# 83

83. Keep my New Years resolutions (1/2)

This year, I went very simple with my resolutions.

First, I wanted to keep up with my inbox. While I haven't been perfect with that at all, I have been so much better than in the past. I might have been helped by Gmail's Priority Inbox, but you use the tools that you have.

Second, I wanted to keep up with this blog. Again, I haven't been perfect, but considering my attention span, I've done pretty well. I'm not as far along on a lot of items as I had hoped, but I am still trying.

I am counting the first full year of this item as complete, knowing that it is an ongoing project. We'll see how I hold up next year.

# 32

32. Organize a family Christmas picture each year (2/3)

The extended family picture. One problem with this is that someone has to miss the picture to be the photographer. Unfortunately, in this case it was Rebecca. I might need to figure out a way to fix this problem for next year. I also unfortunately completely forgot to do this with Geoff's family by the time we got there. There's always next year.

But what I really wanted was a picture of the three of us from Christmas morning. This is the best one that we got, although I wish that it was long so that you could see Geoff and my pj bottoms.

These did not come out as well as I had been hoping. Luckily on Thanksgiving, I was able to get a picture of the three of us, which was eventually used for the Christmas card.

# 15 and # 16

15. Make a dessert for each Christmas dinner (2/3)
16. Make a dessert for each Boxing Day (2/3)

This year, I made cookies for both Christmas dinner and for Boxing Day. I was a bit short on time, so I didn't make as many has I had been planning on, but I was happy to have desserts that I could actually enjoy. I also didn't take as many pictures, since I started to get very busy while I was baking, but I did get a few.

One more year to go, and then these are done.

# 33

33. Send Christmas cards each year (2/3)

Cards have been mailed! There are a few stragglers, where I'm working on getting the addresses, but this is basically done. Much earlier than I anticipated this year. Two down, one to go!

# 14

14. Bake a pie for each Thanksgiving (2/3)

This year, I was planning on making all the desserts for dinner at my mom's house, but I started to not feel well during the week, and wasn't able to get it done. I might have been able to push through had I not known that my mom anticipated Peter making me too busy and bought a bunch of pies anyway. Those pies were not dairy and soy free, so I did make my self get through one pie, which also helped me to get closer to finishing this item (one more year to go). I made an apple pie, with palm shortening instead of soy (and no butter). I thought that it came out pretty well, and was thrilled that I had a dessert to eat for a change. Everyone else said that it was very good, but they might have just been being polite...

No pictures of the actual baking this year, my kitchen was a mess, so I didn't take any. We only have the final product after it was delivered to "the dessert room", which also doubled as the "trying to get babies to nap at the noisy party room".

# 20

20. Try at least two new recipes a month (14/68)

Geoff and I haven't been cooking a lot of new things. The most adventurous that I've gotten recently has been making new food for Peter, but I haven't been counting those towards this total. Today, I took one of the pumpkins that we got at the farm two weeks ago, and started to make a puree for Peter. The first thing that I did was remove the seeds. So instead of just throwing them away, I used a variation this Whole Foods recipe to roast them.

It was a little more effort than I usually like to put in for what is basically a snack, but they came out ok. I will probably do it again when I make the other pumpkin.

# 42

42. Attend Sunday services at least twice a month (21/68)

I have not been able to keep up with this one as much as I would like. Peter had a tendency to wake up too close to 8 for me to be able to go often. (It's annoying because he wakes up so much earlier during the week, when we don't have a place to be at 8.)

This morning, I took advantage of daylight savings. Peter woke up at 7 (would have been 8 if the clocks hadn't changed), which gave me enough time to feed him, dress him, get myself ready and still make it to church on time. I ended up going solo, since Geoff wanted to get a jump start on the laundry.

Peter did so much better than the last time that Geoff and I tried to take him to church (not that he did that badly then). I didn't bother with the car seat, since I knew he would want his freedom. He started to get a little fussy during the sermon, but was calmed down just by going to the back and looking at the windows. I also had to take him out into the hall a little before the communion since he was being a little loud with his teether, but he didn't have a major meltdown. After the service, so many people came up to me to tell me how well behaved he was.

