Two of my earlier posts from 2020 focused on my love of reading and fiber arts. Since I had set goals for these two hobbies and we’re at the edge of 2020 ending, I figure this is a good time to reflect upon my progress from the year and see what I have in store for 2021.
I first picked up knitting needles in college, when a classmate taught me how to knit a scarf. I found the craft soothing once I got the hang of the knit stitch, but then quickly became bored as I just kept going back and forth, back and forth (and as most of us know, scarves are rather long…). This scarf was an on-again, off-again project for roughly 7-8 years.
Prior to moving to Denver, I finally completed this scarf and reignited my interest in knitting and met a couple of like-minded individuals who also knit. I bravely ventured into circular knitting, but double-pointed needles (DPNs) intimidated me.
Last week I got a wake-up call regarding my health; amazing how a number on the scale can speak more than what it shows. I was near my heaviest last Sunday, and I knew I had to kick myself back into gear.
If you know my history, you know I have lost a lot of weight before, between 2006 – 2010. I initially lost weight in Japan (spent a semester abroad in 2006); then, I was determined to keep the weight off and maybe lose a bit more. There were periods of time between those years where I lost a little, gained a little, and so forth. 2010 I found myself at my skinniest–but not for the right reasons. I was so focused on aesthetics and pleasing others instead of caring for myself.
Well, this time around, I am focused on taking care of myself and losing the weight for my own health (and for my future children?). Over this past weekend, I participated in a 3-day juice cleanse via Pressed Juice Daily, a new juice shop in Denver. They provided me with 27 bottles for 3 days: 9 bottles per day.
I was a little nervous about trying a liquid diet, but even on Day 1, I felt fine spacing out the juices every couple of hours and focusing on that rather than my grumbling stomach. It also helped that at the end of each day, I got my ‘treat’ in the form of raw almond milk–SO delicious! I talked about my juice cleanse experience with my chiropractor today, and he said “The juice cleanse was successful for you because you are in the right mindset.” True, true, true.
I weighed myself this morning and looks like I have lost 7 lbs since last week; majority of it probably from the cleanse. Now I am slowly adding in food to my diet. Today is a salad day; tomorrow, I can include grains and legumes. And so on, so forth. Basically, I am resetting my taste buds and making sure I eat more greens and eat smaller portions. No need for any fad diets this time: Moderation is key!
In terms of fitness, I am focusing more on walking and yoga. I don’t have money to spare for a gym membership; besides, Denver has beautiful parks to walk about in, and I have the help of my friend, Jonathon, of Walk2Connect.
I am determined to lose the weight for my health this time. I’ve started tweeting about my health journey; if you want to follow along, follow the hashtag #hkhealth.
Hope you can join me on my journey!
(This post is not about the scarf in the picture btw)
I’ve been knitting a scarf since 2004. No, it is not the world’s longest scarf. More like: knitting has been an on-off hobby for me since then.
Initially, I became interested in knitting because I had a few college friends who enjoyed the art and were willing to teach me. I attempted to knit a scarf with my friend’s tools but then I gave up and unraveled that project.
The following semester, I wanted to buy my own knitting supplies and attempt a scarf again. So, my friend went to the store with me and we bought two skeins of yarn and knitting needles. I was set.
I worked on the scarf diligently for some time, but then I became frustrated and impatient. This takes forever. Why are some loops missing? Yeesh…
So then I set aside my knitting for a few years.
Time passed…nobody else around me showed interest in knitting post-graduation…
And then, my knitting instincts came back to me late last year when I met some like-minded folk through NaNoWriMo. “Let’s have a stitch-n-bitch night!” they suggested. So we did.
And my scarf has grown longer since then with my diligent practice. The skein has thinned out to the point where I can’t securely stick my needles in anymore. My parents look proud as they watch me knit away on my project, never giving up. “Just a little while longer until you can finish it,” my mother said.
So I’ve made myself the goal that I must finish this scarf before I get to Denver. I have less than a month. It doesn’t seem like such an unattainable goal anymore.
What I’ve discovered about myself these past three months is this: I have many many great ideas, but I lack focus.
I want to do EVERYTHING.
ALL AT ONCE.
Take for instance, my recent entry back into crafts. I’ll scour the web for craft tutorials, how-tos, etc. I keep collecting all these tidbits of information. And then, I don’t even know what I want to start with anymore.
On a greater scale, this happens with my career goals. I can’t *JUST* be a business owner; I also want to be a writer. I also want to be a personal trainer. I also want to…wait…
I’m sure I’m not the only one in the world to grapple with this lack of focus.
Of course it isn’t a bad thing to have many dreams, many goals. It’s great to just D R E A M.
But having too many to think about, worry about….that doesn’t help out my focus.