Zen and the art of weez
So, I don't really have "resolutions." Because that word generally has a rep for meaning, "stuff I say I'm going to do at the beginning of the year then toss aside like a cheap whore in February." Not that I would know what it's like to toss aside a cheap whore mind you, but uh, I've seen it on TV!
I have had reason to step back recently and take a look at how things have been, how they're going, where I'd like them to be. And the New Year always has this fresh start feel to it that makes one want to... ugh, apparently, start sounding like a sappy Hallmark card.
Let's just say this is a good time to start focusing on things that can help make life a little better!
1. Get my chef on! I love to cook. My fugly ass kitchen is very uninspiring, but hey, it's functional! It's time to whip out the Cook with Jamie book that's been gathering dust for a year, the Bon Appetits piling up in the corner, and try some new meals. And maybe have more than just one dish at dinner. Would it kill me to throw some salad in once in a while?
2. Leave the freakin' house. We did some extensive knock-it-down-to-the-studs (I mean walls, not random hunky men) remodeling last year, which sucked out much of our fundages. And since Hubster and I are both of the save-then-pay-for-it mindset, we drew the purse strings tight and didn't do nothin' in 2008. Total homebodies.
No wonder my ass is so flat.
This year, we need to have a little F.U.N.! Already putting this into gear - we're going to an art show and dinner tonight, plan to do dinner and a movie next weekend, and *gasp* go skiing the weekend after that. After missing the last two seasons, that should be...interesting. Pray for no broken bones!
3. Speaking of ass, get off it! There was a point just before Christmas that I thought I might be preggers. Took a home pg test and nope! Just fat. :P
Since I appear to be incubating a bagel around my waist, it's time to start doing some yoga, power walking (my crappy knees do not approve of running), getting fresh air and endorphins! Will start with three days a week and work up from there.
4. Stop impersonating a camel. I constantly forget to drink water. Most days, I'll go all day with just the coffee I had in the morning. Not good, or healthy. Must make a conscious effort to drink more H2O!
5. Spend more time with friends. See above #2 re: homebody syndrome. It's so easy to rely on email, IMs, chat - I miss connecting with friends IRL! My closest girlfriends live eons away :(, but must make an effort to get together more often. I've been pondering the local knitting group, too, to meet some fellow knitties. Of course, that would mean I'd have to stop being so goddam paranoid and let people know what I look like. AHHHHHHHHHH!
6. Stimulate the mind! Read more to start with - I just joined Paperback Swap (thanks ChickenKnits for clueing me into this site!) and it is FABULOUS! Sent out 12 books last week and have three on the way! (Also joined the offshoot Swap a DVD - not as active as PBS but a great way to unload unwanted DVDs!)
7. Bring on the happy! Lots of personal stuff went down last year, and there are a couple of very...let's call them glass-half-empty kind of people at the assignment I'm working now. All of that kind of sucked me into a negative vortex in 2008. Time to shake it off, baby! I've realized that I can't control how other people behave - only how I respond to it. For 2009, we'll be returning to the happy, sunny days of weez! :)
Now what about knitting goals? Let's see...
1. Make more things that don't go on my feet. Gots me a boatload of sweater yarn, time to start knitting it up! I'm about 75% through a Wonderful Wallaby now, and after a failed and frogged attempt at a heavily modded version of the FLS (and patting myself on the back for realizing early on it wasn't going to work!), am working on a knockoff of a vest I saw in a catalog.
2. Be more spontaneous with the queue. You know me, I'm freakishly anal! Well, let me clue you into just how anal - I have an Excel knitting spreadsheet with tabs for WIPs, FOs, queues, stashed, and destashed items. On the queue tab, there were projects - with assigned yarns - laid out on a monthly schedule for the entire year.
Yeah, scary.
I decided to ditch the monthly schedule, just list the patterns by category (hey, I didn't vow to stop being anal!) and pick out whatever project strikes my fancy when it feels like time to start something new. Whoo hoo, progress! ;)
3. Design something new! It was so much fun designing the smaller projects on my pattern page! Now I've got something a little bigger percolating in my mind for 2009. This one will require swatching, sizing, and test knitters, so it will be a challenge! Even if it fails miserably, though, I think it would be fun to try!
So there we have it! A nice, even 10 goals for the year that are challenging, will push me out of my comfort zone, but are hopefully, entirely doable! Bring it on '09!
I have had reason to step back recently and take a look at how things have been, how they're going, where I'd like them to be. And the New Year always has this fresh start feel to it that makes one want to... ugh, apparently, start sounding like a sappy Hallmark card.
Let's just say this is a good time to start focusing on things that can help make life a little better!
1. Get my chef on! I love to cook. My fugly ass kitchen is very uninspiring, but hey, it's functional! It's time to whip out the Cook with Jamie book that's been gathering dust for a year, the Bon Appetits piling up in the corner, and try some new meals. And maybe have more than just one dish at dinner. Would it kill me to throw some salad in once in a while?
2. Leave the freakin' house. We did some extensive knock-it-down-to-the-studs (I mean walls, not random hunky men) remodeling last year, which sucked out much of our fundages. And since Hubster and I are both of the save-then-pay-for-it mindset, we drew the purse strings tight and didn't do nothin' in 2008. Total homebodies.
No wonder my ass is so flat.
This year, we need to have a little F.U.N.! Already putting this into gear - we're going to an art show and dinner tonight, plan to do dinner and a movie next weekend, and *gasp* go skiing the weekend after that. After missing the last two seasons, that should be...interesting. Pray for no broken bones!
3. Speaking of ass, get off it! There was a point just before Christmas that I thought I might be preggers. Took a home pg test and nope! Just fat. :P
Since I appear to be incubating a bagel around my waist, it's time to start doing some yoga, power walking (my crappy knees do not approve of running), getting fresh air and endorphins! Will start with three days a week and work up from there.
4. Stop impersonating a camel. I constantly forget to drink water. Most days, I'll go all day with just the coffee I had in the morning. Not good, or healthy. Must make a conscious effort to drink more H2O!
5. Spend more time with friends. See above #2 re: homebody syndrome. It's so easy to rely on email, IMs, chat - I miss connecting with friends IRL! My closest girlfriends live eons away :(, but must make an effort to get together more often. I've been pondering the local knitting group, too, to meet some fellow knitties. Of course, that would mean I'd have to stop being so goddam paranoid and let people know what I look like. AHHHHHHHHHH!
6. Stimulate the mind! Read more to start with - I just joined Paperback Swap (thanks ChickenKnits for clueing me into this site!) and it is FABULOUS! Sent out 12 books last week and have three on the way! (Also joined the offshoot Swap a DVD - not as active as PBS but a great way to unload unwanted DVDs!)
7. Bring on the happy! Lots of personal stuff went down last year, and there are a couple of very...let's call them glass-half-empty kind of people at the assignment I'm working now. All of that kind of sucked me into a negative vortex in 2008. Time to shake it off, baby! I've realized that I can't control how other people behave - only how I respond to it. For 2009, we'll be returning to the happy, sunny days of weez! :)
Now what about knitting goals? Let's see...
1. Make more things that don't go on my feet. Gots me a boatload of sweater yarn, time to start knitting it up! I'm about 75% through a Wonderful Wallaby now, and after a failed and frogged attempt at a heavily modded version of the FLS (and patting myself on the back for realizing early on it wasn't going to work!), am working on a knockoff of a vest I saw in a catalog.
2. Be more spontaneous with the queue. You know me, I'm freakishly anal! Well, let me clue you into just how anal - I have an Excel knitting spreadsheet with tabs for WIPs, FOs, queues, stashed, and destashed items. On the queue tab, there were projects - with assigned yarns - laid out on a monthly schedule for the entire year.
Yeah, scary.
I decided to ditch the monthly schedule, just list the patterns by category (hey, I didn't vow to stop being anal!) and pick out whatever project strikes my fancy when it feels like time to start something new. Whoo hoo, progress! ;)
3. Design something new! It was so much fun designing the smaller projects on my pattern page! Now I've got something a little bigger percolating in my mind for 2009. This one will require swatching, sizing, and test knitters, so it will be a challenge! Even if it fails miserably, though, I think it would be fun to try!
So there we have it! A nice, even 10 goals for the year that are challenging, will push me out of my comfort zone, but are hopefully, entirely doable! Bring it on '09!
posted by weezalana at 11:44 AM
11 Comments:
I can get behind every single one of those. Since the donut around my hips appeared, though, I have been getting most of my recipes from Cooking Light and the low fat Moosewood cook book. Now if only I could get off my ass...
Sounds like a fun year ahead - Happy New Year and I love the Red Starsky!
1. The blub considers The Way to Cook by Julia Child the greatest cookbook ever penned. Just thought I'd pass that along.
2. Hear ya on that one. I never friggin go anywhere.
3. Dude. You have no idea. My donut is SUPER-sized. And today I bought a pair a pants in the next biggest size up. Time for action. Want to be virtual exercise buddies? I can't run either, so I swim. Or er, I mean to. Whaddya think?
4. Yes. Yes. Yes. Me too. But I find it helps if I drink water out of a smaller glass. I have no idea why this works.
That's all. Break some leggage with those!
Those are my kind of goals! Totally doable...you can do it! 2009 is going to be a good year!!
Ha ha, shoot, maybe you should get pregnant. I had to go on a special diet, walked/waddled everywhere, and then and now I'm constantly drinking water. Just a thought! ;-)
Great goals - I share a couple of them with you! I had to laugh about the water - I do the same thing and have to force myself to remember to drink water. So now I plan to drank herbal teas on the affternoon...
Good luck with them all - and can't wait to see what your new pattern ideas are...
Having a blah kitchen puts such a damper on the desire to cook. I am having the same problem. I love to cook, but I hate being in my kitchen. I've decided that as long as I keep the kitchen free of clutter (it's a magnet for all crap in our house), then being in the kitchen isn't so depressing. I hope 2009 leaves both you and me with more culinary inspiration, despite our icky kitchens.
Great goals you've got there! I'm totally on the sweater train with you this year. I seem to have accumulated mass quantities of sweater yarn in the past year or two, and when I have knit sweaters, I've gone out and bought new yarn! This is definitely the year of the detash.
Can't wait to see what you have up your designing sleeve!
Nice list of goals! I'm so down with the "actually leave the house" goal - especially considering that this weekend I didn't go outside from teh time I got home from work on Fri until the time I left for work today. At least with this weekend I can blame the snow!
the goals sound very doable!
Glad you like PaperBackSwap. It's totally helped me get rid of some clutter around here.
It's like you're reading my mind. These goals are totally doable and not extreme. (therefore less likely to be so easily discarded.)
Post a Comment
<< Home