February 2020 Life Goals

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

• Read 15 books ✓

• Close on our new house ✓

• Restart Quentin’s routine schedule ✓

• Go swimming twice - Fail. We didn’t even go once.

• Start off our food adventure on a good note ✓

• Get my new planner and Memory Planner started ✓

• Clean out the basement ✓

• Create a home vision board ✓

February’s Goals:

• Read 15 books - Hoping to have another good reading month.

• Week out UnRead Shelf - February strategy and also would be nice to not move so many books (even if it’s only 10 less).

• Complete 3 house projects - These can be small or large, but I want to focus on a few things before we move in. (#1 is probably painting the downstairs half bath white instead of the current terracotta.)

• Put in my Ikea house order - I have a cart full that I’l playing with right now.

• Secure Reading Retreat lodging - Retreat isn’t until June, but places go quickly.

• Plan Birthday day - A friend convinced me that I needed to resurrect my solo birthday adventure day. I’m formulating a plan.

• Start the moving process - Not officially leaving our current place until mid-March, but there’s lot to move in the meantime.

• MPS move - Arthur will be switching elementary schools next year. Need to understand the process.

• Get rid of stuff before move - I have a pile to sell or donate. I’m sure I’ll to it this month.

• February movie month - We’re not going to watch 29 movies this month, but I’m hoping for at least 15.

Next up on the TBR list:

Currently #2

Reading: Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez. This book is infuriating (in a very informative way), but still makes me so mad.

Watching: J and I binged The Witcher this past week. Oh so good…

Listening: Catching up on my podcasts. I’ve really been digging The To Read List lately.

Making: Working on the overall design for our new house. Been watching a ton of YouTube videos and making wish lists. Closing is this Friday!

Feeling: Unfortunately, I caught that cold that all the kids had. I hate blowing my nose every two minutes.

Planning: Finally nailing down the our activities for the Kindergarten Valentine’s Day party.

Loving: Every once in awhile, my nose clears and I can breathe. It is glorious!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Winter Bucket List Update #1

And on to 2020! Let’s start the year off right with some fun and some organization!

1. Read 45 books

2. Plan and execute a fun Valentine’s Day Party

3. Buy and Complete a jigsaw puzzle

4. New house vision board

5. Eat at 5 new-to-me restaurants

6. Attend a theater performances

7. Movie Month February

8. Weekly Game Day/Night - In progress

9. Make a seasonal door hanger/wreath

10. Swim at the gym 5 times

11. Have an indoor picnic

12. Host a craft day

13. Plan a weekend getaway

14. Visit a new-to-the-boys museum

15. Spend an afternoon at a local bookstore

16. Make ice cream sundaes

17. DIY Spa Night

18. Buy fresh flowers biweekly

19. Go mini-golfing

20. Make a new dessert

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Ugh Hannah B! I can’t believe what she did on The Bachelor this week. So wrong.

• We had a plumbing emergency last night. So not fun to deal with while finishing dinner and getting the boys ready for bed. Really hoping there’s not too much damage.

• After this work project is over, I’m going to craft for like three days straight.

• I think I need to do a library ban for February. Not starting the year off reading my own shelves like I wanted.

• Winter is a horrible time to attempt making bread. The dry air is killing my rise!

• Honda and the DMV finally got their crap together to get our license plates switched over. Waiting 7 months for mine. Ridiculous!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #1

Reading: Wither by Lauren DeStefano. It’s been on my list for years. Finally got around to reading it.

Watching: Letterkenny S8 started out slow, but has really gotten back to its roots in the last few episodes.

Listening: The Dream S2 is all about the wellness industry. Fascinating!

Making: Finishing up a project for J’s company that requires a ton of phone calls. I hate talking on the phone, but I’m doing it…

Feeling: Cold. So cold. Our house has weird cold areas that I always end up sitting in.

Planning: Working on planning some future big events.

Loving: Ending my days with a cup of hot cinnamon spice tea. So good!

Next up on the TBR pile:

January 2020 Life Goals

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

• Book travel hotel - Success

• Send out Christmas cards - Success

• Look into atheist family group -

• Read 10 books - Success

• Make a reading plan for January - Success

• Figure out a spring routine for Quentin -

• Take care of bills - Success

• Meal plan for January and February -

• Enjoy the season

January’s Goals:

• Read 15 books

• Close on our new house!

