October 29

Yesterday was the last day of the five days of black and white photos. It makes me a little sad because there were several things I liked about this challenge. First, it made me get the camera out and take more photos. I mean you can't find one good photo if you don't take at least one photo. Second, it made me think about contrast in ways I don't usually think. So, for example, the beautiful fall colored scene out my window looks not just muted in black and white, but monochrome. And last, I figured out that my camera has a setting to take black and white photos, so I didn't do much post processing. I'm a pretty SOOC (Straight out of the camera) person. I will crop, and sometimes brighten, but I hate fiddling with that stuff. I'd rather take 40 pictures and find one that looks decent. My style was made for digital cameras I think.

I also got all of my big three done, pulling in 11k steps, planking 3 sets--one of 35, and 2 of 30, and putting one string of bat lights in the donate bin. I hung two outside and realized that the outside outlet isn't working, so I may actually get rid of another string of bat lights--I have 4 and this is the first year I've hung them.

I didn't sew at all. I didn't start on the tutu either. I did vacuum up the fuzz in the sewing room (And a piece of fabric and maybe broke my basement vacuum). Oh wait, that's not right--I hand sewed. I got eyes for the cape sewn on the dress (or at least one shoulder--I need her to try it on to get the placement for the other--and hand sewed down the edges of the panda girl logo--because I'm terrible with fusibles.

Today, the tutu gets made. I have the elastic cut--all I need to do is cut and tie the tulle. Also the fitting for the panda girl costume, so I can finish the hooks and eyes for the cape.
I am skipping the last farmers market of the year, but going to yoga. I have a lunch date with my husband too! But the theme of the day is definitely tulle.

October 28

Yesterday I did an amazing thing--I finished the poodle jacket. Did you hear that? I FINISHED THE POODLE JACKET! Granted I only had to put in a zipper to call it done, but I had to buy the zipper.

So funny story with this--I measured for the zipper--24 inches, went to Joann's, found a 24 inch separating zipper, brought it home, realized upon laying the zipper out that while yes, one side of the jacket is 24 inches, the other is only 22. Yep, I'm just that great of a seamstress! Let's just say we went with 22, and some hems got added. So that added a few layers, because I also had to trim the zipper--so that meant making a new zipper stop.

I also realized that a while ago I decluttered my patterns and got rid of the one with instructions for making a non-sew tutu. Some people would say--see don't ever throw things away you might need! I say--Google! At any rate, I have a ton of tulle, and a plan for making a pink tutu (and possibly wrist and ankle tutus.

It probably goes without saying that I did my 10K steps, planked and de-cluttered. But I feel like saying it because--I didn't run. I wanted to stick around until my parents left, but by the time they did--it was 10am, and I just lost my will to run. I cleaned bathrooms, showered, did 5 loads of laundry, the above sewing and many other odds and ends (Oh yeah started chapter 8!)

Today, aside from the big three (and my volunteer shift at school--done!), I want to get tulle cut out for the tutu. I didn't measure any elastic on the girl before she went to school, so I really can't do the whole thing. I also need to look at panda girl's belt and mask and boots. I told her I'd at least get the belt, but it would be nice to have the whole thing. I have to work a few hours today though AND run to meijer, so we'll see what happens.

OH! And cupcakes part 2 maybe. See my girls are twins, and they do some activities together--including this book club. Last week panda girl offered to bring the cupcakes I mentioned, so then I thought phew, I don't have more of those to do--but then it turns out this week is poodle girl's turn to bring treats! Really? two weeks in a row? I could do cupcakes again (if I buy a cake mix and cupcake liners while I am out), or I could do something else--but the club is tomorrow, so I need to do it today--with no guidance from the girl.

My entry in yesterday's black and white was one of panda girl--who then turned the camera on me after 20 or so shots. I like this one she got of me--even if it wasn't one of my "official" entries.

October 27

One of the good things about not updating on the weekends, is that when I come back on Monday and start listing things I got done, I feel like there was real progress.

First, I got my 10K steps all three days. I got 2 days of de-cluttering, and 2 days of planking --and they were not the same two days, if you know what I mean. I did not plank Saturday, because we went to see Lyle Lovett in concert and got home very late--I am a lazy bones who saves her planking as a bedtime routine, there was just no way that was happening.

But really this weekend was all about the sewing. Poodle girl's jacket is ready for a zipper--which is the last step. Honestly, this jacket should not have taken me this long, but I ran into a problem with a vague direction, and let me tell you this fabric is not great for ripping out seams. It is also not very structured, which means it is hard to see where things are supposed to go. But I have it together, the girl has tried it on, and it fits. I swear, I don't know when I have ever been more proud of something I made, not because it looks professional (far from it) but because it was so fussy to make. Now let's see if I can get the zipper in with a minimal amount of swearing.
I also happen to think this is amazing because my parents are visiting--but they are pretty understanding of my need to sew as Halloween is less than a week away.

The weekend was also about a black and white photography challenge. The challenge is to post a black and white photograph (to facebook) every day for 5 days. I'm having quite a lot of fun with it. Here is Friday's entry:

Today, my parents are leaving. Originally I thought they were staying until tomorrow morning, so I cleared this day too. Which of course means--free day!

On tap aside from the big three: Buying a zipper and perhaps more tulle--so I can get the jacket finished and the tutu started, cleaning, and running. I'd also like to get busy reading chapter 8 (aka the LAST chapter). In fact this whole week has some big reading goals. I have two books to finish for book club (one we are discussing, one I am passing) and chapter 8. I think this is on the order of 400 pages by next Monday. Oh and it would be great if I finished chapter 8 by Wednesday--no pressure. Sigh. I tried to get my book club books on audio thinking I could listen while I sewed, shopped and cleaned. Only one of them was available and I would have to get it through interlibrary loan--plus it is the book we aren't discussing, so if I don't get it read by Monday it is no big deal.

October 24

So yesterday I had a really relaxing slow paced day with my mom. Seriously, I should do this more often. I crossed three things off my weekly to do list even. I planked, I got 13k steps, I got rid of two dental floss samples (my mom is on a quest to find her favorite floss that has been discontinued--yes, it does actually run in the family, this weirdness) and I started sewing the poodle girl outfit! Best of all I got all of chapter 7 proofread!

We really didn't get the shopping in, because we were kind of lazy all morning. But there are only so many hours in the day.

Today, I want to do the big three, and work more on the costumes. Which is kind of what I say every day anymore. I feel like it is all I ever hope for. I do have a doctor's appointment today too, and I'd like to run and shower before that, which might be tricky with guests because I always shower in the "guest" bathroom. However, it is 8am--the sky is turning pink, and so far I'm the only one awake in the house, as all the family have gone to jobs and school; my parents are still sleeping. I was going to wait until 8:30, give the sun a chance to come up, but maybe I'll go as soon as I post this--be back by the time anyone wakes up.

Yesterday I tried to capture the pinks of the sky as the sun rose, because it was quite lovely. This was the best I got:

The weekend is more of the same, plus a concert on Saturday!

October 23

So yesterday, I did not run. In fact I went to yoga, which is not an activity that adds steps to the fitbit. And somehow I managed to clock in at 15K steps. That should explain just how busy the day was. I also decluttered a bunch, by taking $8.30 in cans and bottles back. That includes the 3 bottles that I had to take back to the specialty store since Meijer doesn't carry that brand (whatEVER). I think I got most of my stuff for the day done. I planked for 3 sets of 30 seconds (even though it was yoga day) and my mom told me I'm not planking, I'm bridging. WhatEVER.

I even decided that I didn't like the way the zipper was basted into panda girl's costume, ripped it out and basted and SEWED it in. Despite no less than 4 interruptions to my 1/2 hour sewing.

Super unhelpful Bernina zipper instructions

Sometimes when I think about yesterday and all the running around I did, but with not much to show for it, I wonder if I really got anything done. I need some way to quantify the intangibles I suppose.

Today, my parents are here, so I'm dialing back a notch. I'm hoping to do my big three of course--including a walk with my mom. I'm hoping to get some sewing done, and for the next however many days I need to spend at least 1/2 hour a day on my husband's book. I'm on chapter 7 of 8 chapters, and I want to get it finished soon.

Shopping is also on tap sometime this visit. All the decluttering has left me realizing that I have some significant gaps in my wardrobe. It was hard to see around the clothes I didn't want to wear. Now most of what I have left are clothes I like, but they are mostly black, white and brown. I want some purple and maybe some gray (round out the neutrals!).

October 22

I was just not 30 minutes ago praising my own time management skills, and then got sucked into facebook. Sigh.

Ok, yesterday. yesterday was the usual whirlwind of activity. 11K steps, 3 sets of 30 planks, just some general paper clutter (and a chapstick) gone. I volunteered, i went to work where I discovered a whole bunch of work leftover from the fundraiser. Plus a bunch of volunteers needing to de-compress. Would you believe our deposits were off for the weekend (They were more than we had written down--so that was good but STILL)? Then I came home and made cupcakes. Did I mention the cupcakes yesterday? Maybe. Anyway, I bought a cake mix and a frosting and while the girls did homework, I baked cupcakes. I was feeling very domestic until one of the girls asked me if I'd frost them using the pastry bag "so they'd look nice." Um yeah no.
I don't think they look bad? They're cupcakes for crying out loud!

