OW. Feel the Burn... (whimper)

First off, thanks to all the well wishes & encouragement! They are greatly appreciated!

Last night I went to Contours Express for my first workout. I must say I was greatly impressed. Everyone there was really nice, the place wasn't crowded & the equipment was in great shape. I am going back for a second trial on Friday, but I think I'm going to go ahead & sign up. The only downfall to this place is the fact that there is no shower.. :(

Needless to say, I totally hurt! Its not an all-over-my-god-it-hurts-to-breathe kinda hurt. More, wow I feel good... I'm just going to reach for my mouse, son-of-a-bitch-where-did-that-muscle-come-from kind of hurt.

But its all good.

Really.

(whimper)

Because I'm Fat, I'm Fat (Shamou)

So, its official. I'm fat. I knew this, its quite obvious thank you.

But today I had my annual check up, and let me tell you that scale is a BITCH!

So my wonderful doc & I had a nice little chat... he really is a great doctor! He was trying to help me come up with a plan that will work for me, and he was really supportive. So, ehm, my plan.. today I am to research fitness facilities in the area and try to visit a few this week. I am to make a decision by the end of the week and call him back to let him know what I've decided. Right now I have it narrowed down to the Ann Arbor YMCA and Contours Express. I'm leaning more towards Contours to start with because a. there are no men and b. there won't be any skinny co-eds there for me to hate! Plus, a co-worker used to go to this particular Contours and recommends it highly.. and she has lost 70lbs since last August!!

So. This is the deal. I am going to be more diligent in eating properly and start working out 3-5 times a week. You all have to keep me motivated!!

And, in the interest of full disclosure and so that my progress can be properly tracked, my current stats are:

5'5" (gotta start off gently)
236lbs (eek!)
size 20
49" bust
44" waist
52" hip

Hey, at least I still have the hourglass figure... mostly...

told you I was fat...

I'm a Complete Failure!

I totally failed Le Tour de Fleece! Its over & I don't think I even got 2 ounces spun!


(sigh)


At least I have adorable pets...

Use for Left-Over Sock Yarn

One of those questions that plague us, what to do with all that left-over sock yarn. Not enough for a third sock, too much to just (gasp) throw out.

Well, here's an idea...


Nope, it's not a premie cap! Maybe this pic will make it clear...

I love the way the bottom looks!!

I adapted the ice cream pint cozy from Knit Wit by Erica Hohmann. I used the leftover koigu from my mom's socks on size 3 needles and cast on 84 sts. Because I used more stitches I decreased a few times more than the pattern called for, but it seems to work. Plus, it only took like 2 hours to knit up! WHEE!!

btw- mom loves the socks!! She said she was hoping I would make her some! awww...

Happy Birthday MOM!

Ok. I'm a day late, her birthday was actually the 10th, but I was laid up with ickiness (sore throat, congested lungs, general ookiness) and was not up for the blogging. Yeah, I know... I get sick a lot. But hey, not as much as I used to!

Anyways, mom will be getting her b-day present later this week. I want to make sure the ookiness is completely gone before visiting. The last thing she needs is to get sick on top of all her other woes!

Anywho, y'all are gonna get a sneak peek at her b-day gifty!


The eagle-eyed reader may recognize these as the finished Hedera socks! I decided to gift them to mom for 2 reasons.
1. The pattern & yarn are super stretchy, which means they will still fit her when her leg swells up like a balloon.
2. She needs something soft & warm, and I haven't knit her anything in a while.(Yes, I am still working on the sweater for her for x-mas, but the pattern was lost in the move and I have to order it before I can finish it. There's still 6 months, I can do it!!)

In Tour de Fleece news, I am still chuggin along on the cotton, however I am woefully behind. There are only 10 days left & I am not even halfway through the 1st 4oz roving yet! EEK!

So, are you ready for today's big news? Crazy lady gave me a raise! This is shocking! Especially when you consider that my extra $.40 an hour will probably cost her 3 times as much since I am still a measley temp! Granted, this reinforces the idea that I will never get out of this place.

