I finished a thing!!

Sadly, first thing that takes a back burner in my life is knitting. I love doing it and I have enough yarn to open my own small store, but kids, work and socializing tend to come first. 

But there is nothing like a new baby to make you think, I need to knit something small for that baby! I mean it shouldn't take a year to knit a baby sweater, right?! Well you would be wrong! 

One of my coworkers announced over a year ago that his daughter was expecting his FIRST grandchild. Of course I had to knit that baby a green sweater because boy or girl, that baby would eventually be a  4-H'er. LOL 

However, I also knew that life was crazy and there was no way I would have something done by the time the baby was born. I mean 6-7 months is totally enough time to knit 3 sweaters but I don't rush the process...so when I cast the sweater on the baby was already 3 months old. I decided to make the 1 year size and it would be a first birthday present. Feb. 1st comes around and the sweater is still missing a sleeve. Yikes! I did finish it a day before the baby's first birthday but it was a couple of weeks late due to washing and blocking. 

But while I'm sure the sweet girl could care less about a sweater, her mom and grandparents felt the love. So all in all, it was time well spent! And next time, I'll make the 2 year size! LOL 

Pattern: Flax Light by Tin Can Knits
Yarn: Wollmeise Sock in Wasabi

The start of the little green sweater in May of 2021. Road Trip knitting! 

The most knitting was done at Rock Springs 4-H Camp in 
June of 2021

Road Trip!

This week I went on my first Road Trip since July 2020 and the destination was Little Rock, AR. It was GREAT! I had to wait a year to get in with the fabulous Tattoo artist Katie McGowan, to finish my quarter sleeve. I had her add a ball of yarn and cactus to the existing piece and I LOVE it! Katie is worth the wait and Little Rock is a fun little trip. Her shop name is Love Spell Tattoo . 

Took some extra days to enjoy the area a little bit. I've been to Katie three times now and I've never hiked in Arkansas. I corrected that error at Pinnacle Mountain State Park and hiked the summit trail. It was rock climbing for much of the hike but it was well worth it. Also, I've never seen a better marked trail you could see the next trail mark for the one you were looking at. No way to get lost, I like that! 

Another place I made time to visit with the Rock Town Distillery. Got to try a lot of Arkansas whiskey, some good... and some better! They did make me one heck of an old fashioned. I'm back home, refreshed and ready to go. Also, just trying not to scratch my new ink. The itch is real. 

Arkansas River at Sunset! 

All good road trips have a knitting project! 

The barrels at Rock Town Distillery

An Amazing Old Fashioned! 

I'm a hiker! (I actually needed a fanny pack of some sort)

View from the top!

When hiking becomes rock climbing....

New Ink! This is mostly on the underside of my arm and I love it!

Two Races and Two Hats

At this time last week, I was freezing in Kansas City waiting to start my second half marathon for the year. If it has been this weekend, the temperature would have been perfect! But it wasn't snowing and on Nov. 1st you have to consider that a win. I drove myself, ran my race and took my tired butt home. Having someone to watch me finish is nice but I can do things by myself too!  

My race in Manhattan I lined up with the 2:15 pace group and felt that they really helped me not go out too fast. I chit chatted most of the time and was laughing and having a good time. Since that race I have been running faster on my own so I decided to leap frog the 2:10 pace group and I lined up with the 2:05 group for this run. I have never spent the majority of a race trying to keep up with my pacer! There was very little talking and when the pacer told me at mile 10 "If you feel good, you should just go!" I said, "I don't feel good." LOL 

I ended up speeding up at mile 12 and finished with a 2:04 time! My PR is from May 2014 and it is 1:56:28. Not sure I will ever get back there but getting under 2 hours will be the goal for 2021! 

Daryl ran a political race last week. He decided to run for 6th grade rep for Middle School Student Council. He had to record his speech and all the 6th graders watched the speeches and voted. His speech was right out of a 1950's presidential campaign. I gave him a hard time for ending his speech, "God Bless You! and God Bless America!" I told him I didn't think that was going to resonate. But he proved me wrong and was elected one of the three reps out of six running. Way to go buddy!  

For some reason I caught a knitting bug and I have been turning out hats like crazy! After finishing my fingering weight hat last month I casted on with worsted weight. I was so giddy about how fast it was going I finished it in five days! Then I gave up looking for more gray yarn and finished another half done hat with yellow yarn. On Friday, I cast on another fingering weight yarn hat because I need to slow down a bit. LOL! 

