Monday, March 9, 2009
What?!
So I was just looking at previous posts and realized my last post in January happened to be the very moment my computer to a big old poopy. I bet I confused a lot of people with that one. It was one of those days when I was slapping together a list of cool things I had run across when...bam...blank screen and crazy beeping noise. I was clicking and hitting keys. Alas, there was no recovery. My hard drive crashed! Evidently I managed to post my work in progress. What's crazy is that now that I look at it, I don't even remember where I was going with it. Oh well. Love the randomness.
Ahhh...to be Pampered
It appears all of those New Year's resolutions caught up with me and now I've run out of time to blog! I wish that were true. I've totally been a slacker, but I'm slowly working my way back.
February was crazy busy for entirely fun reasons...mostly. Yeah! Mark was out of town on business for a week so I gave myself a long to-do list to keep my idle hands busy. Luckily, a friend asked me to come up with some knitted gifts for a baby shower in exchange for some of her tasty gourmet soups. ((Who needs cash when you can exchange goods...love it!)) Brainstorming gift ideas kept me somewhat occupied and also gave me an opportunity to finally get some things together for an Etsy shop! I still went slightly insane because I was locked in a house with a baby 24/7 with no adult contact, but it was worth it because I came up with a list of ideas for Etsy. Now I just have to make it all :) I'm still getting things set up at the moment. I will post my link once I've actually got something to show.
The best part of last month was our vacation to Nashville. Not exactly a dream destination, but we had tons of fun. We went for our nephew's baptism (Mark's sister has a 3-month old). It was awesome to introduce Zae to his cousin, Jacob. J is still a little too young to interact, but the two of them had plenty of photo ops together. Most of the time Zae was being a bully...ummm...he gets that from his dad. I spent a lot of time browsing through little shops near the Vanderbilt campus and got a bajillion ideas for new crafty projects. We spent most of the evenings at Katie and Jeff's just chillin' with the babies, playing the Wii, and eating too much gourmet food. My brother-in-law is an executive chef so it sort of goes without saying that we ate well. I wish someone would cook for me like that on a regular basis. Err..that wouldn't exactly help with losing the baby weight so I take that back.
The most fantastic part of the vacation was my belated valentine's gift from Mark. On Tuesday he surprised Katie and me with a full day at the spa. Mark and Jeff took baby duty and we were sent out of the house by 11am for lunch. After lunch we headed to a nail spa where we drank wine while we got pedicures and manicures. (Fancy) We window shopped for awhile and headed to an Aveda spa where we got pampered from head to toe, literally. It started with a foot bath/massage, herbal tea, and trashy chic mags like Cosmo. It ended with a full body massage and facial. Woohoo! We didn't get home until 7pm and were immediately wisked off to dinner. It was the longest I have ever been away from Zae. The reports were mixed. I think he did well during the day with Mark, but failed to stick with his 7pm bedtime. Jeff's parents were watching the boys and Zae screamed for a good hour I guess. :(
We wrapped up the month with a sweet tax return so we were very uncharacteristic and splurged on a treadmill. Sweet! I can't take anymore P90X! Keep your fingers crossed for me. I'm hoping I actually lose a pound or two. I lost 10 pounds right off the bat in January and haven't lost another pound since. Ugh! Damn cookies.
February was crazy busy for entirely fun reasons...mostly. Yeah! Mark was out of town on business for a week so I gave myself a long to-do list to keep my idle hands busy. Luckily, a friend asked me to come up with some knitted gifts for a baby shower in exchange for some of her tasty gourmet soups. ((Who needs cash when you can exchange goods...love it!)) Brainstorming gift ideas kept me somewhat occupied and also gave me an opportunity to finally get some things together for an Etsy shop! I still went slightly insane because I was locked in a house with a baby 24/7 with no adult contact, but it was worth it because I came up with a list of ideas for Etsy. Now I just have to make it all :) I'm still getting things set up at the moment. I will post my link once I've actually got something to show.
The best part of last month was our vacation to Nashville. Not exactly a dream destination, but we had tons of fun. We went for our nephew's baptism (Mark's sister has a 3-month old). It was awesome to introduce Zae to his cousin, Jacob. J is still a little too young to interact, but the two of them had plenty of photo ops together. Most of the time Zae was being a bully...ummm...he gets that from his dad. I spent a lot of time browsing through little shops near the Vanderbilt campus and got a bajillion ideas for new crafty projects. We spent most of the evenings at Katie and Jeff's just chillin' with the babies, playing the Wii, and eating too much gourmet food. My brother-in-law is an executive chef so it sort of goes without saying that we ate well. I wish someone would cook for me like that on a regular basis. Err..that wouldn't exactly help with losing the baby weight so I take that back.
