In which the rain is replaced by wind

Yes, it is true! The rain is gone. We are quite soggy from the visit. Today we have wind. Big wind. Wind that talks in its own special way. I am so comforted by the howling wind. I love sleeping while the trees are screaming. What I am not thrilled about is when I must go out into the wind. That is rough. The cold wind burns my face in a way that makes the sun look like the fair skinned redhead's best friend.

I have almost finished the Charcoal Broadripple socks! The heal is turned and gusset decreases almost complete on the second sock. That is a great accomplishment. I am resisting the urge to find yet another project to start on those overly active size 1 needles. The Baby Blue Slouch hat has 5 inches on it. Another 2-3 and I can get on with the crown decreases. That will be today's cardio-knit. I have got to get that completed and get the package into the mail. I think it would be an all time first for my nieces to get gifts on the actual day.

I made a list of the projects to get complete for gift giving. It is very long. I need to be doing some sort of crafting at every moment in the day, unless of course I am eating or sleeping. I do need some form of a schedule but that is not taking form yet. Lists are really my strong suit. I know what needs to be on the needles in order to come off the needles. I know what needs to be cut into little pieces up in the sewing room. Then there are all those other projects that I want to get done which may or may not get going. That is what I am calling the Dream List. If I stop dreaming at night I might get them done OR I am just plain dreaming to think that they might get accomplished before the time is here.

I've noticed something about the sitting room. It is so much smaller than the old living room the clutter looks messy. In the older larger room I could loose some of the clutter. It was almost like it did not exist really. Now though, the newspaper on the couch or the shuffled magazines on the table stand out. They are screaming out loud "Please put me away! Don't leave me exposed!" Good news though Celie has started to venture to the downstairs again. She was a bit shell shocked when her living room disappeared. She spent days upstairs in her house. If the cats came close (with in 5 feet!) to her she charged. Now she is re-taking control of the downstairs. She is sleeping in her downstairs bed and charging at the cats if they come 5 feet from her. This is an improvement. Moon Kitty is not backing down. He is however disappointed that she is in her bed. He was thinking it should belong to him. Maybe Santa will bring new beds for the animals. There really isn't too much room for them, the beds, but it is understandable for them, the cats, to want the warmth of a polar fleece bed to curl up in. (I will resist the urge to add them to the List. Even the Dream List!) Like I said maybe Santa will fix that one. (Hope he has good decorator sense and understands limited spaces!)

OK, time to quilt. Today is T-shirt quilt day. Must get them done. Must get them down to Mom to get quilted. Must keep going. Must get the list complete!

Rain Anyone?

Surprise! There is rain again today! Lots of rain. The light in the sitting room feels like 4 PM not 9 AM. The gutters are doing a decent job of getting the rain from the front of the house to the back yard and avoiding the basement. I am always so very happy when this happens. (The other option is not too much fun. I don't even want to think about inches of rain down there with those weight machines which cannot be moved.) Happiness at its best, a dry basement. The back yard on the other hand has chosen to grow grass again. Looks as though we will need to mow this weekend. Feels a bit like living in the tropics again.

I did get in both weight training sessions yesterday. The soreness isn't too bad. I am experiencing the stiff ankle thing but wondering if it is due to the lower body weight training or to the excessive dampness and pressure with this weather. Pressing on! Yesterday did not include any extra cardio. Today has two cardio sessions slated. I am wanting to get that going. Lots of fat burning. Lots of calories used. Lots of knitting time for me!

More Rain

So it is raining again. The predicted amount is 1 inch today, another tonight, and then for a change of pace tomorrow we could get two inches. I'm not complaining. We need the rain. I would just rather snuggle on the couch watching movies than try to work in the drippiness. There are a few errands that must get run. I have already been out. I don't want to go back out. The rain makes driving no fun. Maybe the cats won't mind not having food for the next few days. Maybe the bill collectors will forget they need their money until I am in the mood to take it to them. Maybe I am living in a fantasy world.

I have been keeping up on the cardio. The weight training has gone to pot so far this week. Well, that is not too fair to say. I was not able to get in my lower body on Monday. Today is only half gone. I could double up and do upper and lower body today. I am planning to get in another hour on the bike. Kam mentioned to me that I need to be walking two miles each day as well as all the other stuff I am doing. I thought I could get away with not doing it because of the rain. Many games are called on account of rain. Apparently cardio is not one of them. She remembered the Walk Away the Pounds videos. I can do a few miles without even leaving the house. Joy Bliss

On the knitting front, I am half way through the leg portion of the second Charcoal Broadripple sock. I intended to breeze right through it until it was done. Alas, I got distracted. Last night was one of my great evenings with Mia. Mia is a friend's 11 year old daughter. We hang out together on Tuesdays so her parents can have some time away. This is not babysitting. She is not a baby. She is more like a surrogate niece. She is an excellent knitter. A few weeks ago I promised to teach her to knit with circular needles. Last night she started a lovely green scarf. Again, I forgot my camera and will need to ask her permission to photograph her progress when I see her on Thursday evening. While she was plugging away with the nice 10.5 needles, I started another hat using size 6. Normally it is fine to do a magic loop hat. Last night I decided to use bamboo circulars. The center cord is so stiff it might as well be wire. I am so very spoiled with my Knit Picks Options. I have the nickel plated model. The yarn glides over the needles in a way I cannot describe as anything less than heaven. That may sound like an exaggeration. It is not. After last night's workout with needles I have learned the beauty of the Options. The hat I started is for my other niece. It is lovely. The yarn is soft and very smooshy. She has the most beautiful long brown hair and this baby blue slouch hat will be perfect for her. Hopefully she is feeling it is perfect for her too!

Rainy Tuesday

I'm loving the weather today! The overcast skies normally make me cranky but today is different. I can go outside without a winter coat, gloves, hat, scarf, and thick socks. My face is not cramped because of the icy wind beating against it. I actually had the word balmy come into mind when I was just out on the porch! Imagine, balmy on December 9!!

I completed one sock last night while hanging out in the new sitting room. I found the room to be much cozier at night. The dark outside makes the room feel more closed in. That doesn't sound like a pleasant thing but in reality it is. Maybe it is this getting closer to the shortest day of the year that is making me feel dark and closed in spaces are good. Anyway the sock, I completed one. I love the color. The pattern is beautiful. Broadripple from Knitty's Summer '03. This is the second pair I've made using this pattern. Love the way I can memorize the counts. Almost like using a simple Calculus formula, almost. (Maybe that is where I went wrong. Maybe I should have created knitting patterns out of my formulas to memorize them for the exams!) Curious what the sock looks like?
If you click on the picture it gets bigger. The lace is subtle in this yarn. I'm fascinated with the pattern in a solid color. Hopefully the new owner will love these as much as I do. They are not for exercising in even though they are shown on the ball. This grey day does not lend itself well to picture taking.

