March 27, 2008

Vacation Plans

Woo to the Hoo! We have actually booked some vacation for once. There are things to look forward to :)

In April, we'll take a day off for Rob's birthday. Go out for breakfast, head to Powell's, bum around Portland and end the day with chocolate brownies, vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

In May, Rob and I have our 10th anniversary. It falls on a Wednesday this year, so we're taking Thursday and Friday off to head down to Klamath Falls. Rob's never been to Crater Lake so we're hoping to see that, go the the Lava Beds, and maybe we'll go to Websters for souvenir yarn.

But the biggie will be in the last week of October when we head to West Yellowstone. Rob's never been there either. We'll be exploring Yellowstone for a week - just the two of us. (note to self - look for yarn store)

Yay us!

March 26, 2008

Wednesday List

1. I need to pack for my upcoming retreat. Find the suitcase, determine the clothes, wind the skein of yarn for the 2nd Pomatamus sock. What other knitting do I need to take?

2. Talk to the sis about WOF in June. What time would she be able to pick me up at the train station? Where shall we eat dinner?

3. What hat pattern to make for co-worker Sue? She's shaving her head for St. Baldrick's this year, as is co-worker Mina. (remember last year?) Mina's going to get Grumperina's Odessa. I thought about Koolhaas, but I'd have to buy the pattern. Must keep searching.

4. Do I really want the chicken thing for dinner? At least I'm not making it.

5. Love the new dishwasher.

6. Where should we go for our anniversary? It's our 10th so we should do something. 10th is tin or aluminum (traditional) or diamond if we go modern.

7. I need black shoes. Cute black shoes.

8. I also want a new denim skirt.

9. Time to cut my hair, but what style? Must consult the sisters and the mom.

10. I need ibuprophen. Cramps suck. I'm ready for menopause.

11. Only 82 more minutes to kill before I can leave. Must do work to justify the paycheck.

March 13, 2008

Three times this week and I couldn't claim a headache

I managed to make it into the gym Monday, Thursday and this morning. Sooo tempting to stay in bed instead of crawling out at 3:30am to drag on gear and head out the door.

But! I do feel better for having done it.

And! It's a birthday weekend! This guy is 3 today:
Delirious

He's 14 months in this picture. He's coming over with his big sister tomorrow so I'll have new photos for the grands.

And this couple:
Kim-Tony

Will both be adding a year to their ages this weekend. Happy birthdays, Sis and Hubby!

We have another family birthday on Tuesday and one more at the end of the month. March is a pretty popular month!

March 11, 2008

Knitting

Another quick update (I know! TWICE in the same week!)

Knitting: I've cast on for a pair of Pomatomus socks from Knitty. I'm using stashed yarn:

Shepherd Sock in River

I'm working on the first sock and I've finished the 2nd repeat of the pattern on the leg. I started into the heel and I somehow managed to lose a stitch. It's not dropped but I managed to still lose it. I'm debating ripping back the 3 inches I've knit to re-do the heel or just adding a stitch to bring it back to the count I need.

Now that I type this, I know I'm going to rip. There's a bit of a hole where the problem occurred and it would be a bigger hassle to work around it. I'm thinking of gifting these and have a person in mind and it would be better to do it right.

Ravelry: I have been sucked into the wonder that is Ravelry's stash notebook. I've loaded quite a bit of stash in there - mostly the good stuff, certainly not all of the acrylics. It has an export button to send my stash out to XL and I did. I've determined I really, really need to 1) knit from stash and 2) clear out the crap. I have over 19 miles of yarn - and remember, not everything is listed.

Now my stash is certainly not as big as what others have, but it is spurring me on to get it under control and organized. Or at least get rid of the stuff I don't want. Or intend to use.

Working out again, but not reading much

Blogging at lunch to try to get in an update.

Weight loss: I had a setback when I got sick and completely missed working out in February. I picked up most of the 5 pounds I'd lost in January which wasn't great. I just started up again last week with the workouts and am almost (.8 lb to go!) back to where I ended January. I thought about trying to make up for February this month, but that would be almost 15 pounds to lose. I'll shoot for 10, but really? I'll be happy with anything below 195.

I need to develop a good workout plan. I spend 30-45 minutes doing cardio (treadmill, elliptical or climber) and then another 30 minutes on weights. I'm going 3-4 times a week and I need to develop something quick because marathon training begins at the end of the month and I've got to plan on run/walking it with Mom and Chris. Well Chris at least. I think Mom's competitive enough to try for a time that will kick my butt.

I did download the Podrunner podcast from iTunes to try to use on the treadmill. Well see how that goes. I don't think I'm quite there yet since I just got back in to the gym. But it will help with the interval training. (what's with the word farklet? Those Swedes, so funny)

What would be good is some kind of tracker. A pedometer won't do it for me and I don't want to spend over $100 for a Garmin Forerunner. I'm thinking of trying the Nike+ since it will work with my nano. The brother has one and likes it and I could always knit a cozy to keep it on my New Balance shoes. And $29 is a much better price for me.

Reading: I haven't read anything yet this month. Rather weird for me. I'm wondering if March will get away without anything read other than magazines or knitting patterns. I have bought books, but it's making the time to break them open. I think part of it is just letting other things take the lead on my time right now. That's ok with me, but I really do miss the books.