Inside my head

What special or unusual event occurred?

Well, Christmas, which was good (the whole season, not just the day). My parents visited for the holiday, which went nice. And then a cold. Then I visited my friend from college. And the cold got worse. I ended the year wonderfully sick with a chest cold and ear infection. (Then I started the new year with pinkeye.)

What were my accomplishments this month?

We got rid of my old chair, finally. It’s handy to have a Mom with a big enough car.

I did a good bit of cleanup on my desk at work. Not perfectly clean, but not hugely stacked up, which was an improvement. I can actually see my desk and some things that had been hanging around for too long were finally cleared off.

What were my disappointments this month?

On the down side, I never found the time to do any clearing out at home.

What books/music/shows did I enjoy this month?

• Whitecollar (I am really enjoying Netflix)
• A Christmas carol, the play done by a local community theater. A bunch of people from my congregation also went, because one of our members was directing it. It was well done and true to the original, which I like.
• Reading-wise, I don’t feel like I read anything special. Though I did discover Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series

What crafts did I work on this month (not what I finished, but what did I work on)?

• Shelter sweater
• Socks #21
• Dragon cross-stitch — declared finished
• Socks #23
• Started another baby kimono
• Worked on the last big seam of the top of the French braid quilt. Although machine-pieced, I decided to do that last seam by hand and then redo on machine for consistency. I was having trouble getting the points to match properly, and I could finesse it better by hand.
• Started the Celtic cross blackwork embroidery

What fun things did I do with my family, friends, or by myself?

Christmas parties and quiet days at home.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

Craft fair success. My guild has a booth at a Christmas craft fair and this year we tested taking credit cars. We did this using my ipad, which I generously loaned to the guild for the weekend. It definitely worked; our sales were higher than ever. And I personally sold several things, which was gratifying.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

Conference registration for next month

Trip to Nashville, trip to Dallas: air travel is expensive these days

Gifts

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

The leftovers of a cold at the beginning of the month, that lingering, nasty stuff down the back of the throat, which triggered a cough, irritated throat, sometimes sore, and the feeling of difficulty swallowing. It came and went in intensity, but eventually went away. But then at the end of the month after Christmas, I got sick again, with a chest cold. I was surviving that fine, until I got on a plane to visit my friend, which pushed the infection into my ears. So I ended the year with an ear infection.

Fortunately my allergies were fine through all this.

Anything else noteworthy to include?

Started the website work for professional committee.

Joined a coop for foodstuffs.

What clarity did I achieve this month?

Rest. Rest is vital. And I think that is going to be my main focus, my “one little word,” for 2012.

What special or unusual event occurred?

Thanxmas, which is always a nice time with family. (Although, there were tensions, but then, when are there not? No family holiday is perfect. And somehow I end up in the middle of some of the discussions. I think I am regarded as neutral territory or else everyone thinks I am on “their” side.)

Regardless, for me, I think the biggest frustration is that gift-giving is not as fun as it used to be. The kids are getting older. I wonder if we will ever reach a point where we can trade names and just do one gift? Yet, I do like giving gifts to my dear ones. Clarity is not clear here. It’s a continuing muddle.

What were my accomplishments this month?

We finished the training at work. It’s time to move in to cleaning up the training materials and preparing for next year.

I managed to buy all my gifts for the Thanxmas date, although one did not get delivered in time. However, the receiver knows it exists and it will be delivered next time I visit.

The drywall got repaired! Yeah, that means I’m on the verge of getting my house back together.

What were my disappointments this month?

Well, I’m trying to think of one and nothing is coming to me.

What books/music/shows did I enjoy this month?

• Definitely enjoyed the Psy-changeling romances again, this time in ebooks
• Steal the dragon / Patricia Briggs
• Nicky Epstein’s Knitted flowers, in preparation for some work
• Reread the Linda Berdoll sequels to P&P, which are truly funny to read

What crafts did I work on this month (not what I finished, but what did I work on)?

• Socks #22 (gift socks)
• Shelter sweater
• Socks #21
• Dragon cross-stitch — really close to finishing
• I can’t think of anything else???

What fun things did I do with my family, friends, or by myself?

Quiet day at home on the first Saturday

Craft Saturday on the second

Guild meeting on the third, as well as Sugarloaf

Thanxmas

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

Secret Sisters started up, and I got a nice box of hot chocolate and a Starbucks gift card. Clearly my SS has noticed that I buy coffee there!

I’m in the planning for my SS. I know I want to get her some stuff at the craft fair.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

Christmas gifts

Drywall repair

Trip to Nashville, trip to Dallas

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

Right! The first weekend that I had to relax, stay home, be with myself, and get plenty of rest…I get a cold. A minor cold, as colds go, but still miserable to experience. And the timing was still off, as I wasn’t quite finished with the energy drive to getting things done at work. I had one more class to teach – fortunately prep work was done – and a committee meeting to lead. Unfortunately, fever is not friendly.