I don't have any pictures, since I was flying solo. Maybe next time, Geoff will be able to come as well, and then I'll be able to get some shots.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (10/68)

I have fallen way behind on this item. Mostly because I don't feel that I can count books like Goodnight Moon and Hop on Pop towards my total. I've joined a new book club (in addition to my new mommy group), so I've finally finished an adult book. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson is not the kind of book that I usually read, but I loved it. I had a hard time putting it down, and it has caused me to not take advantage of the sleep I should have been getting for the past few days.

I was concerned when the woman at the bookstore told me that you had to get through 100 pages before it was any good, and how annoying the Swedish street names and such were. I did not agree with her at all, and I was pretty hooked from the beginning. I would definitely recommend this book to someone who likes to read. (I know too many people who just aren't into books, and I doubt that they would stick this one out.)

And I know that I've fallen way behind on this list, and I haven't been ignoring it. I've just been a little busier than normal. I am also hoping to get back into the swing of some of these items, and get back to updating here more.

# 25

25. Get together with friends once a month (11/34)

Last weekend, Kristin, Austin, Christine and Tedd came up for game night. It was the first time that we have been able to get together for a while (not counting the engagement party the week before). It was basically a fail as far as game night, since we never got to a game, but it was great to just hang out for a little while. Even Peter cooperated by going to bed fairly easily. Hopefully next time we'll actually play something.

# 19 and # 20

19. Use the crockpot for dinner sixty times (9/60)
20. Try at least two new recipes a month (13/68)

Tonight we tried the Sweet and Tangy Chicken from Go Dairy Free. I thought that it was great and Geoff did too. I might have even started to eat it before I remembered to take the picture. This is definitely going to be something that we make again, and I think that it is something that we would be able to make for company.

Now that we are coming into the fall (when did that happen?), I'm really glad that we've been trying all these new recipes. It may be a long winter this year, but at least we won't be eating the same things over and over again.

# 20 and # 46

20. Try at least two new recipes a month (12/68)
46. Stay in and cook dinner together once a month (2/34)

Tonight Geoff and I made Lemon Chicken. It was surprisingly easy to make, which is good since it was impossible to start before Geoff got home from work. It was also nice that it was so easy, since Geoff is not used to being in the kitchen with me (he tends to cook breakfasts while I do dinners). It was actually quite tasty as well, and it is definitely something that we will be making again. I think that next time we might try it with orange as is suggested in the recipe.

# 19 and # 20

19. Use the crockpot for dinner sixty times (8/60)
20. Try at least two new recipes a month (11/68)

Tonight, I tried a new pulled pork recipe in the slower cooker, and I think that it came out much better than last time. I'm not sure if it was the honey that made the difference, or the cut of meat that we got, but it was great. Geoff said more than once that I would have to make it again. I was planning on making sweet potato fries as well, but it was just too hot today to put on the oven, so we just had baked sweet potatoes (in the microwave).

I also completely forgot to take pictures, but we can all just imagine what it looked liked (big surprise, it looked very similar to last time).

# 97

97. Get back to the size I was when I started J. Mendel

This morning, as I was trying to find something to wear to church, I figured that I would try on an old skirt. It was the skirt that I wore to my interview at J. Mendel. It hasn't really fit me for a few years.

This morning, it fit.

# 19 and # 20

19. Use the crockpot for dinner sixty times (7/60)
20. Try at least two new recipes a month (10/68)

I am finding that the only time that Peter will contently play by himself and let me cook dinner is in the morning, making the slow cooker ideal for dinner. Tonight we tried the Lime Cilantro Chicken from the WebMD summer slow cooker article I used last week, and put it in a salad. It came out pretty well, although it would go much better with some rice and black beans. I think that the next time we make this (and there will be a next time), we will try making cheese-less burritos.

One Year Down

(and a little bit...)

I've been writing this entry for about a week, but time just seems to be getting away from me.

So far, I've completed 15 items. I'm not sure how much I thought that I would have done by now, but 15 isn't that bad. I also have 19 items that are repeated until the end of the 1001 days, with as few as 3 repetitions and as many as 68. Some of these items I am caught up on, others not so much.

Here is a breakdown of some of the open items left.

9. Go through and organize items in Dan and Sue's basement
10. Frame more pictures around the apartment
Geoff and I started # 9 when we moved in February, but didn't go through everything. Now I wish we had finished it before Peter was born. What will probably happen is that we'll go do it some winter weekend when we don't mind being inside. As for # 10, I have a new picture subject, so hopefully it will happen soon.

