Eagle Turns One

Bear said that it would be good to have a car cake. Then he went and fetched one of his toy cars for the cause:

The road is made with crushed graham crackers and edged with chocolate chips (and if you're an engineer don't look too closely at the road where it goes around the edge on that little hill, ok? I know, it's totally undrivable, shhh!!)

Unfortunately some of these photos came out a bit fuzzy (wiggly boy!) but they're still cute, and they show him for the gleeful little boy that he is:

Happy First Birthday Kiddo!!

Fulfillment

Jenni is very very grateful to be a mother; for the maturity and patience and laughs that come with parenting my boys, for the opportunity to adopt, for the empowering experience of giving birth, and for the fulfillment of watching my children grow and achieve. 
(My facebook status this morning~I've been posting things I'm grateful for every day leading up to Thanksgiving)

When I was a little girl, my sister and I used to play "baby." Other little girls may have played "house" but we played "baby." We started off by stuffing our dolls up our shirts and being pregnant for a while. Then we'd lay on our beds and give birth (because everyone gives birth laying on their own bed, right?! It's all we'd ever seen!) Then we would nurse our babies, use blankets to make slings to carry them around, change their (cloth) diapers, nurse them some more, and rock them to sleep in our little rocking chairs.
In other words, I have been looking forward to (and practicing) motherhood since I was too small to say the word.

Me with my dolly Polly, next to my mom holding my little sister.
We are 18 months apart, so I would have been about 2 in this photo.
Yes, I'm wearing a cloth diaper.

Through high school and college I looked forward to motherhood. My mother periodically reminded me to enjoy living in the season that I was in--to do what I wanted to do, because soon enough I would have a family to care for, and then it would not be my time anymore, but theirs. I did spend a lot of time focused on the future, but I did spend time on myself as well: I got a college degree and traveled to Europe among other things.
When I got married at 22, a toddler came with the package. (In fact, I started parenting him while we were still engaged--I stayed with him during the days while my then-fiance went to his college classes, rather than my finding a job and then our paying a babysitter.) So I never had that child-free 'newlywed' phase of  marriage. That has never bothered me, because motherhood was always what I wanted anyway, and I didn't mind the head start on it. Sometimes my husband has been saddened by missing that though, I think because he did have that phase with his first marriage, and he knows what we missed. He has expressed from time to time that he looks forward to our empty-nesting stage, when we will finally have time with just us.

Recently we've been talking about our family, and whether we will have more children. We have mixed feelings on this issue right now (and have not made a decision), but the possibility of being done having kids is on the table, and I am struggling with it. Sometimes I feel peace about the idea, but sometimes I feel a gaping hole inside, and I've realized that it's because I identify myself so completely as a 'mother' that I don't know what I will do with myself when that phase is over.
I realize that I have a while (although Wolf is 10!), and I know that I will still be a mother, no matter the age of our children. I know that there is a lot more to life than babies. But still, it's hard to think of letting this phase pass. Perhaps it's because biological motherhood did not come easily and so I treasure it an extra little bit? Perhaps it's because motherhood itself--both the physical processes of pregnancy, birthing, and breastfeeding, and also the emotional processes of raising my boys--fulfill and empower and complete me as nothing else ever has.
I have been thinking about this an extra lot this week, leading up to Eagle's first birthday (today!) and thinking back to his birth day and how it has affected my life. I know there are many ways to feel fulfilled, and I don't know that one is better than another. But I know that my experience of giving birth last year was transformative and climactic for me. I felt tuned-in to nature, to my body, to my soul, to God, to time, and to eternity. I learned to let go and let God, to surrender to the natural cycle of things, and felt all the more powerful for it. That experience has significantly affected and shaped me, my perceptions of life and spirituality, and my way of living. Motherhood in general--and that birth in specific--have made me who and what I am. Is it any wonder then when I say that I find my greatest fulfillment in motherhood?



