December 2017 Life Goals

Let’s check in on November's goals and my progress.

• Prep Christmas cards to send after Thanksgiving -- Success! Cards prepped and the first batch has been sent out.
• Host Thanksgiving -- Success! We had a great dinner with some friends.
• Start making Christmas gift lists -- Success! I've got a list going. I've even got some presents bought already.
• Think about 2018 Reading Challenges/reading plan -- Success! Working on my reading challenge 
• Knock off at least 10 items from big to-do list -- Success! Working down my list.
• Complete 5 Fall Bucket items -- Success! I didn't finish my fall bucket list, but I did knock off quite a few items.

December's Goals:

• Finish sending Christmas cards -- I've got most of the cards made, just need to send them.
• Plan and buy Christmas presents -- A few have been bought, just need to finish off my list.
• Knock out at least 10 Reading Challenges slots -- Hoping to finish off my 2017 reading year on a high note.
• Plan my 2018 Reading Challenges -- I've a few challenges starred, just need to narrow them down and lay out my plans.
• January blog drafts -- I want to work ahead while in Indiana get the blog drafts in order. 

Next up on the TBR list:

Christmas Bucket List

1. Go see Santa!
2. Got to Fantasy of Lights at Franke Park
3. Watch Christmas Movies
   1. Elf
   2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
   3. Charlie Brown Christmas
   4. The Polar Express
   5. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
   6. Christmas Vacation
   7. Love Actually
   8. A Christmas Story
   9. Holiday Inn
   10. White Christmas
4. Make Christmas Cookies
5. Ride the Christmas train (New Haven)
6. Visit Oakland Zoo lights
7. Go ice skating
8. Make Christmas cocktails
9. Send Christmas cards
10. Make peppermint bark
11. Load computer/phone with Christmas music
12. Make a Christmas craft
13. Check out and read 25 Christmas books
14. Make Christmas ornaments
15. Make paper snowflakes
16. Write a letter to Santa
17. Decorate a gingerbread house
18. Host/attend Christmas cookie exchange
19. Read a Christmas-themed book (or two)
20. Participate in Secret Santa
21. Find a new Christmas album
22. Make Hot Chocolate
23. Drive around to see the Christmas lights
24. Make Christmas albums
25. Make a snowglobe
26. Have a Christmas dance party
27. Call Santa
28. Have a candy cane hunt

Next up on the TBR pile:

Happy Turkey Day!

We're spending the day with friends eating some good food...

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• J found me a new macbook for a really good price. Excited, but now I have transfer everything over from my old macbook. So much to do...
• I thought I escaped getting the cold everyone else in the house did, but i was wrong. I feel crappy.
• Tea is my best friend right now.
• We've officially lost a library book. Our system allows you to replace the item yourself or pay them to do it. I opted for replacing as the price on Amazon was $5 less than what the library would have charged me. Making a bad situation just a bit better.
• The server has been very very slow for the past two days. Making watching anything difficult with all the pausing.
• I really want to make pot roast for tonight, but that means I need to get off the couch and cut up the veggies and sear the meat. Must get moving...

Next up on the TBR pile:

Fall Bucket List Update #2

Alright, I'm getting on board with the seasonal bucket lists. As autumn begins on September 22nd, I thought it would be a great starting line. I know that fall lasts until the winter solstice, but as soon as December 1st hits, I'm all about Christmas. So I'm going to run my fall bucket list until November 30th. I've thought about the things that scream fall to me and created my list.

