I started Jillian Michaels 30 Day shred on Thur, so today I'll be doing day 3 of Level 1. I'm going to track my daily progress here to urge myself on.
Day 1 - I pushed through the entire workout without any breaks, but I was ready to die by the end of it. Was massively sore in the thighs and ass the entire day.
Day 2 - I really didn't want to do it b/c I was still really sore and hobbling up and down my stairs, but with John's motivation (Do it!) I muddled through it taking only a couple of 5 sec breaks to catch my breath. Took a long hot soak with epsom salts and crashed.
Today I'll be doing Day 3 even though I'm still really sore.
My goal is 10 lbs or at least a few inches off my waistline for Kelly's wedding on July 29 in Vegas. No more muffin top!!!!
I am knitting but with all my stress and my obsession with a new vampire novel series, I have been slacking a bit on that. I never really knit much in the summer anyway. Slowly and only when I really feel like it.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Monday, June 01, 2009
Don't go in if you are abnormally attracted to sin
Ah, the fabulousness of the great Tori Amos. While I'm not going to get into a full review of her latest album, "Abnormally Attracted to Sin," I will say it's the best she's released since the masterpiece that was "Scarlet's Walk." That one simply cannot be beat. I've been one of those insanely loyal Tori fans since 1996, when I was a moderately melancholy high school senior desperately trying to find myself amidst the fiercely conservative small town in which I was raised. Tori helped me immensely, and for that, she can do no wrong. Well, okay, "The Beekeeper" was slightly wrong, but I can forgive her for that. :)
In knitting, I've mostly finished Morgan's dress - just sewing on buttons left to do. I'm being rather lazy about it too, since it'll likely not fit her for several months.
What I've really been working on in my little Tucker factory are my own designs for my little slice of the etsy pie. I have in my mind all these really cute and maybe slightly left of center design ideas for kids, and I've been sketching and devouring awesome cables and embroidery options. I just received some business cards that I designed myself that will mostly be for my friends and family to hand out to peeps. Also, it really helps for mom networking to have something with your contact info already on it so you're not digging around your purse trying to find a pen.
So, here's a little sampling. The background is from an actualy celtic cable I knitted.
So, right now I'm in the beginning stages of being a designer. For my shop, I'm going to have ready to wear pieces, but also have the option of ordering something custom. And eventually, I'll work towards writing out patterns. It's a start.
In knitting, I've mostly finished Morgan's dress - just sewing on buttons left to do. I'm being rather lazy about it too, since it'll likely not fit her for several months.
What I've really been working on in my little Tucker factory are my own designs for my little slice of the etsy pie. I have in my mind all these really cute and maybe slightly left of center design ideas for kids, and I've been sketching and devouring awesome cables and embroidery options. I just received some business cards that I designed myself that will mostly be for my friends and family to hand out to peeps. Also, it really helps for mom networking to have something with your contact info already on it so you're not digging around your purse trying to find a pen.
So, here's a little sampling. The background is from an actualy celtic cable I knitted.
So, right now I'm in the beginning stages of being a designer. For my shop, I'm going to have ready to wear pieces, but also have the option of ordering something custom. And eventually, I'll work towards writing out patterns. It's a start.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
In the springtime of his voodoo
Spring has finally sprung in Chicagoland. I'm giddier than a school girl. I've been communing with nature in hidden places in the wilderness, soaking in the beauty of the green under canopies of trees. Oh, and I've been getting craftier than I have in a long time.
Here's a peek
This is a little cardi I'm knitting for one of my dearest friend's baby, who is due this summer. Boheme by Allegra Wermuth. It's a free ravelry download, super cute.
Next, I've been experimenting with headbands. I had these elastic headbands sitting around, and I thought it'd be cute to glue some flowers on. See, I've got mega spring fever, and my obsession with flowers has taken on a life of its own.
I plan on making some more with smaller ponytail holders, barrettes, and different styles of headbands. Now that my hair is longish, I've been learning how to style it since I've had a pixie cut for the better part of 3 years. So...more to come.
Here's a peek
This is a little cardi I'm knitting for one of my dearest friend's baby, who is due this summer. Boheme by Allegra Wermuth. It's a free ravelry download, super cute.
Next, I've been experimenting with headbands. I had these elastic headbands sitting around, and I thought it'd be cute to glue some flowers on. See, I've got mega spring fever, and my obsession with flowers has taken on a life of its own.
I plan on making some more with smaller ponytail holders, barrettes, and different styles of headbands. Now that my hair is longish, I've been learning how to style it since I've had a pixie cut for the better part of 3 years. So...more to come.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Feb Lady Sweater Part 2 is complete. She's actually been finished for a week, but I've been super lazy about pretty much everything.
Mods are really simple - short sleeves obviously, and 4 buttons instead of 3.
This is probably my favorite style of sweater ever b/c it really hides the muffin top that I've been growing for the last year. I'm furiously trying to get rid of it b/c I have to wear yet another bridesmaid dress in August. And by furiously, I mean really half-assed, which consists of going for fast paced walks or riding the elliptical 3 or 4 days a week but still eating burritos at Chipotle on Friday night with the boys. Life is too short for no burritos, damnit!
