10 10s in 2010...update #1

April 14 update
(since a number of items appear more than once, I am putting notations by the first occurrence, then making the font on subsequent ones smaller)

1--Keeping My Home

1. Create (and then stick to) a housekeeping system I have pretty much created one...now working on the sticking to it part...
2. Try out at least one new recipe each month Jan-Troy's Chicken and Speedy Burritos Feb--Spider Spaghetti, Mar--Lebanese spinach puffs and cheeseburger buns, April--black bean/rice veggie burgers,
   
3. Serve balanced meals (with a protein, a vegetable, and a starch/carb) at least most nights so far so good
4. Grind my own wheat flour wheat has been ordered, when it gets here I'll start
5. Make bread all year (6 months down and so far so good!!)
6. Build up my food storage--at least 3m worth of all non-perishable items
7. Learn about gardening in Alaska--what foods grow well, when/how to plant and harvest, etc
8. Have a garden got permission from the landlords! The ground is still pretty frozen though!
9. Can/freeze produce in season
10. Participate in the butchering and/or preservation of a moose that Hubby shoots (that's one of his goals for the year!

2--Read Books (ideally including the following specific titles)(* means I've started it, date indicates when finished)

1. 4/10 To Kill A Mockingbird--dang, how had I never read this before? It was excellent! So much better than most other 'coming of age' stories I've read.
   
2. A Christmas Carol
3. something by a local author
4. a biography or memoir
5. *Going Rogue by Sarah Palin (mostly for cultural literacy)
6. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (Time top 10)
7. Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis et al (about Bertrand Russell) (Time top 10)
8. Beauty by Robin McKinley Couldn't find it at the library here, so may need something else
   
9. Changing My Mind by Zadie Smith (Time top 10)
10. 1/10 Icy Sparks--story of a young girl in Appalacia and her life with undiagnosed Tourette's. Unfortunately the way it was written was just really depressing, so even though the idea of the story appealed, I don't recommend the book.
11. (alternate) Fablehaven

3--Improve Financial Stability

1. Pay off (at least) one account DONE!! Feb 12--tax return + online payment = bye-bye visa!!
2. Keep current with tithing (unfortunately some months this has been hard for us, and then catching up on our tight budget is even harder) We are currently caught up, so now we just have to keep it up--so much easier to stay current when we are current. ☺
3. Live within our means, always considering wants vs needs, and making the modest choice even with the latter. After 6 months I finally got to buy real kitchen shelves to replace my makeshift box shelves (photos coming soon) I really loved the big white metal one, but settled for the plastic one because it was 2/3 the price and will still fill my current needs.
4. Use coupons and shop sales at the grocery store I've been good about sales, not so much with coupons
   
5. Use our tax returns and PFD's wisely (for food storage/debt, not playing!) Used the tax return to finish getting caught up on the tithing and pay off a credit card. Used the basketball coaching stipend for debt, kitchen chairs, and some food storage (shelves & food).
   
6. Build up our food storage slowly but surely
   
7. Build up my year's supply (the non food stuff, like toilet paper and toothpaste and laundry soap) to 3-6 months worth
8. Do not buy any new diaper/etc fabric so far so good
9. Sew items to sell using the fabric I have so far so good
10. Actively market my etsy shops so far so good

4--Be More Present with my Family

1. Read more books to my kids (I've been doing better with this through this last fall, and hope to continue it)
2. Acquire a couple of new children's books in order to do #1 without losing my mind ☺ Two at Bear's birthday
3. Cuddle my kids every day
4. Include the kids in the housekeeping schedule (give them assignments)
5. Stay OFF the internet one day a week (generally Tuesdays) so far so good, I even took nearly four weeks off (unplanned though it was!) ☺
   
6. Be a good example for the kids by limiting my screen time on other days (haven't settled the specifics of that)
7. Say "just a minute" less often ooo, I keep forgetting this one. Must try harder. ☺
8. Play with my kids, not just work near them so far so good
9. Have a monthly 'date' with each family member
10. Go to bed at the same time as my Hubby (so we can have pillow talk and cuddle time) so far so good

5--Create

1. Create (sew or knit) at least 6 things per month, for my family or my shop so far so good...
2. Introduce a new product (or two or three) in my shop(s) this year. Three so far with a fourth and fifth in the works.
3. Allow myself the thought-outlet of blogging frequently ☺
4. Finish Wolf's sweater I'm on the second sleeve
5. Knit something for myself (I have no idea what yet)
6. Use up existing stash rather than buying new materials
7. Try out at least one new recipe each month
8. Learn how to make shampoo/conditioner (ideally by doing so...it depends on how hard it is to come by ingredients)
9. Make handmade gifts for my family/friends (not necessarily to the exclusion of purchased items) Hubby and I are contemplating making a wholly handmade Christmas (within our family) this year. I would love to do that!
10. Help my children make things

6--Focus Inward

1. Be more active (I'd like to go walking, though in winter in Alaska with two little ones and no where to walk indoors this is a challenge...) I've gotten out a few times...more as it gets warmer and Eagle gets bigger...I've just started joining a friend a couple of days a week walking a couple of miles. I have to drive to her house to walk with her, but it's something.
   
