# 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.