Cycling Goal- 1,000 Miles. CHECK!

Hell yeah, we did it! Mr. TEK and I bicycled just over 1,000 miles over the course of the season. It is an amazing feeling, to set a goal like that and accomplish it. Our biggest hangup is the time involved. We still managed to have an outing average of 16.7 miles. At the beginning of the season our normal weekday ride was 10 miles. By the end of the season we managed to increase our speed enough that we could do a 15 mile route with the time that we had.

I'm kinda happy that cycling season is over for us, towards the end it was getting to be a chore. One thing that helped were the organized rides we signed up for. We did both the Tour de Troit and the Blue Water Ramble. We've started back at the gym now, and I know for a fact that I am in much better shape than when we signed up for our membership in February to prepare for cycling season.

Here are the bikes on the car for the final trek to the local metropark. I'm looking forward to next year!

Minimal Knitting Content Ahead

I have been knitting a bit, but it doesn’t look like I’m making much progress. I am though - I think I have just one more repeat of the houndstooth before I start the decreases to finish off the head. I should be ready to start the arms by the end of this week, if I manage to get some knitting done in the evenings.

I was going to take a photo of the minimal progress, but then I didn't. It's been a week. I'll just post this today.

I’ve started an organization project: I’m going to re-tag all of my flickr photos. I’m slowly deleting all of my existing tags, and will start replacing them soon. It’s kind of annoying, but it will help me find the photos I’m looking for. I wish flickr made it easier to reuse tags, so then I don’t end up with 3 or 4 variations of “knit”.

Otherwise I’ve been spending my time reading cheesy romance novels (and finally started the book for my bookclub. More on that Thursday.) and now playing a web-based MMO gamed called Glitch. It’s really fun! You can either sign up for beta access (mine took about 2 weeks or so) or if you already have a friend with beta access they can send you an invite. I think the limit is 3 invites per person, and I still have all of mine… hint, hint!

Then there is Diablo III, which I will pick up more now than Mr. TEK is home in the evenings again, and Civ V. It’s a wonder I even get out of my chair!!

We also had scare with Duke this week. Onions. Which are poison to cats. *sigh* Why does he like to eat poison?

He's fine, we didn't even have to take him to the vet, but we did call (twice) just to be sure.

Accountability

I am trying to make some life changes. I want to be more productive in life, at work, at the “gym”, at my crafts, in my relationships. Making these changes is working so far. I feel better about myself- more confident, more connected, more centered.

One of these changes is centered on my blog. Right now, I’m writing maybe twice a month. I want to write twice a week. My plan is to do one post per week about my knitting, since I am knitting a little every day. I should have some progress each week to show, if not finished things. It’s amazing, if you actually knit you can finish things within a less-than-6-months’ time frame! Granted, I chose not to post this week about knitting because I am working on a super-secret project that I cannot quite talk about yet – except to say that I am within 40 stitches of completion.

The other changes I am trying to make are:

1. Fitness- Continue to work on cycling, start with a little core strength training each day.
2. Work- Minimize non-productive time
3. Relationships- Re-establish and maintain friendships that have been allowed to lapse.

I probably will not post very much about 2 and 3 here, though I may change my mind if I feel that I need to share.

As of yesterday, here is our cycling progress:



Yep. We’re over 700 miles for the year. We have at least 6 to 8 more weeks of good riding, so we will certainly hit 1,000 miles.



Now to just make sure that I am doing my core exercises… Hmmm.

Catching Up

I know that I’m a sporadic blogger. There are times where I just don’t feel like digging deep to find something, anything, to write about. I’ve started to use mindbloom.com to try to get myself organized and actually do stuff, but work stuff, home stuff, and fun stuff. That is what pushed me to write this post. If you use mindbloom, contact me, I’ll add you as a friend. I don’t have any friends added on there. So let’s catch up on my summer of awesome!

Knitting: I finished the Schieffelin Point Shawl, which was a huge undertaking, especially working with alpaca silk yarn in 95˚+ heat. It turned out beautifully. I have not taken photos of it since it has been blocked, but I do have photos of it pinned out.







