Daisy Yellow No-Frill's Prompt #14: Symmetry - Room to read

reading room, originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

In response to Tammy's Friday No Frills prompt #14, Symmetry, this is our freshly repainted living room. We've had the entire week off for the kid's Reading Week, and used it for various home improvement tasks such as cleaning out the basement storage room and reconfiguring our living room, including new bookshelves.

I'm sure few rooms in anybody's home allow for a symmetrical configuration of any piece of furniture, really, it's just coincidence that these two particular bookshelves will end up standing like soldiers flanking the sofa that will fit between them. Symmetrical or not, though, this gives us a comfy place to sit and read and enjoy the sun, while the winter wind continues to blow the snow in drifts outside.

Daisy Yellow Friday no-frills prompt #12: Measure

I get to cover two topics at once with this post: it's an interpretation of Tammy's No-frills prompt #12 at Daisy Yellow, Measure, and also partial explanation of why I've done minimal knitting and creative output. I wrote earlier this year in my Honest Scrap that I was in the midst of a MSc in exercise science, yet experiencing the bitter irony of gaining weight and losing fitness as a result of a graduate student lifestyle, particularly one juggled with family life and exacerbated by a chronic knee injury that forced me to cut back on activity.

By the time I handed in my thesis last November, I was heavier than I'd been in my adult life without actually being pregnant or having just had a baby. However, I was fairly philosophic about it - I figured that writing a thesis was not  unlike gestation and delivery, really. But one still has to do something about that post-partum graduate degree weight - and that does take some time, effort, and energy.


Daisy Yellow Friday no-frills prompt: Measure, originally uploaded by Sophie_vf.

Part of the key to tackling this, like it or not, is measurement, in some way or another. I really dislike being overly attached to either scale weight or absolute body size, though both the scale and measuring tape can be useful tools for evaluating progress - I just think it's important to make sure that they are servants rather than masters. I much prefer a process oriented approach - time spent in activity, intensity of effort, weight lifted - things that can support the development of long term, sustainable habits that become part of a healthy lifestyle.

I also don't love having to measure food, but at least in the early stages, it can be a good reality check that leads to more mindful eating habits. The mosaic above is a composite of the different measuring tools I used - my son was a good sport and was my model, to spare you all a picture of my own belly - and in fact I never used a measuring tape at all - if I have to pay attention to that particular parameter, I'd rather just use my clothes. Picture is clickable to Flickr pics with more explanation, if needed.