SOMETHING NEW

Hi friends. 

This is my notice that I'm going to try something new.  

If you will recall, I added "write a book" to my 40 Before 40 list. In an effort to get there and also in an effort to honor the part of myself that longs to be a writer, I have decided to share slightly different blog content.  I will continue to share, but in a slightly different format and style.  

Also, I want my sight to be more focused and to look more professional.  Later this week, I will be moving my domain (www.brookepetermann.com) to a different site.   

If you read through a feed reader, I'm not sure if the domain move will cause my posts to quit feeding to the reader or not.  I am also not sure what will happen to the content that is here.  It will be a surprise, I guess!  If it seems like I go radio silent, please check back directly with my domain again in a week or so and hopefully everything will be up and running again on the new site.  

Cheers!  

SEPTEMBER GOALS

It's time to share my goals for the month.  Here's what's on my plate:

1 / Finish the rainbow quilt I started in June.  I hit a couple snags on this just as I started sewing the squares together.  I set it aside for awhile, but I'm ready to pick it back up and get it done.  

2 / Clean out and organize the boys' closet.  

3 / Clean out and organize my dresser.

4 / Organize my sewing supplies.  It's pretty much a hot mess.  I know I would find sewing much more enjoyable and do it more often if my things were in proper homes.  

5 / Clean up the front flower bed.  I planted a bunch of perennials in the spring of 2010, when we moved in.  I basically haven't touched it since.  It still looks okay, but I would like to move one of my peonies, cut back the sedum and replace some of the lilies with something new. 

6 / Sort through our tub of "school stuff."  We have a laundry basket sized tub full of things like flash cards, alphabet magnets, card games, puzzles and dry erase books.  This seems like an ideal time to sort through it as a little reminder of what is actually in there will help me put it all to better use.  

- - - -

It seems that there is a theme to my goals and that's all good with me.  I cleaned out the closet in our basement guest room yesterday and that has put me in "sort and organize" mode.  The results have me raring to go on the rest of these projects.  

Also good?  No painting!  We still have so much painting to do, but I'm happy to take a month off.  

AUGUST GOALS RECAP

1 / Give Maggie's room a refresh.  Yep.  The change isn't dramatic, but that's okay with me because I was pretty happy with the starting point.  I finished up the painting just this morning.  (Hugs to Rachel for taking over playdate parenting duties so I could get that last bit done!)  Maggie's pretty(!) bed is now up and she has a fresh gallery wall.  Plus - her closet is more organized.  It's a win all around.  

I will share photos on Instagram in the next couple days! 

2 / Track grocery spending for the month of August.  Done and the total was more than I would have anticipated.  We are ending the month at $603.67.  I'm guessing this is pretty typical - I just hadn't calculated it for a long time.

This included things like vitamins, sandwich bags and diapers.  It did not include our restaurant meals, Sam's lunches at school or a couple small ($10ish) trips to Whole Foods that Brian paid for with his fun money.

I don't think the amount we spent is crazy, exactly - there are five of us to feed.  Still, it was more than I expected.

Of course, months that we spend more in restaurants will lead to fewer grocery expenses and vice versa.  Our restaurant expenses for the month were $129.22 - (again, excluding any restaurant food purchased with fun money).  This brings the total food expenses for our family to $732.89.

I'm going to keep tracking this and see if I can do better in future months.

3 / Finalize a "40 before 40" list.  Yes and I'm still pumped about it.  Here is the full list. 

4 / Documenting catch up (Project Life family pages and also kid book pages).  Done.  Finishing the pages of the kids' stuff was pretty quick.  The family PL pages took longer - because I do two spreads per week and because I had almost twenty weeks to do.  But, I got it done and now I can document in real time again. It feels pretty great to be be caught up.

5 / Digital clean up.  This ended up as a sort of half-win.   I did unsubscribe from a lot of the emails and deleted A LOT of photos. So there was progress,  I just still have a ways to go.  The image above shows what I would like my entire camera roll to look like.  I would love to "keep" all of the images that show important moments, are "pretty" or have otherwise been used in our family scrapbook.  I would like everything else to be deleted.  Oh, but it's a process.  I deleted about 5,000 photos, but still have several months to sort through. 

