Becky's Five

Refining the Five

2011-12-21T13:53:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am again. It's been four months since I last posted, and probably just as long since I looked at this list. A lot has happened since August, and that's why I'm going to have to change my Five...again.

On September 15 we found out we were expecting Baby #2.

On September 21 I interviewed for (and was offered) a new job on the other side of the state.

On September 26 I accepted the job.

On September 29 we signed the papers putting our house on the market. Again.

On October 28 I said goodbye to the friends and coworkers I'd enjoyed getting to know for the past ten years.

On October 31 I left my husband and daughter on the east side and drove 250 miles across the state of Washington.

On November 1 I started my new job.

Every weekend since then my husband and I have taken turns driving across the state on weekends to see each other. Together we've driven over 4,000 miles in less than two months.

On November 17 we decided on an apartment (after I'd viewed about a dozen).

On December 16 I got the keys to our new place. That evening Jason arrived with a moving truck full of our stuff.

In two days I leave for Christmas vacation and when I see my husband and daughter, I will probably cry because we will NOT be saying goodbye again. We will be together for GOOD as of that moment.

So you see...we won't be installing hardwood floors in our dining room, or ripping out the front patio to put in grass, or completing any of the other home-improvement projects we'd thought and talked about over the years. Ergo...I am changing my Five again. Please forgive me!

Old Number 3: Install wood flooring in the dining room.

NEW number 3: Send thank-yous to everyone who helped us move.

Old Number 4: Rip up front patio; replace with grass.

NEW number 4: Decorate Little Miss' new bedroom.

Me at 20 Weeks (Dec. 21, 2011)

#4: Take Little Miss to See the Ocean

2011-09-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

At the end of August we took a week-long vacation to visit my sister- and brother-in-law and their 5 1/2-month-old daughter. They live in Salem, Ore., which is a convenient 90-minute drive to the coast. So after a week at their house, relaxing and enjoying their 1-acre plot of land with a lovely garden, we met Jason's other sister and her husband at a rental house in Rockaway Beach, Ore. There we spent the weekend walking through town, playing on the beach, and enjoying each other's company while listening to the roar of the ocean just two blocks away from the rental house. Kayla loved the beach and kept asking to go back to the "oh-sin."

Old #4: Take Little Miss to See the Ocean

New #4: Rip Up Front Patio; Replace w/Grass

#3: Make and Send Invites for Little Miss' B-day

2011-07-13T17:12:00.001-07:00

I accomplished this feat in two days: One day spent buying and making the invites, then putting them in envelopes and addressing them, the next day buying stamps and sending them off. This year our theme is Cookie Monster, so here's the card (front and back, laid flat for scanning) I came up with:

Included was an invitation to participate in a birthday BBQ by bringing one's own burgers and buns. I plan to have cookies and milk (obviously) plus other snack-type items in addition to the BBQ for those who want to do that. It's crazy Kayla is just about two; seems like I just did her FIRST birthday invitations!

Old #3: Make & send invites for Little Miss' b-day
New #3: Install wood flooring in the dining room

#3: File the Pile on Our Desk

2011-07-08T08:22:00.001-07:00

Okay, well, I guess I have to change this one because Jason actually did it for me. I didn't even realize he was doing it until it was halfway done, so there is no before and after photo, and I can't get credit for having done it at all! (Thank you, hubby!)

Old #3: File the pile on our desk.
New #3: Make and send invites to Little Miss' 2nd b-day party.

#4: Plant Flowers in My Porch Flower Pot

2011-06-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

Two months after I said I wanted to do this simple thing, it's done! I spent $6 or so on this beautiful lavender-looking flowering plant and finally got it in the flower pot on my front porch. Hopefully it survives the summer...I don't have a great track record with potted plants.

Old #4: Plant flowers in my porch flower pot.
New #4: Take Little Miss to see the ocean.

#2: Get My House on the Market (Again)

2011-04-23T12:19:00.001-07:00

WE DID IT! Finally, and a month and a half after my initial goal, but it's finally done. Our house is now listed on the market as active and available for sale through John L. Scott Real Estate Agency. Anyone want to buy a house?!? Creek out front, large shade trees, huge shop with room for storage and working space, large fenced in back yard with swing set, dead-end street (no traffic!), master suite "apartment" upstairs, huge front patio with tons of room for patio furniture with which to enjoy the view, French doors opening to the back patio (which has room for a hot tub!), wood stove heating which saves HUGE amounts on heat bills in the winter...I could go on. Check it out!

So...

Old #2: Get My House on the Market (Again)

New #2: Transition Little Miss to a Toddler Bed

#1: Paint My Kitchen

2011-03-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

A week and a half ago my dad called me. "I have a week and a half off starting this Thursday afternoon. Do you want me to come help you do some things around your house, like paint your kitchen?"

Did I ever! He arrived Thursday evening.

Friday was spent assessing some things, buying final supplies, and, for half of the day, working (at my office). On Sunday morning Dad and I started scoring and soaking the wallpaper border. After it soaked we scraped it off the wall (it came off pretty easily, thankfully) and then started taking the cabinet doors off. I don't have fancy cabinets; they are homemade (by the people before us) painted wood, so they had to be painted, too. Yikes.

(Honestly, if I had known what a big job this was going to be before I did it, I would never have thought I could do it myself. Good thing I didn't know...and even better that my dad came to help me.)

So...after an 11-hour day on Sunday, a couple of hours on Monday morning and evening, and Dad doing touch-up yesterday, we finally have a finished product! Here are the before and after pictures, with a couple of "in process" photos in-between:

BEFORE: My dad inspecting the wallpaper.

DURING: The wallpaper scraped off the wall and littering the kitchen.

DURING: Cabinet doors off, almost everything painted.

AFTER: The finished product!

Old #1: Paint my kitchen.
New #1: Make/Send my new niece a baby gift.

#4: Finish Kayla's First Year Scrapbook

2011-03-06T12:58:00.000-08:00

I did it! I finally completed Kayla's first-year scrapbook. I've been working on it since before she was born, and it includes the obligatory positive pregnancy test photo, belly pictures, and photos of getting the nursery painted and set up. It ends with Kayla's first birthday party photos and the messages friends and family wrote for her to enjoy later in life.

I had actually finished the pages several weeks ago, but the slip covers I had used for the last half dozen or so pages weren't hole-punched the same distance as the others, so I had to get a hole-punch and punch new holes so the sheets would fit in the book. I finally did that and found time to get it done, so now I can cross this off my five things list.

Old #4: Finish Kayla's first year scrapbook
New #4: Plant flowers in my porch flower pot

New Number 5

2011-02-26T21:39:00.000-08:00

Seeing as how the season for dress boots is just about over (everything I'm seeing now is strappy and spring-y), I think I'll cross this off my list and hope for next year. I did find a pair I believe would fit, but at the time I didn't have the money to buy them. Now I do, but we're using the money to pay off our credit card instead. Damn being responsible.

So, I will remove the old number 5 from my list and replace it with a new one.

New #5: Learn to Crochet.

Someone's in the Kitchen

2011-02-13T08:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, I finally get to check another item off my list. Last week a friend invited me out to lunch and she was going to - guess where! - Someone's in the Kitchen. So I gladly accepted her offer and on Thursday we had girls' lunch. I ordered homemade baked mac and cheese with Tillamook cheese sauce, spinach, green onions and bread crumbs on top. Delicious! My friend ordered their rice bowl, which comes with a "surprise" curry (you never know what kind they made that day). The ambiance is lovely and I definitely want to go back and try some more from the tantalizing menu.

So, I can cross Number 4 off my list: Try "Someone's in the Kitchen."

New #4: Finish Kayla's First Year scrapbook.

Two Years Later

2011-01-14T22:21:00.001-08:00

Wow. It has really honestly been over two years since I did anything with this blog and it's both understandable and irritating to me. What's also annoying is that in two years I can only cross off one of my Five...though perhaps it makes things a bit better since I can cross it off THREE TIMES.