My current completion 15/35   42.9%

1. Enjoy a PSL -- Always have to indulge a few times.
2. Go to a pumpkin patch -- Took Arthur to a small one with tons of bounce houses
3. Buy some proper cider  -- I bought some cider at Target. Unfortunately, I bought spiced cider and it's a little too orange-y for my tastes. I'll have to pick up some more at another store.
4. Bake pumpkin bread -- One loaf down, I imagine I will make a few more before Christmas.
5. Make stuffed acorn squash -- Always love this recipe, but can only make it in the fall when the acorn squash is ripe.
6. Carve a pumpkin
7. Make a fall craft with Arthur
8. Read some scary books -- I participated in Seasons of Reading's FrightFall Readathon. I've read:
   1. 8.4 by Peter Hernon (earthquake thriller)
   2. Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell (supernatural cozy mystery)
   3. The Mummy by Anne Rice (classic horror)
   4. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (classic horror)
   5. Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff (crappy supernatural YA)
   6. Haunted Castles by Ray Russell (collection of ghost stories)
   7. The Gates by John Connolly (comedic horror)
   8. A Cast Off Coven by Juliet Blackwell (supernatural cozy mystery)
   9. Hexes and Hemlines by Juliet Blackwell (supernatural cozy mystery)
9. Pick up some fall themed tea -- I grabbed some Caramel Apple Spice at the store!
10. Take pictures of the changing leaf colors
11. Make chili and cornbread -- It will be back on the meal plan soon.
12. Find two new fall soup recipes
13. Watch Shaun of the Dead for Halloween
14. Visit a corn maze
15. Bake fall cookies -- I made some Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, but they weren't the best. 
16. Make leaf art
17. Pick up some fall nail polish (and actually do my nails!)
18. Go apple picking
19. Bake an apple pie
20. Make mulled wine
21. Plan and cook Thanksgiving
22. Read Kids Books
    1. Fall
       1. The Autumn Equinox by Ellen Jackson
       2. My Leaf Book by Monica Wellington
       3. WonderFall by Michael Hall
       4. Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak
       5. Fall by Kay Barnham
       6. An Apple's Life by Nancy Dickman
       7. Autumn by Stephanie Hedlund
       8. Leaves Fall Down by Lisa Bullard
       9. Kitten's Autumn by Eugenie Fernandes
       10. The Autumn Leaf by Carl Emerson
       11. Who Loves the Fall? by Bob Raczka
       12. Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins
       13. Little Elliot Fall Friends by Mike Curato
       14. Counting on Fall by Lizann Flatt
    2. Halloween
       1. Countdown to Halloween by Patricia Reeder Eubank
       2. Click, Clack, Boo! by Doreen Cronin
       3. Halloween Hustle by Charlotte Gunnufson
       4. Dog and Bear Tricks and Treats by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
       5. How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow? by Wendell Minor
       6. Seven Orange Pumpkins by Stephen Savage
       7.  
    3. Thanksgiving
       1. Gobble, Gobble, Tucker by Leslie McGuirk
23. Decorate the front porch
24. Buy some pumpkin ale -- I grabbed Leinenkugel's Autumn Shandy. Decent, but I will have to find something else.
25. Go on a hayride
26. Celebrate Halloween with costumes and trick-or-treating -- We made it around the entire top of the hill.
27. Pick up a fall candle -- I grabbed a yummy smelling Orchard candle from Glade. It reminds me of pumpkin and bonfires.
28. Read a cozy mystery -- I finished Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell this week. I loved it! Will have to pick up the next book in the series.
29. Make a scarecrow
30. Make homemade sauerkraut
31. Toast pumpkin seeds
32. Have a Monster Mash dance party
33. Create Halloween and Thanksgiving cocktails
34. Watch It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
35. Have a Resident Evil marathon

Next up on the TBR pile:

November 2017 Life Goals

Let’s check in on October's goals and my progress.

• Pull off the birthday party -- Success! I think everyone had lots of fun.
• Buy treats for the MVPA social -- Success! We had lots of fun!
• Participate in The Mummy Readalong -- Partial success. I finished reading the book, but the discussion got pushed back to the beginning of November. I'll check back in this week.
• Make 4 New Recipes -- Success! I actually ended up making 6 new recipes this month!
  • Fish with Lemons and Capers
  • Coffee Rubbed Pork Loin
  • Biscuit Wrapped Meatballs
  • Chicken Tortilla Soup
  • Prosciutto and Fig Pizza
  • Waffle Crab Cakes
• Complete 6 Fall Bucket items -- Success!

November's Goals:

• Prep Christmas cards to send after Thanksgiving -- I have a ton of cards made. I just need to address them and get them prepped to send.
• Host Thanksgiving -- We host a small Thanksgiving every year. J and I were just talking about who was coming and what to make. Now to make an official plan and execute.
• Start making Christmas gift lists -- Even if I don't buy them right now, I like to have a list of things I'm looking out for.
• Think about 2018 Reading Challenges/reading plan -- Always an end of the year task.
• Knock off at least 10 items from big to-do list -- I have a giant 4 page to-do list in my notebook. Hoping to cross some items off!
• Complete 5 Fall Bucket items -- Hoping to finish out strong!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• October has been an amazing reading month so far. Hoping to finish out strong.
• Mother Nature really needs to make up her mind about the temperatures around here. Four days ago it was a high of 65, today it's a high of 90. Ugh!
• I hate having to go to three different grocery stores, but we save so much money!
• Speaking of, been thinking of trying the new dinner kit service Dinnerly. We like Munchery, but this one is half the price. 
• I drank an entire bottle of wine by myself last night and I have a minimal headache this morning. Hmmm....
• That reminds me that I want to make a signature cocktail for Halloween next week. Must go peruse Pinterest.
• Excited about how many Christmas card designs I've made so far. Now to pick one for November's stamp club...

