In The End It Doesn’t Even Matter

So now we are here at the end of the year and what a year it has been.  New job, reconnecting with relatives & friends, death, birth, marriage, it was all there!  But today I want to talk about a major turning point that occurred this year.  I mentioned in a previous post about 2017 being a huge transformative year for me.  I guess it has been this way for many people from what I’ve been reading.  And how the eclipse was a major influence.  I believe this to be true.  Something definitely happened to me during and after the eclipse. It’s hard to explain without sounding like a complete nut job but it was like I was in some weird trance trying to do whatever I could to break away from bad habits and bad situations.  It was VERY instinctive.  It felt like the universe was telling me that there was something bigger in store for me and that I must get my shit together!  So now a few months have passed and I can see how everything was interconnected.  How I projected my real life situation with the online drama.  Wanting to protect and even “save” those I care about from the wrong people.  At times feeling unimportant because I wasn’t taken seriously.  But somehow I finally learned to LET GO and to trust those that I love to handle things on their own.  Be there for them but let them fight their own battles and have faith that they will do the right thing.  In the process of letting go I somehow found my voice back and was able to focus more on myself again.  One major life lesson that I encounter often is putting other people’s needs and happiness before my own.  I hope to continue to focus more on my well being in the next year and I believe with all my heart that the people meant to be in my life are going through or will be going through a similar journey as me.  I will end it here tonight and post goals for 2018 after the new year.  

Here is a poem from one of my favorite poets Lang Leav.  She has this unique way of writing that can be both specific and universal.  See you all next year!👩🏻‍🏫

Run in Circles

Hello everyone!👋  Sometimes I wonder how many people actually read my blog.  What if I am really talking to myself??  Well Xmas is over for another year.  I had a great time with the fam last Friday.  Everyone thinks it is cool that I started knitting, they all love the scarf I made for John.  That’s great because guess what you’re all getting next year!  I’ve been experiencing some holiday blues this year.  There’s just this vibe of loneliness in the air.  It was nice to see my mom & John bond over their recent losses though. My mom gave me the most beautiful birthday card, she said she cried writing it because she was thinking of her sister that just died. 

I gave her a hug but didn’t cry until I read it again the next day.  I don’t know why my emotions usually hit me later on.  It’s almost like I need time to process what I am feeling if that makes any sense.

As far as projects go I haven’t done much because of the holidays.  I did start working with circular needles and I have to say that the ones I am using now are a dream to work with.  I started out with 29 inch circulars to make a hat but found it hard to work with because the wires kept twisting.  Then I read somewhere that it is better to have your work cinch up on shorter needles rather than spread apart with longer ones.  The ones recommended for hats are 16 inches.  Here is what I am currently working on:

It does cinch up a little but so much easier to work with than the longer ones.  For chunkier yarn I might go up to 24 inches which is the only size between 16 & 29.  

I feel guilty for not working on my Etsy shop.  I will again eventually.  The nice thing is that I can go at my own pace when I am listing things.  Right now I’m enjoying my knitting time.  I saw a video on FB the other day about this 91 year old elderly man that is living his final days knitting hats for those in need.  He already made 8000 of them!!  What an inspiration, I want to be just like him in my final days.

I will post one more time before the year ends.  Probably talk about some goals for 2018 or whatever and some ramblings of stuff that happened this year.  Until next time!✍️

Almost Christmas Already🤶🏼

Can’t believe there is only 1 more week until Christmas 🎄.  I had a good birthday.  It is always nice when people take time out of their day to wish me a happy birthday.  It means that they thought of you and that to me is really special.  This year our family Birthmas celebration is on Friday 22nd.  Earlier tonight we attended a Christmas choir concert at my son’s school.  I’m so proud of him for participating in this!  He’s been in choir since 7th grade and tonight he participated in his first high school concert in front of 1200 people.  He did great but wanted to sit the whole time, haha, but at least he did it!  Wednesday his class is taking a field trip to neighboring schools to do some Christmas caroling.  I can’t express how proud I am of his independence lately.  It has been hard for me to let go but I am starting to trust that he is capable of handling things on his own.  

I don’t have much to cover today except this lovely gray beanie that I made over the weekend.  It took me about 3 hours.  I used the Wool and the Gang yarn that I posted in a previous post.  I have to say that this yarn has been my absolute favorite to use so far and I am definitely buying more in the future.  It is so soft and easy to work with.  The stitch I used was a seed stitch which is an alternating knit/purl combo.  I love the way it turned out!

It seriously makes me giddy knowing that I can knit all these things.  It is not just a hobby but a true life skill that I can use in case of a crisis.  

And there is just so much to learn.  The next thing I am going to try is how to use circular needles.  I don’t know if I mentioned this before but my go to place to learn practically any new skill is on YouTube.  I will post a link with my saved playlist of knitting tutorials either in a future blog post or to my google+ page.  I also created a Pinterest board for knitting related stuff. Have a great week.  I get Friday & Monday off for Christmas🎄🎄🎄🎄

As One Door Closes...

