Rain, Running and Knitting

I've been dogsitting Zubin again and we've been having a grand time. Saturday we went for an 8-mile run. This time it was a bit easier since we went with a friend who is a beginner runner. She's doing great and I can't wait to see her complete the Vancouver 1/2 Marathon which coincidentally falls on her 30th birthday. So on the day that she enters her 3rd decade, she'll prove to herself that she is crazy by running 13.1 miles. I can't wait!

Our run on Saturday was quite pretty. It started at Greenlake and went down to Gasworks park along the Burke Gilman before cutting through the University of Washington (so many stairs) and ending along Ravenna.

I was just reading Stella's Blog and I was chuffed to see that my running inspired her to go to the gym! Yea for us! Excercise can be such a mood lifter but then again one does need to know when to rest. Too much of anything can make one cranky!

Since I ran on Saturday, I took Sunday off and knit on some UFO's. I worked on a Baby hat made with Cascade Fixation. It's so cute but it's on the tiniest needles (2's) and so I have to have patience with this project. I'm going to love the finished product and I think I know which baby will get this. One of the ladies in my running group just had a baby so the hat will be perfect for the little one on our runs. I also sorted through some of my other UFO's and will be tackling those in short order.

Today I planned to do a quick 30 minute jog with Zubin. He was so looking forward to it. In fact, right now he's sitting at the door wanting to go out again. Well we headed outside and it was POURING down rain! Then the wind kicked in and after 15 minutes of sideways rain which drenched me, I decided to pack it up and head back home. We did 25 minutes but it was miserable. I'm just glad it is done and the shower afterwards was heavenly.

Now I'm going to enjoy this holiday (ok so everyday is a holiday for me) by reading a trashy romance novel and watching some decorating shows. Ahhhh, so nice.

Sorry no pictures today, I'm at a friend's house and I don't have my pictures with me!

The hunt goes on and on

Today I met up with my former boss for coffee at Starbucks. It was a great time but I realised I am getting tired of job hunting and I'm ready to work! I also had dinner with a collegue from PRSA last night that helped contribute to this realization. So today I've been busy, busy applying for work (as usual) and getting through my to-do list. There was some car washing, pet food buying and other misc. errands to get done. I'm almost through the list and am ready for the next one! This one is sure to include knitting time and yes, more running. I've got an 8-miler coming up on Saturday morning. Since I'm dog-sitting Zubin, he's coming with. Sad part is while I'm running, he usually trots along next to me looking bored!

Destiny is busy exploring the backyard. She's always been an indoor cat with me but seems to really like the outdoors. Since I got her from the Humane Society when she was already two years old, I wonder if she had an outdoor lifestyle before me. Some of the neighborhood cats like to visit the backyard but Destiny will not have it. She almost through herself through the sliding glass door to get to one cat. Made me laugh but I know I wouldn't have been if she had gotten herself in a fight. She'd probably tell them where to go for good though! She's got attitude!

No knitting pics today but I do have Miss Destiny with her knitted mousie!

Apprentice Graduation

My sister-in-law has graduated from apprentice knitter to full-blown knitter. In December she asked me to teach her how to knit and so I did. Her first project was this scarf:



Last night she finished this felted bag which looks fantastic and is going to be very useful as every knitter needs a cute bag to carry thier supplies in. This pattern is from Debbie Stoller's Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook



As for me, last night I finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife which was fantastic. I cried and cried at the end. I highly recommend this book!

Grammy Smammy

Was it just me or were the Grammy's odd last night? I didn't hear a single good song and what was up with all the audio problems! I was especially disappointed since I was looking forward to some good knitting/tv time. The songs distracted me so I didn't knit as much as I wanted to. I did finish Mom's pillow and it's now sitting on her bed awaiting her arrival this evening!

Last summer I made a knitted bikini top and then because I am mean, I made Destiny (the cat) model it. Isn't she the cutest?



So funny

Time for a Seaming Party

I have about an inch more to knit on Mom's pillow and then let the seaming begin! I'm quite excited!

