2004 is nearing

Only a day and a half left of bad eatting for me! January 1st marks the start of a new year with an edge toward health. Back to 1/2 marathon training and no more cookies! Lots of knitting and reading to be done and a new job would be a nice bonus.

I've been reading the Lord of the Rings and knitting like mad. I made a scarf from Stitch and Bitch for my friend, Stephanie's birthday. I love the way it turned out. Quite lovely.

V. cold here today. It's supposed to snow tonight. Bah! Not sure if I welcome the snow or not. I have another dog sitting gig over New Year's. The extra $$ will be nice as will the dog visiting.

More to report later....

It's My Birthday!

and I'm going to party like it's my day!

Saw LOTR on Wednesday and need to see it again! Whoo-hooo!

Coveting Purse Patterns

Yesterday while taking a browse through some knitting blogs, I stumbled upon this. Now all I can think about is making this purse but the pattern isn't available yet. What is a girl with no patience to do?

Must HAVE pattern.....can't wait! It's just so fantastic!

Tonight is my family birthday celebration. My father's birthday was on the 10th so we are having a joint celebration. I can't wait. Cheesecake for dessert! Homemade by the best Mama Jo ever! We call my Mom Mama Jo. She likes it.

I've finished the extreme hedonism neck wrap and am about 1/4 of the way through a scarf for my Dad. Today I'll be going shopping for a knitting kit for my sister-in-law. She just started knitting and everyone could use a kit with all the knitting notions from markers to scissors and needle protectors. I just have to be careful by all the pretty yarn!

Right now I'm at a friend's house waiting for a delivery for her. She had her stuff shipped up from San Diego and it was supposed to be delivered between 11 and 3 p.m. yesterday. So after waiting all day, she found out they stopped by at 7:40 a.m. Well that is not between 11 and 3! So today they said they'd come between 10 and Noon and since she had to be a work, I said I'd come over. I just hope they get here soon since I'm getting bored sitting here. She doesn't have much furniture so there isn't a comfy place to relax and knit. Only some dining room chairs. Bah! Shipment get here soon!

11 more days until my Birthday Presents!

I'm on a knitting streak! I finished my Polar Winter White scarf and love it. Only problem is I don't want to wear it where it could get dirty! I'm so silly!

Today is my last day with Zubin. My dogsitting days are over until Dec. 24th when I watch him again! Yesterday I cleaned the apartment and his hair was everywhere! Insane!

I'm about 1/2 way through the extreme hedonism neck wrap for my Mom. Then I'll get cracking on my Dad's Christmas scarf. Lots of knitting to do and not much time.

I've not had any job news lately and it's frustrating to me. I need a job! I'm bored, broke and getting cranky. At least I have my knitting to keep me happy. I did get a $25 gift certificate from my LYS so that is another happy point.

OK Have to get back to cleaning the place and doing laundry and looking for work. Super fun!

Only 8 more days until the King Returns!

Only 16 more shopping days for my Birthday Present!

It's amazing what a good night's sleep can do for a sick girl! I feel rested and much better, I just hope I don't wilt by noon again.

My birthday is in 16 days! Lord of the Rings is in 14 days! Wheeeeeee! Lots of excitement coming up!

Last night I finished the Polar hat and it looks pretty fantastic. My only worry is that the cast on edge isn't very loose. I figure if the hat doesn't fit my friend's head, then I'll start again and make her a new one with a looser edge. The hat does fit my head so that is good. It's all an experiment anyway.

Zubin has been keeping me company with my cold. I'm dogsitting while my friend is in Europe. It's great fun. I really love her apartment and her dog so there is no hardship here. The only problem is the roving dog hair balls that seem to gather no matter how often you vacuum!

I did have to take away a dog toy last night. Zubin has a squeaky chicken toy which gets obnoxious quickly. He squeaks and squeaks on it for hours. I only have so much patience in my body. He'll get it back later today when I try to knit. That way he'll leave my yarn alone. I guess Dogs really do eat yarn!

Ta'ra for now!

It's my own design

I've almost completed my very first knitting design. It's a hat for my friend, Matya made out of Rowan Polar yarn. I did the first 4 inches in 4x4 ribbing and have now changed to checkerboard. It looks fantastic! My next challenge will be the decreases at the top of the hat.

Last night I learned a valuable lesson about dogs and yarn. I left my knitting on the couch while I ran to the kitchen when my friend's dog, Zubin leap up and unwound the entire skein. Crazy Dog! I saved the yarn and have been careful not to leave it alone with him since.

I also have a cold so I'm cutting this entry short and curling back up on the couch.

Yours in sniffles,

Rebecca

I'm Back!

Whew! What a vacation! I'm both sad and happy to be back. I caught a cold which means I've been craving the comfort of my own abode.

I had a great trip and actually finished all my English Christmas Gifts. I had to knit like crazy on the plane to London and then on the train to Wigan and again when I was in Dublin, but I got it done. I also made sure to load up on some Rowan Polar yarn which was a deal at 5 pound a skein ($9).

I had such a whirlwind trip that my head is still spinning. I did get to go to a Gala in London which was very fancy and made me feel famous. It was great fun. It was a 3-fork meal. I've never had such a fancy feast before.

Last week I had my friends from England here and I think we saw all of Seattle and Vancouver!

Well I'm off to get myself together. I need another vacation :)

Scrumptious Scarf Downslide

I think I may be in Christmas gift hell. I'm in a rush with much to do. I leave tomorrow for my week in England. I am in need of 6 gifts. I have completed three scarves for said gifts and need to finish one hat and two more scarves. I have the hat on the needles and one scarf on the needles. I shall knit, knit and knit some more and hopefully finish in time. If not, the last scarf will not be made and I shall buy him a Gift Certificate for CD's. I have a back-up plan. The first three scarves are gorgous and made out of fun fur. Great fun!

I had a great in-person interview yesterday and am writing my thank you notes so that I can get the job! Please I need a job. I've been knitting way too much. After my interview, I paid a visit to the yarn store for a prize since I had such a great interview. I think I deserved it.

OK off to rush about before leaving for England tomorrow. If I don't post again, have a great week!

Counting Down

Only 5 little days left until I leave for England! Whee! I've been furiously knitting and finishing up Christmas gifts for my English friends. I only have 4 more scarves to make this week. ACCCCCKKKKK! I can do it though!

My ankle is feeling much better but I do spend most of the day with it elevated while knitting. The brusing is starting to change colors which is good since that means it's healing. I'm being extra careful this week so I can run around England without a worry.

The book isn't progressing. I've only written 750 words which is very short of the 50,000 needed. I'll be posting what I've written later today on the book blogsite if you want to check it out. (this is for you monica!) Just remember it's still a "shitty first draft" that I need to add more to!

Well I must go and research. I have a phone interview in about an hour and I'm getting nervous!

Sprained with only 8 more days

Tuesday evening I went to my running group at Greenlake. We were doing our monthly two-mile time trial run around the track. Last week, I stumbled and fell at this same track so I promised myself that I wouldn't do it again. Well as luck would have it, my ankle gave out (for no apparent reason) and I fell again. This time though it was worse. My ankle hurt really badly and my knee was quite bloody. I managed to walk back to my car (about a mile away) just fine but have been icing my ankle since then.

On the bonus side, this does make for great knitting time since I can't exercise with my bum ankle!

I saw the Matrix last night. I was slightly disappointed but all in all it was a fine movie. Now I can't wait for Lord of the Rings! Over a month to go for that one.

On the job searching front, I got a call back! I took a writing test last week at an agency in the part of town I want to live. I heard back this morning that they want me to come in for an interview next week! Yea! Keeping our prayers alive.

Off to knit and rest my leg!

Chilly November

November has come in with a gust of chilly cold air and beautiful sunny days. It's almost a shame to stay inside but it's too darn cold to go out there! In honor of November, I've been working on a new scarf pattern out of Rowan Polar in Winter White. It's a checkerboard pattern which basically means you do four purls, four knits until you have 24 stitches. Then you do four rows of that before switching to four knits, four purls with 24 stitches. It's coming out lovely BUT (and of course there is a but), I didn't buy enough yarn to complete the scarf and am now on a huge Polar yarn hunt! Noone seems to have any in stock but one place did say they might have it in next week. Fingers crossed!

Congrats to Monica for her NY City Marathon race. It was a hot day for the runners but they pulled through with stamina and smiles on thier faces. Once again the Kenyans won but they are just such awesome runners, it would be a shame if they didn't.

I started the book last night and now really really admire all the others participating in the 5th Annual Novel in a Month Event.

Crazy Girl

I have officially gone crazy. After reading some blogs (Kerrie's and Carolyn's) I decided to participate in the 5th Annual Novel in a Month Event. I have just committed to writing 50,000 words in a month. I know I can do this and since I am currently unemployed, this is the time to do it.

I've been scattered this past week and I am working today to get back on track. I can no longer allow people to suck up my time because I am not working. Lunches, picking up items for them and other such nonsense must stop now. It's hard to be a hard-ass but it needs to be done for my sake. I need to focus on finding a job.

So that aside, I am to tell you about MaBella from the Bon-Macy's. Last Thursday I rushed to the mall to shop for the perfect interview outfit. After trying on a few suits and searching around. I settled on two suits. I then started looking for shirts to go under neath. I wasn't sure about one of the suits but since I was shopping alone, I figured I would buy them, show them to my Mom and return the one she didn't like. Well after encountering MaBella, I didnt' need any help from my Mom. MaBella is from Columbia and is the best salesperson I have ever met! She helped me select one suit and some shirts to go underneath. We discussed several options and then she told me how she thought I should wear my hair and what kind of jewerly to get. I was set. When I marched in for my interview, I knew I looked good and that is one step in the process to getting hired.