One other event of last weekend was a trip to Denton to see Kam's parents. I learned to always take the camera where ever we go. We decided to go out for a meal and a mini adventure. On the side of the road was a man selling collard greens. The temperature that day was 35 and windy. If it weren't for the upcoming holiday I doubt many people would have been out of their warm homes. But this guy was in his truck selling collards at a very busy stop light. The pick up truck was loaded. Trust me, I know it is hard without photo proof, this was a full size pickup loaded above the bed and covered with a tarp. The beautiful greens were cut at the base just above ground where they grew in the fields. As we drove by it looked like he was selling giant green flowers! They were gorgeous! I wanted lots of them because they were so pretty! We limited ourselves to three.
That is what my kitchen sink looks like right now! I have all three heads in the sink. The flower is still beautifully evident.

Make it bigger, you can see how wonderful it is! The question now is how many pots will it take to cook these suckers up? The one I have is huge. No really this is huge!

It looks small there on the counter. It is a 16 quart stock pot. When I bought it I thought it would be a nice soup pot. I was working in a kitchen store. The pot looked small in the big store. I was very excited about it. A large heavy stock pot all shiny and only $20 after my discount. The intention here was turkey soup after Thanksgiving. Turns out this pot is big enough to make stock out of two turkeys at one time! Now you have an idea of the immensity of the pot, and a visual on how enormous the collards are. Do you think I can get at least two of them into the pot to cook? It would make me so very happy to only have to keep track of one huge pot of greens but that is stretching the point beyond the laws of physics. I have a little sister pot that is only 12 quarts. She may just end up helping out.

Best get off to cleaning, cutting, and cooking that mess of greens. Perfect timing too, the house is very dry and can use the extra humidity that will come from hours of boiling greens!

New Spaces!

The above picture is for Jon. Don't you want to come and fix that floor? Many years of use have left it sad, dry, stained, and wanting your loving touch! At least we don't have to put in a hardwood floor to exercise on!

So what is this all about? After months of writing the business plan, re-writing the business plan, searching for a location, finding a new location, and meetings with officials, we presented the plan for THE FIRE to a local lending organization to obtain funding for the move and expansion. On Friday December 5th we got the news that we were not approved. After a bit of heavy thought and weighing the options we came up with a new plan. (The last plan B put me back in school to get a teaching degree and into the public school system teaching math to high school students. Let's not go there today.) So, the new plan B was devised: Move the living room into the dining room, the dining room up to the craft area of the bedroom, and the living room becomes a new workout studio. The devising of the plan was rather quick. I think it took about 10 minutes to work out the details and envision the end result. The settling in of the plan took 48 hours. That is to say the first steps of execution were not laid until Sunday afternoon. Regrettably, I did not take any before photos. I thought about some during photos (that was when I remembered the camera). What we have is the end result photos. Really much more pleasant and less dust bunnies.

The first order of business was to empty out that dining room. The place looked like a green house with all the plants in for the winter. Now the guest room looks like a green house, more of that later and hopefully pictures too! Once the dining room was clear we were able to move the living room into it. I must say I prefer the new setting. It is cozy. The laptop has an easy Internet plug in and my favorite chair for knitting is located next to the table with the drawer full of knitting notion clutter (oddly no tape measure there, could be it was stolen to measure a client's waist). In this smaller space I will have to be mindful the projects do not get out of hand. That is to say they must stay at a limited number. Currently there are two socks in process (different pairs, different stages, different recipients), a scarf (not sure where to send that one), and the Sweater Girl for Kam. Fortunately my spinning basket still fits under the coffee table and does not need a new home. The hard part for this room was getting that 8 foot 150 pound couch in when the rug was already set. Kam's back is sore today if that is any indication of how it can be done! By the way, my favorite chair is the light green one. It is a rocker with old cushions in it. I don't want to replace them they are super thick stuffed with cotton wadding. I am not sure where to get such heavy duty cushions. The frame needs to be refinished and the cushions recovered. That may happen sometime in the future. I know I can recover the cushions. I know I can also refinish the chair frame. This is really the wrong time of year for that.


Isn't it cozy? Not too much cleaning to do in that room! Not much walking to be done in that room too. It is more of a sitting type space. Sit and knit. Sit and spin. Sit and read. Sit and write. Sit and watch a movie. Sit and talk to a friend. See, a sitting room!

Then we have the new studio. The floor is clear. I even swept away all the dust bunny families! There is enough room to accommodate up to 4 people working out at one time!! Soon I will be running classes. These will be fun classes. Sizzling Seniors, Fire Starters, Great Balls of Fire... Notice the mirror in the photo? It is old. It looks dirty when clean. It distorts the body and makes you look shorter. This is my idea of the perfect workout mirror. I am looking for one that makes you extra tall and skinny and another that makes you look all squiggly. (If you find one of either of these please drop it by. You can leave it on the porch if no one is here. Thanks!) Moon Kitty thinks this is a great new arrangement. He has been hunting mice and bird feathers. (No not real ones the stuffed ones that come from the pet store!) I have yet to ride the bike in its new home. I must add miles to the TdF today and there are still socks that have not gotten done for that gift giving day.

On the back wall we have a stereo. It is from the 70's. I want to convert it to XM radio. I like music while biking. I like music while writing too, but the computer is not wanting to play Pandora while I am doing other things on the net today. With a room this open we could have a dance party. I am also thinking the New Years Brunch will be easier with all this space for tables. It is OK with me if anyone wants to take our ideas and run with them. Big open rooms without furniture give options for lots of parties. I like parties. Kam likes parties. We like hosting parties. We like going to parties.
It is all so very new and exciting here. I am planning on new curtains in this room. We have discussed flame fabric. Kam is also thinking about making a new collage quilt. Can you guess the theme? Yes, fire. It will be a nice addition. The quilts help absorb some of the sound. Come on by and make some noise!

Society

Dear Patriarchal Society,

Could you please release me from the need to mention my marital status at every turn? I simply want to move throughout my life as my own entity. I am no longer married to a man. I have not seen that man for almost 13 years. I do not understand where stating I am divorced or single makes a large difference. I really feel it is none of your business either way. I choose to define myself by my own achievements. I feel defining myself through a man is degrading even if I were attached to that man at this point. And I am not! The human body replaces all its cells in a 7 year period. By that definition I am almost a completely new person two times over.

