I Did A Thing - My Fasting Journey

I've been on a journey.  A health journey.  It's been... weird.  Let me tell you all about the last two weeks!

I've had some health issues since having my 8th baby that I was hoping would resolve on their own, but it looks like I need to do something to help them.  However, I don't even know what the problem is.  I talked to the doctor and they figure my issue is in the 'realm of normal', but it is NOT normal for me and it is NOT normal according to anyone unlucky enough to hear about it, so there's that.  Last week it looked like things might return to normal after having had 6 weeks of no sugar (3 of which had very little to no processed food), and then 2 weeks after that with only sugar on weekends.  Well... it didn't.  I very much had issues again, just later than expected.

So, I ended up eating a lot more chocolate than I should have... not more than I usually did before I started this journey, but still more than my body was used to.  I experienced what felt like a panic feeling in my chest Saturday evening.  It felt horrible.  I hoped to sleep it off, but alas, I woke with that feeling still there.  That did it for me... I was starting the bone broth fast I had been looking to do right that very day.

Day 1 - Sunday

I had a bunch of chicken bone broth we had made from the roosters we raised over summer, so that was perfect.  It actually tastes really good, and still had a nice amount of fat on it.  I had a cup (mixed with water) at breakfast.  I did really want eggs, though.  

Lunch was more tricky, as my husband picked up pizza for him and the kids (we still haven't gotten the oven we bought as ours blew on Good Friday right after we finished making supper).  It smelled so good!  But no!  I didn't have any!  And supper... ugh.  Broth by itself with added salt.  It was good, but not as good as all the smells of all the food the rest of my family got to eat!  I was actually surprised I didn't feel super hungry, to be honest.  I would have thought my stomach would be ravenous!  Drank a lot of water, though.  

Day 2 - Monday

I woke up feeling a bit under the weather.  Took some measurements and found I lost 1.5lb (started at about 151 or 152).  Didn't go for my walk outside (it looked very cold, and I didn't feel great).  I started making breakfast for everyone along with my bone broth.  I felt a bit weak for only a bit, but after having lemon water (yes, I allowed myself to mix a bit of lemon juice in water) I felt better.  The hardest thing in the day was having to make everyone's food without being able to eat any of it myself!  I did have a slight headache and took ibuprofen for it.  My stomach was growling a LOT!  I did some more research to hopefully feel better about this whole thing.  Found out about autophagy (when the body does a 'deep clean' and uses damaged cells to make new ones, which is what I want to hopefully fix my issues with my gut), and that the bone broth was likely stopping that from happening.  Decided that next day would be water only (with salt if needed).  Had a few moments where I just needed to sit and rest.  I did still make sure I got my 5000+ steps that I've been working toward (I actually hit 6500), but I mostly used my rebounder and went for a walk later on.  It was cold outside.  Also... I feel like my kidneys are working overtime!

Day 3 - Tuesday

Twas a busy day!  I had to get the kids breakfast and be out of the house by 10am, and I needed to make the sourdough bread before that, too.  I slept in of course, and so I didn't do my walk outside again.  Bounced on the rebounder while they ate since I was only drinking water.  No lemon, either.  Just water.  I think I had 10 or 11 cups through the day (it helps if I carry my cup with me everywhere).  The girls were baking for a bake sale the next day with my aunt at her place.  They had a great time (and all the food smelled soooo good).  I visited with my parents.  I got home a bit later than expected and got my bread baked at S&J's house down the driveway from us.  They offered to let me use their oven until we got our new one for making my bread, and I am so very thankful!  I rebounded most of my 8200 steps that day, but I found it odd that my lower back was hurting a lot!  I wasn't as hungry as I expected to be.  My legs felt strange though, kind of heavy, almost like a nerve was being pinched.  I had a hot pack on my back and did a belly massage to try to get things to move if that was the issue.  I honestly have no idea.  I did have a few times where I felt rather weak, but I sat for a bit and it went away.  Also, I had a very slight consistent headache.  My back was the worst, though.  My kidneys are really pushing things today!

