just maryse tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-33651 2012-01-14T10:27:15-05:00 a place to put my "stuff" so that i don't hurt someone TypePad BagnTrash--HomeOfMonsterYarnhttp://feedburner.google.com Week Two tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c7b9f53ef01676084fbd6970b 2012-01-14T10:27:15-05:00 2012-01-14T10:27:15-05:00 week two of my photo project had me staying close to home. yes. i waited until the last possible minute. dusk. but hey, at least i did it. there's nothing particularly exciting about my neighborhood. it's your basic middle class... Maryse

week two of my photo project had me staying close to home. yes. i waited until the last possible minute. dusk. but hey, at least i did it.

2:52:1

there's nothing particularly exciting about my neighborhood. it's your basic middle class northeastern state neighborhood, not terribly different from one of the towns i grew up in as a kid.  the houses were built in the 60's -- ranches, split levels, colonials -- and are surrounded by mature oaks and pines. the tree guy who just cut down one of our trees (it was dying) told me that one of our oaks must be 250 years old. even he was impressed.

2:52:2

people are friendly enough. i mean this is new england after all so i don't expect my neighbors to be waiting for me at the end of the day to gossip.  heh. and since we don't have kids, we are kind of excluded from the social fabric of the town. i guess i could make more of an effort. i mean there's got to be knitters somewhere in town! but right now it's not a priority. i'm happy enough to just wave and smile.

2:52:3

but overall it's a perfectly fine place to live. last year, living in the city again, made me appreciate the quiet, OMG THE SPACE, and the easier pace.

2:52:4

i sometimes wish we lived closer to the center of town, in one of the older houses, so i could walk more, but you know it is what it is. an older house has it's own set of problems that given the state of our house (heh) we aren't in any position to tackle. 

2:52:5

so that's about it. like i said, not particularly exciting.

2:52:6

my health resolutions are going ok. i missed logging in one meal this week and although i did not exercise everyday, i did make it out 4 times.

rome was not built in a day.

 http://www.monster-yarn.com/2012/01/week-two.html Plans for 2012 tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c7b9f53ef016760270bdf970b 2012-01-07T20:04:50-05:00 2012-01-07T20:17:41-05:00 it was just a matter of time before i wrote a "resolution" blog post. it's the new year. it's what we do. i've been reading a bunch of stuff on how to make resolutions and keep them. and i've thought... Maryse

it was just a matter of time before i wrote a "resolution" blog post. it's the new year. it's what we do.

i've been reading a bunch of stuff on how to make resolutions and keep them. and i've thought a lot about what i wanted to change in my life this year but i've been having a hard time getting everything down on paper (or the computer). hell, if i'm being honest, i've had a hard time organizing everything in my head! 

so i'll just bring stuff up as it comes to me.  so here are the top three.

1. i like to have a photography project going on. something to push me to improve or try new stuff. so i've started two main ones.  one is the One Word Project with the Shutter Sisters.  the other is a weekly one where i go for photo walk. i hope it'll force me to explore other areas around my home or work and to maybe start talking and photographing strangers. who knows what will happen?

1:52:1

2. then there are my health resolutions. omg how many times have i been here. lose blah blah pounds. eat more vegetables. exercise more  blah blah blah.  blah blah. vomit. blah.  i've been here almost as many times as years i've been alive. and i'm sick of it.  so this year, i'm putting a little spin on it. i rejoined weightwatchers online of course and i've been counting points. but this time the daily goal is to just log everything in. it won't matter if i've gone over or if i've eaten a pound of cheese.  I WILL LOG IT IN!  so far i've missed logging in one meal. have i stayed under my daily allowance of points every day? nope. but i'm hoping that by logging in all of my food every day that maybe that will come with time. i know i'm already doing better. and this is a resolution that i'm pretty sure i can keep.

1:52:2

3. of course there's also the exercise. there again, my goal is every day. even if it's only for 5 minutes. i have the runkeeper app on my phone that let's me know how i'm doing during my walks. and i'm kind of excited by the idea of knowing how many miles at the end of the year i will have covered.   right now my right ass cheek is on fire after 6 minutes of walking but i'm pushing through. i know i know. i've got to do the weights and the stretching and everything else and that will come with time. but for now, walking is all i can physically do right now.

1:52:3

that's about it for now. so that i stay honest, i'll log in my progress here at the end of every month. how's that?

oh by the way, my One Word Project word for january is "FOCUS." i definitely could use some of that.

focus

 

 http://www.monster-yarn.com/2012/01/plans-for-2012.html What I Made in 2011 tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c7b9f53ef0168e4dc3cd2970c 2012-01-02T12:59:17-05:00 2012-01-02T12:59:17-05:00 a tradition here in blog land is to do a rundown of what we made the previous year. an inventory, if you will. so i spent a few hours on new years eve going through my flickr stream and making... Maryse

a tradition here in blog land is to do a rundown of what we made the previous year.  an inventory, if you will.

so i spent a few hours on new years eve going through my flickr stream and making a little photo mosaic of what i made.  and here is the result.

2011My creation

i did a shit ton of spinning! well for me anyway. and i knit 6 pairs of socks! which surprised me. i really didn't feel as if i'd made that many, considering that the last pair took forever. there are some other things i made that aren't here that are sekret.  that i can't show you. and the end of the year was spent doing some swatching. i worked on a couple of blankets that also aren't here because they aren't finished. but i did finish one crocheted blanket. it's still sitting in a box in my hall. i haven't given it to the recipients yet.

i was very excited to see joan and gale's book Craft Activism come out (i planned on doing a review months ago and time has gotten away from me. but i will in 2012).  it is fantastic (it has the accolades to prove it -- Library Journal and Amazon chose Craft Activism for their Best Books of 2011 lists). and i was very proud to see my name come up in the acknowledgements.  that doesn't happen too often in my day job - i'm just kind of expected to be awesome all of the time (ha!)- so it was kind of exciting for me. i'd like them to start another one so i can help them again. (oh i'm not kidding).

for 2012, i don't make crafty resolutions. i've got a couple of other sekret projects in the planning stages and i'd like to self publish some things that are roaming around in my head. i'd like to finish the blankets that i've started (not that we need them as it's 50 DEGREES TODAY WITH NO SNOW ON THE GROUND IN JANUARY IN NEW ENGLAND!!!) and i'd like to learn how to weave. i bought a loom over a year ago and i've yet to try it. gah! and i plan on writing more crafty book reviews. i love books. they are so pretty.

so that's it!  happy new year everyone!

 

 http://www.monster-yarn.com/2012/01/what-i-made-in-2011.html So Long 2011 tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c7b9f53ef01675fc04433970b 2011-12-31T15:08:37-05:00 2011-12-31T15:08:37-05:00 another year come and gone. 2011 for me ended up being a year of changes. don't worry, i'm not going to rehash stuff i've already talked about here. but let's just say, that i'm a very different person now than... Maryse

another year come and gone.

New Year's Eve

 

2011 for me ended up being a year of changes.  don't worry, i'm not going to rehash stuff i've already talked about here.  but let's just say, that i'm a very different person now than i was just a year ago. i think i'm better.  and that's good for me but also for people around me. not everything was perfect of course. there's no such thing. i still have my moments. but when i do, i'm able to snap out of them. remembering to breathe helps a lot.

i hope 2011 was good to you. and if it wasn't, let's look forward to 2012. i know i am.

here's a little video retrospective to get us there. heh. i know, i'm such a dork.