I had a really weird experience today, similar to a living stream of consciousness exercise (those'll drive you crazy if you think about them too much, fyi). I got into work this morning, took the cereal cup (breakfast) and banana (morning snack) out of my lunch bag and put the rest of my food into the fridge. And as per usual, my poor banana was stamped and branded all over with marks from the containers & other things in my bag.
I really hate bruised bananas. I know there's nothing wrong with them, I just don't like the bruised parts and wind up eating around them. I KNOW! I'm a freak. Anyway. So there I am contemplating my banana and wishing there was a banana container out there that I could safely transport my banana in every day to prevent bruising. I even designed one in my head, plastic, easy to open, sorta bent but long enough to accomodate a range of banana sizes. Then my phone rang and that was that (yes, I did eat most of the banana later on).
The events that follow are TRUE, FACTUAL, and happened as entirely randomly as I describe:
AT lunch I'm checking email and I come across a headline regarding diet no-no foods that really are good for you. Surprisingly Yummy Foods It sounded interesting, so of course I clicked the link.
Low and behold, way down the list is Bananas! I mentally pat myself on the back at what a good, nutritious job I'm doing with myself and absent-mindedly follow a link in the paragraph about phallic fruit. RANDOM!. It brings me to a blog post on another site about - no lie - A BANANA GUARD! Someone invented it! Of course it's ridiculous and hilarious but OMG, there it is! Blog Post.
It wasn't enough for me to just know it existed, so I checked out the manufacturer, which is found obviously enough, at bananaguard.com.
I find it odd, and more than a little disconcerting, that most of the US distributors seem to be bicycle/motorcycle store, but I'll get over it. For 6 bucks, I want one!!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Behaving Badly
Well...not too badly. We spent the weekend out of town, and the weekend before that doing wedding stuff - so my 'diet', as it were, has not been going so well. Technically speaking, I'm not on a diet - I'm making lifestyle changes that will hopefully allow me to lose weight, get healthy, and stay that way. However, I am making a definite effort to cut out the crap as much as possible, eat regular, small meals & snacks with an emphasis on vegetables, fruits, and lean protein, and stay away from processed foods. It was working out pretty good too. Of course, when we go out, I have very little control over what there is to eat, which is why I am stressing less than I would have if I were on an actual diet.
The bad behavior is when we got back from our trip. I really should have gotten on the bike & the Bowflex the last two days, but I was lazy & didn't. This morning I almost skipped getting on the scale because I felt so bad. The bad news? No weight loss prgress at all for 2 weeks. The good news? No backsliding either! I've stayed at the same weight, so while I'm on a little plateau, that's ok. I just have to get back on the proverbial horse and do what I was doing.
The temperature is killer though. I can't wait until we get the garage doors done - hopefully the insulation will keep the garage a little cooler through the summer.
In other news - on the drive out of town this weekend I started a second version of the shrug I did for the wedding. This time I'm using a mohair style bulky yarn in a mossy green. (Red Heart Symphony in Juniper) It sounds bad, it looks nice. The body was complete before the trip was done, it went very fast (especially in the smaller size) and fits very snugly like it should. The trip back was a little more stressful, so I only have the top of one sleeve completed. If I give it a fair share of my free time I could probably have it all done by the weekend. Hopefully this version will fit.
I have two people asking me to make a version of it, and I'm really torn on the yarn to use. I'd love a natural fiber because I think that would be more comfortable in the heat, but cotton won't hold the shape well and bamboo/soy seem very pricey.
I guess it's time to burn up Ebay... :D
The bad behavior is when we got back from our trip. I really should have gotten on the bike & the Bowflex the last two days, but I was lazy & didn't. This morning I almost skipped getting on the scale because I felt so bad. The bad news? No weight loss prgress at all for 2 weeks. The good news? No backsliding either! I've stayed at the same weight, so while I'm on a little plateau, that's ok. I just have to get back on the proverbial horse and do what I was doing.
The temperature is killer though. I can't wait until we get the garage doors done - hopefully the insulation will keep the garage a little cooler through the summer.
In other news - on the drive out of town this weekend I started a second version of the shrug I did for the wedding. This time I'm using a mohair style bulky yarn in a mossy green. (Red Heart Symphony in Juniper) It sounds bad, it looks nice. The body was complete before the trip was done, it went very fast (especially in the smaller size) and fits very snugly like it should. The trip back was a little more stressful, so I only have the top of one sleeve completed. If I give it a fair share of my free time I could probably have it all done by the weekend. Hopefully this version will fit.
I have two people asking me to make a version of it, and I'm really torn on the yarn to use. I'd love a natural fiber because I think that would be more comfortable in the heat, but cotton won't hold the shape well and bamboo/soy seem very pricey.
