Christmas Bucket List Finish Line

Final tally 14/25 tasks completed. Sickness threw me early on in the month.

Make Christmas Cookies ✓
Watch 5 Christmas movies
1. The Polar Express
2. Scrooged
Decorate our new house
Make hot cocoa ✓
Buy fun candy canes — Grabbed some weird fruit ones on clearance!
Read “A Christmas Carol”
Build a snowman
Create snow angels ✓
Create a popcorn garland
Create paper snowflakes
Have a snowball fight
Donate to a toy drive ✓
Sing Christmas carols ✓
Build a gingerbread house ✓
Drive around and see the lights ✓
Go visit Santa ✓
Send out Christmas cards ✓
Read 5 Christmas stories ✓
1. Alaskan Holiday
2. Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe
3. A Town Called Christmas
4. A Christmas Gift
5. Mischief and Mistletoe
6. The Night Before Christmas
7. Winter Street
8. Winter Stroll
9. That Mistletoe Moment
Leave out cookies for Santa ✓
Go to Christmas at the zoo
See a Christmas performance
Buy a special ornament
Take a photo of all four boys together ✓
Try a new holiday coffee drink
Find a new holiday album ✓

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List Update #3

We’ve been knocking out some fun holiday items this past week.

Make Christmas Cookies ✓
Watch 5 Christmas movies
1. The Polar Express
2. Scrooged
Decorate our new house
Make hot cocoa
Buy fun candy canes
Read “A Christmas Carol”
Build a snowman
Create snow angels ✓
Create a popcorn garland
Create paper snowflakes
Have a snowball fight
Donate to a toy drive ✓
Sing Christmas carols
Build a gingerbread house ✓
Drive around and see the lights ✓ - The boys and I went to the Fantasy of Lights Friday night. They loved it.
Go visit Santa
Send out Christmas cards ✓
Read 5 Christmas stories ✓
1. Alaskan Holiday
2. Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe
3. A Town Called Christmas
4. A Christmas Gift
5. Mischief and Mistletoe
Leave out cookies for Santa
Go to Christmas at the zoo
See a Christmas performance
Buy a special ornament
Take a photo of all four boys together
Try a new holiday coffee drink
Find a new holiday album ✓

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List Update #2

We’ve been knocking out some fun holiday items this past week.

Make Christmas Cookies
Watch 5 Christmas movies
Decorate our new house
Make hot cocoa
Buy fun candy canes
Read “A Christmas Carol”
Build a snowman
Create snow angels ✓
Create a popcorn garland
Create paper snowflakes
Have a snowball fight
Donate to a toy drive ✓
Sing Christmas carols
Build a gingerbread house - We made a gingerbread train and it actually stayed up for a few minutes before the kids destroyed it. ✓
Drive around and see the lights
Go visit Santa
Send out Christmas cards ✓
Read 5 Christmas stories - In progress! So far, I’ve read 4 stories set in winter/Christmas.
Leave out cookies for Santa
Go to Christmas at the zoo
See a Christmas performance
Buy a special ornament
Take a photo of all four boys together
Try a new holiday coffee drink
Find a new holiday album ✓ — I grabbed the newest Pentatonix Christmas is Here! and am really digging it.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

Feels good to have our travel plans set! Now to get on with packing…
Our basement is still in shambles after flooding two weeks ago. Hope it gets down by the time I return from Indiana.
Finishing out the year strong with my reading. I’m already over my big GoodReads goal of 200 books. Shooting for 210!
Looking forward to getting my TBR pile for 2019 ready.
Loving getting Christmas cards from lots of friends and family.
After yesterday’s Costco trip, our pantry is bursting. I need to get a better organizational system in place.
I think I need to pick up one more small presents for the littles.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List Update #1

Fall is over (at least in my book) and we’re on to Christmas. Time for a new bucket list!

