Fresh Start ... Again

Hello and Happy All Holidays I've missed!  I didn't give up on this blog, but I did abandon it for a while.  Life took over - well, mostly my work life.  November and December were busy, stressful, and awful, and I just spent time on my other blog,  But I'm back now!

I had been going along pretty well with my Sunday Shape-Up Series before I disappeared, and I have to say, that made me feel pretty good.  Sadly, a lot of what I had managed to accomplish slid right down the drain during November and December, so it's time to recommit and try to make ME be the winner, rather than work.  So there.  :-)

So, 2018, what do I want from you?  Other than the obvious things that most people want from any year, I really want to get back to physical and mental health.  Currently, we are in a deep freeze here in Philadelphia, so I'm unlikely to go for a long walk, and certainly not for a bicycle ride - but I can make sure I don't just sit in one spot all day, so today I am going to be sure to run a couple of quick and nearby errands - thereby getting something done while moving my person. 

That's one of my goals for today.  The other one is to try and get myself organized for the coming week, with ingredients that can be put together for a couple of lunches ahead of time, and getting stuff I need to take to and from work with me all in one place so I don't have to worry about it before leaving tomorrow, and also so that I won't forget something I want to be sure I have.

For the week, I hope to move a little bit extra each day at a minimum.  I'm considering trying a Pilates class that is early on Saturday mornings, too.  Years ago, I took a series of classes offered at one of my former workplaces, and I really liked it.  The class that is on Saturdays is beginner level, and I'm definitely still at that point, especially after all of this time.  If they haven't raised the price, it will be worth a try.

And of course, yesterday was the last day of Christmas, so I will start to organize stuff to put away until next year.  The last day to recycle our tree is next Saturday, that is my deadline.  I'm always sad to undecorate, but keep telling myself that Christmas wouldn't be as special if the decorations were always around.  Still, I wish more people could keep their good cheer for more of the time.

Anyway, that's it from here.  I hope you are having a good time of things so far, and that you will be able to pick up again and go forward if you "fell off the wagon" like I did.

Here we go!

Sunday Shape Up Series : Week 7

Hello from chilly Philadelphia!  Finally, as far as I'm concerned.  It doesn't have to stay this cold the whole time, but finally November is feeling like it should. 

I have a mixed bag of results this week.  I started the fingerless mitts for The Tim last week, but quickly realized with other things on my plate that were required, I wasn't gonna make a lot of progress.  So I've decided that yes, I'll still make them, but rather than agonize that they will not be ready for this birthday, they will be come Christmas gifts.  So that goal was adjusted.

But I did get the rest of the warm weather stuff either packed up, or in the laundry to be put away clean, so I'm calling the other goal complete.

The Tim's birthday is next Saturday, so this weeks' goals are all related to that.

1.  Organize the gifts I have and get them wrapped.

2.  Clean up around the house so we can enjoy a chore-free weekend next weekend.

3.   Bake the birthday cake!

My niece and her husband may come for the weekend, but right now that's still up in the air, but even if they do come, it doesn't really require any extra activity.  I love getting ready for his birthday, since I love being able to wrap up his gifts and make the cake.  So other than slogging through being at work this week, it should be a good one otherwise.

Stay warm, and if you are making goals as well, good luck this week!

Sunday Shape Up Series : Week 6

Well - I thought I posted this last night, but apparently just left it as a draft!  Here you go, one day late.

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Wow, six weeks already I've been doing this - and for the most part, being motivated by it.  Yay for me. :-)

I'm happy to say I'm back on track with myself.  As a matter of fact, not only did I put away the things like tank tops, etc., I managed to put away a lot of warm weather things, and get out some of my clothes for cooler weather - because hope springs eternal, you know.

I was pretty upset when I went to make the gingerbread muffins though - I think I recycled the recipe!  Ugh.  Fortunately, I found one that was *pretty* close.  It's certainly an acceptable one, but I may keep looking to see if I can find one that matches.  Who knows.

Anyway, this week I have only two things I am hoping to do:

1.  Get well underway on a pair of fingerless mitts requested for his birthday by The Tim.  I wish he had requested them with more time for me to make them, but I'll do my best, and he is very understanding as far as things not being completed on the actual day they are gifted ...

2.  Finish putting away warm weather clothes and getting out cooler weather clothes.  It's not like I have a ton of things, but I can only work on it for so long until I get stabby!

I think these two things are reasonable, so hopefully this time next week I can report that they were.

I hope you've been successful if you have made any weekly goals for yourself.  And I hope you have a wonderful week.

Happy Halloween!

Hope you get more treats than tricks!  :-)

Sunday Shape Up Series : Week 5

Today is a dreary, rainy day here in Philadelphia, but last week was really nice and fall-like, so that's fine with me.  Yesterday we celebrated our 39th (!) wedding anniversary, so it's been a nice weekend. 

After a few very successful weeks, last week was pretty much a bust with my goals.  Overall, it was kind of a weird week anyway, and I felt out of sync with myself most of the time.

