Jadielady

2025 Weeks 1 & 2 Kinda crushing it?

Greetings friends! As I mentioned in the prior post, I came up with 3 fairly simple weekly goals, and I'm keeping track of them in my Hobonichi Weeks.

Week 1 December 30 - January 5

(Translating my bad handwriting, I forgot I'd be sharing with others)

Take self out - Success! I drove to meet my family at a yarn shop, and then a quick 10 minute drive from there to visit my uncle for his birthday.
Calisthenics - Success! Performed each of the 6 movements and tracked my repetitions.
New songs - Success! I listened to Drag me to Hell by Lords of the Lost from my check out Eurovision bands goal, and Marigold by Periphery, who I'll be seeing later this year. I really liked both songs and added them to my main playlist.

Week 2 January 6 through today January 12.

Take self out. Ok, I did not do this this week but it's not my fault. Like many people, we got two snows this week, both of which became icy after melting a little and freezing again. I did get out of the house Tuesday evening for dinner, and then yesterday tagged along as hubs looked at local music stores for guitar strings. But, I didn't drive myself or go wherever I felt like so, it doesn't 100% count.
Calisthenics - Success! I performed all 6 movements, and even increased the number of reps for some. My knee is now very mad at me, so I need to tone down on the squats.
New Songs - Success AND A bonus. I listened to Scarlet by Periphery, and Where do we go from here by Filter. Turns out I knew this song, I just hadn't recognized the name. Also earlier in the week, someone in a discord I'm in shared a cover of Blue by Fleshgod Apocalypse, and I had to check it out :D

Also, pleased to say I'm over halfway through a book I checked out from the Library and enjoying that.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

Of course, my thoughts are with all in the LA area experiencing the terrifying wildfires, and those who are doing their best to battle the blazes.

I hope everyone is staying safe and taking care of themselves and eachother.

Adventure 52 - Welcome to 2025

Content Warnings: Pet loss and exercise.

Well, of course a lot has happened since the last time I posted, which is true for everyone. We've collectively been through a lot.

Unfortunately last year, sweet Tripsie passed away, and for the first time in 25 years I've been without a cat. I miss her very much, but in my 30's I became allergic to cats, so, thinking very hard about where to go from here, and also hoping to do some travel while we wouldn't need a house-sitter.

Today I want to talk about goals.

Every year, many of us come up with goals and resolutions, which fizzle out. In the past I've tried to come up with big goals with smaller actionable items but I don't do the best at keeping up with them, and then I simply let them fall away.

So this year, after the universe put it in my face in about 5 different places (one of which was Rachael Herron's Patreon post from which I got the title for this) I've decided to just do 3 tiny little things I want to do each week which will help me feel better.

Copying my comment on Rachael's post:

1. Take myself out - go outside for a walk, to a park, to the gym, or to the local bookstore/coffee shop and read or (do #3) 2. Work through new calisthenics book - to get stronk and healthier. it's 6 movements with multiple ranges of adaptations for your ability, and when to progress. I want to work through all 6 movements every week and track my progress. 3. Listen to 2 new to me songs. I want to start with bands I love from Eurovision and check out other songs of theirs.

#1 is something I need to do because I've become a full time working from home person who has practically gone feral when it comes to leaving my house and interacting with other people in the real world. It's like a muscle I've let atrophy so I need to work at it.

#2 Speaking of muscles, I also have let my body become all too accustomed to being sedentary, and I get tired easily. I believe all body shapes and sizes are wonderful and I believe we all can find a way to find joy in movement and the outdoors. Right now I can barely go for a short walk in my neighborhood.

I asked for and received this book for Christmas. As I said above there are 6 simple body weight exercises, requiring no equipment, just your body and the wall or floor. Each has a recommended starting point for difficulty and number of repetitions, with how to modify and when to progress. I'm doing 2 movements a day, 3 days a week to complete all 6. It barely takes 2-3 minutes.

I'm using my Hobonichi Weeks to keep track of these, and after just 1 week rotation since Christmas my back already feels better.

#3 Each year my Spotify Wrapped is nearly identical. So, this year I'm making a Playlist of songs new to me. I will listen to 2 each week. I started off with Eurovision bands I liked, some bands I'll see this year, and then dug through some friends and streamers playlists that they've shared. I figure I shouldn't add it all now, but leave room for actual new music released next year.

Listening to music always makes me feel better, and hopefully adding new things to the rotation if I like them will keep my horizons expanding.

I've also been using the Finch App, which will help me to remember to do these things even if I forget to look at my Weeks.

Be safe, and take care of eachother.

Jadie

Goals!

Back again!
As mentioned last time, I want to talk about my Bullet Journal, and goals.

I started a Bullet Journal in late October after fate led me to read Ryder Carroll's book on the subject AND I found a gorgeous leather traveler's notebook case at SAFF on the same weekend.
Also, I've been getting Field Notes' quarterly subscription a while and really needed to start using them.

Later I was able to find this gorgeous fabric case to keep my pens handy.

I use 3 notebooks for my Bujo.

1 is replaced every month. It has my Daily tasks & general to-do list. For this book I've been using Word Notebooks because they are already set up with the Bullet Journal method of tracking lists.

