South Beach

This week I purposely did not post for Ten on Tuesday - I might be able to stretch for some categories, but this week's Favorite cocktails or mocktails was too much of a stretch for me (as I don't drink or like mocktails even) so I decided to skip it.

I did want to post this week though, and then I ran into a problem. The only knitting items I am currently working on are not blog-able. They are gifts for people who could (whether they do or not, who knows) read the blog.

So.... I thought I'd post about another aspect of my life. I in the middle of day 5 out of 14 days of South Beach Diet, phase one. Phase one is a pretty strict two week course in re-training your body. For these two weeks you severely limit carbs and sugar - including pasta, rice, bread, starchy veg (carrots, peas), corn, oats, potatoes, fruit, milk, etc. None of those. Which sounds pretty drastic, but I am eating lean meat and eggs and low-fat cheese, and lots and lots of green vegetables.

For breakfast I am eating protein (eggs, cheese, canadian bacon), and at least 1/2 C vegetables - usually spinach in my eggs and a can of V8. For lunch I can have protein and at least 2 Cups of vegetables, and some fat. I usually have a large salad - lettuce and fresh spinach, cucumber, pea pods, broccoli, peppers, almonds, ham or chicken breast chopped up, and small amount of dressing. For dinner how I cook the vegetables varies, but I can have once again protein, at least 2 cups of vegetables, and some fat. I have 2-3 snacks a day - usually a certain amount of nuts, or celery with cheese. I also have a scattered through the day a variety of hard sugar free candies and some sugar free popsicles.

The first day or two was pretty hard, both because it was weekend/holiday, so not my normal schedule and also because I was pretty addicted to my carbs throughout the day. I absent-mindedly grabbed a cookie at the end of a library event yesterday, and I plan to cheat a bit tonight at bookclub, but otherwise I figure I can do this for 14 days. I am letting my kids eat some of our contraband food for their lunch and breakfast - but dinner I am only making one, so they have to eat our food or cheat from it in only small ways.

On day 15 I start phase two and I can start adding back in one serving of starch (bread/rice/pasta) and one serving of fruit. I can slowly increase those to three servings a day, as long as I don't notice cravings coming back. I can also add back in 1 1/2 c milk or yogurt.

I'm doing this diet with my husband - he's done it before a couple of times while I've done most of it but not stayed strictly with it due to other circumstances (pregnant or breastfeeding usually), so it's been interesting to do it completely. I usually feel so full by the end of the day - but i still want my chocolate - maybe soon I'll have to grab some sugar-free fudgsicles. The idea is to continue with phase two until you get to your desired weight and then move into phase 3 where you still eat with the same basic guidelines but add some things back in every once in a while. Our usual course of attack has been to do phase one and phase two for a while and then slowly drift back to our normal eating habit, to return and do phase one and phase two sometime (a year or two) in the future.

Now, if you made it this far, through all my diet talk...

I realized that my last post was post number 250. A milestone number of posts and the fact that I'm sick of snow and cold... that means that it's time for a contest! Just leave a comment and you'll be entered into the contest. Get someone else to leave a comment (they have to somehow mention you in their comment) and you'll get another entry (and they are then entered also!) I'll then pick a random winner from all the entries. The only rule is that you have to make sure I have your email address if you want to be able to win (I will not be tracking people down - I'll just skip to the next random winner who is easier to contact). Oh, right, and you can comment on any post going forward until the end of the contest - not just this one... Feel free to comment more than once - each comment on a separate post will give you a separate entry - multiple comments on the same post will only result in one entry - make sense?

Oh right, you might want to know the prize.... There are two options - if you are a knitter/crocheter you might be more interested in the first, otherwise you are welcome to choose either.

Option A: You can choose some fiber in my stash and I will spin one skein to whatever weight yarn you want... plied and washed and ready to make something with.

Option B: You can choose any project that will use one skein of yarn in my stash and I will make it for you. My stash in pretty eclectic right now so that's a lot of different project options, but if you get your heart set on something that isn't in my stash we can talk... no promises.

The contest will close to entries at midnight my time zone saturday March 5th - that gives quite a while for entries, and it just so happens to be the end of phase one for me! I'll pick a winner and let you know monday march 7th.

The little Admiral, aka Tomato

My young son has had two different 'blog' names - I don't know which will end up being his for good, but almost three years old now both still fit.

After finishing a pair of socks for his older sister a week or two ago I looked at some yarn left over from a pair of socks I had made for my husband. I weighed it, compared it to some of my pairs of socks and realized I had *just* enough to make a short pair for me... Yeah, I must not have really wanted them, because as I was starting the toe he declared that he needed socks and those looked good. Now, normally I don't give in to demands like that... but I think he's right. He needed a pair of dress-up socks, and these did look good for his church outfits.



So now Daddy and the Admiral have matching socks. He might even wear them this Sunday if I remember.