Hey I also got the zipper basted into super girl costume. And the alterations done. And I think my guest area is ready for guests.

Today, big three PLUS: Guests arriving.
Seriously: yoga, farmer's market, small grocery run, clean bathroom upstairs, more sewing. I'm hoping to finish the zipper, because BAH. I also have to run the cupcakes over to school and I should do some work, so I don't have to go in tomorrow. I'm not sure how all of this is going to get done, so I'll have to prioritize.

I said to my husband that I felt like my load did not lift once my fundraiser was over like I thought it would. And he said--it has, you just have gotten a lot of crap thrown at you that added to it. I looked confused and said like what? "Cupcakes" was all he said.

October 21

So yesterday I ran. My iPod gave out (batteries) and I still ran. It was ugly. But it meant I got my 15k steps.
I ran my errands too. Even though Joann's was FULL of people. Even though I had to wait in line for 45 minutes to buy 3/4 yard of interfacing.

I really put off laying out the poodle costume because of the fabric. I said last year that I would never work with that silky fur stuff again. I lied, I guess. I knew it would be messy, and so somehow I managed to de-mildew the shower AND vacuum all of the downstairs before I cut the pieces out. That turned out to be an epic mistake, because I had to vacuum again afterwards. But on the bright side, it is all cut out.

I planked 3 sets of 30 seconds. It was hard, which reminds me that I need to keep doing it.
You will note that I did not mention decluttering. I didn't do any.

Today, I need to volunteer and work both. The bathrooms need to get cleaned and the final stuff for the parental visit needs to happen. I think I’m down to washing the extra blankets.

Today, I also need to get in the big three, but probably the work will take care of steps. Somehow, I need to come up with a snack for my daughter’s book club too. She wants to bring cupcakes, but I guess that depends on if I have a cake mix, and frosting. I mean I could MAKE frosting, but it would need to be dairy free—and I usually make buttercream. And for sewing I need to decide: Alterations or start sewing the poodle. I may do the alterations, so that when I start sewing the shedding silky fur, I can clean the machine ONCE.

October 20

Oh how much this weekend, I wanted to be in Illinois. My mom was in a play, my cousin had a wedding reception (they had eloped), and it was homecoming at the college I graduated from. Sadly, I was not in Illinois, I was here feeling spectacularly run down and slightly crappy.

Friday was just so busy. I managed 15K steps--I hadn't wanted to run but Oh was it ever a good run. And the rest of the day went super smoothly (probably because as it turned out--I forgot a bunch of stuff) and even the evening went fairly well. Only two people were upset with me at my job, which when you work with the public is actually pretty amazing.

I got the super panda costume all done and ready to fit--it still needed a zipper and to be taken in, two things I hoped to do over the weekend. However, my model would NOT try it on until Sunday night. So while I know how much it needs to be taken in, I have not actually done the alterations. I read over the poodle girl's pattern and figured out I need fusible interfacing, but really no sewing.

There was no decluttering or planks Friday. There was decluttering Saturday, when I secretly added 4 shirts to the donation bin from my girl's "outgrown but OH I LOVE this shirt" pile. There were no planks Saturday, and getting my 10k steps was a big chore (but I did it!). I also battled a massive headache most of the day--which means I sat and read a LOT.

Sunday, I felt better and planked 2 sets of 30 seconds, got my 10K steps AND cleaned out the pencil drawer (which was so full it was barely opening, and was responsible for the pens I kept finding under the bread machine in the cupboard below). In addition, I was dusting the guest room and found several other things I decided I no longer needed. Like I said though, so sewing. Also I took the girls shopping, which I think should get me a medal. It is always tricky when I take them shopping together. I have one who is quite daring in her fashion choices, and one that is more practical. The practical one needed pants--which she wanted to interpret as leggings, and needed a top to cover her bum. The fashionista was VERY put out that I wasn't going to buy her an outfit too (she HAS leggings, tunics, regular pants you name it!). She went so far as to try on silver leggings (tin man) and gold leggings (C3PO) and nearly had a fit when I told her no. Like I said--medal needed.

Today, I am still feeling pretty rundown. Mostly tired. The headache from Saturday had pretty much dissipated by Sunday but maybe I overdid it. I do have things I need to take care of today. My parents are coming to visit this week (hence the guest room decluttering) and I have a bunch of stuff I'd like to take care of before they arrive. I have a huge list of errands (including that fusible interfacing) and I'd like to get all my job work taken care of before they come.

I think today will need to be running, running errands, and cutting out the poodle girl's costume (plus of course, my big three). It means I'll have to be putting in a zipper probably while my girls are practicing their instruments, but they've been playing for a year, so it isn't as bad as it might be. Plus no squeaky instruments. I do hope to go completely through the clothing storage box before the girls get home from school, and do more clandestine decluttering, but that is more of a stretch goal.

October 17

I am feeling very much like I am treading water. Or more accurately, like I have been treading water for 3 or 4 minutes and am about to go under. Yesterday I sewed for nearly 2 hours and I feel like I barely have anything to show for it. I cut the tulle, I sewed it all together (9 pieces, sewed in sets of three--actually doublestitched), made three layers of tulle, put in two gathering stitches and gathered it and started to pin it to the underskirt. If I were optimistic, I would see the end in sight. The end where I sew it to the underskirt, sew the bodice to the skit, fit it, add a zipper, and then BE DONE. And then start costume number 2.

That's an awful lot of skirt and tulle!

I got my 10k steps yesterday without trying, and my planks went pretty easy. I had trouble with de-cluttering, but got rid of a bath puff right before bed. so that all should have felt good. Also I managed to get the living room vacuumed, and the frog water changed and dishes done which all contribute to a general feeling of cleanliness. But it was tempered by this feeling of impending doom at work. I am glad that not every event feels like this, and that I know that it is a combo of my under-preparedness and some staffing issues that have come up (if you can call volunteers "staff") at the last minute. Today should be the end, I just need to get through the day.

On that note, getting through the day looks like: running this morning (minutecast and radar say 120 dry minutes--sigh I was kind of looking for an excuse to skip.), sewing before I need to head off to errands (bank, post office) and then the craziness that is work. I also work during my usual "chill out" time tonight as our fundraiser starts. After that, the weekend looks clear. So there should be a LOT of sewing, as I'd like to finish super panda's costume, so I can start cutting on the poodle's jacket on Monday.

I'm going to cut myself some slack on de-cluttering and planking today. Steps should not be an issue at all today.

And on the brightest note yet, I did unravel the leg and heel of the sock, looked at the foot and thought--why does this not fit her? So I stopped unravelling and this morning, I tried it on her. The foot part fits perfectly. It just needs a bigger ankle. So, I think the plan is to do a wider heel--add some stitches to the ankle/leg and go from there. So only the weekend's knitting (a long traveling weekend, but STILL) is lost.

Man, I really don't want to run, but running always clears my head, and makes it easier for me to focus.

October 16

The good: I managed to get my 10K steps, get everyone vaccinated against the flu, sew the skirt lining to the skirt, went to yoga, and got a bunch of work done.

The bad: I only really decluttered by eating leftovers, and tossing what I might actually term "pre-clutter"; papers and such that had been sitting around for a while, but most people would have termed this "cleaning." I am having panic at work because one of my co-chair people for this event is out with a medical issue, and the others are more "big picture" people, and so I'm having to remember and fill in details that I usually don't have to deal with. Thus, people keep calling and texting me about napkins and markers. It makes me feel underprepared, usually I like to be the one calm in the storm.

The ugly: I'm going to have to rip most of the finished sock out, as it is too small, despite having been tried on and having fit at one point.

Just ponder that for a minute--I'm going to have to rip out about 2 weeks worth of knitting.

Moving on.

Today I have more work (and boy will I be glad when this week is over and my part in this fundraiser is OVER), and a noon meeting. I actually have to pack a lunch! I'm going to get the big three done (even if we are talking more paper here--paper piles up!), and as soon as I post this I'm going to go cut out black tulle until work time. I'd also like to get my house swept and vacuumed, but that might be the dreamer in me.

I'm posting this picture taken on our weekend trip, because I just need some peaceful lake today. Breathe in, breathe out....

October 15

Yesterday was such a hectic day! I did get my 10k steps, I planked AND I got 4 items of clothing out of my closet and into the donation box.

I also managed to get the crinoline cut, and the skirt main fabric sewn together. I also got a bunch of crap done at work, although I am behind (I work for a non-profit who holds 3 fundraisers a year—the next one starts Friday. Yes, this Friday.). OH and I finished binding off the sock.

It occurred to me, as people asked on Facebook that I didn’t give details on the sock. So here goes:
Yarn: regia Fluormania color
Needles: 1.5 US which I think is 2.25mm
Pattern: On your toes From an Old Interweave knits. I have this pattern memorized because I use it All. The. Time.

Today, steps and decluttering of course. I’m going to yoga, so I’m skipping planking since we basically do planks between poses. I work another couple of hours today AND am taking girls (and me) to get flu shots today. I really want to get that shirt done, and get to the tulle today.

I must say too, that I am not anticipating this to be a great day. One of my children has been in a first class mood since last night at about 5pm. I’m not sure what happened to turn her so sour, but am thinking the idea of flu shots after her afterschool book club are not going to endear her to me slurpee bribe or not.

