Textbooks and Yarn

The End.

2010-07-06T15:11:00.000-06:00

Just thought I should drop in and say that I have officially abandoned this blog.

I am still blogging though... just not in the same form.

I have become tired of trying to focus on my crafty projects, and want to incorporate more of my life, with only an occasional taste of crafts.

So for those of you who still want to follow my blog, you can now find me at:

http://spydermunky.wordpress.com/

Also - if you have started following me in response to my following your blog, fear not because I am still reading yours :)

Here it is!

2010-02-22T11:55:00.001-06:00

Behold, the long awaited knitting post! (I know, for a blog that is technically supposed to be about knitting, that is quite pathetic.

So I began this project thinking that I would make it to look like a patchwork quilt, all sorts of random colours, and that (of course), it would tie together quite nicely. The problem? I hate it. It looks like 'kaka'. See?

Uhh... yes, that's a fish tank, why do you ask? Lol.

So anyway, I decided to start over again and hope for the best, since I'm told the recipient is due in May. (Something tells me this might be a present for baby's first birthday?)

It looks like a mess so far, because I am working on circulars that are about 10" too short for the project, but I am really happy with how it is turning out so far all the same. The yarn that I am using right now is a multi-colour, but I intend to use black between rows to make it a little bit less.... psychedelic.

See?

Hehe it reminds me of coral all bunched up like that.

Here's to hoping it turns out better than the first!

PS. Why yes, that is a new row counter on the right hand side of the picture, thanks for noticing! I am quite happy with it, I think I would lose my mind without it on this project.

Featured Website:

Today's featured website holds a collection of oddities, that can be anywhere from amusing to grotesque. The picture I have included may look like there is a floating Jesus head in it... But the hair is the bushes behind the couple, and the eye is a actually a child's head! It is wearing a bonnet, looking down. Look close!

The website can be found here.

I Haven't Forgotten...

2010-02-08T22:20:00.002-06:00

I haven't forgotten about you, I am just really busy with school at the moment - I have an interesting knitting progress post in the works, I just need time to take the pictures. Bear with me!

So... a marathon, hey?

2010-02-02T15:25:00.003-06:00

This weekend my mom announced that she had signed us up for a marathon. Registered, paid for, the works.

I knew that we would be running in a marathon together a long time ago. We would be running together in July, and it would be my first marathon. I am really looking forward to running with her.

So, yeah. This marathon is in MAY. This is the marathon, here.

Okay, so we are only running the 10km portion, but seeing that it is my first year doing it, that isn't bad, right? (This will be her second year).

10 kilometres may not seem like much. It is equivalent to about 6.2 miles. However, when you consider that I just started exercising in September, and I have gone from being able to jog about 2 km before stopping and needing a break to this. A big part of this is that as I have lost weight, the arthritis in my knees has become much less of an issue.

So anyway, I did my first time trial for the 10K yesterday to see where I am standing. I maintained a constant speed throughout, and managed to complete 10 KM in 1hour33minutes. Not bad for my first try!

I am a little bit stiff today, mostly in my upper thighs and my butt - Apparently I don't use those muscles as often in my regular work-outs.

My plan now is to complete 10KM on the treadmill three times / week, increasing the speed by 0.1km/h each time.

Today I swam laps for 35 min. I wasn't pushing myself at all, just enjoying the water and swimming breaststroke. I swam 40 laps, which put me at 1km travelled via breaststroke.

You may wonder why I am putting so much emphasis on the distance that I travelled each time. On my way home, after being told about the 10km run, I started thinking about different things that I could do to motivate myself at the gym. I wasn't having trouble getting to the gym, but once I got there I would often give up on my workout early because I was exhausted. I know that if I pushed myself I could have completed my goal.

So I gave myself this challenge: In the month of February, I want to travel 100km in workouts.

It seems daunting when you first look at it, but then I started to think about it. If I work out in some manner 5 days/week (and I do), then I will work out for 20 days in February. That means in order to make it up to 100km in the month of February, then I only need to make it 5km per workout. I think that's do-able.

Do you want to join me?

I have posted a new ticker on the right-hand side of the page to track my progress.

Okay, You can stop now.

2010-01-25T11:50:00.003-06:00

I'm not sure how many of you are from my little area of the world, but if you are you know that we are being hit by snow in a big way.

Now, normally I'd be thrilled. Snow means natural water, means fresh drinking water. Great.

Unfortunately, the snow started about an hour after my boyfriend left the city for a hockey tournament. (He's fine, thanks for asking).

With his disappearance, it meant that I was working his janitorial shifts for him. Normally, not a big deal. I sit in the office working on homework and do my rounds five or six times throughout the day making sure there is nothing that needs to be cleaned and that nothing has been broken. (It's a very quiet building on the weekend.) This weekend however, there was SNOW.

I put snow in capital letters, because it wasn't, 'oh nice, it's snowing' snow, it was 'It snowed how much overnight?!' snow.

According to the news, we got about 20cm of snow in two days. That wouldn't be bad, except that it was quite windy all weekend, so all of the snow from the country (Blame my province having few trees here....), blew into the city and gathered around the buildings, continuously.

Oh yeah. When it's snowing? Snow removal takes precedence over all cleaning tasks. Ah, crap.

Saturday I arrived at work at 8am, right on time despite the fact that I drive a little Neon and the roads hadn't been plowed yet. I sure had to fight to get there, I tell you. I was thinking as I drove to work that morning, "I don't think I've ever seen the roads this bad here..." Once I got there, I started shoveling immediately. It wasn't too bad, because there wasn't a lot of snow in the city previously to blow around, and most of what was there was already packed down. So okay, Saturday I made my first round around the building shoveling walks in about 2 hours. After that, to maintain 'clear' sidewalks I set my cleaning aside four more times to shovel, each time taking an hour.

Now those who know me personally know that I've been looking for an upper body workout lately. Well, this was definitely an upper body workout. After finishing my shift at 5pm, I navigated the roads home, and promptly sat myself in the bathtub for the entire evening.

The next day, I was about ten minutes late getting into work, because I got stuck trying to get out of my apartment buildings' parking lot. But I made it. I started shoveling right away again. This time, it took 6 hours to shovel around the building once. Yeah, I was hurting after that. I still have trouble making a fist with my hands today.

Needless to say, I didn't feel the need to go to the gym after that either Saturday or Sunday.

Today is a different story though. I know that I need to go to the gym, and I also know that I need to get some homework and housework done (especially with my boyfriend stuck outside the city, I have no one to help me.) I do intend to do all of these today, I just need a little push.

See, class was canceled today because so many people couldn't get to the University. As of this morning only the two main roads in the city were opened up by plows, and buses were refusing to leave these routes.

So my first reaction, of course, was to go straight back to bed. I just got up again, and now want nothing more than to sit around, drink a hot chocolate, and watch a movie all wrapped up like a bug in a rug. But I'll get everything done. I will.

I can hear another person stuck in the alley behind my apartment (the fourth I've seen today). Maybe pushing him out would count as my exercising? *le Sigh*

Off I go to real life and real work :)

Today's Honourable Mention goes to Ravelry. I know most of you use Ravelry all the time, and up until a few days ago I assumed that everyone did. But some people don't know about it, can you believe it? No knitter in their righteous mind should be without Ravelry. It's knit-suicide.

Novels Read in 2009

2010-01-21T20:20:00.001-06:00

1. Drunk, Divorced, & Covered in Cat Hair - Laurie Perry
2. The Girl Who Could Fly - Victoria Forester
3. What you wear can change your life - Trinny Woodall & Susannah Constantine
4. The Amber Room - Steve Berry
5. Secret Vampire - L.J. Smith
6. Daughters of Darkness - L.J. Smith
7. Spellbinder - L.J. Smith
8. Dark Angel - L.J. Smith
9. The Chosen - L.J. Smith
10. Soulmate - L.J. Smith
11. Huntress - L.J. Smith
12. Black Dawn - L.J. Smith
13. Witchlight - L.J. Smith
14. Kingdom of the Wall - Robere Silverberg
15. Recursion - Tony Ballantyne
16. Charmed: High Spirits - Constance M. Burge
17. Charmed: Leo Rising - Constance M. Burge
18. Charmed: Trickery Treat - Constance M. Burge
19. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

Projects completed in 2009

2010-01-21T19:50:00.002-06:00

1. Instant Gratification Scarf - Mom's version
2. Instant Gratification Scarf - Caleb's version
3. Royal Blue Keyhole Scarf - on Etsy
4. Transformers Dishcloth - For Gilles
5. Monthly KAL Block - January
6. Monthly KAL Block - February
7. Secret Project 1 - Part 1: Mom's Mother's Day Dishcloth
8. Secret Project 2 - Lisa's Birthday Dishcloth
9. Secret Project 1 - Part 2: Mom's Mother's Day Scrubbie
10. Secret Project 3 - Lucie's Mother's Day dishcloth
11. Lacy Fan Dishcloth
12. Stocking Stuffer - Paul
13. Secret Project For Kelsey - 1
14. Secret Project For Kelsey - 2
15. Earrings - Pair 1
16. Earrings - Pair 2
17. Earrings - Pair 3
18. Soap! Attempt 1 (Rainbow)
19. Tree ornament 1: Star
20. Tree ornament 2: Angel
21. Tree ornament 3: Smiley
22. Tree ornament 4: Snowflakes
23. Tree ornament 5: Christmas Tree
24. Zig-Zag Scarf

Stop, Breathe, Go.

2010-01-21T11:53:00.004-06:00

I have received many emails asking me why I have not been writing on here. At the beginning of November, I promised that I would begin writing again in December, when life calmed down. But I didn't. I wish I had a valid excuse for that, but what it comes down to is simple. I enjoyed being able to breath, having little commitments tying me down. I was spending time with my family, enjoying life. Blogging about it was the last thing on my mind.

The break was necessary, I think, to regain my passion for this blog. I needed to remind myself that I am doing this because I find it fun, not because it is a chore. I am now able to come back to you with a fresh heart, and even a fresh computer.

I'll give you a brief recap of the last few months, so that we can start back again on the same page.

On the weight loss journey, I have had many successes, as well as many failures. As you may remember, I started dieting and exercising on September 1, 2009. As of the end of November I reached my greatest amount of weight loss yet, a whopping 26 lbs. That is over 10% of my original body weight. However, when I got busy with school, whether it was assignments or exams, my gym attendance started slipping, fast. Finally it completely ceased. And it continued. Christmas came, and then New Years, and while healthy eating and exercise were always at the back of my mind, they became an afterthought rather than a fact.

Today, I am fighting to get back into the gym routine, and to count points again. I have set up my schedule so that it is possible to count points every day, and go to the gym five times per week, but if I am honest with myself I have only succeeded with each of these goals roughly 3x per week.

I have heard a lot about Jillian's 30-Day Shred from several other blogs lately, and have ordered this DVD. I am hoping that this will give me a boost in terms of exercise, and rid me of any excuse for not exercising. (Often I feel I am too tired to go to the gym after school, so I rationalize this saying that I will go home, take a nap, and then come back and go to the gym. Of course, I have yet to come back.)

But don't give up on me yet. I will do it.

In terms of knitting, sewing, and crafting projects, many have been completed and gifted with no documentation, be it picture or otherwise. I will show you all that I have pictures of over the next few days, but I am sad to say that this number is far fewer than I would like.

Finally, in terms of the blog itself, I am back now. My goal is to post at least once per week. Some weeks you will hear from me far more often, as often as every day perhaps. Other times, I will fight to keep to my goal, but I'll do my best nonetheless.

Now. You may have noticed that my sidebar has now become sadly outdated. Worry not! That is the next thing on my list of things to do, right after finishing my English assignment and going to class. So if you read this before 5pm (Central Time) today, it may not yet be changed. But if you read it afterward, you will be enjoying new data and a new feature I am very excited about. (No, no hints!)

Finally, because a blog post is not a proper blog post without at least one picture, I am introducing a new feature in the main blog. I call this 'honourable mention'. This section will be found in every post, featuring a website, company, person... whatever; that I feel needs to be mentioned for whatever reason.

Today's Honourable Mention goes to the website Cute Overload. This website features a new cute picture every day, and provides links to see old posts as well. It has some amazing photos and cheers me up no matter what is going on.

This is a photo taken from their post, Ten Most Popular Posts of 2009.

Cute, no?

Still here...