I also finished spinning some yarn for a vest for him. At least that's what I hope it will end up being.


It's green. Can you tell? It's also about 8.5 oz and more details you don't care about on my Ravelry page :) I had a goal of 60 oz this year, so I am still on schedule for that... We might discuss the rest of the goals at the end of February....

Back at Christmas my in-laws gave me a gift card to webs, which is just lovely! I ordered some yarn for a sweater for ME and although it was backordered, it arrived this week.


Won't that be nice? I'm thinking it will be a new zipper sweater as my old creme one is pretty pilled.

Ten on Tuesday, on Friday: blog edition

This week's ten on tuesday was supposed to be ten non-knitting blogs that I like to read... I'll go with the definition of blog being anything I read in my RSS reader, so here goes:

1. The Pioneer Woman - she's usually so on point and with it - add in cooking and homeschooling posts and it's perfect!

2. Penelope Loves Lists - she's been a bit busy lately, but this take on life so resonates with me.

3. Unclutterer - the name is pretty self explanatory...

4. The Happiness Project - once again, pretty understandable from the title. Sometimes she gets a little too repetitive, as I've read her book and her blog for a while, but the reminders are usually useful and helpful

5. Space Station Nathan - Nathan Hale, illustrator extraordinaire has a blog. He worked on Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack, both comic book style fun kids books. During February he's challenging himself with a picture book concept everyday... and before that he posted a page a day of a beginning reader picture book (who says once you start reading the words that the pictures have to be boring?)

6. It Made My Day (or IMMD) - This updates in my reader several times a day, so when I check my mail randomly through the day I can usually catch one or two of these happy short stories.

7. Not Always Right - I have a snarky sarcastic mean side to my humor, and these little stories always make me roll my eyes and chuckle at how idiotic some customers can be - and behave better if I find myself in a similar situation....

8. Mormon Mommy Wars - sometimes touching, sometimes pointless - always amusing.

9. The Glass Posse - A woman in New York, who is Mormon, a mom, a wife, and trys to take advantage of living in the city while consistently running to casting calls.

10. My friends' blogs - I don't know who wants the traffic and people and who doesn't so I won't put up links, but I love reading about what's going on with people both near and far - I almost never comment, but I so enjoy feeling in the loop!

Catch-up, Yarn and Knitting

Recently my husband saw this project on his RSS ravelry feed and really liked it. Well, thanks to Ravelry I clicked around and found someone who had that yarn and was wanting to sell it.... So a little less than a week later we got this:


...and this...

...in the mail!

I also belong to a barter group on Ravelry and sent off some DVDs I didn't want anymore, but someone else did and sent me this:

some milk fiber


some bamboo


a sock blank (sock yarn that I can dye now)


Some Targhee, which is a breed of wool I haven't tried to spin yet


...and a beautiful batt for me to spin - can't wait to see how this looks!


I've been working on a pair of socks for one of my daughters for almost a month now - and I finally finished them earlier this week!

I started with yarn that matched a tunic I made for her that she loves,


After starting both of them so I could work on them at the same time I had to get both of them through the heel...


Then I just have to keep working on them and trying them on her and working on them some more. This is how you will probably see them normally:


Once it warms up and spring is here though you might see them like this:


The patterning on them matches the tunic, just a little different, and then ribbing on top of course to help keep them up!



After finishing those socks I pulled out some yarn left over from a pair for my husband. I wanted to use at least a bit more of it before sending it to the sock blanket, so I started a pair, and before I could try them on and measure my foot, someone else claimed them.


So, a little boy will have matching socks with his daddy. Right now I am actually finished with the first one and started the toe of the second.

Two Ten on Tuesdays

So, I missed last week's Ten on Tuesday - and although I have another post or two coming later this week hopefully I figured I should catch up a bit!

Last week was ten things on your nightstand:
1. My alarm clock
2. My reading lamp
3. Current book I'm reading
4. Pile of next books I'm planning to read
5. Sometimes a box of tissues - when allergies hit I better have a box near me or I can never sleep
6. New Testament - which I'm still on target for my goal this year of a chapter a day
7. A coaster for a glass of water or herbal tea
8. A small basket that holds bookmarks and random little odds and ends so they don't spread out and fall
9. The current book I'm reading aloud to my kids - we just finished 'Hero and the Crown' and we're now reading 'Little House on the Prairie'
10. Many many other books - my nightstand is a small bookcase my sweet husband finished for me and holds all my craft books, old magazines, and writing books


and this week's Ten on Tuesday is my ten favorite Oscar winning movies...

Let's see if I can find ten Oscar winners that I really like!
(looking only at the list of Best Picture Winners)

1. Gone with the Wind
2. Casablanca
3. Around the World in 80 days
4. The Bridge on the River Kwai
5. West Side Story
6. My Fair Lady
7. Sound of Music
8. Gandhi
9. A Beautiful Mind
10. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King