Day 4 - Wednesday

I am coming out of the fast.  I weighed myself and was within 2 lbs of my target!  147lbs!  I know this likely won't last, but I'm still excited!  I haven't been down here in a good number of years.  My waist is down to 30 inches as well (but my belly size is still a long way from where I want it).  I had lemon water with salt first thing, and went for my walk.  I managed to get 7300 steps over the day.  I made breakfast for everyone, but since I'm coming off a fast, I had broth.  Again.  It is so boring I could cry.  I felt really yucky after drinking it, too, which I found rather strange.  But I did have energy, and got the girls to the bake sale that morning which was thankfully only 2 hours long.  I drank a lot of water again today.  Lunch I had broth again, but this time I added some cooked veggies from the fridge and a frozen spinach cube.  It was nice to have something a bit more.  Supper was broth once more, but I added broccoli, and when it was boiling I very slowly whisked in a beaten egg.  It was almost like noodles!  I enjoyed that!  I am wondering if my gut is going to be feeling better after all of this is done.  I do think my kidneys are loving all this water!  Sheesh!  

Day 5 - Today

I weighed in at 146 lbs, and my waist was at 29 inches first thing, with my belly button down to 34!  I'm super happy, although I do realize that things will likely shift up as I eat more and my colon refills.  I just finally feel like I don't look 5 months pregnant!  I'm continuing to slowly add to my meals.  Breakfast was 3 eggs scrambled with a spinach cube and a couple tablespoons of frozen avocado.  I also ate a couple of frozen strawberries and 1/3 cup homemade Greek yogurt.  Lunch was broth... again.  I cried when I realized I had little else I could eat.  I really wanted bread and peanut butter.  My oldest is gluten intolerant, so I made the last of my broth into soup with veggies and an egg again, adding rice to her portion only, while getting the glutenous leftovers to the kiddos.  I added a quarter of an apple chopped up with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter as a dessert for myself.  Supper I made grilled tuna cheese sandwiches on my sourdough bread.  I had one half of one, and then tuna wrapped in lettuce.  I want to see if the bread will make me bloat or not.  I ended up eating my baby's half as well, as she didn't want it, and I was NOT about to waste it!  So I got more bread than intended.  Ah well.  I also had chopped carrots.  My legs still feel funny, and I am very tight in my shoulders.  I really want a massage.  I think I'll be sleeping with the hot pack on my back again tonight.  I am wondering if the bread made me bloat as my waist and belly were each up one inch at the end of the day.  I managed to hit 10,000 steps!  I'm still drinking lots of water, at least 8-10 cups, but my kidneys seem to have returned a little closer to normal.  I am trying to track my food with the Lose It app again.  I am hoping to stay low carb.

As for my health, I think I may need to talk to my doctor about some of these issues I'm having again.  I'm afraid I may have fibroids.  It would explain my distended abdomen, my one major health issue, and the fact that I seem to have organs not in the places they are supposed to be.  I'm still working on my ab separation.  It hasn't really improved much since the last time I mentioned it.  I do think I need to do these exercises daily, likely for the rest of my life.  

Anyway, I am not quite there yet, but these are the 101 list items that I am ALMOST hitting!

50.  Waist (standing) down to 32" around belly button (30" natural waist) (I got under 30 for my waist, but a ways from the 32 belly)

51.  Hit 145 lbs (SOOOO close!)

I did get these two, though!  Yay!

OLD list items 

11. Get back to pre-pregnancy weight (under 150lbs)

12. Bring down waist to under 30 inches

That's all from me for now.  I do hope to post a 101 update soon, but this month has been crazy (it doesn't help not having an oven.  Been getting creative with the cooking tools and stovetop all month).

Edit to add:  Today is now Saturday.  I ate as much like normal (except still omitting processed food and desserts/sugar) Friday (although my caloric intake was lower than usual).  I weighed myself today and am still at 146 lbs.  My waist went up a little bit, likely because I'm digesting grains again.  I had a piece of my regular pizza yesterday to see if I get bloating or digestive issues from it as I didn't notice anything from the sourdough, and it seems to be fine.  The cheese was fine.  Butter is fine.  I need to try milk next.  My stomach still doesn't like raw bell peppers, though.  I think this is a great way for me to figure out if there are any foods that have been causing issues.  

