The Last Day of January

Colton and I have spent the day enjoying being off work. We attended church this morning and went to our weekly Sunday lunch spot, Chilis. (If it were up to me, I would eat at Chilis every day. However, my waistline would not appreciate that so I refrain.) Since my list requires that I decorate cakes twice a month for practice, and I have not yet done this, I spent the afternoon in the kitchen whipping up some tasty treats to decorate. As we speak, I have a red velvet cake and french vanilla cupcakes cooling on wire racks, just begging to be decorated. I will brag...I made the red velvet cake from scratch! I hope it turns out well. Pics to be posted later this week.

Our good friends Simon and Amanda are now officially residents of Oklahoma City so we attended a going away party in their name Friday evening. The party was held at TABC in Dallas and it was nice to see some of our Dallas friends. We had dinner with Colton's buddy from college, Derek and his wife and two kids. Hopefully, when we move to Lubbock, we will be good friends with them.

We are on week two of our eating healthy plan and I hope to start seeing some changes soon. We have a wedding in three weeks and the Cowtown in four so I am hoping to be in better shape by then.

Random facts/thoughts-
*My sister turned 24 this week.
*Colton and I are headed to Lubbock this weekend.
*I am thinking of trying bikram yoga. Its up in the air right now.
*I finished the book, The Help, which is on the NY Times bestseller list right now. Its a really good, fictional book on the relationship between white and black women during the 1960s in Mississippi. It is one of the better books I have read in awhile. I would recommend it for a good fiction read.

I am off to decorate aforementioned cupcakes and cake as well as fry some chicken tenders for dinner! Have a blessed week!
XOXO,
Devin

Quick Update

Apparently, I am busy. I did not realize it but I have not updated in over a week. I am cutting it close on not following my list and everyone knows the list has to be completed. Its life or death...isn't it? No, really it is a just a list of things I would like to accomplish but I do feel accountable.

Colton and I started eathing healthy and working out again. I have known for awhile now I needed to get back on the workout train because I was not blessed with the skinny gene. You know the one. My mom has it and why I did not get it I will always wonder. She can down a stack of Oreos every night and never gain an inch. I am a different story. So...back to the gym I go. Colton and I are going to run the Cowtown 10K the last weekend of February so I have started running three miles this week to slowly build up. I am going to have to figure out how to reconcile my sweet tooth with my new eating plan. Every girl knows chocolate is the cure to just about anything!

School is busy. We are about to start my favorite unit, Africa, so I am looking forward to that. Colton and I are planning on visiting Lubbock next weekend so we can meet with a potential employer. I am excited!

Well, this is going to be short and sweet! I will post more pictures later this week!
XOXO,
Devin

Project 365 so far

Back to School

Hello! I have neglected my blog for several days with the start of the spring semester. I have been extremely busy and in my free time I have pretty much been lazy. However, I decided to blog before I missed my weekly deadline for my 101 in 1001 list. So here's a little update on what has been going on in the life of the Street family.

Colton and I have both been working on lining up our future in Lubbock. I have applied with school districts in the area and Colton has been talking to some dentists in the area. We are really excited about moving to Lubbock and hopefully we can start househunting soon.

Its finals week this week and many of my students are busy taking exams. It has been a nice week for me because it gives me time to catch up on my work, grading, and get prepared for next semester. It has been a slow week at work though and I am ready for the weekend.

I have been back in the kitchen this week and I am loving expanding my skills. I made champagne chicken and beef stroganoff, both of which turned out fantastic! I also tried my third CCC recipe and I think I may have found the best one yet. Each one has different positives but this one was thick and chewy. There is one more recipe I want to try, Alton Brown's The Chewy. I will keep you posted on my quest to find the perfect CCC.

Colton and I have decided to run the Cowtown 10K in February. Its part of our goal to get healthy and lose those unwanted extra lbs. We started running this week and its been pretty difficult. I have not worked out regularly since the wedding so running again is challenging.

Colton and I went to see The Blind Side last Friday evening. I HIGHLY recommend the movie. It was a really moving story. I don't want to spoil anything but it is one of the best movies I have seen in awhile. We also watched a rental movie, The International, which was really good, too.

I have read two really good books lately. The first, The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan, is a good novel about two women who grew up in China during WWII. Tan has a really way of weaving several stories together into a beautiful piece. I really like her writing.

The second, Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay, is about a Jewish girl and a journalist whose stories become entwined when the journalist begins researching the Vel De Hiv roundup in Paris in 1942. Jews were rounded up and sent to camps where they were later deported to Auschwitz. The story is told from the perspective of the little girl during the actual round up and the journalist as she uncovers more about the story of the little girl.

I am still working out the kinks as to how I want to keep track of my list. I cannot decide if I want to log every thing I am working on or keep a running list somewhere else. I like having it on my blog but I don't want my entries to always sound like a laundry list of things to do. I will have to brainstorm how to do this creatively!

