February 25, 2008

At least my knitting's not affected

I'm wrapping up lunch at work. And trying to keep lunch down simultaneously. I've had an upset stomach for the last couple of hours and it's just not settling down. I'm going to give it another hour before I head home.

I've been trying to kick a cough for the last few weeks. I had a nasty cold at the end of January that sidelined me from working out and since then I've been unable to shake the cough. I finally woke up this morning without the congestion and am hopeful to get into the gym on Wednesday.

In the meantime, here's what I've been doing:

Knitted KittyJenn's custom gloves

A knitted kitty in Bernet Soft Boucle for a baby shower gift. The mom is one of the small group leaders for my Monday night bible study. She's due in about 4 weeks and we're having a surprise shower for her tonight. I used a size 5 circular. I think I'll make another, but double the yarn up. I can't embroider a face on this kitty to save my life for some reason, so a faceless cat it is.

The gloves are for a different small group leader. Jenn had mentioned having trouble finding gloves to fit her long fingers. I had her trace her hands and voila! Custom gloves! Of course, not that it's in the 50's she doesn't need them, but hey, she's ready for next year. Knit in Rauma Babygarn with size 2 needles. I used just over a skein to make both gloves. When I say just over, I dipped into the second skein for only the thumb. I have the 2nd skein and another in cream that I may try do to Endpaper mitts with.

Oh, and I've been spending time on Ravelry. I finally understand the time suck aspects.

February 01, 2008

Progress!

Well, I have lost 6 pounds since I first weighed in on January 1st. 5 pounds if I use my "official" weigh-in day of Friday, January 4.

I'm tracking my weight at healthylivingonline.com - it's free from iVillage, has a food tracker, an exercise tracker, offers menus and exercise programs and did I mention it's free? That's my kind of price right now.

My exercising has fallen off the radar. I've been fighting a crappy cold and cough for the last 2 weeks. I'm hoping to get back in to the gym this weekend for at least a little bit of cardio.

I have been doing some knitting as well. I've knit 7 dishclothes in various colors of kitchen cotton and 2 coffee cozies in some Cascade Quattro I had left over from making felted slippers.

Right now I'm working on some gloves for a friend in a pretty blue BabyGarn, size 2 needles, from the Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns.

I did manage to get some reading done in January as well. A total of 13 books for the month:

Katie Fforde's Restoring Grace: a library book that caught my eye. English author so there were a few expressions that were different, but I enjoyed it. A nice, easy read about a woman who divorced, was living in her family home that held memories of her marriage but was about to be making changes to the home and herself that she didn't expect. I'll be looking to check out her other books the library carries.

Jennifer Crusie's Anyone But You: quick & easy library book. A divorced woman (again!) meets a younger man and falls in love. She thinks she's too old, he thinks she feels he's too immature, goofy dog helps brings them together.

Jayne Ann Krentz's White Lies: this is a new book for her Arcane Society series. Ok, it's only the second, but there are more to come. Paranormal aspect, modern setting. Good characters, nice setup for a continuing issue through the series. I really enjoy Krentz whether she writes as Krentz, Amanda Quick or Jayne Castle. This was a library book, but I think I'll need to purchase it for myself.

J.A. Jance's Exit Wounds: so glad I found Jance again. This is part of her Sheriff Joanna Brady series and centers around a polygamist cult and women who exit the life. Love Joanna and the strong character she is in a traditionally male role. Another library book that will need to be purchased.

Linda Howard's Up Close and Dangerous: I keep giving Howard another chance to pull me back. This was OK. A young widow whose adult step-kids hate her ends up crashing into remote mountains on a private plane. Of course, the groundwork is laid for the stepson to be the bad guy, but you know it's not him. I don't believe the relationship she develops with the pilot and it's just an OK book. Too bad, I really liked her earlier stuff. A library book that won't be making the transition to purchased for the personal library.

Amanda Quick's The River Knows: one of Krentz's historical romances. I enjoy her female characters - they're intelligent, plucky and no fainting misses. Fun read and I might consider buying it later or maybe just keep buying it from the library.

Mark Haddon's A Spot of Bother: I spotted this the moment I went into the library and snatched it up. I'd been wanting to read this and enjoyed reading the story of a man slowly going insane while the family around him struggles with their own troubles. If I spot this at Costco, I just might buy it.

Jill Churchill's The Accidental Florist: I bought this since I enjoy Churchill's Jane Jeffrey series. Rather a cosy mystery series, this one was different. Not so much focus on the mystery this time; the focus was more on the changing circumstances of Jane as she got ready to marry. OK, but not the best of the series.

Jayne Castle's Ghost Hunter: Krentz writes her futuristic books under the Castle name. This book continues her Harmony series. The series is a little different from her others I have and I wasn't sure I was going to keep the series. But what I like is that characters find that their paranormal development complement one another and they typically need the other's abilities to get through the situation.

Julie Garwood's Shadow Dance: Love Julie Garwood. Fun historicals that have made me laugh out loud. Her contemporary stuff is good as well. This one looks like it might be a bridge between the two. The setting is contemporary and fits within the series she's built around the Buchanan's, but it looks like it's going to go back towards her historicals (like Krentz and her Arcane Society). Anyhoo, it's a good book and I'm really looking forward to Shadow Music, her next book that's currently out in hardcover which seems to cover the historical mystery from Shadow Dance.

JA Jance's Desert Heat: This is the first book of the Joanna Brady series (I started in the middle, but the earliest book I could find at the library at the time). How Joanna gets pulled into the law enforcement field and the circumstances surrounding the loss of her husband. And I lucked out - the book I bought at Powell's is autographed!

Amanda Quick's Second Sight: This is the first of the Arcane Society series. I'd read it before from the library, but bought it. I wanted to read the lead book in the series to see how it was set up for the ones to come. I do enjoy her historicals.

Kathy Reichs' Monday Mourning: I enjoy these books more than I enjoy Cornwell's books that came post-Body Farm. I'm trying to read them in order and this one continues to provide interesting science, further explain the complexity of Tempe's emotions regarding her daughter, her friends and her love life. I enjoy the twists she has on cases that she worked on or that inspired the books she writes. If you liked any of Cornwell's earlier books, I would definitely suggest you read Reichs.