When I Most Needed to Retreat

I started posts and I've erased posts, again and again, trying in vain to make words flow so that I can keep up with my goal of blogging regularly-ish. It's number 25 on my birthday bucket list. I thought I created an easy goal, only needing to check in here every other week. Turns out I was wrong though, because when one doesn't have anything to say, trying to come up with something to say is difficult. And most likely the perfect recipe for a very boring post.

Hang on, this one is going to be a rambler.

I basically forgot about the blog and the list, both of those trampled on by more urgent things calling for my attention: My toddlers (Plural? How is it possible that I already have two toddlers?), the grass that has been growing under my feet (literally), weekend escapades -- one to PA to visit my sister, another to a town 15 minutes from Niagara Falls to spend some time with one of my dearest friends, and everything else that the start of spring brings with it. I am convinced that days in the spring and summer months are only half as long as days in the winter, but with double the amount of tasks to accomplish.

We've been spending hours and hours out-of-doors, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

I'm choosing to cross Number 14. Take a Personal Retreat off the list. I didn't completely get away by myself, but I did manage to spend some time away with just one child, and honestly, it was a piece of cake in comparison to having two trailing me. (Although, it's most times the other way around. I am the one desperately trying to keep up.)

Years ago, in what may very well be the smallest town in southern Indiana, I met a Canadian. She was intimidating to me. She was smart and beautiful and organized and fun to be around and popular and knew how to write good term papers and could read music and spike a volley ball like nobodies business. Way out of my league. 

But seven years later, and here we are, still very good friends. 

Anyhow, not too long ago, she text me a link to a deal she found on Groupon. It was to a hotel and spa in Lewiston, New York, a town about 15 minutes from Niagara Falls, and almost the exact half way point for us to meet. 

We've been meeting in the quaint town, for I think, almost six years, every time dreaming about someday staying there. 

And it finally happened.

We were just there for one night, but it was wonderful! And I came back home feeling so refreshed. It was just what my heart needed it couldn't have been more perfectly timed. 

The rest of the week was a bit of a whirlwind, our dog wasn't feeling well, so I took her in to the vet. Lymes disease is rampant this year, and after explaining how she has been acting, they immediately tested her. It was positive. Thankfully we did catch this early enough, but goodness, I wasn't exactly relieved to hear the diagnosis. (If you've been a longtime reader, you might remember we lost a dog to Lymes several years ago.)  

I also pruned my neighbors vineyard and readying it for spring, mowed the yard maybe twice, planted a few flowers, hosted guests for the weekend, and 25 people for dinner Saturday night. (Don't be too amazed, I married a man who surely can man a grill. He did most of the work.) 

Herm and a team of six other friends, ran the Seneca 7 on Sunday. They were speedy this year, finishing 7th overall... that is 7 out of 380 teams. I was highly impressed. (Also, if you are a longtime reader, you probably recall that I use to run on that team. Last year, however, I was very pregnant, barely able to even manage a waddle... Last year was the year they placed 3rd. Without me. I'm expecting to never be invited to run with them again.)

Today was mountains of laundry, and lots of cleaning, and hours of cuddling a restless child. Today was tornado warnings and heavy rain and beautiful skies.

And before it turns into tomorrow, I'm going to call it a night.

Thanks for listening as I rambled.

The Wisdom of Removing Teeth

The other week I did the most adult-like thing I can think of; I called the dentist to schedule an appointment to figure out what needs to happen with my wisdom teeth.

They've been working their way up through the gums for years, going in spurts. It's been in the back of my mind for so long, but the thought of how much it could possibly cost to extract them kept me from doing anything.

I'm twenty-five years old and I'm teething, grumpy and fussy, with my ten month old. Grace upon grace, baby girl. I know what you're going through!

Herm kept telling me I have to do something about them. You've got too nice of teeth, he said, to have them crowded out because you didn't take care of this problem.

So, I did what I do when I need to do something I really don't want to actually do: I made myself accountable to everyone who reads this blog. :) Yup, it's 24 on my list of 25 things.

I can't remember the last time I was at the dentist office, but I know it was between 7-9 years ago!

I used to go regularly, back when my parents covered the cost (thanks mom and dad!), but every time I would go in they would tell me I did an awesome job caring for my teeth, then ask for payment... they accepted cash, checks, solid nuggets of gold or brand new vehicles, for that bit of encouraging news.

I moved out of country for a while, then came home, got married, and never went back. Dentists are darn expensive, and I was certainly broke.

Walking into that dentist office the other week was a bit nerve racking, if I'm truly honest. I won't have cavities, I told myself. I won't need every tooth in my mouth yanked, I won't, just the wisdom teeth!

They took a few x-rays to check if my wisdom teeth could be removed in-office, cleaned my teeth, told me I had nice coloring and beautiful enamel (thank you My Magic Mud! More on that in a moment), and that whatever I was doing, to just keep doing it.

We've got plans of removing only two of the wisdom teeth. And yes, it can be done in-office and will cost much, much less than I had imagined. Whew, I can cross that off the list!

When asked if I would like to schedule another cleaning six months from now, I laughed and said, No, let's go for another nine years, I don't like paying someone regularly to tell me to keep doing what I've been doing. (Okay, so  I didn't say that. But I really don't like paying for someone to tell me I know how to brush. I'm pushing the next cleaning out at least another year.)

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Okay, now that we've got wisdom teeth out of the way, let's get talk about My Magic Mud.

I love a nice, bright smile. It's one of the first things I notice on someone else, and something I try hard to maintain myself.

But, after using Crest Whitening strips for a while, I noticed my teeth were becoming really sensitive. Researching it a bit, I realized the strips really aren't good for your teeth at all. The strips weaken enamel, which causes sensitivity. If used too often it can even cause severe damage.

 I stopped using them, and instead tried brushing with baking soda every now and then, and consuming less coffee or red wine. (But what fun is that?!) Those methods worked, sort of.

Recently though, I heard about My Magic Mud. They have both tooth paste and tooth powder made from completely natural ingredients, like activated charcoal, coconut oil, and bentonite clay. The products promise to both whiten and strengthen your teeth.

I contacted the company and they generously sent me a set to try out. Thank you!

It's been just a few weeks since I started using it, and I already notice a difference in how clean my teeth feel and how bright they are looking. My dentist commented on that beautiful enamel and good coloring, and I'm guessing this might be playing into that.

The tooth paste doesn't have glycerin in it, so it's not thick and foamy like most pastes. If you're able to get use to that, I think you might really like it. Your teeth will look crazy while brushing, because everything turns black. But no worries, it'll all be white again, once you rinse.

The powder is a bit stronger than the paste, and extremely messy. Be careful when you use it! It works well though, and so far I've been really happy with the results. It doesn't work as fast a Crest Whitening Strips did, but it's a more natural approach that doesn't hurt my teeth or make them sensitive.

Overall, I've been really happy with this product and will be buying more when my stash runs out!

You can buy My Magic Mud Paste and My Magic Mud Powder on Amazon or directly from the company.

Also, in my research about oral health and remineralizing and whitening teeth naturally, I came across this article. I found it really interesting, and though perhaps you would too.

All of this because I thought to add removing my wisdom teeth to that birthday bucket list. You're welcome. :)
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Disclosure: My Magic Mud sent me products to try out and review but the opinions I shared are completely my own. If you purchase the products through this blog post, I will make a small commission on them, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for helping support my blog! <3

Don't Let Kind Words Go Unsaid

I don't do it often enough, verbalizing why I admire someone, letting them know how they encourage or inspire or brighten my life.

I think about it. I know what I like about each of my closest friends, I even tell others what I see and like in those people. So why then, do I not tell them, to their face?

After my friend Ev, cousin Cheryl, and acquaintance Sara, passed away, will within a year and a half time span, I realized that too often in life we save those kind, uplifting words for funerals. Not intentionally, we just don't think about how fragile life is, we think we have time to say those things... we save it for a birthday card we will write 11 months from now, or for a wedding toast.

It can feel awkward to say I love you for no reason in particular, maybe especially so if you were raised in a stoic German culture, like I, that doesn't openly show emotion. Letting someone know you really like character qualities you see in them isn't something that simply comes up on every day conversation.

But why not?

I'm tired of funerals, honestly.

I want to start those sharing sweet sentiments with the person I am talking about, not just for the rest of the world to hear after that person is already gone.

Enter, the handwritten note.

It's one the list: 10. Write a Handwritten Note to Someone I Greatly Admire.

I did this the last time I had a birthday bucket list as well, and knew it was something I should be doing more often in life. This time around I decided to write notes to several friends, not just one. I chose women who push me outside of my comfort zone, women who inspire me to love my family more, to read more, to think outside the box. Their influence on my life is strong, They are all very different from one another, and in completely different stages of life than what I'm currently in. That's what I like so much about having them as friends.

This year I'm going to be writing more note cards because life is too short to let kind words go unsaid.

What Chocolate Cake Taught Me About My Addiction to Instagram

Babe, I need a slice of chocolate cake! Herm and I were curled up together on the couch, and I was sharing what was most heavy on my heart... A moist, rich, decadent slice. Just one. It's all I've been thinking about for the last two weeks.

Herm looked at me, astonished, as if I had suddenly sprouted a second head. 

You are craving chocolate cake? He shook his head, a little dumbfound.  I've been with you for 4.5 years of marriage and two pregnancies, and I have never before heard you mention a craving for something, especially chocolate cake. Wait, are you telling me you're pregnant?!

It's the curse of being woman. We come down with the flu, or mention something slightly out of the ordinary, and suddenly everyone starts guessing the gender and suggesting names. 

I'm not pregnant, I just want cake!

Stating that out loud made the longing even more intense. I searched Pinterest for the quick fix, cake in a mug. Three minutes in the microwave and voila! 

Only, it wasn't voila! In an attempt to make the cake sort of healthy, I used things like almond flour and maple syrup and black cocoa powder. Of course, like always, I just poured the ingredients together, not measuring. The timer beeped. Excitedly I topped that mug with a bit of homemade whipped cream, dove my spoon into the gooey depths, and tasted. It was not moist, rich, or decadent, but rather, bland, dry, and very disgusting microwaved gloop. 

Somehow though, as I scraped all the contents from the mug into the garbage bucket, my longing for chocolate cake was semi-satisfied. Life moved on.

You're probably wondering by now where this story is going. How did chocolate cake that I didn't actually get to eat teach me anything about Instagram addictions?

It made to pause and ponder.

Do you remember the list? Yeah, that one, where I posted 25 things I aim to accomplish before I turn 26. It's here on the blog for the whole world to keep me accountable. 

The very first thing is: 1. Take a Sabbath from social media one day per week for the next three months.

In general I'm a goal-oriented, easily disciplined person. I set my mind to it and it's as good as done. I understand that eating chocolate cake or other sugary foodies isn't going to help with fitness goals, so it's only a treat, and a very rare one at that.  I don't watch shows or subscribe to Netflix because any free time I have I would prefer to spend doing things more meaningful to me. I get that the daily, early morning practices of making the bed, of eating a healthy breakfast, of spending time in the Word, and of working out, can set the tone of my entire day. And so I do all of those things almost every day.

I already had a few personal rules in place around social media / phone usage, and I guess I thought they were enough: When with friends, out to dinner with my family, or in other social settings, mindless scrolling was an absolute negative. It drives me crazy when other people do this, as if to say, hanging out with you is boring, I'd rather be with my Insta-friends. I saved the mindless scrolling for when I was home with my family. The people most important to me in the whole wide world! I was, in a way, saying, I'm choosing be with my Insta-friends, I find you rather boring.

If I am a disciplined person, why then has it taken me this long to realize that limited my social media consumption, just like I limit chocolate cake, might be a really, really good thing?

Truthfully, I already knew that. But sometimes, when I don't speak my goals out loud, I don't hold myself to them.

Taking one day every week to unplug from social media has been the most refreshing thing I've done in a while. It's showed me that I really don't miss it too much when I'm not there, face lit by the glow of a screen, but I certainly miss a whole lot when I'm constantly there, lost in the phones addicting glow.  It showed me that the more time I force myself to I say no to my phone and yes to more family, the more I actually want to say no to that silly phone. 

I completed that three month goal, but I don't plan to stop that habit of unplugging one day each week. In fact, I'm planning to build upon that. No longer do I charge my phone in my bedroom at night. It's out on the counter, out of sight, out of mind. I've been setting it aside in the morning too, until after 9 am. It gives me three uninterrupted hours to have coffee, read my Bible, make a healthy breakfast for the kids and I, do a workout, plan my day, and start the wash, or ever else I may be focusing on. 

Evenings aren't getting a free pass either; I'm going to be more careful of my time, more intentional to just sit in the quiet, letting myself be bored. I don't need to scroll through Instagram to pass time.

All of this from a craving for chocolate cake?! I would say this lesson I've learned has completely been worth the calories from the most moist, rich, decadent slice of cake one could find. 


Tell me friends, where could I get a slice that would pass the bill? I want a slice that will stick to my thighs, one that will take a week of Ab workouts to burn off! Microwave-able, healthy ingredient, mug options are not options.