2009-11-04T14:44:00.002-06:00

I'd like to send my apologies for the lack of posts - I'm still updating my progress bars, etc. but have been ridiculously busy with school, work, etc. So if you are waiting for news, please bear with me - I hope to emerge from this endless pile of work by the end of November and start posting regularily again. Thank-you for your patience.

Tattoo!

2009-10-17T11:21:00.005-06:00

For some of you, you were well aware that I would be going to get a tattoo yesterday, as I have been talking about it all week. (I was super-nervous/excited/scared)

I ended up driving to a smaller city that is about 3 hours from where I live to get it done, as I knew a couple people who got them done there before and they looked awesome. The tattoo took about 2 hours from the time the needle first punctered my delicate skin, to completion. It hurt.

For all of you people who have gotten tattoos and have been like 'Oh, it's not so bad...', I hate you. (Just kidding! But seriously.)

It felt like he was taking a scalpel and slowly slicing my skin into itty bitty pieces. Okay, maybe it was my fault. Maybe I shouldn't have chosen a spot that was partially on my ribcage, but hey! I wanted to choose when I showed it, and who saw it, and that is hard to do if it shows up every time you wear a tank top. This way, on my wedding day the only type of dress that is ruled out is halter top (which I have never looked good in anyway), because the rest will cover my tattoo.

The reason I chose this design (this is actually the tattoo artist's rendition of my own drawing), is that it is very symbolic for me. All through my life, I have struggled with this need to be perfect, to please everyone- even if people had conflicting viewpoints. I would put myself on a limb and work my ass off to make one person happy, and then when I finally manage to, I'd notice that someone else wasn't happy and start back-pedalling to try to make them happy too. This has caused me a great deal of stress and heartache in my life, and I know that I put way to much emphasis on what other people think, and not nearly enough on my think. So this tattoo was my stand against that, and my reminder to myself. No, not everyone agrees with me getting a tattoo, and it is quite a big deal for some people. But I did it anyway. And now the tattoo will be there every day, to remind me that it is what I think that is important - Every Rose Has its Thorns (I added the 's' because if there is only supposed to be one thing 'wrong with me' it will never work). No matter how much I put myself out there, and try to make everyone happy, at the end of the day it is about if I am happy. Maybe that's selfish. Maybe it's not. But it's where I stand, and hopefully I chose a solid spot, because this time the earth better not let go under my feet.

What do you think?

Weigh-Day

2009-10-14T13:13:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was day 43 of my weight-loss journey, as well as a weigh-in date. I am following the weight watchers weight-loss model, with adaptations to my needs.

If you are familiar with the points system, I have made the following adaptations:

1. I am never allowed to go over my daily point limit, with the exception of a holiday, and then I must be within 10 points of my daily limit.

2. I must obtain 35 extra points throughout the course of 1 week, through exercise, and extra daily points (unused)

3. I don't do that 'how hungry are you at whatever time' stuff - I just learn my own way.

SO

In following this program of mine, I was very scared to weigh-in yesterday, as Sunday was our Thanksgiving supper, and it was not my usual high-exercise, low-calorie weekend.

I shouldn't have worried so.

I have lost another 5 lbs!

That puts me, in 43 days at a total loss of 21 lbs, or 10% of my total weight. It also puts me a nice chunk closer to my total goal of 68 lbs lost (to put me at 135 lbs, the weight I was at when I started university.)

I also lost a total of 5 cm or about 2 inches over the last two weeks, which considers:

Each arm,
bustline
ribcage
waist
stomach
hips
each thigh.

Very encouraging.

Yet... I still have a hard time keeping the gym a habit. Maybe it is because of the cold weather causing my arthritis to act up? I wouldn't say that I'm un-motivated. I want more than anything to have my flat stomach back. I guess between two jobs and full-time school it can just be a bit much.

But I won't give up! There is a long way to go yet.

Tune in next time for a more crafty post :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-10-11T23:34:00.002-06:00

For us Canadians, tomorrow is the Thanksgiving holiday. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! *And Happy early Thanksgiving to my American readers and everywhere else that celebrates Thanksgiving on a different date, as I have a hard enough time keeping up with Canadian holidays!*

An Ode/Letter to Exercise

2009-10-07T13:06:00.003-06:00

Oh, Exercise...
Why do you hate me?
I know we've had rough times,
But I'm trying, why can't you see?

So maybe I'd rather be watching TV,
Or curled up on the sofa with a book.
But I've been really trying to get along, Oh Exercise,
Please give my efforts a look!

I've been to the gym every week,
Not one time or two, but four!
But with the amount that you've made me feel 'better',
I'd really like to kick you to the door.

They told me that it would get easier,
That soon you and I would elope.
Just give it a try, and wait. You'll see!
It's addictive, a form of dope.

So I drag myself out the door every day,
And try not to wreck the walls,
Pushing my bike out of the building,
And dragging it upstairs in the hall.

I have biked to school since September,
Three days a week if I can,
I beg you to give it a thought,
If I could I'd be less active than 'Gran.

My hobbies do not include you, Oh Excercise
I'd rather sit down and read a book.
I like to knit, or sew or watch TV,
If I'm really determined I'll even cook.

But for all of my attempts at friendship,
You continue to hurt me, Why?
It's like trying to cuddle a cactus,
It doesn't make sense to try.

I'll keep on trucking, Oh Exercise,
But only 'cuz you'll give me the 'look'
But watch your back, Oh Exercise,
I could easily replace you with a book!

"Oh... the weather outside is frightful..."

2009-10-04T18:21:00.004-06:00

Okay, not really, but they are already forcasting some snow for next weekend. I'm sure it won't come, but it reminds us that winter is looming around the corner again for sure.

Hand-in-hand with winter, also comes the Christmas season. When you like to focus on homemade gifts, (both out of cost and out of preference), Christmas season starts in July. I have been piecing together gifts, bit-by-bit, and in September am actually worried that I will not be able to finish in time!

But here is one gift that I have managed to finish thus-far: My younger sister's Christmas gift. It is a wooden wall-decoration.

Project Details:

I got the wood at Michael's, and painted it in 'Navy Blue' by DecoArt Crafter's Acrylic. I got this particular paint at the Dollar Store. The writing is hand-painted in 'White' by DecoArt Americana Gloss Enamels, which I believe I got at Michael's some time ago. I then sealed the whole shebang with 'Primer and Clear Sealer' by Triangle Crafts Sophisticated Finishes, which was another Once Upon a Time Michael's purchase. Then, I glued a green piece of ribbon to both the top and the bottom of the wood, 'Spool O' Ribbon' by Offray (No colour name). I got this at Walmart, along with the fake Black Eyed Susans, that I glued on either side. Each of these has a piece of the ribbon tied into a bow just below it, as a little embelleshment. Finally, it has a peice of ribbon glued to the back, to hang the board from. All items are glued onto the board with Aleene's 'Clear Gel Tacky Glue', which I love because it's as strong as Krazy Glue but doesn't glue my fingers together.

Anyway, this is what it looks like:

Your thoughts?

Weight Loss

2009-09-30T12:57:00.002-06:00

One of the biggest problems in university is the lack of free time. Lack of free time = increased stress. Increases stress = increased eating. Increased eating = weight gain. In another view, Lack of free time = little time to exercise. Little time to exercise = weight gain. In a third view, Lack of free time = Poor meals. Poor meals = Weight gain.

Any one of these equations makes weight loss very difficult. I am fighting very hard to be able to keep losing weight - I am doing my own version of the Weight Watchers program, as well as going to the gym 4 times/week. I'm also biking to school (approx. 20 min one way) as often as I can - usually 3 days/week.

But as exams approach I find myself more and more worried about what will happen. Will I be able to continue? I guess the only way to find out is to keep trying.

Here's my current progress.

Not halfway there, but a good start, for 1 month of work.

Studying

2009-09-29T19:50:00.004-06:00

Not to say that I currently am, and definitely not to say that I currently shouldn't be.

Do you ever wonder how much time an average student spends studying? I am decidedly average. I go to class, do my very best not to miss any (The only times I miss are if I am quite sick or if I am absolutely freaking out about an exam that is in the following class). So that lends itself to 10 hours of class/week, at a courseload of 5 classes. My class list is currently as follows:

Commerce 450-01.3 - Branding

Commerce 354-01.3 - Consumer Behaviour

Psychology 110-61.6 - Introduction to Psychology

Religious Studies 282-01.3 - Religious Perspectives on Death and Dying

English 284-01.3 - Beowulf & Northern Heroes.

I divide the time that I spend in class based first on any assignments that are due soon/exams coming up, then by any classes that have classmates waiting for me to finish portions of assignments, then by class that I struggle with the most.

So far, I have spent the following number of hours outside of class:

Branding = 5

Consumer Behaviour = 5

Psychology = 15

Death & Dying = 6

Beowulf = 36

For interest's sake, Branding and Consumer Behaviour are required for my degree, the rest are electives.

I will continue to monitor the hours I spend studying in my side-bar. I am interested in seeing how closely it relates to my final grades in the classes.

... And now, since you are still with me, here's a cute picture I found on the internet(z):

Delving into Earrings

2009-09-28T22:14:00.002-06:00

So as many of you know, I have never before attempted to make jewelry, at least not the proper way. (I was attempted to knit earrings - the result was fun, but totally lopsided - I may reattempt in the future).

So what better thing to do, then start making jewelery! Partially I made these for my Etsy shop, partially because I fell in love with the beads at the store, and partially because I am experimenting for Christmas gifts. (Yes, it's that time of year again!)

What do you think?

I'm Back!

2009-09-27T19:22:00.004-06:00

Do you hate me? Honestly?

I would like to start out by apologizing for my long absence from the blog - summer got very crazily busy, with me working during the day and everywhere at night. I have lots of pictures to share with you, lots of projects, but (please don't shoot)... it'll have to wait to tomorrow night. For tonight, I am studying the great feats of the Geat by the name of Beowulf (and trying desperately to memorize the names and the spelling of all the characters for my exam tomorrow.)

I will attempt to tide you over with a picture -- of my hair. For those of you who don't know me personally, naturally I am blonde. As my computer crapped out on me again, I could not afford to buy new clothes for school this year. So, I made a much less expensive change instead.

What do you think? Yay? Nay?

I'll be back with a real post tomorrow.

Demo Derby Pictures - Warning - approx. 70 pictures

2009-07-10T07:03:00.000-06:00

These first pictures show the car as it was in it's 'original form', stripped out and ready to be demo'd.For a more thorough story, please see my previous blog post.

Here is my DB getting ready to start.

The green car you can see in the bottom right corner won. By the end of the day all that was left of the car was the cab.

This is shortly after the radiator cracked open

Here's DB's friend helping him get back into it

The tractors had to drag out all the cars with the exception of one, that they got started by fiddling with the engine quickly afterward. (That particular car didn't work off the starting line).

Here, the guys are inpecting the damage and trying to see if putting the other radiator in is possible.

As you can see, all that is holding the bumper on is the chain.

The front passenger's side tire is ripped and right off it's rim - that's the one we replaced.

After getting the car running and ready to go again, we found that the hinges on the hood had locked and we couldn't get it down again...

We brought a ref over and he eventually conceded that we could remove the hood, but the bars holding the bumper on had to be welded off.

This is me, ready to go.

The car on the right (#6) is the won that came in 1st against me. Note that it is the same car that wouldn't run in the first round against Gilles, so it had very little damage when we started.

The second radiator is gone now too.

You can tell which hits were mine and which were hers because when I hit her I was looking back and aiming, but when she hit me I was looking straight forward to brace for impact - I had a decent amount of whiplash afterwards.

I laughed when I saw the car afterwards - I had no idea while driving that I had no back end left, else I would have started hitting with the front. But as soon as I saw the car my first thought (and comment) was that it looked like our friends car! (That shape, not beat up). I'm not sure, but I think his vehicle is a Ford Fiesta (old style).

Try as we might, we couldn't get the car to drive onto the trailer. The front bumper was too low and it kept pushing the ramps off, and it wouldn't drive backwards. So the tractor had to put it on later.

It was a lot of fun, and something I'd definitely like to do again.

Non-Knitting Adventures

2009-07-07T08:14:00.002-06:00

Miss me?

It's been a busy time, that's for sure. I have lots of pictures to share with you - but unfortunately my camera is hiding, with the battery charging for the adventures of tonight.

On July 1st, my DB and I entered the old family car into a demolition derby. This car once belonged to my grandparents, then when they were ready to buy a new car, my parents bought it. They drove it for several years before they were ready to buy new vehicles (A van, so we would all fit. This was in about 2003). However, this happened to be at the transitional time that I got my license, so I resumed driving the car until I finished high school and left the family nest. This was timed well, because it happened to be at about the time my brother got his license, and he resumed to drive it after that. Well, 700,000 km later, the old car (a 1984 Delta 88 Oldsmobile), finally came across it's first "big" problem. (I say big because I bought a replacement part for it at a salvage yard for $60.) -- The antifreeze had finally chewed through the radiator, and it had a leak. So the car was parked for about a year, before my DB noticed it.

As a bit of history, my DB had been in said demolition derby once before, representing his grad class. He enjoyed every minute of it, although did not have much luck as he accidentally hit a drivers door on his first hit, and was thus disqualified. (This was 3 years ago. At that time if you were disqualified you could still come back for the consolitory round - now if you are disqualified you are out for the year). Ever since then, my DB has been anxious to find a way to get back in that ring.

So when my DB noticed this car, his excitement was obvious. He asked me if I thought that my parents would sell him the car, so he could demo it. All I told him was that it certaintly wouldn't hurt to ask - it was just taking up space in the yard at this point. (We have a relatively large yard, but there is a horse pasture taking up half of it, so that shrinks it considerably). So my DB asked my dad if he could buy the car off him at the first chance that he got, and my dad not only told him that he could have the car, but that he could have it for free, on the condition that he got it out of the yard ASAP.

So at the beginning of December, in the middle of a snowstorm, we happened to be back home visiting and Dad and my DB decided that it was time to move the car. They obtained a one-day license for the car, and proceeded to bring it to the next town, where a friend was going to help us get it ready. Did I mention it was blizzarding?

My DB followed my Dad all the way to the next town (about 45 minutes away, 15 minutes of gravel and 30 minutes of highway). He could handle the snow landing on the windshield, and didn't bother with the wipers. But about halfway there, Dad hit a puddle, splashing a bunch of water on my DB's windshield. He couldn't see anything. So, he turns on the wipers.

My DB looked with astonishment and disdain, as all he saw were two little sticks, back and forth. Back and forth. There were no wipers left on the car. (Dad had forgotten that he had removed the wipers to use on a different vehicle.)

After finally managing to get the windshield clean, they got to our friend's farm. The yard was full of snow from the blizzard. Dad let my DB go in first, as they thought it would be easier because there wouldn't be ruts to get stuck in. He got stuck. Finally, after a long while of shoving the car around, they got it into the yard, and went back home.

Fast forward to six months later. It's two weeks before the demolition derby, nothing has been done on the car yet. My DB and I go down to his hometown, and he works on the car for the day. There is quite a bit that has to be done to prepare a car for the demolition derby. The car didn't need a roll cage, but there were several other things it needed.

Between my DB and our friend, they removed the back seat, removed the mirrors, welded the doors and the trunk shut, cut holes in the doors for chains, removed the gas tank, rerouted the gas line to a jerry can in the back of the car (where the back seat used to be), cut a hole in the hood so the engine was visible, chained on the bumpers, moved the battery into the front seat of the car, (on the floor, strapped down under a bucket in case of explosion), removed all the windows, and added a bar to the front of the car so that the roof couldn't collapse on the driver. Our friend also painted the car gold, and the drivers door white. (The drivers door has to be a contrasting colour so its obvious where you can't hit)

Our friend then went and picked up some spare tires for us to use, and an extra battery. I bought the extra radiator the day before.

The day of the demolition derby came. We had to get there by 10am, so we made sure that we were there by about 9:45. We signed all the waivers and put down all the information about the car, and proceeded to move our car to the 'pit'. We wanted to spruce up the car a bit, so we painted on it with some silver as well. (Actually, my DB just wrote his last name on the car and our sponsor, our friend wrote 'Dave and the boys', and I put the rest on there). The wind got a lot of the paint on me, friends were commenting about the 'war paint' on my face all day.

We got it done, and then were called for a drivers meeting. At the meeting, they explained the general rules (no hitting the drivers door, no drinking, no razors, etc.) and announced that there likely wouldn't be a Powderpuff. I was choked - the Powderpuff is the girls turn to finish off the cars. It looked as though I wouldn't be competing.

But, in the end it was my DB's day. His name was called, and I kissed him for luck. He put on quite a show. The car stalled out a few times (it always does that when its hot), and he made some really good hits. I thought he was going to take it, even though about halfway through the radiator broke open, spewing steam everywhere. He got caught up on the edge of the ring a couple times, and was the target of everyone. That was funny to watch. He also got knocked off though, and continued to make hits. Finally, the radiator caused the car to crap out for the round. He came in third, and the tractor had to tow him off the field.

The car was in a state of disrepair, but after replacing one of the tires, the radiator, and having the tractor bend it back into shape a little bit, we thought we were ready to go. They tried to put down the hood, and it was locked open. So, they stood on it, trying to mash it down. It wouldn't go. Finally we got a ref to come over and determine whether we needed the hood on or not. He fought a little bit, saying we should just chain it down but in the end it was determined that the hood was more of a risk than anything that would spray from under the hood (it was all just water in there by this point). He also told us that since we had removed the back bumper, (it was draggingon the ground by the chain at that point), we had to weld off the bars that held it on.

They hurried and got that done, and the race was called. My DB jumped into the car, and revved the gas to take off. It didn't move. He checked the parking brake, and tried again. It didn't move. Finally we realized that the tire that we had replaced was on backwards, and it had locked. Our friends quickly jacked the car up and turned the wheel around. As they were tightening the lug-nuts, the demo was called. He had missed it. My DB was choked. He had missed one of the rounds again. Our friend was mad at himself too. We watched a couple rounds, and then talked to one of the refs. He would not be able to compete again, but they were having the powder puff after all. I was stoked!

I ran up to my family to watch the rest of the day (mud races, tough trucks and the demo derby finale), before the powder puff was called. I went and signed up, and they told me they could only have it if at least 3 people signed up. They also told me it would cost $20. I had no cash left. So one of our friends went to try to find other girls to sign up, and I raced back into the stands to try to get $20 from my dad. He gave it to me without problem, and wished me luck. My parents couldn't believe I actually wanted to do it. I raced back down, signed more waivers and paid, and ran back to the car. They called the demo quickly, there were four of us competing. My car stalled right away as I was lining up to enter the ring. That wasn't a good sign.

Two of the girls were quickly knocked out (the cars, not the girls themselves), and soon there were only two of us left. Now, at this point all I was thinking was "start, damn you!" because the car kept stalling every time I hit the door, "don't hit the driver door!" because she kept swinging it to me, and "go, go, go!" so I'm not sure how many times it restarted. But I'm told that I put on quite a show. I couldn't hear the announcer from inside the car, but apparently he announced both of our names the entire time and kept saying things like that I was out now, the car was leaking all over the place and it had stalled out again. But I just kept restarting it - I guess it has something to do with having driven the car for all of those years. Finally though, I was given a hell of a hit while I was trying to restart the car. My head swung forward and hit the steering wheel, (No worries we were all wearing helmets), and the car died. (Before it was trying to turn over, now it was nothing.) I kept trying for a bit, then shook my head at the ref to say it wasn't going to start. I came in second.

It turned out that the battery had tipped over, and seized. Our friend replaced the battery, and the car started up again after we let it cool a little bit. It was turned under so much though, that we couldn't get the car to drive up onto the trailer to take it away, no matter how we tried. Finally, one of the tractors came over and lifted it up onto the trailer for us.

It was a lot of fun, and I hope to do it again next year!

I have been doing some crafting too -- I will share soon! Look out for a ton of pictures from the demo derby next, and then I'll tell you all about my crafts.

Thunderstorms

2009-06-30T14:29:00.003-06:00

This is attached to the current forecast for the city I am in:

I have been fascinated by storms for a long time. Sometimes at night I will sit and watch the lightning for hours. Of course, some of you know that I will be competing in a demolition derby tomorrow, and thus won't be here tonight (I will post more details afterwards). But it doesn't matter, because it looks like it will be following us.

(Although for the sake of my parents crops I hope it doesn't hail!!

Father's Day

2009-06-19T08:29:00.012-06:00

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!

I have decided to make a special Father's Day post, for all those of you who haven't had time (or forgot) to shop for that perfect gift. For those of you who are crafters and love the appeal of a homemade gift, I have included the Top Five Homemade Father's Day Gifts (according to my preference) list. For those who prefer to shop, I have included my Top Five Storebought Father's Day gifts. Everything has the information you need to get there. (Please note: These are only my picks. I have tried to make them as accessable as possible, but I am in no way affiliated with any of the named businesses, nor do I accept responsability for any undue reactions.)

Top Five Homemade Father's Day Gifts

5. YouTube It:

One of the most recent trends that have been emerging is for people to write and then perform songs for their Dad's on that special Day. But this goes beyond picking at a guitar in the kitchen while he watches you - several people have been recording themself singing and playing their instrument, and then put it into a computer program to turn it into a video with pictures of them and their dad together. A good example of this can be found here, beginning showing the son performing and then cutting into pictures of his dad throughout his life.

4. Gift Baskets:

Every dad is special in his own way, and often storebought gift baskets just don't quite fit. Perhaps he is a fishing enthusiast, but only actually fishes for jackfish in the local river. Maybe that means he would love to get some new spoons in his basket, but maybe not a fishing guide for more 'exotic' fish.

Perhaps he loves to cook, but is more into stir frys and experimenting than recipes and baking.

Making your own gift basket allows you to customize what's in it so that it is the perfect fit.

3. A Custom Journal

If your dad is the type that likes to write, this may be the perfect gift for him. All you need is a journal (make sure it is not the wire-bound type as this will make recovering it much more difficult), some white glue, and your customized cover. Maybe your dad is a traveller - you could paste a map of his favorite area of the world on it. Or maybe he's a family man - you could cover it in denim and then put a picture of your family on it. The opportunities are as endless as your imagination.

2. Revamp His Shirt

Does your dad have an old favorite shirt or pair of pants that he just can't wear anymore? Whether it's because of it's age, stains, or almost any other factor perhaps the best Father's Day gift for him would be to fix up that old garment. Pull out your sewing machine and some fabric to work with, and bring new life to those clothes with all the memories.

1. His Favorite Meal

The most successful Father's Day gift I have given so far came in the form of food. Before Father's Day I told him that my sister and I had decided to make him five of his favorite foods in one meal for Father's Day. The two of us spent the entire afternoon in the kitchen, preparing for the event.

It was an incredibly odd combination of food at the end, but he loved it. We made a meal of: Bacon Carbonara, Cabbage Rolls, Stuffed Mushrooms, Shish Kabobs, and Corn. And of course, everything was served to him and he didn't have to help clean up. Remember though - this can be a very time-intensive gift, so you may want help!

Top Five Storebought Father's Day Gifts

5. GPS System

Men never want to admit when they are lost - and that often gets them into even more trouble. This particular GPS System comes loaded with a 5" touch screen so that he doesn't have to fumble with the buttons, easy to read typing, full US and Canadian maps, and SayWhere (It will tell you when to turn so you don't have to look). As an added bonus, it is equipped with "Real-time traffic capability", which means that it will tell you if there is an accident somewhere that is backing up traffic, or if there is an area that is moving really slow that you should avoid. This model is available at Canadian Tire for $499.99

4. Pizza Cutter

This item really made me laugh - after all, what man doesn't complain about how "wimpy" the pizza cutters are? Now he can power through his pizza without complaint and look "tough" doing it. This can be found at Amazon.com for $15 USD.

3. Drink Selector Mug

This gift is perfect for the Dad who lives in the office. Chances are, coffee is one of the most important things in his life and make sure he knows that you realize that by giving him this gift to ensure his order never gets mixed up again.

2. Personalized Golf Balls

Is your father a golfer? If so these may be perfect. They say that you care about him, and that you want him to relax. Best of all, they can be made at your local WalMart.

1. Key Locator

Let's face it - everyone is always losing Everything. What better gift could there be than a solution to that problem? This locater attaches with a key room and has been known to be used for everything from keys to pets. It can be bought for $49.95 USD from Brookstone.

Sims Posts?

