Today I Made...: November 2010

11.26.10 - Today I Made...a list of some things I'm thankful for.

It seems that the perfect day to do this is Thanksgiving, but I want to have a thankful heart everyday, so I made my list today.

1. Jesus' love for me. Everyday I grow more and more aware of how much I don't deserve His love, yet He extravagantly showers me with it.

2. Mike. Sometimes I don't know how he handles my ups and downs, but he does it with such patience and grace. God knew exactly the perfect husband for me.

3. My family. Now there's a great bunch of people!

4. My job. I get to help kids learn how to live out their faith in Jesus on a regular basis. It really doesn't get any better than that for me.

5. My dogs. People think I'm crazy, but I really have trouble finding words to describe how thankful I am for my dogs. They bring great peace and love to my life.

6. My friends. God has blessed me with a great group of friends. I don't take friendship lightly and these folks are rock solid.

7. My home. Not perfect, but uniquely ours.

11.25.10 - Today I Made... myself walk 5 kilometers.

It's Turkey Trot time again. My friend Cathy and I signed up for the 5K and finished in respectable time on Thanksgiving morning. It was a glorious morning with close to 4000 people participating. Great way to start the day and a great way to eat Thanksgiving dinner... no regrets!

11.24.10 - Today I Made... an annual review of my Life List.

Today's my birthday.... and each year I feel the need to review my Life List, to see where I'm at and where I need to start applying my attention. It keeps me honest and on track.

Grace's Life List
1.	Create a scrapbook of my dogs - collecting pictures
2.	Take more pictures - already doing that
3.	Run Santa Barbara Marathon - run a 5k first
4.	Setup stamping website - done, need to update
5.	Finish a quilt for master bedroom - 2012
6.	Run 5K - on track for Mar, 2011
7.	Train for 5K - will start Jan, 2011
8.	Run London - run a 5k first
9.	Read through whole Bible in a year - start Jan, 2011
10.	Celebrate our 25th anniversary (2013)
11.	create a scrapbook of Mike and me - review pics
12.	Run Edinburgh - run a 5k first
13.	Read/listen to one classic novel per year - Last of the Mohicans by Dec, 10
14.	Run a 10K - run a 5k first
15.	Train for 10K - run a 5k first
16.	Finish Insanity (1 year) - completed 1 month so far
17.	Read Pride and Prejudice
18.	Run Great North Run - run a 5k first
19.	Learn a foreign language
20.	Knit a lace shawl
21.	Weigh a healthy weight - working on it
22.	Run Whidbey Island - run a 5k first
23.	Go camping
24.	Sew a tote bag
25.	Run a half marathon - run a 5k first
26.	Train for a half marathon - run a 5k first
27.	Create a family scrapbook
28.	Complete the BSF series (8 years) - currently in year 5
29.	Organize my files - scheduled for Jan, 2011
30.	Run Portland - run a 5k first
31.	Knit socks
32.	De-clutter the garage - in the spring
33.	Plant a garden and spend time in garden daily
34.	Run a marathon - run a 5k first
35.	Train for a marathon - run a 5k first
36.	Run Napa Valley - run a 5k first
37.	Cook from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"
38.	Start playing pinochle or canasta on a regular basis
39.	Run Malibu Marathon - run a 5k first
40.	Exercise at least 30 mins/day 5-6 days/week - get back on track
41.	Paint interior of house
42.	Knit Mike a sweater
43.	Train for the Comrades Marathon - run a 5k first
44.	Run a sub 5 marathon - run a 5k first
45.	complete a "Dear Jane" Quilt
46.	Take a trip to South Africa - goal for May 2013
47.	Walk around all the lakes in the Lake District - Ullswater in 2011
48.	Run Boston - run a 5k first
49.	Save for and install wood floors
50.	Organize Craft Room - by Nov 30, 2010
51.	Knit one square/week each year for KAS
52.	Upload stash to Ravelry - by Dec 31, 2010
53.	Run 5 marathons before I turn 50 - run a 5k first
54.	Make quilt for Mike
55.	Run New York - run a 5k first
56.	Secret project to be revealed after 2012
57.	Make dog beds
58.	Go to the International Quilt Festival in Houston
59.	Run Buffalo Stampede - run a 5k first
60.	Decorate the house for each season/holiday - starting in 2011
61.	De-clutter and organize each room of the house - on calendar
62.	Support two or more Compassion Kids
63.	Setup Etsy shop - by end of Jan 2011
64.	Support 100 micro enterprises through KIVA - up to 18
65.	Make a gingerbread house
66.	Go on a mission trip to Africa
67.	Grow a garden and give away flower arrangements
68.	Run Chicago - run a 5k first
69.	Become a US Citizen - need to save $1000
70.	Knit Jessie a sweater
71.	Finish Central Park Hoodie - almost done with the back
72.	Run CIM - run a 5k first
73.	Run San Francisco Marathon - run a 5k first
74.	Ride my bike 50 miles/week - tune up bike
75.	Buy a Garmin Forerunner - purchase on Dec 15, 2010
76.	Raise $20,000 for KAS/YFC through Comrades Run
77.	Plan fundraising strategy
78.	Save $10,000 for South Africa Trip
79.	Work on A Thoughtful Paws - Christmas gifts for clients
80.	Run the Urban Cow Half Marathon - run a 5k first
81.	Run the Comrades Marathon - run a 5k first
82.	Run a marathon with Alan - run a 5k first
83.	Donate Snuggles Blankets for pets
84.	Organize and de-clutter Kitchen
85.	Organize and de-clutter Living Room
86.	Organize and de-clutter Dining Room
87.	Organize and de-clutter Entry & Hallway
88.	Organize and de-clutter Mike's Room
89.	Organize and de-clutter Master Bedroom
90.	Organize and de-clutter Master Bath
91.	Organize and de-clutter 2nd Bath
92.	Organize and de-clutter Garage (lower)
93.	Organize and de-clutter Garage (upper)
94.	Organize and de-clutter Grace's Room - by Nov 2010
95.	Make will/power of attorney/medical directive
96.	Start Saturday Craft days - in Jan 2011
97.	Paint patio table and chairs
98.	Install whole house fan
99.	Learn to play the cello
100.	Take a cruise to Alaska
101.	Tour the US in an RV
102.	Fall Colors on the East Coast
103.	Chelsea Garden Show
104.	Hampton Court Palace Garden Show
105.	Learn to play the guitar
106.	Take a ballroom dance class with Mike

