An End of Year Plan of Attack

I realized that life got in the way, and I never published my Pile and a Plan post. I will soon, but here's my general ramblings that came up as I thought about my pile of fabric and patterns that I've yet to begin on. 

Due to minor health issues and an overwhelming influx of sewing orders for Christmas, I’ve yet to complete any of the items of clothing I planned to sew for myself. I made myself cut out the first pair of pants the other week before our last minute trip, but have yet to get anything sewn since we’ve been back. Hence, the implementation of a stricter schedule for myself. I’ve got to get things together if I want to accomplish anything in by the end of the year.

I like to try to start the year with a fairly clear schedule of projects. I like starting the year out with finishing a project, and starting a project, it's good luck, I guess. And having a clear schedule makes me feel excited about all the potential I have to get accomplished in the coming months.  So, I’ve got to finish as many of my WIPs as possible in the next six weeks. As someone who only gets weekends off, and Thanksgiving weekend and Christmas day, I don’t have a lot of extra time lying around in my schedule to get things sewn.

I’ve started diligently taking my knitting to work with me, and actually knitting on my lunch break. It lets me end each day knowing that I made some progress on something each day, even if no sewing gets done.

As difficult as it has been, I’m forcing myself to get up early again so I have time in the morning to get things done too. I’m very behind on an editing job, hopefully my last one for the year. And super behind on sewing orders due to our last minute trip. But the sewing ones are easy to catch up on once I find the time and motivation.

And, I really do want to regularly write. Here on the blog, as well as for myself. Stay tuned for updates!

And pictures. I’ll be better at getting pictures in my posts too. 

Why I, a Mormon, Observe Lent

Lent is upon us again. Every year as this season comes around, I find myself examining my life and reflecting on what I should be giving up for Lent. And every year I do come up with something.

But, in our theology and practice, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints don't observe Lent. It's not a part of our religion at all. However, when I learned more about Lent, I decided that it was part of the good that could be brought, however informally, into our lives.

You see, Lent in it's most basic form is temporarily giving up something in order to draw closer to God.

In some cases you can use Lent as a kick start to give up a vice, such as smoking, that you would like to give up permanently. Or maybe you've noticed that you are spending too much time doing something that has potential to take over your life, so you want to break the habit before it gets out of control (such as playing video games).

I love the idea of taking some time to ponder my life (which I do a lot anyway). And take a specific focus on what I can do to become closer to God.

If you don't believe in God, you can take the opportunity to give up something or work on something to help you come closer to your true self, or be more in tune with nature, or to simplify your life. You can think of it as an update to New Year Resolutions as well. Only with Lent, you don't have to do it permanently, just for 40 days.

Need Ideas of What to Give Up?
Really it can be pretty much anything. One year I gave up naps, it nearly killed me too. Chocolate, sweets in general, is popular. I've known several people who give up their social media sites, like Facebook and Instagram, as well. The nice thing is that it is personal! You pick whatever it is that you feel is holding you back personally, and give that up or work on improving it.

I hope that those of you out there who don't observe Lent have gained some insight into it, and will consider perhaps trying it out one year. You'd be surprised at the good it can do in your life.

Why I Love Yarn

It’s night and I’m sitting here at my desk looking at these two skeins of yarn I wound earlier today.

I had the intention to at least cast on one of them, but didn’t get to it today. Usually I would be a bit disappointed in myself, and frustrated that I didn’t make my “goals” for the day. But today, I don’t feel that way.

I’m just sitting here, and enjoying them. As I was writing in my journal, overlooked by this yarn, I realized one of the reasons I love yarn (and fabric) is that it has potential. It’s a material that has infinite potential. These balls of yarn could become absolutely anything. There’s no telling what they may turn out to be.

And I love that. I really love that.

I will cast on tomorrow, or maybe the day after. I’m not sure yet, but until them I’m just going to enjoy this yarn on my desk and the potential that it holds.

100 Days of Sewing- Sort of

So, awhile back I decided to sew every day for 100 days straight. And I almost made it.

