new year, new you, right?

handspun striped scarf, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Yes, New Year's day has come and gone. But I'm still working on my resolutions. In part, I really wanted to finish up some languishing UFO's in my knitting basket, like the one pictured above. Started on Nov 8, this got pushed aside for Christmas knitting when it was 3/4 of the way done. It's another Noro Striped Scarf, without the Noro, of course. Instead I used Malabrigo Worsted (in Lettuce) and a handspun from gnome garden, who doesn't appear to be selling in her etsy shop anymore, although there is some available at my fave lys. I made a change to accommodate for the fact that the yarns (especially the handspun) were a bit thicker, casting on only 35 stitches, instead of 39.

Ok, so, resolutions. Like most people I want to eat better and work out more. But not really for my waistline so much as my health. I'm not what anyone would consider overweight, but I've felt pretty crappy for almost a year now, starting more or less last March when I was abroad for a semester. Yesterday I was killing a few extra minutes waiting for the bus in a book store and bought Food Rules: An Eater's Manual. It's not a diet, or a recipe book. Just a few rules to follow if you want to eat healthier. I'd really like to get a CSA share this summer, but it always seems to boil down to not knowing where I'll be / traveling too much.

Anyway, the point of the book (although the little entries about the 60-some-odd rules are also enlightening and interesting) is this: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants". Simple, right? And yet I fail, a lot, especially on the mostly plants bit. (And sometimes the not too much bit, but that's easier to fix. Actually, I also fail on the eat food part too, sometimes... if you take into consideration what is food and what is just "edible food-like substance" according to the author's definitions.) I'm not going to give up meat, but I am going to learn how to cook more like a vegetarian.

If anyone has some easy, delicious veggie options they'd like to share, I'd love to hear from you!