Another New Year

Happy New Year everyone. I hope you had a great and relaxing holiday. I had the week off work and it really was a great break. I barely thought about it at all - and that's a rarity for me! I barely left my house, or my parents, so that added to my cottage-like life. And not because of the weather: I read my entries for last January, and found it so strange that i talked about snow. A lot of snow, at that. One thing about this past Christmas is that there wasn't any snow. Not even a drop. Made it a bit hard to feel festive, but i found ways to manage.
I'm happy to say that i'm just about done my knitting commitments and that's great. I knit my mom this great stole for her birthday (Jan 1st baby). I used a pattern from Knitty, and i didn't entirely get it, mainly because i couldn't always focus on the details. So i improvised and added my own pattern. It turned out lovely and suits her great. Instead of repeated the 2x3 pattern as suggested, i repeated the pattern from rows 1-16 3 times. I think it looked lovely this way and was easy to follow.
We also had a great New Year's Eve. We had friends over for dinner and dessert (i will post my pictures of and recipes next time) and then dressed up for a murder mystery party at another friend's home. It was so much fun and took the whole night to play. The story was set in the 1940's, in Casablanca, and a French mime had just been murdered. I was a Russian aristocrat woman in exile. I had to wear fur, but of course, that's never going to happen, but i have this great vintage faux fur coat so i wore that. And, just to add to my character, i drank Black Russians all night ( a bit too much, if you know what i mean!).

I'm thinking about what this new year will bring me and what i want to contribute to it. One year ago, i started at this great job that i love and am so happy to have. But, working as a counsellor for abused women can be draining, and i'm trying to fund something to balance it with. Of course, my crafts come in handy, but something more substantial. Something that gets me out of the house and active.

So, one idea i have is to look into becoming a doula. With 6 friends having babies this year, i learned a lot about newborns, struggles the parents have, and the overall life-altering shift that comes out of this. It broke my heart to hear their frustrations with the system of childbirth, as well as the overall lack of support and information available to them. While i'm not a mom myself, i've spent years working with children as well as a counsellor. So, one commitment to myself is to see what it takes to become a doula; take a course, read more about labour and babies, etc.
Another commitment to myself is to look into my transportation. My beloved car, Edna Zuki (named after my favourite poet and car type) has died. She has gone to car heaven. I've had her since high school and she was both my lifeline and constant support. Now that she is gone, we're looking into our options, similar to what Mishka shared a while ago. We would love to buy a car, but alas a hybrid (car of choice) is out of our price range, and i don't know too much about cars in general. So, we're also looking into joining AutoShare but need to see if this is a worth-while option. I do like the idea of being car-less, and just biking or taking transit everywhere. But i know i will struggle at times because how can one go from having a car since the age of 17 to no car at all?

The last commitment to myself is somewhat related to the previous one: I need to exercise! I need to get out of the house and meet new people! I need to work up a sweat so i can fit into all my pants again. I got Dance Dance Revolution and some money to join a dance class, so i think i'm off to a good start. But, i have to do it. I've been saying i will for too long. Walking home from the bus stop is one thing, but actually taking care of my body is another.

Whew, i'm tired already with my commitment list!