Today I am v. tired since my friend Liz stayed the night. I think I only got 6 hours of sleep. Tonight will be an early to bed night. Hopefully I'll be able to fit in some good knitting time too.

Till later,

Rebecca

Good Times

The interview went wonderfully! I had a great time and I feel pretty good about it.

In knitting news, (because hey this is a knitting blog!) I finished Ariana's Cabled Hat and started on the second hat for Liz. I need to finish that one tomorrow since she comes into town tomorrow! Better get cracking!

Remind me to tell you about MaBella from Bon-Macy's next time I'm here. I need to get to my parent's house for Ariana's birthday!

Ran 13 miles today. It was really hard and I walked the last mile with some walkers for my running group. I'm going to be ok with that because next time I do 13, I won't walk the last mile!

On a Roll!

Yesterday was a very frustrating day for me. First of all I overslept. Ok so I don't have anywhere I have to be BUT I do try to get up by 8 a.m. to start job hunting. I awoke at 9:30 a.m. I decided to get over it and tried to log on to the internet. After logging in and getting bumped after a few minutes, I thought I'd best head over to my parent's house to use their connection. I COULDN'T GET ON! I then went to a spinning class (might as well get some fitness in if I can't get some job searching done). Well it was HARD! I thought I was going to die but I didn't! I can't wait to go back. My butt needs this workout!

Then last night I heard the sad news that Elliott Smith had committed suicide. Such a loss!

Today I received good news! I have a real live interview tomorrow. Of course this means I need a suit so I'm going shopping in a bit. I did steal one from my Mom's house but it's a skirt suit and I prefer pants. I might combine the jacket with some new pants though. Oh shopping here I come!

Happy Knitting!

Re-Do

I spent most of today and yesterday re-doing my resume with all the great suggestions I've received from collegues and friends. Whew! It's a hard process and I'm feeling a bit frayed.

Luckily I have my knitting to keep me on track. I am super happy that I ripped out A's birthday hat. I re-cast on with larger needles and carefully counted out stitches. This time around, we are back on track and I'm about an inch from finishing. I purchased some more fun fur to knit 3 scarves for my friends in England. I only have 4 weeks until I go on my trip and I know that time will fly so I'd best get started soon. I just need to finish A's hat and do one more quick hat for Liz's children before starting the hats. Since both of the above projects have deadlines of Friday, I'm sure I'll be working on the scarves by this weekend.

Did hills tonight at ChuckIt. It was hard but good. Couldn't run yesterday due to the over 5 inches we received in rain yesterday. It was crazy! I ended up going to the gym but I just can't run on the treadmill. It just bugs me too much so I did my weights and pedaled on the bike for about 40 minutes. Tomorrow I'm taking a spinning class since those are more fun than just randomly cycling. It will help keep up my bike skills and get me to the gym to do my weights!

Happy Knitting!

Lucky Girl

Stella mentioned that I was having good luck! And I think I am! Today has already been fantastic! I had my initial phone interview with the agency and I feel very strong about my chances for success.

Right after I got off the phone I checked my e-mail and recieved one about FREE flights on Ryan airlines. Well I'm going to England in November. I didn't think I could use the offer but I noticed I could fly from Manchester to Dublin for one day. So I booked it. I'm staying overnight so that I have more time but all I had to pay was 33.23 pounds for taxes, etc. Now where else can you fly so cheap! I debated staying in a hostel but would feel nervous staying alone in a dorm room. I looked into a private room and it would have been $120. So I booked a hotel for $60. It looks nice and the doors have locks for when I'm a freak :)

A's cable knit hat has been ripppppinnnnng! I noticed that I made some major errors. One being gauge! So I ripped it out and will re-do it this weekend. I'd rather give her a great present than one I'm not enamored with. I'm planning on getting more fun fur today so I can make some Christmas presents. I'm going to make some for my friends in England. I'll need to get those done by November.

Went for a 5 mile run yesterday with some friends and took another friend's dog, Zubin with me. It was a wild and windy run. Poor Zubin was so tired he didn't even try to pace in my car and just flopped on the couch when I got him back home. He's a funny dog with a great owner (she sent me the Ryan Air information).

Tonight a quick 3 mile run before meeting with job-searching friends. We are going to review some interview tips so that when we get our interviews we do fantastic!

Rebecca

All Better Now

I am cruising along on the knitting front! I finished M's Fun Fur Christmas Scarf made out of Lion's Brand Fun Fur. While not the best yarn ever, it did turn out a very nice and fuzzy scarf for M. I'm thinking of making a few more for some friends in England. Christmas is coming and I'd best get knitting.

I do need to figure out what I am making my Dad and my brother for Christmas. They might be getting scarves but I'm not sure what kind, etc.

I'm almost finished with A's cable knit hat. It's a design that I must pay attention to so I decided to put it aside last night so that I didn't make any mistakes. I hope to finish it this afternoon.

My car is now officially all fixed and I can leave those worries behind me for now. The clutch shop gave me the $65 for the engine diagnostics so I'm very happy with them now.

On the job hunting front, I just got a call to do a phone interview with a National PR agency. I'm doing it on Friday at 10 a.m. PST so wish me luck! I'm nervous but happy that something is happening. Another agency requested that I send them writing samples. Another good sign.

Well must be off to battle the intense rain, job search and KNIT! Yea!

Ta'ra

I love RUNNING

While it appears I haven't posted in a few days, I did post on Friday but it appears my post was eaten by the computer. Bah! So to catch everyone up, I've been very busy job hunting, knitting and running.

In the knitting arena, I've finished Melissa's baby sweater, almost finished M's Christmas scarf, am about half-way done with the multi-directional scarf and have nearly finished A's birthday hat. I love M's Christmas scarf so much! It's made out of fun fur yarn and has a slit in the middle of it. I think I'll be getting some more of the yarn and making more of these! They only take a few hours and are great TV knitting.

On the running front, I skipped my 12 mile run on Saturday. I think I was nervous about having Chuck (monica, he's my running coach) waiting for me. Instead I went on Sunday and made arrangements for a friend to meet me 3 miles before the end. I knew that I would be struggling at that point and would be tempted to walk. Since she was fresh, she kept me going and only allowed me to walk once up a big hill. I think my moaning and groaning about the hill wore her down. After my run, we went to a local park so she could kick around a soccer ball. She's planning on trying out for a team this next weekend and wanted to make sure that her foot could handle it. She has a screw in her foot and sometimes it aches. I had fun kicking the ball in the wrong direction so that she had to chase it down. I'm so mean!

This weekend my Dad installed new front brakes in my car and hunted down the leak. I also took my car to the mechanic to fix the "Service Engine Light" We discovered that the clutch people didn't attach a wire correctly causing the light to go off. The leak is also from the clutch people not putting a gasket on right. So today, I'm going back to the clutch people to have the gasket fixed and to ask them to pay for the service engine repair. We shall see. If they won't give me $$$, I'm going to ask for rear brake parts since I need that fixed soon too.

OK Off to knit and fight crime! Oh and I get to run hills today. My favorite!

Finisher!

I'm tearing through the knitting projects! It feels so good to be accomplishing so much. I finished Diana's scarf last night and am blocking it right now. I'm not sure that one has to block scarves but I wanted to! I started A's birthday hat and about an inch into it. I only worked on it for about 15 minutes before falling asleep last night.

I also completed my Mom's scarf (from August!) and gave it to her on Monday. She loves it! Yea for her!

Lunch plans were cancelled yesterday as my friend's Mom was in the hospital. I hope she's doing better today! I did visit Great Harvest Bread company for a free slice of bread. So good!

Today is a dreary rainy Seattle day but I'm loving it! I went to ChuckIt last night for a 2 mile time trial of which I only did 1 mile. I bruised one of my toes a few weeks ago and it tends to ache if I run too fast. I am just hoping and praying it doesn't fall off because that is GROSS! I have my 12 mile run scheduled for Saturday and I'm already getting a bit stressed about it. I know I can do it. The part that stresses me out is that Chuck waits for you to finish and he is going to be waiting forever for me. Blah! I'll just have to ignore that and remember it is his choice to wait for me because he doesn't have to and I can take as long as I want to run 12 miles. That is a long way to go!

Tonight I double booked myself! I scheduled a run with a friend and climbing with another. I just wrote them and hopefully we can get it all worked out. I'm such a doofus! I need to remember to check my calendar and that just because I'm not working does not mean I am free all day, every day. I still have a life to lead!

Whew! Now that is a long post! Best be off to do more job hunting and searching!

Ta'ra

Rebecca

The Huntress

I started job hunting for real yesterday and I think it's going well. I've applied for about 8 positions and have contacted a few recruiters. I'll also be networking with PRSA as much as possible. I'll be a networking fool!

I've been enjoying the new time I have for knitting. I started a scarf for a friend's birthday on Sunday afternoon and am almost finished. Before anyone thinks I'm up to Wendy's knitting speed, let me interject. It's just a cast on 30 garter stitch scarf. I'm using some Lion's Homespun Brand yarn in a nice varigated blue, green and purple color. I think she'll enjoy this present. I'm going back to the store to see if they have another skein of this so I can make her mittens and a hat for Christmas. Luckily for me, she won't notice that this isn't the most expensive yarn and will just love the texture. Whew!

Well I must run, I have lunch plans with a former co-worker. We are going to tour her housemate's bakery and maybe get some yummy bread to eat! I'll detail some upcoming projects tomorrow.

Stella! Good luck with the boy!

Happy Happy

It's a strange world being unemployed but I am so happy to be gone from my former place of employment. I actually woke up on Thursday morning with a huge grin on my face. Now, that says something!

I decided to chill for a few days and will start the job hunt on Monday. Until then, I'm knitting, hanging out and enjoying myself. I started the multi-directional scarf and am into my second repeat on the short rows. I think Krista will really enjoy it!