• Restart Quentin’s routine schedule

• Go swimming twice

• Start off our food adventure on a good note

• Get my new planner and Memory Planner started

• Clean out the basement

• Create a home vision board

Next up on the TBR list:

2020 Soups and Stews from Around the World

Last year we had fun trying lots of different Grilled Cheese recipes, but realized that bread and cheese weekly got a bit old. We started kicking around new ideas back in November and pretty quickly stumbled on the Soups and Stews ideas. But then we took it a step further. So for 2020, we are going to try 52 Soups and Stews Around the World. Prepping for this has been a multi step process.

I created a spreadsheet with a list of all the countries of the world separating by seven regions. Our hope is to cycle through regions so we aren’t duplicating flavors. Once I got my spreadsheet ready, I moved on to searching for relatively authentic recipes. I did not want Americanized versions of the recipes but something that residents of the country would eat for dinner. I checked out a ton of books from the library and started searching Pinterest.

As of January 1st, I have a very long list of recipes to pick from. As we’re going to cycle through world regions, I picked out our first seven weeks’s worth of recipes and countries and pulled the recipes. We’ll be doing wrap up posts with our tried recipes and thoughts on each. Here’s hoping that we’ll find some great dishes to add to our regular rotation!

Grilled Cheese Adventures Top 10

Part of my 2019 goals is make a different Grilled Cheese recipe each week. I find grilled cheese to be so comforting, but just cheddar or Colby gets boring after awhile. So, I checked a few books out from the library and make a Pinterest Board with lots of options.

We ended up sticking with our plan for 46 different grilled cheese recipes. I think that is a very respectable showing! We ended up realizing that most of the recipes were variations on ones we had already tried, mostly with less success. I definitely front-loaded the year with those I was excited to try out. We also realized that bread and cheese every week just isn’t our jam. Oh well! It was a good idea and we did eat some good good sandwiches. Plus I now have a fancy sandwich press. Our top 10 sandwiches were will be staying in our recipe box and will make appearances throughout the next year I am sure.

1. Fancy BLT (Week 4):

2. Buffalo Chicken (Week 15):

3. Brie, Cranberry, and Prosciutto on Marble Rye (Week 3):

4. Johnny Appleseed - Granny Smith Apple, White Cheddar, and Bacon (Week 41):

5. Pizza Grilled Cheese (Week 31):

6. Apricot White Cheddar on Pumpernickel (Week 11);

7. Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Fontina (Week 18):

8. Spinach and Feta (Week 5):

9. Apple and Gouda (Week 16):

10. Bacon Blackberry Jalapeño Swiss (Week 26):

2020 Goals and Resolutions

2018’s Resolution Message: Usually I make a whole list of goals and resolutions to focus on for the year, but honestly, I’m not feeling it this year at all. Instead of yearly goals, I’m going to try and focus on monthly and seasonal goals. I want to be more intentional with my weeks as opposed to this large, lofty goals.

2020

There are some changes coming this year and I want to go back to having some big goals/resolutions to refer back to throughout the year.

House Goals/Resolutions

• Successfully move into our new house!

• Make a list of house renovations/projects and complete at least 50%

• Create a plan to tackle the house one room at a time

Life Goals/Resolutions

• Get back into a gym schedule

• Complete our 52 Weeks of Soups and Stews Around the World (adding some permanently to Paprika)

• Create a spending budget and stick to it

• Create and stick to a new weekly routine for Quentin and Arthur

• Plan and complete a fun summer road trip!

• Plan and complete a reading retreat!

Reading Goals/Resolutions

• Read 200 books / 50,000 pages

• Decrease my physical UnRead Shelves by 50 books

• Decrease my ebook UnRead Shelves by 30 books

• Create a library/reading space in the new house

• Follow my reading whims/cravings instead of rigid reading challenges

Craft Goals/Resolutions

• Finish all currently in progress projects

• Organize a craft space in the new house

• Take stock of my supplies and use them!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List Finish

Christmas time is here!!!! Bring on the festive events and activities. (18/25)

1. Make Christmas Cookies ✓

2. Watch 5 Christmas movies (3/5)

   • How the Grinch Stole Christmas

   • Christmas at Pemberley Manor

   • Pride, Prejudice and Mistletoe

3. Complete a Christmas book advent ✓

4. Make hot cocoa ✓

5. Create snow angels

6. Create paper snowflakes

7. Make an ornament

8. Buy a Christmas sweater ✓

9. Sing Christmas carols ✓

10. Build a gingerbread house (or train or whatever) ✓

11. Help Arthur write a letter to Santa ✓

12. Drive around and see the lights ✓

13. Go visit Santa ✓

14. Send out Christmas cards ✓

15. Read 10 Christmas/winter stories (13/10) ✓

    • A Christmas Bride by Hope Ramsay

    • The Christmas Layover by Robert Tate Miller

    • Unexpected Gifts by Elena Aitken

    • Unexpected Endings by Elena Aitken

    • Christmas Lovebirds by Rachelle Ayala

    • Christmas with the Black Sheep by Natalie-Nicole Bates

    • My Christmas Curse by Joan Gable

    • Santa’s on His Way

    • Once Upon a Royal Christmas by Robin Bielman

    • A Kiss of Christmas by Jillian Eaton

    • Finding Christmas by Karen Schaler

    • 25 Days ‘til Christmas by Poppy Alexander

    • This Christmas by Jeannie Moon

16. Leave out cookies for Santa ✓

17. Visit the Feztival of Trees ✓

18. Take a photo of all four boys together ✓

19. Find a new holiday album ✓ - I went with Ana Gasteyer’s Sugar & Booze and it is delightful!

20. Visit the Fantasy of Lights ✓

21. Go sledding

22. Create my December Daily base pages

23. Participate in two gift exchanges ✓

24. See live reindeer ✓

25. Find a Christmas door hanger

Next up on the TBR pile:

Winter Bucket List

And on to 2020! Let’s start the year off right with some fun and some organization!

1. Read 45 books

2. Plan and execute a fun Valentine’s Day Party

3. Buy and Complete a jigsaw puzzle

4. New house vision board

5. Eat at 5 new-to-me restaurants

6. Attend a theater performances

7. Movie Month February

8. Weekly Game Day/Night

9. Make a seasonal door hanger/wreath

10. Swim at the gym 5 times

11. Have an indoor picnic

12. Host a craft day

13. Plan a weekend getaway

14. Visit a new-to-the-boys museum

15. Spend an afternoon at a local bookstore

16. Make ice cream sundaes

17. DIY Spa Night

18. Buy fresh flowers biweekly

19. Go mini-golfing

20. Make a new dessert

Next up on the TBR pile:

Grilled Cheese Adventures: November and December

Part of my 2019 goals is to make a different Grilled Cheese recipe each week. I find grilled cheese to be so comforting, but just cheddar or Colby gets boring after awhile. So, I checked a few books out from the library and make a Pinterest Board with lots of options. Here’s what we ate:

Week 42: Fig, Apple, and Swiss on Sourdough

I really enjoyed this one!

Week 43: Salami and Cheese on Marbled Rye

Meh. I was not impressed with this one.

Week 44: Classic three cheese with a side of tomato soup

This is a classic for a reason. I mixed Cheddar, Mozzarella, and Swiss to create a great cheesy sandwich.

Week 45: Prosciutto Provolone and Fig Jam

Decent, but so much like others we have had before.

Week 46: Turkey Cranberry Mustard with Muenster on Sourdough

Decent, although I ate this when J wasn’t home. He doesn’t really like turkey.

And with that we are concluding our year of Grilled Cheeses! I think 46 different sandwiches is a very respectable showing for the year. I’ll be back in January with our Top 10 and our plans for 2020. (Not bread!)

Christmas Bucket List Update

Christmas time is here!!!! Bring on the festive events and activities. (8/25)

