Homemade Christmas

Homemade Christmas gifts are going to start next year! We moved the day after Thanksgiving and are still trying to settle in to our new home. Anything I started as a homemade gift is being put off until next Christmas. Such is life!

Reusable Veggie Bags!!

Yeah! I found 'em! I wondered how to find reusable veggie bags that aren't plastic and don't "tip the scale" when I use them at the grocery store... here they are! Sweet! Can you tell how excited I am by all my exclamation points?!?!?!?!

Happy Vegetable Reusable Vegetable Bags

Found at Etsy: By Wonder Thunder

I am mostly a Pitta

I studied up on Ayurveda and looked up what my "Prakriti" is. The result from my quiz from Banyan Botanicals was:

44.1% Pitta
29.4% Vata
26.5% Kapha

Since I am predominantly Pitta, I looked it up on the same site. Apparently I am the likeness of Madonna and Bill Gates. Ha!

Something I find interesting is the things I am told to eat to soothe some of my Pitta tendencies..
Cilantro - LOVE it!
Wheat bread - yummm
Mango Lassi - what? Sounds good
Cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, etc. Delish!
Cooling foods (funny, I desire these ALL the time)
Fruit
Juicy vegetables
Squash

The list goes on... I absolutely CRAVE these foods all the time. Perhaps there is something to this Ayurveda philosophy. I think I will attempt some of the tips and pointers. Maybe I will get my body and mind into a better balance.

Also, Pitta Pacifying Yoga might help too. I think it may help me to pacify my pitta....

Who doesn't want to lie in corpse position?

I also found an article on balancing Pitta through lifestyle at AyurBalance.

Some good ideas:

1. The primary lifestyle recommendation for balancing Pitta is to stay cool--both physically and emotionally. Avoid going out in the heat of the day, especially on an empty stomach or after you have eaten tangy or spicy foods. Avoid exercising when it's hot. Walk away from situations that make you see red.

2. Do not skip meals, do not fast and do not wait to eat until you are ravenously hungry. Start your day with cooked fruit, followed by some cereal. Eat a sustaining meal at lunch, and a lighter meal for dinner. For snacking, choose sweet juicy fruit--fully ripe mangoes, sweet pears and sweet juicy grapes are excellent Pitta-pacifying choices. Delaying meals can cause excess acidity, so eat on time every day. The Amalaki Rasayana helps enhance digestion without aggravating Pitta dosha. It also helps balance stomach acid.
3. Daily elimination is very important to prevent ama from accumulating in the body. Triphala Rasayana helps promote regularity as well as toning the digestive system. Since Triphala is gentle, not habit forming and not depleting, it can be taken indefinitely to maintain regularity.
4. To soothe sensitive skin, to balance the emotions and to nourish and tone muscles and nerves, indulge in an ayurvedic massage every morning before you bathe or shower. Use coconut oil for your massage. If you like, you can add 3-4 drops of a pure essential oil such as lavender or rose to 2 oz. of massage oil. Mix well before use. Two or three time a week, massage your scalp with warm oil, and let the oil stay for an hour or two before you shampoo. After your shower or bath, apply a pure, gentle moisturizer all over your body or spray your skin with pure rose or sandalwood water to keep your skin feeling cool all day long.
5. Protect yourself from the heat. Stay cool in warm weather by wearing loose cotton clothing. Wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses to protect your eyes when you go out. Drink lots of room temperature water.

6. Water-based activities are ideal exercise for Pitta-dominant people. Try swimming or aqua-aerobics to stay fit but cool. Strolling after sunset, especially along a waterfront, is also a soothing way to fit some leisurely activity into your day.

7. If Pitta dosha is out of balance, you may find that you can fall asleep without much trouble, but you wake up in the very early hours and find it difficult to get back to sleep. It is important to get to bed early, so that you can get adequate rest each night. A cup of warm milk, with some cardamom, can be helpful before bedtime.

8. Balance work and play. Set aside some time for R&R everyday, and do not get so absorbed in a project that you are unable to detach from it.

9. Set aside about 30 minutes each day for meditation, to help balance the heart and emotions and to enhance body-mind-spirit coordination.

Q is for Quilting

I came across a fabulous site titled Katie Did where a wonderful woman was kind enough to put together a demo on how to make a quilt in like one or two nights. The quilt is modern, funky and I like it thank you very mucho.

