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MYOF Goals #41-50

#41- Go Camping.

I love to smell a campfire and eat s'mores.  I love the smell of the 

outdoors and the sounds of the birds as you wake up in the morning.

And what about bacon cooking on the Coleman stove?  I mean, what

is it about being outdoors that makes bacon smell so heavenly?

These are all the things that make me want to go camping.  I tend to forget 

however how hard it is to crawl out of that tent after sleeping (and I use that

term loosely) on the ground all night.  Camping gets harder as you get older.

But in my year of fifty, I went camping twice.  Once when I went backpacking

with Jantzen and then again when we had the Sturdivant family reunion.  I'm

glad I went and I'm glad I have time to forget how hard it is before I go again.

Because when summer rolls around, I just can't help myself.  I want to go camping.

# 42-Memorize 50 scriptures.

I've used the scripture memorization method that I described here to help
me achieve this goal.  This little black box sits in my bathroom and each
morning while I get ready for my day, I work on my current scripture
while reviewing a few I've already learned.

Some of my favorite scriptures that I now have committed to memory are:

Psalm 62:1-2

Ephesians 4:29

Mosiah 3:19

1 Timothy 4:12

Psalm 84:1-2

Psalm 139:23-24

1 John 1:9

Revelation 3:20

2 Nephi 4:15

2 Nephi 32:3

Helaman 5:12

Psalm 19:14

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Proverbs 31:10-15

Luke 2: 1-20

Articles of Faith 1 - 13

Five to ten minutes in the morning is all it takes.  I love this method. It works!

#43- Expand my vegetable garden.

I planted asparagus,

cauliflower

acorn squash

potatoes,

and a lot of tomatoes.  I tripled the amount of garden space I had the

year before.  Lots more work...but lots more good food!

#44- Give 50 hours of service.

I didn't actually count the hours of service I rendered this past year.  The

purpose of this goal was to keep me focused on reaching out and serving

others.  I serve many hours in my church calling with these fine ladies.

This year I'd like to get more involved in my community.  There are so many

worthy causes, I just have to decide which one.

#45- Take a weekend trip with Kenzie.

Kenzie and I had a great "mother daughter" getaway.   We decided to spend

our money close to home, so we didn't go very far, but boy did we have fun.

We ate lots of wonderful food.  We started out with sushi.

We had french cuisine for dinner. Yummmm!

We indulged ourselves in a day at the spa. Massages, mineral pools and 

saunas.  My new favorite thing- iced peppermint scented wash cloths.  I

could make these at home, right?

I really didn't want to leave this beautiful place.

But we had other things to do... like more eating.

This time we had Mediterranean food at Jerusalem Garden.

I love that my daughter is so adventurous when it comes to food.  You

think she got that from me?

We had a lovely hotel room.  This was the view from our window.

We shopped.  Oh, yes. I've found a local store to buy Ahava products.  I

discovered these in Israel and love them!

And I finally found a new jean jacket to replace the one I left in Egypt.

I liked my other one better, but this will have to do.

Kenzie treated herself to a mockingjay pin.  If you've seen Hunger

Games, you'll know all about this popular item. 

Shopping makes you hungry, so we had ice cream and chocolates.

No picture of the chocolate, but you can use your imagination.  I took

Kenzie to the Chocolate Lounge, her first visit, but surely not her last.

The ice cream was banana pudding and Kenzie had avocado and mixed 

berry. Like I said, that girl has an adventurous palate.  

Two days of all this good food and hedonistic activity was all we could

handle...but we're already thinking about next year!  It's sad when you're

little girl is no longer a little girl, but it's also fun to enjoy her as an adult.

I hope this "mother- daughter getaway" can become a new tradition.

#46- Read National Geographic 

         magazine each month.

I love National Geographic magazine and each year I take part of my 

Christmas money from my Dad and resubscribe.  I think that would make

him happy, because he loves to travel as much as I do.  I set this goal to 

actually read the magazines, rather than just flipping through looking at

the pictures.  The articles are usually long and that can take some time.

I wish I could say I had accomplished this goal, but unfortunately I still

mostly looked at pictures.  I did read some of the articles, but darn there's

just not enough hours in the day to do all the things I want to do!  I'm

still going to subscribe though, because just "looking" at the world around

you can be enlightening.

# 47-Play tennis.

I didn't play tennis once all year.  Bummer.

I'll try again this year.  If you're very patient ('cause I'm not very good) 

and would like to hit some balls around on the court, give me a call.

#48- Learn to sing alto.

