HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Yes, I am a bit late with the midnight felicitations but at midnight I was sawing logs. I no longer stay up on New Years Eve. After years of doing that and feeling pretty sleep deprived the next day, I realized that the New Year looked a lot rosier with some sleep. So, I retired around 8:30 p.m. with the first book of my 2015 challenges and was down for the count a little after 9 p.m.
Another thing I no longer do is make resolutions. I try to review the prior year and make note of what went well and what didn't. If something worked out I will continue but if it didn't I will see how to tweak it to make it better -- or discard it altogether.
A few of the things I will be doing this year are:
Maintaining a healthy eating plan. Not a diet, mind you, but eating for good health. The healthy eating plan went well (until Thanksgiving/Christmas -- opps) and I will continue to practice what I worked out to be a good fit for me. This requires eating at home more so I need to work on some new recipes.
Exercising more -- I don't like to exercise so I have been trying to work out a non-exercise routine which, obviously, means walking more. I will be wearing my pedometer every day and keeping closer tabs on my steps. I might throw in a hula hoop but, for today, I am sitting out with a gimpy knee -- I have learned to rest through a problem rather than just continue and make it worse. I don't know what I have done to my knee but it isn't good so I am resting.
Evaluate my crafting life. I do like to make things. I have pretty much fallen out of love with quilting for a variety of reasons -- mostly because I don't have room to spread things out and it becomes so challenging that I don't really enjoy it anymore. I might try some of the quilt as you go techniques but for now, it is going to the bottom of my list. I do like to cross stitch and have challenged myself to starting a project -- one project -- a month and finishing it. It will have to be small but that is ok. Anything to get me back in the habit of stitching.
Teaching myself to loom knit. I have tried traditional knitting and my brain clearly doesn't roll that way. I do, however, have a set of knitting looms and I am going to try my hand at it. My goal is to knit dish clothes. How hard could that be? For me -- probably quite difficult but we will see.
Continuing my reading challenges. This year I have signed up for so many reading challenges but most of them overlap to some extent so it should be good. I have already started my first book for the Newbery Challenge. I chose "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. I have read one of her books before and enjoyed it so I am hoping this one goes well. It is a dystopian novel and those sort of tend to freak me out but so far it is ok. I will review here.
So, I know that doesn't sound like much but it is enough for me. There aren't too many changes I would make to my life -- I like calm and quiet and I pretty much have that. I value good health and so far so good. I like being busy but I have learned to appreciate and embrace relaxation and time spent just doing nothing. It is all about balance and I guess that would be my goal for the new year -- good balance.
So, on that note -- have a wonderful New Year's Day, stay safe and warm and join me back here anytime for a bit of a chat.