Thank you for staying out of my personal life from now on...
April

New Numbers!!

The miles have been totaled. The results are in. November was 214.9 miles long. As of today I am at mile marker 823.2. I am feeling the crowning achievement that is consistency. I set a goal (granted it was an unrealistic goal and had to be changed but it was set none the less) and I am working my way towards it. And WOW under 1400 miles to go!! The lesson learned is not to set a finish date. Get the miles but don't be hyper-focused on the ending date. This month my goal is to ride 5-6 days each week. I know some days are harder for me. Sometimes I wake up with knee or ankle pain. Those are the days when I need to be gentle on myself. I am also interested in remembering the value of heat/ice therapy. Kam would say to remember the value of physical therapy exercises. Those are important too. Bet they will be worked in somehow.

Yesterday I started weight training. I am sore today but not so sore that I don't want to do it again. That is an improvement. What did I do differently? I downloaded the Body for Life exercise program. Simple. Fool proof. Pick and choose. I did some of my favorite exercises! It is important to do what you enjoy doing so you keep progressing towards the goal. I bet I will eventually have to do some of those that I don't like so much. Hopefully when that day comes along I will be much stronger and able to move that weight without fear. I am so hoping that by the end of the next 12 week period I will be able to curl 20 pound dumbbells. This is realistic. I used 15's for 6 reps yesterday. Mathematically speaking 20 is only 5 more than 15. Gravitationally speaking 20 pounds is much more than 5 pounds greater than 15 pounds. That is the goal though and it is public now. I want to be able to workout with 20 pound dumbbells.

Today's cardio-knit was the right hand glove. I am ready to decrease from the thumb. The mailman brought the last DVD of Firefly. Tonight I will surely get to the fingers!

What I got done over Thanksgiving Weekend

I was a busy girl over the holiday weekend. I managed to start and complete two projects, sew up shoulders and add a ribbed collar, complete a scarf started eons ago, and begin a pair of mittens. I really could have gotten that cardigan completed. All that is left is to sew up the sleeves and set them in the arm holes. It did not happen though. I think I was getting tired of the sewing part. Maybe tonight. I sure would love to wear that sweater on Wednesday to a meeting. The green thing is a hat. I started and finished it in about 4 hours! I am very proud. The yarn was fat and the needles a size 7. That is a magic combo that produces completed projects in record amounts of time. (The link is to the Ravelry group Wooly Wormhead. I think it may be the only place the pattern is offered. Sorry...) I had tons of fun making this one. I'm thinking it will go to my niece in the north. She likes green and will need to keep the noggin warm. Also, the slouchiness of it screams teenage girl. Perfect gift fit. There are two scarves there. One is a basic garter out of novelty yarn. It was already started. It wanted to be done. I found it less than interesting and actually impressively boring. I am grateful it is done now. Again added to the pile of gift giving options. The other scarf is one by one ribbing. It lays very flat. I think it is handsome and will be given to one of the many men on the list. I wanted it to be about 6-10 inches longer but the yarn was leftover from a scarf made 2 winters ago and so I am happy it is long enough to be called a scarf. Besides that, not all men like to have scarves that wrap around a bazillion times. Then in the center there is a glove looking thing. Look closer here...



They are nice. They are well constructed. They have nice stitches. They were fast (OK not complete but this one took about a day!). The were supposed to be for Maricruz. Her hands are very small. These are almost too big for me. I still have to get the index finger and thumb done. After that they only need their "mitten hat." I searched through all the files I could find and this was the only pattern published on the net for a convertible mitten/glove. Then last night right before going to bed I found my Winter issue of Vogue Knitting. There is a pattern for these same mittens (almost) right there in the pages. It comes in many sizes starting with xs/s. Now that I have gotten one almost done I can start over with another pattern in a smaller size. There must be someone else on the list that will love the larger pair. Geoff was laying eyes on them this morning. I think they may be too small for him though.

All in all it was a productive weekend. Now, Monday is here and I have more time to be productive. I intended to begin a rigorous exercise endeavour today. Perhaps that will come about. The day is still young. I did however drop a marble rolling pin on my foot on Saturday and the pain is still lingering. This is making biking, walking, and other movements requiring body weight on the feet, no fun. Suppose I could always do upper body. Better to start somewhere than not at all.

Free Six Week Trial

It has been 6 weeks now that I have been on this elimination diet. I got to see my results this morning.I have burned 11.5 pound of fat!!!This reads as a drop of over 4 percent in body fat! Am I going to continue to eat this way? YOU BET!! Granted there are some foods I miss but the upside of avoiding them outweighs the down side of missing them. I am ecstatic about the inches lost part of my results! 19 inches over all and 3.5 from my waist alone! Quite the inspiration to continue on this path. So today starts the next 6 weeks. I am adding in more exercise. I have not been consistent with my cardio and the weight training is close to non-existent. I must say one of the obstacles has been scheduling myself into the gym. (Yet another reason to move into a larger space.) So, after discussing what we are wanting to accomplish in the near future, Kam and I have chosen to have Saturday and Sunday weight training days. I feel certain we can work another two days into the work week as well. The cardio-knits will continue in my morning hours, this is advantageous because I need to get the needles flying for those winter holiday gifts. I have agreed to getting up and getting the cardio bit out of the way while the first client is working out. The bike on the main floor is always free during that hour.

And what is up with that photo? Someone sent the shirt to me. It was anonymous. I have my suspicions as to who though. Anyway I am feeling the joy of the yellow today! 765.5 miles as of today! 1434.5 to go! With my need to get the knitting done those miles will be adding up quickly!

Speaking of knitting I have 6 inches done on the back of the Sweater Girl. Quite a pleasure to work with. I am much happier now that the needles are up to a 5. I bet it will fly along now. Also there are more ribbing rows between the cable rows. That makes for faster knitting all by itself. I am worried about the amount of yarn though. I always worry about the yarn amounts. I purchase extra (normally) and have leftover from the amount required (normally). This time I have exactly the amount required. (Maybe less.) The thought here is I am going to be in the normal universe where my yarn goes farther than I expect it to. Please don't tell the knitting muses. I am really wanting this to be perfect. There is no way of getting more yarn. Well, I could buy more but I could never get the same dye lot. I did not write down what I did to get this one. Silly artist! As I recall when I was dying this up it was one of those times I said the directions could never be right and added more dye. How much more? No telling. I am happy with the variances though and will just go with the fact it is plenty of yarn. If it isn't I could always make a short sleeved Sweater Girl or maybe a Vest Girl. Let's just not go there.

