I wanted to make everyone who even glances at this blog aware of one of my oldest friend's newest ventures!
Please hightail it on over to Cafe I Do!
My friend Priscila had such fun planning her own wedding that she has started scouring websites and other material for beautiful, fun wedding ideas!
While I didn't attend her wedding, the pictures, cards, and associated paraphernalia that I viewed online or received in the mail all coordinated beautifully and provided a real cohesion to her wedding design ideas.
Hm, maybe we can shuttle her site off to Apartment Therapy or one of it's offshoots...
Monday, August 17, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Post 30 Days of Paleo
I did it! I ate Paleo for 30 days!
The only digression I had was about 10 days in, when I had some slightly-sweetened cream inside of a chocolate shell at the L'Auberge du Lac casino buffet in Lake Charles, LA. Oh yeah, and the mini-can of Coke I drank when I almost fainted after my blood draw mid-month. That was a necessity, though, and the first soda I've drank in 10 years or so.
I feel great!
I no longer crave sugar. I mean, if I see a cupcake or pastry, YES of course I want it, but not like I used to crave it, and I also know that it is like crack, and if I eat even part of it, all this effort was for Naught, and I'll have to start back at Square One. And who wants that.
I have to credit Melissa Byers' blog for the inspiration to Sack Up and do this. She owns a Crossfit out in New Hampshire somewhere, and gives the Tough Love via Blog like no one else. Plus, you know, I am jealous and want to be pulling her weights. :) (Although my deadlift just went up to 75 kg, so I am finally pulling more than my body weight). ETA: My goal is to pull a 90 kg DL by December. That's TWO BILLS (read: 200 lbm) off the floor, people! I will have Fran ready with a camera.
As an extra incentive, I had an alternative sort of blood test done to determine whether I had any food allergies, and I found some surprising results. I am to avoid polysorbate-60, tapioca, and flaxseed for 6 months, and an odd variety of food and environmental / petroleum based substances for 3 months, before reincorporating them into my life. Most of these allergens are easy to avoid, but some - like TEA - are difficult for me, because I love it so much and have an entire cupboard shelf devoted to it. Luckily, substitutes abound, like the many varieties of herbal teas available.
***
Anyway, all I am saying is that changing your habits is possible, you just have to be willing to put up with the discomfort of retraining yourself in new habits.
***
As another update, I have lost probably about 4 lb since I left for Louisiana; not a ton of weight, but it's a start. Yes, it's annoying to be eating less - this means I'm pretty much a little bit hungry all the dang time. And I eat a lot less meat, and serving sizes in general, than before. So if that's what it takes for me to lose some more weight, then so be it.
The only digression I had was about 10 days in, when I had some slightly-sweetened cream inside of a chocolate shell at the L'Auberge du Lac casino buffet in Lake Charles, LA. Oh yeah, and the mini-can of Coke I drank when I almost fainted after my blood draw mid-month. That was a necessity, though, and the first soda I've drank in 10 years or so.
I feel great!
I no longer crave sugar. I mean, if I see a cupcake or pastry, YES of course I want it, but not like I used to crave it, and I also know that it is like crack, and if I eat even part of it, all this effort was for Naught, and I'll have to start back at Square One. And who wants that.
I have to credit Melissa Byers' blog for the inspiration to Sack Up and do this. She owns a Crossfit out in New Hampshire somewhere, and gives the Tough Love via Blog like no one else. Plus, you know, I am jealous and want to be pulling her weights. :) (Although my deadlift just went up to 75 kg, so I am finally pulling more than my body weight). ETA: My goal is to pull a 90 kg DL by December. That's TWO BILLS (read: 200 lbm) off the floor, people! I will have Fran ready with a camera.