The most fantastic part of the vacation was my belated valentine's gift from Mark. On Tuesday he surprised Katie and me with a full day at the spa. Mark and Jeff took baby duty and we were sent out of the house by 11am for lunch. After lunch we headed to a nail spa where we drank wine while we got pedicures and manicures. (Fancy) We window shopped for awhile and headed to an Aveda spa where we got pampered from head to toe, literally. It started with a foot bath/massage, herbal tea, and trashy chic mags like Cosmo. It ended with a full body massage and facial. Woohoo! We didn't get home until 7pm and were immediately wisked off to dinner. It was the longest I have ever been away from Zae. The reports were mixed. I think he did well during the day with Mark, but failed to stick with his 7pm bedtime. Jeff's parents were watching the boys and Zae screamed for a good hour I guess. :(
We wrapped up the month with a sweet tax return so we were very uncharacteristic and splurged on a treadmill. Sweet! I can't take anymore P90X! Keep your fingers crossed for me. I'm hoping I actually lose a pound or two. I lost 10 pounds right off the bat in January and haven't lost another pound since. Ugh! Damn cookies.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Awesome New Discoveries
Some awesome new discoveries:
1. James Jean. His art is absolutely amazing. Mark Ryden has been my favorite artist (hands down and all around) for years so it makes sense that I would be a fan of James Jean. While I'm on the subject of amazing artists, check out Peter Lik if you've never heard of him. I dream of having one of his photographs hanging in my home one day. Hearts:)
2. MacGyver Curtains. Hello awesome, how are you today?
3. Handmade baby gifts.
1. James Jean. His art is absolutely amazing. Mark Ryden has been my favorite artist (hands down and all around) for years so it makes sense that I would be a fan of James Jean. While I'm on the subject of amazing artists, check out Peter Lik if you've never heard of him. I dream of having one of his photographs hanging in my home one day. Hearts:)
2. MacGyver Curtains. Hello awesome, how are you today?
3. Handmade baby gifts.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Weekly Round-Up, Etc.
Technically I guess I should call this the week-and-a-half round-up. That's a lot of hyphens.
Isaiah has managed to roll himself over, however, it seems he will only do this for daddy. Over the weekend I was making dinner, while Mark was upstairs playing with Isaiah. Mark yelled for me to come watch because he rolled over twice in a row. My little man rolled himself over a third time for mommy, yeah! I jumped up and started clapping and shouting....evidently Isaiah is not used to seeing me excited. I TERRIFIED him! He screamed and screamed. Since then he hasn't rolled over for me, but Mark says he still does it for him. :( Little man is just going to have to get used to this. I can't imagine what will happen when he starts walking!
On another note, my mom seemed to handle her first days with chemo and radiation quite well. However, the feeding tube they put in (they claim it will get too painful for her to swallow) is causing all sorts of problems. The surgeon that put it in seemed to be awfully crass, but I chalked it up to poor bedside manner...he is a surgeon afterall. I hope, hope, hope this was not a sign that we are dealing with another incompetent, arrogant ass. She is having everything checked out again today. Keeping my fingers crossed all is well. I have to admit, so far I haven't been able to find much humor in this whole cancer thing...maybe once it is behind her it will be different. Happy to hear that the treatments haven't bowled her over right out of the gate though.
Other things on the homefront this new year are all the various tasks I've assigned myself for the new year. So far everything is going well.
The healthy diet is going better than I was expecting with only a few horribly inedible experiences...lesson 1: only try a few new recipes a week. The worst of the batch was Monday morning. Mark has decided to go back to school (in addition to working his long hours). So, I'm trying to step it up around here to make everything as convenient as possible for him. I decided to get his week started right by making a big nutritional breakfast. I picked out a special new recipe using various ingredients and spices that we generally enjoy. Somehow the combo was all wrong...it was disgusting...completely inedible. Poor man had to leave the house on an empty stomach. Other than that, most of the new recipes I've been trying have been pleasant surprises. The family cookbook looks like it will be overflowing with tasty options rather quickly.
My exercise routine is also "working out" well (haha...oh the puns! how obvious is it that I spend too much time alone?). I am still hating every minute of it, but enjoy that muscle ache afterward. It's weird, I know. Just trying to take it one day at a time and am not allowing myself any excuses (except for Saturday because I was super sick and it just wasn't happening). Ok, super sick is my one excuse...for now. :) ugh! This is where it starts isn't it? Anyway, still sticking to it and hopefully will keep it up. My motivation is that I have a goal that is less than 90 days away. Weight loss is a plus as well! I only weigh in on Sundays and as of last Sunday I have already lost 7 lbs! Yes, most of it is water weight, but its still awesome!
I'm close to keeping up with my 365-knits a day. I imagine I'll make up for missed days on those inevitable lazy days here and there. I haven't gotten to any of the craftivism or other crafty projects yet, but I am gather loads of new ideas!
Isaiah is loving that I'm reading a grown-up book to him every morning. We are currently reading Anna Karenina (a book I just could't get into when I was pregnant). He seems to think I'm having a long conversation with him so he babbles and coos back at me the whole time. Of course, I pretend he's making insightful comments. Oh, this poor child with such a dorky mom.
Unfortunately, aside from this blog and an email here or there, I haven't been writing a damn thing. I think I've been adjusting to keeping my day jam-packed with activities and don't have the motivation to write anything creative. I am sure once I get a better routine down things will fall into place. The daily log I've been keeping (to evaluate how much I'm actually doing vs how much Oprah I'm watching) has been very useful. I went over the previous weeks and it appears that most of my time is spent preparing, feeding, or planning meals. Seriously, it averages out to nearly 6 hours a day! Call me chef Kelly... I was glad that I took to time to write this stuff down because I felt like my days were flying by me and I didn't know where they were going. Now that I'm paying attention I guess it makes sense. I have been carefully planning all of our meals to make sure they are nutritious and fit within a reasonable calorie range. I also plan our meals around the sales at the grocery store so that we can stretch that dollar. This can take time, especially when you want to try new recipes as well. In addition, I make all of our meals from scratch so we avoid eating hydrogenated oils and preservatives, etc. Multiply that by 3 meals a day and that's a lot of cookin'! If I add Isaiah's feedings, including the preparation of his purees, well we're talking hours of each day right there. As I get used to being the family nutritionist and chef, I think I'll be more efficient with my time. At the moment I really enjoy it though.
Of course there is more to babble about, but the baby calls. Until we meet again...
Isaiah has managed to roll himself over, however, it seems he will only do this for daddy. Over the weekend I was making dinner, while Mark was upstairs playing with Isaiah. Mark yelled for me to come watch because he rolled over twice in a row. My little man rolled himself over a third time for mommy, yeah! I jumped up and started clapping and shouting....evidently Isaiah is not used to seeing me excited. I TERRIFIED him! He screamed and screamed. Since then he hasn't rolled over for me, but Mark says he still does it for him. :( Little man is just going to have to get used to this. I can't imagine what will happen when he starts walking!
On another note, my mom seemed to handle her first days with chemo and radiation quite well. However, the feeding tube they put in (they claim it will get too painful for her to swallow) is causing all sorts of problems. The surgeon that put it in seemed to be awfully crass, but I chalked it up to poor bedside manner...he is a surgeon afterall. I hope, hope, hope this was not a sign that we are dealing with another incompetent, arrogant ass. She is having everything checked out again today. Keeping my fingers crossed all is well. I have to admit, so far I haven't been able to find much humor in this whole cancer thing...maybe once it is behind her it will be different. Happy to hear that the treatments haven't bowled her over right out of the gate though.
Other things on the homefront this new year are all the various tasks I've assigned myself for the new year. So far everything is going well.
The healthy diet is going better than I was expecting with only a few horribly inedible experiences...lesson 1: only try a few new recipes a week. The worst of the batch was Monday morning. Mark has decided to go back to school (in addition to working his long hours). So, I'm trying to step it up around here to make everything as convenient as possible for him. I decided to get his week started right by making a big nutritional breakfast. I picked out a special new recipe using various ingredients and spices that we generally enjoy. Somehow the combo was all wrong...it was disgusting...completely inedible. Poor man had to leave the house on an empty stomach. Other than that, most of the new recipes I've been trying have been pleasant surprises. The family cookbook looks like it will be overflowing with tasty options rather quickly.
My exercise routine is also "working out" well (haha...oh the puns! how obvious is it that I spend too much time alone?). I am still hating every minute of it, but enjoy that muscle ache afterward. It's weird, I know. Just trying to take it one day at a time and am not allowing myself any excuses (except for Saturday because I was super sick and it just wasn't happening). Ok, super sick is my one excuse...for now. :) ugh! This is where it starts isn't it? Anyway, still sticking to it and hopefully will keep it up. My motivation is that I have a goal that is less than 90 days away. Weight loss is a plus as well! I only weigh in on Sundays and as of last Sunday I have already lost 7 lbs! Yes, most of it is water weight, but its still awesome!
I'm close to keeping up with my 365-knits a day. I imagine I'll make up for missed days on those inevitable lazy days here and there. I haven't gotten to any of the craftivism or other crafty projects yet, but I am gather loads of new ideas!
Isaiah is loving that I'm reading a grown-up book to him every morning. We are currently reading Anna Karenina (a book I just could't get into when I was pregnant). He seems to think I'm having a long conversation with him so he babbles and coos back at me the whole time. Of course, I pretend he's making insightful comments. Oh, this poor child with such a dorky mom.
Unfortunately, aside from this blog and an email here or there, I haven't been writing a damn thing. I think I've been adjusting to keeping my day jam-packed with activities and don't have the motivation to write anything creative. I am sure once I get a better routine down things will fall into place. The daily log I've been keeping (to evaluate how much I'm actually doing vs how much Oprah I'm watching) has been very useful. I went over the previous weeks and it appears that most of my time is spent preparing, feeding, or planning meals. Seriously, it averages out to nearly 6 hours a day! Call me chef Kelly... I was glad that I took to time to write this stuff down because I felt like my days were flying by me and I didn't know where they were going. Now that I'm paying attention I guess it makes sense. I have been carefully planning all of our meals to make sure they are nutritious and fit within a reasonable calorie range. I also plan our meals around the sales at the grocery store so that we can stretch that dollar. This can take time, especially when you want to try new recipes as well. In addition, I make all of our meals from scratch so we avoid eating hydrogenated oils and preservatives, etc. Multiply that by 3 meals a day and that's a lot of cookin'! If I add Isaiah's feedings, including the preparation of his purees, well we're talking hours of each day right there. As I get used to being the family nutritionist and chef, I think I'll be more efficient with my time. At the moment I really enjoy it though.
Of course there is more to babble about, but the baby calls. Until we meet again...
Friday, January 9, 2009
Big News
Benny has started rolling over already! Woohoo!!! Go Benny. He is only 3 months old! I have been waiting for Isaiah to do this and it just hasn't happened yet.
While Isaiah hasn't rolled himself over, he did get the thumbs up from the pediatrician to start solids. She believes his drooling is due to teething and his temperamental eating is because he is ready for something new. Because he is able to sit up assisted, has good head control, and can grab and manipulate things with his hands, he has reached some developmental milestones that are a sign to start solids. She does not believe that he needs to wait until 6 months. I'm sure you can imagine I was surprised, especially since he is a preemie. His first meal was butternut squash. The next day he had apples and then carrots. We have been rotating the 3 with various combinations...sometimes with rice, sometimes mixed together. He loves apples! I think the squash gives him a tummy ache, but no major problems. Today I'm heading to the store to get his next new tastes...bananas, avocados, and pears! Yummy!
While Isaiah hasn't rolled himself over, he did get the thumbs up from the pediatrician to start solids. She believes his drooling is due to teething and his temperamental eating is because he is ready for something new. Because he is able to sit up assisted, has good head control, and can grab and manipulate things with his hands, he has reached some developmental milestones that are a sign to start solids. She does not believe that he needs to wait until 6 months. I'm sure you can imagine I was surprised, especially since he is a preemie. His first meal was butternut squash. The next day he had apples and then carrots. We have been rotating the 3 with various combinations...sometimes with rice, sometimes mixed together. He loves apples! I think the squash gives him a tummy ache, but no major problems. Today I'm heading to the store to get his next new tastes...bananas, avocados, and pears! Yummy!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Resolutions
For someone who has never had a thing for New Year's resolutions, I've got a pretty long list, which will get longer as the year progresses. I will admit...I'm still not going about it the traditional way. As you can see, we are week into the new year and I've just finished a preliminary list. This speaks to one of my first resolutions...in a word, flexibility.