2009-06-19T08:15:00.002-06:00

I have been noticing more and more people are blogging stories about their Sims, especially since Robert Burkinshaw started a blog about two homeless characters he created which captivated the attention of international press.

That said, I have been playing my game slowly but surely, (as I don't quite have the hardware for it), and was wondering if you would like another Sims story to add to the mix, or if you would rather I didn't jump on the bandwagon. Comment me or email me please - I'd like to know your thoughts!

Garage Sales

2009-06-16T08:27:00.002-06:00

I keep picking up items at garage sales, with big plans to fix them up and sell them in my etsy shop. Well, some of them are in process and will be posted as soon as I finish them, but I have fallen in love with several of them and am now keeping them. Perfect examples of this are the half-table that I posted in my blog awhile ago here. I have the table sanded now and just need to prep it for staining before I put the first coat on - but I have come to the conclusion that I want to keep it. Over the years the table has made it into my list of staples, and I really miss it. (Miss using it that is).

Another example is a country-style shelf that I picked up at a garage sale this weekend. It is really small - only about a foot wide, with only two hooks hanging from it - and it has one of those (overdone) heart cut-outs on it. But it is practical. My DB collects statues of dragons, and he also collects knives so I could either put a) Two dragon statues on it (freeing up some room on the bookshelf), or b) 3 knives (two hanging and one on its stand on top). Thoughts?

I prefer having the dragons there because I'm not sure how I feel about knives hanging off my walls - but I think I would be okay with the knives if it is placed about his "dragon bookshelf", in the little corner beside my bookshelf so it can't be bumped.

I guess I will just have to wait and see how much room my DB can free up when he finally organizes the bookshelves.

What's Going On?

2009-06-12T10:31:00.002-06:00

So, last week (Exactly a week ago actually - Friday the 5th), I made the splurge and bought the new, highly promoted Sims 3. I had been a fan of both the Sims 1 and 2, although I really didn't like that the Sims 1 didn't age, and I have the Sims 2 for my X-Box which I believe now actually lessens the experience some. So I was really looking forward to buying this game, even though it is a lot more than I usually spend on videogames. All of my games are bought second hand.

I ran to FutureShop, and excitedly bought it over my lunch hour at work. Of course, I couldn't install it on my work computer so I would have to wait until later that night. But I was driving to my hometown that night, so it would be 9:00pm before I even would get a chance to try it! So in order to satiate myself some I grabbed the booklet out of the game and brought it into my office to read over and discover changes.

Excited after work, I hurried home and packed in record time. I flew to my hometown - I got there at 8:30pm - making it a 3 hr drive instead of 3 1/2. Hmm. No one was home (My family had a steak night to go to that night), so I sat down in the living room with my laptop and quickly started installing the game. It all went well, and then it was asking for the code. Code? I knew I had seen that somewhere. I checked the case. Nope. It must be in the booklet. Booklet. Where was the booklet? In that painful moment I realized that I had left the booklet on my desk, at work, a 3 1/2 hour away. Should I drive home and back tonight? It was an serious consideration. But even if I drove there it would take me until midnight at this point to get there, even if I drove fast. My office would be closed until Monday. No dice.

So I sat in anticipation of playing the game all weekend, waiting for Monday night to finally come. I was antsy all day at work, wanting to get home to try out my new game. I think I would have been more productive if I had brought my laptop to work and played at work. Seriously.

But I made it and finally rushed home to install the game. It took two hours. I was quickly learnign that patience may be a virtue but I don't have it.

Finally I was able to start the game, and get into designing my characters. I noticed right away that something was wrong. The graphics that looked so pristine on the box were blurry. And the game was really slow. It turns out that not only is my graphics card not good enough to support this game, but I also don't have enough RAM. *Sigh*

So what am I going to do? Play a slow, fuzzy version of the Sims 3 until I get a new computer years down the road of course!

The Knitter's Book of Wool

2009-06-12T08:34:00.004-06:00

There is a new book that is coming out by Clara Parkes in October, and she has come up with a fun way of promoting it - on her website, she has a quiz where you can find out what kind of ewe you are! Turns out that I'm a rambouillet.

Very cool. The description is as follows:

"These are the wools so soft you can sleep in, the ones to be used for baby blankets or scarves, summer shawls, sweaters, and any other garment that will come into direct and frequent contact with your skin." - Clara Parkes, from The Knitter's Book of Wool

As a finewool with roots in Spain and France, Rambouillets seem to exude a cosmopolitan air, yet stay grounded and easygoing with others in the flock. With big hearts and as pring int heir step, these finewools' lively attitudes make them approachable and always ready with a warm smile and a hug.

Find out 'Which Ewe are You' here.

Time Flies

2009-06-11T08:12:00.001-06:00

I like biking. Not motorbiking, although I'm sure I'd like that too, but pedal-biking. That's what I've been doing. Biking, and biking and biking. I biked for almost three hours last night, my DB and I. Biking takes the stress away.

Needless to say though, biking does not leave a lot of time for knitting, so I haven't really made any further progress since the last post.

I am debating though - should I continue on with the March block even though it is driving me crazy? Or should I rip it and sub in my own block? I don't know. I fought through the February block, so it feels like I should suck it up and pick at the March block until I'm finished. But at the same time, this block has been driving me crazy, and thus it is June and I still haven't finished it. I don't know what would be best. Thoughts?

Dishcloth Goodness

2009-06-01T12:27:00.005-06:00

Here is the Starfish Dishcloth that I was talking about in my last post. As I mentioned, it was a fun an quick knit. I forgot to mention the pattern source in the last post, so here it is.

The pattern is one of Sew Funky's free patterns, listed on her blog. She calls it Starfish Cloth. It can be found here.

Next is a dishcloth I finished on my way home from Esterhazy/Yorkton last night. It is called Feather and Fan dishcloth, and is designed by Linda Smith. The pattern can be found here.

I love the way this dishcloth loops up, changing it's shape completely.

Experiencing Technical Difficulties

2009-05-27T07:44:00.000-06:00

***Note: It came to my attention after writing this that I am unable to access the picture that I want to post at the moment. So, here is what I wrote up for it, and I will post the actual picture later today as an edit***

I have come to realize that I do not (as I believed), have pictures of all the projects I have made lately. This is a combination of not having a properly functioning camera, being in a hurry, and plain forgetfulness. As a result, this is the last picture I have stashed away from the past to show you. It'll be all new stuff from here!

This is the starfish dishcloth that I made for my supervisor for her birthday. She loved it, stating that her mother-in-law makes her a dishcloth for Christmas every year, but it never makes it all the way through the year, and that she loves knitted dishcloths.

So, Tada!

Mother's Day Dishcloth

2009-05-25T12:39:00.004-06:00

For Mother's day, I made my mom a dishcloth and scrubbie set this year. While I didn't get a picture of the scrubbie (I finished it the night before I went home and the camera wasn't working at that time), I got couple pictures of the dishcloth. (See below)

It is a quick and easy knit, and I knitted it again in pink and white shortly after for a friend. The lace pattern makes the dishcloth fun, and it is easy to knit.

I knitted this one with US size 4 (3.5mm) straight needles, and Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in Shades of Green. (The second cloth for my friend was knitted in Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in Cherry Swirl).

You can find the pattern here.

Terminator: Salvation; Star Trek; X-Men Origins: Wolverine

2009-05-25T11:11:00.014-06:00

Warning: While I will do my very best to refrain from posting any spoilers, if you haven't yet seen these movies you may wish to skip this post.

So, this past weekend was a very busy one. My DB's family decided that they all wanted to get together to see some of the new blockbusters that have come out; specifically: Terminator: Salvation, Star Trek, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

It was a very fun weekend - we got to see all three movies in a 2-day span (and I didn't have to pay for any of them or my meals...yay!), and also spent a lot of time helping his aunt out, garage saling, and hair-cutting/dying. (I just got my hair trimmed, no worries!)

Side Note: DB's cousin is currently in school to becom a hair dresser, so she is always willing to cut someone's hair for free as practice! She will also be responsible for dying my hair a few months from now.

Anyway.

I figure I'll try something new today, something of a double post. I'll first post about the weekend, and movies and what not in this post and then I'll make a completely seperate second post for my knitting so that anyone who hasn't seen these movies need not read this post if they don't wish. So, like I said at the beginning, if you haven't yet seen these movies and don't want the plot to be spoiled, stop reading here. I will try not to post any spoilers, but I'm not promising anything. Here we go.

Terminator: Salvation

Terminator: Salvation was the first movie of the three that I watched. I just saw the first three in the past two months, and I loved them. I'm all about the robots vs. humans battles.

I was a little skeptical about this one, because Schwartzennager didn't do any acting in it this time. He tied the other movies together! Plus, it's been six years since Terminator: Rise of the Machines came out, 15 years since Terminator 2: Judgement Day came out, and a whopping 25 years since the original Terminator came out. Something tells me it won't be the original cast.

Still, I was a little disappointed to see that the cast had very little to no physical resemblance to the original characters. What is make-up for? John Connor was played by Christian Bale in Salvation, while he was played by Nick Stahl in Rise of the Machines.

Yup. I can totally see the resemblance...?

To give Bale his due though, he did an excellent job portraying Connor. He did an excellent job portraying both the tough skin of Connor, as well as his stubbornness. The only thing that I found was lacking in Bale's performance was the innocence/humanity. Gone was the man who told Schwartzennager not to kill anyone, Connor had become a ruthless, calculating, almost cold killing machine. Sure, he made a point of making a rescue mission, but it was to save his own ass rather than out of the goodness of his heart, as it would have been before.

I'd also like to point out that Schwartzenagger did make an "appearance", albeit a short, electonically produced one. Personally, I could have done without it. It didn't add anything to the movie, he was just in there to say he was in there.

Overall however, I thought that this was a very good movie, and I wouldn't hesitate to see it again. I'd rate it a 4 out of 5.

Star Trek

As a non-Trekkie, I found this film fascinating. I have never watched any of the Star Trek films or TV shows, with the exception of one episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

In all honesty, I went to this film because DB's family wished to, not because it was a film that I wished to see. That being said, I loved it.

I am unsure which audience this movie is targeting though. It is dumbed down enough that you're average Star Trek ignorami can understand most of the story, minus the technical details of 'they're doing what where, why and Huh?' but at the same time it seems to be targeting the masses of actual Star Trek fans.

DB's brother (as a Trekkie) pointed out that they made a point of 'starting it all over' with the change of history, so that they can write an entirely new story without angering the current Trekkies, but I am unsure that this works. Frankly, if I watched a show for several years, and loved it the way it was, and then someone came along and told me that they went back in time and changed history, and that it was all going to be different now, I would be upset. I mean, it's like you're watching a rip-off of the original show.

Okay, rant over.

All that being said, I really found the character of Spock to be fascinating, and really easy to relate to. This surprised me, because from all the discussion of the show that I had heard, I thought that Captain Kirk would be the relatable one. Instead, I found him to be arrogant and childish. Interesting.

I also thought the character Pavel Chekov was the most adorable thing, with his accent and enthusiasm. Is this what I was supposed to think? I don't know. But I did. :)

In the end, I think I'd give this movie a 3.5 stars out of 5. The graphics were great and the movie was entertaining, but there just wasn't quite enough explanation for a newbie, and I felt like it was a bit too offensive to the current Star Trek fans.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

This movie scored huge at the box office when it came out, and it's easy to see why... if you're an X-Men fan. If not, don't hold your breath.

While I found the concept very interesting and I am always up for a good superhero movie, I found that a lot of it was overacted, and thus what was meant to look dramatic became cheesy, as though they were already doing a spoof of their own movie. I honestly had to hold my tongue to keep from laughing at some points.

That being said, I did enjoy the story line, and I liked that it had several twists so that you couldn't predict what was going to happen at any point during the movie. The rivalry between brothers was well played, as was the romance between Wolverine and his wife.

There were also a few points that allowed for true comical relief, which was greatly appreciated as it is surprisingly serious movie.

Overall, I'd give this movie a 3/5.

We Interrupt this Program...

2009-05-21T07:18:00.001-06:00

Good morning!

I'd like to interrupt my 'knitterly photostream' with some pictures of what I was doing last night...

I have an old side table that I picked up at a second-hand store in about 2004. The owner of the store claims to have appraised it to approximately 1930. The foundation isn't very stable, but I think I can fix that up. Currently, my plan is to sand the whole thing down (by hand to shave off any imperfections), and then stain it a chocolate-brown colour.

