(Day 459)

This was written on day 459 but I accidentally saved it as a draft instead of publishing, better late than never :)

Have you ever gotten so far behind on something that you feel like just quiting because there is no possible way to catch up? That is how I feel about this blog right now. For months I have felt like I've needed to blog but I have SO much to tell you, and just can't figure out where to begin. So this blog may not be pretty or even be coherent but I am going to try and catch you up on what I have been doing.

#12- Do a 3 week cleanse: I am 2 weeks into my cleanse and I feel great. I conned Brent into doing it with me which has been, for the most part, very helpful. The first few days we were both a little grouchy, but we have now adjusted to it and are seeing some great results (energy level is up and weight is down)

#8- Hike 10 different trails: Some dear friends suggested that we take the kids on a walk down near the Des Moines marina. Now typically I would not consider this a hike because the trail is paved and it just doesn't seem like "hiking". So why am I putting it down on my blog? Because I want to! It is a really cool walking trail and we have had so much fun walking there that it deserves to be mentioned.

Last Saturday we took the youth group on a hike to Denny Creek. It sprinkled most of the hike but we still managed to have a good time. I would like to go back there again when the weather is more cooperative.

# 46- Try 20 new recipes: I just made a meatball recipe that is not only tasty but it is healthy too. I also have been playing around with marinades and chicken a lot lately.

# 53- Turn garage into a playroom: I don't know how much I can actually take credit for on this one. I guess if nagging your spouse to lay carpet tiles down counts then I have done a TON of the work :-)

# 68- Go on a cross country road-trip: WOW, I need to dedicate an entry just for our cross country train trip adventure. When I originally wrote this I was thinking of a traditional road-trip. What I can tell you is that there was nothing "traditional" about our cross country Rail-road trip!

# 85- Spend the day playing board games: I love that my hubby & kiddo's are board game freaks! We have so much fun pulling out our "non-monopoly games" (that's what Ben calls them). We sat down the other day and played almost 7 hours of games... I think that qualifies , don't you?

#24 Share my faith: Since Brent & I have taken over the senior high youth group at our church there has been a lot of opportunity for me to talk about what and why I believe what I do. I have to say that this is not exactly what I was thinking of when I wrote out this goal. In my heart I really would love to talk to some of my family and friends that don't share the same belief system that I do. I hate that I am at times hesitant to bring it up, I know that they know where I stand, but I would love to talk more about it with them. I also know that I am very passionate about Christ and I never want for my passion to come off as being pushy.

It's funny, I was talking to some doulas the other day and the subject of religion came up. I was amazed at how tolerant everyone was toward Buddhism, Universalism, and even Judaism. When I brought up Christianity the door was slammed so hard (all I said was that some Christian women enjoy playing worship music and quoting scripture during their labors). I was really shocked at the reaction. I had not said anything negative about their use of non-Christian practices in the labor room, such as Reiki, so I figured that I would be safe. Where is the tolerance... I have to be tolerant of others but the same courtesy is not reciprocated?

I am thinking that I need to grow a thicker skin and not let what is said to me bother me so much.

WOW- I had no idea that I had so much to say about that. Thanks for letting me stand on my own little blogging soap-box and vent.

15 years! (Day 340)

(this post was started on day 340, but somehow not posted until now)

I was a little worried about #79 (celebrate our 15th anniversary in a unique way). 15 years is a long time and I really wanted for our weekend to be special.

I am responsible for planning the odd years and I decided that I wanted to go someplace new so I found a cute Bed & Breakfast in Leavenworth and made reservations (Cottonwood Shores B&B) I was so excited that they had availability and was really looking forward to our weekend away.

Here is where the story goes wonky. I received a phone a few days before we were going to leave, from the owner Pat, who informed me that they would not like for us to come and stay with them. I was perplexed and asked why. She had looked me up on Peoplefinder.com and was "concerned" that I had lived in so many different locations and told me that I had aliases (which was news to me). I was in total shock!

I went home and looked on Peoplefinder and found several listings for a Patricia which is not and has never been my name.

I was pretty emotional, but I called Pat (who IS actually a Patricia) back. I was trying to choke back tears as I explained to her that her source was not valid and that I was not the person that she thought I was. It didn't change her mind and I was forced to find another B&B.

What blows my mind about the entire situation is, that Pat was really nice through the entire ordeal and I really want to give them a good review but I can't.