Once I completed the knitting on the shawl I immediately cast on for a new Monster. I’m going to be knitting two monsters for friends that gave me gifts last year, and I did not reciprocate. I might also knit necklaces for them; I already have the yarn and probably the beads for it. I have some Jaggerspun Zephyr 2-ply in a lovely cream color that I think would love wonderful with some pale lavender beads or maybe a bold red bead. I’m starting now, so it will be done with plenty of time before the holidays.

Cycling: We have biked 560 miles so far this summer! We are +187 miles over last year at this time, and are on pace to ride over 800 miles. That is some serious biking, and we are pretty well lined up to reach our goal. If we have a couple 100-mile weeks, we won’t have any trouble reaching 1,000.



We have added to our gear, switching to clip-in pedals and shoes. I have to say they are the ugliest most expensive shoes I’ve ever purchased. But they work, once I got used to wearing them. There were several “almost” falls, I wrenched my shoulder pretty good the second time we went out with them. It’s tough riding sometimes. I found out I have asthma, not too bad, and it only bothers me when biking hard.

I really haven’t done any other crafting. Most of my free time is take up by cycling or playing Diablo III.

No Progress

I haven’t really been knitting, just a row here and there on the Schieffelin Point Shawl. It’s a shame because I’m so close to having it done. I think I’ve got 6 more rows before I start the lace border.

We have been making progress on our cycling goals thouhg.

We are +50 miles over where we were at this time last year. We are planning to ride a minimum 40 miles both this week and next week. The three-day Memorial Day weekend will certainly help. If we can manage that we will be nearly +100 miles over last year. Unfortunately, it is looking like we won’t be able to participate in the Michigander Bike Tour this year though. Mr. TEKs has a project at work that is going to necessitate extended hours, so we are going to try to find a different tour.

Otherwise, my free time has been taken up by hanging out on the patio (which allows for some knitting) and playing Diablo III (which does not).

April Update

April is probably my favorite month. And yes, my name does factor into it, along with my birthday, warmer weather, and formerly the beginning of the end of classes. This month has been more of the same, except for the end-of-classes thing; I wish my life still came with summer vacation.

Cycling: With better weather the bicycling take precedence. Granted it’s not perfect weather yet, still cool and windy, (60’s F, or below) but we are making it count. Spreadsheet has needed some tweaks, but now I think I’ve got it. We’re nearly 40 miles ahead of where we were at this time last year, and that is HUGE. It’s too bad that the weather is supposed to be crummy this week. Mr. TEK plotted several road routes that we can ride for 10, 20, and 30 mile rides that will keep us out of the local State Park. We are trying to build speed and endurance, and it is not safe for either us or the pedestrians when the park is busy. People tend to be all over the place, and have no problem blocking the trail- either with items or themselves- which makes me… well, let’s just say unhappy.

The road routes are somewhat more difficult, as they include going over highway over-passes, which is about as good of a hill as you are going to get when your town was built on a swamp. It’s early in the year, but I thought I’d have better endurance already. I’m impatient, especially since it seems that Mr. TEK is breezing through these 10 mile rides.

Knitting: I’m still working on the Schieffelin Point Shawl. I hit the half-way point in terms of number of stitches over the weekend, and just started the third skein of yarn. I’ve done the second-to-last set of increases, but somehow I have either 13 or 20 extra stitches. I’ve counted twice and gotten those two different numbers, so I’m going to have to count again. I can tell you this, however many stitches I have, I am not ripping back. I’ll just make sure to adjust my increases accordingly.

I’m only working on this project right now because I’m hoping to have it done by May 15^th. I’m pretty sure I can reach that goal, but I’m going to have to do a lot more knitting in the evenings at home.

The bulbs I planted in the fall have come up and they look amazing. I find yellow and red tulips next to brightly colored hyacinths to be interesting to look at. I’m a “plants on top of plants” kind of gardener; I don’t want to see dirt- just lush green foliage and pops of pretty colored flowers. I am also lazy, as mentioned many times on this blog. I don’t want to have to do any kind of maintenance to my plants, outside of an occasional weeding or cutting. Mr. TEK is more of the regimented, spaced-out plants with fresh mulch around each plant, kind of guy.

