Walking and Takin

So I completed my 5k walk this past weekend and survived with only minor pain and blistering. I am very glad I made myself go. It rained quite a bit again last week and the days that were nice I had access to the car (hubby was out of town for work)so I spent most of those driving around, shopping and finding nice places to sit outside to eat, drink and read. But despite my failure to work my way up to 3.1 miles I survive just fine. Was tired but it was well worth the free safari bus ride even though the AC wasn't working right. Got to see lots of animals I had only ever seen on TV like camels, rhinos, cheetahs and giraffes. Got some great pics too including the one above of some stubborn wild horses who didn't want to let us pass. The bus driver eventually had to turn on her windshield wipers in order to scare them away so we could finish our tour.

These pics were taken by a friend as I could only take 4 pictures on my camera as I forgot my memory card.


This is a Takin, it is considered a goat-antelope. They are from the Himalayas.


These interesting creatures are East African oryx a relative of the antelope.



These are three of the 4 pictures I was able to take and they were all at the carnivore area. The carnivores are kept in their own special place because all the other animals are grazers and potentially food for these guys.


Cheetah laying around like the big kitty that she is.



These are painted wild dogs normally found in Africa.



This is a dhole and it is part of the kanine family. Poor guy was raised by humans and so he just stayed right next to the fence whenever anyone passed by and whimpered.

I almost feel sorry for these animals but several of them are endangered so the Wilds preservation actually helps increase their populations through breeding programs. It was a very interesting experience to visit the preservation. I've never seen anything like it.

Mermaid Gloves

So I finally decided to publish my first knitting pattern. Although I must note it isn't truly mine. I took a current fingerless gloves pattern that had been adapted from a sock pattern then I revamped it to have half fingers. So this is a variation of a variation. But since I promised it to one of the lady's in my knitting meetup group I'm posting, finally.




Mermaid Gloves

Cuff
CO 72 sts. Divide sts evenly between 3 needles (24 sts on each needle), place marker and join to begin working in the round, being careful not to twist.
Round 1: [P1, k1 tbl] to end.
Repeat this round 5 times more.

Arm
Set-Up Round: [Yo, k2tog, (p1, k1 tbl) five times] to end of round. (The sequence will be repeated twice for each needle, or 6 times in total.)
Work Rounds 2-22 of Chart A.
*Rearrange stitches on needles as follows:
Move first stitch from Needle 1 to Needle 3 by knitting the first stitch on Needle 1 through the back loop onto Needle 3.
Move first stitch from Needle 2 to end of Needle 1.
Move first stitch from Needle 3 to end of Needle 2.
Work Rounds 1-22 of Chart A.
Repeat from * 1 or 2 times more depending on desired length.


Thumb Gusset
After second or third repeat of Chart A.

Row 1 : Knit 12 stitches in pattern for right hand or 60 sts in pattern for left hand. Place marker. Make 1 (M1 - pick up 'running thread' between the stitch just knit, and the one about to be knit, place on LH needle, knit into the stitch), place marker (1 st). Knit rest of round in pattern.

Row 2 : Knit in pattern to first marker.
SM, M1, K1, M1, SM (3 sts).
Knit rest of round in pattern.
Row 3 : Knit in pattern to marker.
SM, K1, M1, K1, M1, K1, SM (5 sts).
Knit rest of round as set.
Row 4 : Knit in pattern to marker.
SM, K1, M1, P1, K1, P1, M1, K1, SM (7 sts).
Knit rest of round as set.
Row 5: Knit in pattern to marker.
SM, K1, M1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, M1, K1, SM (9 sts).
Knit rest of round as set.
Continue increasing the stitches in the thumb gusset in this manner until there are 17 stitches between the markers. Keep the thumb gusset section in [K1 tbl, P1] ribbing. Complete the repeat of Chart A.

Knit 7 rows of Chart A. In each row, knit across the thumb gusset stitches in ribbing.
Row 8 : Put thumb gusset stitches onto waste yarn. Knit rest of round in pattern as set.
Row 9 : Knit the round in pattern, knitting across from the end of the first pattern repeat (12 sts) to the second one, leaving the thumb gusset stitches sitting on the outside of the glove.