21. Visit Grandma for her 100th birthday
This is in progress in the sense that we have already booked the hotel, and will be booking the flights soon. Part of me wants to wait until I have my and Peter's passports in hand (we don't have them back yet), but I do have a personal deadline where I will just book anyway.

26. Organize a regular game night
27. Have brunch with the girls every two months (0/17)
28. Host a dinner party for friends
I'm going to start working on these. I'm so far behind on brunch, that I may just have to cut the number of times down, but we'll see. I also have the issue now where I'm so limited with what I can eat that I might have to come up with alternatives. Maybe brunches at home? I really do want to set up a regular game night, something really simple. As for dinner, well, I just need to get my act together. Although I will probably wait for cooler weather when it is easier to cook.

34. Scan old family photos
35. Do more research on Mom's side of the family tree
36. Do more research on Geoff's side of the family tree
I want to do these things, but I feel a little stuck with Peter at the moment, so they are being put off for now. Again, this is something that I wish I had completed (or at least got further along) before he was born.

37. Participate in one charity walk per year (0/3)
38. Participate in the midnight run at church once a year (0/3)
I will probably just double up one year on these to catch up.

81. Do not go out to eat for one month
One week in, so fingers crossed...

88. Print and organize photos
89. Back up digital photos
90. Caption all the people in our digital photographs
I've been backing up my photos to Picasa, but some time soon, I want to back them up to DVD. I'm hoping that Geoff will watch Peter while I do it. I'm constantly tagging people in my photos, I'm afraid that I'll never finish (but I will try). I also want to print pictures for albums, especially now that we have Peter. I just need to have a place to put them first.

97. Get back to the size I was when I started J. Mendel
Almost there. Thanks to my lack of dairy and soy.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (9/68)

Today I finished reading No More Dirty Looks: The Truth about Your Beauty Products--and the Ultimate Guide to Safe and Clean Cosmetics by Siobhan O'Connor and Alexandra Spunt. I found this book after stumbling upon their blog, and it really opened my eyes. I guess I had started moving to more "organic" and "natural" products because I thought that it would help my sensitive skin. Little did I know how dirty all my products are. All of them. For example, I looked up my 100% vegan, $20 a bottle conditioner on the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database, and it scored an 8. Out of 10. Where 10 is the worst (and will probably kill you). I am not liking that. At all.

So I am going to be listening to a lot of things that this book says, and I will be switching out just about all of my products. (That should make Geoff happy, since I will also be scaling back on what I use.) There are certain things that I will not be giving up, my color is one of them. Since I only do that every few months, I'm not as worried about it (although I probably should be). Items that I use everyday will be phased to clean versions. I had already switched to natural deodorant a few years ago, and yesterday I ordered clean shampoo and conditioner (to replace the murderous ones). As I finish up my other products (which for the most part seem to be a moderate risk according to Skin Deep), I will switch them over.

I would definitely suggest this book to anyone who is interested or concerned about what they put on their bodies, which will be absorbed. Although, if you want to remain blissfully unaware, then do not read this book.

In other news, Amazon has a collection of classics available for free for the Kindle. Not that I have a Kindle (so if you feel like getting me a nice present, maybe Christmas...), but I do have the free app for my phone and for my PC. So expect to see a bunch of classics in the near future.

# 19 and # 20

19. Use the crockpot for dinner sixty times (6/60)
20. Try at least two new recipes a month (9/68)

To finish off the week, I attempted to make pulled pork, which is something that I have really missed since the diet restrictions started. I found a WebMD article about summer slow cooker recipes, and that is where I found this one. As pulled pork, the recipe was a fail. It was too liquid for sandwiches (not that I had rolls, Geoff couldn't find any without soy), and the pork didn't fall apart nearly as much as I wanted it to. As a dinner, it was a huge success. It was delicious, I loved it, Geoff loved it. I am definitely going to be making this again soon. Next time I will also make some kind of veggie for a side, something that was lacking tonight. I had every intention of making a quick salad to eat with it, but somehow that didn't happen.

