2009 wrap up...

Let us make no mention of the fact that I have not posted here in almost five months.

Right.

Instead I want to revisit the list of unresolved good intentions that I posted last year around this time. This will be interesting, since I haven't read it since I wrote it over a year ago...

1. Smile at people, and make eye contact. Hmmm....I think I meant in the general sense of when you meet someone on the street. I can't really evaluate this myself,*** three stars on this one.2. Participate. Again, in the general sense of getting involved in the community. This year I participated in the community garden project, the Hunter Park Gardrenhouse, the Old Town Artist's Underground, and the creation of a human being. Actually not that much stuff considering what Lansing has to offer. **
3. Become a monogamous knitter. I could rationalize, describing each new project that I started before finishing the last one, but honesty requires that I admit to EPIC FAILURE on this one. No Stars!
4. Grow food instead of plants. I didn't grow much, but I did grow onions, cabbage and beans in the community garden and kale, turnips, brocolli and other tasty greens in the garden house so **** four stars.

5. Take myself seriously. I think I meant artistically. Thinking back over the year I didn't start any new projects so big fail on this one too.6. Work in the studio at least once a week, even if that means going in for an hour and puttering around, accomplishing nothing. Before Ragnarson the Younger was born I did pretty well at this, although I didn't work on anything artistic, I did work. *** three stars
7. Organize. There was a window of about thirty seconds when I felt that I had my studio pretty well organized, but that didn't last through the latest move. My house is definitely not organized. * one star
8. Get better at making things out of wood. big fail on this one.
9. Take a class in something. I think I took Melissa Leapman's design class this year, so ***** FIVE STARS!10. Spin I used my time at the Old Town Underground for spinning, and made good headway on the red/orange five ply that has been following me around. I also experimented with Navajo Plying, so I'm giving myself ***** FIVE STARS on this one as well, even though there weren't many HOURS of spinning involved.
11. Reupholster the "dining room" chairs. FAIL
12. Publish at least 4 new knitting designs. FAIL
13. Submit at least 1 design for publication. FAIL
14. Do not allow the new house to fill up with junk. Although Manimal will perhaps disagree, I think we've done pretty well on this one. The junk we already had isn't very organized, due to lack of closet hardware (shelves, rods etc.) but we haven't acquired that much NEW junk. **** Four stars.
15. Build 2x4 shelves for the studio. FAIL
16. Keep the Etsy store up to date. FAIL17. Knit a sweater for myself. FIVE STARS. I finally finished the free wool sweater and I wear it literally everyday. *****
18. Build a light box to facilitate the taking of better pictures of artwork and crafts. FAIL
19. Get excited about things. I think this was commentary on my habit of not getting emotionally involved in things due to the potential for disappointment. Having kids pretty much cures you of not being emotionally involved, so yes. *** three stars
20. Sew curtains. FAIL
21. Read something by Jane Austen. I read Pride and Prejudice, and quite liked it. I can see why her books translate so well into movies, because she writes A LOT of dialog. I also read Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights (neither by Austen)

*****FIVE STARS
22. Post a project on Instructables. FAIL
23. Stop using Ragnarson as an excuse for why I can't get anything done. No, now I use both children equally. FAIL
24. Make a chore schedule. FAIL
25. Economize. We did do a lot of work making budgets this year, and also got into the habit of saving our receipts. We haven't solved our financial woes by a long shot, but we've made a start on finding out what the problem areas are. ***three stars.
26. Visit someone in a far away place. The marathon of matrimony means I get *****FIVE STARS for this one.
27. Eat less pork. HA. Big fail on this one. I bought half a pig from a local

farmer, and our financial stress means that we've been heavily relying on the deep freeze for protein. We've been eating A LOT of pig lately. But it's local, sustainable pig, so...so nothing, still a big FAIL.
28. Eat more lamb and goat. We did eat more lamb this year, and I sourced some local places for goat, but basically we couldn't afford it. * one star
29. Brush and Floss. I definitely did this more than year before last, but my dental hygiene is still sadly lacking. *one star
30. Build a wood oven in the backyard. FAIL
31. Whittle. FAIL
32. Make a dressform. FAIL
33. Send postcards to people instead of emailing them when I'm just writing to say "hi." FAIL
34. Stop eating candy at work. FAIL, but come on, I wasn't pregnant when I

wrote this list.
35. Use my datebook. Totally fell of the datebook wagon about four months in to the year. I have realized I am not a datebook person, although I love them, and I really want to be.
36. Do laundry before I completely run out of clothes. FAIL
37. Make some artist trading cards. FAIL
38. Go to the dentist. FAIL
39. Compost. I did set up a vermiculture bin in our kitchen. I don't have a lot of worms though, so I only feed them about once a month. They seem to be happy and thriving though. ** two stars
40. Read less crappy chic-lit. I upgraded to LESS crappy chic lit... ** two stars
41. Sing. FIVE STARS Pete has weened, but requires about 20 minutes of singing

to go to sleep, twice a day. *****
42. Socialize. Coffee club yes, other people, not so much. ** two stars
43. Use up yarn. I did knit some charity hats but I acquired the bad habit of buying sweaters at yardsales and unraveling them so I'm definitely UP on yarn.
44. Sew clothes that I will wear. FAIL, although I made Pete lots of cute pants.
45. Send birthday cards. FAIL
46. Buy music. FAIL
47. Write a story. FAIL
48. Recycle Eh, half a star, I didn't NOT recycle, but I didn't make a big effort either.
49. Ride my bike Didn't count on getting pregnant, but I did get a couple months in before getting too round. * one star
50. Do not knit things that are not on "the list." FAIL
51. Make something out of clay. FAIL52. Wear color. If by color you mean "maternity clothes" then yes, I wore color. ** two stars.
53. Enter at least one quilt show. FAIL
54. Be a better friend. Another rather nebulous one. I did deepen my friendships with a couple of my "mommy" friends so I think I can claim *** three stars on this one.
55. Do not delay making phone calls. FAIL
56. Use Ravelry as a tool, not a distraction. I didn't "ravel" much this year, and I did have about $15 worth of pattern sales, so *** three stars.
57. Take Rat Girl to a play. FAIL
58. Go to Wednesday night knitting group...once in awhile. How about once? * one star
59. Follow through. If this refers to finishing things that I started then * one star
60. Bake bread. For quite awhile I baked a lot of bread, then I got round, then I