Knit remaining rows in pattern to end of Chart A.

1st Finger - Knit 10 sts in k1 tbl, p1 ribbing. Place next 52 stitches on waste yarn or large stitch holder. Cast on 4 stitches then knit remaining 10 stitches in k1 tbl, p1 ribbing. Divide 24 stitches onto 3 needles and knit in ribbing for 1 ½ inches or until comfortably past knuckle. Bind off in pattern and cut yarn.

2nd Finger - Knit 9 stitches from back of hand in k1 tbl, p1 ribbing then pick up 4 sts from 1st finger gusset. Knit 9 stitches from palm of hand in k1 tbl, p1 ribbing, then cast on 4 sts for gusset. Divide 26 sts between 3 DPNs and knit in ribbing for 1 ¾ inch or until comfortably past knuckle. Bind off in pattern and cut yarn.

¨Note: Make sure the ribbing is in pattern around the entire finger. It may be necessary to k2tog or cast on an extra stitch between the gussets to do so.

3rd finger - Knit 8 stitches from back of hand in k1 tbl, p1 ribbing then pick up 4 sts from 1st finger gusset. Knit 8 stitches from palm of hand in k1 tbl, p1 ribbing, then cast on 4 sts for gusset. Divide 24 sts between 3 DPNs and knit in ribbing for 1 ½ inch or until comfortably past knuckle. Bind off in pattern and cut yarn.

4th finger - Knit remaining 16 stitches in k1 tbl, p1 ribbing then pick up 4 sts from finger gusset. Divide 20 sts between 3 DPNs and knit in ribbing for 1 ¾ inch or until comfortably past knuckle. Bind off in pattern and cut yarn.

Thumb - slip 17 thumb sts to 2 needles pick up and knit 11 sts along the inside edge of the glove. M1 as many times as necessary on either side of the original 17 stitches. The work in k1 tbl, p1 ribbing for ½ to ¾ of an inch or until comfortably past knuckle. Bind off in pattern and cut yarn.

Weave in ends and wear with joy!

The World Wide Wasteland

As many people already know the internet is a vast wasteland of everything and anything useful and useless (mostly the latter). So this week I joined Twitter. Some of you may have no idea what that is still. Don't worry it is still relatively new, less than a year old. It is yet another social networking site. And it is growing exponentially day to day. As with all social networking sites it is mostly a huge waste of time, but even more so than myspace or facebook. As with facebook the premise is to connect you with friends or people who have something in common with you. Went to the same high school or college and so on.

Twitter simply connects you with every and anybody they think you might like, and if that isn't enough you can watch what everyone is saying. It is the extreme of the status update. Now you can post links, pictures and music.The latter two you need an application to be able to do. At any rate twitter has opened my eyes to so many things just in the last two days that I didn't even know I wanted to know.

Blip.fm for instance is a site much like twitter (and I imagine created by the same people perhaps) where you can be a DJ. Simply choose a song and blip (or post) it. This site also recommends other dj's you might enjoy based on your favorite bands. So having discovered this site, I absolutely love it. It exposes me to all kinds of music I might not otherwise come across. Most of it I enjoy but more importantly I have complete control of what I listen to. If I don't like a song immediately I just go to the next one. And I get to see the name of the song and artist before I click, unlike the radio or tv where you don't know what it is until you have started listening. Makes things easy if you know you don't like a particular artist.

So from the depths of time-wasting internet social sites I found a jewel. Not to say that I don't enjoy time-wasting social sites as I am an avid Facebook user and now teeter as well. So okay maybe it is all just frivolous and useless but at least it is entertaining. Oh and free! Well to listen to the music. If you want to own it that is a different story but there is always the option to add it to your playlist and listen to it anytime your on Blip.fm so YAY! Okie dokie that is my daily on-goings for now.

