These past few weeks have been nuts. All three (yes I said three) of my bosses were on the Company trip to Aruba… meh. Which means chaos for me. Oh well.. oh and Shel went off to San Francisco for conference which meant not only was she away for a few days but I was stuck with that song in my head for like a week.

My Ravelympics project was a bust.  I finished one sock (now renamed the “Purple Torture sock of Doooooom!”) and it was like way too wide on the bottom of the foot.. it was essentially a paddle.. urm.. Off to the frog pond it goes.

On the karate front, well there ain’t much news. I’ve been working and not going.. which blows.

The weight loss, however is going like gangbusters inspite of not exercising. I think I may have finally hit a plateau though. But since January 14th I’ve lost 15(ish) pounds. Go me!

Not much in pattern news. I’ve been working on a vanilla sock and started the gusset of the 2nd one last night while watching Firefly. This will be the second time around trying to watch this series. Now that I watch Castle, I find I have an appreciation for Nathan Fillion. Quirky. I like him. So we’re giving it another go.

Once that sock is done I was going to make the Devil’s Snare Socks but I just noticed that they are for SPORT weight. meh. I might try it anyway

Well, I joined Ravelympics. If you are on Ravelry.com then I’m sure you’ve heard of it… if not, well, it’s Olympics for Knitters. There are events to compete in and you can’t start until the opening ceremonies.

I’m doing the Cable Cross Country.. which is very ambitious since I’ve never done cables before. I’m already behind since I initially was going to use this yarn dyed by the Chicks with Sticks which I got from the Knitting Purls sock yarn club.

Which is a beautiful bamboo/wool blend that barfed on me so it took me ages to get ready.. and then it made this gorgeous spiral when I started knitting it and I thought “I have a better pattern for this yarn”..so you guessed it.. I frogged it.

Now I’m using this Good Grrl yarn by Tempted Yarns. also from the Knitting Purls sock yarn club.

Incidentally, if one of you buys this before I feel justified in replenishing the stash, I will be sad.. but you will love it.. this is awesome yarn to work with.

Anywho…

Got a good amount of cable done.. after several false starts, I think I’m getting the hang of it.

Um..that would be Fred the Yeti and Toby the Dragon in the background… being supportive.

In karate news, I didn’t make it to class all last week. I don’t know what I did to my knee but it was swollen for no reason… and painful.. wierd.. I think I slipped on the ice or something and hyper-extended it. There were times it felt way loose.. and other times it was fine. Sensei said that extensions with weights help by building the muscle around the joint.. good plan.. should give that a shot.

We had a good class today. We had two beginner students. Young kids. Very respectful and really listened. If they stick it out, they will do well. Good that they are together, though because they can help each other out and they can spar together. Kinda hard to be the only two kids in a group. I do hope they come back though.

My back stance still sucks.. I think I must have a mental block or something… and there are still quite a few things that I’m screwing up in my kata… annoying… I have to figure out how to do more practice at home.

I meant to write this on Tuesday but it just didn’t happen. Oh well.

I’ve been really pushing myself to eat right and get to class. As of this morning I am down 10 pounds and 1.5 inches around my waist.

This brings me joy.

Getting to class can be tough.. when I’m busy at work, I can’t get there, and when it’s slow, I’m such a zombie that I have to force myself to go instead of sitting like a lump on the couch. So stupid.

So I push. I push myself to go. Once I get there I always have an amazing time. I really do love it. But it still requires a push to get there.

I’m also trying to remember to do my one hundred push-ups challenge. I did the first day and then promptly forgot about it. Man was I SORE after that first day. I’m not even doing real pushups.. just against the wall. Sad, but true.. Hey you gotta start somewhere right?

I also had to push myself to finish these.

It was for a Knit A Long for my Old School Sock Knitters group on Ravelry.

I didn’t make it.

But I was close! and not for lack of trying. I just ran out of time.
I finished them two days late.. oh well.

In spite of (mostly) regular training for the past two years, I’m still a bit.. um.. let’s say fluffy.

It’s annoying more than anything.  I know karate is a great workout and I try to really go as hard as I can when I’m in class (even on the don’t wanna days) but my weight is really out of control.    I have to do something.  I can’t bend over and touch my toes .. not because I’m not flexible enough but because this darn belly fat is in the freaking way.   Color me frustrated.

Many years ago when I (~thought I~) was fat, I tried Atkins for those “stubborn few pounds”… it was awesome.. I got to eat bacon every day!  That was my breakfast.. three slices of microwaved bacon.  I’d drive to work with that bacon, swaddled in papertowels, on the passenger seat and just nom away..