Make Christmas Cookies
Watch 5 Christmas movies
Decorate our new house
Make hot cocoa
Buy fun candy canes
Read “A Christmas Carol”
Build a snowman
Create snow angels
Create a popcorn garland
Create paper snowflakes
Have a snowball fight
Donate to a toy drive ✓ — Q and I dropped off a box of art supplies to CSI’s Substitute Santa drive.
Sing Christmas carols
Build a gingerbread house
Drive around and see the lights
Go visit Santa
Send out Christmas cards - Almost done!
Read 5 Christmas stories - In progress! So far, I’ve read 2 stories set in winter/Christmas.
Leave out cookies for Santa
Go to Christmas at the zoo
See a Christmas performance
Buy a special ornament
Take a photo of all four boys together
Try a new holiday coffee drink
Find a new holiday album

Next up on the TBR pile:

December 2018 Life Goals

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

Fix the master bedroom — Success! We got the furniture sorted out and clothes put away.
Layout my TBR for the end of the year / start brainstorming reading challenges — Success! I’ve got the books I still want to read this year laid out. And I started working on my 2019 RCs.
Join/register preschool, gym, and library — Success! Arthur started preschool at the beginning of the month and we joined both a gym and the library.
Buy some new jeans and key fall pieces — Success! I found two pairs of jeans I like and a few tops/sweaters for winter. Really would like some new boots still…

December's Goals: Just a small list as I really want to savor the holidays.

Finish clearing out the kitchen and living room - We have some weird odds and ends hanging out. I want to get them put away before going to Indiana for Christmas.
Read 15 books (including 5 Christmas themed) - Hoping to finish off strong. I have a good list of options for the Christmas reads and a set list for some of the regular reads.
January Blog Drafts - I like to have these prepped before the new year starts.
Enjoy the holidays! - Including lots of items off our bucket lists and slowing down to savor the time.

Next up on the TBR list:

Fall Bucket List Finish Line

Another season, another bucket list. I kicked butt on our California items, but faltered when it came to the Midwest items. Life just got in the way. Moving was a bit more complicated than I anticipated and we’ve taken longer to get settled. Hoping my Christmas goals actually get accomplished!

California (8/10):

Visit Rocket Fizz ✓
Take a Ferry Ride to San Francisco ✓
Have a Beach Day ✓
Enjoy my Retreat Weekend! ✓
Celebrate Arthur and Quentin's Birthdays! ✓
Visit Children's Fairyland ✓
Visit Children's Creativity Museum
Eat at Black Bear
Buy pie in Guerneville ✓
Have one more pool party ✓

Midwest (9/19):

Visit Fort Wayne Zoo ✓
Visit Science Central ✓
Visit Omaha Zoo ✓
Visit Omaha Children's Museum ✓
Get a new library card - But of course! And we’ve already checked out a ton of books. ✓
Find a good park
Go see a movie in the theater ✓
Go to Vala's Pumpkin Festival ✓
Eat at Coney Island
Travel to OBM Sparkle Party in Iowa City - Sadly I ended up not being able to go…
Find a good indie bookstore
Visit the comic books store
Find a good brunch place (Wheatfields?)
Have dinner with a friend alone
Join a new parent group
Join a book club ✓
Get my crafty business started ✓
Go to Fort Wayne for Thanksgiving
Create a fall signature cocktail

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List

Fall is over (at least in my book) and we’re on to Christmas. Time for a new bucket list!

Make Christmas Cookies
Watch 5 Christmas movies
Decorate our new house
Make hot cocoa
Buy fun candy canes
Read “A Christmas Carol”
Build a snowman
Create snow angels
Create a popcorn garland
Create paper snowflakes
Have a snowball fight
Sing Christmas carols
Build a gingerbread house
Drive around and see the lights
Go visit Santa
Send out Christmas cards
Read 5 Christmas stories
Leave out cookies for Santa
Go to Christmas at the zoo
See a Christmas performance
Buy a special ornament
Take a photo of all four boys together
Try a new holiday coffee drink
Find a new holiday album
Donate to CSI’s Subsitute Santa drive (I used to work there!)

