Enjoying January

Stash busting my way through 2023 I'll share that I haven't bought any new fabric this year!   :-)

Haven't tallied any used either so far.   ;-(

January Objectives

Needing to carve time daily to sew, these are a few of my thoughts in how I hope to achieve them:

1. I hope to get 15 minutes in my sewing room daily.   Picking up in there counts as time spent correctly  here too.
2. Sew 1 needle pulling thread nightly when home. the "Cozy into Winter" by Jeannette Douglas Designs is almost done.
3. Pull out one UFO monthly and progress it, (I'm not even going to share the plethora of items here, of UFOs, PIGS, WHiMMS, etc... but if you've been following me for any amount of time you know there are plenty!) not to completion but PROGRESS.  **Wild Card** time will tell.

Since December 2020 - I've maintained 100 miles of movement each month.  Starting with a local municipality with their "winter challenge" of movement from 12/21/20 - 3/20/21 to either challenge yourself to walk, ski, snowshoe, bike, etc..  to hit 100 OR 200 miles.  Since I was tracking my movements it was noticeable that the 100 miles a month could be achieved with just a bit more effort so I personally challenged myself.  Albeit successfully!

I still do my form of intermittent fasting by only allowing a 9 hour window of food intake which my Nurse Practitioner suggested in December 2020.  Not limiting my diet choices yet still being mindful of nutrition, eating my colors and the different Macros ie: protein/veggies/fruit/carbs/fat .   To date my total weight loss is 93 pounds but that wasn't my objective.  Choosing this concept to help me stop my dis-eases progressions and so far its great.  Diabetic medicine is lowered and my  A1C is at my all time low of 5.6 and with the past months fasting Blood Sugars remaining between 71-94.  Asthma is still not idyllic that I live with but thankfully that's managed a bit better (since October 2022) when I saw another Allergist/Asthma Specialist.   Would you believe I was nebulizing 3 hours a day with 9 medication treatments and I would still be waking up at 2-3 am with a feeling of an elephant sitting on my chest and couldn't breath requiring me to nebulize even at that time.  I won't mention the other inhalers prescribed,  rescue inhalers PRN, and Oral medications and  with the lifestyle limitations and  adjustments needed for this was so tiring.   Truly my asthma, coughing, sensitivity to ? was a conundrum I dealt with for the past 13 years.  I kid you NOT!   The story is so long and tortuous so here again, I wont bore you with the trials.  Numerous Doctors, 6+ specialists, many books read, webinars attended, diet adjustments. etc., etc., etc...were embraced as I tried to figure out what if anything I could do.  This last past summer (2022)  while under so much stress of Mom and my broken Marriage my breathing difficulties increased and HIVES were added into the mix.  Can you say the level of Cortisol I lived with was not a friend!  Those hives plagued me for 4-5 months.  Different medication changes besides 4 months of steroids in order to breathe and not break out contributed to the stressors I was living that then I noticed my hair falling out by the handful.   Here again, I am thankful now since I live alone without any emotional, physical, financial threats that my hair is coming back in. Alleluia!  {btw- After showering I look like a baby OWL or Ostrich with my pin feathers hair coming back in. lol }    So I intend to continue my health journey improvements and Movements.   Also I implemented 20 minutes of Aerobics a minimum of three times weekly and held it there for the past 4 months.  So in addition to that I would love to get 2-3 days of intended area workouts starting next week 1/9/23.  Today managed to focus on movement /dance and thighs.  Not sure if or how I'll track this yet as it's another WIP.

The other arena am planning on doing is to continue to declutter one space, drawer, or shelf at a time then proceed to the whole room/area (focus).  Includes the whole residence of a first floor and Basement too eventually.  Evaluate what is wanted, needed then let Go of the rest.   I've decluttered the outdoors and garage.  Here's a couple of photos of the Kia going in for the first time in 5+ years on November 15th just before the first snowfall.    YEAH!!!  Garage or yard for that matter isn't done  yet as the temperatures kept dipping to freezing and I simultaneously was still doing winter readiness  Truly there was so much neglect to my home space inside and out for decades.  Not wanting to emasculate my husband at the time, I somewhat demurely made do and did only the most urgent items to not hurt his feelings or emasculate him.  Ughh!  All that lost time.  

I'll close with a quote I loved for a couple of years while reading E.J.Michael - Queen of the Sun.    

"Never forget that the light is infinitely more powerful than the dark.  When darkness crowds in around you, become luminous, and walk in the brilliance of your soul."        Having faith in Christianity I'm so blessed that the good Lord gave us these talents.   TTFN