Blog-a-licious

First of all, I want to give a HUGE Congrats to Cari of Dogs Steal Yarn on her big news. I sense there will be baby knitting in her future.

And I wanted to point out that I'm adding a new blog to the side bar. My friend Meg who is well on her way to being a knitting goddess and cracks me up with her rambling voice mails (she's about the only person I know who leaves crazy messages like I do, I LOVE it!) She's recently started up her blog and it can be found here. Go on and give her encouragement to keep up the blogging!

(Half) Marathoning

Yesterday I ran my second Seattle Half Marathon and it was lovely!

It did not rain, it did not snow, it did not hurt (too much) and best of all, it was SUPER FUN! OK well there was that point where Julie told me that she had done some calculations and that if I ran faster we could finish by 10:30 a.m. I grunted at her and gave her a look and we finished just after 10:30 a.m.

Julie and I ran the entire race together and we made sure to wave our arms in the air many times to help return the circulation. We looked like we were ready to "Praise the Lord" and shouted that a few times which caused much snickering.

As we ran, we passed beneath the squished Monorail, through the International District, down the I-90 to Lake Washington Blvd. where I saw friends, Jason and Megan. Then we headed up the HILL at Madison and through the Arborteum. Gummy Bears were consumed at this point. Eating the heads off bears releases much aggression! We weaved through Interlaken and down towards Mercer. Mile 12 provided some musical inspiration. They were playing Michael Jackson's Billy Jean which is my power running song. There were shouts of joy from Julie and I at that point. We chugged up the hill and sprinted into the stadium where I pretended to beat her.

It was fun and Julie's boyfriend, Eric was there to greet us and tell us how great we were. What was super great was the Guiness we consumed along with hamburgers! YUM!

I spent the rest of the day doing nothing but really enjoying it. I lounged. I ate the last piece of pumpkin pie and rejoiced in my accomplishment. And today, well today I'm doing well. I'm only a bit sore in the legs and that is a good thing!

HAPPY TURKEY DAY

Just a quick post to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving!

P.S. Jody -- I'm attempting to make the Branching Out Scarf from Scarf Style with the yarn. I'm loving it so far!

Things I am thankful for this week:

1. The Three Day Work Week
2. Turkeys
3. Starting new knitting projects even though you have 4 billion already started just because you received lovely new yarn.



4. This is the week of my Half Marathon and then I won't have to run for awhile! Can you tell I've gotten a bit burned out on the whole running thing?
5. Pumpkin Pie
6. Yams
7. Books from the libary
8. Yoga
9. My family
10. Wednesday Trivia Night!

My Better Pal is Better Than Yours

Last night after a long day at work and then dinner with friends, I headed home and discovered a large package on the doorstep. I knew it was from my Better Pal and that within it was the revelation of who my Better Pal was. I scanned the label for clues and ripped open the package to find this:



Weeeeeee! Look at the GORGOUS Yarn! It's from Malabrigo Yarn and is made in Uruguay, much the same way as Manos but is soooooo very soft that I just wanted to rub it on my face for hours. Also inside the package was Hot Cocoa, Tea, a yummy smelling candle and delicious chocolate -- all the things I need for the perfect day of knitting!

Here's a more spreadout picture of my goodies. Please excuse the poor shot but Seattle has NO sunshine this time of year!



And once I read the card, I discovered that my Better Pal was Jody of Savannahchik Knits. I really feel that I got the best pal in the bunch and I enjoyed this swap so very much.

Jody! Thank you for spoiling me!

All the Cool Kids Are Doing It!

And if all the Cool Kids jumped off a bridge, I might be persuaded to do so too! (But only if there were a bungie rope and I was really drunk, because otherwise it doesn't seem like a good idea, you know?)

So since everyone else has one of these, I wanted my very own! So get over there! Place a pin in my Supergirl Knits Geography Map! Other knitters have maps too--make sure to stick a pin on their maps too!

As for knitting, last night I completed the first part of the secret sock project. Yep, one down, one to go!

Knitting the Knitster

Last night I finally made it to PurlyGirls for some time with the ladies. I had a great time. I saw Jessica's newest creation (and proudly took the photo for her blog), I shared dating horror stories, heard dating horror stories, laughed like there was no tomorrow and hey actually did some knitting! I even had an epipany!

After complaining for years about my left shoulder pain, I finally figured out the cause of it. I don't have the cure but I can share an important lesson. Should you ever shower with a member of the opposite sex and should that person slip in the shower, don't attempt to catch them with one arm. Your shoulder will be screwed up FOREVER! Just a lesson I finally learned after way too many years (which does lead to the question as to why I took over 7 years to figure out the cause of my shoulder pain!).

Yep, I've learned my lesson though I wonder if the statue of limitations is expired on that one?

Oh and PS I learned from Jessica that some men do have an expiration date. DING!

Without much to say, Supergirl turns to a QUIZ!

Your Birthdate: December 19

You are resilient, and no doubt your resilience has already been tested. You've had some difficult experiences in your life, but you are wise from them. Having had to grow up quickly, you tend to discount the advice of others. You tend to be a loner, having learned that the only person you can depend on is yourself. Your strength: Well developed stability and confidence Your weakness: Suspicion of others Your power color: Eggplant Your power symbol: Spade Your power month: October

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Hmmmmm interesting!