October 14

Yesterday, I posted my update, checked both accuweather's minute cast and the weather channel radar, determined rain was not imminent, grabbed my ipod and headed out the door, promising that if it rained I could quit at 2 miles. I ended up going all 3, run/walking a 7/3. I also went to Meijer and did lots of running around the house, and so ended the day with what must be a record for me: 18K steps. I remembered to (grudgingly) do my 3 sets of 30 second planks. I ddi not de-clutter, but rather watched in amazement as people took my discards from the curb and loaded it into their pickup trucks. I worked on panda girl's costume, and got the bodice sewed together! I also cut out the skirt from fabric, realized the "interfacing" specified on the pattern was actually supposed to be an underskirt (and whoops, I didn't have the right kind or nearly enough). I went out after dinner, and bought some crinoline, because Joann's does not sell light buckram interfacing at all, much less in a 60" wide like the pattern calls for!!!

I also started on binding off the sock. It is a sewn bind off and is taking me for ever it feels like.

Plus you can see some last minute division practice in the background--big test today!

Today, I have a hair appointment, which cuts into my sewing time and probably will cut into my steps. Besides the big three, and the appointment, my goals today include, sewing on panda girl's skirt (hopefully trying to get to the tulle part), changing the frog water (ugh), and getting some work done for work. Hopefully it won't leave me too exhausted, as I'd like to have the girl try on the sock and it if fits, I'd like to finish binding it off.

PS I know it looks long and skinny, the child has long and skinny feet.

October 13

Our school district does not give us days off for most Federal holidays (Like Columbus day or veteran's day Or even Martin Luther King"s Birthday--so don't get your panties in a twist), but they do give us these random professional development days. The last one was Friday and we took great advantage and decided to develop our sightseeing skills. So Thursday afternoon when the kids got home, we loaded up the car and headed "north."
Heading north is what makes you a true Michigander--everyone heads north.

Our first stop was Traverse City/Interlochen. Interlochen is home to a very prestigious fine arts high school, and we were there to see a student performance. Most specifically a "collage" of student performances. It was wonderful. There was ballet, classical music, modern dance, singer songwriters, ensembles of all kinds (seriously, 8 bassoons), poetry, and a short film. Most of them were great, although some were a little freaky (short film, I'm looking at you). My girls LOVED it.

Friday is was even further north to Harbor Springs, with a stop in Charlevoix to see the Apple fest, which was a giant art show fronted by an entire farmer's market full of apples. By Friday night we had purchased: two pies (from Suzy's pies), a pound of taffy, A dozen Tom's Mom's cookies , and two jars of preserves from American Spoon foods. Yes, you can literally eat your way through Northern Michigan.

So, I did not plank Thursday or Friday or Saturday. I did do 3 sets of 30 seconds Sunday. I did not declutter anything Thursday or Friday or Saturday, although I took out a bunch of stuff for large trash pickup yesterday. I did get my 10K steps in EVERY DAY! I ran on Thursday which meant I had something like 12K steps before I even got in the car.

Sadly, no halloween progress was made. However, I did take along the sock I am working on and am ready to bind it off.

Today, the plan was to run. However, I hate hate hate running in the rain and there is an 80% chance of rain. I could have run before I wrote this, as it hasn't rained at all, but I also needed to finish my breakfast (going back to school is a hard transition from vacation). I do plan on decluttering, getting my steps, and planking. I need to work more on the costumes, and I need to make a grocery run. I also need to do all the laundry I didn't do over the weekend. I feel like I should run before I grocery shop, as this will give me time to focus and make a list, but it may work out the opposite rain wise. I also considered putting off my run until tomorrow, but the rain chance for tomorrow is 100%.
At any rate, I leave you here with some scenery from our trip. And hopefully tomorrow I'll have a picture of the finished sock. I thought I had a picture of the nearly finished sock, but alas I do not.

October 9

Yesterday, I got my 10k steps and decluttered, but did not plank. I did go to yoga though.

I got brave with the Halloween costumes. I always get nervous as I'm about to cut a pattern out, because you really can't uncut something. I cut out the bodice of the panda girl dress, and the lining. I put in all the darts (lining and main fabric-- so 8 total) and fused the logo to the front of the bodice. I had hoped to sew it all together, but between work and after school stuff that just didn't happen.

Today, I am going to run, then go to work. Hopefully, I'll have some time to sew the bodice together, because I'd like to get that done before the weekend, which is starting today due to a pd day. Thankfully, our school district doesn't do Columbus Day, so Monday should be back to normal.

At any rate, I won't be updating again until Monday as the goals will really only be the big three. Enjoy your weekend!

October 8

Well yesterday I did get my steps, and I planked 3 sets of 30 seconds, and while I dithered for the longest time about de-cluttering, I did decide to go have a looksee in the storage areas of our basement. And there I found several empty boxes that I felt like I didn't need, so i broke them down for recycling. Yes, that's sad, they weren't even broken down.

I wasn't sure how much sewing I was going to be able to do, because I had both volunteering and work. But I managed to get the panda girl logo mostly done (all it needs is some drawing):

And I did google the cross cut thing, and I think I have that figured out. (Maybe).

It also came to my attention that certain people in the household are sick of the stress of halloween costumes. To which I say 1) I'm stressing more on the fact that I put this off and 2) if this applies to you--you might want to stop reading this month.

Today, the usual plus, Farmer's market, yoga, cutting out the panda dress, gassing up the car, more work, and some routine cleaning.

Part of my wanting to get into a routine for the month was to figure out which "chores" I could reasonably do on which days. I like knowing when things were last cleaned, and being able to say--Oh hey it is Wednesday, time to clean X. I don't actually like cleaning though, so I tend to put things off until they bother me. Am attempting to get ahead on things.

Oh hey you made it through to the end--here's a picture of my coffee mug and my knitting.

October 7

Ok, I'm running late today so this will be a fast one.

Got 13K steps yesterday, planked, but forgot to de-clutter. Finished the cape for Panda Girl, laid out the bodice of the dress, but got confused about the skirt part which said it had to be laid out crosswise. I have no idea, and need to google. Started on the logo, learned it needed to have a dark purple background, so I need to go buy some dark purple for that.

Today, I have volunteer and work. So trying for the usual stuff plus buying that purple fabric, googling the crosswise stuff, and possibly cutting the bodice out.

October 5--pattern cutting day

This was the first weekend since September started that I didn't update on the weekend, and it felt weird. Also it makes today feel like I have a lot to catch up on.

First, i did get my 10K steps all weekend, even though it was tough going on Saturday. I planked 3 sets of 30 seconds each on Friday and 3 sets of 35 seconds each on Sunday. I forgot to plank Saturday. I've been trying to plank every day (or 6 of 7 days) since mid-August and it still isn't habit enough that I didn't forget. I did declutter every day this weekend, getting rid of shorts I will probably never wear, instead of storing them, getting rid of sweatshirts that no longer fit he girls, and deciding that the metal water bottle in the back of the cupboard probably should go.

Between Friday and Saturday, I also think I got most of the fabric shopping done for the costumes. I even managed to take the girls, which is usually a disaster, as they always want really pricey fabrics. I needed them though because I wasn't sure if the idea that I had for "purple" cape or "poodle" fabric was the same as theirs. Plus we couldn't find purple pleather for boots (I know, right!?) They actually did great. In addition, I got panda girl measured, so I can start on her costume.

I had one of my daughters take pictures of me in my new finished white hoodie. I didn't like any of them, but this one was the best:

Which probably tells you how bad they all were. This pattern is Knitting pure and Simple's Neck down hooded tunic. I knit it up with Pure Aran Gold in white on size US 7 needles. I bought this yarn at a LYS that went out of business. I made this because I have a green one in the same yarn (only green--duh) that I LOVE. it is a little big and bulky on me

Today, I'd like to run, and am in fact dressed in running clothes. This should take care of my steps--I have two meetings (after 5pm even which is unusual for me) and so I need to get them done early. If I get to 12K today great--if not I'm not going to stress about it. And of course I'll plank and declutter.

I need to clean bathrooms today, but I'd really and truly like to get actually laying out the pattern and (eep) cutting on the Panda girl costume. Perhaps I'll even go as far as to say--finish the cape and get the super hero logo started. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

October 3

Yesterday was a little bit better kid wise--except I made a classic parenting mistake and did not actually check the homework progress before I agreed to let them have a friend over. When I did check I discovered that "a few problems" to them means 13 of the 20 were still left to do. Sigh. So I didn't have whining and crying over homework, I had sassy attitude and I hate yous over cutting the fun time with friends short. Hopefully the weekend will give us all the break we need.

I did manage to get my 10k steps (side note, my husband is a gem! He knew I needed to get out, and he offered to shepherd miss sassy pants and her sister through band practice and reading time while I walked.). I planked 3 sets of 30 seconds, which felt easier! And I took the running shoes to the donation box and went through my rainbow girl jewelry. This is another thing I know I should just get rid of entirely, and yet I can't bring myself to. I did get rid of 4 of the pins.

I started my fabric shopping list for the costumes, but it isn't done. I need to check my coupons and get moving on that.