Guess what… I didn’t lose those 10 pounds…  and they found friends.. about 45 of them.. so now here I am at 170 wondering what happened.  I’ve tried eating better but I get lazy.. chinese food, pizza, take out all fell into my mouth with abandon.

Enough.

This has to stop.  I’m unhealthy.  Sure I can go 90 minutes in the dojo but I’m exhausted.  I bruise easy.  I’m sore for days. I look like I’m going to pass out after 20 minutes.  I’m tired.  20 kicks and I want to fall down.

Enough already.

Karate should be fun! LIFE should be fun!  I need more energy for myself, my partner, my dogs, my job and my life.

On January 18th, we started the South Beach Diet.  After my Atkins experiment, I didn’t think low carb was a good idea.  But I did some reading and realized that we are probably both insulin resistant as well as dealing with yo-yoing blood sugar levels.  South Beach deals with this.. two weeks of no grains.  Carbs only come from certain veggies.  (Phase 1) And then you slowly add back in “good” carbs.  (Phase 2) This.. I could do without fear of my arteries slamming shut from saturated fats.

Shel went through the pantry and wiped it out of stuff we aren’t going to be eating on Phase 1.  She put potential Phase 2 foods up on a HIGH shelf.  Everything else..  to the local food pantry, my office kitchen or the squirrels.

The pantry looked woefully empty.

But the fridge is STUFFED.  We have so many veggies in there!  Stuff I never thought I’d like or that I’d forgotten I liked. Swiss chard, spinach, broccoli, zucchini..

So far, we are spending a lot of time preparing foods.. which makes it hard.  Last night I made dinner and then Shel made dinner for tonight because there is very little time to cook between coming home from work and heading out to the dojo.  Tuesdays and Thursdays were “frozen pizza for a snack night”.  And then we would eat a full sized dinner when I got home at 9PM.

No wonder we’re fluffy.

So far, I’m feeling great.  I’m snacking on good stuff all the time.  I feel like I’m constantly eating. (because I am!)  and my karate classes are going SO much better.  I think it’s all the water that I’m drinking.

I’ll be tracking my weight here once I find a plugin that will do it. And find the time to install it!  We are so busy cooking! And eating.. I swear I’m eating every 2 hours.

In other news:

Socks!

I made these cool socks for Shel.. I’m calling them Shel Shocked Socks.. fun right? Straight Vanilla sock pattern but evidently I wasn’t paying attention because one is 1/2 shorter than the other.. oops!

And these are what I’m working on for me!

The Pattern is Show-Off Stranded Socks –
Ravelry.com Link and it really does a beautiful job showing off the variegated hand dyed yarn. Which, by the way, came from Jess at Weaving Rainbow. I totally need to finish her dog collars. I’m so far behind I’m embarassed!

Guess what?

They aren’t happening here either.. too much work.. srsly… it was  a fun idea but I’m over it.

We did have a good time in spite of the cold.  We had some fabu food.. Lunch at Morocco… I recommend the Shwarma.. the falafel was ok.. not great.. but good.. pickled turnips were AWESOME! I love those.  Coffee.. meh.. I really was hoping for REAL Middle Eastern Coffee.. you know, mud with sugar?  You make it in one of these thingies called an ibrik? No such luck.. guess I’ll have to wait for Shel’s Dad to make me some… although I think we have an ibrik around here..

We ate at the Rose and Crown which was totally full of WIN!  Not only was the food way good, but we were seated on the patio (there was plastic sheeting etc because it was totally BRRR out there).. the really cool part?  We had THE perfect seat for Illuminations.. which is the fireworks on the lake at Epcot.. could NOT have planned it …. it was awesome.

One of the highlights of our trip was Toy Story Mania…. zomg.. so so so cool.  We had heard that it was THE ride and that waits were long so we got a fast pass around 1PM.. for 6:30! We were in the last group to get them.. so we killed some time on the Great Movie ride.. it was too cold to sit out for Lights Motors Action so we didn’t.. at 5:00 we had had enough fun.. so we decided to leave the park and come back EARLY the next day.  We tried to give our fast passes away but so many people had more than two in our party and a few people didn’t want them..