# 19 and # 20

19. Use the crockpot for dinner sixty times (5/60)
20. Try at least two new recipes a month (8/68)

Today, I tried again for a summer slow cooker meal. Success! This time making Sloppy Chicken Joes, but really they were turkey. I obviously left off the cheese as well, and I didn't have rolls so we just put it into bowls. But it was still delicious. Even Geoff said that it was really good. I even have some left over, so I'll see how it reheats tomorrow. This is definitely something that I am going to make it a point to have the ingredients on hand (except for the ground turkey) for the future.

I'm probably going to be trying a lot of new recipes now since I am on the dairy and soy free diet, which hopefully means I will catch up to where I should be on these items.

# 19 and # 20

19. Use the crockpot for dinner sixty times (4/60)
20. Try at least two new recipes a month (7/68)

I finally have gotten back into these two items. I always associate the slow cooker with winter, but it was recently brought to my attention that it is great for making dinner in the summer, as it doesn't make the entire apartment ridiculously hot. For my first attempt at a summer dish, I made Mediterranean Chicken Breast and Wild Rice. I thought that it was just okay. That might have something to do with the fact that I don't like sundried tomatoes or capers (note to self, don't make meals where I don't like half the ingredients), but Geoff thought that it was just okay as well.

Bottom line is that I'll make it again, but I won't make it often.

# 62

62. Renew my American passport with my married name

I finally got my picture taken, it only took me three months. That was the only thing that my application was waiting for. I have now officially changed all my id's to my married name.

# 25

25. Get together with friends once a month (10/34)

Last night, Kristin, Austin, Christine and Tedd came up to celebrate Christine and Tedd's engagement. We went to Turquoise for dinner, but ended up having to bring the party inside as some major thunderstorms rolled through. (Funny story, that is the same restaurant that Geoff and I were at when we had that major power outage this past March.) After dinner, we went back to our apartment and hung out for a while (while Peter slept in his crib). It was great actually getting out and socializing, and I'm really looking forward to the next time we can get together.

# 42

42. Attend Sunday services at least twice a month (16/68)

I have fallen seriously behind on this item, but yesterday we actually made it to church for the first time in about three months. We were there for Peter's baptism, and therefore at the 10 am service. Peter was not a fan of the very loud organ, and I think that is a sign that we should keep going to the quieter 8 am service.

Hopefully, we'll be able to start going to church on a regular basis, and I'll be able to catch up on this item.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (8/68)

Last night I finished reading The White Queen by Philippa Gregory. I loved it. I'm not sure why, but it much more reminded me of The Other Boleyn Girl than the other books of her's I have read. I also think that since I didn't know nearly as much about the story to begin with, I didn't have expectations that weren't met. I am very much looking forward to reading the other books in this series, starting with The Red Queen (which is scheduled for release August 19th).

And now I've finished the books I got from the library. Hopefully I'll get back soon to get some more and move along with this item.

# 31

31. Send pictures to Grandma at least 4 times a year (3/11)

I've actually been pretty good, and every month since Peter was born, I've sent a photobook to my grandmother with pictures from that month. I am not counting that towards this item. Today I actually got my act together, went to the post office and mailed photographs to my grandmother with a hand written card. I'm thinking that I'll do that about every three months, so the plan is to send some more by the end of September (in addition to the monthly photobooks).

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (7/68)

I just finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I had been looking at this book for a while, ever since seeing an episode of Dr Who that was compared to it. After seeing the movie recently, I finally got around to getting the book from the library. I was curious how the book would handle the non-sequential time-line, and I was not disappointed. I actually quite enjoyed the book, I found it much more interesting than the movie. I loved the way that things were revealed to the reader, a mix of Clare's and Henry's time-lines.

It took me a lot longer than normal to finish the book, but that had more to do with my limited reading time and not my interest in the book. In fact, I had to force myself to put the book down at night and get some sleep when I could. I would definitely recommend it.

# 25

25. Get together with friends once a month (9/34)

My social life has been unsurprisingly slow for the past six weeks, but I didn't want to let the May birthdays go by uncelebrated. Kristin, Christine, Austin and Tedd all came up to us on Saturday. Since it was such a nice evening, we decided to go for Mexican and sit outside. A pitcher of margaritas and a pitcher of sangria later, everyone seemed to have a good time (especially Peter, who finally got his hands on Austin).

