jessjlowther

03/20/2026

09/22/2025

09/09/2025

Loving making these! Sunrise Table Set pattern is quick and fun. Crochet Academy has taught me some new things and tuned up some others. Ready to tackle the Gloria Tote Bag now!

08/22/2025

Today's swatch for the 2025 Crochet Academy class... backdropped by the Hudson Tassel Throw I am working on. That pattern is in The Tunisian Crochet Handbook by Toni Lipsey.

10/02/2024

“You get to decide where your time goes. You can either spend it moving forward, or you can spend it putting out fires, you decide." - Tony Morgan
The next level or category of time is Investment time. ⏰ This is time spent focused on becoming more effective or efficient, learning something new, developing a new skill, doing a project, creating systems – anything that gives you back more time, knowledge, experience, and ultimately success in the long-run. Even exercise and planning and prepping healthy meals can be considered investment time because they are providing you and your family with good health in return. 👏
Basically, investment time is anything you do that will improve you as a person – physically, mentally, emotionally or professionally. These are activities that lead you to a more successful life and higher performance and satisfaction in all areas. Obviously, we would want to increase the amount of time we spend on investment. This requires prioritizing, organizing and keeping a schedule. Don’t worry, these are all things we’ll talk more about this month! 👌

For right now, all you need to do is evaluate your investment time.
How much time are you spending investing in yourself?
Do you spend time learning, growing, and working to be better?
What do you want to learn or do more of to improve yourself?
Where and how can you create more investment time?
Make a list of things you would like to do to invest in yourself. Write it down! ✍🏼 You will need it for later so you can properly prioritize and maximize that precious time!

10/01/2024

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot." - Micheal Altshuler

It’s time to get going! 😉 Let’s kick things off by getting a good perspective on our time. We all have the same hours in a day, but how we spend them is entirely different. And not all time is spent equally. So, we are starting with How To View The True Value Of Time. ⌚️Because to manage your time better, you first need to identify and understand how you’re currently spending your time.

First off, what is time management? 🤔 Simply put, it is the “process of planning and being deliberate with how you spend your time.” The key here is being deliberate. How we spend every hour, minute, even second is a choice. If you are not the one deciding it, then someone or something else will.
I want to start the month with the perspective of the 4 Levels of TIME. It’s a way to categorize how we spend our time. This will help set you up with the right mindset from the beginning, and keep it in your mind as we go through more specifics on how to implement this system throughout the month!
The TIME acronym stands for:
1️⃣ Treasured
2️⃣ Investment
3️⃣ Mandatory
4️⃣ Empty

Today we’re starting with T for Treasured time. This is time that you hold dear – the time that you want more of and look forward to having. This is personal and subjective, but it can include things like time with family and friends, vacation and relaxing, alone time, hobbies, activities, entertainment, community involvement, etc.

The goal is to take some treasured time right now, and work on creating more of it in the future. How do you do that? By managing your time in the other three categories more effectively! Unfortunately, treasured time seems to always be the leftovers. We take it if there’s any time left. And yet it is the time that we all enjoy most! 😢 The most fulfilling, rejuvenating and joyful moments of life should not be left up to chance. So, let’s start taking charge!

09/30/2024

“The end of one thing is just the beginning of another.” – Simon Elkeles

You did it! 🥳 You have put in the work and made it through the entire month! I hope you are feeling fully functional and fit. 💪 This month definitely was a lot to take in and learn about your own body. But now you have the information and resources you need to continue taking care of your body to the fullest.

Now it’s time to reflect and celebrate! 🎉 Take a few minutes today to think back on the entire month, where you started and what you knew about your body and health, your level of fit and function, versus today.

✨ What were your biggest struggles or pain points when you started?
✨ What new habit or change made the biggest difference for you?
✨ What differences have you felt in how your body functions?
✨ How has your level of fitness changed?
✨ What was the most valuable thing you learned this month?
✨ Any other changes or results you've noticed?

Remember to think about everything in regards to your health and fitness when it comes to changes and results – sleep quality, bloating or digestive issues, energy, strength, puffiness, aches and pains, stiffness or mobility, headaches, focus, mood, cravings and appetite. If there is anything you have learned this month, it’s that health is not all about a number on the scale! 👌

09/29/2024

Meal-Prep Recipe of the Week:

Mushroom Potato Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb mixed mushrooms (such as cremini, button, and shiitake), sliced
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup canned coconut milk
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
sea salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley, chopped for garnish

Directions:

1.) In a large pot, heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook until they release their moisture and become golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the pot and set aside.
2.) In the same pot, add the remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute.
3.) Add the diced potatoes, dried thyme, dried rosemary, and bay leaf to the pot. Stir to combine and cook for 2-3 minutes.
4.) Pour in the vegetable broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
5.) Remove the bay leaf and use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Alternatively, transfer the soup in batches to a blender and blend until smooth. Return the soup to the pot if using a blender.
6.) Stir in the coconut milk, nutritional yeast (if using), and the sautéed mushrooms. Heat through for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7.) Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.