As we were rounding the corner from Pixar Place, I overheard an adult couple talking.. she says to him “Well, lets see how long the line is.. since we can’t get a fast pass”.. (FYI: the wait time was 80 minutes.. In January! in the COLD! .. telling you.. hot ticket).. I interrupted her and said “Excuse me.. are you talking about the Toy Story Mania Ride?”.. she says that they were and that they really wanted to ride it and it was their last day in the park.. so I handed her the Fast Passes..  she almost fell over…  it was awesome.

We went back the next morning and it was a 30 minute wait.. but it was really like 10…  Best. Ride. EVAH! Do it.. srsly.. do it..

We really did enjoy our hotel.. nothing quite like being greeted by a Towel Mickey

It was really cold out

And we stayed on Jazz Alley.. around the corner from Rue de Baga (so funny!)

We did have to buy a lot of clothing.. thank goodness our trip was essentially paid for since we saved up to go. We ended up with

• 2 long sleeved shirts
• 2 sweatshirts
• 1 scarf
• 2 pairs of gloves
• 1 coat
• 1 pair of Hello Kitty stretchy pants that I pulled up over my fat butt as another layer under my jeans.. for real… they say “Born to Be Famous” on the hip.  I think I heard Hello Kitty screaming as I yanked them on.. but I was WARM

I’m back from vacation! I did not bring my phone or any way to access the interwebs while I was gone. I didn’t even bring my knitting! (I have this fear of TSA agents ripping my needles from my project, leaving my socks to frog themselves)… so in the interest of “summarizing” my 5 days away, I give you… the Tweets that Didn’t Happen Part 1 (times are estimated)

Wednesday, January 6th:  Travel Day

• 11:30 AM:  ZOMG.. so excited!  off to the airport. Dogs not happy.
• 12:45 PM: Shel got the pat down. Suggested she offer the TSA agent a cig.  Sheesh!
• 2:45 PM: Blerg.. plane delayed 1/2 hour.. there goes my layover
• 3:30 PM: TSA at the gate? Srsly?  Horse out of the barn at this point people.
• 3:45 PM:  YAY! First class FTW!
• 5:30 PM:  Spent 2 mins in Charlotte.. now off to Orlando.
• 7:00 PM: Magical Express FTW! Hey.. it’s cold… brrr
• 7:30 PM: Shel gets “Happy Birthday Button” from desk.
• 9:30 PM: Paradiso 37.  Crazy Corn Way good.  Rest of dinner sucky.
• 9:31PM : should stay on Disney Proper for foodz..  blech.
• 9:44 PM: Chatted with 2 wmn from Ontario. In Dis. for Marathon.
• 10:30 PM: Back to Port Orleand FQ: tomorrow Animal Kingdom!

Thursday, January 7th

• 8:30 AM: thank the gods for Via. No real coffee here
• 9:45 AM: Brkfst at hotel.  Standard issue eggs.
• 10:30AM: Animal Kingdom Bus! woot!
• 10: 35AM: zomg.. it’s tourist group hell here.  Is all of Europe on vaca?
• 11:00 AM: Dinosaur Ride!
• 11:30 AM: Flame tree BBQ!  pork sammie.. nom nom nom
• 12:45 PM: Expedition Everest… scary.. no freaking way.
• 1:00 PM: bored.  Not much in this park for us.
• 1:30 PM: decision made! Fantasia Mini golf!
• 3:30 PM:  Scoping out Boardwalk.
• 4:30PM: Back to hotel for break
• 7:00PM: Headed to Boardwalk for dinner at Kouzzina PITA to get to.
• 7:29PM: Bus to Studios then bus to boardwalk.. bleh
• 7:31PM: wth? Studios bus playing Star TREK music? did they know we were here?
• 8:00 PM: Front of house: scary. Waitress awesome!
• 8:15 PM: omg.. mezze is excellent!  Lamb meatballs VERY spicy
• 9:00 PM: lamb shank ftw!
• 9:30 PM:  dessert .. eh.. not worth it. loukoumades soggy
• 9:45 PM: zomg! waitress just yelled it was Shel’s Bday! Entire place yells OPA! Free cupcake!
• 10:ooPM: packed up left overs. Back to hotel.  Balmy 38F

Damn I have a hard time with that.

Had class today. Sunday’s are always great because not many people show up which means I get a lot of instruction. Today was a little different. It was still intense, but Sensei didn’t spend a lot of time picking apart our technique.

We warmed up, did a few combinations and as I was moving through them, I envied my classmates ability to smoothly move from block to punch to kick. When I move from one technique to another it’s jerky and clunky and slow.