Now to get lost in the glow that is social media, to find a recipe on Pinterest.... surely I jest.

Currently

Reading: The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones.

I don't know what you think about most kids storybook Bibles, but honestly, a lot of them feel dry and dull and shallow, if you ask me. I get bored reading them, which might also translate into my kid's attention not being captured. (Then again, maybe not. Have you ever been begged to read and reread the Dick and Jane books?)

I want my children to grow up knowing truth from the Bible. I don't want it to be watered down. I don't want gory details to be left out completely. I don't want the Veggie Tales version to be the only version they know.

I read to them directly from the scriptures and Carson and I are also working on memorizing certain passages. But sometimes, just like their Momma, it takes a story version to make something stick to memory.

Recently I heard about The Jesus Storybook Bible, and after seeing it in person, Herm and I decided we would gift it to Carson for Christmas. It's got beautiful, whimsical illustrations. Each story has details that a lot of other storybook versions I've read left out and it's got a bit of humor in it too, which I love. Every story always points to Christ, the center of God's wonderful, redemptive plan.

Carson absolutely loves this book, and asks for Herm or myself to read a story, or five, to him every night before bed. Since Christmas he's been talking about Noah and the ark, about Jonah being swallowed by a fish, about a giant named Goliath... These stories, and even the scripture passages we are working on memorizing, are becoming real to him because of this book.

I highly recommend this book. Every family with young kids should have a copy.


Loving: The slower, more relaxed weeks right after the Holidays.

It's rather ironic, because truly, my life is not busy. I'm home most days with my kids. Our week nights are spent together as a family, with the exception of Wednesday night, when we are with our Care Group from church. Weekends we often host friends or sometimes travel. I'm always doing something -- never bored or lacking projects, often even wishing for a few more hours in each day, but schedules and agendas aren't a huge part of life for us.

Over the Holidays however, there is a pressure I feel, mostly self-inflicted, from the events and gatherings and festivities and traveling. From Thanksgiving through New Years, every year, life feels intense, and if I'm not careful to keep myself in check, stress becomes a part of activities that should be joy-filled.

But Christmas is over and January, with the cold and snow and long days at home, has seemed to relax all of us again. I've been realizing lately that there is a pressure I put on myself all the time, where I measure my worth by how much I am able to accomplish in each day. Having two young kids can change things, and subconsciously I was putting pressure on them too. It resulted in bad attitudes all around, mine being the worst.

I'm being more intentional this month, to stop what I'm so often focused on --the daily tasks, of laundry and cleaning and cooking, that no matter how many times I do them, they'll never truly be done-- and spend more time playing or reading or going on coffee dates or library outing with my kids. We're only a few weeks in, but so far it's been good. For all of us.


Dreaming: Of a few upcoming trips we have for 2017. Tickets aren't booked yet, and I know time has a way of changing things, but at this point it looks like I'll be able to cross number eighteen, Visit a New Country, off the 25 Before 26 birthday bucket list! (I hate excess usage of exclamation points. Doesn't that defeat the purpose? But in this case, I almost made an exception, thinking that one really isn't enough to convey the excitement I get whenever I'm boarding a plane bound for a brand new destination.)


Wishing: For this necklace from Noonday Collection. It's one of those statement pieces that I think would go with everything. A teal blouse, an olive sweater, stripes, neutrals, colors. Everything. And it's on sale!

At times I really miss those days of being an Ambassador for Noonday. It wasn't a mistake to leave, I know that. The timing of signing up, then becoming pregnant and having a baby wasn't great, so stepping away was a good choice. But still, the community of women I got to know, and the company as a whole... you couldn't get much better than that. I still love my Noonday.


Thinking About: What new dish I should try, in order to be able to cross number eight, Try a New Dish, off the list. Last time I made Jamaican Patties. They were quite tasty. This time though, I'm not sure what I want to try. Rules of the game: It's got to be something I never made  before with ingredients new to me. Any suggestions, foodie friends?


Listening To: Noel by Lauren Daigle. Christmas is long gone, but this song won't be going anywhere. It's powerful.


Watching: With fascination as Carson is discovering the world around him. We can't go anywhere without him asking me what certain road signs mean, or what letters and numbers are on receipts. He'll point out the recycle symbol on every cardboard box he can find, and he loves to let me know my name is actually Sarah. Today as we were driving he casually mentioned that this is the way we go to Pennsylvania when we're visiting cousins. And yes, it was a section of road we don't travel often... unless, we're going to Pennsylvania to visit cousins.

