Commitments, realized and unrealized

Somehow I'm stumbled into a world of self-imposed guidelines. But I like it. I'm following Weight Watchers' program (and have lost 13.6 pounds so far, which is 4 weeks, which is the incredibly speedy rate of 3.5 pounds a week, holy crap). I joined the Year Long Gift-along, which is organizing all my knitting into what needs to be finished when, and I'm also knitting purely from my yarn stash until I feel like it's down to a more reasonable level, or until my birthday in April, whichever comes first. All this order and caution... will it last?

Yesterday was Kenny's birthday, and we saw Cloverfield, which I loved. Loved. It was the perfect little movie. Scary, but not too; fascinatingly fast paced, but not overwhelmingly so; and I actually really liked the characters. They felt real to me (except Beth, in her little gold dress, but I suppose people that skinny and bronzed actually do exist, especially in Midtown Manhattan.) Tonight is my night to cook, so I'm missing the Williamsburg Stitch & Bitch, but it will be worth it to save moolah by cooking food we've already paid for rather than buying sushi again from Ukrops. Mmm, sushi. Sucks that tuna is now poisonous. Here's a photo of us from two weeks ago, taken by Bereni.


I'm at a place in my knitting where I'm finishing up lots of little projects, and would like to start something big, but the most yarn of one type that I have in my stash is 8 balls of KnitPicks Swish Superwash (worsted). Not enough to make a full cardigan, I fear. But maybe if I do 3/4 sleeves. What kind of shoulders use the least amount of yarn? I'd like to do saddle shoulders, maybe. Hmm.

In any case, socks are sure to come soon. I miss knitting socks (and it only took me a month after Xmas knitting to feel that way again).

I better hurry, since the new semester starts very soon... and then I'll have zero knitting time. Sob.

Little updates

I've lost 10 pounds! Only (mumblemumble) more to go. My step-bro Jordan moved to the UK last weekend. Kenny is rocking out in his struggle against the ever-growing pile of law school work. Things at work are tough, but honest. I'm still enjoying my winter break between grad school semesters. I am going to work 5 weeks of summer camp this year. It looks like the Ukraine folk singing workshop that I am enrolled for might be canceled due to too few participants signing up. In April, for my birthday week, I shall not only go to the Folk School for a basketry class, but also join my dear old Dad and his troupe of eighth grade band kids at Busch Gardens (my 1st time).

What else...? I got a new cell phone! It is tremendously advanced. Thanks, Gogi. Anyone wanna call me?

Whattya want first?

The good news or the bad news? Good for you, you chose the good news first. Very smart.

The good news:
- This weekend I cleaned almost the whole house, and did a lot of chores
- I lost 5 pounds last week!
- I have successfully started 3 knitting projects from my yarn stash

The bad news:
- Kenny's Dad's house burned down. Well, the top floor did, at least. The bottom floor is just very waterlogged and most likely sooty and smelly. Ken took the train up to NJ this weekend to help move stuff around and try to save what they could.

The Humble Heart

I've been reading Donna Bryant Goertz's book Children who are Not Yet Peaceful, and yesterday it really helped me change the kind of day the kids had in afterschool. Nothing too dramatic, just a shift in my attitude towards constructive, child-led problem solving rather than my (usually) dominant decisions. I hope that as I keep reading, I'll be able to see more and more ways to "nurture the child's spirit" while maintaining the peace in our very full, very unique community of kids.

Also, I'm just going to come out of the closet and say it: I joined Weight Watchers. I know this can sound horribly, horribly dorky to some people, and if you're going to judge me, go ahead. Just know that I need that supportive environment and the tools they offer for helping me make healthy easting decisions, as I have proved that I can't do it on my own. It'll be a week tonight, and I go for my weigh-in to see if I've lost any fractions of a pound over the last week of smaller portions and a heck of a lot more veggies. I know that it's going to be a slow process, but I'm fortified by the fact that it's worked for me before (about ten years ago I joined with my Mom and reached a really healthy weight for myself, and felt incredible). So, there it is. My secret club. A part of me cringes to admit such, well, dorky allegiances, but the rest of me knows it's time to give up such teenage histrionics. It is not dorky to admit that I need help. It is dorky to blindly munch on, ignoring my weight. So there.

A Year of Finished Knits

It was a good year: I started my M. Ed. degree, I moved to a new city, I visited 4 new countries, and I started teaching at a fantastic school. And I managed to make all these:



I can't wait to see what 2008 will bring!