knitting mostly

Or should I say, this is about other people's knitting, since mine has completely stalled despite the lack of lovely yarn and patterns covering my couch.

I just wanted to share this story by futuregirl about knitting with a stranger in the park.

I think I first saw mention of this by ElectroGirl, but it might have been mooncalf as she has the banner up now too, but a new-to-me blog I'm following is eskimimiknits.com who has organized the upcoming Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. The main post for the details is here but basically it's encouraging us crafters to blog every day for a week and also to write about unified themes. I hope to take part in this and continue this odd burst of blogging to hopefully continue it as a regular thing.

I've also been tweaking the layout - added a blog list of which ones I read the most lately on the right there, and added a link to my Flickr photostream. I like the boxes and colors of this basic blog template, but I don't like that there is so much empty page space. Maybe it's time to refresh my html skills and write my own templates again.

Oh, and today marks a whole week of tracking eating and working out. Go me!

I'm so out of shape! I just did the first 10 minute workout on the Biggest Loser 30-day Jumpstart dvd and I'm sweating. I guess that's good, but I was doing all the modified moves for the out of shape people! Tara led this one and she's definitely off her count but it was neat. The group was a hot mess though! There's a bunch of Bob's tips on this dvd too. I'm off to do another one!

Head up, young person

Last week was a good week. I am finally feeling better after being knocked out by an intense sinus infection for a week and missing Easter with my family.

Last week I:
-planned a visit home to visit with family and friends, and to say goodbye to my high school, Nazareth Academy, which is closing after 139 years of educating young women. I will get a chance to reconnect with people I haven't seen in almost 20 years. Friends that I wish I had been closer to in high school that I will hopefully forge a better connection with now.
-worked out at the gym. Finally! I have been trying to stay on track with being active, but having that sinus issue put me right off of life, never mind working out.
-cleaned the top of the stove. Doesn't seem like much right? I took the top of the stove OFF and put it in the bathtub, and scrubbed it with all my might using cleanser with bleach and a scrubby sponge. There is still one spot that is a bit stained, but it had built up over time so hopefully now that I have the stove top 99% clean I can remove that stain over time.
-gotten a new kitchen counter set up and picked up the kitchen - BIG project
-cast on for Emmaline, a bulky knit short-sleeve top
-washed 5 loads of laundry. Yes, I live alone, but I hate doing laundry and it builds up, and I had a big pile of towels and rags that I had used to mop up the leaks in my apartment when we had the bad storms a few weeks back, and yes, I'm just getting to them now.
-started back on the whole eat healthy, live healthy thing. Counting calories, counting everything, really, because I don't have a sense anymore of what I eat or what it contains. It's back to basics while I relearn what my body actually needs. I use the tools at SparkPeople, but if anyone has suggestions of other free tracker and community sites, I'm listening.

To-DO this week: (yes, I know it's already Tuesday but I forgot to post this entry Sunday night, so I'm modifying it, alright?)
-repot seedlings
-plant more seeds - lettuce, sage, (first ones seem to have died) tomatoes, and a few other things.
-go to the gym. Yes, AGAIN.
-keep tracking
-go to bed by midnight most nights
-do some yoga
-maybe get around to putting my laundry away
-read The Little Stranger for my book group meeting on Sunday (352 pages to go)
-oh, and knit

Ta-dah!!! 4.17.10

Ta-dah!!! 4.17.10
Originally uploaded by bareblueskin
Here's a picture of the new kitchen countertop! I can't believe how much better this makes the kitchen look. It even covers up the ucky hole in the linoleum. Score! I need to wait for the caulk on the top to dry for 10-12 hours and I can set up the microwave and such. I don't even know what I want to put on the shelves. Guess I'll have to experiment. Yay!

If you're wondering why this is so great, here is a shot of what the kitchen looked like before. It's like a still from Hoarders. This apartment kitchen has no useable storage. The cabinets are metal and hung a bit too high. I think you need to be at least 6 feet tall to see what it on the top shelf. The sink and counter unit is also metal and says "Beauty Queen" on it. On the right side shelves are too deep and short to be of much use, and on the left and under the sink it's just open space, so everything is piled on top of everything else. And I mention counter space? No, because there wasn't any. Until now.

Brows

I've drawn my eyebrows on today. Can you tell? I think my left one (on the right in the pic) is a bit too heavy, but that's the balding one so it was hard to do. I look like I'm wearing full-on makeup don't I? But it's just brows and eyeliner. Hmph.