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

Really frustrated with the fact that Q refuses to go to the gym daycare. That was part of the reason why we picked this gym. Ugh!
I need some candy canes in my life ASAP.
Sitting at my dining room table, I can feel the slight draft from the old windows. Landlord is going to replace in the spring. Until then, I’m going to get a sweater.
I royally screwed up an order on Black Friday and now it looks like I can only recover 1/2 of the order. Very sad…
My library stack is out of control. Guess I need to read some more.
Looking forward to having the ability of just hauling all the presents to Indiana in the back of the van. Means I can shop for everything now and know I have it all with me.
Every pen I pick up in this house sucks. I guess I need to stick to my trusty Papermate Flairs.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

Finally getting into a routine here, but Q is thwarting my attempts to go to the gym. Apparently he hates the gym daycare and screams when we step into the building. Need to figure this out quick. I hate going to the gym at night.
Love the new Starbuck’s green cups. I’m even going to add one into my December Daily pages.
Speaking of, I finally pulled out my Christmas crafting supplies and took stock. Grabbed a few new kits for Holiday albums, but I’m in good shape.
Started some freelance transcription and it’s going okay. The boys interrupt me too often making for long sessions. But I’ve already made about $100 this month.
After a broken oven and water in the basement, here’s hoping our house troubles are over for awhile.
Getting excited about Holiday activities!

Next up on the TBR pile:

November 2018 Life Goals

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

Do something special for Arthur’s 5th birthday — The day of he was sick, but the day before we went to go see The Very Hungry Caterpillar at the Rose Theatre.
Unpack to a reasonable point — Success. I still want to fix our master bedroom, but most of the house is livable.
Join a book club — I didn’t actually join one, but I did start one of my own.
Find a class/group for Arthur — No classes joined, but we did find a preschool and he’s starting next week.
Find a few new-to-us places to hang out — Success.
Launch my crafty business in Nebraska — Fail. I created an event, no one showed up.
Go trick-or-treating! — Success!

November's Goals:

Fix the master bedroom — We need to move a dresser, attach the mirror, move the other dresser, and then fix my outlet.
Layout my TBR for the end of the year / start brainstorming reading challenges — Need to figure out those last minute reads to finish out 2018 and get started on my plan for 2019.
Join/register preschool, gym, and library — I have the paperwork for Arthur’s new preschool, but need to drop everything off. I need to email the gym membership guy about joining process. And I want to get my library card this month.
Buy some new jeans and key fall pieces — Um… living in California for almost 7 years means that I have little-to-none winter clothes. I just put in an Amazon order with new pants and sweaters. Hoping they fit!

Next up on the TBR list:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

I seriously love Halloween so much! So sad it’s over.
Very excited to get my crafting room set up so I can make some things.
The summer-like fall weather was nice, but I’m looking forward to sweater weather!
Here’s hoping my new clothes fit (bought online…)
Contemplating my next read. I have too many choices on the self.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Fall Bucket List Update #2

Another season, another bucket list. This one will be a bit weird as we are moving to a different state at the end of September. There is a short list of things we want to hit before leaving California and a list of things for Indiana and Nebraska. It's going to be a mixed bag.

California:

Visit Rocket Fizz ✓
Take a Ferry Ride to San Francisco ✓
Have a Beach Day ✓
Enjoy my Retreat Weekend! ✓
Celebrate Arthur and Quentin's Birthdays! ✓
Visit Children's Fairyland ✓
Visit Children's Creativity Museum
Eat at Black Bear
Buy pie in Guerneville ✓
Have one more pool party ✓

Midwest:

Visit Fort Wayne Zoo ✓
Visit Science Central ✓
Visit Omaha Zoo
Visit Omaha Children's Museum
Get a new library card
Find a good park
Go see a movie in the theater - Arthur and I finally saw Incredibles 2 ✓
Go to Vala's Pumpkin Festival - So big! But lots of fun! ✓
Eat at Coney Island
Travel to OBM Sparkle Party in Iowa City
Find a good indie bookstore
Visit the comic books store
Find a good brunch place (Wheatfields?)
Have dinner with a friend alone
Join a new parent group
Join a book club
Get my crafty business started
Go to Fort Wayne for Thanksgiving
Create a fall signature cocktail

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

Finally in our new house and getting unpacked.
Super anxious to unpack my craft stuff but I need to wait for the desk to be delivered to properly unpack…
Different layout is bringing up new questions. Good questions, but still questions.
I ask one question on Nextdoor and next thing you know I’m organizing a book club for the area.
Ditto for playgroup
I would love to get out and explore, but both kids caught a cold while traveling. We’re stuck inside until further notice.
Next shopping trip needs to include winter coats and boots for the boys.
Amazingly, we have gloves and hats.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

