Well, I recently knit a baby hat and booties for friends of ours who are expecting at the end of February. And of course, I forgot to take a picture of my works of art before we gave it to them. It was my first time knitting stuff so small, and I'm afraid I might have gotten the openings a little too tight, but we'll see, and I'll just have to practice I guess.
What I am doing right now is knitting myself a pair of mittens. I have #1 done, know it's off to start the second. I won't forget to put a picture up of those though :)
30 January 2008
27 January 2008
LaVallee wins the gold
When I was talking to my parents today, they told me that Levi LaVallee got the gold in a new event at the Winter X Games. See his amazing moves here.
I went to high school with him (he was a couple of grades above me). I got to see him race before he went pro, and it's so good to see him doing so well. I have to say that it's pretty weird to old friends at the finish line celebrating with him, and it's pretty cool too.
I went to high school with him (he was a couple of grades above me). I got to see him race before he went pro, and it's so good to see him doing so well. I have to say that it's pretty weird to old friends at the finish line celebrating with him, and it's pretty cool too.
23 January 2008
Packing Peanuts Recycling
Last week Chris got a package that was quite large and full of packing peanuts (yes, there was of course the folding chair he ordered in there as well). I felt really bad about throwing all of those away because it was a pretty sizable box, so I hopped online to see if there were any places that recycled them.
I found this site: The Plastic Loose Fill Council
On there, I searched for places in Minnesota that reuse those and found out that there are places in Minnesota that do. We dropped it off at the UPS store off Grand and Lexington in St. Paul.
I wanted to write a post about it because I never would have guessed that there were places around that did that, especially large businesses, and since they rarely advertise these things, I felt I should get it out there.
I've been more and more interested about recycling and I find it really depressing how little we can actually recycle (I'm primarily thinking of plastics). And most plastics are only able to be recycled once! I'm trying to figure out more ways to reduce my dependence on plastics, including buying milk cartons made out of cardboard rather than plastic since that cardboard is now recyclable.
It of course depends on the recycling program in your neighborhood what is accepted or not. I was also heartbroken to find that plastic bags are not recyclable. The recycle symbol on many products are merely telling someone what type of plastic an object was made out of rather than denoting its recyclability. Little by little, I'm learning more and trying to make more conscious choices.
I found this site: The Plastic Loose Fill Council
On there, I searched for places in Minnesota that reuse those and found out that there are places in Minnesota that do. We dropped it off at the UPS store off Grand and Lexington in St. Paul.
I wanted to write a post about it because I never would have guessed that there were places around that did that, especially large businesses, and since they rarely advertise these things, I felt I should get it out there.
I've been more and more interested about recycling and I find it really depressing how little we can actually recycle (I'm primarily thinking of plastics). And most plastics are only able to be recycled once! I'm trying to figure out more ways to reduce my dependence on plastics, including buying milk cartons made out of cardboard rather than plastic since that cardboard is now recyclable.
It of course depends on the recycling program in your neighborhood what is accepted or not. I was also heartbroken to find that plastic bags are not recyclable. The recycle symbol on many products are merely telling someone what type of plastic an object was made out of rather than denoting its recyclability. Little by little, I'm learning more and trying to make more conscious choices.
21 January 2008
Girls Sunday
Yesterday, I got together with Kim, Autumn, and a few more of Kim's friends for a movie, dinner, and knitting. We started off the day with the movie 27 Dresses. It left us all feeling all warm and fuzzy inside - it was an incredible chick-flick. I almost started to cry at several points because I now get emotional at movies. It felt so good though, and we couldn't stop talking about it at dinner.
After dinner (which meant stuffing ourselves with waffle fries among other things), we headed over to Kim's place where we took over the living room. Various projects were being worked on: scarves, hats, baby booties, etc. We had fun regardless. I was trying to finish up a scarf I made for Chris, which meant weaving in the ends, my least favorite part of knitting. Actually, I hate that part of knitting. But I finally got it done and tested it out when I ventured out into the cold to my car.
I started on a pair of mittens for myself with some funky yarn that is all sorts of colors (red, pink, orange, yellow, magenta); it will look really cool once they are done. But since I've never done mittens before, I have a feeling that I will mess up a few times like I did the socks. Part of the learning process.
