2012, here I come!

Posted on January 02, 2012 by knittingpatterns4you | 0 Comments

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="stockinette Madelinetosh from an upcoming design"][/caption]

Things have been hectic the last couple of weeks as I've settled down into freelancing full time and have been trying to work out what exactly that means. I think I may have figured it out, but part of figuring this stuff out is knowing that when you're working for yourself, things can and do change constantly!

One of the best parts of freelancing is getting to do random things during regular working hours that I wouldn't be able to if I had a full-time job. Last month I attended a hackathon (which is when people get together to work on coding projects together during a marathon session lasting anywhere from a few hours to several days straight) that took place in the middle of the day on a Thursday, and the team I was on took third place! It was super fun, I made some great contacts, and I think I learned a bit too. In 2012, I want to do way more of that type of thing, as well as schedule time to exercise and write patterns and submit designs.

In an effort to figure out what things I should spend time on, I've been working on a resolution/goal list and wanted to post it here to not only share with you but also to keep myself accountable. Here's what I have so far:

  • weight train at least 3x a week
  • run a 10K with no walking at all
  • self-publish 2 or more patterns a month
  • submit designs to at least 5 publications/issues
  • go to every hackathon I can
  • go back to cooking a lot
  • take better care of my skin

That last one probably seems random in there, but for the last few weeks I've been getting tons of breakouts . . . and I started noticing tiny wrinkles about 2 years ago. My skin is pretty sensitive and I really suck at being responsible about it, so I'm making it a priority this year. I already started in with a new routine which will probably evolve, but so far seems to be working better than "just do whatever I feel like it" which is what I was doing before.

Speaking of which, it's random product review time!

I just started using the Neutrogena Wave gadget and so far, I really like it! I had considered buying one of those brushes you see everywhere but I not only didn't want to shell out for it, I was also afraid that it would irritate my skin.

When I bought the Wave I thought it was sort of like a junior version of a brush, but it turns out it's really not. The Wave isn't meant to exfoliate, just clean. The little gizmo vibrates while you wash your face, which apparently makes the soap go down into your pores and get all the gunk out. I wasn't really sure I was buying the pitch, but after using it just once I was sold!

My skin felt cleaner than I could ever expect, and it wasn't red or irritated at all. The Wave left my whole face with a healthy "glow" that's hard to describe, but is really really satisfying to see in the mirror. The tighter, tingly feeling is like what my skin feels like after using a scrub, but without the sort of raw/delicate feeling that a scrub leaves me with.

I'm going to keep washing my face with this thing until I run out of the 2-week supply of pads it came with, and will report back with what I find after prolonged use!

In the meantime, back to working on this pattern . . . I can't wait to show you guys what I've been working on!

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