chicken feathers

2009 resolutions

First, before I dive into what I'd like to accomplish this year, let's see how I did last year, shall we?

1.  go on a backpacking trip with the kids
2.  finish Grandma Tutu's book
3.  go fishing
4.  spend a day in Portland with Kates
5.  learn how to make a DVD with our video clips
6.  do a 52 week art challenge
7.  play disc golf
8.  sit outside and sketch
9.  go for a bike ride with Russell
10.  make someone's day
11.  read the Book of Mormon three times
12.  study Isaiah
13.  learn how to make cheese
14.  participate in a service project
15.  go kayaking
16.  teach a pre-natal yoga class
17.  go to the Tulip Festival
18.  do something totally selfish
19.  do something totally selfless
20.  help with this year's farmers' market
21.  go to a concert
22.  memorize the practice hymn each month
23.  learn a new skill
24.  take the kids on a "field trip"
25.  get caught up on my recent scrapbooks
26.  have a theme party
27.  write a rough rough draft for my book
28.  try all the restaurants in The Dalles
29.  have a pajama day with with the kids
30.  visit a national park

Wow.  That's kind of lame.  I did have a baby, though.  I like having babies because it's a great excuse for not doing all kinds of things.

So, unlike the last two years, I'm not going to do the ___ things before I'm ___.  Too much pressure.  I'm not so into pressure at the moment.  I've thought a lot about stress lately and I was trying to figure out where a shift happened.  I have a really distinct memory from my college days of walking to our Student Union Building, thinking about the long list of things I needed to accomplish that day.  I had a ton to do but had figured out a way to structure my day so I could get them all done.  I felt so alive and vibrant.  Like I could do anything, I was so...able.  Now, a list like that would start my heart pounding and the tears so start welling.  What has happened to me?  I'm still driven and passionate, aren't I?  After some contemplation, I think I know.  Life is all about seasons.  We do different things at different points in our lives.  I have little control over my days at the moment.  I am rarely able finish any task in one sitting (well, I can usually accomplish a trip to the head but that's about it).  I am always being pulled away by some crisis or request or something.  Without control over my schedule, a list of tasks is daunting.  It's simply not that season in my life.  It's about doing what I am able and not being overly attached to "the list."  It's about being happy with what I DO accomplish.   

Well, how's that for a big, fat caveat before the unveiling of my goals!  Nothing like setting my expectations nice and high!

Without further excuses, here's the list for 2009

1. make a decent loaf of whole wheat bread (good enough to give to someone else [that i like - i'm great at making bread for someone i don't like])
2.  learn how to make authentic tortillas and tamales
3.  finish two quilts
4.  finish Rhett's baby album
5.  knit something for myself
6.  finish two values in my personal progress
7.  try rollerskiing
8.  learn something new
9.  participate in some sort of athletic competition
10.  take grant and anna out on a date each month (separately)

Well, there it is.  In black and white.  Wish me luck!

she came, she saw, she conquered

My mom rocks.  She recently took a week off work and scooted over to The Dalles to spend the time not relaxing, but being at my beck and call.  And I was a task master!  When she got here she was handed "the list" and we spent the next 4 days checking it off.  Here's the list...

make diapers
paint bedroom furniture
work on 72 hour kit
pick blueberries
make vinegar
wash/vacuum car
set up crib
plant garden
mending
cut anna's hair
scrub tub/toilet
pick blackberries

We did it all - except make the diapers but we did get the pattern transferred to poster board and traced/cut out from the fabric I had.  It was an intense several days, I was totally exhausted by the end but we got so much done and I feel so much more prepared for the baby.  The big loose ends are tied up and I have some time to work on other projects that aren't so pressing or difficult for me to do.

We also had a really fun time!  Here are some pictures highlighting the fun and games...

the vinegar - i'm selling it at our farmers' market.  this was the first batch - raspberry and blackberry basil.  it was a hit, all 10 bottles sold!

blueberry picking!  grant was dubbed the "big blueberry king" because of his ability to find ENORMOUS berries.

the haul...can you guess which were grant and anna's buckets?

we had lunch complete with bubble-gum ice cream after our picking party.

and some lifestyle shots...

and one more outing...

right before mom left we went to dallesport (across the river from the dalles) and drove through shreiner farms which is complete with zebras, camels and giraffes among other animals.  it's always a hit with the kids.  then we went to the dallesport airport for lunch.  we got to watch a couple aircraft take off and land.  it's actually really entertaining.  it's only small planes and the cafe is right by the runway so you have a great view.