As an extra incentive, I had an alternative sort of blood test done to determine whether I had any food allergies, and I found some surprising results. I am to avoid polysorbate-60, tapioca, and flaxseed for 6 months, and an odd variety of food and environmental / petroleum based substances for 3 months, before reincorporating them into my life. Most of these allergens are easy to avoid, but some - like TEA - are difficult for me, because I love it so much and have an entire cupboard shelf devoted to it. Luckily, substitutes abound, like the many varieties of herbal teas available.
***
Anyway, all I am saying is that changing your habits is possible, you just have to be willing to put up with the discomfort of retraining yourself in new habits.
***
As another update, I have lost probably about 4 lb since I left for Louisiana; not a ton of weight, but it's a start. Yes, it's annoying to be eating less - this means I'm pretty much a little bit hungry all the dang time. And I eat a lot less meat, and serving sizes in general, than before. So if that's what it takes for me to lose some more weight, then so be it.
Pictures!
Well. The sun came out today; I am glad! It is warm once more in Seattle.
I've been busy!...
I bought the World's Cheapest Bookcase at Target on Saturday. Worse than IKEA; none of the fasteners were metal, just injection-molded plastic that I had to snap off stems. It reminded me of making a plastic model car. But it was $20, and it looks close enough to my IKEA shelves, so it shall remain.
I also indulged in a new shower curtain, bath mat, table lamp, and ... I think that is it.
***
Knitting pictures!
I finished my Toasty Topper and Bootees for my friend Paul's wife, Becca. She is due to pop out their kiddo next month sometime, I believe.
The hat is knit double-stranded with Cascade 220 superwash. I have no idea what size head it will fit, but hopefully it will be too big, if anything, and their boy will grow into it. Like I've confessed before, I have no idea as to how big babies are, or how big they are supposed to be. I assume that since I followed the pattern, it will be "enough". And if not, well, uh, sorry Becca. :)
I had to wait forever on the booties. I emptied my Kundert spindle today by plying my Icelandic sample, and then was able to use it to add twist to some of the green Cascade 220 s/w and then let it cable so it would stay twisted before creating the bootie ties.
***
Here are some gifts my mom brought me from Peru! I am thrilled with the bottom whorl spindle she found for me! It's beautiful. I am fairly certain that the whorl was made on a lathe, but the shaft looks hand-carved. The man who sold it to her told her that the wood will last 'for generations'.
She also gave me a Shaman's hat that she bought. I think she bought it and then decided she wasn't going to be using it for her ceremonial work, so here's hoping it brings me luck skiing!
***
I leave for Japan on Thursday! I am soo excited! And as an added bonus, it looks like some friends from Seattle recently moved to Japan somewhere! I tried to contact them via Facebook; hopefully things work out and we can connect with them!
Now, to decide what to knit while on the 10+ hour flight...
I've been busy!...
I bought the World's Cheapest Bookcase at Target on Saturday. Worse than IKEA; none of the fasteners were metal, just injection-molded plastic that I had to snap off stems. It reminded me of making a plastic model car. But it was $20, and it looks close enough to my IKEA shelves, so it shall remain.
I also indulged in a new shower curtain, bath mat, table lamp, and ... I think that is it.
***
Knitting pictures!
I finished my Toasty Topper and Bootees for my friend Paul's wife, Becca. She is due to pop out their kiddo next month sometime, I believe.
The hat is knit double-stranded with Cascade 220 superwash. I have no idea what size head it will fit, but hopefully it will be too big, if anything, and their boy will grow into it. Like I've confessed before, I have no idea as to how big babies are, or how big they are supposed to be. I assume that since I followed the pattern, it will be "enough". And if not, well, uh, sorry Becca. :)
I had to wait forever on the booties. I emptied my Kundert spindle today by plying my Icelandic sample, and then was able to use it to add twist to some of the green Cascade 220 s/w and then let it cable so it would stay twisted before creating the bootie ties.
***
Here are some gifts my mom brought me from Peru! I am thrilled with the bottom whorl spindle she found for me! It's beautiful. I am fairly certain that the whorl was made on a lathe, but the shaft looks hand-carved. The man who sold it to her told her that the wood will last 'for generations'.