OK I'm off to pick up my computer from my brother. He's spruced it up for me! Yea! I can finally stop using friend's and family's computers on the sly.

Ta'ra

Happy Day!

Laid Off

What a Wednesday it was! I was laid off from my company today. Supposedly my position has been eliminated. I'm very frightened about being out of work but I do hope this will be a great opportunity to find a position I love. For the past two years, my desire for working at this last company has diminished and I was beginning to despise my job.

Off to have a pity party for myself!

Clutchy Clutchy

Baby car is in the shop receiving a new clutch. I took her in yesterday morning and met my father at the shop. They seem really nice and I'll be able to pick up the car this evening. Actually I could pick it up right now but well I have to work! I was excited about riding into work with my Dad so I could knit. Well the man announces that I'll drive his car since I'll be dropping him off before going to my workplace. So out went the knitting idea! We had a nice ride in but it was a long morning for me and I was quite tired last night. I almost didn't make it through the Third Watch premiere. I did catch Las Vegas though. I am already hooked!

I did get some great knitting time in on Melissa's Sweater. I do wish I was quicker but I've already completed the back and the left front and just need to finish the right front. There are 4 button holes and I've completed one. I just need to finish the last three, sew up the sweater and block it. This will be my first real blocking experience so I've done my research and feel as prepared as I can be. I'm hoping to have enough yarn left to make some booties and a hat but it might be tight. I just wish I could remember where I got the yarn!

Krista and I went climbing at Stone Gardens on Sunday. It was a blast! We climbed for almost 3 hours and I would have stayed longer but Krista was hungry.

Next time, progress on the sweater (maybe a finished one!) and what my next project will be!

Tonight's Workout: Hill Training -- I have to run up a hill 6 times at three different speeds -- slow, medium and fast. It gets painful, real fast but it makes me faster!

Come On Weekend!

I'm on Weekend countdown here at work. Only 3 more hours until I can make my escape from work....tick, tick, tick.

Last night I settled down to work on Melissa's baby sweater and watch Friends. The show was great but soon the sounds of "RIP" began to fill the air! The pattern calls for a K2tog on the RS. Sounds easy enough unless you end up knitting 20 rows with the K2tog on the WS! So after ripping back, I only ended up doing about 6 rows total. I'll get more done tonight.

I'm hiding out tonight. Well, sorta. I am going running with a friend at 6 p.m. but only 3 miles and then I need to stop by my apartment to visit my kitty. I'm sure she misses me lots.

This weekend my big plans are to clean my car, clean my apartment, knit and visit with some friends. Oh and sleep in some! Can't wait!

Tick, tick, tick
Rebecca

10-Miler

I ran 10 miles last night. My thighs keep reminding me of what I did. It was a fantastic run but let me tell you, the last mile was a killer! This is the route I took around Seattle. We saw everything, even a man peeing on the side of the road. I think I'll be taking tonight off from exercise. I do have a Junior League of Seattle function to attend anyway. They said there will be a martini bar! Now that will get me through the day.

I enjoy being a member of the JLS but I do have to admit that I don't feel stylish enough to be part of the group. People always dress so nicely and look like fashion plates. Maybe they can give me some JLS fashion tips and I'll be styling. But I know the truth of the matter is I prefer my workout clothing and my laundry reveals that tendency.

I've been working feverishly on Melissa's baby sweater and hope to finish it this weekend. I didn't get any knitting done last night but I was lucky to make it to my apartment to visit my cat before heading back to Queen Anne for my housesitting gig. The really nice thing is the housekeeper came yesterday and changed the bedding. I had fresh sheets to slide into after my nice bath in the spa tub. It's luxury and I'm not going to be able to adjust to real life when I go back to my place permanently! Poor me!

Ta'ra

Rebecca

Fingertip Towels

Monica asked what fingertip towels were on my comments. Well after hours in Bed, Bath & Beyond, I can tell you they are smaller than a handtowel and bigger than a washcloth. Also according to my Mother, they are to dab your wet fingertips on after washing your hands...Errmmmm OK?

Blah! Blah! and Double Blah!

I want the weekend! Work has just sucked this week and it is only Tuesday! People are on some sort of rampage and one has to put their head to the ground to ignore them.

Strange happenings on the boy front too. A guy I worked with this summer at the Chateau randomly contacted me via email yesterday. We hung out a bit at the concerts and went out with others for beers but nothing else. I also found out he had a girlfriend so any possible love interest from me was evaporated. Well he wants to meet for coffee which could say friendship EXCEPT that he wanted to meet right away and seems pretty insistant on meeting this week. We'll just have to see.

On the knitting front, I'm trying to focus on my WIPs and not be so random. I swear I knit 3 rows on the sock, then knit 2 rows on Stephanie's scarf, wonder off to look at a knitting book, buy yarn, knit on that a bit and then wonder why I haven't finished anything! I need to focus, focus, focus.

So in order of priority, I plan to focus on finishing these items in the next few weeks:

1) Melissa's Baby Sweater -- the kid is due in a few weeks so I've got to make this priority number 1!

2) My sock

3) Stephanie's Scarf

4) Diana's Scarf

5) Krista's Multi-Directional Scarf

6) Julie's Scarf (need to decide on a pattern for this one)

Off to knit!

Rebecca

Waster

I think I just wasted an entire weekend. All in all it was a good one but in terms of accomplishing anything, I didn't.

I had a dinner party at the Mansion on Friday night which was great fun but now I have tons of leftover food! Yikes! Lots of eating to be done.

Saturday I awoke and did an 8 mile run with my ChuckIt group. It was a fantastic run. I did get a strange foot cramp right after I stopped running. I'm not sure how to explain that but I think I've finally massaged it out. It was deep in the arch of my foot and I'm sure I looked funny hobbling to my car after the run.

I ran some errands and had a quick shower before meeting Krista for some climbing. After that I went to my brother's house to pick up my Mother. She took me to lunch but then tortured me with shopping for fingertip towels. I think we spent over any hour in Bed, Bath & Beyond looking at fingertip towels. It was hard work.

After that I met up with some friends for the Fremont Oktoberfest. I ordered the Jackson 5 special which was an entry fee plus 10 tastes. Let's just say, the 10 tastes were more than plenty for me.

On Sunday, Krista and I headed down to Black Diamond Olympic Tri to watch Stephanie. It turned into an entire day event which in a way peeved Krista and I. We had entertained thoughts of doing other stuff in the afternoon. It was super fun to cheer for Stephanie though. I have never yelled so loud in my life!

I then had Stephanie over so she could do some laundry at the mansion. Nothing smells worse than day-old triathlon clothing!

I also knitted up so baby booties for my running coach. His wife is having a baby on Wednesday (planned C-section).

Belay Certified

Well I passed! It wasn't as hard as Krista and I thought it would be and now I am an official belayer. Quite fun! We spent the rest of the evening climbing and had a great time.

I finished two mousies for a co-worker and she said her cats love them. She went home last night with them in her coat pocket. As she walked in the door, she tossed down her coat and went to the bathroom. She then heard some strange noises from the living room and went to investigate. Her male cat, Tellis was digging in her pocket for the mousies. She retrieved them for him and her two cats spent the rest of the night tossing them up in the air and slobbering on them. It's nice to hear that one's gifts are appreciated. I plan to start her mittens this weekend where I hope to have time to relax.

I started Stephanie's Christmas present last night and it's already looking wonderful. I know she'll love it!

I did a 45 minute run last night before getting ready for my dinner party (which is tonight). It was one of my worst runs in a long time. For the first 15 minutes, my feet ached and then I had to go to the bathroom, blah, blah. I finished the run but I hated it and hope to have a better one tomorrow.

Off to get cakes for the photoshoot!

Ta'ra

It's been a loooooooonnnnnngggggg week already

Whew! I can't believe that it is only Wednesday. It's been insanely busy at work all week and my evenings have been packed!

Monday night I took a intro to rock climbing class at Stone Gardens and had a great time. It was a bit nerve-wracking to have K as my belayer but she is a champ and didn't drop me. We go back to night to take our belay test so we can climb in the gym and try not to injury ourselves.

Last night I did my tempo run with ChuckIt and it was the best run ever! Darkness came on quickly as did a nice rainstorm which made the last mile of my run, the best! I really really enjoyed myself in some odd and twisted fashion.

I cleaned out my work bag last night and discovered that I have 4 WIP's in there! Why? oh Why? I am going to put them in priority order and finish them up. I've been making mousies for some co-workers. I also decided that I will make some for my friend's cats for Christmas. I just need to get cracking and not forget to make any for my Destiny. Gollum the fish doesn't much care for mousies and told me he just wants more fish food.

I've updated my race list and my in progress list. The sock is still going well though I did get distracted with the mousies. I'll get back on track with that tonight.

Next week brings my favorite part of Fall. PREMIER WEEK! I know, it's not good to watch lots of television but I just love Premier Week....I can't wait. Though I am a bit sad that John Ritter passed on and won't be entertaining me in "8 simple rules for dating my teenage daughter." I never really watched it until this summer and then found it to be a treat.

Well I'm off to get my belay license. Wish me luck!

Return from Bike Camp

I went away to Bike Camp this weekend and re-united with my inner child. I left work early on Friday afternoon and headed up to Anacortes with a friend. We barely made the 6:45 p.m. ferry and save some $$ on our ferry ticket due to a really nice lady in line. She had an extra ticket and shared it with us.

Once we arrived on Orcas Island, we loaded up on the Camp Orkila bus. There were loads of children getting on the bus for a parent/child weekend. I told one little guy that I was going to camp and he said, "Me Too!" Then he told me all about his camp plans. We were both very excited about camp.