Dinner tonight is soup. The stock is smelling good so I am off to get it going. Turkey and rice. Yes, it is the Sunday before Thanksgiving but when you are eating turkey breast and veggies during the week there is always the option for homemade soup on the weekend.

Warmer Wednesday

Today turned out to be a much warmer day. I even went outside with out zipping up my coat (don't tell Kam). I am rediscovering the wonders of scarves. I am also discovering I need more in my life. These babies keep you warm inside too! I have noticed though it is good to move the ends to the back of the body while cooking. (You really don't need to ask...)

I have gotten to about 3.5 inches on the back of the Sweater Girl (SG). Biggest discovery here? I can knit cables while performing cardio-knits!! This is sure to end as soon as the sweater is long enough to get caught in the pedaling but for now I am in Alpaca Bliss while adding miles to the LSH Tour de France (TdF).

Tonight is rice and lentil night. I am going to put up some brown rice in the steamer. Then I am putting some red lentils on to simmer. I plan to season with sea salt, rubbed sage, and bay leaf. While all this cooks itself I will add miles to the TdF and inches (or fractions there of) to the SG.

Windy Tuesday

The wind is blowing. That sentence could mean a myriad things. Summer breeze through lightly scented trees, oh how that would be lovely today. Sideways rain spattering the windows on a spring afternoon, that would be hopeful of the former. Even dried fall leaves gusting across the road into the neighbors yards would be better than the intent of today's wind. Today it is the bitter icy chill that takes the 22 degree climate down to 12. I don't mind wind all that much. I rather like the trees howling and things going bump in the night. I honestly sleep better during a windstorm than on any other night. (This is totally due to growing up on the Outer Banks where the wind rarely stops blowing.) Today however I would prefer not to have great gusty wind. I am cold. I am needing more clothing or more heat or something. Celie thinks she needs to be next to me for warmth. My toes seem to need another pair of socks. There is no way I am going to put on shoes! I have a project to do and shoes make it harder to be creative. (This is also due to growing up on the Outer Banks but has nothing to do with the wind.) Must mean it is a day for lots of tea. Also, a day where staying indoors would be optimal. Windburn is much worse than sunburn and happens to me all the time. If sunscreen prevents sunburn then wool must prevent windburn.

I had a horrible case of starteritis over the weekend. I spent hours winding 825 yards of Queen Anne's Lace into balls, two very large balls! I thought this would be perfect for the Apres Surf Hoodie. Alas, my gage was wrong. I am cursed to a needle size one blow what is called for at every turn! I could have gone from the size 3 called for to a 2. I have very nice Addi Turbos in each size and love using these needles. I just could not get around the bumpy texture on the smaller size needles. Then I thought about the Gathered Pullover. The required needles are size 7 that would mean using a size 6. Both of those come in the Options set but both are in use though. Besides that I was worried about the bumpy cotton when a springy wool was used. I will have to use something besides the wool anyway or I will end up not wearing the beautiful thing or giving it to someone else. Then I thought, why not use math to figure out if my gage and the next size down would fit me. I realized it was Sunday afternoon and I did not really feel like playing with numbers I felt like playing with yarn. So I cast on the Sweater Girl using the Alpaca Lace I dyed rust.
Here again I am using smaller needles, 5 and 3, but I had already swatched this one. Yes, the yarn was already balled and swatched and the project had not been started. Somehow I could not get myself to knit with the Alpaca during the summer when dying was my passion. That satisfied the starteritis for yarn. I have enough projects to switch through while riding or sitting. But there is a new sewing machine...

On Saturday I bought fabrics to make a baby quilt. I have been petting them between blocks of the T-shirt quilt I am engrossed in. The baby is a girl. The moms have chosen pink and chocolate for the nursery. I have six new fabrics to drool over. I have excluded one pattern so far! I am very proud. Only about a million to go through. But I'm thinking about a basic nine-patch. It is an easy pattern. Thinking about the upside though it is quite appealing. Simple construction, sturdy seaming, project complete in a timely fashion. I could really grow to love this idea. Problem here? I have a total of 4 T-shirt quilts to get done before the holidays are here. The baby is due January 1. I should stop writing now and get to the sewing. There is no way I will ever get any of my holiday items complete if I spend my time communicating them.

Must go and resist the urge to begin anything new...

Veteran's Day

Hugs go out to all Vets today. And a big thank you for your willingness to serve. The Vets in my life are the most peaceful people I know. I am thankful for their insight into the true purpose of the military forces around the world. If there were more of this peace centered existence the need for a standing army would diminish exponentially! Thanks to all of you!!!

My Tour de France mileage is now at 665. I am still holding in there. But really, does it all count as a win if I am the only one who is crossing the finish line? YES!! The competition may no longer be there but I am working towards my own goals and that is a winning force. I am finding the colder weather a dichotomous force in this race. It is nice not to need two fans and the AC running while I pedal away. However, it would be very nice to curl up in front of the fire with a book and a blankie instead of working extra hard to break a sweat. Today begins my work outs with Kam. Weight training is an interesting event for me. I have to work myself up to get going in the gym. Then I feel strong, tough, and determined. Drawback? I end up working so hard I am sore for the next week. This does not build encouragement to continue. Playing these games with myself it is easy to understand the troubles clients have keeping their goals in sight when choosing to miss a workout or two. If desire alone were enough to build the fire more people would be burning excess fat. Unfortunately desire without action produces no results.

I am experimenting with new diet changes. I am continuing on the total elimination diet as outlined in Dr. Haas' book The False Fat Diet. However I am making some personal changes. I know that gluten is not my friend. This is one that will not be coming back. I am suspicious about soy, so it is also staying out for now. I ate potatoes last Friday evening. They were wonderful. They were not my friend either. So they are out except for those holidays when mashed potatoes are a must. (Read Thanksgiving dinner.) So what is the change exactly? I ate hot rice cereal every morning for about four weeks. I loved it. I had it in so very many different ways. My goal is to burn more fat. I am now eating veggies and protein for breakfast. I started with this yesterday. The hope is that my set-point will change. My two other large meals are veggies. I am going to allow myself one meal with rice each day. This does not mean I absolutely have to eat rice each day. This means I can eat rice once each day. My morning snack is a glass of veggie juice. This I am making fresh each day. What is it made of? Carrot, celery, beet, and apple. Do I love it? No. Beet is not my favorite juice. Will I drink it anyway? For a while. The beet is good for me and that is why I will drink it until it is gone. Apple carrot is great. Celery helps with headaches. My afternoon snack will stay a piece of fruit and some nuts. Now that I have been good for so long the fruit tastes like candy.

