Tuesday, January 03, 2012

ROW 80 (and other goals)Update #1

I thought I signed up to do the Round of Words in 80 Days challenge, but maybe I didn't.  I'm not sure.  I couldn't find myself in the list of blogs, so I signed up again.

Rapid Life. Slow Writing.  That's me.

And the challenge started yesterday.  Yay!

My goal for the next 80 days is to write for 34+ minutes a day.  That's all.  Easy.  Just write with out distractions.  I'm just starting this thing.  And so far so good.  As part of the 80 day challenge I will be blogging updates each Wednesday and Sunday.

I decided to start by writing a little sort of journal about me.  On Sunday we were visiting with some friends and one of the teenagers asked everyone how they met and how they proposed, etc.  Everyone else had such sweet stories, while I just kind of sat there.  I always feel a little uncomfortable talking about falling in love with Nathan because we were so young.  Our favorite joke:  How did you propose? answer:  You're WhAT???  isn't so funny when you are talking to teenage girls from church, you know?  (in my best mom voice, "I may have been a pregnant teenager by your age, but you, young lady, are not allowed to....blah blah blah")

Especially since our daughter Hannah (a super amazing and wonderful Senior in High School) is now the same age as I was when we got married... (happy anniversary to me on Friday!  la la la!  18 years!)  But it's no fun to have nothing to say for yourself at a party.  And it is good for the kids to know that their parents love each other, right?  So I wrote a little about Nathan's mullet and all that other good stuff (mexican wedding suit for prom?)  (kissing in the hallway at mom and dad's house -sorry mom -  while playing hide and seek with little Erin!)

I'm not really sure what this update thing is supposed to be about.  Do I just say GO ME?  Or what?  Did I write too much?  My plan for the next 77 days is:  After I write all I can think of about the joys of teen-parenthood then I think I will just find some writing prompts and work on those for a while.  34 minutes a day.


***

I set 3 other goals for January:  Cooking, Running, and Organizing.  It's kind of early to update, but here ye be: (I'm wondering if that's a South Dakota regional saying, here ye be, instead of here you are, or here goes...  I have heard 2 different people say that recently.  So weird.)

Food - cooking 3 actual meals a week that don't include frozen chicken nuggets or a packet of fake cheese.  
Do I really have to update this?  already?  I need a couple more days for this one.  I did fix pulled pork sandwiches on Tuesday.  Yum!  But Monday was McDonald's.  Monday was rough.  A certain someone who is old enough to know better (name with held for the protection of the guilty) threw up in my car.  Not on any of the 2 heavy duty plastic carpet protectors, or on the wimpier removable carpet carpet protectors, but between and under and around them.  Oh the wailing and gnashing of teeth...

And then after I cleaned up all that nastiness that and applied generous amounts of vinegar and baking soda, and changed clothes,  I had to drive with Hannah to a little town about an hour away (we took a different car. smelled better.)  And back.  And Hannah said she needed MickyD's after that long drive.  So I went with it!  I did not have a Hot Fudge Sundae like I wanted though.  That's good, right?

Dinner tonight = Spicy Honey Chicken with rice and veggies.  And I mean it.


Running - 3 days down, 3 days running.
Monday = 3.1 miles in 36 minutes with an average of about 12 minute miles. major hills. blech.
Tuesday = 3.25 miles in about 34 minutes with an average of about 10:50 minute miles. worse hills but better run.
Wednesday = 3.01 miles with my running buddy.  12 min. miles.  slow running, but good talking!
tomorrow I'm planning to do the stairs at the track.
Total this week:  9 miles
Total this year: 9 miles

Organizing - work on 4 areas
Christmas Items are all packed up and put away.  Nicely.  Woohoo!

Nathan's shop is swept out and all odd tools are set out on the work bench.  I need to vacuum it and bring down more tools from the other garage.  Why do the tools migrate?  I would love to go through his shelves and organize everything, but he may not really appreciate that... So I'll stick to vacuuming up all the dead flies and dust, and returning all the wayward tools to the shop.  My plan is to finish that up this week while we have nice weather and then attack the scary basement storage area next week.





