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.

Well I wasn't planning on...

Well I wasn't planning on blocking it. And it's going to drive me crazy. must be time to rip...iI'm only 8 rows in. better now than later.

Here is the beginning of my Citron shawl. I think I need tl start over. See the column on the right lf stktches that are bigger than the others? That means I have to redo, right?

Going green all around

Today I did many green things. I just watched the documentary No Impact Man. Earlier today I stirred up my compost bin and added more paper and soil because the mix has gotten a bit wet. I set up a light and moved my smallest plant seedlings under it to get them a bit stronger. I took photos of my lovely green malabrigo yarn and started knitting a swatch to make sure my needle size is correct. I still need to split up the seedlings so they have enough room to grow, but I figured the light is the most important piece of this equation.

Shawl sans spine in green

I was wandering around on Ravelry yesterday and wondered if Knitty had a new issue out for spring. Well no, they don't, but apparently I never looked at the Winter 2009 issue. In that issue I found my new project. Citron is a lovely little shawl/scarf with a ripple to the edge and some texture without really being lace. Sure, the pattern uses lacewight yarn, and knits up like lace, but the end result looks much more solid than a typical lace shawl. Here is the shawl on Ravelry.

I love the color used in the demo shawl, but when I got to Windsor they didn't have that in laceweight (lettuce, here on the right). Well, I found it in worsted and the color is much for yellow for me to wear anyway. Problem solved. Or so I thought, when I approached the Malabrigo lace basket and found two different greens and a light blue that all wanted to come home with me and become a shawl. I bought 2 skeins of Sapphire Green (in the middle). This is my first malabrigo purchase!! I'm excited, can you tell? The others in my knitting group rave about this yarn, and I fondle it every time someone brings a project with this yarn. I think it's time for me to make myself something decadent, that will be worn next to the skin, that will hopefully be my go to item. I bought some size 8 Addi lace needles, but I'll have to swatch and make sure that my isn't so tight that I need to up another needle size. The pattern calls for 6s, but I typically need to up two needle sizes.

Amy, if you're reading this, weren't you looking for a shawl pattern without a spine? I think this might be the one for you!

Grumpy

Seeds Update

Yesterday I checked on the seeds and the 3 pots with lavender had white fuzz mold on them. I cut those 3 out and tossed them so the mold won't spread. Those seeds were old and I wasn't sure they were going to grow, but I didn't think they would mold on top. Guess I need to get some lavender seeds, though I read that planting marigolds around your vegetable garden will keep the bugs away so maybe I should get seeds for marigolds instead.

I realized I didn't list what I planted on Sunday, and I also wanted to make a chart of the germination times, so here we go!

Seed Company	Vegetable Type	Germination Rates
Burpee	Garden Bean - Greensleeves	7-14 days
Burpee	Garden Bean - Royal Burgundy	7-14 days
Burpee	Garden Bean - Super Wax	7-14 days
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds	Pepper - Purple Beauty	not listed
Burpee	Letuce - Burpee Bib	7-10 days
Botanical Interests	Carrot - Tonda di Parigi	10-25 days
Crosman's Seeds	Kale - Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch	7-10 days
Botanical Interests	Summer Squash - Black Beauty Zucchini	5-10 days
Seed Company	Herb Type	Germination Rates
Botanical Interests	Sage - Garden Broadleaf	5-15 days
Burpee	Sweet Basil	7-14 days
Seed Company	Flower Type	Germination Rates
Botanical Interests	Sweet Pea - Princess Elizabeth and Cupid Pink	10-15 days
Burpee	Viola - Helen Mount	7-14 days