Blogmas Day 19 - Reflection on 2020, and Resolutions for 2021

 Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I wanted to share my resolutions for 2020, and how I did this year working on them. I shared my hopes for 2020 in last year's Blogmas post on my resolutions here. I am also sharing below what my resolutions are for 2021. I am so excited for a fresh New Year, more than ever this year. A New Year always feels like such a fresh start and full of possibilities. Please see below for my 2020 review and then my goals for the upcoming year!

Review of 2020 Goals:

1. Get Married

I didn’t get married this year – twice! because of the pandemic, the first time the venue wasn't open and the second time there was threat of closures and a reduced guest size to 10 people . So we postponed to next year. We have a tentative date planned for March. Fingers crossed that the third time is a charm.

2.Buy a House or Condo✅

We did buy a condo/townhouse! We moved in in November this year and put down the offer, and had it accepted in August. It was an exciting experience and we are so happy in our new home. 

3. Get to my goal weight 

I didn’t get to my goal weight this year. I did lose weight in the Summer and worked hard eating right and exercising. Then I started gaining again after the move and now it is Christmas time and more difficult to diet. I will start over in the New Year. 

4. Read 15 books ✅

I got to 12 books completed at this point. I have a few books on the go right now that I might finish before the end of the year. I read more this year than other years with being home more often. I mark this one as complete because I am reading those 3 last books and reached my goal to read 15.

5. Knit 12 new projects

I knitted a shawl, two fair isle ornaments, socks, a cowl, scarf as a Christmas gift, a pumpkin, a beanie that I haven't yet finished, and a wreath ornament. I have knitted the ornaments before so they don't count. I made it to 6 items that I didn't knit before. I like this goal and will use it again for 2021.

6. Improve blog✅

I did start following new blogs this year especially at the end because of Blogmas. I followed new knitters on Instagram. I posted a lot more this year around 3 times each week at some points. I was thinking of ways to improve my blog and think of new content to share especially for Blogmas this year.

Resolutions for 2021 

1. Get to goal weight - I will keep working towards my goal weight and trying to be the healthiest version of me. I will read the article called "how to get to your goal weight faster" by SkinnyMs from this photo.

Photo source

2. Read 20 books - I had a goal this past year of 15 books and almost made it. So I will aim for 20 this next year! I can do it.

Photo source

3. Knit a top - I see so many cute tops on Instagram to knit up. This year, I will choose one to knit up to wear in the summer.

Photo source

4. Get married - I hope to get married in March of 2021.

Photo source

5. Start trying for a baby - I am really hoping that once we get married, we can start trying for a baby. I am so excited for our future family that we build together. My sister is currently pregnant and due in late April next year. I am excited to be an Aunt, and I am so happy that our family is growing.

Photo source

6. Get a cat - I really want to get a pet cat this year, we shall see. It will be a busy year and we have to be all set up in our home to welcome a pet. I have always had cats growing up and feel my home is not complete without one.

Photo source

7. Finish decorating home - We still have a lot of furniture and décor to buy for our new home. Hopefully this year we can complete decorating our new home and make it all that we would like it to be.

Photo source

8. Start a yoga routine -I want to incorporate yoga into my weekly morning routine to get in shape and healthy. I think yoga is a calming exercise and great way to get mentally ready for the workday.

Photo source

9. Start Cross stitching - As I mentioned in my preparing for 2021 post, I am interested in learning how to cross stitch this upcoming year. I saw a cute set on Etsy that I will probably buy to get started. It is always fun learning something new.

Photo source

Thank you for stopping by the blog today! How was 2020 for you? It was a crazy year and it is nice to see that even while in a pandemic, I did meet some of my goals and resolutions. What are your goals for 2021? I am so excited for the New Year! Looking forward to celebrating Christmas first. I can't believe it is in 6 days! 🎄 See you again for another Blogmas post tomorrow for day 20!

Have a great day!

