Tuesday, June 28, 2011

40 B4 40: Update II

My little garden
In January, instead of a New Year's Resolution, I wrote a blog listing the 40 things I wanted to accomplish before I turned 40.

In April, I wrote an update.

So, I figured it was time to write another update.  If for no other reason than to prompt myself to keep working to check some things off.

4. Present at a national conference - Unfortunately, the proposal I submitted to ACTFL was not accepted.  I was pretty bummed about this, until I found out that my work's budget was being slashed 46.5% for the 2011-2012 school year which means no one will be traveling anywhere for any conferences.

My basil
12. Grow an herb garden - Unfortunately, my seedlings I started were picked by curious boys.  But I do have one basil plant growing in a pot on the back porch.  It's not quite an "herb garden", but I think it is a good start.

13. Grow a vegetable garden - Like the herb seedlings, my vegetable seedlings did not make it. :(  But I do have five tomato plants and three peppers that I bought from seedlings planted in the garden.  I managed to clear out and till about 10% of my garden plot.  If I can keep these babies alive, then I think I'll feel more confident to plant even more next summer.

33. Learn to use coupons (making it a habit) - Honestly, I'm not sure if I care about this one anymore.  The more and more I read/watch/learn about couponing, the less I'm convinced it is useful for me/my family.  #1 Seeing people fill entire rooms full of groceries creeps me out.  I am an anti-clutter person, so I don't like lots of stuff.  Not to mention it makes those people look like they are preparing for armageddon or when "they" come for our guns.  #2 Most of the coupons I find are for boxed food (Hamburger Helper, instant mashed potatoes), canned food (Chef Boyardee), and frozen pizzas or tv dinners.  And that's just not how we eat.  We tend to buy ingredients, not pre-made foods.  So unless coupons start coming for fresh fruits and veggies, eggs, milk, flour, etc.  we will concentrate on just trying to stick to a budget.

This update does remind me that I need to re-visit my etsy.com store idea.

2 comments: