Category — ramblings

I was going through my email this morning, and there was something in the MommyCommunity.com one that caught my eye…  she has created a meme to help explain why we blog.  Want to join in?  If so, head over to MommyCommunity.com!

Onto the meme:

Do you blog?
~ Why, yes, I do!  I actually have *ahem* 5 blogs, but I only really pay attention to two-and-a-half.  Time issues, interest, etc.

Why do you blog?
~ Well, I started blogging to go along with my handbag business – an easier to get the word out instantly that through the newsletter.  Then I added in a gift guide, and a blog was the logical choice to post reviews and ideas.  I like to cook, and my SIL likes to get copies of my recipes… I had made her a CD of them, but after a couple of moves it got lost.  I also had a computer crash and lost most of them, so I decided to add in a recipe blog so that I could keep track of my fav. recipes and share them with family and friends at the same time.  However, once you start blogging, you find that there are times that you have something you want to say, but it just doesn’t quite fit onto a business blog about handbags or a gift review blog… thus the personal blog.

So yes, that equals 5 blogs…

• Design-My-Handbag.com – Mimsi Bags blog
• blog.Cottage-Gift-Guide.com – the gift guide
• reviews.cottage-gift-guide.com – the review blog
• Cottage-Recipes.com – the recipes
• blog.AlexAndAri.com – in search of persimmon pulp – the personal blog (that would be what you are reading right now…)

So, why do you blog?  Please share your URL below, along with a reason or two… or join in the meme and post it on your blog!

Is that a safe thing to say in today’s world? To admit that you are privileged enough to get to do something that you love for a living? I hope so.

I’ve been *the* worship leader for 5 months now, and I’m finally starting to get past the “freaking-out-because-I-have-no-clue-what-I’m-doing!!!!!” stage and really starting to have some fun.

Really, really starting to have some fun…

I’m so totally and completely loving this!

Yes, I’m still in waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over my head and still very much out of my comfort zone, but the fear is subsiding… I’m even able to talk loud enough into the mic that people can hear me! Yay for me! Seriously… praying in front of a small group is one thing, but the whole church? Eek! I’ll get there.

God has been gently pulling me along and giving me just what I need when I need it through this. I am blessed that our pastor is a worshiper – a former worship leader of 30 years to be more to the point. He gets it, and he has been able to help me along as well (which is HUGE – thanks so much Chris!) and (Praise God!) he is willing to play in the band still. God is also bringing other worship leaders into my life to learn from (whether they know it or not), and guiding me along as I spend time with Him.

I’ve been going through a bible study created for worship teams which has brought many, many things to mind, and which our worship team will be starting later this month. I can’t wait to see what God does in our team through this! I have been going through the study online with a group of worship leaders, and have been gleaning as much as I can from them. I’m learning more and more how to do what God has called me to do from others who are out there doing it each week. I still have so far to go, but God has been walking beside me through each day, guiding me along this path.

So what is our worship team like? Well, we still kind of have two leaders… Pastor Chris leads the instrument side (’cause I am fairly lacking in that area, unfortunately – read, I suck at it) and I lead the rest… it’s a good thing we agree most of the time! We just added a drummer and a bass player (I’m hoping we didn’t scare them away last night) and put Dave back onto guitar. We have a really real band now! That’s 2 electric guitars, a acoustic, keyboard, kit, bass, female lead, male lead, and 1 guy and 3 gals singing. I’m so loving this! Oh, and only two of those positions are held by one person. Lots of people up there…

So, why am I sharing all of this? Well, first of all it is just coming out of the overflow of what I am feeling today. God is so good! He will provide everything you need just when you need it to do that which He has called you to do. I’m also sharing it because I’m excited to see what God will be doing through this team of amazing people that I get to work with. We have been given a high calling! We are there to point the way to the throne room of God each Sunday. We are there to worship our Wonderful Savior, and in so doing, to lead the congregation in worshiping Him too.

Can you ask for a better gig? I mean, seriously? To get to make music in honor of and to give glory to our Creator and Savior… it’s so cool!

There is just something about making music with people too… you get to build relationships at a different level than just hanging out and talking. It’s a different level than when you go through a bible study too. There is something about how we were made that music resonates within us to something deeper.

