Ten on Tuesday, on Friday

I stumbled upon this great little community of knitters and bloggers. Since I'm new to blogging and I really need some inspiration, I decided I would join in on the Ten on Tuesday, albeit Friday. However, the Ten are new year's intentions and seeing how it is new year's eve, I thought it would be ok. My inspiration comes from Carole Knits via PoMo Golightly.
So here is my ten:
1. Project 333: Pick out 33 items to make up my wardrobe for the next 3 months. I've been completely in love with quite a number of minimalist blogs lately (more on that in another post) and this is a way to get really involved in a more structured, committed way. Read more about Project 333 here. And many, many thanks to Courtney Carver for creating and sharing this fun project.
2. Get out of credit card debt once and for all this year. I have two credit cards, one on schedule to be paid completely off in March 2011 and the other in November 2011. It isn't going to be easy but I know that we can do it. We have a pretty decent emergency fund at this point so we shouldn't need to use the cards for anything. Many, many thanks to Jason at FrugalDad for all of his inspiration and thoughtful blogging.
3. Related to this, my intention is to save for things that I really want instead of just buying it.
4. Walk 1000 miles: I want to find ways to live the quote "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Lao-tzu (604BC-531BC). I know that this means more than actually walking 1000 miles, and while I want to apply the intention of this quote in many ways this year (such as starting to actually blog), I also want to embody it by actually walking 1000 miles between now and January 1, 2012. It's just under 3 miles a day, everyday.
5. Eat more simple, whole, locally sourced foods and plan my family's meals.
6. Meditate at least 20 minutes a day.
7. Blog. I want to join this global conversation!
8. Have more celebrations. My husband and I bought an at-a-glance year calendar and we've sketched out some dinner parties on a regular basis. I have amazing people in my life and it is hard to find the time to get together. This year, I'd like to be more intentional about it.
9. Continue to simplify. I'd like to continue to give a lot of my stuff away and not accumulate more of it.
10. Take my knitting to the next level. Last year I learned to knit. What a wonderful hobby! I love it. So far I've made many hats, scarves, a pair of mittens, a cowl, and a wrap. I'd like to tackle a sweater.

Happy New Year!

Peace is not ...

A favorite little story:


There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.

But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest - in perfect peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?

"Because," explained the king, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."

--- Author Unknown

Project 333

I can't get enough of these minimalist blogs (tee hee). I'm up for the challenge of Project 333. Here is my working list of clothes:
 Necklace
 Brown Down Winter Coat
 Green mittens
 Scarf ?
 Black boots (Uggs)
 Black Dansko clogs
 Black Dansko Mary Janes
 Red Heels (to be bought)
 Gray pinstripe pants
 Light gray pants
 Black pants (need hemming)
 Charcoal flannel jeans
 Dark brown cords (needs hemming)
Light jeans
Jean skirt
Red pashima
Cream cowl sweater
Purple sweater
Green sweater
Gray sweater
Black wool sweater
Black wool cardigan
Brown sweater vest
Thin black cardigan
Black cardigan, thick with zipper
Gray thin cardigan
 Gray 3/4 sleeve tee
 Black 3/4 sleeve tee
 Silk long sleeve black tee/sweater
Green 3/4 sleeve tee
White long sleeve tee
White short sleeve tee
Blue stripe button down
Pink long sleeve shirt with lace arms
White button down (to be bought)