{Resolutions: May 2011}

It's the first of the month. That means it's time for me to

touch base with my New Year's Resolution. Here it goes ...

In 2011:

1) Make one new goal each month that give me a sense of balance and

make me feel like me.

January: Blog stuff -- February: Technology -- March: Photos into albums & scrapbook

April: Buy canning supplies and give canning a try.

* I went to my friend Sara's and watched/helped her make canned tomatoes in late March.

It was great preparation and practice for my plan to can in April.

* I bought all the supplies I needed -- read more about that here.

* I canned tomatoes -- five pints of chopped Roma's and six pints of chopped Heirlooms.

* Now I feel confident and in the know about canning, and I'm ready for May/June when

all kinds of goodness will be in season. Woo hoo!

May: Rearrange and organize my kitchen cupboards

2) Learn how to do the following things around the house in 2011:

* No progress on this list in April.

- Clean up cookies and junk on my computers

- Unclog the kitchen drain/garbage disposal

- Turn off the water to the house (January 31st)

- Work the sprinklers and the drip system (March 13th)

- Add to the drip system

- Clean the pool filters (February 6th) Change pool the filters (February 13th)

- Weekly/monthly pool care

- Drain and fill the pool (February 19th)

- Fertilize the lawn before summer (March 13th)

- Properly level and hang hardware fixture with a molly

- Change a door hardware and handle

- Relight the pilot light in the water heater (March 19th)

3) Volunteer or donate blood, on average, once a month.

* I did nothing for my community this month. :( Gotta gear back up in May.

1. Made food boxes w/ friends at St. Mary's Food Bank (January 8th)

2. Donated platelets and red blood cells (January 14th)

3. Sorted food baskets for the Bountiful Baskets produce co-op (February 10th)

4. Helped caseworkers collect items from Bridging AZ’s Hope Chest (March 4th)

5. Donated platelets (They weren't setup to do RBCs this time. Boo!) (March 14th)

6. Helped caseworkers collect items from Bridging AZ’s Hope Chest (March 18th)

4) Go on at least one quality date a month with D (and take turns planning it).

Here's a little info on the thought that went into making this goal.

January: Double feature at the drive-in theater with a car picnic. It was a really fun night!
February: Putt-putt golf. Air hockey and video games. Dinner at Chompies. Awesome.

March: Tempe Art Festival for shopping, people watching and street food.

April: Weekend stay-cation at a resort in Scottsdale. Luxurious, romantic relaxation!

Having this check-in actually encourages me to get my shit done from month to month.

So, thanks for that!