Thank You 28!

I love this idea almost as much as my to-do list :)

This past year I was thankful for;

1. my new job within the same company- not only for a pay increase but for a truly interesting and challenging opportunity 
2. Jon's career move; 40 hours 
3. HP's speech therapy; he was evaluated this summer and had like 6 words, now he has near 100. Feeling confident that he'll be up to speed and happily chatting away shortly :)
4. my parents; for not only being willing to watch HP whenever but happily doing it 
5. my health; if you don't have your health...
6. my friends; participating in our dinners and get togethers over the year
7. successful Friendsgiving, after a few years break we've had the chance to start it up again this past year
8. running my 2 annual 5Ks with Katie in record time (even if my stomach was about to break)
9. realizing that I did not in fact have a weird growth/tumor in my stomach after a trip to the doctor- apparently my stomach muscles are permanently(?) separated due to having HP and occasionally my aorta can be felt through my stomach....to much information? sorry :)
10. having my NYC bestie meet me in Chicago and hang out in GR! 
11. coaching soccer for my old school- even though we ended poorly we had a great time and finished with a game of parents/coaches v. kids. Made me want to play again! 
12. Volunteering at adult ESL for 2 hours a week; loved my groups and getting to know them more. Sad I cannot do it again this year.
13. Successfully shedding 10+ pounds, thanks to WW, lets hope I can keep that in check better this year :)
14. Launching an ESL blog for work, I do weekly blogs about ESL strategies and love getting feedback! 
15. Trick-or-treating with HP and Jon, so happy to have Jon be able to participate this year!
16. Watching HP interact with his cousins and friends, winning hearts and minds :) 
17. Finishing the Game of Thrones book series, awesome. Now patiently waiting for the next book to be released. 
18. being able to purchase the little things that no one notices but you; towels, nice shower curtain, coffee maker- when you have extremely limited resources purchasing things like these do not happen, so it's been more than a relief to be able to now 
19. Face time with Kellie and Katie; thanks to the new phone we can actually see each other more :)
20. a new and improving wardrobe; making myself look presentable again
21. Sledding at our neighborhood park with HP and Jon, even though we had only an infant sized sled to work with we managed some great times 
22. 6 weeks of summer vacation with HP and me; it will be a painful wake up call when summer rolls around again and I can't do that again, but we really made the most of it! Glad I captured the highlights in my Summer Series :)
23. attending my 10 year HS reunion! A blast from the past and it was actually pretty fun!
24. Hosting another NY bestie in the Spring; we got to show Kathryn around town and even to a quasi-family reunion in Alma complete with Highland Festival excitement 
25. Celebrating HP's 2nd birthday in style- surrounded by friends and family and sports-themed cupcakes 
26. celebrated my birthday again with a fantastic group of girls and always delicious San Chez brunch 
27. the who-knows-how-many Annual Poker Party; saw some old and new faces and played some serious poker 
28. the health of my family and friends; going strong :)

Art Prize 2012

2012

I love seeing Grand Rapids at its best, and I think Art Prize is one of those times. I was geeked to start planning my house party. And true to form, I changed all plans at the last minute. I decided to play it cheap and delicious instead of pricey and delectable. So instead of buying my weight in cinnamon rolls from my favorite GR bakery (Wealthy Street) I spent Friday night listening to Adele and making baby quiches and a cinnamon swirl bundt. Gotta love a quiche that you can fill with a bunch of yumminess, some of which that came right out of the backyard. Pinterest also helped me out with a recipe for pumpkin spice latte, yum.

2011

Oh man what was I wearing here? Crazytown. You know, you can tell me when I'm looking a less than sweet. Keep that in mind Jon :)

 All three of these pictures are in front of the Eberhard Center, the site of our 2008 wedding reception. How cute :)

Oh, yes. I did chop my hair this past week. As these pictures will tell you it has been more than 3 years since I've had short hair. It's looking a little Momish right now...still working it out. I did donate 12 full inches to Locks for Love. Whew.

2010

Summer Series 2012! (part 1 of 6)

I have exactly 6 weeks of summer vacation to take advantage of. Ready go!

Week 1 of vacation got of to an admittedly rocky start for me. I woke up Friday morning with a timy HP nestled in my arms. Ever since H was born my arms have become thermometers, and they were registering a slight fever. He was in fantastic spirits so I wished it away and went about the day.

Yeah, it got no better, worse in fact. He was a flaming torch by the end of the day. It was all we could do to watch tv and movies while he slept in my arms. Counting down the hours til I could give him another dose of tylenol. So instead of enjoying a co workers bonfire, I stayed at home with H.

Happily things turned around Saturday, aside from being warm throughout much of the day H was a happy camper. I even got to leave him with my parents to join my friend for the Saugatauk Film Festival. Which happily lets me cross another one of the list . I'll count Saugatauk as a place I haven't been to before. It was very cute, walkable and I'd love to go back to enjoy some water sports.

I'd been meaning to get over to this festival for awhile now, and I would love to go back again next year.Check out our movie choice Wild Horse Wild Ride here. I really enjoyed it and would totally reccommend it as a feel-good movie.