We ended up staying at an interesting B&B. The owner Verne was I believe he said 84 years old. Verne's wife was away visiting there son in Florida, so Verne was left on his own to tend to the guests. He was very sweet and had some amazing stories that somehow all ended up with someone being dead. I guess when I have lived that long most of my stories may end that way too.

We arrived in around 10pm on the first night and after putting our bags in our room (which was sweet and very clean), we joined Verne and the other couple who was staying there in the living room. It was a large room that had last been redecorated in the 1950's. The walls had the most interesting wallpaper on them, I think the part that was so interesting was that the paper went up the wall, covered the extremely high vaulted ceiling and then came right down the other side. It was truly... interesting.

We said our good nights and retreated to our room. Brent opened the door for me and as I turned to close the door my dear sweet husband said "Tricia, take your pants off". Well as you can imagine I was expecting something a little bit more romantic. Here is how the rest of the conversation went like this;

Me: "I know we are celebrating our anniversary honey and you are excited but do you think ...." Brent: "TAKE your pants off NOW Tricia!"

Me: "Brent I was hoping to..."

Brent: "Tricia, listen to me, if you don't take your pants off right now we.. NO NO NO DON'T SIT ON THE BED"

Well now I was intrigued at this point (and a little frightened) so I obeyed my hubby and removed my pants. He then proceeded to show me that the back of my pants were completely covered in fur. When I say covered I mean covered! There was so much golden fur that you could barely see my black pants through the fur.

At this point I am stating to panic and tear up. What in the world I had gotten us into. Brent was able to defuse the situation as only he could and within minutes we were laughing so hard that we were both crying.

The next day I found out that the chair that I had been sitting on the night before just happened to be the cats favorite spot. I decided not to sit there for the rest of our stay.

We puttered around the town the following day and just enjoyed the ambiance of this amazing German inspired town. The following day I planned a white water river rafting trip for us. It was SO much fun! Neither Brent or I had been white water rafting since we had gone 20+ years ago with our church youth group. We thoroughly loved Leavenworth and will be visiting it again soon.

1/3 of the way done. (Day 332)

Well not quite... I am one day shy of being a third of the way done. I have completed 27 of my 101 items completed and I have started on 26 others.

Not bad, considering I was hesitant to do a "101 in 1001 day" challenge in the first place. Here is an update on a few items that I have completed or are in the process of working on.

I bought a Groupon today for a knitting 101 class. Woo Hoo! I may actually get #50 marked off my list (Learn how to knit).

This last weekend was spent completing the second half of #57 (decrease clutter by having 2 yard sales), I had one of the two sales last summer. I was motivated to help a friend who is moving sell some of her things which in turn helped me!

I am pretty sure that I will not be completing all of the reading goals that I have listed. I use to love reading, but lately it seems that the only time I have to read is when I am beat tired, which for this dyslexic girl, is the worst time to try and read.

I figured I have to at least try and start some of this reading so the last week Micah and I have been reading "Bridge to Terabithia" I read it for the first time in 4th grade and since Micah is now in 4th I figured it was time for me to share it with him. I am happy that he is enjoying it as much as I did. We have had some great conversations about what we think Terabithia looked like or what it would look like if we could build a land of our own.

Last week was Mother's Day, so I decided it was time to knock #84 off my list (take my mom out for pedi's). It was a fun present for both of us and we really enjoyed the special treatment.

I am meeting with a group of ladies for a class that is given by a personal trainer. Because the class is so small (there were 4 of us in the last class) and personal I am counting it towards #17. It was fun and I am looking forward to our next class on Wednesday.

Speaking of Wednesday, it just so happens that Wednesday is my 15th anniversary. I am trying to plan a fun get-away but I can't blog too much about it yet. I promise to update you with all of the details (ok, maybe not ALL of them) when we return.

She flies through the air with the greatest of.... ease??? (Day 318)

I got a phone call the other day that was... unique!

It was my dear friend Jena, she was calling to ask me if I would like to go to a trapeze class with her. After checking my calendar and finding that the time and day where available I said YES!

My thought process went something like this:

"Woo Hoo, I get to hang out with Jena.... I love Jena... she is so great... we always have so much fun together... we both like good food... I love that she likes good food... I bet we can do lunch before this class... I love lunch... lunch is so great... lunch with Jena is double great... this is going to be so great... Woo Hoo"

As you can see, when I said yes I was not considering several things, in fact, I was not considering much at all. I was excited to spend time with my friend who, like me, loves little cafes that serve amazing Caresse sandwiches on a wonderful baguette with cute little dishes filled with olives & pickles, and others with figs & heavenly almonds. (can you guess what I had for lunch :-)

When I told Brent what I was going to do, he (unlike me) was thinking a little more practically.

