Monday, February 28, 2005

Ribby, We Have A Problem....

Argh...Did you hear a primal scream At approximately 6 a.m. Friday?

It was me.

After knitting several rows (armhole shaping) on Ribby's back I noticed there was an incongruity....

"Hmm...did I just run out of ribbing rows on this side? Huh. That's funny...don't I have more ribbing rows on the other side left? Huh. That's weird."

Out of complete denial, I decided I had forgotten to decrease on one side. Yeah...that was it. So, I continued on a bit. Hmmm. There is still something wrong here....

So, I carefully laid it out...smoothed it....hmmmmmmm. Then, I saw The Problem. I had two more ribbing rows on one side than the other. You will realize, that at this point, I am two full skeins into the back...almost 400 yards. Countless hours.......

True to form, I promptly picked it up and carted it back to my room where it was unceremoniously crammed into a bag. Rip out all that work? Try to go on with it obviously mucked up? It makes my head hurt to even think about it. Sorry, Marie....unless something drastic happens, you will not see my Ribby in three weeks!

You will, however, see my new socks!!! I am having FUN with two circ socks...the pattern is smartly written, just enough of a stitch pattern I have to pay attention but not so much I lose everything if I set it down...and the yarn! OMG...Over The Rainbow handpainted superwash sock yarn is awesome!

Lastly, wayyyy cool news for me: I'm moving!! We are currently housed in a 40-year-old singlewide pink (yes, pink) mobile home plagued by dry rot and mold. Due to "stuff" I thought I would be stuck there forever....but....The Universe has seen fit to offer me an opportunity in the form of a truly lovely, less than 3 year old home! I will be renting, not buying, but I tell you, I don't know if I could be happier even were I buying! I will have a big increase in rent, so I will be knitting strictly from stash for awhile...It won't be unmanageable..It just means I have to start being accountable and responsible...and...well, grown up I guess. My motivation is huge...this is the best thing to be offered to my little family in forever...and I am going for it! :)

The theme from The Jefferson's (I don't want to hear it if you are too young to know what this is...) has been playing in my head all morning...

"Movin' on up....to the top.... to a de-luxe apartment in the sky......"

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Don't Make Me Come In There!!

Have you seen that commercial where the boy and girl are in the back seat of the car and he just keeps touching her? Just b-a-r-e-l-y touching her with the very t-i-p of his finger...then they are on the beach... same deal. The parents exchange annoyed glances, but that's about all.

This is not reality. Oh, the sibling stuff is real enough...but real parents? They would be responding a little differently:

"STOP IT!"
"LEAVE your sister ALONE!"
"Just walk away from him...stop it...stop it....I SAID STOP IT!"
"He's just trying to get you mad and you fussing is exactly what he wants....stop it!"
"STOP!"
"Don't MAKE me come in there!"

Finally, the one that occassionally makes my children pause - barely:
"I've had it! You don't know who you're messing with here!!!!!"

This morning, I could no longer stand one minute of them going at each other. I decided to leave 15 minutes early. I loaded my stuff and set about scraping the car windows. Almost done, I hear my cell phone ringing in the car. Yup. It's Them....calling from 2 yards away, in the house. They have not realized I am still at home.

Yes, they still live. Yes, my right eye IS twitching, how did you know?

Knitting: At the armhole shaping on the back of Ribby. Renewed interest, this is a good thing.

Bound off my first Dulaan Project item, the gaiter is done. Ends have yet to be woven in, but let's not quibble, it's done.

Mohair feather and fan continues....

Strong possibility the much too small socks are about to be abandoned in favor of actually knitting them in the size (gasp) recommended.

Swatching the intensely vivid, wonderful, Over The Rainbow Lagoon sock yarn on size 1 Addi circs in order to attempt the Columbine socks from Socks Soar. Two at a time? Eh...I'll figure that out later.

Weighty issues: Today at 2 pm I have my first appointment with the clinic. Not the beginning of the actual diet per se, but the first steps.

Today's mantra: "Don't Make Me Come In There"....no, no, that's not right...

Monday, February 21, 2005

Decisions....

Low knitting content today, let's get it over with first:

Ribby: Haven't touched it in a few days...but it goes to lunch with me to meet a lovely queer man I meet twice a week. We talk and knit and it is a "good thing."

Socks on two circs: Turned the heels this weekend. Realized, yet again, I didn't read the instructions as thoroughly as I should have. Used US 3 instead of US 5. Socks will be too small for all but extremely thin-footed premature elves. Sigh. It's okay...I'm learning the skills, right? Process, process, process....

Cascade mohair Feather and Fan: Got most of my attention this weekend, now close to a foot long...maybe longer. Yum.

Cast on baby afgan in white cheapo LB baby yarn, Feather and Fan. Hey, it's the only lace pattern I can keep in my head (just 4 rows...three of them knit...). Realized at three pattern repeats it's too tight for my taste. I'll rip it and start again with two or three sizes up. Swatch? Uh...why would I do that?

