25 Things in 2014 - how I'm doing

Earlier this year, I posted this list.

Of course I was secretly pregnant, so "survive childbirth" did not make the list. But it should have!

Here's how I did:

1. Pass the Series 7 exam.
   I passed on the first try, even though I was freaking out the morning of the exam and already planning on strategies for the next time.
2. Housebreak our dog.
   I won't say that he's fully trained as far as obedience goes, BUT he is fully housebroken.
3. Finish the fence.
   It's finished, otherwise the dog would be even more obnoxious.
4. Plant a garden.
   Our yard guy has planted some more perennials in our front garden. So yeah, the garden is planted. ;)
5. Finish at least one closet of the two unfinished ones.
   Both closets have drywall and places to hang clothes. I'm calling it a win.
6. Rearrange upstairs bedrooms.
   Totally necessary when you have a baby. We rearranged ALL of the upstairs bedrooms. And did I mention that we bought a king size bed? It was needed. I have no idea how we slept in a queen before.
7. Find pet-friendly accommodations.
   No desire to do this anymore. Maybe one day our dog will be nice to take on vacation, but we often need a vacation from the dog.
8. Take a road trip with our dog.
   See #7.
9. Go on vacation somewhere new.
   We went to Maine in June... it was lovely!
10. Do something that I'm afraid of.
    Considering that childbirth has always terrified me and so has having a kid, then yes, that was a huge fear that I am ending up loving.
11. Blog at least twice a week (or 104 posts for the year).
    Failing hard at this.
12. Spend more time around the water (sunning, diving, swimming, boating, or sailing)
    Failed at this too. Went to the beach a handful of times and no diving while pregnant either. Looking forward to getting back in the wetsuit soon!
13. Try paddleboarding.
    Hopefully next year!
14. Actually send out Christmas cards in 2014.
    I think this is going to happen. We had our photos taken and have ordered the cards from Shutterfly. 
15. Get my wedding ring re-sized.
    Done! 
16. Come up with new savings goals & reallocate funds.
    Done! And now we have more new goals. We are trying to figure out which plan we are doing for Markface with the Maryland Prepaid College Trust. It's a pretty great deal.
17. Spend a weekend in NYC.
    Didn't do this. We are heading to NY in a few weeks, maybe we'll get to the city.
18. Swim 1000 yards (I might finally accomplish this)
    After I got pregnant I wasn't feeling too great and slacked off on my exercise routines. My girlfriend wants to start swimming at the Y, so I am planning to join her and get back in the swing of things. Maybe I can get this done by year-end.
19. Frame and hang at least one of my photos.
    Maybe by year end? 
20. Start foyer photo wall.
    We bought frames and everything. I just need Jay to hang them!
21. Spread some of Dad at Martinak. Maybe on his birthday.
    I meant to do this. Maybe next year on his birthday... he would have been 68 in February. I wish he were still around to meet his grandson. :(
22. Stay in better touch with relatives.
    I'm trying, but I still suck at it. It's much worse now that I have a kid.
23. Log at least 365 miles, walking or running. One mile each day (totally doable!)
    I think I may have done this, but since I haven't kept up with wearing my fitbit or logging on my exercise app, I have no idea.
24. Complete an obedience class with our pup.
    We did this! Unfortunately we need about a hundred more.
25. Throw an awesome dinner party.
    I really can't recall. We probably haven't had many people over but the last year has been such a blur I'm not sure. 

So all of that isn't too bad considering the major life changes that have taken place this year.

I've been back to work for three weeks now. The lack of sleep is pretty brutal, but I'm surviving. The first day of leaving the baby at daycare was awful too. But we are slowly getting into a rhythm, hopefully Markface will start to get with the program and begin sleeping longer. We had been getting anywhere from 4-6 hours each night, even almost 7. Then there are the days that he is up every 2-3 hours, or he'll sleep for 3 hours and then be up every hour, or some combination thereof.

Overall, life is still pretty damn good, even though I am now tired all the time.

#9 Go on vacation somewhere new.

I'll be completing #9 from my 25 things list this weekend!

Despite my considerable travel experiences, I have never been to Maine. I thought that "visit Maine" was on my 101 list, but apparently it didn't make it on the list.

So we'll be traveling to Ogunquit, Maine this weekend. Since I'm pregnant, we want to stay somewhat close to home. We did think of going to Florida or doing an all-inclusive, but it's better for me to go somewhere cooler where my ankles don't swell as much.

Our trip has already had some hiccups... we booked a rental property from Saturday-Saturday, but then found out that Jay's best friend Brian is getting married in New York on Sunday. Rather last minute! So we are having to delay our plans, including having to rearrange a longer visit with my cousin in Boston, which I'm bummed about. We're now spending the weekend in Long Island and will spend the following Saturday afternoon with my cousin and her family in Boston. But we will still have five full days in Ogunquit, so that is good!

I'm planning to take a lot of photos, since my poor camera hasn't seen the light of day for a while.

Other plans: eat plenty of lobster, go on walks, read books, and enjoy some quiet time with the husband before we welcome our screaming blobfish of joy into our lives around August 28th.