got a newborn, and bread has not been made in quite awhile. ** two stars
61. Design my next tattoo. I have to decide on my next tattoo, because the one that I know I want can't be finished until I'm done having children, as it's a representation of our family. FAIL
62. Work in the Gardenhouse, at least once a month. For awhile I was pretty good about this, now that they've changed the program I haven't been so involved. ** two stars
63. Keep a better record of knitting projects. FAIL
64. Eat at home. We fell off the wagon for a bit there right before and right after Ragnarson the Younger was born, but really, how could we not have. I think we've done a pretty good job of this. Having the CSA produce in the fridge helps a lot. **** four stars.65. Strength train. HA, big FAIL. Unless you count carrying a newborn around.
66. Work on the yard. Ragnarson and I had a pretty good game of piling up sticks in the back yard, which actually resulted in a net improvement, also I gathered many walnuts for dye. * one star
67. Earn money. Pretty close to a FAIL, but half a star for effort.
68. Be less judgemental. Maybe it's the hormones but I feel like I've done pretty well by this, *** three stars.
69. Work with K and B on quilt tile designs. FAIL
70. Plan meals in advance. I did this for a couple of months and it seemed to make a big difference * one star
71. Take vitamins. I'm much better than I have been in the past ** two stars72. Cut back on caffeine. All over on this one, cut back completely, then let it creep back, then cut off again around Ragnarson the Youngers due date, and then decided that since they want me to take blood pressure meds anyway that there was no point in not indulging. I am pretty far off the wagon. I see the wagon disappearing over a distant hill. FAIL
73. Make deliberate decorating decisions on the house. **** Four stars
74. Replace plastic food storage containers. FAIL
75. Preserve food for winter. Considering that my garden wasn't that productive, I did pretty well by this. One whole shelf of the pantry (which has HUGE shelves for a pantry) was filled with pizza sauce, jam, apple sauce and apple butter, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Pretty good considering how pregnant I was during canning season. ***** FIVE STARS76. Get fresh air. We wore out a jogging stroller, admittedly it was a cheap crappy jogging stroller, but that's pretty good. *** three stars.
77. Make soap. FAIL
78. Go to art shows. I think I was referring to gallery shows. I went to a few at Woven Art, but that's sort of inevitable when you work someplace. Over all FAIL
79. Subscribe to a magazine. FAIL
80. Cultivate patience. FAIL, I really need to work on this one. I have a hard time not taking Ragnarson's Two Year old, New Sibling Jealousy antics personally.
81. Make halloween costumes for the family. FAIL
82. Buy in bulk. If you count half a pig as bulk, then yes. *** three stars
83. Teach a quilting class. FAIL84. Tell people that I love them. Hmmm...have I told you that I loved you lately? I tell my family that I love them, but I haven't broken through the nuclear ring to the outside world. * one star
85. Approach local galleries about showing my work. FAIL
86. Don't worry about what other people think. When you walk around either leaking breastmilk, or covered in spit up and toddler goo...or all three! it's not really possible to worry about what other people think. *** three stars
87. Use reuseable shopping bags. We have a lot of reuseable shopping bags and they do get used, just not everytime. *** three stars
88. Explore "found objects" in my quilts. May have mentioned: no quilting at all this year. FAIL
89. Repaint Ragnarson's blocks. Got rid of them instead, FAIL.90. Reject guilt. Not possible, goes with mothering I think. FAIL
91. Sew fabric produce bags. FAIL
92. Sketch. FAIL
93. Ask for help. Rather nebulous. I asked a lot of help from poor Rat Girl, and I am encouraging Ragnarson to help with things like picking up his toys and loading the washing machine. * one star
94. Invite people over. We have had a few people over since moving back into the "new" house. ** two stars.
95. Read a non-fiction book. I read a few. I read "Animal Vegitable Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver, a good read that validates everything I alreay believe about eating locally. I also read "How to Pick a Peach." which is another good food

industry myth buster.
96. Go camping. Again I say, I wasn't pregnant when I wrote this list. FAIL

97. Sew in the third dimension. I did make a few geometric pillows for Ragnarson and gifts for friends, but that's not what I had in mind when I wrote this. * one star

98. Swim in one of the great lakes. FAIL. We did get out to a Lake Michigan Beach, but it was in November, and there was NO swimming from me.
99. Forage. I did look for some mushrooms and I was all set to try milkweed pods, but somehow missed the optimum harvest. I foraged blackberries, but that's about it.
100. Listen to myself. Listen to this, self: make your "resolutions" for 2010 more concrete and achievable. * one star.

Okay, so quick tally: FAIL 51. Which indicates some level of success on the other 49. Considering that the major thing I did last year, and am still doing, is build a human being and that wasn't on the list I'm going to count an almost 50% semi-success rate as pretty darn good.

Oh, and here's a cute picture of my baby:

And, no, I didn't just paste up an old picture of Ragnarson, they just look EXACTLY the same...aside from the new version is brown haired and blue eyed.

Ragnar...hey! I blogged, how about that.