101 Things to Do Update--Part One

My 101 Things to do in 1001 Days countdown is well on its way. As I am writing this, I have a mere 775 days left. Yikes!! But I wanted to comment on many of the items, so I am updating in several pieces....

FAMILY
1. Walk together as a family for at least 10 minutes, 3 times a week

I tried this at first and the kids loved it. It was so much fun and was really to stop everything for a bit and go outside for a walk. Although I haven't done this regularly like I'd hoped (I put way too much, too fast....oh well, live and learn), I would like to revisit this.
2. Play outside together as a family at least 1 day per week

As a family? Not done it much at all....although I try to get my kids outside most days. Life today is so much different than life when I was a kid.
3. Have meal together with family at least once a week

Ok, for real? How hard SHOULD this be? But alas, we haven't done this much at all!
4. Plan family time together that includes physical activity, at least once every other month (swimming, longer walk, etc.)

This has not been deliberate....I think I need to take the list and put together a better plan. We have done a few things, but I do need to be more intentional
5. Go to Disneyworld with family

Life has a way of slowing things down financially. Hubs lost his job in April and has only been working part-time and we've dipped into savings...by the time we save up for a trip...the kids may not give a rip about Disneyworld. They are 12 and 14 right now and don't seem so disappointed about Disney being put off....
6. Have a family night every month

My family is great about occasionally doing things together, but we again haven't done it intentionally (at least not as part of mom's ginormous to-do list)....it is very possible that if I went backwards, I'd come close to having met this one "by accident"
7. Come up with a cooking plan, with meals that are diet/family/budget friendly

My "diet" has completely changed and still....I want to incorporate mine with with rest to have a good plan
8. Update will

Listening to Dave Ramsey the other day, I learned about a way to do this for only fifteen bucks! So, although we haven't done this JUST YET....it is close!
9. Have one on one “dates” with the kids again, him one month—her the next—then a family “date”

Gosh! I hate to admit that life and stuff have gotten in the way and we were better at this BEFORE me coming up with this BIG-O list! Gotta get this one on the calendar again!
10. Find a geocache

I just don't really know if this will become a hobby for my family....kinda hoped it would....we'll see....doing this is just a sample for us to try! We haven't done it yet, though!
11. Hide a geocache

See # 10
12. Paint ceramics with family

This cost MOO-Lah which we are short on at the moment....but I can foresee us doing this before the end of 2009
13. Do Wii Fit at least once a week

I haven't done this perfectly from the beginning but I have done it weekly to keep up with my weight if nothing else :) And, we have added another game/tool to the mix....and it was fun at first (sorta lost the momentum temporarily....at least I hope it was temporarily)
14. Do Wii Sports at least once a month

NOT! We haven't done this ONCE....not once I tell ya!!

So, as updating goes along....in pieces....I am going to take it a bitty bite at a time. I am going to take these 14 things and work on them for a week...so I'll update the rest later.

I am just working hard not to get frustrated at myself (and my inner perfectionist) and keep plugging along!

Crazy Eights!

Valley Girl tagged with with this little "game", so here it goes:

Eight things I am looking forward to:

1. Hubs getting a full-time job....woo is this one ever causing me some stress :-(
2. Picking my kids up from camp--it is always a blessing to hear how their week went!
3. Going to Hot Springs for a mini-vacation with the family!
4. Going to "real" (no more minis) vacations with the family, hopefully starting next summer!
5. Finishing my clinical hours in January 2010, so I can take the big ole test!
6. Taking AND passing the Licensed Clinical Social Worker exam in January or February 2010!
7. Starting my own private practice as a counselor!
8. Paying off our debt and calling Dave Ramsey's show to scream (this one won't be for a few years, but I AM looking forward to it!!!)