We have a new area to plant in now, since we added two more fence sections to our patio. It’s now mostly enclosed, granting us a lot more privacy, which makes Beers on the Patio™ all the more awesome.


This year is apparently the year of seeing bands that I wanted to see before I died. So far this year we have seen The Life and Times (for the 2^nd time) and Clutch (for the first time). We just got tickets to see Fiona Apple, and Shiner, and we are hoping to get tickets to TheDeftones and System of a Down, and Garbage. I’m 100% sure we will get Deftones tickets; it’s just a matter of where the “seats” are. The show is at DTE, which has a pavilion with real seats and hill seating, which is like a picnic with a crappy view of the stage, which is the opposite of awesome for a rock show.

My apologies

Here we are, more than half way through March, and I haven't posted. There is good and bad, and more good news.

Good News/Bad News #1- I found a job! I started the first full week of February and I a very happy in my new role. It's with a small company, working with information that I have no experience with, so there is a lot to learn- along with a crap-ton of excel work! Excel makes me happy, I probably should go back to school for computer programming because I just love the problem solving aspect of figuring out how to automate calculations with formulas, functions, and macros.

The bad news in all this is that I have significantly less time to blog. My time at work is work time, though lunchtime might allow me to outline a post or two, and now that it is spring I'll be spending more time in the evenings on my bicycle, which will leave even less time for blogging and preparing for posts (like taking photos)

Good News/Bad News #2- Daylight Savings! It's great because I'll have better light in the evening for photography. It's not-so-great because I hate changing the clocks. Last week I was so off my game, it was aweful! I was getting up at minimum 20 minutes late every morning for work, which meant I arrived at work later than I would have liked.

How have my hobbies fared with the new job? My primary hobbies have fared well. I consider knitting, photography, and cycling my primary hobbies. Sewing, baking, and other crafts are secondary.

Knitting: I participated in a knittyboard swap, the theme was "New Year, (learning) New Things. My pal sent me a GREAT package. Pretty stitch markers, yummy tea, and the crowing glory- Misti Alpaca 4-ply Alpaca Silk in an amazing garnet color. I'd better get a black coat for the winter, I don't want to look like an Ohio State fan when visiting my in-laws in Columbus! (disclaimer: I do not care a whit for college sports. Mr. TEK does not care a whit for college sports. His extended family does not fail to give us crap because we live and work in Michigan- and horror of horrors- I work in Ann Arbor again!) She sent along a super cute pattern- Schieffelin Point Shawl that I immediately cast on for.





I also have a nearly-completed Pocket Cup Cozy, but I am still not happy with the pocket construction. Apparently I suck at picking up stitches. I'm just going to have to keep trying or just make them without pockets. It's not like that is difficult at all.



Cycling: The 2012 Summer of 1,000 Miles spreadsheet is live! And by live, I mean updated and on my usb drive. I'll give you a peek at the data analysis page (the rest is boring... unless you like line graphs with 2 data points!)


Since we started going to the gym in January, we were able to kick-start our outdoor cycling by cutting out the less than 5 mile conditioning rides. The weather certainly helps too. Hopefully we will be able to get another 10 mile ride in this evening.

Photography: I have barely had a reason to pick up my camera before today since I haven't been doing any blogging. I have not finished any crafty projects either. I've got a project for Easter, which I am really excited about, but other than that nothing much.



There are two new releases coming May 15 that I am super excited about. Diablo III and the new Garbage album. So giddy about D3... and the new computer I am going to get to ensure I get an awesome experience. I've needed a new desktop for about a year now, but I've been putting it off so I could get something to run Diablo to it's best advantage. Yes, I am quite happily a nerd.

Duke was quite mad that I was outside and he was not getting my undivided attentions.

It’s FALL!

