2015

It is a new year and a new attempt at blogging.  Maybe this one will stick. When I was pregnant with little Stormy, I was told that two kids triples the work and I would say that is accurate.  I have been working on being a good librarian, wife and mother while keeping myself happy with my hobbies. I have been thinking about blogging, but not doing it.  I even thought about deleting the whole thing, but then today happened and I wanted to capture it.

I am adding a new hobby this year, I signed up for my first triathlon yesterday.  I am excited to get training, especially to start swimming again. I know I can run, bike and swim, I just can't do them one after another just yet. I do have until June to get it right though. I hope to also try this triathlon thing next month (on Valentine's Day no less) at an indoor tri at a local college. The indoor tri is a lot less pressure because they are seeing how far you can swim, bike and run in delegated time periods.

I started my New Year off with a 5k race on the Peoria riverfront. It was cold, but not as cold as yesterday, and not as cold as it will be this weekend. I got to run with a friend from church.

I came in at just under 30 minutes (29:54). I got to use my new running GPS watch too. It was great to know exactly how far I was into the race at all times. It is super nerdy. I love knowing the running stats as I run and once completed. I have several goals for health in 2015 but one of the main goals is to get that 5k time down to pre-Stormy time, which is over a minute per mile faster (it may sound crazy but it's totally do-able). My friend and I already have two more 5ks over the next two months (we signed up for a three pack bundle) so I should be able to make progress by March. I actually have a race at least every month until August. This should keep me motivated to get those miles in.

I am working on a great baby blanket. It is super squishy yarn and amazingly easy pattern.  More and more friends, co-workers and relatives are having babies which keeps my knitting needles busy. While I was waiting for the race this morning I got a few more rows in.

If you notice in the photo, I have a Jamberrys with a silhouette of a woman running.  I come prepared! Look out 2015!

I'm looking forward to a New Year.  Do you have any big plans for 2015?

2014

Happy New Year, everyone.

I really love today.  I love that people are making resolutions.  I love resolutions because it is basically making a challenging to-do list.  I love challenges, I love lists.  This is one of the greatest convergences of things I love.  For one day, people are thinking a bit like me.

How did I spend my first day in 2014 so far?  Watching the Rose Parade and then the NHL's Winter Classic (hockey on the free channels y'all, this is exciting). Kniting.  Crocheting.  Cuddling with my kids. Spending time with my husband.  A pretty fantastic day on top of the whole resolution thing.

On the Today show this morning they stated that only 8% of people keep their resolutions. I try to make resolutions that are not immediately reached, things that cannot be "broken." I like to think that I can always start over and have a new New Year.  Every day is a day that I can start working harder on improving my life or doing something new and different.  Every day, but especially today, is a good day to make some goals.

I am going to make my resolutions public so I can be held accountable.

For my resolutions:

1. I am going to get back to running.  I will be in 5k running shape by spring.  My mom is taking a running 101 class at her fitness center.  If she is going to be in 5k shape by spring then I am too.

2. I am going to learn something new.  I am taking a college class this spring semester.  It is a marketing class.  I am excited to take this class because I think it will really enhance my job as outreach librarian. I haven't be in class as a student since 2009.

3. I am going to de-clutter my life.  I have already started in my kitchen.  I have filled two big boxes for a garage sale or to donate.  I also have 5 bags of books to donate (can you believe it, I am parting with books, you know I am business when I am parting with books). Soon I will have a pile of out-grown kids clothes and toys to get rid of.

I like having new goals for the day, week, month and year. I am just happy that today is a day that many people are thinking like this too.   

Do you have any resolutions you would like to make public?

Another New Year

Today marks the beginning of another new school year.  Being an academic librarian, my entire work life revolves around the school calendar.  Summer is a time for projects, the projects you have no time for during the school year.  The school year is for doing everything we can so that people have a positive experience at the library and get the information and space they need.  I am ready to switch over to the school year life.  Summer is nice, but it is the school year that I really thrive upon-seeing people, helping out, all the activities on campus.

Last week was "Celebration of Learning" when all the faculty comes back and we, as employees of ICC, have some staff development time and tons of meetings.  Usually this week exhausts me, but this year, something special happened, because instead of becoming over-tired, I became super energized.  I am so excited for this school year to start.  I can see ways ICC is making improvements all over campus.  I can see how the library is becoming a more prominent fixture on campus and in the minds of staff and faculty.    I see a great year ahead for all the committees I am on.  I see an amazing future for the AAWCC (American Association FOR [not of, men are very much welcome] Women in Community Colleges) chapter at ICC of which I am now president-elect.

I am not sure what the change is exactly.   Maybe something is different in how I am experiencing things.  I just feel blessed to have great co-workers.  I may be paid thousands per year less than industry standard.  I may be under-appreciated because libraries and their staff tend to be under-appreciated, but I am happy to have a job and to see new and the same people everyday.  I get to problem solve and research.  I get to talk about books and the future of libraries.  I get to teach people about all the information available to them through the library.

Things are not perfect, I don't want you to believe they are, but I am just happy.  I very special kind of contentment happy.  I love being an advocate for good information and books.  I have great people to talk to everyday all of who are so very smart and talented.  I feel that my work ins finally making a difference around campus.