The big news for me is that I *did* finish the sweater I'd been knitting, by finally binding off the neckband!  I'm pleased with it, and hope to get a picture to post soon.  So it wasn't all a total loss. ;-)

Since I didn't get any of my other goals even started from last week, I'm carrying them all over to this week:

1. An uptick in my activity/exercise

2. Organize the "true" summer clothes (tank tops, shorts, etc.) and not just get them ready to put away, but actually start putting them away.

3. Bake gingerbread muffins.  I was actually gonna do that today, but The Tim is busy in the kitchen baking bread, so my baking will wait for another time.  Which is fine, so no big problem there.

Unofficially, I'm trying to decide what book I want to read next.  I just finished three books I'd been working on, and for the moment, don't know what I want to read.  I read a Halloween-themed book, so that pleased me, but now I just need to look at the bazillion titles on my to-be-read list and make a decision.

I hope all of you have a very Happy Halloween, with treats but no tricks.  See you again soon.

Just Not What I Expected

Hi there!  Well, it's a gloomy day here in Philadelphia - as well as being ridiculously windy (or as the weather people say, "gusty"), we are supposed to get downpours this afternoon.  Other than walking home later today, I don't have to be out in it, so I'm not too disappointed that it's not a perfectly beautiful day.

Moving on from the weather, I wanted to talk about something that has struck me lately.  I read quite a few blogs about various topics, and for the most part, I enjoy them.  I like hearing several different voices talking about things like reading, cooking/baking, fitness, etc. because like the knitting blogs I read, everyone has something different to offer.  

But I have to say that the ones that puzzle me the most are the ones where every single day, there's a post showing what is called an "OOTD" - or Outfit Of The Day.  These are people who generally write about lifestyle - traveling, cooking, how they spend their spare time - you get it.  But they also have a photo - or 5 - of them wearing their OOTD.  

I "get" taking pictures of a recipe that you are making as you do it, and/or a shot of the final dish.  I also understand photos of things you saw/found/bought when you were out and about, particularly if it's something unusual, or if you got a good bargain.  I don't quite get taking a picture of yourself every day in what you are wearing.  That seems like a WHOLE LOT of work to me.  Granted, some of the photos are clearly snapshots using selfie sticks, but quite a few are like magazine modeled photo shoots.  Who takes these photos?  Who has time every day unless they do not have to work to organize the whole thing?  And who has a completely different outfit for every single day?  And by "outfit" I mean an organized, put together look, not the lazing-around-the-house clothes you change into when you get home from work.  (For me, even those "outfits" are not different every day!)

Now don't get me wrong, it's not that I disapprove of this practice.  I don't really care, and I've even been known to look at one and saying to myself that  "Oh yeah I never thought about wearing it that way."  I guess it's just not what I was expecting, since none of the blogs I follow are primarily fashion or style blogs.  

(Above image from the blog "What Katie Wore" which is no longer current.  But as you can see, Katie wore some interesting combos.  I actually kind of wish I'd known about this one, I think it would have been entertaining.)

I know a lot of people wear a "uniform" every day, in that they have some clothes that they have consciously purchased that all coordinate with each other, so that getting dressed for work is easy in the morning, and I actually can appreciate that.  I guess I just don't have the wearwithal or the desire to make an effort every day to create, wear, and photograph an "outfit."  

Do you do this at all?  And who *does* take the photos?  Inquiring minds want to know. :-)

Sunday Shape Up Series : Week 4

Wow - that was a quick week!  But it was especially good at the end, since yesterday I had a wonderful, fun day with Dee, and then got to meet her husband Steve in the evening when we all went to dinner and hung out.  It's so nice to get to spend time with someone of a like mind.  I have lots of acquaintances, but don't really get together with them much IRL.

And I am pleased to report that I accomplished all of my goals but one this past week!  The one I didn't get finished, was the neckband on my sweater, which I fully expect to finish today.  I was at the point of binding off the neckband and I didn't like the way it was looking, so I did some "crowdsourcing" to ask about preferred neck bindoffs.  I looked into the different suggestions, and I think I know the one I want to use, which is a sewn bindoff.  I'm gonna try it this afternoon, so wish me luck!

Here's what I'm hoping to work on this week.

1.  An uptick in my activity/exercise.  I've managed to get back into a certain kind of groove here, but want to do at least a bit more, because I still need to work a bit harder.

2.  Organize the "true" summer clothes (tank tops, shorts, etc.) and get them ready to put away.  I switched out my summer shoes last week, so now I'm moving on to the next stuff.  It's not feeling fall-ish enough for me here yet, but I also know I'm not gonna be wearing the summery-est stuff anymore, so why not get it together to put away until next year?

3.  Bake gingerbread muffins.  I love gingerbread muffins, and the recipe I use makes a lot of them, and they freeze really well.  Besides being nice for breakfast, they are a good snack with some tea at mid-morning at work.

And that's it.  I really do think that doing these posts is helping to keep me focused on doing things and making an effort without being overwhelmed.  I hope if you are trying things too, that it's working for you.

Have a great week!