Resolutions

Ah, New Year's resolutions. It is the 12th day of January. How many of you have stuck to your resolutions? I bet a lot of people haven't. I have to say, it is hard sometimes to stick to them. I tried this year to set resolutions that were reasonable. Mine this year were to write daily and buy less yarn/knit from my stash.

So far, I've been doing well with the first one. It was tough over the weekend to squeeze time in for writing but I managed to do it. And now I've made it 7 days through the 21 they say it takes to make something a habit. Some days have been harder than others to think of what I wanted to write and some days I've had too many things I wanted to write about, which is nice because then I can always save that topic for another day. I still have to work more on my Kilynn story, and I had intended to write a recap for Galavant today. Galavant will hopefully be tomorrow and Kilynn Wednesday. I'm still trying to figure out where that story is going. The second resolution, about the yarn, hasn't been a challenge - until today.

I love to knit. I try to squeeze it in where I can. I have been known to take knitting projects with me to the hockey rink, the soccer field, and to the doctor's office. It is hard for me these days to just sit and watch TV without my hands being busy. And my friends in my neighbourhood have come to realize how much I enjoy knitting and have asked me to make things for them or as gifts for others. This has been fun for me - I enjoy having someone to make things for and getting paid for my work is a bonus. I know I undercharge for my work - I usually just charge for the cost of the yarn. If they pay me anything over that, it is their choice. I do it out of friendship, not as a job.

Recently a good friend sent me a picture of a knit hat and asked me if I could make one like it for her. I looked at it and realized that yes, I could. I was busy with a few other projects but one of those got finished today so I was able to start working on her hat. I was thinking that I didn't have the yarn I needed and I was going to have to go out and buy some (yay!). But I decided to be good first and checked my sizable stash and found that yes, I had the yarn I needed not only for the hat she wants but for a second hat I saw recently and wanted to make.

In a way I was disappointed that I had the yarn I needed. I wanted to go out and buy new yarn even though I didn't need it. Resisting that urge was difficult. I went ahead and got started on the project so I would be less likely to run out to get yarn. I did other things to distract myself - like doing a much needed purge of the refrigerator, and working on this entry. Writing down that I want to go buy yarn is helping me to resist the urge. It isn't easy though.

And I understand it's not easy for others to stick to their resolutions. The friend I'm making the hat for made a resolution to give up her favorite candy. I had to admire her for that - I am an admitted chocoholic and it would be extremely hard for me to give it up. Yesterday she broke that resolution and I won't judge her for doing it. I could have easily broken one of my resolutions today (and I thank the snow falling for that. Didn't feel like slopping around in it).

She said she should have made moderation her resolution. I think that's a good idea - moderation in everything. I will do my best to knit from my stash and only buy yarn when I don't have what I need. And I will try to moderate my chocolate consumption because I should. But I won't give it up completely because chocolate tastes good. We'll see how the year goes. Resolutions - love'em, hate'em, keep'em, break'em. And try for moderation.