9 comments:

Mary said...

Wendy, you are the coolest. I think your story would be interesting to read, but oh I can imagine the awkwardness of getting those questions from a room full of other people's teenagers! Good job writing!

We have the exact same dinner plan tonight - spicy honey chicken - we are twins! I better get the chicken out to that. I hope it works in the oven! Did I tell you Randy got me that cookbook for Christmas?

Veronica Jorden said...

Hi Wendy!

Happy New Year from an Army wife and Air Force brat! I love this ROW80 update...good for you for getting off to a good start.

I hate to say it but the vomit in the car made me laugh out loud. Doesn't it always happen that way? They can't ever let things fly someplace that would easy to clean up. Or better yet someplace with no clean up...like out the window?

Dinner sounds yummy, I might have to try that recipe!

Good luck with all of your goals!

Happy New Year!

P.S. That view is gorgeous...I'm a little jealous!

brandi said...

Wendy,
I love how you are making and working on goals that is fantastic, it makes for a more productive day doesn't it? You are one of the coolest and hippist (is that even a word?) Mom's I know:) I love your demeanor, and I am sure that your actions speak louder than any words you could of said about you and nathan's relationship (in the beginning). The point is you still are together and wonderful role models for your children:) I miss our outings and I am totally jealous of your crafty abilities, and all you can do on your own:) as we used to say in Hawaii way back when " Many Mahalo(s) to you and your Ohana:)
brandi sobek

Deanne said...

You've got quite the challenge ahead of you, writing for 80 days! Whew! However, I'm glad that I (and the rest of your adoring fans) get to benefit from such a challenge. ;)

Cooking. ugh! I don't care for it and only do it because it's necessary. I've gotten (is that proper/correct english? gotten?) quite a few recipes from this blog - http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ I LOVE using the crockpot, maybe you can find a few recipes from there too. Our new favs is the Peanut Butter Chicken (don't let the name scare you off, it's awesome! even my kids LOVE it, so that's saying a lot!). And tonight I'm making stuffed peppers (I think I pinned that one). Anyway, it's totally worth checking it out if it means less time in the kitchen! :)

wendy said...

Mary - I love that recipe! Thanks for sharing it with me!

Veronica - I'm glad I could make you laugh! But seriously - there's not one person in our family who cannot open a door all by themselves...

Hi Brandi! Are you still in Hawaii? Where are you now? I miss you!

Deanne - I saw your cute red shoes on Pinterest, and today I had to make some returns to the sporting goods store. And I bought those same red shoes! On sale! Yippee! I like the crockpot, but I have a hard time using it when Nathan is gone, except on Sunday, when I use it almost every week. I will definitely check out that blog!

Deanne said...

Ah yes, my red shoes. I"m wearing them now! :) Keen's are my favorite shoe, so comfortable (and stylish!) :) Double yay for getting them on sale too!!!!

Mary said...

I want to know more about these red shoes :)

Tia Bach said...

I enjoyed your post, felt like I was getting to know you. You'll love ROW80. We are a supportive bunch.

I look forward to getting to know you better over the course of this round.

Good luck with your 34+ minutes a day. I need to start timing myself, too.

Wendy Jane said...

Very good goals, and very good work thus far. Happy anniversary. I love the poem and the reasons-I-love-you list. That is so sweet. You two are adorable. I was married at 19. Yes, we're still married. We had a few rough years, but we are both too stubborn to call it off. I guess that's a good thing. If you survive the hard years, the good ones are really, really good. We were too young. I admitted that from the start. But we stuck it out. That makes me very happy. We're better friends now than ever before. Oh, and the migrating tools, what is with that? I'm itching to go out in the garage and organize all the toolboxes and work benches. I've only done that once before. Hubby didn't approve. I still don't understand how one can work in such a chaotic area. So it's still sweeping and dusting for me there, as well. Dinners are a joke around here. I'm no longer working out of the house and I've made maybe a dozen meals for hubby and I. He knows I hate cooking. Lots of spaghetti and sandwiches. Anywho, I'm rambling on. Very good post and wonderful work. Keep it up!