MYOF Goals #11 - 20

Here's the next ten....
#11 - Learn how to make pasta.
I had a pasta party for my 50th birthday.  You can read about it here.

It was so much fun!!!

#12- Nurture relationships with 

         extended family.

When your family doesn't live close to you, and even when they do, 

it takes a real effort to continue to build relationships with each other.

Life is so busy and if we don't intentionally make it a priority to spend

time with our families, months can go by without seeing each other.

I didn't want that to happen.  So, I tried to take every opportunity

that presented itself and looking back over the year, I realize I didn't

do so badly.  But this is one of those goals that I plan to carry into my 

new year and I already have some ideas on how to improve.

Time spent in the temple with Mom and Dad Wray

Visits with my great niece, Abbie

Partying with my sisters

Visits with Dad and Yvonne

Family Reunion- Sturdivant Family

Family Reunion - Wray Family

Lots of great memories are made around tables.

Trip to Israel with Sherri

Making Gingerbread Houses

Christmas party

Having lunch with my brother, Charles

Going to "bee" school with Mom and Dad Wray

Friends of the Library book sale with Cindy

I'm so grateful for the memories...

#13- Learn middle east geography.

You probably think this is a strange goal.  But I'll be the first to admit

that I didn't learn a lot of geography in school and I hate to hear about

a country and have no idea where it is.  I have a globe that I keep 

handy and of course you can "google" anything these days so it's 

easier to find a location quickly.  I tried to learn about those middle 

eastern countries that make the daily news and I feel much better now

that I can tell you where Yemen, Syria and Oman are located.  The 

best education is experiencing a culture first hand, and I was blessed

with that opportunity when I visited the Holy Land.

#14- Begin each day with scripture

         and prayer.

This goal has helped to establish a habit that reaps more benefits than

maybe any other.  I need Heavenly Father's guidance and help through

out my day.  It doesn't matter what I have going on any particular day,

if I take the time to strengthen myself by reading and studying the 

scriptures and in prayer, I'm going to be more effective.  I may not

be able to handle things too well on my own, but with the Lord's 

help, I can take on most anything.  I have a regular appointment each

morning right here in this chair.  This is my time to meet with the 

Lord and learn from him.  He comes first in my day.

One of the things I liked best this year was participating in an online

bible study on the book of 1 John.  You can read details about that here.

I just completed another study on the book of Ephesians.  

#15 - Improve technology skills.

I guess the fact that I am blogging right now means I learned something.

I had no idea how to blog a year ago and even though I'm doing it at a 

minimal level, I am doing it!  I have some new ideas I want to implement

soon.  I've also become a little smarter in using my "smart phone".  Still

have tons I can learn though.

#16- Exercise 50 minutes a day 5

         days a week.

Yes!  I have maintained a regular exercise schedule.  I haven't 

exercised fifty minutes every day- some days less, some days more.

But the time isn't as important as establishing the habit.  I am healthier

now than I was at 49.  I can climb mountains easier (including my 

driveway), I can jog a little (which I could never do before) and 

I actually try hard not to miss a day.  I like the way I feel when I

exercise.  Now that is an accomplishment.  I even want to run a 

5K this next year.  Can you believe it?  Me, the girl who didn't like

exercise?  Oh and the best part is - I can eat more when I exercise

and that makes me happy.

#17- Take a dance class.

I had envisioned taking a ballet class or maybe ballroom dancing 

when I wrote this one.   Nothing like that happened, but you know

what?  I'm going to count that Zumba class that I took with Sherri

as my dance class.  That was definitely an education for me.

 #18 - Work on monthly storage and

           preparedness goals.

I had plans of coming up with a nice checklist of items that I would work

on each month to help keep up with my storage and preparedness goals.

That didn't happen.  But I did work on a lot of things and I've decided that

I'm counting this one because this goal has basically become a way of 

life for me.  It's part of provident living and I think about it all the time.

When I'm gardening,

 canning,

baking bread, 

shopping,

and updating my 72 hour kits.

#19- Learn to identify birds at my

         feeders.

This is a nuthatch.

I've seen chickadees, goldfinch, titmouse, red bellied woodpeckers

and even pileated woodpeckers at the feeders. Mourning doves pick

up what the feeder birds drop on the ground.  We have bluebirds in

the boxes and I'm getting ready to put out the hummingbird feeders.