Hello September! My Goals and Plans

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. Happy September 1st! It is that time of the year again when I like to go over my goals for the year and see how I am doing and discuss how I want to spend the rest of the year. I think of September as a mini version of New Years in the sense that it is when school would usually begin and we'd go back to school shopping for clothes and supplies and feel the fresh start. Yesterday I was out and about shopping for a dress for my engagement photo shoot that I will be doing tomorrow and saw so many people out shopping looking for clothes for back to school. I used to get excited to buy new clothes and supplies to start the new year at school. I've decided to review my resolutions for the year and to make goals for this month to achieve them down below.

1. Read 15 books

I have read 5 books so far and I am currently reading two wonderful books. They are What to Expect Before You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff and The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory. I am almost finished them so I will be at seven books soon. I will need to read a lot in the next four months to meet my goal.I really love making reading goals each year because I learn a lot from reading books on different topics and also enjoy reading fictional books which interest me and make me laugh and bring me joy. I would also like to start reading more books related to career development as well and might make that more of a focus in 2020.

September: finish reading two books and start on a third

A book I am currently reading and others I would like to read this year

2. Use less plastic:
I have been thinking of this resolution lately and I have definitely cut back on using plastic this year. I would like to do even better and I have been thinking of documenting my plastic use a bit more so I can improve even more using less one time use plastic and buying more long term use items like reusable straws, containers, and reusable sandwich bags.

September: do a plastic free week or month to try even harder to cut out plastic.

3. Knit a shawl

I bought yarn to knit the shawl but the pattern I found called for very long circular needles that I could not find. I think I will either look for a different pattern or keep looking for the length of needles I need for the pattern. I will be starting a shawl very soon though and especially because this was one of my resolutions this year and there are only 4 months left!

September: start knitting a shawl


4. Complete 12 knitting projects

I have knitted 5 projects so far. I will work on finishing the spiral socks and start the shawl. I have some ideas for Christmas knits as well.
I have finished the first spiral tube sock and have started on the second one.

September: finish knitting socks and start on shawl

Making progress - almost done the first sock!

5. Find and secure a wedding venue

I found the venue we will get married in not too far from where we live and we will be having the ceremony followed by the reception at the same venue. I knew it was the right venue for us after the first tour. I have been getting into wedding planning lately and we have most of the vendors now. I just need to make the final decision on cake, hair and makeup, and flowers but I have been in contact with all three. In eight months I will be married to the perfect man for me and I can't wait to start our married life together.

September to October: secure vendors for flowers, cake, hair and makeup. Begin looking for decor items to place at the venue. Take engagement photos and send out save the date invitations.

Cute mug from Winners

6. Get to my goal weight

I am currently not at my goal weight. I have been making progress slowly over the year to losing weight and lately I have been seeing some progress. I will be trying very hard to get closer and will continue to work hard to attain this goal before my wedding next May.

September: lose 10 lbs (min), eat clean, workout 3-4 times each week

How are you doing with your New Year's resolutions? Does September also motivate you on achieving your goals?

Thank you for visiting! Have a good long weekend

Self Care and Life Balance

Hi Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I have been busy with work, helping my sister with wedding plans as her Maid of Honor, and working on knitting projects and reading goals.

Lately I have been thinking more about self care  and creating a more positive routine for myself during the week and accomplishing more of what I would like to do. Last year I was at home, taking online courses, knitting, and blogging. Returning to work makes me think of purposefully taking time for self care and after having not worked full time in a few years, it requires more effort to get back into it. I have recently been reflecting on what self care practices I used then and now and have noticed lately that I am getting back into some of my older self care habits and tricks that help me to keep balanced. So I thought I would love to chat with you about them. Below are some things I have been up to lately to take care of myself and to learn and grow and to be my best self.