When we arrived at camp, it was a bit dark and the open-air cabins were not really up to my sleeping standards. I snuggled into my sleeping bag and quickly fell asleep though. I did awake quite a bit due to the hard sleeping surface and all the nature noises. Luckily we didn't have any of the raccoon visitors other cabins encountered.

Morning arrived with the promise of pancakes and coffee. Diana and I made sure to fuel up before heading off to our respective classes. I took basic bike maintance and she took Kayaking. We both had fun and met up with Sara and Wendy for lunch. After lunch, Sara and I headed off with a bike group for an "Island jaunt". We quickly found out that

Orcas Island is the hilliest island in the San Juan Islands. I think of the 30 miles we rode, about 25 were hills. It was beautiful though and I did snag quite a few photos.

We arrived back in time for dinner and then attended a sport nutrition class. It was very interesting. Sunday morning arrived bright and early with eggs and hashbrowns for breakfast. I then took Advanced Bike Maintance and learned so much. I feel much more confident about working with my bike now. Diana, Sara, Wendy and I then caught the Noon ferry home.

I didn't get much knitting in this weekend since I didn't want to get my yarn dirty and there wasn't a comfortable place to sit. I did work on my sock in the car and it's coming along. The yarn is Regia and it's color is called Mottle Rainbow (#5033). It's a joy to work with so far.

Sock Sposure

Here's a picture of my sock beginnings! I think it's going quite well.

Fall Socks!

Fall into Knitting

Fall is in the air! I love waking up to crisp mornings and enjoying a nice breezy day. It's back to my favorite kind of weather though I did hear that higher temps would be making a come-back this weekend.

I've been busy planning my Christmas knitting projects! I've completed a hat and mitten set for one friend and have started a pair of socks for me. I've never really knit socks but I'm making my best attempt. They are coming very nicely so far. I'll post a photo soon.

I'm also going to make a pair of Raspberry colored mittens for a co-worker. I hope to start them this evening but it all depends on how long my Junior League Meeting takes.

I ran with my running group last night and while it took me 11 minutes and 48 seconds to do a one-mile run, it only took our fastest woman runner 11 minutes and 11 seconds to run TWO miles. She is truely awesome and I do love watching her run. It's quite fun to watch all the different running styles in my running group. Some people make it look so easy while others have the most difficult of gaits.

I plan to start the cable knit sweater this weekend while on Orcas Island. I'm going for a Bike Camp but I know there will be plenty of downtime. I'll need to remember my camera too since the Island is so beautiful!

Rebecca

Lake Stevens Olympic Tri Race Report

4:30 a.m. on Sunday morning came too quickly and too darkly. I awoke and got ready before peeking outside. I really didn’t know it could be that dark and quiet. I then loaded up my bike and took off to Lake Stevens.

Stephanie and I arrived around the same time and parked near each other. We went to get our timing chips and some air for our bike tires. Couldn’t find the bike guy but quickly received body markings and timing chips. These were really nice ones with neoprene strips.

They announced that the international racers would be starting before the sprinters and so we lined up at the shore of Lake Stevens. The buzzer went off and I quickly dipped into the balmy 70-degree water. The faster swimmers quickly drifted out of view but there were some die-hards stroking alongside me. A one-mile swim is quite a distance! I ended up chafing my neck somehow during the swim and I now look like I have a hickey! Not so good looking at work!

Swim Time: 42:32

Once out of the water, I dashed up to my bike and grabbed some Goo and a Powerbar.

Transition 1 Time: 2:27

I started along the 24 mile bike course and felt a little woobly. I kept pedaling and soon found out about the deceiving hills on the bike (they looked like flats but weren’t!) along with a nice steady rain, some serious hills and the occasional headwind. It all made for a hard bike course. There were some times when I felt so alone out there but I made it!

Bike Time: 1 hour 48:07

Susan, a fellow Supergirl caught up with me about 2 miles before the end of the bike and cruised into Transition 2 with me. We took off together but she quickly lost me in the run.

Transition 2 Time: 1:56

The first half of the 6.2 mile run was completely uphill. I saw most of the other Supergirls on the course from Seujan to Diana and Stephanie. I knew I was almost dead last at this point but didn’t really care. I was finishing and I was doing it strong. I ran intervals for a 5 minute run and a 1 minute walk. It was hard in the beginning but after the turn-around, it was all downhill. At mile 6 with only .2 miles left a 70 year old woman with asthma passed me! I was a bit upset because I really didn’t want her to beat me! Diana ran me in the last 150 yards (as usual) and cracked me up. I finished strong and I did it!

Run Time: 1:32:30
Total Time: 4 hours 7 minutes and 31 seconds.

I also did some knitting this weekend but will discuss that later. I'm tired from the race and writing the race report!

I Did It!

I did it! It took me 4 hours and 7 minutes but I finished and I had a good time. More details later!

It's close!
Only one more day before my tri. I'm nervous but I know I can do it. I'll be thrilled on Sunday when I'm done. Can you believe that I have to get up at 4 a.m. for this tri? What kind of crazy person is putting this on?

Thanks for your support!

Best Run Ever!

Last night I decided to head on out for a run around Greenlake. My back had been hurting and had kept me up all night with the pain. I hoped that a nice run would help work out the kinks. If it didn't, then I decided I would walk the lake.

I started out slowly and began building up my tempo. My back felt great! My breathing was perfect! I was on fire! I ended up running my fastest Greenlake run ever and I loved it!

I was going to go swimming afterwards but due to budget closures the pool was closed. This totally bummed me out until I remembered that I could go home and knit. I'm about half-way done on the second half of a pair of mittens for J. I'm thinking about a scarf but I may pass on it since I need to get started on other Christmas presents.

Tonight is my last night working at the Chateau. It's the Julio Ingelias concert which will be fun. Maybe he'll do a bit of singing about all the girls he's loved before.

Only 2 more days until the Olympic Tri! Dear LORD!

Why can't every weekend be a 3-day weekend?

I had a wonderful weekend away from work. Saturday brought a 5 mile run (which was fantastic) and then a trip to Vancouver, Canada with S, K and M. Unfortunately M and I both forgot our passports so we had to visit the Immigration office and prove we were American. She decided to believe us and off we went. I visited Lush and only purchased one bar of soap. An amazing thing! We had Sushi, visited Shoe stores and basically had fun.

On Sunday, M and I went shopping and I got a great pair of pants at The Gap. Can't wait to wear them! Then I worked at the Chateau where Big Blue Sea played. People were awfully fun to watch.

Monday was hiking day and we went to Wallace Falls which is v. pretty. It was a fun morning. Then I spent the evening relaxing and watching stupid television shows between cleaning my apartment.

Now it's back to a four day work week with an Olympic Tri on Sunday. I'm getting nervous! Eeeeek!

I did finish J's cap though and started on a matching pair of mittens. I don't think I'll have enough yarn for a scarf but I might go back to the store and get more in order to make one. She'll love this present!

OK off to work like a fiend!

Why I'd rather be knitting...

I'm having one of those days. When everything is Hurry Up and Wait! My boss gave me a post-it of my top 7 projects. Well this is fantastic except that 4 of those projects are awaiting approval from her. It's hard to work fast when you know you are waiting on others.

Then the IT people came by and had to do a worm virus thing to my computer (can you tell I have no clue what they are doing) which meant I got to sit in front of my computer for 15 minutes waiting....and waiting.....it dragged on.

And three people stopped by my desk today to ask if the coffee was fresh! Are they trying to kill me? Grrrrrrr........

In knitting knews, I've almost completed Julie's hat. I had wanted to finish it for our dinner tonight but since I had to work the k.d. Lang concert last night, it didn't get done. I also received a package of yarn from an U.K. shop which concerns me. I haven't paid for it! I had started to place the order but never completed it since it didn't give me shipping costs. I'm not sure what to do and I can't find an invoice or anything with the yarn. I think I'll start a detective hunt. On the good side, it's the yarn for the Debbie Bliss Cable Jacket that I want to make. Of course, this means major adjustments to the size since the biggest size is too small for me.

So in the end, I'd rather be knitting or working on the sizing for my new jacket, which does mean that I also need to solve a mystery and find out how much a new clutch for my car would cost. Oh if only I were made of money too!

My Japanese Name


Ichi - "That one with wisdom"


What would your Japanese name be? (female)
brought to you by Quizilla

How true! I am the one with wisdom ;o)

Olympic Wonder

Just a little under two weeks until my Olympic triathlon and I hope to be chanting "Olympic Wonder" at the end of it. I know I can do and I have even mapped out the times for the course. I am allowing 40 minutes for the swim (I know I can go faster but I am allowing for near drownings, being kicked, and going off course), 1 hour and 25 minutes for the bike with 1 hour and 20 minutes for the run. The run will be my hardest part but I know that I can walk the whole 6 miles if need be and still finish. I'll be running though.

I finished Chloe's hat last night. It's the cutest! I now need to start the hat for her brother. I think I'm going to adjust the stripes a little bit though to make them different and this time I am going to weave in the excess yarn as I go so I don't have to do it all at the end. I did not like that part at all!

Annoyances -- I want to know what every single morning our Creative Director stops by my desk and asks if the coffee is fresh. AM I HIS COFFEE MAKER? If I don't make coffee (actually its rare when I do) then he looks sad and ambles off. He NEVER makes the coffee himself! And it's not hard. You push the grind button once. Then you put the filter holder in the coffee maker and press "brew". And there you go, coffee is made. GRRRRR!

I had a pretty busy weekend but all in all it was good. On Saturday morning, Mot and I did the Urban Challenge . We raced from Queen Anne to Fremont to Gasworks Park to Eastlake to Capitol Hill to Downtown Seattle before returning to Queen Anne. 12.84 miles later with only 2 of them on the bus, Mot and I were pooped! I then had to go and work at the Wine Auction at the Chateau Ste. Michelle. My legs were killing me! I was near death!

