January Cross Stitch Finish

I'm pretty jazzed about this cross stitch I made in January.  It's Lizzie Kate's "To Do List." 

I'm usually not a big fan of the simplistic primitive style cross stitches, but the words in this design really spoke to me. 

This year instead of making a resolution I chose a focus word.  My word was BREATHE.

Sometimes I get so caught up in the day to day minutia of life. I find I need to take a deep breath to bring me back to the present.  I also get preoccupied with the things I can't control.  Again, I need to take a deep breath and just let those worries go.

In a completely different vein, the word breathe also ties into the one goal I set for myself this year.  I want to run a mile without stopping. This is something I've NEVER been able to do, not even as a kid.  I'd get half or a quarter of the way through and feel like my lungs were being mashed into a trash compactor.  My mom even had me tested for Asthma.  (The dr said I was just lazy and it was all in my head.  ::insert eye roll here:: ) It seems like such a silly goal, particularly when my husband is planning on running a marathon.  But, for me, this is a tough, but attainable goal, just like the marathon is for him.  I'll probably be as proud of myself for running a mile as I will be for him running a marathon.

Now for the stitchy details.  The fabric is a piece of tea dyed, cream 18 ct aida.  I think I'm really getting the hang of the tea dying thing.  I got lots of splotchy light and dark bits this time.  I like the aged look it gives to the stitched design.   I also changed up the thread, using what I had in my stash. I'm really digging how there was just enough room for the year under the wavy hump of the word breathe.  It seems like it's just another little reminder that this is what I want to focus on for 2014.