Goal 1. Flexibility.
I would like to start the year off right by giving myself the opportunity to embrace flexibility...in my diet, my daily exercise, my endless to-do list...you name it. It is all too often that I beat myself up for not getting enough done in a day or for cheating on a diet or for skipping a workout. I now have a baby, and while I do not want to use having a baby as an excuse for avoiding things that I might not want to do, this year I am trying to remind myself that sometimes things just don't get done..and that's ok.
Goal 2. Healthy Diet.
Isaiah started solids on Jan 2nd (oh my god! I know!) and I am still desperate to lose the rest of the baby weight. Clearly a focus on diet is in order. While we are not fast food junkies or anything, I do cook like the Midwesterner that I am...lots of cheese and potatoes and such. I hope that "leading by example" will benefit us in the long run here... this is the year we learn to eat our veggies. :) I would love to eat entirely organic, but this is totally unreasonable from a financial standpoint. Instead I am making sure that Isaiah's diet is organic. This goal has turned out to be a blast so far. I've started making homemade baby food from organic produce.
Goal 3. Family Cookbook.
In order to keep our diet interesting...and to find ways to get my husband to eat broccoli, ha...I am trying at least 1 new recipe a week. So far this is working out great, but I have learned that any more than 2 or 3 new recipes gets to be a bit much....especially if they suck 3 nights in a row! I would like each new recipe that gets a thumbs up from both of us to go into a family recipe book that I'm creating. I don't plan on only having 1 child and I do plan on going back to work eventually...a book brimming with tested, healthy recipes will be priceless in the future I'm sure.
Goal 4. Exercise.
Mark and I used to exercise regularly. When we first met we probably would have described each other as athletic...today we are not quite as athletic as we once were. I am not going to commit myself to working out for an hour a day 7 days a week all year long, but I am starting out that way. I busted out our old P90X videos, which is an extremely intense home workout program. Of course, I can't get through the standard version that we used to do every morning at 4am (ugh!), but I've decided to start with the less intense program and am modifying exercises that are too difficult. Currently I workout for an hour a day (or longer if I have a fussy baby break, or two) and I rotate through core-focused exercises, cardio, shoulder and arm strength, ab work, yoga, leg and back strength, cardio kenpo (think Tae-Bo on steroids), and stretching. Once I finish the first 90 days, I'll re-evaluate my workouts and I am almost certain I'll cut back to working out every other day or so. I don't like exercise enough to workout every day, but I do want to be able to get back to rock climbing and hiking advanced trails once summer hits so I'll be kicking my own ass for awhile...I hope.
Goal 5. Craftivism.
Knitting and other crafty endeavors are not just a creative outlet...for me it is like meditation. I use it to relax. I only have to focus on 1 thing...my pattern. It is wonderful! This year I hope to share some of the thing I make with others so I have set a goal of making at least 1 item a month to give to a charitable cause.
Goal 6. Again with the Crafts!
I have a book of 365 different knitting patterns and have told myself for years that I would knit 1 a day. This is the year that I will actually do it...and I plan on knitting the swatches together to make a big blanket.
Goal 7. Write.
Whether its a silly children's poem for Isaiah or one of those more serious writing projects I have stuffed up my sleeve, I plan on taking the time to write something each week. When the focus of your life is writing for at least 8 hours a day every day, its pretty hard to imagine being out of practice...but it does happen. I look back on my previous blogs and it takes every bit of my will power not to go back and correct errors. I know once I start fixing things I won't stop and I'll end up re-writing an entire blog entry that I published months ago...how silly is that?! I could take the time to write my blogs carefully I suppose, but that sort of takes away for the spirit of the blog. Not to mention that I would never post anything because I would write...and re-write..then move this paragraph over here...you get the idea.
Goal 8. Read.
I need to spend more time reading adult things. I used to read constantly, especially when I was on bedrest. I haven't taken the time since Isaiah was born (gee, I wonder why :). This shouldn't be a difficult goal. I read to Isaiah every morning and every night...its usually Shel Silverstein poems, but I take the time to read nonetheless. I intend to replace one of those readings with something I'm interested in. Yay me!
I'd also like too:
- Reach pre-pregnancy weight, fitness level, and/or pant-size
- Keep a daily activity schedule for the month of Jan. I do this for Isaiah's diet since he is starting new foods and for his naps so I can try to get him on a relatively consistent schedule. I might as well do it for myself to make sure I'm sticking with my nutrition goals and to determine where all my precious time goes! Am I wasting too much time watching Oprah or am I actually keeping myself as busy as it feels?