The One Week Detox

 Hello again!  I am happy to report that we finished our one week 'ramped up' detox plan as of yesterday!  I am still continuing with no sugar, and there are a number of things we started last week I will continue to do (like the workouts, the lemon water, and the organic peanut butter), but now at least I can have corn again, and noodles.  I'm making chicken noodle soup tonight using the broth from the roosters we butchered last fall.  They make REALLY good soup... but there has to be noodles!

Anyway, I took my measurements and I am actually down another 2lbs (4lbs total)!  I still have about 6lbs until my goal weight, but I'm very happy about that!  I measured my diastasis and it's about 2 fingers wide now!  After only 1 week!  YAY!  As for my waist, it is down to 30 inches at the narrowest standing up, but my natural waist is at 31.5 inches (and I'd like for that measurement to hit 30).  My husband is down another 1.5 inches (so 2 inches total) and 2lbs as of about 4 days ago (he was happy because it was just after eating that he weighed himself, so he didn't expect to see any difference).  

One of the major health issues I was having seems to be resolved!  I will give it a few more days to be certain, and I won't go into too many details here, but I am very pleased with how the last two days has been for me and I expect that I will continue in this health journey for some time, if only for that one benefit alone!  That said, I have been dealing with headaches and cravings again yesterday and today.  The cravings might be related in part to the magnesium.  I don't have cravings for chocolate if I remembered to take Mg the night before.  I need to try to remember to take the magnesium tonight.  (note added March 27 - The issue is not totally resolved, but it is definitely improved, so that's good).

I asked my husband if he noticed any health differences in himself lately, and he has said he only noticed the weight.  I am hoping to see him fall asleep less in random areas, as that will prove his sleep has improved at night.  That is one of the biggest things I hope to see.  I'm not sure I will be able to see a measured improvement in his liver health myself, but it seems that weight, liver health, and sleep apnea all kind of feed off each other.  That said, we will continue to monitor the things that we can in the next two weeks as we continue in this journey towards our better health.

It's Day 28 of No Sugar...

 Hello, everyone!  Welcome to my craziness, where I decided in the last month to make my life more crazy of my own free will!  

As you can tell by the title, it is day 28 of no sugar.  Yes, I voluntarily decided to undergo an experiment on myself by removing all processed sugar from my diet, and mostly have done so for 28 days.  I did break a bit on day 3 as my mom made homemade pudding that I just did NOT want to say no to.  But considering the amount of sugar I had daily before I started, I still count it a win!

Why would I decide to remove sugar from my diet when sugar was giving me so much happiness in the hectic and crazy house that I live in?  Well... because it was the one thing I was reaching for before anything else, and that isn't good.  Also, I was noticing some not-so-good effects in my body aside from the normal expectations that eating an abundance of sugar might give.  My health was on the decline, and all the things I was looking at was suggesting my liver might just need some help.  What was the biggest thing I could change that would benefit my liver?  Cutting out sugar.  I also realized it was the day after the start of Lent, which is a time where one would traditionally cut something out of one's life to focus on preparing for the death and resurrection of Christ.  I don't usually observe Lent as I'm not Catholic, but I like the idea of preparing for one of the biggest events in human history, and so I decided to take the plunge.

So what does 28 days with no sugar look like?  Right now, it's actually not so bad!  I will admit I really miss dark chocolate.  I see it every time I open the cabinet to get something for the kids.  I also just quit snacking altogether as it is a lot more work to make all the food for myself from scratch, and I just can't bring myself to do it.  I have been avoiding a lot more this last week as well (white flour, tortilla chips, noodles, basically anything with flour that isn't my homemade sourdough, corn), starting day 25, so that has made things a bit more difficult, but cravings are practically gone, and I have noticed many other positives that I don't even mind!  However, it wasn't always this way.