We watched Green Bay lose to the Giants in overtime, which was disappointing. Then the last three of us (Kim, Autumn, and myself) headed over to my apartment for some poker. Autumn's boyfriend James and Chris took us on. I ended the night fairly well, only 22 cents lost. Mind you, most of my winnings occurred in the very last hand when James kept raising me and I rose right back (come on! I had five-of-a-kind!). That happened the night before when we were at Chris's parents' house to hang out with his parents. I got Chris to give up some money when I had five-of-a-kind. That hand was more exciting though because I had to use all my chips (which were very few at the time).
All in all it was a very enjoyable weekend, which is continuing today (holiday!). We are going to go climbing and see The Golden Compass at Riverview. Have a great day!
After dinner (which meant stuffing ourselves with waffle fries among other things), we headed over to Kim's place where we took over the living room. Various projects were being worked on: scarves, hats, baby booties, etc. We had fun regardless. I was trying to finish up a scarf I made for Chris, which meant weaving in the ends, my least favorite part of knitting. Actually, I hate that part of knitting. But I finally got it done and tested it out when I ventured out into the cold to my car.
I started on a pair of mittens for myself with some funky yarn that is all sorts of colors (red, pink, orange, yellow, magenta); it will look really cool once they are done. But since I've never done mittens before, I have a feeling that I will mess up a few times like I did the socks. Part of the learning process.
We watched Green Bay lose to the Giants in overtime, which was disappointing. Then the last three of us (Kim, Autumn, and myself) headed over to my apartment for some poker. Autumn's boyfriend James and Chris took us on. I ended the night fairly well, only 22 cents lost. Mind you, most of my winnings occurred in the very last hand when James kept raising me and I rose right back (come on! I had five-of-a-kind!). That happened the night before when we were at Chris's parents' house to hang out with his parents. I got Chris to give up some money when I had five-of-a-kind. That hand was more exciting though because I had to use all my chips (which were very few at the time).
All in all it was a very enjoyable weekend, which is continuing today (holiday!). We are going to go climbing and see The Golden Compass at Riverview. Have a great day!
16 January 2008
Member once again
Last night, I joined LifeTime Fitness once again. I had been a member during my first year of grad school when I had the time to take care of my body. Then my trip to Peru came around and I didn't want to pay the fees while I was out of the country, so I had to cancel. Then my second year of grad school was bearing down upon me, and I was spending a lot of time with this guy...psst: that guy was Chris :)
So now after having secured a steady income, desiring more hobbies (besides knitting and rock climbing), and wanting to improve my endurance and strength for climbing as well as lose a little bit of weight, I decided to join once more. My first night, I went to a yoga class. Unfortunately it wasn't that good (the instructor was a sub and I had difficulty understanding her), but in the future it will be better. I'm hoping that I will get back into running and I'm really hoping to get back into a cardio kickboxing class. I had the most fun in those classes.
I also am participating in Get Fit Twin Cities with some co-workers. It's a program that's aiming at getting people active and to make physical activity and improved diet part of their routine. We will all be tracking our minutes and at the end of this four-month campaign, we'll have a certain amount of points which can get us prizes. Obviously, it's more about being more active as well as having a healthy connection with co-workers.
I'm most excited about being able to work out with Kim because her training will inspire me to not be such a pansy and challenge myself.
So wish me luck! I'll keep everyone updated on my fitness achievements, because I know you're all DYING to know :)
So now after having secured a steady income, desiring more hobbies (besides knitting and rock climbing), and wanting to improve my endurance and strength for climbing as well as lose a little bit of weight, I decided to join once more. My first night, I went to a yoga class. Unfortunately it wasn't that good (the instructor was a sub and I had difficulty understanding her), but in the future it will be better. I'm hoping that I will get back into running and I'm really hoping to get back into a cardio kickboxing class. I had the most fun in those classes.
I also am participating in Get Fit Twin Cities with some co-workers. It's a program that's aiming at getting people active and to make physical activity and improved diet part of their routine. We will all be tracking our minutes and at the end of this four-month campaign, we'll have a certain amount of points which can get us prizes. Obviously, it's more about being more active as well as having a healthy connection with co-workers.
