Today, the Lord said to me, “My daughter, I am told there is much simplicity in you, so why do you not tell Me about everything that concerns you, even the smallest details?  Tell Me about everything, and know that this will give Me great joy.”  I answered, “But You know about everything, Lord.”  And Jesus replied to me, “Yes, I do know; but you should not excuse yourself with the fact that I know, but with childlike simplicity talk to Me about everything, for My ears and heart are inclined towards you, and your words are dear to Me.”

– Saint Faustina’s Diary, page 358

• complete standardized testing and mail (we are all SO happy to be done!)
• celebrate the beginning of summer with something special (we had ice cream sundaes)
• clean up schoolroom for summer (almost done)
• start making loose curriculum plans for the fall
• spend 15+ hours outside (current total is 21.5 hours!  I’m tracking my own time, but the kids come out with me almost every time)
• start brainstorming ideas for #write30days 2020 in June 
• finish clearing away the fallen trees and branches in the yard
• powerwash the siding (100LT #6)
• finish garden fence construction and paint
• keep planting! 
• make two purchases from small businesses (I ordered rainboots for two of the kids from Lone Cone and a few scrapbook things during the Ali Edwards sale)
• read another ARC due for Netgalley
• read at least 50% of Saint Faustina’s Diary
• order a filter replacement for the fridge
• check out the current outdoor gear situation and purchase anything needed (I bought rainboots from the shop above and raincoats for Sophie and me on Poshmark)
• plant ferns by the front door (100LT #32)
• plant lemongrass for the back porch (100LT #33)
• see if I can get a piece of wood cut for a DIY chalkboard
• buy chalkboard paint

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
– Ralph Emerson

• paint my toes
• give myself a haircut (ponytail method again for the win)
• add a fresh layer of soil to the front flower beds
• plant wildflower seeds throughout the entire front beds (praying my vision comes to life this summer!)
• start planting!
• start working on garden fence construction
• clear away the fallen trees and branches in the yard (a work in progress)
• read an ARC due for Netgalley
• brainstorm some ideas/topics for my #100dayproject (I can only seem to come up with something on the spot…)
• update Nest Watch (I checked in on the nest and could only see four babies…hoping we didn’t lose one)
• try to propagate my Christmas cactus again
• swap out the master rug for the one in the living room (the big rug switcheroo didn’t happen)
• clean the indoor/outdoor rug
• put the indoor/outdoor rug out on the porch
• order ferns on Etsy (I ordered them from JLPFarmsTN)
• order lemongrass on Etsy (I ordered them from Clovers Home and Garden)
• go on a jog
• deep clean the oven (100LT #4) (still not done!  I really need to prioritize this!)
• finish up the last work of the school year and prep for standardized testing

Act in such a way that all those who come in contact with you will go away joyful.  Sow happiness about you, because you have received much from God; give, then generously to others.
– Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska’s Diary, p.24

• blog more (so far, so good!  I really need this creative outlet right now) 
• continue working on my new scrapbook project (enjoying this creative outlet too)
• add a fresh layer of soil to the front flower beds (our delivery has continually been postponed, but we hope it have it by Friday)
• plant wildflower seeds throughout the entire front beds
• email the county to see if I still need to order standardized testing (we’re still required to test even though the public schools are exempt…bummer)
• figure out how to make Easter Sunday special, even under quarantine
• start planting!
• research rain barrels
• choose a few books on my Goodreads “to read” list (I borrowed The Rosie Project and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society from the library)
• decide on a baby shower gift for my cousin
• finally work on the Finders Keepers box that I’ve had since December(!)
• browse the recipes I’ve pinned on Pinterest and bake something new (decided to try a recipe for bialys in my sourdough cookbook instead)
• try to propagate my Christmas cactus again
• see if I can revive my dying fern (I trimmed it back and re-potted it, so we’ll see!)
• add a few things to sell on ebay
• clean and vacuum out car interiors
• browse around for a bigger rug for the living room

A new month and and a fresh start.  I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed with all the tabs in my brain, so I made a “notepad” of sorts with these prompts:

• “To Learn” is something that keeps my brain sharp: researching a DIY project, reading non-fiction, practicing a language on Duolingo
• “To Do” is generally a homemaking task but could also be special one-on-one time with one of the kids
• “To Move” is physical exercise, but it doesn’t have to fit the typical working out box.  Hauling huge bags of soil from the driveway to the garden is a huge work out! 
• “To Bake/Make” is self-explanatory – I like to mix up old favorites with new recipes I find on Pinterest
• “To Serve” is a way for me to help my neighbor: keeping in touch with relatives, donating to good causes, thanking the people who are keeping us safe
• “To Pray” is for special prayers I would like to make into habits, like the Angelus or the Divine Mercy Chaplet

Right now, I just print two to a page and cut them out, but I’d love to make it a real notepad some day.  I give myself two days for each list and limit myself to only one task per prompt.  And it’s working!  Most days I complete all six tasks, sometimes only three or four, but the point is that it keeps me intentional.  Yes, we are living in scary times, but I can still choose to live in hope and not despair.