On one page I have "Future Log - Adulting" where I keep track of things like work deadlines, cleaning tasks, appointments, and bills. The second page I have "Future Log - FUN!" Where I keep track of things like Christmas gift knitting plans and entertainment schedules (I have names & other info on many pages, and bad handwriting, so I haven't shared images of most of my pages).

After that comes my daily pages. This is where the Bullet Journal method has helped me the most. I used to lay awake at night repeatedly thinking about what I had to get done the next day. Now, I spend about 10 minutes each night writing those tasks out for the next day. It gets the recurring thoughts out of my head and I can rest.
As I complete a task I put an X by it. If I don't get it done, I put a sideways triangle indicating it needs to be copied to the next day. If you decide it doesn't really have to be done you can cross through it. Things I've stolen from Amy Falcone are if you make progress on a task but don't get to complete it, put a sideways triangle and fill it in (filling it in indicates you got to do part of it, so it's less disappointing than an empty triangle). And, I set space aside at bottom where I put Daily Wins.

The 2nd book is a Yearly calendar, which I'm using one of my Field Notes books for. There are 2 pages where I've put my Goals. Someone in Amy's chat pointed me at this 6 Horizons of Focus post

Following the guidelines there, I've set Work & Personal goals.

Daily/Recurring Actions. Work: Daily que & tasks, Project steps, Encourage self-sufficiency in co-workers. Personal: Drink a minimum of 64 oz water. Weight Watchers Points, and Complement/Verbally Appreciate someone.
Projects - Multiple steps: Work: (Can't really go into detail here but there's 3 big projects to undertake this year). Personal: Use more of my yarn stash, Read more (audio counts), Declutter.
Focus & Accountability: Work: Create 1 SOP per quarter, Train my backup on the task. Personal: Save $100 a month, Exercise more.
1-2 year goals: Work: Complete industry standard Online Courses towards designation. Personal: Get to a specific weight, buy a house (this might actually happen this year!)
3-5 year goals: Work: Obtain designation for online courses, document all my processes & train backup. Personal: Go on a BIG TRIP, find a local church that feels like home.
PURPOSE: Work: Be compliant, be Accurate, and Be Efficient. Personal: Be Inclusive, Be Encouraging, Be Healthy, and Increase Joy.

After these goals I do a 1 page spread of the days of the month and which day of the week it lands on. I can keep a little note of an appointment there as well.

The 3rd book is just for general notes, scribbles. When it fills up it gets replaced.

One of the things I'm doing this year which supports my goals, is I want to support artists and makers and communities.I want to avoid Being Sold something. Online everywhere we constantly see sponsored posts and ads for things, and it makes it easy to just buy the thing because you want it.

Above I linked to a local book store's online shop, and I've mentioned my friends' Patreons in this and my prior post. Hoping to increase joy and encourage good things and more mindful shopping rather than passive consumption.

What are your goals? What helps you stay focused?

Now watching: D&D Session on Pr0Restarter's Channel, starring PB, Kylen, and Cybrwulf

Hello!

Hello friends!

Over and over I've drafted a catch-up post, but never got around to posting them. I do want to start posting here more often.

I am still knitting, quite a bit really. And playing video games. I've fallen in love with watching Livestream (or VOD later) D&D and other rolepaying sessions. I still play with my group every Wednesday, but also I've made some really great friends through the beautiful, inclusive, and encouraging communities online.

One of my favorites of these is The Indoor Adventurer (Twitch) (Youtube) (Patreon) (Podbean - Audio only)

Becoming a subscriber on Twitch or supporting the channel on Patreon gets you in their super fun Discord chat where we have a lot of fun and just keep each other entertained.

There's 2 main D&D Shows.
Monday night is a Homebrew campaign, and Tuesdays they play the current D&D adventure, ~~Dragondee~~ Waterdeep Dragon Heist.

If you look at the VODs or check out the YouTube channel you might see someone you know in some of the one-shots :)

Now, here's some knitting since that's probably why you're here (if you still are)

I cleaned my room this week and found a sock project I'd forgotten existed. I checked Ravelry, and found that I'd cast it on nearly 7 years ago in February of 2012!!!

All I had to do was knit about 3 stitches and do the toe of the 2nd sock!

So, now I have a new pair of 7 year old socks. YAY!

I hope you're well and happy out there. Say hi if you're still around or if you happen upon this!
Next time I should write about my bullet journal!

It's been a while

Facebook recently reminded me it'd been 7 years since my next to last post!!
OMG!
I kept telling myself I needed to blog, but would put it off.
Here's 1 big recap, and then hopefully I can get back to regular posting.
Brief re-introduction.
My name is Jadie, I have 2 cats, I play World of Warcraft, and I knit (yes, sometimes at the same time!)

So wow, a lot has changed in the last 7 years. Right around my last post we had just moved into a house. We are still here and it's definitely become home for the long-term.

Also I have two nieces and a nephew, though if we're friends anywhere else you mostly only hear about my sister's daughter.
Sadly, I've also lost in the last 7 years. My father passed away about a year and a half ago, and my grandmother had passed away a few months before that.
Life is definitely different than it was in 2011. (Understatement!)

So, since pictures tell a thousand words, I figure I'll stop blabbering on here, and just add a few photos from the last few years.