Set Back

Ok, here's the update. I was doing just fine walking that first week. Walked 4 days that week at least a mile each day one day I even walked 1.75 miles. And then my toe which had been giving me some trouble finally was so bad I decided to go to the doctor. Turned out I had an ingrown toenail and they had to remove a part of it. So I have been recovering from that since last wednesday. It kind of bummed me out that I let it get so bad to begin with and hadn't thought to look online for a possible home treatment sooner (duh). I missed out on a couple of hikes I wanted to go on.

But as soon as the doctor gives me the ok to stop using the stupid surgical shoe they gave me I am going to get right back to my plan. I will just have to step it up a bit to be prepared for the 5K I am signed up for on the 25th of April. Now that the weather is getting warmer and warmer (and my husband is hell bent on loosing weight again) I plan to get out more to walk. And it will be nice to have some company, though I do enjoy it enough on my own the quiet communing with nature. Well what nature there is in my neighboor hood. It is mostly concrete but with a fair amount of trees blended in and even a few daffodils landscaped in. I love daffodils so that is always a treat.

On the losing weight fronteer I am going to try out a diet developed by Dr. Oz that maps it all out for you. You choose the foods and snacks you want to eat from a drop down menu and then it gives you the calories for the day and the recipes and grocery list. Anything to make it easier to stick to. Because after all I am a lazy sloth. But I am hoping to slowly change that. More and more I see people bouncing around and being active on tv and in movies and I wish I had the energy and figure to do those things. So I am going to work towards that. And also feeling better in general, less aches and pains, and living longer because I see a shorter lifespan in my future if I just stay the couch potato I am now.

So that is the news for now. More later as developments arise.

Walking towards fitness

Recently I decided to participate in a 5k walk on April 25th with an online group I am a part of. It is one of the many groups I am a member of on metup.com. If you have never been to this site it is great for meeting people or just getting out and doing stuff with like-minded people. I've ben a member for several years and met many interesting people and enjoyed plenty of events I might not otherwise have even known about. So as I said I signed up to walk in a charity event at a natural reserve in Ohio. 5K is more than I have walked all at once in a long time. It's been so long I couldn't even tell you when it was, but it has been years to say the least.

So needless to say I need to prepare for this event. To do so I have said both to myself and my friends and family that I will start walking every day. This is my second day and I've done it so far. One week, two weeks from now that will be the challenge. Right now I am just walking around my neighborhood seeing as I am near a major road that doesn't offer much in the way of sidewalks. But among my meetup groups is a couple of new walking/hiking groups that I plan on being active in. That should help some although I think right now there are only a couple get togethers between now and my walk. But as walking gets easier I will simply make more trips around the neighborhood or throw in some light jogging to up the ante. Right now I am excited and motivated to do this and hope that will not change.

No big surprise but I didn't keep my new years resolution going for more than about a month. I am still making efforts by buying healthy snacks like granola bars with 1/3 of the RDA in fiber and dried and fresh fruit as well as more veggies. I did briefly get back under 180 lbs but am now back up to 184 as of yesterday. I will try to get up on my blog and fitness attempts by posting my weight and progress on here more regularly than in the past. I'm thinking I will set reminders on my cell to help with that. So once again I am trying to better my health and weight. They always say if at first you don't succeed.... well you know the rest. Wish me luck in my endeavors.

Knitting the day away

So back at the end of last summer when the weather was starting to cool down a little I finally decided to teach myself to knit. Being that the economy is in the pits and I have always wanted a really long scarf that I just couldn't find in any store I thought i would take matters into my own hands and make my own accessories. So I bought a book a ball of yarn that was on clearance for a couple of bucks and a set of needles. And since then I haven't been able to stop knitting (except to occasionally crochet something). There is something so fulfilling about making something with your own hands the way you want it.

Now, when I was younger I sometimes cross-stitched a pillow or crocheted a doily (I think) but it's not quite the same. First of all their wasn't the internet yet with it's endless bounty of free, super cute patterns and video tutorials. But here lately I have really been on a role. I have finished a newborn baby hat and booty set for the baby of my husband's co-worker in the last 2 days and started on a hat and scarf set for my husband. After that I plan to make a winter cap for my mother as well as finish a pair of gloves I started making before I found the ones I thought I lost. And I am making the most awesome looking booties I have ever seen for my best friends baby boy Logan. They look just like Converse All-stars! I will definitely post a picture once I am done with those. Just wanted to share my excitement about knitting with everyone and some photos of my favorite projects I've finished.