We have since adjusted to life without Grandma but it was a rough re-entry into reality.  She'll be back when the bambino arrives - let's hope that's S-O-O-N!

I LOVE YOU, MOM!!!

#4

Spend a day in Portland with Kates - CHECK!

This was one of my carry-over goals from 2007.  Russell's job makes it difficult to do anything by myself for the months of June-December.  Around the first of May I realized that if I was going to be able to hang out with my sister in Portland, I was going to have to schedule it PRONTO.  After comparing schedules, Katherine and I set the date for May 23-24.  Earlier that week Katherine ended up coming over to The Dalles.  The same day, as it turned out, that Grant got a nasty stomach bug.  Both of us ended up getting it as well.  On the 22nd.  We were both puking and feeling like we'd been beaten with a baseball bat.  Katherine managed to get back to Portland that day for an interview - I still can't believe that she a) was able to drive to Portland and b) was able to make it through the interview without any signs that she was miserable.  We were both feeling quite a bit better by the next day so we decided to go ahead with our plans so we wouldn't have to wait until next year to hang out by ourselves.  I'm so glad we did! 

I rolled into Portland in time for dinner - Thai, my favorite.  We had chicken satay, fresh spring rolls, and super sticky steamed rice...divine.  We also both held it down so it was a winner on several levels.  The next morning after lazing around for a bit, we made our way to Powell's.  I was feeling good but Katherine was still a bit run-down so she grabbed a book and sat in the cafe reading while I browsed the most incredible bookstore I've ever been in.  I've been to Powells a few times but always with the kids.  Let me tell you, it's a different experience when you are a lone wolf.  It was incredible.  I blew through some cash by picking up the following titles:

Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff - a great detailed look at which muscle groups each pose benefits.
Food Politics by Marion Nestle - fascinating look into the political nature of the different foods we eat.  the perfect bedtime book because it's interesting but not a real page-turner.  i can't put a book down when i'm totally engrossed.
Blue Eggs, Yellow Tomatoes by Jeanne Kelley - excellent cookbook that we've tried several recipes from.  so far, they've all been delicious PLUS the cookbook is GORGEOUS - i love just flipping through it.
Hit by a Farm by Catherine Friend - not good bedtime reading.  this book is hilarious.  i stayed up way too late finishing it.

this was the food history SECTION!  the SECTION!  and look, other people!  i was literally shaking with the excitement of it all.

After Powell's we returned to Katherine's apartment (which is centrally located) to drop off the load (we had also stopped at an art supply store where I stocked up).  Lunch at a french bakery followed.  Ate outside in the warm shade.  Insert deep, satisfied sigh here.  Katherine had made a full recovery at this point so we set off to do some serious window shopping, interrupted at one point for a gelatto break.  Back to the apartment for some more lazing around and then it was time for some serious dinner thoughts.  We settled on Greek food (I can't tell you how exciting all this eating was for me) and had an awesome meal at a little restaurant just down the road.

big and little

It was an awesome weekend - I loved having my sister all to myself and not having to share her with anyone else, namely her niece and nephew.  We could actually start and finish a conversation in a sitting.  Amazing.

a night rainbow on the drive home.  the weather was NUTS!  a rainbow in the dark, torrential downpours, hail on the side of the road that looked like snow...and then totally clear right outside the dalles.

 

#16

I've been practicing yoga on and off for the last 10 years or so.  I started in college with a class in the Memorial Gym - in the stinky, padded wrestling room.  Ambiance (or lack of) aside, I fell in love.  Here was a practice that was very personal, as challenging as you want, and as exacting as you want.  All things that I totally dig.  So, whenever possible, I've been taking yoga classes.  When we were living on the farm in Boardman, that meant never.  When I was living in Burlington, Vermont, that meant three times a week.  I love the way I feel when I'm done practicing - totally grounded, calm, refreshed.  Every time.  My current instructor calls it Yozac - yoga Prozac.