I am feeling more positive on the home front too.  D is a challenge, but a good one.  Her potty issues continue to plague us.  My heart breaks for her because I know her tummy has to hurt constantly.  But here are small victories too.  Adam may travel a lot (70 nights gone so far this year), but I am getting used to it and starting to enjoy some alone time too.  My running has been plagued, but I am okay with that.  If I have to walk part of my half-marathon next month, I will make peace with that.  We spent many weekends visiting family in Iowa which was very nice, but it has left me wanting to be a homebody for a while and work around the house. My to-do, to-knit and to-read list keeps getting longer, but I am happy.

This happiness is bound to come with annoying side-effects so, I apologize to my friends and family that will so kindly put-up with my craziness.

I hope this happiness puts an end to my complaining streak, but complaining does make me happy so we'll see where this road goes.

Happy new school year to you all.  I hope you find it full of promise.

Some finished items

I may have knit a bit over my holiday break.

This


became this

I made this cowl for my husband's cousin's wife on the car rides to Iowa and Wisconsin for family gatherings.  I love it and hated to see it go, but I have to start knitting more for others because I already have several scarves and really only one neck.

I made yet another "One Row Scarf".  The pattern in really addictive and easy (great for Doctor Who watching).  I will make more.


This one is without a home.  Maybe I'll do a give-a-way.

I made some dishcloths which I did not photograph.

I started baby knitting.  My hubby has two cousins having babies in March so, I need to start making things.



This is a Baby Kimono by Mason-Dixon Knitting.  I also made a bib to match and will probably make several more. I am making the second kimono now (more on this later). 

I finished my first sock.


It is huge (that is my husband's men's size 14 foot) but that is to be expected since I was knitting on larger needles than the pattern called for and I usually need to go down a size or two.  I still have another one to go to make a pair.  I have to find the other skein I bought.  I started this sock over Labor Day weekend (again in a car ride traveling to Wisconsin) and it was abandoned with I came to the heel and did not understand the directions.  Over break I decided to give it a go once more and I totally understood the directions.  My knitting has really improved over the past few months--I feel bold and ready to try new things.  This is mostly because I found a way to not use DPNs (which I loathed using) and now use magic loop knitting.  This opens up a whole new world to me and my knitting.  2012 will definitely be a year of new and exciting projects.

Back From Break

I had a grand vacation the past few days.  The college shuts down for about a week between fall and spring semesters over Christmas time.  I had seven wonderful days off from work (plus weekends). 

I did do several things:

• visited in-laws and celebrated Christmas
• visited parents and siblings and celebrated Christmas
• visited extended in-laws in Wisconsin and celebrated Christmas
• watched many, many seasons of Doctor Who on Netflix (only thee episodes left for me to watch)
• knit several items (more on that later)
• put away Christmas decorations (my husband did a lot of this)
• had quality family time 
• celebrated one-year anniversary of buying our house
• cooked
• cleaned (but not nearly enough)
• took a Flat Stanley on a tour of Peoria
• slept in 

What I did not do, that I planned to do:

• read-  I barely read over break. I blame it on all the Doctor Who watching.  I can't watch and read at the same time.  I finished one book that I started ages ago (more on that later).  I started another book that I should finish this week.  I checked out 5+ books to read over break.  I will just have to renew them.
• organize- I wanted to organize a lot of my/our junk.  We have been in the house for a year now and it is time for us to reevaluate how we use the space, especially the closets.  I wanted to clear out my daughters toys that she no longer plays with and put them in the attic for someday when we have another child.  This of course did not happen.  We went and bought shelves for the "toy" room, but now I am not sure where to put the stuff that no longer goes in the toy room closet. (I own hundreds of books, most of them boxed up because we don't have shelf space for them in the new house.)  Now I have to work on creating basement area for storing the stuff.  I also wanted to organize my craft area better.  I did not ever get a chance to work on that.
• potty-train-  My daughter suffers from chronic constipation.  It is a medical problem that there is really nothing I can do to solve.  I wanted to put 1000% effort in getting my daughter to go in the toilet, but she did not go a single time in the pot.  I was really hoping to get this pooping thing over with over break.  We have now been potty-training for over two years.
• clean- Maybe this goes with organize.  I really wanted my house to be very tidy by the end of break and do all those fall cleaning things I should have does months ago.  Every time I turned my back, a three-year-old tornado would sweep through.  Demolishing this I had just put up.  I guess I should be glad thing look as good as they do.  There are just way too many little pieces to the toys my daughter now enjoys.

Even though I did not accomplish everything I wanted to do, I got some things done and had a good time with my family and that is what really matters especially since 2011 was a very tough year on my family with my niece's cancer.  2012 looks to be a much brighter and better year for everyone.  I love that come January 1 we all get this feeling of newness and freshness.  We get to start over and try for a good year again.  In 2012, I can still do all the things I wanted to get done last year and do more. 2012 will be the year my daughter finally figures out her bodily functions, the year I get the house organized and cleaned, the year I decide to focus less on negative and small things and live a better and fulfilled life. (I can just feel it!)