Brent's thought process went something like this:

"...Ummm, are you serious?... You realize what trapezing is, right?... You are terrified of heights... you realize that you will be up high on a tiny little bar swinging... you sure you want to do this... on a full stomach... "

So what did I do.... just that!

Jena and I went out for lunch at a fun little specialty shop in Ballard called "Savour". We had wonderful Caprese sandwich and then we were off to face our fears.

I am proud to announce that we both flew through the air. Jena was much better at the "with ease" part then I was, but the point is I DID IT!

Overall it was a great day, I am able to mark off that I went to a group exercise class (#16) and that I went to a new restaurant (#88). Best of all I was able to have all of these new experiences with a fantastic friend.

Unique & New (day 307)

#81 - Take the boys on 10 unique field-trips

I believe that what I meant when I wrote this goal was "Take the boys on 10 field-trips to somewhere that they have never been on before".

I am clarifying my goal because, any of you with children (especially mine), know that ANY TIME you go on a field-trip you are most likely going to encounter a unique experience. For example: I took the boys to the grocery store (yes, we homeschoolers can even make a quick trip to get bread and milk into an educational field-trip), what should have been a quick in and out stop turned into an hour long "experience" which included a broken pickle jar, a cart full of unneeded items, and a now frazzled mom and two unhappy children who wished that their mother would take them on a "unique" field-trip that didn't require a clean up on aisle 12.

When our homechool co-op planned an Amtrak train trip to Portland for the day, I had not prepared myself for how "unique" this field-trip would be. Let me start by giving a big shout out to my mom who accompanied the boys and I on the trip. She was my a huge help and a great source of comic relief.

When my alarm went off at 5am, I knew that this was going to be... an experience. The train was scheduled to leave at 7:44am. We needed to be at the station 30 minutes early and it takes 15 minutes to get to the Tukwila station from my house, which meant that I needed to be out the door by 6:45am (I am not that bad at math... I added an extra 15 minutes in to assure that we would be on time).

Now for those of you who know me well, you can attest to the fact that I am not a 7am kind of girl. My alarm is usually set to go off at 7am and my day doesn't really start until around 8:30 or 9... at best!

Luckily I had packed most of the lunch and activities for the 3.5 hour train ride

the night before. This only left me with showering, waking up the kids, doing breakfast and getting everyone (and everything) into the car. One might think that 2 hours is enough time to do that... one would be WRONG.

My shower greeted me and beckoned me to stay "just another 5 minutes", my children pleaded from the comforts of their beds for "just another 5 minutes", who knew that breakfast at 6am requires "just another 5 minutes" and when it was time to walk out the door I was the one praying for "just another 5 minutes".

It was no surprise when we pulled into the train parking lot almost 15 minutes late. I was outwardly composed, but internally I was a tired and frazzled mess. I was relieved to see other moms arriving late too. Everyone was smiles and hugs, but I know some of them must have also been thinking "why in the world did I sign up for this craziness?"

It was a chilly morning and all of the adults stood huddled together chatting and reminding the kids to stay behind the yellow safety line, so that they wouldn't fall off the platform onto the tracks.

7:44 came and went, we found out that the train was going to be 45 minutes late... just enough time to run to Starbucks for hot cocoas for the kiddo's and a warm cup of sanity for mom and I.

45 minutes turned into an hour which turned into two hours. My body was no longer finding comfort from my latte, but rather an uncomfortable pain was beginning in my bladder. The kids were restless, Ben wanted to know "exactly why were you in such a hurry to get out of the house?" I was restless my sweet & gentle reminders to stay behind the yellow line were now sounding something like this "Do you want to die, because I can arrange that.... Get behind the yellow line NOW!"

The train finally arrived and we were off!

3.5 hours on a train is a loooong time. I had tried to pack light knowing that whatever I took would have to be hauled around with us. The boys sat a few seats in front of me with some of the other co-op kids and my mom and I sat with some other co-op moms. This arrangement worked out for the first 2 or 2.5 hours. I found out that I had not known what restless was on that train platform, NOW the natives were restless.

When we arrived in Portland I decided to go with a group that was visiting Voodoo Donuts (someone had seen it on the Travel Channel) and to Powells Books (the best bookstore that I know of).