Speaking of vacation, we are planning our next big trip - and the first one with the baby. One of these days we will actually use our timeshare, and I'm hoping that by contacting them now for next June that we can actually land a decent place in Hawaii. The plan is in the early stages, but my Australian Auntie thinks that she may be able to meet us out there next year. It's kind of halfway between OZ and the US. And this way she'll be able to see us and her great-nephew and we will be able to do some diving. I don't think we'll be taking the trip back to OZ until our kid is old enough to remember the trip and appreciate it just a little - i.e. think that lorikeets, koalas and roos are the coolest thing ever - maybe when he's 4 or 5? And then hopefully he'll fall in love with diving like mom and dad, and then we could take him again when he's older and a certified diver. Or maybe he won't love diving and will find something else fun to do. It's Australia after all.

Of course going back to OZ will be out the window if we have a second kid. I'm pretty sure that we can swing these kinds of epic trips once every five years or so if we just have one child, but the second kid would wipe out that kind of discretionary spending. And honestly, I really don't enjoy being pregnant!

So three posts in three days... not too bad. Glad that I could put in some time over the weekend blogging! I do miss it.

Catching Up Part I

Blogging at this rate, my next post won't be until the baby gets here. Just kidding, I'm going to break this into two entries so that I'll have another post this week. :)

Yes, one day I will have a life again and apparently that day arrived. I've just been too busy doing things to have time to blog. Also, since my new job is pretty intense, the last thing I feel like doing when I get off (or with my few free weekend hours) is to get on the computer. If I have free time now, it's usually spent doing something with the dog, reading, and sometimes I just veg and watch bad tv.

There has been SO MUCH going on lately... but let me start with the most important thing first...

#1 on my list for my 25 things in 2014 --- I PASSED MY SERIES 7 EXAM!

It was a huge accomplishment, AND a huge relief. I found out after taking the test that I am the first to pass with my company in our region in about a year, and that lately they have had a 90% failure rate for first-timers. I was pretty damn proud of myself. The morning of the test, I was already planning on how I was going to do a better job studying for my next go at the test, and that this time I was going to take a test prep course. But all of that was unnecessary. I hugged the test proctor when I was finished. That happy.

And since I'm going through my 25 things list anyway, I can check off some more items on my list:

• Housebreak our dog.

Puppy brother hasn't had an accident inside in probably over a month now, and the last few times he's been over my girlfriends' house, he has also not had any accidents. So yeah, he knows what he's supposed to do.

• Finish the fence.

My awesome husband finished the fence about a month or two ago. I wish that it had been completed when we were housetraining the puppy... life would have been much easier (and less cold). Along with finishing the fence, he also replaced our back door, which the original contractors did a shitty job with. It hasn't shut properly in several years, so we would keep it deadbolted and unopened all winter, since I can't physically get it shut or locked. Anyway, we now have an awesome functioning, easy to open, shut, and lock door. We should have done it years ago... it only took Jay a few hours to do it and was well worth the cost of the new door and supplies.

• Finish at least one closet of the two unfinished ones.

Jay took care of that, too. Having a baby helps to speed along some of those unfinished projects.

• Rearrange upstairs bedrooms.

This also happened and is why there is now a queen-sized mattress and box spring sitting downstairs in our living room. Now we have the futon in the baby's room (we figure if the kid is sick, it will be useful if one of us need to stay in there), a double bed in our front office/guest room, and a queen size in the guest bedroom. Along with our king size bed, which I love.

• Get my wedding ring re-sized.

I had this done in January. However, with the warmer days causing swelling, plus extra fluid from pregnancy, it's starting to get tight again. I'm going to have to find a cheap replacement band to wear soon. 

• Come up with new savings goals & reallocate funds.

This was completed... my maternity savings goal will be complete hopefully within the next month or so. The balance sheet has some sizable accounts receivable which is going to make a big difference in the savings. And then I can start redistributing the funds that I had siphoned away from the emergency savings fund. Around year end, the Emergency Savings Fund should be fully funded, so that we can start saving for other fun things. More on that in my next post.

• Complete an obedience class with our pup.

Of course, that is the least of our problems with him... the biggest challenge has been getting him enough exercise. An ideal day to get him to normal (and not crazy) dog status involves playing fetch for an hour or two and taking him on at least a 45 minute walk. He has definitely made a lot of progress from where he was, and I have to remember that he's still a puppy. We will be signing him up for an intermediate training class, so that we can work on his manners. He's incredibly smart, but he gets distracted easily when he's around a lot of people and other dogs. It's also tough because everyone gives him lots of attention whenever they see him, so he wants to be everyone's friend. Getting him to ignore new people is a bit of a challenge. And then of course there's the well-meaning strangers who encourage him to jump up on them.  

More to come in my next post. And more photos!

25 Things for 2014

Happy New Year!

2014 will be an exciting and challenging year, but I am up for it!

My biggest goal has to do with my new job. I have to take a big scary test and it means that I am going to have to study my ass off and have no social life for the first few months. But once I pass it, life should get a little easier. I expect my new job to be challenging and rewarding, but the test will be the worst part.

Some of these are from my 101 list, so that I actually complete them on time. 

