Non-Resolutions

I actually really enjoy making New Year resolutions, but for the last few years, I’ve become really bad at goal setting. I’ve turned rebellious, and if I set a goal, I self-sabotage and revolt against it. It’s almost like a part of me says, “You’re not the boss of me!”… to myself. 

One thing that is complicated about New Year resolutions for me, personally, is that my birthday is on January 1st. With my devotion to free birthday foods and the opportunity to use my birthday as an excuse to indulge in a few purchases, that’s a terrible time for me to try and set goals! So several years ago I decided to push all of my resolutions to Lunar/Chinese New Year (if I make any). 

This year, I didn’t make any resolutions (save for one small one that I’m not going to share til the end of the year). Instead, I made a list of “If I were going to make resolutions, here are some ideas of what they might be…”

Basically I brainstormed and refused to make any commitments, but if I happen to accomplish any of these things this year, I will be quite pleased. 

My non-resolutions, if you will…

Spend at least 30 minutes daily doing something educational

Decrease social media use (especially in front of my kids)

Buy less (be less of a consumer overall)

Quit soda

Get off blood pressure meds 

Invite people more (bring people together and be more social)

Eliminate negative body talk

Be more true to myself (stop adapting to other people)

Spend better quality time with my kids

Get the house paid off

Eat out less

Eat intuitively (and less emotionally and habitually)

As mentioned, I’m not committed to any of these things in an official capacity, but if I am able to review this list at the end of the year and feel like I made progress in any of these areas, I’ll go ahead and pat myself on the back. 

40x40

I turn 40 in 348 days. The clock is ticking, and the math is easy when your birthday is New Year’s Day, and it’s still January (don’t ask me how many days until my birthday after January 31st. I’ll have to think too hard). 

I’ve mentioned a few times that I want to do something “fun” for my 40th birthday. My interpretation of “fun” has evolved over the years, so here’s what I decided to do - I’ve set 40 goals that I want to accomplish by my 40th birthday. 

(This is the kind of stuff I consider “fun.” I also think it’s fun to make grocery lists and update my budget every week. I’m a hoot and a half. Admit it, you’re dying to hang out with me! Imagine us scouring the grocery ad together and googling new ways to use leftover baked potatoes). 

Posting a list of my 40 goals seems like something I would typically do, but I’m not going to. Some of the things I’m working on are, I’ll admit, just too darn embarrassing. However, I’ll probably post every now and then when I have finished a goal. Some of my goals are one and done and easy to check off the list, like making deviled eggs. Until a few weeks ago, I’d never made deviled eggs before, but I made it one of my goals, and mission accomplished!

(They were gross, by the way. Now I need to make them again with a different recipe).

Other goals will take all year, such as keeping track of my gospel study (I decided rather than setting a specific goal for how often I study the scriptures, I just want to keep track of days I do it. I write a heart on my calendar for each day I engage in some form of intentional gospel study, and guess what! I haven’t missed a day so far this year - albeit we’re still  only a few days into the year - but it feels nice to simplify my expectations and just be consistent). 

Maybe by the time I turn 40, I’ll be a slightly better version of myself. At minimum, I’ll have a decent deviled egg recipe added to my cookbook and 17 days of hearts in my day planner.

Eleven Before 22

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #19:

Goals

Here we are. It's September. The ninth month of the year. 

I'm finally ready to make my New Year's resolutions!

Last September I set 21 goals I wanted to achieve before 2021. I didn't complete all of them, but I did pretty darn good. I found it very motivating, and I feel the same sort of motivation now, so I'm doing it again. I'm only going to go with ten goals this time, though. "Ten before 22." It's not as exciting numerically, but sometimes you gotta be practical and not cute, amiright?

1. Do 2022 push-ups

I did this last year, and it was pretty awesome. My body is still weak from my mystery pain earlier this year, so I'm hoping I can start building up some strength. 

2. No soda for the rest of the year

I've taken off a week or two here or there, but I need to get away from soda for a nice, long stretch.

3. Take a week off social media

I need a good reset.