And, for anyone who missed it last year, I just had to post this again (Happy Birthday Eagle!)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

(I'll have party/cake pictures to post tomorrow or after the weekend)

Prepare Every Needful Thing

Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; 

and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, 

a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, 

a house of order, a house of God;

Doctrine and Covenants 88:119

Mormons have a reputation for a number of things, but one of the big ones is food storage. Perhaps you've heard--the year's supply? Here is the full truth--lots of mormons don't do it. BUT, we are asked to, and yes, a lot of us do do it. Today I thought I'd take a few minutes to share some thoughts about why we do it, and something about how we do it (in other words, how you can do it too, if you'd like). I'm thinking I'll write further on this topic, so pepper me with questions, I love talking about this stuff. ☺

If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.

Doctrine and Covenants 38:30

 

My freezer

My 'pantry'

 

Many Christians share the belief that we live in end times. They expect massive calamaties to befall us in the coming years as we await Christ's return. What I think a lot of people miss is the idea that you don't have to wait for earthquakes or epidemics or economic crashes to benefit from being prepared.
Imagine for a minute, that as of tomorrow you are unemployed. Or, imagine that there is a terrible storm and all roads are closed for a few days--just a few days--but enough that there will not be anything in the grocery stores for a week. What if you lose electricity for 24 hours?  in the middle of winter? What if a water main in town breaks and you are without running water for a day? Or several? What if the credit card company reduces your credit limit? How about if your tire blows out or your spouse breaks his (her) leg and your grocery budget for this month is shot on paying the bills?

Preparedness--including food storage--is not about waiting for 'emergencies' so much as it is about establishing a system whereby you always have a buffer and a backup; a system whereby you need not ever fear.

Twice in my youth my dad was unemployed or changed jobs and my mother found herself without a grocery budget. I didn't realize that until I was much older though, because nothing really seemed to change...we went on eating food from the pantry as we had always done. It was getting depleted more than usual, but we were not eating 'survival rations' or anything like that. Our storage allowed us to go on living normally in spite of financial setbacks.
When we lived in Pelican, it was common during winter months to go for a week without anyone being able to get in or out of town. The planes were supposed to come several times a week, but in winter they were not reliable. Each winter that we were there, there was at least one three-week stretch with no planes/ferries. Three weeks. No mail, no groceries, as often as not the phone and/or internet would go out for a few days too (gotta love winter in the bush!) Of course, all of this was not a big deal, as I rarely relied on the planes, and my groceries still came reliably on the ferry once a month. Actually, due to the cost of transport, I tried to order groceries only every other month. When friends from other states heard how we lived they almost always responded with "wow, you must plan ahead a lot" or "I could never do that." I was always a bit befuddled by their comments, because the truth was that I didn't learn to do that while living in Pelican--I learned to do that by having been raised to do it.

♥ Preparing every needful thing is not a matter of hoarding food. It is a matter of considering what you use all the time, and then stocking up a bit: food, toiletries, clothes, etc. When something goes on sale, get extra. When something is a better price in bulk, then buy in bulk. When coats go on sale in the spring, buy them a size up for your kids for the next winter. Plan ahead, store ahead, never fear.
♥ Preparing every needful thing means examining yourself and your lifestyle, and determining what is NEEDFUL and what is merely wanted. For example, we have flashlights, batteries, and kerosene lanterns for power outages. We do not have a generator. We have a lot of foods. We do not have cute matching labeled containers for it all.
♥ Preparing every needful thing also means preparing ourselves. No amount of stored flour is going to do you any good if you don't know how to make bread with it. No amount of stored wheat will help if you can't grind it! Seeds will not help if you cannot raise a garden. Knitting needles and yarn are no good if you don't know how to use them. An entire hospital supply room is useless if you don't know any first aid. We should know how to grow, prepare, and preserve food. We should learn how to maintain our clothing and vehicles. We must learn to budget, to save, and to take care of what we have.

Here are a couple more links on the subject:
"Prepare Every Needful Thing" sermon by Bishop Victor L Brown (1980)
"Prepare Every Needful Thing" (a collection of quotes) (2003)

Happy Samhain

Samhain occurs on October 31-November 2 (depending who you ask) and has its roots in ancient Germanic and Gaelic festivals. As one of the 8 sabbats on the pagan wheel of the year, it is commonly thought of as a pagan holiday. However, the things it celebrates are things that many of us celebrate, and since I'm always up for a good celebration, we decided to have a little Samhain at our house this year.