I was craving comfort food last week and came up with this...
Ground Turkey Gravy
1/2 lb ground turkey
1 white onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp (or less) salt
Pepper to taste
1 Tbs olive oil
Brown together then add 1/2 cup water and bring to simmer. While this is simmering mix 1 cup water with 2 tsp arrowroot powder and 1/8 cup nutritional yeast. Whisk into the Turkey mixture. Stir until thickened. Serve over brown rice. Have a green veggie and a salad with this.

Arrowroot powder acts the same as cornstarch. While working on this elimination diet it is important to avoid corn and all its derivatives. Corn is one of the hardest foods to avoid when eating pre-packaged foods. Many foods contain corn syrup or cornstarch. Diligence is the key to success in this game. Every time I am looking for something new I read the label. It takes time but in the long run it has been worth the effort. The rewards here are much greater than some fat burned. I feel better! My joints are happier. I am riding the bike and not having to sit with ice on my knees twice afterward. My energy level is going up. My overall happiness is greater. The extra effort involved in reading labels and cooking from scratch is paying off. I do get tired and want some convenience foods. This is when I reach for frozen veggies. I buy just veggies. No sauces added, no flavors added, just veggies. The prep time is cut way down and it feels like the meal is ready in a snap. One of my current favorites is sauteed green beans. I am buying the whole frozen beans. I heat 1 TBS olive oil in a fry pan and add 1-2 cloves chopped garlic. after about 30 seconds of sizzle I add frozen green beans. This is ready when the beans are hot through. I might grind sea salt and fresh pepper over just before serving.

Tomorrow...How to substitute for butter and not use hydrogenated oils.

What weekend? It flew past. I expected to get so very much done. In the alternate universe where I am accomplishing all things I set forth to do I was quite productive. All the laundry is complete, not just washed but sorted and either stored for the next season change or put away for use this week. The kitchen is straightened away and set for this weeks meals. The plants are happy. All the small household details are attended to. In the universe I live in all those things are still waiting to be completed.

I must admit I was easily distracted through out the entire weekend. I did go to the Studio Stroll at the River Arts District. This twice a year event will be on my calendar for years to come. There are lots of wonderful fun things happening down there by the river! And I was ever so inspired to come home and create new things even if there are many many things already wanting to be completed before something new is started. I also went to a friend's baby shower. I have not been to one of those in years!! They have changed so much from that dreary old event. Now I will have the rest of this week to work off the extra calories from drinking more wine than I really needed. It was worth it though. Lots of fun with old friends and getting to know some new ones. And many more pregnant women to add to the list needing socks!!

Things I did not get done this weekend:
1. T-shirt quilt top (It is cut and ready for step two, interfacing but the anticipation was to have it ready to lay out!)
2. Wash all winter clothes and store all summer clothes (Right now there is an ominous mountain of laundry waiting to be folded and foot hills of baskets and bins waiting for storage.)
3. 25 miles added to the TdF total (No need to comment on this one)
4. Clean and organize the kitchen (How does the kitchen get so out of hand with just two meals? In my next life I will have a kitchen with a dishwasher!!)
5. Feed and water the plants (This would definitely help with the upper body workout!)
6. Buttons on various projects (The button phobia still persists.)
7. Sew sleeves into my new sweater (This is close to the button problem simply because once the sleeves are in I must get buttons on the front!)
8. Good Will items dropped off (I was too busy playing to get on to the task of giving to the needy. This will be an easy one to complete early this week!)
9. Newsletter written (I am so far behind on the monthly newsletter it is beginning to look more like a bi-monthly newsletter.)
10. Add pages, paragraphs, sentences, words even to the NaNo novel

Great list going there maybe I will just print off this post and use it as my guide for this week's activity list!

Spontaneous Afternoon

Yesterday afternoon Kam and I took a spontaneous afternoon trip! We went out for a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. In the city the leaves are at the peak of perfection. Up on the Parkway they are just past peak. We have been so busy there was no time to adventure into the fall foliage. But WOW what a beautiful drive and even a short hike right at sunset. That would be the reason for a short hike. The sun was setting and we had to turn around so as not to be hiking in total darkness. Celie loved the adventure. She was sniffing out each window and anxious to get out and wander through all the good smells. It really makes me giggle when she puts her head out the window like a big dog. She may be little for a hiking dog but she did know her job as the trail got darker!! She stayed out in front showing where every step down and tree root was to be found. I am sure if she were not looking out for me I would have tripped and fallen. Well I did trip once but somehow landed on my toes and hands as though I were getting ready for a sprint. Wondrous...







View from the trail...

View from the parking lot after the hike...

Procrastination

Thursday is here. It is now November 6. I have 24 days left to write the NaNo novel. I have not written on it in over 36 hours. Yesterday was a brain fuzz day. I did however buy both a novel and a book about writing novels! I don't feel confident in just writing out the story. For some reason I am feeling the need to have an outline. I hate outlines. I never used them for my college papers. If they were required I did a rough draft and then created the outline. This writing is so very different. I am feeling the need for a map of the story. That feels like it will take lots of time to create. Anyway you look at it I am doing a great job of procrastination! I like procrastination. It is something I am good at. I think that will be added into the plot of the novel. My excessive experience in procrastination could very well be the answer I am looking for!

That means I need to stop with this writing and get on the novel. I have just been struck by the muse and she has given me permission to revel in my procrastination!!

The Day After

As many Americans today, I am tired and happy! Sleep was of short supply last night. That may be offset by a nap later or sooner if the brain does not kick into action relatively soon. I am happy and proud to be an American today. As I quietly watched the returns on the Internet I baby sat for a friend's daughter. Explaining to this 11 year old about the election process was thrilling. She had to be off to sleep before the results were in and I came close to waking her just to let her know she had picked the winner. I knit and sipped red wine. I played on Facebook, sent emails to people I knew were sleeping, and communicated through text messages with my children and Kam. I was "goofing off" when the projected winner was called. About 30 seconds later my youngest son called me to tell me the news. This was his first voting experience. After hanging up with him my older son called jumping with joy. He spent a great deal of time talking to people about this election. He even attended the Obama rally here in Asheville and was 20 feet from the stage. I could feel my maternal grandmother's dyed-in-the-wool-democratic blood rushing through my body as my children rushed to be part of an historic event. They deserve a better world, a better life than they live in now. As members of the working poor class they understood what was at stake in this election. As a hopeful member of society I dream of the change that is crucial to the survival of my family.

