So, it's been 2 weeks since I last posted anything. I went to Oklahoma for a friend's wedding over that weekend and came back with some horrible illness that knocked me on my back for a couple of days.

Anyway, what I was going to write about was all of my goals for this upcoming year, 2015. (2015... So strange.)

"It's weird how I'm consistently surprised by the passage of time."

Firstly, I guess I share the rest of the world's obsession with getting fit at the beginning of the year. I spent a good deal of last year hiking and generally trying out new things in order to get fit. My husband I did a few little fad diets for all of a couple of weeks and decided those were definitely not for us. All the hiking for me paid off, however. My endurance level for other types of workouts has gone up, and I'm finding myself quite motivated to stay at least somewhat active. 

This year, I decided to start using FitnessBlender.com more and more to keep my activity level up, especially in the colder, muddier, winter months. I was trying to do their workout videos last year, but I didn't have the strength and motivation. This year, I know my body can do more, and I'm trying to keep my mind in the game by focusing on the fact that I want to be just like Jennifer Lawrence. Or Emily Blunt. If I could just be as tough as they are in The Hunger Games or Edge of Tomorrow, I'll feel like I reached my goal. I generally don't want to weigh as much as I do now, but I don't really have any set goals for weight loss. 

I did overdo it, however, in the week before I went to Oklahoma. I did push-ups 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, for about 4 minutes, and the next day, and for the week following, I couldn't scratch the spot between my nose and upper lip without leaning my head forward so my poor triceps wouldn't have to extend too much. The motivation is definitely there, but perhaps I can be slightly fanatical. 

I'm also trying to keep up my crafty streak that started at the end of last year. I organized some of my craft supplies at the beginning of the year and, as I have been every year, am consistently troubled by the amount of yarn I've accumulated over the years. I get yarn from friends who tried to take up knitting and quit, or from people whose grandmothers have died and left behind their stash. I've filled two suitcases with yarn and crochet thread. So, my goal is to knit and crochet my way through all of it, buying as little new yarn as I can manage until my current stash is gone.

I already ran into a hitch, however. I bought a skein of yarn from this great little yarn store in Edgewood last year and promptly threw it in a drawer to be forgotten about for a time. My brother-in-law gave me a book of knitting projects for Christmas this last year, though, and I found a project that I thought would be perfect for this particular yarn. I even weighed out the yarn to make sure I had enough. Unfortunately, I'm not the best about reading directions thoroughly. While, the pattern called for yarn that came in skeins smaller than the one I currently had, it called for multiple skeins. I missed the part about the multiples. Charlotte had shredded the tag that came with the skein so off I trudged to the yarn store that I had not been to, as I said, in over a year.

I walk in and tell the shopkeeper my predicament, and she gets a very knowing look and begins to chide me about how often people walk in saying exactly that. "I bought this yarn a year ago, and...." She is extremely helpful however, but unfortunately, while she still carries the brand, she has sold out of the color that I need. She gets her catalog and helps me identify the color I need and sends me off to order it online because she doesn't want to burden me with the shipping cost that she would need help with if she were to order it herself. So much for not buying any new yarn....

I also have been working on my "upcycling clothes" project and hope to make significant progress. Last year, I went to some thrift shops and purchased as many cheap dresses as I could. So far, I have about 3 wearable dresses, and I have about 20 unwearable ones that need some serious help. It's kind of a fun way to use awful clothes that nobody else will wear and create my own little fashion statement (if you can call it that). 

My last big goal is to read 52 books this year. I'm off to a good start, having already completed 5 and I'll probably write up little book reports on them as I finish. I always liked reading but hadn't quite figured out what it was that I liked to read until last year, so now, armed with some reading lists, I think 52 will be quite manageable.

I tend to pick goals that are easy enough to drop (literally) and come back to for those times when I see my little girl running toward me with a razor sharp instrument of death that I forgot to put out of her reach. (She's very tall for her age... Most everything is within her grasp if she puts her mind to it.)

Anyway, that's all for now!