These past few months have been crazy. I am stepping into a new area of life where I am asked to make important decisions and take on larger responsibilities. It’s new and exciting and frightening, all at the same time.
But I’m not too scared. God’s holding me and whispering to me through it all.
Near the end of February, I made a progression in the belt system of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. My coaches said I was ready and so it happened. I am so excited to have earned my blue-belt!
I try to train as much as I can. 5 days a week even, for 1 hour and 1/2 each day. (crazy I know) It is a year round sport so I have the option to do it all the time, which is great because consistency is what makes you better.
I am also excited to compete in the blue-belt women’s division this April for a tournament. I will be competing against tougher women which means I will have to work harder but I am looking forward to it.
Tournament training is my favorite type of training. Stand up matches, take downs, hard rolling, etc. I love the workout and learning different moves that I can add to my arsenal.
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu has really spiced up my life and I am so blessed to have amazing coaches who really pay attention to me and give me advice. I probably wouldn’t have stuck with jiu-jitsu if my coaches weren’t so amazing.
Aside from jiu-jitsu, I am finding time to wash, card, and spin wool, felt little animals, and write.
My novel editing is on hold unfortunately. I just have a lot on my plate so I decided to work on the art for two of my children’s books instead. (Don’t worry, it will be done eventually)
Spring is upon Alaska now. I mean, we still have gobs of snow but there are seedlings coming up under the grow lights in my house and the baby tomato plants are beginning to get fuzzy stalks. The air is warmer outside too. The honey bees in our hive are even alive to my surprise.
Here are some random farm photos I took this past week. The snow is melting so my ducks are out and about wading in the puddles. Atticus, my family’s maremma sheepdog, keeps watch over them while basking in the sun.
We let the chickens out to scratch in the compost so their house could air out. They enjoyed it very much.
Here is an update on my winter bucket list:
Go ice skating on a lake- Finish knitting a pair of socks
Finish knitting my shawl- Finish editing my fantasy novel (ha ha, ya. I only wish)
Make pumpkin pieWatercolor 50 cardsRead 5 thick (400 page at least) books- Plan and draw my future garden
- Plan and draw my future house
- Design and draw a fantasy creature coloring book (I am painting book art now so this is on hold)
Make a snowmanGo sledding 10+ times- Sew a rag quilt
- Fill a jar with inspirational quotes (see the post A Fantasy Writer’s Christmas Gift Guide )
Get at least 10 triangles in Brazilian Jiu-jitsuLearn 2 fiddle songs on the violin- Memorize Ephesian 6: 10-17 (I need to keep working on this one)
- Memorize Henry Purcell’s ABDELAZER SUITE (The moor’s revenge) all 7 movements (I have 5 movements pretty much memorized. I know the sixth movement but it isn’t memorized quite yet)
That’s all for now. I have loads of school, papers to write, jiu-jitsu to train, and baroque period music to learn. Hopefully I can get back into blogging this month.
-Farmgirl