Here's a peak at my Summer to do list:

go to the beach

eat brunch with friends a lot

visit Chicago

Zoo trips

see Fiona Apple in concert

Children's Museum

hang with sister Kellie

trip to Ann Arbor (trader joes and ikea!)

camping trip

etc, etc. :)

Care to join me in any of that? :)

Pink Heels on a 2 Year Old

Only 4 and a half more days until summer vacation begins! Quick fact about me: I have had summer breaks since entering kindergarten circa 1990. And I do not plan on giving that up. Because this is what I would be missing:

Real juxtaposition going on here

 Watching fennel and spinach grow

Watching what will likely be one small plate of salad grow

Hoping to eventually make salsa

Creating chalk masterpieces

Wondering what kind of fruit tree I have in my backyard

Honestly, you tell me what this is and I'll do ten back flips in your honor.



Reflections on February

Did you enjoy February as much as H enjoyed pudding? Well, I hope so.

So I've made progress with my list of things! I've been keeping my promises more (or just making fewer), buying things I need/want (my first ever pair of Anthro jeans!- half off, sweet), and (drum-roll) have lost 3 pounds over the last 4 weeks! Huzzah.

Baby H has been taking off in general. Much to my amazement he has become way self-sufficient with his play. Climbing up and sliding down the elementary equipment over and over til he was covered in mud and ready to move on to the swings.

He's still a man of few words, most concerning balls and "I got it!". But he does know a whole lot of vocab that he's choosing to keep mum about.

Lastly, I do realize all parents think their child is super duper, etc. but...this boy is super duper good at all things concerning ball sports. He has one wicked drop-kick. I'm hoping to bring him to my soccer practices more this season :) Which starts in 2 weeks! New adventures :)

January Update

This post is to keep me accountable on how I'm doing with my List of 28!
This month I've done these;

#19; I swam at East GR High School's lap pool to try it out before buying a 3-month pass. I like it, the only thing is that I don't want to drive there and well....I am lazy. I'm planning on trying out hot yoga again, although I am nervous I'll want to vomit and leave the room like I did 3 years ago.

 #11; I've ransacked the house for Salvation Army stuff and a pile is currently waiting to go there as soon as I remember to put it in the car...

#6; I've been able to try out my Christmas gift from my parents with all the snow! Snowshoeing is nice, I'm eyeing a 5k race, but we'll see if I do it :)

#9; I weighed myself at school and sadly discovered I've gained 6 mom/holiday/call-it-what-you-like pounds. Well...knowledge is the first step to fixing it right? Yessssss

#14; I kept a promise to sister Kellie (sent her coat and shoes back in a timely fashion) failed sister Katie (have not sent her care package yet) failed a friend I keep telling I'll volunteer with, failed at sending Thank You's from Harrison for Xmas yet. This one needs a lot of work...

Whew, okay. Re-reading this makes it seem January was not such a great launch month...perhaps February is what I've been waiting for?

28 Things to do While 28

1. pay off the car
2. one big home improvement A/C installed June
3. interview/visit preschools
4. travel to a new destination Saugatauk, MI with Mandy for film festival in June
5. create a backyard garden side garden: lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro; backyard: butternut squash, fennel, spinach
6. go snow shoeing 
7. go kayaking 
8. throw more dinner parties Friendsgiving, Art Prize and St. Pattys were some highlights 
9. get back into peak shape lost a total of 11 pounds by April
10. shoot a gun (is this silly?)
11. purge/sell/giveaway things I don't use/need on a semi regular basis
12. register to vote in MI and make at least a semi-informed decision 
13. paint a room in the house lower bathroom Grey
14. make fewer promises, but follow through on the ones I make 
15. get better at knowing my priorities and spending the time/money on them 
16. do something that scares me 
17. get a NEW hairstyle- be bold! got bangs back, June (does that count?)
18. eat better by which I mean budget more for better food 
19. try a new work out/or location paddle boarding on Reeds Lake, August
20. take swimming lesson with H
21. purchase/share a CSA share
22. volunteer my time to something productive ESL tutoring at Church of the Servant
23. cycle a century
24. see a sporting event live
25. group camping trip although not a group, but our family: Manistee at Orchard Beach for 2 nights
26. do a wine or beer tasting/tour event
27. eat paella @NHA's Xmas party, yum 
28. invite a neighbor over for dinner 

This list took me over a month to compile. I'm glad I started to think of these things earlier than last year! I hope that means I'll have a better shot at completing more than last year, or dare I say it all of them.

I think the ones I'm most excited for is paying off the car, dinner parties and a group camping trip.

The ones I'm least excited for is the scary one and the bold haircut...because I'm nervous I wont bite the bullet and actually be bold. I heard somewhere that you're likely to keep your high school hairstyle indefinatley, which is both scary and crazy.

Check out how I did last year's list of 27 things here. And if you're interested check my 26 Things list here.

Happy Birthday to me and wish me luck on my list! You should make one too!