Then on Sunday, I went on a 24 mile bike ride with Stephanie, swimming at Mounger Pool and then joined Krista and Mot for a rock climbing clinic. All of it fun, but all of it exhausting on my poor body.

I am now at work resting.....

Pioneer Woman's Anniversary

So here I am having an early lunch and checking out some great knitting blogs. I went to Pioneer Woman's Blog and noticed she was having her Boob-a-versary today. It reminded me of when I chose to have a breast reduction. It was about 4 years ago and after years of back aches and not having any clothing that fit me properly, I chose to have a reduction. Luckily it was covered under insurance and I had the best plastic surgeon. I took two weeks off work to properly heal. It was two weeks of pure boredom and I mourn the loss of knitting time since I didn't knit then. Oh the pieces I could have produced! Anyway, I have to say that was one of my best decisions. I know can run without being in pain, buy clothing without thinking too hard about the chestal region and basically just love it! I sincerely think that I would not have gotten involved in Tris if I still had the old boobs. They would have gotten in the way and I do not need that!

So anyway, Happy Bob-a-versary to Pioneer Woman!

Hump Day

Running with a Stella Bella is hard work! I ran about 4 miles last night and then joined Julie for a short swim at the pool. It was a nice relaxing evening.

Tonight my date with R was cancelled which in a way makes me happy. I'd really rather go for another run. Now what does that say about my interest in R now?

I'm also going to check out my housesitting place tonight. They leave on September 4th for four weeks in Italy and I'll be staying there to watch the plants and pretend I'm rich. Now that will be fun!

Ta'ra

Stella Drinker

Last night in order to properly train for the Urban Challenge this weekend, my friends and I visited a local pub for trivia night. A few years ago on a trip to England, I discovered Stella Artois Beer. Other parts of the country have it but not Seattle. At least until a few months ago! I discovered that this pub had Stella on TAP! So I had 3 last night. Not good for me this morning! But I was very happy last night!

So after that evening of debauchery, I'm back to training tonight. I have my running group and I hope that my beer drinking last night doesn't hinder my running tonight. I'm sure I'll be fine!

2nd Time Danskin Finisher

I did it again! I did the Danskin and I improved my time even though I was pretty sure it was going to suck in the first 3 minutes of the swim. You see, I started out on the swim and was stroking away when I sucked up water down my windpipe. So I'm out there choking and being hit by all the swimmers in my wave (about 100 swimmers). After panicking for about 2 seconds, I whipped myself into shape. I did the breast stroke until I could fully breathe again and then got into my freestyle swimming grove. I finished the swim in 16 minutes and 1 second.

I burst out of the water, yelled yea with my Ma and run up to my bike. My transitions felt slow but they were faster than last year. It's hard on this race because the transition area is so large. I went out on the bike and cranked it up. I think I could have gone faster, ok I know I could have gone faster because I felt like I was out for a Sunday ride and had to push myself. I still maintained a 17.1 mph (Thank you Monica for noticing this!) so it wasn't that bad. I just would have preferred an 19 mph.

Then I transitioned to the run and actually sat down to change from my bike shoes to my running shoes. I never do that! I then took off for the run. The arches of my feet were killing me and I had the slowest run. It took me 43 minutes which was a bit of a disappointment because last year I did it in 41 minutes and I worked really hard on my run this year! Darn it! The run was nice in that I got to see almost all the Supergirls and other friends doing the race. Everyone looked so strong! All in all, I finished at 1:49 which was 5 minutes slower than my goal time but I'm not going to dwell on it. Instead I'm looking ahead to my Olympic race which I hope to finish in 4 hours. I can't believe that I'll be exercising for that long but I'll focus and do it strong!

Tonight I'm rollerblading with Mot before heading off to Trivia night at a local pub in order to train for the Urban Challenge this weekend. I need to get cracking on our outfits!

BTW, I'm not feeling blah anymore! I'm too tired! I actually took a nap on my couch last night. It's been years since I've done that!

Blah! and Double Blah!

Somedays it's just hard not to feel blah! All is going well. I have the Danskin Tri this weekend and a potential second date with R but I just don't want to be at work. I do have a nice after-work bike ride to keep my spirits up though. I'm meeting my sister-in-law for some riding this evening. Should be fun!

Off to be blah for a bit...

Swatching Madness

Last night after my RunChuckIt session, I met up with Mot for some chatting and people watching. Then I headed home and spent the rest of the evening swatching. I swatched for the Debbie Bliss Cable Knit Cardigan from Book Number 4which was inspired by Stella and her craftyness.

Here is my swatch in all her glory.

Now I just need to decide on the right color for this project! I'm thinking lavendar but I do also enjoy the stone color. Oh! Decisions to be made!

Training Triathlete

Last night was a fantastic training night. I went for a run around Greenlake with Mot and Julie. While faster than me, they really spurred me on and Julie said that I was running much better! Yea! Then Julie and I went to Masters swim and swam our little hearts out. It was great!

I have discovered a new evil today,Starbuck's Nutrional Information! Yikes!

I'm off to see exactly how many calories were in that Chai that I enjoyed yesterday!

Blogging Support

I love blogging! And I love getting support from other bloggers! Thank you Monica and Stella!

First my belated Puppetry of the P***s report. It was hysterically funny and so much fun! After awhile you forgot what you were exactly watching! The opening comic was fantastic too! I'd give this act 4 stars and say run out and watch them when they come to your town!

This weekend was both productive and wasteful! I took Zubin the dog on a run with a friend on Friday night. It was fantastic! Saturday morning was my running group so I took Zubin with me again. We walked with the walkers for about 2 miles and then ran the remaining 3 miles in. I really pushed it for the last 1/2 mile so that Zubin could get some good running in. The only problem was that it was pouring down rain on Saturday. Zubin and I were covered in mud and I had to give him a bath when we got back to his apartment. My friend (his owner) was out of town at a concert so I took him out for his exercising. He makes the runs a bit easier because he'll pull you through the tough times.

I worked at the Chateau both Saturday and Sunday evening so there wasn't much time for fun. I did visit REI on Sunday and purchased my new bike saddle, the Terry Butterfly. I'm having it installed tomorrow. I want them to check the height and make sure my bike is fit properly with the new seat. I also got a new Marmot Rain Jacket in Celery. I had a great shopping day yesterday!

I also made a visit to my favorite yarn shop on Friday. Somehow I managed to escape with only a few skeins of yarn! I had a question on a scarf I am making out of ribbon yarn and as usual they were very helpful.

OK off to make a living now!

Puppets

In just a few short hours, I will be attending Puppetry of the P***s at The Moore Theatre. How my friend got me involved in this, I'll never know! But I'm sure we will have fun and I've heard it's hysterical! I'll make sure to report in on that tomorrow.

Training is going well. I rollerbladed for 6 miles on Monday before swimming 45 laps at the pool. Yesterday I had Run ChuckIt Running. Tonight I am off for the play with swimming tomorrow. I'm going to be super strong for this Olympic Tri! I want to do well. I also want to run a 10 minute mile. I really wish I wasn't such a slow runner! I can swim and bike with the best of them but then I just drop so far behind in the run!

I'm trying to clean up my knitting stash and get my projects organized! I have so many in the works that I just need to concentrate on getting some done. I also need to figure out how to store my stash. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm thinking of putting the yarn in those vaccum sealed bags so bugs and other friends can't get to them while in storage.

Well off to get ready for the play, oh and I still have to get some more work done!

Moodie Monday

Every Monday morning I ask where my weekend has gone. So sad that I have to wait another 5 days until I can enjoy the thrill of the weekend. Until then I'll bask in the glow of this weekend's memories.

Saturday was spent sleeping in until a glorious 10:15 a.m.! It was wonderful! Stephanie called me at 10:30 and we talked for about 1/2 an hour. She got me up and ready to tackle some bedroom de-cluttering. I cleaned out most of the boxes and put the trash on the deck. Sad to say that it is still there!

Once Mot was off work, we went down to Ikea for some apartment shopping. It was a frightening sight! Hoards of children and parents filled the aisles. I told Mot that I would have to focus extra hard in order not to buy unneccessary items. It was a successful trip and I do need to go back for a few more items. I finally found the perfect kitchen rug and I got a new duvet cover. The best part of the trip was the purchase of two garbage cans for $1.00 each! Fantastic Ikea purchase!

I think I've found the perfect CD storage thing too. It's called Benno CD tower and holds up to 180 CD's. It's perfect!

When we got back to my place, Stephanie called again. We decided to see the movie "SeaBiscuit". It was tense but oh so good! Unfortunately seeing the movie cut into the time I had planned to finish my Mother's birthday gift. More on that later.

Sunday morning I awoke and headed down to Hale's Ales for a Brewery to Brewery bike ride. All in all it was about 44 miles and me and my sister-in-law joined the Cascade Bike Club for the ride. It was her longest ride ever and she did great! She did look beat at dinner that night. It was my Mom's birthday on Saturday but due to scheduling conflicts on her end, we went to dinner on Sunday at the Tap Room. It was a fantastically yummy meal. Mom loved her gifts but I had to give her the scarf unfinished. I told her I would finish it this week and I will! Bad Becki!

OK off to do some work now!

Absolutely Wonderful!

So this week is going quite well! I've lost 5 pounds (since the last time I weighed myself about 1 1/2 weeks ago) and I had a great date last night with R. We went to the local brewery and talked for about 4 hours. It was very nice and I really enjoyed his company. He's climbing Mt. Rainer this weekend and told me that we need to get together when he returns. Yea for me! I even missed swim practice for him.