God created us to be worshipers. He created us to worship Him! Every human being will worship something… that’s just how we were made. That worship will come out in our day-to-day actions, in what we do and how we do it. We worship God when we give Him our time and thoughts, when we do what He calls us to do.
Adding in the musical aspect – singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs – it makes that worship resonate deeper within us. It touches us in a deeper way, and it is pleasing to Him. It helps to draw out of us a deeper worship of Him, and in turn we feel closer to Him.

Pretty cool…

And I get to help guide that process along. I get to lift my voice in praise and adoration, and I get to point the way for others to do the same thing. Yes, it’s a very high calling. It’s also a very humbling position. Yes, it’s scary, but it’s also amazing.

I get to worship God for a living…

I just love my job!

So Sweet...

8lbs, 5 oz.  All boy!  But I won’t post that picture…

Yes, I know, I’ve been a bad blogger this week.  I’m sorry!  I’ve been sick, tied up in meetings, giving lessons and work… life has taken over!

But I’m back…  (dun, dun, dun…)

So, how was your week?  We have been enshrouded in freezing fog for days now.  My heater that is usually set to 62F during the day (and doesn’t have to kick on b/c it stays warmer than that in the house) has been kicking on regularly.  Yep, it’s cold.  Temps have stayed below 32, which means that all of the heat in the house is being sucked out through the windows, walls and floor.  Good times.

I know that you were expecting a run of good posts from this bible study I’m doing, and they will pick up again starting today.  I was using a PDF of the first chapter while I waited for my book to arrive… and it hasn’t yet.  The publisher was kind enough to email me the PDF for the whole book, so I’m back at it… just a day or two late.  And this week was a good one… but I’ll get to that in a bit.

First, some housekeeping…

The contest for the frugal ideas book is still open for another week – it closes down on Jan 31, and I’ll do the drawing on the 2nd.  Get your entry in.  I’m hoping to have another giveaway in the near future… I’m just waiting for some things to arrive in the mail.  Stay tuned for those, I will post them as soon as they get here!

I’m also getting ready to start posting some reviews… things that I love & use often… things that I like a bit less and only use occasionally… if you have something that you’d like me to review, contact me and we’ll work something out.

I totally missed the Word-Filled Wednesday this week, as well as the Thrifty Green Thursday, but I’m planning to pick those back up next week.  Be sure to go check out those sites though – they are both amazing.  I contemplated doing it anyway, but I’m getting later by the second, so it’s not happening this week.  Sorry…

I have been reading though… in the midst of the business.  Well, actually it was mostly over the weekend.  I was a dust collector with a migraine, so I sat.  I hate just sitting, and the computer was hurting the eyes, so I read.  I started the Ender’s series (thanks Jen!) without realizing it was a series… oops.  Thus far though, it is really good.  I’ve read Ender’s Game and Speaker of the Dead (the first 2) and they are both great – very different, but great.  I now need to get the third (and fourth, fifth, sixth…) and squeeze in time to read them.

I also finished Servant of the Bones finally.  Anne Rice… she’s a decent author, but try though I might, I just don’t find her stuff terribly compelling.  Once I start a book I have to finish it, but her’s just don’t seem to draw me to stay up all night reading because I can’t put it down.  Oh well, I just have one more of hers to read before I finish the ones that were given to me… then I’ll start posting them to PaperBackSwap.com… stay tuned!  Or maybe I’ll do a giveaway on here, who knows?

I did start reading an interesting book this week though – The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus.  I’m about 1/3 of the way through, and so far I love it.  Yes, it’s a book about God… actually, about living out your walk for God without submitting to the confines of civilized society.  Lots of good reminders in there… I’m hoping to finish it today so I can pass it on to a friend to read before I have to return it to the library.

Ah, the library… I just love that place, don’t you?  So many books available, and they are all free!  Yes, this comment is made by someone who has a bookshelf completely covering the wall of her den… and it’s so full that books are stacked willy-nilly all over the tops of the others.  Then there is the shelf beside my chair in the living room (yep, it’s full too) and the bookshelves in both the girls rooms – we have lots of books.  But MORE books… books you don’t have to buy!  It’s such a lovely place.