# 61

61. Renew my British passport with my married name

As of today, my renewal application as been sent in. Since I've done everything on my side, I'm counting this item as done. Now I just need to finish my American application...

Where have I been?

I haven't forgotten about this challenge, although my lack of posting might make it seem like I have. I have, for the most part, forgotten what it is like to get a decent amount of sleep, and to have five minutes to myself. It is completely worth it.

I am going to be continuing with this challenge, although it might take a while for me to update any items. We are still trying to get used to each other, so consider me on "maternity leave" for the time being.

# 40

40. Attend Easter sunrise service each year (1/3)

So Geoff and I were actually able to get up this morning for the sunrise service after being in the city last night. It was pretty foggy but very warm. I'm glad that the weather wasn't horrible, but we didn't really get to see the sunrise. It was hard to get pictures of us, since the fog made the flash not work very well, but I did get some nice shots of the park.

I am very glad that we got to go this year, and I really hope that the weather holds up the next two years as well. Here are some pictures from this morning.

# 25

25. Get together with friends once a month (8/34)

Last night, Geoff and I headed into the city to celebrate Tedd's thirtieth birthday. We started off the evening with dinner at Blue Smoke, and finished the evening off at Rodeo. Considering the celebration, it was a pretty quiet night, but we still had a lot of fun. I didn't get a lot of pictures, at least that came out, but it was nice spending time with friends that I hadn't seen in a while.

# 1

1. Move into a two bedroom apartment

Yesterday, I handed in the keys to the old apartment. Since we aren't living out of two places anymore, I am counting this as done. There are still things that need to get put away, and we still have boxes in a lot of places (but to be fair, not all of them are moving related, a lot are baby related). The kitchen is still a big mess, since that was the last of the items to come over, but we are in, and the big stuff is done.

# 6

6. Get a bookshelf

We got a bookcase to use in our foyer. I'm still working on filling this as well, but it shouldn't take me too long to get it all organized. I will probably post some updated pictures once # 1 is done (and I'm now another step closer). I'm thrilled, since I now have someplace to put my books, and I'm hoping that this will keep us organized. I also really like the way that it looks.

# 4

4. Get a hutch to organize plates, glasses and dinning area

One more down! It isn't so much a hutch as a wall unit that we are using to store our glasses and plates. I'm currently in the process of filling it, but I am still counting it as done.

This also helps bring me one step closer to finishing # 1.

# 3

3. Go through and clean out my closet

Closet is organized! I actually started this project before we moved. I donated clothes and shoes that I wouldn't wear anymore, and started arranging everything else. Shoes are organized, clothes are hung, and out of season and unwearable (at the moment) clothes are packed away. All that needs to get done is to have Geoff help me put some things on the top shelf (since I can't reach). It took a lot longer than I had wanted it to, but hopefully this will motivate me to get other things done today too. Also, I'm hoping that I will be able to keep it nice and organized going forward.

I'm not taking pictures of this because, well, it's a closet. Also, while the closet is done, the rest of the room definitely is not. Maybe I'll sneak some pictures in when I complete item 1, but I doubt it.

# 45

45. Have a monthly date-night with Geoff (8/34)

This past Saturday night, Geoff and I had an impromptu candlelit dinner as the power went out while we were having dinner at Turquoise. Since we figured that we wouldn't have power either (we didn't), we decided to make the most of the night and enjoy ourselves. We stayed at the restaurant for as long as we could (the power went out as they were serving our dinners), and we went home and spent some time together by candlelight. Having no power for the rest of the weekend (it didn't come on until early Monday morning) means that we didn't get the apartment completely set up (no power tools to finish what needs to be built), but it was nice to have that one evening to ourselves to relax.

Update on Open Items

1. Move into a two bedroom apartment

This item is not quite yet complete, since we are not quite yet settled in the new place. The two main things holding us up is the fact that the kitchen hasn't been completely transfered (which also ruined my plan of March completing item # 81), and that we have a ton of stuff that hasn't been put "away". I'm really hoping that we will be able to get all of this done this weekend (fingers crossed). Then I will be able to mark this one as done, and post some pictures of the new place.

Also, I know that there are people who I'm dying to have come over and see the place, but I really want it to be presentable, and it isn't quite there yet.