I guess it's time to burn up Ebay... :D
Monday, May 19, 2008
Gia's Christening Shawl
My niece Gianna was christened this past weekend (finally!), and to commemorate the occasion I decided to make her a special cape/shawl. I started this project way back in March, after seeing a similar adult-sized wrap. I loved the pattern the hexagons made, and I figured this would be a fast, easy project.
Wrong.
It took a long time. When I finally found out when the christening was I started to panic because I was sure I wouldn't have it done on time. But I managed, and apparently Gia was quite happy to wear it for pictures - and later in the day when it got cold.
Anyway, there she is, the little cutie pie. I'm really glad it fit her as well as it did. My son was a very reluctant "model" and I was afraid it'd be too short or whatever. Sorry I missed your christening!!
In other weekend news, my husband's cousin got married - that was a local event so we were in attendance. I had another rush project for that - a gold shrug to wear over my dress for the reception. Again, barely finished in time, only this time I overestimated and made it too big. It wasn't terribly bad, but I wasn't thrilled with it. I'll try to get a picture up showing it, but I'd much rather do it over - the pattern was fabulous and next time I know I'll get the sizing right.
Friday, May 16, 2008
A Workout Breakthrough
Some brief background - I tend to bite off way more than I can chew. Currently, that means I have committed to crocheting myself a long-sleeve shrug to wear over my dress for a wedding this Saturday. I won't go bare-armed, and I have no time to buy a shrug, so I am truly committed to this idea. I only STARTED making the shrug this past Tuesday - the wedding is Saturday - I work full-time Monday to Friday, have a toddler at home and a pretty strict daily workout schedule. I have no free time. With that in mind...
I needed to get more work done on the shrug - I had the body completed, but two long sleeves take time to make, and concentration too. All those increases & decreases, and they have to be symmetrical. I also HAD to get a workout in on my recumbent bike - I knew I was already going to miss one workout this week (Friday) and probably Saturday too. I couldn't skip last night's. But I needed those 30 minutes to crochet!
I decided, what the hell - my hands are usually free on the bike, maybe I can get a few rows done before I kick up the pace on the bike. HA! I crochetted the WHOLE 30 MINUTES! And not only did I keep up the pace, I matched my caloric use from the night before on a more challenging program. Woohoo. Not only that, but the time flew by, a definite bonus since my Ipod was all crapped out and uncharged so I had no music to listen to.
Granted, I wouldn't be able to crochet anything huge or bulky, it'd just get in the way. I will certainly be able to do small projects & motifs though, and if I can get some fun time in while I'm exercising, I'll be more likely to increase my workout times. I should start doing 45 minutes a night next week, especially since we'll be going away for the weekend and missing even more workouts.
Anyway, just had to share. Yay!
I needed to get more work done on the shrug - I had the body completed, but two long sleeves take time to make, and concentration too. All those increases & decreases, and they have to be symmetrical. I also HAD to get a workout in on my recumbent bike - I knew I was already going to miss one workout this week (Friday) and probably Saturday too. I couldn't skip last night's. But I needed those 30 minutes to crochet!
I decided, what the hell - my hands are usually free on the bike, maybe I can get a few rows done before I kick up the pace on the bike. HA! I crochetted the WHOLE 30 MINUTES! And not only did I keep up the pace, I matched my caloric use from the night before on a more challenging program. Woohoo. Not only that, but the time flew by, a definite bonus since my Ipod was all crapped out and uncharged so I had no music to listen to.
Granted, I wouldn't be able to crochet anything huge or bulky, it'd just get in the way. I will certainly be able to do small projects & motifs though, and if I can get some fun time in while I'm exercising, I'll be more likely to increase my workout times. I should start doing 45 minutes a night next week, especially since we'll be going away for the weekend and missing even more workouts.
Anyway, just had to share. Yay!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
First Post! Woooo!
...and hopefully not the last. I think we all know by now the road to the Blogosphere is paved with good intentions, and innumerable abandoned blogs. I may or may not, at some point in time, have possibly contributed to abandoned blog detritus myself. You have no proof it was me!
Anyway, I'll try to keep my plans for this blog scaled back quite a bit, and maybe it will seem less like a chore and more like something I look forward to updating every week or so. No promises of daily updates - seriously, my life is not that exciting. If I can toss up an update once a week or so I'll be happy with myself.
So what ARE my plans for this blog you ask? Well, for quite a few months now I've been crocheting up a storm. It was a craft I learned a while back, and only recently picked up again. This time though, I'm really enjoying it. I've made a couple of neat gifts for people already, and I'm starting to tackle clothing. There's a pile of patterns I have that I want to make so it should keep me busy for a while. One of the things I plan on using this blog for is to keep track of my projects and show off the stuff I've made. I know there are a bunch of sites out there that do this as well (and I probably belong to a bunch of them), but those are really for other knitter/crocheters. I want a place to put up my creations that everyone will have access to. I'll even put up pictures & stuff. It'll be great - you'll love it.
