Must do Better

          Officially retired so now I must do better at blogging. I am hoping to post more often about everyday stuff as well as knitting. At the moment I am getting ready for all the kids ( that includes spouses and grand kids) to visit for Christmas and I am so excited! The freezer is full with browned hamburger for spaghetti and fajita mix, meatloaf , and homemade hamburgers! Since I'm getting the hubby a smoker for Christmas this year we are going to do smoked pork ribs-yummy! So the food is handled just need to finish cleaning up and wait for them to get here!

       On the knitting front I got to visit the Knitting Addiction in Kill Devil Hills when I went to visit my daughter and I had a great time. I bought some sock yarn, Sea Star, in some bright colors which I have started knitting a pair of vanilla socks. I also got a new yarn bowl and met the potter. She was really nice. Hopefully pictures will be the next thing on the list to remember to do.

      Since December is coming to a close I thought that this year I would do a bucket list. I've never really gotten into resolutions etc. because I'm just too adhd to stick with anything for any length of time, but this year I thought some goal setting might help me. I'm compiling a list,  in hopes that I might stay focused on what I want to do, so here it is, not in any order of priority yet, and most definitely not everything, but I wanted to try to make a start:

Save money- since I have always been a spender and not a saver this is something I would love to conquer.
Lose weight- for good- not just talk about it-but actually do it
Exercise- I love to exercise-it makes me feel great- now that I am at home and not traveling I'm hoping that exercise will be a daily occurence
Knit from stash-of course I don't want to say I'm not going to buy some yarn along the way, but I really need to downsize the yarn stash, so it's either knit it or sale it, which I might end up doing both
Travel to Thailand to visit my cousin- we haven't seen her in along time and I really want to go see her again
Travel in the USA- I haven't been to  many places so I think I would be happy getting to at least one new place this year
Learn to play golf-for the hubby-enough said
Learn a new knitting skill and improve in my knitting- double knitting, brioche, 2 color knitting, magic loop, etc,
Learn to knit a garment that will actually fit


That's all for now on the bucket list, but I still want to spend time with the family, be more positive, keep in touch with friends, and start back with devotional readings. I kinda lost that when my dad died and I think I've been angry long enough! It's time to do better.

I'm off to finish reading The Maze Runner and then to knit on a sock. 2015 will be the year of socks for me since I have so much sock yarn!
Everyone out there I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a great beginning to the new year!

Almost Another Year

Hi everyone! I was reminded by a new knitting friend that I have a blog, so I decided maybe it was time to revisit and check it out. Yep, it's almost been another year since the last post, so its time again to post.
Well, what's been happening in my life in the last year:
     5 months ago we had a new grandson arrive named Ethan. He was born with Wolf Hirschorn Syndrome, WHS, a rare genetic disorder. He has had his struggles but like his name he is very strong little fella. He is a very rare gem of a special kind.
     We are almost moved into our new home in Myrtle Beach and really hoping to be here full time by May of this year. I feel like the last 4 years of my life I have been temporarily living  in 3 places. I will be ecstatic when I finally get here permanently and can get into the swing of things.
     Health-wise I have not done well at all, but in the last month I have joined the Y, started back exercising, and I am eating healthier. So as the weeks and months go by my health will get better. (I want you to notice that I didn't put in hopefully etc. This time its do it, not think it or wish it.)
  Our grandson, Sawyer, came and spent a  full week with us. What a great time we had going to Brookgreen Gardens, the Children's Museum, aquarium, carnival rides, swimming pool, visiting the neighbors, playing, reading, and of course shopping.
     We spent our first Thanksgiving in our new home in MB as well as Christmas. All of our children made it here for Christmas and we had a great time.
     I am still knitting and adding more projects to my already long list of projects, but that makes me happy! I love knitting and wonder why I sometimes lose my knitting mojo. I have found a new knitting home at Knit n Purl along with new  knitting buddies and great friends.
    
Well that doesn't seem like much to have accomplished in almost a year, but those were some of the highlights.

Unitl next time


   
     

Struggling!

Started on Atkins as the doc suggested, but I am struggling. I am using My Fitness Pal to record my food choices so I won't bother to write my meals here.  I am going to spend sometime reading more about this low carb diet and come up with some more meals. Since I was up early this morning I did roast some asparagus and green beans for lunch and dinner.  I still can't get my carbs to 20 a day but I am getting closer. I did get my exercise in yesterday and it really made me feel better. Tired, but a good tired.