But hey, Google is opening an office in Ann Arbor, they must need admins!! :)

Saturday in the Park

This afternoon we drove out to the Saline Dog Park, which is located in the Mills Pond Park.

Corrina had an absolute blast! She made a few new friends, a little Jack Russell named T-Bone in particular, and got to romp in the river for the first time ever. The retriever in her certainly came out!

Here's a little video of her first river romp! :)

Bountiful Beans

Lookie what I just picked from my little garden of eatin!


Squee just doesn't seem to cover it! XD


And there's just enough for me! I knew there was a reason I married a man who hates veggies!

The Feline/Puppy Conspiracy

Oh.. you may scoff, but I know that my animals are conspiring against me!
See Exhibit A:

Note the missing earpieces and thouroughly chewed sides

Notice the tiny holes in the lens, caused by
sharp little puppy teeth!

Yes, this is the sight that met my eyes a week ago Saturday. Actually, the lenses had been popped out & I later put them back in to see if there was any way of salvaging my glasses.

I know what you're thinking. Tragic, yes, but a conspiracy?

Yes. Please note that on Friday night, my husband was in Chicago at a concert. The animals had no way of knowing when this man, aka "daddy", would be returning. The cats know my habits. Before going to bed, I place my glasses on the dresser in front of the alarm clock so I can see what time it is first thing in the morning. You see, I am blind! Not legally, but close. Without my glasses, anything more than 10 inches from my face is a complete blur! The cats, they know this. They seized upon the opportunity presented by daddy's absensce and knocked my glasses onto the floor once they were sure I was asleep. This is easy, they just need to wait for the snoring to commence.

All they needed to do now was get the puppy to chew them up. Easily achieved. All they needed to do, really, was put them in front of her. She is teething & will chew anything.

Once this was accomplished, they thought they had won! Mom would be rendered incapacitated! Unable to leave the house, but still able to work the can opener! Brilliant!

Luckily, their plot was foiled by the expedient return of daddy. He was home by 6am on Saturday. This allowed him to drive me to the optomitrist so I could get an eye exam & new glasses the same day. Because of the need for new glasses we were actually gone longer than I had planned on being away. Their plot back-fired!

Damn animals.

But, at least they're cute...

Arlo "Brains" Truzzi

Corrina "the mouth" Truzzi

Tour de Fleece status: Filled my spindle & wound it off onto one of my Lendrum's bobbins. I think I may have managed a full ounce. Granted, I have no idea what I'm gonna do with the singles... but that's for another day. :)

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Well it has been one jammed pack week. I don't know where to start!!

I suppose I'll begin with the spinning. Yesterday was the first day of Le Tour de Fleece. Carla was extremely generous & loaned me the use of her Ashford Charkha for spinning up the cotton.


I've never spun off the quill before, but I kinda like it! Unfortunately, the drive band snapped at the join & I had to switch over to my drop spindle. Luckily this beauty if very light-weight, so the cotton has been spinning just fine on it. I must admit I was very nervous about spinning cotton, I've heard a lot of horror stories. But my experience has been pretty nice. I think its because I have high quality cotton in a roving, so the tiny staple length hasn't been a problem. I actually find it easier than spinning silk, at least it cotton wants to grip onto itself!


All in all, I think I got about .5 ounce spun yesterday, which isn't too bad. The Tour lasts for 21 days & I have 8 oz to spin. I think I'll be able to do it, especially if I can get a replacement band for the Charkha by then. :)

In knitting news, I finished the first Hedera sock & am about 3 repeats into the leg of sock #2!


Notice the tiny foot? Between the stretchiness of both the koigu yarn & the pattern, there wasn't much knitting needed after turning the heel! See?


It was passed around at knitting on Tuesday & it fit practically EVERYONE! Yippie for stretchy socks!! :)

Sadly, this past week saw the departure of sweet Emily from our knitting group. She left Friday for Salt Lake City, UT, where she is gonna shack up with some guy! ;)
We will sorely miss her & wish her (and Ben) the best!!

Here are some pics from her last Knit-In:



Wow. This is turning into one long post. I guess I will save the rest for later. Don't worry, puppy will be involved. Maybe even kitty if you are good! :)