1. Pass the Series 7 exam.
2. Housebreak our dog.
3. Finish the fence.
4. Plant a garden.
5. Finish at least one closet of the two unfinished ones.
6. Rearrange upstairs bedrooms.
7. Find pet-friendly accommodations.
8. Take a road trip with our dog.
9. Go on vacation somewhere new.
10. Do something that I'm afraid of.
11. Blog at least twice a week (or 104 posts for the year).
12. Spend more time around the water (sunning, diving, swimming, boating, or sailing)
13. Try paddleboarding.
14. Actually send out Christmas cards in 2014.
15. Get my wedding ring re-sized.
16. Come up with new savings goals & reallocate funds.
17. Spend a weekend in NYC.
18. Swim 1000 yards (I might finally accomplish this)
19. Frame and hang at least one of my photos.
20. Start foyer photo wall.
21. Spread some of Dad at Martinak. Maybe on his birthday.
22. Stay in better touch with relatives.
23. Log at least 365 miles, walking or running. One mile each day (totally doable!)
24. Complete an obedience class with our pup.
25. Throw an awesome dinner party.

What's on your list? 

How I did on my 25 Things in 2013

Oh, what a year it has been! And next year is shaping up much the same.

I have to say that 2013 has been one of the greatest years of my life. 

Here is how I did on my 23 things for 2013:

1. Be more positive
   At the beginning of the year, I was kind of a grump and I wasn't happy about it. So I made a concerted effort to be a little bit more positive. Sure I am still sarcastic and snarky, but I try to be less sarcastic and snarky around people who don't appreciate it. ;-)
2. Lose ~13% of body weight (or eat healthier and exercise at least 3x a week)
   I am much healthier now than I was at the beginning of the year. I started running again and have been eating much better. Although I haven't run in a few weeks, so I'd better get back to it.
3. Start a few plants from seed for the garden
   I never had a chance to do this because of my trip to Australia.
4. Come up with a new budget and stick to it
   We've been doing a good job with this and have started other savings accounts using Smarty Pig. We have been socking away about 10% of our net income into savings, which is a great habit to get into. Technically, we're putting away more than that because Jay and I also contribute part of our paychecks into our 401k plans.
5. Get rid of the red couch and chair that I freaking HATE
   Ugh. These are the bane of my existence. Since we have been trying to be better with money (pay no attention to our DR vacation or SCUBA certifications and equipment), I haven't had room in the budget for new furniture. No wait, I'll be honest. Experiences mean more to me than crap. I would rather spend money on a vacation (or scuba equipment to take on vacation) or other activities than I would on a new couch. Even if I hate aforementioned couch. There. I said it.
6. Purchase new furniture and decorate downstairs
   We are getting there. This goes along with number 5 really. I think what we'll end up doing is moving our existing couch and recliner in our chocolate room (aka TV room/den/family room) to where the hated red furniture lives. Then we'll get a sectional, something kinda like this, but not as ugly. Maybe this. Or this. Or this.
7. Put together a time capsule for our house
   I did this earlier this year, but now I'm thinking of adding some stuff. We have the jar and everything, but since we have two closets that aren't finished, I thought we would put it in there once we finish the closets.
8. Blog at least twice a week
   I've accomplished this goal... as of this posting, I think I have 105 posts. Over the weekend, I brought up to Jay that I've done a pretty good job accomplishing everything on my list. He was like, "You've blogged twice a week this year? Am I a bad husband for never reading your blog?" I thought it was pretty funny.
9. Get organized - important documents, books, seasonal items, etc.
   This is a work in progress. We are still trying to figure this out, but setting up our home office has been quite useful in getting closer to accomplishing this goal.
10. Be in good enough shape to hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing (aka Mount Doom) in New Zealand
    We would have done this if it weren't for the crazy weather and snowstorm happening during our visit. Maybe on our next trip, we'll visit during the summer. Our NZ hosts Sally and Chris hiked it with their kids on six hours, so I'm pretty sure we could do the same.
11. Raise a small flock of chickens for meat (at least six)
    I'll check this off. We did eat one of our roosters finally, in Buffalo Chicken Dip. It was delicious. My girlfriends' dad has been raving about it since the party and wants the recipe.
12. Sell some eggs, otherwise we'll be overrun when the new chickens start laying
    Yup, did this.
13. Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, even though I'm scared of being eaten by a shark
    Even better, we dove the GBR, and we saw a shark. It was one of the coolest things ever. I have an entirely different perspective of sharks, now that I'm a diver. However, I still wouldn't want to snorkel and hang out with sharks - I would much rather dive with them.
14. Snuggle a koala
    Oh Tiger Lily, you were one of the highlights of this year.
15. Install the heat pump downstairs
    Done! We also ended up having to buy a new pellet stove this year. And I'm not so sure about the heat pump that was installed... it keeps icing over. :(
16. Make room in the budget for a cleaning service
    We made room, but have decided that it's better to keep up with it ourselves. Maybe we'll decide to do it next year.
17. Get the crawl space insulated
    We ended up not doing this, opting for seeing how we do this winter with the new pellet stove and heat pump. The crawl space is insulated - it's just that some of it is coming out.
18. Have photos done and send Christmas cards out this year 
    Well I failed at this. We just never got our act together. :(
19. Fence in yard
    Still at 95% complete. When the ground thaws, we'll finish the fence... especially since we'll have our dog in a few weeks.
20. Hatch out some silkie and black/red star mixes 
    We did this, and then we ate one. Too bad all the ones we kept turned out to be roosters!
21. Say no and not feel guilty afterwards
    I am doing way better at this. A big relief was when I resigned from my Treasurer's position with VGIF. They're a great organization, but I just didn't have the time or energy to fully devote to doing a good job.
22. Have an awesome time at the Mardi Gras Ball
    It was fun, but I was happiest when it was all over! Next year, I'll have to do all of the work, but we have a wedding to attend on the same day... so I won't be able to enjoy my hard work. 
23. Can tomatoes from our garden
    Since there was no garden, I couldn't can them!
24. Print "before" collages to frame and hang in the house
    I finally printed the collages from Shutterfly. Now all I have to do is frame them and hang them. 
25. Use at least one week of our time share
    For all intents and purposes, I did this. Lots of fun was had in the Dominican Republic during our 3 year anniversary week.

