So tonight I braved the madness- really there was none, and went to the grocery store to get the last of the items we'll need for our Thanksgiving celebration!
I bought a MSG Free, Gluten Free Turkey (for Aaron's family and well for all of us), the items I need to "brine" (yes you heard me use a cooking term!) the turkey, and ingredients for stuffing recipe I found from the lady who's name escapes me (lady who uses a whole lot of butter). That's right, I'm also making stuffing (read not from a box!)
Mom's coming down Wednesday evening to help me "prep" the bird, and then Thursday it's all me... well and mom.
The countdown is upon us.... let's hope that I don't:
A) Burn the house down
B) Give us all food poisoning.
Monday, November 23, 2009
It's Been a While!
I know, I know- life has just been SO crazy!
I'll elaborate more on all I promise!!
Here's our summary (I'll elaborate later):
- Bought a new car (pictures to come)
- Got a new Kitty (Budders- pictures to come)
- Put up the Tree (pictures to come)
- Took Family Christmas Card Photo's
I'll elaborate more on all I promise!!
Happy Monday!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Thanksgiving- Yes, I can!
With babies on the horizon (hopefully) and me being the OCD freak I am (I own it and wear it well) I (I could say Aaron and I, but let's face it, he's the go with the flow one) decided that we should start organizing our holiday traditions this year. I really don't want to be lugging around pack-n-plays, swings, bottle warmers, etc, all over the place on holidays and not get to spend equal time in the home that I grow more and more attached to daily.
So, our first rough draft to try this year:
- Thanksgiving at our home (for lunch so we can still stop by Robyn's to see everyone). This also allows mom, Andie (if she's game) and I to go shopping on Black Friday in Phoenix, with far more variety in shops.
- Christmas Eve with Aaron's family (we're both off so we're going to spend the entire day with them from morning through church in the evening)
- Christmas Day (Morning) in our home. So we can enjoy our Christmas together, breakfast, and just relaxing.
- Christmas Day (afternoon/evening) we'll head up to my parents house and enjoy Christmas dinner and festivities with them.
- Day after Christmas (shopping with mom, spending time at the folks home).
So, that means Jenn is responsible for organizing Thanksgiving. This morning, being the planner I am, I figured out my game plan (thanks Michelle for your helpful tips on how to figure out Thanksgiving):
- Aaron & I: We will do the Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy (I am a mashed potato master!), and two Nothing Bundt Cakes (one in Pumpkin Spice, one in Marble) (and anything else not picked up by others, like Cranberry's, and um maybe more sides?)
- Mom & Dad: Green Been Casserole, veggie type tray, pumpkin pie, and my special chocolate cream pie.
- Aaron's Parents (if they chose to come): um anything else I'm forgetting?
I already ordered the bundt cakes, and will be looking for a Turkey here in the upcoming days.
Hurray for feeling like this is a "can do"!
So, our first rough draft to try this year:
- Thanksgiving at our home (for lunch so we can still stop by Robyn's to see everyone). This also allows mom, Andie (if she's game) and I to go shopping on Black Friday in Phoenix, with far more variety in shops.
- Christmas Eve with Aaron's family (we're both off so we're going to spend the entire day with them from morning through church in the evening)
- Christmas Day (Morning) in our home. So we can enjoy our Christmas together, breakfast, and just relaxing.
- Christmas Day (afternoon/evening) we'll head up to my parents house and enjoy Christmas dinner and festivities with them.
- Day after Christmas (shopping with mom, spending time at the folks home).
So, that means Jenn is responsible for organizing Thanksgiving. This morning, being the planner I am, I figured out my game plan (thanks Michelle for your helpful tips on how to figure out Thanksgiving):
- Aaron & I: We will do the Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy (I am a mashed potato master!), and two Nothing Bundt Cakes (one in Pumpkin Spice, one in Marble) (and anything else not picked up by others, like Cranberry's, and um maybe more sides?)
- Mom & Dad: Green Been Casserole, veggie type tray, pumpkin pie, and my special chocolate cream pie.
- Aaron's Parents (if they chose to come): um anything else I'm forgetting?
I already ordered the bundt cakes, and will be looking for a Turkey here in the upcoming days.
