This is a great movie my mom took of the kittens (needless to say I laughed my ass off):
28 May 2008
Memorial Day Weekend
It was an extremely relaxing weekend. Chris and I headed up to my parents' place and spent the bulk of our time out on the porch. Perfect. Saturday was the most productive with us going on a bike ride out of Walker and then going back home and working on terracing around the garden. I also managed to burn my arms - nothing else, just those.
The rest of the weekend was really about reading, knitting, and taking some pictures. Oh yeah, I forgot napping! Great stuff. Of course my mom made all sorts of food, which was delicious (so good you never want to stop eating!). It was good to see my parents and fun to see Pokey. We got to see the aftermath of the kittens and see some pictures. They certainly did look like a handful!
I'll post some pictures soon.
The rest of the weekend was really about reading, knitting, and taking some pictures. Oh yeah, I forgot napping! Great stuff. Of course my mom made all sorts of food, which was delicious (so good you never want to stop eating!). It was good to see my parents and fun to see Pokey. We got to see the aftermath of the kittens and see some pictures. They certainly did look like a handful!
I'll post some pictures soon.
18 May 2008
Warmer weather = cold?
For the past few days, I have had a cold/severe allergies which managed to make me have an absolutely miserable day at work on Friday and made me essentially couch-ridden for Saturday. What perfect timing huh? I missed out on some longer bike rides with Chris over that time, but I did have a chance to do a lot of knitting and some reading. I pretty much finished that Christmas stocking and I'm now working on a yoga mat bag. I always wanted one, but I couldn't justify paying $20 or more for one. This way I get to practice a lace pattern and I get a homemade bag. I'm happy about both.
This morning, my voice is noticeably funky since everything that was previously in my sinuses has moved down to my throat. My morning was spent coughing out a lung between reading and knitting outside. Since I am feeling better, I went for an hour-long walk down Summit, and I'm thinking about trying a bike ride in about an hour or so. It's such beautiful weather right now!
This morning, my voice is noticeably funky since everything that was previously in my sinuses has moved down to my throat. My morning was spent coughing out a lung between reading and knitting outside. Since I am feeling better, I went for an hour-long walk down Summit, and I'm thinking about trying a bike ride in about an hour or so. It's such beautiful weather right now!
17 May 2008
Knitting Podcasts
I've been listening to various podcasts for a while now - the ones I listen to most often are This American Life and Radio Lab. I have now found myself listening to some knitting podcasts. Yes, knitting podcasts. While searching through a list of crafty podcasts, I came across Knit Picks, which is a company-sponsored podcast and the woman who hosts it talks about a variety of topics such as all about the various kinds of fibers, good books to look at if you want to knit a sweater, etc. I've been inspired to learn more about the different fibers from that one.
Right now I am working on knitting a small Christmas stocking in hopes of making a larger one soonish. I wanted to see how this pattern turned out before I start making my own modifications to it. I also have to decide what kind of yarn I want to use to make my mom a bunch of handmade Christmas stockings...something to discuss when I come up there?? I have to consult Pokey too to ask her opinion about what colors she wants. hee hee
Right now I am working on knitting a small Christmas stocking in hopes of making a larger one soonish. I wanted to see how this pattern turned out before I start making my own modifications to it. I also have to decide what kind of yarn I want to use to make my mom a bunch of handmade Christmas stockings...something to discuss when I come up there?? I have to consult Pokey too to ask her opinion about what colors she wants. hee hee
09 May 2008
Is it really May 9th already?
We're doing another bike ride tomorrow morning, but this one is going to be 30 miles (much more manageable!). It's put on by the MS Society and we are going to start in Maplewood and the primary trail will be the Greenway. The route isn't entirely clear to me since they didn't provide a route map beforehand, but it will go south from Maplewood to north St. Paul and loop around, I believe.
Since the weather isn't going to be that great, we decided on the 30 mile route. There was an option to do a 60 mile route, but not only was I not sure about it in decent weather, I'm definitely not wanting to do anything longer than 30 in crummy weather.
I got to bike to work a lot last week since the weather was so nice. I rented a locker and have access to a shower, so I've been leaving the apartment earlier and showering when I get into downtown. I know that I like showing up to work feeling very clean, but I'm not sure if enough to justify renting a locker and everything (not like it's expensive, but it's still something). I have another month-and-a-half to decide if I want to continue renting it. I may find that I like it even more once summer hits.
Work is getting more and more busy. We have new budget software that's going live on Tuesday which is making everyone's workload a little crazy. Although I wasn't really heavily involved in the data uploads, I spent the last two days completely revising all of the training materials that we are going to start using next week. The funniest thing about it is that I haven't had formal training on the system, so I feel like I really don't know anything about it and I'm going to be training people starting next week! haha
It's a fairly intuitive system though which I think is a major improvement from the current budgeting system. It looks very similar to an Excel spreadsheet, which I think will put people at ease immediately. Anyway, with the bike ride tomorrow morning and plans for pretty much all day Sunday, I'm hoping I can find a lot of time to just read and relax, to clear my mind before the true craziness hits in the next couple of weeks.
Since the weather isn't going to be that great, we decided on the 30 mile route. There was an option to do a 60 mile route, but not only was I not sure about it in decent weather, I'm definitely not wanting to do anything longer than 30 in crummy weather.
I got to bike to work a lot last week since the weather was so nice. I rented a locker and have access to a shower, so I've been leaving the apartment earlier and showering when I get into downtown. I know that I like showing up to work feeling very clean, but I'm not sure if enough to justify renting a locker and everything (not like it's expensive, but it's still something). I have another month-and-a-half to decide if I want to continue renting it. I may find that I like it even more once summer hits.