Twenty five things for 2014 will be coming out soon!

Seasonal Bucket List Update

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to combine my fall and winter bucket lists, as time is quickly slipping away from me. I've been unusually busy, even for me, and with going on vacation next week I realized - holy crap, it's pretty much winter when I return from the DR. 

So anyway, here is how I am doing:

1. Make pumpkin pie crunch and post it on the blog
   
   Obviously I haven't done that yet. But I'm making it soon, for my #2 which was...
   
2. Host a fall party
   
   We are hosting our fall party on the Winter Equinox. And it's an ugly sweater party. Time got away from us with all of the diving stuff. So. Yeah. But my sister-in-law Colleen is coming to visit (YAY!!) so it was only appropriate that we throw a party while she's here.
   
3. Complete my PADI Open Water Certification
4. Run 1 mile without stopping
5. Swim 1000 yards
   
   I'm still working on this one. I'm trying to find a night that I can swim after work that I actually have enough time. I usually spend about 35-40 minutes swimming around 800 yards. So I need to devote at least 45 minutes to this task, plus the showering and changing before and after. The problem with swimming is that there is so much prep involved. I have to make sure that I have my bag and ample time. Basically I need an extra half hour to an hour for any swimming activities. Maybe I can get it done when I get back.
   
6. Send out holiday cards
   
   I'm still hoping to get this done. I really wanted to have photos taken and do all sorts of stuff. Then I wanted to take our koala photo and put a little Christmas hat on the koala. But none of that has worked yet. Ugh.
   
7. Narrow down new car choices to 2 vehicles
8. Make a batch of wine
   
   I've pretty much done this. I just have to bottle it, which I'm hoping to do before we leave for the DR.
   
9. Make mulled cider
   
   I'll be making this for our Ugly Sweater Party.
   
10. Complete my PADI Advanced Open Water Certification
11. Attend a Literary Supper
12. Make at least one clothing donation to Purple Heart
    
    I have the crap sorted, but I need to schedule a pickup. And sort more crap.
    
13. Mark all diving equipment
14. Start brushing the cats regularly
    
    I really need to do this.
    
15. Buy new litterboxes & find a new place for them
    
    We've decided that Jay is going to build some kind of chest contraption with a hinged lid and a circle cut out of it. If we don't do that, I'm thinking that we may buy these instead. Actually I just saw the price. No thanks. We'll make them out of a big plastic container with a hole cut out of it. I've actually thought of doing that before. This just definitely needs to be done before we get our dog. Since dogs love to eat cat poop. Yum?
    
16. Agree on weekly housecleaning list & laminate it for fridge
    
    I have the list, and we've been doing a decent job keeping up with everything lately. I just haven't laminated it.
    
17. Make photobook from OZ & NZ trip
    
    This is a work in progress. Maybe by the year anniversary, I'll have this done.
    
18. Peruse Black Friday ad and possibly purchase desktop computer
    
    We did this! We bought a desktop at Walmart that was $50 off, and we also bought a $29 printer. The only thing is that I'm not a huge fan of Windows 8. I'll get used to it, though.
    
19. Make brownies from scratch
    
    Still on my list. Maybe for our party?
    
20. Give away 3 hens
21. Shop at Bead Soup for Christmas gifts
    
    Time is quickly running out. I don't know when I'll get over there. :(
    
22. Actually start this oil pulling nonsense
23. Get a gait analysis done & buy new running shoes
    
    I'll probably push this off to the new year.
    
24. Make Jay a kick-ass birthday dinner
25. Attend Punkin Chunkin

So all in all, not too bad! 

25 Things - Fall Bucket List

I have finally come up with 25 things that I would like to accomplish for the fall season... I will keep the list updated here. 

I've already accomplished #3, #4, #7, and #11. I am in the process of completing #8, #10, #12, #16, #17, and #20.