At Samhain, the Wicca say farewell to the God even though he readies to be reborn at Yule. This grand sabbat, also known as Feast of the Dead, Feast of Apples, All Hallows, and of course Halloween, once marked the time of sacrifice. This was the time when animals were slaughtered to ensure food throughout the winter. The God fell as well to ensure our continuing existence. This is a time of reflection and coming to terms with the one thing in life which we have no control - death. Wiccans feel that on this night the separation between the physical and spiritual realities is it's least guarded and it's veil the thinnest. It is a somber holiday, one of dark clothes and thoughts for the dead, and a time of remembrance of our ancestors and all those who have gone before [link].

Samhain is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" beginning in the 18th century. Samhain marked the end of the harvest, the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half". It was traditionally celebrated over the course of several days. It has some elements of a festival of the dead. The Gaels believed that the border between this world and the otherworld became thin on Samhain; because so many animals and plants were dying, it thus allowed the dead to reach back through the veil that separated them from the living. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. People and their livestock would often walk between two bonfires as a cleansing ritual, and the bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.
In Scotland the dead were impersonated by young men with masked, veiled or blackened faces, dressed in white. Samhnag — turnips which were hollowed-out and carved with faces to make lanterns — were also used to ward off harmful spirits [link].

 (This site also has a lot of information if you're interested in reading some more)

Other traditions that have taken root in Samhain are All Saints Day (Nov 1) or All Souls Day/Day of the Dead, which celebrate or reverence those who have gone before. I felt like the idea of Samhain really incorporated all those Christian holidays and then some (with the harvest/sacrifice/thankfulness), and therefore opted to use both the traditional name and some of the older traditions in our celebration.

Samhain feasts traditionally include fresh meat (giving thanks for the harvest and the sacrifice of the animals to sustain us through the winter). Pork was common, or wild meat. Potatoes were also common as, of course, was pumpkin. (Ironically I was thinking 'last harvest festival' and didn't think about the hunting side of it, so I neglected to thaw out any of our frozen bear, and we had a vegetarian meal featuring pumpkin soup.)
I took an idea from the Mexican Day of the Dead and made little breads. I didn't make them with skull shapes--the bread rose slowly and I ended up rushing to try to get it cooked in time for dinner. So I just took a knife and poked in little people shapes in the top of each loaf.

"Ancestor Bread" (something like the Mexican "pan de muertas" aka "dead bread")

As we ate dinner, we talked about some of our ancestors. Well, at least we intended to. We ended up having two boys who thought that pumpkin soup was not a cool food, and who made great moanings about it while explaining that they would be just fine with a dinner consisting entirely of bread.

So this year's celebration was something less than stellar, but hey, there's always next year, right?!

Pumpkins

Wolf carved both the faces--the one on the right has its mouth sewn shut (apparently he remembered "Hocus Pocus" a little too well?!) and I LOVE the eyebrows on the guy on the left! (He looks a little stressed out, maybe he realized he had a fire inside instead of a brain?)

Yes, I used a stencil. I'm still pretty darn pleased with myself though:
Behold, the Celtic Tree of Life!

I also made one with (a simplified version) of The Amethyst Network's logo

For the record:

Wolf's costume is a sackperson

Not the dude from "9"

You can see it, right?

  He even has a button that says "I ♥ Little Big Planet" so it's totally obvious!

We haven't even seen "9,"  Hadn't even heard of it in fact, until people kept saying that they thought that was what Wolf's costume was from

(although now we've gone and watched a preview and decided to put it on our netflix queue...)

But he is a sackperson. And don't you forget it!!

Stuff I made in Sep/Oct

Yeah it's a multi-month F(inished) O(bject) post. That means it's more interesting!