Every year around this time I reflect on everything that has happened during the year.  This year has definitely been one of my most transformative years.  I have learned so much and feel like for the first time in a long time I am feeling good about life again.  From last year being one of the worst years of my life to this year being one of the best years of my life.  The one thing I want to document for future reference is that if I want to start seeing CHANGE the most important thing to do is to just START!  Things will eventually take off after that but you have to be willing to take that first step.  And the universe will always guide you in the right direction.  I 100 million percent believe that whatever you focus your time and energy on is how your life is going to be at the moment.  Of course there will always be bad days but the key is to see it as it is...a bad day and not a reflection of your life as a whole.  I’m excited to start the next chapter of my life as I continue to focus on being more proactive rather than reactive.  Thank you God for giving me another year of life.💝

Do it for Johnny

Happy Birthday to my Johnny.  I don’t usually like to talk about our relationship in public because I’m very protective of our privacy and like to keep things sacred.  But know that I love that man more than anything.  I just barely finished his scarf.  It is almost 6 feet long, approximately 68 inches and exactly 2 skeins of yarn.  It took me over 6 hours to make (3 hours yesterday and 3 today)!  The different colors definitely fit his outgoing and lively personality.  Happy Birthday my dearest!🎂😍

Knit knit knitting away

It seems like I have developed a knitting addiction.  Lately when I don’t have any plans or have to be somewhere I am usually knitting.  It’s been really good for me.  It reduces my stress and anxiety.  I am surprised by how much I enjoy it because usually any type of repetition drives me crazy!  I used to loom knit years ago but got tired of it after a few months.  There’s just something about using the needles that are more satisfying.  I finished a 60 inch/5 foot scarf today and even added on some fringe.

I mean if you look closely you can see some mistakes but oh well I think it turned out great for my first full length scarf.  I also finished my first hat but I am almost embarrassed to post it because I didn’t follow any guidelines so the proportions look kinda off😅.  I overestimated the width & underestimated the length!  The pompom was super easy and fun to make.  

And last but not least I am working on a nice cozy scarf for J’s birthday.  This one is turning out really nice.  I love the colors, it is made from the Isaac Mizrahi yarn I posted on my last post.  I will probably need to buy another skein to make the scarf long enough.  

So far I have only been using the knit/garter stitch.  My next project I am going to use knit/purl combo.  I just wanted to finish a project first!  I have also been taking notes as I go along.  Happy knitting!🧣

The Bigger the Better

I am still feeling kinda blah today.  I must of picked something up from being around a bunch of sick kids at the indoor gym I went to for my nefew’s 3rd birthday party.  So I think I am going to take it easy for the rest of the week because I have my work’s company Christmas party to go to this Friday.  

I bought some new yarn yesterday and some big ass knitting needles that could seriously double as vampire stakes.  I picked yarn colors that are more my style.  And more chunkier yarn because they are easier to work with and I like the look and feel of it better.

I feel like I have finally mastered both the knit & purl stitch and ready to start making things for a little while before I begin learning new patterns.  Can’t wait to start working on these.😍

My first black light yoga

Hello everyone.  Hope you are all doing well.  I had a busy but fun weekend but I think I am getting sick 😷.  Saturday I was out and about for most of the day.  I had such a great time at the soul pose yoga event.  I went to the afternoon session which was at 1pm but I arrived 45 minutes early to browse over the vendor tables and grab some goodies.  Mostly a lot of yoga related stuff and healthy stuff and free cans of LaCroix.  And samples of White Claw which only gave me a slight buzz on an empty stomach.  Our yoga mat, towel & coffetti pack were out on the floor.  

It was mostly groups of women but there were actually quite a few people that came solo including men.  There were also families, couples, and boys/girls of all ages.  I went over and sat next to another lady that was by herself.  I really liked the yoga instructor which I picked based on her bio.  It helps to practice with an instructor who you can relate with and is in line with your beliefs.  She had us focus on our heart chakra which is associated with the energy center for love and compassion.  It is represented by the color green so she had us focus on that color as well.  The 1st half hour was straight yoga. I consider myself at an intermediate level since I’ve been practicing yoga on and off for over 15 years.  I actually found this session pretty challenging especially because the yoga mats they supplied to us were crappy.  I kept sliding off my mat, a decent yoga mat should be somewhat sticky.  Before the half hour she had us do group activities which I didn’t feel too comfortable with but I went along with it.  We all held hands in a kumbaya type of way.  Then she had us partner up, so I partnered up with the lady next to me.  It was so awkward because we had to get in each other’s personal space!  But she was really cool and what a neat experience it was to be able to bond with and trust a stranger.  Then after that the instructor had us throw our confetti and then some cheesy dancing.  Then yoga for the rest of the hour.  Overall a great experience that I will definitely participate in if they are in town again next year.  And it was a really good value for $20.00.  As we were leaving they gave us each this pretty bracelet as a thank you and for making it through the session.  It is actually nicely constructed.  I wore it all day today!

I haven’t had much time to work on any projects over the weekend but I am learning new knitting patterns and working my way to completing a project.  I am getting better at reading yarn labels and finding the right needles to use.  Have a great week and Namaste 🙏 

Hello December❄️

Hello December!  This seems to be a big social month for most people because of all the holiday parties and get togethers.  December (16th) is also my birthday month!  Growing up I had to share my birthday with Christmas AND my brother’s birthday (19th).  And now with my husband (12th).  Also my sister’s husband birthday is the day after mine.  As a family we still celebrate December birthdays alongside Christmas.  I don’t mind it at all, the more the merrier!  

Tomorrow I am going to my first black light yoga event.  I am going by myself but I know some friends who will be there.  We get these goodies plus all of the vendor goodies before & after session.

They will also supply all the glow paint.  I couldn’t believe my luck yesterday when I came across some glow wearables at the store, still around from Halloween at 80% off.  I don’t know if I’ll need them but will bring just in case.

I will let you all know how it went.  Have a great weekend!👸🏻