Hurray for feeling like this is a "can do"!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
My 101 in 1001 List
Okay Shelly- you've inspired me, so here it goes, my 101 list...
The Mission: The Mission:Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria: Tasks must be specific ( ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).
Why 101 Days?: Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.
I'm putting my start date as November 1st, 2009 which makes my end date August 13th, 2012 (I think :)
And here is my list:
Family & Friends:
1. Have a baby
2. See Isabella at least once a month every month (0/33)
3. Send out Christmas Cards each year with an annual update letter (0/3)
4. Have a date night with Aaron at least once a month (0/33)
5. Complete annual "Family Chronicles" (pictures and blog entries) (0/3)
6. Update my passport
7. Get Aaron a passport
8. Complete the 365 day's of Photo's with Aaron, Miley, and any other family members that may come along (0/1)
9. Take a girls only vacation
10. Send each member of my immediate family (Mom, Dad, Andie, Joyce, John, Jared, Aunt Mary, Uncle John, Aunt Betty, Randy, Sharon, Michele, Trey, Kim, Isabella, Ray, and Aaron) a physical birthday card for their birthday. (0/34)
11. Throw a birthday party for a friend
12. Finish Miley's training
13. Take Miley for a walk every night for a month (0/31)
Health & Fitness
13. Lose post-wedding weight (0/20) -gulp-
14. Lose an additional 5 lb's (after #13)
15. Lose an additional 10 lb's (after #14)
16. Lose an additional 20 lb's (after #15)
17. Jog 10 miles in one week
18. Jog 20 miles in one week
19. Jog 80 miles in a month
20. Participate in each Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K (0/2)
21. Participate in each Heart Walk 5K (0/3)
22. Complete the Susan G. Komen 60 mile walk
23. Take a ballet class
24. Hike with Aaron to watch the sunrise once a month (0/33)
Financial & Giving:
25. Complete Baby Savings Fun
26. Have a 1 year emergency fund
27. Reduce monthly personal spending to $50 for 3 months (0/3)
28. Start college funds for future children
29. Purchase a new economical, more fuel efficient vehicle
30. Payoff vehicle mentioned in item #29
31. Pay for the person behind me at a drive through
32. Payoff 50% of student loans
33. Pick two Christmas Angels, each Christmas (0/6)
34. Place $5 in a special savings account for each item I finish
35. Donate $5000 (from item #34) to a charity of my choice anonymously
Organization & Home
36. Create and file a will
37. Create and file/update a Living Will & Power of Attorney
38. Set up a Trust Fund for future children
39. Purchase new couches
40. Decorate the house (no bare walls!)
41. Go through boxes in the garage and toss out/donate what we no longer need.
42. Go through closets and donate all clothing we no longer wear.
43. Put together the bunk bed in the office, and make it an actually guestroom/office instead of "the other room"
44. Have my wedding dress cleaned
45. See if Aunt Betty can turn my wedding dress into a blanket and christening outfit for future children (note- if she can't find someone who can)
46. Meet my neighbors (0/2)
47. Remove all "shred" boxes from the house (IE: have them shred)
48. Sell or donate all old text books
49. Sell or giveaway all left over wedding items
50. Create my own wedding album and make 3 copies (1 for me, 1 for my parents, 1 for Aaron's parents)
51. Scan all "paper" photo's and back up on an external hard drive
52. Back up all digital photo's, music files, and movies on an external hard drive
53. Learn to use my MAC and all of its functions
54. For each vehicle create a vehicle history binder tracking all oil changes, scheduled maintenance's, tire rotations, etc. (0/2)