AROUND HERE

Today marks the start of week three of the school year.  I don't feel like my mindset has done a full switch to school routine mode, but I can feel it coming.  That first week felt so long, but then last week went by in a flash.

One thing that I had forgotten over the course of the summer was how broken up my days feel during the school year.  It feels like we spend A LOT of time loading in and out of the van, getting waters for everyone, hunting for shoes and cleaning out the disaster van situation.  It also feels like I just get started on a project and then it is time to go again.

Oh well.  It's part of this phase of life and I'm mostly good with it - I just need to get used to it all over again.

- - - -

Eli has been really into playing a new make believe game with me and Sweetcakes (his stuffed rat).  He will ask to play "Sweetcakes Tornado" or "Sweetcakes Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula" or "Sweetcakes Shipwreck" or ....it really goes on and on.

He likes me to sit on the couch while he sits on a chair across the living room from me.  We start off by pretending that we are in a certain situation (camping, at home, on a ship, close to a volcano, etc.) and all is well.  We chit-chat about what a nice, normal day it is.  Then - SUDDENLY! - the bad thing happens!  We pretend panic / talk about the best course of action for the emergency.  And then usually move on to the next Sweetcakes game.

The entire game is basically just talking.  And I guess he should be well prepared for most disaster situations that might come his way in life.

- - - -

We bought a tree!  It has been in our backyard for about a week and we love it.  I particularly like that it is just outside the master bedroom window.

This had been on our to do list for a couple years, but we kept putting it off for one reason or another.  Then, we went to a graduation party in May that (funnily enough) convinced us to bite the bullet.  The party was outdoors and the day was almost unbearably hot.  The one saving grace was that a good section of their backyard was shaded by trees.  We left and Brian immediately said, "We need to get some trees!  So we can have graduation parties in the backyard!"  ...nothing like looking a few years into the future, I guess.

It took us a couple months to decide on a type of tree and actually pick one out.  But, it's in the ground and looking good and now making us more anxious than ever to have a patio poured off the deck.

- - - -

And somebody REALLY needs to kick me in the pants to put in the last hour of work on Maggie's room to get it done before the end of the month.  Anybody? 

40 THINGS BEFORE I TURN 40

I feel like these kinds of lists are cliche and cheese-y, but I've decided to embrace this cheese.  Cliche or not, goal lists motivate me and bring me a sense of joy. 

In April of 2020, I will turn 40.  Starting this list now means that I will have a year and three quarters to get these things done. 

1 / Resort vacation with Brian

2 / 40th birthday celebration trip with friends

3 / Overnight away with Brian

4/ Stay in a pretty and modern airbnb rental or a boutique hotel

5 / Start scheduling and planning regular monthly dates with Brian

6 / Sponsor a child through Compassion International

7 / Donate blood five times

 8 / Secret gift project #1

 9 / Secret gift project #2

10 / Secret gift project #3

11 / Secret gift project #4

12 / Secret gift project #5

13 / Go tubing down a river

14 / Do an escape room

15 / Attend Jazz in June

16 / Attend a Killigans St. Patty's show

17 / Take a class or workshop to learn something crafty (maybe with a friend)

18 /  Get my ears pierced - again

19 / Watch a meteor shower

20 / Go to a movie by myself

21 / Consistently work on crossword puzzles - again

22 / Reread Jane Austen's six major novels

23 / Reread the New Testament

24 / Complete a third round of The 100 Day Project

25 / Apply for the Project Life Creative Team - again

26 / Sew a piece of clothing for myself

27 / Sew a piece of clothing for Maggie

28 / Go to the dentist every three months

29 / Redo the flowerbed in the front of our house

30 / Finish painting the upstairs interior

31 / Get estimates for new flooring and kitchen remodel

32 / Have a good chunk of money saved for house remodeling projects

33 / Makeover Maggie's room

34 / Makeover Sam and Eli's room

35 / Own the "Like Forever" poster that I've wanted for like forever

36 / Write a book

37 / Own the Knotten standing desk from IKEA

38 / 75 hours of work and writing time (summer 2019)

39 / Go on an overnight writing retreat

40 / Decide how I want to spend my actual 40th birthday

With a list like this, I feel like life is going to be good and fun in the time between now and 40.