Bought something at Norma's yard sale...Baby yarn. Lime, eggplant and multi Baby Norgi (I think). The colors got me...and baby, was the price right! Might not make baby stuff out of it tho. Me, me, me.......

Hmmmm. More knit content that I thought!

If you are interested, the rest of the post is devoted to weight, weigth loss, and thoughts. If you're not interested, you have my blessings to go surf away. Hearing about weight loss isn't everyone's cuppa, aye?

My cuppa runneth over....too much over.

I have faced the hard reality that despite doing Weight Watchers the better part of the last year, switching to Fresca rather than regular soda, joining a gym and getting more exercise (not that I was a gym rat, by ANY means), and trying to make really good choices....I weigh exactly what I did May 7, 2004.....240 pounds. I have gained, lost, regained, lost and generally messed with the same 10-15 pounds, only to land exactly where I was almost a year ago.

Reminder, I am 40 years old (almost 41, blech), 5' 0.5", small to medium frame.....and I weigh 240 pounds. Most of my weight is carried in my abdomen now. It used to be lower body - Hips, thighs, etc. Somewhere over the last few years it migrated to my belly. I have a strong family history of diabetes, heart disease and stroke. I am now in the red zone for all of those entities myself.

So....I am taking a leap.

I am going to start a medically supervised program at a local medical clinic. They use meal replacements - Shakes, bars, prepackaged food - only at first, then begin slowly adding in "real food" with an emphysis on fruits, veggies etc.

It will consist of 13 weeks of "their" food ONLY, plus non-calorie beverages. 1.5 hour a week nutrition, behavior modification classes required, one physical check for BP, etc a week. A load of lab tests and an EKG before starting with labs run periodically through the program. A committment to burn 2000 calories a week. After I hit 13 weeks, I can make a decision with the doctor - lose more or stop. Once I stop the weight loss phase, I go into 18 months of maintanance with the same 1.5 hours a week in classes and committment to burning 2000 calories a week. If I need more maintanance or want to lose more weight I can. They do not tell me how much to lose, I stop when I want to stop. Of course, being managed by a doctor, they aren't going to let me lose past the limits of health, not that I can remotely imagine that.

The program uses HMR products/plan and is used by hospitals, medical clinics etc all over the US. Expensive? A bit...but nothing compared to a heart attack, diabetes, or stroke or the emotional pain I suffer at trying and trying....and getting nowhere. Covered by insurance? Nope. Not one thin dime. Of course, my insurance company would shell out mega bucks should I have any of the aforementioned health crises....but they won't pay a penny, even if it is medically supervised and ordered by a physician. So...I suspect I'm going to be knitting a lot more from stash....

Go Here to see the HMR website, Here to see some incredible success stories. Don't freak out at the speed that these people lost weight, remember, it is medically supervised....not like Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem.

Wish me success.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

The Sun Is Shining....

I am sooo ready for spring. All this ranting and raving round the blogs about doldrums, yeah, that's me. There are crocus sprouting downtown...trees are budding out...spring, I tell ya, spring.

Knitting: Almost to the part where I shape the armholes for the back of Ribby. Started trying to knit two socks on two circs at the same time (don't hate me Ryan). First try was a big ol' bust. Size 3 addi naturas flew across the room while foul language...well...fouled the air. Second go has me about an inch into the ribbing. The secret? Doing the socks in different colors. I know, I know, it means I will only have one sock of each color done and will have to knit the rest of the set. What's your point? I would only have one sock done the DPN way anyway.... I am committed to finishing TWO of each for cold-footed urchins in Mongolia....

Got some yummy yarny goodness from Over The Rainbow (Ebay). Oh. My. God. Wow. I can't decide what to do with it, it's that cool.

Also started a feather and fan scarf out of Cascade Yarns mohair...I think the name is Sissi. Don't quote me. It's blue/yellow/green and ... well... it wanted to come home with me.

Pact? What pact? I don't know what you're all talkin' bout. So my stash is a bit out of control? It's just yarn.....

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Too Much Stash

I am embarrassed, actually, by the realization of exactly how much yarn I have crammed into the house.

Looking for sock yarn last night (yes, I AM about to get back on the sock mania thing, why do you ask?), I kept finding stuff.

"Hmm, forgot about that."

"Oh man...forgot about that!"

"Now when did I get THAT?"

When I finally escaped the now-yarn-strewn bedroom, I could feel myself blushing from sheer embarrassment at my addiction. Deciding something must be done...I made a pact with myself: No purchases of yarn of ANY kind unless something else is finished....ALL the way finished...not just cast aside. That little pact frees me up to start knitting more Dulaan Project stuff out of stash...then you know...I can, yeah..ahem..get more yarn.