She also gave me a Shaman's hat that she bought. I think she bought it and then decided she wasn't going to be using it for her ceremonial work, so here's hoping it brings me luck skiing!
***
I leave for Japan on Thursday! I am soo excited! And as an added bonus, it looks like some friends from Seattle recently moved to Japan somewhere! I tried to contact them via Facebook; hopefully things work out and we can connect with them!
Now, to decide what to knit while on the 10+ hour flight...
Friday, August 7, 2009
General Update
I have neglected this blog for a while! Whoa!
Well, here is a bullet list of what's going on. I'll elaborate more, hopefully I'll have some time this weekend. With pictures!
Well, here is a bullet list of what's going on. I'll elaborate more, hopefully I'll have some time this weekend. With pictures!
- I was just in Louisiana for 2 1/2 weeks, dog/house-sitting while my parents went to Peru. They said the trip was amazing, exhausting, exhilirating, and many other -ings. Thanks to my manager for letting me telecommute while I was out there!
- My mom brought me back lots of goodies from Peru. A crystal necklace, a Shaman's ceremonial hat (which I am sure was for her, but she said she wasn't going to use it; maybe it will stay on my head while I ski - the pom pom on top is pretty wild), another hat, and over a kg of alpaca yarn in various weights. I also brought home part of a dish set that belonged to my grandma (surprisingly, nothing broke), and an alpaca hide rug. It needs some fixing, but is beautiful and oh-so-soft to roll around on.
- I am home for 10 days, several of which have already passed. I leave August 13 for Tokyo, Japan! I am so excited! I haven't seen Daniel since we met in Hawaii several months ago, and I intend to make good use of our time together. :)
- While in Japan, we're going to climb Mt. Fuji. Climb. Mount. Fuji. Hopefully I will be OK. I warned Daniel I'd have all my four-letter words in a row before we started, because y'all know how I like to have the Tourette's outbursts when picking heavy things up off the ground or other exhausting Crossfit-induced workouts.
- After I get home from Japan (August 30), my sister and brother in law will be coming out to Seattle & Portland! Hooray! Paul asked for kayaking, and he shall have it. I would also like to take them to the ice caves, if they are in good condition.
- I still haven't finished warping my loom. Sigh. Jen is out at Sock Summit this weekend, so she wasn't available to help. I finished tying on the back beam, I just need to do the front beam.
- I received my July RSC kit; LOVE IT! It's inspired by heirloom tomatoes.
- I also bought a bunch of other crap: Bose noise-cancelling headphones (refurbished, shipped from China. Hopefully they aren't fake, but they seem to work fine. They were specifically for the 10.5 hour flight to Japan, but they seem like they will come in handy at other times), a few new books from the Interweave "hurt book sale", and a Starbucks Barista espresso machine with included conical burr grinder! (That last one was off Craigslist, and I got the pair for $150. New, the pair would have been over $450, so I don't think I did too badly). I also justified it by thinking that if I make my own coffee instead of going out, I will save money AND be able to use better quality ingredients. For instance, I really like Stumptown beans. They are roasted in Portland, and delivered up here just a few days after roasting. They also make a Panamanian blend, so I can, you know, support the Motherland. I also use a vat-pasteurized half and half, from a local dairy, and I buy raw milk when I can get it (although I don't know how raw milk will behave under the steam wand of the espresso maker). Truth be told, I know I have lots of room to grow using the espresso maker, but dang if it doesn't turn out a great latte! I even managed to get some pretty fine foam on the milk.
- I am almost done knitting a baby hat to go with the baby booties I am making for a friend who's wife is due to pop one out soon.
- I ordered Clearwire, which is a local wireless internet service, but my reception isn't looking too good right now, and I may need to send it back and cancel my service. I was hoping to save money by not having a landline and ditching Qwest, but it doesn't look like that is a possibility.