Work is getting more and more busy. We have new budget software that's going live on Tuesday which is making everyone's workload a little crazy. Although I wasn't really heavily involved in the data uploads, I spent the last two days completely revising all of the training materials that we are going to start using next week. The funniest thing about it is that I haven't had formal training on the system, so I feel like I really don't know anything about it and I'm going to be training people starting next week! haha
It's a fairly intuitive system though which I think is a major improvement from the current budgeting system. It looks very similar to an Excel spreadsheet, which I think will put people at ease immediately. Anyway, with the bike ride tomorrow morning and plans for pretty much all day Sunday, I'm hoping I can find a lot of time to just read and relax, to clear my mind before the true craziness hits in the next couple of weeks.
02 May 2008
What I've been up to
This week, I haven't done much of anything besides knit and watch movies from Netflix (ones that Chris was not interested in watching). I've been taking a break from biking because I want to :)
I'm working on knitting the Nintendo throw still. I ran out of black yarn last night, so I have to make a run to Michaels tonight (and do a little bit of grocery shopping since I haven't gone the whole time Chris has been gone...hee hee...I've been seeing how long I can go without grocery shopping and without doing laundry). Anyway, the knitting part of the throw is very close to being completed. The part that will likely take just as long is tucking in and tying off all of the yarn that is hanging from where I changed colors. Given the pattern, that happened A LOT. But it is looking really cool and once I get a picture up, everyone is going to want their own.
I also made a bonnet and booties for one of my old coworker's baby. Of course I forgot to take a picture of them, but they were really cute! The bonnet was a pattern I hadn't tried before and I am definitely going to keep using it. Maybe one of these times I'll remember to take a picture! It's kind of fun making the small stuff because it doesn't take too terribly much time and they are really cute! That doesn't mean that I necessarily want a baby of my own to fill those clothes out! Not ready for that Mom! :)
I'm in for a weekend of laundry and working on work stuff. I'm apparently going to start my communication of potentially contentious material Monday morning at 8:30am (didn't find that out until today (Friday) at 3:00pm). So I'm going to polish up some materials for handouts and keep hoping that they aren't going to tear me a new one. I'm also going to work on some other projects, including reading a report from the late 1990s about the public infrastructure of Minneapolis. That is already turning out to be quite interesting.
I'm working on knitting the Nintendo throw still. I ran out of black yarn last night, so I have to make a run to Michaels tonight (and do a little bit of grocery shopping since I haven't gone the whole time Chris has been gone...hee hee...I've been seeing how long I can go without grocery shopping and without doing laundry). Anyway, the knitting part of the throw is very close to being completed. The part that will likely take just as long is tucking in and tying off all of the yarn that is hanging from where I changed colors. Given the pattern, that happened A LOT. But it is looking really cool and once I get a picture up, everyone is going to want their own.
I also made a bonnet and booties for one of my old coworker's baby. Of course I forgot to take a picture of them, but they were really cute! The bonnet was a pattern I hadn't tried before and I am definitely going to keep using it. Maybe one of these times I'll remember to take a picture! It's kind of fun making the small stuff because it doesn't take too terribly much time and they are really cute! That doesn't mean that I necessarily want a baby of my own to fill those clothes out! Not ready for that Mom! :)
I'm in for a weekend of laundry and working on work stuff. I'm apparently going to start my communication of potentially contentious material Monday morning at 8:30am (didn't find that out until today (Friday) at 3:00pm). So I'm going to polish up some materials for handouts and keep hoping that they aren't going to tear me a new one. I'm also going to work on some other projects, including reading a report from the late 1990s about the public infrastructure of Minneapolis. That is already turning out to be quite interesting.
28 April 2008
Reflections
Now that I've had a few more hours to think about how things went yesterday, I'm feeling a lot better about ducking out of the ride early. I have been pushing myself to ride at the same speed Chris can, which is not smart since Chris does not have problems with asthma like I do. Add allergies and I'm in bad shape.
By doing these sorts of activities, I'm learning a lot about myself. I've learned that no matter what gradient it is, any incline is a hill for me. Yesterday I struggled through many rolling hills, many of which kept going and going and going.....I wasn't mentally prepared for rolling hills. Most people I talked to about the ride told me that it was long, but it wasn't difficult. Clearly none of them have problems with asthma! I have to do more research about topography on my own rather than relying on the words of people who are in shape.
Being on a structured ride was great for the fact that you didn't have to carry tons of food and you always knew where the next indoor bathroom would be. It was inspiring to see all of the other riders too, although I envisioned myself lassoing a towrope on to each one that passed me (there were a lot of people who passed me).
I'm taking it easy today. Mentally unwinding. The one regret I have is putting climbing on the back burner. I don't think I've gone for a couple of weeks! I really miss climbing with Chris, who now is ready to climb again, but is on his way to Texas for a conference and a visit with friends. Soon I will be back on the rock...
By doing these sorts of activities, I'm learning a lot about myself. I've learned that no matter what gradient it is, any incline is a hill for me. Yesterday I struggled through many rolling hills, many of which kept going and going and going.....I wasn't mentally prepared for rolling hills. Most people I talked to about the ride told me that it was long, but it wasn't difficult. Clearly none of them have problems with asthma! I have to do more research about topography on my own rather than relying on the words of people who are in shape.
Being on a structured ride was great for the fact that you didn't have to carry tons of food and you always knew where the next indoor bathroom would be. It was inspiring to see all of the other riders too, although I envisioned myself lassoing a towrope on to each one that passed me (there were a lot of people who passed me).
I'm taking it easy today. Mentally unwinding. The one regret I have is putting climbing on the back burner. I don't think I've gone for a couple of weeks! I really miss climbing with Chris, who now is ready to climb again, but is on his way to Texas for a conference and a visit with friends. Soon I will be back on the rock...
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