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• The birthday party is over! It was so much fun, but I'm glad it's over for this year. My to-do lists were out of control.
• On to finishing up our Halloween plans...
• Speaking of, I need to redo my big to-do lists. 
• Thinking about all the people affected by the wildfires in North Bay. The region is going to take years to recover. 
• Loving my reading as of late. Such great books! 
• Catching up on my podcasts from last week. I just added about 10 more books to my TBR page... 
• Rum punch is oh so yummy.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Fall Bucket List Update #1

My current completion 10/35 28.6%

1. Enjoy a PSL -- Always have to indulge a few times.
2. Go to a pumpkin patch
3. Buy some proper cider  -- I bought some cider at Target. Unfortunately, I bought spiced cider and it's a little too orange-y for my tastes. I'll have to pick up some more at another store.
4. Bake pumpkin bread -- One loaf down, I imagine I will make a few more before Christmas.
5. Make stuffed acorn squash -- Always love this recipe, but can only make it in the fall when the acorn squash is ripe.
6. Carve a pumpkin
7. Make a fall craft with Arthur
8. Read some scary books -- I'm participating in Seasons of Reading's FrightFall Readathon. I've read:
   1. 8.4 by Peter Hernon (earthquake thriller)
   2. Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell (supernatural cozy mystery)
9. Pick up some fall themed tea: Apple spiced or pumpkin flavor
10. Take pictures of the changing leaf colors
11. Make chili and cornbread -- It will be back on the meal plan soon.
12. Find two new fall soup recipes
13. Watch Shaun of the Dead for Halloween
14. Visit a corn maze
15. Bake fall cookies
16. Make leaf art
17. Pick up some fall nail polish (and actually do my nails!)
18. Go apple picking
19. Bake an apple pie
20. Make mulled wine
21. Plan and cook Thanksgiving
22. Read Kids Books
    1. Fall
       1. The Autumn Equinox by Ellen Jackson
       2. My Leaf Book by Monica Wellington
       3. WonderFall by Michael Hall
       4. Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak
       5. Fall by Kay Barnham
       6. An Apple's Life by Nancy Dickman
       7. Autumn by Stephanie Hedlund
       8. Leaves Fall Down by Lisa Bullard
       9. Kitten's Autumn by Eugenie Fernandes
       10. The Autumn Leaf by Carl Emerson
       11. Who Loves the Fall? by Bob Raczka
       12. Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins
       13. Little Elliot Fall Friends by Mike Curato
    2. Halloween
       1. Countdown to Halloween by Patricia Reeder Eubank
       2. Click, Clack, Boo! by Doreen Cronin
    3. Thanksgiving
23. Decorate the front porch
24. Buy some pumpkin ale -- I grabbed Leinenkugel's Autumn Shandy. Decent, but I will have to find something else.
25. Go on a hayride
26. Celebrate Halloween with costumes and trick-or-treating
27. Pick up a fall candle -- I grabbed a yummy smelling Orchard candle from Glade. It reminds me of pumpkin and bonfires.
28. Read a cozy mystery -- I finished Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell this week. I loved it! Will have to pick up the next book in the series.
29. Make a scarecrow
30. Make homemade sauerkraut
31. Toast pumpkin seeds
32. Have a Monster Mash dance party
33. Create Halloween and Thanksgiving cocktails
34. Watch It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
35. Have a Resident Evil marathon

Next up on the TBR pile:

Arthur and Quentin's Pirate Birthday Party!!!

As the boys' birthday are fairly close together (Sept. 26th and Oct. 15th), we opted for a joint birthday party. If you want to see the crafts I made up close, check them out over at the craft blog this week. For today, I'm posting mostly party pictures.

Next up on the TBR pile:

October 2017 Life Goals

Let’s check in on September's goals and my progress.

• Read 2500 pages -- Fail! I only read 2320 pages in September. Hoping to do better in October.
• Finish planning the birthday party -- Success! The planning has been finished. I need to hit the grocery store and decorate. 
• Finish buying/prepping our costumes -- Partial fail. I still need to pick up some accessories, but we all have our basic uniform bought.
• Finish my blog fix -- Success! I finally fixed all my back posts. Some aren't perfect but they at least have the big issues fixed.
• Buy plane tickets for Christmas -- Fail. Still need to do this, but I do have a plan.