This is the hat and booty set I made for Craig's boy in a sunny yellow. Really cute.








And this is my favorite scarf. Long, lean and very warm. This was the second thing I ever knit. Not bad, huh?

2 ½ Weeks Later

So it has been 2 and a half weeks since the new year now and I thought I would post an update about my resolution. Well I have lost 3 which isn’t bad considering I actually started on the 5th instead of the 1st and was only diligent about exercising for 1 entire week out of the entire period.

Luckily I have been better about watching what I eat. I did fall back on my old habit of counting calories. It really is the best way to watch intake and keeps me from eating out as often since it is impossible to know how many calories are in foods at restaurants and fast food places. I do have a couple of resources for finding out calories for both what I cook and what I eat out, though it is much easier to find calorie counters for vegetable than the local Chinese restaurant. But, I reserve eating at those places on my built in “off” day each week. I mean I am only human and need some indulgence occasionally. So on that day I eat whatever I want without counting one single calorie. And what usually ends up happening is my stomach can’t hold as much as it used to by the time that day rolls around so I’m still not packing on as much as I once would have.

I did find charts to track calories eaten in a day and weekly exercise on my computer so all I had to do was adjusted the spreadsheets a little and not create them all from scratch. Whew, what a relief. It has been a long time since I have created a spreadsheet and left to my own devices I might never have done which would have seriously hindered tracking the progress of my new year’s resolution. Not that writing it down by any means insures I’ll do well but it can’t hurt.

So next week I NEED to get back to exercising. At first this week I used my husband’s hurt back as an excuse because I didn’t want to exercise alone. What a crock, really I just wanted to stay in bed nice and comfy. Then The bitter cold that came through our area dumping several inches of snow and dropping us in the sub-zero temperatures kept me from getting out of bed until I absolutely had to. But I am going to rededicate myself to being more fit, being healthier and having more energy come Monday.

Anyone else that might be experiencing a backslide in their commitment to their new year’s resolution to exercise and eat well can feel free to comment and we can commiserate, share advice or support each other’s efforts. Here’s to not giving up on being a better person!

Dressing for the Outdoors

So, it is the New Year and I promised myself I would eat better and lose the extra weight I have been carrying around for far too long. As everyone knows, the biggest step is getting active, something I have not been great about for some time. Now here is the rub, the hubby and I are still working out the new budget in our new residence and aren’t sure a monthly gym expense will fit into it. So I am left with the daunting task of exercising at home or the even less attractive option of going outside. Normally this would not be an issue if it weren’t the middle of winter and snowing like crazy outside my window as I type this. You see I absolutely hate being cold. So I need to make sure I am dressed appropriately for the weather if I am going to be out in it. As with almost everything I research, I turned to the internet. While I was looking for information on how to stay warm as I am getting some much-needed exercise I came across this informative article on dressing for the outdoors.

From what this article says, apparently layering is the name of the game. This particular article recommends three layers: a base layer, mid layer and outer shell. Now clearly some materials are better than others. Your regular everyday cotton t-shirt simply won’t do as the base layer since it doesn’t help wick moisture away from your body. Moisture and warmth are the biggest factors when dressing for the outdoors. It’s an interesting combination as usually one; warmth, leads to the other; moisture. But too much moisture, especially if it is winter, is a bad thing. Mind you, layers aren’t just for winter they really are the best policy year round, you simply have to change the weight and thickness of the materials. Now the mid layer is what provides your warmth along with wicking moisture away from the base layer. This normally consists of a fleece jacket or vest during warmer weather. Lastly, there is the outer shell that gives you protection from the elements so it needs to be wind and waterproof. It also needs to be a breathable material or else you run into the excessive moisture issue again. So now, I just need to stock on the appropriate undershirts, fleece jackets and outerwear and I am all ready to take a nice brisk walk or jog in the snow.