Today, I was going to run, but the radar has Michigan looking like this:

(Lansing helpfully highlighted--and PS I do not live in the "thumb" area--which is the only place looking clear right now)

I don't run in the rain.
Steps might be the challenge today. Planks and de-cluttering are still on deck. I'm also going to try to finish the shopping list and possibly go shopping for some of the fabric and notions. It just feels like a good day to stay home and clean and sew and make soup, so I may do all those things.

In the meantime, I leave you with the puffball mushroom, that appeared on our porch:

And the progress on the kid sock I am making:

Yes, that is a lifeline of dental floss--I need to knit a bit more and see if it fits the recipient. I know a smarter person would have figured gauge, measured the foot and mathed it out. As opposed to me, a person willing to "waste" two days worth of sock knitting to make sure it fits the kid's foot the way she wants it to fit. the lifeline marks the spot where I would need to increase if I make it bigger. I happen to think it is the right size, but the girl in question was dubious with just the toe made.

October 2

I was going to start out with--Man yesterday just sucked like a Dyson. But in fact, most of the day was quite lovely and didn't suck. I went to yoga, and then went biking with one of my former running friends, out to the other running friend's new house. I love spending time with these ladies, they are a great support team and people I know I can count on in good times and bad. We don't run 2-3 times a week like we used to and I miss spending that time with them. So that was fun.

Then I picked up the children.
Probably the less said about this the better. I'll just leave it as--today my goal is to do better.

Due to the fun times AND the sucky times, I did not plank or de-clutter yesterday. Although I did decide yesterday that my oldest running shoes have probably "outlived their usefulness" to me. I didn't count that because they are still sitting the hall and not the donation bin or the trash bin. I got my 10K steps, mostly by pacing around after the girls went to bed. I also did yoga--so that's kind of planking right? Plus we did three boat poses, and I did not wimp out in any of the ways I usually wimp out.
I also did a little planning on costumes, deciding to make the poodle girl's costume out of a jacket pattern (I think). I have three pattern possibilities.

Today, I'm going to de-clutter (actually take the shoes down to the box), get my steps in and plank. I'm also going to look again at the jacket patterns and narrow them down to one I think will work. I'm going to get panda girl measured, and make my supply list. I also am going to tackle all the household chores I have let slide the last 2 days.

Stretch goal: Get my newly finished sweater photographed, so I can write about it tomorrow!

October 1

Yesterday I wrapped up September by not really doing too much planning towards October, but by planking (3 sets 30 seconds), getting my 10k steps, and getting rid of two things. I do have goals for October though. So without further ado:

Finish Halloween costumes.
Ok, this could actually say start halloween costumes. I do have the ideas: panda girl and poodle girl. I don't have fabric, or a real idea of what I'm going to pattern poodle girl on. I was thinking her monster costume from last year, but it doesn't have sleeves and she wants sleeves. I may look and see if there is something I can adapt.

Steps, planking, and delcuttering.

Get on a regular schedule.
I have been slowly working towards this and I feel like I am almost there.

knit something
I started a sock last night, hopefully I'll finish that pair and start the next before the end of the month.

I have so much more I want to accomplish, but I feel like to keep the goals reasonable, that's where they should stay. Of course, I want to finish the PJ pants--which would mean a pair for me and two more pairs for each girl, but they (and really everything) take a backseat to the costumes.

My mom is coming at the end of the month too, and I am hoping to have the guest room cleared out enough for guests (it is almost there thanks to the de-cluttering in September).

September 30

So here we are the last day of September. How did I do? Here are the goals:

Sew at least 3 pairs of pj pants for each girl
I did this! Well the third pair is awaiting elastic and a hem. This is not my fault, as the girl who wanted those pants has not tried on elastic.

Halloween costumes
The only progress I have made on this front is that I now know what everyone is going to be. Which is better than how I started September. Yesterday, I was going to make a shopping list , but could not find panda girl's rendition of how she wanted her costume to look. Found it as homework was kicking into high gear. Hopefully that will get done and I can actually shop for materials.

Can peaches
Did this! I have something like 34 cans of peaches.

Can tomatoes
Yep, even though I had to buy about half of my tomatoes. I have 18 or so cans. Plus pizza sauce. Ate some sauce made from the tomatoes last night too. YUM!

Finish sweater
I finished it yesterday! I'll do detail and pictures another day.

Start new sweater
Nope. And furthermore, I think I am going to put this sweater off until closer to spring. I guess that means I’m in need of a new project.

Socks for girls?
Nope.

Update the decluttering blog at least once a week.
Close enough. I think I did 3 times this month.

I also had set some basic goals. Did get my 10k steps every day. I didn't always get rid of two things every day and I didn't always plank, but most days I did.

So, for today I’ll do my steps, planking, and decluttering. I volunteered this morning at the school library (which is why I’m late and I smell of goo gone--aren’t you glad you can’t smell me?). I’m going off to work in a little bit and then this afternoon I’ll be in project planning mode. Making my shopping list for Halloween, trying to decide what to knit next, thinking of October’s goals are all on the list. I wanted to start proofreading chapter 6 (I finished Chapter 5 yesterday!), but I think the planning might help more in the long run.

September 29

Yesterday, I didn't really have great big goals, but I did manage to meet most of them. I got my 10k steps (big walk around the big block!), decluttered (old therapy putty-- should have done a second item though ), planked (4 sets of 30 seconds)and managed to get the clothes shopping and the library trip.

I also promised I'd tell the story of the yarn. Saturday my LYS was having a sale, and I went because I have a gift card, and a friend working there. I thought I'd pick up some sock yarn, which is almost always my default. But I wasn't really seeing anything I had to have. But I did run into some friends and got to chatting. They were all really into making this cowl called the bloom striped cowl out of misti alpaca baby me boo and a complimentary colored solid yarn. And they had set out several ideas for the solid. The store sample was gorgeous, with purples. But I resisted for a while because I'm not a big cowl person. I'm not sure why, but I just don't wear them. Then I spotted some silky wool that I just knew would go with it. Which is how I ended up spending Saturday digging through my yarn and pulling out another silky wool (in purple) and a Noro silk garden. Probably by the time I make the cowl, I'll have decided of some orange yarn I don't even own yet. Or maybe blue.

Today though, already has goals, so no starting new knitting for me today. Today I'm running and then I have another meeting. I'm hoping that in the afternoon I'll get *my* pj pants sewn and the rest of chapter 5 proofread. Of course I'll still do steps (aiming for 12k with the run + meeting), planks and decluttering.

September 28

Yesterday was kind of a lazy day. By 10:30am when I got dressed, I only had 188 steps. But I did get moving and ended up with just barely 10k steps. I made a real effort to plank during the day instead of waiting until just before bed and thinking "crap I have to plank!" And so did my 3 sets of 30 seconds by 8pm. I also got rid of two shirts, a book with no spine, and mismatched socks that I would have pitched even if they had mates. I read and relaxed and went yarn shopping at my LYSs fall sale. I bought some stuff too, and took some pictures, but that will have to wait. I bought purples, and so took pictures with my better camera so I could get a better rendering of the purple. But Friday I had dragged around my point and shoot, and so yesterday I downloaded the pictures I took Friday. Follow that?

So this is how every morning was last week with a light fog as the sun rose.

Then I thought you might like to see the pink kitties

Today, it is kind of the same as yesterday, steps, decluttering, plank. I need to get the laundry done and get girls through homework. On Sundays they like to go to the library, and if need to take them shopping (for jeans, I'm going to need some heavy knitting time after that)

September 27

Yesterday, I got my 10k steps (I made girls walk to 7-11 for slurpees-- the horror!), I decluttered by reading some newspapers that I had stacked up and then recycling them. Yes, they were not clutter that had been around for years, but weeks, so I feel like this counts. I didn't want to plank, so I told myself I only needed to do two sets of 30 seconds. I also managed to finish the pink pj pants I started yesterday. The panda ones are awaiting elastic and hemming. Both require cooperation.

I did read chapter 5, getting to page 15 I think. And I worked, discovering at the end, that my work computer has been infected with malware. (Sigh). I had suspected something was up when Adobe reader mysteriously disappeared a month or so ago. I have addressed the problem, and hopefully resolved it.

Today, beyond the planking, steps, and decluttering I am just going to take it easy. I'll try to finish the panda pjs, and I have a pair I want to make for me, so maybe those will be the next pair I sew. Both girls have wondered aloud about their Halloween costumes recently too. I have not started on those, and maybe today is the day to read my pattern, and make a shopping list.

In reality, all is really want to do today is read. Read my fun book, my book club book, and chapter 5.

September 26

Yesterday! Well yesterday was a lovely day until 3pm. I did my fasting blood work (attempted to proof chapter 5 in the waiting room--turns out I can no longer tune out a television while I read. Must be for lack of practice) and was in and out in less than an hour. I had a mediocre phlebotomist and will have a big ole bruise. But then I got to meet my lovely biker chick friend for a long leisurely breakfast (is it brunch if you stay until the lunch crowd starts coming in?). Much better company than chapter 5 I tell you. Then I went home and cut out and sewed up a pair of pj pants!

I was afraid at first because this print has a definite direction to it. The pandas are all standing up in rows like a panda army (well a panda army with pink hearts). But it turns out--as you can see, I usually lay my pants pattern out in one direction. It just took thinking about getting them going the right direction. These pants are ready for elastic and hemming. That took 20 minutes--maybe half hour including cutting.