On a knitting note, I did complete the Victorian Lace Stole. Granted I was close to the end but that is what the project was about. It was about the completion of this election cycle. I am still contemplating who the stole belongs to. I thought of giving it as a Christmas gift to Kam's mom. As a staunch republican she may not be the best choice. I did spend a great deal of time in thoughtful contemplation and outright vocal rage while knitting. Might be better to choose a democrat to receive this one. I could keep it. Kam thinks I should because I spun the yarn. It really makes me itch. There must be a less sensitive princess out there in need of warmth. For now it will be added to the pile of would be gifts.

I must be off to clock some miles. My fingers want to stitch and my restless body needs to move. Not a good combo for any needlework other than cardio-knits.

Peace to all!

Election Day

Yes, it is that day. I voted early. No sense letting any mishap get in the way of an important time. I have looked at some news headlines. (I am not going to continue to do this it is too emotionally charged.) Judging from the sensory laden reports I can be grateful I am among those who are not waiting in long lines today! That said, I am looking forward to watching some of the results today.

Many projects are calling my name today and because of that I feel quite paralyzed in my forward movement. Yesterday got ahead of me and therefore there were no additional miles added to the Tour. Today that will not happen. There is a client arriving in about 20 minutes so now is not the time to get on the bike. However, I will be mileage bound as soon as she walks out the door! Today is take charge of the projects day, and that includes the body challenge. I began an intensive elimination diet three weeks ago. (That is a project all in itself!) Yesterday I ate a bit of nightshade (only a few slices of banana pepper and chicken with a chipotle sauce not much really) and today my allergies are up again. I am so desiring to be eating peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and potatoes that I will take another week off them and add them one at a time just to be sure. That means this week will be quite strict food wise as well. So what am I eating/not-eating? NO: glutenous grains (wheat, spelt, kamut, rye, oat, to name a few), soy, peanuts, dairy (not even butter!), corn (this is the hardest), nightshades, sugar, beer, wine, alcohol, and anything that I might really crave on a daily basis. What is left? Leafy greens, rice (hot rice cereal is great like a cross between cream of wheat and grits), nuts (other than peanuts), ORGANIC chicken and turkey, fish (not shell fish right now), almond milk, almond butter, an occasional piece of fruit (the sugar high is quite a ride when you are eating this clean), garlic, onions...It really does not sound fun but I have gotten past the sad-poor-me-I-can't-have-my-favorite-foods phase. I am now in the OMG-am-I-bored phase. That is leading me to the WOW-look-at-what-I-can-make-with-this phase. Those interested in healthy living tips and menu busters will be wanting to follow along I may just get some of that added in : ) One of my past faves was Applegate Farms chicken sausage. Unfortunately many of their recipes include dairy. I stumbled upon Bilinski in Earth Fare recently. This product is made in New York state and is 100% organic. They have some nice choices without added dairy. The spinach & garlic is wonderful and this morning I tried their apple. The apple was good but I am not certain why both of these companies seem to feel the need to make their apple sausage (a breakfast item in my book) so spicy. I mean really why don't they save the pepper spices for the Italian style? I am sure they could save lots of money.

Other projects? I finally completed my reward socks and wore them last night. Merino is a lovely wool and not itchy. The weather was almost cool enough for the wool socks but the outfit was right. It really is all about the fashion, right? The baby shower is Sunday and I have two pairs of baby socks and one adult pair. I was trying for another. White with a chevron lace that looked great but somehow turned out to be very large for a small baby. The first one went to the frog pond before the heel turn was complete. The real cincher for the rip out was the heel. I read the directions and did it wrong twice in 45 minutes time. Yes, *[read them, stitched, ripped back] and repeated from* until I finally realized the real problem was these socks were not destined for the greatness of completeness. Over three years ago I bought a lovely burgundy yarn and knit all the pieces for a pullover. Last fall I pulled them out and decided they looked like I was just beginning to knit. Really it is true, this was one of my earlier projects and I have learned lots about tension and perfected techniques. Result there? That less than lovely pullover returned itself to lovely yarn. One year later I am about half done with the sleeves of a rather sweet cardigan. It has been fun and I am looking forward to wearing it. I have also gotten 75 % of the threads buried on my Bamboo Lace Henley. I am looking forward to wearing this one too but it will need buttons and I discovered last weekend that I have a button phobia. Not a bad one where I would need medication or anything but a real procrastination problem. (Four of the found items needed for winter wear are in need of new or replaced buttons!) Looks like getting to wear this one will have to wait until I can overcome the button obstacle! I have added some inches to the Victorian Lace Stole (picture soon) I am making out of some hand spun mohair. I think I will continue my election season tradition and get that out for the returns. It really would be fitting to get that one complete during the tally time as I did most of it during the debates. (One of the nice things about NPR is the eyes are free to do something other than watch the candidates!)

Now that I have effectively written this might be a good time to work on the NaNo novel. All I have so far is jottings of the main character. After a good night's sleep I have an idea of how to proceed. I started with telling the story about the character. That did not make me happy. I think I will try to write from the first person. No one is telling me how to do this, there are no rules, this is simply down and dirty writing. Yes, I am working on an erotic fiction but the down and dirty of this is to simply get the words written. Get the story out in less than a month. Today being the 4th of the month means the story must be ALL OUT in 26 days. The added challenge here is to get this thing written on the computer. I much prefer to draft on paper with pencil or fancy pen. Time is of the essence though and preferences must be put aside.

Enraged muses

Boy were the muses pissed! Now I have chosen to enrage them even more! Kam has entered the nano writing project and I agreed to do it too. It sounds like fun. Write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Well, 28 for me because I just signed up. I know that today is November 3 but today is not over yet and there is hope that I will write many pages before the day is out. Is it possible to write many pages of a novel, actually work on something that earns money, attend a sewing class, exercise for 1-1 1/2 hours, and still eat correctly in what is left of this day. What is left of this day? Well 13 1/2 hours (about), lots of time to complete it all. I think that my overachiever has just been reawakened. So as not to tempt fate with incompleteness I must be off to get my day in order...

The Muses

I must have angered the writing muses by stating I would write consistently! Who would have guessed they could be so swift in their retaliation! And thus today is another day.