I'm most excited about being able to work out with Kim because her training will inspire me to not be such a pansy and challenge myself.
So wish me luck! I'll keep everyone updated on my fitness achievements, because I know you're all DYING to know :)
12 January 2008
Good Climbing
Last night, Chris, Kim, and I met a group of Kim's friends at the climbing gym, and I had another pretty good night of climbing. I almost linked the hard 5.9 that I talked about last time, I started learning about lead climbing, and I started to work on a 5.10a. I got up most of the way, but kept falling off one particular hold, which I will have to learn how to hold onto.
It's exciting, but I'm definitely feeling it today because my hands and back are sore. My toes are even a little sore because I stuffed them into my tight climbing shoes for about 3 hours. It is always worth it though.
In other news, Chris is loony.
It's exciting, but I'm definitely feeling it today because my hands and back are sore. My toes are even a little sore because I stuffed them into my tight climbing shoes for about 3 hours. It is always worth it though.
In other news, Chris is loony.
11 January 2008
Frustration
I've been frustrated from time to time, as anyone who knows me well can attest to, but today at work I wanted to scream. I've been working on a project basically since I started as an intern, and the end is finally in sight. In order for this project to go any further, we need to finalize all of our numbers and projections and be able to completely document and back those numbers up. So I called a meeting with two people I've worked very closely with regarding this project in hopes of finalizing some of the numbers.
The 1 hour meeting turned into 2 1/2 hours, and we are no nearer to finalizing than we were a few months ago. The whole reason is because they weren't ready to deal with all of the work that this is going to take. I completely understand it because that's the reason why no one else had done this update before. I also understand because I'm a procrastinator and tend not to do things until the last minute. The reason this is so frustrating is because our meeting today is what I've been trying to get them to do for the past four months, and now they tell me that other people need to make decisions before we can go any further.
This is a good lesson that needed to be learned, and I'm certain that I will relive it over and over throughout my career. I know this, but it doesn't make it suck any less.
The 1 hour meeting turned into 2 1/2 hours, and we are no nearer to finalizing than we were a few months ago. The whole reason is because they weren't ready to deal with all of the work that this is going to take. I completely understand it because that's the reason why no one else had done this update before. I also understand because I'm a procrastinator and tend not to do things until the last minute. The reason this is so frustrating is because our meeting today is what I've been trying to get them to do for the past four months, and now they tell me that other people need to make decisions before we can go any further.
This is a good lesson that needed to be learned, and I'm certain that I will relive it over and over throughout my career. I know this, but it doesn't make it suck any less.
09 January 2008
Route has been conquered
Last night, Chris and I went climbing at Vertical Endeavors (we've been trying to go a couple times a week now). I had one of my best climbing nights, or at least what felt like one of my best climbing nights. I completed a route that I have been working on for some time - I felt awesome. The end of the route is pretty difficult for me, but I got it! Now I just have to climb the whole thing without falling off in the middle :)
The night was filled with falling, scraping, burning, and bumping - it was awesome! The burning was from the rope, by the way, and not actual burning. (haha) I was definitely sore today though, with bandaids on my hand and arm, and bruises on my knees. That is truly the sign of a good night.
In other news, I finished my socks:
First, I finished them a while ago, but kept forgetting to put a picture up. And second, the answer is yes: my legs are that white.
Now I am knitting Chris a scarf to match his forest green jacket, and I've discovered it is going to take quite a while. I'm knitting with semi-small needles and worsted weight yarn. Yup, it's going to take a bit.
The night was filled with falling, scraping, burning, and bumping - it was awesome! The burning was from the rope, by the way, and not actual burning. (haha) I was definitely sore today though, with bandaids on my hand and arm, and bruises on my knees. That is truly the sign of a good night.
In other news, I finished my socks:
First, I finished them a while ago, but kept forgetting to put a picture up. And second, the answer is yes: my legs are that white.Now I am knitting Chris a scarf to match his forest green jacket, and I've discovered it is going to take quite a while. I'm knitting with semi-small needles and worsted weight yarn. Yup, it's going to take a bit.
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