So then I went for a run and took a shower. The run was ok. I'm trying to get back into shape so my intervals feel pathetic to me.

After my shower, I had 20 minutes before school pickup so I laid out and cut the next pair of PJ pants (pink cats with glasses). I didn't photograph that. I didn't have time to sew them up, but thought--Oh well I'm sure I'll be able to find 20 minutes sometime this afternoon. Oh famous last words.

The girls were chatty after school, and let me tell you--when your tween girl wants to tell you things, you stop and you listen. So I listened. And I made smoothies for snacks (and one for me since I skipped lunch due to the huge breakfast). Because we usually need some decompression time, I let the girls watch a 23 min on demand disney channel episode every day before homework. I can see you saying--well there is your 20 minute sewing time right there. Um no. I needed to pick up hamburger for dinner--but couldn't do that until I determined who wanted burgers and who wanted hotdogs (which is why I didn't do it earlier). When I got home, tv was done and homework time began. Usually homework is not terrible. This year we are really struggling with math. I won't go into too many details except to say that 1) I hate the textbook (which promises to be online but will not print--like a single page when someone forgets their book. And will not open on the ipad--after we downloaded the app, logged in and discovered that ONE book is not an "ebook." Thanks!) and 2) the girls are adjusting to this teacher's style of teaching.

An HOUR later dinner was cooking, girls had finished homework--I started to check it, but gave up to get dinner on the table. After dinner it was one big long cleanup followed by the last CSA pickup, followed by the grumpiest bedtime I've seen in ages. At one point the pink cat jammie kid says--OH do I have any new jammies? I answer that I cut them out but hadn't had a chance to sew them. GO do it NOW! she says. Um yeah no.

I guess I just needed to vent there huh?

Anyway, I did get 14K steps, I found two pieces of school art that missed the purge and sent them to grandma's house, and planked 2 sets of 30 seconds, and did 2 sets each side of side planks for 15 seconds. I need to work on my form for the side planks. I only got to page 5 instead of the 27 I was aiming for in chapter 5.

Today, well I need to get the pink cat jammies sewn up. I need to get some de-cluttering, and my steps and my planks done. I need to get some housework and some work work done. I'd like to update the de-cluttering blog. And I'd like to get to page 30 on chapter 5.

I have also been giving some though to this project I started in September--this blogging thing. Do I want to continue it for October? Would you read it? Do you find it boring, as I'm not really showing off my knitting--although I am knitting nearly every night after girls go to bed. I've been thinking about maybe a weekday update as I find weekends a little hectic and lazy at the same time. Drop me a comment--even if you think I should just go back to sporadic updates with pure crafting content. (Just don't be mean)

September 25

Yesterday I got 13k steps, and did all my errands. I also decluttered, getting rid of a few things that were sitting on the guest bed (which by the way I keep decluttering and people keep piling crap on it). I opted to take a plank rest day. I even managed to get a little work done at work. I'm still behind, but catching up.

Today, I have a fasting blood test and afterwards I have promised myself breakfast out (with chapter 5 for company?). After that? Well planking, steps and decluttering of course. I'd like to get some exercise today, either running or biking. Also, I need to get to page 27 on the draft of chapter 5 and I need to sew some pj pants. I'm hungry and need to take the ladies to school, so no time for the pictures I took yesterday. Let's just say it is beginning to look a lot like fall.

September 24

Yesterday, I got my 10k steps, planked four sets of 30 seconds, but did not declutter.
I went on a 14 mile bike ride, and worked and volunteered. It was a very very busy day, but fun!

Today, I feel like I have a list as long as my arm. I wanted to go to yoga, but I missed the class so I could go to a rummage sale jewelry preview. I saw the most gorgeous ring and bracelet. Both way too much and I knew I'd never wear the bracelet because of the clasp. I may need to go over on half price day and see if the ring is still there.

But you know today I'll do the usual stuff (plank, declutter, steps). I have a list of stuff I need to do, mostly errand type things. (We need propane, I have some returns, and some things that got missed on the grocery run). I need to remember not to eat anything after 8pm, so I can get my cholesterol checked tomorrow morning. Such an exciting life.

Because I never got around to taking a picture yesterday, I thought I'd so a screen grab of my fitbit dashboard from yesterday. I love it when it says hooray!

September 23

So yesterday was pretty much the time suck that I predicted, only with added tween drama. Yes, you must do your homework before you watch tv, even though you usually get a tv episode before homework (you know when you need to decompress from school--a place you didn't go!)
Ahem

Anyway, I planked three sets of 30 seconds, barely got my 10k steps, and actually got rid of a huge pile of cleaning rags (I still have more do not despair), and a shirt that missed my big closet purge from this winter. I also managed to finish chapter 4 of the book I am proof reading, and finished my Louise Penny book.

Today, I volunteer at school, and need to get that work that I've been trying to get done since Friday (yes, I have a flexible job, but yes, they will get upset if I don't get this done soon). Am also plotting an afternoon bike ride.

Should be a fairly easy day to get my 10k steps! I'll still plank (going for the 4th set) and declutter. I don't see that I have any time to work on my larger sewing goals, but hopefully I'll get started on chapter 5 of the manuscript.

What's on your agenda today?

September 22

Yesterday, I barely got my 10k steps, I planked three sets of 30 seconds and made two whole pairs of pj pants! This set was the matching "monster" set. And let me tell you I could not believe my girls wanted the same fabric, because they NEVER want to match. I had one set cut out, and yesterday I not only totally finished those, but the second ones as well. In fact one daughter wore hers to bed. I made some significant progress on the proof reading AND I read a bunch of my fun book.
This means I've made 2 of the 3 sets I set out to do in September!

What I did not do was declutter. I'm not sure why exactly.

Today the girls have a day off from school (for professional development, so maybe I should have signed them up for a conference?). Because of that, I'm setting my goals really low. Like steps, decluttering and planking, and not much else.

I need to go to my office and get some work done and I'll try to do that, but that almost feels like a stretch goal. Oh and I'm going to update my iPad to ios8. Hopefully that will go ok.

September 21

Yesterday, I took a truckload of stuff to be donated, and added a lamp to it. I'm counting that as two, just by virtue that it is all out of the house. I also got my 10k steps, coming in from a walk just 10 minutes before a huge rainstorm moved in. I got my planking done 3 sets of 30 seconds. I also bought more flannel and elastic. But really, no other forward progress.

Today, I'm going to do all the usual stuff (declutter, steps, plank) and try really hard to make some forward progress on the next round of pj pants. Stretch goal is to make some progress on proof reading chapter 4. The sleepover did happen though, so perhaps a nap should be on the agenda.

September 21

Yesterday, I took a trunk load of stuff to be donated, and added a lamp to it. I'm counting that as two, just by virtue that it is all out of the house. I also got my 10k steps, coming in from a walk just 10 minutes before a huge rainstorm moved in. I got my planking done 3 sets of 30 seconds. I also bought more flannel and elastic. But really, no other forward progress.

Today, I'm going to do all the usual stuff (declutter, steps, plank) and try really hard to make some forward progress on the next round of pj pants. Stretch goal is to make some progress on proof reading chapter 4. The sleepover did happen though, so perhaps a nap should be on the agenda.

September 20

Yesterday, I did get my 10k steps, in part because I had to make an extra trip to school (I walk. It is 1500 steps round trip) to get homework. I know I said I wasn't doing any more canning, but I did do some preserving. I ended up with 4 quarts of green beans and no real way to use the in a timely manner, so I froze two quarts of them. I don't generally do beans, because it haven't had great luck with them in the past. We will see.

I did my three sets of 30 second planks. And got rid of a whole pile of papers and crap the girls had shoved in with their stickers. I also managed to finish the first set of the pj pants (and both girls are wearing them to bed) AND cut out the first of the next set.

I feel like this was a lot for having had a sick kid at home. Then I remember I didn't get as much of my paying work done today as I really needed to. I did as much as I could without going into my office.

Today.... well, I'm not sure. The planks, the steps, the decluttering of course but beyond those, the only thing I must get done is a trip to Joann's for more flannel (for me, because it is on super sale) and elastic. The sleepover may happen tonight or it may not. Perhaps I'll load the car up with my donation boxes and bags and get everything out if my house.

My stay at home daughter loved the way the beans looked in their sink of ice water, and so she took a very artistic picture:

September 19

Yesterday, I sat in meetings for 4.5 hours. Seriously. I did manage to get my 10K steps because I took a HUGE walk. I managed to get both bathrooms cleaned in anticipation of a sleepover (that we’ve now had to postpone—more on that later). I also talked both girls into doing a fitting on their PJ pants, which was harder than it should have been. Despite being sore from yoga, I did three 30 second planks.
However, I got rid of nothing. (unless you count the gross stuff in bathroom cleaning- which I do not)

Today I have a kid home sick. I don’t keep kids home lightly, and I should have kept her sister home a day last week. I think, given the fun stuff at school today (They were going to EAT mealworms) and the sleepover which I said I’d postpone if she stayed home, she probably really feels crappy. Probably I am the parent everyone hates, sending kids in when they are sneezing or coughing but the reality is that if I kept a kid home every single time they were runny nose, cough, sneezing—they’d stay home most of the winter.