You see, I started in the summer when things weren't as crazy as they could have been, so I did awesome. Then, two weeks ago, I started a new job. New job, new hours, new responsibilities. It was a bit overwhelming (and still is). On the night of day 72, I crawled into bed exhausted. As I drifted off to sleep I realized that I hadn't sewn that day. At all. Had this been a few months ago during school and all that, I would have dragged myself out of bed and sewn a seam, lost sleep would have been no big deal.

But I just couldn't. I was waaaaaay too tired, and stressed, and worried about being late to work and falling asleep in training, and all that stuff that could make the new bosses not look too kindly on me. I decided it was okay to take a break, and it's been a couple of weeks now.

Today is day 50 of no buying yarn (minus ones needed for a custom order placed). 50 Days! . And it's day 31 of no fabric. I'm on a roll! So I decided to go ahead and take advantage of the streak and start 100 Days of sewing again. I'm sure I can make it, no problem. I've got quilt blocks, quilts, a skirt, and an alteration already lined up to be done. Not to mention the giant box of stash that needs to be used too!

Here's a look at what all got finished-finished in the first round of 71 days:
(Not pictured, yet, a vest for myself and a bean bag that I will be posting on in the near future)

Whole30 Day Zero

I start the actual diet tomorrow. I have to admit that I haven’t finished reading the book, as a graduate student I have a lot of other readings, and writings, that I need to do. And I’m super diligent about my self-care, and while this diet is part of self-care, I really wanted to read some novels this week too.

Here are two WTF thoughts I’ve had so far.

1.   Smoothies are discouraged, especially for ‘breakfast’. WTF?  I love smoothies, they fill me up and I know I’m getting some of the nutrients I need from the fact that I can pack 3 servings of vegetables/fruit into one smoothie. I don’t add sugar to them either, so yes sometimes they don’t taste great. While I understand that dairy and dairy replacements are not allowed, I can still make a smoothie without those. (I tried yesterday, it was gross, but it might have been the combination of fruits I had in it.) This might be a part that I go rogue on from time to time. Sometimes, I just need a smoothie.

 2.     Corn. I love corn. I always counted it as a serving of vegetables or a nice, low calorie, healthy snack in the form of popcorn. But CORN ISN’T ALLOWED! Apparently it’s considered a grain? This one will be a little difficult, but I will stick to it, and just be glad I finished by celebrating with some popcorn.

The Game Plan (for Now)

I explained earlier that we are poor college students and I can’t make myself throw away every non-compliant food in our house (Think of the food storage!), so I’ve come up with a plan of attack for this aspect of our lives.

First, I threw away all opened food that would go bad by the end of the 30 days. Mostly chips and cheeses and some other miscellaneous dairy products.

Second, I moved all non-compliant foods out of the ‘easy access ’ cupboards to less accessible ones. (In case you’re wondering, I’m super short so the only easy access cupboard for me in our kitchen are the below the counter ones. That’s why I used quotations.)

Third, I went through our freezer and fridge, and put stickers on all non-compliant foods in there so there is a visual reminder that those aren’t compliant. Foods that would keep for the 30 days like ketchup and frozen corn. This way I’m not going to have to constantly read labels or try to keep a list of what is and isn’t allowed.

Fourth,  I will be going to the grocery store to pick up some replacements (like olive oil instead of the cheaper vegetable oil we’ve been using) and to stock up a little on meats in addition to my weekly fresh vegetables and fruit stock up.

Finally, meal plan. I love meal planning, it makes the week much easier all around. I know exactly what to get at the grocery store, and don’t end up wasting money on unnecessary things. And at the end of a long day, it’s nice to know that the meat is defrosted and ready to go, you have everything you need, and sometimes, when I use the crock pot, the meal is ready and waiting for you! The book has recipes, the website has recipes, and I’m pretty sure if I searched Pinterest, they would have recipes too.

Stay Tuned... 