I successfully pulled off two nights of our church's living nativity in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and have plans for 2011 already. It was a headache, but 2010 was a million times better than 2008, so I can only imagine what joy 2011 will bring...along with the stress.

Just a few weeks after the last post on this blog Jason and I found out we were pregnant. Kayla, our daughter, is now nearly 18 months old, and is the most beautiful little girl on the planet. In 2009 we used her as Baby Jesus in the nativity scene...and she slept through ALL FOUR HOURS over the course of the two nights. She was a gem, and it was wonderful to have a live baby in the stable scene.

Since it has been two years since I've posted, I think I reserve the right to revamp my Five. So we'll check off number five:

Old #5: Successfully pull off two nights of my church's living nativity. CHECK!

And now we will create a new Five, though I'm going to leave my #1 very close to what it is now, because that is actually a short-term goal I've set for myself in the new year.

New #1: Paint my kitchen.
New #2: Get my house on the market (again).
New #3: File the pile on our computer desk (it's probably as old as this blog).
New #4: Try "Someone's In the Kitchen" (a vegetarian/vegan restaurant in Walla Walla)
New #5: Buy over-the-calf dress boots that fit.

And off we go into 2011!

#5: Order Christmas Cards & Labels

2008-11-29T08:10:00.000-08:00

Well, not only have I ordered the cards and labels, but I have signed the cards, addressed and sealed the envelopes, and mailed the overseas cards. Jason helped, and it is always a fun part of the holiday season. I'm just waiting on a few more addresses, and then we need to buy a bunch of stamps. I love this time of year! Now if only my other four "Top Five" would go this quickly...

For my new number 5, I think I'm going to have something about the living nativity I'm putting together for my church. It's due to open in two weeks (as of tonight!), and I'm terrified and excited all at the same time. And when I say that I'm putting it together, I mean it. I'm doing everything except costumes, which another church member agreed to be in charge of. EVERYTHING else is me. Please pray!

Old #5: Order Christmas cards & labels - CHECK!

New #5: Successfully present two evenings of a living nativity at my church.

Catching Up

2008-10-25T22:45:00.000-07:00

It's been over 4 months since I last posted. Not surprisingly, in that amount of time I've completed three more of my next five. Unfortunately, I don't have photos for all of them, but I can supply one for interest's sake.

The ones I've completed are:

#2: Try mushrooms in 3 new recipes. I did, and I didn't like them in any of the three. Which is unfortunate, but it's the truth. Now I can truly say I've given the awful fungi a fair shot, and I don't have to like them.

#3: Make plans and reservations for our New England vacation this fall. Well, it IS this fall, and our trip was over a month ago. I actually had the entire vacation planned as far as routes and hotels, including a couple of coupons for restaurants. Everything was neatly printed, hole-punched, and organized in a binder, with a cover page for our road trip around New England. I had maps with directions between destinations, our reservation confirmations, the restaurant discount coupons, and our flight information. I was so proud of myself!

#5: Give a lesson to someone in how to play steel drums. This happened a VERY long time ago...I think shortly after I posted that blog in June. I did have a picture of this taken, but it wasn't on my camera, and I never managed to secure a copy. I gave an hour-long lesson to my friend Bridget, who has always wanted to play the steel drums, but has never been given the opportunity. I promised I'd give her another lesson when she returns from South America where she is currently serving as a student missionary. She did well, by the way.

Below is a photo from our trip to New England.

That's Jason and I at Fenway Park in Boston (home of the Red Sox). We're standing on the famous Green Monster on our $12 tour of the stadium, which was well worth it.

So, since I've used 3 of my next five, I need three new ones. Here we go:

Old #2: Try mushrooms in 3 new recipes. CHECK!

New #2: Get our garden boxes built.

Old #3:Make plans/reservations for our NE vacation. CHECK!

New #3: Replace at least 2 windows in our house.

Old #5: Give someone a lesson on steel drums. CHECK!

New #5: Order Christmas cards and address labels for mailing them.

A Big Day!