One of the things that Sensei said today was to relax. He says this all the time, but today he elaborated a bit and I realized what I’m doing wrong. When I execute a technique, I’m tensing my muscles all through the entire technique.. instead of waiting until the end of the technique and then tensing… and then relaxing.

Talk about using too much energy! and there is now way to move smoothly through one technique to another if I don’t allow my body to relax. Seriously I’ve felt like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. Oil Can! Oil Can!

When we did the next combination, I tried to remember this… and it was much easier.. maybe now when I do 20 front kicks I won’t look like I’ve done a thousand (at least that is what Sensei said I look like– I know that’s what it FEELS like!)

And I’ve been knitting and crocheting. I’m currently into dishcloths, so I made a set for a friend. She loves orange.. like for realz

Chinese Waves – pattern

Chrysanthemum- pattern

BallBand Dishcloth -pattern

And my FAVORITE!

Dog with Paw -pattern

I’ve been back to classes for about 2 weeks… and I hurt a bit.

Ok I hurt a lot.

After a month off of karate, going back was quite .. unpleasant.. but not really. It’s odd actually, because while my legs are screaming, my heart is racing and my back is complaining, I’m still kicking… and kicking..and kicking. (ok.. not kicking correctly, but kicking none the less)

It feels awesome. I have so missed this. I feel like I’m actually in my body again.

The weekend before I went back, Sensei had a small holiday get together that I really wanted to go to, but the day before I did this

And my ankle swelled up the next day. boo .. hiss.. but the tattoo looks great now (not so great in that pic but oh well. Do you know how hard it is to take a pic of your own ankle?

While I sat on my bum, elevating my sore ankle, I did some knitting.

I made these Nifty Gloves (Pattern: Knitting Neels or Ravelry Link) out of some sock yarn I had left over from the Pride socks I made.

And I did a little crocheting as well. I made these booties (Pattern: Marlo’s Crochet Corner or Ravelry Link) for me as a test to see if they would work as a charity donation. I ended up making 4 pairs out of the Dreaded Red Heart for a local nursing home. (Don’t get all over me about slippers being to slippery for the elderly. I labeled them TV booties and got approval from the organizer first mmmkay?)

First, I have to tell you that Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival was awesome… I bought some fun stuff.. I’ll post about that later.

My biggest issue right now is that I’ve been sick.. I mean SICK.. I’ve not been this sick in a very long time. I don’t think I’ve ever been this sick.

First I got the flu. I don’t think I’ve ever had the flu…damn now I understand why people get the flu shot. This was horrible… 102 fever for 5 days..and then just for fun, I got bronchitis. I’ve had minor bouts of this before. When I didn’t have health insurance I had to treat it myself with Robitussin and lots of Hall cough drops.

But this… this is horrible. I’m SO tired… I can deal with the cough now that I found something that will suppress it long enough for me to sleep. But the fatigue.. the exhaustion. I’ve lost SO much muscle tone and just sweeping the kitchen has me falling down exhausted. I thought that now that I can eat (after 8 days of basically wasting away) I would have more energy… but I don’t.

I want my body back. The one that was starting to get strong and fit and lean and mean. Not this wimpy soft weak puddle of goo…

First, I have to congratulate myself. I FINALLY got my green belt!!! Woohoo! Of course, now work is keeping me late and I’ve not been to class in a week.. The most I’ve worn my green belt is all of five minutes after Sensei gave it to me.

But I passed!

And on the green theme, I did a little crocheting. Yes, I know the block is “Kick n Knit” but “Kick n Crochet” doesn’t sound as cool.

A while back I made a pair of fingerless mitts for myself for dog walking. I used this pattern from Suzie’s Stuff.

A friend saw them and said “oh! I want a pair!” so of course I made them for her since they are a super quick project. She wanted them in Orange.. of which I had none.. acrylic works great for these since they get pretty dirty being used as dog walking gloves (which was her intention as well). So I picked up a skein of the dreaded but cheap soul sucking Red Heart in what I like to call “Flaming Orange of Death” color.

So I whipped off the gloves and I was left with a ton of this horrid stuff.

I decided my orange loving friend needed some green stuff.. you know green stuff that would use up that orange yarn.

Witness the Flaming Orange Market Bag (of Death) (Pattern Here)

I had made one of these for myself previously. Mine DOES have the CD for a base, but I don’t think you need it.

Mine is in a more reasonable color. Although, it does show dirt.

I had a little bit more orange left, so I also made the Flaming Orange Poofball (of Death) (Pattern here)

This is a tawashi, that should do a nice job scrubbing dishes… no more sponges!