Listening to audio books:  I have really been looking into reading and listening to more books on personality, goals, and self care. I have been thinking that going back to work has brought back a need for me time and reflection in the evenings and mornings. I listened to a wonderful audiobook called What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Mornings and Life by Laura Vanderkam. I took this book out from the online library because I have been thinking more about morning routines and how it is so important to starting your day off right. Through reading this book, I learned that mornings can be such an important time of the day for many people to get in their exercise, reading, journaling, spiritual practices, professional development and more.  I love my mornings before work because as I prepare my breakfast and meals for the day, I think about the day ahead as I sip my coffee and mentally prepare myself. I have been thinking of ways be more productive and to make the most of my mornings before work. I listened to this audiobook on my drive to work and realized that would be a great time to learn new things and to prepare for the day on my drive. In the audiobook, the author suggests to write a time log for a week to see how you use your time and ways you can be more productive. I would love to also do that. I would love to read and knit more because that is a big priority for me and to also make more time to blog. I will be incorporating more of these into my morning routine.

Reading: I finished reading the book Reading People by Anne Bogel and enjoyed learning about the personality tests you can take to learn more about your personality. I think this book would be more helpful for someone who has taken these tests before and can learn more about your type. But I also thought for someone like me with some knowledge of personality types, it provided me with more information on the tests you can do and it kept my interest. It also made me want to take one of the tests by a professional as suggested in the book. So reading has been helping me keep my balance and providing me with some more information on different personalities and that we are not all the same and to accept others for who they are and to accept yourself for who you are. I like to learn and also grow in my awareness of myself, my abilities, and also weaknesses. Reading books like these have been helping me to look inwards and to understand myself and others more.

Watching YouTube videos about self care: Like blogging, vlogs can offer a window into the lives of others and you can learn so many new tips and tricks from what works for them. I like to see what others do for their self care routines and they inspire me to really think about how I treat myself each day and how I can be better. Rowena Tsai has a wonderful YouTube channel and she posts videos on self care and talks about self care frequently. I stumbled onto her channel when I was browsing trending videos on YouTube one night and so glad I did because she inspires me to take my time to care for myself and to be more positive. I am sure there are so many other vloggers to discover too that promote self care and motivate us to be our best selves.

Reading affirmations: I have also been reading affirmations some mornings to help me start the day off right and positive. One that I have been reading for the past couple weeks (when I remember) is "Today is a gift and I am blessed to be here. Today will be a positive day". I got this affirmation off Pinterest one day and it was pinned from Louise Hudson's blog. She has a lot of other wonderful affirmations to start or end your day positively. Starting my day with an affirmation like the one below will remind me to be true to myself, support myself and be kinder to myself.

An affirmation to to promote self love. Photo source

Knitting: I had to include my favorite hobby in this list because knitting has always helped me to relax, set goals, and be positive. It allows me to focus my mind on the task and to also feel accomplished when I finished a project and learn something new. I knit at night while watching TV or YouTube videos or just simply with my thoughts.

And being with my cats is always nice

Some things I would like to work on and work back into my routine are: writing monthly goals, writing in a journal, and exercising regularly.

Please let me know in the comments below how you keep balanced and when you feel a bit off or need to connect with yourself what are some things that you do. I will be posting soon on my progress on my current knitting projects and reading.

Hope you have a great day!

Progress on Resolutions and Goals For the End of 2017

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. Today is day 7 of NaBloPoMo! it has been going by fast and I have loved it so far!  Today I worked more on trying to untangle the mess of alpaca yarn that came as a hank of yarn. The ball I am forming has gotten larger, so that is promising and I am hoping that soon I can start knitting the toe up socks I told you all about in October. In the meantime, I have been knitting up my stocking and have knitted four stripes which I am happy about.

I thought today I would share the progress on my New Year resolutions that I made at the beginning of the year. I have always done a progress update in the past on my resolutions to myself just to see how I am doing and if in the short time left in the year, I could do anything to also add to my progress. In the past I liked to write a list of resolutions, then every month I would write progress notes on how I am doing. Now I mostly just write down goals each month in my planner of what I'd like to accomplish. At the beginning of the year, I wrote a list of resolutions and I also shared with you a post on my three words here.