4. Work with my doctor to get off high blood pressure medication

I want to get to the point where I can safely go off it and see if I'm able to maintain healthy BP through lifestyle. 

5. Go kayaking by myself

Don't worry - it won't be dangerous kayaking. I'll just be rowing around a small community pond with an audiobook.

6. Go back to the temple

I haven't been to the temple since they closed in March 2020. I find myself in no rush. I kind of prefer to just wait, so setting this goal is an attempt to motivative me to at least try to go. 

7. Try 10 new recipes

This is always something I enjoy doing.

8. Shampoo the living room couch 

Let's pretend it’s not totally disgusting. I usually shampoo it once a month, but summer happened, and you can’t have a wet couch AND four kids home. 

9. Implement a new chore schedule with the kids

I had a good schedule that worked for about two years, but I need to make some changes that give Zoe and Eva more responsibilities now that they are older. 

10. Don’t go over on the Christmas budget

This is my goal every year, and every year I fail. This time I'm writing it down and sending it out into the online world. 

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Now that I made a list of goals to work on, I recall that I made at the beginning of the year to read ten "school books." I completely forgot I was working on that! So far I've read The Scarlet Letter, The Outsiders, Wait Till Helen Comes, and Weasel, The Cay & Timothy of the Cay (which I only counted as one book because of how short they were - what was I thinking?)

So in that case, I guess I need to throw in one more goal:

11. Read five more school books 

Back to School Books 4 & 5

I’m still trying to determine what my New Year’s resolutions are for 2021. I’m starting to feel like I’ve fallen behind a bit. What is it now, May? Well, the year’s not quite to the half-way point yet. I’ve still got time. 

The one resolution I did make was to read 10 “school” books. My interpretation of “school” books is “books I read in school OR books I could have/should have read in school.” 

So far I’ve read (and posted about):

The Scarlet Letter

The Outsiders

Wait till Helen Comes 

In the past few weeks, I’ve read three more “school” books, but I’m only going to count them as two.

First I read (well… technically I listened to) The Cay by Theodore Taylor. This was one of my favorite books from elementary school. I read it over and over again, and pretty much any time I had to write a book report in junior high, I wrote it on The Cay. Having had the same English teacher for all three years, I’m kind of shocked I got away with it. I guess she wasn’t exactly keeping track.

The Cay is about an 11-year-old boy named Phillip who ends up shipwrecked on an island with an old black man named Timothy. During the aftermath of the sinking ship, Phillip acquires a head injury, and shortly later, loses his sight. Phillip has some racial prejudice toward timothy initially, but as they work together on the cay, Phillip discovers that many of the ideals he learned from his mother regarding race are not correct. This, of course makes the book controversial as some feel it promotes racial harmony while others feel the book is actually harmful. 

The idea for the book came from an actual ship called the S.S. Hato that was torpedoed in 1942. There was an 11-year-old boy lost in the shipwreck, and Theodore Taylor, on hearing this story, wondered what might have happened to the boy. 

After I finished The Cay, I read Timothy of the Cay, which is the sequel. The original book was written in 1969, and the sequel was written in 1993. Timothy of the Cay delves into more of Timothy's backstory and elaborates on Phillip's life after the cay. It's hard to review the sequel without spoiling the original book, but it has a really good "what would I do?" scenario in it. Phillip has to make a pretty big decision in the sequel, and I don't think I would make the same decision he does, so it gives me a lot to think about. 

Though I've read The Cay several times, prior to this, I had only read Timothy of the Cay once. I definitely like the first book better, but the sequel is okay. 

I'm just counting these two books as one. They're very short. 

The third book I read was Weasel by Cynthia DeFelice. I don't think this book was ever required reading in any of my classes, but it seems like it was one the librarian was always promoting. Or perhaps it was one that was frequently on classroom shelves. I remembered the story completely wrong, so it was funny to go back and read it and realize the book didn't happen the way I thought. 