• 3 sleeved bibs

  

  (would anybody like to see a tutorial for these? I think they're pretty brilliant which is why I snagged the idea, but I will post how to make them if there is interest)

• wall-hanging remotes & controllers holder 
  

  

  we were really tired of cords everywhere and things getting lost in the couch or piled on top of the TV or stolen by the baby...so now everything has its own place! Everything fits down in the pockets, I just pulled them up for demonstrative purposes.

• 2 halloween candy bags
  
• 1 turtle costume
• 1 sackperson costume
• 1 blue velvet gown (and a necklace/earrings to go with, although that was a 5 min project, consisting of putting some beads on earring wires...yeah, hardly worth mentioning...)

Wolf as a Sackperson--he loved the costume again once the initial frustration of the day had worn off, Bear as a lion, although he doffed the hood immediately after the photo and didn't wear it to the party, Mama in the medieval gown, Eagle as a turtle...and you can kinda see the orange treat bags on the couch behind us.

• 2 solarveil hats ☺

October is always sew busy. ☺

That Kid

Recent news reports have been full of stories of gay teens who have committed suicide after being teased or bullied. Celebrities and others have risen to the occasion with the "it gets better" campaign of youtube videos, encouraging kids to not give up, because it life will get better. I think they are trying to do a good thing--encouraging kids to persevere--but everyone is overlooking something crucial. It's not just gay kids who get teased. And it's not just gay kids who commit suicide. In fact, "suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-to-24-year-olds, and the sixth leading cause of death for 5-to-14-year-olds" [American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry].
I appreciate the effort to reach out to the gay kids, but there are so many kids--so many people--who need acceptance and love. Let's not focus our lenses too tightly.

We all knew somebody who was "that kid." You remember him (or her); the one who was different. Maybe he talked funny or had body odor. Maybe she was fat or really socially awkward. Maybe he was bigger than everybody else his age, or maybe he was clumsy. Maybe she wore weird clothes. Or maybe it was something else.
And because that kid was different, he got harassed. And sometimes somebody told an adult, and sometimes they didn't. And sometimes the kid got more 'normal' with time, and sometimes they didn't. And sometimes the bullies got in trouble, but often they didn't. And the bullies may have varied from year to year, but oftentimes the kid was the same kid who got picked on day after day and week after week and month after month...

And sometimes, that kid is my kid.

A month ago I started talking with Wolf about what he wanted to dress up as for Halloween. Very early on he made up his mind. We talked and planned and I bought the fabric. I consulted with him multiple times to be sure I was making it 'right' by what he wanted. He wanted to be a "sackperson" (the character from the Little Big Planet video game). We settled on burlap as a good, textured fabric. It was a hassle to cut and sew, but I stuck it out and we ended up with a costume that he loved. Hubby and I both thought it was unlike any other costume we'd ever seen, but hey, so is a sackperson! Wolf was happy with it, and that's what mattered. Wednesday was the school halloween party and costume parade. Wednesday morning he was beaming as he put on his costume before catching the bus to school.
Wednesday afternoon when he got home he threw the crumpled costume into a corner and said no way was he going to wear it to the church party on saturday. Understanding that he was frustrated, Hubby suggested just setting it in the costume box rather than throwing it away in the garbage can. "No dad," Wolf said, "you can't save it for Bear, he would get teased too." Wolf had been teased all day long, taunted with chants of "sackboy, sackboy" ("I was a sackperson mom," he explained), and harrassed with old standbyes like a girl repeatedly stepping on his heels so that his shoes kept coming off as he tried to walk in the parade.
These kids are 5th and 6th graders. I know people often try to excuse elementary schoolers by suggesting that they are too young to know any better, or too immature to filter their actions, but that is bull. These kids are 10-12 years old. They are NOT too young. Just as my son is old enough to not punch them in the face when they harass him, so too they are old enough to be nice to him, even if he's the weird kid.
I'll be honest, Wolf does struggle socially. He is one of those kids who kinda lives in his own world, and he's not very good at reading social cues. He's very bright and very social, but he can be awkward. We have been working with him to help him learn better social skills. He doesn't hit the kids who tease him, and he doesn't harass them back either. He sometimes reports to an adult, but much of the time I think he just takes it, and then comes home and melts down.
My son has a strong support system around him. He has parents who love him and go to bat for him. He has a teacher and a counselor at the school who are his friends and who he trusts and feels safe with, and who help him work through things. He has two little brothers who adore him. Even with all that support, he still suffers when he is treated badly. Anyone would. Bullying is always unacceptable.