Check out my new header! I'm still trying to decide if I like it.

Running today was 7 miles, which went well. Now time to rest and knit!

I leave you with Destiny whose wise in the resting ways. She's napping with my yet unfinished pink scarf.

States I've Visited/Lived In



create your own visited states map
or write about it on the open travel guide

This is so much fun! I've been to most of the US and now I have a map to prove it!

I'm about 3/4 of the way through the back of Mom's Pillow. I sense a seaming party will happened this weekend! It will be nice to have a Finished product and to be able to start a new knitting project.

Rachael was nice enough to send me the pattern for her Hot Water Bottle Cozy. So that is ranking high on my next WIP.

I ran again last night and it was very nice. I did the same route as Wednesday but I was 3 minutes slower. I needed that slower pace. It's amazing how much 3 minutes can matter when you run.

Ta'ra for now.

Sleepy Cat Day

As I've been sitting here job searching, Destiny (le chat) has been sleeping on my bed. She looks so comfortable and has been relaxing for almost four hours. I've never seen a cat sleep so long. I think her morning adventure outside must have exhausted her.

In the knitting world, I'm nearing completion on my Mom's pillow. I've done the front and am about half way through the back. Sorry to say there are no pictures of the project but I plan to have some soon!

Also I've started the Time Traveler's Wife. All I can say so far is get it! Read it! It's great!

OK time for running. again.

My First Triathlon

Three years ago when I decided to embark on my triathlon journey, I didn't know I'd end up here. I had always thought about competing in an event such as a triathlon but I really thought it would be too hard so I stuck to 5K's and worked out at the gym. My friend Diana and I had recently met and she convinced me that I could do one so I signed up for the Danskin Triathlon in Seattle with her.

Here I am exiting the water from that very first tri.



And here I am finishing:



What a rush that was! That was the day that the Danskin logo became true for me.

"The Woman who starts the Race is not the same Woman who finishes the Race"

What I discovered that day is I can do anything I put my mind to and what a wonderful discovery that was.

In the end, I believe any woman can complete a triathlon if she really wants to. Anyone can do anything they put their mind too.

Missed It Again!

I'm so sad! I Heart Rummage was today and I missed it. I so could have stopped by before watching the Superbowl. I was only blocks away. There is next month though and I'm so in!

Superbowl Sunday



It's Superbowl Sunday and I'll be running again! After a nice run and some delicious Chai Tea, I'll be finding a nice bar to watch the game with some friends.

I've been busy making changes to the site. It's not perfect yet but I do love what's happening!

Running like Mad!

It was hard this morning getting up before dawn to go running. It was very hard but I did it! I went to my running group and met up with my friend Matya. We ran 5 miles in one hour which equals a 12 minute mile and we took one bathroom break. Not bad for me. Slow for others but not bad for me. I want to get back up to my 11 minute/ 10 and 1/2 minute miles but for right now, I'm quite pleased with myself.

Here is a picture of Matya and I from a race we did this summer called, The Urban Challenge. We had such a great time! I'm in the pink and Matya is in the blue. I'm only 5'1" and she's 5'10" so we often resemble the cartoon, "Mutt and Jeff"!



I'm getting back on the knit wagon. My mother has requested a Granny Square pillow be made for her newly decorated bedroom. The front will be crocheted and the back knit in a simple pattern. I'm not sure what the pattern will be yet but I'm sure it will look nice.

Zubin, the knitting dog!

My friend's dog Zubin loves yarn and often spends as much time as possible with me when I'm knitting. I did discover that we both share a yarn interest. We both adore Rowan Polar! Here is the Zubster helping me with some Rowan Polar.



He was busy helping me with this project.



It turned out great! At the end of the knitting, it looked like this,

Photo Update!

As you can see from today's previous post, I've finally figured out how to upload images. Yea for me! Now I just need to take time to figure out how to size them correctly but that (fingers crossed) shouldn't be so hard!

Here is a photo for Ryan showing me finishing the 2002 Seattle Half Marathon. I was so tired at that point!

Move Complete!

