Revisiting old posts, part the second...

This will be the last installment for NYRs and similar things for the 2011 season.

Remember this post? The one about how I don't make NYRs because they inevitably turn to crap by February...yeah, that one. Let's revisit it and see how I did with my List of Things I'd Like to Accomplish in 2011...

1. Stashbusting. I have a lot of yarn. I still have a lot of yarn. I bought even more yarn at events like the 2011 Madison Knitters' Guild Knit-In, Wisconsin Sheep & Wool 2011, and Stitches Midwest 2011...as well as some other places along the way. I also added to my stash by buying roving, which will eventually become yarn. *sigh* I was supposed to be getting rid of yarn. And while I did use yarn in my stash for some of my projects, I didn't use nearly enough of my stashed yarn for projects. So, this didn't go as well as I had hoped...oops.

2. Cleaning the House. For most people, this isn't a huge issue but as I stated in the original post, I have a lot of things that I inherited. Seriously, at one point I had two and a half households worth of stuff...plus the stuff that I purchased and the stuff that Husband purchased...and then you throw in Little Man's stuff. We just had a lot of stuff to deal with. While we've made some progress, there's still a lot left to do...and where we take giant leaps forward in some areas, we take just as giant leaps backwards in other areas. For example, our master bedroom was in pretty good shape. Then we decided that we were going to make the office into the guest room. Now the bedroom looks like a somewhat organized tornado hit it (again). The kitchen is in pretty good shape...but a new countertop will do that. It forced us to take everything off the counters and really decide if it needed to go back on there or not. Most things were put away into cupboards and some things were thrown out (or, rather, will be) and other things are going to be reorganized and put in different places. It looks pretty good in there. It still needs some work but it's pretty good. Other parts of the house haven't even been touched...the basement is atrocious, the upstairs is pretty good (but not finished), Little Man's room needs a lot of work (which will include selling bedroom furniture, buying new furniture for him, and going through all my "teacher stuff," among other things), the office/guest room is nowhere near finished...I could go on and on. So, although gains have been made, some setbacks have occurred as well.

3. Get Organized. This trips up a lot of people. We have these ideas in our head of what we *should* be doing, when we should be doing them, and how we should be doing them. And then life gets in the way, as it has a habit of doing. I've been getting better. I'm trying to reduce paperwork so the plan is to scan paperwork that we need to keep, but not for anything but reference. Things we need to keep for taxes will, unfortunately, have to remain in paper form but all the other extra paperwork can be scanned, shredded, and thrown away (or burned, whatever works). That right there will take out a lot of problems. Husband and I have constant battles about the mail and the paperwork and Puppy getting at it and all of that. I also plan to go through my books and get rid of any that I haven't read, won't read, and don't have an attachment to. I have a lot of books and I don't need to keep all of them. This is a work in progress because books are scattered all over the house. I also need to be a bit more........harsh, I guess, on what I do and don't keep as far as knickknacks and other sentimental things. As Husband says: you can't keep everything. He's right but it's really hard to get rid of things that have sentimental value. He doesn't understand sentimental value because he's just not that way and no matter how hard I try to explain it to him, he just doesn't get it. So, getting organized is always going to be something I have to work on...

4. Spend Quality Time with Little Man (daily). This really isn't difficult and I think I've done pretty well with this. Now that he's toddling around and getting into everything, this is much easier because we can actually play with things. He's also learning how to point and get the things I ask him to bring to me. He's learning which rooms are which (he knows that when I say, "go find daddy, he's in the kitchen" that daddy is in the room where I feed him in the high chair) and will usually go to an indicated room. He's still a little rusty on "bathroom" (unless he's naked) and "living room" but we're working on it. We also get out of the house quite a bit, even if it's just to run to Wal*Mart or the mall. He loves people and he's such a damn little flirt...

5. Spend Time Knitting (daily). Yeah, not so much. The idea was that I would feel better if I could get in even one row...but that's just not the case. I don't want to knit unless I can actually sit and knit for a little while. While I strive to knit every day, it doesn't always happen. Other things have taken away my knitting time, too. I've learned how to spin on my wheel. I've signed up for a full Ancestry account (which is a total time suck!). I've been reading knitting books...which I guess I could still count as knitting but it's not the actual process. And I'm constantly trying to get the daily houselife stuff done like dishes and laundry...and that just cuts into my knitting time. But, I do try...

6. Organize my Yarn Stash. I've done pretty well with this...but I lost my steam. I've got quite a bit of it posted on Ravelry but I have quite a bit left to post. I'm also not really "organizing" it...just making sure I know where to find it. I have all the bins labeled with a number so on my stash page, if you click on a yarn, it will probably say that it's stored in "bin #2" or "drawer #1" or something like that. Not everything has been re-checked since I started putting my stash on Ravelry...but, if it has a photo attached to it, chances are that I've attached it to a bin or drawer, too. I'm going to be working on this forever.