This youtube video has been going around facebook this week. It's part of the "It Gets Better" campaign which I mentioned before. Granted, they made it with gay kids in mind, but when I watch it I think of all those kids who are "that kid," including my kid, and including me. Everybody needs love and acceptance.



So let's all grow up a little, shall we? Let's be nice to people, no matter whether we agree with them or even if we like them. There is no excuse for being mean. Ever. And as we are nice to people, let us make sure we are teaching our children to be nice too.

The Gluten Experiment: Part 4

Part 1--going gluten free
Part 2--eating 'normally' after the GF test
Part 3--low (glutenous) carb, focus on whole grains

Part 4--adding enzymes and/or soaking flours
(If you missed my note on this last time, soaking flours helps the grain begin to break down, so that it's easier for the belly to deal with. Digestive enzymes do the same thing only on the inside rather than the outside!)

The first thing I did was switch back to my soaked whole wheat bread recipe. It takes longer to make (it has to soak overnight) and the simple truth is that I got out of the habit of making it because I just always forgot to start it at night and so then when morning came I needed to make bread so I'd do the standard non-soaked recipe. Both are excellent breads, but right now I'm feeling a sense that soaking will help me.
When the first batch of soaked bread came out of the oven I purposely had several pieces (hot with butter mmmmm!) to see if I noticed anything as the result of the carb/wheat binge. I did not. This is an indication to me (again) that I do not need to stick to a strictly gluten-free diet.

I am slowly working on incorporating other soaked recipes into my diet. I made pancakes one day last week and that was easy. I'm working on adapting some other recipes--such as my roll recipe--so that they can be soaked as well. I think the soaking will especially make a difference for my occasional white flour recipes.
In conjunction with soaking more, I am taking an enzyme pill which will hopefully help deal with the unsoaked foods in my life. I don't want to have to swear off everything made by anyone else, and I really don't think I need to. I just need to make sure I take my supplements and eat well at home, and my body will probably tolerate occasional exceptions to policy without completely revolting.

I do also think that candida is a very valid issue for me. Candida is essentially a systemic yeast overgrowth, and it feeds on sugars and yeast. So if I get a flare up of it, then I get crazy intense cravings for sweets and/or yeast breads. It is really hard to knock them off, but once I do it for about 24 hours it starts getting easier, and usually within about 3 days I'm feeling quite normal again. I'm hoping that my new (or renewed) efforts to consume only minimal amounts of white flour/sugar and yeast will help me avoid those flares.


At least at this point, after a month and a half of experimentation on myself, I have reached a few conclusions about how I should eat:

1. Eat whole grains, soaking them when possible, especially if it's one that has gluten in it
2. Avoid white/yeasty breads in general. If I do consume them (ie, at a holiday gathering) then be sure to take my enzyme supplements.
3. Avoid purchased breads/floury things because they are the devil: unsoaked and full of other garbage
4. Regardless of the type of carb, aim for less rather than more. Fill in with more of other parts of plants (leaves, roots, etc instead of seeds).
   

10 10s in 2010--update 3

Oct 27 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. I'm also shrinking the font on anything that hasn't changed since last time...)

1--Keeping My Home

1. Create (and then stick to) a housekeeping system more or less epically failing here at this point...I hate being regimented. Mmm, must try harder.
   
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 and pound cake and trifle, May--spinach stuffed pork loin, June--tarragon cream halibut, July--Salmon burgers and salmon-dill quiche, August-- veggie gingerbread muffins, hot Mexican salad, September--gluten free cookies and stardrop (GF) cookies and Indian-style chicken, October--
   
3. Serve balanced meals (with a protein, a vegetable, and a starch/carb) at least most nights usually so far so good
4. Grind my own wheat flour going great!
   
