Never Enough Time

It is 10PM and I have been up since 5am. Since I have gotten home at 6pm I have cooked dinner, answered email, talked with my kids and my husband, made some phone calls, done a couple of loads of laundry, and prepared my lesson for class tomorrow. Now when I can hardly keep my eyes open I have time to stitch. This is what has been happening to me since September which is why I haven't gotten a lot of stitching done. I am going to have to try and change my strategy and do my stitching in the morning. That means getting up at 4am. If I go to bed now and sleep fast I think I can make it. So I will say good night because I would really like to stitch more than 15 minutes tomorrow which is all I got in today. Have a great night everyone.

Laughter

It is wonderful that after almost 24 years of marriage my husband and I can still tell each other our stories and laugh together. We were on our own this weekend and were doing dreaded chores like cleaning out the garage and organizing Christmas decorations. As we worked we would share a memory or a story from our childhood and end up laughing together. Some of these experiences were shared while others while similar were from a time before we met. We were able to see the humor in our past experiences and have fun reliving them together. I love being able to laugh and cry with my husband. He is my safe haven. I wish everyone had someone they could laugh with the way I can with my husband. It lightens the heart and makes life a joy. I hope everyone is having a joyful day.

Transformation

I never thought to write about my quest to become physically fit in my 50's. When I was young I was a good weight and had a nice figure but I am not sure I could say I was physically fit in the way we talk about it today. Although I have always liked to walk I haven't made it a point to do so over the years or take up any other form of regular exercise beyond housework and chasing after my children. I also love to cook and eat so the inevitable happened. From the time I married until this past fall I gained 60 pounds. Some of that was gained during pregnancy and then never shed so which each new pregnancy I started out a bit heavier. The rest just added on due to my lifestyle. I am one of the fortunate few whose husband loves every bit of me but I have always disliked being heavy. I just did not dislike it enough to head for the gym.

This past summer I broke my ankle and this event in combination with watching my in-laws become less and less mobile transformed me. I realized that I was fast approaching my senior years and that I was no longer very strong nor was my balance good hence the fall that led to me breaking my ankle. Also for the last few years arthritis has been creeping up on me making my ankles and knees painful and less flexible. As I watch some of the older members of my family become less mobile I knew this was my opportunity to work on gaining back what I had lost; my strength, my flexibility, and my aerobic fitness. This was a time when I was in good enough health to fight back and mentally prepared to do so.

So in September of 2007 after my ankle healed and I finished with physical therapy I signed up to work with a personal trainer. My goals were to improve my overall strength and balance and to lose those 60 pounds I put on over the last 23 years. I stay focused on this because for our 24th wedding anniversary I would like to be able to wear the dress I was wearing when my husband and I met. I not sure if I will make it by our anniversary but I will continue to work toward being able to wear all the size 12 dresses I still have in my closet.

So what is the tale of the tape? When I began I was a size 18 and now I am a size 16 having lost a total of about 7 to 8 inches from various parts of my anatomy. I have lost 15 pounds for an average of about 1 pound per week which is my target since one is likelier to keep weight off if it is lost slowly . I am eating better and have more energy on most days. The days where I have a very tough session I may crawl into bed early but otherwise I am not as tired anymore. I am also much stronger and my balance has improved. The most significant change I think is mental. I no longer have to force myself to go to the gym. Now I want to go and work out. It helps that occasionally I can convince one of my kids or my husband to go with me but whether or not they come with me I go.

I am 25% of the way to my weight goal and I am not sure where I will stop with cardio fitness and strength. What I do know is that I am developing a new lifestyle which will serve me well now and through my senior years. One that includes not only my love of reading, cooking and eating, and needlework but one that includes one more thing I love, exercise.

Where I've Been and Where I'm Going

My cross stitch stats for 2007 are as follows:

• Starting WIPs 12
• New Starts: 5
• WIPs completed: 8
• WIPs Retired: 1
• Remaining WIPs @YE: 8

My stitching goals for 2008 are:

1. Get my WIP count down to 5 or less by the end of the year.
2. Finish my 10 project challenge.
   
3. Finish 15 of my stitched pieces.
   
4. Be a SOS except for three exceptions (3 charts, JCS Ornie magazine, supplies needed to complete projects in my stash)
   
5. Stitch at least 4 new ornaments from any JCS ornament magazine.
6. Learn the following new skills: stitching over one, hardanger, punch needle, and knitted socks.
7. Finish one project for each of the new skills learned.
8. Send out one RAK out of my stash.

My Starting WIPs are:

1. Christmas Tree Mandala - 70% - Stitched 50 % in 2007
2. Dragon Virtues Afghan - 40% - Stitched 25 % in 2007
3. Mira RR Deco Spirits - on Mira RR - 20% - Stitched 5 % in 2007
4. StoryTeller - 5% - I did not stitch on this one in 2007
   
5. Dragon Ride- 8% - Stitched 4 % in 2007
6. Autumn Sampler - 70% - Stitched 65 % in 2007
7. TW Wedding Sampler 5% - Stitched 5% in 2007
8. Winnie the Pooh Christmas Ornament 10% - stitched 10% in 2007

My Plan is:
I will plan to stitch an average of 2 hours per day. I am a One At A Time (OAAT) stitcher for my major pieces. I will stitch Christmas ornaments and other small projects as travel projects. Winnie the Pooh Ornie occupies that spot right now. Each of my WIPs will come up to be stitched in a specific month based on how long I thing it will take to complete them. This will enable me to stitch on all on my WIPs this year and hopefully finish all but one, the afghan. I am currently working on Chatelaine's Christmas Tree Mandala and plan to have it completed by Saturday. At that time I will start TW's Wedding Sampler. I have given myself until the end of February to complete this one. If I complete before the end of February I can use the remaining time for a new start. I will follow this practice as I complete each WIP. This will allow me to finish my existing WIPs and start a few new projects throughout the year. I am very excited about this variation on OAAT stitching and look forward to an exciting and fun stitching year.

So what abut you? What are you looking forward to accomplishing this year?

Reflection

Reflection is an interesting and important process. As this is the first day of the year what better time to institute the practice of internal reflection if you are not already in the practice of doing so. Many of us spend a great deal of time looking at our external reflection so we can evaluate our physical appearance. But how much more important it is to look inside yourself and reflect on what you have done with your life so far, and whether you are happy with what you have done or need to do some things differently. On a more immediate perspective today is a good day to look at your actions and accomplishments for the past year and determine what you would have done differently and then make your your plans for the new year.

Although I spend time reflecting on my life I am not good at recording my reflections or the events of my life. Therefore it is sometimes difficult to evaluate my growth and progress. So here I am at the beginning of another year pledging to myself that I will use this blog on a regular basis. I have also purchased a hard-copy journal to see if I can establish this habit and leave my children something of my inner self for their future reading. I don't want to be a mystery but I think I am in many ways even to my family. I do not spend much time analyzing myself or my feelings and I certainly do not spend much time communicating it to anyone else. So this year I am going for two major goals:

1. Get physically fit and lose weight.
2. Reflect more and share my thoughts and feelings with those close to me.

I think all the rest will fall into place if I can successfully carry out these two goals.

Happy New Year to all my online friends and may 2008 bring you peace, health, and happiness.