Working Out

Aaaand… now it's the end of August.

I'm not even going to apologize for the huge lapse. Life happens. Must mean I'm busy, right?

Back full swing at the gym and changed my diet to exclude most wheat/glucose. I've been doing this for 6 weeks now and am down 15 lbs and have my running legs back. I am up to running just short of an hour and a half at a stretch without stopping. First few weeks back were brutal but I'm in my groove again. A couple more weeks and I'll start on a little speed work as well. I may shoot for a half marathon this coming Friday. On a treadmill. Why? Because it is more of a challenge mentally…. and it's supposed to be close to 100 degrees F this week (summer is finally here now that it's almost over). While I'm good at pushing myself mentally, I'm not so good at pushing myself when running in a furnace. I won't be a Bad Water contender (even though I give HUGE props to those that have done Bad Water!).

I wanted to talk a little about working out, and the gym in particular. I've been member of Gold's for almost 2 years now, and my membership has been well used. I'm going 5- 6 days a week. I use the cardio gym, so I can watch a movie while running (helps with the monotony). I also utilize the child care that they have. Cade can hang out with other kids for up to 2 hours for free- which he enjoys. I wouldn't drag him along if he didn't, but he either is a sweaty little mess when I pick him up or he is gathered in a group of boys playing with their DSs/iPads or Nooks.

I love reading about my FB friends gym trials and tribulations. They often make me laugh out loud. For the most part, I have a good gym experience. No one bothers me. There a a few minor things that both me, such as the people who cannot walk on the treadmill without talking on their phone (come on people.. give it a rest for 20 minutes!) and the people who don't clean off their equipment after using it. I have the habit now of cleaning before and after. Better safe than sorry! But what I really wanted to touch on is how I look during and after I work out.

I do not look like the women in the workout magazines. I was of the belief that no one looks like these women (not even the models themselves… I've seen how much they "fix" the photos first hand working where I do), but the past couple of weeks I've really started looking at the women in my gym after they have worked out, and a lot of them DO look like they stepped out of a magazine. They are nicely groomed, have that nice post-workout glow to them and they look strong and ready to take on the day. And then I look at myself in the mirror and I can't help but laugh.

I look like I've been dragged behind a bus, through a pool of sweat and left out in the desert sun for about 10 hours too long. I am beet red with sunk-in eyes, hair alternately stuck to my head with sweat- or flying everywhere from bouncing around in my pony tail and working it's way towards being a dread lock. It is dripping a trail of sweat behind me. I can actually feel it drip on the treadmill during my cool down. My shirt is soaked. I could probably wring out everything on my body, not exaggerating. My mouth is stuck in a grimace. I work hard to pick my feet up because I am worried they are just going to completely jelly-out on me. I go directly to my locker and get out my belongings. Carry them back to the sink. Wash my face, hands, arms… as much as I can without actually having a shower. I try to cool down and get some of the redness to settle down before I leave the gym. I used to exit the gym as quickly as possible so I had limited exposure to not scare off prospective members. But now, I walk out slowly and proudly. I completed another workout…and I don't look beautiful afterwards. But I feel beautiful on the inside. Strong. Committed. A good role model to my son. And who knows? Maybe I'll inspire someone else who doesn't look so great after a workout to sign up. The outside isn't the important part- it's the inside. So while on the outside I may look like the wildebeest that has been run to it's death in the Serengeti, on the inside, I'm the lioness.

New phone...with Blogger installed

Testing out my new Galaxy S4. Happy thus far. My iPhone and I had a love/hate relationship. I loved to hate it. I am sure I had a defective model. Had to be, because I can't see how anyone would love that phone. My phone would not work right if you held it up to your ear. Not a great feature for a phone. The camera was terrible. Flash wouldn't work when I needed it to. Worked when I dudnt want it to. I researched and researched. Conclusion? Bad phone. But I stuck with it for more than 2 years. And I hated it for 2 years.

So- upgraded today. Happy and hopeful. ♡  
 

…aaaaand my first chemo cap...

This is an older entry that I had saved in draft. Oops. Cute model, right? Ha ha!

I love this hat. Lace border and a nice warm garter stitch to keep the heat in. This is knit with Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino, which is a blend of cashmere, merino wool and a bit of synthetic fibers thrown in. It is soft and warm. It took about four hours from start to finish and only took one ball. I think I have nine more balls of this yarn left - in pink, blue and white.