So, close to a year ago, a friend of mine suggested I teach yoga at the fitness club here in The Dalles.  She knew they were looking for an instructor for a  beginning class and she thought I might like to do it.  I initially declined - practicing yoga and teaching it are two TOTALLY different things.  The more I thought about it, though, the more I thought it sounded like it might be fun.  So I told her I was interested, and within a week I had the job.  Um, yikes!  Then I found out I was pregnant.  Um, double yikes!  I took a weekend training course through a program called YogaFit - it's specifically designed for teaching yoga in a fitness-club setting, and then I was teaching Yoga 101!  It's been about 6 months now and I am really enjoying it.  I'm confident enough that I just wing my classes.  I don't go in with a plan - I just teach in the moment.  Surprisingly, I really like it that way.  I have awesome students that I really look forward to seeing each week AND because I am an instructor, I get a free membership AND free childcare AND a paycheck!  It's the perfect job right now.

Oh, regarding the #16 - teaching a pre-natal yoga class.  It's not officially a pre-natal class, but I'M pre-natal, so I think it counts.  :) 

Namaste!

"feeling connected to the earth, our energy is rising through our standing foot, up our strong spine, and releasing through the top of our head.  hips are open, arms reaching like branches.  we might be in a windstorm, maybe the day is calm.  it's okay either way."  yoga-talk by jenny.

and the cream of the yoga photo shoot crop.  katherine, you rocka.

30 things before i'm 31

After much contemplation, here is my list to be completed by my 31st birthday.   The first nine are roll-overs from last year...darn it!

1.  go on a backpacking trip with the kids
2.  finish Grandma Tutu's book
3.  go fishing
4.  spend a day in Portland with Kates
5.  learn how to make a DVD with our video clips
6.  do a 52 week art challenge
7.  play disc golf
8.  sit outside and sketch
9.  go for a bike ride with Russell
10.  make someone's day
11.  read the Book of Mormon three times
12.  study Isaiah
13.  learn how to make cheese
14.  participate in a service project
15.  go kayaking
16.  teach a pre-natal yoga class
17.  go to the Tulip Festival
18.  do something totally selfish
19.  do something totally selfless
20.  help with this year's farmers' market
21.  go to a concert
22.  memorize the practice hymn each month
23.  learn a new skill
24.  take the kids on a "field trip"
25.  get caught up on my recent scrapbooks
26.  have a theme party
27.  write a rough rough draft for my book
28.  try all the restaurants in The Dalles
29.  have a pajama day with with the kids
30.  visit a national park

the final days of 29 things before i'm 30

They were a little rushed.  I turned 30 on January 4th and managed to check off two more things in the final hours

#1 - enroll in a painting class - CHECK!
I signed up for an online class through www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com taught by Emily Falconbridge.  I've been reading her blog for quite awhile and she is a very inspiring person.  When she mentioned the class I quickly recognized an opportunity and signed up!  At this point I'm a week in to the class and L-O-V-I-N-G it.

a sample from my technique journal.

#17 - go to the temple - CHECK!
Always a wonderful experience.  A little embarrassing that it took me so long to cross it off.
#20 - try something new with my hair - CHECK!
I've actually been growing it out for a few months...It's okay.  I feel kind of boring, to be completely honest.  It's fun to be using clips and stuff but I think I like really short hair better.   I'll keep growing it out until it's the style I'm going for and then I'll probably chop it off.  Not before taking a picture though, so when people ask if I've always had short hair I can whip out some evidence of floppy hair.

So this is where the list stands...

Items completed: 18
Items not completed:
    open an etsy shop
    contact columbia gorge art center about creating a mom's art group
    plan a backpacking trip to complete in the spring
    go fishing
    spend a day in portland with k-dogg
    learn how to make a dvd with our video clips
    prep for the 52 week challenge next year
    play disc golf
    sit outside and sketch
    talk with grandma about her travel mementos
    go for a bike ride with russell

The unfinished list really bothers me.  So here's what I'm going to do - rollover the uncompleted items to a new list...30 things to do before I'm 31.  The new list is in production.  I will post it when it's complete.

#15, 18, 19, 22, 25, 27

I did some of these quite a while ago and am just now getting around to writing about them.

Write a letter to an old friend - CHECK!
    I wrote to my best friend from high school.  We've lost touch except for the yearly Christmas card and that makes me sad.  She and I were inseparable in high school.  I can't remember how it started but our theme song was "It Had to be You" by Harry Connick Jr.  We'd break into song at random times - like in between sets of laps when we were on the swim team.  I still find myself singing that song and thinking of Joy (aka Hot Mama Joy to the World).  My goodness I miss that girl.  Anyway, I hope I hear back.

