2011 Goals: Recap

Last year I posted my goals for the year. Some I mastered, some, not so much.

• No Fiber purchases till May. Excluding clubs. In May, I have Shepherd's Harvest. A local fiber arts festival. I enjoy shopping there. Fiber purchased before then places my SH fund at risk.*

Success!

• To compete in the Tour De Fleece again, no matter where I am. That should be a given, but I'll be traveling for part of it. Oh the challenge! I'll have to watch it online and spin. Triple challenge!

Success!

• To finish a pair of socks (sound familiar??)

Came to terms with the fact I wasn't a sock knitter so I'm calling that a success!

• To make a Wrapigan

Never bought the pattern or the yarn.. I may still do this though.

• To make a sweater of any kind

I finished a vest - thereby taking steps toward a sweater. Really a vest is a sweater without sleeves.. It's all about the perspective. So I'm saying 50% credit.

• To spin the yarn for, and then knit a Shipwreck Shawl.* Fiber purchased for this will be allowed.

I have the fiber I THINK. I'm giving myself 30% credit here.

• To do a 4 ply yarn.

Done, plus some cabling, and other things.

• Label all yarn and start recording what I spin.

YES! Success! 

• Enjoy the process more. I am a goal person, not a process person.

I'm giving myself 50% here again. I still tend to rush through things.

• Stick to my monthly budget. Last year I succeeded in saving money into long term savings accounts. Now I need to work on a short term savings account. See goal #1 :)

Unemployed. So I guess I did stick to a budget..

• Take some time for myself and my health. I have a health club membership, I need to use it!

I realized I hated the health club, dropped the membership, and started walking and running. Much better. I ended up focusing on diet a lot more than I'd planned. 

Now to ponder over the goals for this year...

April Showers

Actually we've had weather in the 40's, and even 50!! Yes, 50 degrees! It's so lovely and warm. I'm not sure what will happen when we reach 65, people are already in shorts driving with the windows open. In reality, it's a soggy mess outside, but we can all pretend that spring is here. A brown soggy spring, but spring nonetheless.

The dogs and I have started a daily walking effort. This I am hoping to continue till we leave for our EPIC ADVENTURE in June. We're averaging 5k, 4 days a weeks, and generally one more shorter day too. Unless it rains, then we stay home. People look at you very oddly when you're jogging down the street with a German Shepherd and a Pomeranian trotting beside you. Believe it or not, Ramya the Pomeranian loves to jog, she doesn't know she's little. Yesterday, we walked right before dusk and were rewarded by 2 deer watching us. I didn't think to take a picture, nothing prettier than deer, I love seeing them around here. On the health front, this is a concession to the fact that I dropped the health club membership, and vowed to exercise on nice days outside. Inside we, ok I, am doing exercise videos, which I strangely enjoy. It's rather puzzling really. Since Jan 1st, I've lost 25 pounds, but that is secondary to health. Or so I keep telling myself, but then again, I keep recording the weight too.

For some reason I decided to spin this merino really fine, and I haven't been devoting the time to it like I should. that said, I think it will be done and plied during the Mariners game tomorrow. Spinning and baseball are both so relaxing that when combined, it's like the ultimate zen meditation routine, but with a happy productive (Mariners 2-1!! and pretty yarn!!) outcome.

Random Month End Ramblings

I have a cold - received from the kid who 'didn't have a cold' huh. His subtle coughing and hacking from the non-cold evidently was enough to infect me with a real cold. So the cold, combined with more snow and outside cold has led me to stay home today and watch House Hunters International while cooking Chicken Tortilla soup.

In January, I set some goals. Lets see how I have done so far:

No Fiber purchases till May. Excluding clubs. In May, I have Shepherd's Harvest. A local fiber arts festival. I enjoy shopping there. Fiber purchased before then places my SH fund at risk.* Goal still on track, though I did decide that buying MORE fiber club fiber was ok. I mean really - what if you need a little more than the allotted amount?

Label all yarn and start recording what I spin. Done, though I haven't been spinning much. I have been labeling. I'm the opposite of most people, I am a summer spinner and winter knitter. Weird I know, but it's just who I am.

Enjoy the process more. I am a goal person, not a process person. I'm trying. I still just start to fly through and stop looking at what I'm going and gazing at the end. But I'm trying to slow down a little bit.

Stick to my monthly budget. Last year I succeeded in saving money into long term savings accounts. Now I need to work on a short term savings account. See goal #1 :)
Well this one has gone swimmingly - no job - no money - no spending! There is a method to my madness!

Take some time for myself and my health. I have a health club membership, I need to use it! I have used my gym membership more than I did any of the previous 6 months. That's a start. As for taking time for myself - no job equals lots of time! Though it's turned into plenty of family time, which is a good thing too. To go along with this, I have been focusing really hard on eating healthy. I've been using Myfitnesspal.com to track my foods, and that, combined with lessened stress and no greasy restaurant foods have led to 10 pounds of weight loss. Which is a good thing.

And finally, here are some projects I know I forgot to picture up here during January.

Cro-knit fusion scarflette out of handspun BFL from the painted tiger

 

Drop stitch scarf from Malabrigo Rasta

Drop Stitch scarf from Bubbles yarn

New years night shawl completed with it's crocheted border

Shawl with crocheted border

New Year, New Goals

Resolutions I suck at. Goals, I succeed at . So here are my goals for 2011.

• No Fiber purchases till May. Excluding clubs. In May, I have Shepherd's Harvest. A local fiber arts festival. I enjoy shopping there. Fiber purchased before then places my SH fund at risk.*
• To compete in the Tour De Fleece again, no matter where I am. That should be a given, but I'll be traveling for part of it. Oh the challenge! I'll have to watch it online and spin. Triple challenge!
• To finish a pair of socks (sound familiar??)
• To make a Wrapigan
• To make a sweater of any kind
• To spin the yarn for, and then knit a Shipwreck Shawl.* Fiber purchased for this will be allowed.
• To do a 4 ply yarn.
• Label all yarn and start recording what I spin.
• Enjoy the process more. I am a goal person, not a process person.
• Stick to my monthly budget. Last year I succeeded in saving money into long term savings accounts. Now I need to work on a short term savings account. See goal #1 :)
• Take some time for myself and my health. I have a health club membership, I need to use it!