I do have a long list of other things I'd like to try this year, but none of these are goals I am 100% committed to at present. Some of them include:
- Trying a new craft...potentially getting more involved paper crafts, recycled crafts, etc.
- Start a container garden with fresh herbs for the kitchen.
- Look into starting a home compost for the container garden.
- Paint the kitchen, sitting room, hallway, and master bath.
- Set up the office in the basement.
I'm sure I'll continue to add to the list of things I want to do this year...but that's a start. I am curious to see how dramatically I'll roll my eyes as I look back on this blog at the end of the year, while I wonder what the hell I was thinking. haha.
Goal 1. Flexibility.
I would like to start the year off right by giving myself the opportunity to embrace flexibility...in my diet, my daily exercise, my endless to-do list...you name it. It is all too often that I beat myself up for not getting enough done in a day or for cheating on a diet or for skipping a workout. I now have a baby, and while I do not want to use having a baby as an excuse for avoiding things that I might not want to do, this year I am trying to remind myself that sometimes things just don't get done..and that's ok.
Goal 2. Healthy Diet.
Isaiah started solids on Jan 2nd (oh my god! I know!) and I am still desperate to lose the rest of the baby weight. Clearly a focus on diet is in order. While we are not fast food junkies or anything, I do cook like the Midwesterner that I am...lots of cheese and potatoes and such. I hope that "leading by example" will benefit us in the long run here... this is the year we learn to eat our veggies. :) I would love to eat entirely organic, but this is totally unreasonable from a financial standpoint. Instead I am making sure that Isaiah's diet is organic. This goal has turned out to be a blast so far. I've started making homemade baby food from organic produce.
Goal 3. Family Cookbook.
In order to keep our diet interesting...and to find ways to get my husband to eat broccoli, ha...I am trying at least 1 new recipe a week. So far this is working out great, but I have learned that any more than 2 or 3 new recipes gets to be a bit much....especially if they suck 3 nights in a row! I would like each new recipe that gets a thumbs up from both of us to go into a family recipe book that I'm creating. I don't plan on only having 1 child and I do plan on going back to work eventually...a book brimming with tested, healthy recipes will be priceless in the future I'm sure.
Goal 4. Exercise.
Mark and I used to exercise regularly. When we first met we probably would have described each other as athletic...today we are not quite as athletic as we once were. I am not going to commit myself to working out for an hour a day 7 days a week all year long, but I am starting out that way. I busted out our old P90X videos, which is an extremely intense home workout program. Of course, I can't get through the standard version that we used to do every morning at 4am (ugh!), but I've decided to start with the less intense program and am modifying exercises that are too difficult. Currently I workout for an hour a day (or longer if I have a fussy baby break, or two) and I rotate through core-focused exercises, cardio, shoulder and arm strength, ab work, yoga, leg and back strength, cardio kenpo (think Tae-Bo on steroids), and stretching. Once I finish the first 90 days, I'll re-evaluate my workouts and I am almost certain I'll cut back to working out every other day or so. I don't like exercise enough to workout every day, but I do want to be able to get back to rock climbing and hiking advanced trails once summer hits so I'll be kicking my own ass for awhile...I hope.
Goal 5. Craftivism.
Knitting and other crafty endeavors are not just a creative outlet...for me it is like meditation. I use it to relax. I only have to focus on 1 thing...my pattern. It is wonderful! This year I hope to share some of the thing I make with others so I have set a goal of making at least 1 item a month to give to a charitable cause.
Goal 6. Again with the Crafts!
I have a book of 365 different knitting patterns and have told myself for years that I would knit 1 a day. This is the year that I will actually do it...and I plan on knitting the swatches together to make a big blanket.
Goal 7. Write.
Whether its a silly children's poem for Isaiah or one of those more serious writing projects I have stuffed up my sleeve, I plan on taking the time to write something each week. When the focus of your life is writing for at least 8 hours a day every day, its pretty hard to imagine being out of practice...but it does happen. I look back on my previous blogs and it takes every bit of my will power not to go back and correct errors. I know once I start fixing things I won't stop and I'll end up re-writing an entire blog entry that I published months ago...how silly is that?! I could take the time to write my blogs carefully I suppose, but that sort of takes away for the spirit of the blog. Not to mention that I would never post anything because I would write...and re-write..then move this paragraph over here...you get the idea.
