Not Dieting and an FO

Lately I've been researching and starting to put my hands and feet where my mouth is (more like where my brain is...I don't really talk about this stuff much, but it's been niggling the back of my mind for a long time) and simplify my ways of living, and start being conscientious about what my money supports (fair trade? sweat shops? local business and farms? the environment?) in terms of regular living (produce, groceries, cleaning supplies, clothes, amenities, etc), stuff I waste (electricity, plastic bags, paper packaging) and so on.

One natural outcome of this has been that it's encouraged me to be more resolute in eating healthier as well. If you are trying to eat organic, locally grown, and bulk foods, it's going to be a lot easier if you're eating healthier!

Honestly, I feel more FREE not worrying about tracking points, or counting calories, or specifically limiting certain foods, or whatever. I don't want to diet the rest of my life...I just want to be HEALTHIER, even if it means not losing weight as fast (although I have started losing weight again! Yay!). I don't want to be scared, or feel guilty about, eating something I enjoy either (like CHOCOLATE!). But when I'm generally eating healthier, I do notice I don't crave junk as much.

Anyway, Crazy Aunt Purl Posted today about this same subject of "Not Dieting" and I just love this quote. It put into words what I've been feeling lately:

"Sometimes it feels INSANE to trust myself enough to pick out my own foods without a diet telling me how. It feels CRAZY to let loose and give up dieting forever and just eat whole, nutritious food and once in a blue moon have a piece of warm sourdough bread straight from the oven."

Yay for not dieting! And for being healthy!

Lastly, I have an FO! Yippee Skippee! I haven't really worked on anything since I finished this Sunday, but I'm almost done with the crocheted bag. Only the last couple inches on the handle and doing the finishing and I can add that one to the FOs.

I made up this pattern as I went, and I like how it looks and how nubbly it is for scrubbing. I plan on making more for various cleaning purposes (I might crochet rather than knit, though) and also create some other house and body cleaning tools (I'm thinking of trying to make a cotton version of a shower poof). What I like about these things is that they are both reusable and WASHABLE, so they are more likely to be sanitary and also more likely to last longer.

So, here's my little dish washcloth: