Goal #92: Get a list of all family & friend's birthdays & send cards for each one

I have no other birthday's on my calender before the end of the year so this goal is complete. I hope everyone enjoyed their birthday cards/gifts!

I hope to keep this up next year too!

Goal #38: Learn a new skill

Learning a new skill was easier than thinking up what skill I wanted to learn. Since I already know how to crochet I decided I wanted to learn how to knit. 

The Meetup group I'm in had a Mom's Night Out knitting night. One of the girls' mom is an experienced knitter and she came to show us what to do. 

At first, holding the yarn was the hardest part. You can hold it in your right hand (which is backwards from crochet) or you can hold it in your left hand. That's called Continental. 

I made a dishrag first. And when I finished all I said, rather loudly, was "HA!". I couldn't believe how ugly and misshaped it was. I had a few missed knits too which caused the holes.

Ryan saw the dishrag and asked what it was and then asked me to make him one for his kitchen.

His went a little better. I made a mini version and only screwed up on the second to last row and I couldn't figure out how to go back because it just wasn't working!

Goal #68: Make bread from scratch 4 times (3/4)

Pinterest again... 

Peasant bread. So good. So Easy. So Quick. So good, in fact, that I ate almost all of one loaf. Jimmy went to cut into the other loaf and I told him that was for our neighbor. He wondered where the rest of our loaf went. Well, he only got one slice and a little more that I gave up because, like I said, I had already eaten most of it. Woops. 

Here it is! Link

Mine didn't exactly rise like the one in the picture. I was kind of in a hurry because it was already 5:15 and this bread needed to be baked so we could eat it for dinner. It was still fantastic.

I'm really loving the no-knead breads!

Goal #94: Learn to sing Ave Maria

I've been listening to Ave Maria sung by Chole Agnew of Celtic Woman. 

I learned this version but I'll spare you the pitch flaws, crackles, etc. of my voice... I never realized how the words translated in English but I've always liked this song. It's one of the oldest and most popular Catholic prayers.

The Latin:

The English translation:

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee;
    blessed art thou amongst women,
    and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
    pray for us sinners now
    and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

I love Andrea Bocelli's version around Christmas. 

Goal #68: Make bread from scratch 4 times (2/4)

We had Thanksgiving with friends this weekend and let me tell you, it was amazing! The food and company were fabulous. We are truly blessed to have such great friends here. There were several couples and everyone brought something.

Here's what was on the menu:
Turkey
Ham
Green Beans
Corn Casserole
Squash Casserole
Potatoes (like loaded mashed potatoes)
Stuffing
Cranberry Sauce
Fruit Platter that looked like a turkey
Veggie Platter that looked like a turkey
Apples with Caramel Dip
Fruit Salad
Pumpkin Pie with Pecan struesel topping and bourbon whipped cream
Rolls
Bread
(I feel like there was something else!)

I brought some bread I had made yesterday from Frugal Living Link HERE.

I was really amazed at how well this bread turned out with little effort. I love using my dutch oven and here's yet another way for me to utilize it. Yes, it is a long process overall but hands on time is less than 7 minutes I'd say. 

I will be making this again. A+ recipe.

Saying that this loaf was GIGANTIC is not an exaggeration. 

Goal #57: Go ice skating

Never have I been so irritated to complete a goal as I was with this one. 

I took my skates with us to Ryan's skating lesson so I could skate with him during free skate. I needed them sharpened but they told me that they needed to be ground off and sharpening wouldn't help. They didn't have that machine so I rented skates. Not a problem. 

The whole time during Ryan's lesson he wasn't listening to the teacher and he would crawl around on the ice, away from the teacher. He was standing up better than last week but as soon as he'd move he'd fall down. Then crawl around for a bit until the teacher stood him back up. 

He wasn't the worst acting kid out there though. There was one who laid on the ice, face up, the whole time. The poor teacher tried to pick him up off the ice a few times and he was a rag doll. She gently laid him back down and went on. 

When the lesson was over I put on the rental skates and headed onto the ice. Ryan immediately started crying for his dad. I told him I was skating with him today. Apparently that's not what he wanted because he would NOT STAND UP. I was bent over holding him up trying to get him to stand (probably undoing everything the chiropractor has done over the last few weeks). We gave up when he said he had to pee. Then, and only then, did he actually attempt to skate with me back to the door. Little stinker. 

Jimmy gave me the cut off sign through the glass and started taking off Ryan's skates. After all that, I was on the ice for 5 minutes. 

Maybe Jimmy will take me ice skating again (wink*wink*). I know you read this blog babe!

Goal #39: Watch the sunset

It's that time of year again. It gets dark early. Too early if you ask me. The sun set at 4:34 today and it's not even winter yet! I remember a few days last winter where it was dark in my house at 3:30. 

I don't have much of a view from my house. Pretty enough, but nothing compared to a Grand Valley (Colorado) sunset where the sun would fall behind the mountains. A perfect horizon.

My little buddy was watching with me and then helped close all the shutters.