Still Fluffy

The fluffy thing is lasting longer than I thought it would.  I shouldn't complain though.  I've only been to the gym a handful of times in the past few months, so I haven't actually been doing anything about.

Or rather, not much.  I stopped eating like a glutton, which also helped my wallet.  But now when I step on the scale at the rare occasion I am at the gym, I find it very hard to swallow the number it shows me.  It is NOT, however, that hard to realize daily that my pants are too tight and I cannot afford a new wardrobe.

The ironic thing here, is that I cannot afford a new wardrobe, not because I do not make enough money to support myself, but rather because I've already spent several years worth of spending money on my credit cards.

...On clothing appropriate for exercising.





I guess I should fix one of those two problems, that of proper fit and fitness, by utilizing that which also makes me broke.


Yes?  Yes!  Good idea I say to myself.




So to get rid of some extreme frustration at work I went running last night.  It felt good.  And by good I mean horrible and slow and disappointing.  The happy news is that I'm sore from it today, but my knee doesn't hurt (old injury, ITB) and I know I can do better next time.

I'm calling this an auspicious beginning.  I am in the absolute worst shape of my life at this point, I am also the heaviest I've been since highschool, and I know I can change all that.  I remember very well what it feels like to be fit, and am very much looking forward to feeling like super girl again.


Wish me luck, and if you're so minded, pray for me.  I'll need all the motivation I can muster.  Ciao.

I'm getting fluffy

I can't remember the comedian's name, but he's a big guy, latino, and his catch phrase is that he's not fat, he's fluffy.

I discovered (or rather, finally admitted) that I'm getting rather fluffy. After showering yesterday I noticed a little pad of fluffiness on my back that has never been there before. Right over my tail bone. I suppose this means I've finally outgrown my teen and young adult metabolism, and cannot, in fact, eat whatever I want without exercising it off and expect to remain slim.

It's a beautiful night, and I have new tunes. I'm skipping my daily dose of fiber to take a long fast walk. We'll see how long this fluffy thing lasts.

Very Sporadic

Turns out I'm not much on the blogging. I signed in to Ravelry for the first time in...months? A year? Addictive site! Going on vacation next week and had to line up a few projects to take with me.

I plan on bringing the peach colored Malabrigo laceweight with me and pick up on the meandering vines scarf I started. Possibly one or two other smallish portable projects as well. Perhaps my first Clapotis?

Smell of Fall

*breathes deep* Ahh. That delightfully chill fall smell. Makes me want to knit!

And with a plethora of books on CD (now on my zune) and a holiday weekend (sans BF, *sigh*) I guess I have plenty of time.

Throw on some french press coffee and bring on the yarn!

In recent news, I bought some yarn a Fiber Space a few months back, and a book from their neighboring store (can't remember its name) and started knitting some leggings. I actually did a gauge swatch and decided to use the size needles the pattern called for. And found that I was getting "ladders" for the first time in my knitting life. UGH! Ripped back, and went down a few needle sizes into actual sock yarn needles. Still, the ladders, noticeable and ugly. So I ripped back again yesterday and started up again with more stitches in the count and size 000 DPN's. No ladders, yay!

And to use Genie's (from Aladdin) tone, iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitty bitty stiches.

I think I'll pick up on some big knitting now. So where did I stash mom's sweater... *goes a-hunting*

Blisters

Okay, this might sound silly, but I don't get to knit much. I bring a project with me just about everywhere, but there just doesn't seem to be time to pull it out and work on it. Even at home. Right now I'm simultaneously making soup/stew, doing laundry, downloading new podcasts, and washing dishes after typing this up. I need my hands fo all of those activities, so they don't get to knit. And this is a weekend. I haven't even started on cleaning the bathrooms, doing the dishes after I'm done with my soup/stew, and picking up the messes left from the past week.

I'll probably be done with all of this just about the time when my boyfriend gets home from work, and then it will be social time. Not that I begrudge the social time.

Anyway, I started writing this post because, with all the time that I spend NOT knitting, I tend to overdo it when I can take time to knit. Yesterday I knit for an hour or so while I had my front brade rotors and pads replaced, a rear brake drum service, and oil change at my local shop. And now...I have a blister on my left pointer finger where I tend to rest the tip of my sock needle. Painful little bugger, and it means I shouldn't knit. Woe is me ;) ...I'll try a bandaid.

Cheers.

little knitter

My emergency babysitting (kid watching really) yeilded an unexpected result. Samantha, "almost 9", knit three rows on the blanket I'm making for her new little sister Alex. Two purl rows, and one knit row, only breaking long enough for me to do the border stitching. 3 rows! And I'm not even going to rip out and re-do! What's more, I forgot to mark them before I continued and now I can't tell where she worked versus my work.

So now Sam can tell Alex she helped knit her blanket..

What's more... Sam doesn't have any distaste for the purl stitch versus the knit stitch, and in fact, says it's easier. *giggle*

Had to share.

My First Experience with "Yarn Fumes"

I think I had my first experience with "yarn fumes" over the weekend. I was in my LYS, looking around, not planning to buy anything, so I checked out the pattern books and leaflettes. Rarely do I buy a pattern book because I wouldn't make or even like at least 75% of the stuff they contain. But this book was a lot of stuff that I DO like, and would LIKE to make!

So I picked up the book. $20 was do-able. Besides, it wasn't like I was buying yarn. So I set the book down on a table to flip through it again, admiring one particular pattern, and I thought...maybe I'd better look for the yarn it calls for, I might have something in a similar weight in my stash.

I think that's when I should have put the book down and RAN from the store...the yarn fumes were starting to make everything feel like a good idea. Oh yes, of course I'll pick up that ball, I don't have any cotton blends at home after all, maybe I'll just compare it to these other cotton blends... Nope, didn't find anything I like that's the right weight, I'll just put it back. OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS OTHER COLORWAY!!!

Did you detect the moment where I should have recognized a full blown yarn fume high?

I purchased the book, and the yarn, exercised the tinsiest bit of restraint and did not buy a button to put on it when I finish. And then earlier this week I took a look at my credit card statement and wondered what the heck I was thinking.

The good news (for my knitterly soul, not so much for my wallet...) is that the book AND yarn were both on sale this month at 30% off. And my LYS doesn't give refunds, just store credit. Well now, I've already started knitting this bolero I'd planned during my fume high, and since I can only exchange there's no reason to feel guilty anymore about keeping the yarn... I'll get my bolero and wear it too!

I hope. With my extreme case of startitis, project ADD, and perfectionist trends who knows if I'll ever finish it. But it's such a lovely yarn, and I really could use the article of clothing I hope it turns out to be that I should make a more solid attempt to finish this one.

We'll see. I'll keep you updated. ;)