Portland II

On Wednesday, Christian and I decided to go for a hike - despite the wind and rain - at Cape Lookout along the Oregon coast. It was rainy (um... did I already mention that?) and muddy and I couldn't help laughing silently at how many times Christian had to pull up his pants that he normally wears around his butt cheeks in order to hike. Overall, it was a really great day (despite the rain, rain, rain). (I am continually amazed by my size in photos - I don't feel that big!) Here's a pic of Christian, once again, pulling up his pants...

Portland I

I arrived in Portland, OR yesterday. I spent the day with my son, Christian, who moved here last month. We walked around downtown Portland - lots of homeless people. Had lunch at the Pita Pit - kind of like a Subway, except with pita bread, plus you can get hot things (not warmed in the microwave...). Then went to Powell's book store which takes up a whole block in downtown. I only made it into 3 of the many rooms - overwhelming! Then, we went and saw The Soloist which was excellent.

By the way, if you haven't tried it yet, you should check out Priceline for great travel deals. I stayed last night at the Silver Cloud Inn just outside of downtown - 2 1/2 star hotel (according to Priceline) and by naming my price I got the room for only $60. The next few nights I'll be staying at the Doubletree Inn at Lloyd Center where the Knit and Crochet Show is being held, so I didn't get any special deals for that, but on my last night in Portland, I'm staying at a 3-star hotel near the airport for only $45! Crazy!

Here's a photo from my current hotel room (at the Silver Cloud Inn):

Not much to look at (except my rental car on the left), but very adequate.

Today we're hiking to a waterfall. It's supposed to rain this afternoon, but that's o.k. I don't mind getting wet. Before we go there, I'll be visiting Knit/Purl in downtown and the needlepoint store that's next door.

By the way, I'm reading a very funny book about losing weight: Jen Lancaster's Such a Pretty Fat.

No Weight Loss

No weight loss to report. I've had really no success in staying on WW. Maybe I was sabotaging myself from the beginning. I don't know. All I know is that I haven't lost anything, I'm still completely tired ALL THE TIME, and I haven't found the energy or the time to exercise. I did go back to the doctor's office this week and demanded some further testing to try to get to the bottom of the tiredness issue. I haven't received the results yet...

Still knitting, crocheting and needlepointing as much as possible (DUH!).

I'm looking forward to heading to Portland, Oregon in a week and half to visit my son and to attend the Knit and Crochet Show. I'm taking a couple of hairpin lace classes (with Hansen? the Stitch Diva) as well as a crochet class with Lily Chin. I'm looking forward to it!

Difficulties

O.K. so here's the situation. The weight loss plan (WLP) is not going great. I have lost 2 lbs since I started two weeks ago, but I'm really having a difficult time with it. Here are the important factors:

1. I like food. Really! I especially like sweet things. And salty things. Sweet and salty together is extra special. I think I should stop eating sugar, but it's really hard. I have done it before, but it wasn't fun and I missed it too much!
2. I work too much. I love my job. I love owning 3 Kittens. But the truth is that it's really hard to eat well when I spend so much time at work.
3. I don't get enough exercise - or any right now for that matter. I realized recently that in order to exercise, I really need to have a goal. When I am training for a marathon, I at least get in a few training sessions a week. When I was working towards my black belt in karate, it was easy to get motivated. I would like to go back to karate, but see #2 above. And, I'm not planning on starting to train for another marathon until May.
4. I have a gluten intolerance. It's not too hard to eat gluten-free, but it does make it more difficult to eat quick and easy things. And fast food is almost impossible.
5. I think I may have a thyroid issue. I've had my thyroid tested and it keeps coming back in the normal range, but I'm not convinced. My biggest symptom (other than my weight gain) is that I am tired all the time. I've even gone in for a sleep study, after which the doctor told me I just needed to get more sleep. Unfortunately, even if I get 8-9 hours of sleep a night, I'm as tired as if I get 6.5-7.5 hours per night. SIGH!

Anyway, those are the issues that are plaguing me. That said, I am still going to keep trying!

Lorenz Manifold

I finished crocheting the Lorenz Manifold last week, and I finally got around to trying to mount it. First, the instructions for the positive z-axis seem to be off. When I inserted the central unbendable wire, it was a little wonky - no a lot wonky. So, I ended up folding the Lorenz Manifold in half according to the photo in the instructions and then re-inserted the wire. Then I did the outer bendable wires which worked great - but I realized that the central wire is way too short.



My DH says he can get a longer wire, but not tempered - in other words it will bend. He'll have to heat-treat it in order to make it unbendable. So the project is on hold until sometime next week...

WLP: Much better today... Not perfect, but better.

DISASTER

Terrible day with food. Feelings of guilt and shame. I know I have to let go of those feelings and move on into the next day, so that's the plan.... 'Nough said.

Goal Orientation

Well, I've had it. I am way too big for my britches - literally! And, I've decided to use this blog as my daily (yes, daily) focusing tool for my new goal to lose 60 lbs. I can't believe I actually just put this out on cyber-space, but frankly something has to give, and maybe this is a way for me to be accountable...

I haven't given up on posting about knitting/crocheting/punchneedle/needlepoint. I'll still include updates on those - probably even more often now that I'll be on daily! As a matter of fact, here's a current photo of me in a vest from Classic Elite's Curvy Knits booklet that I finished in January:

And, while it's a beautiful sweater and it fits a curvy figure like mine, this photo abhors me! Look how skinny my hands look, then look at the rest of me. It's not a good thing.

How am I going to lose all those pounds? Well, first, I've signed up for Weight Watchers online. Second, I'm going to start walking again on a regular basis (now that the snow has melted). Third, I'm going to post my progress, trials, successes, etc. here daily... I'm sure other things will come up that will help me - like the support of my friends and family.

So, off we go...

Knitting Frenzy

I am on a knitting frenzy lately - lots of small projects. Of course, this is all to the detriment of my needlepoint and crochet projects! I actually finished my Einstein Coat that I started in October of 2006 (photo to come), plus I've finished a pair of socks

This is my first pair of socks in my goal to knit a pair each month in 2009. I've joined the Great Sock Off of 2009 on Ravelry to keep me going. This one is a basic ribbed sock pattern with some small design changes on the top of the foot - to keep me from going insane. They're made out of Malabrigo Sock yarn in Indecieta.

I've also made two hats for the store

The top one is from Hip Knit Hats and is made out of Berroco Peruvia Quick (sorry about the bad photo...). The bottom one is a Figheadh Yarnworks pattern out of Berroco Peruvia.

Small projects are so fun, because they're manageable and portable. The bottom hat took me less than two days to finish (probably a total of 4 hours).

Tom Scott's Vogue Wrap

I made a version of Tom Scott's Cabled Wrap from the new winter issue of Vogue Knitting. I'm not thrilled with the finished product, but it is kind of cool. And, guess what? Ravelry asked me if they could use a picture of my wrap on the pattern page for the item! I'm thrilled - although I wish I had rearranged the item a bit on the mannequin...