More snow this week...this seems like the norm now. My son has hardly had a week where he has attended all five days this whole winter season. Our office at work has been closed more than in any other year; and my boss doesn't just close at the drop of the hat either. (I wish people would stop dropping those hats!)
Side note: that phrase is said to come from the Old West. When someone dropped a hat there was going to be a fight because a challenge had been issued.
I'm an Aries and I start things. It is hard to finish anything and I am easily distracted. I felt like the Universe dropped a hat on me this week. I have been fighting to stay on track with my projects and inspired to start new ones in so many areas I feel almost scattered.
I started a new pattern and have been just doodling with my knitting needles as I go. I'm not sure where they are going to take me or if I will even like it. I put in some lifelines just in case. Usually, I share everything with you all from start to finish but this project feels different to me and I just want to hold it close for a while before sharing it.
I haven't really felt the creative urge in my knitting for almost six months and it was starting to get to me. This idea took me by surprise and it isn't something I would normally do. I am totally on autopilot here and yet it feels so right to be making something new again.
I balance my emotions by pouring them into my creations. This is what has kept me sane over the years and allowed me to function on a day-to-day basis; it is also why I love Minecraft so much. The problem is once again I am an Aries and I can't seem to stay focused and there are always new things to create. My spirit tree needs to be finished and then I will create it again on our family server.
My family and I play together all the time. We help each other achieve our goals or sit back and watch as someone creates something truly beautiful. This endears me to Minecraft even more; sharing it with my family.
I've wanted to build a temple on the family server totally different than my personal spirit temple on my world for a while now. I had no ideas about it until this weekend; and then it just hit me, bam. For the last few weeks we had been cleaning up our spawn area and then going to the Nether to get supplies for my son to build his gorgeous castle in the sky; literally, when you reach the top you are in the clouds. I am awed by his skills as a designer. He had an idea in his head and just created it and we all helped gather supplies as we do for any member of our family.
The temple I am building has taken on a life of its own now. My sister and I brainstormed ideas about a Minecraft Pantheon and came up with a pretty logical list of deities. I already had the temple design in my head and sketched it out on graph paper to make sure it worked. My son spent the other day in the Nether gathering quartz for me. My sister watched my back as I prepared the land, and let me say, she is an awesome shot. She hit a hostile mob from an island away. My son is also programming the buff effects. I originally thought wouldn't it be great if you prayed in the temple and the deity blessed you with an effect? My son wanted to be in charge of that project and has matched the deities with their effects. We created it so even the mobs can come and pray if they want.
The construction of this temple is not that difficult. The gathering of the supplies is quite another matter; anything in the Nether is fraught with danger. This is the first dome I have ever attempted. I really like the way it looks. And I love the fact that we created it together.
BTW since I didn't mention my DH in the temple construction, he is busy gathering supplies for my spirit tree on the family server. Which is one of the reasons that I took a break on my world. You have to grow the huge trees, cut them down and rinse and repeat until you have taken down enough to work on another layer of leaves and branches.
Oh, and I finished my Skeleton spawner grinder in the Nether. Remember I started playing at the end of December and I am new to a lot of things so when I figured out the /setblock command to make spawners it was truly a joyous thing. Now I can make Wither Skeletons. Um...yay? After watching a video of a Wither which you put together from 3 Wither Skeleton heads (which are rare drops...hence the grinder) destroy everything down to bedrock...I question my excitement. But it is always fun to make something new and learn a new skill to boot.
And...remember when I talked about the ice a while back? Ice allows one to see a situation or moment frozen in time and the onlooker can really view that situation or moment from all sides. This creative project is one that I keep putting away in a drawer and mean to get back to but since all the things that have happened over the last year starting piling up, I have been ignoring it. This creative urge that has hit me so strongly in all the other areas of my life has extended to me and my well being as well.
I'm the first to admit I really let things slide when the depression of last summer set in. I stopped counting calories and was just happy to find a food I could eat. I totally undid years of cultivating a healthy lifestyle and just tried to stay afloat. My excuses have piled up like my WIPS (work in progress) and I am just over my old self. I honor the fact that I had to get to this point and I'm not judging my past mistakes...I'm just ready to change and the fact that I have all these other things is not going to stop me from reaching my goals.
First I need to forgive myself. I have felt over the past year that my body has betrayed me but that is not true. I am what I am and that includes all the negative as well as the positive. Each stage is a learning process and creates a foundation for growth. I need to learn to love and accept myself again.
There seems to be a switch in me that once it goes off everything changes for good or bad. The switch has been stuck in the negative position for a while now and today I've flipped it to the positive. I'm an Aries, when I decide something it is law. I've always been that way. So starting today I will try to make healthier choices and create more movement in my life.
Ironically, I actually love to exercise. I love the feeling of moving my body and getting stronger or more flexible with each workout. DH and I bought this wonderful Total Gym machine which uses your body weight to help you get in shape. It has been hidden away for a while when we had guests you couldn't really find a room it would fit in. But now with the basement clean and beautiful, we can set it up again. DH and I are in this together. We both want to be healthier and are going to support each other along this journey.
I know that I can't do it alone. We've been looking into those bracelets that hook into an app and remind you to do stuff and you can track workouts and movement and different aspects of a healthier lifestyle on them. I think this would be a tremendous help for both of us. It would give us some kind of guideline to adhere to.
I actually ate portions this week and paid attention to my calories. I made sure to drink my water; at least that is one thing I never slacked on! And as in the past, I've noticed an automatic weight loss and my clothes a bit looser too. I don't really have that much to lose; maybe 10 pounds...so the weight isn't really the most important factor here for me. I just feel...loose...for the loss of a better word. I want to feel...tight...not jiggly.
I know that with my eye I can't do exercises that make me strain or hold my breath; so there will be a learning curve as I figure out and retrain myself how to do things. And exercise is only part of it. I'm really trying to eat healthy in season and that is proving hard since we are still in the grasp of winter. I've been enjoying some nice winter squash that I baked in the oven with garlic this week.
All these changes take a bit of my time so there will be less time to knit and /or play Minecraft but that is okay. These activities that I enjoy so much can be my reward for reaching my daily goals. I'm making lentils with pork shoulder this weekend. I'm going to slow cook the shoulder and then add in the lentils when it is falling apart. There should be plenty of leftovers.
Speaking of leftovers, we are getting rid of all of our plastic containers. We have slowly been changing over to a healthier lifestyle over the years. We got rid of toxic personal products and cleaning agents and replaced them all. We buy local and organic fruits and veggies as much as we can. We order our meat and dairy from an organic farm. And, now we are going through our cupboards and weeding out the plastic. I'll let you know next week what we chose and how it is holding up.
There are so many new things brewing it is hard to contain them all. I feel like seeds that have laid dormant through the winter got a little sun and burst forth everywhere in my life. Also, I finished the cowl for Nana and I need to block it and then I will show you.
But unfortunately, this creative surge of knitting came with a price. I didn't finish my layer of squares this week. Sorry, Sis!
Next week I should have lots of knitting to show you. Won't that be a nice change? :)
Happy crafting,
Ruinwen
:)
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