52 HIKE CHALLENGE - JANUARY 2018

As I mentioned earlier this month, I set a goal of going on one hike every week of this year with as many Ws as possible. We'll cover at least one mile each time, but the location can vary from rural and forested to urban and paved. Whatever works. Here are the hikes we took in January. 

Hike #1 - 1/4/18 - Fanno Creek Trail: Ironwood Loop to Dirksen Nature Park

1.70 miles this day

1.70 miles this year

I included a couple other pictures from this hike in the post I linked above, so I'm only showing the group shot in this one.

Hike #2 - 1/12/18 - Magness Tree Farm
2.00 miles this day
3.70 miles this year

We've hiked this trail several times before and invited another family, but they had to cancel because of illness.

However, Tim surprised us by showing up just after we started!

Naomi found this cool heart-shaped puddle just after we started our hike.

Hike #3 - 1/20/18 - Tryon Creek State Natural Area
2.00 miles this day
5.70 miles this year
Joining us - Amos, Michelle, Sawyer

We took advantage of a rain-free morning to go on a hike and invited a family we've recently met to join us. She knows the trails in this area really well, so she led the way and we all got to know each other a little more as we chatted our way through the woods.

Hike #4 - 1/25/18 - Centennial Park
1.50 miles this day
7.20 miles this year

Between rain and scheduling conflicts, our hiking choices were limited this week. We made a spontaneous decision to blitz down to a local park before the rain started to do a combo of walking and jogging. It was 42 degrees and pretty windy, but we got it done!

Hike #5 - 1/30/18 - Cooper Mountain Nature Park
2.70 miles this day
9.90 miles this year

We made a spontaneous decision to head out for a hike after breakfast. A new (to us) trail, sunshine most of the time, a few minutes of rain, and our fifth hike of the year in the books!

We're taking a group shot on each hike in this challenge, but this time around I took a whole bunch more. I love seeing the kids take off running down a trail.

These were a fun way to listen to all the sounds around us, especially once the kids realized they weren't intended to be used as megaphones to blast their voices for miles around.

Hoping to spot frogs in the quarry pond.

The park ranger happened to stop by, so we chatted with him for a while.

 

"Hey, let me get a quick picture of the sibs." 

Story of my life with these four!

THE VIEW AT MY KITCHEN SINK

The kids filled the parents' stockings in our home last month and mine included a glass jar, a bag of green marbles, and a few sprigs of fake blue flowers. I was told what their intended use was, followed directions, and have been enjoying this view at my sink ever since.

I love the beauty, simplicity, frugality, and thoughtfulness of the gift. My kids know what I like and I love being reminded of them when I'm standing at the sink.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for the postal service. What's one thing that you're thankful for?

AFFIRMATIONS

A couple weeks ago I listened to someone talk about affirmations - positive declarations spoken as fact, even if they haven't happened yet. I confess the whole idea of affirmations feels a little silly to me because saying something is true doesn't make it so. I don't become healthy, wealthy, and wise simply by proclaiming that I'm healthy, wealthy, and wise. Right?

At the same time, I do believe setting goals is important and know that our words influence our thoughts, which then influence our behavior. As Mr. Burdett said during the first day of my freshman year in high school, "You don't get what you want. You get what you expect." His point was not that we'd get whatever grade we wanted by verbalizing that we expected it, but that we'd do the work required to get whatever grade we expected in his class, whether that grade was high or low. It's an accurate principle in all areas of life, one that aligns with my approach to affirmations and that of the person I listened to. Affirmations aren't a guarantee of anything, but they can be a useful tool in helping us set goals and maintaining our focus when we're discouraged, bored, or overwhelmed.

The person I listened to was from my Pampered Chef team and challenged everyone to come up with five affirmations related to our business. She also mentioned having a word of the year to focus on. As I told everyone in our group, I've never been one to do either of those things, but I decided to play along. However, I chose to make it be less about business and more about life overall, meshing things that have always mattered to me as an individual, are applicable to my job as a Pampered Chef consultant, have come up in counseling and Skyble study in relation to other areas of life, and are relevant to practical changes I already planned on making.

"Priorities" - This word is a reminder for me to pause and ask myself what matters most in the moment, then to focus on that one thing as long as necessary.

- My identity and worth is in Christ, not in any relationship I'm part of, business I run, activity I'm involved in, or skill I have.

- I'm focused on my personal goals and not distracted by the goals of others. This gives me freedom to enjoy my own process while encouraging and celebrating others in theirs.

- I set myself up for success. I accept it humbly, realizing it comes from a combination of my own hard work and circumstances beyond my control that worked to my advantage.