This didn't happen either.  Like I said, not enough hours in the day.

#49- Have 50 romantic interludes with

                 my husband.

 After thirty years of marriage and twenty five years of raising a family,

we find ourselves rediscovering our love for one another.  It takes consistent

effort to make your marriage a priority and to work through all the ups

and downs that are a part of life.  I set this goal to help me remember that

after my relationship with God, this man is more important to me than 

anyone else.  I want him to know that, by my actions day in and day out.

So did we have 50 romantic interludes?  At least that many!!!

#50- Ride my bike.

Riding a bike isn't the easiest thing to do when you live on top of a

mountain, especially if your a bit of a wimp like I am when it comes

to riding up hills.  I love to ride my bike...on flat land.  This year I

enjoyed a nice ride with my dear friend Shannon in one of the most

beautiful places I've ever been - Mackinac Island.  You can read about

that day here.

Ok, so that's it.  My Year of Fifty project has come to an end, as has my

year of fifty.  What a great adventure it's been.  I've learned new things,

met new people, nurtured relationships with family and friends, pushed

myself to do hard things and have constantly been trying to prioritize and 

find balance in my life.  Having these goals before me have kept me focused 

on doing those things which are most important to me. It's also helped me 

realize what I want to spend more time on in the future.  My husband says,

"you need to pick your passions".  I have so many things I want to do, that

I don't always stick with one thing long enough to become accomplished 

at it.  I'm going to work on that in my year of fifty one.  One thing I've 

learned for sure is that growing older isn't something to dread.  Each 

season in life brings new opportunities and I'm loving this one.

This will be my last post on this blog.  I've enjoyed blogging and have loved

the comments from my readers.  I feel like we've gotten to know each other

better as we've shared this year together.  I have a new blog under

construction and hope to have it up and running in the next week.  I'd love 

to see you there.   Stay tuned.

*MYOF Goals #41-50

MYOF Goals #31-40

#31- Save $50 a week.
I'm always looking for ways to cut back on expenses.  Some of the things I've
done this year that have helped me achieve this goal are:
* Stop buying breakfast cereal.  It amazes me how much a box of
   cold cereal costs.  Now I make my own granola when I want to eat
   cereal.

When I'm in the mood for hot cereal, I have grits or oatmeal and

breakfast costs mere pennies.

*Grow my own fresh herbs.   I love to cook with fresh herbs, but now

  if I don't grow them, I don't eat them.  In the winter, I use the dried herbs

  that I put up in the fall.  A bundle of parsley or sage doesn't seem like a

  big expense, but week after week it adds up. The only exception to this

  rule is cilantro.  I've tried to grow it and it bolts so quickly that I end up

  frustrated with it, so I buy cilantro in the store.

* Make a pot of soup every week.  I love soup and it's one of the

   most economical meals around, especially when beans are involved.

   The first part of the week, I usually make a big pot of soup and we 

   have it for dinner.  Then I eat it for lunches and put some in the freezer.

   I have collected an excellent collection of soup recipes over the years.

   This is a tomato florentine...so good.

*Eat food in season and stock up when I can get it.    When you

  eat local food, grown in season, it tastes better and it's less expensive.

  I eat strawberries, asparagus and rhubarb in April and May.   Blackberries

  and raspberries in the summer months, along with melons and peaches.

  Apples and pears in the fall and citrus in the winter.  I can and freeze the

  fruit and then we can have a cobbler or smoothie in the winter months,

  but once it's gone, it's gone and I'm not even tempted to buy strawberries

  in February.  It's a good way to eat and saves money on the grocery bill. 

 * Grow a garden.  Even though this is an investment, it pays off in
   the long run.  With bags of organic spring mix selling for $3-$4 each,
   I get excited when I can plant a packet of seeds for under $2 and grow
   enough lettuce for several households.

* Take free food when I can get it.  You can read about how I got
   all these free tomatoes and what I did with them here.

*Make my own laundry detergent.   This is a huge money
   saver.  You can read about how to do this here.

#32 -Practice piano 15 minutes a day.
This is one of the things I'm happy I've been able to stick with.
Truth be known, I don't practice every day.  In fact, I got pretty
lazy over the summer.  But I've kept at it and it surprises me how
just 15 or 20 minutes a day can make a difference.  I've improved
a lot since the first time I recorded myself in 2010.  Now I'm working
on learning simplified versions of the primary songs and that's what
I've really been wanting to learn all along.

I think I've improved, don't you?

#33- Take a vacation with Mark.
Don't even get me started on this one.  If nothing else this goal
has taught me that it's probably not a good idea to set goals for
yourself that involve another person's agency.
#34- Start beekeeping.
We started with a couple of hives.

I learned some things...mostly what not to do.

The bees all died in the winter

and now we're trying again.  After some bee classes and lots of 

reading, I'm praying we will have better success this year.

#35- Keep a gratitude journal.

This is one of my favorite goals.  You can read about how I got

started here and a few of my posts about my journal here and here.

#36- Completely organize each room  

        in my house.

I did get some things organized, but I'm not sure it's really possible

to get every room organized, because by the time I get finished the 

first projects need to be done again.  I need a smaller house and less

stuff and maybe I could get a handle on this.  Some things do look a 

lot better around here though.  I got the book shelves organized,

my bathroom drawers cleaned and organized,

and this coat closet.

# 37- Write 50 letters of

          encouragement.

This might seem like a strange goal, but I have received some of 

the nicest notes from people and they always lift and encourage

me.  I wanted to do the same for others.  So this year my mailbox

philanthropy has included notes to family and friends, to children

I sponsor in India and Guatemala, to speakers who've given great

talks, to missionaries serving in the field, to primary leaders

throughout the stake, to children who are accomplishing good 

work at school and at church and just about anyone else who I

think might benefit from a kind and encouraging word.  It's really 

a small thing that can make a big difference.

#38- Attend four cultural events.

Here are some of my favorites.  The Durango Bluegrass 

Meltdown where I heard my boys play.

Young Ambassadors performance at UNCA.

Rootabaga Stories at Carl Sandburg House.

National Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati.

Hairspray at Flat Rock Playhouse.

#39- Make healthy bread.

It took me a while to get started on this one, but once I did, I stopped

buying bread in the store.  Now it's a habit to bake bread a couple of 

times a month.  Homemade bread is so much better than anything you 

can buy in the store, healthier and less expensive.  I guess I should have

included this one under #31 too.  I'm saving money by not buying bread.

#40- Try new restaurants in Asheville

      with Travis.

When I started this Travis was living in Asheville and it was a great way

to meet up with him and try some new restaurants at the same time. We 

kept our monthly lunch date until he moved back to Hendersonville.  

During that time I was introduced to some great restaurants.  It was tasty

and lots of fun.  We had Indian food at Mela,

Sushi here,

the best BBQ ever at 12 Bones and

this over the top delicious, chocolate cake at the Chocolate Lounge.

French Broad Chocolates has been my favorite new food discovery

this past year.  Whenever I want to buy chocolates for my husband for

a special occasion, I brave the traffic and parking problems in downtown

Asheville to get to French Broad to hand pick the best chocolates we've 

ever had.  And I've had some pretty good chocolate.  Just looking at this

picture is making me want chocolate so badly!!!  It's a good thing this

shop isn't just around the corner.  I would be tempted to go and get a slice

right now!!!

*MYOF Goals #31-40

MYOF Goals # 21-30

# 21 - Knit a scarf

I started knitting this scarf early in the year and decided I was bored with

it.  I wanted to do something different.  This is a basic garter stitch and I 

already knew how to do this.  I felt like I needed to build on my skills and

try something new.  I wanted a challenge.  That's when I decided to take a 

knitting class.

I enjoyed meeting these nice ladies and learned quite a bit.  I posted a

about my classes here.  The class project was a sampler scarf.  Each 

square would teach new stitches and patterns, so theoretically, by the

time you finished you would have learned a lot of new things.

Problem was, the classes didn't last long enough for me.  I'm slow.

After the classes were over, I would try to keep knitting, but whenever

I messed up (which was fairly often), I would get frustrated and just

put it away...for a month, or more.  I didn't know how to fix my mistakes.

Then I found a neighbor who knits and after a few visits to her house

I'm back on the scarf.  I was tempted to just scrap the whole thing and 

start something new, but she encouraged me to finish it.  She did make

me feel better when she told me I had chosen a difficult project for a 

beginner.  But with her help, I think I will finish it.  Isn't it a lovely color?

And it's so soft.  The first two blocks are garter stitch and stockinette.

Next square is a diamond brocade.  It's kind of hard to see the pattern

here.  And there are mistakes, so don't look too closely.

Double seed stitch is the next one.

 I'm finishing up Little Shell stitch now. This one's been really hard

and I'll be glad to get it finished.  I have four more blocks to go and this

project will be completed.  My neighbor has already given me patterns

for two other things to make which she assures me will be much easier. 