This is what it looked like when I started:

I worked on it for about three hours last night, and managed to get half of the top sanded, as well as the sides of the top and one leg. I have no delusions that this is going to be a quick project - that's why it took me five years to start it - but for some reason last night I had it in my head that if I didn't start now, I was never going to start and it just wouldn't get done.

I love random acts of conscience. My DB insisted on helping me out by sanding the top of the table with his little hand-held sander. I was very skeptical about that idea, as my only experiences with hand sanders include uneven surfaces and sanding away a full centimetre of wood before the surface is level.

When he tried to help me though, he couldn't get my sanding paper to lock onto his sander, and thus could not do it. This just tells me that it was not meant to be touched by anything but loving hands.

He then asked me to at least let him reinforce the table somehow so it 'wasn't so wobbly'. I agreed, provided that he placed the reinforcements in an inconspicuous place, where they would not restrict the ability to place items underneath the table. We finally agreed (I think) on some cross beams that are placed directly underneath the surface of the table, so they are completely out of the way. Either way, he isn't touching it until he's run every facet by me!

I'm unsure whether I should keep this table for myself once it is completed, or try to sell it in my Etsy store. It has been with me for quite a few years now and would be difficult to replace - on the other hand, my store really needs something new and different. Thoughts?

Pictures!

2009-05-20T08:37:00.004-06:00

Okay, as I said earlier I am going to release pictures slowly, as to not get drunk with pictures and no longer be able to load anything.

So, the last time that I posted pictures that were actually of my own knitting was right about when I started the blog. I posted pictures of my January Afghan square. As a result, I think it only makes sense to post February's pictures. (As you can see by the knitting pane on the left, I am still working on the March square... oops! It has been a slow knit)

February's square has a valentine's day pattern. It was designed by Twinsmama on Ravelry. It was confusing to knit at first, but the pattern caught on quickly and then I flew through it.

Twitter

2009-05-15T15:36:00.001-06:00

I signed up for Twitter today... Anybody on there? I won't bother posting anything until I actually have somebody following me on there... no point...?

De-cluttering

2009-05-15T12:35:00.002-06:00

Are you from a farm? I am.

I'm told that's why I like to 'stash' things. It makes sense.

I was thinking about how everyone seems to refer to their yarn as their stash last night. I realized that not only do I have a yarn stash, I have a novel stash, a textbook stash, a kleenex stash, a tp stash, a laundry detergent stash, a paper towel stash, a dish soap stash... you get the picture.

Basically what happens is that whenever I get close to running out (this has different definitions based on what it is: close to running out for kleenix is 3 or less boxes left. Close to running out for tp is 5 or less rolls left. Close to running out for shampoo is 2 or less bottles left... you get the picture.) Anyway, as soon as I'm close to running out, I run to the store and build up my pile again. No need to mention that I am no longer on the farm. In fact, I have a Superstore across the street from me.

Does anyone else "stash" everything like this? It seems to me this could be a combination of growing up on the farm (you don't get to the store more than once a week/two weeks) and being a student (you may not be able to afford to buy this next month).

Anyway, I decided earlier this week that I was sick of having my cupboards overflowing with dishes and having to shuffle things around to fit 'one more cup in the cupboard'. I've been storing a lot of things for my younger brother and sister, and decided that, hey! My parents have a house. It's bigger than my apartment. I'm going to put all of the stuff I want to give my siblings when they move out into boxes, and bring them home with me for THEM to deal with. So that's what I did. And now, I have three big boxes full of dishes that I don't want that are sitting in my car waiting to be dropped off at my parents house. No, I didn't tell them that the boxes are coming. They can deal with them when they get there. (I'm scared that if I told them, they would tell me they don't have any more storage space...)

I'm also going to send my giant planting pots home, as they are taking up the entire bottom section of my closet... think they'll notice if I put them in the garage?

Yay for spring-cleaning/getting rid of stuff that I'm holding on to for no apparent reason!

How is your spring cleaning going?

Gluttony

2009-05-14T07:50:00.000-06:00

I have great news - I tried on a whim to upload the picture from the camera again last night, and it worked! Be prepared to be absolutely drowned in pictures. (Okay, to be nice I will try to spread them out some.)

Of course, I am not on the computer that the pictures are on right now, so you will have to wait for One. More. Post. :P

In addition to pictures of the projects I have completed lately, you can expect to see some pictures of my wonderful yarn glutteny-fest I had last night. I had to stop at the mall on the way home from work yesterday, and on a whim I googled LYS' to see if there were any on the way, and there was!

I went to Prairie Lily Knitting & Needlework shop. I loved it! I bought not one, not two, not three, but... (drumroll please) ten skeins of yarn!

I got two 50g skeins of a bright yellow yarn that I think will make an excellent dishcloth (or two!) as well as a dark green, a brown and white varieagated, a beige and white varieagated, and an amazing purple/brown mix dishcloth yarn! (And that's all dishcloth yarn!) I also splurged and bought some gorgeous green ribbon-type yarn to make a beaded scarf with, and a lace-weight light green yarn to make a more feathery scarf with ... and finally I bought two skeins of varieagated blue and white yarn - I am not sure what I am going to do with this, but I it was love at first sight, so I had to get it. I am thinking perhap a beret-type hat with a brim...?

I will show pictures ASAP... although I will warn that I am going to be out of town this weekend, and my DB is also going to be out of town - in a different province, and he will have have camera with him. So... It will just be pictures of completed projects until next week.

In the meantime, here is one more yummy pattern that looks like it would be fun to knit:

This is called the Lace Ribbon Scarf, by Veronik Avery. It is available here. Thank-you Veronik for making such a lovely pattern available! I think this is the pattern that I will use for my green light weight scarf.

All the Small Things

2009-05-12T07:57:00.003-06:00

It is amazing how your best writing happens when you are no where near a computer, or heaven forbid, a pen and paper. That was the case last night. I was lying in bed, waiting for sleep to come to me and I worked my way through a very intuitive, insightful blog post. I knew at the time that I should be getting up to write it down, lest I would forget it in the morning. I was right. I do remember bits and pieces though. It has nothing to do with knitting, so you are warned. I'll do my best to recreate it here for you.

-----

It's amazing how much emphasis in life is put on the big things. Getting that job. Getting your degree. Important birthdays. Getting a promotion. Getting married. You name it.

It seems there is all the pressure in the world to succeed, and make something of yourself.

But what about the little things? Some of my favorite things in life are those that are completely overlooked by society.

I love it when the world seems to slow down, because my darling boyfriend (here-on-in named DB), has stopped to look at me, and maybe tuck my hair behind my ear.

I love it when the window is open in the morning, and you wake up to the sound of a quiet city, and birds singing.

I love it when my coffee is just the right temperature, and I actually finish it before it goes cold.

I love it when I get something in the mail, just to say that someone is thinking about me.

It is all these small things, and this is just the tip of the iceburg. I could go on for days. But these small things are what life is run on, and they get completely overlooked by society.

A person could know the secret to happiness, yet if they are not successful they won't be looked at twice.

At the same time, our society is obsessed with celebrities who, while they have the success and fame everyone craves, often have very disfunctional home lives.

What is success worth to you?

Springtime?

2009-05-08T14:34:00.010-06:00

I thought I'd share this lovely image from the internet as I was unable to take a picture of the three inches of snow waiting for me, stuck to my car on all possible sides and angles this morning.

I'd specifically like to point out the wording. Current: Snow Showers. What does that mean? I thought it would be sleet... but no, apparently it is its own entity. I stand corrected.

But seriously, Mr. Weatherman? Puhleeze tell Mother Nature that it is now May 8th. It's time for it to stop snowing.

Mother's Day Madness

2009-05-08T10:13:00.002-06:00

It seems that every holiday that comes and goes comes with a load of knitting. This isn't to say that I do not like this - I absolutely love knitting for my loved ones. However, there always seems to be something. that. gets. in. the. way.

As you are aware I was quite sick last weekend, and I am happy to announce that while low on energy, I am feeling much better. It turns out that I had tonsillitis. Thankfully I did not need to have my tonsils removed, but could be treated on (very strong) antibiotics.

Unfortunately, my boyfriend has been sick all week now so I have been spending all of my time at home taking care of him, and very little knitting has been done.

That being said, I have managed to finish 'Secret Project - Part 2', make some progress on my March block, and make half of my boyfriend's mom's mothers day present... so I haven't been completely hopeless. Here's to hoping I can knit the other half without her noticing while I'm at their house this weekend! I am knitting the Elvish Leaves Dishcloth pattern by Kelley, found at it's link. I wasn't sure whether the slipped stitches were meant to be knit or purl-wise, but I have been slipping them knitwise and it seems to give the cloth character. I am working with a variagated yarn for it, and I think I would work with a solid colour in the future as the pattern seems to show up better, but I am very happy with it overall at this point, and would definitely recommend the pattern. I will post pics when it is done/my camera works.

On another note I have put a lot of thought into my Etsy shoppe lately. I have made only one sale, and it has been open since December. As a result, I think I am going to take down the current listings I have, and 'renew' my shop. I have a few projects on the go that are both sophisticated and fun, and I think would sell a lot better than what I currently have up. While I believe that what I currently have up is excellent quality, I can see how they may look amateur as they have no common listings. Therefore I am going to remove the Mothers Day card I have in my shop, and add several sewn items. I am interested in putting in several of the same type of item, using small variations. I think it will get a positive response. The only hint that I am willing to tell you at this point, is that I will be repurposing ties for it.

I am not sure however, whether or not I should leave the knit scarves up, or pull them down and return them to the site in the fall. Any thoughts? Feel free to email me if you do not wish to leave a comment.

Much Ado about Nothing

2009-05-01T09:35:00.004-06:00

So It's been awhile since I've posted. (What's that? a week?) Sadly so.

It is not because I have forgotten my blog. Far from it. In fact, it has been niggling at the back of my mind constantly, going 'Are you going to post today? We miss you...'

The problem it seems, is I haven't had much positive to say, and I didn't want this to be a loaded post. I guess it's going to be a loaded post.

I thought I had finally reached 180 lbs... then I found out that the scale weighs light, and I am in fact 190 lbs... I guess I have still lost the weight, but it is a real kick in the ass and I have had trouble staying focused this week as a result. I have gone over my calorie limit two days in a row... and today it drops by 200 again. Here's to hoping right?

I have only made it to the gym twice this week... although, I fully intended to start my 12 week program this week. I think I am going to cut my losses and restart on Sunday. In my defence, the only reason I have not been exercising much is because I feel like poop. Yeah that's right. Feces. Pellets. Crap. Shit on a stick. Poop.

I think I have the flu.

In knitting news, nothing has happened... at all. Unless you count getting two rows further on my March (!) block...

The only good news I have to round this out is that Gilles will be back tonight. Hopefully he will get back, check his marks and find out that all his worrying was for nothing. I don't think I could handle it if he failed at this point. It would be TRAGIC. He's worked so hard.

I'll update you, but that is all the hoo haw I'm going to pour on you today.

I will however give you another totally awesome looking free pattern:

Thanks to DaniDo Crafty for this awesome mug cozy:

The pattern can be found here.

Please not the following errata:

"Errata: For ‘Squared Check’ version it has been noted that there is a problem with the numbers being right. The best I can figure is that as you increase out you’ll end up with 23 sts, and you need 22 for the pattern, you can increase out to the 23 (so your sides are even), then in the middle of the row before you begin the patterned section k2tog and you will have the correct number of sts. I will work on changing the website page to reflect this as well. Thank you all who brought this to my attention! I have no test knitters, so I depend on your input. Thanks!
This reusable wrap is an excellent replacement for disposable ‘java jackets’. In addition to being adjustable to work around your ceramic or glass mugs at home, this also fits around most to go cups found at your local coffee house. Tell your barista that you have your own ‘sleeve’ and save the world one less bit of trash and wasted card board.
You can knit this up in any yarn in any gauge, the gauge given provides a dense but flexible fabric and the yarn used was a bit of scrap from the bottom of my stash bucket. This pattern would be great in everything from the last bit of a hand spun to cheap kitchen cotton. NOTE: If you do change the kind of yarn you use, please note that the width of your jacket will change. If you use a thicker yarn, do not increase as many times, or only increase twice every increase row instead of four times."

