January recap

First a picture of the hairpin lace stole I recently finished:


Very colorful. I made it with the strips that came with my loom that I bought off of ebay.

Now for the recap even though there is one more day left in the month.

My current weight is 132. Since I started at 134 I guess that means I've lost 2 pounds this month. Not bad if I can keep it up. I've been really hungry the last few days but have managed to not snack this week so far.

I got all my records organized, I still need to get the wills and POAs signed and some of Lawrence's records organized, though they are the same as mine for the most part.

I've done quite a few craft things. My family has even commented on it though they don't seemed to impressed with what I've done.

I need to ride more but it has been wet and cold. I have ridden 3 times this week. Not sure I'll get to today as the vet is coming for their spring shots and coggins test. Hopefully I can get a lesson in tomorrow before the rain starts again.

I didn't exercise any last week but have done better this week.

Got started on organizing pictures having put the Italy pictures in albums. Still have some misc. pictures to put in albums and I need to start converting old videos to DVDs.

Awards Gala

Last night was the GDCTA awards gala. I got 5th at Training Level as expected. Lawrence was Reserve Champion as we hoped. There was no chance at Champion for him as the top horse had a median score of like 69% which is very, very good. Lawrence's average was around 66% which is also good but not good enough. We had a great time and the food was wonderful as always. They always serve a chicken with pecans and rice that is so good. I really want the recipe.

Rode Jolie today. We hope to do better this year at the shows. We will continue at Training Level until we can consistently get scores in the mid 60's. We hope to make it to First level by fall. But then that was our plan last year and didn't make it. She has been going much better lately so maybe this year.

I weighed in at 132 today.

Riding Lesson

Yeah, I had my first riding lesson since before Thanksgiving today. My riding instructor, Dennie, broke her clavicle in a bike riding accident of all things right after that and has been out of commission since. I felt like my horse was going really well since then but I always worry because typically if I'm comfortable on her that means we aren't putting enough into it. Oh, I ride Dressage and I have a little TB/Trakehner/Paint cross mare that tends to be tense and easily distracted and doesn't really have enough push from behind. Anyway, Dennie was very pleased with the way we went today so we've still on the right track. Jolie (the horse) was very good today considering it was cold and windy and we haven't worked in almost 2 weeks. I'm very happy. It is supposed to be very cold tomorrow but hopefully the weekend will be warmer and I can ride then.

Otherwise, I've been a bad girl. I haven't walked since Saturday and I ate a snack on Tuesday.

I made a sweat band for Lawrence on Tuesday. He wanted me to buy him one but for half the money I bought some wide elastic and used an old clean towel and made him one and I still have lots of elastic I can use for something else.

Hairpin Lace Crochet

I created my first hairpin lace crochet items yesterday and today. Here are pictures.
The head band:



The neckwarmer:
Both turned out ok. I'm not happy with the way things joined up in the back of the neckwarmer. You can see it here:

I did better with the head band. I may add a bit of crochet to the head band to make it a little wider to better cover my ears.

The scales said 130 this morning. It was toooooo cold to ride so it has been a week now since I've ridden and I didn't get around to walking either. I spent too much time on ebay looking at yarn.

Icy Saturday

Well ice is falling from the sky this morning. It isn't really that cold but it is supposed to do this all day. We'll see if anything sticks. Ky went to work and Larry is about to go to Robotics. Hopefully they will be able to get home ok and that we will be able to get Larry back to school ok.

The scale showed 129 this morning. I wonder if the temps have anything to do with it though it should always be the same temp in my bathroom. Did 30 minutes on the treadmill yesterday. With the snow, I should be able to do more today with the weather so bad, I'll just spread it out over the day.

I got my hairpin crochet loom yesterday. I've already started using it. I've already made one mistake with it. Seems that when joining the strips you have to make sure you have the same side up as you had when joining previous strips. I'm making another neckwarmer with some old yarn I had. It will be green and blue.