In Weasel, it's 1939, and Nathan's father is late returning from an outing when, one day, a man who has had his tongue cut out shows up at the house holding the locket that Nathan's dad wears. Nathan and his sister follow the man to their dad, who has been hurt. 

In the woods, a man named Weasel roams and has turned on the settlers after trying to drive the Shawnee Indians out of the area. He's become aggressive and violent, and frankly, is better off dead. 

I confess... as a child... it was the cut out tongue that appealed to me. Apparently, Young Britt had a morbid side. I should have been reading The Babysitters Club, but no. I needed gore. 

Weasel (like the other books in this post) is a very quick read and slightly controversial. 

Weasel has a sequel called Bringing Ezra back, which I only learned of right this minute. I'll have to give it a read. I'm curious. 

That brings me to the half-way point - five books of ten. 

Back to School Book 2: The Outsiders

After reading The Scarlet Letter, I wanted to choose something a little easier for my next book. I decided to go with The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.

First edition cover from 1967

(I've never actually seen this one)

My first encounter with anything "Outsiders" was in 7th grade. The girl I sat in front of in math class kept a copy of The Outsiders on her desk, and as we started talking and getting to know each other, she told me she liked to carry the book around with her because the boys on the cover were hot. Lynsie remains one of my best friends to this day (though she no longer carries a copy of The Outsiders around with her... that I know of...)

I don't remember which edition Lynsie had (I'll have to ask her), but this one looks the most like something a 12-year-old girl in 1996 would carry around

That same school year, we ended up reading The Outsiders for English class. 

Plot-wise, if you were to ask me a month ago what The Outsiders is about, I would have said, "There are some kids with weird names, and they get in fights." I didn't remember the nature of the fights or anything else about the story, so reading it again was like reading it for the first time. 

First off, I have to say that there's no question as to why this book is so well-loved and iconic. I definitely didn't appreciate it as a teen, but as an adult, I can better pick up on the depth of the characters and the themes in the writing. 

Secondly, I'm in awe at the fact that S.E. Hinton started writing The Outsiders when she was fifteen years old.

FIFTEEN.

I mean... c'mon! I'm double her age +7, and I can hardly craft a photo caption that's worthy of note. The girl had a gift! (Her name is Susan, if you're wondering). 

Anyway, what is there to say about The Outsiders? To put it simply, I really liked it. I found Ponyboy to be quite endearing. His relationship with both Sodapop (his brother) and Johnny (his friend) is very sweet, though I think he'd prefer me to say "tuff." He radiates goodness without perfection, and I always appreciate that in a character. There is still complexity in him, as there is with all of the characters in The Outsiders. 

After finishing the book, I had to also watch the movie! We watched the movie after reading the book in English class, and clearly it didn't help solidify the story in my memory. The only thing I remembered about the movie was Emilio Estevez in a Mickey Mouse shirt. 

It was fun to watch the movie and see all of the young actors - Patrick Swayze as Ponyboy's older brother, Darry. Rob Lowe as the notably good looking Sodapop. Ralph Macchio as Johnny (pre-Karate Kid). And even Tom Cruise as the incredibly annoying, insignificant character, Steve.

(Side fact: Ralph Macchio was 22 when he filmed The Outsiders and The Karate Kid. He plays a 16-year-old in The Outsiders, but he doesn't look a day older than 12!)

Now that I've read the book and watched the movie, I have to say, The Outsiders is probably the truest movie based on a book that I've ever seen. S.E. Hinton owns the rights to the movie and says there will never be a remake, and I'm glad for that!

Now that I'm two books into this goal of reading 10 books from my school days, I'm feeling pretty pumped and excited about what I'm going to read next (I haven't picked yet). I have a list of possibilities on my phone that just keeps getting longer. There is much reading to do!

Back to School Book 1: The Scarlet Letter

I didn't make any New Year's resolutions for 2021 since COVID has made me really weird about planning for the future, but I did spend some time thinking about what goals I could set... if I were to set any goals. Now that it's February, I'm ready to commit to a few goals for 2021 (Chinese New Year works better for me anyway, since January 1st is my birthday, and who wants to start resolutions on their birthday?) 

