Challenge Complete!

I have survived the 28 days of blogging! Yes, that's right my friends- I have clogged your feed readers with my ramblings every single day this month.

It was a busy busy day for this gal. Lack of sleep from the monsoon that woke me up twice certainly didn't make the day any easier.

Work (duh)

Wig busted

Eyebrows tamed (holy desperate! They were literally growing in a straight line across my forehead.)

Bills Paid

Last knit night at Lambikins- I'm super sad right now have no fear, knit night will go on.



And of course, since I am wrapping up the month of February, I might as well have started a new project right?! Of course! This beautiful skein of yarn named Spice Trader, dyed by Mindy, will become a Haruni by Emily Moss. Nothing like a little enabling at knit night to get a new project started right! Mindy will be doing the same only in a lovely regal purple and she is adding beads- she is teaching a class in a few weeks. Since I pretty much have to knit whatever Mindy does because she picks the best patterns, of course I had to choose this one.

Ewe3 Rosalind- Spice Trader

I seriously think I might be obsessed with Shawls/Shawlettes- I've definitely caught the bug. I tie them around my neck and I think they are just the most awesome accessory! (I wore my Damask today, see above) This will be my 7th shawl in the last 7 months. I'm pretty sure that diagnoses me.

Here is a gorgeous Haruni all spread out looking lovely:

<>

By SmokingHotNeedles

By RainMommy - This is more how I would wear it.

I've got it all set up and almost finished with the first repeat of the first chart. Seems like a pretty straightforward pattern thus far- Should make for great travel knitting!

Oscars

Nothing really interesting around here today. I am settling in and watching Oscar red carpet coverage.

Here is an adorable photo of the furkid who tried helping when I switched out the sheets and duvet yesterday. She wasn't so much a helper but she did burrow herself a comfy little napping place in a remarkably short time!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

We're gonna Sco-o-ore tonight!

Last night we did something I haven't done in a long long time. We went bowling!

We precluded our bowling outing by meeting up with some friends for dinner. The lovely Lils kept everyone entertained and I had some fun playing with my camera.





We ended up playing 3 games and ended with total domination by us girls!

K and A (That's Me!)





Game One



Game 2

  

Game 3- DOMINATION! That's me at the top :)



2buckeyes

Post-bowling ended with a nightcap at a local bar where we heard a surprisingly great cover band. When you see the name "Booger Prestley" on the board you likely aren't thinking of some great talent. But they were good! Played excellent music that we could all sing along too, and the singers voice was actually pretty great.



Getting up today took a little bit of effort but we did make it out of the house to run some errands and grocery shop. Now it's time to just relax the rest of the day away.

Perhaps some knitting...

Fill in the Blank

1.   I am currently obsessed with       shawlettes. Lovely little accessories to wrap around my neck and add some sass to my outfits. Luckily I love making them and I have a designer friend Mindy who specializes in these :).

2.  Today I am    excited     because,     i finally get to go pick up my new glasses!

3.  The age I am is    27     and the age I feel is    27. I'm right where I want to be. I love my life, the people in it, my house, everything.

4.  My favorite place is     probably my house. Or anywhere that I can be in the company of my favorite people .

5.  Something I have been procrastinating is     decorating. Seriously, there are rooms in this house that almost 5 years later are still barren on the walls and without decor.

6.  The last thing I purchased was        Homage tees during the BOGO sale! Softest t-shirts in the entire world but not very cheap so I couldn't pass up the deal   .

7.  The thing I love most about my home is       the man and cat I share it with. A house wouldn't be a home without those 2  .

 

Yeah

It is one of those days.

Stemless glass from IKEA
Pinot Grigio from Barefoot Wines

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Day 1

 Trust the program. It works. After that disaster of a Monday attempt, I made my vow to start over. Back to square 1.

I did. It didn't look like it would go well- I worked all day long from 8-7:30 including travel time, came home, got changed, checked out podcasts, and then hauled my cookies to the Y. Unfortunately I left my ipod shuffle at home and thought if I returned for it I would not go back out. So I completed today sans music and distractions. It wasn't as terrible as I thought. I was able to focus and really pay attention to what I was doing.

Week 1 Day 1 consists of a 5 minute warmup walk followed by intervals for 20 minutes: 60 seconds of running then 90 seconds of walking. Sounds easy right? Not for someone straight off the couch! I am committed to running this time at a 6.0, or 10 minute miles. Quite speedy compared to the 5.0 pace I kept last time. I ran at a 6.0 and walked at a 4.0-4.3 the entire time, except for the end. The last 60 second run I bumped to a 6.5 (9:13 mile) and then for good measure I ran an extra 30 seconds at a 7.0 at the end. (I was thisclose to 2 miles and felt like I needed the sprint to boost my confidence.