I did some knitting yesterday and finished the felted bag I was working on. I knit until the shoulder began to hurt and then I rested. Now I need to find a strap, some fabric for lining it, and some embroidery patterns. After felting I want to embroidery some flowers or shapes on it. All that will have to wait until I have the use of my shoulder back, hopefully by fall. My next knitting project will be to finish my Holden shawl. I only have about 15 more rows to go, so I hope I can get it finished by next week. Then I need to find something else to knit that will be easy on the shoulder.

I wanted to share some more goodies that came in the mail. One thing for sure, being cooped up in a house can lead too many internet purchases and going way over budget. I got the Oz stitch markers from Little Skein.

And two skeins of self stripping yarn from Turtle Purl. The colors are beautiful and much prettier than the picture .As I put my yarn out to take pictures I find that I seem to pick out the same colors. I really need to get outside my box in terms of colors.



I have a trip to physical therapy today and  I am hoping for good news. I am hoping that I can start driving in the next couple of weeks. Yippee!
Time to try knitting for a little. Everyone take care and I hope you get to do something today that you enjoy!

Feeling Good

Seems that each day is getting better with the shoulder. Exercises are done,  I'm showered and dressed, and had breakfast. Now I'm doing a little knitting and watching the scify channel.

Eating today:
Bkfast: 2 fried eggs, 2 slices bacon, 2 cups coffee with sugar free sweetener
Lunch: tossed salad, roasted chicken, Greek dressing
Dinner: 
Snacks: pork rinds, natural almonds, Atkins bar
Lots of water

 Last day of tax season so the hubby will be home more and we will be able to spend more time in SC.

What is happening in this world? Bombings at the Boston Marathon today.

Everyone stay safe out there and pray for all the people in Boston.

Progress!

Progress on the home front. Yesterday,  I walked for 15 minutes and rode a stationary bike for 15 minutes. I am hoping that this will happen more often as my shoulder heals. Walking with your arm in a sling is a bit of a challenge since it causes dizziness and an off balance feeling. But it was great to get out of the house and into the fresh air. It was a beautiful day. I also did my shoulder exercises 3 times so hopefully I will be further along on my next visit to the physical therapist.

I didn't try to knit yesterday but I am going to try today, at least 1 row maybe more. I am working on a felted bag that still needs a couple of inches. I did try to purl a row on a shawlette but that hurt the shoulder too much.

I have decided to start on Atkins as the doctor suggested. I'm gonna be using My Fitness Pal to record my food and keep up with the nutrition stuff  The site is free and well worth using if you want to keep up with what you are eating and getting the nutritional analysis. During  the last few days I have been reading different low carb blogs gathering info for this new venture and it looks pretty doable. Since I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic and it looks like low carb is one way to fix that, am willing to try it.
I know that the first 2 weeks are called Induction and that I haven't stayed on it today, but hopefully I will get better at it. I am still reading about those first 2 weeks and I haven't quite gotten it all in my head yet, but I will. and that is the good news!
Today's Eats:
Breakfast: 1 fried egg, 1 slice bacon, 2 cups of coffee with cream(I have to check on the cream)
Snack: 1 Atkins bar
Lunch: lettuce, Gazebo lite Greek dressing, grilled salmon, tomatoes, cucumber,
Dinner: roasted green beans, corned beef, (I might try to link the green bean recipe if its edible)
Need to work on drinking more water during the day!
Exercise: 20 minutes walking/20 minutes stationary bike


Got a couple of new knitting items in the mail yesterday. Some yarn from Unwind Yarn Company. I got twinkle sock for a pair of socks and 2 skeins for a shawl. It came with a stitch marker from BeaGin Design.  

I haven't tried this yarn before but I really like the colors.

I also got several bags from Knittings My Bag. One is a small project bag and the other 2 are the new alternating bags. I really like the fabric I chose and it came with a thank  you stitch marker. One of the alternating bags is going to Katie!

Started reading The Enchanted April this afternoon. It was a free book from Amazon for the kindle. Once I've read it I plan to watch the movie. So far I am enjoying the book. What are you reading Katie?

Well I'm off to try to knit one more row, then maybe a short nap, or I'll just read some more and fall asleep, anyway it happens, I hope everyone enjoys their day, until next time