A different kind of progress

As part of my life-changing plan, I'm trying to eat healthier and exercise more. My husband and I are going to India for a family wedding in November, and having recently seen some photos of myself looking not-so-svelte, I want to avoid more of the same.

Unlike my husband, who can for some reason go days surviving on only fruit juice, I have been blessed with a body that starts shutting down if I don't eat regularly. Plus, I tend to hate any normal kind of exercise. If I know I'm doing exercise I don't enjoy it. So, this should be fun.

I've started out with a few small things. I don't want to make massive changes to my life, because I know I will come to resent it, and not stick with it. I only have healthy snacks around me at work, and my lunches need to be healthy too. So, I currently have a small container of pecan nuts (the only nuts I like), some mandarins, and some crackers which I have with cream cheese. For lunch today I am having leftover stir-fry, which my husband made last night - full of fresh vegetables, a little bit of meat, and proper noodles, none of those covered in preservative things you get in a packet. Its seriously yum.

I am a huge coffee fiend, but I've started trying to wean myself off it. I have one in the morning, and then its only green tea while I'm at work. Then maybe a coffee when I get home. I see how I feel. I'm also working on portion control at dinner time.

I've also started going for a run a few times a week, at lunchtime. Its only a small run, and it takes me about 20/25 minutes. I can't run the whole way, I have to run a bit, then walk a bit. I figure once I can run the whole way, I'll find another route, that maybe takes a bit longer.

All these things are quite achievable, and I'm finding its not too much stress to fit them into my life. So far. Hopefully I can stick with it. As long as I make what I'm eating varied and interesting, then I should be ok. Wish me luck!

In other news, due to my wrist and not being able to knit, I've needed to find another craft to keep me occupied. I did some googling, and I've decided to try needle felting. I've ordered a starter kit online, and a work colleague has donated a bag of roving. Of course, being a perfectionist I'm expecting myself to be awesome at it off that bat. We'll see how that goes. I'll post pictures once the kit arrives.

Not the way I wanted to start

When I started this blog, I was going to write about my knitting and designs. But of course, life had to get in the way of that, and so for the past two weeks I have been nursing a wrist injury that won't allow me to knit.

It has been extremely frustrating, in fact its had me in tears a couple of times. My husband keeps saying that this is an opportunity to try new things, upskill myself. And that's all well and good, except the childish part of me hates being forced into doing something I don't want to do. Sure, I want to learn new things, but I want to learn them in my own time, when it suits me.

Its also frustrating because I have just started designing my own knitting pattern, and I cant knit them. I have all these ideas, and no fulfilment.

But, even though its hard, I know that I need to try not to feel sorry for myself. I do need to find some other things to keep my mind and hands occupied. Mostly that has been sewing. I've been working on a cross stitch picture for my new baby cousin, and I've also made a couple of patchwork cushions. I think I'd like to do some more patchwork, with some more complicated patterns maybe. I'd also like to maybe make myself a skirt or something.

Here are a couple of pictures of the cushions I've made:

New Beginnings

For some time now I have been thinking about what I want to do with my life. I grew up with my parents telling me that if you want something you need to work for it. I never paid much attention then, but now that I find myself stuck in the rut of the office routine, it seems to make more sense.

I want things. Most of all, I want to spend my days doing something that I enjoy. I want to get up in the morning and look forward to the day. I don't want to spend my life working in an office, at a job that I am good at but do not have a passion for. All the while sneaking in the things that I enjoy doing in the small amount of spare time that I do have, and making time for my husband and stepson.

So I have come up with a plan.

I am a crafter. At the moment, I mostly knit (although not even that at the moment. But more on that in another post). I also crochet, cross-stitch, sew, and would love to try my hand at many other things. Crafting is my passion. It is what I want to spend my days doing.

Now, of course I realise that, living in tiny New Zealand, this isn't going to be that easy, and, in fact, it may not even be achievable. So I'll need to supplement the crafting with something else.

So, here's my plan.

I am going to go back to school, extra-murally, while still keeping my boring office job, and learn web design. A large amount of business is done via the Internet, and web design is a field that is already in high demand. I have a good head for computers, as well as design, and my current job has given me an appreciation for the need for everything to be useable above all. So I think I'll do alright.

That's Part One. Part Two is as follows.

I want to work fibre and textiles into my life more. To do that, I'm planning to start with Angora Rabbits. Only one or two to start off with, just so I can get my head around what it takes to care for them, and the work involved in shearing them.

I've already booked into a spinning class with my mum (who is also crafty), so hopefully eventually I'll be able to spin the angora fibre into yarn, and either use it in my own projects, or sell it to other spinners and knitters.

I've also started designing a knitting pattern, for an Art Deco shawl. If it works, and looks good, I hope to sell it on Ravelry, and begin supplementing my income that way as well.

So, that is the plan. It's also coupled with the fact that I want to lose some weight, so I'm trying to eat healthy, and exercise more. All in all, I'm really looking to change my life. This blog will act as a medium for me to record my progress, and hopefully if I get followers, a means to keep me on track and working hard.

I think I can do it. I get excited when I think about it all. I think its a realistic plan.

Wish me luck!