2008-06-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

I have completed three of my next five, and now have the challenge of coming up with three new ones. Here's what I've accomplished:

#2: Create an exercise and better eating plan and stick with it for two weeks. Today marks two weeks since I began my exercise plan at Curves for Women. I've also been avoiding desserts (except one on the weekend as a treat), eating less dairy, and trying to limit my portions. I've also been attempting to include more fruit and vegetables in my diet and fewer sodium-rich products. So far, I think I'm doing well - not perfect, but well. I feel so much better about myself already, and I'm looking forward to the 15th of June, which is my next measuring day after my initial startup at Curves. (Scary, but exciting!)

#4: No ice cream until June 1. I did it! It was SOOOO hard, because ice cream is my favourite dessert, but I did it. My most challenging moments were when I visited my parents over Memorial Day weekend (they stocked up on ice cream while we were there), and then when Jason and I had a French fry craving and satisfied it at Dairy Queen. Oh I longed for a Blizzard! But I was strong. And to celebrate, on June 1 I DID go to DQ and ordered a small Blizzard. Strangely enough, it didn't taste as amazing as I expected it to.

#5: Research freelance writing and copy editing. This I have done. And, to make this post even more incredible than it already is, I already have my first freelance job! I am writing an article for Amistad International for their 2008 newsletter. I might also be doing some copy editing for them. Secondly, a librarian I know (no, it's not my husband) is in chairing a committee that is producing an instructional book on how to set up a library, and I have put in a bid for copy editing it. Unfortunately, it has to be written before it can be edited, so it may be a while in coming to me. That's fine; I will wait. So recently I met with a communications professor who has been doing freelance editing for quite a while, and she gave me some great tips on getting started and reporting income for tax purposes, and how to charge clients, etc. It was very helpful, and I think I finally have my foot in the door for freelancing. Now to get the rest of me through the door...

So...numbers 2, 4, and 5 - exercise and eat better, no ice cream until June 1, and researching freelance work: CHECK!

New #2: Try mushrooms in 3 different recipes. (Note: I notoriously hate mushrooms. But I'm trying to branch out and be adventurous.)

New #4: Get in contact with at least 2 classmates I haven't heard from in several years.

New #5: Give someone a lesson in how to play steel drums.

#2: Figure Out Where to Plant a Garden

2008-05-14T22:12:00.000-07:00

Well, we've finally scoped out a spot and made some plans for a garden. NOW is the time to be planting, but that's not happening because...there's a 40-foot pine tree in the middle of our future garden.

I've called a local tree company for an estimate, but have yet to receive a reply. (My first request was left in a pocket and discovered a week later in the employee's dryer.) So I'm patiently waiting for the estimate...but probably only "patiently" because I have so many other things to do.

Anyway, I'd post a photo of the spot, but my camera is (still) in the shop...another call for which I wait patiently.

The point is that we now know where our garden is going to go, and we just have to get it started. I'll post photos as soon as I get my camera back.

Old #2: Figure out where to plant a garden - CHECK!
New #2: Create an exercise and better eating plan and stick with it for two weeks. (Baby steps, ya know!)

#3: Class of 2001 Newsletter

2008-05-09T11:05:00.000-07:00

It's done! Finally, after 8 months of collecting information and waiting for people to seem interested in staying in touch with friends they had in high school, I have completed the third of my Next Five.

I did, however, alter the format from the 2007 edition of the newsletter. Last year it was an email sent with a pdf attachment - no photos. This year, it is its own blog, complete with photos for those who sent them, contact information made available, and a notice about our 10-year reunion in 2011. I am SO proud of myself I pulled a muscle patting myself on the back.

Unfortunately, Blogger found something suspicious about my lengthy blog entry (with over 25 class members, what do you expect?), and locked my blog for review for possible spam. Fortunately, they realized I was indeed a real person and my post was indeed a real blog. So now everything is good to go.

So, with that finally out of the way and in a format that's easier to update and locate, I can now remove this aspiration from my Next Five and add a new #3.