5. Make bread all year It's been a year now and going strong
   
6. Build up my food storage--at least 3m worth of all non-perishable items oh man, I gotta post some pictures of our pantry. It's lookin awesome!
7. Learn about gardening in Alaska--what foods grow well, when/how to plant and harvest, etc so far so good
8. Have a garden kitchen containers--basil rocked, tomatoes did fine, chives were alright...broccoli was an epic fail. I think my containers were not big enough.
   
9. Can/freeze produce in season salmon, smoked salmon, halibut, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, apples, rhubarb, apricots, and black currents (off our own bush!)
   
10. Participate in the butchering and/or preservation of a moose that Hubby shoots (that's one of his goals for the year) He didnt' get a moose in spite of much trying, BUT we are buying a half a cow from a local farmer next month. ☺
    

2--Read Books (ideally including the following specific titles)(* means I've started it, date indicates when finished) I scrapped half the list and instead am putting things I actually did read

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. 7/10 something by an Alaskan author Tom Bodett rocks. That is all.
   
4. a biography or memoir
5. *Going Rogue by Sarah Palin (mostly for cultural literacy)
6. 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.
7. *Fablehaven (I started this...then Wolf stole it from me...I'll get it back when he's done I guess!)
8. *The Mists of Avalon
9. 8/10The Passage by Justin Croner (NYT top book) intriguing and fascinating page-turner, set in the near future but with major changes to the land and government. Unfortunately the ending was terribly anti-climactic.
   
10. 6/10 The Audacity of Hope by Barak Obama (alternate) This book was so sooo good. Regardless of our agreement/disagreement on any given political platform, this book demonstrates that our president is intelligent, thoughtful, logical, and ethical--he tries really hard to be true to what he perceives and believes, and I have to respect that.
    

3--Improve Financial Stability

1. Pay off (at least) one account DONE!! We also rolled all our debt together and lowered our interest rate, so we're paying things off faster now AND we literally cut up the credit cards that we had. That feels so good.
   
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) just have to keep it up...
3. Live within our means, always considering wants vs needs, and making the modest choice even with the latter. ☺
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!) so far so good
6. Build up our food storage
   
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 no sweat
   
9. Sew items to sell using the fabric I have obviously
10. Actively market my etsy shops It has slowed down a lot, but I've been putting my efforts into The Amethyst Network and family things, so I'm ok with that.
    

4--Be More Present with my Family

1. Read more books to my kids so far so good, I'm trying to read to Wolf sometimes too, which is kinda fun for us both, even if he's a great reader himself, sometimes the bedtime story with mom is still cool with him (just don't tell his friends!)
   
2. Acquire a couple of new children's books in order to do #1 without losing my mind ☺
3. Cuddle my kids every day ☺often, I'm not sure if I hit every day, but at least most days
   
4. Include the kids in the housekeeping schedule (give them assignments)
5. Stay OFF the internet one day a week (generally Tuesdays) mostly failing at this right now...however I'm spending less time online in the average day, so even if the days off are infrequent, the overall hours are still reduced
   
6. Be a good example for the kids by limiting my screen time on other days ☺
7. Say "just a minute" less often workin on it...doing ok...
   
8. Play with my kids, not just work near them so far so good
9. Have a monthly 'date' with each family member it's been hit and miss the last couple of months, but I'm getting them in this month and plan to finish out the year
   
10. Go to bed at the same time as my Hubby usually ☺
    

5--Create

1. Create (sew or knit) at least 6 things per month, for my family or my shop so far so good... I really like doing the "finished objects" post each month to help me see what I've done. Jan FOs, Feb FOs, Mar FOs, Apr FOs, May FOs, Jun FOs, July FOs, Aug FOs, Sep/Oct FOs,
   
2. Introduce a new product (or two or three) in my shop(s) this year. Four so far.
3. Allow myself the thought-outlet of blogging frequently ☺
4. Finish Wolf's sweater I spoke with him about this, and expressed my concern that I'm knitting so slowly at this point that he's going to outgrow the sweater before I can get it done. Together we made the decision that I will set this sweater aside (make it for Bear when he gets bigger), but that I will make something else for Wolf. We're currently scouting for a cool pattern.
   