GOING TO KNIT ALL THE HATS! 

39 degrees and here we go!

Two Hours later I was ready to go home! 

Photo Credit to Ariel, she takes great photos!
Pattern: Barley Yarn: Universal Worsted and some scrap yellow 

Pattern: Christian's Hat Yarn: Paton's Wool

Newly Elected Daryl enjoying a celebratory steak dinner!

May Goal Update

My heart hurts this weekend. I need to research how I can help my community in very important matters of public health and racial justice. These are heavy topics and heavy times. While I research how I can help my neighbors I know how I can help myself. Keep focusing on my goals I set in January. These goals make me smarter, healthier and more financially stable. You can't give from an empty basket so it is important that I still work on my basket of resources. My mind, money and health are all my resources. 

Take care of yourself friends, and then help those around you! #blacklivesmatter #publichealthisimportant #wearyourmask 

2020 Goals 

Read 12 Books: 6/12 

This month I read The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. It was a great read both as a youth development professional and as a parent. This book really did nudge my heart and mind to give the boys more freedom this summer. I don't have to bike with them, they are free to explore the neighborhood and they can stay home while I run errands. I was babysitting kids when I was Daryl's age, why had I not been giving him that kind of responsibility. It touched on a lot of good topics and it was very good. 

I also read The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson. This books has been on my "to read" list for a long time. It was not however what I was expecting. I really didn't know it was a story of North Korea and a peak into that life. It was a twisted tale that was a very good read. I could see why it is so popular, but for some reason I thought it was about an orphanage. That was probably 15 pages in the whole book. 
 

Knit 4 Things (and no new yarn!): 2.75/4 

Still working on my Mielie vest. I have the body done! I just need to knit the pockets (this is a must) and do all the edging. Might finish this in June. I don't like to knit when it gets too hot, so I'm not making any promises! 


Make 2 Quilts :DONE May 2020

You guys! I technically have finished this goal. My 4-H T-Shirt quilt and a baby quilt are at the quilters right now. I had over half of the baby quilt done years ago, but I finished it this month. So I'm counting it! Yay Finished goal #2! 

Run 600 Miles: 253

I got  56  miles this month! I will not give up on my 600 mile goal for the year. I had a really good month and the boys have been riding their bikes with me. That has been so fun. Daryl even got up at 6am once last week to do a morning run with me. Daryl can do a 3-4 mile route on his bike and Alex can do 2-3. They are also my security and warn me about dogs not fenced in. :-) 


Save 2,000 Dollars: DONE April 2020 

I'm still saving even though I accomplished this goal. I put away $480 this month and that was after my ceiling light install in the living room and changed out the ceiling fan in the dining room. Yay me! 

5 House Projects: I did a project in May! An electrician put a light in my living room and changed out the ceiling fan in the dining room. How can a small change make so much difference? When it gets dark I can now just flick on the light in the middle of the room instead of turning on three different lamps. I'm so happy! 

Not sure how many more of the other house projects will be done. The word furlough is being thrown around at work on how budget cuts will be handled. Me and the boys will be ok, but I do these projects with cash. Some might have to wait till 2021. That's ok! 

Put in a ceiling light in living room:  Done May 
Put in a ceiling light in my bedroom office
Get a new stove: Done Feb
Remove a scraggly tree
Get my Garage door working

The whole family is reading more right now, I love it! 

My living room has a light! Yay! 

My latest sewing project was a bed for purl. 
It is filled with the T-Shirt pieces leftover from my quilt.

Back on track with my running, it feels good!

April Goal Update

Before I go over my yearly goal progress I have great news! Grandma Rosie is here! She put off her move toTopeka until they started getting Covid cases in SW Kansas. Once the Virus was there as well, she thought she could hide out here just as well as hiding out down there. The boys and I are so happy to have her here. She has already been busy in the yard. My yard has lots of project for anyone that likes projects. That was a bright spot to our days that all seemed to blend together. 

2020 Goals 

Read 12 Books: 4/12 

This month the boys and I read "The One and Only Ivan" by K.A. Applegate. We read the first half of the book taking turns reading but I ended it by reading to them. It was a great youth chapter book. Very heartfelt and all three of us couldn't wait to see how it ended. 

Many thanks to Ms. Foster for putting the copies into a ziplock and letting us pick them up. It was a great read! 