55. Get a new energy efficient washing machine (once the dryer is paid off)
56. Learn to use my dryer and all of its swanky functions
Personal Well-being
57. Forgive two people whom I feel have wronged me
58. Go two weeks without something sweet- because I can.
59. Join a women's study group at church
60. Find a church I feel I belong and am a part of
61. Take one trip that I allow Aaron to plan entirely (IE: don't be OCD)
62. Don't visit someones facebook page who A) isn't my FB friend and B) I have nothing to say or genuine interest in what they are doing for one month (IE: stop FB stalking people I shouldn't be)
Friendships
63. Reach out to 3 new people to form friendships (0/3)
64. Plan 4 different seasonal outings for friends (0/4)
65. Host a holiday party
66. Host a murder mystery party
67. Have 3 "girls weekends" with Jamie & Jillian (0/3)
Travel
68. Take someone to Disneyland who's never been before
69. Take Sean to Disneyland for the weekend all by himself
70. Take a weekend road trip somewhere in Arizona I've never been before
71. Visit the Museum of Tolerance in LA
72. Visit the Holocaust Museum in DC
73. Visit Trey in Colorado (on a none work related trip)
74. Take Aaron outside of the US (outside of North America)
75. Rent an RV with my parents and cruise the US
76. Visit Aunt Linda and Uncle Jim in San Antonio (meet the cousins)
Domestic Challenge
77. Learn to cook 5 different dinners
78. Bake Christmas goodies every year (0/3)
79. Cook 10 recipes out of the Deliciously Disney Cookbook with Aaron (0/10)
80. Cook an entire Thanksgiving meal for my family
81. Bake Aaron a Birthday Cake for each Birthday (0/3)
82. Learn to bake dog friendly treats, and bake them for Miley every year on her anniversary (0/3)
83. Master making a delicious bunt cake to rival "nothing bundt cakes"
84. Host a murder mystery dinner
85. Learn to use all kitchen appliances and utensils I currently own.
Work Related
86. Meet with each one of my team members once a quarter for each quarter (0/28 * 13)
87. Send a hand written thank you card to each team member on their anniversary date (0/28)
88. Meet with each district manager each quarter (0/4*13)
89. Meet with deaf employee's and conduct an entire meeting without an interpreter (0/2)
Other Items:
90. Learn another language (conversationally)
91. Tip 100% for good service
92. See my natural hair color
93. Go see 5 different concerts from 5 different genres
94. Visit Ellis Island
95. Write on a public restroom wall
96. Take another political ideologies class
97. Finish my bachelors degree
98. Write an article and submit it to a local news publishing
99. Send a care package to a soldier serving our country
100. Put my toes in 3 different oceans (0/3)
101. Visit my grandparents graves on their birthday's (0/3)
The Mission: The Mission:Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria: Tasks must be specific ( ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).
Why 101 Days?: Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.
I'm putting my start date as November 1st, 2009 which makes my end date August 13th, 2012 (I think :)
And here is my list:
Family & Friends:
1. Have a baby
2. See Isabella at least once a month every month (0/33)
3. Send out Christmas Cards each year with an annual update letter (0/3)
4. Have a date night with Aaron at least once a month (0/33)
5. Complete annual "Family Chronicles" (pictures and blog entries) (0/3)
6. Update my passport
7. Get Aaron a passport
8. Complete the 365 day's of Photo's with Aaron, Miley, and any other family members that may come along (0/1)
9. Take a girls only vacation
10. Send each member of my immediate family (Mom, Dad, Andie, Joyce, John, Jared, Aunt Mary, Uncle John, Aunt Betty, Randy, Sharon, Michele, Trey, Kim, Isabella, Ray, and Aaron) a physical birthday card for their birthday. (0/34)
11. Throw a birthday party for a friend
12. Finish Miley's training
13. Take Miley for a walk every night for a month (0/31)
Health & Fitness
13. Lose post-wedding weight (0/20) -gulp-
14. Lose an additional 5 lb's (after #13)
15. Lose an additional 10 lb's (after #14)
16. Lose an additional 20 lb's (after #15)
17. Jog 10 miles in one week
18. Jog 20 miles in one week
19. Jog 80 miles in a month
20. Participate in each Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K (0/2)
21. Participate in each Heart Walk 5K (0/3)
22. Complete the Susan G. Komen 60 mile walk
23. Take a ballet class
24. Hike with Aaron to watch the sunrise once a month (0/33)
Financial & Giving:
25. Complete Baby Savings Fun
26. Have a 1 year emergency fund
27. Reduce monthly personal spending to $50 for 3 months (0/3)
28. Start college funds for future children
29. Purchase a new economical, more fuel efficient vehicle
30. Payoff vehicle mentioned in item #29
31. Pay for the person behind me at a drive through
32. Payoff 50% of student loans
33. Pick two Christmas Angels, each Christmas (0/6)
34. Place $5 in a special savings account for each item I finish
35. Donate $5000 (from item #34) to a charity of my choice anonymously
Organization & Home
36. Create and file a will
37. Create and file/update a Living Will & Power of Attorney
38. Set up a Trust Fund for future children
39. Purchase new couches
40. Decorate the house (no bare walls!)
41. Go through boxes in the garage and toss out/donate what we no longer need.
42. Go through closets and donate all clothing we no longer wear.
43. Put together the bunk bed in the office, and make it an actually guestroom/office instead of "the other room"
44. Have my wedding dress cleaned
45. See if Aunt Betty can turn my wedding dress into a blanket and christening outfit for future children (note- if she can't find someone who can)
46. Meet my neighbors (0/2)
47. Remove all "shred" boxes from the house (IE: have them shred)
48. Sell or donate all old text books
49. Sell or giveaway all left over wedding items
50. Create my own wedding album and make 3 copies (1 for me, 1 for my parents, 1 for Aaron's parents)
51. Scan all "paper" photo's and back up on an external hard drive
52. Back up all digital photo's, music files, and movies on an external hard drive
53. Learn to use my MAC and all of its functions
54. For each vehicle create a vehicle history binder tracking all oil changes, scheduled maintenance's, tire rotations, etc. (0/2)
55. Get a new energy efficient washing machine (once the dryer is paid off)
56. Learn to use my dryer and all of its swanky functions
Personal Well-being
57. Forgive two people whom I feel have wronged me
58. Go two weeks without something sweet- because I can.
59. Join a women's study group at church
60. Find a church I feel I belong and am a part of
61. Take one trip that I allow Aaron to plan entirely (IE: don't be OCD)
62. Don't visit someones facebook page who A) isn't my FB friend and B) I have nothing to say or genuine interest in what they are doing for one month (IE: stop FB stalking people I shouldn't be)
Friendships
63. Reach out to 3 new people to form friendships (0/3)
64. Plan 4 different seasonal outings for friends (0/4)
65. Host a holiday party
66. Host a murder mystery party
67. Have 3 "girls weekends" with Jamie & Jillian (0/3)
Travel
68. Take someone to Disneyland who's never been before
69. Take Sean to Disneyland for the weekend all by himself
70. Take a weekend road trip somewhere in Arizona I've never been before
71. Visit the Museum of Tolerance in LA
72. Visit the Holocaust Museum in DC
73. Visit Trey in Colorado (on a none work related trip)
74. Take Aaron outside of the US (outside of North America)
75. Rent an RV with my parents and cruise the US
76. Visit Aunt Linda and Uncle Jim in San Antonio (meet the cousins)
Domestic Challenge
77. Learn to cook 5 different dinners
78. Bake Christmas goodies every year (0/3)
79. Cook 10 recipes out of the Deliciously Disney Cookbook with Aaron (0/10)
80. Cook an entire Thanksgiving meal for my family
81. Bake Aaron a Birthday Cake for each Birthday (0/3)
82. Learn to bake dog friendly treats, and bake them for Miley every year on her anniversary (0/3)
83. Master making a delicious bunt cake to rival "nothing bundt cakes"
84. Host a murder mystery dinner
85. Learn to use all kitchen appliances and utensils I currently own.
Work Related
86. Meet with each one of my team members once a quarter for each quarter (0/28 * 13)
87. Send a hand written thank you card to each team member on their anniversary date (0/28)
88. Meet with each district manager each quarter (0/4*13)
89. Meet with deaf employee's and conduct an entire meeting without an interpreter (0/2)
Other Items:
90. Learn another language (conversationally)
91. Tip 100% for good service
92. See my natural hair color
93. Go see 5 different concerts from 5 different genres
94. Visit Ellis Island
95. Write on a public restroom wall
96. Take another political ideologies class
97. Finish my bachelors degree
98. Write an article and submit it to a local news publishing
99. Send a care package to a soldier serving our country
100. Put my toes in 3 different oceans (0/3)
101. Visit my grandparents graves on their birthday's (0/3)
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