Big help

Over the past few years I developed a rather jaded view on the world around me. Don't trust anyone. That would have been my mantra and I have to say in 9 out of 10 cases it was very justified. I was mostly angry, didn't laugh as much as I used to, had some trouble sleeping and was generally not a happy camper.
Then my doctor diagnosed a rather severe deficiency in my thyroid and put me on medication. We are still tweaking the dosage around, but I have noticed a drastic change in  my mood and behaviour over the last 8 or 9 months.
I sleep better, I am definitely in a better mood, my hair is shiny, my nails are growing faster, my skin improved....just lots of little things.
I even mellowed out in my taste of music.
I'm still listening to mostly heavy stuff...(Go, Funky Monkey!!!), but I like more mainstream stuff now, too. There is even some emotional improvement.

Hmm... one little pill a day. It is amazing what one tiny little organ and it's hormones can influence in your body. When I asked my doctor the other day if this little pill could be responsible for my mood, she looked at me, and knowing full well, that I also have changed my diet a lot, asked me:" Why? Is the lack of chocolate making you suicidal?"
I had to laugh. She knows me so well.

I still don't trust people. But now I am at least willing to give you the benefit of a doubt.

Wohoo!!!!!

Everybody that knows me has gotten an earful. I can't stop talking about this "Fiber up-slim down" book I bought at my local Barnes and Noble. The diet actually works! I lost 13 pounds since I started on January 1st!!!! I'm not gonna bore you about how delicious it is and how filling and so on.
Quick note though: It curbs your craving for sweets tremendously. I have not had a piece of chocolate in two weeks. And this from the person who used to follow a coffee and candybar diet.
However...(there is always a drawback, isn't there.) I also noted that my face lost a  little of that pudgyness. Which makes some of the tiny wrinkles a little more pronounced. Not likeing it one bit!
So my choice is now: 1. Be a little pudgy but look younger than you are or..
                                 2. Look totally hot in tight jeans with a paperbag over my head.
I'm open for suggestions.

Done!

It is done! As of 4:00 pm ( or 16:00 hours) I am an american citizen. Certified! HA!
There is a passport photo affixed to it. Why do they tell you to look "stern" in passport photos?
Will you look "sternly" at somebody at the airport or the border when they check your document? No...you will smile, conveying that you are no threat whatsoever.
A saying goes: "When you start to look like your passport photo, it's time to go home."
Very true.
My photo looks like  I robbed the liquor store and drank all the loot before they caught me and did a mugshot.
Sheesh. I want a redo. But then again...I look like that in Glamour pictures, too. Guess I'm just not the photogenic type.
Anyway...I am proud to be  american now. Next goal: Politics!
Yeah..right.

Proud American

For everyone who has NOT heard the story:
I came here to the United States from Germany as the wife of an american soldier. Two divorces and one daughter later I was faced with the decision to either renew my "Permanent Resident" card or apply for citizenship.
I have only my brother left in Germany and I am not planning to move anywhere else in the world. So I decided I would like to have a say in my community. I would like to be able to vote for more money for my daughters school. I would like to be able to vote for who will represent me in Washington DC. Or what they do with my tax money.
So I saved up the application fees and mailed in my application in November.
In December I was sent an appointment to get my fingerprints taken at the local Office for Homeland Security.
Today I had my final interview at the same office and my application was accepted.
Now I'm thinking it is going to take a few more weeks before I get a final decision. Yeah, right.

I WILL BE SWORN IN AS A BRANDNEW AMERICAN CITIZEN TOMORROW!!!!!

I'm so excited. My youngest is happy, because she gets out of school a little earlier and my son in law is not so happy, because he has to drive me there, LOL.
So, yeah, that's the big news for today! Yay!

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I have an Etsy shop. I sell handknitted items like gloves, scarfs and stuff. And I dye my own yarn. Mostly sock weight......I confess, I'm a " knitting-sock-addict". I also make small fabric bags.....apparently hundreds of other people do that, too.
So I purchased an advertisement spot on Etsy's Showcase under the category "Knitting". While I was really excited to be, what they call ,"featured"..........geez.....lots of quotes in this post................it didn't really do anything. It drove some traffic to my shop and I got a few more hearts (two to be exact) and I really appreciate that. But that first sale is still eluding me. I'm great at what I do.......don't get me wrong. I just don't like the business side of things too much. I'd rather be dyeing yarn, sewing stuff , designing patterns and knitting  all day. Have somebody else deal with the advertising, shipping and all that other stuff.
* Sighs*
One can dream....right?
On a more positive note: I actually lost.....yes...LOST.......2 pounds so far on my delicious low-calorie-homemade-soup diet. That I cut out the candy and eat an apple when I crave sweets doesn't hurt either.

So right now I'm working on a commissioned sweater and a Baby Jacket. The Baby Jacket is my own design and I write down the pattern as I knit along. I will try YouTube to find a tutorial on how to turn it into PDF files.
That's how I learned how to put videos together to put on YouTube. Funny thing is....I found out later that my son-in-law posted the video where I learned it from.
In conclusion: the Etsy thing is not going as well as I would like it to......but I am confident that I will succeed there too. My diet is going well ( I hate being in my forties. I never even uttered the word "diet" until I turned 40!!!! I was just fine on coffee and candybars!)and I still have a day job.
Not bad for 2010 so far.

Finished!

So I bought this magazine at my LYS. It is called Interweave and it has the most amazing patterns ever. I picked the coat from the cover of the Fall 2009 issue and checked online where to get the yarn.
Big surprise....the yarn would have been in the general area of $180. And I haven't even knitted a stitch yet!
Needless to say: that was just not in my budget.
I went to my LYS Yorkshire Yarns and Shirley, one of the ladies that works there, suggested the Eco Wool from Cascade Yarns. Not onl;y is that 200 yards to the skein, it is also incredibly easy to knit with. Gorgeous stitch definition, and surprisingly soft for 100% undyed wool.
I started the coat on November 25th of 2009 and finished it on January 4th of 2010.
Insert picture here:

Okay....so you have to tilt your head sideways to really see it. But I love the coat. It is warm, it fits( major accomplishment here) and I love it.
Currently it is on display at Yorkshire Yarns. I am so proud! Thanks to Sonia for asking if she could borrow it for a while.Let's see if I can get another picture up.....Yay!!!!! On to the next project!!!!

Making a list and checking it twice.....

No. I am not Santa and I am also not waaaaay behind on holidays.
My title is referring to the list of things to do in 2010.

                                 HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I have a list for 2010. Items are as follows:

1.)Loose 20 pounds.
 By the end of the year I hope to have lost the 20 pounds I gained since I turned 40. I started out by making a soup with all the healthy ingredients and only 140 calories per serving. Which is one cup. Perfect. By 9pm today I had eaten all 4 servings that I made. It was just so delicious. So No. 1 on my list is going well.

2.)Take my Etsy shop to success.
  I put new items on today 10 minutes after midnight. I updated the profile, the shop message and tinkered around with the items. Did I mention I did this 10 minutes after midnight? I need a life!!!!!

3.) Save money for a vacation.
  I can already write "Yeah, right" under this resolution. My dream would be to go to Cape Town in South Africa. But I'm pretty sure that is a few years in the making. Might as well cross that off this years list.

That's all I have on my list so far. I even bought a Day Planner today. It was 50% off at Barnes and Noble and I could not resist.
Who came up with the term "Day Planner" anyway? I wake up, go to work,come home,eat,goof around,sleep and repeat.Really don't need to plan that, do I?

So far I'm doing pretty good with my "List of 2010". I'll keep you posted on how it goes.