Anyway, today I’ll declutter and plank, and get my 10K steps. I’ll finish the pj pants, and maybe start some new ones. I need to go to work. Most of what I need to do I can do from home, but I guess I’ll need to arrange someone to stay with my poor sick kid for what I need to go in for. I’d like to update the decluttering blog.

I had her take some pictures of my dahlia cardigan. I finished this back in March—and I posted pictures but they all had strings that I hadn’t weaved in. So I was thinking I should take some new pictures not that it is totally finished and my ends are weaved in and the provisional cast on is off. The upside to having a tween stay home, is that you can usually bribe her to take your picture. And she may make you laugh even.

September 18

So yesterday. What to say about yesterday? Let's just say anytime I say I need to run errands, I should probably admit that I will get nothing else done. They are remodeling our Meijer (and their new sign for the kids section says "Kid's" which is just going to drive me batty every time I am there) and so nothing is where it used to be. What that means is that you really can't plan your route if you have only like 12 things to get (and that's usually how my mid-week trip goes). The good part is that you rack up the steps, so even though my afternoon errand running sucked up the better part of the afternoon, I easily got 13K steps.

I really didn't make progress anywhere else. I went to yoga (and predictably I am SORE), and farmer's market. I got the elastic casings on the pj pants sewn down and both girls measured for elastic.

Probably my best area was in de-cluttering, because I cleaned our tv/sleepover room in preparation for Friday's sleepover, and got rid of so much stuff: 3 computer games, 2 white boards, some cords to old electronics, and some yarn scraps and swatches. And yes, I just admitted to throwing away old swatches and tiny balls of leftover yarn. Yarn, for me, is a hard thing to de-clutter, but I was sick of having these tiny balls of yarn around (and I do mean tiny--think smaller than golf balls. Think shooting marble sized)

Today, I have the errands sitting equivalent: meetings. Ever since I was downsized from my part-time library job, I have been doing a lot of volunteering (In addition to a very small part-time job). I'm at the point in my volunteer career where I do a lot of organizing with other people, which means--meetings. Today I have two. For two different things. I like the volunteering, but I am not crazy about the meetings. Maybe if we walked while we talked....

I am hoping that I still have time to do some more cleaning. I can't really do much on the PJ pants as they need fittings for length. I forgot to get elastic yesterday, so I'm now officially out. Just another reason why I don't want to cut out the other 4 pairs I need to make. I kind of need to go into my office and put in an hour at my actual paying job (see what I mean so part-time I do maybe 3-4 hours a week).

One thing I like about this project is that it really forces me to make a realistic to do list. I just deleted about 7 other things I "should" do today. I don't have time, really, to get the things I've already listed done, but it is a lot more realistic than what is going on in my head. (a trip to Joann's and taking a carload off to the donation center, updating the de-clutter blog, all those things will have to wait).

So today in a nutshell: meetings, 10k steps, get rid of 2 things. Stretch goal: finish pj pants.

September 17

Yesterday, I did run (and I upped my intervals to 5 min running, 3 walking) and made it three miles. It was ugly, but I did it. As a consequence, I made it to 15K steps. I almost forgot to plank, and so right at bedtime I did 2 reps of 30 seconds. I only got rid of one thing yesterday--a nail file. I did however, get the second pair of pjs cut out and sewed together. I was also super productive at work, which is good. I also threw my canning pot into the dishwasher and put it and all the other canning supplies AWAY

Today, I'm headed to farmer's market where I will NOT buy anything to can. NO. For one thing, I only have 3 jars left and for another, let's just say, I'm done. I will however, buy some stuff to eat. After that yoga. I have not been in ages, and so I'm cutting myself some planking slack. I do vinyasa yoga, so plenty of planking there. Today, I also plan to clean the house and run some errands. My elastic supply is low, and so I need some more. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish the PJ pants today too.

I know I've been kinda quiet on the knitting front, and I apologize. I have been plugging away quietly on a project I started at the beginning of summer. And it is taking me so long because I keep finding myself going UGH at the thought of more stockinette in the round. But last night I finished the second sleeve, so I hope I'll get to show it off soon.

OH I know! Yesterday I pulled out my new socks (The ones I finished in July) and they are even yummier than I remembered. I LOVED wearing them. Which is of course the great thing about making socks in the summer--it feels like all new when you finally get to wear them. Kind of like finishing them twice.

Sept 16

Yesterday I finished up my canning with 2 pints of pizza sauce. My only complaint was that I had most of a third pint, but not enough to get up to the required headspace. So now I have pizza sauce I need to eat or freeze. Also that took 3 hours, I kid you not.

I did a little sewing on the pj pants, but not a lot--enough to run out the bobbin thread and get too lazy to replace it. I got my errands run, including a trip to the next town over to buy pants for my picky picky daughter. I got my 10k steps in with a little before bed pacing, and planked 4sets of 30 seconds.

I'm feeling good about the decluttering. I went through the kid art, photographed it, had the girls pick their 2 favorites, and gave the rest to their grandma. Out of my house! Although now I'm wondering if they gave away the pieces I saved to keep (I saved one each).

Probably most impressive was that my husband solved the Halloween dilemma. One girl usually decides what she wants to be before we go pattern looking, and you can't budge her. The other usually changes her mind lots of times. This time, they flipped until I bought the super hero pattern for the girl insisting on being a pink batgirl, and then my usually stubborn child decided SHE wanted to be the superhero panda girl. For 2 weeks any time Halloween was mentioned, a small fight broke out. Last night my husband had a talk with the pink batgirl about why she wanted to be that and what she wanted in a costume, and she decided she'd rather be a poodle. With a tutu. She helpfully drew us a picture:

Believe it or not, I can work with this.

Today the goals include running (spoiler alert--I am writing this as I just finished my run), aiming for 15K steps, planking, de-cluttering, and working on the PJ pants. Ideally I'd like to have 2 pairs ready to fit. I should at least have one, as all it needs is the elastic casing. If I have time, I need to figure out how I'm going to make the poodle "shirt." One thing I will not be doing is canning. In fact, I'm going to put the canning pot in the dishwasher--and when it is done, I am packing it away until next spring.

September 15

Yesterday I took a much needed recuperation day. I did get my 10K steps, even though I had to take two walks around my huge block to achieve it. I waited too long to do my planking and was too tired to do it. It was a big de-clutter day, as we made the first step in moving summer clothes into storage, and fall clothes up into the girls' room. My girls are at an age, where they don't grow out of things every year, and so they get attached to things. And so when they grow out of them, they still want to keep them because they have fond memories. However, they both must have been feeling somewhat practical, and let go of many summer clothes that normally would have fallen in that category. I filled a kitchen trash bag with donation clothes.

I started the blue pj pants, finally deciding to take the leap and cut them out. I don't know what it is about cutting patterns that makes me so nervous. Perhaps the fact that you can't undo cutting. I sewed the seams up on the serger, but still need to put the legs together and get the waistband ready.

Mostly though, we relaxed.

Today initially I was going to go for a run, and then realized that the forecast indicates rain today, whereas tomorrow it is supposed to be clear. As i write this, I don't see the clouds on the horizon moving in, so maybe not running today was a lazy choice rather than a good choice.

I do have errands to take care of today, and pizza sauce to make and can. I need to change the frog water too--a big task as the frog population more than doubled this winter. So the goal is to take care of that and get the blue pants ready for fitting. Stretch goal--to see if I can't get the purple pj pants cut out. And of course, plank (going to do it this morning), decluttering (I'd like to tackle last year's school art), and 10K steps (I have 2000 already!)

This may be the main view I have today.

Sept 14

Wow was yesterday a very full day. After uploading the entry I checked weather, and discovered there was a 40% chance of rain! but the radar looked clear, so we bundled up for the chilly morning and got ready for a 10 am color run. The organizers insisted everyone should be there by 9am, but I think we could have been fine arriving at 9:30. Personally I hate stuff like that that leaves you standing around for an hour. But the girls and I splashed color on each other, and I danced and embarrassed them. Color runs aren't officially timed, but I timed us, and despite being unprepared we did decently, at 43, 45 and 46 minutes. I came in last because I play sweeper, and the girl I was sweeping always saves a big burst of energy for the finish. The important thing: no whining. I don't know the last time we went running without a major whine fest.

I didn't quite make it to 15k, but 14500 isn't shabby. I could have paced but was exhausted. I also cleaned off my end table in the living room and threw away a bunch of papers I was saving for whatever reason. I also planked 3 times 30 seconds.

Then this landed a block away

They gave neighborhood kids rides, up 10 feet or so. It was very fun.

And! I laid out the pattern for the first pair of pj pants.

Today, I have no desire to can the rest of the tomatoes. So I think I'll focus on the pj pants and see if I can't knock them out. And that's it because Sunday is a big cleaning, cooking, preparing kind of day. (Well the steps, decluttering, and planking is kind of the every day thing).

Sept 13

So yesterday I finished canning peaches. My grand total came to 34 pints of normal, 3 of honey spiced. I also finished canning tomatoes my totals were 18 pints of crushed tomatoes and 6 of sauce. I still have a number of tomatoes though, so I may do pizza sauce. Assuming I can figure out how to make the required tomato purée. I did take a break from the canning when I heard this go by

I did get my 10k steps, but decided to skip planking. I finished chapter 3 while I was waiting for the last batch of sauce to process, but I did not declutter. I did not start pj pants, but I did go try to remember which of the 3 patterns I have worked best.