11.23.10 - Today I Made... a connection

I have two dogs. Woody (on right) and Ellie (on left). They are both rescues from the Sacramento SPCA. Woody, an English Pointer mix, is 8 1/2 and Ellie (Elinor), a Belgian Shepard/Lab mix, is 5. They are wonderful dogs, but came with their fair share of issues. For the first five months that Woody lived with us, he was with me 24/7 because he freaked out when he was left by himself. Thankfully when Ellie came along, her presence caused him to calm down enough to be left at home.

God often reveals his character or helps me to understand spiritual matters through my dogs and the connection I made today involves His love for me. I've never had kids and while I can intellectually understand unconditional love, the closest I am going to come to actually feeling the reality of that is through my dogs. Lately Ellie has become quite clingy with me, like a toddler who is afraid to leave mom. This is strange because she has always been a very independent dog. Now I know they are dogs, but they do have personalities and as they age so do their personalities.

Ellie was hugging close to my legs and not giving me much room to maneuver while I was getting ready and it was becoming irritating, and out of desperation I said to her, "Ellie, don't you know how much I love you. You don't have to worry... I'm not going anywhere."

In that moment, I had a brief, miniscule flash of what God's love for me must be like. It's like He was saying, "Grace, don't you know how much I love you. You don't have to worry..." And God's love is perfect, unlike mine which falters. It was a very peaceful, reassuring moment. I sometimes make the mistake of thinking that God deals with me the same way I deal with Him or with other people. Thank goodness He doesn't! Thank goodness His ways are not my ways!