Week 1, Day 1 - Success



It wasn't easy but it wasn't a run from hell. Obviously easier in the beginning and then harder as my endurance was being challenged. But I did it and felt great- plus it was only 25 minutes plus a little bit of stretching. When I was driving home from work dreading the whole thing I got to thinking- I'm likely going to sit on the couch for at least 25 minutes tonight and watch sitcoms and reality TV (HELLO ANTM PREMIERE!!), I might as well be spending some of that time at the gym and watch later on DVR without commercials.

Post-workout I even cooked dinner! Mr. Buckeye is gone for the night so I ate something he wouldn't touch with a 10 ft. pole. A FABULOUS dinner salad!

Butter Bliss Lettuce Mix, grilled chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms, feta cheese, carrots, Raspberry Vinaigrette

Damask Shawl

Another fabulous shawl to add to my wardrobe!

I finished my Damask Shawl over the weekend and even managed to get some time to block it.

I'll shout it from the rooftops any chance that I get- blocking is magic and works wonders on knitting. Especially for lace. It really is a must to get it to it's full potential. Essentially, blocking is soaking the knitted object in a wool wash or some kind- I prefer Eucalan, Squeezing the excess water out, and then stretching and pinning the object to shape and letting it dry. There are many ways to block, helpful tools such as wires for straight lines and mats for pinning but I just use the spare twin bed and cotton thread- pull it tight for straight lines and then lots of pins to get the shape I want. The shell-like edge of this shawl was what made me fall in love with it.

Pre-blocked and all scrunched up

Blocked to it's full potential

Already rocked it twice- once casual, and once for work

un-blocked lace resembles Ramen Noodles

Blocking lets the lace really shine

Pattern: Damask Shawl by Kitman Figueroa
Yarn: Rosalind by Ewe3
Color: Citrine
My Ravelry Project Page!

Starting Over Sucks

I was poised this morning to have an AWESOME! SPECTACULAR! Super fantastic run today. (Despite the fact it has been raining cats and dogs all day- dreadmill here I come)

Yay! Running! SO! MUCH! FUN!

 And yet I returned home after an embarrassing 1.2 miles with my head hung in shame.

I take back all those !!! from this morning. Running is not so much fun.

Once again, the running gods have picked me up and thrown me against the wall. This process is painful, and not fun all the time. I was reading back through my archives from training and I want to feel those highs again. Looks like I'll be starting back at square one. I'm going back to my trusted Couch to 5k. And yes, I'll be starting at Day 1- even though in my mind that is going back to far. I'm going back- and I'm going to run faster.

Thinking that not running consistently for a few months would have no effect on my starting point was just flat out stupid.

Today: Epic Fail. But I'll try again.

Paparazzi

The hubs surprised me with a new camera for Valentine's Day.

I now am the proud owner of a new Canon Powershot sd1400is.

It has some fun shooting modes that I am loving right now.

Fisheye mode - Our lamp on the back porch

Macro option- This little guy was walking on the patio

I am really pleased with the images for such a compact point and shoot camera. I've only gotten to play a couple of days but I'm looking forward to really figuring out everything that I can do ith it.

Shades

Finally! Made it back to the eye Dr. And left with new glasses ordered, new contacts, new prescription, and new sunglasses.

Happy happy!Special thanks to Mr. Buckeye for picking them out. I never would have seen them!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Fill in the Blank

1.   I am       a wife, daughter, sister, aunt. I am also dramatic, witty, and sarcastic. Or so I've been told  

2.  The bravest thing I've ever done was    tackle an alligator in a swamp to save an infant child from being eaten... or not. Like I said, I'm dramatic. I did see an alligator in Tampa this week though.

3.  I feel prettiest when       My hair curls just right and I wear red lipstick for no reason at all  .

4.  Something that keeps me awake at night is   sounds. Creepy soft sounds- like the house settling.

5.  My favorite meal in the entire world is     Skyline Chili. It's a sickness. But I'm okay with it.

6.  The way to my heart is        humor. Want to melt my heart? Make my laugh.

7.  I would like to       learn how to take amazing photos with a DSLR camera, once I get one in a few years of course .

Home again home again

Jiggity jig.

I survived my first business trip and am now snuggled in bed till March.

I'm completely exhausted.

Goodnight.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Good to know

I managed to get outside for roughly 8 minutes today and stumbled upon this bit of information.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Masters of disguise

I am currently 800 miles away from home and completely exhausted after a 12+ hour day of travel and meetings.

Here is my favorite pic from Saturday.

Thank you and goodnight.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

It is now tradition

I think if it is 3 years in a row it is now tradition.

Dinner at PF Changs and a movie.

Dinner was delicious and Just Go With It was adorable. We laughed our butts off.

Happy Valentine Day!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Its a miracle!

Lights down before Valentine day.

