January Jamboree

 This year was a first, the Meerpohl boys ran a 4-H January Jamboree craft table! Our club decided to make Pom Pom Shooters and members that couldn't be there to help got all of the supplies for us. Making our job a piece of cake. 

The boys were able to help the kids put their craft together with minimal help from me. Business got a little slow at the end and a balloon game was created. It got a little wild, I get what I get for telling them to get off their phones. Never underestimate the imagination of a group of boys! 

It was a good day ending with the Chiefs beating the Broncos! Now I just need to gather some motivation to finish the laundry and vacuum...there is always tomorrow! LOL!

Demonstrating our shooter

2021, How'd we do?

 I set goals for last year and I made progress on all of them. I would like to have completed them all but when you are trying to stretch yourself sometimes you come up short. I'm not too mad about it, probably because I just got home from a vacation. That helps ;-) 

I do have goals for 2022 and I'm pretty determined to do better than I did this year. My next post will be my 2022 goals but I do need to say, I've already booked some miles running for the new year! 

I make goals I can track so I can see progress. You can't do that for your feelings so I will just write, 2021 felt good. I was challenged and I was supported. I was hurt (my darn hip) and I healed. I got to take the boys on a summer vacation, watch them play sports and watch them continue to grow. 

I know I should bite my tongue before making any declarations about what kind of year 2022 will be. I'm just saying on day 2 I'm feeling good, and I'm going to see how long I can hold onto that! 

Read 20 Books: 19/20  

I read two books in December and finished the year with 19 books. The boys had a goal to read 12 books in 2021; Alex read 14 and Daryl read 8. They were not thrilled that they have another 12 book reading goal for this year, but I don't like reading alone ;-) 

The first book I read was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, This book was not one of my favorites because it was written in a very disjointed way. Once I got the hang of the writing it was a quick read. I think my ultimate grade on a book is weather it goes on my bookshelf or in the Goodwill box. This one is hitting the box. 

The second book I read in Dec. was Where'd you go Bernadette. This one is staying on my shelf. I haven't seen the movie that was made from it and probably don't need to. It is a beach read and I devoured it in five days. Definitely recommend! It even got me motivated to work on my knitting again. Bernadette is a creator and when she stops she looses herself. Creators must create! 

 Run 800 700 miles: 667/700

I logged 40 miles in December. I wanted to run 50 but it is what it is. Running will be one of my goals I take more seriously next year. I just never found my motivation once I had to lower my original miles goal. I just didn't care about not hitting my new lower goal. I know, I know, that' not very like me. 

Money Goals: Since I did't find a contractor this year for the stairs that project will carry over to next year. However that did help my savings goal. I actually saved $3,000 dollars this year and after I paid my car off I started putting my old car payment amount towards my Mortgage principle. I will start again on house projects in 2022 but keeping track of where my money is going is my first priority. 

• Pay Off my Car - Done March
• Replace my Car's Windshield-Done Jan. 
• New Fridge
• Fix Stairs
• Install a shower in hall bathroom and fix the sink in my bathroom Done July 
• Add $2,000 to savings  Done August 
• Replace some windows

Knit four new things: 3/4

I finished another dish towel! 

Do you know that if you visit six Bourbon 
bars in Louisville KY you get a T-Shirt?

I got the shirt! 

I didn't even get a picture of my favorite drink, 
It was  a hot bourbon spiced tea at Makers Mark!

Christmas 2021

 The dust has settled a bit on our family Christmas celebration! We got to play host this year and our family came to us. Couldn't do it without grandma, she does half the preparation and more than half of the cooking! I'm amazed at my lack of pictures. Oops.

Love seeing my nieces and nephews and we were only missing one this year. We all figure as the kids get older this will happen from time to time. 

I hope everyone had a good break and I'm just going to keep rolling into this break with a week off of work. I think a road trip is in order! 

Gifts for the boys this year was Kayaks (inflatable), Preston Merch, Chiefs Merch
and cologne and smelly stuff! 

They are cousins but they look like brother and sister!

Santa brought Alex a projector drawing toy. 

Christmas eve was a nice night to walk at Zoo Lights!

On Christmas Eve I also finished my knitted dish towels! 
Yay me! 

Tennis Anyone?!

 Alex got introduced to tennis this summer during summer camp at Genesis. He has good hand eye coordination so he wanted me to sign him up for the tennis drills this fall. He has done three sessions of drills, and Friday got to play kids from another gym. He was so excited! He played two doubles matches and one singles. They play on a smaller court and the youth were calling their own in's and out's and doing their own scoring. 