Fall 2013 Bucket List:

1. Make pumpkin pie crunch and post it on the blog
2. Host a fall party
3. Complete my PADI Open Water Certification
4. Run 1 mile without stopping
5. Swim 1000 yards 
6. Send out holiday cards
7. Narrow down new car choices to 2 vehicles
8. Make a batch of wine
9. Make mulled cider 
10. Complete my PADI Advanced Open Water Certification
11. Attend a Literary Supper
12. Make at least one clothing donation to Purple Heart
13. Mark all diving equipment
14. Start brushing the cats regularly
15. Buy new litterboxes & find a new place for them
16. Agree on weekly housecleaning list & laminate it for fridge
17. Make photobook from OZ & NZ trip
18. Peruse Black Friday ad and possibly purchase desktop computer
19. Make brownies from scratch
20. Give away 3 hens
21. Shop at Bead Soup for Christmas gifts
22. Actually start this oil pulling nonsense
23. Get a gait analysis done & buy new running shoes
24. Make Jay a kick-ass birthday dinner
25. Attend Punkin Chunkin

25 Things Update

Life has been so great this year that I nearly forgot my quasi-resolutions from the beginning of the year!

Here is an update:

1. Be more positive
   I'd like to think that I am doing a much better job of this. If I had to pick one reason that I've been successful, it's that I have much more realistic expectations - of people in general (including myself). I've also pushed my comfort level with some of the things that I've done and challenged myself. My fear of heights? I repelled into a cave. My fear of deep water? I'm now a certified PADI Open Water Diver and have been down to 40 feet with no problems. 
2. Lose ~13% of body weight (or eat healthier and exercise at least 3x a week)
   I have no idea what I weigh right now and honestly, I don't much care. I think that earlier this year I was so focused on the numbers on the scale that I lost sight of what being healthy is. I started running again, am trying to swim regularly, and I try to eat better. This is not to say that I'm perfect, but I am happier with where I am today than where I was a year ago.
3. Start a few plants from seed for the garden
   Due to that Australia trip, we kind of screwed up the garden.
4. Come up with a new budget and stick to it
   This is a work in progress, but I am happy to report that we are doing pretty well with the budget. We were doing better before SCUBA on this. Turns out that diving is an expensive hobby. Once we acquire all of our gear, we shouldn't be spending quite as much. At any rate, we have a budget. And we also started a new savings goal with Smarty Pig. They earn a fantastic rate (1% APY!) and deposits are FDIC insured. Although we currently have more than enough in our savings account for our Emergency Savings Fund, we decided to take some money and move it to Smarty Pig. We'll be putting 6% of our income into that account and should have our Emergency Fund built up to ~5 months of expenses by early 2015. We will be opening additional savings goals with Smarty Pig for vacations and furniture, which brings me to #5.
5. Get rid of the red couch and chair that I freaking HATE
   We still have them. Unfortunately. I can't wait to give that crap away. I thought that we'd found a sucker someone to take that junk  them, but apparently their apartment fell through. Here is what I want to replace it with: Witiker Brown Reclining Sofa Set. The cool thing with SmartyPig is that you can convert your savings to gift cards and get additional $$ with it. So I could get an extra 7% ($112 off of the couch) if I chose to redeem my savings with an Overstock.com gift card. Not too shabby!
6. Purchase new furniture and decorate downstairs
   That's a work in progress. Downstairs is fairly well decorated. We also ended up with an extra dining room table and some other furniture. In my opinion, it doesn't go that great with what we have, but it belonged to Jay's grandparents, so we will keep it in the family.
7. Put together a time capsule for our house
   I have this, we just need to put it into a closet and cover it up.
8. Blog at least twice a week
   I think I've been okay with this. If I average 2 posts a week, then I should have 104 at the end of the year. I suppose I'd better pick it up in November and December. I have 25 left for the year.
9. Get organized - important documents, books, seasonal items, etc.
   This is also a work in progress. We've finally found a good system for our important documents, but I need to go through some stuff. Seasonal items are in the attic. We're also going to need to find a good spot to stow our scuba gear.
10. Be in good enough shape to hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing (aka Mount Doom) in New Zealand
    I definitely would have hiked Mount Doom if it weren't for the snowstorm happening while we were there. Next time we'll visit in Summer! So yeah, I think I can mark this one off. 
11. Raise a small flock of chickens for meat (at least six)
    We kind of did this. There are two roosters in our freezer right now and we've decided to cull the last rooster and have nothing but hens. I get to help with the last one. Gulp.
12. Sell some eggs, otherwise we'll be overrun when the new chickens start laying
    Did this! Although these new chickens are kind of slackers. I thought we'd be getting 12-20 eggs a day, but we're getting more like 6-8.
13. Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, even though I'm scared of being eaten by a shark|
    Even better, I dove the Great Barrier Reef and became a certified diver. OH. And I even saw sharks while diving. Carpet sharks and a reef shark. And I didn't freak out - it was awesome.
14. Snuggle a koala
    Did this and have photographic proof.
15. Install the heat pump downstairs
    We went without heat downstairs (except for the pellet stove) that I forgot this was even installed! We turned it on earlier this week when I was chilly.
16. Make room in the budget for a cleaning service
    Not sure if we'll do this. We're going to see if we can handle cleaning ourselves with a schedule.
17. Get the crawl space insulated
    This is undecided. We're going to see how we get through this winter to see how badly it really needs it. 
18. Have photos done and send Christmas cards out this year
    In process. We may take photos ourselves or get Laura to do them.
19. Fence in yard
    We are 95% done. Just a few places left that we need fencing.
20. Hatch out some silkie and black/red star mixes
    Did this and are eating them - 11. They were ALL roosters.
21. Say no and not feel guilty afterwards
    I am doing so much better at this.
22. Have an awesome time at the Mardi Gras Ball
    It was a fun time. Next year will be better and less work. We've learned a lot.
23. Can tomatoes from our garden
    No garden = no tomatoes.
24. Print "before" collages to frame and hang in the house
    Still need to do this. When I tried to do this, the computer spazzed out on me.
25. Use at least one week of our time share
    We planned to do this, but then learned that it would be cheaper to use Leslie and Bob's Shareholder status. We'll be going to Puerto Plata with two other couples during the second week of December.