I picked up an interesting book that I may have to buy though… The Book of Worship by John Randall Dennis.  It’s a compilation of songs, hymns, quotes and thoughts throughout church history.  Worship sung and spoken out to God, and organized by the liturgical calendar.  I have already found some quotes I want to use at church!  I think this one just made my wish list as a book I want to keep around for a while.  Lots of good stuff in there.

Well, that just about wraps this week up.  Sorry I went MIA… did you miss me?  I hope someone did… that would mean you are coming back to read more often!  Oh, and I’m working on the Eric-Man to get with it & at least do an about page… and then start posting from time to time.  This could take a while…

History was made today.  Whether you want to recognize Barak Obama as our president or not, he is.  Whether you voted for him or not, he has been inaugurated as the President of the United States of America.

The American public has showed a true change.  A black man was voted in as our president, a man under the age of 50, a man who publicly at least professes to believe in Jesus Christ.  Given the current attitude towards “Evangelical Christians” in our country, this is a pretty big deal.  Add in the fact that a high percentage of those same “Evangelicals” did NOT vote for him makes it even more amazing.

As of today or country will embark on a new kind of change.  We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, we don’t know what his first 100 days in office will bring… all we do know is that God has placed the man in his position.

As I spoke with a variety of people today, I was struck by the different attitudes that I encountered.  I took my girls to school today because I was heading to a meeting anyway.  Every classroom in their school was playing the inauguration (and I agree that they should have witnessed it!) and I spoke with a few teachers.  As I left I stopped by the store, the post office, and a few other places.  I talked to people.

There were expressions of hope.  There were expressions of despair.  There was nonchalance, there was numbness.

I just have one answer to all of these emotions…

The Bible says this:

“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD;
he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.”  Prov 21:1

” God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.” Ps 47:8

” For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” Col 1:16

“14 Counsel and sound judgment are mine;
I have understanding and power.

15 By me kings reign
and rulers make laws that are just;

16 by me princes govern,
and all nobles who rule on earth.” Prov 8:14-16

That tells me that Barak Obama is the president of the United States of America because God chose him for the job.  God has put him in place – whether we agree or not – and will use him to bring about His perfect will.

We need to pray for our new president.

We need to pray for the man that God has chosen to rule our country.  We need to pray that God will guide and direct him.  We need to pray that he will listen to the leading and guidance of God.  We need to pray that Congress will be lead by God’s Spirit.  We need to pray that God will use His people to bring about a revival within these borders the likes of which have never been seen.

Put simply, we need to pray.

The bible also says that “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16

What can this country do in the name of God if we will but pray?  If we will but turn our lives over to God wholly and completely.

I’m so tired of listening to Christians complaining about who was voted in as our president.  I’m tired of the despair that I am hearing.  We should be praising God that we still have the freedom to worship Him!  That we can gather together and talk about God!  That we can tell others about Him without fear of being thrown in jail or killed!

We live in a country that is free to worship whatever God or god it’s people want to.  Yes, that does mean that people will be worshiping some other entity from time to time, but it also means that we have the responsibility to show them the one true God!

Yes, change is coming.  Change is here.  Let us embrace the changes that God is wanting to bring rather that being angry or full of despair because we didn’t get our way.  Since when is our way better than God’s?  Get over yourselves.  Wake up and praise God that you have air to breath, food to eat, and people to tell about Him!

Perhaps if we shared the hope of the majority of our nation, we could more easily show them God – the hope of the world.

So I’m going through the Pure Praise bible study, as mentioned in a previous post or two, and day three seems to be a doozy! If you are interested in the online discussion of the study, head over to TheWorshipCommunity for details.

Today’s topic was on Inward and Outward Worship – two sides of worship that people all-too-often overlook. This is how we worship when we aren’t actively singing, praising, or talking to God.

So, inward worship – how you worship personally, or who you are when no one is looking. The first test of this level of worship is in our minds… what kinds of things do we think about? What movies do we watch? What books do we read? What websites do we visit? Are all of our thoughts held captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 5)?

