Remember me?

Why, hello there! Remember me?

So much for wanting to post more regularly! The beginning of this year has been pretty busy. Here are brief outlines of what’s been going on. (and as much as I want to say I’ll be better about posting, I don’t want to make any promises since we all know how well that’s been working!)

Books
Of course I’m still reading! I’ve read 23 books so far since January 1. Most were really good (I think only one 5-star Goodreads rating so far, but quite a few 4 stars). Check out my 2014 page to see the list.

Finally got settled with My Reading Buddy! This is his last year in the program, so it’s a little bittersweet. I can’t remember if I mentioned anything about it in earlier posts (and frankly, I’m too lazy to go back and look) but there is a new program coordinator this year and it just doesn’t seem as organized as before. Anyway, we’ve only met a bit more than a handful of times based on weather, holidays, vacations, etc. In all that time we’ve only read one book: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days. Man that main character is a terrible role model! Anyway, we finally finished that book and then A. wanted to read another one, so we started the Wimpy Kid book that came before Dog Days (yeah A. doesn’t care about reading things in order..ahhh!) Anyway, it’s been good to meet with him, but I think we won’t meet for the next couple of weeks due to school vacation and some testing they have going on. Before we know it, it will be the end of the program & he’ll be “graduating”!

Crafts
I actually wasn’t as productive with crafty things, either. After making the Kimono dress I didn’t make anything else until very recently. I’ve knitted a couple of blanket squares for baby blankets at work, but only took a picture of one (I forgot to take a picture of the other one before turning it in).

Ophelia Baby Footprint Pattern by Bridget McKenzie (found on Ravelry)

I finally finished the apron for my sister — her Christmas gift! (I finished it on Easter) I needed more of the bias tape for the edging and took a while to get it, and then got lazy. But I finally sat down to the sewing machine for the first time since January 2 and really got into it and finished the apron. I’m really pleased with it, and my sister loves it!

Sonny wanted to make sure the neck strap was comfy enough

Then while taking a quick (yes, actually quick!) trip to JoAnn Fabrics (to get a cushion) we saw — Bruins fabric!!! They finally released the licensing rights, so without any idea of what to make, I grabbed a couple yards of each print available. When we got home, M. asked for a zippered bag for his golf tees. To make it interesting, I used both fabrics. Voila:
(UPDATE – I actually made 2 of these, the same way with the 2 different fabrics)

Now I’m back in a sewing mood and want to make more things! While at JoAnn’s I found a really cute fabric pattern in the remnants bin and had to grab it. I think I might make a small springy/summery clutch with it.

Wedding
Well, we’ve been busy with wedding plans and have done a lot! We’ve sent out our save the dates, we’re finalizing our invitations to order them, we started our wedding registry, we have an appointment in a couple of weeks to have a menu tasting for the dinner, and I got my dress!! (alterations to follow a bit later in the summer)

A lot of people said “oh you’ll just cry when you find the ONE”, and being an emotional person, I was expecting it to happen. But I didn’t cry, I was just happy with my decision 🙂 I tried on maybe 8-10 different dresses (something like that). The one I ended up with was actually the 4th or 5th one I tried, and it was at the top of my mental list and even though I tried on a few more after that, it just solidified my choice. The funny thing is, going in, I had an idea of what I wanted: a strapless dress and loved the idea of the tea-length, shorter dresses. I didn’t want a train. Well, I ended up with a long, strapless dress with a train! It’s a simple dress, flowy, and most importantly: comfortable! (many people did tell me that I would probably walk out with something different than I had pictured; they were right!)

Fitness
I began training for the Calle’s Miracle Run 5k in January and while the beginning training went really well, I got sick (you know, winter time and all), had to stop and then never really got back into it the way I wanted to. However, I still beat my 5k time from last year by almost 9 minutes! I did run more than last year but still had to walk for some of it. So my goal for next year is to cut my time down by 5 minutes and run even more of it!

After some encouragement from my friend Darcel (check out her fitness blog here), I started a 21 Day Fix plan that has daily 30 minute high energy exercise routines as well as an eating plan with special containers to categorize and portion meals. (that was a really high-level overview of the plan). I love the idea of it and started off really well, then I started slacking. I stuck with the exercising longer than the food plan. I really need to get better self-discipline going here! I’ve decided to re-start the plan this upcoming weekend. The daily exercises are great. As soon as I start feeling like I can’t do much more, they’re over! Definitely work up a sweat and have that great sore muscle feeling that lets you know you got a good workout. I just need to get over this mental bump to really push myself to do this consistently and well.

In conclusion…
Just kidding. But really, that’s what’s been going on with me. How are you?