New Years Resolutions 2017

This year, I am trying the habit calendar from Free Period Press for my resolutions (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1824197793/habit-calendar-track-the-habits-that-make-you-a-sa)

The habit calendar breaks resolutions into daily, weekly and monthly boxes that can be checked as you go along, and comes with a category guide to think up ideas. I used the following categories to think up resolutions: Health, Connection, Organization, Finance, and Creativity.

Here are the resolutions, grouped by type:

Daily:

- Floss/Mouthwash (Health)

- Read 1 news story (Connection)

- ACTS prayer (Connection)

- Text someone hi (Connection)

Weekly:

- Save $10 towards vacation (Finance)

- Write a blog post (Connection)

- Vacuum whole House (Organization)

- Do a crossword puzzle (Creativity)

Monthly:

- Mop Kitchen/Clean Bathroom (Organization)

- Craft Completed (Creativity)

- Read non-fiction (Creativity)

- Write a Letter to someone (Connection)

Our Christmas Letter

Hi Friends -
I sent out Christmas cards to some of you, and some got this little letter. Since it was expensive to print two cards, not everyone got this letter - so here it is digitally. Enjoy :) - Emily

2016 New Year's Resolutions Recap

I know this is a little early, folks, but I had the time tonight to write it up so here it is - I'll still wait to post my new ones, mostly because I'm still thinking about them :)

1) Build my own computer
I did this! Ryan and I did it in June. Could not have done it without his help researching the parts. I'm very happy with it, and hope to build more and learn more about it as time goes along.

2) Cook 12 dishes from non-US countries
Here is what I made: 1) Bahn Mis 2)Russian Kulebyaka 3) Hungarian Kiffles 4) Swiss Rosti 5) English Pea Salad 6) Morroccan Shakshuka 7) Beouf Borgionon 8) Etagere Dagenueu 9) Eggplant Curry 10) Morroccan Chicken Peanut Stew 11) Pad Thai 12) Spaghetti Carbonara

I technically accomplished this one. It wasn't quite as adventurous by the end, but I DID get some new staples in my regular rotation of dinners, and I learned that the trick to good cooking is mixing and matching ingredients and spices. Many of the dishes had the same core pantry staples - it just depended on how I paired/spiced them to make them taste "international".

3) Reduce my running time to a 12 minute mile, sustained for 3 miles
Yes, I've done this one, a few times now. Still feels like a stretch, but I can do it without feeling like I'm dying. I also ran a 10K, and I am now able to go 20 on our exercise bike in 70 minutes. I set a lot of intermediary exercise goals, and while I'm still slow, I'm pleased that this has been a persistent thing over the past few years.

4) Read one non-fiction book every month (on average)
I added that bit in parenthesis because this was quite hard at the start of the year. And I mostly read fictionalized non-fiction (aka memoirs). But I enjoyed it and I did it and I can do better as I go. Here's the list: Fresh Off the Boat and Double Cup Love (both by Eddie Huang), Cinderella Ate My Daughter (Peggy Orenstein), Pretty Good Number One (Matthew Burton), Why Not Me? (Mindy Kaling), Mastering the Art of French Eating (Ann Mah), You're never weird on the internet - almost (Felicia Day), My Grape Year, My Grape Wedding, My Grape Escape and My Grape Village (Laura Bradbury, and I'm counting those as one because they were so fun and easy to read), A Zany Slice of Italy and A Zany Slice of Tuscany ( Ivanka De Felice), The Magnolia Story (Chip and Joanna Gaines), Wild (Cheryl Strayed) and Food: A Love Story (Jim Gaffigan, which I am technically still finishing). 


5) Grow My Own Veggies
Technically, I did this. I grew tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. They were little baby plants, but I was able to make Ryan an omelette with them, so I am pretty happy with that. 

6) Make a Project Linus Blanket (subtext - learn to knit)
I did this!! I was SO proud of myself and have knit a few other things this year, including a baby hat for my cousin's newborn, a scarf for Ryan, and a kindle case for myself. 

7) Learn about car maintenance - specifically how to do my own oil changes
8) Listen to more podcasts while running
9) Make pasta from scratch
I didn't do these three. But the director of APL says that you shouldn't be able to attain all your goals - it means you weren't reaching far enough to begin with. SO, let's go with that and reach farther next year! =)