The move is finally complete. I still have a few items to sort and find homes for but all in all the move is done and it wasn't that difficult.

I even have pictures of the beginning of the move to share! This is my brother sizing up the sizable amount of boxes that needed to be loaded in to the U-Haul truck. Doesn't he look ill at the thought?



Click here to enjoy more!

I've also added some photos of race finishes here.

I received lots of exciting news yesterday.

One, my Grandfather who must have at least 10 laptops has decided to give me one of them. Mind you these are all pretty new and usually are top of the line so I can't wait to receive it.

Second, I've been invited to Hawaii. My best friend's father runs a tradeshow company and needs worker bees at his upcoming show. The only conflict is that I have committed to housesitting for my Mom's boss during the time they need me in Hawaii. Such a dilemma! I'm going to try to find a substitute housesitter and go from there. Such a problem.

I shall have to make a decision regarding Hawaii soon but it's a hard one because I want to go to Hawaii but I also need to honor my committments, especially since it's for my Mom's boss!

Ta'ra
Rebecca

Busy Moving

I just spent a few hours doing the initial move and I'm wiped. Tomorrow comes the big moving day. While many of my items are being culled and sorted, luckily I found a perfect home for my yarn. The linen closet and my Dad was wise enough not to say anything about how much there was!

Off to pack and move. Tonight more French! Bonsoir!

Bonsoir!

Last night was the first night of my Francois class! And it was wonderful! My teacher, Renee spent most of the class speaking to us in French and having us repeat things. I learned so much that my head is still spinning and Bonsoir is running like mad around my head!

I'm still working on how to get pictures on my site without paying an arm and a leg for them. I'll be speaking to my brother about this. He's quite the computer guy so he should be able to straighten me out.

Off to swimming now! Ryan, I promise to post some pictures of me tomorrow finishing some races so you can see me near death!

Knit It Knitter

I've been busy knitting up yet another scarf for myself. One can never have too many in my opinion and they are quite quick to make. This one is in Rowan Polar in a wonderful pinky mauve color. I'm using the Wavy Knit pattern from last year's Knit It. I couldn't find a link to the picture but believe me, it's wonderful!

I gave the finished Chicago Bag to my friend and she loves it. She does want me to add a button but that won't be an issue at all. She's scared that she'll lose things if she doesn't have a button.

I saw "Along Came Polly" on Friday and it's funny. Last night I indulged in another viewing of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. I think I've filled up for now.

Happy Knitting!

Chicago Bag Finisher

I just finished felting my first Chicago Bag and it looks wonderful. I will have photos on Thursday after I get my film developed. It's fantastic and I really enjoyed knitting this purse. Now I'm making one for myself! The one I just finished is for a friend who just finished the Walt Disney World Marathon today. She was fantastic!

Today I also started back running. My best friend joined me for a 3.5 mile run around Queen Anne on my favorite running route. It was a nice sunny crisp day which contributed to a wonderful run!

Rebecca

Photo Day

Today is photo day! I finally took all my pictures in for development and got them scanned into the computer. Click here to see my latest additions to my knitting gallery.

For pictures of Zubin helping me knit, click here.

I hope to have my trip photos up soon. The scanner started bugging out which is why they aren't up yet.

Happy Thursday to all!

Snow Day!

It's a snow day here in Western Washington and all the news channels are on serious snow alert. It's only snowed a few inches but there is a layer of ice beneath that snow. Also since it never snows here, people are freaking out and sliding all over the roads. The snow is really coming down now!

I'm staying home to knit but that's not too different than what I'd be doing if it wasn't snowing. I did turn in some applications yesterday and will do some more job searching today. This not working thing is getting old though I am getting in a lot of knitting time!

I've started the Chicago Bag designed by Theresa. It's great fun and I'm finding the pattern to be quite easy to read.

I do wonder though if other people have the same issue reading patterns that I do. I simply can not read the pattern all the way through and understand what I am supposed to do BUT if I am knitting while reading the pattern, then I have no problem understanding what is happening.

Rebecca

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!