2. Work on my poor ignored abdominals...crunches or pilates or something I've been getting in yoga or pilates or crunches at least a couple of times a week.
   
3. Get outside more often
4. Read more fiction (see list above!)
5. Read my scriptures
6. Pray more (an ongoing challenge for me unfortunately)
7. Get the local breastfeeding support group on it's feet. (There isn't one, so I took it upon myself to make one. The social support helps me so much and I believe in the cause) so far so good
8. Sing more so far so good ☺
9. Take time to be still and quiet
10. Check in on these goals at least quarterly to monitor my progress (I'll report here--This post is now linked from the sidebar and I'll update it as I do things, and I'll copy/repost the current status every so often)

7--Focus Outward

1. Do my visiting teaching every month so far so good
2. Become a Big Sister with Big Brothers/Big Sisters...it's something I've wanted to do for a long time. I called them and interviewed, and they were excited about me...but I'll be scrapping this one...details to come
   
3. Build up the local breastfeeding support group.
4. Fulfill my church calling (I am the coordinator over the Relief Society meetings formerly referred to as "Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment meetings") so far so good--I taught the lesson in Feb and selected the topics for both March and April
   
5. "Pay It Forward" whenever I can (in whatever ways I can) I gave one of my slings to someone who needed one (I had three, and she had borrowed mine twice, so i told her to just keep it. I've got enough.)
6. Look specifically for opportunities to PIF/send out good karma I'm participating in a cloth diapering giveaway with the etsy cloth diaper team this summer...
7. Shop locally or handmade whenever possible.
8. Feed the local missionaries each month so far so good
9. Teach a friend how to do something new (a lady at church has asked about learning to make a babywearing pouch and another has asked about cloth diapers)
10. Teach my kids how to do new things (Wolf has expressed interest in knitting and trying the sewing machine, Bear is putting away the silverware from the dishwasher)

8--Learn

1. Read a parenting book Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn (review coming now that I have a computer again!)
   
2. Read a marriage/relationship book
3. Read a political book The Audacity of Hope by Barak Obama
   
4. Read a nutrition or health book
5. Read a biography or teachings of a latter day prophet or apostle
6. Read my scriptures
7. Learn new knitting techniques Jan--increases, Feb--seaming (shoulders, sides, and setting in sleeves)
8. Learn how to make shampoo and/or conditioner
9. Try out at least one new recipe each month
10. Seek to find/recognize the sacred in all aspects of life, and the connections between truths ("spiritual" and otherwise)

9--Blog

1. Write a series of posts about The Family proclamation
2. Finish the final post in my "motherhood" series done ☺
3. Finish the birth-related posts that are sitting in my drafts folder done ☺
4. Research and write more posts on specific vaccinations
5. Write reviews of the books I have read but haven't written about yet: Hold On To Your Kids, The Omnivore's Dilemma, Raising Your Spirited Child
6. Write reviews of books I read this year so far so good
7. Post more regularly on my cooking blog so far so good
8. Post more regularly on my family scrapbook blog (it's private, for keeping extended family updated mostly) so far so good
9. Fill in gaps by posting older stuff on the family scrapbook blog too with the new computer we got a printer (the first one I've had in 4 years) and it has a scanner, so I'm looking forward to scanning in older photos and getting them preserved digitally too!)
   
10. Leave comments on my friends' blogs ☺
11. BONUS write a series on the Relief Society proclamation
    

10--Celebrate

1. Celebrate the earth cycle holidays (equinoxes, solstices). I have some ideas about what I want to do, but would love to hear ideas.
2. Finally start our long-planned family tradition of having an authentic medieval meal (ie, big meat, candlelight, no utensils) once a year. I can't decide between Michaelmas and Spring Equinox--thoughts? Hubby has requested Beltane
3. Establish a new family tradition for Jesus' Birthday (April 6--I'll write about it when we get there)
4. Have a family pizza night at least twice a month (we are currently doing about 3x), and invite someone to join us. we only did once in Feb I think--Hubby's broken leg combined with his basketball coaching schedule slowed down a lot of things. We did a couple of times in March, though we haven't yet in April...this may get adapted to "frequently" rather than "twice a month"...we enjoy it, but it is a lot of work.
   
5. Have a family or couples game night at least once a month ooo, strike one, haven't been doing this at all.
   
6. Go to playgroup and mom's support (breastfeeding) group and RS meetings and thus rejuvenate myself often
7. Visit some major sites of my own state (this will be our third summer since moving here, but we've never really traveled IN state!) We're looking at Denali NP and Fairbanks at least.
8. Play music in the home/car, and sing more so far so good
9. Get outside often and breathe deeply this makes such a big difference, even on a cold day. 2 minutes of sunshine and a little fresh air...ahhh!
10. Do my best to live deeply and suck the marrow out of life
11. BONUS start a new family tradition of celebrating the countries of our ancestors by having a meal of authentic foods on that country's national holiday