The second test is centered around the time that you spend with God. Is God just a Sunday morning friend? Someone that you look forward to seeing at church, but once you leave you don’t think of Him again until the next Sunday? Or, is He closer than a brother, someone that you commune with on a daily basis – or a moment-by-moment basis!

We are called – each one of us that looks to Christ Jesus for our salvation – we are called to go out and share His love with a lost and dying world, but we cannot have any effect on this world if we do not know the one who sent us! Our very lives are a testimony to Him, a witness of His love and grace and mercy. His peace during troubled times will cry out to those who are hurting, His acceptance of our past sins are a beacon of hope to those who are lost in their own transgressions. We are not able to live out these things if we never spend time with Him to receive them.

Simply put, we need God in our lives. No one was ever won over to Jesus without the power of His Holy Spirit drawing them to Him. We cannot convince this world of the logic of Jesus any more than we can convince them that the sun brings cold and darkness to the face of our planet. Only God can convince them that He is real, but he allows us to take part in showing this world that through out lives. If God is real to you, it will shine out to those around you. It will cause them to wonder how you can handle things so differently, how you can have such joy in your life, how you can feel peace in the midst of the storms.

So that’s the inward facet… now for the outward!

Outward worship is based in the relationships you have with those around you.

This part was a bit convicting for me… I have been struggling over the past week with the realizations of just how selfish of a being I am. Yes, many of my close friends say what a giving and self-sacrificing person I am (I don’t believe that, but OK) but that is because, um, I like them. I discovered this about myself in the past week or so. If I like you, I will bend over backwards to help you out. I will readily offer up anything I have or I can do to help – joyfully, cheerfully, and without any thought for myself. This is a good thing – this kind of giving is what God has called us to!

The problem that I have, however, is that I only have this attitude of sharing and giving if you are a part of that small circle of people that I spend much of my time with – people I like and call my friends. If I don’t know you very well… well, let’s just way that the attitude is a bit different. Take it a step further. If I actually don’t much care to have you around – simply put, I don’t like you (egad, say it isn’t so) – this attitude does a 180 degree course correction. You don’t even come up on my radar. Thoughts of you don’t even enter into my mind.

Wow, that was a bit of a confession. Yes, my name is Jennifer, and I am an egregious sinner. That means extraordinarily bad.

Outward worship of God is more of the first attitude, but shared with the entirety of the world. We are called to help the helpless, to bring a cold cup of water to the world. To reach out and do whatever is within our power to help them – even if we don’t know or like them. Wow… this was a humbling moment for me. A moment where I was a need to change my outlook on life, on my attitude towards the world around me and – plain and simple – to ask God to help me get this one right!

When we worship God outwardly, we are making sure that our actions to those around us line up with His calling. The bible says that we are known to be His by our love for one another. Love! We should not be known to the world as those “judgmental, self-righteous, right-wing, gay-hating Christians.” No, we should be known because we reach out to help and love those around us. Because we feed the hungry and clothe the poor, give shelter to the homeless, offer to take our invalid neighbor to their doctor’s appointments, watch a single mom’s kids so she can go to work, shovel show off of our neighbors driveway, take a meal to the woman who’s husband just died from liver cancer… the list goes on and on.

We are called to live out our worship of God by loving those around us.

Want to know a cool side effect of all of this love? They will see Jesus shining out through our lives, and they will want to know HIM.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have to share an example of this kind of outward worship that has happened in my life recently.

If you have been reading much lately, you know that I am the worship leader of Falcon Ridge Fellowship. Our church was started last August, and we started out meeting in our pastor’s home. Fortunately, their home is laid out in such a way that we could utilize a lot of space, and fit 30-45 people rather comfortably. Within the first month, though, we were outgrowing their home.

One of our elders had been talking to one of the elders at a local Lutheran church – a church who happened to have a historic church building that they weren’t using regularly anymore.

Peace Lutheran Church graciously allowed us to rent out this small, beautiful, historic Little White Church on the Hill (complete with a bell!). This was the first blessing.

Then, they offered us the ability to use their main church facility during the week if we needed it for all-church meetings, etc. Blessing 2.

December was a month of many snows for us… our little white church was inaccessible. 3+ feet of snow made it impossible to hold services there. The generous people at Peace Lutheran invited us to take part in their Christmas Eve services, and then opened up their sanctuary to us to use between their Sunday morning services for as long as we needed it.

We needed it for 2 weeks.

Their sound guy set up everything for us – and then tore it all down before their next service – without even being asked to.

This small local church is living out this idea of Outward Worship – they are living their lives for God’s glory! They have selflessly opened up TWO of their facilities to us, and have asked nothing in return except that we proclaim God’s love to a lost and dying world.

Would that all of us acted in the same manner! To give out of what God has blessed us with, to share in our abundance with those around us. And yes, even in these tough economic times, America is a land of plenty. We live in the midst of abundance that much of the world cannot imagine. We have food to eat, homes to live in, clothes to wear, cars to drive… and we don’t even recognize it. Our minimum wage is more than many people make in a month. Our supermarkets throw out more food each month than many families will see in a year. We live in abundance – we need to learn to let go of some of that and share it with the world around us.

On top of all of that abundance, if we are called according to His purposes – if we have received the free gift of salvation through Christ Jesus, we have been blessed beyond anything we could have even imagined. We are rich in the love of God! We need to share that blessing!

So remember, invite God over and spend some time with Him each day, then go out and the blessing you receive from that time with Him out into a world that desperately needs to see it.

Yes, today is officially the start of getting back to “real life” as it were. E is at work, the girls are at school and I’m supposed to be working.

And I have been… working that is. I went through the set list for this coming Sunday and emailed it over to PC to review before tomorrows meeting, I’ve exchanged some emails with customers (current and potential) and cleared out the old inbox. I also went through the pile of books beside my chair and posted some to PaperBackSwap.com (a great resource, that one!). I still have some misc. things to post on freecycle, but I need to make sure what everything is before I post it… clothing sizes, etc. And quite honestly, that garage is cold these days, so I really don’t want to go in there!

I must also confess that I have been sucked into the vortex that we lovingly call facebook. Oy vey. There are days that this machine sitting on my lap seems to take over life as we know it. There are people to check on, flair to send (only occasionally) a green patch to tend, status updates to be made… important things! (ha!) And this day held such promise.

BUT

I did try a new experiment with the kefir yesterday, and the results were quite satisfying! I put a spoonful or two of the grains into chocolate milk. Yeah baby! The result? Very tasty. It was less chocolate-y than the original, and I added 4 slices of peach and 3 strawberries to it in the blender, but my-oh-my was it tasty! I may just have to try that one again. Of course, I have no idea what the chocolate will do to the gains themselves, so I am only using a small quantity of them in a small jar to test it out. They appear to still be growing, however, so that is a good sign!

Which reminds me… if you live anywhere around here and want some milk kefir grains, let me know. They seem to be very, very happy around here. They are multiplying faster than bunnies, growing faster than weeds, etc. Yes, I have an abundance of grains, an plethora of probiotics to share. Please, I beg you, come take some! please?

As for the rest of the cultured life I was so pleased to post about…. well, the yogurt has gone the way of old boyfriends. It is now a thing of the past. Was it tasty? Absolutely! Did it take much work? Not at all. Then why did I move on so soon? Well, E & I were the only ones that were eating it, and it seemed suddenly to not like having things added to it… and I just don’t like plain yogurt much. Well, unless I’m using it in place of sour cream, but that stuff just wasn’t thick enough. Then it started to grow something on the top… not sure if it was a good something or not, so I fed it to the disposal. I know, what a waste. A waste of time, money and (possibly) very good yogurt. Yeah, but I didn’t want to get sick from something not-so-good being ingested. Since I just don’t know much about yogurt yet, I will be content that I tried it, and may again someday, but not today.

Yes, the bread starter is still going strong. And I now have 100 lbs of flour in my garage waiting to last us for the next 6 months or something like that. Mom took us to Costco before she left and filled the garage… I mean pantry with food. OK, so I really do mean garage. 100 lbs of flour, 75 lbs of rice, and many, many bags of dried fruit and nuts, 5 cases of organic chocolate milk and a case of 100% Hansen’s fruit juice later (among other good things) and I don’t have to go get any dried goods for at least 2 months! Yes, for a normal family it would most likely last much longer, but I can assure you that my girls will have NO PROBLEM going through it all in record time. The 2 months will only be if I can restrain them!