I've almost completed the scarf for my Mother's birthday which is good since her birthday is on Saturday. Once that is complete, I'll need to get cracking on the baby sweater for Melissa.

I signed up for my first Olympic triathlon last night. I'm nervous but I know I can do it. I just need to get back to training and not let the boys distract me. Of course I have to work at the Chateau tonight so training is out but I will get to it this weekend.

That's it for now.

Ta'ra

Missing Zubin

So my dog sitting days are over and I miss Zubin already! He's the best dog! I took yesterday afternoon off work to take him to Discovery Park. Mot came along and we had a grand time. He frollicked and played in the grass while we ate lunch. It was a really nice afternoon.

Zubin's weekend was a busy one too. On Saturday morning, I got up and took him for a walk before meeting Mot for breakfast at Cyndy's House of Pancakes. Cheesy but good food! Then we went back to my apartment to cart out 7 boxes of donations from my closet! Yikes! Mot is in full clean-out mode and is loving the de-cluttering process at my place. I then went back to Queen Anne and picked up Zubin so we could go to Gig Harbor for a baby shower. It was on Raft Island with a private beach. The drive down there was twice as long due to construction but once we got there, it was fantastic! Zubin had the best time and even got to meet a horse. He isn't much of a swimmer though and only went into the water up to his ankles. He wasn't quite sure what to do with it but he had a great time! I think he was completely worn out though at the end because he barely paced on the ride home. While at the baby shower, I knit up some baby booties which were completely adored by the expectant mother!

On Sunday, I had breakfast with some friends from high school and their families before returning to my apartment to do a bit of cleaning. I then met Krista at Home Depot so we could paint her dresser. It looks so nice. We took a mini-break in the middle and picked up Zubin for some lunch. He had a bit of dog agression at that point but I think it was because he was hot and tied up outside a store. I had left Stephanie with him but I guess he didn't feel 100% secure. After finishing the dresser, Mot and I took Zubin on a two-hour walk from Queen Anne to Mrytle Edwards and back. He was pooped again.

All in all a good weekend was had by all!

Rebecca the Tired

Oh I'm tired! I had to have Zubin fill in on posting yesterday because I have been so tired! He likes to wake me up at 6 a.m. for his walk which is ok except that I don't usually get up until 7 a.m. That extra hour makes a difference! I've been having fun with him though and now really want a dog of my own. I saw a minature Schnauzer last night and I want one! Zubin and the dog did a bit of sniffing. I didn't let him get to close because he is a lot bigger.

We visited Larry's market so I could get some dinner and I tied him up outside. He was such a good boy and layed down to wait for me! I was super quick though. Then we went back to the apartment so I could get back to knitting on Melissa's baby sweater. I wanted to give it to her at her baby shower this weekend but I'm not seeing that happening. I think I'll knit up some booties and get some other stuff for now. Then when the baby is born in a few months, I'll give her the completed sweater. Otherwise I have to knit non-stop from now until Saturday morning.

Off to rest!

Special Report by Zubin the Dog

Today was a great day indeed! I'm finding Rebecca to be very quiet in the morning when I am ready to jump and run. She stumbles around a bit and ends up in outfits even I know don't match before we head out on our morning walk. I bet the neighbors don't even recognize her when she re-emerges from the apartment the second time around! Therefore walks in the morning are short but that's ok because I do get some sniffing in and time to empty my bladder. She just needs to find a different block to walk around!

Evenings are fantastic because I get TWO or THREE walks! Yipppeee! Tonight was extra cool because Rebecca took me to Madison Beach with her. She picked up her red-headed friend, Matya who laughed at my car pacing. I'm not sure it's appreciated by them. So sad, it is great fun! I had to stay in the car while Rebecca did something she called swimming. She said the beach didn't allow dogs. I still don't know why I couldn't go with her. That swimming thing sounded like fun. She returned with the red-headed girl later and they took me to Paglicci's with them. They had pizza but didn't share. I managed to wrangle a piece of crust from one table over. They said I was extra cute!

After pizza, Mot and Rebecca walked with me around Lower Queen Anne. I had a great time! Lots of sniffing and I do enjoy watching Rebecca "scoop my poop" but she makes all sorts of noise about it and runs for the garbage can! We encountered a few dogs but they weren't interesting. There was one little dog that was strange. He walked out (without a leash!) and proceeded to lay down in front of me and piss on himself! Rebecca was desperately trying not to laugh but I know she found it funny. The dog's owner was a bit embarrassed I think. I would be embarrassed if I were that strange creature!

After that incident, we took Mot home and I got to car pace again! Yea! Then we walked up to Stephanie's to give her a CD. Rebecca and Stephanie talked too long! There were cats to be chased and sniffing to do! It was torture! But I'm home now and Rebecca is trying to knit something. It's a strange habit. I think she should be brushing me and playing monkey with me. I'd best be off to bother her and her knitting.

Love,

Zubin the dog

Over here at Supergirl's headquarters

First of all, how can it be Monday already? Wasn't it just Friday? What happened to my weekend and why didn't I get anything done?

My parent's had some family over on Friday night for a BBQ and I brought Zubin the dog. My Mom said that he wasn't allowed in the house and had to remained leashed at all times. Well let me tell you, 2 seconds after she saw Zubin, she had him on her lap and was loving on him. The best part of all this is he's not a lap dog! He's part German Shepard, so that was quite a site! He had the best evening. He went on two walks, played chase with the kids in the backyard, convinced me to share part of my sausage with him (oh yummy!), chased his tail and CAUGHT it all while sucking my Mom in.

Saturday was spent doing laundry and starting Project Clean Closet. It's a horrible mess and Mot is always talking about cleaning it. I had to do something! There is still a lot to do but it's getting much better. :) Then after walking Zubin, I headed off to the Chateau for the LeAnne Rimes concert. It wasn't a hard one to work so that was nice. M was a bit strange and I'm still pondering that. We all went out for drinks afterwards and I almost forgot that poor Zubin was a home waiting to go out. It's interesting walking a dog at 1 a.m. but hey he needed to go outside!

Sunday was another family command performance for brunch. I then visited Target to get some closet organization supplies and while there Mot called. She wanted me to meet up with her and her Mom at the Bite of Seattle. I went back to Queen Anne and got Zubin and headed to the Bite. I was a little worried about Zubin and the crowd but he was great! All those people to sniff! Happy Dog Days! He wasn't even bothered by the other dogs and had a grand time. I then walked him home the long way and ran into another friend. It was great! Then I had the Elvis Costello concert to work at the Chateau so I went back there. P walked Zubin for me so I didn't have to rush home so fast after the concert. M didn't come to work but I don't know why...more to ponder.

Now it's Monday and I don't know where my weekend went and why I did so much but also so little!

There's another knitting triathlete blogger out there!

And after all this time I thought I was the only knitting triathlete blogger around! Not so! I recently discovered Hollyweird Knits and love the site! It's a nice uplift on a Friday.

So I had quite the adventure last night. Well it was a near adventure but it all worked out so calmly. I started my dog sitting gig on Queen Anne. After work, I drove to the apartment, picked up the dog and headed off for a walk. He did his business and I left him at home to meet a friend for pizza. I hadn't planned ahead and so I needed to go back to my place to get my overnight stuff. I packed Zubin in the car and off to my place we went. The dog nearly killed me in the car with his pacing but other than that, he was good.

I went inside my apartment, visited Destiny and got my overnight stuff. Then off to get Zubin out of the car for a walk around Northgate. He enjoyed visiting the golf course by my place and we romped in the sun. We get back to the car and all loaded in. Well it won't start. I try and try but no-go. The battery is dead. I calmly called my father who came and confirmed my suspicions. We drove the dog back to Queen Anne and then I went out to the parent's house to borrow a car. Thank god they both take the bus to work!

So Saturday morning, my Dad and I have a date to get a new battery (since it was too late last night and we have a family BBQ tonight). Then he can have his special car back and I can have my baby car all better.

Zubin was quite cute last night though, he kept jumping up on the bed and laying his head on the pillow next to mine like a human. His breath was worse though!

I'm nearly done with Mom's scarf. I had planned to really get some done last night but alas it was a no-go. The dead battery also meant that I missed my lap swim at the pool. Bah! I really wanted to swim too!

Recovered enough to Knit!

Whew! It's been nice taking it easy after my ride to Portland. I've been seeing movies, having dinner with friends and most importantly, knitting! With my Mom's birthday and a friend's baby shower in a few short weeks, I've been dedicated to finishing their presents. I figure I only have about 20 more rows on the dressy scarf for Mom so I can whip that out quickly! My only problem is that I can't quite remember how the fringe was attached and the directions seem vague to me. I guess it's time for another visit to Hilltop Yarn & Needlepoint to check out the scarf. On the baby sweater, I'm about 2/3 of the way done and will have to really concentrate on that to get it done by July 27th. I'm also planning on making booties but I know those will be a quick project.

I'm starting my dog sitting on Thursday. I had Zubin 101 training last night and I passed! I was on dog alert at all times and when we saw a rat in the middle of Queen Anne Hill, Zubin didn't attack it! Oh he wanted to but he held back. Hopefully he won't attack my knitting!

Off to panic knit!

STP Finisher

Yep, I'm an STP Finisher! I did 206 miles this weekend riding from Seattle to Portland. It was hard but it was such a great adventure. I learned many, many things about bike riding over the past two days. The most important lesson I did learn is that biking makes your rear hurt! I'm now researching a new saddle. It's a necessity!