- After a couple of weeks of struggling to understand some coding at work, my coworker showed me a much easier way to write a script. I am glad that is working, because it was starting to cause me a little stress!!
OK, now it's off to an annual physical for more anti-baby pills! Hoorah!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Paleo Day 3 Update
Well... this hasn't been as bad as Previously Advertised. I do crave sugar, but fruit helps. It's still sugar, yes, but it's not as concentrated as you would get in candy or any sort of processed food.
I feel like I should be posting my food logs here... You may notice I eat a lot of the same things. Specifically meat. I love meat. For the last few weeks, I've been buying all the meat I eat at home (that is steak or beef jerky) from grass-finished sources at my local farmer's market. It's a bit more expensive, yes, but "studies show" that grass-fed beef fat contains high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, just like flax seeds and oily fishes.
I also eat a lot of fruit. I try to balance it with more veggies, but damn I love fruit.
The reason my diet hasn't varied very much is that I haven't been to the store recently! I'm leaving for a few weeks to my parent's house, and want to try to eat as much food in my fridge as possible.
***
Day 1:
- pastrami / salami slices
- blueberries
- strawberries
- nuts
- watermelon
- salami
- nuts
- meat
- salad with oil & white balsamic vinegar
- nuts
- pumpkin seeds
- meat
- strawberries
- peanut butter
- raw coconut oil mixed with raw cocoa (no sugar)
Workout: 4 PM Crossfit. 21 / 18 / 15 / 12 / 9 / 6 / 3 reps alternating wall-ball + burpees or squat-thrusts.
***
Day 2
- pastrami / salami slices
- strawberries
- blueberries
- watermelon
- nuts
- meat
- celery / carrot sticks
- nuts
- pumpkin seeds (in shell)
- meat
- rainbow chard, cooked in olive oil with garlic, onions, vinegar, splash of white wine
- watermelon
- peanut butter
- coconut oil /unsweetened cocoa (makes a chocolatey paste)
Workout: 4 PM Crossfit. Lift heavy shit over your head, pick it up off the floor to do it, and record the three heaviest lifts ( I was bitchy and tired, so I only managed to get 35 kg overhead). Back squats. (PR - 60 kg backsquat for 3 rep, also I snatched a 12 kg kettlebell repeatedly for the first time! Yeah!)
Day 3
- pastrami / salami slices
- blueberries
- strawberries
- watermelon
- macadamias
- meat
- salad (I got Italian dressing in the cafeteria :( )
- nuts
- mixed fruits from cafeteria
To be continued...
Workout: 4 PM Crossfit. I don't know what today's torture is. :)
I feel like I should be posting my food logs here... You may notice I eat a lot of the same things. Specifically meat. I love meat. For the last few weeks, I've been buying all the meat I eat at home (that is steak or beef jerky) from grass-finished sources at my local farmer's market. It's a bit more expensive, yes, but "studies show" that grass-fed beef fat contains high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, just like flax seeds and oily fishes.
I also eat a lot of fruit. I try to balance it with more veggies, but damn I love fruit.
The reason my diet hasn't varied very much is that I haven't been to the store recently! I'm leaving for a few weeks to my parent's house, and want to try to eat as much food in my fridge as possible.
***
Day 1:
- pastrami / salami slices
- blueberries
- strawberries
- nuts
- watermelon
- salami
- nuts
- meat
- salad with oil & white balsamic vinegar
- nuts
- pumpkin seeds
- meat
- strawberries
- peanut butter
- raw coconut oil mixed with raw cocoa (no sugar)
Workout: 4 PM Crossfit. 21 / 18 / 15 / 12 / 9 / 6 / 3 reps alternating wall-ball + burpees or squat-thrusts.