Knit 4 Things (and no new yarn!): 2.5/4 

Still working on my Mielie vest. It has been a good project for my multiple zoom meetings. I'm getting ready to start my third ball of yarn. I may need to cast on something in the middle of this. I'm getting tired of the blue!  


Make 2 Quilts : I have started Quilt #1

So much progress on Quilt #1 this month. All of the T-Shirts have been cut and bordered. (I have TWO 4-H t-shirts left to wear.) I have all of the rows of T-Shirts sewn together. I've also made the four corner pieces that will be a part of the border. I'm using the fronts of shirts that had a little chest logo. 

This project has been the best distraction! All I have left to do is put on the borders. This two quilt goal was a stretch goal but thanks to our Stay at Home order I may get it done! 

Run 600 Miles: 197

I got 35 miles this month. That is not 50, the amount I need every month to get to 600 for the year. The good news is I have been getting more than 50 the last couple of months so I didn't blow my yearly goal with this month. Why did I fall off of running so hard? Change of daily routine, losing the gym, my half being turned into a virtual race. These all played a little part of my head losing the stay motivated game. None of these things are changing for May, so I will just have to get mentally tougher or chuck this goal. I'm not ready to do that yet. We will circle  back in a month! 

I didn't run my virtual half, thank goodness the race people let me switch to the virtual 5K. At least I will get my shirt from the inaugural Top City 5K/Half Marathon race. :-) 

Save 2,000 Dollars: $2465

I saved 1500 this month. Not going to lie that was stimulus money. However, I'm lucky enough to still be working and getting a paycheck. So that money went directly to savings. It is more important than ever to have a savings account and I hope I don't have to dip into it. 

5 House Projects: Nothing off the list in April. But I have the tree removal in the budget for May. So hopefully that will be done soon! I have been putting my new stove and four of it's burners to good use this month! So happy to have it! 

Put in a ceiling light in living room
Put in a ceiling light in my bedroom office
Get a new stove: Done Feb
Remove a scraggly tree
Get my Garage door working

One of the four corner pieces I made for the border!

Quilt top just minus the border! 

Four corners

I lowered my goal from 60 to 35 when I realized I was having head struggles.
I'm glad I did because just finished this morning! 

March Goal Update

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I have had a lot of time to work on goals in March. I will get on my soap box once again for goals. With all this extra time I've found myself with at home, I've know exactly the things I wanted to work on to better myself. Heck, I may get them done a lot earlier than December, and that's OK! 

2020 Goals 

Read 12 Books: 3/12 
The first book I read this month was Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. This falls into the category of beach read for me and it was excellent. Once I got 50 pages in I didn't want to put it down. It was fun to escape to Scotland for a bit and see who Eleanor is and what made her that way. Two thumbs up! 

The second book I read this month was Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I would have never picked up this most excellent read if it was not selected for Book 2 Topeka. That is a wonderful program put on by our library, where the librarians pick a book for our community to read together. Night Circus is a beautiful fiction book that is so well written I was sad when it was over. It is a 500 page book so being home-bound the last two weekends of this month is the only way I finished it so quickly. The first line and the last line of the book are the same,"The circus arrives without warning." This book will take you without warning. Not really a beach read as I wish I had paid more attention to the timeline in the beginning. The chapters move around in place a time. The two main characters are magicians who duel at a circus that only opens at night. If you like fiction books, this one will not disappoint. I would rate it with my favorites! 

Knit 4 Things (and no new yarn!): 2/4 
I have started my third project. A bigger project than I have completed in awhile, I'm making a vest called the Mielie vest. I have just enough Berrocco Vintage yarn from stash to make it. I hope my sister's cats didn't eat too much of my yarn!  


Make 2 Quilts : I have started Quilt #1

This month I got all of the interfacing on the T-Shirt squares to start my 4-H T-Shirt Quilt. It is looking like April will be 4 more weekends at home. So I have high hopes for my quilt progress. Just a technicality to point out, I just make the tops. I send them off to be turned into quilts. :-) 

Run 600 Miles: 162

I got 56 miles this month. So the good news is I made my monthly goal. The bad news is I fell off of my training plan for my April half marathon. When I found out it was a virtual race I was also having to figure out how to run my job virtually from home. There was a lot of stress and I stopped my training distances. This last week I was running 2 to 4 miles almost every day just to get my 56 miles. 

