Crafting

So I *finally* got my craft project for the month of January done. *Finally*

I made a baby blanket. That is not a new endeavor for me. In fact, I've been making them (in various incarnations) for several years. My latest version (edged with ribbon) has been a 2+ year endeavor. I like to think I'm getting better at it. I have now memorized how much ribbon is perfect for just one baby blanket. I no longer need to place pins at one inch intervals (in fact, I've been doing it "pinless" for awhile - unless there is batting involved). I've even started playing around with batting and other insulation between the fabric sides. Some blankets I've made have been for adults - instead of babies. Needless to say, I've taught myself how to make simple little baby blankets.

Last night's endeavor to make an adorable little blanket for a co-worker was *not simple.

My sewing machine seems to be having a (few) issues. I suspect that the bobbin is slightly too small. (I purchased a package of replacement bobbins a few months ago.) First - when I was filling the bobbin, it wouldn't spin to fill with thread. Second - I had to pull out nearly every stitch at least once when the back thread would get knotted and tangled and then break the thread. I thought it might be a problem with the tension - but discovered instead that the bobbin thread was getting wrapped around the bobbin pin inside the machine. A few times the top thread did the same thing.

I also had a problem with my planning. I'd decided I wanted to try a new way to edge the blanket with ribbon - to make it look a little more "shabby chic." that would've made it impossible to do the corners the way I usually do. Also, I only had enough ribbon to do a thin edge - instead of the wider edge I *thought* I had enough ribbon for. So after I'd stitched 2 rolls of ribbon together and was nearly done stitching the ribbon onto the blanket I had to rip it all apart and start over.

Needless to say, it took about 2 hours longer than it usually does to make a 1 yard long blanket. I was tired and frustrated and my fingers were aching from ripping out so many stitches. But, in the end I was (fairly) happy with the result.

My edging still needs practice. The edge ribbon seams are not always straight and the corners (while close) are not quite as clean as I'd like. But, I keep the perfectionist from getting to crazed about those things by reminding myself that it's a homemade blanket - something that I chose the material for and lovingly machine-stitched for mom & baby myself. Which, while I LOVE store bought blankets, can't be said of anything I simply pick up at the store.

Here's the new blanket - I gave it to my co-worker today at a shower and she seemed to like it:

Back on Track

I'd like to think I'm "back on track."

1 - I actually remembered to blog. (As opposed to reminding myself early in the day and forgetting by the time I'm home)

2 - I've eaten (relatively) healthy every day. For example... today.
- Breakfast: 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon honey, handfull of blueberries & a handfull of Kashi Go Lean cereal
- Lunch: 1 can chicken, barley & mushroom soup (140 cal.) with a handful of sugarsnap peas
- Mid-afternoon snack: Nature Valley peanut butter granola crisp
- Pre-dinner snack: mozerella cheese stick & 2 handfulls of roasted sunflower seeds
- Dinner: broiled chicken (seasoned with garlic, cumin, black pepper, oregano), 1/2 sweet potato & a giant heap of steamed broccoli
Also - I've only had water and skim milk to drink. No coffee, no tea, no soda.

3 - I made it to the gym (and through class) twice this week. I'm a bit sore - but I'm proud of myself for making it through class both times. I do readily admit that Body Sculpt beats my tush every single time. Every. Single. Time. I do really, really appreciate that Chris comes with me.

4 - I have a craft project for the weekend - baby blanket! :)


Aside from all of that - Chris & I also went to a snowshoe basics class at the local REI. It was fantastically fun. I got to try on snowshoes and we learned about good places to snowshoe in Madison. I'm terribly excited about it. I've been wanting to snowshoe for the past 2 winters - hopefully this winter we get a few chances to rent some snowshoes and head out into the winter wonderland that is the Wisconsin wilds.

I've started my 365 photo project - bedhead. I've taken a photo of myself first thing in the morning almost every morning this week. I did miss one morning - but I didn't really have bedhead that morning.

Hopefully I'll have some fun stuff to take photos of this weekend and get that baby blanket done quickly. (Well, the baby blanket needs to be done by Tuesday.)

I am now 14 days away from the MDA Muscle Walk - still looking for donations - so please consider donating: https://www.joinmda.org/madisonmusclewalk2011/lisamkadams

I am also 50 days away from the Shamrock Shuffle... which means I need to start running. I need to work the running into my schedule. It'll happen. Hopefully soon... :)

So - that's back on track - with more plans to come!

Blerg

I meant to blog last night - then we went to a movie instead.

I'm feeling the annual winter blahs. Not a lot of energy to do anything - especially since it's Saturday. Oh, well. I'm sure once the sun comes out I'll be in a better mood.

I had a pretty good week - book club and dinner club and a date night with Chris. Ate at two fantastic restaurants (Graze Thursday for dinner club & Vintage Friday for date night). Chris & I saw "The Green Hornet" after dinner - it was pretty good. Not having a lot of historical knowledge of the original show it was nice to go in with no real expectations.

One interesting thing from the week - I got a summons to report for jury dutey. Or as Chris described it "jury duty auditions." Since the time they asked me to appear is smack-dab in the middle of our ratings period, I did request a postponement. We'll see if tv ratings periods are enough to push jury duty back a few weeks...

Working out was a non-existant effort this week... I've discovered that I really need 8 full hours of sleep - and waking up early to work out before work is so much harder in the winter. It's all dark and super cold and stuff. Blech. I really do enjoy burrowing further under the blankets for another hour of sleep to getting up in the cold, dark morning. Next week we'll head back to the gym for classes. We'll just have to keep going and remember to stop planning things on Tuesdays & Thursdays until we're really in a good routine.

