kikiproject: a nifty nine months old!

pie chart time!

[i know dad is wishing i had inserted a photo of a real pie…sorry, pops!]

well, kikiproject, you have but three months left to go. i’d say things are looking good!…

1. record at least one positive thing every day in my gratitude journal/excel spreadsheet. done! as my european neighbour likes to say, “e-ver-y day vee are ah-live ees a gooot day.” (i love m, we are best gym buddies, too). and even the recent loss of dear grandma has presented opportunities for me give thanks.

2. babysit little e and cutie c two times so that the brother and sil ana can enjoy a significant date or special event. A+! for today’s recap, i am going to add a “.5” to the three babysitting dates already completed. wednesday october 3rd was sil ana’s bday, so the brother surprised her with a special dinner out. i stayed later than usual this past wednesday, and put the girls to bed and babysat until the brother and birthday ana returned home. i ♥ love ♥ bedtime routine! here’s hoping there are some xmas parties or socials coming up where a reliable babysitter could be of assistance??!…

3. blog three times per week (monday-wednesday-friday). modified on february 13th to: leave a comment on a minimum of three blogs, every day. on track! i had been thinking about perhaps expanding my bookmarked blogs…but nah, at this point, i am content to read/comment on the blogs i am used to. i am commenting a bit more often on janae‘s blog (see #8, below…) and local (governor general award-nominated!) author carrie‘s blog!

4. run four (point two) km…times ten. i did not accomplish this goal this month – and had no intentions of so doing!

5. eat five wildly decadent and delicious desserts. done! come to think of it, i do not think i downed any ice cream within the past 30 days. quel dommage! [sidenote: julie, my french is so rusty, i had to google “quel” or “quelle”!!]

6. finish a minimum of six knitting projects. yes! i have one more project to share with you…now, sil ana, at this point, it would be best if you could please close your eyes, hit “page down” once or twice, and then rejoin us – many thanks.

knitting project #7 is christmas gifts for little e and cutie c which i finished on sept 19th:

ballet sweaters: e’s is on the left, c’s is on the right

little e already has one of these sweaters in a light pink shade – it is so well-worn that it is splotched and stretched and ready to be retired! since both girlies love their dance classes, i decided to redo the pattern in a larger size for e, and make c her own version. i don’t really like 100% cotton for most projects, but in this case, it’s the perfect yarn. i’m happy with how they turned out! and there’ll be no mad rush to get them ready before christmas!

7. read seven books, and hopefully more. my book tally stands at twelve. [back in january, i never would have predicted accomplishing this much reading!]. in tandem, i read sue graftons’ r is for ricochet (finished on september 23rd) and jennifer weiner’s fly away home (finished on september 25th).

i had not read a kinsey milhone book in ages! when zo mentioned sue grafton’s series, i suddenly had the urge to get back into one of these *suspence* novels. since i couldn’t remember where i left off, i randomly picked “r” – it was a good one! i realized i have missed kinsey, her adventures, and her pals. funny: i went to the library for s is for silence, started it, and already on page one, could tell i had read this book! so i returned it and am now into t is for trespass. r is for ricochet gets **1/2 (two point five stars), if you’ve never read a sue grafton, try out a is for alibi -> this series is entertaining, non-offensive reading.

i give fly away home *** (three stars) and i recommend it for your next vacation pick. now: this is unusual: i actually did not really love any of the three protagonists all that much – the storyline was what captured my interest. in terms of a favourite character, i pick selma – loved her feistiness! also unusual is to take away a message or life lesson from a fluffy novel…but i did. the novel’s plots remind us of the possibilities afforded by forgiveness, and the hope of new beginnings. here’s a memorable a-ha quote: “there’s no right way to live a life…you just do the best you can.” jennifer weiner is one of my favourite chick lit authors, and i did enjoy this read very much.

8. perform eight random acts of kindness. yes! i completed two r.a.o.k.s since our last recap. you can read about r.a.o.k. #5 here and r.a.o.k. #6 here!

9. watch nine different and new-to-me tv shows (either online, on dvd, or on tv). completed last month! funny enough, i have watched a lot more tv this past month than usual…it’s very relaxing to flake out in front of mindless television shows!

10. refrain from chewing gum for ten months. ok, i am so excited about my upcoming gum-chewing day, that i am going to share all the details with you NOW even though it’s not going to happen until saturday, november 10th. as previously mentioned, i am going to buy two packs of extra gum (peppermint and bubble gum) and chew all 14 x 2 pieces in one day. technically, gum chewing party day could be friday, november 9th as that would be exactly ten months, but i am going to wait the additional 24 hours as the saturday suits my schedule a bit better to be chomping and bubble-making all day long. wheeeee!!!

11. abstain from drinking diet pop (any pop) for eleven months. as always, i have a diet coke moment to share with you…so, i was sitting in coffee culture, sipping a decaf lemon tea and reading a book, all peaceful-like and quite content, when suddenly the girl two comfy-chairs away opened a diet coke. for thirty seconds, my good humour fizzled. drat, would i ever love to be sitting and downing a dc myself, thought i. then i called to mind my mental list of all the positives of NOT drinking pop and the sucky moment passed. i also desolve into grumpiness when i see the cheap price of 710 ml diet pops in the grocery stores and compare that to the more elevated prices of carbonated water…again, reminding myself that i am better off without pop helps me turn my frown upside down! [boy, that sounds cheesy!]

12. meet with at least twelve different friends for a social get-together. we’re sitting steady at twenty!! my outings this month were all repeat visits…i am wondering if i can get to twenty-five new get-togethers by the end of this project???

and there you have it! i’d say that was a prosperous month!

now: just to let you know – i am a big planner-aheader, as you are fully aware, so i have been thinking about 2013 + the kikiproject (it would be year #4!) for a couple of months already. it’s either going to be all or nothing come january 9th…this sporadic posting style of late is driving me bonkers. i’ve got more reflecting to do on what i will do!

canadian friends, i hope you enjoyed a marvelous turkey weekend, and u.s. friends…well, you’ve got your t-weekend in just over six weeks!