I'm a bad girl

Here it is Thursday and I haven't posted all week. Bad, Bad girl.
I was so tired Sunday after taking Larry to school, riding and then trying to do the treadmill. I don't remember how long I walked but I don't think it was more than about 30 minutes if that. I was just exhausted. I didn't walk Monday or Tuesday though I did go to Equilates and dancing Monday and Tuesday. I did walk yesterday for 30 minutes. It doesn't look like I'll get to walk today since I waited to long and Ky's friends are here playing games in the basement where the treadmill is. I think she would be very upset if I went down there and walked with them here. The good news it that I do feel better and the scales weighed me at 131.

I didn't get any crafting done this week until today. I finished up making two sets of rice therapy bags.I made these with scrap fabric. The purple and paisley came from a pant and shirt set I made for Ky about 5 years ago. The flower print is from a pillow case and the solid green (though I looks a little blueish in the picture) is from curtains I made for Larry's room when he was an infant. When we moved from that rental house I saved the curtains and have yet to have a use for the material. I plan to make another set of therapy bags from that and the print fabric that went with it.

We had snow last night and school was canceled today. Things are very wet and messy today at the barn. I haven't ridden all week. Maybe tomorrow.

I hate my scales

Ok, I got on the scales yesterday morning. 132. Today it was more like 133. I hate these scales. They do this all the time. Since I guess my goal is to loose a pound a month, I'm still on tract but it is still depressing.

I didn't get to walk yesterday because I didn't have time. We did practice some dancing last night so, besides riding, I did get some exercise. Jolie went very well. She was so light in the bridle yesterday and the canter work was great. It took a little while for my sitting trot to get comfortable, I think I was pinching too much with my thighs. I'm not sure I will have time to walk today but will certainly try. I have to take Larry back to school.

I started working on a rag rug made of plastic bags. I think it will work ok though Lawrence thinks that they will disintegrate quickly especially if left in the sun. They are supposedly biodegradable.

I'm so hungry

OK, I'm not hungry right now because I just had lunch but I was really hungry last night and went to bed hungry. I guess I'm at that point in my diet where it is real easy to succumb to the hunger and eat. If I can get over this hump, I'll be good for a short while. What I've found in the past is that my body gets used to eating at certain times and I'll get hungry or want to eat at that time even if I had a big meal earlier. Though eating a big meal does tend to dampen the hunger somewhat. When I get out of the habit then I don't get hungry at those times. I've also found that for me anyway, I cannot eat between meal snacks at all. I gain weight. I know that some diets will have you eat say 6 small meals a day to stave off the hunger but I can't keep myself to small meals and when I get hungry at non meal times I want junk food not meal food. And then once I start on the junk food, I can't stop. Or I'll have just a little to take the edge off but I'm starving again within 30 minutes or so, so I have to eat again. Anyway, I did 55 minutes on the treadmill today and 50 yesterday. Almost at an hour.

I won't get to ride today and didn't ride yesterday. I have to pick my son up from school this afternoon so he can help his high school robotics team with their robot this weekend. The weekend looks good for riding though.

I made a hot rice therapy bag yesterday. I didn't fill it because it will be a Christmas gift and I will wait until then so that the scents that I add won't fade before Christmas. I also need to decide what to fill it with. I might use corn instead of rice and lavender buds instead of essential oils. I have enough scrap fabric to make several sets of them and the one I made yesterday looks quite nice. One of these days I'll get pictures.

Lost 2 more pounds

Well I got a surprise when I got on the scale this morning. 130 I got on the scale twice to make sure. It will probably be higher tomorrow but hopefully not. Now I just have to keep it up. I was really hungry last night a couple of hours after dinner but I didn't succumb and by bed time I wasn't hungry anymore. I did 45 minutes again on the treadmill yesterday and rode Jolie for about 40 minutes. She was very good. It is important though that I don't get too excited about it and start thinking we might do well at the shows this spring. Invariably that happens and I start trying to force it to go well and then it doesn't. You can't force things with her, she just tenses up and tunes you out.