Eight things I did yesterday:

1. Went to the Holocaust Museum in Dallas
2. Cried (see #1)
3. Ate Mexican food with JUST the Hubby (kids are at camp)
4. Tipped fairly big at that Mexican food restaurant
5. Saw my kitty after being gone a couple days...and I snuggled with him
6. Watched a movie that I will likely never watch again....it was just so-so
7. Snuggled with the Hubster
8. Was generically lazy for most of the day (a day off work, we mostly traveled)

Eight things I wish I could do:

1. Shop at Whole Foods Market regularly--we found these while we were in the Dallas area....I LOVE THEM!! As it stands, our local health food stores are very limited (read: puny) and the closest Whole Foods is in the Dallas area (over 100 miles away)
2. Grow my own garden
3. Identify flowers and plants and birds
4. Do a push up or two
5. Jog or even run
6. Fix up the house (it needs so much)
7. Know where my husband will be working and when (did I mention the stress?)
8. Play piano or guitar

Eight shows I watch:

1. Obsessed (a new show on A&E....pretty good, although I am watching it from a mental health practitioner's point of view....not sure what the rest of the world thinks)
2. Monk (I think it only has one season left)
3. Secret Life of the American Teenager (there! I said it! I think this show is for teenagers, but it has sucked me in!)
4. The Office
5. That 70's Show
6. George Lopez (the re-runs are on Nick at Nite at 9 p.m. and it time to wind down)
7. The Muppet Show (been watching these from Netflix with the kids)
8. Friends

Jennifer Kennedy Dean and Scripture

It is time once again to share what passage of Scripture I am adding my memorization project. The Scripture I chose is from a Bible Study I am currently doing by Jennifer Kennedy Dean. A friend of mine did this study with the video series and loved it. She gave me the workbook and said I could do it on my own, with only the workbook. I have to say it is quite a study....it has given me so much to think about....and I have just started. Why DO we pray? Can we change God? If we can change God, is He sovereign? If we can't change God, why do we petition him in prayer? I don't have an answer....I am struggling with it....but I think I am supposed to....at least at this point in my life. The first week (which I am still in) we are reading this passage over several times, each time slowly going over it and emphasizing different words or phrases, listening for God to talk to us. Since I am reading over so much, I wanted to add it to my list of Scripture I am reading. Sure my motivation is partly that I already have it pretty much memorized, but too because it is becoming quite meaningful to me.

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:4-5, NIV.

The Weekend's Coming

Summer is always crazy busy, yet we look forward to it because it is a bit of a break from the hectic. What a cycle, huh? This weekend, we are doing some fun things. First...tomorrow (Saturday), my family is attending a ball game. The hubster is a HUGE fan of the Texas Rangers and we try to go to (at least) one live baseball game each year. And for the last 3 or so years, we have tried to go when our college has a mini-reunion they call "Meet Me at the Ballpark." It turns out to be a pretty good deal that includes dinner, a program, and a tour of the baseball museum (as that is where we all meet....they block it off just for us)....and it is always interesting to meet up with some old friends...and make some new ones (as it isn't directed at any one year but to all alumni...so a variety of ages come).

We are staying in a hotel that night so that the next day we can drive our kiddos to Abilene to drop them off at camp. They have each gone to this camp since the summer after 3rd grade. They also attended one or two years of the day camp while Hubs and I were group leaders. This

is a fabulous camp which we both, with our experience as group leaders, know that God does amazing work in the lives of the campers. They have 3 camps, one for 3rd-5th graders, one for 6th-8th graders, and one for high schoolers. And this year, they are both in the second group (which is called MPulse). It is really exciting to see them after their week...there is always a transformation and it gets better every year.

After dropping them off on Sunday, we head back to Dallas to stay again in our hotel. So on Monday, we can (as a couple) go to the holocaust museum. This is on my big to do list, but it is also something the hubby really wants to do. He is a history buff (and teacher) and while he has never pushed it to go to this museum....I just have "promised" I'd go with him for years and then seem to avoid it. After all, this is not something you really enjoy....at least I don't expect to. What I do expect is a feeling of heaviness and a quiet ride home.

All in all, it will be an action packed weekend. And it is always good for me to take time off work and get away. I did this last weekend to attend my nephew's graduation and the stress just left my body.

Psalm 66:10-12

And here's my next verse to memorize. I've definitely got some work to do. I need to do some catching up, but I'm still "in" this memorizing gig. So, here's my next verse:

For you, O God, tested us;

you refined us like silver.

You brought us into prison

and laid burdens on our backs.

You let men ride over our heads;

we went through fire and water,

but you brought us to a place of abundance.

Psalm 66: 10-12 in the New International Version.