![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
It's been a while since I've posted anything about me so let me see if I can tell you what I've been doing.
Of course I've been knitting frantically to get Christmas items completed. I finished my dad's socks and two hats, the cross-stitch project for my mom, a pair of slipper socks for Tami and I'm about half done with the scarf for my brother, although I haven't started his hat. I haven't started my project for Lucas but I am working on a pair of socks for Andrea who has freezing cold feet. I finished Jordan and Adriel's mittens but they are waiting to ship until Mom finishes the matching scarves.
For the new year, I've decided to try to get a handle on my caloric intake. I was astonished to discover that one meal I was eating amounted to about 1600 calories...admittedly it was fast food and not a frequent thing but I am eating far more calories than I need. I'm spending the first two weeks of the new year trying to adjust my body to the lower caloric intake. I'm trying to allow myself treats as long as I know the calories and can budget for them. And I'm trying to snack on low cal foods to stave off the starvation mindset. I'd intended to try a mostly liquid diet but I think it's more reasonable to do two mostly liquid meals a day (soup, smoothies, slimfast, etc) and one solid meal plus solid snacks. Still it's very hard. Beware...being hungry makes me CRANKY!
I'm tracking my calories on an online calorie counter which also indicates the amount of calories I burn with specific exercises. I'm trying to increase my exercise to 30 minutes a day five days a week. But I get tired and sore. I'm hoping my body will eventually get used to it. Sometimes life interferes too...like this week, 12th night is taking up a lot of time so I won't make it 5 days but probably 3. I've been swimming or at least water jogging because it's less stressful on my body (and there is a HOT TUB!). I get tired of wet hair and chlorine but I like the water and it's easier to exercise when you like what you are doing.
With my raise, I don't have to work every weekend for my parents but I'm discovering that they miss my help. I'll have to find a good balance in the new year.
I've also discovered I have no interest in sewing right now. I was going to try to do some sewing before 12th night but nothing appealed to me. Hand sewing is ok, but I didn't leave myself enough time to do a lot of hand sewing. So it's likely I'll wear a tunic on Friday, my working woman's Elizabethan on Saturday and I'm not 100% sure I'll come on Sunday. If I do I'll find something else in the closet, maybe the purple, even though I didn't get the skirt completed for the under dress. I could get it sewn together but it is rather short and I don't have any way to extend it. I'd also like to extend the sleeves which are too short for me and finish the tops of them but, again, I don't have the appropriate materials on hand. So I may get nothing done this year. But maybe I can work on pieces this year. Get hand sewn undergarments done at least. Then maybe work my way through the dresses that I want. I'd like to play more with the reed boning. I'm trying to think of ways to make it work in a farthingale; since the lengths are shorter than I need I'm wondering if I could drill tiny holes that match up in two pieces and sew them together to get the right length. I have some beautiful silk taffetas to do a farthingale and pair of bodies. Hmmm, it all still bears thinking on.
I am still not in a relationship, nor do I expect to be. I'm developing friendships and looking for alternative methods to address my needs for intimacy, etc. I have other mental health needs that I'm trying to figure out as well. I am not closing off the option of finding someone but I'm trying to limit my options to a person with whom long-term/life-time is an option. My goal is to make myself happy with my situation as it is, and then, if someone else comes along that will be a bonus.
So this is another year to be about me...Growing mentally, spiritually, and healthily (and maybe shrinking physically).
Of course I've been knitting frantically to get Christmas items completed. I finished my dad's socks and two hats, the cross-stitch project for my mom, a pair of slipper socks for Tami and I'm about half done with the scarf for my brother, although I haven't started his hat. I haven't started my project for Lucas but I am working on a pair of socks for Andrea who has freezing cold feet. I finished Jordan and Adriel's mittens but they are waiting to ship until Mom finishes the matching scarves.
For the new year, I've decided to try to get a handle on my caloric intake. I was astonished to discover that one meal I was eating amounted to about 1600 calories...admittedly it was fast food and not a frequent thing but I am eating far more calories than I need. I'm spending the first two weeks of the new year trying to adjust my body to the lower caloric intake. I'm trying to allow myself treats as long as I know the calories and can budget for them. And I'm trying to snack on low cal foods to stave off the starvation mindset. I'd intended to try a mostly liquid diet but I think it's more reasonable to do two mostly liquid meals a day (soup, smoothies, slimfast, etc) and one solid meal plus solid snacks. Still it's very hard. Beware...being hungry makes me CRANKY!
I'm tracking my calories on an online calorie counter which also indicates the amount of calories I burn with specific exercises. I'm trying to increase my exercise to 30 minutes a day five days a week. But I get tired and sore. I'm hoping my body will eventually get used to it. Sometimes life interferes too...like this week, 12th night is taking up a lot of time so I won't make it 5 days but probably 3. I've been swimming or at least water jogging because it's less stressful on my body (and there is a HOT TUB!). I get tired of wet hair and chlorine but I like the water and it's easier to exercise when you like what you are doing.
With my raise, I don't have to work every weekend for my parents but I'm discovering that they miss my help. I'll have to find a good balance in the new year.
I've also discovered I have no interest in sewing right now. I was going to try to do some sewing before 12th night but nothing appealed to me. Hand sewing is ok, but I didn't leave myself enough time to do a lot of hand sewing. So it's likely I'll wear a tunic on Friday, my working woman's Elizabethan on Saturday and I'm not 100% sure I'll come on Sunday. If I do I'll find something else in the closet, maybe the purple, even though I didn't get the skirt completed for the under dress. I could get it sewn together but it is rather short and I don't have any way to extend it. I'd also like to extend the sleeves which are too short for me and finish the tops of them but, again, I don't have the appropriate materials on hand. So I may get nothing done this year. But maybe I can work on pieces this year. Get hand sewn undergarments done at least. Then maybe work my way through the dresses that I want. I'd like to play more with the reed boning. I'm trying to think of ways to make it work in a farthingale; since the lengths are shorter than I need I'm wondering if I could drill tiny holes that match up in two pieces and sew them together to get the right length. I have some beautiful silk taffetas to do a farthingale and pair of bodies. Hmmm, it all still bears thinking on.
I am still not in a relationship, nor do I expect to be. I'm developing friendships and looking for alternative methods to address my needs for intimacy, etc. I have other mental health needs that I'm trying to figure out as well. I am not closing off the option of finding someone but I'm trying to limit my options to a person with whom long-term/life-time is an option. My goal is to make myself happy with my situation as it is, and then, if someone else comes along that will be a bonus.
So this is another year to be about me...Growing mentally, spiritually, and healthily (and maybe shrinking physically).
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}