October's Goals:

• Pull off the birthday party! -- The party's Saturday. Gotta get on this!
• Buy treats for the MVPA social -- We look forward to the MVPA Fall Costume Social every year. Now we need to decide on the treats for trick-or-treating.
• Participate in The Mummy Readalong -- I haven't read this one for years. Very excited!
• Make 4 New Recipes -- I haven't tried anything new lately. 
• Complete 6 Fall Bucket List items -- I've gotten a start on the list, but looking forward to some itneresting activities in October.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Q loves his zoo train, but if I have to take it away from Arthur one more time...
• Toyed with cutting processed sugar from my diet. But after hearing the ultimate failure of a friend, I think I should aim for decreasing my amount instead of cutting it out completely.
• My October TBR pile is calling my name, but it's still September! 
• Can't wait to pull out my Halloween themed planner kits.
• I want to bake all the things! Unfortunately it's 90 degrees here this week. Darn.
• Despite the arguments, Q and Arthur have started playing together and it's oh so cute!
• I finally got a PSL on Tuesday. Oh my! I missed these...

Next up on the TBR pile:

Fall Bucket List

Alright, I'm getting on board with the seasonal bucket lists. As autumn begins on September 22nd, I thought it would be a great starting line. I know that fall lasts until the winter solstice, but as soon as December 1st hits, I'm all about Christmas. So I'm going to run my fall bucket list until November 30th. I've thought about the things that scream fall to me and created my list.

1. Enjoy a PSL
2. Go to a pumpkin patch
3. Buy some proper cider 
4. Bake pumpkin bread
5. Make stuffed acorn squash
6. Carve a pumpkin
7. Make a fall craft with Arthur
8. Read some scary books -- I'm participating in Seasons of Reading's FrighFall Readathon the entire month of October.
9. Pick up some fall themed tea: Apple spiced or pumpkin flavor
10. Take pictures of the changing leaf colors -- Rare here in northern California, but we do have some trees whose leaves change colors and drop
11. Make chili and cornbread
12. Find two new fall soup recipes
13. Watch Shaun of the Dead for Halloween
14. Visit a corn maze
15. Bake fall cookies
16. Make leaf art
17. Pick up some fall nail polish (and actually do my nails!)
18. Go apple picking
19. Bake an apple pie
20. Make mulled wine
21. Plan and cook Thanksgiving
22. Read Fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving library books (kids)
23. Decorate the front porch
24. Buy some pumpkin ale
25. Go on a hayride
26. Celebrate Halloween with costume and trick-or-treating
27. Pick up a fall candle
28. Read a cozy mystery
29. Make a scarecrow
30. Make homemade sauerkraut
31. Toast pumpkin seeds
32. Have a Monster Mash dance party
33. Create Halloween and Thanksgiving cocktails
34. Watch It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
35. Have a Resident Evil marathon

And now to dive in!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Summer 2017 Clothing Summary

My goal is to keep my quarterly clothes budget to $200. I've still got some weight loss goals to achieve, but I need to do a bit of fill-in in the meantime.

Amazon $45.86

I desperately needed a new swimsuit for this season. One was maternity and big in weird places. One was pre-baby and small in weird places. Thankfully my online parent group had suggested some great swimsuits. I went with the Cocoship Vintage Sailor Pin Up Swimsuit. Very flattering and comfy!

A friend was wearing this great tunic length sleeveless top and I just had to get my own! I grabbed the Urbancleo Tunic Tank Top in dark gray. Great for throwing on over leggings and nice and cool. Perfect for summer wear. They have a variety of sleeve and neckline styles. I will probably grab a few more pieces this fall. 

Target $65.50

I needed a new pair of yoga pants (old ones are stretched out and covered with bleach spots). Thank goodness they had these great Mossimo ones in stock the day I was looking.

As Target is doing away with it's old brands and brining in some new collections, they have been offering discounts on the old brands throughout the summer. I snapped up this cute short sleeve plaid shirt during one of those sales. 

Total impulse buy! I saw these cute lightweight shorts on the clearance rack. I'll never wear them in public (not that confident), but they are perfect for around the house. 

Loving the late 90s vibe going on at Target right now... I grabbed a couple of pieces to try on at home. Unfortunately all but one didn't fit. I did get this cute little sheath dress out of the ordeal. I imagine I'll be wearing it with tights or leggings this fall and winter. This may just be my plane outfit for flying back to Indiana at Christmastime.