Thanks Mom! You rock. Oh, and good call on the extra car. I actually had an aide at the girls school ask me today if I actually fit “all of that stuff” into one car… apparently she almost came over and offered to drive the girls home for me. Yes, I did manage to fit all of my portion of the shopping extravaganza into the back of the subi… but Ryan had to take their portion over to their rental car to get the rest home. What, it was only 2.5 costco shopping carts! We were accused of hording food because of the snow! Not a bad idea, but not the reason behind it!

Speaking of snow… the white junk is STILL FALLING FROM THE SKY!!!!! Yes, we were in Mill Creek yesterday and watched it fall for a few hours before we headed home. Goody… slippery, snow-covered roads just in time for school to start again. After a THREE WEEK Christmas break. Happily by the time we got home it had changed to rain, and our roads are nice and clear. Praise God! So the girls went back to school as scheduled… well, they missed the bus and I had to take them, but they got to class just before the pledge of allegiance.

Yep, I dropped them off and I headed to get milk… can I just warn you that if you are leaving a school you need to pay attention to your speed? Especially when it’s the first week back to school after a long break? Do NOT under ANY circumstances think about your next stop until you are out of the school zone… you have now been warned. Yep, I was thinking “Is there anything I need besides milk?” as I came around the corner from the school entry, and glanced at the speedometer – then up at the police car sitting up ahead of me. They are kind of sticklers in school zones these days. And then I couldn’t remember if a school zone was 20 or 25… either way I was going almost 30. In a school zone. With an expired insurance card in the glove box.

I hate tickets.

Fortunately the nice policeman gave me a break on the insurance card when I explained that State Farm has yet to send us an actual card since we bought the subi in May. Yes, I have called and asked, yes, I’ve done it more than once. No, I didn’t realize that the temporary card that my nice agent sent me had expired in November. Thank you, Officer, for the warning that if you see this same card again you will give me a ticket for no proof if insurance that has a $550 fine attached. Oh, and thanks also for writing me out a traffic infraction.  Payable in full within 15 days.  There went my next 2 paychecks.

It could have been worse. I could have been thinking about a lot more than milk. And I could have gotten a less genteel policeman that wouldn’t have cared that State Farm won’t send me the appropriate proof of insurance.

And yes, I called State Farm as soon as I got to Safeway and asked (once again) for them to please send me an updated card and the actual cards that I am supposed to have.

Welcome 2009… you’re looking to be a great year thus far.

At least we are all healthy!

*sniffle*

Well it’s now time to head up the hill to get the girls from the bus. I don’t dare drive down there to pick them up today! I might get sidetracked again, and I can’t afford the one I already got, much less another one…

The first day of the rest of 2009 is nearing its end.  Let the games begin.

Have a good one… and watch those school zones!
Jennifer

Oh Fine… I’ll go through the 101 list again & update it for New Year’s…

For the original post, take a look here

My 1001 day is Wednesday, January 12, 2011

house and yard maintenance

1. get stairs on the deck
~ this WILL happen… someday
2. clean and plant flower bed in backyard
~ it’s more of an herb garden, but it is planted!
3. build a sunflower house for the girls
~ this was a dismal failure last Summer – the sunflowers finally grew around October!  We will try again though…
4. clean and maintain the flowerbed outside the office
5. finish planting the pathway to garden
~ umm… yeah…  now I have to pull the weeds ont first!
6. finish making stepping stones for path
7. terrace back hillside for garden
~ it has been begun… just waiting for weather to cooperate to finish it!
8. find a new home for the evergreen trees before they get too large to move
~any takers?
9. paint the outside of the house
10. finish M’s mural
~ as soon as I can get too the wall, I will paint more
11. finish A’s mural
~ ditto
12. get laundry room remodeled
~ may have given up on this idea… more involved than originally thought
13. finish bathroom remodel
14. put down hardwood floors
15. re-carpet the downstairs
16. tile the stairs
17. clean out the garage
~ I can once again get 1 car parked inside!  Certain people want BOTH inside though
18. fix the garage door opener
19. fix the side fence and gate

