It's a wrap

We just got home from a lovely week in Urbana,  where we got the chance to celebrate the holiday season with many of our favorite people, eat our body weight in homemade tamales and Courier Cafe breakfasts, and completely destroy Grandma Paula's house. We went for snowy runs and walks, sled down one of the best hills in Central Illinois, and enjoyed the luxury of indoor family swim time. We learned that our extended family is growing (congratulations to my sister- and brother-in-law on the announcement of their second pregnancy! Maybe they'll have the first boy!) And now we're home but happy.

Now that Christmas is over and the gifts have been exchanged and gross quantities of food have been consumed, I can clear my mind and look forward to the new year that is upon us. I don't usually make resolutions per se, but this year I have some specific goals I've set for myself that I'm getting really excited about.


1. I will not buy clothes for the girls.

I'll clarify here and state that I will not buy NEW clothes for the girls (with a few exceptions I will note in a sec.) My clothing purchases have dropped way off recently anyway. I've been stricken with that illness that afflicts most sewers and knitters - I walk through a store, I see something simple but cute, I flip the tag over, I shrug my shoulders and think "meh, I could make that myself."  OR, I see something amazing and handmade that I could NOT do myself, but could never in a million years consider seriously spending that much money on something that ultimately becomes wearable kleenex and/or toilet paper. I will make everything, even underwear. I will knit sweaters and sew simple things. I will learn to dye them myself. I will try my best to involve my daughters in fabric and color selection. I will not step foot into a Baby Gap or an Old Navy or a Children's Place. When sewing or knitting the item myself is out of the question, I will buy only used items. EXCEPTION: I may, however, buy new shoes for Bela in the summer and again in the Fall. I like to spend more on her shoes because they go to Mae eventually.


2. I will learn to use my serger better.

Bela is horribly sensitive to "hard" clothes, and insists on covering her little body in only the softest of jersey knits. Jersey knits are awfully hard to sew with on a 100-year-old sewing machine that only goes backward and forward, and does not zig, does not zag. I have signed up for a 5 (FIVE!) hour, one time class at Vogue Fabrics in Evanston (January 5). I will show up with my serger and learn how to make professional seams and to sew better with those elusive stretchy fabrics.

3. I will run two marathons in 2011. 

Now most people make weight-loss resolutions in the shadow of the New Year. I would be loathe to do so, because I tend to lose focus. But if I happen to lose a couple pounds while training for these marathons, I wouldn't be terribly upset. Winter Marathon Training (with CARA) starts next week, and will prepare me for the Illinois Marathon in May, in Urbana. I will also register to run the October Chicago marathon, so I can sandwich the running season with two long-distance goals.


4. I will participate in the super sprinter triathlon in August. 

Because they don't offer a super-duper sprinter, where you swim the length of one swimming pool, bike around the block and run to the store, I will do the (only slightly) longer super sprinter scheduled for August. This means that I have to work on my swimming strokes, but I don't want to make that a separate goal because then this will begin to feel, gulp, overwhelming.


5. I will begin work on my business plan, for my future, you know, business. 


Do you make resolutions? Do you have any specific goals or plans for the new year?

Well, folks, I hope you all had a very merry Christmas. I wish I could hang out here and post photos, but I'm off to the gym to do something about the 3 pounds I gained in less than one week! Man, our holidays were DELICIOUS!