Highlights (4)

Today's Highlights (November 2nd, 2009)

* One of the phone calls I made at work today. I was a bit nervous making the call but ended up feeling good about the conversation. Instead of a lot of why?s, I got a thank you.

* The left over pasta I had for lunch. We made it yesterday when my cousin with family came over for lunch. The sauce was creamy and filled with small pieces of asparagus, onions, carrot, zucchini, tomatoes, smoked ham and salami.

* Sticking to my decision this afternoon to bike home in rain instead of taking a bus or asking my boyfriend to give me a ride. (I was 13kilometers/8miles away from home...)

* Entering the house after just-mentioned-bike-ride...

* Sitting all relaxed at the dinner table, playing with our new MacBook while at the same time being able to look at the pretty flowers my cousin's 4-year-old daughter picked out for us yesterday.

* Having made plans to see my mother for a sandwich and some coffee/tea on Thursday before knitting group gathers.

Thoughts at work the last couple of days

- "Tell me again why I'm doing this?"

- "It's raining outside. And it's dark. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was November. It makes me grumpy."

- "It's so bright and sunny outside. Perfect summer weather. And I'm indoors. It makes me grumpy."

- "Should I make up my own pattern for the cardigan I want to knit? Or should I make it simple and use something that already exists? But then again, I'd have to change it a lot anyways to make it fit so I might as well make all the calculations from scratch. Right? But then, what do I want it to look like? Stripes. Definitely stripes. All over or just the body? I wonder how much of a cardigan I can get out of the yarn I have. 3 hanks of blue and 2 brown ones. Well, that makes for 2300meters or so. That's a cardigan. But should I knit it from the top anyways, to make sure I'll get something decent out of the amount? Maybe I could do some kind of interpretation of Cobblestone and make the yoke in garter stitch and the rest in plain stockinette? But then I'd like the garter yoke to cover my boobs, as I'm not very fond of changing patterns right there. Seems awkward too me. Maybe I could make it A-line and have some schwung to it. GAther it around a yoke. Somehow. What about the stripes? Horizontal or vertical? Vertical is supposed to make you look thinner. But vertical means knitting intarsia or stranded... Or knit it flat with horizontal stripes and then sew it on sideways to make the stripes vertical. But can I sew that on nicely?Or should I just go simple and let the colours do their magic? Just plain stockinette. Horizontal stripes. And then do something fun with the sleeves. Maybe bell sleeves? But then again, that might look out of place if nbothing else is "frilly" and pretty. After all, I'm using kind of rough and thin wool. Nothing silky or shiny or girly. Maybe I should just find a pattern that someone else put thought into? And not come up with something myself from scratch. But then again, I have to recalculate every number anyways... I don't know. I'm lost."

- "I'm real hungry. I wonder if the salad I brought will be enough for me today?"

- "I love my little boxes with index cards. I love having themon my desk. Knowing that I'm organized."

- "There's a 6km-race organized at the end of October. Hmmmm.... I could sign up for it. Use it as an inspiration to get me moving. It wouldn't kill me. Unless it was real cold and I got lost in the woods. 'Cause I'm not much of a Skogsmulle and wouldn't survive being left there on my own. I wonder what Skogsmulle would be in English? Well, anyways. Maybe I should wait 'til spring. Find another race. Or not. Maybe I should just do it in October. Hope for me being able to train without messing up my back and hips. It's more than 10 weeks 'til then. I can do it. I think."

- "This Tracy Chapman-CD is really good. Maybe I should place an order for the two albums I don't have?"

- "I feel like getting a massage. And a facial. I deserve it, don't I?"

- "Italy. Just 7 weeks and some odd days 'til we're going. I truly need a vacation. This summer has been tough with just three "long weekends" off from work. Next year, I'll make sure to get 4 weeks in a row. But I'm going to Italy before then!"

- "Why do at least two of my new (and female) colleagues leave the toilet seat up in our restroom?"

- "Work. Oh. That. I guess I have things to do. Things I get paid to think about."

Report from half time

I started my 101in1001-project in February last year. I have now passed more than halfway when it comes to time. 533 days are behind me and 468 ahead.