Here is her end result:

Katie Did awesome!

Love it. Doing it. You should too!

Mmmmeals...

In my quest for a little less of me aka I would like my shape to be a little less round...

I looked up Nutrisystem. Expensive. I researched Healthy Eating at HELPGUIDE.org. Duh. But I received information via brain waves (or microwaves -but whatever the source it was a light bulb moment) from good ol' advertising on the TV. I am going to research how much it would be for me to buy Lean Cuisines vs other "diet friendly" frozen meals from the grocery store. Even low-cal snacks. I am going to Target, WalMart, and Fred Meyer. Should be interesting. I will post my results here soon.

What I learned from Nutrisystem and Healthy Eating along with various other sites is: Eat low-calorie, proportioned meals. Eat every 3 hours or so, drink water, snack or continue your meal with salad and yogurt (you can have these in infinite amounts), eat lots of vegetables, supplement with a multi-vitamin, and of course exercise 3-5 times a week at least. The sun is out, it is at least 50 degrees here (in Alaska weather that means it's shorts time) and I am ready to get moving. Let the research begin!

My problem is not that I don't want to eat healthy, it's that it costs lots of money and takes time to make nice, healthy meals from my experience. My children hardly eat anything that I make when I make a healthy meal unless it is cafeteria style snacking meal (no sauces, no odd ingredients). This is fine, but I refuse to eat like this all day - every day! If I don't have anything I crave for snacking on hand, I turn to cookies, candy, and an occasional soda. See, there along with my lack of regular exercise, is my problem!

PS: When I went to sign up at a site which takes in all your measurements then gives you a size with outfits which fit and will look good on you available to buy...I turned up a size 'A' which is the full-figured woman. Sort of depressing yet I knew it all along. The site in case you are interested: MyShape.com

Stations...Everybody Take Their Stations

Chugging along on the goal train, I was searching for stationary online and decided I like the idea of free stationary (well free until you print from your printer with YOUR ink...). Sweet deal! I looked for Easter stationary and found a few cute ones:

From Cloudeight Stationary:

"Butterfly Egg"

Or Eastertide's Bunny Visit

Even cuter... Easter Love

From Mint Printables:

I like the Easter Chick stationary. It's pretty darn cute.

Last but not least:

I've had great success and just thought of Microsoft Office Online - where I can find stationary (amongst many other ideas) for Easter stationary. Some of their designs are so neat and clean. I can download easily from the site and it sends it quickly...and best of all... it's FREE! :-)

Tuning in at Home

Nope, not with music nor a tuning fork but tuning the ol' cars. Sadly, I could only find 2 sites that I liked.

E-How: How to Tune Up a Car

Precision Tune: Car Care Tips

Raspberry Research

I am not sure if the same process listed below for blueberries should be used for raspberries, but I did find some valuable information at The Garden Helper, the University of Main Cooperative Extension, and the Alaska Master Gardeners Association is always a fabulous help.

My parents have a T trellis in their backyard for berries. The site from the U of Maine lists several other trellis forms I might look into depending on the landscaping of our future yard.

Blueberries

Blueberry bushes like acidic soil and I like me some delicious blueberries..I plan to plant blueberries and raspberries on our property...wherever that may be..?!? So I just ran across a brilliant idea to get some blueberry plants to grow.




wikiHow: How to dig swales

They are called swales. They look very easy to maintain after a bit of hard digging. We wouldn't need a big swale. I would want to make sure we didn't build one where a nasty run-off would create somewhere downslope - say on the house foundation. I am intrigued. I'll have to look into it more later.

Berry Picking and Hiking

Berry Picking Guide to obtain:

Alaska's Wild Plants by Janice J. Schofield

Idea taken from the site alaskatrekker.com

Another book I own and plan to use this summer is Hiking Alaska by Dean Littlepage

Because I Wanna Get Physical, Physical

Yeah Let's Get Physical...

Recumbant Bikes:

Stamina Magnetic Fusion 7100 Exercise Bike

Stamina Magnetic Fusion 4545 Exercise Bike

& an upright I am interested in NordicTrack SL 700 Exercise Bike

Compost Bins and Rain Barrels Oh My

Here is an entry to my family blog I listed which talks about resources for rain barrels and compost bins: Tree-Hugging Tuesday

I watched many a cartoon in my young days. One particular cartoon with caveman entitled The Flinstones had fun dinosaur appliances in the characters homes.

One in particular I thought was funny was the pig trash compactor. Hilarious. I decided to investigate and see what living thing I could use under my kitchen sink and looky what I found:

Can-O-Worms looks fun (especially for the children). I think I would keep it outside if not next to the garage door as it may attract flies and as one customer stated she had suicidal worms....

I remember seeing something back in my TV-Martha Stewart watching days about making your own worm compost bin. I found the instructions online. I am not sure if the bin leaks. Looks questionable to me. I know, how dare I question Martha, right?! I might try one of these for a compost bin. Hope it works!

Handy Habit Helper

Goal bookmark! A good habits helper. Love this idea..

I am using this to help me with drinking my 8 glasses of water, not yelling at the children, etc.

It lists 3 months of dates - more than I need for some of my goals, but still can be used. I am excited to use this and it is small so it can tuck in my wallet, purse, church bag, on my fridge, in my book club read, etc. easily!

Scripture Study Charts

LDS Scripture Bookmarks:

This site (lds.about.com) has bookmarks (which I LOVE to use) for all the books I intend to get through in my 1001 days!

The Book of Mormon

Doctrine and Covenants/ Pearl of Great Price

Old Testament (double sided)

New Testament

And in Excel form!

Questions for My Elders

20+ Questions Ideas:

Why did your parents select your name for you? Did you have a nickname?

When and where were you born?

How did your family come to live there?

Were there other family members in the area? Who?

What was the house (apartment, farm, etc.) like? How many rooms? Bathrooms? Did it have electricity? Indoor plumbing? Telephones?

Were there any special items in the house that you remember?

What is your earliest childhood memory?

Describe the personalities of your family members.

What kind of games did you play growing up?

What was your favorite toy and why?

What was your favorite thing to do for fun (movies, beach, etc.)?

Did you have family chores? What were they? Which was your least favorite?

Did you receive an allowance? How much? Did you save your money or spend it?

What was school like for you as a child? What were your best and worst subjects?

Where did you attend grade school? High school? College?

What school activities and sports did you participate in?

Do you remember any fads from your youth? Popular hairstyles? Clothes?

Who were your childhood heroes?

What were your favorite songs and music?

Did you have any pets? If so, what kind and what were their names?

What was your religion growing up? What church, if any, did you attend?

Were you ever mentioned in a newspaper?

Who were your friends when you were growing up?

What world events had the most impact on you while you were growing up? Did any of them personally affect your family?

Describe a typical family dinner. Did you all eat together as a family? Who did the cooking? What were your favorite foods?

How were holidays (birthdays, Christmas, etc.) celebrated in your family? Did your family have special traditions?

How is the world today different from what it was like when you were a child?

Who was the oldest relative you remember as a child? What do you remember about them?

What do you know about your family surname?

What stories have come down to you about your parents? Grandparents? More distant ancestors?

Are there any stories about famous or infamous relatives in our family?

Have any recipes been passed down to you from family members?

Are there any physical characteristics that run in our family?

Are there any special heirlooms, photos, bibles or other memorabilia that have been passed down in your family?

What was the full name of your spouse? Siblings? Parents?

When and how did you meet your spouse? What did you do on dates?

What was it like when you proposed (or were proposed to)? Where and when did it happen? How did you feel?

Where and when did you get married?

What memory stands out the most from your wedding day?

How would you describe your spouse? What do (did) you admire most about them?

What do you believe is the key to a successful marriage?

How did you find out your were going to be a parent for the first time?

Why did you choose your children's names?

What was your proudest moment as a parent?

What did your family enjoy doing together?

What was your profession and how did you choose it?

If you could have had any other profession what would it have been? Why wasn't it your first choice?

Of all the things you learned from your parents, which do you feel was the most valuable?

What accomplishments were you the most proud of?

What is the one thing you most want people to remember about you?

More ideas for questions at begatchat, lineages, and pbs.org/americanfamily.

Bridal Veil Falls **w00t**

Last year, I had the brilliant (if I don't say so myself) idea to kayak to a place entitled Bridal Veil Falls for our anniversary. Cheesy, yes! But the idea was so intriguing I looked into it. The problem: Jesse was attending school and we didn't have the time to go. This year is a must though. This year we need to go on our "mini-vacation" because NEXT year we will for sure be going on a cruise. Hubby dangled the reward of a cruise in front of me if I lose my 50+ pounds I yearn to! Woohoo cruise here we come. Sadly, it's been three months and I GaiNeD 5 pounds. Well, I look forward to losing the 50 + and 5 pounds now.

The illustrious falls are located in Valdez.

They are gorgeous!

Jesse and I always wanted to be one of the bandana-headed, earthy couples out there on the lakes and creeks paddling around enjoying one another's company for years now. This is the year.

How to Use Old Clothes in a New Way

Taken from WikiHow:

Make a quilt.

Make a dog bed. Cut up flannel shirts and stitch pieces together to form two squares (size determined by the size of the dog). Fill with cotton batting.

Take old silk or rayon shirts and cut a square of fabric approximately twelve inches by twelve inches. Place a [bottle of sparkling cider, etc.] in the center. Fold the bottom corner up. Roll the bottle in the fabric, tie the top with ribbon to secure, and insert dried flowers or gift tag in the pocket the folded corner has created. You now have a last-minute hostess gift.

Cut up a blouse, preferably with a small print, to wrap nice soaps. Use as a hostess gift or in guest bathrooms.

Turn into an heirloom. If the item of clothing has any sentimental value--baby clothes, for instance--use it as the cover for a scrapbook or photo albums.

Use brightly colored, sturdy fabric as a border for an ordinary lampshade or picture frame. [Make sure the fabric is not flammable!]

Use a large piece of cloth to cover a corkboard -- the corkboard will retain its function but will liven up a dull surface.

Clean with them. If you're really in need of dust cloths or bandages, chop, chop !

Cut strips of it and use them as headbands or wristbands or maybe even a choker or ankle bracelet.

Use pieces of old jeans to tie your hair back.

Sew patches of old shirts onto some jeans.

Make scarves. They probably won't be warm, but they'll look cool.

Make New Clothes! take an old T-shirt(preferably with no graphic)and you can turn it into a tube top, a halter top, or you could even cut from the bottom of the arm holes straight across to make a skirt!

Tips:

Keep similar fabrics together, especially if re-purposing the clothes for quilts, coverlets, and dog beds.

Finally, before arriving at someone's house with a wrapped bottle or little basket of soaps, be really sure the gift isn't butchered from a piece of clothing he or she gave once gave your for your birthday or Christmas.

Somebody might notice that your new accessories are in fact your shirt and give you odd looks.

Bento Lunches

I found a fabulous idea for no plastic baggies in the lunches!!

Hostess of Lunch in a Box has wonderful ideas and links listed all over for bento lunches like this:

The above picture is a creation by Wendy Copely at Wendolonia.com!

Another more fancy bento box version on Biggie's site:

The organizationalist in me is drooling!

Organic Clothing Sites

Patagonia Outdoor Clothing

Blue Canoe Organic Cotton Clothing

Maggie's Organics

Three ideas for stained glass from Warner Stained Glass:

Blue Suncatcher

Red California Poppies

The Tree of Life

Knitting

Knitted washcloth patterns:

Three sites:

Idiot's Washcloth Pattern :-)

Peas and Carrots Scrubber Cloth

Handmade Washcloth Pattern

Shoe Lacing

In looking for a template so I can punch holes and let the kids lace cards for practice, I came across a site called Ian's Shoelace Site that has 33 different ways to lace a shoe! How fun is that?

My favorites are:

Knotted Lacing

and Lattice Lacing

Then I found an idea online to make shoe lacing cards for practicing at The Savvy Source:

Trace your child's feet in his or her tennis shoes onto tagboard or cardboard and cut out the outline of the shoes. Then, mark eight spots on the shoes and punch out holes in these spots using a hole punch. Lace the cardboard cut-outs as you would your child's tennis shoes, and use them to help your child practice tying shoes.

Yummy Granola

A granola I would like to try soon!

Mmmmmmmmm....

I found the recipe at The Kitchen Sink Recipes (scroll down the site page to find the recipe).

Homemade Jelly or Jam Site

I found jam/jelly instructions at pickyourown.org!

Also, canning fruit & canning vegetables..