For a while I've wanted to re-read (or read for the first time) some of the books from my school days. This includes books that were required as well as books that were optional (such as those that were on a list of approved reading for certain assignments). I thought about setting a goal to read one school book per month, but then I decided I might need a little leeway, so here is my first goal for 2021: 

Read ten "school" books. 

Before I could commit to this goal, I needed to dabble in it a bit to see if I was really up for it. I made a list of books and chose my first one: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. 

The Scarlet Letter was required reading in my 11th grade honors English class. I don't remember the curriculum very well for that year, but I think we also read The Crucible, so it must've been very "colonial America heavy."

I recall that I struggled to understand the writing in The Scarlet Letter. I fell behind in the reading and didn't really finish the book. I remember feeling interested in the story (or at least what I gleaned from it via class discussions) and thinking, "I should read this when I'm a grown-up." Since I'm a grown-up, my time has come. 

I remembered the premise - Hester Prynne is sentenced to wear a red 'A' on her chest for the rest of her life because she has committed adultery. I also remembered who her lover is, but that's about it. 

I started reading the book last week and was disappointed to find that I can't comprehend the writing any better now than I could when I was 16. All I really got out of it was that it took 30 sentences to explain "Hester stood on a scaffold for three hours," and it repeatedly used the words "ponderous" and "perchance." I was half-way through the book and frankly, had no clue what was going on. I gave up for a few days and figured it was okay to not pursue this reading goal after all, but then it kept eating away at me that I hadn't finished it. I came back to it decided to start reading the spark notes alongside the book (so ya know... double the reading...) and I was shocked to discover all the great plot points that had gone right over my head (and here come the **spoilers**). For example, I completely missed the fact that Chillingworth was Hester's husband, and I kept wondering when it would reveal that Dimmesdale was the father of Hester's baby, when it already had.

I proceeded with the book by reading the spark notes for each chapter before reading the chapter so I could figure out what was going on. I'm embarrassed that I had to do it that way, but it is what it is. At least I was able to really delve into the story, and the spark notes included a lot of details about the themes and symbolism of the book that I wouldn't have concluded on my own. It made the experience better. I love me some good symbolism, but I kind of have to have it spelled out for me (for this reason, I really struggle with poetry - someone has to explain it all to me, and it makes me feel so dumb). 

In the end, I'm glad I stuck it out! What a tale! WHAT! A! TALE! I loved the exploration of how society views sin and the dichotomy between science and faith as portrayed through Chillingworth (a doctor) and Dimmesdale (a priest). I gained a much better understanding of the character of Dimmesdale. In high school, I thought of him as an antagonist since he refused to reveal his part in Hester's "crime." As a teenager, I couldn't comprehend his turmoil and suffering as he tried to reconcile his position in the community with his actions and how he "lacked energy to grasp the better fortune that seemed within his reach" (page 122).

And Hester? I can't really figure her out. She was somewhat set apart from the society, but at the same time, she was an integral part of it. She wore the 'A' boldly, and yet, still instinctively covered it with her hand. 

"She felt or fancied, then, that the scarlet letter had endowed her with a new sense. She shuddered to believe, yet could not help believing, that it gave her a sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts" (page 52).

------------

While I'm on the topic of reading, I read the eBook of The Scarlet Letter on the Kindle app for iOS. Our county library lends eBooks through Kindle, and you don’t have to have an actual Kindle (not everyone knows this, so I’m just putting it out there). Let me show you a feature of the Kindle app that I love (in case you're not aware). 

You may recall that I have a fondness for looking up word definitions. The Kindle app makes it so easy to look up words while you read (which I did a lot in The Scarlet Letter because classic literature is full of words that make me go "Huh??)

While reading in the Kindle app, you can hold your finger on a word (the same way you would if you were going to start highlighting a passage), and a little dictionary box will come up like so:

You can touch "Google search" and it will search the word, but an even better option is to download the free dictionary (as prompted in the box), and then, any time you want to know the definition of the word, you just touch the word and BAM!