In the passed 533 days, I have finished 51 tasks and have 14 in progress. I've failed 4 of my attempts to finish a task and have had or will have to give these tasks another shot.


The tasks I'm most proud of having finished so far are:

001. Take care of my nails and cuticles every night for two weeks
033. No ice cream for a month
039. Visit my gym at least twice a week for twelve weeks straight (24/24)
093. Take out a book from the library and return it on time
098. Wear a skirt to work five days in a row


The ones I've had the most fun finishing are:

006. Read 30 books (33/30)
008. Make out outdoors
010. Try three (to me) new flavours of Ben&Jerry’s
022. Meet someone in real life that I’ve made friends with on the Internet
058. Sew five things for others (5/5)
059. Sew five things for myself (5/5)
064. Knit with others at least ten times (10/10)
082. Meet friends and family in the US and/or Canada


There are some tasks I doubt I'll finish. Some because I can't and some because I won't make them a priority. They are:

029. Buy myself a bathing suit and a bikini - This task is in progress as I've bought the bikini. I doubt I'll ever get a bathing suit.
041. Jog/Run five km at least five times (0/5) - With my back and hip issues as they have been all spring , I don't know if I'll be up for this...
042. Run an organized run with others - See comment to 041.
045. Go on five different roller coasters (0/5) - I just don't see us spending time where I'll find a roller coaster... I'd love to cross this one off though!
052. Go fishing - Takes a lot of planning... Am I up for that?
060. Paint my own painting and hang it up for display somewhere in the house - I don't own any paint or colours. Or brushes. This task might involve too much spending (time and money) to get crossed off.
063. Sell something I’ve made myself - That takes courage. Putting myself out there. And I don't know if I'd do that. To be honest.
070. Organize recipes - Booooring...
072. Choose three things from six rooms in the house and give away (0/6) - Do I really have that many things I want to get rid of?
074. Work through all the chapters in my ”Teach yourself Swahili”-book (0/6) - When? And with what energy?
080. Go to three capitals (2/3) - It might get to be a bit too expensive and time consuming to get to the third capital...
092. Ride a horse - Horses are a bit scary and it takes planning to make this work...
095. Swim in a lake - Lakes are scary to swim in. And cold. And slimey. And filled with nasty fish and monsters.
097. Win when playing TP (or other knowledge game) with boyfriend - He's smart. Or at least knows a lot of things.
101. Post in my “proper” blog every day for a month - Do I really have that much to say? And can I organize myself enough?

Wow! That list turned out to be way longer than I had expected it to... What a bummer. Time for something to make me more inspired?

Trying to think positive thoughts...

...when the office network has been down all day and I haven't been able to be as productive as I wanted, and needed, to be and...

...when our IT-department tells us they have no idea when the network will be up and running again as they still haven't been able to identify where things go wrong and...

...when a colleague I really need answers from is on vacation for another three weeks and...

...when the new coffee making person at work forgets to heat up water for my tea for the seventyeleventh time and...

...when the sky is all covered by clouds, there's a high risk of rain during the afternoon, and I'm walking home today wearing a skirt and...

...when my runner's shoes give me sore heels as I forgot to put socks on this morning before going to work and...

...when I'm tired after a night of waking up once every hour to check what time it is before going back to sleep again and...

...when it's Monday...


I want to go home and hide out. Under a blanket. With my cats close by.

I would like to...

I would like to:

• get back to writing on a regular basis
• sew myself a dress
• sign up for a race and start jogging
• bake bread every weekend
• design my own shawl pattern
• learn how to take great shots with my boyfriend's camera
• get my Swahili books out from the shelf and get back into studying on a regular basis
• work through 4 old tasks and projects at work that weigh on my conscience
• be better at keeping in touch with my friends
• feel completely comfortable with saying "no"
• own more exciting clothes and know what fits me and what doesn't
• kick some of my colleagues on the shins
• knit my boyfriend the sweater he wants
• read as much as I used to
• make myself Amy Butler's Weekender Travel Bag and Sophia Carry-all
• enjoy vacuuming the house
• make myself a shirt or two
• be able to speak Swahili fluently
• stop worrying about the new work situation I'm in
• get structured and brave enough to deal with the idea I have for a novel
• get back into shape after way too many months of back ache and no regular exercise
• finish some of the knitting projects I have lying around
• go to the cinema more often
• invite friends to a super duper dinner
• be more interested in the practicalities of our house and garden
• travel to Africa again
• start a crafting business
• bring my lunch to work every day
• have great looking nails and cuticles
• moisturize every day
• sew quilt after quilt after quilt

So, why don't I?

