366 Days Complete

Today I took my final 365 Days picture and of course that darn Betty Lou showed up!

I can't believe this project is actually over and that tomorrow I begin my 34th year. I'm so glad I did this even though
some days I really, really didn't want to take a picture of me. I got pretty sick of me as a subject about halfway through
the project but in the end, I had so much fun doing this.



In my 33rd year, I moved in with my love, gained a cat, started taking the bus to work, went to Hawaii, went on a great road trip with my love, saw a dear friend marry her love and on this final day, ran two Half Marathons and got my wish for a major snowstorm in Seattle.



Here are some stats from the past year:

Days Missed: 0 -- I know, A++ here!
Made Explore: 5

Most Viewed Photo: Day 168 with 15,940 all time views

With other people: 35
With animals: 12
As Betty Lou: 6
With Scott: 17
Cities taken in: 20
Taken after Half Marathon Runs with my Medals: 2
Showing my Knitting and/or yarn: 36
With Food: 26

And yes, I loved this so much, I'm considering doing a Year 2! First though I need to go and play in the snow!

Finally Finished Socks

After many months of trauma knitting these socks, I finally finally knit a pair of socks on one circular needle and they are awesome!

Raveled

Updating my 101 in 1001

I just updated my 101 in 1001 blog and have narrowed down the five items I want to complete on the list by the end of September.

1. Complete the Master Hand Knitting, Level 1 program (by the end of August)
2. Knit two socks at once on two circular needles
3. Take a Pilates class
4. Replace bathroom vanity lights with CFLs
5. Go to Egypt The Grand Canyon

Yes, yes some of these you have seen before but I'm really getting these all done by the end of September!

Running the Vancouver Half Marathon

I ran the Vancouver Half Marathon today and it was great! I finished in 3 hours and 3 minutes. My goal was 3 hours but heck I'll take those extra 3 minutes and be proud of what I did today.



Scott got up at O'Dark Thirty with me and sent me off at the starting line. The sun was shining and the day was just beautiful.

Photo by Scott

Julie ran the entire way with me which you know really makes the race just that much better.

Photo by Scott

Julie and I stuck to our 5 minute runs and our 1 minute walks all the way until Stanley Park. The crowd was super supportive and cheered all of us on. They printed our first names on our bibs and I do admit to being confused when people I didn't know would yell my name and cheer me on. It took oh about 6 miles to figure out that my name was on my bib! Duh!

Photo by Scott

Stanley Park was beautiful and we walked up "the hill" where you gain 200 feet in elevation in just under one mile. We picked up our 5 and 1's once we were done with the hill and ran, ran, ran our way in. The last mile may have been the LONGEST mile known to man but I am so happy with my time and so happy to be done training for a bit!



OK, OK, I know I'll be back out there running again soon but I'm going to relax this week and not worry about training!

March Goals Check-In

One of my March Goals was to clean out my closet which is also one of my 101 in 1001 goals.

I feel a bit like I'm cheating on this one but I have cleaned out my closet since I'm moving. The new closet is being carefully sorted and assembled to prevent the pile-up of the last closet. I look forward to being able to reach into my new closet without having things fall on me.

Most of my other goals have fallen by the wayside since I started the moving process. Moving just takes up so much of your time and when you are also de-cluttering like me, it takes up a lot of time. I keep telling myself that it will all be great in a few weeks and that I just need to have patience.

Here is a status report on my March goals:

1. Read all unread Bill Bryson books (The Palace Under the Alps and Over 200 Other Unusual, Unspoiled, and Infrequently Visited Spots in 16 European Countries, Down Under, The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got That Way, Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States, Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words)-- Moving this to finishing by May 31st.

2. Complete the Master Hand Knitting, Level 1 program -- I've been working on this goal and I hope to mail in my packet on April 15th.

3. Knit two socks at once on two circular needles -- Yea, this will have to wait. I have a great book on how to do it but I just need some time to dedicate to it first.

4. Make an emergency preparedness kit for my car -- Another item that will need to wait but I will have it done by May 1st.

5. Knit a sweater for me! Finish the Central Park Hoodie -- New Deadline - May 16th

6. Finish the Clapotis and mail it off for the Knitter Project -- DONE!

7. Eat 5 Fruits & Veggies every day for 30 days -- I've been tracking this and doing well most of the time. I have 6 days left in the 30 days.

8. Track my food every day for 30 days -- I've been tracking this and doing well most of the time. I have 6 days left in the 30 days.

9. Take a Pilates class -- On Hold for now

March Goals

I like the idea of having monthly goals and putting them out there for the world to see. I have a few left over from last month and they will be at the top of my list this month along with a few additional goals. Number 7 & 8 will be at the top of my list as I've fallen off the weight loss track and really need to get back on that track.