11.22.10 - Today I Made... a Christmas Movie List

Here is a list of 25 Christmas movies that Mike and I plan to watch starting December 1. Some are entirely about Christmas and some take place during the Christmas season, but it's a fun list and I will report back on each one during December.

White Christmas
Elf
Miracle on 34^th Street
It’s a Wonderful Life
A Christmas Story
A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Christmas Carol
How the Grinch stole Christmas
12 Dogs of Christmas
The Polar Express
Santa Buddies
The Santa Clause
The Search for Santa Paws
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer
Babette’s Feast
Home Alone
A Christmas Memory
Frosty the Snowman
Bush Christmas
Holiday Inn
An Affair to Remember
The Santa Clause 2
Fred Clause
The Holiday
I’ll be seeing you.

11.21.10 - Today I Made... time to watch the Movie, "Chocolat"

I am trying to be better at making time to just enjoy a good movie or read a good book and not feel guilty that I'm not necessarily accomplishing anything. It was wonderful to just lose myself in the movie for two hours and then go and make a big mug of hot chocolate minus the chile pepper.

Things I loved about the movie:

Taking a musty, dirty dingy shop and turning it into a warm, inviting chocolate haven.
How Vianne cares for complete strangers.
The mini-tutorial on how to make chocolate candy.
The preparation for the Chocolate Dinner Party.
Judi Dench as Armande. I love Judi Dench in anything.
How Vianne shows great love and forgiveness to the towns people who have dismissed her.
The kangaroo hopping away at the end of the movie.

Take time to watch it and make up your own list of things you love.

P.S.: You really should NOT feed chocolate to dogs. Not good for them.

11.20.10 - Today I Made... a trip to deliver flowers.

I teach Sunday School and this year I decided to create an atmosphere where the kids could learn and work on their faith in a practical way. We began the year talking about what abilities and talents God had given us and how we could give those abilities and gifts away to benefit others. After all our discussions and ideas, we decided to adopt an Assisted Living Facility in our area and each month we create gifts to share with the residents. For an hour each Sunday morning we (the kids, my friend Denise and I) gather around a table or two and work on our monthly project all the while chatting about our lives and how we see God working through them. The ages range from 6 to 11 and the conversations are typical for the ages and the hour just speeds by.

My grand plan also involved taking some of the kids with me when we deliver the gifts, but so far I have been competing with soccer and the busyness of life. This next month, December, however, the kids will be presenting a rehearsal of their Christmas Musical so the folks will be able to meet the kids.

In October the kids decoupaged boxes and filled them with Cracker Jacks and in November they painted flower jars and made "Happy Thanksgiving" tags. So far their creations have been met with much delight, but I think the folks would rather see the kids.

11.19.10 - Today I Made... progress on my KAL.

Central Park Hoodie

What is a KAL? (You might be asking yourself). A KAL is a Knit A Long. My friend, Marilyn, and I are working on the same project, the Central Park Hoodie, so we are technically participating in a KAL.

Before she moved to San Diego (5 or so weeks ago) Marilyn and I used to knit once a week at our local Peet's Coffee Shop. Because of the miracle of Skype, we now knit/skype once a week in the comfort of our own homes. Just as an aside, Skype is pretty wonderful, but nothing replaces a real person, a real friend.

We chose to do this project because we have both talked about knitting the CPH (Central Park Hoodie) for a few years and Marilyn had some knitting shop gift certificates to spend. We both chose the same brand of yarn, but different colors. Hers is a navy/tweed and mine is an eggplant color. We both only knit this project on our knit/skype days, but I am still on the back and she is now halfway up a sleeve. This is the most challenging piece I've ever worked on so it's good to have someone knitting along with me.

11.18.10 - Today I Made... lip balm.

Two friends and I got together this afternoon to make lip balm. We made a batch of 35 containers in fragrances ranging from Spearmint to Lavender Rose. We tried to coordinate container colors with scents, but in the end didn't mind that the Orange Lime balms were in blue containers. They smelled so yummy! I just love how the balm feels and how long it stays on my lips. It never seems to evaporate and so little is needed to moisturize that the the small amount lasts forever.