Friday at last

This week has been hectic. I've been on my toes way too much...

Five meetings that I needed to prepare for, attend and follow up. Don't know how many phone calls I've made to people I don't know. Seven letters to write in which I delivered bad news to the recipients. Trying to book three other meetings with poeple who are tough to get a hold of. Starting to preparing for a presentation I'll make in a week's time. Order "fika" to two meetings.

And I've had my hair cut. And I've been to my first get-together with a group of women intrested in starting a book-reading-group. Handball games on TV at nights (yesterday Sweden got beat by Croatia...). Finished the third Harry Potter book. Finished knitting Sylvi's sleeves and had them blocked. Have knitted petals for three flowers. Biked a looooong way yesterday. Picked up my new passport. Met my parents for a "fika" at our house as my mum had some things to give me. Reinstalled all our channels on the DVD-recorder as they had all moved to wrong positions. Went to the gym once (and will go for the second time this afternoon after work).

I'm tired. And happy it's Friday.

Bad conscience resurfaced

One of my bad consciences at work has resurfaced. I had the project written down on my project list and it wasn't forgotten, but I hadn't found the data I needed to finish it all. And I need a lot of data. From a lot of different persons.

Now I really need to get this done in order to be able to answer another request that landed on my desk today. I don't want to. I'd rather go home and knit some. (I forgot to bring a knitting project to work today - going to the gym at 7am does strange things to me...)

~~~~~

Talked to my sister yesterday. She had gotten a notice about a parcel/package to pick up at the drugstore. I hope it's the green padded envelope I sent her last week. 'Cause I want to show you what I made for her.

Survived, Laminaria and Italy

Well, as I'm posting, I must have survived the spinning class at the gym yesterday!

I have to admit that the class was actually fun! I worked hard. I was drowning in sweat. At times I forgot to breathe and only got back into it as our instructor kept reminding us to take deep breaths (where did that yoga breathing go?)... I will definitely do it again!

~~~~~

Pictures of a "pretend blocked" Laminaria:

