Happy new year! =)

I hope you all had a safe and happy new year! Mine was quiet... just as I like it. =) Do you have any big plans for the new year? Mine are pretty similar to what I've planned in past years. 2012 brought about some big changes for me. I went from living in a nearly 1000sqft mobile home to living in under 200sqft in an rv. I made a trip to OR for work and was able to hang out there for awhile after. Not sure how much travel I'll be doing for work in the new year, but it's still a possibility. I do have some plans for this year though:

• Use the stash! Yes, I'm trying to go cold sheep in 2013. I have entirely too many skeins of yarn stashed in my rv at the moment. Some are for specific projects, others are leftovers from projects past, but there are too many just picked up because they were pretty or "too good a deal to pass up"... Yes, falling into old habits and it's out of hand. So the goal for the new year is to only knit/crochet from stash.
• Plan ahead! I knit way too many items in too short a time this past holiday season and that's just crazy. Although... my crazy did win me a knitting ebook yesterday! =) (More about that in my weekend crafty post.) This coming year though, I plan to knit/crochet/sew at least one gift each month and stash them away so next holiday season, I can knit for me if I want and relax more. =D
• Unprocess my diet! Meaning, get rid of as much processed junk from my diet as possible. I went vegan awhile back and though I do eat a vegan diet, I haven't been making the healthiest choices... by far. The great thing about being in a small space... I don't have a lot of food on hand so making a change is fairly instant. lol I'll be avoiding over-processed foods and choose whole foods and organics whenever possible... I'll be cooking a lot more! =)
• Be a more responsible consumer! I've made strides in this area already, but I need to really make a better effort in supporting things I believe in with how I spend my money. I've been buying too much commercially produced yarns, too many foods with excessive packaging, being too wasteful.I can't change the whole world, but I can make a small difference by choosing greener items for myself... or just not buying at all. =)
• Decrease debt! *sigh* I wish I could say, eliminate debt, but I still owe too much on my rv to make paying it off completely this year a real possibility. I did make another large payment yesterday and finished 2012 having made all my payments due in 2013. Yes, I'm a dork. I made a special trip to the bank yesterday just so I could see that my next payment wasn't due until 2014 before 2012 was done. lol
• Keep clutter in check! I'm instituting a one in, one out rule. This is a very small space and gets cluttered very quickly. Bringing things in without something going out turns into a problem really fast. This will keep things even, though I do need to go through things and see what can go in addition to just replacement items.
• Travel more for me! I've done a lot of traveling over the past 5 years, going wherever work told me to... but I'd really like to travel more for myself while I have the rv. I have the opportunity, now I'm just waiting for better weather. lol I stayed here in Spokane too long and winter is upon us bringing not so great roads to be on with such a big vehicle. It's been good for the bank account being able to save a couple hundred dollars a month here at my friend's place, but I think next year, I'll head south!
• Keep up the tiny house fund! The rv is good for now, but not my ideal. I still want that tiny home and have proven to myself that I can easily live in such a small space. Building my own would allow me to design it to suit my own needs, better than an rv designed for recreation. I've discovered I don't crave the constant mobility an rv offers, but rather the ability to move occasionally if I so choose. It will happen... hopefully sooner rather than later!

I've been doing a lot of thinking about who I want to be and doing some soul-searching to discover where I am now and how that relates to what I want in my life. I've made a lot of good changes (and had plenty of slip-ups along the way) and gotten closer to my goals, but life is a journey and there's always room for improvement! =)

Happy 1-1-11!

How the heck is it 2011 already?!

Looking back over the past year, it hasn't gone quite as I planned.

