8 Weeks To a Better You CHALLEEEENGE!!! (Almost like a Red Light Challeeenge! ;-)

For the past while I've been in a funk.... so what better to break it than a little competition and goal setting? A friend in my ward decided to do this challenge and when I saw it I knew if I didn't do it I would remain in my funkified state for a long time and it was getting old! The rules are pretty easy- you get one point per day in 10 different areas for a possible 10 points. You complete one thing, you get a point- you don't do it, then no point for you. Whoever gets the most points at the end of the 8 weeks wins (most of) the pot of $. The rest of the $ goes to a random person who completed the majority of the challenge.

What I like most about this challenge is that it doesn't merely focus on the physical aspect of things, but the spiritual and emotional as well. Here's the daily list in case you didn't go to the link...
Physical
1-Exercise 45 min
2- Sleep at least 7 hours
3-Drink 8 glasses of water
4-No Sugar
5-No pop or junk food
6- Eat at least 2 servings of fruit & 2 servings of vegetables
7-No eating past 8pm
Emotional/Spiritual
8-Write in your journal
9- Read your scriptures for at least 15 min
10-Complete an act of service
(One free day is permitted every week)

Today was day one and it went pretty well. (If I can't do it on the first day then that would be pretty sad!) I was tempted to not 'buy-in' and just do it all on my own... but knowing me I would have given in after a few temptations so I'm glad I committed! It's going to be great!

PS-It's not too late to join in! =)

NAS

Disclaimer: If computers, electronics, and digital media do not interest you, skip this post.

About once a year, my box 'o computer parts accumulates to the point that I am able to build a frankenstein out of the pieces I have laying around. I've seen these Network-attached storage (NAS) units advertised and the idea of owning one really appealed to me. For those not familiar with geek language, a NAS makes it possible to share a printer or access all of one's files, all the time, from any computer on the network. I will give a practical example. In my house, I have a desktop, a laptop, and an Xbox with the ability to stream media. I have a modest music collection, but I don't want to have to copy the collection to all three of my devices. I could just park the files on my desktop and share them with the other machines, but then I would have to flip my desktop on everytime I wanted to access the files. The solution? A NAS.

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Christmas In July

Keegan's mom came for almost a week in July and brought a car-load of baby stuff! She said she felt like Santa in his sleigh on the drive from Beaverton to Logan. I'm not sure how she fit everything- but she did! She's already fulfilled the role of spoiling her grandkids and they don't even know it yet.

Thanks to Craigslist and family hand-me-downs (thanks Clara for sending all of your stuff with her!)... the twins are pretty much set with clothes and gear. Here's a list of things she brought:

• 2 Cribs and mattresses
• 4 boxes/bags/crates full of baby clothes and blankets (at least!)
• 2 car seats w/ bases
• 1 double stroller
• 1 play mat
• 1 baby bouncer
• 1 baby swing
• 1 crib mobile
• 1 diaper changing pad
• 1 Medela breast pump w/ accessories
• 1 box Costco baby wipes
• Lots of baby shower gifts from great grandmas and great aunts!
• 2 handmade baby quilts and other bedding (she finished making the rest while she was here and even had enough material left over for a curtain valance!)
• 1 small suitcase for Grandmas things

I'm sure I'm forgetting some things that were in her "sleigh" but you get the idea! The best part of all is how inexpensive everything was! I mean two cribs that convert into toddler beds WITH mattresses for $50?!!! I was amazed! So thanks Grandma for taking the time out of your summer to do all of the leg work and find all of these sweet deals on baby gear and adding your own personal touch to them! And thanks for being willing to make the drive to haul it all here!

Projects

Here are a few pictures of some of the things I've done while on bed rest for the past two and a half months.

Hemp Necklace


Knit dishcloths


Crocheted Baby Blanket #1 (still working on the blue one)


Cross stitch


Thanks to Keegan, Rita, Meghan, Amy, Diana, and Misty for teaching or re-teaching me how to do all of these things!! They've been fun to do and kept my hands busy while the rest of my body couldn't be :-)

Provident Living Garrity Style

After scouring the Utah Craigslist postings for a couple of months, I finally found a stackable washer/dryer set in Logan. Not only that, but it was only $75 bucks for the set! The reason why it was so cheap was because the washer wasn't working. After talking to the owners and doing a lot of research myself, we figured it would still be a good purchase and went ahead with it.

Some of our friends helped us pick it up and load it into our apartment after a ward softball game on the 3rd of July. We just left the washer in the back of the van for a week or so until I had finally done enough research to feel confident that I could fix it myself. (I picked one up from Keegan with this- he is constantly doing research about his plethora of hobbies and various projects... the DIY and Instructables pages are old friends with him but I'm a noob so it was a big deal for me!)

The root of the washer problem was that it wasn't spinning. I figured out that it was most likely that the carbon brushes were worn and needed to be replaced. So, after more research online and some great online tutorials by our fellow Brits, I went to work. I yanked out the old carbon brushes, found out which kind to order, placed the order with a company in the U.K since the U.S didn't have any, and waited patiently while the washer sat in our hall for about a week and a half.

They finally came and I was pretty excited but a little nervous at the same time. If I was wrong then our risk of buying them plus extra parts would have turned into a huge expense. It costs about $50 bucks to have an electrician even LOOK at a washer... and thats if you take it into the store. Sheesh! Keegan has frequently said in the past few weeks, "I'd love to make $50 bucks an hour!" No kidding! But, I forged ahead and did it on my own...

I ran into a couple of kinks but after some help from Keegan making a call to an electric shop in town and a very friendly and knowledgable electrician, we got it figured out. I made a trip to the store and talked to the gentelman Keegan had spoken with, and an hour or so later I was on my way. Right before Keegan got home I had done a test run and that sucker was spinning like crazy- I was so happy! He did the finishing touches of setup for the set and we washed four loads that night! :-) But not without another kink :-( We had never set up a wahser/dryer before so we didn't do it quite right on the first try. The washer wasn't advancing to the next cycle unless we manually twisted the dial. I was pretty sad about this. But it was Keegan who did all the research this time to fix the prob. Turns out the water wasn't draining properly because we hadn't put the drain hose in the right place. We had just laid the hose next to the drain on the floor. We really laugh about this now... but we just didn't know! Keegan commenced to squeeze behind the stacked washer and dryer and set it up properly with the drain hose coming up a couple of feet and then back behind the wall where there was a good sized hole in the wall that we had...overlooked before. :-)

Costs
Washer $25
Dryer $50
Carbon Brushes shipped ₤7.49 ($14.97)
New outlet plug $7.40
Labor to switch plugs $10.00
Elbow Joint for exhaust tube on dryer $4.60
Tax $1.44
Grand Total: $113.41

No more laundry mat for us! Almost priceless :-)

BMX Restoration Project

I finally finished restoring my 1994 GT Performer. The results can be seen here.