Sunday, January 5, 2020

New Years Resolutions

Every time I go buy smaller size clothing people are always asking for my “miracle diet tips” everyone wants a fast easy way to lose weight and inches. I would like to say that I am not perfect. I have awful seasonal cravings. I don’t always make my step goal. I also know I just need to brush off the crumbs and resume my healthier lifestyle. It’s not about diets, it’s all about life style changes. I have been working on this gradually since June 2009.  It’s not fast in any way. There are blog post about this too.

So with this disclaimer:  I am not a medical professional. This is what works for me. Always talk to your doctor or other medical professional before making major lifestyle changes.

For me it’s about getting the bad for me stuff out of my life. These include high fructose corn syrup, artificial sugars, 80% of the regular sugars. White potatoes and white rice. I have also eliminated most soda, I had 1 bottle of soda since June 2018.  I had a really sudden and bad migraine and needed to drive across town in a few hours. I am not perfect by any means.  Perfection in lifestyle is an ugly facade.  It’s also about drinking more water or unsweetened teas.

Next it’s about moving your body.  You don’t need to buy an expensive gym membership, unless of course you want to. I got a pedometer and did a two week base line, of 2,500 steps a day. Yes, really. Once that was established I would increase my step goal by no more than 10% when I felt I could handle more exercise. My current goal is 8,080 steps a day.  You can find me walking in circles or figure 8’s around the house if the weather is not ideal or I am having a bad body day.  I also started deep cleaning the house. Small things like emptying the linen closet, deciding what to keep and what to get rid of.  Fold all the keepers and putting them back. Drawer by drawer. Closet by closet.  Until there was less.  I recommend Zenning in 5 minutes a Day.  Then start doing things like sweeping the floors on a regular basis.  Take over the vacuuming.  Do 30 minutes of housework a day.  It might sound really silly, but there is a method to my madness. The more you move and do things the more muscles you will build.  The more muscles you build the more calories your body uses, the more lean mass you build the more inches you will lose.  For more details on this ask your doctor.

Since June 2018 I have been trying to follow the low glycemic diet with 45 grams of carbs for breakfast, lunch and dinner. With snacks only if I am hungry. Again check with your doctor about this. I buy whole grain bread, fresh fruit and vegetables. I try to eat lean meat and eat fish several times a week.

So this is my invitation for you to join me on the slow trip to a thinner you.  The ultimate goal is better health no matter what size you end up at the end of your journey.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

A Busy Day

Today was a very busy day.  We went car shopping. We are at the just looking stage. We need a car that will fit a tall and short person plus a spinning wheel in the back without laying it on its side. Also it would be nice if Teri and Tej could fit in the back seat when they came in for a visit. It’s not that big of an ask. We went to 3 different showrooms and just sat in the cars.

Out of the 3 we visited today, we eliminated one brand because they did not offer power seats in any of the models we were looking at. We were told that power seats were a luxury item. In 2020 really? They obviously don’t have arthritis.

 I was really annoyed with one salesman at the beginning because he was so snobby. Did we really belong in that showroom.  I really don’t see the need to dress up on a Saturday to go car shopping. Besides who dresses up to go car shopping anyway? A very rookie mistake by the salesman as far as I am concerned.  The sad part was that they had a nice car with features that we liked.

The other car that we liked had almost everything we wanted and the salesman was great. The car hunting adventures will continue. We still have at least 3 more brands to look at before we start the test drives.

 I also finished weaving the scarf that was on the loom and took it off.  I re warped the loom and started the next scarf and wove 29 inches of it tonight. So tomorrow morning I will tie up the ends of the red scarf , then soak it in hot water and thwack it. Finish weaving the blue and gray scarf and start the last scarf.  I have some really good news about my scarfs for later in the week. Stay tuned.



Friday, January 3, 2020

Hat 1-2020

Another day another hat. This is the first hat of 2020. It is 100% cotton and is already in the bag for my favorite clothing bank.  Yes, the next hat has been started.  I really like how it turned out.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

The First

This is the beginning of the 1st hand woven scarf of 2020. I warped it tonight and wove 19 inches. A linen warp and a silk and wool weft.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

It’s the Last Hat

This is the last hat that I knit in 2019. It was hat number 80.  I hope you did not think that this was my last hat ever. I have many more hats to knit. There is never a shortage of cold heads in Tucson that need hats.  

Happy 2020

This is the first morning of 2020.  This year I will put a few goals in writing.  They are in no particular order.

1. Teri would like me to read 100 books this year.  A more realistic goal is 12.  So I will strive to read 12 books and any extra books read is a bonus for Teri and Bookman’s.

2.  I will try to finish 100 craft projects this year.  With a minimum of 5 dozen hats, to be knit over the summer.

3. I will try to publish 4 patterns this year. I hope that this is not too ambitious for me.

4. I will try to enjoy my retirement and get out more.

I could add more, but this is all that I am willing to commit to this year. I have not set goals since so last century. This list is doable if nothing major happens this year.

Friday, December 27, 2019

Today in Tucson


A picture of the Santa Catalina Mountains this morning.  Yes that is snow in Tucson. Close enough to enjoy. Far away enough so that we did not have to shovel it.