Sunday, December 31, 2017

Reflection 2017

Dear 2017,

It was not such a bad year after all, I think.
https://www.etsy.com/sg-en/shop/projectsbyjane?ref=seller-platform-mcnav&section_id=10068875
 I published 2 bag patterns and many applique templates.

I baked my head off. I attended 2 bread making classes - Artisan bread and water kefir bread which improved my skills. Money well spent. I also attended puff pastry and yeasted pastry classes. These pastries require so much effort that I doubt if I'll ever make any at home. Oh well... I managed to go into flower yeasted bread. It requires a lot of time and patience. Do I have them? I didn't exactly conquer sourdough. Still work-in-progress.

2017 wasn't a crafty year. I made 1 blouse, 1 dress, 1 bag and a few yarn items. And that was it.

I wrote 2 tutorials.
https://projectsbyjane.blogspot.sg/2017/02/tutorial-how-to-sew-lined-patch-pocket.html
How to sew a lined patched pocket.

https://projectsbyjane.blogspot.sg/2017/01/how-to-sew-wrist-strap-for-hello-kitty.html
How to sew a wristlet strap.

It wasn't intentional but I managed to blog every month except in September. A total of 66 blog posts. With blogging not very fashionable nowadays, I'm still hanging on. I do enjoy blogging! My stats has gone down horribly. When the focus of my blog is no longer on bags, that's bound to happen. Not everyone's that interested in what I bake or where I ran. I totally understand.

I took part in 3 Performance Series 10km runs and one 10km Star Wars night run. I also took part in a 8.5km Big Walk which I did not blog about. In between I didn't run very much. But I went swimming nearly every week, doing 10 laps which is all I can manage.

2017 was the year things got better and better for me.

Diet wise, my stomach finally became settled and I can eat all sorts of shit. Rice? No problem. Low lactose milk? No problem. I even manage to tolerate a tiny bit of cheese. The only exception is smelly food. That, I believe will always be a no-no. Thanks to the removal of my gallbladder, I'm no longer bloated. It didn't happen overnight. My body took a while to adjust.

Oh yes, I almost forgot. I visited 2 countries. Previously, I avoided travelling because I would become ill - migraine and vomitting. I'm so glad I don't get travel sickness anymore. I'm also glad I'm still "young" enough and has the energy to travel. Imagine I finally became well enough to travel when I'm 80? I can't wait to travel again. It would be nice to do it again without the kids.

This year, I finally got a better idea why I suffer from headaches. It's a joint and spine issue which cannot be cured (it's deterioration). I take this medication which is good for nerve pain and I don't get headaches so frequently. It isn't a cure and it has terrible side effects - a humongous appetite. I have gained a ton of weight since taking this medication and I know that I can't rely on it long term. The swimming is supposed to help and it does. I'm also doing some stretching and I have a new physiotherapist who is working on adjusting my joints. Have you ever had your joints cracked? It's quite frightening but extremely soothing afterwards. My neck joints are very stiff and I need to go for more mobility massage. Sounds painful? It is. For the first time in a long while, I feel quite positive that I can conquer the headache beast.

I'm not making any New Year resolutions. But I have some loose goals to achieve. Firstly, I've got to lose weight. Move more, eat less. As simple as that. I won't run 10km anymore. I've been told it's not good for my spine/neck issues. I will run 5km but I won't do organised runs anymore. I really don't want to wake up early in the morning to go someplace and run with a bunch of strangers. I will do walks. I tried walking fast during the Big Walk and it turned out it's not that easy. It's not a bad form of exercising so I will, for a start walk 5km. I will continue swimming 10 laps a week.

I think in 2018, I will craft and sew more. Lately, I've been energized and the mood to make stuff is there. I do have lots of craft supplies which I've not used. I will bake less. I will focus on making stuff I want to eat.

Lastly, I hope to better housekeep my files. It seems 2017 decided to end with a dent because my hard drive died and my backups had many files missing or corrupted. Plus Dell is taking forever to come switch out the old hard drive with a new hard drive. I'm using a temporary pc at the moment. I feel like a homeless person.

Hope 2017 was a good year for you. If not, there's always 2018. See ya over there.

2 comments:

Kate said...

What a busy year. Keep going. There is lots more to see, do, and learn.
Have you tried walking poles? You can walk faster, and you get an upper body workout at the same time.
Happy New Year

Bethany said...

We have similar goals--I need to lose some weight, and I've felt a recent motivation to craft more.
I often think of giving up my blog because it seems like no one is really doing it these days, but I really don't want to--I like having a little space that I can pop in and show things or blather on about.

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