I did my measurements last night, since I started that detox treatment which claims I ‘might lose weight’ with it. Psh. I’m pretty skeptical about this since the last ‘detox’ treatment I tried was total bunk. The placebo effect was very strong in some people for it. But I was raised by scientists, and do approach things with an experiment mindset (let’s see if this really works, here’s a, there’s b, do I really get there following these instructions, etc.) so I think (hope) that the placebo effect doesn’t occur with this detox, and the diet afterward! 

Whole 30 Preshow: Act 2

The closer it gets the more I'm ready, but also not so ready to do it. I'm especially worried that my husband will not follow the diet plan as closely as I am going to, and then get frustrated when I'm being so picky about things. It's a big deal to me, doing Whole30, and I have to do it right if I want it to work the way people says it does.

I kind of had the thought that I would do some "test" days leading up to it, where I would do Whole30 for a day, but if I wanted milk at night or a scoop of ice cream it would be okay because I hadn't officially started. After reading some more about it, and really thinking about how I work, I decided this is not a good idea. When I start I'm going full throttle, no test days, and no cheat days (as per the rules of Whole30). My husband doesn't know this yet, but I also plan on going through our cupboards to pack away the biggest temptation foods we have. 

Whole30 tells you to throw out your foods that are non-compliant. But we're college student poor, and the thought of just throwing away all of the food storage we have (what little we do have) made me sick to my stomach. It's good food, and it will still be good come May 1st. Financially, for us, throwing away all that food is so stupid, we might as well start eating out for every single meal we eat AND use our credit cards to pay every time.

I didn't plan it this way, but I also got a detox kit that I wanted to try. I got it in the mail today and will start it tonight. I'm not sure how Whole30 approved it will be, but I'm going to do it either way. I should be done with it by Wednesday which was my original start date, but with the way I'm feeling, I'm bumping the start date up to Saturday, Sunday at the latest. 

I noticed that a lot of people online talk about how much weight they lost, "I lost xx pounds!" But I haven't seen anyone really talk about losing dress sizes or inches in the waist or anything. So for me, I'm going to take my measurements as well as my weight at the start and end of Whole30. As much as it pains me to say this, I pulled out all of my shorts and not one of them fits anymore. Not in a "oh, it's a little snug" way. In a "I can't do up the button" way. Oy vey. So, while I won't post beginning and ending weight and inches, I do plan to let you all know with my own "I lost xx pounds AND xx inches" testimonial. 

 I'm also going to make a real effort to get some regular exercise in, hopefully that will help my muscle tone be better. I've been feeling rather flabby lately. With my record with exercise,(Remember when the bike broke my arm?) it probably won't be anything beyond some simple yoga, calisthenics, minor weightlifting (at home) and walking. 

Enjoy the Spring Weather (while it lasts, it's suppose to get back down to January temps this weekend for us.) 

Progress

Hey, you see that little widget to the right of this post? Yeah, that one about the knitting. See that big number?

Yeah, that 10,000+ number. That means that I've knit over 6 miles of yarn this year. While it's only about half of my initial goal of 13 miles, it's still quite the accomplishment. I've never kept track of how much I've knit in a year before. It's kind of cool to see what I've done even if I don't have pictures of every project I've done.

I'm hoping to get another mile or so done before the New Year. And with classes done for the semester, a couple of long plane rides, and two weeks of 'vacation' between me and the New Year, I think I have a decent chance of getting them in.

I will post a picture montage of projects done this year, once the year is over, with the official count of yards/miles knit. Then, new goals will be set and we'll journey into a New Year full of potential, adventure, and probably some frustrations when it comes to knitting projects (among other things.)

Just wanted to celebrate a bit early, ya know?

 

Goals are not a January 1st kind of thing. Set them weekly. Set them monthly. Set them so that you are moving forward and always trying to progress. Life can grow stagnant without them… beware.

 Hannah B. 

25 Things Every Woman Needs to Know 

Friday... A Regular Post?

I stalk blogs. I just do. I want to be a better blogger and so I stalk people who blog to see what they do that I might be able to do something similar. But in my own way because I don't think it would be nice to blatantly copy someone, unless it's a really really good idea.

So, maybe, just maybe I might start doing a weekly tip post on Fridays. Maybe.

We're gonna give it a try okay?