***
Day 2
- pastrami / salami slices
- strawberries
- blueberries
- watermelon
- nuts
- meat
- celery / carrot sticks
- nuts
- pumpkin seeds (in shell)
- meat
- rainbow chard, cooked in olive oil with garlic, onions, vinegar, splash of white wine
- watermelon
- peanut butter
- coconut oil /unsweetened cocoa (makes a chocolatey paste)
Workout: 4 PM Crossfit. Lift heavy shit over your head, pick it up off the floor to do it, and record the three heaviest lifts ( I was bitchy and tired, so I only managed to get 35 kg overhead). Back squats. (PR - 60 kg backsquat for 3 rep, also I snatched a 12 kg kettlebell repeatedly for the first time! Yeah!)
Day 3
- pastrami / salami slices
- blueberries
- strawberries
- watermelon
- macadamias
- meat
- salad (I got Italian dressing in the cafeteria :( )
- nuts
- mixed fruits from cafeteria
To be continued...
Workout: 4 PM Crossfit. I don't know what today's torture is. :)
Monday, July 6, 2009
30 Days of Paleo
Inspired by Melissa Byers' great blog post, I am going to do this.
Eat Clean. For 30 Days.
I am starting NOW.
Breakfast was pastrami, salami, and blueberries. To drink I have my trusty 40 oz water bottle (stainless steel, of course), a tall glass of ice, and some tea (Kamiya Papaya Oolong from Teavana right now. It will change in a few minutes when I go make another cup). Lunch is a Trader Joe's chicken salad (sans the little fried noodles). Dinner will be, I think, steak and vegetables. Or steak and fruit.
I am giving up dairy, coffee (unless I can manage to learn to drink it black), alcohol, and sweets. The only dairy I was really eating was milk in my morning cup of coffee, so I am not too far off. And alcohol should be relatively easy; I was drinking about two glasses of wine per month. I figured out it exacerbates my allergies (very frustrating!).
When I get home tonight, I will also take oregano oil. It tastes like Satan's asshole, but it is a powerful anti-fungal agent. By eating clean Paleo and using natural anti-fungal agents, I will be killing off any fungal load in my body. There is research out that suggests that starving and killing off your internal fungal load will help manage hormones, thereby balancing things like fat management. It is hard to believe that I exercise this much and have not lost any fat. In fact, it's pretty ridiculous and REALLY frustrating, and makes me want to yell and punch things.
*Ding*. Did you hear that? It means GO.
Eat Clean. For 30 Days.
I am starting NOW.
Breakfast was pastrami, salami, and blueberries. To drink I have my trusty 40 oz water bottle (stainless steel, of course), a tall glass of ice, and some tea (Kamiya Papaya Oolong from Teavana right now. It will change in a few minutes when I go make another cup). Lunch is a Trader Joe's chicken salad (sans the little fried noodles). Dinner will be, I think, steak and vegetables. Or steak and fruit.
I am giving up dairy, coffee (unless I can manage to learn to drink it black), alcohol, and sweets. The only dairy I was really eating was milk in my morning cup of coffee, so I am not too far off. And alcohol should be relatively easy; I was drinking about two glasses of wine per month. I figured out it exacerbates my allergies (very frustrating!).
When I get home tonight, I will also take oregano oil. It tastes like Satan's asshole, but it is a powerful anti-fungal agent. By eating clean Paleo and using natural anti-fungal agents, I will be killing off any fungal load in my body. There is research out that suggests that starving and killing off your internal fungal load will help manage hormones, thereby balancing things like fat management. It is hard to believe that I exercise this much and have not lost any fat. In fact, it's pretty ridiculous and REALLY frustrating, and makes me want to yell and punch things.
*Ding*. Did you hear that? It means GO.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
I Can Haz Loom!
I finally got my loom!
It's a Harrisville Designs 4 shaft loom, about 30" wide and maybe 48" tall? I love it!