I found the recipe on one of the blogs that I read. www.homemadebathproducts.blogspot.com. Here is a direct link to the recipe. I also tripled the recipe to speed things up and a triple batch filled 7 containers, which I found at Walmart for 2 for $1.

These will serve as wonderful stocking stuffers.

11.17.10 - Today I Made... a start on another coffee cozy

For the past three years, I have been meeting every week with friends at our local Peet's coffee to knit. There have been times when we have had to skip a week, but we've been very consistent otherwise. A few weeks ago, I had a breakthrough. The gal who has worked there as long as I have been going said, "Hi Grace" just before I gave her my order. I quickly checked to see if I had inadvertantly left on a name tag, but no, she had remembered my name. I have to say that this has taken my knitting/coffee/tea experience to a whole new level!

I felt a little like Norm from Cheers.

So, why the coffee cozy??? Well 3 years times 52 weeks, approximately, is a lot of paper coffee cozies and while it feels good to be a good steward of resources, the knitted cozies are just too cute! As I said I started a cozy, and I'll post a picture when it's finished.

11.16.10 - Today I Made... a purchase.

I purchased a knitting magazine. I love to knit and get together with a friend each week to knit at a local coffee shop. It's pretty rewarding because I taught her to knit and she has progressed from dish cloths to coffee cozies, from just the knit stitch to knit and purl. It's fun to see how knitting seems to invite complete strangers to sit down next to you and start chatting like you've been friends forever.

I've been knitting for what seems like a lifetime, but in actuality is only about 25 years. I am still amazed at what can be produced by only two stitches and in awe of creative designers who have the ability to see beauty beyond the sticks and string.

I'm sure I'll post more about my knitting projects, but for now I will go and spend some time reading my magazine dreaming of the next project.

11.15.10 - Today I Made... two loans through Kiva.

Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.
I made my first loan of $25 in October of 2009 to Aciy Grace. She is in the business of selling various foodstuffs at a restaurant and requested a loan to stock more rice and beans to sell. Aciy is 30 years old and is married with a husband that is an engineer. She has 6 children, and her children go to school. With the extra profits from her loan, she hopes to be able to pay school fees for her children. She lives in Gudele, South Sudan. She requested $325 and along with 9 other people from around the world, we were able to fund her loan. This month she paid back her loan in full.

Today, I made my 17th and 18th loans through Kiva. These last two were for people living in Cambodia and Uganda.

Mrs. Channy Sous is 42 years old, and her husband, Mr. Bunlay Nhem, is 41 years old. They have been married since 1991 and have three daughters. All of them are in school. They live along the Tonle Basac River, a tributary of the nearby Mekong, about fifteen kilometers from Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. Channy is a farmer. She grows flowers on her farmland in the village and sells to a middleman who comes to buy them at her home. Her husband is a security guard. Channy is asking for her first loan of $1,000 to repair the house where she lives.

Constance Nakafeero lives in Naguru, a neighborhood in the city of Kampala, Uganda. She is single and has 3 children, all of whom are in school. She also takes care of additional family members (three of her sister's children).

Constance has a business selling charcoal. She has been in this business for over 10 years, and she works 7 days out of every week.

Each time I make a loan, I am humbled and reminded of how blessed I am.

11.14.10 - Today I Made... a Life List.

I love lists! I love making them, doing the stuff on them and then, the best part of all, marking them complete. It's a strange part of my personality, but there you have it.

I also read a lot of blogs and have come across a few lately where the authors are talking about making lists like, "30 things before I turn 30", or "40 things before I turn 40", you get the idea. Those are great when you're young, but what if you're 91 like my grandpa? "100 things before you're 100"???? Seems like a lot of stress.

So today I made a Life List. This is a list of things that I would like to do before my life is over. Some of the items are slightly ridiculous, others are designed to challenge me, and some are just plain goofy. Over time some items might be deleted and others added.

