Cricket in a Biscuit

We are now fully into the holiday season, which, for us, means a lot of time in the car. Thanksgiving was a three-day affair with visits to each set of parents — I'm from a blended family, so I've got two sets. Of course, the eating was celebratory, and far from clean. Getting back on track this week has proven to be a challenge! Choosing to utilize, The 20s, has worked out very well. It has been much easier to stay on track with my workouts than it has with food. The workouts are 20 minutes each and exclusive to Beachbody on-demand. I made a schedule, which includes all the workouts from The 20s series and can be done within the 30-day free trial. The first two weeks look like this.  Oops! The last day of each week was cut off. Week 1 should end with Primal Body 1 by Derick, and Week 2 should end with Revival, beginner by Taylor.  So far, I've been really pleased with the variety and quality of the workouts. If you'd like to try it out, use the abo...

"Don't use your head, and the whole body usually suffers." "Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part." Two quotes, the first from my grandpa, the second from a high school teacher, which convey the same message; it is incumbent on you to think things through and plan ahead. Failure to do so will result in consequences which are yours to handle. The paradigm shifts, however, when you are married and/or have kids. Poor planning on the part of one — or both — can have implications with a broader reach. We were hit with a pretty big snowstorm on Friday, 17.2 inches before 3 o'clock in the afternoon. It was not a surprise storm — we had several days warning, but still we were unprepared, and there were consequences. Fortunately, none were serious, and we learned some good lessons. First lesson: When a storm is coming, move the vehicles off the street before there is a foot of wet, heavy snow on the ground. Maybe even pu...

Hugs from my Sophie Darling rank high among my favorite things. Ever since school started, one or more members of the family have been fighting some sort of cold. Currently, we are dealing with a head-cold/sinus thing, and it's my turn. Until I'm feeling better, I'm keeping my exercise pretty low key — that is, as much as drill instructor, Ainsleigh, will allow. She likes to watch me sweat, that's for sure! My go-to when I need to recuperate is yoga. I like that it is low stress but still presents a strength challenge and uses the entire body. It also helps relax tight muscles, and I sleep much better, especially if I do a quick practice at night. Beachbody has just added Yoga Studio, a collection of yoga routines from across all the programs, to the On-Demand member library with new practices being added all the time. I've been exploring the newest options and found a couple I really like. One is a 10-minute routine to ease lower back pain, which I've...

Well, Election Day is finally here. Honestly, I'm relieved it's going to be over as much as I'm apprehensive about the results. There hasn't been an election since the first for which I was eligible to vote that I've been excited to vote for a candidate. Fortunately, I know where I stand and can vote on policy and not personality. My vote is cast, but it's going to be a low-key, no Facebook and Netflix kind of night. Netflix and knitting… on the project front, I have a few things to show. The first is my climbing leaves pillow , which has been an ongoing project for a few weeks. It is done, and I love it! I should have done the side seams differently, but overall, it came out nicely, and I'm really excited to be able to give it this Christmas. The other two projects are actually sewing projects. I don't have a designated space for cutting and sewing, so the machine isn't dragged out very often, but I had to bring it out this week to get to th...

Omigosh, it's November already, and I am so far behind on Christmas crafts! (I furiously crocheted a dishcloth while waiting for the video to upload.) I've been so busy with other things, I don't have a lot to show for this week. The wool/angora yarn I have been plying is finished. I love the way it turned out! Angora always has such a wonderful halo. The yardage was amazing as well. I got over 300 yards of lace-weight 2-ply from, approximately, 2 ounces of fiber. The pillow has doubled in length, which is good progress. Hopefully I will finish that this week. If not, I'm sure it will be close. I'm really excited to have the fiber chosen and ready to go for my next spinning project. I'm doing stripes of different colorways from Homestead Hobbyist and Fat Cat Knits , spun as a thick single for the Stormy Weather Vest . There wasn't much beyond that besides a little spinning for my Shetland sweater in spare moments. The last few weeks, I have hint...