Day 3 - I caved.  That pudding just looked and smelled so good, so I had a little bit.  And then I took a little bit more.  And then I stopped, because I figured even though I'm cheating, I shouldn't cheat THAT much.

Day 4 - Why does the chocolate smell SO GOOD?!  The kids asking for cookies and not being able to have any myself was torture!

Day 5 - The muscle aches and headaches started.  I couldn't figure out what was going on.  Why was I so sore?  I hadn't exercised at all, and going for walks in the morning never bothered me.  Why was my head hurting?  I was taking ibuprofen to deal with it because I couldn't sleep.

Day 7 - Still had headaches, but after looking things up I recognized what was happening as sugar withdrawal!  I knew that was a thing, but I didn't have that the last time I cut sugar as far as I could remember... then again, I'm also cutting out sweeteners like honey and maple syrup, which I did NOT do last time, so that might be it.  I do still eat fruit!  Also, M (who is practically an adult already) found a recipe for chia seed pudding that she made me (it uses half a banana, a cup of milk, 2 tsp cocoa powder, and 3 tbsp chia seeds and lasts me a couple of days).  It really helped with my chocolate cravings!

Day 9 - No more headaches and body aches today!  That's nice!  

Day 10 - Potluck at church.  I got some desserts for my little kids, but avoided them myself.  I did NOT want to undo everything by eating treats now that I was over that hump!

Day 11 - Measured and weighed myself and found I lost 2 lbs and 1 inch (from about a month ago, but still)!  I was SO excited, I started bugging my husband to join me.  He didn't seem enthused.

Day 14 - I finally convinced my husband to join me!  Yay!  We're in this together!  Took his measurements before hand (he's starting on my day 15) so we can track his progress properly, as I just jumped in myself without doing that.  Oops.  He's not thrilled, but since he was actually diagnosed with having fatty liver, I am desperately hoping he will see some improvements from this.  We are going to do this until Easter.  Seeing that end date helped him to say yes, because he does love Easter goodies.  Who am I kidding, so do I.

Day 17 - I'm not struggling with this much anymore at all!  I'm finding that I have an easier time getting up in the morning, and my motivation is improving!  It's fantastic!  My husband is happy to find out that coffee is still ok for him, and actually even considered good for the liver if it is a good quality and not filled with sugar.  He cut out the hot chocolate powder he always added to it and is having his daily 2 cups with milk only.  Honestly, it smells so good!  I wish I liked coffee.

Day 21 - I felt rather depressed today.  I took my measurements again and found that nothing has changed.  Poo.  Hubby lost 1/2 inch, so that's good!  Forgot to scale him, though.  I've been learning the differences in visceral and subcutaneous fat.  Weirdly, I've been measuring myself in 2 ways due to my diastasis (it makes it difficult to get a proper measurement standing as all my organs push everything forward).  

Day 24 - I figured I wanted to ramp up our detoxing of the liver, so for the next week, starting day 25, I wanted to do MORE (it kinda helps that I have a 1 week detox on my 101 in 1001 list to do with my husband, so why not turn this into something).  Using my research, I wanted us to do the following: drink 16 oz of water first thing in the morning with 2 Tbsp lemon juice at least 30 minutes before eating anything (also trying to drink more water during the day than I have been); cut out all white flour, corn, and peanut butter (unless the peanut butter was organic, which my husband promptly went to purchase when in town the next day); decrease the highly sugary fruit; NO fried or prepackaged foods (which meant no more tortilla chips); and we were going to do 20 minute walks plus 10 minutes of strength training daily.  I think I just like challenges or something.

Day 25 - We started our more rigorous plan.  I measured my diastasis at 4 fingers wide, and found a 10 minute daily workout that is meant to help fix it in about 3 weeks.  We'll see.  I started doing it along with walking 10 minutes each morning right after my lemon water, and 10 minutes at some other time of day.  Also, weirdly, I'm getting rather itchy legs in the evening.  I haven't had this in years.  