I love watching birds.  I think I learned that from watching them 

with my grandma.  She always had her feeders full and no matter

which room of her house you were in, you could look out a window

and see a bird feeder full of happy birds.

#20- Walk on a beach.

Walking on a beach is one of the most peaceful activities I know.

My soul needs it from time to time.  This year I walked on a beach

in Michigan.  The water was cold!

On the Sea of Galilee,

on the Mediterranean Sea,

on the Dead Sea ( I not only walked on this one, I bobbed around in

it too),

and the Red Sea.  So blessed!!!

 *MYOF Goals 11-20

It's Time To Talk About Those Fifty Goals...

Well, I'm not fifty anymore and I was really starting to like that age, but time
moves on. Can I just say that being fifty was so awesome!!!  I had the best
year ever.  I had no idea when I hatched up my little "year of fifty" project,
what would ensue, but it turned out to be even better than I could have
imagined. And I owe it all to that list of fifty goals.  Having that list before me
and blogging about it as a way to be accountable to my readers kept me
focused and excited about life as a half centurion.  As I approached what could
be considered a formidable age, I realized that time is truly flying by and
there's a lot of living I want to do yet.  Every day is a precious gift and I don't
want to be guilty of wasting even an hour of it. That's when I decided to make
a list of fifty goals and just see how many of them I might accomplish in a
year's time.  I guess the day of reckoning is here and for the next few posts
I'll share how I really did with that list. And yes, I will be completely honest.
When I wrote the goals, it was just an exercise in brainstorming, took me all
of about ten minutes.  So they are in no particular order of priority...this is
just how they flowed out of my brain.
Goals 1 -10
#1- Take 50 hikes.
Okay, so what's was I thinking, here?  I mean really, that averages out to
almost a hike a week.  I live in a nice place, but there were weeks when
due to the weather alone, it was pretty impossible to do this.  The real
problem I had though, was finding people to hike with me.  I do some
solo hiking, but for the most part I think it's safer to have a buddy.  My
schedule is more flexible than most of my friends and everyone is just
so busy.  Even though I fell way short of my goal( I hiked 21 hikes),
I did hike more than I ever have before, I discovered some beautiful
new places and I realized that hiking is one activity that I really love.
I plan to check out a few of the local hiking clubs this year and see how
I like them.  I'm a little apprehensive about that, but one thing I've learned,
is that pushing yourself out of your comfort zone can be a good thing.
Thanks to all these great people for helping me out with this goal this year.
It was one of my most enjoyable.

#2 - Make a family cookbook.
This one is "in process".  My sister Cindy is helping me and we've
got a start on it, but have a long way to go.  We plan to work on it
this summer when she's out of school.   I come from a family of great
southern cooks and am excited to compile some of their best recipes
for posterity.
#3- Do something fun with a friend
      each month.
This of course was a goal I looked forward to each month.  Here's
some of things I did with some of my dearest friends.

Dinner with Cindy

Playing in the rain with Carol

Taste of Home cooking show

3 D movie with Kelly

Asheville Herb Festival with Mary and Tara

Picking peaches with Tara

Lunch with LaWren, Sandy and Glori

#4 - Take a yoga class.
Ugh, no.  Still want to do it though.
#5- Learn to prune berries and fruit
       trees.
Yes.  I learned how to do this and we had wonderful berries in the
summer.  The vines and bushes are loaded with blossoms right now,
so it looks like we'll have a great crop this year too.  Our fruit trees
also have lots of little fruit on them, but we don't know how to keep
the bugs off without using harmful pesticides.  Anyone know what
to use?

#6- Laugh more.

#7 - Meet twelve new people.
This was an easy one. Here are some of the wonderful new people that
I've met this year.

#8- Take a backpacking trip.

Yes!!  You can read all about that adventure here and here.

It was amazing!

#9- Read 50 books.

 I read seventy-one.   You can read the list on the side of my blog, 

under Books I've read in My Year of Fifty.  I like to read...

#10- Eat three meatless meals a week.

Yes, we've been able to do this fairly consistently.  Some of our favorite

meals are vegetarian, or have very little meat in them.  Here's a few we 

eat on a pretty regular basis:

* Veggie Enchiladas

* Greek Spaghetti

* Fried Rice

* Tuscan Bean Soup

* Baked Ziti with Gorgonzola and Spinach

* Black Bean Chili

* Pasta Shells Florentine

* Minestrone

* Fresh Mushroom Soup

* Pizza

*MYOF Goals 1-10.