1. Read all unread Bill Bryson books (The Palace Under the Alps and Over 200 Other Unusual, Unspoiled, and Infrequently Visited Spots in 16 European Countries, Down Under, The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got That Way, Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States, Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words)

2. Complete the Master Hand Knitting, Level 1 program

3. Knit two socks at once on two circular needles

4. Make an emergency preparedness kit for my car

5. Knit a sweater for me! Finish the Central Park Hoodie

6. Finish the Clapotis and mail it off for the Knitter Project

7. Eat 5 Fruits & Veggies every day for 30 days

8. Track my food every day for 30 days

9. Take a Pilates class

10. Clean out my closet

Deadlines Mean Nothing!

As March 1st looms in the very near distance, I thought I'd provide an update on my January goals.



I've been diligently working on my 101 in 1001 list .

1. Read all unread Bill Bryson books (The Palace Under the Alps and Over 200 Other Unusual, Unspoiled, and Infrequently Visited Spots in 16 European Countries, Down Under, The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got That Way, Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States, Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words) -- I am waiting for most of these books from the library so I will miss the March 1st deadline on this one. My new deadline is April 15th.

2. Complete the Master Hand Knitting, Level 1 program --I am nearing completition on this goal but again, I have a new deadline of April 15th.

3. Knit two socks at once on two circular needles -- I am going to tackle this one once I've completed the Master Hand Knitting, Level 1 program.

4. Make an emergency preparedness kit for my car -- I think next weekend will be my weekend to update the kit.

5. Floss every day for a month - Done!

6. Recycle my old cell phone Done!

7. Replace all regular batteries in my house with rechargeable batteries Done and you can check it out here!

8. Document an entire day with photos Done and you can check it out here!

9. Do my taxes in 2008 DONE!

10. Buy a surge protector for the computer that shuts off energy when the computer is asleep. Done and you can check it out here!

11. Buy Life.doc and use it Done and you can check it out here!

12. Knit a sweater for me! -- I'm still working on the Central Park Hoodie but that has had to take a back seat until I am done with the Knitter Project.

13. Do 100 crunches at once Done and you can check it out here!

Whew! Out of my 13 goals, I've accomplished 8 of them which leaves me with 5 more to complete. Not all will be done by Saturday but I'm going to try to knock a few more off the list!

101 in 1001 Updates!

Two more 101's knocked off my 101 in 1001 list!

31. Floss every day for a month


One of my goals for my 101 in 1001 is to floss my teeth everyday for a month in a futile attempt to make me floss more often. I started flossing everyday on January 20th and now on February 20th, I hve flossed officially for 30 days. I may even keep this up!

31. Floss every day for a month

41. Start recycling my food scraps with either a compost pile or in yard rubbish recycle bin.



Scott's place offers Yard Waste Recycling which includes food scraps and since I'm spending most of my time there, I've set up a little composting bin which I'll empty weekly into the Yard Waste Recycling bin. Easy Peasy!

41. Start recycling my food scraps with either a compost pile or in yard rubbish recycle bin.

Another 101 in 1001 DONE!

45. Document an entire day with photos



1. Time for Bed 10:45 pm, 2. Fruits of my labor 9:35 pm, 3. Winding Yarn and Watching Lost 9:00 pm, 4. Smelling the Rose 8:00 pm, 5. Dished up 7:20 pm, 6. Ready to eat 7:15 pm, 7. Drinking Wine 6:35 pm, 8. Lasagne Baking 6:25 pm, 9. Awesome Girlfriend 6:20 pm, 10. Valentines Settings 5:38 pm, 11. Scott's Place 5:37 pm, 12. Setting up for dinner 5:36 pm, 13. Library 5:26 pm, 14. Flowers and Bread 5:25 pm, 15. Grocery Store 5:21 pm, 16. Leaving for the Day 4:58 pm, 17. Lunch 12:50 pm, 18. Sunflare 12:28 pm, 19. Road Moss 12:17 pm, 20. Plane 12:22 pm, 21. Basketball 12:22 pm, 22. Trees 12:25 pm, 23. Plane 12:22 pm, 24. Hole 12:23 pm, 25. Swing 12:24pm, 26. Park Trees 12:21pm, 27. Me on Swing 12:24 pm, 28. 8 12:20 pm, 29. Monkey 12:20 pm, 30. Playground 12:20 pm, 31. Shoes 12:19 pm, 32. Playing 12:18 pm, 33. Roses from a Boy 11:45 am, 34. Steady 1020 am, 35. Working 10:15 am, 36. Valentine's Donut 10:00 am

45. Document an entire day with photos

Mid-Month Deadline Check-In

Back in January, I set some goals for myself on this here blog and I think it is time for a check-in.

I've been diligently working on my 101 in 1001 list and it's time for a quick check-in on my progress.