First part: the stars

Second part: the blossoms

The third part: the edge

I hope to be able to block it properly over the weekend, but I'm not sure I have time to. Just by "pretend blocking" it in a dry stage, made me realize what an enormous amount of time it can take to pin up a shawl and have it look good... I also have to read up on blocking. I've never blocked anything lacy before...

~~~~~

Boyfriend and I are meeting up with friends tonight to discuss a vacation we're thinking about taking together next fall. Yes, we're doing this early, but there are ten of us and we need to figure out if it's even possible for all of us to go at the same time. And if we can work out a budget that everyone feels comfortable with.

We're thinking about renting a big house for a week in Tuscany, Italy. And spend our days focusing on the beautiful landscape, on things that are eatable and drinkable, and on creativity. I've been told to bring my knitting and notebooks and some of the others will bring drawing and painting supplies.

So, not only am I thinking about going to Canada and the US next year, I'm also hoping for some time in Italy. Winning the lottery wouldn't be too bad...

Spinning class

This morning I called my gym and signed up for a spinning session tonight. Now I wonder what made me lose my mind like that...

I've tried it twice before. And both times I promised myself never to do it again... It's painful.


(And oh... It's "spinning" as in "sitting on a gym bike" and not "playing with fibers to produce yarn"... )

Weekend sum up

So the weekend flew by real quickly.

Friday:
I ended up taking Friday afternoon off from work as we didn't have access to the computer network all day. I just couldn't bring myself to come up with tasks to keep me busy for eight hours if I couldn't access the network. So I spent the afternoon meeting up with a friend for an hour, buying a birthday gift for another friend, getting myself some chocolate and new tea, and looking through some of the sewing and knitting books and magazines at the library. I had planned to stay int he library for hours and hours but gave up after 45 minutes as I couldn't find a quiet and nice spot to sit in... I did borrow three sewing books though. One that tells you the basics of making clothes and two with different ideas for bags...

At night we attended a tea-and-scones-party and had a really good time. They served a banana jam that was to die for! I had way too many scones with banana jam...

Saturday:
Saturday morning I went to the gym to work out. I was there when they opened at 9am! I have to say that I quite like working out in the gym. The challenge of lifting those handles or pushing those levels... I like it! It's sad to see how weak I am though... :) I'm also having some difficulties figuring out the technique of making back training on a Pilates ball. Think I need to ask for help next time...

Coming back home I spent some time making an apron for my boyfriend. It will get its own post after I've had boyfriend model it for me and the camera. I also made us a batch of ice cream and it turned out real well. Vanilla base with truffles, nougats and cashew nuts in it.

Sunday:
Sunday I took the cats out for a bit. I finished the apron. Made a door stopper from six of the Amy Butler squares. Pictures will come in another post. I started the actual sewing part of making a bag for my dad's upcoming birthday. He was supposed to get the bag for Christmas but our move got in the way... It's made of the same fabric as the give away bag. At least the outer fabric, the one with the leaves.

Monday:
Yesterday I helped my sister write an application for a scholarship to take her abroad for a year. The poor girl wants to spend a year in Canada! :) I think I'm as excited as she is about this whole process. Luckily she'll find out in about two weeks if she's been granted a scholarship or not. And also to where. She's applying to three different universities and two of them are in Canada. Please, hold your thumbs as hard as you can for her!!!

Random

1. My Amy Butler fabric squares arrived the other day!!! I got 32 different designs/colour combinations and between 2 and 6 of each. I wanted to immediately start making placemats for our dinner table but restrained myself. There's still some more thinking and planning to do before I start the sewing process. Loooove the squares though and have tons of ideas on what to make with them.

2. Using "tons" above I came to think of the difficulties I had when studying in Canada and having to use both tons and tonnes depending on whether the literature was Canadian/British or American. Or whatever it was. It confused the h$ll out of me. And it wasn't just the spelling, it was the numerical value of one ton not being the same as one tonne. I can't remember it exactly...

3. This got me thinking about this one absurd incident in one of the groups I was assigned to in one of the classes. We had different projects during the semester and everyone in the group took turns doing the tasks for the projects. If I made calculations for the first project, I would make blueprints for the second one, arrange the layout for the third one and takle it to the printers and so on. I was assigned to do the proofreading and corrections before sending it over to the layout and printer girl... I made many people laugh in the computer lab when I told them I was doing the proofreading and that my group trusted me with correcting their English. It felt truly absurd.