Old #3: Succeed in Producing the Second Annual GSA Class of 2001 Newsletter - CHECK!

New #3: Make plans and reservations for our New England vacation this fall.

A Slight Modification

2008-04-25T07:56:00.000-07:00

I've tried going completely vegan for a week several times and it just never works, for some reason or another. A couple of weeks ago I vowed to not eat ice cream until the end of May, simply because I was doing too much of it. And so far, I've made good on that.

Due to my inability to go completely vegan for a week, I've decided to cut almost all dairy from my diet until June 1. No ice cream, no "real" eggs, no dairy milk, no butter (unless someone else cooked with it and I had no say), etc. The only thing I cannot give up completely is cheese. I will try to not eat very much of it, but I cannot substitute it.

Hence, my alteration of the old #4: Go vegan for a(nother) week. So far, so good!

#2: Read, "Eat Love Pray" by Elizabeth Gilbert

2008-04-24T15:25:00.001-07:00

This is a fantastic book. I can't praise it enough. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone - all ages, nationalities, religions, whatever. If you've ever found yourself wondering what the point of life and/or religion is/was, this is the book for you. And if you can read and aren't ADD to the point where you can't sit still long enough to read, this is the book for you. In short, read the book!

The book is about the author, Elizabeth Gilbert, after she goes through a harrowing, traumatizing divorce. She takes a year of her life and decides to spend it looking for meaning and searching for God. She spends 4 months each in Italy, India, and Indonesia, and finds more than she bargains for.

A journey of self-discovery is one every human makes; Gilbert simply made a much more obvious one than most of us get the opportunity to make. Simply fascinating. I can't say that enough. Definitely a book worth buying.

#2: Read, "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. CHECK!

New #2: Figure out where to plant a garden.

#5: No Coffee Until March 27

2008-03-31T17:04:00.000-07:00

Well I did it! I went an entire month without a drop of coffee. For all of you addicts out there, know that it IS possible to survive without the dark drink of death.

I have to say, though, that when I did finally have a coffee (Sunday, March 30), it was one of the most delicious coffees I've ever had: A Black Forest Mocha from a little local place near the ocean in Seaside, Ore. I'll definitely go there again next time I'm in Seaside.

I also have to admit I'm rather proud of myself. My goal was to avoid coffee until March 27, and I actually went 3 days longer. In addition, I had maybe 6 sips out of the entire cup. I did much better than I thought I was going to.

The point of this goal was to determine if there was any connection between my increasing lack of good sleep and my increasing intake of coffee. Though my research was not quite purely scientific, I have decided that yes, coffee does affect my sleep, even decaf, and even when I drink it in the morning.

This finding will not keep me from drinking coffee in the future, but I plan to drink much less than I was a month ago. As much as I like the stuff, I do know that anything in excess is bad. And it's much easier to get an excess of coffee than it is to get an excess of, say, water.

Old #5: Check.

New #5: Do some research on freelance copy editing. I really want to get into that, so I might as well start it now, before I have kids and run out of time to do the research.

A Slight Modification

2008-03-31T13:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I pulled a Petra and slightly modified one of my "Next Five." Jason and I have been doing a lot of talking about our kitchen (especially after we tried to fix the drawers and they practically fell apart), and we have decided that we may just go ahead and have new cupboards and counters installed altogether. None of this trying to fix what the last person did wrong. No way!

So we're leaning more toward brand new instead of simply painting the cupboards, and I have modified the #1 in my Top Five. I'll keep you posted on what happens on this front. Hopefully there will be some news soon...

#5: Get in Touch With the WWV Chamber

2008-03-03T21:25:00.000-08:00

Finally, Mr. Warkentin of the Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce replied to my inquiries regarding the Event Planner position at the Chamber. Apparently although the person previously in the position had quit only a week or two before, they had already filled the position. They're fast.

So there's no application for a fun new job for me...but my email of interest is in their files. You never know when something like that could come back to help ya!

Now for a new #5. Ah, yes: No coffee (or other forms of caffeine) until our Spring Break vacation (March 27-30). This is in an attempt to conduct an experiment with my body. (Sounds gross, but bear with me.)