1. Make Christmas Cookies ✓ — I always make my Ginger Molasses Cookies and they always remind me of Christmas.

2. Watch 5 Christmas movies (1/5)

   • How the Grinch Stole Christmas

3. Complete a Christmas book advent - in progress

4. Make hot cocoa

5. Create snow angels

6. Create paper snowflakes

7. Make an ornament

8. Buy a Christmas sweater ✓ — I got one with dinosaurs wearing Santa hats. Q very much approves!

9. Sing Christmas carols

10. Build a gingerbread house (or train or whatever)

11. Help Arthur write a letter to Santa

12. Drive around and see the lights

13. Go visit Santa ✓ - We met Santa at The Durham for family night.

14. Send out Christmas cards ✓

15. Read 10 Christmas/winter stories (12/10) ✓

    • A Christmas Bride by Hope Ramsay

    • The Christmas Layover by Robert Tate Miller

    • Unexpected Gifts by Elena Aitken

    • Unexpected Endings by Elena Aitken

    • Christmas Lovebirds by Rachelle Ayala

    • Christmas with the Black Sheep by Natalie-Nicole Bates

    • My Christmas Curse by Joan Gable

    • Santa’s on His Way

    • Once Upon a Royal Christmas by Robin Bielman

    • A Kiss of Christmas by Jillian Eaton

    • Finding Christmas by Karen Schaler

    • 25 Days ‘til Christmas by Poppy Alexander

16. Leave out cookies for Santa

17. Visit the Feztival of Trees ✓

18. Take a photo of all four boys together

19. Find a new holiday album

20. Visit the Fantasy of Lights

21. Go sledding

22. Create my December Daily base pages

23. Participate in two gift exchanges ✓ — I ended up participating in three: Book and Wine Exchange; OBM Book Exchange; OBM Coffee Exchange

24. See live reindeer ✓

25. Find a Christmas door hanger

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• So incredibly close to my very ambitious book goal of 250!

• Started packing yesterday for our trip to Indiana. Tons of stuff to still do.

• Really need to make a master list of craft projects to finish…

• Feeling excited about our food plans for 2020.

• There’s too much media for me to consume in any lifetime.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Christmas Bucket List

Christmas time is here!!!! Bring on the festive events and activities.

1. Make Christmas Cookies

2. Watch 5 Christmas movies

3. Complete a Christmas book advent

4. Make hot cocoa

5. Create snow angels

6. Create paper snowflakes

7. Make an ornament

8. Buy a Christmas sweater

9. Sing Christmas carols

10. Build a gingerbread house (or train or whatever)

11. Help Arthur write a letter to Santa

12. Drive around and see the lights

13. Go visit Santa

14. Send out Christmas cards

15. Read 10 Christmas/winter stories

16. Leave out cookies for Santa

17. Visit the Feztival of Trees

18. Take a photo of all four boys together

19. Find a new holiday album

20. Visit the Fantasy of Lights

21. Go sledding

22. Create my December Daily base pages

23. Participate in two gift exchanges

24. See live reindeer

25. Find a Christmas door hanger

Next up on the TBR pile:

December 2019 Life Goals

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

• Figure out Christmas travel plans - So close… I know when we’re going, but I still need to book a hotel for our overnight going there.

• Read 10 ebooks - Success!

• Buy advent calendars for the boys - Success!

• Take care of bills - Success! We got most of them covered and accounted for.

• Look into starting atheist family group chapter - Ooofff… didn’t get to it this month.

• Meal plan through Christmas holiday - Success!

• Friendsgiving? - Success! We had a lovely day with friends.

December’s Goals:

• Book travel hotel - We’re spending the night somewhere around the Quad Cities.

• Send out Christmas cards - I’ve got almost all of them prepped and ready to send this week.

• Look into atheist family group - Ran out of steam last month. Hoping to get to it this month.

• Read 10 books - Hoping to end the year on a good note.

• Make a reading plan for January - Got some of it planned. Need to finish.

• Figure out a spring routine for Quentin - We need a good routine schedule.

• Take care of bills - Got a few left.

• Meal plan for January and February (with soup and stew ideas) - I love going into January prepped and prepared.

• Enjoy the season!

Next up on the TBR list:

Fall Bucket List Finish Line

Ahhh fall! My favorite season of the year. I really missed it when we lived in California! Now I get to enjoy all the fall fun! 15/25 task completed.

1. Visit two pumpkin patches (2/2) ✓

   • Vala’s - Obviously!

   • Skinny Bones - We really enjoyed this smaller patch.