Goal 8. Read.
I need to spend more time reading adult things. I used to read constantly, especially when I was on bedrest. I haven't taken the time since Isaiah was born (gee, I wonder why :). This shouldn't be a difficult goal. I read to Isaiah every morning and every night...its usually Shel Silverstein poems, but I take the time to read nonetheless. I intend to replace one of those readings with something I'm interested in. Yay me!
I'd also like too:
- Reach pre-pregnancy weight, fitness level, and/or pant-size
- Keep a daily activity schedule for the month of Jan. I do this for Isaiah's diet since he is starting new foods and for his naps so I can try to get him on a relatively consistent schedule. I might as well do it for myself to make sure I'm sticking with my nutrition goals and to determine where all my precious time goes! Am I wasting too much time watching Oprah or am I actually keeping myself as busy as it feels?
I do have a long list of other things I'd like to try this year, but none of these are goals I am 100% committed to at present. Some of them include:
- Trying a new craft...potentially getting more involved paper crafts, recycled crafts, etc.
- Start a container garden with fresh herbs for the kitchen.
- Look into starting a home compost for the container garden.
- Paint the kitchen, sitting room, hallway, and master bath.
- Set up the office in the basement.
I'm sure I'll continue to add to the list of things I want to do this year...but that's a start. I am curious to see how dramatically I'll roll my eyes as I look back on this blog at the end of the year, while I wonder what the hell I was thinking. haha.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Reflecting on 2008
A friend posted this end-of-year meme on her blog, so I thought I'd do the same. Enjoy!
1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before? There were 2 biggies...1) I had a baby, and 2) For the first time in my adult life I did not earn an income...I refuse to say I'm jobless because I still work to earn my keep every day ;)
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I've never been one for resolutions, but this year will be different (I'll expand on this in another blog).
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? I knew 12 people that had a baby last year...All but 2 were boys! Of course, the fact that my cousin had her son Benny only 1 month after I had Isaiah was ubber cool in my book. I can't wait to see them grow up and create mischeif together.
4. Did anyone close to you die? I lost my grandmother and was very sad to see people close to me lose loved ones as well. :(
5. What countries did you visit? None.
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? ENERGY!
7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? August 28th - gave birth to my son. Nov 3rd - my grandmother passed. Dec 4th - found out my mom has cancer.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Being a mommy!
9. What was your biggest failure? Not sticking to a healthy diet and consistent exercise.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I had some difficulties with my pregnancy, but I wouldn't call that illness or injury.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Nutramigen!!!!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Mark!!! He worked looong days 6-7 days a week, helped around the house when I was on bedrest, stayed up all night with the baby when I was recovering from a c-section, and was always supportive...whether I wanted to go back to work or stay home with our son. Currently, I'm staying home with Isaiah.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? I won't name names, but a few people win this award for the year. This is unusual since I can only think a handful of people that have disappointed me over my entire life.
14. Where did most of your money go? Hospital Bills!!!!
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Definitely having a healthy baby boy who I love more and more every day.
16. What song will always remind you of 2008? That Cher song that they play on the Biggest Loser shows...Only because I hear it all the damn time...I keep watching Biggest Loser marathon shows. How sad is that?!
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Happier!
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter, way fatter!
c) richer or poorer? Poorer financially but richer in love and family. (This was Sam's answer and I think its perfect so I'm keeping it :)
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? I wish I'd done more writing and working toward career goals.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Watching TV. We plugged in for the first time in a long time...its evil, so evil.
20. How did you spend Christmas? With my parents in the afternoon...with Mark's best friend and his family in the evening.
21. Did you fall in love in 2008? Oh yes...I love you, Isaiah!
22. What was your favorite TV program? Top Chef!!!
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Nope.
24. What was the best book you read? hmm...Probably "Birth: The Surprising History of How We are Born" by Tina Cassidy.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Putamayo Kids series
26. What did you want and get? A healthy baby
27. What did you want and not get? a stress-free existence. :) haha
28. What was your favorite film of this year? I think this was the year of shitty movies...that being said I really liked Eagle Eye, but that might be because it was the last movie I watched.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 32 and honestly do not remember. Isaiah was only 2 weeks old at the time so I'm sure I was on zombie, new mommy mode.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A easier pregnancy...maybe next time. :)
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? FASHION?! haha. Elastic waistbands and oversized shirts...I think I lose the fashion contest.
