15 in '15 List Update: January and February

So the surprising addition of The Baby from Texas to the midst sort of slowed down my 15 in '15 accomplishments these first two months.  Other moms assure me that I'll stop throwing up and being so exhausted I'm asleep at 9:00 every night soon.....let's hope they are right because this list needs some work!

All total, I've made at least some form of progress on 8/15 items.  I'm on track (of ahead of schedule) for 5/15 items.  Here's the low down.


1.  Visit 2 new states.  (1/2 complete).

In January, I headed to Atlanta to speak at the Southern Dairy Conference.  Georgia has officially been checked off the list!


2.  Print Instagram photos in Chatbooks.  (No progress).

I have no reason for not having this done, especially after College Roomie gave me gift certificates to pay for this for Christmas.

3.  Read 12 more books.  (1/12 complete).

I just finished Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist.  She's got the best writing style, she's hilarious, and I wish I knew her in real life so we could be friends!  Here are a couple of my favorite quotes from the book:

"It is not hard to decide what you want your life to be about.  What's hard is figuring out what you are willing to give up in order to do the things you really care about."

"When I pray, I ask for God's help, that I will be able to see something I wasn't able to see before, or at least something I wasn't able to see before, or at least trust Him to do the seeing."

4.  Run another half marathon.  (No progress....likely will not happen!)

So yea, having a baby in September means that half marathon I had planned for the end of July is kinda out of the question.  And the odds of me being ready for a half marathon by the end of the year after having a baby are probably not that good.  We'll play this one by ear (there is always Tulsa in November....) but it may get modified to be running a post-baby 5K.

5.  Take a fun trip for The Boy From Texas' 30th.  (No progress.)

So the plan for the big trip to either Hawaii or Ireland has been baby proofed as well.  We're kinda needing to keep vacation days for the big arrival, so we're looking at a few ideas of long weekend trips that might work better for us at this point in time.

6.  Plant flowers in our yard and the fun pots we got.  (No progress).

Well, the pots are officially placed on the front porch waiting for action, but because it keeps snowing, there is nothing planted yet.

7.  Cook 52 more recipes in the Newlywed in the Kitchen series.  (5/52 completed).

Things on this front were really rolling, and then morning sickness hit.  At this point, we're just excited if I can handle the smell of food and choke it down, so gourmet meals have been put on hold.  Hopefully I can get back on track though!

8.  Finish Uncle Black Belt's book.  (Some progress made).

We've been editing on this and hope to have the first four chapters done within the next month!

9.  Complete one Bible.com study a month.  (2/12 completed.)

I really enjoy the Bible.com app.  I'm not very techy, so I resisted for a long time, but several of my friends use it, so I decided to try!  It makes it so easy to do my daily reading, particularly when I'm on the road.

In January, I did the "New Day, New  You" study by Joyce Meyer.  It was a great way to kick off the New Year!

In February, I completed the "Breathe Spiritual Passing Into Your Marriage" study by Gary Thomas.  It was a great study to help you keep the focus on the bigger picture and purpose of your marriage.

10.  Complete 5 Pinterest projects (other than recipes).  (No progress.)

I'm hoping the baby pins I'm finding will motivate me to really get rolling on this.

11.  Knock off three more bucket list checkmarks.  (1/3 completed).

- Meet a blog friend in person.  I actually did this twice, first when I met Dairy Carrie in Atlanta (and learned we were both secretly pregnant and due on the same day!) and second when I met up with my long-time blog friend, Katy, in Washington DC.  Katy requested an official Figuring Out the Plot name, and I deem her Dixie in DC.  If you are not a reader of her blog, go here now!

Me and Dixie in DC posing in the subway station.

12.  Order books/prints/canvases of our wedding photos.  (No progress.)

Another that I just need to sit down and get cracking on!  We've pretty much got the new house decorated, except that we have one---ONE---wedding picture in the entire joint and it's a 5/7 in a frame on my nightstand.  Fail.

13.  Listen to the New Testament.  (Minor progress made).

I was doing so good on this one, listening as I drove to work, but then I somehow stopped doing that and kinda forgot.  Back on it now!  I've currently made it through the first ten chapters of Matthew.  Onward.

14.  Pray Novenas for 12 friends and send them notes to tell them about it.  (2/12 completed).

This is easily my favorite list item.

In January I prayed a Novena to St. Anne (the grandmother of Jesus who was barron for over twenty years herself) for a friend suffering through infertility.

In February, in honor of Valentine's Day, I prayed a Novena to St. Joseph (patron saint of worthy husbands) in honor of my single friends.


15.  Organize my pictures.  (No progress.)

When it's all cold and snowy and I'm stuck inside, this would be a great time to tackle this project.  What have I done instead?  Napped and watched junk tv.  Awesome.