Thursday, April 09, 2009
You take the good, you take the bad, you take 'em both and there you have the facts of life
Things haven't been so blissful in the Tucker realm lately. And it's all this shit in my head swirling around, that inner critic that insults my every move, the daily frustrations of being a stay at home mom, and the 5 month long winter that may be finally coming to a close. I realize logically just how lucky I am; I have a supportive husband who has a great job in this terrible economy, I have a lovely home that I'm having fun slowly decorating and personalizing, and I have a great kid who warms my heart and puts a smile on my face with his quirkiness and flair. So I won't begin to bitch and moan about the little things that add up to take me out of the grateful comfort of this quiet life and make me want to claw my way out of what can, at times, be slightly less than fulfilling. Instead, I will just say that I am working on silencing the negativity and breeding some more creativity. With that, here are a couple of progress shots from the 2 knitting projects I've got going.
Kelso Lace Cardigan
I had intended to rush through this for my trip to TX, which was 2 weeks ago, but I got a little frustrated with the raglan decreases within the lace repeats, so it's on brief hiatus while I finish up my 2nd February Lady Sweater
February Lady
I wear the warmer version all the time, so I wanted to create one that I can wear in the spring and part of the summer. Short sleeves, which I have bound off already but may pick up and lengthen just a little b/c they flare out strangely right now. Shorter body, maybe 1 or 2 fewer repeats.
Both sweaters are made with Cotton Ease, which is quite possibly my favorite yarn to knit with.
So, more of life as usual.
Kelso Lace Cardigan
I had intended to rush through this for my trip to TX, which was 2 weeks ago, but I got a little frustrated with the raglan decreases within the lace repeats, so it's on brief hiatus while I finish up my 2nd February Lady Sweater
February Lady
I wear the warmer version all the time, so I wanted to create one that I can wear in the spring and part of the summer. Short sleeves, which I have bound off already but may pick up and lengthen just a little b/c they flare out strangely right now. Shorter body, maybe 1 or 2 fewer repeats.
Both sweaters are made with Cotton Ease, which is quite possibly my favorite yarn to knit with.
So, more of life as usual.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
The Good, The Bad, The Evs
I finished the big cables sweater a couple of weeks ago. It turned out beautifully and horribly gigantic on me. I don't know what happened there b/c I knit a 37" bust, which is 3" smaller than I am. Oh well. It'll be frogged for next winter. I'm done with wool for the next several monthsThis is my newest project. The Kelso Lace Cardigan by Suzanne Frary I downloaded from Ravelry.
It's knit in one piece from the bottom up, which I've never done before, so it's interesting. I'm using some light grey Cotton Ease, which was on super sale at Michael's last week, so I stocked up for the spring. I got some light pink as well for a possible 2nd February Lady Sweater with shorter sleeves.
I also finished Entwined from Knitty for my friend Emily. I used LB Homespun in a gorgeous color called Painted Desert, which actually reminded me of sunsets in Phoenix when I was a kid. She loves it.
In actual life news, the last few months have been extremely stressful. We're trying to figure out where Perrin will attend kindergarten next year. He's doing really well in the small, contained classrooms that are solely special needs children b/c he gets the one-on-one attention he needs to learn. Our options seem to be to throw him into a classroom with 30 students and hope he's not distracted enough to have a hard time focusing. The school doesn't have adequate sensory supports, and if he's disruptive, they don't really have much in the way of help for him. The other alternative is to put him in a school that has a class that is much more restrictive; it's solely special needs kids with behavioral problems. This year there are 4 kids in that class, and the ages range from 6 to 10. Perrin would likely be the only kindergartener in this class, which raises the issue of adequate socialization. But it is the better of the two options, so it looks like this is what we'll have to choose. For such an "affluent" community, there don't seem to be a lot of options here for children with disabilities, and that's incredibly frustrating. He's back in private occupational therapy twice a week, and we're going to get him started with therapeutic listening, which is supposed to be very helpful for kids with attention problems. This has been a very emotional roller coaster, and we're always trying to do what's best for Perrin, but it's very hard to know what that is at this point. I guess we just make a decision and hope for the best.
It's knit in one piece from the bottom up, which I've never done before, so it's interesting. I'm using some light grey Cotton Ease, which was on super sale at Michael's last week, so I stocked up for the spring. I got some light pink as well for a possible 2nd February Lady Sweater with shorter sleeves.
I also finished Entwined from Knitty for my friend Emily. I used LB Homespun in a gorgeous color called Painted Desert, which actually reminded me of sunsets in Phoenix when I was a kid. She loves it.
In actual life news, the last few months have been extremely stressful. We're trying to figure out where Perrin will attend kindergarten next year. He's doing really well in the small, contained classrooms that are solely special needs children b/c he gets the one-on-one attention he needs to learn. Our options seem to be to throw him into a classroom with 30 students and hope he's not distracted enough to have a hard time focusing. The school doesn't have adequate sensory supports, and if he's disruptive, they don't really have much in the way of help for him. The other alternative is to put him in a school that has a class that is much more restrictive; it's solely special needs kids with behavioral problems. This year there are 4 kids in that class, and the ages range from 6 to 10. Perrin would likely be the only kindergartener in this class, which raises the issue of adequate socialization. But it is the better of the two options, so it looks like this is what we'll have to choose. For such an "affluent" community, there don't seem to be a lot of options here for children with disabilities, and that's incredibly frustrating. He's back in private occupational therapy twice a week, and we're going to get him started with therapeutic listening, which is supposed to be very helpful for kids with attention problems. This has been a very emotional roller coaster, and we're always trying to do what's best for Perrin, but it's very hard to know what that is at this point. I guess we just make a decision and hope for the best.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Bow down before my face
Found this great website, via Friendly Atheist, where you can create your own miraculous image on a pancake. I fully expect to be worshipped now.
http://www.glassgiant.com/miracles/
http://www.glassgiant.com/miracles/
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