Day 26 - I am a grumpy pants.  Really grumpy.  I've not been having the chia pudding as I was trying to eliminate bananas for myself due to their higher sugar content (and it takes a couple of hours before you can eat it), but I am REALLY grumpy.  I started taking my magnesium powder in the evenings so I don't really crave the chocolate anymore, but still.  After supper I felt so gross.  I still don't understand why.  I think it's because I'm not getting much for quick carbs anymore.  I ended up eating a single date as a kind of 'dessert' with a bit of peanut butter on top.  That helped immediately, but dates have a high sugar content, so I don't want to make this into a habit!  Oh, and my itchy legs got even worse.  I have been using lotion, but during the night I had to resort to putting a cold pack on them to help relieve the itch.  Oh, and it seems I have a bit of swelling in my ankles, too.  Why?!

Day 27 - I took my measurements again.  My standing waist measurement didn't change.  Not a bit.  My weight decreased by maybe 1/2 lb, which isn't really much so I didn't think much of it.  Now the kicker for me was my laying down measurement... it was 2 inches lower than day 11!  That is a substantial difference!  I looked up why I would have such a strange difference in my waist numbers, and it turns out that my diastasis is definitely affecting things when I stand up, so fixing it should really help, but also it is likely that the 2 inches I lost is in visceral fat.  Subcutaneous fat tends to move about and settle depending on if laying down or standing up, so my 1 inch lost initially might have been there, but the visceral fat is pretty settled in among the organs and feels pretty solid.  To me, this is kind of a big deal!  After all, that is the unhealthy fat I wanted to get rid of!  I'm also thinking the itchy legs might be a detox effect.  I scratched my legs a bit much this evening and made them bleed.  Oops.  Really trying to ramp up my water to help that.

And so that brings me to today!  I have chia pudding in the fridge for later (because I'll likely need some kind of pick-me-up this evening).  Today is 4H for M, so my husband takes her and they are gone all evening until 9:30.  This week has been a struggle due to so many evenings where someone needs to be somewhere by 7, which is our normal supper time, so I've been trying to get supper ready for 5:30 three days of the week which is really odd.  And tomorrow I'll need to make the sourdough pizza crust again so all three of us can eat it (M is gluten free, except she can eat whole wheat sourdough which I've been making for years now, so that's nice).  I've been really struggling in the evenings alone with all the younger kids.  My patience is low, I'm irritable, and the noise level is reaching deafening levels some days.  It's a lot.

Anyway, that has been my 4 week experience with no sugar so far!  I've got 2 weeks to go!  I'll need to see how this diastasis workout does, and how well things work for my husband as well.  Honestly, if you can get past the first week, it's not nearly as hard after that.  And my motivation is much improved!  As an example, my 'to do' list usually has at least half a dozen overdue items on it that I just don't want to be bothered with, and I am down to one item as of yesterday!  Yay!

We'll see if I continue after Easter... my plan is to do so on weekdays, but allow myself freedoms on the weekends.

Ta Ta For Now!

New 101 in 1001 List

So, I've been doing these 101 lists for a long time now, and I really liked how the last one helped motivate me to do different things that I otherwise wouldn't have done.  I wish I could have completed more of it, but I'm including the old ones down at the bottom of this list in case I actually do them.  Honestly, I've been rather unmotivated to do much lately, and lists help me get that push to start.  Especially if it's out there for others to see and keep me accountable (although I am not sure anyone really saw my last one, but that's ok).  To be honest, it has been hard for me to even do just what we need to in order to prevent chaos from taking control of the house at this point.  Homeschool is a lot of work.  Doing farm accounting is a lot of work.  I did get very creative with this list, but I wonder if maybe too much so.  Some of these items... ok, a lot of these items are going to require an awful lot of work on my part to complete as they feel like more of a wish list, and I might need to revisit and change things.  Also, interestingly, I didn't include anything in the financial section at all!  Mainly because a lot of the stuff I would have added there we are already doing regularly now, and I've reached a lot of those goals and can't really think of new ones.  I did add a celebrations area since we have a lot of big milestones coming up and I know I want to do something special for each of those.

So, here we go!  Let's outline some goal setting tips I came across.

Some common goal setting tips:

1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay Focused. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.

