Scarf Number Three

What started out as one scarf has now become three. It was on my #bucketlistproject to make a scarf with my sister-in-law. But then I made another one for my best friend. And I figured I'd better make one for my other friend, too. I don't want to be unfair in my scarf giving!

No really, scarves are easy to make and different from my usual afghans and sometimes quicker (though not this one).

So without further ado, here's scarf number three:

As per the norm, I used Red Heart yarn. This is their blue color.

The pattern is Eve's Scarf from Pattern Paradise.

I'll probably move back to afghans soon, but are there any other types of projects I should try before I do? I'd welcome feedback in the comments section.

Unshaken Prayer Conference

I worked a half day on Friday, and then we headed to Phoenix to get my sister-in-law from the airport. Her flight got a little delayed, so Mom got some coffee while we waited. I crocheted.

We swung by the church to drop off Mom to check in for the Unshaken Conference and then ran to Chic-Fil-A to get some dinner. I got into the worship time a little late, but I made it.

The first night, we worshipped with 29:11 and then heard from Cheryl Saks of Bridge Builders and Sally Burke, Moms in Prayer President. My two take-aways were that secular schools cannot meet the spiritual needs of students and that God is not shaken. The key verse for the event was Psalm 16:8,"I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken" (New International Version, NIV). The more we look to God, the more we will be like Him, unshaken.

We got to bed pretty late Friday night, but we still woke up early. So Mom and I went for a walk. We discovered some lovely little water features in the middle of an industrial center and apartment complex.

Day two of the conference was intense, but good. The focus was on persevering prayer, even when we don't have answers or see answers. One of the speakers talked about how sometimes we persevere in prayer not so that we get what we want, but to remind others to pray and not give up. Karen Abercrombie, aka Miss Clara of War Room, talked about how God led her to that role. Basically, she prayed and waited 13 years to play a character like this. Her testimony was pretty powerful. We had a boxed lunch and fellowship, and then more stories about how God is working around the world through prayer.

I don't know that I'll ever be a prayer warrior like my mom, but I'm glad I had a chance to go to this conference with her and my sister-in-law. In the midst of all the craziness, I do need to remember to look up instead of looking down or in. I tend to be an easily shaken person, but I serve an unshakeable God, and prayer is my connection to Him.

The Big 3-0!

Well, it's May 5 again and the date of my "big" birthday. Am I finally an adult now? No one really believes that I'm 30, but whatever. My birth certificate proves I am.

And now, on to the year in review.

My three favorites from the year:

1) My new job: Hard as it is, I'm finally doing what I trained to do. Lord, help me do my job with grace and strength!

(No, I don't play in the sand every day, but I do engage in sand tray sometimes. This was a tray I created in supervision.)

2) Traveling! Yes, I actually left the state to this year, three times in fact! First, I went to Kansas for my cousin's wedding. Then I visited littlest brother in Wisconsin, and more recently I went to Texas to run the Fresh 15 5K with my brother and sister-in-law.

3) King and Country: Maybe it wasn't the best concert experience ever, but I did it and checked another item off my bucket list.

My Goals for Year 29:

How'd I do? Ehh. I'm working on it, I guess. I have been trying to cook more. I've discovered that I really want chocolate most mornings at breakfast, so I've been having it, usually in the form of chocolate oatmeal or hot chocolate. I stopped being so vegetarian and started eating more meat because it just worked better for me. I'm eating what sounds good even when it sounds ridiculous, like the other night when I had chicken salad and green peas for a bedtime snack. Food isn't the end all, be all, but it's nice when it is satisfying.

My sleep got a little better, as I focused on it more all the times I was sick. But recently it's been not so great. I wonder if the changing of seasons has something to do with it, seeing that I'm waking up at 4 am again.

I've played around with exercise a little bit. I've taken a few more days off due to tiredness and sickness. I got a FitBit watch and am trying to move more during the work day. I'd like to be stronger and healthier, but this is the body I've got, so I need to be grateful for what I can do and not lament what I can't. And I still need to learn to listen to my body more.