I love and dread the fall. The colors and temperature is wonderful. The hint of winter in the air as fall fades just sucks. I hate driving in snow so much that it makes me hate and dread the winter. There are parts of winter weather that I love… thick socks, mittens, hats, scarves, slippers… watching it snow when I don’t have anywhere to go… hot tea, hot cocoa, baking bread and cakes and the warmth from the oven keeping me warm. I could go on, but I won’t. I’ll just say that I wish early fall could last forever. Just as I was congratulating myself for keeping up on the blog, I completely fell off the wagon. But that’s okay, I’m okay. So let’s start with my vacation week!

CAMPING! We started a week of vacation with camping on Lake Michigan. It was only two nights, so we figured it would be fun and not too much work. It was really nice. We brought books and a Frisbee (which I promptly and accidentally threw in the lake) and had to go buy some camp chairs from Meijer. We watched the sunset over the lake and sat on the beach the next day. We explored, and I knit a little. The last night it rained… and rained… and rained… we ended up taking the tent down in the rain. Thankfully the tent was well designed and was easy to take down.


CONCERT! Almost as soon as we got home on Monday (we had time for a nap and dinner) we left to drive to the Palace of Auburn Hills for the Foo Fighters! They always put on an awesome show, and this time was no exception. We were rocked for 3 hours! I even managed to get a decent shot with my camera phone. I ran it through lightbox, a free android app, for the post processing. e

CYCLING! Good and bad, we did a lot of cycling over our vacation, but Thursday I fell off my bike. I still have the scrapes, but they don’t hurt all the time anymore. We were at our local state park, and we were going fast, about 15 mph. I was coming around a curve and one of my tires must have fallen off the path, which put me off balance and I fell. Luckily, I was wearing long sleeves and pants. My shirt ripped, but my pants didn’t. I had some scrapes/road rash on my left elbow and knee, a huge bruise on my right calf, and a smaller bruise on my right ankle. I think my bike was scraped a little, but I think it was mostly on one of the pedals. Mr. TEK came back and checked it over, so I didn’t see it. The worst part was the simple muscle soreness in the days after. So not only did I fall off my bike, the following Saturday, just 3 days later, we rode in the Tour d’Troit bike ride. We totaled 26 miles for the outing- the ride was 22 miles through some nice and not-so-nice parts of Detroit, plus we did an optional 2 miles on Belle Isle and there were another 2 miles to and from the parking lot. I didn’t take my camera, as I was still sore and uncomfortable. The worst part was that every time I hit a bump it jarred my injured elbow. It was still fun though!

The other major thing we did over the week was complete Mr. TEK’s bookcases. He started building a set of three bookcases for our house last year, but had to stop working on them last summer because of his illness. We did the stain and the polyurethane, and on Sunday got the cases moved into the house and our books out of the storage tubs we had to put them in. We have two in the bedroom and one in the computer room. They look FANTASTIC!

Next time: banana bread, books, and a knitting wip

And don't forget Duke. He is not amused by my photography.

Almost a MONTH!

I cannot believe it’s been nearly a month since my last post! And I was doing so well at my target of minimum 1 post per week. It’s time to get back on track.

Knitting:
Remember this-



Yeah… First try was the Yarn Harlot’s Unoriginal Hat. The photo above is the second try where the gauge was wayyyyy too tight. And then there was the third try where I figured out that I didn’t have nearly enough yarn to knit a hat with that yarn. So it was frogged and set aside for something else. I might just have to do a cowl or a short scarf with buttons.

Instead I got started on this:



It’s soon to be another monster from Rebecca Danger’s Big Book of Monsters. It was supposed to be a “ball shaped” monster, but I decided I wanted more of a pill shape, so I’ve added a bunch of knit rows before the decreases. Since I hate seaming and hand sewing I’m going to pick-up the stitches to start the arms and legs and just knit them to the body like that. It will be so much easier, though typically slightly frustrating to get started.

Sewing:
I haven’t been sewing much; I’ve been pretty well stuck on the knitting. I’ve got a ton of stuff saved up on my pinterest board for future projects. I need to make another trip to the knitting sewing shop I discovered a month ago.