3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.

4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.
5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

Click here for more info on the 101 in 1001 project.

My 101 in 1001
As before, I will italicize the ones in progress.  

Start date: March 16, 2026
End date: December 11, 2028

Family/Relationship

1.  Visit the Medieval festival

2.  Go to the Thresher Man's Reunion
3.  Go to Comicon
4.  Go to Assiniboine downs
5.  Make a fancy table setting meal for everyone (with candles)
6.  Learn a song to sing as a family for church or gatherings
7.  Create 3 themed movie nights

Celebrations

8.  Do something special for 25th anniversary

9.  M's homeschool grad (through church)

10.  Bram's homeschool grad (through church)
11.  Figure out a fun way to celebrate M's 20th 

12.  Have a party for husband's 50th

13.  Celebrate farm anniversary (75th?) with those who had a large role.

14.  Celebrate 10 strange holidays 1/10

Farm/Business

15.  Make roller trays for the large bins in the robot room

16.  Memorial for Dad around his birthday (Wagon Wheels and farm decor by the coffee station) DONE April 2026

17.  Paint mural on the bull barn

18.  Make 5 new signs for around the farm

19.  Make a dairy/chicken stocking garland as a farm Christmas decoration

20.  Clean old attic in barn

21.  Turn empty feed bin into something.  A shop?  A kitchen?  A bar?

22.  Make a museum-esque area on the farm

23.  Build a pretty cover for the hydro meter

24.  Farm decorate with flower beds in front of the barn

25.  Put up Christmas lights along barn line.

26.  Make a special dairy Christmas Lights display on barn roof

Hobbies

27.  Print scrapbooks through 2025

28.  Use smash album

29.  3D papercraft something

30.  Edit my videos of farm cleanup.

31.  Create 10 free to make Cricut items  2/10

32.  Make 20 homemade cards.  5/20

33.  Build wooden table centerpiece box

34.  Fun video game display

35.  Build my Zelda Lego set

36.  Make  some Zelda/Mario related ornaments for a video game Christmas tree

37.  Make (sew or crochet) 3 plush

38.  Finish Zelda Totk

39.  Finish Zelda Botw

Spiritual

40.  Family memorize the Armor of God verses

41.  Make large cross for Easter for the yard

42.  Create a large yard sized nativity setup with lights

43.  Countries around the world prayer time (did this many years ago)

44.  Read whole Bible 2x

45.  Join a Bible Study group

Health/Fitness

46.  Do a liver detox with husband for a week DONE March 23 2026

47.  Build a sauna

48.  Make spa stuff

49.  Visit Thermea or other spa

50.  Waist (standing) down to 32" around belly button (30" natural waist)  (working on it here)

51.  Hit 145 lbs  (working on it here)

House/Home

52.  Declutter 50lbs of stuff

53.  Make amiibo frames

54.  Varnish Table

55.  Build display for Millennium Falcon

56.  Build a shelf for above bathroom door

57.  Repaint kitchen/dining area

58.  Update wall family photos

59.  Renovate entrance with cabinets/lockers

60.  Fix bay window

61.  Make a piece of furniture in house look new/different

62.  Build shelves in bedroom for Lego and collections

63.  Put up husband's swords

64.  Fix door in bedroom

65.  Make drawers for DVDs in Livingroom

66.  Create a farmhouse style bench

Yard/Outside

67.  Create/buy a deck shade

68.  Landscape front yard

69.  Build a well decoration item on the yard around the septic tank

70.  Build a tall swing for the kids

71.  Build paths around the yard

72.  Create a new patio area with roofing

73.  Create a shed for our bikes

74.  Build a bridge on the yard

75.  Create a fountain or water feature area on the yard

76.  Roof over pellet grill

Community

77.  Christmas walking paths (not really farming but fun for on the farm) with lights

78.  Go to 5 local fairs

79.  Host a Christmas event

80.  Turn bull barn into an on farm gym/community center.

81.  Build a tiny home

82.  Build new birdhouse type grave marker for 3rd greats grandparents

83.  Take part in a large scale community event (a march, town cleanup, that sort)

Learning/Homeschooling

84.  Do a reading party

85.  Do a storybook tea

86.  Visit a new museum