90. Caption all the people in our digital photographs

As I take new pictures, I've been pretty good about tagging the people in them. I've also been pretty good about geo-tagging the photos. It is taking a long time to go through the old pictures and tagging them, but I am still working on it.

99. Take pictures of this journey

I've recently been slacking on this item, but hopefully, I'll start being better. Now that things are starting to get settled, I'm hoping that it will be easier to take more pictures.

# 7

7. Start using "green" cleaning products

So with the move and the baby coming, we've decided that we are really going to start doing this one. While I have been using some Method products for a long time now, such as the O-Mop, laundry detergents and all purpose cleaning spray, we've decided to move everything over to Method in the new place. Geoff did use the old stuff for the initial deep clean, but going forward we aren't using it anymore. The only exceptions I think that we will have is that we want to finish our Cascade dishwasher soap and Clorox for white laundry. We are doing to see how this goes, but if they don't work, I wouldn't be surprised if certain things go back to the old way.

One more item down!

# 5

5. Get a Blu-Ray player

I forgot that this was on the list, but the new computer actually has a Blu-Ray player. So one more item down!

New Look!

I'm afraid that with the move (which still isn't totally complete), I've been neglecting this blog. I am going to try today and tomorrow to catch up with all the things that I've been doing and get this blog back up to date. In the mean time, I've added a new background which I hope will not bore me as much as the old one. It might continue to change as I play around with things, but I'm liking it for now.

# 19, # 20 and # 25

19. Use the crockpot for dinner sixty times (3/60)
20. Try at least two new recipes a month (6/68)
25. Get together with friends once a month (6/34)

Super Bowl Sunday. Kristin, Christine and Tedd came over to watch the game. Geoff and I prepared a wide selection of food (and by prepared, I mean a good portion of it was gathered from various restaurants). One thing that I did make was Betty Crocker's Family Style Chili in the slow cooker. It came out pretty well, and I hope to make it again sometime soon. (Today would have been perfect, with the massive snow storm and everything, but I just didn't think of it early enough.) Geoff also made Potato Chip Chicken, which is a new recipe (for us), but since I didn't have any hand in making it, I'm not counting it towards my list.

I really hope that our new place is as company friendly as this apartment has been (the closer we get to moving, the more I realize how much I am going to miss it here).

# 86

86. Get a new laptop

With the move coming up (by the end of this month), and the influx of pictures that I am expecting (as well as the hard drive space that they will require), Geoff and I were able to arrange a deal by turning in our old computers for two new laptops. I am still in the process of setting up the computer exactly how I want it, and I haven't had a chance to install my camera software yet (hopefully that will happen today, I have a ton of pictures that I want to get off my camera), but I now have a ton more space for photos, and a much faster processor. Windows 7 is also pretty nice, but to be honest, I never had a problem with Vista. I am now just waiting for Office 2010 to come out before I bother with that (I just hope that I don't have a need before then).

One more down!

# 45

45. Have a monthly date-night with Geoff (6/34)

On Saturday night, Geoff and I went to see the New York City Ballet's production of The Sleeping Beauty. The evening started out with a wonderful dinner at Josephina's before we headed over to the theatre. The show itself was amazing, and I am so glad that we were able to make it (and that we had something special to celebrate, since it probably wouldn't have happened otherwise). We both know that this was the last date night that we will have on this scale for a while, so I am so glad that it turned out as well as it did.

I was disappointed when I realized that I didn't have go to the ballet on my list, obviously an over site while I was making it. I guess that will just have to be something that I add to my next list (if I remember two years from now).

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (6/68)

What to Expect the First Year by Heidi Murkoff, Sharon Mazel, Arlene Eisenberg and Sandee Hathaway, B.S.N.
Baby 411 by Denise Fields and Ari Brown, M.D.

So, I read these two books basically at the same time. I figured that since they were such similar subject matter, that I would talk about them together. I much preferred Baby 411, I found it much easier to read (What to Expect had a tendency to put me to sleep). The two books are set up very differently, What to Expect is set up monthly and Baby 411 is set up by subject/issue. While both books are very informative (and very much worth reading), I think that Baby 411 was more concise in letting me know what I needed to know. The way that it is structured also makes me think that it will be more useful to me at 3 am and the baby wakes up with a fever. It was much clearer on what problems are immediate issues, what can wait until the morning, and what can wait and see. What to Expect is a longer book, and went into further depth of some of the issues, including development. They also talked more about low birth weight, birth defects, and Mom, Dad and older sibling issues.