I may also use the blog to track my healthy living progress. About 6 weeks ago my husband and I made a commitment to lose weight and get in shape. We decided to change our bad eating habits, got a Bowflex & a recumbent bike, and bought a scale. So far, so good. We do strength training on the Bowflex 3 times a week. I also do cardio on the bike for 30-45 minutes 6 times a week. It's been a big adjustment, everything from my daily schedule to shopping and meal planning, and of course eating. But we're managing, and hopefully it'll become less like conscious effort and more like habit as time goes on. So far I've lost 16 pounds. Yay. It's hard to maintain the momentum but we really did make a big investment in this, so I'm going to try my hardest to keep it up.
I owe it to my family and myself to get in shape, and keep my heart healthy, and do anything I can to stave off the genetic timebombs lurking in my DNA. The reality of the situation is every successive generation of my family is dealing with debilitating and terminal health issues earlier in life. I don't particularly relish the idea of having hit (or passed) the midpoint of my life at the ripe old age of 30. I don't know if losing weight will keep cancer at bay, but it will definitely help me break the Type II diabetes cycle, and that's a big deal to me. The thought of being blind or incapacitated because my feet were amputed scares the hell out of me, especially if the cause was 100% preventable.
With that in mind, I will also make the occasional post about my health accomplishments. I have a lot of weight to lose, so I'm going at it 10 pounds at a time. I've already done the first 10, so yay for me. If I keep on doing what I'm doing, I should be done with the next 10 by Memorial Day. Mondays are usually weigh days for me - I figure Monday morning already sucks, weighing myself can't make it any worse, and if I've lost a pound or two, it'll brighten my day.
My short intro post is getting out of hand, so time to wrap things up. In the next few weeks I'll start adding links & pictures and maybe even more posts - wouldn't that be nice? So be sure to check back.
-S
Anyway, I'll try to keep my plans for this blog scaled back quite a bit, and maybe it will seem less like a chore and more like something I look forward to updating every week or so. No promises of daily updates - seriously, my life is not that exciting. If I can toss up an update once a week or so I'll be happy with myself.
So what ARE my plans for this blog you ask? Well, for quite a few months now I've been crocheting up a storm. It was a craft I learned a while back, and only recently picked up again. This time though, I'm really enjoying it. I've made a couple of neat gifts for people already, and I'm starting to tackle clothing. There's a pile of patterns I have that I want to make so it should keep me busy for a while. One of the things I plan on using this blog for is to keep track of my projects and show off the stuff I've made. I know there are a bunch of sites out there that do this as well (and I probably belong to a bunch of them), but those are really for other knitter/crocheters. I want a place to put up my creations that everyone will have access to. I'll even put up pictures & stuff. It'll be great - you'll love it.
I may also use the blog to track my healthy living progress. About 6 weeks ago my husband and I made a commitment to lose weight and get in shape. We decided to change our bad eating habits, got a Bowflex & a recumbent bike, and bought a scale. So far, so good. We do strength training on the Bowflex 3 times a week. I also do cardio on the bike for 30-45 minutes 6 times a week. It's been a big adjustment, everything from my daily schedule to shopping and meal planning, and of course eating. But we're managing, and hopefully it'll become less like conscious effort and more like habit as time goes on. So far I've lost 16 pounds. Yay. It's hard to maintain the momentum but we really did make a big investment in this, so I'm going to try my hardest to keep it up.
I owe it to my family and myself to get in shape, and keep my heart healthy, and do anything I can to stave off the genetic timebombs lurking in my DNA. The reality of the situation is every successive generation of my family is dealing with debilitating and terminal health issues earlier in life. I don't particularly relish the idea of having hit (or passed) the midpoint of my life at the ripe old age of 30. I don't know if losing weight will keep cancer at bay, but it will definitely help me break the Type II diabetes cycle, and that's a big deal to me. The thought of being blind or incapacitated because my feet were amputed scares the hell out of me, especially if the cause was 100% preventable.
With that in mind, I will also make the occasional post about my health accomplishments. I have a lot of weight to lose, so I'm going at it 10 pounds at a time. I've already done the first 10, so yay for me. If I keep on doing what I'm doing, I should be done with the next 10 by Memorial Day. Mondays are usually weigh days for me - I figure Monday morning already sucks, weighing myself can't make it any worse, and if I've lost a pound or two, it'll brighten my day.
My short intro post is getting out of hand, so time to wrap things up. In the next few weeks I'll start adding links & pictures and maybe even more posts - wouldn't that be nice? So be sure to check back.
-S
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