4. I picked up Muir yesterday. She was supposed to be a Christmas gift for my mother last year but that didn't happen. My hands started to hurt real badly from working too many projects on small needles, so I had to put her on hold. (Yes, Muir is a she and her to me!) I've managed to do 4½ repeats of the chart so far and I really love the way this turns out. I think the colour changes of the yarn work very well with the designed lace pattern and I can't get enough of the airy feel that the knitting has.

I'm not sure I have enough yarn to complete 13 full repeats and doing the two borders. I weighted my project yesterday and my estimation is that I might have to cut one of two repeats out. I'll probably knit the first border in a bit soo see how much yarn it takes. When the sun comes out again and I'm home to use the natural daylight, I'll take some progress pictures.

5. Sewing projects on the list: Emmeline apron from montessoribyhand for myself (washed the fabric yesterday and hope to start it during the weekend), smaller - and manlier - apron for boyfriend in a thicker linen fabric (washed yesterday and is ready to be cut and sewn this weekend), a door stopper of some sort to keep the laundry room door open for the cats, pin cushions, cushions for the cough, beforementioned placemats, coasters, and... Well, I can keep busy with my sewing machine for quite some time.

6. I might not work a full day tomorrow as our computer techies will shut down our computer system tonight for some superduper difficult and time consuming magic. I won't be able to access any networks tomorrow and to be honest, I don't really know what to do with myself all day if I can't access files and programs I normally use. Maybe I'll do some organizing of my binders and then take the afternoon off?

7. I'm going into town today to see if I can find a birthday gift for a friend. We're invited for tea and scones at her home tomorrow night. Don't really have any ideas on what to look for... I'm thinking my reward for finding her something will be a trip to the library. I'd like to see what kind of books and magazines they have on sewing. Not that I need more project ideas, but I'd love to learn more tricks.

8. There's a phone ringing in one of the offices next to mine and it's driving me nuts as it's been ringing forever. Please hang up if nobody answers after the 20th signal...

9. My boyfriend and I visited my parents yesterday. I've been on the look out for a green or purple rug for our living room and when my mother heard that she couldn't help but getting excited. She had just bought a new rug for one of their rooms as she didn't like the colour ocmbination between the newly-bought table and the green rug. So yesterday we picked up the green rug! I really like it!

10. The cats went crazy after the rug was placed on the floor and boyfriend and I settled down in the couch and comfy chair. They sniffed around the rug and suddenly burst out in crazy runs around the house. I don't know how many times they crashed into the walls... Skorpan got his paws under the rug and started running sideways along the rug's edge. And then he stopped to start chasing the moving object underneath the rug (being stupid enough not to realize it was his own paw and leg)... And then they both sniffed around some more before going for more crazy runs...

11. I went to the gym on Tuesday morning. I'm sore.

12. I have a halfhour presentation in a week and a half that I haven't started preparing for and I'm really nervous about it. I know the subject but I don't really know the audience. I don't know how familiar they are with the subject and therefore don't know if I should go into detail or keep things more general. There's no way for me to find out either. I have to prepare a PowerPoint for it and I'm awfully slow at doing them. And I know I have to prepare as I can't improvise for half an hour.

13. Lately I've been thinking a lot about lost friends. You know the friends you had a couple of years ago that you never talk to anymore. The ones you went to school with and now know nothing about. The girl next door when you were ten. I have many lost friends. Some of which I'd love to get back in touch with but for some reason don't make a priority. I plan on emailing them, calling them or sending them a card, and then nothing happens. I read my books. I work. I knit. I sew. I blog. But I don't take the time to actually contact them. Why is that?

14. In less than an hour, I'll draw the winner of my give away bag. If you hurry, you'll be able to enter if you haven't done so already. :)

Feeling better about myself

My hip isn't bothering me anymore! My upper body is not shifted to one side but completely straight! I'm not in pain! The anti-inflammatory medication I was given helped. What a relief! :)

Tonight I'm going to a yoga class and I really look forward to it. I attended one a couple of weeks ago (the night before my body shifted) and have wanted to go back ever since. Now when I'm not in pain there's nothing holding me back. I think I might leave the bike at home and use my new running shoes to walk there and back. Yes, walk. I'm not in such shape that jogging there and back would be possible. Now, that is.

I invested in a pair of proper running shoes (Asics) to use for my walks as I'm afraid my hip might start bothering me again if I walk around in bad shoes. But I also feel a slight urge to take up jogging again. As a teenager I did athletics and I focused on running middle and long distances, anywhere from 800m to 10,000m. I wasn't fast, but I had the ability to set up a pace and keep it. I think the fastest I ever ran 10,000m in was 48minutes. Trying now, I'd die if I attempted to keep that pace...

