January's Progress

We are under a snow squall watch this morning with wind and wind chills of -13C. Yesterday it was snow and rain with nice temperatures. It will be a cool weekend and will warm up on Monday. 

Lifestyle

Yesterday I spent between 1.5-2 hours cleaning our small living room. That meant moving the furniture, dusting, vacuuming, mopping, and tidying up our stuff. Even the throws were laundered. I was happy with the results. 

Health

The changes in my eating last week has made a big difference. I lost 2.8 lbs this week with a monthly loss of 3.4 lbs and a total of 10.6 lbs. 
What have I noticed? 

• Cheese was hard to give up and I had one thin slice last night as a treat. I have to do a lot of self talk not to eat cheese but I feel better without it. 
• I was going to cut out high starch related foods except for bread at breakfast. I can get carbs from other food to keep my blood sugar on an even keel. In reality it didn't happen. But, keeping those starches under strict portion control made it possible to have them. If I have as much this week as last week and keep them under control, I may be able to have a second starch during the day. It may not be every day that I can meet my original goal but if it is 3 days a week, I will be happy. 
• It is hard work to keep health goals under control but I'm hoping I can keep it up. One thing I have to watch is blood sugar lows and eat on time. 

My knees are back to normal so the storms have passed. My poor back is still sore but that is a normal for me. I try to stretch it out on a daily basis. I will not let it limit my mobility. 

Sewing

I finished the shirt yesterday. It turned out cute as a summer jacket so I didn't put buttons on it. 

It goes nicely with the dress for spring, cool summer evenings, and early fall. The hat looks cute with it too.

I have more of the fabrics so may cut out navy pull-on capris with the bias plaid cuffs. I have a top I can make also in hopes I use up the plaid. Won't get the navy fabric used up this round as there is quite a bit left. 

In January, I sewed up 5.95 meters or 6.5 yards of fabric. My best sewing month for quite a while. 

Knitting

I worked on the black hat last night and thought I was ready to decrease. Had to unknit the decrease row as I was 5 rows short. The goal is to finish it this morning and work on the cardigan. I did do a couple of rows on it yesterday. 
In January, I knit 5 messy bun hats, a doll's dress and 2 doll cowls. I hope that I get the 6th hat done today. I'd be very surprised if I get the doll's jacket done before Feb. 1. 

Today

I am family's home to let in the cleaners. I will knit while I am there in hopes that I can finish the black hat and get more rows knit on the jacket. I hope to start another shirt for the American Girl doll. Once it is done, I will lay out the fleece blanket and work on it. 

Until the next time......................