- I realize failure is a part of life. I accept it as a learning opportunity and chance for personal growth.

- I choose to run my business in a way that allows me to reach my financial goal, blesses those I do business with, and doesn't undermine family life.

Only time will tell if putting these thoughts on paper benefits me in any way, but I still think it was good for me to spend a little time articulating them. Have you ever written affirmations? Do you pick a word of the year? If so, how have either of those things affected your thoughts and behaviors? If not, is it something you've ever considered doing?

DON'T COOK, DO PLAY

I've been super tired lately, which is probably anemia rearing its head again, so I didn't hesitate for a moment when Tim offered to make dinner last night. I took my sleepy and somewhat grumpy self out of the kitchen and worked on other stuff while he cooked.

Later in the evening he and I did a sneak attack on the little Ws with our Snowtime Anytime snowballs. That turned into an hour of battling, which everyone enjoyed on Family Fun Friday

I love it when an evening that doesn't look very promising on the front end ends up being more fun than anticipated!

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FUN WITH FRIENDS

I've been able to hang out with friends twice this week, spending time on both occasions with gals that I usually get to see once every year or two. 

I drove up to Centralia on Monday to meet up with Melanie, Stephanie, and Heidi, all of whom had driven down from various places in Washington. We spent all day doing some bargain shopping, chatting, laughing, and eating delicious food at Berry Fields Cafe. I'd been hesitant to go because of responsibilities at home and my weekly online date with my sister, but Tim gave me the extra push I needed and I'm glad he did. It was a great day!

Yesterday I was able to spend all evening with Thea, Robin, and Michalea (who isn't in the pictures because she was the photographer). We chatted about life while eating American Dream Pizza, cookies from Brown Butter Bakery, and Creo Chocolate. Thursdays are usually my evening to have some quiet time alone while everyone is either out of the house or in bed early, but spending time with these gals was totally worth missing that down time. A perfect way to spend the evening!

I'm so thankful for each of these gals and that my schedule allowed me some time to spend with them!

Slightly off-topic, Chez Sealy is where we spent our time together last night and it's a cute vacation rental for those who are needing a place to stay in Portland.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that Devon fixed a door that wasn't closing correctly. What's one thing that you're thankful for?

SKETCH CHALLENGE - SECOND HALF

I started a sketch challenge back in August, a stretch of my comfort zone and definitely out of my skill set that was inspired by a book I read and a Facebook post from a friend, but I got distracted after I finished the first half. I did another batch of sketches in early September, then did nothing until last weekend when I finally completed the challenge. I obviously didn't stick with the intended timeline, but it was important to me that I do all the sketches, to see the goal to completion. You can find all the pictures in one place in this public Facebook album, but without further ado, here is the second half of my sketches.

DAY 17: A CACTUS - Pretty basic.

DAY 18: AN HERB - I love basil!

DAY 19: A FLOWER - He loves me, he loves me not. 

DAY 20: WHAT'S IN YOUR POCKET? - I bought this key a year ago and I just love it!

DAY 21: FAVORITE ART TOOL - Art is not my strong point, so an eraser is my best art friend.

DAY 23: A BED - It may not look super comfy, but at least you can tell what it is. That counts as success in my book!

DAY 22: A KITCHEN TOOL - I don't know the official name for this thing, but it hooks on the side of your pots and pans so that you can drain liquid out. Tim had ours when we started dating and I think it's so handy!

DAY 24: SOMETHING YOU USE DAILY - Clean teeth for the win!

DAY 25: A SHOE - Love my Okabashi flip flops!

DAY 26: A BOOK - Perhaps you've heard of this one?

DAY 27: WHERE YOU GREW UP - I spent the first seven-ish years of my life in California, then have been in Oregon ever since.

DAY 28 - WHERE YOU LIVE NOW - I'm a happy minority in a town of about 25,500 people where most residents speak Spanish and a little Mexican bakery cranks out the best pan dulce, an abundance of Russian families live and onion-domed churches serve the Orthodox among them, and a senior neighborhood with over 1,500 individual homes and a few assisted living facilities ensure that you'll see plenty of grandparents out and about.

DAY 29: A RESTAURANT - Avo-Cobb-O Salad or an A-1 Peppercorn Burger? Always a tough decision!

DAY 30: A SCHOOL - I've never attended a school like this, but I think they're neat.

DAY 31: VACATION DESTINATION - Ocean sunsets and mountain trails through trees? Yes, please!

And that's that. Now on to find the next way to challenge myself to do something that doesn't come naturally to me!