21 Before 21 Update

There are only three weeks and a few days left until my birthday; I figure it is time for a little update on how my goals are coming. I set 21 goals last April that I wanted to achieve before my 21st birthday on February 16th, 2011 (yes, I know, I'm a baby!). So let's look at that list:

1. Bake homemade bread

 -Done! I made a loaf of homemade bread for our Thanksgiving dinner, which we hosted at our house this year. I was amazed at how easy it was, and I have made several loaves since. Actually, this past weekend we ran out of bread, so instead of sending the husband to the store, I whipped up a fresh loaf. So delicious.

2. Take a sign language class

-Complete! Actually, not only did I take a sign language class, I am in the middle of my third.

3. Read a book just for fun

-Fini! I read the book, Having Faith by Sandra Steingraber. I wrote up a little review here. A few days later, I actually got an email from Sandra Steingraber! I was so ecstatic, as she has become one of my heros.

4. Buy a house

-Yep! We closed on our 1901 farmhouse on April 26th. It was a long time coming! Here is my write up about the closing.

5. Reupholster a piece of furniture
-Ok, here is where things get a little sketchy...I started re-upholstering our sofa the week before Thanksgiving. I did not know what I was getting into... I'm still hoping to finish it...*nervous laughter*!

6. Plant a garden
- Planted and blogged. However, my garden did not turn out as promisingly as I had hoped...aside from a handful of cherry tomatoes, I'm embarrassed to say that it hardly produced at all. If I'm going to be completely honest, Planting a Garden 2010 was an epic fail. But, I did try it. AND, I am even more excited about planting a few plants this year and doing it a little differently (and hopefully with a very different outcome).

7. Make cake icing out of avocados
-Yummy and unique! Check it out: Avocado Icing!

8. Get an internship

-Accomplished! For June & July 2010 I interned at my local hospital's midwifery clinic, where Dmitri was born. I researched fear and self-efficacy in childbirth and read a lot of interesting studies. It was right in my niche and I enjoyed every minute of it.

9. Write a pros and cons list for future careers

Achieved. I have known for a while that I want a career within the birth world, but have not been sure exactly what that would look like. I have done a lot of research, soul-searching, and thinking about different options and I have a vision for what I would like to do. But, for the moment I am focusing on getting baby # 2 here and finishing my A.B in Women's Studies (in December!). Then we will see where I go from there!

10. Go on a weekend away
-Nope. Pretty sure this will be a fail. I'll blame it on a lack of funds and being pregnant...

11. Perform a random act of kindness
-Yes, but, I think it would defeat the purpose to write about it.

12. Build Dmitri a play kitchen
-I plan to turn a TV entertainment center into a toy kitchen for Dmitri. We ran into a few road blocks transporting the entertainment center from my sister-in-law's house (it would not fit in our vehicle)...so I was not able to work on it when I had the time. I am hoping to make progress on it, though it probably will not be finished by my birthday. Nonetheless, I have some ridiculously cute plans for it that will be worth the wait!

13. Write a love letter
Still need to do this one. I just need to decide who to write one too...just kidding! Valentine's Day is coming up, so it seems appropriate.

14. Scrapbook from July 2009-July 2010

-Although I have not finished this, I have made some progress. I sorted through and ordered over 300 photos. I unpacked and organized all of my craft/scrapbook supplies. The next step I need to take is finding an album since last year's is full (I end up doing a new album every year).

15. Build a piece of furniture "from scratch"
-Definitely done! We built a day bed, as well as our King sized master bed

16. Take a practice GRE test
I am scratching this one off the list. I do not plan to take the GRE anytime soon, so I am not going to take a practice GRE now.

17. Perfect a whole wheat sugar free cookie recipe

-I've tried a few, but haven't "perfected it." Sounds like I need to put my apron on and mess around in the kitchen!

18. Create a budget and follow it
-In progress...A blog post will be coming soon about how we've started budgeting this year.

19.Face a fear.
-I have pondered for months what my "fears" are and how I can face them. I was pretty afraid of getting pregnant again and having another baby. At 32 weeks pregnant, I can honestly say I have faced that belly on!

20. Blog about it
-Here you go. = )

21. Start a compost
-I have started a compost pile, but have mostly put yard debris in it. I need to get better about taking our fruit and veggie remains out to the pile!

So there it is. It's not perfection, but it's progress. Hopefully I can knock a few more off the list before my birthday!