Grace's Life List
1.	Create a scrapbook of my dogs	54.	Make quilt for Mike
2.	Take more pictures	55.	Run New York
3.	Run Santa Barbara Marathon	56.	Secret project to be revealed after 2012
4.	Setup stamping website	57.	Make dog beds
5.	Finish a quilt for master bedroom	58.	Go to the International Quilt Festival in Houston
6.	Run 5K	59.	Run Buffalo Stampede
7.	Train for 5K	60.	Decorate the house for each season/holiday
8.	Run London	61.	De-clutter and organize each room of the house
9.	Read through whole Bible in a year	62.	Support two or more Compassion Kids
10.	Celebrate our 25th anniversary (2013)	63.	Setup Etsy shop
11.	create a scrapbook of Mike and me	64.	Support 100 micro enterprises through KIVA
12.	Run Edinburgh	65.	Make a gingerbread house
13.	Read/listen to one classic novel per year	66.	Go on a mission trip to Africa
14.	Run a 10K	67.	Grow a garden and give away flower arrangements
15.	Train for 10K	68.	Run Chicago
16.	Finish Insanity (1 year)	69.	Become a US Citizen
17.	Read Pride and Prejudice	70.	Knit Jessie a sweater
18.	Run Great North Run	71.	Finish Central Park Hoodie
19.	Learn a foreign language	72.	Run CIM
20.	Knit a lace shawl	73.	Run San Francisco Marathon
21.	Weigh a healthy weight	74.	Ride my bike 50 miles/week
22.	Run Whidbey Island	75.	Buy a Garmin Forerunner
23.	Go camping	76.	Raise $20,000 for KAS/YFC through Comrades Run
24.	Sew a tote bag	77.	Plan fundraising strategy
25.	Run a half marathon	78.	Save $10,000 for South Africa Trip
26.	Train for a half marathon	79.	Work on A Thoughtful Paws
27.	Create a family scrapbook	80.	Run the Urban Cow Half Marathon
28.	Complete the BSF series (8 years)	81.	Run the Comrades Marathon
29.	Organize my files	82.	Run a marathon with Alan
30.	Run Portland	83.	Donate Snuggles Blankets for pets
31.	Knit socks	84.	Organize and de-clutter Kitchen
32.	De-clutter the garage	85.	Organize and de-clutter Living Room
33.	Plant a garden and spend time in garden daily	86.	Organize and de-clutter Dining Room
34.	Run a marathon	87.	Organize and de-clutter Entry & Hallway
35.	Train for a marathon	88.	Organize and de-clutter Mike's Room
36.	Run Napa Valley	89.	Organize and de-clutter Master Bedroom
37.	Cook from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"	90.	Organize and de-clutter Master Bath
38.	Start playing pinochle or canasta on a regular basis	91.	Organize and de-clutter 2nd Bath
39.	Run Malibu Marathon	92.	Organize and de-clutter Garage (lower)
40.	Exercise at least 30 mins/day 5-6 days/week	93.	Organize and de-clutter Garage (upper)
41.	Paint interior of house	94.	Organize and de-clutter Grace's Room
42.	Knit Mike a sweater	95.	Make will/power of attorney/medical directive
43.	Train for the Comrades Marathon	96.	Start Saturday Craft days
44.	Run a sub 5 marathon	97.	Paint patio table and chairs
45.	complete a "Dear Jane" Quilt	98.	Install whole house fan
46.	Take a trip to South Africa	99.	Learn to play the cello
47.	Walk around all the lakes in the Lake District	100.	Take a cruise to Alaska
48.	Run Boston	101.	Tour the US in an RV
49.	Save for and install wood floors	102.	Fall Colors on the East Coast
50.	Organize Craft Room	103.	Chelsea Garden Show
51.	Knit one square/week each year for KAS	104.	Hampton Court Palace Garden Show
52.	Upload stash to Ravelry	105.	Learn to play the guitar
53.	Run 5 marathons before I turn 50	106.	Take a ballroom dance class with Mike

Have you every made a life list? Give it a shot, it's a lot of fun.