Trying: To master a headstand. (Yes, I'm really working on crossing things off that list I've mentioned far too many times in this post.) Today I got myself up to position successfully. I'm thankful, though, for that wall behind me, otherwise I would have tumbled completely over. Balance isn't quite what it should be yet. Also, my neck is rather sore. Most likely that, too, is a sign I'm not doing something right. Perseverance. And a massage. Both are things I need to keep going. 

What about you? I would love to hear about things that are currently going on in your life!

23. Reread a book by Janette Oke

I'm slowly but surely working on that birthday bucket list. It seems, though, that everything I am working on are things that cannot be wrapped up in a day.

For instance, I'm fasting from social media every Sunday for three months. I'm over half way finished with that goal already, but really, until it is accomplished there is nothing more I can say about it.... well, except to make a public confession: I completely forgot about the fast on Christmas Day, which happened to fall on Sunday. Which also happened to be a day we were traveling from Pa where we spent time with family, back home to NY. I may have used Instagram to pass time while in the back seat of our truck, stuck in between two car seats, one which held a little boy who kept asking I tell him another George story. George use to be my pet name for Carson -- because, like Curious George, he is a good like Tyke, but always very curious -- until one day he told me his name is Carson, not George and asked I never call him George again. So now I just tell him stories about a boy named George, who, ironically, does everything Carson does. Carson LOVES these silly stories, and sometimes it about drives me crazy, repeating them over and over again.

I'm kind of bunny-trailing. Back to the social media fast. Monday morning as the sun was rising it dawned on me that the day before was Sunday. Yeah. Oops. I suppose I should be making up for that mistake by skipping Instagram for an entire week day.

Then there is Bible memorization with Carson, which is a slow go. He's got Psalm 23 down pat, but in the shrillest, squeakiest voice, the sort that grates on every mom's nerves. We haven't started on the Christmas story from Luke 2 or even the Lord's Prayer yet. We need some WD40 for that voice first.

 Mastering a headstand? I'm still rather shaky at it. And there so many other things that I didn't even start thinking about.

Over the weekend, though, I did accomplish something I can finally cross off. If I'm not crossing at least something off every now and then, I feel like I might lose momentum.

I re-read the Love Comes Softly book by Janette Oke.

I use to hate reading. Despised it. Until, one day, when I was perhaps twelve or thirteen, my mom introduced me to the Love Comes Softly series.

I remember those stories came alive to me, and after that I could barely put books down, often reading well past midnight, even on week nights, simply because I had to know what would happen to the characters who suddenly felt like real-life friends.

Revisiting the first book in that series was rather fun.

It was a bit juvenile, there is no doubt about that. And twelve years later, the characters no longer felt like real-life friends. They talked in a country slang that rather annoyed me, and coffee was mentioned so often I almost mistook them for hipsters instead of Pioneers on the prairie lands of the Midwest. Nonetheless, I still truly enjoyed the book, but not for the story line as much as for the memory of myself as a young girl, one who thoroughly hated reading... or so I thought -- until my mom handed my the first book of the series, which opened my eyes to a whole world to be discovered, nestled in the shelves of our quiet small town library in the form of "boring" books.

Now, years later, I am constantly reading. I often try to read books that I know will challenge me to grow stronger mentally or spiritually or even physically. Or books written by people who hold different beliefs than I so I can learn about others cultures and values. Or books on how to write well or inspire creativity. Even books about a little monkey named Curious George.

Janette Oke is no longer my favorite author, but there was a sort of magic in her work. Magic which made a young girl fall in love with words. And because of that, it was completely worth revisiting the title which turned me into the avid reader and kind of, sort of, writer I am today...

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." -Dr. Suess

16. Read a Classic by Jane Austen

I've never given them much of a chance. In my mind books by Jane Austen seemed frivolous and dull and overly feminine, completely not my style. But, as has been the case for a lot of things I had completely written off before actually trying it -- it truly wasn't that bad.

I don't know exactly what made me add reading a classic by her to my 25 Before 26 list. Perhaps it was because several people who I greatly admire recently had been talking about her work, or maybe it was because I knew it would be a challenge for me, something that I needed to overcome. I love reading, but I really haven't delved into many classics, so why not start?

I picked up Pride and Prejudice, a large print, well worn copy, from my library to take along on a weekend trip we were taking to the mountains. My husband's family owns a cabin in rural Pennsylvania. Every year, right after Thanksgiving, we make the trip down there for the opening week of buck season. While Herm and the rest of the guys spend most of their time out in the woods, the ladies and kids stay back at the cabin. Carson and Brooklyn were both very entertained by their cousins, and I got to spend hours curled up near the wood stove, attempting to follow along to a book that was written in Old English, while lots of noise and chaos and conversations were happening around me. 