How I spent my Summer Vacation

Or rather, how I did with my summer bucket list. I’ll have to put up a fall list sometime soon. 

·  Go peach/apple/raspberry/blackberry picking

Never made it! Hoping to pick some apples this fall, but we’ll see.

·  Take an impromptu trip to the beach

Jay and I had a day at the beach in August that was more or less last minute.

·  Visit a farmers market

I picked up my book club noms last Friday at the Amish Farmers Market in Easton, so yeah, I can cross that one off.

·  Go crabbing

Never did go crabbing. If there was a free weekend, it was spent at home cleaning or vegging out.

·  Learn how to SCUBA dive

I learned! And this coming weekend we will be doing our checkout dives.

·  Send Aunt Nancy & Uncle Darryl a Thank You basket

I did this… they loved it!

·  Send Sally & Chris (our NZ people) a Thank You basket

We sent it, but I haven’t heard from them. I should probably send them an email.

·  Find frames for koala and lorikeet photos – then hang them

We have these framed and on display, but haven’t hung them yet. I would still call this a success.

·  Clean up front garden and plant perennials

The front garden has been cleaned up, but I never got around to planting. Hopefully I can do that in early spring.

·  Re-upholster dining room chairs

We still haven’t done this. At this point I think we’re going to need new padding for the chairs too.

·  Have a picnic at Martinak

Never got around to doing this.

·  Make marshmallows from scratch (stole this from TTG – been wanting to do this for awhile)

This was a fun project! If I didn’t have such a busy week planned, I would make another batch for next weekend.

·  Have rooster for dinner

We haven’t eaten our roos yet, but Jay and MacGuyver dealt with the messy part on Friday while I was at Book Club. Laura and I do Book Club, the boys do Fight Club. It was pretty traumatic for poor Jay. And me. And I wasn’t even there. Also, my darling husband killed one of the wrong roosters. So that was sad. We had too many and something needed to be done. Our hens were starting to get pretty banged up from having too many roos. There were missing and broken feathers, raw skin and even some wounds. 

We will probably take care of the last rooster at some point this winter and take an Easter Egger or Marans roo that someone is getting rid of.

·  Do the adult ropes challenge course at Tuckahoe

Did this!

·  Go kayaking

Did this before the ropes course.

·  Climb the rock wall at the Y

Never got a chance to do this.

·  Swim 1000 yards

I came so close to completing this. I made it to 900 yards. One time I was at 800 yards when I ran out of time and would have been late to an appointment. The other time, I was unnerved by an overzealous lifeguard. I was the only person in the pool and the guy looked like he was going to jump in and save me at any moment. It was disconcerting and it made me nervous.

·  Host a dinner party

I had my girlfriend Tiffany over for dinner last Thursday… so yeah, it was a dinner party. Sure.

·  Come up with a date, menu & budget for yearly fall party

We’ve settled on a date. Except that it’s the same weekend as Punkin Chunkin. We’ll see, I guess. This year we’re going to scale it back a bit, including picking an ending time (hopefully people will be a little more responsible with an end time). Last year things got a little out of hand when one jackass brought fireworks and then another one decided that it would be fun to throw the fireworks into the fire. Ugh. We are also scaling back on the food this year… there is always too much and having such a large variety cuts into the budget.

·  Make a plan for the backyard

We have a tentative plan, but every time we go to Home Depot or Lowes, we’re hoping to run into Ahmed from Yard Crashers. Mainly, the plans include a deck off the back of the house, a shop/woodworking studio for Jay (with an attached entertaining area in the front), plus a patio surrounding a fire pit.

·  Build a new fire pit

We need to have a finalized plan on where it will go before we build it!

·  Finish fencing backyard

Pretty close to this. There are two more panels of privacy fence that need to go up and we need to attach one last section of picket fence.

·  Go fishing

I never got to do this.

·  Design egg cartons to sell/giveaway eggs

Completed! And I’ve even sold some eggs. 

·  Complete two weeks of Couch25K (I’m aiming low)  

Completed and ran my first 5k.

I would say that I was pretty successful overall. Now I need to plan my Fall Bucket List. I’m thinking that it should have fewer items on the list!

How did you do on your Summer Bucket List?

25 Things – If I had a million dollars

Or more accurately, $245 million dollars (cash payout). 

Like anyone who has ever spent a buck buying a lottery ticket, I spend the days around the drawing thinking about what I’d do with my cash.