And about number 36... it is the one thing that feels scary to include, but I'm doing it.  And I have plans to write a separate post with more thoughts on writing a book. 

Here we go! 

100 DAYS OF RAINBOWS

My rainbow project is complete!

This was such a fitting project for me.

I am an idea person.  This project allowed me to dream up 100 different ideas about rainbows and I find that invigorating and life giving.

Despite all the ideas, follow through is not always my strong suit - particularly on large scale projects.  But this project was made up of 100 "little" ideas.  Almost all of the projects were completed in less than an hour and that's the kind of follow through I can do well.

I very much like to work on things in small increments and this project was perfect for that.  I find repetitive work relaxing and I feel great pleasure in seeing my ideas come into reality.  To a large extent, art is my outlet for quiet.  While my hands are busy, I can slow down and think. 

I love that the built in 100 days means that I make time for art and beauty on a regular basis.

Even my Instagram feed gave me great joy during the project - I love the mix of art and life.  That's the epitome of good, if you ask me.

And, I loved that this project helped me connect with so many people.  I can't even tell you how many people sent me photos of rainbows or told me about how many rainbows they noticed in their daily life, as they were brought to the forefront of their attention through my project.

Perhaps the most fun bit of all was throwing a "Rainbow Party" in the last week of the project.  Several friends came and joined me for time together, crafting, a group art project, rainbow cake and wine.  I felt so loved as my friends embraced my offbeat idea and came to join in the fun.

By the end of the project, I was ready for a break - from ideas and from turning them into real life photograph-able things.  But I've already been thinking up ideas for next year and I'd say that's the sign of a successful project.

...and I've already posted photos 101 and 102 of 100.  I'm pretty sure this won't be the last of my rainbows.  

AUGUST GOALS

Whew!  It's been a big month.

There's still a week left in July, but now that we are home from vacation, I feel like it's time for a fresh start.  It seems to be a recurring theme that I come home from vacation with renewed energy and a strong desire to get back to the good and wholesome routines of life.

So, I'm pretending this is August first and I'm ready to get back in the swing of "regular life."  

These are the things I hope to accomplish in the next five-ish weeks:

1 / Give Maggie's room a refresh.  Her room was first Eli's nursery and then was a shared room for her and Eli.  The boys now share a room and Maggie sleeps alone.  Everything is relatively functional, but it could just use a bit of a face lift.  I want to put on a fresh coat of paint, set up her bed (she currently sleeps on a twin mattress on the floor), rearrange, clean out her closet (which is currently full of a lot of random things) and figure out a better storage systems for her clothing. 

2 / Track grocery spending for the month of August.  I track our budget pretty closely.  I could tell you exactly how much we spent on gasoline or fast food or entertainment in any given month.  But the grocery spending is a bit trickier to track.  While we sometimes shop at dedicated grocery stores (Aldi) we also spend a good chunk of our grocery budget at big box stores like Target and Walmart.  The big box stores - and the variety of things we buy in a single shopping trip - make it hard to fully track our grocery spending.  It is much easier to deduct the lump sum (including the random tshirt I buy for the boys, dog food and camping equipment) than to divide things out and keep track of spending by category.

My goal for August is to do more careful accounting in the grocery category.  I would just like this number for a baseline and because it seems weird to me to have no idea how much we are spending on groceries.

3 / Finalize a "40 before 40" list.  I am so excited about this one - and I'm also open to any ideas you have to share.  With nothing yet set in stone, I currently have 26 things on my list.  It's been really fun to think on and I'm looking forward to getting started in September.

4 / Documenting catch up (Project Life family pages and also kid book pages).  I got overwhelmed with my Week In The Life project in May and let everything fall behind.  Then, I got sucked into my 100 Day Project and lacked motivation to scrapbook.  I started playing the catch up game yesterday and I am optimistic about my ability to get these projects done this month.

5 / Digital clean up.  My phone is overloaded with photos and videos.  On a daily basis, my email inbox is inundated with store sales and newsletters that I don't need or want.  I have some random apps on my phone that I never use.  I follow some people on Instagram that I don't really need to follow.  It's time to push the unfollow and unsubscribe buttons.  It's time to delete, delete, delete.

Okay. Ready, set, here I go.