I didn't hate the book but neither did I love it. 

I've seen snippets of the movie, so I felt like I knew the general story line. And it was sort of what I figured it would be -- prim and proper and a bit stuffy. But there was something about the story, even though it was written in Old English, which is rather difficult to understand, that made me want to keep on going, to know what else would happen. And, before the week was up, I had completely finished the novel.

I might borrow the movie now, to see if that would make me appreciate the book a bit more. 

I'm glad I did read it, but at this point, I don't think I'll be laboring over the rest of Austen's work.

To give you an idea what old English is like, watch this version of a classic children's story.

What about you: Do you enjoy a good classic? What's your favorite title?

Twenty-five Before Twenty-six

Photo by LYNDSI Photography

I've had well over a year to think about this, and I did, somewhat.

But of course, I leave it to the last minute, two nights before my birthday, to sit down and hash it out, deciding what will make it on the list.

You might remember, back when I was a young thing, barely twenty-three, I came up with a list of twenty-three things I wanted to accomplish before I turned twenty-four. As the year progressed, I worked my way through the list, blogging about each item as it was crossed off. I didn't have a 100% success rate, but I did complete most of those items. That year stands out, prominent, in my mind, as fun and rewarding and fulfilling.

So here I am, back at it again, working on perfecting "The List".


Like last time, I want this to be a set of realistic goals, some fun and free, while others challenging, seeming a bit more like work.   And also, like last time, as I accomplish each of these goals, I'll be blogging about it.


1. Take a Sabbath from social media one day per week for the next three months
I love social media, but I do spend too much time on it. I'm going to use Sunday as my day off from it, not opening or scrolling through any accounts from 6 am - 9 pm. My goal is to be present with my family, or truly resting during that time. (Ultimately, I want to do this for an entire year, but I'm starting out small.)

2. Participate in a group workout with an instructor
This was on my 23 before 24 list, and sadly, I didn't complete it. We're giving it a try again. I'm thinking Crossfit and maybe a class of Barre too, if I'm up for it.

3. Write more love notes
A good marriage doesn't just happen. I want to be more intentional in telling Herm how and why I love and admire him.

4. Memorize three passages of scripture with Carson
We're almost through our first, Psalms 23. The two I plan to add are The Beatitudes from Matthew 5 and the Christmas Story from Luke 2.

5. Attend a writers workshop
Because my dream of being a published author will never happen if I don't make it happen.

6. Set up and follow through with a zero based budget
Hello Dave Ramsey, I'm coming to you!

7. Take dance lessons
So as not to look so Mennonite on the dance floor of every wedding reception we attend.

8. Try a new dish
Maybe with my foodie friends, or maybe just for us. It's got to be something I've never made with ingredients that are new to me.

9. Take the kids to the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester 

10. Write a handwritten note to someone I greatly admire
Maybe include a good bar of chocolate + locally roasted coffee.

11. Sew an outfit for Brooklyn
Top, bloomers, and a headband. And if I'm feeling super ambitious, make something to match for myself. Well, not the bloomers.

12. Teach Carson to swim
Either in group classes or by myself. This is something I want him to know soon.

13. Hand copy the book of Proverbs into a notebook *

14. Take a personal retreat
I deeply love my family, but it's always good to get away for a bit, so I can be refreshed to love them well all over again.

15. Teach Carson the entire alphabet
He's got a good grasp of this already, but I want him to recognize upper and lower case letters and be able to write them out.

16. Read a classic by Jane Austen
I never gave these a chance. Maybe it's time.

17. Channel my inner yogi by mastering a headstand

18. Visit a new country *
Two years ago I included this as well, thinking it wouldn't happen, but it did! I'm adding it again because I have a passport and am always eager to travel.

19. Visit another National Park

20. Become friends with someone different than I *
In age, nationality, and/or religion

21. Learn how to make something new *
In other words, take crafting lessons from my sister or learn floral arrangements from my sister-in-law.

22. Interview and write about my Grandparents' lives

23. Re-read a book by Janette Oke
It was her Love Comes Softly series that made me fall in love with what I thought of as a chore, reading.

24. Do something about those wisdom teeth

25. Blog regularly
At the least once every other week


*subject to change because they were all on the other list