Here are 25 Things that I would do (in no particular order) if I won:

1. Quit my job (with two weeks notice, of course – I would even stay on to train my replacement)
2. Hire a great trust lawyer 
3. Hire my old coworkers from Wilmington Trust to manage my money (I’d need my planner/CPA, investment guru, trust experts and personal banker)
4. Set up a trust to own a business or two
5. Set up another trust to provide for my family
6. Have one of the businesses pay my friends to be my friends
7. Fund a business idea for my friends 
8. Set up a philanthropic foundation
9. Fully fund my dad’s scholarship fund (perhaps through the foundation) 
10. Buy this island for our commune 
11. Buy this penthouse in Coolangatta
12. Buy this property in Key West 
13. Buy a winery in New Zealand - that way I'll never run out of wine!
14. Go to school full-time and get a 4 year degree
15. Get massages once a week
16. Have a spa day once a month
17. Hire a housekeeper – I despise cleaning!
18. Get in fantastic shape with all of my free time
19. Hire a personal shopper/stylist
20. Do a SCUBA liveaboard trip in Australia to the GBR and the Whitsundays
21. Visit Antarctica and play with the penguins
22. Invest in Downtown Denton
23. Buy a boat or two (as an investment for bareboat/charters and to play whenever I wanted)
24. Buy our neighbors' houses & rehab their properties
25. Shark cage dive with Great Whites in South Africa

Those things are on my list... what would YOU do with $245 million? What do you think, Kelly? 

Lots of Lists!

So I'm back into making lists... long-term and short term lists. A few years ago, I started doing the 101 in 1001. That list was started in 2007, which seems like an entire lifetime ago.

Well, I'm bringing it back. Go check it out. I've also created a link at the top of the blog for easy access so that you can shame me into doing things.

I'm working on my new 101 list that I hope to have up on Sunday. I arbitrarily chose Sunday July 7th as my start date. It seemed as good a time as any.

Here's how the Summer Bucket List is going:

• Send Aunt Nancy & Uncle Darryl a Thank You basket

I've bought all of the things for their basket... now I just need to assemble it and get to the post office. I also had a wonderful Skype with her tonight... it was so cool to see the background and know where she was in her house. I know that sounds weird. But seeing her sitting at the desk and thinking that I was sitting there less than two months ago is kind of cool. And sad. But cool. We are talking about meeting up in Europe next year, probably in September. Fingers crossed that it all works out!

• Send Sally & Chris (our NZ people) a Thank You basket

Ditto on this one... although I need to find my recipe for shrimp and grits. I'm sending them some grits as part of their thank you basket and thought it'd be cool to include my recipe.

• Find frames for koala and lorikeet photos – then hang them

Done! Well, kind of. They're now framed and on display, but I have to check with Jay on where he wants to hang them. I'm thinking of putting them in the hallway/up the stairs.

• Have rooster for dinner

We were supposed to do this on Sunday, but Jay had a rough day/night at work and slept for most of the day.

• Do the adult ropes challenge course at Tuckahoe

I need to sign up for this - it's on the 27th of this month I think.

• Go fishing

I was supposed to do this on Saturday, but apparently it created an uproar amongst other women and then all of the ladies wanted to go fishing with their men. So now I'm not going. C'est la vie. D'accord, pas vraiment. C'est le poisson! 

• Complete two weeks of Couch25K (I’m aiming low)

I was thinking of starting tonight. That has to count for something, right?

25 Things –Summer Bucket List Edition

Bucket lists have been on my mind lately. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how much I want to experience in life and how little time there is to get it all done. The Trans Siberian Railroad, Antarctica, Machu Picchu, The Great Wall… those are all high up on my travel bucket list.

I’ve crossed a few things off by traveling to Australia (planning to get back there ASAP). However, I realized that I need to stop mooning over vacation and get on with enjoying life here.

Just this week, I’ve read two blog posts on creating a summer bucket list… one over on Trailer Trash Glam and one on Enjoying the Small Things, who also happens to be doing a swimsuit giveaway! 

Perfect timing for me to get my act together and come back to reality.

Since I’m on a list making rampage lately, I’ll offer my own Summer Bucket list:

• Go peach/apple/raspberry/blackberry picking
• Take an impromptu trip to the beach
• Visit a farmers market
• Go crabbing
• Learn how to SCUBA dive
• Send Aunt Nancy & Uncle Darryl a Thank You basket
• Send Sally & Chris (our NZ people) a Thank You basket
• Find frames for koala and lorikeet photos – then hang them
• Clean up front garden and plant perennials
• Re-upholster dining room chairs
• Have a picnic at Martinak
• Make marshmallows from scratch (stole this from TTG – been wanting to do this for awhile)
• Have rooster for dinner
• Do the adult ropes challenge course at Tuckahoe
• Go kayaking
• Climb the rock wall at the Y
• Swim 1000 yards
• Host a dinner party
• Come up with a date, menu & budget for yearly fall party
• Make a plan for the backyard
• Build a new fire pit
• Finish fencing backyard
• Go fishing
• Design egg cartons to sell/giveaway eggs
• Complete two weeks of Couch25K (I’m aiming low)

So that's my summer bucket list... what's on yours? Kelly, I'll be waiting to read your summer bucket list next. :)

25 Things in a Year - June update

I'll have a post soon about some of the incredible things that I saw and did on my trip. I pushed my personal limits and was rewarded for doing it. Who knows, maybe my next step is skydiving??