Compliments of DaniDo Crafty's Ravelry pattern page.

Thanks again DaniDo!

Skinny Me

2009-04-22T09:14:00.003-06:00

I forgot to add this to my post this morning. I was online last night and I found a 'model maker' on the Reitman's website. It was designed so that you can see what their clothes will look like on you, but it allows you to plug in your height, body type, eyes, nose and mouth, and your weight. So I did this, and set it to three weights: My current weight, (184), my first goal weight (150), and my second goal weight (135). I have already had people talking to me, worried about my second goal weight... don't worry. I don't have unrealistic plans for my body, and I don't want to be unhealthily skinny. My second goal is actually to have a 'bikini body', I just don't know what this weight is for me, so I plugged in 135 as a bottom end... aka I don't want to get below that weight. Anyway, here are the models.

Veggie Monster

2009-04-22T07:25:00.000-06:00

There isn't much new in knitting news, aside from that on the March square of the afghan, I seem to be frogging every second row (Every one that I actually have to think about), and restarting it. It is getting quite frustrating, but I am slowly making progress. I have relegated this square to be a 'work square', meaning it is the one I am currently working on over my lunch breaks at work. Except, I haven't had time for many lunch breaks lately so it is mostly just sitting there. I will bring it home over the weekend however, and I hope to make some progress there as a result.

In weight loss news, I went to the pool to swim laps yesterday with the mind-set, 'I was a lifeguard up to my first year university, swimming laps for an hour and a half will be no problem.' Well, eventually it wasn't a problem once I got a sort of rhythm, but boy did those first 10 laps hurt. I finally forced my self to go into a sort of swimming trance, like I used to when I'd swim laps. I then survived the last 80 minutes without tragedy. Except, for some reason I am sore today... Who would have thought swimming uses different muscles than an eliptical? Haha especially when you swim 180 laps of breaststroke...It should make today's workout at the gym interesting to say the least.

I have also discovered that my body needs meat. It may seem obvious, but I've been using up leftovers this week, and there are no meat leftovers (at least in the fridge). Therefore, I had sweet peas for lunch on Monday, with leftover salad from Sunday's lunch. (This did have some chicken in it, but less than an oz.) I then made a veggie stir fry for supper Monday night, and ate that again for dinner Tuesday. Then I had a salad last night for supper... and I'm having that again for lunch today. But boy, my stomach is so upset today. I don't know if it's because I'm hungry, (According to my food log I burnt 1000 calories more than I ate yesterday), or because my body isn't used to digesting so many vegetables, but boy! I'm also quite tired today - I woke up thirsty in the middle of the night last night several times and had to get up and guzzle some water. Maybe that has something to do with it? Either way, I am definitely having fish for supper tonight. Hopefully that will settle me down!

Artificial Motivation

2009-04-21T07:24:00.000-06:00

Is there such thing? Can I buy some?

My knitting has progressed very slowly - I seem to be too busy exercising! Of course, my bf was home on the weekend too, which meant much less knitting time (He insists that I put the knitting down, and actually relax when we are watching a movie).

I have started working on Secret Project 1 - Part 2, but cannot elaborate much, because I am unsure as to whether its recipient will actually be reading this post. What I can say though, includes that I am working with three strands at a time - a very new concept for me - I struggled to keep them all working together for awhile, and I am still having trouble with the balls getting knotted together. Also, I can only knit a few rows of this a night, otherwise it will tear my fingers up. That is all I can say. :D

In other news, I have been pushing and pushing myself for exercise. I am getting frustrated that I am not seeing results, so I have started several new concepts. These include:

1. I am not going to eat over my calorie limit anymore, no matter what the occasion. (I know, this one seems to be obvious but sometimes it isn't.)
2. I am going to exercise every day, even if its only for 1/2 hour.
3. I am going to incorporate weights into my routine.
4. I am going to write out goals for the day ahead of time, so I don't just do the same thing every day.
5. I am going to log a running plus/deficit for calories, restarting at the beginning of each month. My long-term goal is to manage a deficit of 28,000 calories in a month. (That's 8 lbs).
6. I am going to measure myself every Wednesday, and write down the results even if they upset me.
7. I am going to weigh myself daily, (as soon as I get a scale) so that I can better understand the daily fluctuations of my body weight.
8. I will always push myself, even if I don't feel like exercising.
9. I will keep a record of how many sit-ups/push-ups I manage to do, and record it to use as inspiration (hopefully)
10. I will keep a record of reps and weight for strength training.

A lot of this seems very self explanatory, but it's amazing how easy it is to overlook. Here's to hoping that this will help! By the way - I am officially back down to 184. Yay for baby steps!

Give Me Something to Talk About...

2009-04-14T07:05:00.000-06:00

So, my boyfriend got to stay an extra day after I was done my long weekend, because SIAST gets an extra-long weekend. Great! He spent the whole day studying, (although I don't think he was up before noon) and agreed to come to the gym with me after work, if only for an hour.

So I happily shoved him out of the apartment when I got home, and marched us out the door. He insisted on driving to the gym, which I agreed with reluctantly as his reasoning was that he wanted to pick up food on the way home. I'm always hesitant to eat out, because eating out means fast food, which means empty calories. But, his reasoning was that he wanted to spend some unencumbered time with me before he left last night, so I agreed.

My work-out went really well, despite the fact that I spent the whole time watching my bf wander around the weights section like a lost puppy. He claims that he can't run, he is built for speed not endurance. Personally I think anyone can be built for endurance if they work at it enough, but I guess that could be because that it what I lean more towards. (Don't ask me to race!)

I was both pleased and disappointed with myself at the end of the work-out. I burnt 747 calories, because I upped the tension on the eliptical again, but as a result I only went 4 (3.99) miles - and this was in 60 minutes! If I had more time I am sure I could have ran the last mile on the treadmill, but it was time to go so I reluctantly quit. This exercising thing is actually becoming addictive! (So much so that it was driving me crazy that I couldnt' get to a gym over the weekend...)

I was also disappointed to find however, that my weight has gone up again to 186 lbs. Is this the result of Easter temptations or bodily fluctuations? I am not sure. But my second measurements are tonight, hopefully I can find at least a total of 1/2 an inch gone...

Also tonight I have decided to finally put my foot down and stop my excuses for not exercising on my days off. The biggest thing that I think I need to do is simple sit-ups and push-ups -- give my arms and abs some work. So off I go after work today to get a yoga mat! I'm also going to see if I can find a decent exercise DVD for the days that I am more motivated, but can't go to the gym (like Sunday). Hopefully this will stop me from telling myself that I can't do it cuz the floor is too hard!'

Finally, your free knitting pattern.

Today, I chose "Knitted Bunnies" by Artsy Fartsy Mamma. It can be found here: http://www.artsy-fartsy-mama.com/index.php?itemid=162

Essentially, it is a knitted square that is stategically sewn into a bunny shape! Sounds easy enough. Here's a pic:

The bunnies in this pic were made by Warm Fuzzies. Great work!

Easter Ups and Downs

2009-04-13T07:34:00.000-06:00

It seems whenever I don't cook my own meals I have a hard time maintaining a proper diet.

My Easter weekend was a classic example of this - thank goodness I don't have a full Easter break like I did in school!

I ate a chocolate Reese egg - that was probably my biggest problem. I also ate a piece of pie after lunch on Sunday. In addition we had greasy foods such as breakfast sausage and ham, as well as scalloped potatoes and pancakes. The last problem I had was candy - it was everywhere. I make a point of keeping candy out of my apartment, because let's face it - if it's there I'll eat it. And this was exactly what I was reminded of when I was there. Cadbury mini eggs, oh how I love and despise you. You taste so good but go straight to my gut -- not a happy marraige.

When I got home I was determined to go to the gym to work off some of the pounds I am sure I gained while visiting - only to find that my gym was closed. (Easter Sunday, who would have guessed?) I played DDR in hopes that I could burn some calories off this way, and managed to make myself a sweaty mess and burn 300 calories, but as with workouts that target only a couple muscles I was left unsatisfied. (Plus I was well below my 500, 5 goal, with 300 calories and 1.3 miles!)

I will go to the gym after work today in hopes that I can make som acceptable progress.

In other news I was able to complete a new dishcloth found here: http://www.joyknits.com/facloth2.html

It was a lot of fun to knit up, and took me only a day! (Pretty good for a novice knitter)

I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

Work-out

2009-04-09T07:35:00.000-06:00

No knitterly updates here: sorry.

I do however want to comment on my weight-loss progress, as follows:

I really had to fight to get myself going at the gym yesterday - it seemed like any potential steam that I might have had had just fizzled away - and it seemed no matter how hard I worked I just couldn't produce the results that I had on Tuesday. An hour after I started working out I was huffing and puffing, red in the face, and covered in sweat (lovely picture isn't it?), and had burned a grand total of... 502 calories. So I made my goal in calories, but that leaves milage. 3.82 miles. Ouch.

I think this is partly because after 30 minutes on the eliptical I could tell that I needed to do something else - my muscles were already telling me when I got on there that they were hurting from it - that I needed to target them some other way. So I switched over to the treadmill, but found that I couldn't pull the energy needed to run (I nearly went off the back end of the treadmill when I tried), so I forced myself to walk for 30 minutes at an incline of 5-8 (variable) instead. This meant that while I was working very hard to get there, I wasn't going very far. I think I'll try the bike on Friday and see how that feels.

I also made my first measurements yesterday (much to my dismay I am much larger than I thought... it always seems to be that way, doesn't it?) and it turns out one thigh is about 2" smaller than my younger sisters hips. Ouch. Here are the measurements:

Bust: 40"
Waist: 34 3/4"
Belly: 43.5"
Hips: 42.5"
Right Thigh: 27"
Left Thight: 27"
Right Arm: 14"
Left Arm: 14"

Total Inches: 242.75
+/- = 0

As you can see I am focusing mostly on the total inches to see if I am shrinking -- because I have no idea where the weight is going to come off (although I wouldn't be surprised if it is coming off the bust the fastest - my girls seem to be shrinking rather rapidly).

My only wish is that I had done measurements when I started in February, so I could know if I have gotten anywhere yet. Oh well - I'll know in the next weeks.

I have also had some (limited) success. It may sound trivial, but when I weighed myself last week I was 186 pounds, when I weighed myself Tuesday I weighed 185 pounds, and when I weighed myself yesterday I weighed 184 pounds. I realize that weight can fluctuate up to 4 pounds/day based on what you eat, how much water you drink and what time it is, but yesterday I drank 2L of water and I have been weighing myself at approx. the same time each day.... a girl can hope they are real results anyway.

'Til next time!

Fun with Pictures

2009-04-08T07:32:00.000-06:00

Quiz courtesy of Jen at MonkeyKnits.

Here's the latest meme making the rounds through the blogworld. My answers are listed below.

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name? Chantelle
2. What is your favorite food? Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry (Had to search stir fry broccoli)
3. What high school did you go to? Gravelbourg High School (Had to search Gravelbourg)
4. What is your favorite color? Blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Channing Tatum
6. Favorite drink? Strawberry Daiquiri
7. Dream vacation? Aruba

8. Favorite dessert? Chocolate Fudge Pudding
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Happy
10. What do you love most in life? Free time

11. One word to describe you. Creative

12. Your flickr name. Guest

A Bit of Everything

2009-04-07T07:16:00.000-06:00

Thanks to One Crazy Fiber Lady for the link to this quiz.

Your rainbow is shaded blue.

What is says about you: You are a tranquil person. You appreciate friends who get along with one another. You share hobbies with friends and like trying to fit into their routines.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefm.com

In other news, the camera still isn't working properly. I'm not sure how much detail I went into in my last post, but it will take pictures fine, and the camera can view the pictures afterward, the computer just can't read the file -- so it's probably some setting that I haven't found yet gone askew.

Knitting News

As you can see, I have finished both my Secret Project 1 Part 1 :) and my Secret Project 2. For SP1, I can't tell you what it is yet because the recipient hasn't recieved it yet... but I will share later down the road, along with some pictures.

Secret Project 2 was a huge success. I knitted the Starfish Cloth by sew-funky for my supervisor at work.

Often I will wonder if making homemade gifts is worth it - whether they will really appreciate the effort behind the work, or whether I would be better off just running off to WalMart to pick them out a couple movies out of the bin. This time I could tell that she was really happy with her gift though - she practically shrieked when she saw it, and said that she gets one-a-year from her mother-in-law, but that they are always worn right out before she gets the next one.

