I don't usually do this.

But I'm going to talk politics for a second.

Politics are why I did not post yesterday. I spent 2 hours waiting in line and voting. Was it boring, yep. Do my legs kinda hurt from standing? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes, Yes, a million times Yes.

There was dramaz. A woman wanted to vote without the privacy screen, at the table where the poll workers were handing out the ballots. The argument was loud and annoying, then the person in line (not the person involved in the argument) ahead of me and Mr. TEK was trying to get us involved in a discussion of the rules. I basically told her that if she had something to say about the situation she should take it to the poll worker, and otherwise I did not care.

Today is quite interesting. I learned on Facebook that we are automatically socialists now, and that we will have to eat apples instead of deep fried potatoes in restaurants. If only the country had known about the apples the election may have turned out differently!

I will say this, I am glad that many of the politicans that brought up rape in their campaigns lost their elections. There shouldn't be a place in politics, on either side, for that kind of ignorance or lack of empathy.

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!

Finally, a finished object post: Schieffelin Point Shawl

So here it is, post blocking, taped to a wall:



And this is me wearing it like a scarf:



Forgive my terrible hair day, but the rest of that outfit was fabulous. Grey herringbone dress, black tights, grey boots, and red scarf.

I really really really love this shawl. The yarn is amazing, I'm sad I learned about it after it was discontinued. The color is strong and beautiful, and it just feels so nice against skin. It does shed a little more than I would like.

The pattern for the shawl is well written, and the chart easy to follow. The hardest part I had was doing the increases as directed without losing count, which happened, multiple times.

Pattern: Schieffelin Point Shawl by Kate Gagnon Osborn
Yarn: Misti Alpaca Baby Suri Alpaca and Silk
Needles: US7

Check out the Ravelry Project Page.

I highly recommend the pattern.

October was BUSY!

And here we are in November.  And with November is NaBloPoMo. So I'm going to try to blog something every day. I can do this.

October is a transition month for me. The end of cycling season and the beginning of gym season. Time to clean up the patio and the yard, and settle in to being inside. More knitting, less being too hot to move. Hot cocoa instead of iced tea.

A pasty for lunch.

Open, Honest, Fear

I have many fears: failure, snakes, bees and other flying stinging insects, and social events. Really, for me, my social fear relates to my fear of failure. It doesn’t matter how well I know someone, how long we have been friends and hanging out, I get a gnawing, annoying fear prior to each and every event. I force myself out of it, have an awesome time with my friends, and then on the way home it hits- the fear and second guessing, the thoughts that my friends are not really my friends- they just feel sorry for me. I remember the “stupid shit” I said, and how the person or people I said it to must think I am an asshole of epic proportions. Sometimes it takes just a few minutes to remind myself that my friends are my friends- that they probably didn’t even notice whatever my transgressions were, as they were busy with their own. Other times, it is hours. Moments in time can come back and punch me in the stomach days, week, months, years after the fact. Long after that person would ever think about it- and even if they did, long after that person would have “forgiven” me, if necessary.

I decided some time ago that I needed to talk about this. I needed to deal with the lack of confidence in my interpersonal relationships, because it was hurting me. There are so many people over the years that I walked away from because I didn’t know how to deal. Sometimes I still don’t know how to deal, but I push through. I don’t want to be like some of the other people in my life who have nothing but their spouse and children. I want to have experiences that are not the same as my husbands, I want people to talk to that are not him. I don’t want to rely upon my theoretical children for a view of the world outside my home.

I’m not quite sure where I am going with this, but I feel the need to write this out. Probably because of upcoming work obligations that are going to force me into interactions with people I don’t know for 14ish hours a day for a week. I am going to have to carve out some quiet time to knit, read, or just simply find peace. 

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.

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.

I am a Curly Girl

And I am darned proud of it! I had a DevaCut and I LOVE it. Seriously. It is the best thing that has ever happened to my hair. It's soft and not crunchy, curly without frizz, and it just feels good. I've gone low-poo, using CurlyGirl Low-Poo shampoo twice a week. It's kinda weird not shampooing. The best part is that the stylist (Marni is amazing!) showed me how to style it so I could recreate her genius at home. And guess what- It works!!!!!!!



I can't tell you how happy I am with this cut!

Feeling Low

This isn't an easy post to write. I've been avoiding it for a week now, but I need to let the past be the past, and hopefully my creative spirit will return.

Last week I was laid off from my job. This is the second layoff I've had, and it just had to come at the part of the year when companies pull back on the hiring because of the upcoming holidays. Since this has happened, I've been feeling 0 creativity. I have the time, I have the energy, I do not have the interest.  I have a baby sweater that I need to knit in the next 6 weeks or so, and I am so excited about it, because it is going to be freaking adorable. I just can't bring myself to get it out of the bag and cast on.

I can feel myself coming back slowly. Yesterday I baked an apple pie. Instead of the typical slashes to vent the top crust, I got out a cookie cutter that my Grandma and Papa bought me from King Arthur Flour. I was going to buy it for myself, but they beat me too it. That's just how Papa was.Fortunately, I took pictures.



It took the better part of a week for me to stop thinking about my former workplace, and I'm sure it will take a little longer for me to get back to where I was. I will say I hated working where I was, and I am going to use this as an opportunity to put myself in a much better position. Financially, we don't have a lot of expenses so living on unemployment for a month or two shouldn't be too bad.

I am hoping that this abundance of free time will set me up with significant blog fodder. I'm always looking on the bright side.

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.

It’s almost time for vacation

Next week Mr. TEK and I have a vacation week! Over the weekend we will be doing some camping, then we’ll have the rest of the week to relax and recharge. I need this. I need this so bad I can taste it.

Today, Wednesday, September 14 is the one year anniversary of my Papa’s death. It is going to be a very difficult day for me and my family. My Papa was an amazing man; he was a major influence on how I live my life now, as an adult. Sometime around 2000 he was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. He had half of one lung removed and radiation therapy to put him into remission. We were lucky in that the cancer never returned, but we were left with a host of other issues. In addition to the cancer, he had emphysema and COPD and finally he was unable to breathe enough to sustain his body. Yes, it’s sad, but I’d rather think about the good things. Like sitting on his back porch watching a storm roll in. Gardening and learning how to maintain a yard. I remember reading his books about birds, and watching the Red Wings on TV. There were fishing trips, swapping recipes, and knowing that if I ever had a question about anything he would probably know the answer. My grandpa is very much a missed part of my life. Thanks to him I live my life without regret.

What does it mean to live without regret? It means making the best decision that you can with the information that you have and knowing that no matter what happens you did your best. It means taking the time to visit with those most important to you. It means having integrity in your relationships, especially your relationship with yourself. It means holding yourself and other to a realistically high standard. Living without regret is not easy. There are days when anxiety would take the very heart of me and I have to embrace it, plan through it, and work harder. I have to remind myself that being happy is not easy; it’s a garden that must be tended. Right now, my garden needs to be weeded and the sad flowers need cut back, and that is how I plan to spend my week off.

Wordless Wednesday