More testing

I have to share the new cardigan I test knit for Jennifer Dassau aka needlediva on Ravelry.  She always designs patterns that end up teaching me new techniques and push me to tackle some of my knitting fears.  This new sweater, Stolitsa, isn't release yet, but when it is you should get yourself some Malabrigo Twist and knit one up.  I can't wait to cast one the beautiful shawl I am testing for her next.

80 down, 10 to go!

The moment I have been putting off finally happened last Saturday:  I set my official WW goal weight and it is only 10 pounds away.  I feel like I am about to graduate from school, making sure I have completed all the necessary classes and getting nervous about the big day.  I have set my goal a little bit higher than I actually want to end up at to give myself more flexibility, especially when I start some serious marathon training.  I keep hearing that the hard part is keeping it off.  I am ready for the challenge!  I know that I'll be going to meetings, tracking, and setting fitness goals to help me maintain my healthy lifestyle.  In fact, as I lose the last 10 I have a race every weekend in May.  To find races in the Kansas City area to walk or run go to www.mararunning.org. I would love to see some familiar faces at these races:

•  Run for Mercy  4/30 
•  Mother's Day 5k which is really fun on 5/8
•  Run With the Cows on 5/14
•  Weight Watcher's Walk-it 5k on 5/22 
•  Amy Thompson Run/Walk on 5/30

Monkey See, Monkey Do

This weekend I had a truly wonderful weight loss moment.  It had nothing to do with a number on the scale or the size of my pants: it had everything to do with how my choices have impacted my children.  After I ran the Trolley Run on Sunday, my boys did their first kids run.  It sounds like just a fun thing to do: get a cute shirt and watch little boys do what little boys do.  But, for me it meant so much more.  Because I run, my kids will have opportunities to be active and healthy.  As simple as that sounds, it hit me very profoundly as I watched my youngest zoom past the other kids in his age group.  My boys are not only watching me be more active: they have a parent who will be active with them.  Priceless!

Testing . . .Testing. . .

I think it would be safe to say that I am addicted to knitting.  I love collecting yarn, drooling over beautiful patterns, and spending time on Ravelry for hours and hours, talking to other addicts.  Thanks to ravelry I have found other "junkies" who love Malabrigo Yarns.  We swap yarn and goodies, admire each other's finished projects, and several of the ladies are amazing designers.  I have been so lucky and have test knit several patterns.  I get the opportunity to knit things up before the patterns are released and the designers find out if the patterns need to be tweaked or corrected.  This week I finished a yummy infinity scarf that I tested for Breean Elyse.  I always love her patterns (this is the 4th I have tested, I think).

I love a challenge!

My first 5k

It's my favorite time of year at Weight Watchers: the Walk-it Challenge.  Time to get off the couch and train to walk a 5k.  Last Mother's Day I walked my first 5k, proving to myself that I could do it and instantly got hooked.  I am by nature a pretty competitive person, so  I wanted to do more 5k walks and I wanted to do them faster.  I watched the runners finish the whole 3.1 miles in the time it took me to reach the 1 mile marker.  THAT was my new goal: I wanted to be a runner.  Anyone who has ever known me before that point probably wouldn't have ever imagined me doing anything active. I wasn't even sure that I wasn't crazy.
This year, over a dozen 5k's and a half marathon later, my challenge to myself is finish a 5k in 30 minutes, start training for the Disney Marathon next January, and to encourage as many people as I can to get out there and challenge themselves.  Walk it, run it, prove to yourself that the only limitations to what you can do, are the limitations that you put on yourself.

Mixing it up

I remember when I joined Weight Watchers, a year ago today, I went to the store and found all of the low point bargains I could find.  The lower the points the better, regardless of how satisfying or filling or even tasty a food was.  It was hard to use all my daily points back then.  I was full because I was eating a lot of things and I was pretty proud of myself.  But, I soon got bored and missed some of my favorite foods.  Here is where WW gets it right:  nothing is off limits so there is no reason to get bored.  I just broke out different cookbooks,  and boredom be gone!   Just last week I found a couple of new cookbooks that are full of delicious foods and give me all the emotional satisfaction I can handle.  I broke out the mixer, used REAL BUTTER and make scones from scratch.  Not diet food, not fat-free, just a yummy comfort food trimmed a bit slimmer.  Cooking Light cookbooks and magazine are my new favorite.  If you are a foodie or just bored and need some inspiration you should give them a try.  This week I made Bacon Ranch Chicken Mac and Cheese:  6pp/ cup.  Kids were happy, husband was happy, and I felt like I had made real food.  I used butter, 2 kinds of cheese and a tiny bit of bacon and still only ate 6 pp.  Not too shabby.  While not every recipe is a point "bargain",  you will not feel like you "overpaid" when you indulge.  Tonight I am making Chipotle Peach Grilled Chicken Thighs: 8pp for 2 thighs.  I will let you know how it taste!

Work in Progress

Each of the past few weeks I have given myself some mini-challenges.  One week I increased exercise and last week I had 3 sweaters I needed to finish (2 are complete and 1 nearly done).  Knitters refer to projects that are in various stages as WIPs, or works in progress. I have dozens of projects that I have put aside that need sleeves, buttons, or that I put down because something else grabbed my knitting attention. This week, and probably for the entire month of April my personal goal is to finish all the projects I need to finish.  In some cases "finishing" something may be unknitting it because it fits my old, nearly 80 pound heavier self. I have decided that I need to get 'er done or undone so that I end up with objects that I can use and love.
In the same vein, I am going to continue working on myself.  I am renewing my exercise goals.  I have gotten out of my groove the last few weeks. When the alarm goes off in the morning I need to remember that sleep may be nice, but nothing feels as good as accomplishing all I have done this past year.  Unlike my knitting,  I am not a WIP that will become a FO( finished object).  Life has a way of always adding things on, changing pattern mid-row, and turning things inside out.  But if I keep working at it, I am sure to love the WIP I become.

Josh and I at Opening Day Last May

Josh and I at Opening Day this year.