So I'm looking at pulling a PW (personal worst) for my virtual half marathon. I anticipate a lot of walking breaks! 

Save 2,000 Dollars: $965

I saved 265 this month. I had to do a little more spending at the end of this month than orginally planned. Having the boys home all week requires more grocery money and more eating out money. I can't cook every day! During this time of uncertainty, I'm more dedicated than ever to bulk up my savings. I plan to hit my $2000 goal and surpassing it! 

5 House Projects: House projects are on hold right now. Have to stay home to stay safe and part of that is keeping other people away from the house right now too. 

Put in a ceiling light in living room
Put in a ceiling light in my bedroom office
Get a new stove: Done Feb
Remove a scraggly tree
Get my Garage door working

Trying to remember all the things I should be thankful for.
We have a lot of play space around our house.
Very thankful for room for the boys and I to be outside.

The Post I Wait all Year For!

I was successful with my goals for 2019. I had them all done by the end of November. It just proves that if you make a plan, and you check that plan, you can accomplish big things! I don't always crush it, I looked back and in 2018 I only accomplished one of my three goals. So any progress, IS PROGRESS.

My motto last year is the same as this year.  It's not about changing yourself, it's about bettering yourself. :-)

So these are my goals I will focus on in 2020, to make me a better!

I'm upping my reading goal from 10 books to 12 books. This should be easy because I'm not reading for school anymore! 🙌🎇🎈

I would like to finish 4 knitting projects again this year AND finish 2 quilts. I'm challenging myself this year, so if some of this seems crazy, it just might be.

Last year my goal was to run 400 miles, I finished with 530. This year my goal is 600 miles. I feel like I ran a lot last year, so this is another big goal.

I have 5 House project I want to get done in 2020:
Put in a ceiling light in living room
Put in a ceiling light in my bedroom office
Get a new stove
Remove a scraggly tree
Get my Garage door working

I'm adding a new goal to the list this year. I want to save $2,000. I had a nice savings account when I bought my house and now it's anemic. I do what I focus on, so every month I will be looking for the extra pennies to save.

Because of my savings goal I'm going to start 2020 with a personal challenge. I want to see how long I can go without buying any new clothes. I have enough clothes! When I was paying off all my student loans I would only purchase what was absolutely necessary. Maybe one pair of jeans and an outfit for a work event or special event. So, I know I can do that. I'm not saying I can't buy clothes all year, I just want to see what the date will be when I crack! I'm pretty stubborn with myself so I'm hopeful I can go months! Full disclosure, I made an Gap order before the end of Dec. with a new pair of jeans and a bra. So my last purchase date is officially Dec. 27th.

What are your goals? How are you going to check up on yourself? I will post an update every month on how mine are going. I think that is what got it done last year. Good Luck to all of us! We are getting better!

Two days into the year, I already have 5 miles! 

Took the boys to Free State after my haircut with the
Wonderful Ms. Molly. They took pictures of each other while we waited for food. 

Daryl was a good model for Alex. He loved his fish and chips! 

Last Goal Update of 2019!

I have good news for my November Goal update for my 2019 goals. They are done! A Month Early! The power of goals is real. So, happy day to me, I get December off! Which is good because I haven't decorated or wrapped a thing. I asked the boys this morning when they were dropped off for school if they wanted me to wait for them to decorate. They said, "Nah, surprise us!" So I will get to decorating while they are with their Dad this week. 

My Birthday last Saturday was good, it wasn't Hawaii, but I guess you can't do that every year. LOL!  I hung out with the boys all day and Alex had a friend over for lunch. The boys didn't fight with each other, too much, so I can't really ask for a better gift than that. I got a run in and there was leftover Thanksgiving wine to enjoy. Good Day! 

Yesterday, my coworkers spoiled me with birthday treats and they sang to me and got me the corniest card! :-) For real, it had corn on it, I loved it! Jefferson took me for a birthday dinner and got me a bottle of wine! Yay! That was a close call because I had just run out of my Thanksgiving Wine. It appears that 37 is going to be all right! 

2019 Goals 

Read 10 Books: 10 DONE

Book number 10 was She Said by the two reporters that broke the Harvey Weinstein case for the New York Times. It was actually a very good insight into the world of investigative journalism. There is a lot that goes into good reporting that include corroborating stories, fact checking and getting everything on the record. It was insightful and a good reminder that often people are afraid to stand up to power alone. 