:) Glad to hear it'll be put to use.

I also casted on (again) for the March block for the Block of the Month Afghan I'm working on. (Yes, I'm behind again.) This time however I slowed myself down and forced myself to count the stitches on the needle at the end of each row before moving on. This is excruciatingly painful, because - well, 63 stitches of chunky weight yarn don't fit very well on a 15" needle, and it becomes even more trying when you are trying to shove them around to count them. So far so good though - I have made it through the first set in the repeats without any serious trouble, so it is worth it. Last time I would have the wrong number of stitches and sit there staring at it, wondering how many rows ago I made the mistake...

I am also working on cutting up the material for the second part of Secret Project 1. (Hint, hint) It is proving to be a time-consuming process, and I am finding myself becoming impatient and wanting to start knitting, so much so that I am considering using only one colour rather than two and twisting them together. I guess we will have to see what my level of patience sits at tonight. (In other news I have discovered that at 20 years old I still haven't figured out how to cut straight...)

Diet News

As at this date, I still haven't lost any weight. I mean sure, it might have something to do with the fact that I splurged two Saturdays in a row, and then didn't watch my calories for a week while I was at home... but surely the work that I am doing would make up for some of that?

All the same, I have turned the clock and my goals have changed with the month. I am not sure if I posted earlier about this, but every month I am cutting back the number of calories I eat/day by 200, until I reach my goal of 1400 calories/day. I have now turned the dial for the 3rd time, down from 2200 to 2000 calories/day. Most days I sit slightly over 1500 and this isn't a problem, however this cushion does allow for those days that my stomach just doesn't agree with the fact that I am trying to shrink it.

As with the turn, I have also increased my exercise goals. Previous goals were merely about getting to the gym. In February my goal was to get to the gym twice a week (which wasn't usually a problem), and in March it was to get there three times/week (which I struggled with a bit more). April's goal has a bit of a kick to it. Not only is my goal to get to the gym every second day (or do something else for exercise if I'm not in the city), but I have been starting to notice myself becoming comfortable with the routine I have been setting out at the gym. So my current goal is as follows: Every day that I'm at the gym I must burn a minimum of 500 calories, and I must "travel" a minimum of 5 miles.

I implemented this goal for the first time yesterday, and I found that I had extraordinary results - in 55 minutes I traveled 5.03 miles, and burnt 582 calories. Not too shabby! This is the best workout I have had yet.

Right now I am using the days in between as rest days. Next month I hope to be able to increase the mileage to 5.5 miles, and the calories to 600. I also hope to be able to implement a bit of strength training at home on the days between work-outs. Wish me luck!

Free Pattern

As promised, here is another free pattern that I think is amazing. First a few pictures...

No, I haven't made these. But I really want to. They are so cute!

They are called Monkey Socks by Cookie A.

All pictures and the pattern are her copyright, and I claim no ownership to them.

The pattern can be found at the link, as it is too long to add to this blog posting!

These socks are in my knitting queue for once I brave up enough to try sock knitting.

Thanks Cookie!

Until next time... keep creative!

Memorial Video

2009-04-06T16:06:00.004-06:00

3 girls were killed on a Saskatchewan highway on Saturday, March 28th. This date will be forever stamped into my memory. I was proud to call one of these girls one of my best friends.

There has been a memorial video posted on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMzrfDdAA9M

I will post my own video soon.

I love you Laramie. RIP.

Well, the Camera Hates Me.

2009-03-27T08:20:00.003-06:00

If you are wondering why I haven't posted the pictures yet, it isn't that I have run out of time. It is that the camera hates me. I took the pictures, they look awesome, I sat down at the computer (a few times), plugged in the memory chip, and....

Nothing.

Well, I guess it wasn't nothing per say... but pretty much nothing. I could see every picture on the chip... except my knitting ones. I found the files - the computer just couldn't read them.

I'm going to keep trying -- I may take pictures again, and play with the settings on the camera some, to see what will work.

In the meantime - I have decided that I am going to put a totally awesome, totally free pattern here every time I post. They won't be my creations of course, but I will make sure to credit their author.

Our first pattern is called "Cold Shoulder" by Stefanie Japel. I don't know about you, but I am seriously starting to get anxious for spring. I see all the pictures of peoples yards in places that aren't as cold as we are here, and I long for the temperature to rise above 0 degrees celcious, so that can go outside without a coat on - at least for a little while.

This pattern seems to capture that for me. It is a solid knit, so it isn't quite as breezy as summer clothes, but it suggests that the air is warming up.

What do you think? Is this pattern worth a try? It will definitely be added to my (seemingly endless) project queue.

http://www.glampyre.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/coldshoulder_pattern.pdf

To Tide You Over for Unveiling Pictures Tonight...

2009-03-24T16:35:00.001-06:00

I am interested in seeing where I am on these things a year from now...

Knitting Quiz
Have you knit….
Afghan – Working on one…
I-cord - No
Garter stitch - Yes
Knitting with metal wire - Yes
Shawl - No
Stockinette stitch - yes
Socks: top-down - No
Socks: toe-up - No
Knitting with camel yarn -No
Mittens: Cuff-up - No
Mittens: Tip-down - No
Hat - No
Knitting with silk a fine strand with wool for socks - No
Moebius band knitting - No
Participating in a KAL - Yes
Sweater - No
Drop stitch patterns - Yes
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn - No
Slip stitch patterns - Yes
Knitting with banana fiber yarn - No
Twisted stitch patterns - No
Knitting with bamboo yarn - No
Charity knitting - No
Knitting with soy yarn - No
Cardigan - No
Toy/doll clothing - No
Baby items - No
Knitting with your own handspun yarn - No
Slippers - No
Designing knitted garments - No
Cable stitch patterns – Soon…
Lace patterns - Yes
Publishing a knitting book - No
Scarf - Yes
Teaching a child to knit - No
Knitting to make money - Yes
Buttonholes - No
Knitting with alpaca - No
Fair Isle knitting - No
Dying with plant colors - No
Knitting items for a wedding - No
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…) - Yes
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) - No
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn - No
Holiday related knitting - Yes
Teaching a male how to knit - No
Bobbles - No
Knitting for a living - No
Knitting with cotton - Yes
Knitting smocking - No
Dying yarn - No
Knitting art - No
Fulling/felting - Yes
Knitting with wool - Yes
Textured knitting - yes
Kitchener stitch – Not sure..
Purses/bags - No
Knitting with beads - Yes
Swatching - No
Long Tail CO - Yes
Knitting and purling backwards - No
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn - Yes
Stuffed toys - No
Knitting with cashmere (mmm, cashmere!) - No
Darning - No
Jewelry - Yes
Knitting with synthetic yarn - Yes
Writing a pattern - Yes
Intarsia - No
Knitting with linen - No
Knitting for preemies - No
Short rows - Yes
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers - No
Pillows - No
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine - Yes
Rug - No
Knitting on a loom - No
Knitting a gift - Yes
Knitting for a pet? - No
Shrug/bolero/poncho - No
Knitting with dog/cat hair accidentally or on purpose? - No
Hair accessories - No
Knitting in public - Yes
Knitting with buffalo yarn - No
Knitting with pygora - No
Dyeing with food dye/drink mixes - No
Dyeing with chemical dyes (acid, etc) - No

Apologies

2009-03-20T10:46:00.000-06:00

So obviously I didn't get my latest knitting posted the other day, but it is coming I promise.

Here is some fun I had with photoshop a while ago to tide you over until I have time to post again (probably Monday).

Confessions of a Food-aholic, Day 7

2009-03-15T21:33:00.000-06:00

I struggled to keep my eating under control this weekend, due in part to the fact that I wasn't home. Friday I had the leftovers from Thursday's supper for lunch, and was still hungry afterward. I left work at 2:30, and felt an relentless craving for a double-quarter pounder with cheese. I swear I'm going into fast food withdrawal or something. I am not proud to say that I actually did go buy that burger, so of course Friday's calorie limit broken.

Saturday saw a broken calorie limit as well, but for less malicious reasons. As I was in Moose Jaw visiting my boyfriend, I was unable to make my own meals. Therefore, Saturday saw Pita Pit for lunch, and Quiznos for supper. I was careful to make calorie-wise decisions, but there is only so much you can do when you are eating out.

I am proud to say however, that I am back on track today, with a grand total of 1,230 calories consumed: 970 calories below my March limit of 2200.

I am starting to see results, although the scale defies me and tells me that I have lost one measly pound. I shall show it who is boss yet.

On another note, today's supper was absolutely wonderful. I made Spicy Tangerine Beef which is a stir-fry out of the Weight Watchers recipe book. I recommend boiling the broccoli and the peppers together rather than frying them from raw, and then adding them to the mixture without even touching them to the frying pan. I also did not heat the tangerines - I found adding them to the hot food heated them as much as I pleased.

Spicy Tangerine Beef
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tangerines
2 teaspoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons water
3/4 lb boneless sirloin steak, trimmed and thinly sliced
3 cups small broccoli florets
3 scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths (I omitted this ingredient)
1 small red bell pepper, cut into strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (I omitted this ingredient as well)

Instructions:

1. Grate the zest from the tangerines; set side. Peel the tangerines and seperate into sections; reserve the sections. Stir together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of the water in a cup until smooth; set aside.

2. Spray a nonstick wok or large deep nonstick skillet with a nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. When a drop of water sizzles in it, add half of the beef and stir-fry until browned, about 3 minutes, using a slotted spoon to transfer the beef to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining beef.

3. Add the broccoli and the remaining 2 tablespoons water to the wok; cook, covered, about 2 minutes. Increase the heat to high. Add the scallions, bell pepper, garlic, tangerine zest, soy sauce, and crushed red pepper; stir-fry until the sauce thickens and bubbles, about 1 minute. Return the beef to the wok aong wiht the tangerines; stir-fry until heated through, about 1 minute longer.

Per serving (aout 1 1/4 cups): 191 cal, 4g fat, 1g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 55mg chol, 453 mg sod, 15g carb, 3g fib, 26g prot, 65mg calc.

4 points on the Weight Watchers scale.

Stay tuned for knitting updates tomorrow.

Confessions of a Food-aholic, Day 4

2009-03-12T20:20:00.000-06:00

Today was probably the best meal I have had yet - Asian-Style Roast Beef Salad.

It is worth 4 WW points.

As you can see, mine doesn't really look like the one in the book again, but it was really good all the same. I liked all the fresh vegetables, and the deli meat allowed me to get the protein I need without it weighing me down. Here is the recipe:

Asian-Style Roast Beef Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 pound sliced lean deli roast beef, cut into wide strips
2 cups sliced white mushrooms ( about 6 ounces)
1 cup snowpeas, trimmed
1 cup packaged matchstick-cut carrots (I just chopped up some big carrots)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar (I skipped this ingredient, I had just had a bad experience with vinegar thank you very much)
1 tablespoon pickled ginger, drained and chopped (I skipped this one too, where can you find pickled ginger?)
1 tablespoon Asian (dark) sesame oil

Instructions:

Combine the roast beef, mushrooms, snow peas, carrots, onion, and bell pepper in a serving bowl. Whisk together the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle over the salad and toss to coat evenly.

Per serving (1 1/2 cups): 215 Cal, 6g fat, 2g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 39 mg chol, 689 mg sod, 19g carb, 4g fib, 20g prot, 56 mg calc.

----------------

I found that I had two eat two servings of this to be full, but at 215 calories/serving I could totally get away with it. In fact, I am still 1000 calories under my daily max!

Confessions of a Food-aholic, Day 3

2009-03-11T20:06:00.000-06:00

If you are wondering what happened to the knitting on this knitting blog, worry not. It shall return! Actually I have finished up a couple items, and just need to take the pictures so I can show you (that's what the delay is).

On another note, today's supper was Filet Mignon with Herb Butter.

I didn't feel like steak, so instead of using that, I made it using atlantic salmon. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures for you today, because it smelt so good I couldn't wait to eat it.

Anyway, here is the original recipe, worth 4 WW points:

Filet Mignon with Herb Butter
Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon chopped chives
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 (3-ounce) filet mignons, 1/2 inch thick, trimmed
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions:

1. With a fork, mash together the butter, thyme, tarragon, chives, lemon zest, ane 1/4 teaspoon of the salt in a cup, seat aside.