And once I got over it, the nasty stuff down the back of the throat lingered, triggering a cough, irritated throat, sometimes sore, and the feeling of difficulty swallowing. It comes and goes in intensity, but it still hasn’t gone away.

Anything else noteworthy to include?

Honestly I can’t think of anything.

What clarity did I achieve this month?

At work, I’m in a weird mix of clarify and confusion. I can see that in a training trip I am to do, we need to teach the new thing. But I’m getting a clear command to teach the old thing. Yet the meeting I sat in on on Thursday implied to me that the new thing would be better. I really hate this. Of course, it’s not that I am unclear, it’s that my bosses are unclear.

And I am happy to say that I am doing okay, not perfect but okay, with my effort to get to bed earlier. I don’t make it every night, but I am actually achieving something close to eight hours of sleep a night on a consistent basis.

What special or unusual event occurred?

Visit to family

Weekend retreat with the congregation that turned out to be snowy!

What were my accomplishments this month?

Taught the work classes. Complimented by someone whose opinion greatly gratified me.

What were my disappointments this month?

I am really disappointed that my allergies didn’t stay quiet. Though I am relieved that there was only one serious attack and everything else was low-level itchiness.

What books/music/shows did I enjoy this month?

• Ring of Fire III
• Weaving primer
• Vikings: a history
• variety of genre fiction

What crafts did I work on this month (not what I finished, but what did I work on)?

• Wool peddler shawl from Folk shawls (hey, I finished!)
• Socks #22
• Baby kimono #3
• dragon cross stitch

What fun things did I do with my family, friends, or by myself?

Virginia Fiber Fest, then apple picking with family visit

Visited my family in Atlanta area.

Day at the farm with the guild

Congregational retreat

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

La-z-boy lounge chair

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

La-z-boy lounge chair

Repairs to external siding

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

Allergies are definitely kicking up more. Although they seem to be more frequent as minor sinus pressure that may lead to headaches.

Anything else noteworthy to include?

Taught another youngling the beginnings of knitting. And more are interested.

What clarity did I achieve this month?

Rest is essential to my functionality. I really would like to get to bed earlier. I’m going to try an experiment of setting an alarm thirty minutes before I would like to be in bed. We’ll see how well it works.

Also a reminder that I really do need quiet time. This month has been busy. I am scheduling some alone time NOW for November.

Roundup questions for blog

What special or unusual event occurred?

Birthday! Baby, I turned forty! I feel absolutely the same, but I did enjoy my birthday.

What were my accomplishments this month?

Helped to create a couple of classes that I think was very much needed at work.
Handled everything that came my way.

What were my disappointments this month?

Politics at work that made the work difficult.

I discovered more damage to my house related to the roof leak. My disappointment in myself is there, though I’m pretty much over it. I should have dealt with it sooner, when the very first sign of a problem showed up. Once I realized the depth of the problem, I should have moved quickly to look for all the possible consequences. But I didn’t. So once more there is a lesson to learn.

What books/music/shows did I enjoy this month?

• Archangels blade
• The Nonesuch
• Skylark of space
• Skylark Three
• Nero Wolfe again
• Savage nature
• Others…
• Perry Mason season one continues
• Man from UNCLE season two continues
• Thor
• Been listening to a lot of podcasts!
• With all the stress I am not reading anything in-depth. Despite the fact that there are things I want to read, I just cannot handle them right now.

What crafts did I work on this month (not what I finished, but what did I work on)?

• Socks #20
• socks #21
• pine and ivy shawl
• Dishcloth
• Spinning from I don’t know where, but that I won from the now-closed store With yarn in front, on the day that it opened, all spun all on my spindle
• Dragon & Castle cross-stitch
• Due to physical disruptions at home, I was not able to work on any sewing or weaving.

What fun things did I do with my family, friends, or by myself?

Visited my sister
Visited my parents, which was partially duty, but more relaxing than I expected

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

iPad2! From myself to myself.

Promised a few more fascinated young girls lessons in knitting. I’m already working on an October lesson.

Mom gave me money so that I can buy myself a new lounge chair.

I finally received the commissioned piece of furniture that I bought last October. It is lovely and has more space in it that I had hoped. But I am taking my time re-organizing my things to move into it.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

iPad!
Hardwood flooring
Furniture arrived!
Will the iPod touch be far? My current iPod is definitely dying.
Expensive month

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

Mostly good, although some headaches started appearing mid month. And the allergies are starting to act up a little bit more.

Dad is recovering remarkably well, although there were some concerns with rather severe dips in blood pressure. But that seems to have been resolved as over-medication, and he is recovering nicely.

Anything else noteworthy to include?

I turned 40 this year. I’m doing a Project 365 focused around that date, six months before to six months after. I have done remarkably well with getting a phone done every day, which is not to say I haven’t missed some, but it’s been workable.

What clarity did I achieve this month?

Don’t take on too much. I end up doing it before I realize it, sometimes because I feel guilty because I’m not doing “enough,” but whenever I do, I end up feeling overcommitted.