Baby 411 is the book that I am trying to get Geoff to at least skim, if not read (he isn't a fan of book reading, more into online stuff). So while I do believe that it would be good to ready both books, if you had to choose one, I would definitely pick Baby 411. It makes me wish that their new book, Expecting 411, had been out in time for me to use it, but it doesn't come out until this coming summer.

# 1

1. Move into a two bedroom apartment

So we have started on this task, we are just waiting to finalize our lease. If all goes as planned, we take possession of the new apartment on February 15th. That gives us six weeks to complete the move (since our current lease is up at the end of March). No matter what, we have to move by the end of March. I am not going to mark this item as complete until we are completely out of this apartment and settled in the new one. But at least this is in progress.

# 19

19. Use the crockpot for dinner sixty times (2/60)

 I have the same dinner cooking as I did last time. I'm not going to take any pictures, because they would be the same pictures. I've starting looking through other recipes, and I should be more adventurous next time.

# 19 and # 20

19. Use the crockpot for dinner sixty times (1/60)

20. Try at least two new recipes a month (5/68)

Two birds, one stone. I finally got started on the slow cooker challenge, using a new recipe. I was very excited, even though I've had my slow cooker for two years (or is it three?), I've never actually used it. The only thing that I did differently from the recipe is that I used half the beef and vegetables, because my slow cooker is small and the full amount wouldn't fit. It actually came out very well, and it is definitely something that we will make again.

# 46

46. Stay in and cook dinner together once a month (1/34)

The reason this item is currently only at one is not because Geoff and I have been going out to eat every night, but that it has only been one or the other of us cooking. This challenge was for us to work together to make a dinner, which we finally did last night. It was nothing new, just Chicken Marsala, but we haven't had it for a long time. Geoff was pretty much in charge of prepping the chicken (because I can't stand raw chicken), and the pasta, while I actually cooked everything else. It came out ok, and our timing with the pasta was nearly perfect to the chicken. I'm actually looking forward to more dinners like this.

# 84

84. Read 2 new books a month (4/68)

Baby Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields. I will admit that this wasn't the type of book that I really meant when I set up this item, but read it I did so onto the list it goes. I found it very helpful, and I fully understand why it is one of the most recommended books on the baby boards that I sometimes frequent. The reviews are very well thought out and explain things in a way that someone who really has never had to deal with these issues before will be able to understand. I also loved the fact that it isn't influenced by advertiser dollars and that they use the reviews of their readers to help update the book (it is now in it's 8th edition, which is the one that I have). I am thrilled that my hours of research on many of the larger items was not disputed by the reviews in this book, and I wish that I had read it much earlier and saved myself some of the time and confusion. I am also glad because it pointed me in directions for some items that I never would have thought of before. Overall, I would definitely suggest this book to anyone who is expecting a baby, it is well worth reading.

Coming up next, What to Expect the First Year, probably followed by some other baby book. Do you sense a theme here?

# 100

100. Put $5 in savings for each completed item

The way that I am going to work this one is at the beginning of every month, I will put the money into savings for the previous month. For example, I completed 2 items in December 2009, so in the beginning of January I will put $10 into my savings account. Hopefully this will make it easier to put the money away instead of doing one lump sum at the end of the 1001 days.

Happy New Year!!!

So, it is 2010. Which is strange, since 2009 seemed to just fly by. With a new year comes new resolutions. I've thought about it, and I really only have two that I am going to work on this year.

The first is that I want to keep up with my inbox. Being a procrastinator, I constantly have emails that I want to respond to or follow up on that I never seem to get to. I also have emails that I want to write to people that I haven't talked to in a while. I want to get into the habit of not letting that build up.

The other thing is that I want to keep up with this blog. There are so many items to accomplish on here that I didn't think that I needed an entire new list to slow me down. This weekend I plan on going through the list and updating any items that I may have missed. Then I am going to really start focusing on the list and working on getting stuff done. I'm hoping that I will be able to get into a routine for the repeating items before everything gets complicated in April. I am also hoping that this routine will make it easier for me to work on the items that aren't repeating and that I will be more likely to get them done.

So here is to a happy and productive new year!