32. What kept you sane? My blog and crafty projects.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? OBAMA!
34. What political issue stirred you the most? Oh that would have to be the Palin factor. Her views, and more importantly, the manner in which she promoted her views were offensive, close-minded, ignorant, hypocritical (she is a Christian is she not, but were her actions Christlike? I think not), and un-American (America is not about rallying a self-righteous "moral" majority to reign over the rest of us, I believe that was a motivating factor in fighting for independence).
35. Who did you miss? My sister. She did visit for several weeks, but sadly returned to East Africa in November.
36. Who was the best new person you met? my son
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. We are all stronger than we think we are.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. I couldn't think of a song lyric so I chose this instead, "The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” - Buddha.
1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before? There were 2 biggies...1) I had a baby, and 2) For the first time in my adult life I did not earn an income...I refuse to say I'm jobless because I still work to earn my keep every day ;)
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I've never been one for resolutions, but this year will be different (I'll expand on this in another blog).
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? I knew 12 people that had a baby last year...All but 2 were boys! Of course, the fact that my cousin had her son Benny only 1 month after I had Isaiah was ubber cool in my book. I can't wait to see them grow up and create mischeif together.
4. Did anyone close to you die? I lost my grandmother and was very sad to see people close to me lose loved ones as well. :(
5. What countries did you visit? None.
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? ENERGY!
7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? August 28th - gave birth to my son. Nov 3rd - my grandmother passed. Dec 4th - found out my mom has cancer.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Being a mommy!
9. What was your biggest failure? Not sticking to a healthy diet and consistent exercise.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I had some difficulties with my pregnancy, but I wouldn't call that illness or injury.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Nutramigen!!!!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Mark!!! He worked looong days 6-7 days a week, helped around the house when I was on bedrest, stayed up all night with the baby when I was recovering from a c-section, and was always supportive...whether I wanted to go back to work or stay home with our son. Currently, I'm staying home with Isaiah.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? I won't name names, but a few people win this award for the year. This is unusual since I can only think a handful of people that have disappointed me over my entire life.
14. Where did most of your money go? Hospital Bills!!!!
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Definitely having a healthy baby boy who I love more and more every day.
16. What song will always remind you of 2008? That Cher song that they play on the Biggest Loser shows...Only because I hear it all the damn time...I keep watching Biggest Loser marathon shows. How sad is that?!
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Happier!
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter, way fatter!
c) richer or poorer? Poorer financially but richer in love and family. (This was Sam's answer and I think its perfect so I'm keeping it :)
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? I wish I'd done more writing and working toward career goals.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Watching TV. We plugged in for the first time in a long time...its evil, so evil.
20. How did you spend Christmas? With my parents in the afternoon...with Mark's best friend and his family in the evening.
21. Did you fall in love in 2008? Oh yes...I love you, Isaiah!
22. What was your favorite TV program? Top Chef!!!
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Nope.
24. What was the best book you read? hmm...Probably "Birth: The Surprising History of How We are Born" by Tina Cassidy.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Putamayo Kids series
26. What did you want and get? A healthy baby
27. What did you want and not get? a stress-free existence. :) haha
28. What was your favorite film of this year? I think this was the year of shitty movies...that being said I really liked Eagle Eye, but that might be because it was the last movie I watched.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 32 and honestly do not remember. Isaiah was only 2 weeks old at the time so I'm sure I was on zombie, new mommy mode.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A easier pregnancy...maybe next time. :)
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? FASHION?! haha. Elastic waistbands and oversized shirts...I think I lose the fashion contest.
32. What kept you sane? My blog and crafty projects.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? OBAMA!
34. What political issue stirred you the most? Oh that would have to be the Palin factor. Her views, and more importantly, the manner in which she promoted her views were offensive, close-minded, ignorant, hypocritical (she is a Christian is she not, but were her actions Christlike? I think not), and un-American (America is not about rallying a self-righteous "moral" majority to reign over the rest of us, I believe that was a motivating factor in fighting for independence).
35. Who did you miss? My sister. She did visit for several weeks, but sadly returned to East Africa in November.
36. Who was the best new person you met? my son
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. We are all stronger than we think we are.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. I couldn't think of a song lyric so I chose this instead, "The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” - Buddha.
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