2. Sprinkle the beef with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray; set over medium-high heat. Add teh beef; cook until an instant read thermometer, inserted into the side of a stead registers 145 degrees F for medium, about 4 minutes on each side. Transer to a platter and top each steak with on fourth of the herb butter.

Per serving, (1 steak and about 1 teaspoon butter) 161 cal, 9g fat, 4g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 45 mg chol, 467 mg sod, 0g carb, 0g fib, 18g prot, 8mg calc

------------------------------

When I was done with it it looked more like this:

Fish with Herb Butter

Serves 1

1 teaspoon butter, melted
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 teasoon lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon salt
0.278 kg fresh skinless atlantic salmon fillets
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions:

1. With a fork, mix together the butter, chives and lemon zest in a small bowl, set aside.

2. Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper. Spray a nonstick skillet with nonstick spray; set over high heat. Add the fish and 1 1/2 cups of water. Boil until water is gone. Brush piece of fish with butter mixture.

It was really good! I'm definitely going to do this one again!

Confessions of a Food-aholic, Day 2

2009-03-10T19:52:00.000-06:00

I was looking forward to supper all day today. Yesterday's meal did not turn out as planned at all, so the fact that today's meal was something considerably normal brightened my day. Today's supper was Double Cheese and Macaroni. I also made some carrot soup, because I was incredibly hungry all day and thought that I would need it. (In case your wondering, I didn't. I couldn't finish what I had!)

Without further ado, this is today's supper.
As you can see, it isn't stupidly far from what it's supposed to look like this time, except for that I used the wrong kind of noodles and I went crazy with the parsley. Overall, I'd rate this recipe a 6/10, although I would probably rate it higher if I had used plain monterey jack cheese like they asked for, instead of monterey jack with pieces of jalapeno peppers in it.

Here's the recipe. It's worth 6 Weight Watchers points.

Double Cheese and Macaroni
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups ditalini or small bow ties (farfalle) (I used macaroni, because that's what I had on hand)
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green pepper and onion, drained (I used an 18 oz can because I like tomatoes, and then added some green onions)
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat chedder cheese
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cook the ditalini according to the package directions, omitting the salt if desired; drain and keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, whisk together the milk, cornstarch, mustard, and pepper in a large saucepan until smooth, then set over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens and bubbles, about 4 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add the chedder and Monterey Jack; cook, stirring, just until melted. Stir in the pasta and cook until heated through, about 1 minute longer. Serve sprinkled with parsley, if using.

Per serving (1 1/4 cups): 322 cal, 5 g fat, 2g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 12mg chol, 703mg sod, 50g carb, 4g fib, 19g prot, 404 mg calc.

I'm back on track!

Confessions of a Food-aholic

2009-03-09T20:46:00.000-06:00

Hello, my name is Chantelle and I am a food-aholic. I have come to the conclusion that I am both an impulsive eater, and an emotional eater. That means that I eat when I see someone else eating, and I eat when I'm happy...sad...mad...excited...bored... you get the picture.

So, this is not a good thing. This means that since my metabolism has slowed down (aka in the last 3 year), I have gained not the freshman 15, but a whopping 51 lbs. Maybe my metabolism has dyslexia. I decided in November that I wanted to do something about it, so I stopped drinking pop. I have had a grand total of two cans of pop since November 1. :) I'm pretty proud of that. Anyway, in a couple months of drinking no pop, I saw a total weight loss of 10 lbs. Pretty good right? Well, I have since stopped losing weight. So I decided around Christmas time that I needed to do the unthinkable. It was time to buy a gym membership.

Well, in January I started my internship for my marketing degree, and I found out that after a month of working there, I was eligible for up to $100 rebate for any fitness activity (1 rebate/yr). So to me, it was a no brainer. At the beginning of February I marched up to the gym in my area, had a meeting with one of the girls who work there, and bought a gym membership.

I have loved going to the gym, but there has been one problem. While I have been eating out much, much less, and working out at the gym at least twice a week, I haven't lost any weight!

I decided something had to be done. So I joined this website - caloriecount.about.com, that you can track what you eat, how much you exercise, and your weight. It will then tell you how many calories you should be eating in a day (at the most) based on your weight/height and activity level. So I have been tracking my calories with this, and think I am starting to learn what habits are really kicking me in the ass (aka popcorn at the theatre - ouch! I had a small bag of popcorn - no butter - and that was half my calorie allowance for the day!)

But I was having a lot of trouble staying under the max calories for the day, so I decided to step it up a notch. I am now making recipes that are low calorie and low fat for supper, and either having the leftovers from that for lunch the next day, or rice.

So without further ado, here is a picture of today's supper. (No, I definitely didn't eat all of that... I don't think I even at 1/10 of that).
Is it just me or does what I made look no where near as appetizing as the picture in the book?

It wasn't.

The bread soaked up all the vinegar, and became soggy, and disgusting.

There was way too much onion (and it was a strong one), and it was altogether nasty. I ended up throwing most of it away, and munching on carrots for the rest of the night. What a waste.

For those brave souls who think they can fix it though, here's the recipe (it is worth 7 points on the weight watchers scale if you care):

Bread Salad with Tomatoes, Beans and Feta

Serves 6

Ingredients:

8 ounces country-style whole-wheat bread, cut into 3/4-inch slices
1/3 cup red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (I used canola)
1 garlic clove, minced (note to self: get one of those garlic crusher thingys)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 (15 1/2-ounce) cans beans, such as cannellini (white kidney), red kidney, and cheackpeas, rinsed and drained (I used a can of bean salad and a can of red kidney beans)
1/2 English (seedless) cucumber, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch slices (this was probably the best part about the recipe)
2 large tomatoes, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1 onion, thinly sliced
12 large basil leaves, coarsly chopped (I used a tablespoon of dried basil)
3/4 cup coursely crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese

Instructions:

1. Toast the bread, then cut into 3/4-inch chunks, set aside.
2. Whisk together the vinegar, oil, garlic, and pepper ina serving bowl. Add the chunks of bread, beans, cucmber, tomatoes, onion, and basil; toss to coat evenly with the dressing. Add the feta and gently toss to combine well.

Per serving: (2 1/4 cups)

382 caloris, 6g fat, 2g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 6mg chol, 859 mg sod, 61 carb, 13g fib, 23g prot, 262 mg calc.

---------------------

So in hindsight, I am never making this recipe again. It was Nasty. Yes, with a capital N. Let's hope tomorrow's goes better!

Blocking the Light

2009-02-24T08:09:00.000-06:00

I did it! I really did it! I finished the first square of my afghan. What seemed like neverending repeats of the same stitches, has actually found an end. Not to say that I didn't enjoy this square - Oh no, that isn't it at all. It is a beautiful texture, called 'double moss'. It reminds me of bubble wrap, all the bubbles and indents. But this is the point is it not? Either way, I have come to the conclusion that it will be a really warm blanket. If only I could decide who I was making it for!
Here are a couple pictures of the afghan, first partially completed, and then my completed square.

No, it hasn't been blocked yet - I was too excited to take a picture. And yes, that funny looking pink thing at the bottom of the finished piece is a 12" ruler. I just wanted to point out the difference between my gauge, and the suggested 12" gauge. I didn't do it intentionally, although I suppose if I stop to think about it I did.

I used Chunky-weight yarn on size 7 needles, when the directions called for worsted weight yarn on size 8 needles. I'm bad.

But, I really like big blankets. And I really hate little blankets. So - such is life.

---------------

In other news, and if you only want to read about my knitting you can skim to the end to view my On/Off the needles; Gilles is home sick.

For those of you that don't know me, Gilles is my boyfriend. He works as an electrician during the week, and a janitor on the weekends to make some extra cash. It worries me. He has worn himself down to nothing - and now this is the second day in a row that he has had to miss work at his real job, as an electrician.

Not that I have a problem with him staying home and sleeping - I know that that is exactly what he needs - but this bothers me because it is the fact that he is overworking himself that makes him so prone to illness.

To make matters worse, he is going back to school in a week and a half. So this means that he is taking sick time off work even though he isn't going to be there much longer - and then needs to come back again in two months.

Plus, he can't be sick when he goes to school. If he misses four or more classes, he fails the year. --not that he wouldn't be having trouble if he missed only one class - they cram the information on you way too fast at SIAST.

While he's in school he'll be moving down to Moose Jaw during the week, and then spending most weekends back in Saskatoon. This means that I'll be getting lots of knitting done, because it has been a long time since he's been away so much. Gotta pass the time somehow.

--------------------

Well, I'm done whining. :)

Here's what's on/off my needles this week:

On the needles:

Garterlac dishcloth (currently eyeing me up and accusing me of ignoring it)
Knit'n Purl scarf (my own design, and very basic, but very slow to knit up)
Valentine's Hearts
Mother's Day Card (Okay, this one isn't technically knitting, but there will be some needlework on it - and it counts if I say it does). :D

Off the needles:

'January' square for monthly KAL (oh yeah, did I not mention that I started a month late?)

**And a new category:**

In the queue: (I will try to refrain from listing more than three items at once - it may help control my urge to knit 5,000,000 projects at once).

'February' square for monthly KAL
Montreal Canadiens crocheted afghan (Yes, I am aware that I do not yet know how to crochet)
Garter Stitch Lace Facecloth by Bernadette Borse

http://www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/clothgarterlace.htm

Afghan

2009-02-19T08:13:00.000-06:00

There will be pictures. I promise. But for now, a description will have to suffice.

I have finally made it past the first square (the first two squares actually!) on my garterlac dishcloth. Phew, right? Well I'm at the decreasing triangle now, and something is wrong. I don't mean like my thread is peeling or anything like that, I have tried my decreasing triangle going from one direction, frogged it. Tried it from the other direction in case I misread the instructions, frogged it. I jsut can't seem to get the trangle to hook back up to the cloth! I've decided to put this one into semi-hibernation for a week or so, until I can work on it again without wanting to shred it into peices.

On another note, I joined a great group on Ravely called Monthly Aventures (http://www.ravelry.com/groups/monthly-adventures) that is doing a KAL for an afghan, and breaking it up into different squares for each month! Definitely doable. Granted, I am now almost two months behind starting, but I will still enjoy doing it I'm sure.

I have started the January block - it uses double moss stitch and calls for a 12 inch gauge on size 8 needles using worsted weight thread. Well, I opted for chunky thread, and figured sizing down to size 7 needles would make up the difference. Not so much! My block is measuring at about 24 inches wide. I don't want to frog it - I've certainly had enough of that lately - so I guess I will just make a really big afghan. Or perhaps an afgan with squares of different sizes? I haven't decided yet. Let me know what you think!

On the needles:

Garterlac Dishcloth

Valentine's Hearts

Double-moss afghan square

Garter & Purl Striped Scarf

Off the needles:

Crimson scarf

And now for something completely random;

Bold the books you have already read
* Italicize the books you intend to read*
Notes in parentheses next to note-worthy titles.

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
6. The Bible (I bolded half of it because I've read sections but I've never read the whole thing front to back)
7. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
11. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
17. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch by George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House by Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis (I've watched the movies - does that count?)
34. Emma by Jane Austen
35. Persuasion by Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres
39. Memories of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne
41. Animal Farm by George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving
45. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
50. Atonement by Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
52. Dune by Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
62. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road by Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
72. Dracula by Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island by Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses by James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal by Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession by AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dicken
s82. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web by EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection by Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
94. Watership Down by Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

I sense a pattern. Yes, a definite pattern. All of the books on this list I've read were either a) from Highschool/University, b) made into movies, or c) meant for children!

So I guess I can call myself a bookworm, but not a versed reader. Hmm.

Garterlac Dishcloth

2009-02-11T12:14:00.000-06:00

Now, I may not be a professional knitter. I may not have even been knitting for two years yet. But I have been knitting very steadily, and am confident in my knitting abilities.

Then comes along the Garterlac Dishcloth. I'd like to start by crediting Dave for his excellent dishcloth pattern. It really is excellent - that is not my complaint.

My problem is that I just can't seem to get the picking up stitches part. I have read countless blogs, forums, and kal sites, and despite trying to incorporate all of these suggestions, this dishcloth is now frogged for the 5th time. I will not give up though - it is intoxicating - a puzzle that refuses to stop taunting me.

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

On the needles:

Crimson Scarf

Garterlac Dishcloth

Valentine's Hearts