Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Puddle

That pretty much sums up how I feel today: a puddle.

I feel exhausted and have NO ambition to do ANYTHING.

I have put in a few loads of laundry, including the sheets which drastically needed it... other than that, I'm still in my PJs.

I've decided that I'm too old for no-sleep weekends... I just can't jump back like I used to...


Monday, March 21, 2011

Spring Equinox

Today is the day that equals the night, halfway between summer & winter solstice. To honor spring equinox I am doing a bit of Spring Cleaning today mostly my most dreaded task: the floors. So far I've vacuumed the bedrooms and living room rug, swept and mopped the living room, kitchen and stairs. I rearranged the living room while I was at it and Jameson's room for good measure. I need to remop the kitchen as its atrociously dirty, then the bathroom floor.

I figure that today is a good day to evaluate how the year is going, as its a quarter of the way gone by the Wheel of the Year.
  • One of my goals was to celebrate the Wheel of the Year in some small way on each of the eight special days... I have to admit I failed miserably on Beltane which was supposed to honor motherhood. So I was really set on doing something today: Ta Da!
  • Pay off the credit card: well, I transferred the balance and it now has no interest so I'm thinking it will be paid off this year. Josh will be putting some of his profits on the balance so I'm not too concerned it is definitely doable as we are trying hard not to spend money frivolously. We have limited ourselves to a biweekly allowance and only going out to eat on payday (once every two weeks). We enjoyed a "date" going out last week to Spooner Market and Grill while Jameson stayed home with Lolly & Papa for pizza. It was a much-needed break and time to reconnect. Betsy, the chef at SMAG, even came out to see why we weren't chasing a little boy around.
  • Loose 25# and stay below 200#I'm happy to say that I am officially below 200# and have lost a total of 21 pounds since starting biggest loser. However, since I unofficially started after Christmas I've lost that 25 pounds afterall! Yeah mee!! I told myself I would buy a small gift for myself when I reached my goal but nothing comes to mind. The other thing is that Biggest Loser continues another 6 weeks! We're only halfway there so I have to continue this momentum and keep losing! My team: the Mom Squad is doing really well, we've been in the top few teams each week. The great thing is that so many people at the hospital and clinic are participating we've really improved the salad bar and healthy meal options as well as limiting snacks around the nurses' station. Overall everyone is doing really well which I think is a great inspiration to our small community: if WE can do it, so can you! It also shows that we are commited to the same healthy lifestyle that we promote to our clients and patients.
  • Knit myself 3 pairs of socks close... I have 2 1/2 pairs done and many more waiting in the wings! I finished the first sock of the third pair this morning and was so excited. It seemed to take forever as I had other projects to work on while it was in process. I was feeling very overwhelmed by so many projects. I only have one other project OTN (on the needles) which is Flo, a bright green elephant for Jameson. I plan to finish the knitting on this before I start sock #2 of this pair. Hopefully both projects will be done before heading to Savannah.
  • Go on one vacation together as a family. This kind of fell together as a fluke. Josh's mom and grandma are driving down to visit John & Zhenya for Easter and invited Josh as well so we're going! It will be a long drive = 22 hours each way, but we'll borrow a DVD player and I'll knit! We are also planning to go to Mexico in Feb '12 with Terry and Patrick, I think both trips will be great!

I have so many things planned as it warms up... my fitness goal is to bike a lot. I bought a used bike trailer for Jameson and Lucy to ride in last summer so I'm glad he can join me on my adventures--makes planning ahead less important. It also removes my excuse for NOT going. There are lots of places to go and things to do this spring and summer. We have trips planned to Savannah, Omaha, Michigan, as well as some local favorites including Minnesota Zoo, Pattison Park, Copper Falls, MREA Energy Fair, and Madison. Josh and I have decided Jameson is old enough to start camping so off we go!

This was the first year that I am sad to see winter go as it means no more skiing for now. I'm really looking forward to improving next year in my technique and stamina. I don't think more racing is in my future although I would consider the Book Across the Bay again if its not glare ice. I'm thinking Jameson will be ready to ski by next winter so I'll be keeping my eye out for a pair of beginner strap on skis.

How are you doing on your goals for the year?

Did you do anything special today for Spring Equinox?

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Disappointment in the shadow of success

Things are still going well with the biggest loser contest. I've officially lost about 16 pounds and unofficially, since I started trying to loose after Christmas, I've lost about 20 all told. The funny thing is that I know that things are going ok in terms of losing weight but there are two major disappointments I've encountered.
  1. I can tell that I've lost weight in most areas of my body: boobs, back, belly, thighs (I sound like a chicken at the butcher) but there is just more FAT where that came from. I keep picturing those jello-mold fat samples jiggling about on my love handles and thinking jeez, I have dropped 20 of those things, how many more are there? Lots, lets just leave it at that. Will there ever really be a time when there isn't? Do skinny people still have flab? Well, I will never know the answer to that as I'll never be "skinny" but I thought I'd ask!
  2. I got my "skinnier" jeans on today that haven't been buttonable since last summer. Now, even then they weren't exactly wearable but thats another story. The problem: they look awful, they are totally not flattering in the least. Bummer!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Sunday Morning Motivation

I awoke this morning at 6:20

I didn't have to work at 6:00

Jameson slept until 7:30

I did try to go back to sleep but when that attempt failed I decided to brew up some coffee (thanks Alley Cats) and watch Letters to Juliet which I just got on Netflix. It was a nice hour of peace, joined by j a little later, but he was groggy and just sat and enjoyed Mama's movie without complaint. The shots of the Italian landscape reminded me of our trip there. The love story which unfolded reminded me of my childhood dream of Romeo and my knight on a white horse.

Although this was a pleasant reverie, why do we allow ourselves to be wrapped up in that romantic notion that life isn't about checkbook balances and student loans and diapers? Sorry to burst the bubble.

Big plans: Josh and I have decided to go on a little spring break to see his family. We'll be heading to Savannah for Easter with John, Zhenya, Pearl & Caroline. Its about a 22 hour drive; we're planning to take it easy and stop when we need to. We'll bring a DVD player and DVDs for j and I'll bring KNITTING.

Its kind of sad that instead of looking at it as quality family time I am instead making lists of what I can knit while trapped in a car for 44 hours! And yes, I have it all planned out. I have yarn and the pattern to make Jameson a Sleuthing Hoodie yarn for socks (I'll bring two sets with) and perhaps I'll also bring the stuff to make a Traveling Woman Shawl. It sounds like a lot, but it'll pack easily and I don't want to not have something to do... I also plan to bring two paperbacks.

Now for some discussion on shawls... wait, doesn't everyone write in their blog about the merits of shawls? OK, so anyone who is even remotely involved in the knitting or crocheting world will find that shawls are immensely popular. Problem is: WHY? in my research I have found that...
  • shawls can be knit large or small, long or round, one size fits any/all
  • shawls can be knit on anything from laceweight to worsted or probably even bulky (like for a prayer shawl)
  • knitting a shawl is quite portable if its on a lighter weight yarn (lots of yardage per skein)
  • shawls are multipurpose: they can be used as a blanket, sweater, nursing coverup, baby blanket, accessory
  • And last but not least, in the following selection from Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy please replace the word towel with SHAWL and there you have it: The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy has a few things to say on the subject of towels.
    A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value - you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to- hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.
    More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with.
So really, how can I go on knitting without knitting myself a shawl? And the most fitting option seems to be the Traveling Woman... because where would a traveling woman be without her shawl?