I rode 120 miles the first day with an overnight stop in Winlock (Home of the World's Largest Egg) and then rode 86 miles the second day. I think riding more the first day was one of the wisest moves I've ever made. The second day was hard with a throbbing tailbone and sore rear. It was nice to not have to do too much that second day :) My parents were at the finish line with my aunt to cheer me on. I almost fell off my bike at the end because I couldn't get off it fast enough! I've since made up with baby bike but we did share a few words along the way. She was tired herself with her chain popping off towards the end of the ride. But NO FLATS! I made it through 206 miles without any flats or other problems!

The best part of the ride was outside of Lexington. We climbed this hill and it took my breath away. The reward was a huge long downhill slope where I could let my bike run out. I coasted up and over a few more rollers as I rode toward St. Helen's. It was a fantastic journey.

No knitting news to report. It's impossible to knit and ride :)

Off to rest my weary rear!

It's STP Time

So it's time. All that training and riding was for a reason and tomorrow I begin my 206 mile bike ride from Seattle to Portland with the Cascade Bike Club. I'm scared to death but also very excited! Everyone is telling me that they "have so much respect" for me and "are so proud" of me but right now, I just think I'm extremely stupid! I think they should tell me all that stuff on Sunday after I've completed the ride and have sworn never to ride my bike again!

OK off to fret!

Tired of it!

Sometimes I just get so tired of all of it! My friends, my job, my cat. But I know that in a few days, I'll be back to loving it so I'm just going to move on through this.

I just joined the Knit Blogger's Reading Group since they are reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I just finished the book a few weeks ago and am quite excited to discuss it. It's such a thought provoking book.

I spent yesterday evening with a friend who is visiting from St. Louis. It was wonderful spending time with her though I do wish I had been in a better mood. STP is only 3 days away! Dear lord! In 5 days, I will have ridden over 200 miles!

I've gone back to knitting on my mother's dressy scarf for her birthday which is on August 2nd. I do hope she likes it. I need to find her the rest of her birthday present between now and then. I also ordered her a Nalgene Bottle to help her get her daily water intake.

Ta'ra

Rebecca

Hi Ho Hi Ho It's off to work we go!

The three-day weekend was a welcome respite though I did not rest. I spent the 4th at Fourth of Jul-Ivars with the majority of Seattle watching fireworks and drinking beer. Saturday was spent swimming with D, getting my hair colored, dinner at I LOVE Sushi with M (whose back in town for three months) and then drinks with S. Lots going on! Sunday came bright and early with a bike ride from Seattle to Edmonds at 7 a.m. with Cheryl's training group. It was tough but I did it and I rocked! Then I sped off for lunch with K at the Red Door with some flea market browsing at the Fremont Flea Market. FUN! Then I went to Greenlake to meet up with M again and enjoyed ice cream! After all that fun, I had to go home and sleep! It was so nice!

But now it's work time again. I've decided to do an Olympic Tri in about 3 weeks. I have STP this weekend and I'm freaked out about that. As for knitting, I finished M's bikini top on the 4th. I gave it to her on the 5th. She loves it! There are a few adjustments but overall, she said she wants another :) Yea!

Raving Runner

Last night I went to a RunChuckIt Running Session. I've been looking to join a running group to help improve my running. Some are quite expensive, some run too fast, some are too elite but I think that I may have found one that is perfect for me!

We met at the local running store Super Jock 'n Jill and jogged over to the track. We did 2-mile timed trails last night and I finished in 25 minutes and 53 seconds which for me was fast. I really enjoyed Chuck, the coach and found the group to be very welcoming. There was a group of about 40 runners who all gathered at the store before running over to the Greenlake Track. I quickly introduced myself to Chuck when I arrived and discussed my goals with him. He seems like a great guy! He said that he thought I could do the Super Jock 'n Jill ½ Marathon and that I wasn't cutting the training too close. Now of course I still need to decide on that because I don't want it to get in the way of my Tri Training.

Anyway, he then matched me up with another runner and we jogged over to Greenlake (I would like to report that I ran the entire night and never walked). She has been attending the sessions for about a year and has seen her performance improve greatly. She's running the SeaFair ½ Marathon on Sunday. She said that Chuck gives you the attention you want. If you want individual attention, he is there for you and if you just want to be part of the group he's there for you.

Chuck hung around the track for a bit longer talking to the runners about their races and goals. He seemed to know what everyone was training for and what they had recently run. He did check in with each and every runner and had uplifting comments for each of them. He could tell you which runners were improving and where they started from. I must stay that I was impressed and really liked his coaching style.

I think this might be the group I start with. As I said to my Mother last night, I can start with this group (it's the perfect price) and if I feel I need more individual attention, I can always sign up for another trainer's group later (one with whom I've trained for STP with).

After my foray into running groups, I went home and knit. I finished the first half of Mot's blue bikini top from Knitty. I've decided to lengthen the ties at the bottom of the top so I began work on that. Now I just need to do the other half of the top and I've got a great present for a great friend. She arrives at the end of this week so I must knit faster!

Tonight I'm working the Martinia McBride concert so it will be a late evening but it will be an enjoyable one!

Triathlete!

I am still a triathlete! I did the TYR Triathlon yesterday in Vancouver, Washington. I had the best time and had a PR! I did the course in 1 hour and 44 minutes which is about 11 minutes faster than my Danskin time last year!

One of my co-workers happened to be at the race too and her husband said I kicked a** on the bike portion! It felt so good and I can't wait to do another one! In the meantime, I need to find a 5K fun run for my sister-in-law and I to do.

No knitting knews since I was busy racing all weekend!

Super Sunny Silly

It's Friday! It's Friday! Happy Dance Time!

I've been working steadily along on the bikini top and hope to have pictures of a finished one soon! Probably won't be until next week though as I have my first Triathlon of the season on Sunday! I've borrowed my brother's big bad truck to drive down to Portland and I'm ready to rumble! I love driving the truck! It's huge and makes me feel very powerful! All you little cars out of the way! Hmmmmm, this could be dangerous!

I've had quite the week from an open water swim to a fantastic bike training session. I'm tired but happy! I took my baby bike into the shop for a tune-up yesterday and had them had a cadence reader onto it. It's going to be a fantastic addition for this weekend's ride.

Tonight, I'm having a friend over for pizza and the movie, "The Recruit". I can't wait to see Colin in action!

Time to go!

Ta'ra

P.S. Sadly no yarn was purchased in New York but! I did make a great addition to my stash before I left town. I purchased about 8 skeins of Jamieson's to make a Harry Potter Scraf! Now I just need to get to work on this monster of a scraf! It's 62 inches long! Holy Cow!

New York! New York!

It's been busy around here! I went to New York this past weekend for a PRSA Leadership Rally. It was wonderful and quite inspirational! Now if only I hadn't been so tired and wired at the same time.

I arrived in New York via JFK on Friday morning and began my trip downtown on the A line. After departing the subway and roaming around looking for my flipping hotel, I arrived just in time to be late to my 8 a.m. meeting. So I decided that since I was already hot and sweaty, I would go up to my room and shower before the next meeting started. That was the best decision ever! I felt so much better when I headed downstairs for the start of the Rally. We had some wonderful speakers and great breakout sessions before heading down to Little Italy for dinner. I had the best time and had the most delicious cannoli! Another lady and I lined up at the Wall Street Borders at Midnight to snag a copy of Harry Potter #5! Fantastic!

Saturday was equally as educational and I had a great day! I snuck out a little bit early with another attendee to go shopping. We went to ABC and Bergdoffs before heading to dinner at one of the best restaurants. It had a huge nose and nipple on the wall! The waiter was amazing and I was sad to head home after such a night! I spent the remainder of the evening in my hotel room reading Life of Pi. I loved this book and am bursting to discuss it!

Sunday arose with plenty of rain and I headed down to Canal and Broadway for shopping! I quickly haggled and purchased three bags and a wallet. Deciding not to do any more damage to my bank account, I headed to the MET. It's HUGE! I did get to see four Vermeer paintings and managed to get lost inside the museum but all in all had a great time. After a quick bite to eat in Central Park, I headed towards Times Square. I wanted to see the Harry Potter display in Toys R Us. It was fun! They had some lifesized figures of Harry Potter and friends made out of Legos. Fun! I also visited Sephora and got some fantastic smelling shampoo!

Now I'm home and back to training! I have a tri this weekend in Vancouver, Washington which I'm a bit nervous about.

In Knitting Knews, I took a fantastic Intro to Color Knitting class and picked up some yarn to make a Harry Potter Scarf. I'm not using the exact same colors but they are in the same range as his scarf which I love! I'm also still working on the bikini top and now have a closer deadline because she's moving here on July 7th! Yea!

Triathlon Madness!

OK so I have posted her since June 6 but it seems blogger chose not to post my words! Q. upsetting!

Last night I went to hear Sally Edwards speak about the Danskin Triathlon with my sister-in-law. I love hearing Sally Edwards! She's done over 16 Ironman Tris, 90 Danskin tris, a few eco-challenges and is 54! What an inspiration!

I also nipped into Barnes and Noble to do my Father's Day shopping. Now I just need to get gift wrap and a card! Nothing like waiting until the last minute. My friend was in town this past weekend so there was lots of fun to be had. We spend Saturday at another friend's medical school graduation and then went to the beach to melt in the 92 degree heat before enjoying I Love Sushi! Sunday was a nice brunch and then I worked the Hootie and the Blowfish concert. What a crowd! Wednesday was Vince Gill and I really enjoyed working his show more. The crowd was nicer and the music was actually good! I just don't enjoy Hootie and the Blowfish very much and do prefer Vince Gill!

Knitting Knews! I've about completed Chloe's hat and have been inspired by Knitty! I'm making the bikini top for a friend! Now I just need to get down to the LYS to select some beautiful yarn!