7. Organize my Needles. Yep. Didn't work on this one too well. I have, at least, collected my DPNs into DPN tubes that I ordered from Knit Picks, except for any that are US #10.5 or larger or have their own case (like my Signature DPNs). I have not, however, put them all on Ravelry. I'm thinking about selling some of my straights because I have several pairs of certain sizes that I seem to always need (US #6, US #8, and US #9, mostly)...but I can't do that until I know what I have. Same thing with my fixed circular needles. *sigh* It just never ends...

So, that's 2011 revisited...........I didn't do very well. Oops.

Revisiting old posts...

So, it's damn near October. Yes, you read that correctly: O-C-T-O-B-E-R.

I thought I'd take some time to revisit an old post of mine. Do you remember my post from oh-so-long-ago about New Years' Resolutions (NYRs)? No? Oh...well, go here to review. No, really...I'll wait. Go read it.

Done?

Okay then, let's discuss.

It's October. How are things going with my List of Things I'd Like to Accomplish in 2011? Let's start at the beginning.

1. Stashbusting --> I have a lot of yarn. No, really, it's kind of sickening how much yarn I have. So, I'm hoping to avoid buying yarn (things like the Madison Knitters' Guild Knit-In in March and Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival in September don't count) and making things using yarn already in my stash. This shouldn't prove to be too difficult. I will make the exception on yarn buying if I need more to complete a project...but that's the exception.

Well..........knitting has been lessening as Little Man gets older and more mobile (seriously, he's pulling himself up to stand and walk around things). I've been working on using my stash but I think I went a little crazy at Knit-In and Sheep & Wool. Actually, I didn't do that badly at Sheep & Wool...I bought mostly fiber that weekend. However, I also added a "festival" of sorts when I went to Stitches Midwest. I have substantially more yarn in my stash because of those three events. However, I also was able to rid myself of some yarn when I sold some at the last Knitters' Guild meeting of the year in May. It wasn't much...but it was some. I've got more for sale on my Ravelry trade/sell page, if you're so inclined to look. I've also got some that I'm willing to let go of that I don't have listed there yet...I should get on that. Let's face it, I'm not doing well with the stashbusting. *sigh*



2. Clean the house --> This sounds like a normal task for most people but, at my house, it means going through every single thing in every single room and throwing things out, selling things, having St. Vinny's come and take things off my hands, and having the Buy & Sell shops come and take things off my hands. I have a lot of stuff. Unfortunately, this task is going to be made more difficult by the presence of Little Man. But, we're going to try it...

I have done some work with this. I actually had a garage sale around here...granted, most stuff did not move and will be going to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Buy & Sell, or the consignment shop...but I was able to get a bunch of stuff together from the house that I was willing to get rid of. And for me, that's a huge start.



3. Get organized --> I am terrible at getting organized. I have good intentions and I try things out...I have yet to find something that works for both Husband and I. Someday...but we're going to keep trying!

This is going to be forever ongoing. It seems like I get one area finished, move on to another area, only to come back to the first area to find that it's a disaster again. One of the things I'd like to rid myself of completely is paperwork. We have to keep so much paperwork for taxes with the condo and medical stuff and other paperwork for medical stuff, specifically Little Man's metabolic disorder and it just seems never-ending. We have a scanner. I have a jump drive. I can scan all this paperwork and put it on the jump drive, organize it from there, and shred the evidence, so to speak. Also, with Little Man being mobile, it's even more difficult to keep things picked up and organized. He's so curious about everything that he has to make a mess. It'll get better with time.

4. Spend quality time with my Little Man --> I spend a lot of time with him now but he's so young that we're just feeding, changing, and crying. As he gets older, I hope to spend time with him outside playing, inside playing, etc.

"Quality" is a relative term. We play in the house, get out of the house and go shopping (usually groceries or baby stuff), go to doctor appointments, visit Husband at work, visit Auntie at work, etc. We do play quite a bit and Little Man adores Puppy...now if we could just keep Puppy from jumping all up in his business, we'd be good to go. But it's pretty well established that I spend a lot of time with Little Man.



5. Spend time knitting every day --> ...even if it's only one row.

I'll admit that I don't knit every day. I try to but sometimes, I'm just so tired that all I want to do is sleep, read stuff on Ravelry and/or blogs, or dink around playing games on my iPhone. Also, playing with fiber, whether I am knitting, attempting to crochet, spinning...it all counts. I used the term "knitting" when I should have said, "have an affair with fiber every day."

6. Organize my yarn stash --> I also want to put it on Ravelry.

This is an on-going process. I've done quite well, however...you can go here to see. I am by no means finished with this...especially since Stitches Midwest was three or four weeks ago and Sheep & Wool was two weeks ago and I hadn't finished going through all my bins in the first place. But, I'm working on it.


7. Organize my needles --> I also want to put it on Ravelry.

Again, this is an on-going process. I'll admit, though, I haven't done much with this. Part of it is that I'm still trying to find all my needles...but, I'll get there. It's not detrimental if I don't.



I think I'm done re-hashing my NYRs that aren't NYRs. Have you revisited yours?