Mission complete!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Saturday-o-fun

I am hanging out with my favorite people today. That is all.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Fill in the Blank

I decided to link up over at The Little Things We Do for this week's Fill in the Blank Friday so if you are hopping over from there- Welcome!

1.   The TV show/website that I watch/read that I would be embarrassed to tell anyone about is       Considering I watch a whole bunch of TV and am pretty vocal about it, there isn't much I'm embarrassed to say I watch. Unless maybe I'd count Toddlers and Tiaras. I simply can't help myself. It's a trainwreck and I can't stop watching.

2.  An item of clothing that is worn and torn but that I love far to much to throw away is    the jeans I bought for my bachelorette party. I wore them so much that I snapped one of the belt loops on a fat day pulling them on but still wore them for a while. I haven't worn them in a few months since I found new jeans at NY&Co.

3.  My grocery store impulse buy is       vegetables. I have such high hopes when I buy that bag of carrots and lettuce yet I end up throwing them away when they go bad. I need to eat more veggies and I have good intentions but the bag of chips always wins out against the veggies.

4.  Something I do at work to pass time that I wouldn't want my co-workers to know about is   I don't do anything at the office that I wouldn't want people to know about.

5.  One thing in my life that I could give up, but never will is     I'll have to defer to the original post here on this one. It is possible, highly improbbable, but possible that I could give up social networking- blogs, twitter, facebook, etc. but never ever would.

6.  A little indulgence that I have is        sweets. Ice cream, chocolate, cake. Sometimes you just want a cupcake ya know? (see also, Twinkie reference from earlier this week) .

7.  The junk drawer/area in my house is       in the kitchen, and full. Full of random crap, coupons, keys, cards, tools, and who knows what else .

Here Comes The Sun...

Pretend you don't see those Christmas Lights... they are an illusion.

Be do do do....

Can it be? Is that really a shining beacon I see in a bright blue sky?? It may still be colder than hell out but seeing that this morning did wonders for my soul.

...And then I remembered on the highway that I left my coffee on the counter and my badge on my slacks from yesterday. Better morning FAIL.

Ask and Receive

You know the day probably isn't going to go so fantastic when one of the first things you do is lock yourself out of your master bedroom and then have to break into it before you leave for the day because you are paranoid you left the straightener on... but you didn't.

But luckily that didn't happen to me this morning... okay fine. It did.

Because I am such an awesome blogger I luckily had already taken photos of the aforementioned items from yesterdays post. Stephanie said she would love to see... and so, I'm happy to oblige.

The delightful Twinkie

Sunbeams that lit up my heart

The lovely golden yarn called Citrine by Ewe3

I'll have some actual project photos later this week. For now, I'm snuggling up on the couch with my project and some Oprah. Too bad I just started DVRing her this year and I'll be super sad now that it is becoming my after work ritual to watch her from the day.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Why

So I have thought of at least a handful of things that I would blog about today but I had to stop myself and think- Why on earth would I blog that?

I thought about the Twinkie I had for a snack today- and how I thought it was funny that the Mr. and I saw a tv show Friday night on the travel channel that showed the factory where they made Twinkies and all of a sudden we decided we just had to have them. Honestly though, it wasn't as good as I remember them. Although it did take me back.

Then I thought about the beautiful sunset Friday night that we saw on the way to dinner. I could literally see the individuals rays shining between the clouds. It took my breath away.

Then perhaps I would blog about the newest shawl I am working on. It's completely stunning and I am in love with it. So much so that in only 2 days I have quite a bit done and it could be ready for blocking this weekend. It's an amazing golden color and the pattern is delightfully challenging and gorgeous.

I've hit a roadblock and I'm only 8 days in to this 28 days of blogging. Now perhaps I'm just having one of those weeks and blogging for the sake of blogging is just irritating or maybe I've got to rethink the focus and what I want to do. Either way, it just keeps flashing the question "WHY" in front of me.

Hopefully I will figure it out soon.

Why do you blog?

Not feeling it

Sloth Monster strikes again!

Not feeling it tonight.

Sunday Funday

Yeah, not so much. Again the sloth monster has invaded.

I did manage to get to the grocery store and spent too much money on who knows what.

We have some friends coming for the game, but I'm really looking forward to GLEE!

Source

To bathe or not to bathe

I have recently contemplated giving Chloe a bath... sure she spends hers days either eating, laying in the sun, sleeping, or bathing (mostly eating)- but I think she is starting to stink.

I was thinking maybe I could try to give her a bath. I found this cat that doesn't seem to mind.



Although I am pretty sure that if I tried to put Chloe in a bathtub with water she would have a nervous breakdown and then plot her revenge for the rest of my life.

I'm trying to decide if it's worth it...

Fill in the Blank Friday!

1. If I could only read one magazine publication for the rest of eternity, I would choose Self. I don't know why I love that magazine but I do. A little bit of health, a little gossip, some fashion, some food. Enough said..