After packing and tucking in a little note card, it will be on it's way to Texas for a test run and feedback. Am very excited for this hat to arrive at it's home.

Project with a Purpose

I apologize to my Facebook friends who are thinking "seen this, done that", as I will be repeating myself somewhat in this blog post. But I'm really excited that I finally have a project that has lit a fire under me! 

I love to run because it is my "me time" and it makes me feel so damn good. I heart endorphins!! I love to knit because it gives me time to think. To really ponder my life, who I am and where I'm going. Very much the same thing as running except usually done sitting down, with a cup of tea (or a bottle glass of wine). Knitting can be an issue if I'm working through something very emotional or all-encompassing while I am working on lacework and have to really stay engaged in remembering to count my stitches or focus on the pattern. It actual proves to be an exercise in frustration and futility as I mess it up over and over. Annnd, I can't just keep going if I know it's not right. I have to pull it out and start again or spend a large amount of time knitting backwards to fix. I really do view it as a form of therapy. 

I love to knit for other people. I find that some people really appreciate it - others not so much. I've had people ask me to knit them something and they would pay me for it. I just can't do it. I have all good intentions to do so, but it just doesn't feel right and it becomes something that I don't love. I love to knit and to give. I finally figured it out! Knit something to give that some people really have a need for. Knit from the heart.

As most of you know, I lost my Mom to cancer five and a half years ago. Someone knit her a prayer blanket to use as she was undergoing chemotherapy. She wanted me to teach her how to knit so she could "pay it forward" and help someone else out. Unfortunately she passed away not long after she shared this with me. I kept the blanket and have it tucked away. It always reminds me that someone spent hours and hours making a precious gift for someone they didn't know. And they probably don't know how much it meant to my Mom.

I could make lap blankets to donate, but I would probably only be able to make a few a year. I want to touch as many people as I can. So I've decided on hats. I'm going to make chemo caps for warriors undergoing chemotherapy so they can have something nice to wear and something knit from the heart with love and prayers built into every stitch. I have a few patterns, but I want to eventually design my own. I only want to use soft, natural yarns. I started my first yesterday in a soft baby cashmirino Debbie Bliss yarn I was going to make a tank top out of. I think this is why I never started it- it was meant for someone else. This one is a special request and will not be part of my big donation- but is for someone that I know and truly care about and will be thinking of as I knit it. It's a great honor and I hope that it arrives as a huge hug to her. 

I also want to knit little hats for preemies, and will donate these to a local hospital. I can knit these fairly quickly and should be able to do a bunch before I am ready to make my donations. I was able to do four this weekend while still having a full weekend. These make my heart smile.

I'm going to make my donations on Sept 16th, which will be the 6th anniversary of my Mom passing. I have 6 months to knit. I'll update this periodically with my counts and photos. I feel so good about starting this project. I'm always looking for ways to give back. I am so grateful for each and every day that I have and being able to help out making something just a little bit better for someone else is what fuels me. 

Love to you all!

C

2013… March… I'm a lame blogger...

Wow. Just checked out the two drafts I had saved in here since Oct 11, my last post. I can't believe that was my last post. I work at my computer 5 days a week. When I open my browser it opens Blogger first. Not like I haven't had a plethora of opportunity... or topics.

The first draft that I had was titled "Chicago Marathon- A Race Report". I had composed one line. Something along the lines of "Wow- this is my first race report of the year!" Followed my deafening silence. To file my report now… I finished the marathon. Didn't hit my goal, but ran a fine race. Two weeks later I ran the St. Louis Rock and Roll Half Marathon. A week later,  followed up with a 5k in Grand Rapids. Took the winter off. I'm back to training again.

My next post was written a couple of weeks ago and was titled "My 9 Lives".  This was a chronicle of my past. My history to those of you who do not know it. It was long. And personal. I didn't finish it and ended up deleting it just now. This blog isn't about the past. It's about the here and now. If you are curious, let's grab a coffee or a drink one day and I'll share. It's quite good but it doesn't belong up here.

So there. Now I can move on and get to the current makings of a blog. I am inspired by the fantastic blog posts that my friend Sarah makes (pretty much daily) about her family. They make me smile and laugh… and I feel like I am keeping current with her world. That's my goal! To keep my friends and family up to date with what is going on in my life. I am so far away from almost all of you. This is a great vehicle for me to reach out to you and give you a hug. But I want them returning! I am going to post photos weekly and I am dabbling in video as well. Wonder if that will really stick now that I am putting it out there?

Wish me luck! ;-)