Have you been over to Yarn Harlot yet today? Ed-u-cational. Not necessarily knitting educational....but educational none the less. Go...look at her links...get educated. I have been wandering around the office asking people, "Did you know they only freeze your head??"

The Sci-Fi freak in me is fascinated...

Saturday, February 05, 2005

Ribby Sleeves.....Check!

Whew...I began to wonder if they would ever end! I finally bound them off this morning. Now I wonder that they aren't pretty long for me...One of my major complaints as a "woman of size" is the issue that most patterns (sewing-wise, anyway..I don't have any experience with knit patterns!) and off the rack clothes for a size 1x and up are made for women who are 6' tall with ape arms. Yes, I am a large woman, but I am also 5' tall. Even if I shortened it, it doesn't "hang" right half the time, the line of the garment is spoiled. Petite sizes sometimes go as high as an 18, but in my experience it's on the small side of 18.

Hopefully, I will continue to gain experience with my knitting and learn how to tell when something will be too long and how to correct it at the right spot...

How are you doing Marie?? Pretty silent over at Knitti-Me, she must be knitting up a storm....

Thursday, February 03, 2005

Feeling Fidgety

Argh....antsy, fidgety....and just a wee bit of cranky.

I want to start the Must Have Cardi...but no yarn and no pattern yet. Granted, it's a bit soon for either to be here yet, but seeing the posts have me salivating.

Getting a bit bored with the sleeves of Ribby. At least I am finally flipping done with the increases...one good reason to lose weight: Smaller sizes.

I did cast on for a gaiter for the Dulaan Project. It's my "break/lunch" knitting. Cascase Quatro in Red, Pink...and yeah. Two other colors. I think. Admission: I had no clue what a gaiter was before the Project began. (If you don't know, I'll tell you: a tube to wear around your neck... or on your head if you so desire). Better than a scarf. I am exceedingly tired of scarves. They fit the bill for break knitting...but I am so uninspired I rarely finish them. I think I have knitter's ADHD as someone blogged about while back.

I suspect I can attribute part of my crankiness to Weight Watchers. Not the organization or even the program...just being on it. I'm at the end of my first week and the gloss of "I'm going to get healthy!! I'm going to lose weight!" has waned. Probably why they suggest you go to lots of meetings...like I have time. I did lose 3 pounds this first week. woo hoo. Excited, aren't I? I think it's that crabby I-want-to-eat-whatever-the-hell-I-want-thank-you-very-much zone.

That would be the mentality that got me where I am today, I believe. grump grump grump.

On a brighter note, Marie is planning on meeting up with me when I am in Richmond (CA) for Rakkasah end of March. It will be the first time I've met a blog buddy in person. That cheers me right up, actually! (Now who's fickle, eh Norma?). Marie suggested we be photographed in our Ribby Cardis. Marie, dear, you suppose I'll finish the silly thing...by then. I am also having doubts the darn thing will fit at first, but perhaps by March 22....

Weight Watchers, Weight Watchers.....rah.....rah....grump.

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

I Am The Mother Of A Superhero

Yes...yes it's true. Of course, I didn't know it until yesterday morning. But, isn't that the way of it? So often mothers are in the dark as to their childrens super powers. The Big News of my son's superpowers came as a bit of a surprise to me...

See, I am an only child. Yup, lonely only, that's me. All of the cousins my age were girls. All the neighborhood kids were girls (well, mostly). I really knew very few boys growing up. Then, as a mom, I had three girls first....then along came The Man Cub.

It has been quite something learning to parent a boy. Anyone who tells you "they are just the same" is lying through their teeth. I especially began to fear that my son was, well, a deviant. He seemed unnaturally obsessed with his private parts...greatly enjoyed whipping it out when he was about 4 and chasing his sisters... getting them to squeal or have a complete fit, depending on their age. Now, at 8, his great enjoyment consists of standing (fully clothed, mind you) with hands on hips, slightly thrusting his hips forward and saying "pssssssss....I'm peeing on you!" to my utter discouragement and his sister's complete disgust. These reactions only seem to fuel him further.

But, I digress. Suffice to say, I am not familiar with man cubs. It has been a learning experience.

So...Yesterday, as I sat knitting away on Ribby's sleeves, the Man Cub approached. He stood by my chair, and I heard the familiar "psssssss" sound hissing from his lips. Tired, un-caffienated, I muttered, "Please, will you just stop?"

He turns to me and says, "I'm shooting webs out my penis!"

My response: "Okayyyyyyyy..."

Man Cub: (striking a pose, chest thrust out, hands on hips) "I'm....PENIS MAN!"

Me: "Wellll, buddy...you might get in quite a bit of trouble whipping it out in public..."

Man Cub: (indignant) "I wouldn't SHOW anyone!!!......well....maybe a few people..."

While being thrilled of course that I have spawned a superhero...I still harbor a few niggling fears of his growing up to be a complete deviant. Sigh. Motherhood....who knew?