I have a hobby of sorts. It spawns from the same motivation that David Bach gives in his book, "Smart Women Finish Rich". Every woman has a right to be educated about finances. That way if she never gets married, or is somehow left single later in life, she does not flounder financially. She knows what's what, how to manage money, what a retirement account is, how to make investments, and how to calculate things like mortgages and how much to save.

My little tidbit for today? Well, a lot of financial advice things that I've seen in the past say that you should try to be saving at least 10% of your income in some sort of retirement fund. However, for women, you should be saving 12-15% of your income. Why?

Because, on average women live longer than men by 5 years. So if as a woman, you are saving 10%, for the last five of years of your life, what are you living on? Not much, that's for sure.

So, how do we go about saving this money? Well, we can get into that over the next few weeks, I guess. Rally, women! We can be financially educated!

From A Girl who Wants Farm

Goal: 13 Miles

Earlier I posted my "Goal for the Year" to knit 13 miles of yarn. 13 miles because it's 2013. Get it? Get it?
Well, I though maybe I'd share with you all some of the ways I will get to that goal. (Also, over on the sidebar there's a little widget that tells you how much I've knit so far for the year.)

First some baby sweaters:

Little Sister's Dress  

Milo
I already have the yarn (olive green and dark blue) for both of these, as well as tentative recipients in mind. But am open to make them for someone who really really wants them...

A sweater or two for myself:

Chaste Sanna

Tourist Sweater
Both of these were gifted to me by fellow Ravelers. (If you knit and have not discovered Ravelry, go there, now.) I haven't decided on colors yet, I personally tend to gravitate toward grays and blues.

If I get really ambitious and brave I will attempt a beaded shawl:

UnsinkableAgain, made possible by the gift of beads from a fellow Raveler. (Yes, this pattern isn't beaded, but it 'spoke' to me. If you knit, or quilt, or sew, you get what I mean.)

And finally, since I've had some good success with ambitious blankets in the past, I have decided to knit at least 13 squares from the The Great North American Afghan.

There are multiple versions of this afghan from different years of publication, I have two of them so that should give me at least 13 squares that I like enough to knit up. I also plan to do this in black, hot pink, and gray (white if I can't find any gray).

And of course, since it's me, I'll be knitting plenty of socks. In fact, I joined the 13 Socks in 2013 group over on Ravelry. Let's be honest here, it's an addiction. I already have yarn for three pairs, plus baby size ones from the scraps. I might as well make it official.

Goal for the Year

  I don't like the term 'New Year's Resolution". Probably because I feel people use it as a way to say they're going to do something that they don't really intend to do or don't think they can accomplish, but that's okay because it was a "New Year's Resolution" and people don't ever keep those anyway so no big deal. Right.

  A few years ago I took to having a "Goal for the Year" instead. I've found the best method for me is to have one goal. Any more than that and I might end up getting overwhelmed and not accomplishing any of them because it's just impossible. I can make short term goals, mind you, or longer range goals. But for my year goals, one is the magic number.

Last year it was to make 12 pairs of socks for myself over the course of the year, one pair per month. And I completed that goal two days ago. (Go me.) Then I got to thinking what my goal for the upcoming year should be. The socks had a "12 in '12" theme, so maybe I should do a "13 in '13" theme. After checking out some things on the knitting website, I decided on a goal.

I'm going to knit 13 miles worth of yarn in the year 2013. You will notice that I have added a widget to the sidebar on the blog here that will track the yardage that I have knit. For those of you wondering, 13 miles = 22,880 yards.

I'm not sure why knitting has been the focus of my "Goal for the Year" the past year and now, but it is something I like to do, so why not? Granted I have more things I want to accomplish in the coming year, but they aren't do or die like I feel the "Goal for the Year" is. It's a serious thing, this Goal for the Year, it has to happen no matter what.

Having said that, my dad sat me down today. He said "I have a goal for you this year." After explaining that I have a big year ahead of me full of really cool things that I'm doing, he said, "You have to take it easy."

All I could do was throw my head back and yell, "DANGIT!"