And I shook hands with a Canadian to get a nice jarring fish tutorial! :-)

10 free FHE activities to do

1. Disc Golf at Westchester Lagoon.
2. Bike the solar system from Kincade to downtown and back.
3. Fish at Ship Creek (for kids it's free anyways).
4. Blow/play with bubbles at a park - lots of them -
or food color spray snow (depending on the weather).
5. Race remote control cars around the track next to Loussac.
6. Picture (take digital cameras, pair off to find list) scavengar hunt.
7. Letterboxing.
8. Hike up near McCue Creek or Thunderbird falls.
9. Do the circuit training course at the Northern Lights park.
10. Feed the ducks bread at the car wash in Eagle River.

How to make your own cloth napkins (I am hoping to do this so we can use them soon).

Design Sponge Cloth Napkin Instructions.

Yoga with kids

Here is a great Yoga with Kids Video!

I am starting with 5 bread machine recipes to learn

I am starting with 5 bread machine recipes to learn, then learn make them by hand!

All of these recipes were taken from a site labeled Bread Machine Recipes.

Heavenly Whole Wheat Bread

(1 Pound loaf)
3/4 cup Water
1 1/3 cups Whole wheat flour
2/3 cup Bread flour
1 teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoons Applesauce (butter)
1 tablespoon Sugar
3 tablespoons Instant Potato flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons Yeast

Crust: light. Bake.


Aloha Loaf

1 cup Milk + 2 tbls
1/3 cup Macadamias — toasted
1 tablespoon Butter or margarine
1/3 cup Coconut — toasted
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Sugar
3 cups Bread flour
2 teaspoons Bread machine yeast
1/3 cup Candied pineapple — chopped

Add ingredients according to manufacturers directions, adding candied pineapple, nuts and coconut with flour. For machines with glass domes, cover dome (NOT VENTS!) with foil while baking to ensure complete baking. Basic/white bread cycle. Light color setting.


Colonial Bread

1 tablespoon Butter (applesauce)
1 teaspoon Salt
1/3 cup Molasses
1&1/2 cups Boiling water
1/3 cup Yellow corn meal
3&1/2 cups Bread flour
1 package Yeast

Place cornmeal into bowl. Carefully pour boiling water into cornmeal, stirring to make sure it is smooth. Let stand to cool for about 30 min.Stir in molasses, salt and butter. Place cornmeal mixture in pan, then bread flour then yeast. I use light setting.


Sweet Potato Pecan Bread

2 1/4 teaspoons Yeast
3 cups Bread flour
4 tablespoons Rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 pinches Nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
2 tablespoons Brown sugar -- dark
3 tablespoons Powdered milk
3 tablespoons Butter or margarine
3/4 cup Sweet potatoes, cooked -- mashed
3/4 cup Water
3 tablespoons Raisins -- dark
1/3 cup Pecans -- chopped

Place all ingredients in machine and push start. Use raisin bread cycle, adding fruit and nuts at beep.


Cheese Herb Bread

1 1/8 cups Water
1 1/2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
3 tablespoons Fruit juice concentrate
1/2 cup Swiss -=OR=- cheddar cheese -- shredded
1/2 teaspoon Salt
3/4 teaspoon Baking soda
1 tablespoon Sugar
3 tablespoons Grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Basil
3/4 teaspoon Parsley flakes
1 1/2 tablespoons Vital gluten -- to 3 tbls
3 1/3 cups Whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Yeast

Add ingredients according to manufacturer's directions. Medium color setting. Makes 1-1/2 lb loaf.

NOTE: Fruit juice concentrate (orange, apple etc..), thawed, is used in place of the fat here. Use butter if you desire, in its place.

Three (free) exercise videos I plan to use....

Exercise videos (gotta love the YouTube):

The Four Minute Workout:

beYou.tv has many videos to view and use.

A very good calorie burning workout:

Coupled with some workout ("dance") music from Pandora.com - a free radio (non-auditory commercials yeah) station site that picks music for you from a selected artist/song..really cool!

Homemade for Men

Another idea for a homemade gift for men: Shaving Soap Recipe!

Additional ideas for shaving soap.

A heat bond neck tie idea where the kids add their designs

or a duct tape neck tie!

A recipe (note) book with recipes for BBQ sauces, marinades, stir fry sauce, salsa ideas, and last but not least fish toppings! (Maybe with a homemade apron/ chef's hat and mitt?)

