Day 538, 463 to go

I have 20 things checked off my list! How exciting!
I do think, at this point, that I'm really happy with what I've accomplished so far. There are still a few things that I can "knock off" in a single day, albeit a very focused single day. My dates with the children are going well -- and it's a bit of an eye-opener how I view the different activities with them.

I take Tanner to park more often than I used to. So I don't see that as a "date" -- it's just what happens. What qualifies as a date with him has moved up a notch since I am home most afternoons with him after school. However, Tasmin is RARELY around anymore, so a late-night movie totally qualifies. I don't do enough with my boys. Good things to see and notice from this challenge.

Matt and I upped our commitment to the temple since the children are older and babysitting isn't such a difficult thing. We go twice a month most months now. LOVE THAT! It also means we'll FINISH our 36 pretty easily with lots of time leftover, when what I committed to was once a month for the approximately three years that this challenge takes. Cool.

The reading lists just aren't happening. Neither are the classic movies or the DVDs on the prophets. There's still time, but I see that they aren't "important" enough to me to really motivate me to do them. Many other things on my list jump out at me as "I REALLY want to get that done!"

There are also things on my list, the travel things, that were impossible to do before we paid off our consumer debt. I don't think I can squeeze them all in with a little over a year left now. But there's not much better than knowing we CAN, now that the debt is paid off.

I wish I'd made different goals on some things: the losing 30 pounds continues to fluctuate and I keep feeling like "Oh, I'm back where I started" and I get completely disgruntled. I know goals are supposed to be quantifiable, but I think next time I'll do something like "Eat healthy 5 days out of the week" or "Walk 30 minutes 3 times a week." And that "Go to the gym 6 times in one week"?? That was when we HAD a gym membership and I was walking 2 miles on weekdays and 8 miles on Saturdays. I have a lot of building back up to do...

All in all, I'm pretty happy with my progress. And yes, I will totally make another list when this one is over.

Hey 16!

I have 16 things totally done on my list. My temple sessions are well on the way, and most of my kid-dates are doing pretty good. I'm not reading enough (for list purposes anyway) and I need to get my crocheting done!! I have big doubts I'll ever get that sampler done for Tanner...

Day 469

I don't have too many posts because I just keep going back to update the original list. But oh, my, do I get to update a lot of things tonight! I have been getting so much done, one little baby step at a time. And too, I'm seeing a lot of things getting done kind of amazingly, without me really planning on getting it done... Like tonight, I cleaned out the birthday box, finally. It was birthday night and we are stone broke (because we only have TWO more payments to make to WIPE OUT our credit card debt!!) and I needed four presents for my wonderful nieces and nephews. To the birthday box, Batman!

Day 415

I've yet to decide if I should just re-post my list or enter a dated post.... I seem to be doing both. So some of the progress I've made doesn't ever get its own post, I just update the progress right on my original list.

Ahh.... summer means I did too get to have a few dates with my children. Never as many as I would have liked, but at least I DID spend some time with them. Maggie and I got more time than I counted as dates... doing stuff at home that wasn't necessarily for very long or just the two of us. For example, I bought little cash register money at the dollar store the other night and she and Tanner set up stores in the house (Tanner stole food from EVERYWHERE) and then I came "shopping" as various different characters in their stores. That was so much fun, and Maggie loved the attention and time we spent... but... NOT a date.

This particular goal has really made me aware of spending more time with my children. So many things don't classify as "dates" but if this has made me DO more with them, what a great goal that has been!!

Day 406

Wow. When we get to day 500 it will be the half-way point! I seriously need to get busier! Although, I must say, I was pretty darned impressed today with how many things I AM making progress on.

I'm laying in bed sick today and it was so nice to see things moving along anyway! Cool!

Day 387

I got to cross off something else today. I "cloud-watched" with Maggie and Tanner, but it's monsoon season so it was this amazing lightning show. We are broke, broke, broke this summer, so we scrounged through the house for coins and came up with enough for dollar sundaes for each of us (Taylor too!) from McDonalds. The air was beautiful, the sky was amazing, and the sundaes were oh-so good!

I have been using Mark Forster's AutoFocus System (it's free; I have to share) and it has been truly wonderful for me. (Well, and I got on the RIGHT depression medication and that has made a TREMENDOUS difference in my life!) So I feel like things are moving along just swimmingly, now!

I thought I would be really shocked when I checked in tonight to see how many days I had left, because I knew I had passed the one year mark. I thought I would go into panic-mode because there is so much left to do! But again, the way I set up my list to begin with, many things won't get checked off in the beginning, but a WHOLE BUNCH will get checked off near the end because they are items like "watch 10 movies" or "read 20 books" and I AM making progress on those goals. Go ME!!

Now, if only I had put "read or listen to Twilight series 87 times" on my list -- I could get that accomplished so easily!

ONE YEAR DOWN

I can't quite believe it's already a year. So much seems to get in the way of grand intentions. What a lovely life lesson to see that you don't just chuck it all because something got in the way... you step back, take a look and where you've been and where you want to go, and you re-commit and dig into life again.

Cool.

So I'm digging in...

I've battled with depression for years now, and saw myself falling down a hole since finally deciding to go the medication route. I tried two different medicines since last December, both with nasty side effects that left me just reeling. This latest, only a week into it, has left me so grateful for modern medicine! I feel like a brand new person! Like the curtains have been opened up to a beautiful spring day -- and they were some seriously heavy, drab curtains, let me tell you!

So... re-assessing, re-committing. It is GOOD to be alive! I LOVE waking up happy.

JOY!