Juney-Fu Accomplished

Let me confess now: I didn't exercise as much as I had intended this week, mainly because of lower back pain that reared it's ugly head. I also failed in the "eating the way I'm supposed to" department yesterday. My body is reminding me that I did something wrong yesterday by blessing me with a horrible creeping headache today so I remember I am not to do that again.
This week ended up being a weird blend of Victorian/1950's/ modern house management. I've been very conscientious about using up leftovers, making things from scratch, sticking to my planned menu choices, not giving in and have Hubby pick up Chinese take-out or pizza on the way home and using online resources to find menu plans and ideas for new recipes. I even sat down this morning, clipped coupons and put them in a clearly labeled envelope with date of expiration on the outside. I feel very accomplished JuneyFu-wise. The plants I have left are thriving, so hopefully I will be able to harvest fresh fruits and veggies from the yard before the summer is done.
I also started work on the Strider Cowl in some lovely Malabrigo in Black Forest. It's very simple, very lovely, and a lovely break from mass amounts of lace knit with yarn the gauge of dental floss.

Keeping it going

Our fourth of July weekend went fairly well. The kids made chocolate coated ice cream sandwiches because they heard me lamenting not being able to obtain an It's-It. Their version was quite tasty! We watched almost every firework show in the nearby area from our backyard, all at once. The entire horizon was swathed in multi-colored sparkles.
The hard part was my husband having a four day weekend. I did not. I still managed to get my workouts in Friday and Monday mornings. The housekeeping was accomplished. After a year of ripping, re-knitting and long bouts of hibernation, I finally finished Darling Husbands socks. Even in heavier sock yarn , much effort was put into The Socks.
I also finished a very over-dramatic, fuzzy, black hooded wrap that's been hanging around half done for ages. I admit to giggling when I tried it on after fulling. Now I just have to wait for the cooler weather so I have an excuse to wear it! Quite a productive weekend!
Now to just keep going....and not think about chocolate coated ice cream sandwiches, that are in the freezer.

Is the week over yet?

Not the greatest week this week. While I managed to stick with the exercise plan and not live off of cheese crackers and popcorn, there was a cloud of termites that tried to take up residence in our backyard, neighbors' landscapers who don't seem to understand what a fence line means and my poor old computer started sputtering again after we thought we fixed her up. The wind also ripped out one of my tomato plants, two of my cucumber plants and all three of my honeydew plants.
Nothing horrendous. I know others have had far worse weeks than I. This one just came with a lot more emotional irritation than we've had in awhile, some related to the goings on, some sprouting from other sources, none particularly enjoyable. At least I'm getting better at hula!

A Goal Has Been Set

Inspired by Nu(de) Motivation I decided it was time to get off my rear. I have a semi-milestone type birthday coming up in the far enough away future to be a good finish line, but close enough to make a good prod. I have a friend willing to make the attempt with me. All that was needed was a little get up and go. Easier said than done. It's taken me a month of half-hearted attempts, never really putting it all together. More water, small changes in diet. As of today I have finally managed to get in workouts two days running. Even if it did require forcing myself out of bed a bit earlier than I wanted.
A large bit of the problem has been complacency. A disturbing willingness on my part to accept myself as a standard, slightly out of shape housewife. Aiming for the high end of average, frequently only hitting mediocre.
This has got to change. The time has come to light a fire under my behind. Hula three times a week for cardio. Yoga(flexibility) and a bit of weight lifting(strength) twice a week. Actually combining the better eating, (not constantly snacking on little cheese crackers or a doughnut stashed for just such an occasion) and proper active exercise(not just the housekeeping).
Here's hoping the fire stays lit!

What is with the spiders?

I do not have a problem with spiders so long as they keep to themselves and out of my house. The last week, they have compromised by lurking by my front and back doors. Not the small ones either! On the front porch is a big ol' wolf spider. The back porch had a black widow lurking (I got rid of her), then there was a small tarantula hiding in my pot of spinach the other day(he left on his own), this morning when I went out there I ended up with a big black spider (not nasty I don't think, just rather large) on my left big toe! What the heck? It's more than a little disconcerting at this point.

