Well, I've wrestled the blog to the mat! Sort of. At any rate, after I broke it I had to fix it. I cannot tell you how long it took me to figure out how to make the sidebar buttons and a new banner... or how many swear words I used.
Why was I so disgruntled? (And what is a gruntle, anyway?) Why did I feel like I needed to do it? That's an interesting question—I fell prey to the pressure of expectations, I guess. I began to feel that I was not as good as other bloggers; I forgot that I began writing 7 years ago to simply share my discoveries, to let people know what I was up to. And the amazing thing is that this blog--as unglamorous, unplanned, unproofread, unsophisticated as it is--has created so many contacts and opportunities I could not have dreamed of back when it was first published. But you know what? I'm not a professional blogger and I'm not a professional photographer. I don't need to hit a certain visitors every day, nor do I have any affiliate links to monitor. I just enjoy playing with color and shapes, I like to share my life online, and I trust that you accept me for what I am. I'll try to keep the insecurity from shouting so loudly next time!
What Else is Going On?
What I am, at the moment, is a person cleaning house to prepare for another 3-day Design Your Own Fair Isle workshop—the second one in three weeks. I really enjoy teaching this and love meeting the creative people who sign up to learn how to create personal, unique, meaningful garments. A pleasure for sure.
By the way, I'm teaching three 1-day classes at the Interweave Knitting Lab in San Mateo this November: the Fair Isle Tam class, which focuses on how to use color in Fair Isle without the anxiety of choosing colors; the Mini-Fair Isle Sweater class, focused on construction and fit of a seamless Elizabeth Zimmermann-style yoke sweater; and the Fair Isle Yoke Sweater class, where I cover construction and fit of a Zimmermann yoke sweater, concentrating on color choices for the yoke pattern. There are slots left in each of these classes.
If you are interested in my teaching schedule for 2013, please sign up for my newsletter at Feral Knitter. You'll then be the first to know.
What I've Been Up To
I just finished a 30-day exploration of diet and health, the Whole 30 plan conceived of by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig. The Whole 30 is designed to help people break free from addictive eating patterns, from foods that are potentially harmful physically, from less-than-optimal choices. I had several reasons for trying the program: increasingly irritating seasonal allergies, an intractible weight problem, disturbed sleep patterns, snoring (according to my husband, so take that with a grain of salt), some intestinal issues that shall remain nameless, and a general lack of focus and energy.
The 30-day program involved refraining from all grains, all dairy, all sugar, all soy, all legumes, all vegetable oils, all chemical additives--well, that sounded pretty darn scary when I thought about it! But I've done a lot of reading and became convinced that I should give this a try to give myself the very best chance at continued good health through my 60s.
The verdict? Absolutely worth it! I was afraid that I couldn't do it, honestly--I loved my coffee with cream and Splenda; two cans of diet Dr Pepper every day; and meals built around bread. However, it didn't take long before my body made it crystal clear that it was extremely happy with the pared-down eating style.
I managed all 30 days with only two slips: some salted caramels a houseguest left and a diet Coke at a party. In fact, despite my fears, I have found myself so settled into this style of eating that I expect to keep it up longer. As promised, I no longer crave the food groups I've cut out. Even so, the Whole 30 is not necessarily intended to be a lifelong diet--I intend to re-introduce food groups in a regular way to find out if any of them cause negative reactions.
But today I'm very happy--more energetic, more clear, 14 pounds lighter, and healthier. Less disgruntled, in fact.
I like that fact that we can keep learning and changing throughout life.
This 30 day thing intrigues me, especially since I have had some issues that have been getting me down lately. Good going all around for you!
Posted by: Penny | September 06, 2012 at 10:08 PM
I'm interested in the 30 day thing, too. I joined WW in 2/12, lost 10# quickly and NO MORE. it seems that gruntle could be some sort of pastry - I'd like 2 of the cherry gruntle and one cinnamon. Good for you!
Posted by: Pat Fisher | September 07, 2012 at 03:19 AM
You looked up; you stood up; you STEPPED OUT - you're shining from within!
Posted by: Jane Nearing | September 07, 2012 at 05:44 AM
Congratulations on the Whole 30 - didn't know you were doing it. So impressive! Glad it felt good.
Posted by: Therese | September 07, 2012 at 12:40 PM
To go along with my "universal energy" comment from your previous post (I've sworn off computers for awhile), if one is changing "inside", the body soon says it needs to catch up. As the inside gets lighter, my body tends to feel even more sluggish. Two new puppies are helping me get back to walking and being more active; hasn't taken much to notice a difference. You are always an inspiration; thanks for sharing the non-knitting stuff, also.
Posted by: Deb Tanner | September 07, 2012 at 02:56 PM
gruntled is a real word, it means content. however, as a stand alone word it just sounds grumpy to me lol
Posted by: tori sand | September 07, 2012 at 05:04 PM
Hurray on all counts!
Posted by: Sandra D | September 08, 2012 at 11:16 AM
Congratulations, Janine! I haven't been strict -- I feel like I'm on the "all-but" Whole30 -- I've all but given up dairy, sugar, grain -- but I've been pretty diligent and even in my all-but manner, I have noticed HUGE differences in my body! Chronic edema and systemic inflammation are "all but" gone, which means things like carpal tunnel problems are also greatly diminished or gone, and overall flexibility increased, heartburn is completely gone! Last time I stepped on the scale, I'd lost close to 10 pounds and that was a week ago... I'm sure it's more. Weight loss is certainly a goal, but it is not THE goal, and I also feel that it's something I can do for much longer. I was at WI Sheep & Wool for the past 3 days and, as you may know, fair/festival food isn't always the greatest, but I even managed there to eat pretty well (minus the fresh veggie component) -- sometimes you've just gotta do what you can.
Yay you!! You are an inspiration. ;)
Posted by: Vicki | September 10, 2012 at 08:12 AM
That's amazing! I love the concept of stripping potentially "bad" or "bad-making" things out of one's diet. I have been too cowardly to try it...yet. Perhaps I might try a modified Whole30 after pregnancy.
Posted by: Thalia | September 11, 2012 at 07:27 AM
Love to hear about the Whole 30. I have been following Kathy Abascal's TQI Diet. The basic premise to eat so MANY more fruits and vegetables that I have for the past 52 years. She has a 3 week
elimination period - if you put your mind to it 3 weeks or 30 days is not that long to try something out. Especially if you find that you are feeling better and feel like this could be a way of life and not just another diet. Congrats! Your blog is looking great.
Posted by: Beth | September 17, 2012 at 02:00 PM