I finished the cap I was crocheting. Ky doesn't like it. I was planning to give it to her but she thinks it looks weird. She had the same reaction to the neck warmer I made. So I guess I will either keep it for myself or give it to someone else that will be more appreciative for Christmas. I like them because they are a little different than they usual knitted scarf and hat. A friend's mother knits plain ole scarfs and gave one to Ky at Christmas time and she likes that. I personally thought it was -- well not ugly, just plain. I like the neck warmer idea because I find it hard to keep a scarf wrapped around my neck especially when working outside with the horses. I'll probably give away the one I just made because it is pink and green. I have already bought some blue/black/white yarn to make me one.

I pretty much finished up organizing my records yesterday. I guess I need to do Lawrence's though they are pretty much the same. I then need to figure out where to get our wills and powers of attorney notarized.

Dancing

Got back late from dancing class last night so couldn't post then. This month we are continuing with silver level cha-cha. After 3 weeks off, it went very well. Some of the steps we had been having trouble with came much easier last night than the last time we tried them. The first class is bronze level waltz which we have done several times and since the silver level waltz is very different, we decided not to take that class this month. That turned out to be a good thing because that class was huge last night. Lawrence may go next week and help out as there were several women there without partners.

I worked some more on organizing records and on crocheting. I'm almost done with the cap I'm making. I should finish it this evening and I'll try and get some pictures up.

Jolie went quite nicely yesterday. The canter was very good, very balanced.

I did 45 minutes on the treadmill.

Overall a good day.

First Week Recap

Well, so far so good. Except for yesterday, which was Hubbies birthday, I've posted every day. Wooho.

Lets see what progress I've made on my todo list.
I've started blogging.
I've worked on organizing pictures. I still need to label the ones I've done and put the ones that weren't of our trip in albums and label them.
I've started organizing my records and made the wills. Still need to get them signed and to put everything in a binder.
I've made some stuff though nothing specifically a Christmas present or to sell.
I've ridden my horse though not both horses.
I've lost 1 pound and managed to get some exercise for 5 days in a row.

Pretty good progress so far.

The weather doesn't look good for the next few days so I better get out and ride this morning.

Titles

You know, it's really hard to come up with titles for these blogs, especially when they aren't about anything in particular. Like this one.

I rode Jolie, walked 40 minutes, worked on funeral plans and crocheted. Oh, and I took Larry back to school. He goes to Ga Tech, classes start tomorrow.

Ooh, and this is weird. I'm sitting here in the dark and the light from my monitor makes my hands look really old and wrinkly.

I added an atheist quote generator to the page today. I'm not fanatical about my atheism, in fact most people probably don't know for sure, but some of the quotes seem meaningful to me. I found the quote generator while looking for ideas about a secular funeral. While I don't want a religious funeral, I also know that the funeral is mostly for the living to help them move on and most of my husband's family is religious. My family are non practicing Christians (for the most part). I don't what something that will offend them or make them uncomfortable. Hopefully what I've come up with will satisfy everyone.

Oh, and I think I've lost a pound. My scale is not very accurate. I can get on, get off, and get right back on and it register differently and I also know that it weights at least 6 pounds less that actual weight. But, yesterday it was on 134 and this morning it was 132.

Watership Down

I just finished reading Watership Down today. I had never read it before and didn't have any thing else to read at the time so started it just before the New Year. Pretty good book. I was very glad that nothing bad happened to the bunnies. I'm sure there is lots of symbolism in the book but I have never been much good in figuring what books mean. I started reading one of the books I got from the library on funeral planning. The symbolism in it is more obvious.

Because I was near the end of Watership Down, it was easy to do 40 minutes on the treadmill today. I read while I walk. I don't think funeral planning will keep me interested enough to make walking enjoyable so I will start a new book tomorrow.