I am still logging in the hours on the Tour de France. I am continuing the journaling to keep track of eating habits and exercise. What I am finding is burning fat is hard work! Desire is key to results. Keeping it going is another matter. This Wednesday the desire is high. Desire drives the machine and fire burns the fuel. With the high level of desire I anticipate some effective fat burning. As we say here at THE FIRE fat burning personal training studios, I am a furnace of fat burning fire!

Day THREE

I want to whine. My biceps hurt. Straightening out the arm is close to impossible. I worked out with Kam yesterday evening. There is some crazed competitive person that emerges when I am doing anything athletic with her. I try so hard to impress knowing that there is no way I could ever out do her in any physical task. Thus, today I am paying for my eagerness. Now, I will not deny my own desire to reduce the amount of stored energy (read FAT) and increase the amount of potential force (read MUSCLE) in my body. However, this does not inspire me to get on the bike and do another 25 miles (my legs are sore today too). Perhaps some Tylenol would help.

OK enough of that! What about those sock pics? I have completed the Peppermint Candy Socks and started the baby ones. Oh, did I forget to mention they are "Mommy and Me" socks for a friend who is having a baby girl? Those pics will have to wait until the little ones are complete. I think they will be much better as a set.


These are Edelweiss Socks Socks from Vogue Knitting in sock it to me. They took a very long time to complete. The pattern is intricate and full of switches between knit, knit to the back, and purl. The V-patterning is beautiful though and I think they will be well received even though they are 4 months late for the birthday. What was I thinking? Knit a hard pattern at the same time that I am graduating from college and my father is ending his battle with cancer? I must have been out of my mind. (Glad it is back!! I need to complete spinning the yarn for Kam's new hoodie! Then complete all my other projects and clean the house and dispose of old clutter and apply to grad school and...)


These are my reward socks. After taking the 2 hour exam to become a personal trainer in Dallas last June I found a yarn shop and bought yarn for me. These are not complete yet. I have about an inch and a half of the second sock on the needles. The yarn is pure bliss to work with (I can't find a link for this one. It is Collette hand painted from Whales in Sahara.) and the pattern easy to memorize. (Again I do have a math mind that puts me in line for psycho-therapy but all is well, I have a degree in psychology!) I am sure that I will have these completed by the time the weather turns cold and my beach-girl feet can stand to have warm socks on them.

Wow! Two days in a row. I am really on a roll for writing this week. Well, yes, I do know that today is only Tuesday and it really is tempting the writer's muse to state my intentions for my writing so early in the week. But I feel like flying in the face of danger at the moment! And why not, I have pictures to share! I walked through the fires of downloading the camera hell and survived to tell the tale. My laptop did not come with one of the marvelous SD ports. My desktop, which has an SD port, refuses to connect to the internet; never mind that there is currently something wrong with the router this was way before the wireless trauma of late summer. I love my camera. It takes fabulous pictures. I have had it for over three years now. There is no telling where the USB cable is. I went to Best Buy yesterday to find a replacement cable. Seems likely that such a simple purchase would make my life easier. NO! The cable is too old or too funky or too something and they offered this cool substitute. I now have an external SD port which connects to my laptop or any other computer with a USB port. Unfortunately there is something within my laptop that says it does not want any new program data downloaded to it. Additionally I could not get any program to recognize the pictures! I gave up and watched a movie. I would recommend watching The Spiderwick Chronicles it was a fun lighthearted movie. Definitely changed my mood from the computer fuss. So how did I manage to get photos for today? A flash drive and the desktop computer with the magical SD port! I could have done that before but didn't. No excuses there just not interested in the upstairs-downstairs game.

This is the beautiful Celie. A bit out of focus though. Here she is relaxing and proving that she really is a girl!
These are the Victorian Lace Shawl I made and finally blocked! Lesson here is to have a large enough bed or free floor space for blocking. I had extra shawl over the edge of the queen size bed!
What are these pictures of yarn for? Well, the rust red is the Sweater Girl for Kam that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. The other is my hand spun mohair. I have started a scarf/stole using this yarn but am not sure which it will be until it is blocked, I am suspicious it will be growing in width!

More pictures next time! I have SOCKS to show off. Now how exciting is that pictures of socks and feet wearing socks! Try not to hyperventilate!

Fall Goals

Wow that was a busy week! Amazing how much energy it takes to assist someone in a healing process. Now here we all are on the first day of September looking at a new month and before the month is out we will be in a whole new season of the year.

The season change takes place in three weeks. What a great time to get going on fitness again. Three weeks from now is half way to reaching a fitness goal. Not a huge one that requires a year of training or a monumental one like burning 40 pounds of fat, but an average goal of reaching the next level. My current level of cardio is 20-25 miles daily on the exercise bike. I am planning to add 3 ~ 15-20 minute walks to my daily cardio. I know that seems like too much. Keep in mind that the biking is done in about 75 minutes. This burns about 600 calories! (Joy Bliss) Also, Celie has put on a little bit of fat. Celie is my beautiful little dog. She thinks she is helping me by walking and does not realize that it is really her that needs the extra exercise. For me this will burn about 300 extra calories in my day. I am only biking 6 days each week but poor Celie will need to walk every day. I found this calorie counter and calculated my expenditure while weight lifting. That is a whopping 366! Weight lifting is 5 days weekly.

I am a math type person. I need to see it all broken down. On my weight training days I will be burning about 1266 calories just in my workouts! So mathematically speaking I should be burning about 2 pounds of stored energy! (That is politically correct terminology for shedding 2 pounds of fat!!) I am interested in changing some of my stored energy (fat) for potential strength (muscle). The goal is to drop 3 percentage points in my fat in the next 6 weeks. Therefore, by the time the season changes I could be down 6 pounds of fat or 1.5 percentage points in my total body fat. (You may want to watch for the smoke of the burning fat coming from east Asheville!)Added bonus to the amazingly long cardio sessions on the exercise bike? I am almost finished with the peppermint candy socks. I think I will just get another basket (hehehe) and fill it with sock yarn to keep me busy while I bike across the French countryside. There are a few babies in my life and some new ones coming too so I have a use for all those bits of "leftovers" from my grownup projects. I got the new Interweave Knits magazine yesterday. I waited patiently, it came out on August 19th and I waited until the 31st!! Well that is not going to happen again! When I got there it was the only one left! I am either going to have to subscribe or I will have to get out as soon as it hits the newsstands! So I have all sorts of stuff going and want to get going and have added more to the list of want to do! Kam is in need of cool stuff. She is always in need of me making her cool stuff. But this issue has a great vest that I want to make her for the Holiday Gift Giving Season. I think she will look handsome in it and it will help her to stay warm as the weather changes to COLD.