My Goals for Year 30:

I'm working on my #bucketlistproject. Those are my specific goals for 2018. In the next year of life, I guess I'd say that I more globally want to:

1) Get better at my job. I need to attend trainings and apply what I learn. That's often a challenge in the fast-paced, ever-changing work world, but it's possible.

2) Stress less. I stress a lot. I really need to get better at managing my own stress so that I can achieve goals one and three.

3) Live life. I'm bad about letting stress and tiredness steal my joy. I need to let those things go and live as much as I can. Certain things are out of my control, like getting married or finding a house I can afford. But I can live in the moment, enjoy what I have, and keep reaching out to find new experiences and relationships.

And that's a wrap. Any comments or suggestions about my goals? What goals did you, or do you have for year 30? Please share in the comments section.

Fresh 15 Race Weekend + Visit to Family

I wrote about my travel oopsies on Monday. Now I'll share about the travel blessings, 15 of them to be exact. See, I had it on my #bucketlistproject to visit my brother and sister-in-law and run a 5K together. Brother suggested the 5K that accompanied the Fresh 15, and I was like, "Okay. Here we go!" There were certainly more blessings than these, but these are my tops:

1) Seeing the sights of everyday life for my brother and sister-in-law.

2) Meeting my cat-niece.

3) Picnic in the park.

(Spinach sweet crisp salad from The Corner Bakery)

4) Target shopping. Brother humored me and I found one shirt, plus a dress I didn't need, but can use for Easter.

5) Home cooked meals by team brother and sister-in-law. (They've got a system!)

6) Finishing the 5K (not my fastest time, but done!)

7) This is only the second 5K for Sister-in-law, and she finished well. I'm pretty stinkin' proud of her!

8) Doubling over in laughter at the silliest of things

9) Sushi + Thai food

10) Catching up with the hostess of my first trip to visit brother in his "real life."

11) Spending plenty of time outside.

(Look at the ponies I saw!)

12) Good old gospel singing and Scripture-preaching at church on Sunday

(I'm the shorty of the family.)

13) Lunch with a soul-friend

(She treated me to shrimp remoulade salad at Newk's.)

14) Long and leisurely naps

15) Overall quality time with people I love

The Travel Diaries of a Dumb Blonde

I don't need to dye my hair. My roots show.

Example #1: I drove down to the airport Thursday night and parked in the same parking lot as last time. I had to park a little further out, but oh well. I have legs. "No worries," I thought. "I'll be fine once I get to the terminal."

At the terminal, I realize, "Oh yeah. This airport has several terminals. Better find the one for my flight." So I find a walkway to the next terminal and take it. Then I realize this is still not the terminal for my airline. I go downstairs and see that this terminal isn't connected to my terminal. I hear a lady telling another flier to take the SkyTram, so I go back upstairs, wait for the trolley, and ride on over to my terminal. I've spent over half an hour walking by this point, and still need to go through security. A little research beforehand or at least reading terminal signs might help me in the future....

Example #2: I open my suitcase and realize that besides church clothes and running clothes, I only brought one shirt. And I don't have a belt for jeans that REQUIRE a belt to wear them. I need pants and more than one shirt for a four day trip. Target wasn't a solution, either. I tried.... Thankfully my sister-in-law is tall enough to have clothes and belts that fit me. Note to self: Make a packing list and double-check your suitcase for appropriate apparel before you go....

The trip went well, praise the Lord! (More on that later.) But I think I need to find a balance between being a perfectionistic planner and throwing all cares to the win. I got blessed this time.

Crocheted Scarf Project

I "taught" my sister-in-law to crochet via video chat (and then her grandma really taught her) a few years ago. Since then, we've been exchanging pictures of our current projects and trading ideas for future making. Over the holidays, we decided to do a crochet link up where we would both pick a pattern and text photos back and forth regarding our progress. She chose the rouge infinity scarf pattern, while I chose the every man scarf, which I wanted to make for my brother who lives in the cold hinterlands of the north. She asked me if I planned to change colors as indicated in the pattern, and I was like, "Nope! Too much work for me."

I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick for this project, which I purchased at Wal-Mart. I went with the variegated moonlight color to give some character to the scarf. This yarn was pretty pricey and took almost three skeins to make an approximately 5 inch by 70 inch scarf.

