Buy new blinds for living room and our bedroom.
30. Paint living room.
31. Make cushion for window seat.
32. Stain basement stairway.
33. Paint mural in T's playroom.
34. Put all manuals/warranties into a binder.
35. Renovate bathroom. ***New counter top and sinks were put in this month!
36. Mud/Paint tiles on my kitchen backsplash.
37. Put up pictures in basement.
38. Put up frame with pictures in it in loft area.
39. Stain greenhouse inside and finish outside.
40. Paint rock in front flower bed.
41. Get a garbage centre built beside garage.
42. Finish guest room.
43. Redecorate bedroom so it is cozy and romantic.

Because I need to get organized:

44. Create a rotation of 4 monthly meal plans.
45. Grocery shop using meal plans.
46. Get a new filing cabinet.
47. Get shelf for painting supplies in basement.
48. Organize craft supplies in one place.
49. Paint dresser and organize scrapbooking supplies in it.
50. Designate a mail spot.
51. Cook meals to put in freezer once a month.
52. Make a monthly cleaning plan and follow it. **Right now it is just weekly but I am liking it.
53. Organize my computer files.
54. Burn back-up copies of all pictures on computer.

Because I care about others:

55. Make one care package a month (1/33).
56. Finish the "deficiencies" on mom's tiles.
57. Volunteer to deliver hampers at Christmas time.
58. Do a breast cancer walk in honour of Grandma and Auntie Sue.
59. Have a garage sale and give all the proceeds to a charity.
60. Finish Chy and Justin's Wedding Album with Neve. **We are ALMOST done!***
61. Invite my next door neighbour over for lunch.
62. Host a neighbourhood ladies lunch.
63. Bring supper to 5 single moms (0/5).
64. Create Miscarriage Support packages to bring to women who lose a baby.
65. Make a card box with cards for different occasions.
66. Make an official birthday list of family and friends and give cards to them.
67. Send a total of 10 shoe boxes to Operation Christmas Child (10/10). Not only did we put together 10 boxes, we also did the shopping for my sister's church and packed 28 boxes for them.
68. Volunteer at Siloam Mission for a day.
69. Volunteer at Anna's House.

Because I want to see more of the world:

70. Visit Uncle Larry and Auntie Annette in B.C.
71. Take Trinity to visit Auntie Chy and Uncle Justin in Australia.

Because I love learning...for real:

72. Get a Steinbach Library card.
73. Read 5 biographies (0/5).
74. Take German lessons.
75. Take a class at the Arts Council.
76. Read my camera manual and put it to use.
77. Learn how to read the nutritional information on the side of food containers.
78. Take the CPR course with Miguel.

Because life is too short to not have fun:

79. Watch "Planet Earth." (watched one of the disks and loved it!)
80. Try 10 new recipes (5/10). **I made a recipe that has been in my recipe box for years but I just have never made it. Broccoli Chicken Cheese Bake....it was quite tasty.
81. Order Lola DVDs from Amazon.ca.
82. Watch "The Office."
83. Go see the commercial show (don't know what it is called) at the Art Gallery.
84. Make a running list of movies I would like to rent.
85. Host a weekend women's scrapbooking party at my house.

Because I can't live without money even though I would like to:

86. Sell my car.
87. Make a budget and use it.
88. Open an RESP for T.
89. Organize bill payments. (I made a Yearly Planner for our family and included a bill payment section where Miguel and I can keep track of which bills have been paid etc.)
90. Open up an RRSP.
91. Pay off all unnecessary debt.
92. Develop a plan for saving money.

Because this stuff doesn't fit into my other categories:

93. Finish T's scrapbook up to one year (1/12).
94. Make potpies and freeze them.
95. Update blog once a week.
96. Find a killer pair of black dress pants.
97. Send out family pictures at Christmas (0/3). **Pictures are being taken on Dec 2!
98. Get Bella (my dog) fixed.
99. Register with Yak long distance and call people.
100. Get angel statue for Emily and bury her box under it. ***We bought a statue we just have to wait until spring to bury it in Emily's corner of the garden.

101. Make a new 101 in 1001 list.

#12- Books 10-18

So I haven't been keeping up with my book reviews. This doesn't really matter since this blog is more for me than anyone else but I like to keep record of all the new books I read to Trinity just for fun. So here goes:

10./11. Stuck in a Stinky Den and Hermie and the Big Bully Croaker by Max Lucado - The message of these stories were clearly over Trinity's head but she loved all the pictures of the frogs, worms, and caterpillars. These books have a great message told by some cute pond creatures. I got these books as a Christmas gift from one of my students last year. She wanted me to share them with my new baby. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to learn about Hermie.

12. Opposites- Eve DeGrie- Okay this is just a Looney Tunes baby book but I think it is actually a really hard book to understand. Although it does illustrate opposites in many different situations I had to stop and figure out how the pictures were showing these concepts. Fun to look at but not the greatest teaching tool.

13.Wheels on the Bus by Raffi- This is an illustrated book of the popular kids' song. Trinity loved the busy pictures and the fact that Mommy couldn't read the book she had to sing it.

14.The Little House by Virgina Lee Burton- Anyone who has ever lived in the country or dreamed of doing so should share this book with their kids. I came across it in one of my university classes and fell in love. It is the story of a little old house who stays in one place as the world around her gets modernized. She misses the simple beauty of the country and eventually is moved back there. It is such a true picture of how development in our world takes away some of life's simple beauties. The house reminds me so much of our house. I think we might have to paint our house to match...he he he.

15.Where's God? by Dr. Laura Schlessinger- This book lacks in the area of illustrations but otherwise it has some good answers to kids questions about God and prayer. Not excellent but good.

16. Just Me and My Puppy by Mercer Mayer- I had to introduce Trinity to the Mercer Mayer books. These were some of my favourite books growing up. I loved looking through the pictures and learning to read with the stories. Right now she wasn't so excited about these books but I hope she will enjoy them more and more as she gets older.

17. Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney- I absolutely LOVE this book. It is a must in every child's library. The story is just so sweet. I used to tell my mom that I loved her all the way to Canada (we lived in Pakistan).....I think this is a special book to share between parents and kids.

18. The Way I Feel by Janan Cain- Love love love this book. This book is a great way to spend time as parents teaching kids how to label their emotions. The pictures are excellent at characterizing the different feelings that we go through in life. Trinity loved the bright colourful pictures.