Fat Girl Fridays that last a week ... and how to make it better.

Last week Friday, I was feeling mopey and tired and impatient. I know these are phases and one must focus on the positive and not give into the general malaise that is the moody petulant teenager within.

However by Sunday when I was feeling my pettiness grow unreasonably, and I was fighting myself to sleep on Monday, and Tuesday I wore a skirt simply because I didn't like the way that pants felt on me -- I knew I was in trouble. Fat Girl Friday was showing it's chronic tendancies.

Well hell if I'm going to waste anymore time on life-downers. I already work, don't spend enough time doing things I really enjoy with people I genuinely care about. I'm a simple girl, I got a lot of things that make me happy. So FOCUS:

1. My kid did HELLA good on his progress report with his parent teacher conference this week and even though he may need penmanship lessons for life, something inside his brain is clicking and working and he's happy and still looks to hold my hand on the sidewalk.

2. Man-friend still tolerates my ass, even when I am having extended, needy, Fat Girl Fridays, and demand to know why he isn't nicer to me. He'll even opt to make me a snack when I'm whining about frogging knitting projects. I forgive him for drying my fat girl clothes -- which will definitely not fit proper now.

3. Yarn. Oh savior thank you. New things, better things, happy, lighter and even sparkly things. 2010 will be the spring and summer of lace. I already have two shawls started. We'll experiment with more cottons and maybe I'll get crazy style and try a silk cotton blend. ooo. Kappy might just teach me to read a chart. Better than meditation my favorite stationary exercise is always with Yarn.

4. Happy Dinners with the cool kids. I love eating duh. But I love eating in good company. Whether it's birthday dinners with the Triad crew or potlucking at Mlouis and planning the next "Chicken Night" with Wingman. The prospect of the next happy meal is dreamy. I like to eat Ramen with Pearlcream or The Boys and Roast big fat crispy organic chickens and rendered pork belly with my sister. Mmm food.

5. Things to come! This encompasses all of the above, and includes things near, and far. Upcoming events like:

Spring Break in Hawaii with The Kid visiting my own H.A.A.M. (hard ass asian mom) and The Colonel! It's a quick trip, but it will be lovely I already know.

The Triad has TWO birthday dinners it's planning for next month AND El Diablo and I are looking forward to our next spontaneous snack night. (kind of like happy hour, but with drinks optional for the teetotalers.)

Playdates with HM and Pearlcream -- doing nothing or anything we want by curfew.

The Colorado Cousins are coming for some California Summer Vacation and to visit with Dad et al East Bayers. I haven't seen them in 3 years. So it will be neat to get together and see our kids get together.

Finishing the planning on Family Vacation with The Boys. If we stick to our August Dates, NYC is looking like a no-go and we are back to the Pacific Northwest Road Trip. Perhaps this is why I keep dreaming about station wagons.

Anyhow, after reading Crazy Aunt Purl today I realized that the funky doesn't need to be THAT funky. I encourage you all to get out and about. Knit, run, read, pet your cat (or your yarn) for a few mins. Look at someone you're thankful in all your Hallmark card glory and get back to it. Really, not only could it be worse, it's not THAT bad ... yet.

Knitting Disappointments and Bad Pie.

Things started off well this weekend. My daily lunch and evening knitting progress was getting me somewhere on at least 3 of 4 ongoing projects I had. I was sure I would be able to complete 3 of them this weekend. Start a new one, and make some tracks on the baby blanket from hell.

I wish I could be happy with the fact that the Destroyed Cowl looks more Cowl than Destroyed with my "visible" Kitchener seam (instead of join). I wish I could be happy that I finished my first pair of handwarmers in the round, and hey! they even look matchy-ish!

Alas No!!!! BOOOOO!

My Infinity Scarf is more a Mopey Moebius, or Twisted Sister since it's too twisted to even be a Moebius. Dear God, such pretty yarn wasted. I'll give it to the Goodwill. Maybe someone more good and willing can put up with it, and if it goes in the bin, at least it's the bin of good will (haha get it?)

But even that I'm okay with, since that pattern has been completed before. It is the pie cowl. Again I feel like I'm constantly haunted by Pie. Crappy Pie Crust all my life. Misunderstanding all Pie metaphors in the American English Idiom dictionary. Forced to pretend I like any pie w/o whipped cream and feeling vilified for not liking fruit pie enough.

Where was I? Oh yes, Pie Cowl. A super cute pattern from Ginny U. @ Urban Knitting Studio. I went it to buy needles (isn't that how it always starts) and then I saw her beautiful cowl and it's unique bind (kinda like a pilsbury crescent roll, but so much jauntier. She selected these beautiful rusts and browns, exclaimed she just finished the pattern and said ... "super easy! super fast! two yarns together knit like a quick chunky!"

"SHUT UP?!?" I say, "WHICH YARN?" I say.

Selecting some lovely colors if I might say, I go home satisfied. Let's just say, I think my basic math sucks, you know stuff like ... counting. The first time, I thought I had at least figured out what I did wrong on row 25 / 39. I was pleased. I figure, oh heck, I can frog this and get back here in no time. I know I can do it now.

WRONG, again. *sigh.

I Knit and W&T dutifully. I get to row 25 and things seem to go well ... yay!

I begin knitting row 27 and ... uh oh. not so good.

And now I have been extra salty for 2 days. I really need to take up some kind of cardio that doesn't involve anxiety.

I will give Pie one last go. But I'm also okay with frogging it and not starting again. Not trying to conquer it. The yarn is beautiful so it will find another way.