I was also able to ride today. Jolie (my horse) acted like it had been 2 years instead of 2 weeks since she had been ridden but we did finally end up with some good work. I attempt to do Dressage and have been working on canter transitions and sitting trot. Both are finally getting better and, in fact, I am starting to prefer the sitting trot. I still bounce a lot though.

I finished the neckwarmer I was crocheting for my daughter, she thinks it looked funny when I tried it on so maybe it will be for me instead. Started on a cap to go with it. I'll try and get a picture up tomorrow.

Crochet hook holder

Today I made a crochet hook holder. When I went to start a crochet project last week I couldn't find any of my crochet hooks. I had to go buy some. I decided to go ahead and make the holder to hold them all (I bought two sets) so I wouldn't loose these as well. I guess the others will show up someday. The holder was another great gift idea found on Sew Mama Sew. I plan to make a armchair organizer and hook holder for my sister for Christmas so these were good practice. I need to find some great fabric for them though. I've been using old sheets for these.

I managed to walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes again today and I checked the books on funeral planning out today.

Monday is Lawrence's birthday, we are taking him out for supper tonight since Larry has to go back to school Sunday.

Excercise

I finally managed to get on the treadmill today. 30 minutes with some equilates as well. Here's the thing, we went to Italy this summer. I ate and ate. They have great food there in case you didn't know. I didn't gain any weight while there (we were on a horseback riding tour) but I didn't stop eating when we got back home and then there were the holidays. All in all, I've gained 10 pounds since July. So it has to come off. I've done it before. All it takes is eating less and exercising more. But I have to actually do it. Tomorrow I hope it will be warm enough to ride.

I picked up the pictures I had printed of our vacation today and got them in their albums. I still need to go back and label them.

So far so good, I've done at least 2 things everyday from my list. Of course it is only the 3rd. 362 days to go.

Busy Day

Today was a very busy day and very cold. Temps didn't get above 29 degrees which is very cold for Georgia. But I did get a lot done. Took the pictures of our Italy vacation to Rite Aid to get them printed. I'll pick them up tomorrow. I've been taking digital pictures for years but never have had any of them printed because I was too cheap. Well Rite Aid is running a special - $.13 each. I took over 600 in today, some were pictures taken previously. So that counts as working on organizing pictures. I also bought albums to put them in.

I also finished my will and powers of attorney today. Will have to work on Lawrence's (my husband) tomorrow. Word of advice, don't work on those sorts of things late at night. I had a lot of trouble getting to sleep last night, not that I was worried about them but just couldn't stop thinking about them. My sister-in-law gave me a book on getting organized for Christmas. I've known I needed to do these things but just keep putting if off, now I have a plan for getting them done. Went to the library today to get some books on how to plan a funeral. Yuck.

Finished up my latest craft project. It is an arm chair caddy to hold my work. I'm always misplacing my hooks or needles, etc.
You can find the pattern here.
I also wanted to post a picture of my before Christmas project, a purse, checkbook cover and wallet.
I found the patterns for the purse and wallet through the SewMamaSew Handmade holidays blog.

Time to go watch Dr. Who.

Introduction

This is my first post to my new blog. I hope to use it to keep track of my many hobbies. This enterprise was inspired by the SewMamaSew blog and all the links to the other wonderful crafter blogs. Since I have a big todo list for 2008 it seemed appropriate to start on New Years Day. And here is the list in no particular order:

Start blogging
Set up a geneology web page.
Organize pictures, movies and videos (copy videos to DVD)
Redo the front garden
Paint Stairwell and upstairs hall
Ride 2 horses a day
Craft, craft, craft (make all of next years Christmas presents and perhaps make some stuff to sell)
Finish Ky's cross-stitch that I started years ago
Organize records
Make wills

Loose some weight

Most of these were on last years list too.
So I guess I've done the first one on my list. Just have to keep it up.