Voodoo Donuts was.... an experience. (If you are a sensitive reader then don't read the following paragraph, just trust me and know that this place was a "one of a kind" type of place that had decent donuts and a not so decent menu)

Usually I ask my kids what they want, this time I tried very hard to get them to not read the menu reader board. When asked what Cock-N-Balls was I was able to convinced them that it was referring to roosters (I was relieved when they didn't ask why it looked like something else, hence the name) I nearly choked when Micah asked what penetration was. I explained that Ben's choice, the Triple Chocolate Penetration donut (chocolate donut covered in coco-puffs) was named that way, because the donut was "penetrated" with chocolate. Micah got a Dirty Donut (donut frosted and covered with Oreo's) which needed no explanation, everyone knows that Oreo's look like dirt. Ben told Micah not to read the "Old Dirty Bastard" donut because it was a bad word that he shouldn't be reading (but it's OK for him too read it and then say it???).

If you want your children to stay innocent then do not visit Voodoo Donuts.

Powell's bookstore was a much needed break after our donut experience. We spent hours browsing through the books. I love bookstores and I am so blessed that my children have inherited this love.

The train ride back was much quieter, we were in a train car with one other family, while the rest of our group was in the other car. The boys read their new books and my mom and I chatted with another co-op mom while her child slept.

All in all it was a fun-filled field-trip for my children. They will hopefully look back on this experience with smiles.

Our next field-trip (also with our co-op group), was yesterday. The boys and I drove 1.5 hours north to the Golden Glen Creamery. We got to look through wire at chickens, look through pens at cows and look through a window in a door at a room where cheese is made (no cheese was actually being made at the time). It was very educational but not nearly as exciting.

#46 - Try 20 new recipes

I tried a new hummus recipe. It was easy, which may be why it doesn't taste so great. It's edible but not fantastic.

#88 - Try 10 new restaurants

I went out to reconnect with my cousin and have a much needed girls night. She suggested we go to Il Fornia for their free appetizer happy hour, it was a good choice. The appetizers were simple but yummy and free as long as you order a drink (diet cokes count).

#3- Update my blog every 3 months on my weight lose

Have you been reading this post? If you have you can probably guess how my weight lose is going. Donuts, creameries, recipes and restaurants do not make for a good diet.

My last update on this was in September, at that time I had lost a total of 13 pounds. I am happy to inform you that I have lost more weight, I am sad to say that it is only 2.5 pounds.

I wish that I could give you good explanation but honestly I can't. The winter months are always difficult for me. Now that we are out of the rainy season I expect for my number to go up, the loss number not the weight one.

With that being said, I am going to put my laptop away and take my kiddo's out for a walk. I hope that attempting to complete #5 will help me get #13 at a -60 and inspire me to blog about #3 on more regular basis.

Inspiration + Motivation= Day 305

I am proud to announce that #100 (inspire 2 other people to do a 101 in 1001) is complete!

I have been told by three people that they will join me on the quest to complete this wonderfully crazy personal challenge. One out of three of them has already made her list and begun her 1001.

I look forward to seeing what they come up with,. My job now is no longer to inspire, but to help motivate them to complete their task.

Woo Hoo... You can do it!!!

Now, how is that for motivation :D

Oregon or bust! (Day 297)

What an amazing weekend!!!

Brent and I went to Salem OR to speak for the student body of Corban University (our Alma mater). We decided to make our trip into a mini vacation (#74) and left a couple of days early so we could visit our dear friends in Eugene OR (#66 ). We are so blessed to have friends that will put us up, and put up with us :-)

While we were in Oregon, we (meaning I) decided that our friends were too cool to stay Muggles, so we introduced them to the joys of geocaching (#72).

On Sunday afternoon, we left our friends and drove up to Salem. The college had reserved a hotel room for Brent and I for the night. We spent the evening just vegging out, Brent finished a book and I continued to work on crocheting my moms blanket (wow... that sure makes us sound old & boring doesn't it?)

The college is about 10 minutes from the hotel so the next morning we weren't rushed at all. We enjoyed the continental breakfast and then packed up the car and headed over to the college.

There were around 300-350 students who attended the chapel service. I was nervous before hand but once I got up on stage I was flooded with peace and it felt almost natural. God was definitely present. The students were receptive and afterwards, we were able to speak to some of them and got some very good feedback.

The only thing that could have been better about the weekend was us. Both Brent and I were struggling with the tail end of a stomach bug. My stomach was unsettled as was his but he had the added bonus of his "tail end" producing all sorts of nasty smells.