A List of Randoms

• I was just looking over my 30 by 30 List (a.k.a. my bucket list), and realized I have 12 weeks until I turn 30, and have only crossed off 7 items (but the marathon was the biggest item, and it's DONE!!). I need to get busy. Speaking of the marathon, if you are a runner, and would like to read my marathon play-by-play, it is here. If you aren't a runner, you would probably rather get a root canal than read the tedium of my race, and that's cool too. ;)
• Also, I have made my next goals for fitness and weight loss (losing those last 20 pounds is on my 30 by 30 list too). If you care, those goals are here.
• I want to make these muffins and see if I like them better than these.
• Itching to get my hands on this new book but am committed to reading most of these first.
• My homeschooling mojo seems to have gotten lost during the shuffle of the holidays. It isn't that I'm tired of it, it's just that I can't seem to get back in a good groove. I will probably focus on #2, #10,  #11, #18, and #22 from the list for inspiration. Any advice welcome!
• Related to the picture above, I would really like to have one of these little fences around my square foot gardens (which ARE going to get revived this spring, by golly!). This picture was taken at Yorktown, I believe. Colonial Williamsburg also has them and I just LOVE them. Besides, my boys have energy to spare, so I can put them to work gathering the sticks for it!

First Family Photo

My childhood friend and photographer, Jenny Evelyn, took these pictures of our family in the fall and gave them to me on Christmas. I am so happy to have photographs of our family together and can't wait to see the rest of the ones she took. I especially love the one with our house in the background, because I am so Happy at Home.  :) Thank you, Jenny!

January Reboot, and the Weekly Menu

Fridge, BEFORE

Fridge, AFTER

In January, I typically don't make resolutions, but I do give myself some small challenges to get our household back on track after a season of merry making. It feels really good to cut back, pare down, and get back in a groove. To do that, my goals for January are:

• Buy only secondhand, except for food and household supplies. For anything else, I turn to ebay, thrift stores, craigslist, or barter with friends. Shopping this way requires patience and takes away the instant gratification of buying, which helps me redefine "need". It also is much more exciting to find what I need, after waiting and looking for awhile!
• Declutter 5 items a day. After all the new things that come in to our house during Christmas, I always have a January pare-down. So far, I have tackled the laundry room and fridge. I plan to tackle the medicine cabinet today.
• Spend no more than $65 a week on groceries. Our freezer and pantry are bursting at the seams, which is a wonderful "problem" to have. But even there, I want to have a little margin, so I will be focusing on making meals with items we already have. This week, I spent $59. $29 ($12 of which was for 1/2 of the $25 yearly fee that goes toward farm education, tours, etc. My neighbor and I shared the fee and order together.) at our online Farmer's Market on fresh veggies, bacon, and whipping cream, $20 at Sam's on raw almonds, dried cranberries, and popcorn kernels, and $9 at the grocery store on soap, bananas, and milk. 

These are some of the recipes I plan to make over the next week or two, based on foods we already have on hand (with the exception of spring roll wrappers and sausage). At the end of the month, I plan to head to either Savannah or Atlanta to stock up on things I have trouble finding here, such as dried cherries (LOVE Trader Joe's dried cherries, which were #42 of their favorite items in 2010. SO GOOD.), white whole wheat flour, brown rice syrup, raw nuts, etc. 

Almond Milk

Nut and Seed Granola

Breakfast Burritos

Green Smoothies

Whole Wheat Tortillas

Whole Wheat Waffles

Spring Rolls with Peanut Love Sauce

Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas

Shrimp skewers with Fried Rice

Egg Rolls

Hamburgers

Meatloaf

Corn, Crab, and Potato Soup

Curried Lentil Soup

Lentil Tacos

Chili

2011 Reading List

This year, I have decided that I am going to, primarily, read books that I already own. I have so many on my shelves that I am interested in and have never read, or have read and want to read again. Have you made your 2011 reading list? Have you read and loved any of the books on my list?

1. Better Off by Eric Brende
2. For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer McCauley
3. Traveling Mercies* by Anne Lamott
4. John Adams by David McCullough
5. Gap Creek by Robert Morgan
6. Under a Wing by Reeve Lindbergh
7. Forever Music by Edith Schaeffer
8. A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L'Engle
9. The Art of Eating* by M.F.K. Fisher
10. Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
11. Home Schooling Series by Charlotte Mason
12. A Praying Life* by Paul Miller
13. The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
14. An Echo in the Bone* by Diana Gabaldon
15. The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve
16. All He Ever Wanted by Anita Shreve
17. The Supper of the Lamb* by Robert Farrar Capon
18. The Gift of an Ordinary Day by Katrina Kennison
19. A Severe Mercy* by Sheldon Vanauken
20. Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland
21. The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
22. The Montessori Method by Maria Montessori
23. Age of Opportunity by Paul Tripp
24. Every Day Talk by John Younts
25. Your Family God's Way by Wayne Mack
26. Good and Angry by Scott Turansky
27. The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace
28. Attitudes of a Transformed Heart by Martha Peace
29. A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George
30. Your Home, a Place of Grace by Susan Hunt
31. Blue Like Jazz* by Donald Miller
32. Radical Homemakers by Shannon Hayes
33. For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn 1.14.11
34. What We Eat When We Eat Alone by Deborah Madison

*Books I am already reading, or want to re-read