5. Knit something for myself (I have no idea what yet) HAHAHAHAAAAAAAA! yeah right. Not this year methinks!
   
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 This I think will slide this year
   
9. Make handmade gifts for my family/friends (not necessarily to the exclusion of purchased items). I'm making all the halloween costumes, and several Christmas things...we'd talked at one point about an all-handmade Christmas, but we're not doing that. The items from Hubby and I to the kids will be handmade though!
   
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'm a bit hit and miss, but I am getting out often even if not always walking per se...
   
2. Work on my poor ignored abdominals...crunches or pilates or something I've been totally slacking off on this ☺
   
3. Get outside more often so far so good
4. Read more fiction (see list above!)
5. Read my scriptures We're doing better with the family reading, but this probably has to count as a strike cuz I'm not doing well on my own
   
6. Pray more (an ongoing challenge for me unfortunately) so far so good
7. Get the local breastfeeding support group on it's feet.
   
8. Sing more so far so good ☺
9. Take time to be still and quiet I'm doing much better with this
10. Check in on these goals at least quarterly to monitor my progress ☺

7--Focus Outward

1. Do my visiting teaching every month this has crashed and burned on the "all" and "every" part the last two months, but we keep trying.
   
2. Become a Big Sister with Big Brothers/Big Sisters...it's something I've wanted to do for a long time. or not
   
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'm now also the music coordinator for the ward.
   
5. "Pay It Forward" whenever I can (in whatever ways I can)
   
6. Look specifically for opportunities to PIF/send out good karma yes
   
7. Shop locally or handmade whenever possible.
8. Feed the local missionaries each month
   
9. Teach a friend how to do something new going with the henna here..although I've also had some cooking discussions and I did what I could via internet to help a friend with some sewing ☺
   
10. Teach my kids how to do new things Wolf is cooking more, Bear plays games, helps me bake, and is very helpful with the baby, and even Eagle likes to put things away into containers/boxes!
    
11. BONUS--start a nonprofit organization for miscarriage support and education (ha, who'd have guessed!)
    

8--Learn

1. Read a parenting book Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn (review coming sometime...)
   
2. Read a marriage/relationship book The Soul of Sex by Thomas Moore (not that it was just about marriage, but the philosophy in the book has definitely fed my marriage in a positive way ☺ )
   
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 aww scrappy
   
6. Read my scriptures
7. Learn new knitting techniques Jan--increases, Feb--seaming (shoulders, sides, and setting in sleeves), Jun--picking up stitches
   
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) this has been just awesome

9--Blog

1. Write a series of posts about The Family proclamation HAHAHAAA how about 2011 for this one? I wrote about The Relief Society stuff instead, how's that?
   
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 slow but steady, right?
7. Post more regularly on my cooking blog so far so good...and yummy...
   
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 so far so good
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). so far so good
2. Finally start our long-planned family tradition of having an authentic medieval meal (ie, big meat, candlelight, no utensils) once a year. It was pretty cool
3. Establish a new family tradition for Jesus' Birthday This was also pretty cool
4. Have a family pizza night at least twice a month frequently, and invite someone to join us. We are going at monthly-ish, which is fine. It's fun, but it is a lot of work.
   
5. Have a family or couples game night at least once a month strike--STILL 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 mom's nights are good too
   
7. Visit some major sites of my own state this was quite an adventure, to say the least...
   
8. Play music in the home/car, and sing more so far so good
9. Get outside often and breathe deeply this has been good
10. Do my best to live deeply and suck the marrow out of life this has been very good
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 (some I've hit and some I've missed...and I'm just being ok with that at this point)
12. I know I posted somewhere my plan to make cakes for each family member's birthday, but can't find it on this list... I have done it for Hubby & Bear, Wolf...Eagle's will be coming soon!