My final comments are on a subject I am passionate about- Texas Tech Football. I am VERY excited we hired a new coach, Tommy Tuberville, after a series of trying weeks over the holiday season. Our former head coach was fired, and although I do not agree with the reasons, I do believe Tech has made a postive step forward out of a negative situation. I am sincerely hopeful that our program will continue to grow and improve because Colton and I are extremely excited to be living there and attend football games. Guns Up!

XOXO,
Devin

Last Day of Blissful Vacation

Today is my last day of Christmas vacation and I am spending it in my pajamas with my husband watching football, TTU basketball, and movies intermittently. Now, don't get me wrong, I do love my job and am excited to get back to work. But....I could also envision myself being perfectly happy being a kept woman who stays at home taking care of house and (later) children. Its very easy to envision this scenario when faced with a 6:30 a.m. alarm on the not too distant horizon.

My Red Raiders pulled through yesterday and now I hope we can move past all this drama that has plagued us for the last few days and move forward. Here's to hoping for a good season a Tech football next year and a good new coach.

I have already started on my 101 in 1001 list and made some progress. I am working on how to put said list into my blog on the sidebar without re-typing the entire thing. For some reason, the copy and paste feature is not working and I currently do not have interest in re-typing the entire thing. It will eventually get done.

Here is what I have accomplished or begun working on thus far.

#5- purchase Dad a very special gift --> Technically, I purchased this gift for my father for Christmas so it should not count. But, I am considering it a Christmas/birthday/Fathers day present for the year because it was little expensive but totally worth it. Its the most meaningful gift I think I have ever given and I am very proud of how it turned out. With the help of my good friend Cristina Wisner (my wedding photographer), I had a photo of my dad and I dancing enlarged and she did some custom editing for me to include lyrics from a song he wrote for me when I was little. It was custom framed too since it was 16x24. It turned out beautifully.

The lyrics- Let me look back on my life
                    Hold the woman that's my wife
                    Let me thank her for the gift
                    That changed my world
                    Lord I know they'll be fine
                    When I cross that finish line
                    Let me look just one more time
                    At my little girl
                    My little girl
*I will post a pic of the finished project later this week.

#16- I am currently watching the TTU basketball game and the Cowboys game with Colton. We watched the Tech football game last night.

#18 Colton and I created our bucket list of places to travel. Its rather ambitious and includes 40 locations, which I will post at a later date. I decided the best way to accompish this was to make a top ten list for four different categories- US, Europe, Caribbean & Central America, and Other. Other includes anywhere in the world not covered by first three categories.

#33- I am currently updating my blog for the week.

#96- I have taken two pictures thus far and will take one later today for my photo 365 project.

It's kind of fun to have something to work towards each day. I hope this project is as enjoyable as I think its going to be!

Happy Sunday! XOXO,
Devin

The Much Anticipated (well to me) New Year's Post

Welcome, 2010! I hope you are as good to me as 2009 was. With the coming of the New Year, its only appropriate to make resolutions to make this year even better. However, like most people, I always find myself making lofty promises to myself, usually involving losing X amount of pounds this year or reducing spending habits, etc. Very vague resolutions that are usually broken within a few weeks or months. Then, at the end of said year, I have really accomplished none of the goals I put forth for myself. This is because its fun to say and think what you will accomplish but its completely different to actually do the work needed to reach those goals. Its easier to find excuses as to why you could not keep those resolutions. So, instead of citing a list of resolutions, I have decided to take on a much larger, but more manageable, project I stumbled across while reading The Knot community boards a few months ago while still wedding planning. A young lady on one of the boards listed her blog and a new project she was trying out. I read through her plan and researched the original idea and really liked what I saw. So, here is my plan in its entirety.

I'm beginning a journey to becoming a better person. I've got from now until September 28, 2012 to achieve the 101 things on my To-Do List. I plan to document my attempts to complete this list.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic. I adapted my list to follow the example I found on this site 101in1001.blogspot.com and used categories to organize the tasks.

Why 1001 Days? Rather than give myself ambiguity with my resolutions that would allow me to possibly break those resolutions, I have compiled this list with a realistic deadline. Yes, it is a LONG time from now, but by breaking down my tasks into small steps, I can hopefully complete this list and reach the end of my journey as a more thoughtful, well rounded person. In short, I am trying to make myself a better person.

Tasks to be completed.
Italics = Tasks that are in the process of being completed.
Bold = Tasks that are finished!! :)


Family
1. Visit my grandmother at least once every three months. (0/7)
2. Make a family recipe book
3. Send mom flowers for no special reason. (0/1)
4. Send Kara flowers for no special reason. (0/1)
5. Give Dad a very special gift. (0/1)
6. Send birthday cards to everyone in my immediate family.
7. Take my mom on a mother/daughter trip.

