December 2008Monthly Archives

My blog hits the big time!

I’ve noticed over the past few days that I’ve had several comments and emails from new readers of my blog. In fact, I’ve gotten some really nice emails from folks complimenting me both on my blog in general, and on my weight loss success as well. I was a bit surprised by the sudden surge of new folks, but thankful to have them. I just kind of chalked it up that since it’s the holiday season, perhaps people had more time for blog surfing and were checking weight loss/fitness blogs looking for some motivation for all of those New Year resolutions. As it turns outs, I was wrong and today I found out why!

My blog made the “Blog Chatter” section of the January issue of Women’s Running magazine (formerly Her Sports & Fitness). I left a comment on their blog a few weeks ago when they announced the new Rock n’ Rock Seattle marathon/half marathon on their site. I had just registered for the half marathon, so I left a comment about how much I was looking forward to the race. So, you can find my little comment in the January issue at the bottom of page 12 (see “A New Grunge Run” in the Blog Chatter section).

So, if you are reading this entry and found your way here via Women’s Running, welcome to my blog! Please leave a comment and let me know you stopped by for a visit. Of course, the down side to this is that I now feel compelled to write more meaningful posts and not spend as much time on things like Bad Scale. I’m sure I’ll find a happy middle of the road though.

If I don’t get around to posting again before Christmas, I hope everyone has a very safe and happy holiday. I’ll be thinking of you from out here in Fa La La La Land. Merry Christmas!!

23 December 2008

Misc., Thoughts

8 comments

Secret Sister Exchange

I decided to participate in the Secret Sister holiday exchange on the Legacy Embroiders Guild message board. I received my goody package from my Secret Sister yesterday. It was from Karin (of Beardie Designs) in The Netherlands. Here’s a pic of what I received (click photo for a larger view):

She sent me a gorgeous cut of Newcastle linen (40-count from Zweigart), some beautiful Thread Gatherer Silk ‘n Colors fibers, and a box of decadently delicious Ferrero Mon Cheri candy. They were wonderful!! Yes, they’re gone already. Thankfully for my waistline, I actually didn’t eat them all myself though. Yesterday was the monthly open stitch class at my LNS, so I shared them with my stitching friends there. I think pretty much everyone came by to fondle the fabric & fibers, too.

I have to admit I was a bit surprised by the candy. I only knew about the now discontinued American version of Mon Cheri which were hazelnut filled. The German version is totally different! They are Kirsch-filled dark chocolate covered cherries. To give you a little idea of how tasty these were, here is a description I found on a website: “A juicy Piemont cherry, floating in luscious brandy and hidden away in a delicate shell of rich, dark chocolate.” Yep, that pretty much sums up how delicious they were.

Thanks so much for all the goodies, Karin!

21 December 2008

Cross Stitch

2 comments

Bad Scale!

I know this feeling EXACTLY!

17 December 2008

Misc., Weight Loss/Fitness

3 comments

Biggest Loser Finale

The person I was pulling for won!!!! YAY!!!

A new challenge for next season (premiering Jan. 6) was also announced during the show. It’s called the Pound for Pound Challenge. For each pledged pound (up to an average of 2 pounds per week) that a person loses during the challenge period of Dec. 15, 2008 until May 5, 2009, General Mills will donate 10¢ to Feeding America (formerly Second Harvest). So, not only can you lose weight, you can help a great cause at the same time! I’ve pledged 25 pounds for the challenge. Anyone else want to take up the challenge with me?

Pound For Pound Challenge - I took the pledge to lose weight and help feed those in need - JOIN ME!

For those of you who might already be at your ideal weight, there is still a way to join in the challenge. Participating General Mills products will feature Pound For Pound Challenge Seals. Just clip them out and mail them in. For every seal received by 12/31/09, General Mills will donate 10¢ to Feeding America™ up to a maximum donation of $275,000. Just look for the specially-marked packages of the following brands: Cheerios®, Honey Nut Cheerios®, MultiGrain Cheerios®, Total®, Fiber One® (Cereal, Bars, Muffin Mix, Pancake Mix, and Yogurt), Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™, Chex Mix® 100 Calorie, Nature Valley® Granola Bars, Warm Delights® Minis, Bisquick® Heart Health®, Cascadian Farm® (Cereal and Bars), and Yoplait Light® and Yoplait® yogurt.

17 December 2008

Misc., Weight Loss/Fitness

5 comments

Couch to 5k

I started a Couch to 5k (C25K) training plan yesterday. Instead of the original C25K plan from Cool Running, I’m using a more conservative plan from Beginner Triathlete. They have both a 16-week “aggressive” and a 28-week “conservative” plan there. I’m following the 28-week plan since they said it was recommended for those who still have weight to lose.

The conservative plan starts very slowly which is perfect for anyone just getting back into exercise. In fact, the plan starts out with all walking for the first month. There’s not any actual running time until week 5, and even then it’s a very gradual increase over time. Given the amount of weight I still need to lose, I think this plan is perfect for me. It will allow me to get back to my love of running, yet still afford me the time to work out my PF issues and lose some more weight before I start running longer times/distances.

Starting this plan now actually coincides perfectly with the half marathon (Rock n’ Roll Seattle) I’m signed up for at the end of June, too. I was initially planning to walk the whole thing, but now I hope to run at least part of it.

If anyone else is interested in reading more about either of these plans, here are the links:

16-week “aggressive” C25K
28-week “conservative” C25K

Hope everyone is having a GREAT week!

16 December 2008

Stitching

4 comments

Weekend Knitting

I’m not sure if it was just the cooler temperatures we’ve been experiencing here in southern California or what, but I decided to do a bit of knitting this weekend. It’s the first knitting I’ve done in ages. Honestly, I can’t even remember the last time I did any.

I picked a very basic pattern (Ellen’s Hat from the Lion Brand website), so I was able to start and finish it between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. I could have actually finished it on Saturday night, but I didn’t have any size 8 dpn’s, so I had to run to Michael’s on Sunday morning and pick up a set.

Here’s a pic of the finished hat (pardon the no makeup – it was the weekend )

I used some ancient (now discontinued) Noro Kureopatero 100% wool yarn from my stash. I clearly was planning to use this yarn for a sweater as some point as I have about 10 more balls of it.

This hat took 1 ball of yarn and about 4 hours of knitting time. Now that I am familiar with the pattern, I may knit up some more to donate to The SHIPS Project for the troops since this is one of their approved designs.