Shawl Mania Subsides.

Since I can't blog about my kids anymore, w00t w00t for the space for knitting content, huh?
So I've been enthralled with shawls again all season. I started three prayer shawls for friends, two of which have been delivered and one of which is still a WIP. It's been really fun and I hate to love using homespun, which is just SOOOOOOo tasty and so annoying that it is because of it's oh so icky content. But whatever, I think I just feel pressured to disdain acrylic yarns because I'm supposed to, but I'm unapologetic about homespun. It's just such a staple for me. I can't get enough of it, no matter how hard I try and no matter how many freaking skeins of it I have lying around!

My other shawl projects have been centered around Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls. I've Cast On for about half of them, but I keep getting distracted. I'm half way through the Sarah Blanche, which I've dubbed the "Grandmother shawl" on my Ravelry notebook because it's her grandmother reminder and I'm now making one for my own grandmother. She's had a stroke and has recently been placed in a nursing home, which is a miserable shame. If you knew the woman, you'd know the terrific impact she has had on my life, and particularly on my knitting, so I want to honor her with a really nice project that will uplift her. I'm praying through it for her and I've especially chosen to use discontinued KnitPicks Memories in redwood for it, which will remind her of another project we once worked on together. I'm excited to send it to her!

But even in the Winter Shawl Madness, I've been rediscovering the pleasure of socks, and learning some interesting toe up techniques as well as some varying ways to knit them. Nothing I'm supremely proud of yet but I'm getting there, I think. I'm also desperately wanting to continue some of the sweaters I started in the fall--- and my good friend Lissalue has me convinced to start making some awesome scarves as headcoverings!

I've been spending quite a bit of time on Darla Shine's Happy Housewives Forums. It's an incredible place-- a goldmine of awesome housewife advice, and I've been shocked and pleased to find in there a lot of women who are blissfully honest about their struggles in learning how to be biblically submissive housewives! It's a beautiful thing and gives me hope for America's future!

I've discovered a new church that I'm in love with-- Mark fox's Antioch Community Church in Elan, NC. Check them out and listen to some sermons, I think they will blow your minds. Google it. I'm lazy tonight.

The weight loss is going really well. I went from 163 post-baby to 142 in four weeks on a SUPER low carb, high protein bodybuilder's diet and with pretty minimal, but regular, exercise. My goal is 120, so keep praying for me! I want to say, this whole weight thing has been really crazy. I was never super skinny, but I didn't weigh much. I had curves, you know? But I certainly wasn't fat. However, having babies really destroyed my body, and that's just something I have to live with. I'ts incredibly embarrassing going back to California and seeing friends, especially old boyfriends, and I know they're going "dang, she really blew up!" to be fair, I did, but I didn't overeat and I didn't stop exercising, I just had a baby and my body freaked out. It seems totally rotten that that happens to some of us--- especially when we see women out there who just popped a kid out and went right back to their size six jeans!!! I literally want to slap women like that, and yet--- it's not their fault either! These things just happen, and we have to deal with them as they come. Anyways, so tonight I splurged on my first high carb meal in weeks--- I got a huge pizza and cheesy bread, and drank tons of soda. And you know what? It sounded SOOOOO good, but now I'm bloated and feel like garbage and it wasn't even that good at all!! I think I'm just getting used to not having greasy carbs.

Well, it's late and I've got to nurse the baby and then settle down for some God talk-- Wayne and I have some major decision making to do in the next few weeks and it has the potential to completely alter our lives and our dreams and our vision for this family.