One thing I'm really excited about for this week is our free "class" on snowshoeing at REI on Wednesday night. I've wanted to learn to snowshoe for a long time - and I'm hoping the free class at REI will get Chris excited to try it out with me. We will see... I might just have to rent some snowshoes and make him go out with me... ;)

I started a new photo project this week -- "Bed Head" is what I'm calling it. The new short hairstyle has created some pretty amusing morning bedhead and I've decided to capture it as a 365 project. We'll see how it goes - and just how crazy my hair gets!

Well, I should probably get off of the couch and help Chris clean up around the house. Or at least I should get off of the computer. It's Saturday - time for fun and relaxation! :)

One week down, 51 to go.

Week 1 of 2011 didn't go as well as I'd been hoping. I had plans to get up early every day and get to the gym 3 times last week and work out at home.

I was late to work almost every day.

I made it to the gym once - it made every muscle in my body hurt (but in a good way!).

I worked out at home 0 times.

BUT. I'm not going to let one week of not doing everything I promised myself derail all of my plans. And - at least I made it to the gym once instead of not at all!

My other resolutions are goin pretty well. I've taken a zillion and two photos of Dexter (you can find them in my Facebook photos and most of them on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisamkadams/ ) and I'm brainstorming on the crash pads. I am also working on an idea for making dog beds... we'll see how it goes. Dex needs a new one and depending on how it turns out I thought I could probably turn that into a small money making endeavor. I need to look into tax requirements... but that's another topic for another blog post.

I am still working to raise money for the MDA Muscle Walk. I've got a couple of fun incentives for people who donate -- I will "donate" my status to each person who donates - or for my Twitter friends (@LMKAdams) I'll "donate" a tweet. Here's my page where you can donate (the online donating is pretty easy and is secure): https://www.joinmda.org/madisonmusclewalk2011/lisamkadams

I'm not volunteering yet - but I am looking into which opportunites will work out best for my schedule. Something will work out, I'm sure. I just have to narrow down my list of 16 charities that I want to volunteer for - because I don't think I can give substantial time and effort to all of them... I'll just have to donate money to the others.

Alright... I need to get moving - and stop watching "Keeping up with the Kardashians" if I want to get anything done today.

Get Ready... Get Set... Get FIT!

It's always a resolution.
It's almost always the first one to go out the window.

But. For 2011, I'm super serious, y'all. For reals.

(Then again, it's only January 2...)

Anyway - I got a jumpstart this year. I've signed up for 2 "races." Well. A charity walk and a charity race.

On February 5 I'm participating in the Madison MDA Muscle Walk. (Which reminds me - please help my fundraising effort: https://www.joinmda.org/madisonmusclewalk2011/lisamkadams)

On March 13 I'm running in the Shamrock Shuffle. I signed up for the 5K run.

I also plan to register for the 2011 Henry Vilas Zoo Run Run. I ran/walked the event in 2010 and it was a LOT of fun! Hopefully this year I'll be able to run the entire route. :)

Another jumpstart - I bought a Shake Weight. Yes. It has a goofy commercial - but - it's gotta be an easy way for me to get a little bit of a burn going while I watch the gobs of television I'm addicted to...

Well - since I plan on keeping/starting a little momentum tomorrow, I should've been in bed an hour ago! Here's hoping I actually get out of bed and do something when my alarm goes off in the morning...

Dabbling...

If you know me, you know that I like to start projects. Sometimes I finish them.

This blog will, hopefully, help me finish a lot more of my projects in 2011. (And hopefully this blog isn't doomed to the fate of my past blogs... the fate of being forgotten and living in internet limbo for eternity...)

To get me off on the right foot, here's a list of "resolutions" I've come up with - mainly they're small things I hope to accomplish this year. And I hope to tell you all about how well I'm doing as the year progresses...

1. Get Fit! You'll hear a lot about my planned healthier eating and my planned exercise regime. I've found that (at least when starting out) I have to have an "all or nothing" attitude when it comes to exercising. If I don't force myself into gung-ho craziness I kind of just keep saying "well, I can start next week." No. It's now or never, baby!

2. Run a full 5K. I don't just mean finish a full course - that I can do - and have done. I mean run for the entire course. It's part of my "get fit" plan - but it's also about fulfilling a promise I made to myself last year. A promise that ended up being broken thanks to a stress fracture and strained shin muscles. Lessons (hopefully) learned!

3. Do one photo project every week. My amazing husband and family got me some ridiculously nice photo and video gear for Christmas. I've always LOVED taking photos - and now I have some serious gear that will help me take some seriously amazing photos. I just have to do it often enough to teach myself the ins and outs of the cameras and get creative with some editing software. I'm ridiculously excited. :)

4. Do one craft project a month. First I thought "one a week!" but I don't want to be to unrealistic with my time constraints (full time job, actually going to the gym/working out, time behind the camera and learning to edit, plus quality time with the hubs and the dog - there are only 24 hours in a day.) I'm sure I'll be sharing photos and explanations with you all very soon! :)

5. Create crash pads. I know this amazing family. The oldest son has a form of epilepsy. His mom asked me to make this thing called a "crash pad" for him after he has seizures. It was pretty simple. Apparently these things are incredibly important for kids who have seizure disorders - but the company in town that used to make them doesn't make them anymore. There's a need. I think I can fill it. I want to fill it. I need to get off my butt and fill it.

6. Volunteer. I don't have kids. But when I do have kids I want them to know how fulfilling and wonderful it can be to give back. Now I just need to find the right organization(s) to give my time to. And not go overboard. (That all or nothing attitude can sometimes bite me in the tush.)

So with all that as a starting point - I also hope to actually blog. Like, routinely. Here's the blog goal: One per week.

I hope someone reads this. Even if it's just my husband. :)

Here's to a successful 2011 - even if I don't keep all of those resolutions!