Fiber Fool

Looks like I kind of jumped the gun on this topic last week :-/ But here they are again, in some cases perhaps a bit more concrete and in some cases another bullet point added to the list :-)

1. Continue working towards a more healthful and active lifestyle. I’d like to say loose another 30-40 pounds, but it has really slowed down a lot so I don’t know that it is realistic. I managed only half of 2011’s weight loss in 2012. In some ways all of the rest of these all play into this one.
2. Become more comfortable cooking and baking with a wider variety of whole grains. Each one has a unique nutrient profile and in general I think we’d all be healthier not cutting out entire food groups or specific foods unless there is a true medical condition and instead consuming a wider variety so everything is eaten in more moderation.
3. Make creativity a higher priority. Between exercise and work I don’t feel like I have a lot more energy to spare, but I wonder if I didn’t put more into creativity if there would be more too? As odd as it sounds if you haven’t experienced it, it really is how it works with exercise once you get over the initial hump.
4. Learn some new skill each month, be it how to cook or bake something new or formulate a new natural skin/body care product at home or maybe even just a new yoga pose. Try my hand a new sewing technique (there is tons of possibility in that one). Maybe even to learn a new game. But they say learning and stretching your mind keeps you young!
5. Get some organization into my reading. I’m going to try for a few months doing a bit of advance planning for the reading ahead so when I finish one book I don’t spend hours trolling my Kindle archives and looking up reviews trying to figure out what to read next. That said, I already amended January’s plans and we’re only a week in, LOL!
6. Knitting is much, much slower these days as computing takes as much of a toll on my body as knitting. But I’d like to design at least 3 new patterns in 2013. I think that is a modest enough goal to be attainable and the first design is well on its way. Though I already know I’ll want a second version, if not several in different weights for that one.
7. Explore making my own fermented foods. We’ve done yogurt. DH is doing kefir and I’m working on my first batch of kombucha. But I’d like to try sauerkraut and fermented pickles this year and perhaps some other things as well.
8. Take more photos with my good camera instead of always falling back on my iPhone. Ideally I’d like to make sure I pull out the dSLR at least once a week.
9. Reduce, reuse and recycle - donate what I don’t need and can’t repurpose and make progress on actually make use of the things I’ve held back from donating.
10. Take some *me* time. I went from having 9-10 hours most days home alone with the dogs to never having any wakeful hours at home alone. It all happened overnight and I’ve kept it up for 9 months and I’m going to loose my mind. While it seems it is now impossible for me to have any wakeful hours home alone (well, this summer will be a different story) during the school year I have to figure out a way to have some alone time, even if it is out of the house. I suppose it is my “pleaser” side, but even when DH gives me the space to do my own thing I’m haunted by guilt or something and it isn’t productive in restoring me. Perhaps it is time to revist the artist date idea?

The sweater at the top of this post (excuse the work bathroom mirror shot, the best I could do right now) is my “Christmas sweater.” Unlike all of my previous attempts since Wisteria, it was actually done in time for our holiday journey to Colorado Springs. However, I wasn’t liking the fit of the yoke. It needed some time out and advice from the ever-wise knitting group last night. The verdict was to wear it a few times and then decide. So, not one to shirk orders that is what I’m doing today. Once final decisions about it are made and a proper photoshoot figured out I’ll write more about it. It is a heavily modified (but not the yoke) version of DROPS Mirabell. I do have details on Ravelry on the modifications if you can’t wait.