Today's goals are kind of dependent. My daughters and I are signed up to run in a color run. We haven't really trained, but it isn't timed, so I'm not worried about shattering any records. However, none of us has any desire to run in rain, and one of my daughters has a cold. I haven't checked weather forecast this morning yet, and my daughter says she feels yucky, but she just woke up. If we do run, I'll be aiming for 15k steps today. If we don't I'm hoping to get the pjs done. Regardless, I'd like to skip dealing with tomatoes. We'll see.

Sept 12

Yesterday was one of those days in which I felt as if I was trying to wade through waist high mud, or like trying to run fast through the 4 .5 foot end of the swimming pool. I could see the goals, but time was rocketing past while I stayed still. I did do my 2 mile run, and whoo howdy am I out of shape--3 minute runs followed by two minute walks. It meant that 12K steps was well within my reach, but the meetings that bogged me down by mid-morning ensured I did not meet the 15k stretch. Also, the meetings meant that I never quite caught up on anything else. I had to re-teach yesterdays math lesson after school (which I am fully capable of usually but yesterday had to google one tiny thing I couldn't quite remember and the worksheet they brought home wasn't terribly clear) and so my after school hours were kind of shot too. I did do my 3 sets of 30 second planks and decluttered by throwing away business cards from the job that laid me off, as well as some odds and ends I found near those.

Today, I have big goals!

Today the plan includes: can everything on the counter. This means last of the peaches (the ones I bought Wednesday) and the tomatoes. After that I should be done with canning for the season. I need to finish proofreading chapter 3 of the book I'm proofreading, and I would love to be able to have some pj pants cut out. I also need to run to the grocery store and pick up my race packet because ready or not, we (both daughters and I) are running in a 5k color run tomorrow. Whew. I guess I'd better get working.

Sept 11

Sometimes I write the first paragraph of these entries at night. It makes it easy to see what I actually did and provides a closure for the day. The last 2 nights however have been filled with wandering children (seriously an hour after lights out and you are wandering around down here telling me you can't sleep--I can't sleep either when I am up walking around!) which makes it hard for me to spend the two minutes writing. Anyway, yesterday I did one batch of peaches bringing my total up to 31 pints. I only de cluttered one thing--putting away the bike rack replacement screws and throwing away the envelope they were mailed in. I did get my 10K steps, and I planked 3 sets of 30 seconds. I got my work computer to work and was able to catch up a bit there. I also got all my errands run! I still need to actually fix the headlight, because the car was too wet and hot to do it yesterday.

Today, I want to run, I'm thinking intervals for 2 miles. Then I need to spend the morning at work. Hopefully, I'll have time this afternoon to get another batch of peaches done because I think Friday may be tomato day. Because I'm running, I'll set my step goal a little higher--I think 12K is realistic, but my stretch goal is 15K.

I feel a little bit like I'm still just working on the crisis areas--the peaches that will go bad--instead of the goal areas--like getting some pj pants sewn now that the temperature is dropping. Perhaps a better stretch goal would be to get a pair of pj pants cut out. We'll see how it goes.

This is a picture of last year's peaches, but really it is what my brain has looked like this week:

September 10

So yesterday, I canned 14 pints of peaches. Bringing my total up to 28. The crazy part? I still have peaches left. The crazier part? I bought more today.

Ok, well I wanted to get to 36 pints. Last year I did 33 and that seemed to be close to about right. I don't know if I'll get to 36, but at least I didn't go overboard and get the half bushel. I amy be crazy, but I'm not THAT crazy.

I can only can 3 pints at a time, but I had to re-do one yesterday when it didn't seal--and I knew it wasn't going to fast because for some reason the liquid was visibly low. I have no idea what happened. Anyway, I filled it up and cooked it again and ping, it sealed. I also got to my 10K steps and did 2 reps of 3o0 second planks. I think I'm going to continue with the reps. And I decluttered kind of absentmindedly. I pulled out the bread machine, and realized there was a bunch of junk behind it--some giant straws, a blinky safety light that no longer blinked and threw those away. But then I forgot that I had done that and did some more purposeful decluttering of notepads.

Today, I need to get some things done at my work and so the plan is, can the peaches that are left--no more than 2 batches (so 6 pints), figure out the tomatoes and get my growing to do list done. (cleaning and errands mostly). And of course I'll do the 10K steps, planking, and decluttering.

Fear not, sewing is on the horizon, one daughter asked if I could have some new PJ pants done by her sleepover next week

September 9

Yesterday turned out to be a really fun day. I canned 9 pints of peaches, took a 12 mile bike ride, planked 75 seconds, and got my 10K steps. No decluttering, but I did update my decluttering blog. On the surface, it looks wonderful, but it was a day for piling on the stuff for today. And the 10K steps only came because I paced for about 15 minutes before bed.

pints!

Today, I have the rest of the peaches to deal with. A staggering amount still. I was thinking about running, but any exercise is really going to need to wait until the peaches are done. I figured yesterday that it takes an hour for one batch (3 pints) and then 1/2 hour for each subsequent batch as long as i keep working. If I take a break (say for a bike ride or lunch or whatever) it stretches the time out.

So we'll stick with todays goals being, finish the peaches, run if I have time, plank (maybe some sets of 30 seconds), get my 10k steps and get rid of two items of "clutter." I have a bunch of other stuff to take care of today --starting with cleaning up the kitchen from last night (I had a meeting), and moving to putting in some hours at my work, so we'll see.

My kitchen smells GOOD I tell you.

September 8

So yesterday I hit my 10k steps at 4:30. You'd think I'd have ended the day at 20k but evidently that wore me out because I only made it to 12. I did 5 pints of peaches, basically the ones that were showing signs of damage. The majority are not ripe enough yet (at least for me, they are a little to crunchy). I reprocessed the one that did not seal, and it sealed! I planked a 50 second and a 40 second. I did not rally declutter anything, although I did throw out some stuff. I'm not sure how to describe, but she you order pictures online, and they give you a 4x6 with tiny pictures of what you ordered--well I had kept some of those, and pitched it. We also ended up doing som major trimming on a tree that was leaning of the roof. My husband says all the branches I dragged to the curb should count. I decluttered the driveway!

Today, more peaches and... exercise! I am a runner, but have not really run much this summer. Was planning a 2 mile interval thing, but got email asking if I'd bike ride again. Exercise is always more pleasant with company. Honestly, today is just about getting as many peaches canned as I can--at least assuming that enough are ripe. The ones I ate for breakfast were good, so probably today is going to be a big day. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have pictures of cans!

What are you up to today?

September 7

Yesterday I went through the entire bushel of peaches, picked out the ones with bad spots (i.e. likely to rot before they ripen fully) and canned those as 3 pints of honey spiced peaches. One pint has not sealed. Took the girls running and so have well over my 10k steps. Finally took some things from the garage to the curb in anticipation of large trash pick up. Oh I almost forgot, before I had room to lay out the peaches, I had to take care of the tomatoes clogging the counter. I canned 3 more pints of crushed and one more pint of sauce.

Sometimes I feel bad when there is only one goal listed here, but what I keep trying to remember is that all these goals, are really on top of all the normal work I do. It isn't like I sit here all day twiddling my thumbs and then am all sad about not getting stuff done, I mean today I'll be doing my regular Sunday laundry, which is 8 loads, washed, dried, folded and handed over to be put away, plus regular tidying and stuff. That said, today's goal is go through the peaches again, and can any that are ripe enough. (Plus planking, steps and decluttering). Plus reprocess the can that didn't seal yesterday.

So here are two pictures of peaches First the bushel laid out on the counter:

And Devil Peach:

September 6

Yesterday the weather cooperated, and I went on a lovely bike ride with a friend. I'm afraid I slowed her down, but it was fun, and I hope to incorporate more of that into my fitness routine (assuming I get my fitness routine back). I also planked (60 seconds--I usually go until I feel like I'm losing my form). I hit 10k steps (barely). I got a little cleaning done (pretty much the bare minimum) and most importantly I finished proof reading chapter 2! I also managed to get rid of two separate types of vacuum cleaner bags. Ones we have no vacuum to match.

I didn't get the blog post written.

Today kids are home, and my peaches are in. My realistic goal is to sort through peaches and can whatever is ready. My unrealistic goal is to also get in a run with the girls, as we are doing a 5k next Saturday (and we are not ready). This is also a plank rest day.

September 5

So yesterday, I made it through my meeting. I probably talked a little too much, but overall I think it was the kind of rich discussion that it needed to be. I didn't get my pattern out, and I felt rushed all day long.

I did plank, for 90 seconds! And looked at my fitbit about 7:30 to see where I was and was surprised to discover I had hit 10k steps. I did a last minute decluttering, working again on my stationary and recycled a bunch of envelopes (that had no cards).

Today I'm planning some exercise if the weather cooperates. I'm also planning to do a big cleaning push and finish proofreading chapter 2 of my husband's book. I was hoping to dig out that pattern today as well. And update my decluttering blog.