• have the kids involved in making dinner each night
• get back to my 20th Century in Literature Challenge and read two books that fit (half credit: I finished Strangers and Sojourners from 1997 & have started To Know Christ Jesus from 1962)
• buy and lay down landscape fabric
• purchase everything needed for “Mel’s Mix” and fill the raised beds (we’ve finished about half)
• start buying things for Easter baskets 
• mail back ThredUp bag
• buy new sandals for Sophie (I ordered these)
• gather supplies to make a framed chalkboard (100LT #17)
• try a new bread recipe (I made garlic herb pepperoni bread…it was weird)
• give the little boys haircuts
• try to propagate my Christmas cactus again
• continue a new routine of making bread daily
• say the Stations of the Cross with the kids
• attend a holy hour
• start looking at compost options
• get dead trees removed by the driveway
• reorganize all of my Poshmark inventory
• create a better hand-me-down clothing system (reuse old plastic totes if possible)
• get photos printed for a special project
• deal with Sophie’s duvet (washed and dried both parts and then retied everything back together – so happy to have this dealt with!)
• get an estimate for Sophie’s bathroom
• read at least 20 pages of The Art of Learning Nature’s Signs (I am learning SO much!)

At the end of February, I was writing in all of our activities on the calendar for March and whining that our days are just too full: we rarely get to all sit down for dinner together and we hardly have an evening to just hang out at home.  Careful what you pray for!  After managing to keep ourselves healthy all winter, we all somehow caught Influenza A and it would not go away for a solid two weeks.  And now with coronavirus becoming a real problem, schools and church activities and extra-curriculars are all cancelled.  Suddenly, I’m staring at two weeks (or more!) of wide open days at home.  In a time of great uncertainty, I’m choosing to see this as a gift. 

Also: because of that pesky flu, the first two weeks of March were a complete wash and I got none of my intentions list accomplished.  Hoping to play catch-up on those annnnd I added a bunch more because I can’t help myself.   

• continue a new routine of making bread daily
• find a few new ways to reduce our food budget (not exactly how I envisioned it, but having the flu really helps the budget – no one ate anything but toast for days!)
• say the Stations of the Cross with the kids
• attend a holy hour
• work on building raised beds (Mark surprised me by knocking this out last weekend)
• start looking at compost options
• get dead trees removed by the driveway
• reorganize all of my Poshmark inventory
• create a better hand-me-down clothing system (reuse old plastic totes if possible)
• get photos printed for a special project
• deal with Sophie’s duvet
• get an estimate for Sophie’s bathroom
• start a phenology wheel (I wanted to use this project as a way to intentionally notice nature changing around me and it’s working! so fun)
• read at least 20 pages of The Art of Learning Nature’s Signs

• start planning our spring vegetable garden
• work on the rainwater rock “path” in the front flower bed
• read at least 20 pages of The Art of Learning Nature’s Signs
• buy a new outdoor broom
• slash prices on current Poshmark inventory
• get photos printed for a special project
• deal with Sophie’s duvet
• spend 10+ minutes on Duolingo at least 4x/week (I’m practicing my high school Spanish skills and I even started learning a little Latin!)
• bake pretzel bread (it was delicious)
• deep clean the oven (100LT #4)
• post at least three things on Trash Nothing (I posted two lots of Sophie’s outgrown clothing and four lots of P’s)
• create a better hand-me-down clothing system
• start researching deep freezers (we think we’ve made our decision, now we just have to purchase)
• attend Ash Wednesday Mass (it’s a long story, but we missed it this year)
• make a running list of meatless dinners

• do our taxes
• machine wash the bed pillows (I did all of the master bedroom pillows – kids pillows are next!)
• declutter and organize the laundry room
• finally bring clothes to the dry cleaners (so happy this is finally off the list!  the bag’s been sitting around since December)
• drop off boxes of donations
• create a better hand-me-down clothing system
• watch and practice two lessons in my self-defense course
• restring my necklace
• make homemade playdough (100LT #58) (I’m so glad that I took the time because the little kids were thrilled and played with it for a week straight, but I also remember now why I don’t often do this, ha!  Food coloring is not for the faint of heart…)
• make homemade cocoa mix with J (SO easy and everyone says it’s delicious!)
• buy a spice organizer (100LT #1)
• celebrate “We survived our first year with a dog!” aka Lucy’s birthday by doing something fun (we celebrated with ice cream for us and plain Greek yogurt for Lucy)
• post at least three things on Trash Nothing
• register M for his BJJ competition
• brainstorm plans for Lent 2020
• pray a novena

• try to remember to say the Angelus twice a day (I only remembered about a dozen times, but it’s a start)
• find a muffin recipe that uses applesauce (we made Tabitha’s recommendation four times!)
• get paperwork ready for taxes
• clean the Dutch oven (100LT #5)
• order Mark’s birthday present
• start browsing Valentine’s Day cards on etsy for family and friends
• read one book on my Kindle  (I read In the Dark, a free book I got from Amazon Prime)
• list 5 items on Poshmark/ebay
• cross-post 5 items (1/5)
• clean and organize the garage
• clean out the car interior
• join in on the “One Box Declutter Challenge” with Sweet & Simple Home
• make homemade playdough (I just picked up the cream of tarter, so adding this back on the list for Feb)
• look into what it would cost to build a Little Free Library (the very beginnings of 100LT #76)