A hat organizer would be nice...if he'll use it! :-)

A skin moisturizer:

Oddly enough, one of the most-requested gifts I do is 'boy balm and leather food' which is a very tough sounding name for a beeswax and olive oil balm I invented (I use a 1:1 ratio of wax to oil, and pour it into little Tupperware containers) that's scented with clove, amber, and cinnamon, or balsam (fir) and cedar essential oils...
every one of them uses it as suggested-lip balm, hand cream, something to deal with that dry flaky spot between their eyebrows, a swipe on a paper towel is all the polishing most leather goods really need (it IS skin, after all)...

For him to make: Dadcando.com!

He can make a science lab notebook and give it to the children with the idea he will do them with them...

A "Pop" Tub: Flavored popcorn and some soda pops and a Popsicle frame in a tub.

One last idea site: Happybird's Crafting

Alright back to "work" I go.

Yet another idea taken from (yes of all places) Martha Stewart's site for making homemade gifts

Simple, easy, comfy...I'm in!

Quick Quilt

Tired

Tired. That's it. I'm just tired.

Homemade Gift Ideas

Aha! I found a fabulous site which lists homemade gift ideas and they are nice looking ones at that:

Skip to my Lou

and ideas at

Simple Debt Free Living

and ohhhh I loooove this site:

The ToyMaker

I am putting myself on hold until my husband finishes school. Is that bad? I don't know but I sure am not able to get much done as of now. I think I will concentrate on things such as housekeeping and organizing so that when he is done, I can concentrate more on my physical appearance and upkeep as well as major monetary things. He should be done in June. I think that is a perfect time of year to get a little more pep in my step - don't you?! This is not to say I am holding off all my goals listed, just the ones which require lots of time and more than spare change from my pocket.

I have around 10 workout videos to pick from to get moving. I am going to just push the couch to the side and start moving to them. My baby boy takes a nap in the a.m., and my sweet girl loves to "workout" with me. I found someone to go walking with me at night. I am excited for that and to be able to just walk. No running yet (although I love me a good lung-burning run now and then)!

Anxious is how I feel lately. So much in my little world to feel anxious about on top of the national anxiety of a falling economy, the doomsday media and people speaking of preparation before depression, and the stress heard of round the world chaos. I recently spoke with our ward missionaries about the pressure and how it seems to get to me. One simply stated, "isn't it nice to know if you've prepared, the Lord will take you the rest of the way?" I am so grateful for their dedication to the Lord and desire to teach others about the gospel and His plan. They sure helped me to see the light and feel less pressure for myself. We can take ourselves as far as we can mentally and physically go, and then we need to let the Lord help us do the rest. Whew. The Lord is exactly as we call Him, our Saviour.

Solar Panel Instructions

Here is one site I came across concerning solar panel construction at home.

It is at:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build_a_60_Watt_Solar_Panel/

and updates are at:

http://www.mdpub.com/SolarPanel/

Very interesting. Solar cells pretty muched doubled in price since the instructions were posted. Makes me sick. I guess thats what supply and demand is all about, right?! :-)

Stripping Monkey's lol

Today, I stripped another monkey off my back ... no it is not on my goal list, but it sure did bring me relief once I sent it on its way. Darn monkey's bog me down. Know what I mean? :-)

So it's been a few weeks and I find myself dipping back to "normal" mode. Every week on Sunday, I sit down at church to spiritually revamp myself and start anew. I think I will do the same with this blog every Monday. I find inviting company over focuses my mind on keeping the house clean. This helps in keeping my mind less cluttered. I need the house to be clean before I can look at other areas I want to organize and begin which is hard with multiple young children in the house, but we are slowly "whipping" them into shape! I am grateful for a very supportive husband who looks for ways to help and automatically (with such a busy schedule of his own) picks up where I might leave. Especially when I am at my wits end with things.

The Journey Begins

January 1st, 2009 I put together a list of 101 goals I would like to obtain within 1001 days. I found the idea through a friend far, far away. Andrea listed 101 of her own goals and suggested it on her usual blog site, listing a separate blog (as I have here) for her goals. I am a goal maker and I love this idea - so here it is!

Here is what she posted on her goal blog:

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:

1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay Focused. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.

3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.

4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.

5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

I would like to add I hear it takes three weeks to establish a habit and 3 days to lose it. Therefore, if a timeline is not listed for a goal, three weeks and beyond is what I am aiming for. Hopefully I do not lose habit of things which make me and mine happier!!