All in all it is very typical of me, to plot and plan for more hours that I actually have. And one thing I am trying to work for (although failing maybe) is this thing where I plan so much and fill the time, plus some and then feel frazzled when everything doesn't get done.

How about you, are you good at pacing yourself, or do you regularly bite off more than you can chew?

Sept 4

Yesterday I canned 9 pints of crushed tomatoes, and 2 pints of sauce. I still have some tomatoes left, but not enough to do the 3 pints my canner will hold. Maybe if we get more at tonight's veggie pickup, I'll do more. I certainly want to do more. I'd like to have a dozen pints of crushed and at least 6 pints of sauce, but we will see.

I planked for 75 seconds-was going for 90. And got my 10k steps! I started going through my stationary again and tossed a set of postcards I've had...well far too long.

Today, I have meetings and some work stuff that is going to keep me from making any progress towards my bigger goals. Maybe if I have a minute I'll hunt for the pj pant pattern I want to use.

It is always hard for me when I can't see progress happening on the big goals, but I keep reminding myself that little steps are like putting together your mise en place in cooking. They make the bigger task easier.

How are you doing on your goals today?

Sept 3

So yesterday, I set the goal of acquiring tomatoes. Plus my daily planking, steps, and decluttering.

I did go and pick tomatoes, but I didn't get as many as I wanted because of late tomato blight. It was incredible to see tomatoes that looked ripe, then pick them and have your thumb go straight through them. I was out about an hour, and came home with half a bushel maybe. And many of those I'll have to cut half off the tomato away. I had company though

He kept the bugs off me.

I also planked (75 seconds), and had my 10k steps by 7pm. For my decluttering, I cleaned out the pool bag.

Today, my goals are to can as many of those ugly tomatoes as possible, and hit farmers market. I've been knitting on the sleeve of the sweater I mean to finish every night, perhaps tomorrow I'll have a minute to talk more about that.

Sept 2

Today, I dropped the kids off for their first day of school, and so the month begins!

First up, tomatoes. Today my main goal is to pick enough tomatoes at our farm share farm, to can some sauce, some crushed tomatoes, and maybe if they have plums (doubtful) some pizza sauce. I may have to buy plums though.

I have been excessively worried about this because of late blight, which is killing tomatoes all over the Midwest. I even had bad dreams about this.

I'd also like to get all these bad boys washed today so I can start tomorrow, but I have other things to do too.

What are you planning to tackle towards your long term goals today?

September project

For all of August I've been participating in a challenge of sorts. I think it started as a plank challenge, but morphed into a challenge yourself every day to something. Sort of a set your own goals. I must admit, I grudgingly decided to do it. August is full of kids and kid stuff and all the things to get back to school (doctors, dentists, haircuts, shopping, back to school nights). But I really enjoyed it. Every morning I sat quietly for a second, focused on the day and what I really wanted to get done. And at the end of the day, I thought about what I had accomplished. Some days, at the end, I felt like nothing had gotten done, but as I thought about it, I realized I had gotten so much done.

This happened on Facebook, and while I liked the public accountability of it, I can't do this on my own Facebook page. I'm not sure why, but I feel more comfortable trying it here.

So here is the plan: every morning starting tomorrow (The first day of school!)I'll post here my goals for the day, and a small wrap up of the previous day. You can leave a comment with your own goals/accomplishments.

Goals for September.
Sew at least 3 pairs of pj pants for each girl
Halloween costumes
Can peaches
Can tomatoes
Finish sweater
Start new sweater
Socks for girls?
Update the decluttering blog at least once a week.

Each of these is several steps, or a mess to unpack. The Halloween costumes for instance. They don't have to be done by September 30, because you know Halloween is a month from that. Also I have exactly one pattern and a rathe vague idea of what each girl really wants to be. But I also know that the more I can get done in September, the easier sewing will be. I know I want to finish the sweater I started this summer (concentration issue) and begin a small sweater for summer (because you know September is a great time to knit something for summer)

And then there are the daily goals
Keep planking 5-6 days a week
Get 10k steps every day
Clear out 2 items of "clutter" every day

I hope this turns into a fun thing, and I hope you can join along.

letter to my blog

Dear poor neglected blog,
I have missed you so very much this past month. But you know how summer is around here. Kids are home all day demanding things like lunch and snacks. Unless they aren't and we are running all over town. But let me see if I can try to catch you up.

We went on vacation and very nearly missed strawberry season. I did manage to make a batch of strawberry lemonade concentrate and two of jam before we left. Then I made three batches when we got home. (so 5 total) We never got to make the strawberry marshmallows or strawberry ice cream. And we never did get to eat enough that kids declared they were "kinda glad the season is over." Next year.

Cherries have started to come in, but not the sours yet. I still have a ton of sour cherries frozen from last year and so tried to make a cherry limeade concentrate thing like the strawberry. It was successful, in that it was good. It was not, in that when I plugged my recipe into a recipe calculator it turned out to be 410 calories a serving. I'm going to try it with less sugar next time, but here is what I did:
2/3 cup lime juice (I squeezed many limes)
1 cup frozen sour pitted cherries
2 cups sugar
Place everything in a saucepan and heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved and then bring to a slow boil. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until cherries are all broken up. Remove from heat, and blend with a stick blender. Strain and cool mixture in the fridge.
This made a pint of syrup. To serve, I used about 1/4 of the pint, and filled the rest of the glass with club soda. It was super sweet, so next time, I want to cut the sugar in half maybe.

Oh I know blog, you want to know if I did any knitting this month! Well of course. We went on vacation, and I was almost done with some socks before we left, so I started a new project for the trip. I started another hoodie from the top down this one in the same yarn as my green one--but in white. Here is me int he green, in case you don't remember

I did finish the socks when we got home. Oh how I love this yarn.

The pattern is a toe up pattern from Ann Budd, with a heel I had to improvise from Socks from the Toe Up. The yarn is Mode Knit in Sherlock's kitchen. It is a tonal green, but every once in a while there was a tiny speck of red. It may have been an error in dyeing, but I kept feeling like it was a mysterious blood spot clue in the kitchen. It was a dream to work with and I loved every minute of it. I knit these on my size 1 DPNs. I can't wait to knit the other skein I bought. Although this yarn begs for cables, so I'll have to wait and find a good pattern.

So, blog you can see that it has been busy, and I haven't even mentioned all the fresh vegetables that require endless seeming hours to prepare (seriously, it takes me 20 minutes to get green beans ready--as opposed to 3 minutes tops from the canned variety). I have been knitting, nearly every day at least after the children go to bed. I took the sweater to the park evem on Saturday as we went to a picnic to honor the lives of our former neighbors (deceased going on three years now) and had a small child run up to me and we had the following conversation:
Little kid: Is that knitting you are doing?
me: yes.
Little kid: cool! My grammy does that. She made me a whole dress, it went from here to here! it is pretty.
me: I bet it is, you are lucky to have a grandma that knits for you
Little kid: I am!
And so there you have it blog, I'm either a hipster or a granny whose loved ones wish desperately I'd knit for them. Next time, I may even tell you about all the yarn I bought on vacation. So stay tuned.

Love, me.

strawberries!

I am having a super emotional day for some reason that might have a little to do with my babies finishing elementary school tomorrow. What better way to get past it than with a little craftiness. Or food.

Strawberries first appeared at the farmers market today! I am hoping to make at least 3 batches of jam this year and 6 pints of strawberry lemonade concentrate. Other plans include strawberry ice cream and strawberry marshmallows. So you can imagine that I'm hoping for an extended season. The berries I bought today though will just be eaten. Well ok, I'm going to try a puff pastry napoleon, but I'm guessing we'll probably demolish the two quarts in a blink. But I am hoping for a batch of jam next week.

I got all my sweaters washed for the summer before June 1, and it made me realize that what I really need is a white sweater. Maybe something a bit lacy so I can wear it in the spring. So far, all I've done to fix that deficit is to say--hmmm I have no white yarn. I can't decide the best plan: buy yarn and then look for a pattern, look for a pattern and THEN buy yarn, or buy yarn and use one of Ann Budd's books to create something. I can see pros and cons to all three approaches.

In the meantime, i am still plugging away on my green socks. I am finding that I will knit forever on the plain rounds, and knit just a few rows when I have something like the heel that I have to think about. So I'm stalled in the heel for the second sock.

Usually I use the short row heel described in Ann Budd's article "Working Socks From the Toe Up" Interweave Knits Spring 2007. However, sometimes my Mary Janes rub funny on the back of my heel. In order to make the socks last longer (maybe) I decided to try a different heel. I've used it before in these socks, although for whatever reason I didn't say what heel I used. It is from Socks from the Toe Upby Wendy Johnson. Just one of her "generic" heels. But the problem I have is either my gauge or my shoe/foot size means that I can't make socks with 64 stitches, they come out HUGE. I use 52 usually, although that's what I like about toe up socks, just keep increasing until it fits!, So I have to fiddle with the numbers, whereas Ann's pattern is really simple to do over any number of stitches (and I was so used to it, that at one point I could do it in my head). Anyway, I am nearing the homestretch of the second heel, so I should be zipping along really soon on those.

I am too lazy to take a picture of those socks, so I'll leave you with some old socks. I was getting blood drawn in May when a lady told me she LOVED my socks. I was so tickled, I had to share it on facebook, so I took this picture.