1. Read all unread Bill Bryson books (The Palace Under the Alps and Over 200 Other Unusual, Unspoiled, and Infrequently Visited Spots in 16 European Countries, Down Under, The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got That Way, Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States, Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words) -- I am waiting for most of these books from the library so I will probably miss the March 1st deadline on this one.

2. Complete the Master Hand Knitting, Level 1 program -- I have been slaving away at the questions and started the hat yesterday. I really want to make the March 1st deadline on this one!



3. Knit two socks at once on two circular needles -- I am going to push this one to a later due date.

4. Make an emergency preparedness kit for my car -- I think next weekend will be my weekend to update the kit.

5. Floss every day for a month -- I started doing this on January 20th and I haven't missed a single day! Only 10 more days until I've accomplished this.

**edited** 2/12/08 6. Recycle my old cell phone -- I have this ready to go but I need to charge the cell phone up so I can delete numbers. Unfortunately I've lost the charger so I need to get it charged at the store or something. I found my old cell phone chargers and deleted the private information. Today I packaged them up and mailed them off for recycling!





7. Replace all regular batteries in my house with rechargeable batteries -- I need to take inventory and figure out what I need to replace with rechargeable batteries versus regular ones.

8. Document an entire day with photos -- I'm trying to decide if I should document a regular workday or a weekend. I'm thinking weekend.

9. Do my taxes in 2008 DONE! and I'm getting a refund!

10. Buy a surge protector for the computer that shuts off energy when the computer is asleep. -- I just need to purchase and get it done.

11. Buy Life.doc and use it -- I have this, I just need to fill it out!

12. Knit a sweater for me! -- Central Park Hoodie is in progress and I have completed the back and the left front. I just need to get the right front and sleeves done.

13. Do 100 crunches at once -- I think I'm going to go do these RIGHT NOW!

**edited** AND DONE!

Deadlines, Deadlines

I've been working hard on my 101 in 1001 list but I noticed that in the last few months, I've been letting things slide. In order to work against this, I've decided that I will get the following items completed by March 1st.

1. Read all unread Bill Bryson books (The Palace Under the Alps and Over 200 Other Unusual, Unspoiled, and Infrequently Visited Spots in 16 European Countries, Down Under, The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got That Way, Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States, Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words)

2. Complete the Master Hand Knitting, Level 1 program (I have the swatches mostly complete and 5 out of the 17 questions on the report completed. I still need to knit the hat, write the report and triple check my swatches.)

3. Knit two socks at once on two circular needles

4. Make an emergency preparedness kit for my car (I actually have one in my car but it needs to be updated!)

5. Floss every day for a month (I started doing this on Sunday, January 20th)

6. Recycle my old cell phone

7. Replace all regular batteries in my house with rechargeable batteries

8. Document an entire day with photos

9. Do my taxes in 2008

10. Buy a surge protector for the computer that shuts off energy when the computer is asleep

11. Buy Life.doc and use it (I have this, I just need to fill it out!)

12. Knit a sweater for me! (Central Park Hoodie is in progress)

13. Do 100 crunches at once

101ing

I'm pretty proud of myself right now, I'm 28.7% done with my 101 in 1001 list and I'm only about 285 days into it.

Awesome!

Meeting in Portland

After spending an afternoon in the Gorge and a restful night in the hotel, Scott and I got up on Saturday and headed over to his family's homes.



I got to meet his delightful niece who is a pretty, pretty princess so we got along famously. She had me play Barbie, My Little Pony and Fishies for hours. I really enjoyed myself and had a few good laughs with Hailey. Let's just say that Hailey knows what she wants and how can one argue with that?



Scott's niece is working on becoming a photographer herself and took my camera to take some pictures. Considering that the camera was almost as big as her, I was quite surprised when so many of them came out.



I also played with Scott's nephew who was so adorkable with his glasses. He has to wear them for about six months and he does not like that!

I also met the rest of his family who were quite wonderful. It was a good trip down to Portland. We even made some time to visit Powell's and I found the most adorable dog on the street! He was old and missing teeth but full of character!

Road Trip to Portland

This past weekend, I made a road trip to the crafter's mecca - Portland. At least it seems that way with so many crafty bloggers either moving to Portland or coming from Portland. Scott drove on the way down to Portland so I was able to knit along the way. I finished up the co-worker's scarf but that is a topic for another day.

Scott and I made a side trip to the Columbia River Gorge where I gasped and sighed at all the beautiful sights.



The waterfalls were absolutely gorgeous.



The company was goofy and made me do goofy things! (Who puts a gorilla tripod on their head? Goofy People!)



Multnomah Falls was fantastic even though my blood sugar was dropping and my stomach was crying out in pain. One can't ignore beauty like Multnomah Falls no matter how jittery they feel.



I'd highly recommend this side trip for any trip to Portland. It was beautiful!

Tomorrow, Actual Portland!