A Special Kind of Run

Last night, Mot and I went for a long-ish run. I needed to cover 5 miles but settled for 4.5 miles. We headed up to Queen Anne so we could run one of my favorite loops which offers spectacular views. We started down the dark road and quickly fell into a rhythm. As our feet pounded along the pavement, I felt my heart soaring. I've been battling the winter doldrums and running is my medicine. We looped around past the large homes and across the bridge that transverses a large ravine. We sprinted across Queen Anne Avenue and up McGraw Avenue where we broke off and headed toward the cemetery. All this time, Mot and I were cracking jokes and I made sure that Thriller was playing on my MP3 player as we went past the cemetery. I also made sure to sing PYT to Mot while doing a dance. I know she loved seeing my moves!

Before we knew it, we had headed into the final leg of our run. The one that reminds me of the Royal Promenade in Bath, England. The path that overlooks Elliot Bay and offers up the most spectacular view of Seattle. As we ran down the road, past Kerry Park, I was astounded to find out that we had been running for almost an hour. I could have sworn we had only been out there for 20 minutes. Now those are the days I love to run!

I don't know what it was but after running last night and drinking some beer to celebrate Mot's Paper, my winter doldrums have vanished! I must say though that there was no knitting to speak of last night, I was simply too tired and went to bed early. A girl needs her beauty sleep!

Interweaving

The Latest and Greatest is up!

And Kate Gilbert has another design in it! Gesh and I haven't even begin her other Interweave Design.


I'm totally digging these socks:


Embossed Leaves Socks Mona Schmidt

and this top, but I'm thinking I'll need to add straps:

Cabled Bandeau Véronik Avery

So much to knit, so LITTLE time!

I'm a FINISHER

This weekend was spent finishing up some projects and making HUGE progress on others. I also spent some time watching the Yip-Yips and getting them to bark at the television.

The Trellis Baby Sweater is seamed up and ready to go. Le Monstre offered to model it after Jack (one of the Yip-Yips) refused.



Here is Jack growling at me for torturing him. I'm funny.



I also finished up some Calmer Socks for myself because, really I prefer knitting for myself. I'm selfish that way.



And because the Yip-Yips are so very cute and make me giggle, here are some pictures of them relaxing at home.





And when I returned home from my short jaunt with the dogs, I had a prize waiting for me.



YARN for SOCKS THAT ROCK! Whooot! I won this in a drawing and what a fantastic prize it is!

I also took time this weekend to work on my secret project and to cover some ground on the baby blanket. I'm almost through the first of three very long repeats but this blanket is perfect knitting during movies, television marathons and ultra marathon reading sessions.

Introspective

Lately I've been thinking and thinking and then for good measure thinking some more. The silly part of all this thinking for me is that I don't really have anything to be thinking so deeply about. Work is good. Knitting is good. Love life is going well. Friends are good. But still I seem to be craving some time to sit and think and yet while I'm sitting still and thinking, I still want to be doing something. I want to be moving. I have ideas of what I want to be doing but then I feel like I want to think about them some more.

So I found it interesting that while I was reading my November Horoscope that it would mention this time of contemplation. It makes me wonder if I'm using this time to prepare for an incoming, unpredicted storm that only the dark depths of my psyche knows is coming.

I wonder...

Softy Sock Knitting

Last night I did not do anything I had planned.

I did not attend Spanish Class.

I did not seam up Ethan's Sweater.

I did not finish "A Million Little Pieces"

I did however do some other fun stuff.

I did go for a run with Mot.

I did eat at Taco Del Mar (FAVORITE!).

I did work on my Rowan Calmer Socks(they will be faternal twins, on purpose).

I did work on the special baby blanket.



I wanted to say thanks to everyone for the great seaming tips. Diana -- I am so following your tip of using the clips. I think that will help me get this done sooner. My OFFICAL goal will be to have this completed by this weekend. Then if I am very good, I can get it in the mail on Monday and Ethan can be wearing it by Tuesday (depending on the mail service).

Just The Seaming To Go



After months and months of working on Trellis, I am nearing completion. All that is left is the dreaded seaming. The Dreaded Seaming! I'm not a fan of seaming up sweaters since it really isn't my strength and plus it seems to take so very long. Last night I sat down to do the sleeves and only got two stitches in before boredom over took me and I decided to knit on something else. Of course yesterday after work, I ran 6.5 miles and was a bit tuckered out so I'm using that as my excuse for the lack of seaming. Tonight though I had planned on working on the seaming during LOST but it appears that LOST is another re-run. BLAH! I'll just have to come up with another plan.

I'm at the point in many of my projects (the 400 or so I have going) where they seem to be coming to an end which is rewarding but then stirs the desire to start MORE projects when actually I just need to get some of these projects done. So I'll keep the finishing focus and hopefully will have many more finished projects to show over the next few weeks.

One Year Ago Yesterday


This is where we both stunk so bad we didn't want to be near each other but also had no energy and thought the other might catch us if we fell.

One year ago yesterday I ran my very first marathon with a friend who only ran because I wanted to do a marathon. There are parts of that day that I do not remember but I do remember how Stephanie told me to buck up when I was tired, pushed me with I wanted to stop and made me giggle when we were talking about our medals. I remember thinking after the run that I just had to keep moving and that when we got home, Stephanie had arranged for nice cold Stella to be waiting in the fridge for me.

I've not done a race since last year though I've attempted to train for quite a few. I do however have one over Thanksgiving Weekend and while I don't have the passion for my training that I've had in the past, I know it will be a good race. Julie will be running with me and we'll be in Rainy Seattle where we can make people cheer for us.

It's amazing to look back over a year and see what you've accomplished. There are many times when I think that I've done nothing to write home about and then I remember that everyday is an opportunity to make a mark in my own life or most importantly in the life of another. It was one year ago yesterday that Stephanie made a mark in my life by running a marathon with me and celebrating that accomplishment.