DEFINITIONS!

Now I'm going to go around saying my hair is getting hoary! Thank you for that, Nathaniel Hawthorne. 

Goal Check-In #3

It's time for another check-in on my 21 Before 21 goals. It feels good to be able to report some success. 

1. No soda for the rest of the year.

Still going strong!

2. Finish reading Jesus the Christ. 

I'm on chapter 18. I admit, I'm dragging a bit. It's not exactly a page-turner for me.  

3. Try 10 new recipes. Done!

4. Get a haircut. Done! But I'm almost due for another one.  

5. Don't eat out for a month. Done!

Nicky's contract allowed us to go out to eat by invitation, so during the month of October, I went to Chick-Fil-A once and Cafe Rio once by invitation (it's all Christie's fault). Scotty ate out a couple of times for work. But other than that, we made it the whole month. 

Our first opportunity to go out to eat was on Monday, which happened to be Zoe's birthday. I let her choose what to have for dinner - she could either choose a place to go eat or choose what we cooked at home. She picked McDonald's (of course), so after a month of not eating out, we ended up at Mickey D's.

6. Finish the closet doors in the basement. Done!

This is the second set of doors. You can see the first set here. 

Someday maybe we'll have a matching washer and dryer, but it's not a priority right now. 

7. Get the door hung on the storage room.

Haven't started. 

8. Hang the closet doors in the kids' bedrooms.

Haven't started. 

9. Weigh less on December 31 than I weigh today.

I weighed myself the other day, and I think I was 2-3 pounds lighter than when I set these goals. I'm not focused on losing weight right now, but I'm working on some lifestyle changes that should result in some slow weight loss.  

10. Walk 250 miles. 

I didn't realize how lofty this goal was (I should have gone with 200). I'm currently at 91.14. I have only been counting intentional walking (i.e. going for walks) and not my daily steps. 

11. Do 2,000 push-ups.

I'm at 736.

When I started, I was having pain in my right elbow, so I decided to do the first 500 push-ups on my knees. Now I'm doing them on my toes, and my elbow is no longer giving me grief. 

Yesterday I did 20 push-ups in one set on my toes. It felt amazing to be able to do that, and I'm so happy to be seeing some progress. 

12. Do a DI run. Done!

13. Clean out the garden. Done! 

14. Try something new. Done!

15. Finish 9 books.

I've finished:

• The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
• Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
• Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
• Find Me by Anne Frasier
• House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
• The Dilemma by B.A. Paris

16. Clean out the box of junk that's been sitting on the window seat in my bedroom since July. Done!

17. Go to the doctor. Done! 

18. Complete a study of temple symbols.

Still working on this. 

19. Buy a dishwasher.

I think I'm going to make a modification to this goal. A new dishwasher shouldn't be a priority right now, and appliances are back ordered like crazy, so I'm thinking about changing this goal to saving up a certain a mount of money to use toward a dishwasher later. 

I'm still thinking about it...

20. Finish a self-reliance class.  Done!

Our final session was last week. 

21. Hang the sign over the washer and dryer that's been sitting on the floor for two months. Done! (as seen in photo above)

In unrelated news, I found an arrangement for my plate racks that I like much better than before. 

Then

Now

I said I was going to leave them alone until after Thanksgiving. 

I didn't. 

And while I'm sneakily segueing into the topic of home decor, I'll add that since we A) finished our basement, allowing us to move some furniture around and B) found something to hang over our kitchen table, I was able to move my beloved window frame back to the living room where it belongs. 

Then - window frame on the kitchen wall

Now - window frame on the living room wall

If you look closely, you can find little treasures from Eva and Zoe:

Peek a boo!

They're always hiding things around the house. 

A few weeks ago we got some updated photos taken of the kids, so I was excited to get them up on the wall as well. 

Four children who are always well-groomed and get 

along fabulously whilst happily tossing leaves in the air

If only I were as excited about Nicky and Daisy's closet doors as I am about decorating my walls. That would help me a lot with my goals.