But we both agreed I had to finish this scarf first.

#22- Study the New Testament

 I studied the New Testament throughout the year.  I spent a lot of 

time in the gospels, using this commentary.  I also did an in depth

study of Ephesians and 1 John, which I loved.  The New Testament

stories really came alive when I traveled to the Holy Land.  I will

never read the scriptures the same way again.

#23 - Try 50 new recipes.

Finally a chance to try out some of the recipes I've had clipped and

stored away in my binders.  This was a tasty goal.

New Recipes

1- Pizza Dough and Sauce

2-Chocolate Cream Pie

3- Baked Tortellini with Bacon

4- Baked Ziti with Gorgonzola and Spinach

5- Balsamic Vinagrette

6- Broccoli and Bow Tie Pasta

7- Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

8- Hand held Cherry Pies

9- Black Bean Chili

10- Mexican Cornbread

11- Steel Cut Oats

12- Garden Vegetable Pasta Sauce

13- Ravioli

14- Easter Lemon Cake

15- Hot Cross Buns

16- Turkey Tetrazzini

17- Tomato Florentine Soup

18- Easy Creamed Spinach

19- Lemon Poppy Seed Vinagrette for Spinach Salad with Strawberries

20- Sweet and Sour Asian Wraps

21- Asparagus Soup

22- Asparagus Pasta

23- Balsamic Strawberries with Whipped Mascarpone

24- Sweet and Sour Cabbage

25- Peach Smoothie

26- Squash Casserole

27- Fettuccine with Peas, Asparagus and Pancetta

28-Tuscan pot roast

29-One Bowl Chocolate Cake

30-Pork Tenderloin in Slow Cooker

31-Sweet Sesame Chicken

32- Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

33- Spinach Frittata with Green Salad

34- Penne with Artichokes and Feta

35- Chocolate Pudding

36- Black Bean Cakes

37- Sweet and Sour Tuna

38-  Tomato Lentil Soup

39- Jeanne's Pita Bread

40- Red Velvet Cake

41- Broccoli Salad

42-Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

43-Chocolate Ice Cream Soda

44-Stove Top Lasagne

45-Orange Beef

46-Jessica's Salsa

47-Cindy's Molasses Cookies

48-Quinoa Breakfast Cereal

49-Guacomole Salad

50-Cowboy Cookies

#24- Attend the temple each month.

My trips to the temple help me start each month focused on things

that matter most.  Some months I went by myself, but more often I

had a friend or two go along with me.  We had lots of time to visit 

on our trips back and forth to Columbia. I've found that like most

things that are important, I have to work to make this one happen.

And here's my trick- put it on the calendar at the beginning of the

year.  I go the first Wednesday of each month.  If I start playing 

around with my date, it's too easy to let other things get in the way.

So far this has worked for me.

#25- Travel to Israel

What can I say?  This is one of the best travel experiences I have ever

had.  I loved everything about it. The sights, sounds, tastes and company

were all superb.  I learned so much and had incredible spiritual experiences

walking where Jesus walked.  Can't say enough good things about this one.

I blogged about it for 12 posts!!  You can start reading about it here.

#26- Improve my photography skills.

I think I have definitely improved, simply because I take so many

pictures now.  I try to capture life on camera.   I'm learning from 

experience what works and what doesn't.  I'm learning more about 

light and how to use it to my advantage.  But I still want to take a class

and really learn how to use my camera.  Maybe this year.

#27- Organize photos.

Oh man.  I need help. I have such a mess of pictures and I don't even

know where to start.  Have you ever had a project like that?  I mean, 

I just can't even make myself pull them out and get organized.  I really

have to do this though.  It's only going to get worse the longer I wait. 

With all the digital photos I take, I also need to figure out what to do

with the ones on my computer.  I have 16,000 pictures on my computer

right now and probably half that many in boxes in my basement. I'm

open to ideas from anyone on how to get a handle on my photos.

#28- Visit Dillon and Jantzen in

         Colorado.

This was a fun trip.  I got to see where my boys live and hear

them make music.

#29- Take stairs instead of elevators.

Sometimes I do, sometimes I forget.  It's a good goal though- 

a few extra steps in the day never hurt.

#30- Organize personal documents.

Ugh, no.  This one is right there with organizing my photos.  It's a little

overwhelming and doesn't fall into the "I'm just dying to do it" catagory.

But yes, I need to do it.  And yes, I will try to make it happen this year.

*MYOF Goals # 21-30