Enroll in a dance class - CHECK!
    Sad story with the dancing career.  I went to an adult Jazz class and LOVED it!  I took Jazz when I was in junior high and was way too insecure to really enjoy myself.  I've since come to the realization that people don't notice you (or care even if they do notice you) as much as you think they do, so dancing is way more fun nowadays.  Anyway, after I went to my first class I realized that there was an institute class (like an adult bible study) at church on the same day at the same time.  When we were in Hermiston I missed the chance at Institute classes and have always regretted that.  I vowed if the chance came again, I would make every effort to attend (it's been FABULOUS, by the way - it was a good choice).  So, my dancing career was over before it really got a chance to start.  Hopefully the night of the dance class will change and I will be able to work on my sweet moves again.  And leg-warmers!  I really wanted some killer leg-warmers!

Let the kids dictate the events of a day (as long as it includes a nap) - CHECK!
    This was harder than I thought it would be.  I tried doing it a couple times and realized that they are just too young to understand the thrill of being able to decide what to do.  What I ended up doing was just agreeing to suggestions they would make.  Instead of being caught up in getting my to do list done, I was caught up in the things they wanted to do: play in the snow, read books, play games, watch a movie, color.  It was a really lovely day.  My biggest trial in parenthood at this time is putting my own schedule aside and just enjoying Grant and Anna's childhood.  This day was a good reminder of how fun my kids are - way more fun than the stuff I normally do.

Surprise Russell - CHECK!
    Got a babysitter the night I got back from Alaska.  We went to dinner and had a really excellent conversation as I decompressed from my trip.  Went shopping for Grant's birthday present.  It was a great evening and Russell was thrilled to have an evening alone after we'd been apart for 5 days.  So was I.

Try something I normally wouldn't - CHECK!
    Sang in a community Christmas concert last Sunday.  In a choir.  Not by myself.  Let's not get too crazy.  It was really fun and I actually got several compliments which were really surprising to me.  I've never been a confident singer - mainly because I'm not very good.  That has a lot to do with it, actually.

Don't use the computer for a week - CHECK!
    I'm a Cheater McCheat.  My week started the day I left for Alaska.  I did still find it difficult - I didn't realize how much I rely on using the computer for basic information.  For example, I needed to know how big my carry-on could be and it took me awhile to figure out how I could get that information without looking online.  I went back to the dark ages and picked up the phone.  It was AWFUL!...but I could quit using the computer at any time.  I just don't want to.  But I could do it.  I swear!

#2

Get a pedicure - CHECK!

I've got some hot looking toes at the moment.  I indulged in a fabulous pedicure, felt a little guilty in the beginning for spending money on an extravagance, but got over it as soon as she started massaging my feet.  It rocked. 

i love the polish color but i have to admit that i chose it for the name... "i'm not really a waitress"

i marred the polish by putting on socks a little early but it was the first snowman of the season!...totally worth it.

#16

Take a shelter dog for a walk - CHECK!

Grant and Anna were pretty excited about this one.  Anna stayed excited but once Grant saw that the dogs were real, live animals he became a bit more dubious about the adventure.

We walked a little Pomeranian that didn't have the best leash etiquette.  We were constantly unwrapping ourselves and trying not to trip.  Anna wanted to hold the leash as well which made things even more exciting.  All in all it was fun and I'm planning on doing it again.  I think this is my style of pet ownership at this point in my life - you just hang out with them for about an hour and then give them back. 

this pretty much captures how the walk went - it was a bit chaotic.

grant, not so interested in the dog, found this log and carried it around in a very loving manner.  I guess companionship comes in many different forms.

#7 & #13

run three miles - CHECK!
watch the sunrise - CHECK!

I've been running on Saturday mornings with a great woman who just recently moved here and lives a couple blocks away.  I told her about my 29 list and that I wanted run three miles and watch the sunrise during our next Saturday run.  She was totally game.  That morning turned out to be one of the best mornings of my life.  The weather was perfect - cold but not oppressively so.  We ran on a path along the river - the water was totally still and there was steam rising from it.  The run was great - we were both able to chat away (she can always talk but I usually can only muster one word answers).  We had a really touching conversation about life and loss that was just...tender.  When we finished our run the sun still hadn't risen (well, it had, but we hadn't seen it come over the hills yet) so we did some sun salutations (a series of yoga postures) and then watched as the sun made it's way over the hill.  What a lovely, lovely morning.  Thanks, Kerry for sharing it with me!