That is a learning curve for your first tennis matches and he did great! He is going to take a break while he does indoor soccer this winter but he definitely wants to come back to tennis and that makes me happy. Very few head injuries in tennis! 

That was Friday night in Overland Park, KS and the boys went home with dad and Mom and I got to bed late for my standards. Not for her, she goes to bed later than me every night! No real plans this weekend except to get the rest of the holiday gifts wrapped. So it was totally on a whim that I ended up at the KU men's basketball game Saturday night. Tickets were super affordable and it was a great game! I don't remember the last time I was in Allen Fieldhouse so it was a very cool thing to do last minute. :-) 

This was after his first match and they didn't win, so 
it's a pretty forced smile. That's OK had to document anyway! 

Playing doubles! 

There is no bad seat in AFH! 

Just measuring up my size 8 shoes to Raef Lafrentz Size 17!

Feeling that Christmas Spirit

 We are almost halfway through December and it's starting to feel like Christmas. Mom and I actually got the decorations all up last weekend and yesterday I wrapped all the presents! Most years I'm doing that hours before they are going to be unwrapped, a tad stressful. 

  So at this point to have the Christmas cards in the mail I'm feeling pretty good about Christmas 2021. We have even been to a couple of gatherings already! Last week Daryl had his first 4-H Exchange Christmas party and his team won the make a snowman contest. Daryl got to be the snowman. 

Last night we had Potwin Christmas complete with a horse drawn wagon ride to see the lights. The food, friends and lights were amazing. Two weeks to go and the mantra is to enjoy the friends and family and not procrastinating the holiday tasks. We got this! 

Pepe and Lola are ready to party!

On the wagon ride.

In front of the horses! 

Daryl the Snowman!

Goal Update Oct. and Nov!

Had a great Birthday today! Joanne at work made me one of the best Apple Crisps I have ever had and mom took me out to eat some yummy Indian Food tonight! I am so lucky to have so many people in my life who messaged me today, left me a note on Facebook or stopped by my office to give me well wishes. This has been one of the most peaceful birthdays I've had in awhile. (I even ordered some new running shoes as a happy birthday gift to myself!)

I was a little off my game during October and did not get a goal update. So you are getting two months worth of progress in one read! For a couple of busy months I'm proud of what I got done! 

Read 20 Books: 17/20  

In October I finally finished The Stand. For some reason in 2021 a book about a plague is not that scary. So this was just a great drama. And at over 1,100 pages it is like a TV series with two or three seasons. I missed the characters once it was over. 

In November I read The Happiness Project and The Aviator's Wife. I feel extra accomplished when I read a non fiction and a fiction in the same month. I don't know why. 

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin gave me some good inspiration for 2022 goals. For every month of the year she worked on a new area of her life and tried to figure out how to be a happier person in general. I'm going to steal her method of tracking daily habits to improve yourself. Benjamin Franklin did this daily logging to try to constantly improve. I'm just really motivated by checking a box so I'm going to see if I can make and keep some good habits! 

The Aviator's Wife was a novel about being the wife of Charles Lindbergh and living in the shadow of an American Hero/American Enemy circa WWII/Then Hero again. A fiction that felt too real as a woman tries to not loose herself being a wife and then a mother. I would recommend! 

Only three books in December to get this goal done! 

 Run 800 700 miles: 627/700

The past two month I've done mostly 2-3 miles runs with one 10K thrown in. My hip is feeling good and I'm happy to be ending this year with pain free runs. Will I make 700 this year, probably not. Will I stop running in December, Nope! My monthly goal is 53 miles for Dec. Let's end this year on an even number. :-)  

Money Goals: Still trying to get a contractor signed up for my stairs project. The money is saved, just need to get on someone's schedule. 

• Pay Off my Car - Done March
• Replace my Car's Windshield-Done Jan. 
• New Fridge
• Fix Stairs
• Install a shower in hall bathroom and fix the sink in my bathroom Done July 
• Add $2,000 to savings  Done August 
• Replace some windows

Knit four new things: 2/4

I'm still not feeling my sweater project so I started a fancy dish towel. It's the kind that hangs from the oven handle. It only took me a week to knit and I love it! I'm going to make more! 

Before the boys left on Sunday they gave me my gift. 
World's Best Boss! LOL 

Thank you for dinner mom!!

And thank you for my flowers! You have been my 
birthday date since day 1! Back in the 80s!!