I just returned from the Stockinette Zombie's ZK2014 retreat. This was greatly needed. I had really gotten into a funk and needed a restart bad. My craft room is a mess which is causing a big creative block. I have way too many WIPs to count both in knitting and in quilting.
I have 2 new large goals which I need to break down into smaller goals to work on them and not feel overwhelmed. The first one which actually ecompasses a lot is to get off my anti-depresent. I hate taking medication and really would like to stop taking one that seems to cause more issues than it is worth. (I did need the medication, but I hate that I needed it.) The 2nd goal is much more short term and less involved. Me and my hubby are planning on taking an Ireland/England trip next year.
The Getting off Meds goal has 4 parts that I can think of right now: Diet, Exercise, Craft Room, and Proper Reward System.
1) Diet is self expanatory, but all goals should be S.M.A.R.T to work. I will need to come back to this one.
2) Exercise is another necessary one that I have issues with. I live in one of those areas of the country that are known as for being fit. Me and my hubby used to go hiking, but after we became the main care givers of his mother and had a child, we stopped doing these fun outdoor things. Before I consider getting off the anti-depresent I need to have in place consistent exercise. I am going to measure this as exercising at least 3 days a week. I still need to come up with a plan to get there.
3) Craft Room has 2 areas of improvement that I can think of at the moment. I need to organize the room so that I can actually work in there and find things that I need. The other thing is I need to get through my massive amount of WIPs. This room got out of hand because I kept packing, searching, and packing without ever organizing and now it is mess.
4) Proper Reward System is another necessary one that I have problems with. I use food as a reward, or actually I have no impulse control when it comes to food or other purchases. I need to figure out a way to control my impulses and create a reward system.
I will work on the 2 main goals each week and update where I am.
First goal, finish it or frog it. I joined a Ravelry group called Finish Me! The first project I am working on is the Daybreak by Stephen West. I started this project in July 2013. I purchased 2 skeins of Seda Sock (50% Merino, 50% Silk) in Shiney Penny and Storm at last year's ZK retreat from Grinning Gargoyle. I just knew that they needed to be a 2 color shawl from Stephen West and since I had recently broken my previous Daybreak, that is what I decided to make. I had only made it about 20 rows into the project when I switched to 2 mystery shawls and needed the needles. I placed the project onto other smaller needles and it sat until I took it with me to ZK2014. I am currently half way through the striping sequence! I see Stephen West on July 9th and would like to at least have one of his WIPs of mine complete. The goal is to finish and block the large size of the Daybreak shawl by July 9th.
Second goal, savings. I started using YNAB in March and now after the extra spending at the retreat, I have to readjust all rainy day funds and make sure that we save enough money to be able to go Ireland/England next year. We cannot fail at this. We really need to take this trip.
Additional:
How does one choose what to place on a gravestone? My MIL passed away last month and we are now faced with choosing a saying for her marker. This is such a hard time for us.