87.  Read 20 new books 1/20

88.  Learn to tile kitchen backsplash

Homesteading

89.  Make homemade wreath with real greenery

90.  Make homemade marshmallows

91.  Sew something "different" (sleeper?  Bedding?  Cushions?  Slippers?  Mittens?  Moccasins?) 0/5

92.  Make 10 new recipes 2/10 (Recipe 1)

93.  Grow raspberries on my yard

94.  Make outdoor eatery area

95.  Sew myself some clothing

96.  Sew bonnets

97.  Get a greenhouse

Environment

98.  Make 10 items from things laying around that might otherwise have been trashed.

99.  Turn feedbags into 5 different things  0/5

100.  Make outdoor pallet furniture

101.  Dethatch and aerate lawn

Old 101 Items I May Try To Finish
1. Make an igloo/snow fort  

2. Take a family vacation

3. Visit Nintendo-land

4. Create a proper composting area on the farm instead of just a pile

5. Clean out area behind/above garage to be usable again

6. Finish first year album for M

7. Finish first year album for Bram

8. Make Disney trip albums 1/3 (here, here,) (part finished)

9. Finish writing last novel in trilogy

10. Find a way to pay for a garage/expansion (change to kitchen) without a loan

11. Get back to pre-pregnancy weight (here)

12. Bring down waist to under 30 inches (here)

13. Fence around part of yard

14. Visit Little House on the Prairie museum

15. Visit Mt Rushmore

16. Babysitter course (with first aid) for oldest two kids (& myself, in the first aid department)

17. Build a greenhouse OR a summer kitchen

18. Ride a hot air balloon

19. Do a ‘trash the dress’ photo session with other girls

Extra Ideas I Might Swap

Build outdoor stone/brick oven

Make some traditional Mennonite dishes ((things like Peppernuts, Rollkuken, Hallopshi (I know I spelled that wrong)

Build a storage bench for kids stuff

Figure out how to make living room larger

Clean ditch along property

Build a pool/deck

whitewash barn interior

Learn to design something on 3D printer

Hang a deck swing from the roof area of our house

Make an 'old west town' somewhere on the yard

build a new shed

2 down, 99 to go!

Final 101 in 1001 update and review

So, we have come to the end of the 1001 days for my 101 list. Here are the unfinished tasks:

8. Make an igloo/snow fort (Part finished)

We started.  It has been so cold outside recently that I have not gone out to finish.  I will finish though.  I hope.  Maybe.

9. Take a family vacation

Nope.  Didn't get to do that, sadly.

10. Visit Nintendo-land

Again, nope.  Not sure we will ever be able to do that, either.

15. Create a proper composting area on the farm instead of just a pile

Again, this didn't happen.  The guys on the farm are not interested in doing this.  What they've been doing for composting for decades is going to be good enough.

18. Clean out area behind/above garage to be usable again

Nope.  But I still want to do this.  I think I will put this on the next list.

29. Finish first year album for M

Didn't do anything on it.

30. Finish first year album for Bram

This one I didn't touch, either.

31. Make Disney trip albums 1/3 (here, here,)  (Part Finished)

I finished the first, got partway through the second one, too.  I still need to print it.  I think I was being unreasonable by putting 3 full scrapbooks that will easily be 100 pages each or more as one list item!  My first album is 99 pages.  My second looks like it will easily hit 120.  And my third?  That one might hit 200!

34. Finish writing last novel in trilogy

Never touched it.  I don't even remember what I was writing anymore.

49. Find a way to pay for a garage/expansion (change to kitchen) without a loan

Yeah.... I don't know what to say about this one.  I need a new kitchen.  Cabinet door fell off again, the countertop is peeling, the sink has nothing left for the faucet to hold onto anymore.  I am having issues making decisions.  I just... can't.  I'm paralyzed on that.  I don't know.  I have savings, but I can't decide anything and am too afraid to make the purchase.  Also, I feel like I will be without a kitchen and I just cannot handle that thought.  Is it weird that I'd rather be in the broken but functional kitchen?  I know it is stupid, but I can't do it.