Ta'ra

Rapid Running

Last night I met up with a group for an run with a trainer. It was fantastic! While I didn't run as fast as I wanted to, I still ran for over 50 straight minutes without any thought of stopping. This is a miracle! I usually want to stop after 5 minutes and I'm panting! I'm not doing either of those! Tonight I'm meeting some supergirls for an open water swim (which will be COLD!) and then a run around Madison Park. I'm excited about the run!

After my fantastic run, I met a friend for beers at Hale's Ales. I do think 2 beers can negate all the running I did but I'm not letting it get me down because I haven't had drinks in over 3 weeks! It was well worth it and I really enjoyed myself. Of course getting home at 11 p.m. doesn't help with the sleeping or cleaning for Mot's arrival. I guess I'll get to that after my run tonight but well before I pick her up! I also need to do the grocery shopping. Hmmmm lot's to do tonight!

Best get cracking!

Let the Sunshine In!

It's been a beautiful week of sunshine here in Seattle. I've been able to frollick outside every day this week. The forecast continues to call for fantastic weather through the weekend!

Now while all this wonderful weather makes me happy, it's not been so nice to my knitting or the traffic. I have attempted to remedy this situation by knitting while literally sitting in traffic. Yesterday a 20 minute drive home took me an hour and 20 minutes. So while we were sitting with no hope of ever moving again, I knit a few rows on Chloe's hat. It's looking fantastic!

I also got in 32 laps in the pool last night. My goal was 40 laps but when you are 20 minutes late into a 60 minute workout, you only get 32 laps.

I'm off to let the sunshine in!

Is it Friday yet?

I'm counting down the days until Friday since my best friend comes to visit me that night. She's been living in Brasil but will be visiting me from her trip to South Africa. She is a world traveler! I get to spend 3 days with her which will be wonderful! She lived here in the Fall for about 3 months and I think I might work to convince her to do that again! She's a nurse and gets hired pretty quickly.

My sister-in-law and I joined a local bike club last night for a ride. It was extremely hilly but I think we both had fun! As the penguin says, "Waddle On!"

It's been crazy at work and that's another reason I am counting down the days until Friday. I feel peevish and it's not going away!

In knitting news, I've started Chloe's hat and am about 1/3 of the way done. Knitting knitting knitting!

Knitting Freak

Last night I finally finished the annoying handles for my felted bag! Now I just need to assemble the bag and felt it. Since I have training for my summer job tonight, I may not get to it until tomorrow night, but I know that by this weekend, I shall have completed this project.

I did get to visit a very nice club last night with my sister-in-law. The Pro Club is a real executive club where most Microsofties belong. They get free membership and all I can say is this is a fantastic perk! I would go nuts if I belonged to this place. They are huge and have every service known to man. Also their swimming pool is beautiful and everyone is quite friendly. I really enjoyed myself and tortured my sister-in-law by making her swim 6 more laps than she wanted. But it was good for her and she did so well.

Ta'ra

Climbing Freak

Yesterday after a beautiful ride through Magnolia and over to Alki, Stephanie convinced me to attend the Mary Meyer Climbing Clinic. Now I know what Stephanie loves about climbing! I sense another addiction coming on! The teachers said I was doing really good for my first time. There was only one climb that I couldn't make it to the top on and I thought it was HARD!

I made Destiny another mouse which I know she was secretly playing with. She pretended not to care about it when I gave it to her but when I watched her around the corner, she was playing with it! When she saw me though, she walked away like she didn't care. Stinker!

I'm 9 whole inches into my 26 inch long handles. Why oh why is this so hard for me? It's only 6 little knit stitches! I think it's boring me and that is where the difficulty lays. I'm going to make myself knit for 15 minutes a day on the handles until they are complete. Hopefully that will mean by the end of the week at the longest. I just can't take them any more and I really want to start on another project but I feel guilty with the handles hanging over my head!

It's Memorial Day here and yes you guessed it, I'm at work. It's hard to work when you know that everyone else is sleeping in, going to BBQ's and basically enjoying thier day off. But on the bonus side, it is quite quiet here and I have cleared a lot off my plate :)

Ta'ra

Crazy for Tri!

D and I met up early this morning for a swim at the outdoor (yea!) pool and then set off on a long bike ride. Unfortunately the wind and torental rain kept up from fulfilling our 60 mile goal but we did get to stop in at REI for some retail therapy in the middle of our ride. Now, that is fun!

I've been busy making more mice for the Wendy Mouse-along and Destiny is loving it! I'm also working to finish up the extra long handles for my felted bag. Can't wait to felt!

Ta'ra

The End is in Sight!

It's almost the end of the week! Yea! I did post during the week but blogger seems to have eaten my words of wisdom.

It's been busy over here with movie previews (Bruce Almighty), knitting (Wendy's Mouse-Along), work (ughggh!) and American Idol watching. I was so excited that Ruben won! They are both great but Ruben was my favorite.

More bike riding planned for this weekend with the hopes of finishing my felted bag by Sunday. The handles are killing me!

Weekend Wonder

Another weekend, another bike ride. On Saturday, Diana and I rode hills until we thought our legs would shake apart. It was quite tough.

Then I moved on to knitting interests for the rest of the day! After attending a housewarming party, I made my way to Hilltop Yarn and Needlepoint on Queen Anne and participated in their anniversary sale. It was hard to contain myself but I believe I did quite well. I ended up spending $40 and saving $20. Not bad. The yarn owners are always so nice there and I signed up for "Knitting with Color". I can't wait to take the class but I'll have to since it's not until June 18th. Until then, I'm focusing on finishing some of my WIPs! I worked on my felted bag this weekend and added in the novelty yarn. I'm about 75% done and can't wait to felt the bag!

My knitting is getting more and more popular. My friends now bicker over what I'm making them next. Of course I've offered to teach them but they aren't interested. It seems they associate my love for them with my knitting for them. Well at least it's nice to be liked.

On Sunday, Diana and I did a 50 mile bike ride. On our way back, we notice a cute boy on the side of the trail with his bike upside down. We ride a bit further and Diana turns around and says, "Should we go back?" and I quickly nod and say, "I'm thinking so."

So we go back and ask if he needs any help while praying that he doesn't need us to do any bike repair because well we can't do any bike repair! He says he's ok, that soon his friend will notice he's gone and come back to help me. So we pedal off. Later we talk about cute boy and how cute he was and maybe his missing friend is cute too.

We finish our ride and chow at Subway. I think we each ate our sandwhiches in like 2 minutes. Diana goes to Starbucks for her blind date and I go home to take a hot bath. Well Diana's date is lame and never shows but what do you know? Cute boy and friend show up at Starbucks. Diana talks to them a bit but forgets to get their phone number. They are doing STP too and that could have been worked! So when she called me to tell me about her adventure, I was jealous but I got over it.

And now I just want to know, is it the weekend yet?

Riding my bike to work

Yes, yesterday I rode my bike to work. Little did I know it was going to be 14 miles of PURE FUN! Well not exactly fun but still quite the story. I left my house at 7:30 a.m. and got on my way. It was a brisk morning and I did wish that I had more clothing on. Those bike shorts were not cutting it in the warmth factor! Well I quickly changed my mind about that and was quite pleased with the shorts. After climbing two grueling hills and wanting to go home, I was well on my way. I kept thinking that I must have mapped out the hilliest route ever! I quickly made my way past two schools and down a hill to Bothell-Everett Highway. I had to ride on that road for about three blocks. And you know those were the three quickest blocks ever! It's spooky out there. I then arrived at the safety of the Burke-Gilman trail and rode that for about 6 miles. I next had to depart from the trail and start another grueling and long climb. I *LOVE* hills! I eventually arrived at work around 9 a.m. I did create quite a stir with my bike and felt quite proud of myself all day. Then I had to being the ride home! Gulp! Actually it wasn't too bad at all. I rode the Burke-Gilman most of the way and even stopped by the library on the way home to pick up some books! Yea for me! Go Team!

Tonight I had STP training and guess what!?! We got to do more hills! I swear the hills have been having secret meetings on how to torment me! I will conquer them all though!

In knitting news, I am still working on my sock. I was happily knitting along last night when I noticed I was following the wrong set of instructions! Grrr! Looks like there is some frogging to be done.

What a weekend! I didn't get in the two days of biking but it was still quite busy! Friday night was lovely with a stop at the Nickerson Street Salon in Fremont and then Gelato to finish. Yum!

On Saturday, we went on a bike ride from the start of the Burke-Gilman trail in Ballard to a park in Woodinville. All in all it was 43 lovely miles. Well the last two weren't so lovely but I still enjoyed myself. I then traveled down to a bike blow-out sale and got a new biking outfit. It's lovely!

Sunday was Mother's Day which I appropriately spent with my Mother. We ate a huge breakfast at my Mom's favorite restaurant and then I spent the day with her doing my laundry and asking her to wash my car. She kept reminding me it was Mother's Day as she watched her taped shows of Dr. Phil and calling me into the room every few seconds to discuss the show. Now I'm back at work and trying to concentrate on all my duties.

In knitting news, I turned the heel in my first sock. I'm not sure if I'm doing it right but it looks right! I'll post pictures once I have it done.

You know you are getting quite serious about biking when you schedule two days of bike riding in a row! Yep, I've schedule rides with my buddies on both Saturday and Sunday, though I'm not sure how I'm fitting Sunday in. My mom wants me to spend the whole day with her. Now you might think that I don't see her that often but ummm I do! Let's see in the last week, I've seen her at the gym twice and once when I stopped by her house. So really she gets enough daughter time but it is nice to be so loved.

Knitting Front: Made Stephanie a coin purse. She said that I never make her anything and she does so love pink, so the coin purse was made. I'll be working on something more for her later but I needed to tame the savage beast for now. I also finished another dishcloth (pictures up soon) and worked up a swatch for my summer tank. It is going to be fantastically beautiful!

Have a great weekend!