I'll be doing a complete update on my journey soon... probably with a few details left out to protect the guilty. ;)

At the beginning of the year, this was my list. Some of these things were to be done around our trip down under, so I have a quick update on where things stand:

1.             Be more positive
Being on vacation for so long has both helped and hurt this goal. I desperately needed a vacation after not having time off for over a year, but now that I’ve been to Australia, all I can think about is how I can move there permanently.

2.             Lose ~13% of body weight (or eat healthier and exercise at least 3x a week)
I was at 8% before vacation, but I put 5 pounds back on during vacation… mostly due to drinking excessively and eating sweets! Now I’m back to a reasonable diet and exercise plan… although it’s taking me a while to get back to the working out portion. I’m still having some problems with jetlag.

3.             Start a few plants from seed for the garden
Some of my plants reseeded themselves! I shouldn’t have even attempted any garden plans this year, since I was gone when I should have been planting.

4.             Come up with a new budget and stick to it
I’ve done a pretty good job of this. We also stuck to our Australia budget, apart from upgrading our flights at the end of the trip, which put us over budget.

5.             Get rid of the red couch and chair that I freaking HATE
Still not yet. Then again, if there is any chance that we are moving to Australia, I’ll live with the stupid couch.

6.             Purchase new furniture and decorate downstairs
See number 5. If I can make my dream a reality, decorating isn’t very high on my priorities list.

7.             Put together a time capsule for our house
I have it, but it's sitting downstairs on my kitchen counter. Still.

8.             Blog at least twice a week
I may catch up eventually. This shouldn’t count for any time that I’m on vacation, so I get a pass.

9.             Get organized - important documents, books, seasonal items, etc.
I’ll get there.

10.          Be in good enough shape to hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing (aka Mount Doom) in New Zealand
I definitely could have done it, but unfortunately the weather wasn’t good for that hike while we were there. When (yes, WHEN, not if) we go back, hopefully it will be during summer or early spring so that we don’t have to contend with snow. It IS the “ALPINE” crossing after all.

11.          Raise a small flock of chickens for meat (at least six)
Hmm. We’ll see about this. I think that Mouse might be a candidate for the soup pot soon. He’s terrorizing some of our new chickens and he’s attacked me a few too many times. Last time he even left a mark on my leg.

12.          Sell some eggs, otherwise we'll be overrun when the new chickens start laying
I will definitely need to do this. Guess I should order a big supply of egg cartons.

13.          Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, even though I'm scared of being eaten by a shark
Completed! Not to mention my fear of deep water, which apparently I am getting over. Actually, I went scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef AND saw a 4~5 foot white tipped reef shark! We also saw carpet sharks (which Jay tried to pet) during our first dive at Cook Island when we were in Coolangatta. Scuba diving was such an unexpected joy for me, and I am planning to get my open water certification in time for #25.

14.          Snuggle a koala
Possibly one of the most amazing things in my entire life. Her name was Tiger Lily and she was the sweetest thing ever.

15.          Install the heat pump downstairs
It is delightfully cool in our entire house, I am happy to report.

16.          Make room in the budget for a cleaning service
Still working on this one. I’m pretty sure we’re going to do it though. When we got back from vacation, we saw what a mess our house ends up being without us there for 3 weeks. Apparently two cats is enough to destroy a house in no time at all.

17.          Get the crawl space insulated
We’ll see how we make out with having the second heat pump.

18.          Have photos done and send Christmas cards out this year
I need to meet up with Laura Dye to get these pictures done. Although we have so many great ones from our trip, I might have to photoshop Santa Hats on our heads.

19.          Fence in yard
We have the rear privacy fence up. Love the look of it and would like to do the entire yard like this… we’ll see though.

20.          Hatch out some silkie and black/red star mixes
We did and they have turned out to be pretty funky looking! Unfortunately I’m pretty sure that two of them are going to be roosters. So we might be eating a few more chicken dinners.

21.          Say no and not feel guilty afterwards
Doing this more often and I would say that I've been quite successful. The more often I do it, the less guilty I feel. Being on this trip made me remember that I have an awesome husband that I want to spend time with, so I’m trying very hard to not book up all of our weekends months in advance so that we can do more on our own as a couple.

22.          Have an awesome time at the Mardi Gras Ball
I did have an awesome time, although I must say that I was quite happy and relieved when it was all over. I was even happy to clean up the next day!

23.          Can tomatoes from our garden
I will can some tomatoes if we actually get some this year! I might cheat and buy an already potted porch type plant.

24.          Print "before" collages to frame and hang in the house
I’ll do it one of these days. Now my big job is to download all of the photos from vacation… there are HEAPS of photos.

25.          Use at least one week of our time share
We’re booking using our friend Leslie’s Shareholder status, which gets us a discounted daily rate and a sweet villa. I’m still waiting to hear back from some of the people that I’ve invited. Now that I’ve had quite the adventurous trip down under, I’m worried that our lounge-around-in-the-sun-eat-and-drink vacation might be a little boring, so I’m planning to do horseback riding, a diving trip and some whitewater rafting while we’re there.