# 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.