And I just found out that Helen is closing Urban Knitting Studio at the end of the month. She is off on her next adventure and project in life. I wish her good luck, for all her kindness and laughter she's shared with me. But I'm mourning more than just my pie now...

Hungry Girl goes Chomp Chomp

I think I'm going to be one of those people where Hungry beats out Lazy. I will unfortunately not be one of those girls that goes "thin" after getting invisaligns in.

I have managed to eat even though I wear my Invisaligns most of the time. I think about food a lot. Is it worth it? I tell myself it's okay to eat my lunch at 9:30 or 10:30 and then I end up snacking around 2. I'm constantly working on my eating/timing strategy.

However I find I'm getting pretty fast at taking these puppies out, even a brand new set of trays.

The time consuming thing ... is the post eating cleaning. OMG! I look like a hobo going into the bathroom, armed with floss, brush, toothpaste, industrial sized flouride rinse. Teeth brushing in work bathroom is a little ick nast as well. I will have to increase my Purell stock.

shudder I just put some on my hands just thinking about the women's bathroom.

Okay that's crazy talk too.

LAY-ZEE ME is going to keep the eating going, the belly a growing and hopefully somewheres in there, my teeth will straighten up a bit.

ps: My love of the almond has faded when I realized it requires TWICE as much brushing before putting on the trays.

More things I wanna do

I was visiting Knitting Daily the other day, and they had a blog feature that led to a link that led to a link and now I'm obsessing ...

Furoshiki gift wrapping from RecycleNow on Vimeo.

It looks fun and easy. Though I'm sure once I give it a go, it won't be so fun and easy for me.

Oh and the fabric! Love it.

I blame mlouis' influence on his travels and sparkling commentary on all things Japan.

Gluttony vs. Sloth

WTF moment ... again. When it was ventured by my hygenist and dentist I could try Invisalign to deal with my crowded bottom teeth. I was nervous. I thought about pulled teeth, pain, and of course, hunger.

I don't do hunger so well.

Anyways after being assured that they wouldn't need to do any teeth removal, I would still be able to eat what I wanted to, (just have to be more dilligent about brushing afterwards) and then NormaJean said, you'd be surprised how many people lose weight wearing them. I thought shucks, why not.

SO VAIN! I KNOW! I'm embarassed. But I figured this would be my best chance at flossing like a normal human being. It also completely helped that my insurace covers a majority of it as well. And let's face it, this may be my only chance at being thinner without trying too hard.

So here I am ... with these weird bumpy bonder things on my teeth coated in plastic trays that make me feel like i'm drooling all the time. And truthfully, it's tedious stuff taking them out, brushing, brushing them, rinsing, putting them back in. I practically carry half a dental office into the bathroom w/me at work during lunch time.

But I've also been really, really hungry. I realize JUST how much sport snacking I do. Stressed about finishing something in time? I snack. Bored because I'd rather be knitting? I snack.

I kind of knew I am this way, since I notice I'm not nearly as hungry or hungry as often during the weekend. Go Figure.

So the question is this. What will win out? Gluttony or Sloth. My laziness to have to go through that cleaning ritual everytime I want to have a crunchy snack, let alone have a cup of tea or coffee. OR do I break down in despair and hunger and learn how to clean my teeth and trays super speedy-like and be pleasingly plump BUT with straighter teeth a little longer?

(I really will do the cleansing ritual, because the thought of "coated teeth" or sealed in sugars eroding my enamel, gives me the heebies in an irrational way.)

After all innovation was born from laziness.

Talking About Fatigue

So I need to tell you I'm running on fumes, fumes I tell you. The rundown is like this -- yesterday I had a second party for The Kid. It was our family this time. This meant a lot of cooking and cleaning. More cooking and less cleaning than the kid party. Hey, they are family! They KNOW how we really live, why fight it?

Now this happens after my dear father was admitted to hospital this week. He is home now, thankfully (Prognosis still outstanding) So my father again has mastered the ability to make me fret! And he can't even ground me anymore!!

This is also after our sink went out! Which My fabulous man/friend/room-mate bff first took apart on Friday and had working. Then upon Saturday morning breakfast failure, came home after a long hard day's work and completely replaced the faucet.

Saturday I went with Pearlcream and Shing to the Stitches West Market ... SO MUCH FUN, but so exhausting.

I'll have to follow up with a post on that later. I'll start by saying, Shing should never be left alone in one of those and I should pay Ms. Pearlcream some service charge for everytime I ask her what yarn color I should choose.

Must go finish being exhausted now.

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

Today is 1 March. The 2010 Winter Olympics and Knitting Olympics are completed. Finished. Ovah.

And Stacy's Cowl remains suspended at the top of the slope, waiting to complete it's final runs. The final row. The kitchener join.

Seriously, I know if I just stopped, took the time and applied myself I could've done it. (Like posting photos of The Kid's Valentine's, President's Day, Lunar New Year, Black History Month Party, or mailing shit to France AND Marin)

I also know I could've told you all I did it and bullshitted about how, you all (twos of you) would have to wait for final photos. And if those took weeks to post no one would be surprised because i'm infamously slow with things like that.

But then I would be a liar, liar and my pants would be aflame. I don't know maybe it's unethical to me only because it has to do with knitting. Like if I were talking about trying a recipe or finishing a home project... I would lie ... just to get you off my back. But knitting is kind of sacred no?

And I would lie to have that naked knitting man olympian medalion image as if I earned it. I could even buy a naked knitting man t-shirt and get a laugh or two ...

Failure is not complete. And my pants aren't on fire.