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Just relax

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
Chinese Waves

Chrysanthemum- pattern
Chrysanthemum

BallBand Dishcloth -pattern
BallBand

And my FAVORITE!

Dog with Paw -pattern
Dog

KicknKnit December 27, 2009 Crochet, Karate, Knit, Patterns 1 Comment

I’m back!

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

CherryBlossom

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.
Fingerless Pride Gloves

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?)

Booties

KicknKnit December 23, 2009 Crochet, Knit, Patterns , , 3 Comments

It’s going to be a long haul back from this one

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…

KicknKnit November 8, 2009 Dreck , 3 Comments

Going Green

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 blog 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.

no finger gloves for me!

both fingerless gloves

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)

flamingorangemarketbag

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.

IMG_3207

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)

flamingorangpoofball

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

KicknKnit October 7, 2009 Crochet, Patterns , , , No Comments

Blood, Sweat and Fears

Sunday night was not fun. My water heater decided to burst and gush water all over the floor of my basement. I spend Monday at home waiting for the plumber. Tuesday, I worked late to make up for what I missed on Monday! So I didn’t make it to train.

Thursday night, it was just me and one other person. Always makes for a fun class. So, I’m training away and I stand sideways in the mirror and I see that the side of my gi is covered in streaks of blood. It takes me a minute but I finally clue in that I had rubbed the side of my arm on the side of my gi… and my arm was bleeding. Must have scraped it Sunday night… and it had only scabbed over a little bit… it’s all I can figure..

Great. Most of it came out at least.

Coming up is Fall training Camp. I’m a little bit terrified. And the weekend after that, I should be testing.

On the knitting front, I joined a KAL for gloves and mittens (Ravelry Link). I’m going to try to make the Urban Necessity Gloves. Got the yarn and the needles.. we’ll see if we can pull this off.

KicknKnit September 5, 2009 Dreck , , , No Comments

Got Feet?

Oh boy has it been a long couple of weeks!

It seems like lately, I’ve always got some kind of ache or pain or something going on. Not sure what that is all about. But it’s getting old (maybe I am too? LOL!)

The past um.. probably 5 weeks have been pretty tough on my feet. I made the mistake of switching out the insoles in my shoes for these cheapo ones I got at Walmart. BIG mistake. After a few days, my feet were killing me!

My plantar fascia got very sore and inflamed.. on BOTH feet. My feet haven’t hurt like this since I was working in a bakery, on my feet for 10 hours. OUCH!

The plantar fascia is like a rubber band on the bottom of your foot. It sort of keeps everything together. When it’s inflamed or irritated, it makes me hobble like an old crone. It’s worse in the morning and then loosens up as the day goes on.

Which means, of course that by 7PM, I’m feeling great! Ready to train! Excellent!

Not.

Last week, my foot finally said “no.. no thanks.. this is enough now” and BANG suddenly in the middle of moving foward into front stance my foot stopped gripping the floor.

Stopped.. my toes would no longer grab onto anything.

I hit the floor.

Not fun.

So, as much as I hated to do it, I took another week off karate. It got much better. Especially after the chiropractor visit. I also got rid of those insoles, tossed out my old sneakers and downgraded my “good sneakers” to dog walking sneakers and put Superfeet insoles in my dog walking shoes.

What did I do with myself while I was “down”.

Well I knit of course!
Tonks Socks
Finished my Tonks Socks
Tonks Socks
Aren’t they fun?

Tonks Socks

I totally love them

Now I cast on a new pair for Shel. I found this awesome rainbow yarn from Space Frog and started Shel’s Pride socks
Rainbow Socks

I lurves them. LOL!

KicknKnit August 30, 2009 Dreck , 1 Comment

Darnit.. Missed Class

~sigh~

I’ve been trying so hard to get to class.  I suppose I should be happy that I have a job, but sometimes it’s hard to appreciate it when it keeps me from doing the things I want to do.

~sigh~

KicknKnit April 29, 2009 Dreck No Comments

Two posts in one week and a recipe

I’m looking forward to training tomorrow.  I’ve been trying to eat better so that I have  energy and stamina for class!

Trying to plan recipes for the week,  we found this one.

Pasta with ChickPeas and Garlic Sauce

But of course, I couldn’t leave it alone and made a few revisions. I had a few slices of prosciutto left over and I wanted to use them. So I did.. and I added some peas to offset the badness.

Here is my version of Pasta with Chickpeas.

  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, rough chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained (garbanzo beans)
  • 1 (14 ounce) can reduced-sodium fat-free chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 cups uncooked medium pasta shells (about 6 ounce)
  • 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1 tablespoon  lemon juice
  • 2 slices of prosciutto, rolled and rough chopped (use scissors: trust me)
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup of frozen peas
  • 3 tablespoons shredded parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet  over medium heat.  Add chopped  garlic, saute 1 minute. Add salt, pepper, chickpeas and broth, bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

While garlic mixture simmers, cook pasta in boiling water 9 minutes, drain well.

Place chickpea mixture in a food processor and process until smooth. It will be thick. Don’t Panic.

In the same skillet, saute proscuitto until mostly crispy.  Toss in halved tomatoes, lemon juice and parsley.  Saute 1 minute.  Add sauce.   Add either more broth or water to thin to desired consistnecy.  Add frozen peas and heat through.

Add pasta.

Serve topped with cheese.

Enjoy!

KicknKnit April 27, 2009 Recipes , , , No Comments

I have been training

I really have! I haven’t been posting much on any of my blogs because I’ve been so busy with work.

I managed to get back to class and have been training pretty consistently. I managed to pass my kyu test. Woo for me!

So I as a reward for myself, I finally got the tattoo I wanted.

It’s still a work in progress and I have one more sitting but here is in stages.

Torii Dragonfly Tattoo
Day One. In March

Tattoo- 4-21
Here it is all healed up!

tattoo 4-23
And the day after the black and grey is finished

KicknKnit April 26, 2009 Uncategorized 1 Comment

Oatmeal Pancakes

Oatmeal Pancakes


Since I’ve not been able to make class for a week (thanks to my job taking up all my time lately! Must need to figure out how to get out of there on time) I thought I’d post about my breakfast.

Oatmeal Pancakes: Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone <– clicky the linky for the book info.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups quick oats
2 cups lowfat Kefir (recipe called for buttermilk. I find kefir makes a nice substitution. If you don’t have either add 2 tbsps of lemon juice or vinegar to enough milk to make 2 cups)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg (go for freshly grated. You’ll thank me later)
1/2 tsp baking soda.

Method:

Stir the oats and kefir together and let stand for 20 minutes. Plug in the electric griddle (or what have you)

Beat the eggs, vanilla, maple syrup, and oil together. Combine flour, salt nutmeg and baking soda in a separate bowl. When 20 minutes are up, mix eggs mixture into oat mixture. Stir in flour mixture. cook over medium low heat until tops are covered with holes. Flip once.

Since there is a lot of moisture in these, you need to cook them slowly.

Serve with maple syrup, apple sauce, greek style yogurt, fruit etc.

KicknKnit January 18, 2009 Recipes No Comments

Two days in one week

Must be some kind of a record.

I went to class last night. Sensei started teaching me Heian Sandan. It was pretty darn cool.

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