2017 Total: $274.79

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• I have the urge bake daily but it's way too hot to do so right now...
• I can't believe I've gotten to Sept. 7th and haven't had a Pumpkin Spice Latte yet
• The downstairs closet is bursting at the seams. Need to declutter!
• Also, the fridge needs a cleanout...
• Not really enjoying my current read, but I should give it another 100 pages (it's the book club selection)

Next up on the TBR pile:

September 2017 Life Goals

Let’s check in on August’s goals and my progress.

• Read 3000 pages -- Success! In fact, I read 3861 pages in August. Being sick did wonders for my reading life.
• Fix all of 2014 -- Success! I only have to months to finish my entire blog fix. Woohoo!
• Goodwill donation round-up -- Success! J took care of the drop-off while he was off work. A few bags less clutter in the house!
• Plan Arthur and Quentin's birthday party --  50% success. I have started this task, but not finished yet. 
• Plan our Halloween costumes -- 50% success. We know what we want to do. I ordered Q's costume. I still need to buy Arthur and my costumes. J is taking care of his own costume.
• Plan weekly kid activities -- Fail. This one totally just fell by the wayside.

September's Goals:

• Read 2500 pages -- I can't imagine that my reading will be as good as August's totals, so I'm going to decrease my goal again.
• Finish planning the birthday party -- We holding it on October 7th, so this is the month.
• Finish buying/prepping our costumes -- I have a bit more time, but I need to get on this goal.
• Finish my blog fix -- Only two months to go!
• Buy plane tickets for Christmas -- Need to get on this one.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here is my randomness for the week:

• So many books to read and so little time! Sometimes I get so overwhelmed about the height of my TBR pile. I really need to not look at the big pile. Just take it one book at a time...
• Feeling the itch to read some nonfiction. Maybe some history...
• Q is so snuggly lately. I'm loving the baby snuggles. 
• Looking at Christmas plans. Ugh! I love Christmas, but the planning is daunting to me.
• The cooler temperatures have been lovely, but I'm not ready for summer to leave us completely.
• My last few new-to-me recipes have turned out great. I'm on a roll!
• Although I feel like we need more vegetarian dinners in our rotation. 
• Decluttering feels so good!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here is my randomness for the week:

• The house feels very empty this week...
• Feeling the itch to deep clean and declutter the house. I at least need to clean the downstairs before Saturday morning's brunch.
• Not feeling the collection of essays I'm reading. I'm thinking a fluffy romance might be just the thing.
• Need to make wacky cake this week
• I went a little crazy with the graphic novels at the library. Now I need to find time to read them.

Next up on the TBR pile:

August 2017 Life Goals

Let’s check in on July's goals and my progress.

• Check off 10 more items from our summer bucket list -- Success! We ended the summer strong with some more fun activities. The twins' favorite was our trip into San Francisco and visit to the Musee Mechanique. 
• Back to school shopping for twins -- Done! We got clothes and school supplies. All done!
• 6 months of blog fix (July - January 2016) --Over-achiever success! I finished the 6 months plus some.
• Read 3000 pages -- So close. I ended up reading 2944 pages for July. 
• Weekly self-care -- Big fat fail! This is so incredibly hard to schedule with the current work and kid situations.
• Big plan August - December -- Another fail. Instead I focused on July...

August's Goals:

• Read 3000 pages -- Hoping for another good reading month
• Fix all of 2014 -- I'm really hoping to get the entire blog fixed by the end of September, so I need to finish all of 2014 this month.
• Goodwill donation round-up -- Feeling the clutter is starting to take over the house. Need to do a purge.
• Plan Arthur and Quentin's birthday party -- It's not until October 7th, but I'm a huge overachiever and planner. I want to have my basic plan ready by the end of August.
• Plan our Halloween costumes -- We've decided on Star Trek, so now we have to work out the details. I think I've found my costume, but all the boys need to be outfitted.
• Plan weekly kid activities -- My goal is two big outings (not in CV), one local outing, and one craft/home activity. (Possibly carry this idea into September)

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Meal planning for 6 different palates is ridiculously difficult. Can I just say F it?
• So looking forward to a little time away from all my kiddos for book club on Sunday. It's been forever since I had at least one with me.
• I love back to school shopping. It's like a new beginning. Must resist buying all the pretty supplies for myself. 
• Laundry is piling up. Happens when I don't do a load for three days...
• Looking forward to a day in San Francisco today. It's been awhile since I've been there.
• Hoping to stop at the fudge shop in North Beach later today...

Next up on the TBR pile: