AND THE WINNER IS........

...but first let me tell you how many stitches were involved.

285 in the actual bootie. BUT!!! The strap had an additional 16 stitches. Total: 301 stitches.



Monique, I'll be putting them in the mail today.

To everyone else who participated, call or email me and we can 'work something out'. That would be considered the pregnancy discount.

There's also a COT discount. So, if you fall into that category, you can still get in on the action!

Contest ends at 23:59:59 tonight

So submit your guesses! Who's gonna win!?!!?

Free giveaway? Did someone say Free?

Be prepared to spontaneously gestate......or at the very least be compelled to steal someone's baby just so you can put this on chubby feet.

These will be the giveaway. Answer this question correctly:
How many stitches did it take to create this beautiful display of baby-wearable art?

Rules:

• contest ends 3/29/2010
  
• you must be pregnant (be prepared to prove it if I ask)
  
• you may submit one guess each day until the contest ends
• you must guess in the comments section of this blog post - for everyone to see!!!
  
• just like the price is right, the person who guesses closest to the actual number without going over, wins!
  

If you don't want to pay for some, come to Knit Click on April 12th and learn to make them yourself.

Otherwise, they'll be $15 for one pair. It's made of 70% merino wool, 20% alpaca, 10% silk. This is quality stuff here. So, get to guessin'.

For My Non-Facebook Friends

(Why does one look bluish and the other gray? It's supposed to be gray like the first picture. Help me, photography friends.)

I guess you all should be able to experience my awesomeness too. Scroll down a couple of posts to see the bib I made.

Mother Nature can suck it!

Doesn't she know that she's being terribly mean to me right now?

The weather right now is perfect to go run a couple (3) miles. Or ride many (15-20) miles on my bike. The birds are chirping. The sun is shining. It's crisp and clear and absolutely perfect. Only there's one problem: my period. My Aunt Flo from the Red River Valley is passing through. That 'ho dropped by last night and plans to stay for a few days. She's brought gifts too! Cramps, fatigue, upset stomach, grouchiness! What more could a girl who is training for a triathlon ask for?

I'll tell you what- do the freakin' math. In approximately 28 days, I'll be swimming/biking/running in Virginia.

She had better be nice and give me more good weather when my Tía Flo leaves. That's all I'm sayin'.

Two things

1. I think I have found a new favorite girl group. You can listen to them aqui. They sound kinda like another girl group I like called Company of Thieves. Have you heard of them? Tell me what you think.
2. I'll do a contest for a baby bib. I'll have to make it first. Look for the contest next week.

*I've never done a contest. How does it work? How do I choose? Quick!! Tell all your friends. I want some competetion on here. Monique likes competetion!

taking a break

I know someone who is having a baby, so I decided that I'd make something for her baby. It's a bib. I am going to make another one the next time I need a break from my sweater.

I am making a cuddly bunny blankie too. I'll finish that tonight and post pictures tomorrow. I started both of these projects last night. They have taken a couple of hours to make. Who's having a baby?

craaazy skillz

I just held the yarn.

Clique? No, click!

You know, click. Click, click, click, click. The sound aluminum knitting needles make when you are busy knitting. We had our first Knit Click meeting today. It was so much fun!Ariella and I spent some time teaching everyone how to knit. Doesn't Tiffany look so focused?She was so focused, in fact, that she was totally ignoring her screaming child. That's ok Tiff, we understand. Slavka can't even stop knitting while she's feeding her baby. It's THAT much fun!We even got football-girl, Shelly to knit. Doesn't she look cute? Yes, that's a ball of garden twine I am knitting with. SSSSH, it's a secret project for a friend. Don't tell her. I didn't take any pictures of all the kids that were here. Let's just say that Marianne isn't used to so many toddlers all in one house at a time. I'll get used to it. Next month's Knit Click meeting is April 12th. Everyone is invited. Even toddlers.

i guess it's time for an update

• i've been knitting
• i've been hanging out with ariella in her living room chatting and knitting
• i've been looking up patterns to knit
• i've been learning new knitting skills
• i haven't been training for my triathlon like i should because i want to stay home and knit
• i've gained the weight i wanted to gain because i have been sitting on my ass knitting
• when i wear certain jeans i have a muffin top, so i don't wear those jeans anymore
• my ass looks AMAZING!!
• i want a new job
• correction to above: i want to start my own in home personal training biz
• i also want to start holding boot camp classes at my home
• i think i might call them 'torture with tex'. do you think people would want to come?
• i need some people to train. who's up for it?
• i'm an awesome trainer. seriously. i am worth it.
• this is the longest list of bullets EVER!!
• are you all still interested?
• i'm being a brat now
• you're still reading
• i love you all
• MWAH!!

It's Brie's fault...

that I have size 10 knitting needles semi-permanently attached to my hands and I can't blog.

Too bad, because some pretty cool things have happened to me that I'd like to share with you. But I can't. Because all I can do is knit. My yarn and needles are crying out for me right now. I gotta go take care of them. Bye!

FYNO snow

I didn't get a picture of it, but my dog couldn't even take a pee this morning because the snow was up to his- you know what. I have a picture of Mel in a snowdrift that is up to his- you know what. And Trystan is F-ing his N's O right now.

Poor guys.

Snow Schmow

I don't like it. That's about it.

the definition of marianne

- The girl you always want to get with but never seem to meet her standards. She is a tease, and keeps you wanting more. If you do end up with her (LUCKY BASTARD), she is an amazing kisser. This girl dreams big and knows what she wants.


Go to urbandictionary.com and type in your name. Post your definition in my comments.

Hey- Does anyone have an extra $1,000?

Because that's about what it's going to cost me to be able to do this damn triathlon. I have to get a bike, bike shorts, rent/buy a wetsuit, water bottle/holder, biking shoes, cleats, pedals (thankfully my friend is giving me those), running shoes (already bought). I feel like I'm missing something, but I don't know what. There's a lot of stuff to buy!! It's friggin' expensive.

So, who wants to sponsor me? Or buy special limited edition triathlon jewlery? How 'bout some triathlon cookies? Harmony - I could sign pictures of my ass and you could auction off prints of it and we could share the profits.

Ok, not really. Well, maybe kind of .

things you should know

• i have callouses on my thumbs because i have played waaaay too many hours of my new game.
• savasana works. really. it worked so well for me last night that startled myself out of sleep because i was snoring.
• you are an official member of the yoga geek club if you didn't have to click the link to find out what savasana means. (tell me who you are, and i'll send your card in the mail)
• if i don't stop eating and gaining weight, i'm going to have to buy new clothes. who's up for a thrift store run?
• if it's still snowy at my house on tuesday, you people are invited over for a potluck/sledding/playdate at noon. bring a sled and some food to share. if you need the address, call me.

That's all.

FINALLY!!!!

It's taking every fiber of my being to not wake Trystan up so we can play this game right now. (it's almost 11pm) Because believe me, he'd wake up. And we'd play it all night. Until we had blisters on our fingers.

But I won't. I'm going to go to bed now so I can dream of Mario and Luigi and the adventures that await us ALL DAY LONG tomorrow.

Like, DU-UH?!

Who would have thought that eating regularly and exercising regularly would make such a difference?

Me. That's who. I mean, I AM a fitness professional and all. But just because I know something, doesn't mean that I'll do it. Until now.

For the past 7 months, I've been stressed, unhappy, and slowly wasting away. You see, when I get stressed, I don't eat. Then, I get depressed because I'm not fueling my body, then I don't want to eat, then I lose weight because I'm not eating, then I feel bad about myself because I'm too skinny, then I get depressed, then I don't eat because I'm depressed, then I stress out, BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. Do you see the cycle? That's why I went on zoloft. Well, the zoloft was for PMS, but the PMS just made everything 1,000 times worse.

Then, one morning in the beginning of November, I had the following conversation with my dear husband:
Him: Babe, I was looking at you earlier, and you are starting to look scary skinny.
Me: What? Really?
Him: (very seriously) Yes. You look pretty bad actually.
Me: Wow. Ok.

So that was my call to action. You guys know my husband. He's a great guy. He has never said anything negative to me about my weight. Whether I was soft and squishy after having a baby (let's call that the 20's), or fit and trim like I am now. So for him to say that I looked scary was my reason to take things seriously. I went out that day and bought a little black spiral notebook. You all may have seen it sitting on the counter during BGW. I wrote down everything. What I ate, what I drank, what type of activity I did. I'd weigh in each week to track my progress.

Honestly, it was just as hard to gain weight as it was to lose weight. I've been on both sides of that coin. I'd gain a pound, lose two. Gain three pounds, lose one. Lose two pounds. Gain one. This went on till I finally gained 5 pounds from the original and kept it on. I hit a plateau. I couldn't gain more. (really? is she serious?) So then, I stopped exercising. Like, really. I went from 6 or 7 days per week to 1 or 2. That's what did it. Well, that and BGW.

I have gained the 10 pounds I needed to gain. So now, I am eating all the time, and that's a good thing because I am training for a triathlon. I am going to be working out 6 or 7 days per week again. My pants are fitting me again. My bras aren't loose. Even in a sports bra, I'm not totally flat chested.

The best part?!!? I really feel like ME again. I am creative again. I'm cooking - no - creating great recipes. (I'll share them eventually) I'm being crafty again. Ariella and I are knitting. I'm still doing jewelry. I am being more creative at work with clients and with my own personal workouts. I even am enjoying my kids. I'm not always searching for ways to escape my house. It's great. AND!! I'm not taking zoloft anymore.

That's it. Now comment on my blog and tell me how great I am and how happy you are for me.

What Goes Around, Comes Around

Karma. It's real. I'm living it. It's the 20-year curse rearing its ugly head again.

• 20 years ago, I was 14.
• 20 years ago, nothing my family did was acceptable.
• 20 years ago, I didn't want anything to do with my siblings.
• 20 years ago, my mother was the meanest, most selfish bitch in the universe.
• 20 years ago, I had such a bad attitude about anything that was outside my sphere of existence, that all I could do without spewing nastiness was sleep.
• 20 years ago, I knew everything.
• 20 years ago, I was the sh**!
• 20 years ago, while I was being yelled at/arguing with my terrible bitch of a mother, I vowed that I would NEVER say/do/think/act that way.

The only saving grace is that in 20 years, I'll be able to enjoy when karma rears it's ugly head again. On Her.

Growing up and letting go...

SUCKS! It sucks BIG HAIRY ONES!

Where do you draw the line? How much freedom is too much? How do you let your kid have experiences and develop her sense of self, and demonstrate that you have taught/are teaching her well? How do these things happen without causing wrinkles/ acne/ gray hairs? How do you shelter your kid enough so she can still be safe without causing long-term damage?

I don't want feedback from you unless you have or have ever had a teenager. I'll even accept your opinion if you still are a teenager, or just past teenager-hood. Or if you can remember a specific example of how your parents handled this situation when you were a teenager.

But if you have little kids, and you are giving me your 'I think this is how I would handle it' opinion, I don't want to hear it. Seriously. I need actual, proven advice here.