# 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.