Biking:
After taking some time off because of the heat-wave, we’ve gotten going again. In the middle of the month we went to Columbus, OH to visit family and rode 30 miles on their trail system. It was LOVELY. There were a lot of people out in the park we started out on, but as we made our way towards the city there were fewer and few people. I took my camera but didn’t get many photos on the bike ride. We did get some of a heron that took flight close to where we were biking, and I got some photos of family pets but otherwise the camera didn’t come out.



Photography:
Saturday will be photography day. It has now been decided. I haven’t really had my camera out much, just a few shots here and there. I did get a photo of our bike gang, the Regulators*, on Saturday.

Cooking:
I bought a slow cooker cookbook (This one) and have been making some of the chicken recipes. I’ve made2 so far, and they’ve been kinda meh. I haven’t given up yet though. I’m trying to do two Crockpot meals per week to cut down on kitchen time during the week. I really like this book on principle though, not a single recipe that begins with “Open a can of cream of mushroom soup”. The challenge is our family’s particular food exclusions- I have to cook with very little fat, no beef or pork, and little/no dairy. Then you add personal preferences: I don’t like beans or peppers (the veggies, not the spice) and Mr. TEK doesn’t like most vegetables. Another challenge is our location. We live in a more rural town 30 minutes outside of Detroit, while we do have access to some “fancy” foods, there are some that just are not carried at our local Meijer, like porcini or cremini mushrooms.

Travel:
I’m planning a short camping trip for us. We’re going to the west side of the state for just two nights. Our major point of interest is the beach. I’m planning to spend an entire afternoon on the beach and hopefully watch the sun set. It should be a great opportunity for some photography.

*the Regulators are comprised of me and my husband. Yes, we are nerds, thanks for asking.

Duke would rather wear a chicken helmet. I promise.

I'm actually finishing things!

More than just the hat for Todd, I've finished the curtains for my kitchen windows too! They had been languishing for quite some time. I sewed one of them, just a simple, flat curtain, with two fabrics, and the other set was just hemming a cheap Target set.


Not much of anything else, just had to take some time off of biking because of the heat and my adventure with hives. Yeah, allergic to another antibiotic. That's two that I'm allergic to, as well as the one that I might be sensitive to. It's awesome being me.

I was taking pictures of the knitting projects I have in progress and Duke felt the need to help, but first the knits...
1. Bunny Nugget. Another long-standing project. It's been sitting on my desk for months, waiting for me to get some stuffing. Now that I have the stuffing, I'll be putting in the eyes and doing the finishing. It will be a cute addition to a baby gift, maybe with an attached i-cord to tie to attach to a pacifier or some velcro to wrap around the handle of the carrier.


2. Shadow Cable Hat from the Fall 2011 Interweave magazine. I had started the Yarn Harlot Unoriginal Hat pattern, but then I got the new IK in the mail. Frogged it and immediately started this hat. It's going super quick, but I'm not sure about the drape. I'm knitting this bulky yarn on 11s, but I think I'd be better off getting some 13s or 15s out and seeing how that looks. I'm concerned it's going to be too stiff. I've got time to think about it though.


3. Another Monster is soon to be made. I got the yarn today at a new yarn and fabric store in my town(!). It is right by Duke's vets office. I found it when I went by to pick up his special food.  It's a super cute shop, but I'm not sure what it is called. I just saw a hand-lettered sign that said "Fabric & Yarn; Knitting & Quilting" and had to find it.

And here's Duke, investigating my backdrop set-up.

My life is moving forward at an alarming rate.

It’s hard to believe that we’re already past the 4^th of July holiday and are steadily moving towards August. Good thing that despite my lack of posts I have been making progress.

Knitting: I finally finished Todd’s hat!!! Yay!!! I’ll have a Finished Object Post about it this weekend. I’ve cast on for another one of the Yarn Harlot’s Unoriginal Hats, but I haven’t gotten past the cast on yet. It’s been sooooo hot and humid here that I just haven’t wanted to get out the wool. I’ve got other things to work on anyway.

Sewing: I have not touched my sewing machine of late, but that’s going to change in a few minutes. I’m planning tonight to finish the curtain I started, hem the other curtains I bought, and hem the piece of fabric I am using as a backdrop in my knitting photos.Or maybe not. I just realized it's 8:30... crap. Oh well, maybe this weekend.

Photography: I've been messing around with my 60mm Macro lens and have been getting a better understanding of exposure. I'm just the kind of person that can read about it all day long, but it doesn't really make sense until I actually do it several times. I'm thinking that I might anoint a Saturday as "Photography Day" and everything I do try to take a good photo of whatever it is I'm doing... like laundry, yard work, or cycling.

Bicycling: We took this week off due to the excessive heat, we're expecting record temperatures in the Detroit area, potentially over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Blah. Thank goodness for central A/C!!! We will pick back up next week, and maybe have another 50 mile week now that Mr. TEK is done with classes for the semester.

Cooking: Thanks to the heat and our outside project (more about that in the next paragraph) I have been cooking the bare minimum to keep us fed. It's not good by any stretch, and it certainly doesn't help that I'm in a bit of a slump. After about a year of no eggs, no beef, no pork, or no dairy you tend to run out of ideas. I'm totally craving some home made stuffed shells pasta with 4 cheeses and italian sausage. yyyyyuuummmm...

Outside Project: The Patio. The concrete is in, the fence is up, the plants are in place. We still have a small pile of topsoil to disperse around the yard. I am so sick of yard work though! It is certainly worth it, as I love our "Beer Fridays" where we sit on the patio and have a beer and either chat or read or I knit.

I had an awesome thing happen to me last week.... I got a great haircut! I'll write a full post about that too.

(Mr. TEK might not be able to have butter, but Duke doesn't mind having his portion!)

Sunday night already

What a weekend!

Knitting: Finished the knitting on Todd's hat. I wanted to get it done before the weekend so I could spend some time planning my next project and organizing my yarn stash so I could hopefully knit it without buying more yarn. I managed to get organized, but the stash isn't looking good for what I'm planning. I need to finish weaving in the ends on the hat, and then I'll post some ideas for the next project.
Here's the hat:



Here is the inside:



Photography: I'm getting better with the camera, I think, at least for these kinds of still-life shots. I really need some work in post processing, but it's hard to know what to learn when you don't really see what needs to be done. I tried taking a shot for this weeks Digital Photography School contest- the theme is "Independence". I was going to take a photo of my belly. Why my belly? Well, being able to pick and choose my childbearing gives me independence. It did not go well. Thankfully, the camera did not break.

Food: I just don't want to cook when it is so hot out! Must plan something new for next week!

Sewing: um. yeah. nope.

Biking: Now this is where the progress was made. Last week was a 30 mile week. We were just 5 miles short of our goal for the week, but we can make it up this week. We've already got 16 miles for this week, and we need to reach 35. It looks like we will be able to ride 10 miles on Tuesday, 10 on Thursday, and hopefully another 10 on Friday. Saturday we will be busy with yard work, putting up some fencing to give our patio some privacy.

Duke has been quite the jerk lately. I'm not sure if I am concerned or not.

Independence Weekend Wrap-Up

I love a summer long weekend, especially now that our patio has been completed and is set up with seating. We were pretty busy all weekend, but I had some time to do some “me” stuff. Did I work on all the crafting projects I wanted to? No, not really. But the housework was caught-up, yard work too. Here’s my recap:

Friday: 10 mile bike ride at Sterling State Park, then a trip to Lowe’s to see about getting the fencing to provide some privacy to our new outdoor space. We ended the evening with a couple of beers on the patio. (Bell’s Oberon and Paulaner Hefe-weizen)

Saturday: We started early with 15 miles on the bikes, then did a bunch of hard-labor yard work. We needed to fill in around the new cement, and prep the center area for landscaping; using the dirt they had taken out of the area- which was littered with sod, rocks, and plant roots. It was not easy, and we had to take several breaks, lest we get heatstroke. No heatstroke, but I tweaked my lower back. It’s still a little sore, so I’ve been taking it easy. The rest of the day was housework galore, but it got done. That’s all that really matters to me!