In Charge!!

OK today is my big day. "The Boss" is sick and in bed. I am the lead trainer! So far two clients have canceled. One showed and he lead me around the gym. Good, the next client is my scheduled 3:30. I know they will be here they confirmed yesterday. I am wondering how to do an in-home client for the boss and my 1/2 hour power training here at the studio at the same time. Maybe the gods and goddesses of cold viruses will will the boss to be well by 4:30. Maybe they will clone me and I can meet both! Isn't that what happens when the boss is out? The second in command does something to mess it all up like duplicating themselves or casting a spell. I could just tape my instructions for the 5:30 and leave the player with a note that says "Push Play and SWEAT HARD!!"

I made cookies yesterday. I know they are considered a sugar thing but I did them without adding any of the horrific stuff! I used a banana that was VERY ripe. Granted they do taste like banana but they have all the leftover goodies from my former baking urges thrown in so the banana works!! I went for eclectic experimentation.

How to make cookies when you have almost nothing to work with...
1-2 over ripe bananas
1 egg
1/4 cup butter
1/8 (I think) cup sesame oil (or some other light oil)
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
Flour to make dough stiff (I keep adding until it is not very wet anymore and resembles what could be dropped onto a cookie sheet)
1 cup coconut
1 cup choco-chips (I used dark chocolate, it was what was lurking about)

Drop this onto a greased sheet. I shaped mine and flattened them because they did not spread the first time. This is one of the drawbacks to making the dough so stiff. Less flour could be added but without the sugar I don't think they would spread much anyway. I baked mine till they were light brown. This was about 10 minutes on 375. I got about 60 cookies out of this. If I had put walnuts in them they would have been even better.

Don't be afraid to experiment in the kitchen! I find that Sundays are good for this. The boss says we can eat cookies on Sunday. I think this is because she calls it her free day and she really likes cookies. I am in search of a recipe that will make only a few cookies. I know I could use less ingredients but how do you really get half an egg?

Well, since I am in charge I think I will give myself some time to knit. I need to get on the bike and go about 20 miles. The Peppermint Candy Socks are coming along and I can work on those while I ride. I would really rather just ignore everything and enjoy the drippy weather. (YES we are getting what appears to be a bit of rain!) Can't do that though I must set a good example:) So riding it is!

Back on the wagon!

I got back on the bike today! I have been missing it sooooo bad! I am still itching with the remains of the poison ivy (rumor has it I have another 7-10 days of this to look forward to!) What a pleasure to spend an hour riding! I made another 19 miles and no knee or ankle pain!

It was a thought provoking morning. I am quite interested in the WHY of things. Why do people not care for themselves, not love themselves, and wonder why they continue to feel bad. I worry that there is a need for the quick fix in all areas of life and that as a society we are falling because we are failing to do the work necessary to obtain permanent repair. We are so caught up in the rigors of everyday life that we are forgetting to take just a moment to appreciate just that, LIFE. I have been caught in the cycle of work, family, house chores, and ignored my personal needs just as many do. I understand the drive to survive becomes greater than the drive to succeed in health. What I am wishing is for those caught in that endless cycle to realize breaking the cycle takes only 20 minutes daily. The patterns can be changed. Each individual in the world deserves a minimum of 20 minutes daily to dedicate to change, to dedicate to a new path of invigorated life, to dedicate to a renewal of health. There are very few people in the world (yes, the WORLD) who would have adverse effects from a brisk walk. Even those who live in the inner city can walk. They may have to walk in place in their living room but they can move the body in a manner which causes it to take in more oxygen. Fire is fueled by oxygen. In order to burn fat the body needs oxygen. Breathing brings in oxygen. Increased oxygen increases health.

Continue to raise the fires within and use your power to increase the oxygen consumption of your body!

Poison Ivy Blues

Great beginnings met with a large brick wall this week when I encountered my first case of poison ivy! I have been off the bike and miss it terribly! August 11 was my last day for riding and I had accumulated 252.5 miles!! Then I started itching everywhere. My need to keep the body cool overtook the incessant desire to put more miles on the tally. Fortunately for me the weather has changed a bit and we are enjoying some lovely cool nights here in the mountains. The plan is to wake up one day (VERY SOON) and feel 100% again.

So with the down time from biking I have moved away from sock knitting. (I found it to be the easiest to manage while the legs are going at 19 mph.) I completed my Swallowtail Shawl from Knitting Daily (this was a free download but is not currently available). Now there are two beautiful and completed shawls in my to-be-blocked pile. Perhaps I will get to that this afternoon. I am also close to complete with all the pieces of my Henley Perfected. The goal here is to get as many projects off the needles as possible before starting something new. Unfortunately the closer I am to completing anything the harder I have to fight the urge to start something new! In my mind I have cast on a new cardi , the Flutter Sleeve, multiple socks for the Winter Holiday Gift Giving Season, 2 more shawls, a lace scarf, Sweater Girl Pullover for Kam, 3 other marvelous pullovers for me, and the fabulous Winter Twilight Mitts. The real challenge here is when I can cast on which one do I choose? It really does make sense to get some of those gift things going but I have a lovely russet red alpaca lace weight I dyed to make the Sweater Girl and really though the mitts are beautiful and alluring I have not done any stranded knitting as yet. I believe I have time to think on this dilemma and I could always put the names of the projects in a hat, pull one out, and let the yarn fly!

Beginnings

Hi All!!
We can always begin right where we are. There is no way known to man to start where we were last week, month, or years ago when we graduated from high school!! So with that in mind, I challenge you to begin today to inspire yourself to reach new heights in your life. I have begun to accumulate miles on the recumbent exercise bike. I set the goal of 2200 miles (the Toure de France). Yes, this is ambitious for someone who has a history of knee problems and is still coming back from a broken leg (it was over a year ago but I got lazy!). I am starting where I am today. My inspiration? I listen to music on Pandora. The site is fun you can create your own style of radio station or listen to what others have created or simply try out the genre stations they have as templates. I am also giving myself the time to do another activity I enjoy. Sometimes this is reading but usually it is knitting. So while I am getting my cardio in I am making myself a sweater for the upcoming fall weather. Try to incorporate your interests into your "boring old" cardio workout! I am sure you will soon find yourself looking forward to the "special me time" you create with your dedication to your new extended healthier life!