I took that picture yesterday, before I had messed with it at all. My friend Jen agreed to come over Friday and help me get yarn and warp it for a project. I picked out a kitchen towel set to weave, and it turned out that my reed was too widely spaced (6 dents / inch), so either I need to pick a new project with thicker yarns, or get a new reed. I'll see if Weaving Works has reeds that will fit this loom; if not, I'll start with a different project.
Today, in preparation for Friday, I took some time to at least straighten out the straps and pulleys and make sure everything was strung correctly. The pulleys at the top that hold each harness were threaded incorrectly and strung over each other and prevented things from returning to a normal static position, but I think I fixed most of that. Jen may have to help me fine-tune some stuff, though.
***
I carded these batts over the weekend. Aren't they fun? Just a mix of what I had lying around - a lot of SoySilk in those batts, for sure (mostly it is the shiny peach colored fiber).
***
I broke down and ordered some stuff off Etsy. I found this seller called Shunklies off of someone else's blog (can't remember where, sorry!!), and they had a delightful kettle dyed roving that just really spoke to me. I also picked up 100 g of scoured Norwegian fleece for a song.
Here's the fleece:
Here's the roving! Isn't it neat? It's called "Humbug". I just checked, and there isn't any listed right now. It's combed Shetland.
***
Finally, some knitting progress. This is to be Daniel's sweater. Elizabeth Zimmerman's "Hand to Hand" sweater, using Cascade 220 superwash, size 10 Addi Turbo needle. I'm making the 38" chest sized sweater, and modified the cable up the arms. Instead of hers, I am using the "Nautical Twisted Rope" cable pattern from a Barbara Walker Treasury (can't remember which one, either!). The picture doesn't show it, but I am actually very pleased with the 220's stitch definition. If you're not familiar with this sweater pattern, the way it works is you start at one cuff, knit up and around to the collar, leave a hole for the head, and knit down to the other cuff. Then you pick up stitches below the torso portion of what you just knit, and knit straight down, in the round.
It's a Harrisville Designs 4 shaft loom, about 30" wide and maybe 48" tall? I love it!
I took that picture yesterday, before I had messed with it at all. My friend Jen agreed to come over Friday and help me get yarn and warp it for a project. I picked out a kitchen towel set to weave, and it turned out that my reed was too widely spaced (6 dents / inch), so either I need to pick a new project with thicker yarns, or get a new reed. I'll see if Weaving Works has reeds that will fit this loom; if not, I'll start with a different project.
Today, in preparation for Friday, I took some time to at least straighten out the straps and pulleys and make sure everything was strung correctly. The pulleys at the top that hold each harness were threaded incorrectly and strung over each other and prevented things from returning to a normal static position, but I think I fixed most of that. Jen may have to help me fine-tune some stuff, though.
***
I carded these batts over the weekend. Aren't they fun? Just a mix of what I had lying around - a lot of SoySilk in those batts, for sure (mostly it is the shiny peach colored fiber).
***
I broke down and ordered some stuff off Etsy. I found this seller called Shunklies off of someone else's blog (can't remember where, sorry!!), and they had a delightful kettle dyed roving that just really spoke to me. I also picked up 100 g of scoured Norwegian fleece for a song.
Here's the fleece:
Here's the roving! Isn't it neat? It's called "Humbug". I just checked, and there isn't any listed right now. It's combed Shetland.
***
Finally, some knitting progress. This is to be Daniel's sweater. Elizabeth Zimmerman's "Hand to Hand" sweater, using Cascade 220 superwash, size 10 Addi Turbo needle. I'm making the 38" chest sized sweater, and modified the cable up the arms. Instead of hers, I am using the "Nautical Twisted Rope" cable pattern from a Barbara Walker Treasury (can't remember which one, either!). The picture doesn't show it, but I am actually very pleased with the 220's stitch definition. If you're not familiar with this sweater pattern, the way it works is you start at one cuff, knit up and around to the collar, leave a hole for the head, and knit down to the other cuff. Then you pick up stitches below the torso portion of what you just knit, and knit straight down, in the round.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)