2. Carve pumpkins ✓

3. Read 10 spooky books (not kids) (10/10) ✓

   • Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

   • The Tower Formerly Known as Sears by Lisa M. Lilly

   • Life Among the Dead by Daniel Cotton

   • Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco

   • The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

   • Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven

   • Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

   • The Second Deluge by Garrett Serviss

   • Rabid by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy

   • The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht

4. Read 20 spooky kids books (20/20) ✓

   • Five Silly Ghosts by Hilli Kushnir

   • The Pout-pout Fish Halloween Faces by Deborah Diesen

   • Happy Halloween Mittens by Lola Schaefer

   • The Halloween Kid by Rhode Montijo

   • Pumpkin Party by Maudie Powell-Tuck

   • Mouse’s First Halloween by Lauren Thompson

   • Halloween Hustle by Charlotte Gunnufson

   • Where’s the Pumpkin by Frankie Jones

   • Trick or Treat Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen

   • Halloween Good Night by Rebecca Grabill

   • The Ghosts Go Haunting by Helen Ketteman

   • Sammy’s Spooktacular Halloween by Mike Petrik

   • Happy Halloween, Witch’s Cat! by Harriet Muncaster

   • Skelly’s Halloween by David Martin

   • Curious George Haunted Halloween

   • The 13 Days of Halloween by Carol Greene

   • It’s Halloween Chloe Zoe! by Jane Smith

   • The Ghosts at the Movie Theater by Dori Hillestad Butler

   • Halloween Is by Gail Gibbons

   • Little Blue Truck’s Halloween by Alice Schertle

5. Make 5 pumpkin recipes (1/5)

   • Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins - a staple this time of year!

6. Go on a hayride ✓

7. Take pictures of boys in a pile of leaves

8. Find a new Halloween activity ✓

9. Create a fall signature cocktail

10. Bake a pie

11. Watch 20 Fall/spooky movies (20/20) ✓

    • Idle Hands (1999)

    • Dracula (1931)

    • The Black Cat (1934)

    • The Mummy (1932)

    • Anna and the Apocalypse (2018)

    • The Mummy (1999)

    • Beetlejuice (1988)

    • Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)

    • A Cabin in the Woods (2012)

    • Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

    • Labyrinth

    • The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

    • Scream (1996)

    • Dark City (1998)

    • Godzilla King of the Monsters

    • Sleepaway Camp II

    • The Fly (1958)

    • The Fly (1986)

    • The Witches of Eastwick

    • Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

    • The Relic

    • Cockneys vs. Zombies

    • Shaun of the Dead

12. Navigate a corn maze ✓

13. Buy Halloween pajamas

14. Buy a new nail color for fall ✓

15. Make a leaf craft

16. Buy a new pair of boots ✓

17. Buy and complete a new puzzle ✓

18. Decorate the front porch ✓

19. Make a scarecrow

20. Go trick-or-treating ✓

21. Fill 25 more reading challenge slots (25/25) ✓

22. Find a Halloween door hanger ✓

23. Dye my hair something suitably fall

24. Watch It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

25. Eat at 3 new-to-me restaurants

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Finally started the American Gods television show (waited for J to finish the book). Oh so good!

• Also started The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern and already I think I need to own this one. I am falling deep into this one.

• Lightning and thunder during a snow storm is wild.

• I feel like I need something chocolate.

• I’m about 80% done with Christmas shopping. Really excited about my progress.

• Just started house hunting and not impressed so far… Not in a big hurry, but we’ll see how it goes.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• My reading momentum is incredible this week! Seriously knocking out the books.

• The boys have been a handful lately. So many fights! Ugh!

• I picked up so many great recipe books this week. Working on next year’s food project. Stay tuned.

• Speaking of, we’re probably going to complete our grilled cheese project slightly early. 40+ recipes of weekly grilled cheese has really gotten a bit old. Things are tasting repetitive lately.

• I need heavier footwear for winter. My mid-calf gray boots are not going to cut it.

• All I want to do is wear cozy sweaters and scarves. So cold this week!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Grilled Cheese Adventures: September and October

Part of my 2019 goals is make a different Grilled Cheese recipe each week. I find grilled cheese to be so comforting, but just cheddar or Colby gets boring after awhile. So, I checked a few books out from the library and make a Pinterest Board with lots of options. Here’s what we ate:

Week 35: Apple and Cheddar GC

Pretty decent combination.

Week 36: Philly Cheese Steak GC

Very lackluster compared to an actual Philly Cheesesteak

Week 37: Hawaiian GC - Ham, Pineapple, and Pepper Jack

Another lackluster sandwich.

Week 38: Grown Up Bacon Grilled Cheese

Along with bacon, this sandwich has muenster and brie cheese. Decent but not the best.

Week 39: Brie Grilled Cheese

This one also has sliced chicken and horseradish mustard on it. Not the best.

Week 40: Cheddar, Pastrami, and Apple

The addition of apple butter and dijon mustard helped elevate this sandwich.

Week 41: Johnny Appleseed Griled Cheese

Bacon, Granny Smith Apple, and White Cheddar. I changed the cheese out to a white cheddar and it was the right choice. This was really really good.