24 September, 2012

30 for 30

I came up with 30 goals for my 30th year. I'm excited!
1. Catch up my boy's journals. I write each month in journals to each of my boys. There are a few entries that I have not yet put into Asher and Adin's books, and Malachi doesn't even have a journal yet, just a .doc.

2. Photo albums. This means get my pictures sorted, printed, and put into albums. This also includes the family photos we had done, as those need to be sent out to my family as well. A good goal would be my Grandma's birthday, which is in October. Some time. I should find out.

3. Homeschool! I plan to ROCK THIS.

4. Finish the home improvement projects. This is quite a list, but doable.

5. Pay off my credit cards. I currently have $2500 in credit card debt (Milt shares some of that, but $500 of it is all mine). I think I can do this by the end of the year.

6. Have a wardrobe I enjoy. I have fabric, I have patterns, I have skills, and I have a seriously tattered collection of clothes. This is a good time to throw out the tattered and stained and replace them with clothes that I love.

7. Celebrate all the holiday. By all I mean Jewish. If I did ALL the holidays I would be doing nothing but celebrating. Which is not a bad way to do things. I just don't have time for that.

8. Get fit. I have no idea how much I weigh, and I know I am not fat (but I am flabby; hey, I had a baby!) but I am weak, and I do not like that at all. I need to get my strength back!

9. Figure out my family's dietary needs and stick with them. Yum!

10. Grow some food all year. Our garden did pretty well this summer, despite major neglect. We got carrots and tomatoes, and watched kale and lettuce leaf up beautifully, and then watched it bolt beautifully. The popcorn is growing nicely, and our one surviving stalk of sweet corn is 2 feet high and has 2 cobs. Our artichoke plant is still alive, as are Malachi's quince and Adin's cherry (Asher's avocado lives inside). We have celery, rhubarb, peppers, and mystery squash, and a whole lot of leafy plants who are mysteries only because their name labels got washed off and I misplaced my garden chart. Fall plants will be going in soon, and we will work on the garden through the winter, but I plan to do some indoor gardening too. Fun!

11. Get my etsy shop moving. I have PLANS. So many plans. Just need to do them!

12. Make something every day. This may be hard, but I am going to count ANYTHING (even a paper airplane) as making, so I think I can keep this one going.

13. Take a photo every month of my boys. They are so cute.

14. Write letters.

15. Purge! We got rid of a lot over the summer, but there is still far too much stuff. Just random stuff! Ugh. Slow but steady. If I break it into manageable chunks (fill just one box, rather than tearing apart an entire room, and then getting rid of that box before the boys unpack it for me) then I think we can make some real progress. Also, using up my major stockpile of supplies, for homeschooling, gifts, and etsy, is going to be really great.

16. Continue my herbalism training. Even if I can't enroll in courses this year, I need to keep studying.

17. Improve my Japanese skills. Hai!

18. Really use my Spanish, and build on it.

19. Get some Hebrew learning in. I figure I can learn along with the boys on this one.

20. Complete 30 Pinterest projects. This is actually not going to be difficult. I already made a thai peanut sauce (amazing!) and an apple cake (so good!). So 28 to go.

21. Travel. Somewhere. Anywhere. Let's go!

22. Knit one garment

23. Crochet one garment

24. Send out cards. This means birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, etc. I have lots of cards, just need to keep track of dates. While this goes along with writing to people, I feel that sending off a quick card should not take the place of a real letter.

25. Organize my recipes. I have a wonderful little recipe book that was an anniversary gift, and I never use it. I want to put my extra-special recipes in there, and all my other recipes (and recipes to try out) in a binder. Perhaps then I can let go of some of my cookbooks. Hahahaha. right.

26. Go outside every day. So far, so good.

27. Get dressed every day. While the going outside would seem to require that, this is the first step. Having 3 little guys and a home-based job make it REALLY easy to not get out of my pjs, but I also feel really gross when I spend all day in them. Oh, I also hereby give myself special 'pajama days', but these will be for the whole family and involve movies, hot chocolate, and general cozy together time. Also naps.

28. Repair and/or finish my quilts. I love my quilts, but some of them are looking pretty ragged, and I have a few in progress that I need to finish up.

29. Finish my dad's vests. This one has a deadline; I've been 'working' on these for 2 years now, and sending each one as a I finish. Well, there are only two left and they are almost completely done. I can get these done for his birthday in December, and then use the scraps to make vests for the younguns.

30. Go camping. I have wanted to go camping now for 5 years; it is time!

23 September, 2012

Shana Tova!

What a beautiful new year! This is my favorite time of year, and these are my favorite holidays. Maybe it is strange that I look forward to Yom Kippur, but I really do see it as a reset; I feel free, focused, and hopeful. I got to got to services on Monday, just Amidah and to hear the shofar, and nod at a few people I knew. It was brief, but very nice. We even had friends over the final night for dinner; our first time having people over for dinner in years, and our first time in this home. It was so much fun! The boys are doing well; finally settling down from the madness of my family's comings and goings and emotions (oh, the emotions!) We are finding our groove, establishing how things work now. It's getting better. Not that it was bad before; ok, parts were bad. Now more of those parts are good, and the not good parts are not so bad. :) We are enjoying the holiday season, easing into schooling as I have decided to formally (or officially, not very formal really) begin homeschooling. The boys are excited and enjoying it. By the time the holidays are over I hope to have a good routine set up for all of us. I have goals (!) for the year; I have been inspired and want to come up with 30 for my 30th year. I think it's doable. I'll print it out (and post it here) and get that going. It'll be fun. I know what my first goal should be: get more sleep. So that's what I am going to do now, as for once all 3 of my babies are dozing before 10. Sweet, sweet slumber. What a lovely way to head into a brand new year.