Sunday: I had a nice coupon in addition to the mega-sale going on at the Banana Republic Outlet, so I picked up my sister-in-law and we went shopping. The mall is over an hour away from where we live, so it was an all-day shopping trip. We both needed work clothes, so we stocked up at Banana Republic, and then I stocked up some more at the Ann Taylor Outlet Store. It was definitely worth the drive. In the evening I started the Black Forest Cupcakes again for the 4th of July party at my Grandma’s house on Monday.

Monday: Work holidays can’t really be bad, can they? Mine started with a cup of tea and my knitting out on the patio. I got to the point of decreasing on Todd’s hat, however when I looked at it, I didn’t start my decreases soon enough (le sigh). Before I could properly deal with that, there was housework to do, video games to play, and cupcakes to finish, and a party to attend! I had purchased the supplies to make this paper plate tiered dessert plate thingie, but I don’t own a hot glue gun, so I couldn’t make it before the party. But my Grandma has one- so I was able to throw two together with my cousin, Nicole. I did not have the presence of mind to take pictures, but it was super easy and looked super cute, so I’m sure I’ll make more. The party was fun and the cupcakes were delicious.

When I got home, I frogged several inches from the hat, and got the live stitches picked up onto a combination of thread and circular needles. I absolutely intend to finish the hat this weekend.Since I demolished any progress I had made on the hat, I did not take any pictures. That’s something else I have to get better about. I’m working on it though! 


Old photo of Duke "helping" me knit. He's keeping my pattern from floating away!

Weekend Update

It's Sunday evening at the end of a busy weekend. Windows are open, sun is setting, and we're winding down, getting ready for another busy week.

I spent some time on Saturday working on Todd's hat. The colorwork is finally done.



I've got to take some measurements to see if I'm ready to start decreasing for the crown.

We biked 25 miles today! It was good, and my legs are still a little tight. I'm getting to the point  where I just feel overall better. I've also started doing "wall push-ups" as well. My boss recommended them-- you stand an arm length away from a wall, and place your palms against the wall. Then you slowly lean your upper body to the wall, and then slowly push back, just like doing a push-up. It's less difficult than doing regular push-ups but is still going for the upper arms and chest. I'm just doing a couple 10 rep sets each day, but I'll work my way up.

Yesterday I baked these cupcakes, which I consider to be EPIC. I didn't take any photos, as I didn't finish baking them until 10:30 p.m. on Saturday night. I saw the photo in my google reader, and printed it, but if I hadn't seen the photo every time I looked at my pinterest board I doubt I would have made them so soon. I will advise, these cupcakes dirty a LOT of dishes. If you don't want to worry about clean-up I don't think this recipe would be advisable. I will make them again and again though; they were that worth it to me. Also, I have some of the cherry filling left over that I stuck in the freezer, so one less step to worry about next time!

I'm also experimenting with smoothies. I made strawberry yogurt ones tonight. Pretty good, but they need something. Maybe a slug of chocolate sauce? Chocolate makes everything better!

The best part of my weekend? The concrete guys came out and framed in our soon to be patio! I cannot wait to sit out there with a cold Oberon (or Paulaner Hefe! found at Costco!) and just enjoy being outside.

WIP Report

Knitting: I just started back up Saturday, by just casting on 100 stitches in black yarn for Todd's Hat. I didn't touch it on Sunday, but knit 4 or 5 rows of the 2x2 ribbing on Monday, and I got another row or two done today at lunch time.



Sewing: I'm working on some curtains for my kitchen, as well as having a set of curtains that need to be shortened. I probably won't get to finish these projects for a couple of weeks anyway.

Biking: DH and I have set a goal of 850 miles to bike this season. We've been working at it since March, and we've got nearly 250 miles down. We would have had more, however the early rains kept us inside. This week, we've ridden 35 miles, and should ride another 20 before the week is out.

Photography: Downloaded GIMP on my laptop, as well as the desktop, and now I'm learning how to convert RAW files (.nef since I'm on Nikon) to jpeg. Hopefully I can learn this quickly!

The Baron approves.