Over the last month or so, I have been suffering from whatever it is doctors call it when you get to sleep but then wake up several times and wake up in the morning feeling just as tired as when you went to bed the night before. It's not really insomnia, because I do sleep, it's just constantly interrupted. And I can't explain it.

I finally made a connection between when I started going to the new local coffee shop more frequently (3 times a week on average) and when I started having sleep issues. So even though I can get decaf coffee (which still has caffeine in it anyway), I'm shooting for no coffee at all, just to be safe.

I don't know if coffee is the culprit or not, but I'm conducting a nearly month-long experiment to find out. I'll let you know how it goes.

#5: Get in touch with the WWV Chamber of Commerce about the Event Planner position there. CHECK!

New #5: No coffee until March 27

#5: Take Music Lessons Again

2008-02-27T21:37:00.000-08:00

Well, I FINALLY did it! I've completed another item on my Next Five. It took me a while, but I hope this is just a one-time thing and the rest will come more quickly.

Two weeks ago I began taking voice lessons for the first time since graduation in June 2005. I meet with the chair of the WWU Department of Music every Friday afternoon to go over the mezzo solos in the Mozart Requiem, as I will be performing with WWU's choir and orchestra (along with 3 other soloists) on Alumni Weekend in April.

The lessons are actually quite fun, though they have been draining, as I have not been practicing as much as I should for the last 2 1/2 years. I learned a lot even on the first day, as Dr. James has MUCH expertise to impart.

I have never taken lessons from him before, but he is very honest, experienced, and entertaining. During my warm-ups, his facial expressions force me to look away so as to not burst out laughing in the middle of "ee-oh-ee-oh-ee." He's only trying to get me to open my my mouth (and consequently my throat and diaphragm), but the expressions he makes doing that rival any clown.

His lesson techniques are absolutely fabulous. He makes it a point never to criticize the first attempt at a certain warm-up. He may criticize the second, but never the first. He also manages to tell me I did something VERY wrong without making me feel as stupid as I most likely sounded.

Dr. James has also been singing for many, many years. Longer than I've been alive, actually. His solo "resume" includes playing Don Giovanni at a large opera house in Rome. He can speak Italian and understands Latin. He also knows how to sing in practically any language anyone has ever written in. This makes learning pronunciation easy, yet incredibly frustrating at times.

So now that I have accomplished #5: Take music lessons again, what will I add to my list? How about something I'm sure I'll be able to accomplish relatively soon? Here we go - my NEWEST Next Five addition:

#5: Get in touch with the Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce regarding their open Event Planner position and learn more about it.

#2: Get a Puppy

2007-10-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I've completed the first of my first "Next Five." Last Friday, Jason and I went to the Humane Society and got a puppy. She's a 2-month-old Black Lab/Rottweiler mix, and she's absolutely adorable. We named her Raina.

So now I need a new #2. Hmmm... I think I will give myself a goal to read a book. And since there's a book I've had on my list since March, we'll start there! It's "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Now if I can manage to complete a book while dealing with an energetic, playful puppy, I'll consider it a major accomplishment!

#2: Get a Puppy - CHECK!
New #2: Read "Eat, Pray, Love"

My First Five

2007-09-20T15:31:00.000-07:00

First of all, kudos to Adam for thinking of this, and thanks for letting the rest of us mooch off your genius. :o) This is a great way to prioritize the little (and some not-so-little) things in our lives, and an even better way to actually accomplish them. Plus, it's another opportunity for the melancholy in me to experience the joy of creating a list.

So here are my first "Next Five":

1. Paint my kitchen.
2. Get a puppy.
3. Succeed in producing the second annual Gem State Academy Class of 2001 Newsletter.
4. Go vegan for a(nother) week.
5. Take music lessons again.

I guess I'll continue to post as I systematically (or not) "cross things off" this list. If my five aren't interesting enough for you, check out the slew of other "fives" blogs. There are some really ambitious and interesting people out there. Who may or may not be me.