Happy, sick Tuesday.....

Yes, it's true. I've come down with the common winter ailment known as "the cold." Runny nose, sneezing, some coughing...ick. Luckily, Little Man seems fine at this point. I'm not too thrilled with being sick but, I don't really have much choice at this point either. I'm just going to have to let it run it's course.

I've stared a spreadsheet that will catalog all my yarn. I've gotten through the first two bins worth...but I have six bins total, and some drawers full...and a basket...and some bags...

I think I have a problem.

Anyway, that's part of my NYRs so I don't feel so bad that I'm taking some time to do it. And I'm sick. I think maybe some lunch is in order at this point...I like lunch :)

Happy New Year....Happy Resolutions?

I'm not normally one for New Years' Resolutions. I find that when I resolve to do something at the new year, I will invariably work on it for a couple of months and then it fizzles away and I don't remember anything about it until, say, October...and then I work on it like a fiend until the end of the year. That's hardly what I call a proper New Years' Resolution (NYR). I've tried so many different things for NYRs over the years that I've often wondered if I jinx myself by making them in the first place. I've made the following NYRs over the years (before I stopped about 5 years ago):
1. Loose weight properly (diet & exercise) --> this one did work for awhile...but it was such a pain in the butt to constantly be dieting and having to watch every little morsel that went into my mouth. Seriously, I like to be able to go to Taco Bell once in awhile and not feel totally guilty about it.
2. Eat better --> I don't know what I was thinking when I made this resolution. I know how to eat properly...and it's not that I eat horribly. I like fruits and veggies and all the good things I'm supposed to eat. But, I found it increasingly difficult to eat properly when I wasn't sure when I was going to be able to buy groceries again...made buying fresh items more difficult.
3. Clean one room per month --> Yeah, this did not go well, ever. I was trying to force myself to go through my mother's and my stuff after she died...I wasn't ready for that. I avoided it like the plague. I would open up a drawer, take everything out, sort it into stuff that was mine that I was keeping, stuff that was mom's, and stuff that was mine that could be thrown away. I never seemed to get rid of any of my mom's stuff.
4. Spend more time with my friends --> I did quite well with this one until the sh*t hit the fan...and then I spent a lot of the next couple of years by myself. Guess I learned who my friends really were.
5. Answer e-mails --> This went over like a lead balloon. Oh, wait, Mythbusters proved that a lead balloon will float...you know what I mean. I don't know why it's so difficult for me to reply to e-mails. It's not like it's difficult for me to type a quick, "Hi, how's it going, here's what's going on" e-mail, is it?
6. Clip coupons --> It was wrought with good intent...but I never seemed to get around to buying the items that I clipped the coupons for. Oh well.
7. Have a garage sale --> I just find garage sales to be a huge pain in the butt and, as much as I needed to have one, I just never got around to it. The stuff eventually made it's way to The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and to the Buy & Sell shop...

In other words, I have made NYRs over the years and have failed miserably. I tried making some of the same NYRs from year to year, with the same dismal results.

So, this begs the question: why am I going to make NYRs again? I'm not. Well, not exactly...I'm going to make a list of things I'd like to accomplish this year.....and not beat myself up if I don't accomplish them. Does that make sense?

Anyway, onward to my List of Things I'd Like to Accomplish in 2011
1. Stashbusting --> I have a lot of yarn. No, really, it's kind of sickening how much yarn I have. So, I'm hoping to avoid buying yarn (things like the Madison Knitters' Guild Knit-In in March and Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival in September don't count) and making things using yarn already in my stash. This shouldn't prove to be too difficult. I will make the exception on yarn buying if I need more to complete a project...but that's the exception.
2. Clean the house --> This sounds like a normal task for most people but, at my house, it means going through every single thing in every single room and throwing things out, selling things, having St. Vinny's come and take things off my hands, and having the Buy & Sell shops come and take things off my hands. I have a lot of stuff. Unfortunately, this task is going to be made more difficult by the presence of Little Man. But, we're going to try it...
3. Get organized --> I am terrible at getting organized. I have good intentions and I try things out...I have yet to find something that works for both Husband and I. Someday...but we're going to keep trying!
4. Spend quality time with my Little Man --> I spend a lot of time with him now but he's so young that we're just feeding, changing, and crying. As he gets older, I hope to spend time with him outside playing, inside playing, etc.
5. Spend time knitting every day --> ...even if it's only one row.
6. Organize my yarn stash --> I also want to put it on Ravelry.
7. Organize my needles --> I also want to put it on Ravelry.

I think that's plenty to get through in a year. Granted, some of it would not take more than a day to complete...if I were to have all the time in the world and didn't have to worry about anyone else. But, that's not likely to happen. So, thing by thing, day at a time.

On that note, I hope you all have a wonderful and safe New Years' and I hope to see you all again. Oh, and if I'm feeling sassy...and if I gather enough followers...I may have a little yarn giveaway (that counts as stashbusting, right?) :)