2015 2nd Quarter Update

Did you forget about my New Year's resolutions? I haven't, here's how they're going:

1. Lose Weight/Eat Healthier - This quarter, I gained 0.5 pounds. This goal has been difficult. I thought that I had been eating healthier, but losing the weight must have taken a little bit more effort last year. I'm just going to have to buckle down and try harder.
2. Try 52 New Recipes - The weather's getting nicer and things at the restaurant are picking up, so I have less free time. Due to that fact, I've only been able to try 7 new recipes this quarter. That's a total of 35 so far this year. Overall, because of the previous quarter's efforts, I'm ahead of the game.
3. "Read" 42 Books - Finding time to read has been difficult with the restaurant being busier, so I've ended up "reading" 4 more books so far, for a total of 9. I think part of this is also due to the fact that the library moved to a new location - they tore down the old building and are building a bigger, newer one. That means it's not on my way to work anymore - out of sight, out of mind. That doesn't explain my lack of audiobooks, though, which I can "check out" on-line.
4. Learn How to Knit - Well, after my stellar start, my progress has come to a grinding halt. After completing over half of the scarf in the first quarter, I only knitted 5 rows this quarter. I'm still ahead of target, since I only expected to have a third of the scarf completed by now, but at this rate I will not finish it by Christmas.

Who would have thought that my update would be this promising? I mean, being ahead of target on two resolutions is great - for me. Just be warned, my next update will probably be much more dismal - it'll be summertime, and we're extremely busy at the restaurant, so I'll have almost no free time.

2015 1st Quarter Update

Have you been wondering how my New Year's resolutions have been going? Well, wonder no longer:

1. Lose Weight/Eat Healthier - This quarter, I stayed even with my weight and haven't gained or lost anything. I forgot to set a hard and fast goal, so I think it will be 40 pounds for the year - approximately 10 pounds per quarter. That seems reasonable, don't you think? I'll have to play catch up for this past quarter, but with it getting busier at the restaurant and band starting back up later this month, I'll be burning more calories.
2. Try 52 New Recipes - Since it's winter and the restaurant is slow this time of year, I have more free time, so I've been able to try 28 new recipes. With the rate I had initially proposed (one a week), I don't have to cook anything new for the rest of the next quarter, and I'll still be on track.
3. "Read" 42 Books - After participating in the Winter Reading Program at the library, I've only ended up "reading" 5 books so far. I've got a book on my bedside table that I'm working on, but I'm way behind. To stay on target, I need to read around 10 books a quarter, so I need to ramp it up!
4. Learn How to Knit - This is going much better than I had ever hoped! My initial goal was to learn how to knit in the first quarter, then finish one-third of the scarf in each subsequent quarter. Can you believe that I am only 17 rows away from finishing the second third of the scarf? I don't even have to look at the scarf for the next six months to stay on track! I did slow down considerably in March, but I've completed 331 rows so far, and the scarf looks great! I've only left one mistake in, and I'm sure I'll be able to finish it by Christmas.

Overall, I think I've been fairly successful at keeping up with some of my resolutions. Since I'm so far ahead on some of them, I can focus on the others this next quarter, but unfortunately, with my short attention span, three months is usually where I fizzle out completely. I will definitely be needing another kick in the pants, I can't wait to see what my next quarterly update has to tell you!

2015 New Year's Resolutions

Now that I've had a chance to think about it, I would like to solidify some New Year's resolutions for 2015.

1. Lose Weight/Eat Healthier - I had started to watch what I was eating at the end of June, and ended up losing almost 20 pounds in three months. Then, I got tired of trying, and I've gained it all back since then. I would like to try again - for real, this time.
2. Try 52 New Recipes - This has been a long standing goal, ever since 2012. It equates to approximately one new recipe a week, and it gives me a reason to try new things.
3. "Read" 42 Books - Goodreads gave me the option to set a goal for this year, and I decided to "read" one more book than last year. Of course, this includes audiobooks, so I won't actually read all of them.
4. Learn How to Knit - I tried to teach myself how back in November 2013, and it wasn't bad, but for some reason I didn't continue with it. Now, I have this fabulous pattern for a double-knit scarf that I just have to make for my brother-in-law, and have to learn it all over again.

Since my list is out there now, I think I'll try to hold myself accountable. Perhaps a quarterly update? It sounds good to me, I'll give it a try.

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year!

I hope that everyone's holidays went well, and that the New Year started out right. Last year, I resolved to cook a new recipe every week, but as things got hectic at the restaurant, I amended that to trying out at least 52 new recipes this year, with one a week as a general guideline. For once, I was successful! I didn't know until today, when I returned to work, that I even exceeded my goal with 54 new recipes! That being said, I think I'll try it again this year. I'm also resolving to lose weight. I've been pretty cavalier about my weight for many years, but for Christmas, Tom got me a Fitbit, which is a fancy pedometer that tracks on-line and you can even track your food, weight, and sleep patterns. I'm excited to see how that all works out, and if I can stick with these resolutions.

New Look

Well, I've just picked up my new glasses! I left my old glasses at the beach when I went to the Raven's Roost Convention. On Thursday, they told me the glasses wouldn't be ready for 7-10 days, so I wasn't expecting to get them for a while, but here they are.

This picture is from Thursday, when I ordered the glasses.