Yesterday I actually tried jogging for a bit when taking my (almost) daily walk in the evening. I felt heavy, stiff and unsynced with my own movements, but it did feel good jogging. I'm thinking about setting up some goals for myself and to have an organised run in May as a "carrot" to keep me to it when I get tired.

On another note, I've now lost 4kg/almost 9lbs since I started taking better care of myself in November last year. I haven't been "dieting" properly, but I've paid more attention to what I eat, I've made an effort to prepare healthier food, I only have ice cream on Fridays and Saturdays, I stay away from cookies and cakes at coffee time at work and take a fruit instead, I eat a better breakfast to keep me full longer... And I'm not forbidding myself anything. I know I can eat whatever I want to, but I try to think about how much I have to move to get rid of the extra calories and then I decide if it's worth the effort and time. Seems to work for me.

I also take walks. Not every day but 4-5 afternoons/evenings a week. Sometimes just for twenty minutes and sometimes for an hour. Depends on what I feel like. And the temperature. And what casette tape I have in my Walkman...

To a lot of people 4kg/9lbs isn't a big deal. And I'm not saying it is either. I'm not losing weight becasue I'm overweight. I'm losing it to get back into shape. To try and "mold" my body into something I like looking at and feel comfortable in. And I'm very happy with where I am now. These 4kg/9lbs means I've lost 3cm/1.2in around my waist and butt. I've also lost 2cm/0.8in around my hips and around each thigh. I don't think others can see the difference (and that's not the point either) but I can. And I feel it. My clothes are a bit looser and I move more comfortably in them.

Next step here is to get back into my routine of regular yoga classes (at the gym and at home), to start building muscles again and to transform the walks to jogging. I have to say that it doesn't feel impossible at all. On the contrary, I seem to be looking forward to it. This has been much easier than I thought it would be. Maybe because I'm not hurrying things or forbidding myself those tasty chocolate cakes when the urge comes by?

Rambling after Christmas

So Christmas came and went. Have to say that I've never experienced a Christmas sneaking up on me like this one did. I guess renovating and moving mess with your head and your ability to care about anything outside your own walls.

We're sort of getting there when it comes to getting the house organized. Sort of. It takes time to set things up and I admit to not being able to make decisions for hours and hours. I burn out. And I leave the box for a while, for a day or for boyfriend...

I've taken some pictures during the painting process of the house and will show you guys when it's all done...

The cats are worried and spend most of their days either hiding or walking around loudly complaining in shrieks that go directly to my heart. Skorpan seems to have a problem with urinating and I'm contemplating taking him to the vet. I'm happy they eat and drink properly. Even though they want breakfast at 4am...

Santa brought me a dressform (that I haven't assembled yet) for my knitting and sewing as I find it painful to try and see how pieces look on me, eight skeins of Garnstudio's Alpaca that I don't have a project for yet, a box of magnetic fridge poetry for cat lovers, a gift certificate for a facial and a cook book focused on things one can grow in the garden. I'm real happy about everything I received.

My sister loved the handbag I made her! She even started showing it around to let our mother and grandmother inspect the seams... Pictures of that one when I can find the cord so I can transfer from the camera to the computer. I honestly don't know what my brother and his girlfriend thought of the baby carrier I made them. I didn't see them unwrap the gift and apparently they didn't understand what it was. My brother asked me and when I told him he sort of just said "Oh. Okey. We thought it was some sort of an apron." I offered to show them how it worked, how you'd tie it and position the baby in it, but just as I offered, we were ushered to the tables for dessert and they never asked me later on... Wouldn't be surprised if it ended up in a drawer.

Remember me saying a couple of weeks ago how I was in need of changes and wanted to trim my body a bit? Well, it's going better than I had anticipated. In four weeks' time I've lost 2,5kg/5.5lbs and 2cm/0.8in around my waist. And that's including Christmas eating. I guess renovating a house, packing, moving and unpacking makes one move around a whole lot more than one thinks...

It seems like my right shoulder (the one has been bothering me all fall) has healed. Even with all the work I've been doing these last two weeks, I haven't experienced pain. I'm really happy about this as it means I might be able to get back into the gym and my yoga classes again after New Year's. I've decided to sign up at another gym (closer to our new house) and I hope I'll enjoy their yoga classes (and instructors) as much as I've enjoyed the ones at my current gym. Hold your thumbs for me, will you? :)

Well, enough random rambling from me. Hope you're all doing fine!

Time for changes

It's definately time for changes. I haven't been my happy self the last couple of months. Or so it feels. I've been more irritated than I'm comfortable with. I've been tired. I've been blah-ish about things that used to excite me. My shoulder still hurts and I haven't exercised as I did before. I've gained weight and feel lumpish and unattractive...