I chose this pattern because it was easy. In truth, it was probably a little too easy. I managed to screw it up by doing front post only double crochets every other row (instead of back post only double crochets, as stated in the pattern), but it worked out. I only completed seven out of the ten rows with my ergonomic J hook. Three more rows would have been overkill. (I thought ending on row three made the pattern look better, so that's what I did. Basically, I altered this pattern a lot without meaning to.

I completed this #bucketlistproject item in five days, more quickly than expected due to being down with a flu-like virus for a week, but oh well. It's done. (And my sickness might explain why I inadvertently changed the pattern so much.)

Step-by-step pictures are below:

Row 1:

Row 2:

Row 3:

Row 4:

Row 5:

Row 6:

Row 7/Finished project:

Thoughts on this step-by-step crochet post? Do you have questions about this pattern? Do you want to see more or less posts like this? Please share in the comments section.

29.

I've made it a habit over the past few years to use my birthday as a time of reflection, both for the past, and for the future. I like groups of three, so here's the past and the future.

Three Favorite Memories From the Past Year:

The Patriot Run September 10, 2016-My family got to see me run for the first time, and I had the privilege of honoring the victims of September 11th, the Granite Mountain 19, and the men and women currently serving our country as part of fire departments, the military, and the police force.

Getting to know my sister-in-law better over Christmas-My brother and sister-in-law made a sacrifice to buy tickets to come out and visit us in Arizona. I love my brother, but it has been such a treat to get to know my sister-in-law better. She is a compassionate, kind, courageous, Christlike, and adventurous woman, and I love her so much!

Pat's Run April 22, 2017-Such a special weekend with my mom!

Three Goals for the Next Year:

This is the notorious "final question" of the traditional birthday questions. My friends know what I'm talking about. In the past, my goals have been along somewhat the same lines:

 2015-More philosophical than practical, but along the lines of love God, love others, and love self.

2016-More practical and specific. I actually accomplished the first two. The third one, eh, not so much. And I am not sure that falling in love with a guy/getting married is God's will for me. I'm working to accept that and find my place in the world as a single woman.

2017-My goals for this year revolve around that second point of my third goal for last year: loving myself. Since moving to Arizona/that first doctor's appointment where the nurse practitioner said I was weak and had potentially serious neurological problems, I've felt pretty crappy about myself. Physically, I think I'm stronger than ever before. I ran 4.2 miles with the fastest miles I've probably ever run,

but I still feel dissatisfied, not necessarily just with my body, but with myself over all. I just don't feel "at home" in this vessel. Mentally, I had that small breakdown in March, but before and after that, God has given me Holy Spirit perspective on a lot of tough situations. Yet somehow I don't feel like myself. Spiritually, I learned a ton from the True Woman 201 study and I enjoyed singing in the Christmas and Easter choirs at church. But I'm really struggling with understanding the church and what it should be about, especially after what I'd call a crisis in my local church. So without further ado, my three goals for next year center around health, mostly in physical ways, but in ways that I think will benefit my health as a corporate entity:

1) Eat satisfying foods instead of just whatever I find lying around. This means I need to cook more. I don't know how that will happen with my busy schedule and not having my own kitchen, but I can try.

2) Improve my sleep quality-My body started waking me up at 4 am sometime last fall, and it hasn't really stopped. I get up at 5 am every morning, purposefully, but I usually feel exhausted. Naps have been shorter in duration and less satisfying. I'd like to have more restful sleep. Sleep is so vital to good mental health.

3) Find what feels good-as far as exercise and life in general. I've experimented with yoga not once, but twice. I didn't like Yoga Revolution, but the phrase, "Find what feels good" has stuck with me. I've been trying to listen to my body more, especially as I trained for Pat's Run. I decreased my cardio (no HIIT and very little extra walking), lifted more weights (I'm up to a 40 pound deadlift, which is a lot for me!), and did more regular yoga. I'm still learning.

And that goes for the rest of life, too. I'm always learning. I won't "arrive" until heaven, but I'd like to become better in the next year. Until next May 5 and the BIG 3-0!