1. I did pretty well on the "knit only what I want to knit" plan and again will make this a priority. I think I finally got over my issues with frogging (and admitting a project needed to be frogged) and either finished WIPs or frogged those that needed to be. I now have ONE project going. Not saying I'll always stick to one project at a time, but I'll definitely be keeping a better handle on them and not letting WIPs hibernate forever anymore. Finish it or frog it! =)
2. I also wanted to learn to crochet. I finished almost 2 dozen crochet items last year! I was shocked when I looked at my projects and realized it was that many, esp since it's felt like I haven't been crafty much at all in ages. Sure, most were small projects, but still. I have another one nearly finished. Just need to crochet another arm, two legs and a tail. 
3. The stash, well, we won't talk about that one other than to say I have a serious yarn addiction... one that I really need to break. I guess I could be addicted to worse things.
4. My big exercise plan didn't come to fruition either. *sigh* Yeah, that's something else I need to work on. I've spent way more than my fair share of time on my bum in front of the computer, esp the past couple months. I purchased a couple new exercise DVDs and will try to motivate myself to start doing those! I did, however, go vegan this year! I've been vegetarian since I was around 12 and have been eating mostly vegan for years, but still caved to diary (mostly cheese) and rarely eggs. No more! I finally made the leap around October of this past year. I always read labels now and several of my old favorites are no longer making it into my grocery cart. I'm not eating as healthy as I'd like to say, but knowing I'm not supporting industries I don't agree with does make me feel more at peace (even if I am still eating too much processed junk and sugar).
5. Moving. Didn't happen this year due to an unforeseen lack of funds from too much down time from work. I did buy a small box trailer to move my stuff west... and am planning the trip for this Spring! Boxes are starting to be packed... just waiting on things to thaw out. =)

So what's new for 2011 (other than a new address)?

1. I'm working out plans for another career change.  Medical coding pays the bills, but I don't love it. I want to love what I do (or at least like it most of the time) with that many hours of my life... even if it may not pay as well (at least for awhile).
2. I'm also applying my newly vegan ways to areas other than food in my life. Yep, that means no more animal fibers for the stash (or clothing). I decided that I'm okay with using what I have, but I won't be purchasing any new alpaca, wool, cashmere, etc for the stash. That should slow any stashing. lol Acrylics have gotten much better over the years, but I prefer natural fibers. That leaves linen, bamboo, cotton, hemp, soy, etc. Still plenty to choose from, but not as easy to come by around here (other than cotton, which I have plenty of). I need to do some research though as I've heard the processing of some of those fibers is quite harsh on the environment. Bamboo, I've heard, is really bad. I need to read up before I make any decisions. I've decided I want to make monthly goals this year. So, for the next month, I won't buy any yarn. None.
3. I want to focus more on cooking with whole foods this year and skipping the overly-processed convenience foods I've been relying on too much lately. I feel so much better when I cook real food. It really doesn't take that much time to make things from scratch and I know exactly what's gone in there (not to mention that it usually tastes better too!). I've already been choosing organic whenever possible. I'll be so happy once I'm near a farmer's market with organic produce available! There's a very small market here in the summer, but I rarely find anything organic there.
4. I think I need a new craft as well. I'd love to learn to weave this year! I also want to improve on my new crochet skills. =)

The trend seems to be leading me toward a simpler, cleaner way of life. I've been heading in this direction for a long time, but it's time to make changes for good. =)

Looking back

So, last January, I made a few resolutions... along with the standard "eat better and exercise more" (neither of which I've done overwhelmingly well with this year), I vowed to keep a handle on my stash and contain it to what would fit into my unused (large) suitcase. Well, that didn't go so well either. heh I moved on from the suitcase to more use-friendly shallow bins that would slide under my bed. Here are the contents of one bin:The bins are great since they are only about two skeins deep (or one sock skein on end), thereby eliminating the need to dig to see what I have - I hate digging. So... I bought a few of these bins... then a couple more. Darn DBNY deals! BTW - they're having a good January sale on Cherry Tree Hill yarn. Supposed to start at midnight EST for New Year's but they apparently jumped the gun and it's on now. An no, before you ask... I did NOT buy anything. heh I wanted to but the one yarn that tempted me got sniped by an early shopper catching DBNY's goof of starting the sale hours ahead of schedule meaning I'm sure to not be the only disappointed potential customer. Maybe it's the universe's way of telling me I didn't need that yarn... would have made a gorgeous sweater-jacket though! Ah, well, maybe next year when the stash has been depleted a bit...

I did do well with some of my other resolutions however. I wanted to knit my 2nd pair of socks this year... and I did. My second, third and fourth! All of which I love. =) I also wanted to knit a sweater for myself (my first). That almost made it to completion. It was all finished other than the button bands when I finally admitted that it just wasn't right and decided to frog it. I learned a lot in the process though! Throw in a couple hats, a couple scarves, a couple pairs of fingerless gloves, a few bags and a few small gift items and you have my year of knitting. Not a huge number of FOs, but I'm happy with most of them so it's all good. =) I also did well with my savings goal and even purchased a newer car (yeah, I got a loan, but I put down a good down payment, but dang, haven't had to make a car pmnt in YEARS!) and have enough in the bank to easily move on. That brings me to this coming year...

So, what are my plans for 2010?

1. Same as last year, I plan to knit only things I want to knit and not what people expect (unless they're the same of course, heh). Makes my knitting time so much more enjoyable!


2. I've been knitting the past several years now and thoroughly enjoy it, but lately I've been getting an urge to learn to crochet... so this year, I want to learn to crochet, or at least try enough to decide if I like it or not. heh I haven't really crocheted (much more than a chain anyway) since I was maybe 7 or 8. I vaguely remember it being sort of flat and oval-ish. So many knitting patterns have lovely crochet edgings and I've always steered clear of those... until now. =) Plus, it's rumored to be quicker and use more yarn than knitting. haha Good way to make my way through some of my stash???


3. Stash. Yeah, I need to get a handle on this. I used the excel spreadsheet download on Ravelry and added a couple columns to figure total weight in my stash as well as total yardage. Wow. That's an eye-opener! I knew it was a lot, but dang. I have a several skeins that I have no weight or yardage entered since they were grab bag deals with no info, but most of the stash has info entered into Ravelry so the insane totals are close, just a bit lower than reality. I currently have 104.2 pounds of yarn!! Geez, that's almost as embarrassing as posting MY weight! Adding up the yardage, that's 57.5 miles of yarn!! Yeah, I have issues. Hard to pass up a good deal! Okay, I know I can't/won't go cold-turkey... at least not for long, so my plan is to be sure the yardage/weight IN is no more than half the yardage/weight OUT so my stash will have to shrink. I better get knitting/crocheting!


4. *sigh* Still trying to clean up my diet and get back on track with regular exercise. I've decided I need to start working out at least 3 days a week (to begin with). I'm also going to really try out a vegan diet finally. I've been wanting to do this for awhile and just haven't made the leap. It's time. And just in time for my birthday!
5. I'll also be making another big move this year! Back across the country, back where I love to be, back to having my own space. =)

Happy New Year! May yours be filled with fun times andbe better than the last. =)

Happy New Year!

Wow. 2009, already! How the heck did that happen?! Time has flown by the past 6 months. I suppose living out of a suitcase in a hotel, feeling like you're always on vacation doesn't help. It all just blends together. I've been home nearly two weeks now for the holidays. Oddly, I feel more at home in a hotel than in the place I pay way too much for just to call it home - maybe because I have more space in most hotel rooms... or maybe it's that I'm alone in the hotel rather than sharing the space with someone who's constantly cranky (to put it mildly). Ahh, can you tell it's been a loooong two weeks? Yeah, ready to head back to Seattle to my nice, quiet hotel room. I saw my sister over the weekend. She wants me to move down to Kentucky and get a place with her. Not so sure it would be a great idea to be tied down with a 6-12 month lease in KY though. I kinda have another plan in the works. It doesn't include another (expensive) move in the next couple months.

It's resolution time! There were lots of changes last year, some expected, some not so much. So, what's in store for this year?

1. Cook more often and choose healthier foods. I've been eating out and buying junk way too often! I usually have a kitchen in the hotels, I just need to use it more often! New, healthy recipes will be popping up here...
2. Exercise! Again, the hotels nearly always have a mini gym... I need to get back to using it again!
3. Knitting! Lots more knitting! haha Yeah, I was gonna do that anyway. But I will be sticking to knitting things I want to knit and for those I know will appreciate it. No obligatory knitting!
4. Along the knitting vein, I plan to knit my 2nd pair of socks and my first (non-infant-size) sweater this year!
5. Stash containment - I will contain my stash to only what will fit in the suitcase I'm currently using for yarn storage (not including the yarn in storage across the country - yarn I can't get to without a plane ticket doesn't count!).
6. Save, save, save! Money, that is. I have a vague plan I'm working on. I need to prepare. Paying off my debt last year and getting decent paychecks will help this plan along. =)

It'll be another year of big changes! =)