Friends
8. Make a point to meet friends out for dinner at least twenty-four times. (0/24)
9. Send Christmas cards to friends every holiday season. (0/2)
10. Send a birthday or anniversary card to one friend each month (0/33).
11. Make at least one new friend in 2010 in Lubbock.
12. Plan a girls trip once a year. (0/3)
13. Have girls night once every month until I leave for Lubbock. (0/6)
14. Call or email a friend once a week. (0/144)
15. Make a new "couples" friend.

Relationship
16. Watch a sports game with Colton at least twice a month. (0/66)
17. Go to a play or musical with Colton.
18. Create a bucket list with Colton of things we want to do or places we want to go in our life together.
19. Get a "family" portrait taken.
20. Have a real date night with Colton once a month. Not just dinner. (0/33)
21. Take a picture of us every month and place in an album. (0/33)
22. Spend one day and one night in a fancy hotel. (0/1)

Spiritual
23. Volunteer at church events at least twice a year. (0/6)
24. Read the Bible from cover to cover.
25. Set aside 10 minutes a day for quiet time, and reflection.
26. Attend church at least twice a month. (0/60)
27. Join a Sunday school class or group at church.

Career
28. Find a job in Lubbock as a geography teacher.
29. Develop curriculum on Holocaust studies for use in high school classrooms.

Education
30. Complete a masters degree program in history or interdisciplinary studies at TTU.
31. Attend one workshop per year for professional development.

Personal Goals
32. Go a whole day only saying positive things. (0/1)
33. Update my blog at least once a week. (0/140)
34. Write a list of 50 things that I like about myself. Save it.
35. Draft, notarize and finalize a living will.
36. Get a dog.
37. Practice decorating cakes twice a month. (0/60)
38. Learn how to quilt, evidenced by making a quilt all by myself. (0/1)
39. Complete a draft for a novel idea.

Health & Fitness
40. Eat queso only once every other week. (I have to be realistic J)
41. Lose 1 lb per week until I reach my goal weight.
42. Be able to run two miles without stopping.
43. Be able to run three miles without stopping.
44. Be able to run four miles without stopping.
45. Run a 10K.
46. Run a half marathon.

Finances
47. Put away 10% of my income per month into my personal saving account.
48. Put away 10% of our income per month into our joint savings account.
49. Pay off all credit card purchases each month.

Home
50. Clean the house once a week. (0/144)
51. Keep a “home fund” for buying new house items when needed.
52. Collect 2 new items each year for decorating for the holidays. (0/6)
53. Purchase a home.
54. Document all my possessions for insurance purposes.

Food
55. Make Christmas cookies each year. (0/3)
56. Try five new restaurants each year (0/15).
57. Find and try twelve new recipes per year. (0/33)

Travel
58. Go to Banff, Canada with Colton.
59. Go snow skiing.
60. Go on a beach vacation.
61. Visit Shelley and Adam in Japan.
62. Visit three new states (0/3).

Books/Movies
63. Pick up and read a book I would not normally read.
64. Read ten of the New York Best Sellers in the year 2010.
65. Read ten books of my own choosing (0/10).
66. Watch ten movies I’ve never seen before (0/10).
67. Read one memoir/biography each year. (0/3)
68. Watch one documentary each year. (0/3)

Fun Activities
69. Go to the river.
70. Go to the lake.
71. Take dancing lessons with Colton.
72. Go to Canton for First Monday.
73. Go to Highland Park, ride in a carriage, and look at Christmas lights.
74. Go to a professional sporting event.
75. Go to a concert.
76. Organize/attend a girl’s day or night with the women of my family once per year. (0/3)
77. Go on a trip with my sister.

Random Acts of Kindness
78. Donate money to a charity.
79. Volunteer somewhere 5 times (0/5).
80. Send a positive note home with a different student each month. (0/18)
81. Donate clothes/shoes I don’t need or wear.
82. Send 6 random "thinking of you" cards to unsuspecting friends. (0/6)
83. Bake an unexpected treat for someone once per month. (0/33)
84. Write three letters praising good service (0/3).
85. Cook Colton a candlelight meal once per month. (0/33)

Expand my Knowledge/Culture
86. Read a book or take a course on Islamic studies for understanding.
87. Read a book or take a course on Jewish studies for understanding.
88. Learn another language.
89. Purchase and read an educational magazine, like the Economist, once per month. (0/33)

Purchases
90. Purchase a new washer/dryer.
91. Purchase a new bedroom suite.
92. Purchase something Colton has been wanting and surprise him with it.

Miscellaneous
93. Host a recipe exchange party.
94. Host a holiday party
95. Host a tailgate party twice per football season at our house.
96. Complete the photo365 project in 2010.
97. Compile and complete a wedding scrapbook in 2010.
98. Compile and complete a honeymoon scrapbook in 2010.
99. Host a New Year’s Eve Party.
100. Create a new 101 things to do in 1001 days list.
101. Celebrate finishing the list on the 1001st day!

For more information on the original website where I got this idea, please visit dayzeroproject.com. Happy New Year!