On the not-being-stalked-by-spiders front, my computer is temporarily dead. My husband has been kind enough to share his till we can replace the case fan in mine.
With summer here, paired with lack of access to all my normal goodies on my computer, I have been reading a lot more. Two new series that are tons of fun to read. One is The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger. I love the combination of steampunk and fantasy! Her characters are fantastic with an entertaining story. I am eagerly awaiting the third installment!
The second series has been around a bit longer and even had a short run as a t.v. show that didn't do the stories as much justice as it could have, but the novels by Jim Butcher called The Dresden Files have been a huge hit around our house with everyone so far. They do tend to have very vivid descriptions that may not sit well with the faint of heart. The books remind me of the old detective stories meshed with magic, a very film noir feel that's quite enjoyable.
When I have managed to pull my nose out of a book, I've been tending the lovely plants in our raised beds out back and, of course, knitting. Eventually, I will have pictures of both.

I can't believe I am even contemplating this but....

I think it's officially time to go on a yarn diet. If I didn't get distracted, I could probably knit till this time next year and finally put a noticeable dent in the yarn amount I currently have. I know this is not an attainable goal for me. I am quite easily distracted, particularly by pretties. For right now, a good short term goal is about three months, with the potential to stick with it for six if I somehow manage a massive feat of willpower.
Sadly, this will force me to do one of my least favorite chores, clean my closet. Why should there be mass produced socks with holes in them taking up space if there are hand knit ones waiting to be worn?

Happy Mother's Day!

Any excuse to play dress up right? The dress is a recent purchase from ModCloth. I love this dress. It seemed appropriate attire for going out to lunch today. Quite honestly, it was an ego boost to wear and I wish I had five more in different colors.
I think all Moms(my definition is anyone who cares for children as their own, age and who gave birth to them does not figure in) should be allowed to play dress up. It makes for happier Mommies, thus happier children.
Love, blessings, respect and commiseration to all Moms out there. Not just today either, every day!

So glad April is over!

It rarely fails. My birth month insists on having at least one nasty surprise for me every year. Usually it is a physical issue; illness, injury or similar that puts a damper on the month. Those tend to be the good years compared to some of the other things that have occurred.
This year was no exception with the physical double whammy of burnt feet for my birthday paired with the week of flu as zing on the way out.
Which is why it is with great joy, my brain finally realized it was May! Time to re-integrate raw food back into my daily life. Time to plot birthday presents for all the upcoming birthdays. Time to really get off the ground all those things that were a good idea in April, but never quite took off the way they were expected to.
Today, the black pansies I planted from seed earlier this year were actually in bloom. The dress I ordered online because I thought it was so absolutely perfect arrived and was as wonderful as I expected. Leading me to realize, I could happily dress that way all the time, despite any opinions otherwise from...well, anyone really.
Here's to hoping that May continues to be better than expected!

Oh Gods did that suck! Or...

Why I crawled into bed Tuesday night and didn't leave my room again till Sunday.
I had the flu. It sounds so anti-climatic, but was a rather big deal to me. I hadn't had a major bout of flu for the better part of ten years. I do not remember whimpering in my sleep every time I turned over in bed. I watched cheesy television shows as I fell in and out of sleep. I tried to wind a ball of pretty new yarn, and only got about five minutes into it and had to put it down. That's how sick I was. There was no yarn time.
The good news is that the fever finally broke, the aches and other nastiness went away. Too bad I am still so tired. I am thinking lots of time with a plain sock and afternoon naps may be in order for at least a few days.

Digging in the dirt

The weather has been lovely the last couple of days, making it a perfect time for one of my favorite pastimes, playing in the dirt. A trip to the store yesterday yielded: alyssum, lobelia, petunias, dianthus, snapdragons, and stocks. I am personally pleased with the resultant bed. It adds color and warmth to an otherwise rather bland and rocky landscape.
It may be the season, but I seem to have an overwhelming urge to landscape my yards and re-decorate my entire house. This urge complicates things as I am already up to my eyeballs in things I am supposed to be doing.
I guess I will do what I am supposed to do, just with paint on my pants and dirt under my nails!

Pretend this was posted in time for Easter

The octopus bottle stopper was one of those things that I fell in love with in the store, (don't ask I just like octopi), and made the "it's the day before my birthday do I really have to put it back?" face, so he came home with us.
The cinnamon roll sheep was really my birthday cake this year. I thought it blended Easter and things that make me happy rather well. A cute woolly themed, holiday honoring, yummy tasting, silly thing to take pictures of, that was enjoyed by all. The sheep was actually inspired by a memory of one my mother made, many years ago, from, I think, a Sunset magazine recipe.

The kids both came down with head colds Easter Sunday, which they kindly shared. So this last week has been our Spring Break, as we were all in need of some recovery time. Which means I will have another summer top finished up shortly, because in between coughing and blowing my nose, there has been much knitting.