My three words for the year are: Radiant, Balanced, and consistent

Radiant:
I believe I have been radiant by being true to who I am and embracing my strengths and the features I love about myself. Before the end of the year, I would love to really appreciate myself more and be my best self to end this year amazing and start the year off right.

Balanced:
This has been a very balanced year so far in terms of keeping myself centered and balanced emotionally. I have been working on keeping things in check and not getting too overwhelmed. I also kept my life balanced by having a good amount of spending time working on my own and having alone time and also time to see my family and friends.

Consistent:
Consistency at the beginning of the year meant to continue to be consistent in work and also in my personal life. I was thinking I would like to put in a consistent effort in my job and in some of my personal goals. I have seen consistency in my regular exercising, self-care, attention to relationships, knitting, and blogging. I have developed more of this skill at keeping going with working on things that are important to me instead of getting sidetracked by unimportant things and losing track of my goals. I look forward to using more consistency when I get a job as well and continuing on with all these things and also being consistent at work.

Photo source

The resolutions I wrote down in my notebook at the beginning of the year:

• Knit a sweater: finished knitting the sweater on November 2nd, 2017. Please click here to read my blog post about completing the sweater.
• Knit with real wool: Knitted a hat using Patons Roving yarn which is 100% wool. Please click here to see post.
• Read 25 books: I have read 6 books and I will be finishing a few more soon.
• Get down to my goal weight: did not this year, but I have lost 13 pounds this year!
• Grow my blog followers: grew Bloglovin' followers from 35 in May 2017 to 44 and counting now November 2017.
• Post on my blog once every week or every two weeks: I have been more consistent this year with posting on my blog and I have really enjoyed chatting with you all more often! Glad I made my blog a priority this year!
• Go on a trip with my boyfriend: we went to the Dominican Republic in April 2017. Please see blog entry here.

It has been a great year so far and I have accomplished most of what I wanted to at the beginning of the year! 

Goals for the remainder of the year 2017 would be:

1. Finish the books I am currently reading to add them to my books read list
2. Lose 5-10 more pounds
3. Continue posting consistently on my blog
4. Knitting socks with alpaca wool 

And... to have a great rest of the year, happy and healthy. I am looking forward to making my next list for next year. 2018 will be a great year!

Thank you for visiting my blog, if you would like to keep updated on when I post blog entries, please follow my blog on Bloglovin', Google Followers, or you can subscribe by email in the top right corner of the blog.

Have a great day!

Hello September, Goals, and Knitting Updates

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. Happy September! I cannot believe it is already here. September always symbolizes fresh starts and new beginnings for me. I think it is because of September being the start of school for me for so many years and again this year I will be starting four online courses as part of my Office Administration certificate. It could also be the crisp and coolness of the air which brings on a different outlook and feeling of freshness. Today I  have been feeling excited and hopeful for things to come for the Fall. I love the start of Fall or thinking of Fall coming. I also love writing goals at the start of September and the start to many months but mostly this month in particular. I will share some of my goals below for September.

My goals for September:

Read two books:
I created a goal on Goodreads to read 25 books which is always such a reach for me. I am now at five and will be finishing Into the Water soon and will be finishing Love the Wine You're With: A Novel by next week, so I will be up to seven. I would like to read two books this month to get up to nine books. I think it could still be done by the end of the year,, if I read faster and selected shorter books.

Finish sewing sweater seams and knit the neck edging:
I have started this process and will be working on it this month. I ran into some problems but I will give myself time to get it right. I will be pulling some of the seams out and redoing them. I am looking forward to being done the sweater and being able to wear it this Fall and Winter.