2. If I were to run my own magazine it would be about well, it would have to be something I know about and could talk and talk and talk about for hours... So probably crafting... or celebrity gossip.

3. I buy my magazines (at the grocery check stand or via subscription) at the grocery check stand. They are typically on impulse as I'm waiting in a loooong line. (Great job marketing and product placement!) I had a subscription to a couple magazines at one time but even still felt the impulse while stanging in line.

4. I prefer my magazines (in print or online) 100% in print. I am still struggling with owning my nookColor and reading books on it, I don't think I'll ever do magazines on it. The sheer convenience is so worth it but I love the feel of magazines in my hand- throwing them around at the pool, at the gym, etc. Plus, sharing it easier.

5. The number of magazines I buy each month is many one or 2? After hoarding magazines for a while and getting rid of them, I decided to try and limit myself and only buy if it's something I really want to read or if it applies to the above mentioned times. I still do buy Self a couple times a year but I can borrow magazines at the gym and I haven't been to the beach in a while so no need there...

6. My favorite magazine genre is (lifestyle, gossip, home, etc...) Probably celeb gossip because I could pour over the same issues of OK and Us Weekly finding new things I didn't see before. But I also like the lifestyle-health magazines because they motivate me to be healthy and I can find new products, recipes, etc. to help.

7. The magazines I read regularly are whatever is next to me in the supermarket or in a waiting room. Usually Us Weekly and OK or Self or Lucky. The subscriptions I've had previously were for Self and Cosmo.

What are your favorite magazines?

Commuting

Tuesday was a slight off day for me. I was just having one of those days where everything felt off. You know the day I'm talking about- where all you want to do is just sit there and have an ugly cry. But you don't. You just feel dumpy and out of control. Yes, Tuesday was one of those days for me.

Luckily for me though, I got out of the house on Wednesday and made my way into the office. I'm still trying to adjust my routine now that I'm partially working remote from home- the whole getting up and getting showered and dressed when you have no where to go but down the hall to your office is challenging. I've done okay so far but again, Tuesday was one of those days.

One of the bad parts about driving into the office is the location. Sure, we are 2buckeyesinCinci... but in reality, we are northwest of the city... and I work south of the city. Which makes for a brutal commute on one of the worst highways in the country. Seriously- # 36 on the list of America's 75 Worst Commutes is the route I'm talking about. The number of weekly hours of bottleneck congestion? 86! It is the absolute most frustrating feeling to get into my car in the morning knowing that I will be sitting, literally sitting in traffic and that a couple of miles will take me at least 15 minutes and then the heavens open and the traffic is gone. It's just brutal and it blows my mind every single day.

Now Wednesday the traffic guru's must have been watching out for me because I had a great commute not once, but twice! The commute actually took the expected 45 minutes that it should be every day. Hallelujah!

But the potholes. I need to lodge a formal complaint with the city because holy hell they are everywhere. Potholes every quarter mile in all sections of the lanes in all lanes. Big ones, small ones, cracks, craters. I swear some are turning into sinkholes.

It's going to be a looong winter till they can repair the highway although that Punk Phil didn't see his shadow so come March 20, I'll expect perfect highways and no more potholes.

Snotorious B.I.G '11

So everyone else seems to be commenting on the weather situation that is just crushing the midwest, actually 1/3 of the US right now.

Of course, Cinci is no different.

Now, I won't tell you about the layer of ice that is covering our Roof and Christmas Lights... that would mean admitting that our Christmas Lights are still up... and it is now February.

However, I will mention that I did venture outside once on Tuesday and almost went ass over elbows in a lame effort to collect the mail. Our driveway has been replaced by an ice luge that would have sent me shooting through the caul-de-sac faster than Clark Griswold and his non-caloric silicon based kitchen lubricant buffed saucer.


Source















There wasn't anything but junk mail in there anyway- so not worth the risk.

What holiday movie keeps you laughing every single year?

Challenge

So my friend Mandy over at Big City! Baby has issued a challenge. For herself and for others that would like to join. Now I wavered back and forth on this- do I accept the challenge full on or with limitations? I'm still mulling it over myself.

Well I bet you are wondering what the challenge is- Since February is the shortest month in the year, she thought she would use the 28 days to blog more. As in 28 full days of blogging. Now we all know that I am severely lacking in on time and consistent content around these parts so I thought sure- I can take that challenge!

But wait...

That means blogging on the weekends too???

Well, once I read further into it that a post can be whatever we want it to be- A long one, a couple sentences, a photo, etc. So long as we are making a conscious effort to spend some time each day.

Well then Mandy- I suppose I accept your challenge!

Though I make no promises there won't be plenty of fluff to take up space and time...

Gratuitious Fat-head.... I mean Cat-head shot of the day