Did I Really Fail?

Okay...it's been way to long since I last posted but my work life interfered with my real life. Let me put it this way: It was the worst year of teaching that I have ever had in my long career. On the last day of school, I happily skipped out of that place, laid low for a week and realized that I am drinking a lot less caffeine than ever before. I have one cup of tea in the morning and that is it! I use to have 3-4 cups each day. I also gave up artificial sweeteners. No, this hipknitta is not pregnant. I saw some interesting facts that led me to give them up. I am good. And yes, I am still continuing my weight loss journey. Nine pounds and I lost 6 of them after I gave up the sweeteners!

Let's continue the thread about knitting and weight loss. When I knit, I don't eat. I do drink lots of water and yes, you have to put those needles down to get rid of the water but I have noticed that keeping my hands busy makes a difference. I also try to snack on fruits and veggies. I no longer have chips and pretzels in the house so if you think about it, a bag of chips that are not on sale can be around $3.49. I can take that money and buy a skein of yarn at a craft store or at KnitPicks. Which lasts longer? Chips or yarn? You get it? It's just adjusting the mental process. Also, another thing I learned is not to let yourself get super hungry! Eat every 3-4 hours. Snacks, meals...it works.

My big downfall is not exercising. It's been incredibly hot where I live and my goal is to start walking (without the dog because he hampers my progress with all that sniffing and marking his territory). My goal was to reach 10 pounds by the time my son's visiting day at camp arrives and I think it's going to happen. I can't believe I did it. I have a tendency to give up. Hopefully, I'll hit it this week. I try to do some dancing in the house when I am by myself just to get the heart pumping. Overall, I'm pleased with my results. Remember, listening to music and knitting puts you in the best of moods. One other thing I discovered was listening to books on these little players I got from the library. I'm presently listening to a book about getting rid of stress to open up one's creative side more.

Speaking of being creative, I participated in a flea market today. This is where the title came from. I did not sell one thing except some clay things my kids made years ago to 2 little girls. I had beaded jewelry, handknitted jewelry, baby sweaters and those damn ruffle scarves that everyone and their mother told me that their friends made them one. Did I mention that it was brutally hot? I believe that the weather was a detriment to people coming out. I wish I stayed home in the cool confines of my humble abode. My husband hung with me for a while and told me that I should be proud of my stuff and "Look, honey, no one else is selling anything either because no one is here!" I still wanted to sell things. I wanted to walk away with less items and more cash in my pocket. I wanted to send my things home with other people so they can enjoy it. I did get lots of compliments on my work which I truly appreciated. It's hard to be objective. The jewelry glistened in the hot July sun. But seriously, who wanted to look at scarves and baby sweaters in this weather? I didn't even want to touch them after awhile.

So did I fail? Selling? Yes! Gaining experience? No! I realized I have a large inventory and I am going to pursue craft fairs in the fall. After drinking a caffeinated ice coffee and getting that caffeine high, I wrote down a list of changes to make and am pretty psyched about it. So this hipknitta will get her shrinking ass in gear and start making changes.

Here's a list of some great music to listen to while knitting:
Rolling Stones (I am a big fan and when I listen to them while knitting, I just hear new things in their old songs. Read Keith's bio!)
Jazz-we lost our jazz station on the radio so I listen to CD's or find something online.
Beatles-fun to sing along and knit to...
Classical music-for some reason I like listening to this on a Sunday morning with a cup of tea by my side.

Hope this helps.