Get organized:
I like to use this time of the year to get organized, especially because I will be starting courses soon and I will be busier so it will be good to get more organized and have a place for everything before I am more focused on getting assignments completed, going to classes, and studying. I also want to get all my textbooks for school, get some new clothes, and a few other things before I go back. I will work on filling my Happy Planner with intentions, appointments, and important dates today. I got the The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo which I will start reading this month to help me to get organized and read some tips for tidying up. Hopefully I can get some tips from the book on how to tidy up and get organized this fall.

Exercise regularly:
This Summer I was consistent with exercising and did workouts regularly 3-4 times every week. I would like to continue this into the fall and winter and keep getting stronger and healthier. I think that exercising in the morning right at the start of the day has worked best for me. I seem to follow through on plans to exercise in the morning before I start doing anything else or get too tired later on. As you may know, I have been following Tone it Up workouts and they really have been helping guide me on how to workout properly and feel stronger and more toned. I will continue working out to their videos and so happy I found the Tone it Up community.

Try new recipes:
In the summer, I tried more smoothie recipes and light summery dinner recipes. With the Fall and Winter comes the cravings for more hearty and warm meals. I would like to keep looking up new recipes that are hearty and also healthy. I will share some  of my favorites with you all too.

Cast on for another Christmas gift: 
I am almost finished knitting a Christmas gift or my mom, and it would be good to start another one around now since I have a few people on my list who I am knitting gifts for.

I hope I accomplish these goals this September. I will update you at the end of the month on how I did with my goals. I love making lists of my goals around this time. What are some things you would like to accomplish this September or this Fall?

Knitting Updates:
I have finished the first sock from the Paton's Spiral Socks pattern. I am working on the second now and I really like how the first one looks and feels. It has such a different look when it is laying out compared to past socks I have knitted,but fits so comfortably even without the heel flap. I had my doubts about how a sock without a heel would fit, but I am happy it fits comfortably as I am giving them to my Mom for Christmas.

Spiral sock on the left completed and starting the second one

I have been working on the seaming of the 3timesChic sweater, but it has come to a halt because now I think I did not do it right because it is so snug under my arm. I might have to tear out what I have done already on the sleeve and between the sleeve and side of the sweater. I will share more about that process and the outcome soon. I will also be picking up the chevron lace scarf and Christmas stocking again soon, I have put them aside for now while I have been trying to get the socks and sweater completed.

Joining along with Frontier Dreams for Crafting On, AsKatKnits for Unwraveled Wednesday, and The Little Room of Rachell for Yarning Along.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog! if you would like to follow along with me and keep updated on future posts, please follow me on Bloglovin', Google Followers, and you can now add your email on the top right corner to the email list to receive emails when I write a post.

Have a great day!

My new Mission!

Hello!

I have been thinking lately to jazz up my blog a bit and post goals to become a better knitter. I think my knitting ability is still beginner and I need to challenge myself!

So I will be starting daily entries on my mission to become an AWESOME knitter! not good, not great.... awesome.

So I will set up goals to accomplish, once that one is accomplished, then I will move on to the next goal.

My ultimate goal is to knit a sweater so come follow my journey!

Follow me! (<----- click here to begin!)

Lisa :)

This Christmas... I gave you my heart

Good Morning!
& happy December :) I cannot believe how fast November went and I felt like I had tons of time to go Christmas shopping. Now we only have 21 days until christmas morning gift opening :o

I have been knitting a gift for a friend lately and I will be knitting like crazy this month because my friends and I are having a Christmas get together and giving homemade gifts this year! I know, so cute right? I will post photos from that day because I have a feeling the presents will be so adorable. I have very creative friends I realized when we came up with this idea of homemade gifts.. one bakes and crochets, one sews and interested in fashion, and the third paints and is very artistic, and me of course I knit :) so there will be a variety in the gifts that's for sure. I'm really excited!

Today I am going to be a grown up and go car searching with my dad. I might finally choose the model and color that I want and then it will give me a better idea of what to buy soon. I need a car now because I still live at home and the schedules of my family and I are getting tangled up and I can never have the car during the day, which makes my placement for school difficult to get to in January.

Have good day!!

Lisa :)