So... Changes...

Yesterday I got my hair done. I'm letting my hair grow out and I feel sort of frustrated with it at the moment. It's longer than I've had my hair in 10 years but it's too short in front to get up in a ponytail without having to use clips. I'm sure I'll be happier about the length if I can only add 5cm/2in to the back and maybe the double in front. Feels like that will open up to completely new styles with fun accessories...

I only trimmed my hair yesterday but I totally changed the colour. It's now chocolate brown. Still getting used to my own reflection in the mirror but I think I like it. I went really dark last winter but could only stand it for about a month and a half before redoing it. This chocolate brown is a bit lighter and the colour is definately more interesting and rich. We'll see in a couple of days when I've washed my hair and styled it myself. If worse comes to worst, I might have to start using a bit of make up every day to not look pale...

And I've also decided to get a grip on how my body looks and feels. I'm weak. I'm not in shape. I feel like a blob and I don't like what I see in the mirror. I eat way too much ice cream for the amount of exercise I get. Earlier this morning I signed up for one of those online get-in-shape-communities as I figured I might need some sort of structure. Could be a waste of money but I'm not ruining myself...

To not run out of energy 'cause I'm starting out too tough (has been known to happen when it comes to me and projects), I'm not going to limit myself too much here in the beginning. Will try to stay reasonable in how much effort I'm capable to put into this.

So far I've decided to:

• only eat ice cream on Fridays and Saturdays
• only have one piece of chocolate each day from the chocolate factory near home
• eat at least one fruit a day (including weekends!)
• continue biking to work but also include at least 15 minutes of walking every day

That shouldn't be too hard, should it?

My goal is to lose 5kg/11lb by end of February. Or slim down my waist by 5cm/2in. Which ever comes first. And I feel comfortable in.

That shouldn't be too hard, should it?

My reward for getting this accomplished and for, hopefully, feeling better about myself is a new tattoo. I know I said I wouldn't get more than one, but I've changed my mind... One can do that, right? :)

(And in case you're wondering... I'm aware of the fact that weight loss doesn't automatically make me feel better about myself but I'm old enough to realize, and recognize, the fact that I do feel better when I feel more in shape, that I'm less tired when I exercise regularly and that my mood brightens when I'm not tired... Choosing to make my health goal weight oriented is more a sign of it being easier than measuring how happy I am...)

The stiff blob

I haven't been practising my yoga much these last couple of weeks. I have to admit to feeling like a stiff blob. I feel tensions in my body and don't feel very relaxed. My body feels big and heavy. And I feel weak.

During spring and summer I went to the gym and practised at least twice a week. Now for several weeks in a row, I've been there once a week. They shifted the classes around a bit compared to the schedule they had before the summer and with buying a house and having to go to the bank and doing house inspections on "yoga days"... Well, less time for me in the gym...

I sometimes do a yoga routine at home in the morning before getting myself ready for work. But I admit to not being as regular as I probably should be to keep my body relaxed and free from tension. My lazy self convinces me that it's much better to stay in bed for another twenty minutes and then take a long hot shower to wake up slowly...

Have been thinking about asking boyfriend to kick me out of bed on Mondays and Wednesdays so I don't have any excuse not to do my routine. I'm sure he'd love to help! :)

It's just so stupid of me as I know I enjoy doing the exercise when I'm actually at it...

Sweaty pig doing yoga

Guess what? The sky cleared up yesterday and I got to see the sun for a couple of hours. And today the sky has started out being more blue than white or grey. :blooby:

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This morning I had my first yoga class at the gym in three weeks. And i'ts only my second class in four weeks. At the gym, that is. During these weeks, I did spend a week at a yoga ashram doing a lot of yoga asanas every day, but it's not the same as my gym yoga. Not the same...

I felt like dying in the gym this morning. My body was stiff. I had no balance. I felt dizzy everytime we stood up. And I sweated like a pig. A large one.

Wonder how long it'll take me to get back into it. To not feel dead in the middle of the class, but actually enjoy the work I do with my body and mind. I'm hoping not too long.

My gym has changed some things around while I was on my vacation (from work and the gym). They have moved machines and weights in the "muscle building section" and it's more spacious now. There's also a brand new room for yoga, pilates and body balance classes. It's a small room with cappucino coloured walls, soft spotlights in the ceiling, extra warmth, sounds proof and with the stereo in an adjescent room so it doesn't interfere with the "clean" feeling/look. Felt good being in there. Even though I wouldn't have minded some natural lighting from a window somewhere...