Knit 4 Things (and no new yarn!): 4 DONE 

Goal completed! This was done in October but I am knitting one more hat out of my ball of sock yarn. I'm going to get three hats out of one skein!

Run 400 Miles: 486 Done 

I added 22 miles in November. I took the first half of the month off to let my foot feel better. It is good as new now. I have a goal of 40 miles in December and I am focusing in. That is just ten miles a week. Doable! 

Five House Projects:DONE! 
Replaced 4 Basement windows (10/11) 
Porch (Completed: 5/22/19 )
Dishwasher (Completed: 2/23 )
Water Heater (Completed: 2/15 )
Refinish Door (Completed: 6/22)

I've already decided on my goals for 2020 but I am shelving them till January 1st. For now I'm going to enjoy accomplishing a lot this year. 2019 I got some work done! 

With a five day weekend I did get to finish my 5th Wanderlust tee! 

I give you my best chicken pot pie yet, in my pretty new pie plate.
Daryl asked me, "Are you a baker now?"

My work birthday treats! I told Bessie I like apples and chocolate.
So she made me two desserts! 

Ran a Thing, Wrote a Thing & Knit a Thing

I haven't blogged for awhile, and I've been a "little" busy. Last Saturday, I ran my first half marathon in three years! It rained almost the entire race, but I still enjoyed it. I did my training plan and I knew I could do it. It was the Kansas City Half Marathon and oh man, did it have hills! We climbed so much that the last mile was a downhill and my legs cramped almost immediately.

I am already planning on my next half. It is my perfect distance and the training is not impossible. I wasn't sure if I would make it back to running halves, but I did it! Now, I'm just going to work on my time. I wont' race again till next year. I do long runs, but I don't do cold!

Yesterday, a whole day early, I submitted my portfolio for graduation. It still has to be graded but that is out of my hands. I started my Master's program three and a half years ago, it was a long and hard journey. I'm ready to read for fun, not worry about writing papers on the weekend and spend that much more time at home and not in class.

The boys cheered for me when I said everything was in for my portfolio. They have gotten the short end of the stick of me going back to school. I'm looking forward to giving more of my time and attention to them!

When I was taking study breaks and sitting in conference this month, I also finished a hat! That is just the cherry on top of the sundae. It was a good month folks, a VERY good month!

Barley Light hat 

My writing corner for the last three weeks. I still need to put the books away....

Aug. Goal Recap and Labor Day Weekend

The Manor had a wonderful long weekend. We took off on Friday for South Dakota and stayed with the Stiles family until Monday. We enjoy their house, yard and lake within walking distance. It is just a great way to spend time with family while the kids have the run of the place!

It is already fall there. Most days stayed in the 60s, that was a welcome change! It is going to be 92 today in Topeka, yuck!

When I retire I want to live with my brother and sister in law. They do such a great job of hosting, I think they should probably go into the hospitality business. They had meals planned for the entire time we were there, and activities for the cousins to choose from. My boys really enjoyed the day they went bungee jumping and raced go karts. The next day they went to the indoor pool and had a good time there too! I missed the pool and instead finished my pair of socks I have been working on. They are a gift for my mom so I wanted to finish them when I was with her. That way I didn't have to mail them!

A relaxing weekend to end summer. We are ready for fall, now if the weather would cooperate!

2019 Goals 
Read 10 Books: 8

No new books. Again. School has started and my reading time has been spent reading research articles. 

Knit 4 Things (and no new yarn!): 3

I finished the socks! Now to find out what I want to cast on next to finish this goal!

Run 400 Miles: 335

I ran 54 miles in August! I missed my long run over the holiday weekend but my monthly mileage was still my best for 2019. I've set the goal for 60 in September. I have to get to an 11 mile run this month. I am still on track for my first half marathon in MANY years! 

Five House Projects:
Not on the list but I think the next house project will be replacing the basement windows. All my windows need replaced so I guess I'm just starting at the bottom and working my way up! 
Stairs (Completed: 0/00 )
Porch (Completed: 5/22/19 )
Dishwasher (Completed: 2/23 )
Water Heater (Completed: 2/15 )
Refinish Door (Completed: 6/22)

We could not pass up the chance for a family picture. It has been awhile! 

Picture proof. Socks done! 

The twins! 

These boys fished half of the weekend!

My sister in law has many amazing talents. Add woodworker to that list. The lady has a saw and she will build you a tree house out of an old fence! Can't wait to see what she builds next.