55. Get back to pre-pregnancy weight

Ha... hahaha.  Yeah.  Still 5lbs over.  Been there for a long time.  I can't seem to lose that.  Been trying a number of things the last couple of weeks.  Scale hasn't moved.

56. Bring down waist to under 30 inches

This one is weird.  First thing in the am it's 31.  Later in the evening it's 35.  I know that my muscle separation is partly to blame, but that's just ridiculous.

61. Put up shelves for laundry room/table area  (Part finished)

I did the main shelf, but not the table next to it.  It functions as I desired it to.  I also wanted to put a shelf behind the washer/dryer to hide things, but that wasn't on the list, I kind of added it to the whole 'idea' and that was one thing I was having trouble figuring out, so I never did any of that, haha.  Yeah.  I'm going to say 'part done' and call it a day.

69. Fence around part of yard

Nope.  Didn't do any!

75. Visit Little House on the Prairie museum

The whole family road trip thing was a no go.  Still is a no go.  Not sure if it will ever be a go.

76. Visit Mt Rushmore

See point 75.

80. Babysitter course (with first aid) for oldest two kids (& myself, in the first aid department)

I was looking this up.  I did have my daughter signed up in 2020, and then when they cancelled it all I never signed up again.  I almost did, but the price was more than doubled, and I severely questioned the necessity of it as she knows the basics.  First aid by itself might work, but now I don't know what we should use... 

96. Build a greenhouse OR a summer kitchen

Got the sink cabinet started, but didn't finish.  I'm really seeing a pattern here with starting and not finishing anything.

98. Ride a hot air balloon

I have zero desire to do this.  This has followed my list from the beginning, and I don't even know why anymore.

99. Do a ‘trash the dress’ photo session with other girls

Yeah... I don't fit my dress, and I kind of want to fit my dress.  Also, not sure I know anyone who would want to do this with me.  Maybe my cousin?  

81 done, 3 partly done, 17 not completed in 1001 days.

I did not accomplish much in the last couple of months of this list at all.  Honestly, I know why.  I have not been unable to focus on these.  I mentioned before that we had a health scare with my oldest daughter.  It has been a journey!  I'm happy to say she is doing SO much better, and we are so very encouraged!  However now I'm seeing health issues on my end, and my husband as well.  I am battling the feeling of failure in my own life in so many areas (areas that involve day to day, not large tasks), and I'm not sure how to handle this.  I do have another 101 in 1001 list I created on my phone a while back, but I'm not sure when I'll officially put it up or 'start' it, and I'd kind of like to keep some of these items on the new list, but as old items?  Not sure how people do that.  I think I might need to keep things a little more reasonable as well.  This last list had so many things on it that were very reliant on outside forces to be favorable, and I'm not sure some of these things will ever be in the cards while we have such a large family at home.  And expecting to make 5 scrapbooks while still doing my yearly week in review scrapbooks... that was insane.  I say that sincerely.  500+ expected pages, plus my regular 2 pages a week... when I can barely find the time to do that anymore?  That is expecting to complete at least one page per day for over half the time!  Thing is, the lists I've made for myself in the past have had a number of items on them that aren't one and done... they continue.  And I'm expecting myself to continue in doing so very many things.  I need to seriously look at my life again, and determine what is and is not important.

Right now, my health and the health of my family is important.  

I enjoy blogging, when I can get to it, but I'll say that my life is feeling crazy.  I don't get much down time.  I am not keeping up with homeschool (and need to send in my reports this month which I haven't started yet and I am dreading).  I feel old.  I feel tired.  I am growing weary, even knowing that I am not to grow weary in doing what is good.  I struggle.  I don't like myself, but I need to keep going for the sake of my kids.  I need to be stable for my family.  And I need to let some of the little things that are getting to me go, because they aren't important right now.  I cannot juggle all of them.  A little at a time.  A little at a time, Sabrina.