office
20. get all the fabric organized and PUT AWAY
21. get filing done
22. KEEP filing done – do all filing 1x per month
23. get all buttons, clasps and hooks organized
~  got  them into the drawers, now I just need to get to the drawers…
24. make and hang a ribbon organizer
25. hang pictures/whiteboards up
~ I even hung some decorative ironwork up too!
26. get rid of the extra boxes
27. post unwanted fabrics to sell every 6 weeks
28. unpack and put away office supplies from move
~how about donating them?  Got rid of 2 boxes worth in 2008!!!
29. donate/pass on patterns that are too small for the girls

work
30. get rid of excess flowers
31. remove flowers from website
32. find a new home for Carole’s table runners
33. finish moving TC products over
34. Clean up website – delete old product pages
35. sell/donate purchased bags
~ DONE!!!
36. build wholesale site
37. send out newsletter to wholesale companies every 6 weeks
38. make swatch books
39. hire a bookeeper
40. get all patterns copywritten
41. review 2 products each month
42. update/catalog orders & donations 1x per month
43. send out newsletter 2x per month
44. post new blog 1x per week for Mimsi
45. post 6 blogs per month for gift guides family (recipes, reviews, etc)
46. find wholesale supplier for fabric
47. make 1 RTS/art bag each week
48. do inventory
49. meet with mastermind group each week

Health/cooking
50. cook 3 vegeterian/vegan meals per week
51. learn to use 1 new ingredient per month
52. post 2 new recipes per month (1/24)  cottage-recipes.com
~ I posted about 5 today… does that count for anything?
53. exercise 3x per week
54. drop 4 dress sizes
55. learn to use the dutch oven well
56. bake bread once per week
~ This has been happening for some time – about every 4 days I bake 2 new loaves.  I’m now spoiled on the store-bought stuff.
57. clean out the fridge 2x per month
58. use/freeze leftovers
59. grow corn
~ the seeds have sprouted!   And then they died…
60. go on a walk with the girls & eric at least 1x per week (0/7)
61. climb the stairs at the end of the road 2x per week (0/7)
62. make healthy snacks for the girls
63. use up the CSA produce each week
64. learn to bake with flours other than wheat
65. make 1 entire meal from a different country 2x per month
66. get a bike
67. get up by 7 every day
68. go to bed on time
69. eat 1 raw meal per week

personal
70. read psalms each morning
71. make Eric’s pants
72. make Mom H’s piano bench cushion
73. keep the granite cleaned off (0/7)
74. have a clean, empty sink each night before going to bed (0/7)
75. make at least 1 trip to goodwill each month
76. save up for a new car
~new car purchased May 2nd!!!
77. build up an emergency fund
78. post cd’s to swap or take to sell/trade in
~ freecycled a BIG box of cd’s
79. get last summer’s camping trips scrapbooked (and the summer before…)
80. teach the girls to sew
81. teach the girls to garden
82. memorize 1 scripture per week
83. memorize with the girls!
84. find the cord the the keyboard
~ I bought a new one… then I found the old one!
85. practice the piano again (0/7)
86. teach the girls the basics of playing the piano
87. get M into violin lessons
~ well, lessons lasted about 4 months, then she got tired of it.  Moving to the piano.
88. go on a date with Eric 1x per month
~ want to know how sad it was?  we went from 12/1/07 to 11/1/08 with NO DATE NIGHT!!!!
89. find a good babysitter
90. have QUALITY 1-on-1 with M each week (1/7)
91. have QUALITY 1-on-1 with A each week
92. have QUALITY 1-on-1 with Eric each week (1/7)
93. finish A’s curtains
94. have “girlfriend time” 1x per month
95. send a handwritten letter 1x per month
96. send a letter to Norma 1x per month
97. pray more
98. read the bible through
99. read 1 book every 6 weeks (but don’t ignore everything else!)
~ does this limit me to one?  I think I’ve read about 30 in the past 6 months.  I read 5 last week.
100. be a better mom
101. be a better wife

Who needs resolutions?  I have a list that I still have 2 years to finish!  I like 2 years…

If you want to make a 101 in 1001 list, you can get the details at triplux.com