Last Day of Christmas Ramblings

Last Day of Christmas Ramblings

Today was the last day of my Christmas break - tomorrow it's back to work. I spent the morning cleaning and putting presents away. Then I has my friend over with her children for coffee and chocolate :) It was nice to catch up and we must meet up more often. 

I had plans to return to the local knitting club tonight (first time since losing Gran) but I couldn't face it without her. I know the women there are lovely, but I just felt that going alone was too overwhelming. Maybe next week. I did however spend the evening crocheting. I finished a shawl that I started on New Year's Day with the wool that my Girlfriend's Nan & Granddad bought me for Christmas, I'm going to make a lilac and silver one too soon. 

The pattern was from Simply Crochet magazine - which my Mother in Law bought me the subscription to for Christmas -  the pattern by Davis De Herraiz. The pink is really glittery, although you can't really see that from the photos. This is the first crocheted thing I've really made myself - the year's off to a great start! Also, after watching the whole series of 'The Crown' on Netflix, I started watching 'Victoria' on Now TV. Kinda into the Monarchy at the moment. :)  

Today was nice because I got a lot of jobs done and the flat is clean and airy and ready for my return to work. I made overnight oats for my breakfast and a salad for lunch. I washed my hair and yesterday, I painted my nails, and drank a lot of green tea. I think it's done me good to take a bit of time for myself. 

I hope to continue like this. I always put things off and end up with lots of washing and other chores on the weekend. I am an adult now! And need to get off my lazy bum and get things done. A little each day and then I can enjoy my weekend. I think it's called optimizing your time?

It was also a good day because I caught up with an old friend. We don't get to see each other often, so when we do - we talk about all sorts. Today we talked about not being so negative. It's so easy for our first reaction to be negative 'I'm too fat' or 'I'm not good enough' or 'I'll get it wrong' without even giving ourselves a chance. I don't want to be like this anymore - and maybe it's the New Year Vibe that's got me like this. (#newyearnewme) But, I'm just feeling so laid back and I don't want to underestimate myself anymore. We also talked about our lack of new year's resolutions. How we don't want to set ourselves up to fail - but just be happy and appreciate the small things in life. 

I don't know how long I'll stick to it - but I'm trying to write down things that have made my day good in a diary each day so that at the end of the year I get to read how many nice things have happened. (Like the bits of paper people put in jars - but without the mess) 

Anyway, that's it for today. Sometime this week I'll do a blog post about my crochet plans for 2017. I can't wait to start the Moorland Blanket CAL! So excited. 

Love Charlie, Xxx

Hello 2017

Hello 2017!

Hi 2017, please please please be nicer than 2016. New year is a time to reflect on the good and the bad. As much as I want to forget the events if 2016, they weren't all bad. 

I made decisions and experienced life changing things. I have a new job which I love - it's an administrative role which suits me well. I don't often say I am good at things, but I think I am good at this job. I have met some amazing people who have welcomed me into a tight knit group of friends. 

I also saved up and bought an iphone SE. This is quite silly to acknowledge as a good thing that I experienced - but I love it so much. It's not good to be too materialistic, however I believe that if you genuinely appreciate something and have worked hard to earn it, then it's ok. I've always wanted an iphone, and it was nice to buy something I've wanted for years. 

I went on a lovely family holiday with my inlaws to Cala D'or in Mallorca. Cala D'or is one of my favourite places is as I have incredible memories of happy times there. 

This year my Girlfriend and I celebrated 7 years together, and she bought me the cutest ukulele. I really really wanted this ukulele. After watching Grace Vanderwaal and Doddleoddle on youtube - I was inspired. I can't sing, but I thought who cares, life is short - and it's such a happy instrument. It's meditave to learn something new and it can't help but cheer me up. 

I bought so much wool! I had a little panic a few months ago when I noticed my wool stock was running low, and was pitiful for a wool horder! I didn't have the right colours/enough yarn to make a complete project. Sooo, I went crazy and bought enough for a small empire. I also got so much wool for Christmas! My mum bought me the wool for Attic 24's Moorland blanket CAL, and my Girlfriend bought me wool to make the Stylecraft ripple blanket. My Girlfriends Nan and Granddad bought me 800g of pretty sparkly silver and lilac yarn which I am making into a scarf from the latest Simply Crochet Magazine. I'll make a blog post soon of projects I want to complete in 2017. 

Moorland Blanket
http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/2016/11/introducing-the-moorland-blanket-cal.html

Despite the highlights, there have been many sad times throughout 2016. The worst part was losing my Gran. I miss her so much. 

Going forward, I don't particularly want to make tonnes of new years resolutions and end up giving them up before January is over. Of course I'd like to lose weight, get fitter, get prettier etc, etc - but I don't want to set myself up to fail. I just generally want to take better care of myself. So my new year's resolution is simple... to learn how to knit. It's a challenge, it's something I've wanted to do for a long time, it's achievable and it would make my Gran proud. 

Happy New Year Everyone!

Love Charlie, Xxx