101 in 1001: August 2012

Completed goals: 3
Goals in progress: 21
Days so far: 17
Days to go: 984

Completed:

29) Go to a knitting group.
Last week I finally went to a knitting group and this week I went again. It's in the city centre after work and the people there are welcoming, friendly and fun to be with. Since moving to Leeds, 95 miles away from my family and with most of my friends scattered throughout the country, I've been quite lonely. I went to a couple of craft groups when I first moved here but the size of them overwhelmed me; about 25 people at one and about 40 at the other. After that I slipped back into my old shyness and became quite scarred of meeting new people. I put 'Go to a knitting group' on my goals list because I knew it would be a challenge that could improve my life if I faced up to it. I was so nervous before going! I'd prepared for that though and had some calming self talk ready, so I reassured myself (repeatedly) and went, and I'm so glad I did. If you live in Leeds the group meets every Thursday from 5pm to 7.30pm downstairs in Costa on Briggate, opposite Marks and Spencer (there's a group on Ravelry for it - search for 'Leeds Knit and Natter').

11) Learn to make a great cream of tomato soup
This may seem an odd one, but it stems from the following equation:

I love Heinz cream of tomato soup

+

It costs 85p a can

+

I'm stingy

=

I  want something cheaper and better

Mr Crafty Blueberry beat me to this one but following a spouse to spouse soup tutorial yesterday I've made a big batch of tasty cream of tomato soup using this recipe that totally kicks Heinz's arse and half of which is in the freezer, stashed away.

17) Write a letter to myself to be opened on day 1001

I wrote about why I embarked on this list and what I hope to get out of it. The letter's sealed, labelled and  in a place I won't loose it.

Progress:

The main progress I've made is on goals relating to health and fitness. I've been doing a lot of exercise at home, walking on my lunch breaks, swimming and eating way less sugar and fat, lots more fruit and raw veggies and drinking enough water to stay hydrated. So far so good but the real challenge is to keep up the good work - to take it from being a novelty to becoming habit. I feel up to it but the main threat to my routine will be the Winter, when I go a little odd, have no energy, feel crap and just want to sleep. For that reason I've been working on a SAD action plan - planning preparations I can make, nutrition and health through Winter and planning for improved well being. I just hope it pays off. Once I've done it I'll post it here in case anyone reading is affected by SAD too and finds it helpful.

Other than health goals I've started learning chess, painting my living room, making a blanket for Christmas and planning my finances. An accurate saving and spending plan's essential for many of my goals as I need to save up for them, such as studying Astrology, travel and saving for a house deposit. It was quite scary, initially, writing down my outgoings accurately but it's clarified what I can save up and how long it will take. Now I just have to get the saving started and cut down on spending - the hard bits!