We had to buy a fridge for our new rental and I am irrationally happy about it. Finally a fridge that I actually like!
I’ve fallen into a cozy mystery hole and I’m not sorry about it.
I packed for Indiana weather in the 50s and 60s. Unfortunately it’s going to be upper 70s and low 80s this week. I am hot!
I hope the boys transition to our new house and routine well. Guess we will see next week.
Lore did an episode (Ep. 91 Beneath the Surface) about Mackinaw Island and I loved it! I used to visit with my family almost every years during my childhood. Creepy stories! Now I want to go back and revisit those places.
Started a few new-to-me podcasts this past month. Unfortunately now I’m getting behind on my regulars.
Driving my Grandpa’s old car while here in Indiana and it’s a piece of crap. Shakes when you go above 50 mph. I really miss my Odyssey!

Next up on the TBR pile:

October 2018 Life Goals

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

Read 10 Books -- Success! I ended up reading 13 books while getting ready to move. I’d say that’s a great showing.
Execute the boys's birthday party -- Success! We had so much fun!
Execute the retreat -- Success! It was a lovely few days away.
Finish packing and move!

October's Goals:

Do something special for Arthur’s 5th birthday — Maybe a pumpkin patch?
Unpack to a reasonable point — J will have unpacked the big furniture and most of the kitchen.
Join a book club — I am scheduled for a few ones. Hopefully I really enjoy one of these groups.
Find a class/group for Arthur — Maybe martial arts or gymnastics.
Find a few new-to-us places to hang out
Launch my crafty business in Nebraska
Go trick-or-treating!

Next up on the TBR list:

It's Moving Day!

The day is here! Goodbye sunny moderate California, hello blustery and chilly Nebraska! The boys and I are on a plane leaving the west coast for a quick trip to Indiana before driving over to Nebraska and settling into our new home. I'll share photos of the new house once we get in.

Fall Bucket List Update #1

Another season, another bucket list. This one will be a bit weird as we are moving to a different state at the end of September. There is a short list of things we want to hit before leaving California and a list of things for Indiana and Nebraska. It's going to be a mixed bag.

California:

Visit Rocket Fizz - We went after a park playdate. Arthur picked out some gummis. That’s my kid! ✓
Take a Ferry Ride to San Francisco ✓
Have a Beach Day ✓
Enjoy my Retreat Weekend! ✓
Celebrate Arthur and Quentin's Birthdays! ✓
Visit Children's Fairyland ✓
Visit Children's Creativity Museum - scrapped this due to fussy kids
Eat at Black Bear
Buy pie in Guerneville ✓
Have one more pool party ✓

Midwest:

Visit Fort Wayne Zoo
Visit Science Central
Visit Omaha Zoo
Visit Omaha Children's Museum
Get a new library card
Find a good park
Go see a movie in the theater
Go to Vala's Pumpkin Festival
Eat at Coney Island
Travel to OBM Sparkle Party in Iowa City
Find a good indie bookstore
Visit the comic books store
Find a good brunch place (Wheatfields?)
Have dinner with a friend alone
Join a new parent group
Join a book club
Get my crafty business started
Go to Fort Wayne for Thanksgiving
Create a fall signature cocktail

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

How do we still have so much to pack? I really hate packing kitchens…
Last weekend’s retreat was just what I needed #coconutballs
Getting excited about fall festivals in Nebraska. We’ll be able to catch some of them in mid-October.
We still have a pile of food from the pantry to attempt to consume before next week. I might just need to do a drop off at the nearest food pantry.
Kinda bored with my current read. I might need to DNF it.
I might need to make a horror book pile for October. I’m really drawn to the dark reads right now.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

I'm super chill about moving right now. Super sad to be leaving our friends, but excited about the new opportunities for our family. And the packing is going very smoothly.
Really not excited about Colton as the new Bachelor. Nopeity nope!
Currently reading a book about smallpox and I need all the epidemiology books in my life. I might have missed my calling...
I can't get enough iced tea right now
Craving some BBQ chicken on the grill but alas, we have other dinner plans
Need to think of a signature cocktail for the retreat next week.
The stack of comics on my nightstand is calling my name

Next up on the TBR pile: