The Shawl

Let me tell you the story of the shawl. Ever since I started producing knitted items worth wearing my Mom has wanted a shawl. Lace weight. I have made her a couple of other knitted items and a shawl sized Mustard Scarf but she wanted a lacy shawl.

First I started a Forest Canopy shawl. I knit for a while and had about a palm-sized piece of shawl finished. I began to feel like this was beyond my beginner-lace capabilities so I frogged it. Sorry Mom.

Next I cast on a Weekender wrap. I knit a few inches and just wasn’t loving it. Not pretty enough for my Mommy.

This summer my Mom bought 3 skeins of Poems Wisdom Sock yarn for me to knit her a shawl with. Okay, okay, I get it. Mom’s getting impatient.

After much deliberation I cast on a Feather and Fan stole with the yarn. It was beautiful and soft and I could just tell that this was going to be the most beautiful shawl ever. Except for the yarn. It tangled, it was impossible to tink, it split, the ball fell apart and turned into yarn snarls, it even broke a couple of times. About 6 inches into this stole I had the mother of all knitting tantrums, tore the shawl off my needles and hurled it at the TV cursing and carrying on to Randy about how I would rather never knit again than knit one more single stitch in this devil yarn. I gave my Mom $60 to cover her cost of yarn and cleared my conscience.

9 days ago I was lounging about, pawing through my stash and wondering what to knit. I came across a lovely skein of Gloss laceweight yarn and it hit me. Crap. My Mom’s birthday was only a week away and I had no shawl. I had promised a shawl. I had been promising a shawl for quite a long time.

So I cast on a Little Collonade and knit every spare moment for a week. I neglected my children. I didn’t cook. I ignored my husband. I knit until my hands ached. The morning before my Mom’s birthday I had but 3 rows left on the shawl. My children woke up at the unspeakable hour of 5:45 am so I put on Sesame Street (brought to us today by the Letter L and the number 4 which quite excited 4 year old Logan) and made a pot of coffee. I came out from the kitchen to find wee Lily with the shawl in her hands. Harmony needle tips snapped off. Stitches dropped. 24 hours until I needed to hand this present to my mom.

Well, to make a very long story short. I fixed the damage and finished the shawl. Gave it to my Mom. I’m pretty sure she loved it.

So if I have ever promised you something knit. Rest assured that it weighs heavily on my conscience and I will get it done someday. I just have this problem of promising way more than I can possibly produce.

59 days

It's been 59 days since I decided to go without fast food for 100 days.

So, just past the halfway point I have lost 8.5 pounds and dropped from my size 12 jeans down to a size 8! I've also gone from a 38DD to a 36C ... I'm not sure how I feel about that but at least I am shrinking.

For the record, I have not changed anything else. I'm not working out and our diet at home is the same as it ever has been. Just goes to show what hitting the drive through a few times a week actually does to your body.

I have cheated 3 times.
(1) When I was sick I asked Randy to get me a junior hamburger and a small fries from Wendy's.
(2) I had 3 bites of a McDonald's breakfast meal once before I decided it didn't taste nearly as good as being in my skinny jeans feels.
(3) I shared a Dairy Queen chicken strip meal with my pregnant sister last week.

All in all, fairly harmless cheats, no super sized Big Mac meals or anything and I am thrilled with the results. Now I am 3 pounds heavier than when I got pregnant with Lily and 10 pounds heavier than when I got pregnant with Logan (my goal).

Wordless Wednesday

Well, how about just one word?

WOW!

Another List

Making : some fingerless gloves out of baby alpaca (it's like knitting with kittens)
Cooking : nothing at the moment
Drinking : Mighty Leaf White Orchard tea
Reading: One Shot - Lee Child
Wanting: An Ashford Joy spinning wheel
Looking: at my sleeping baby
Playing: the Harry Potter Knitting & Crocheting House Cup (yup, I'm 12)
Wasting: money on even more yarn
Sewing: nothing, ever.
Wishing: We had 4 bedrooms so Lily had her own room
Enjoying: the quiet
Waiting: for Randy to come home
Liking: school being back in session
Wondering: if anyone will buy Logan's train sets
Loving: life
Hoping: nobody else gets sick and Luke feels better tomorrow
Marvelling: that I was able to produce 3 perfect children
Needing: a maid
Smelling: my yummy tea
Wearing: jeans and a t-shirt
Following: ... nothing that I can think of
Noticing: my Canada Day decorations are still up
Knowing: that life gets better every day
Thinking: about all the things I want to knit before it gets cold
Feeling: loved
Bookmarking: knitting patterns
Opening: a fresh jar of nutella
Giggling: at the Office

Your turn

19 days

It's been 19 days since my last fast food. It has not been easy and I will admit to almost cheating a couple of times.

As of today I have lost 5 pounds and I have gone from size 12 jeans to size 10.

On the money front I was able to spend $150 on knitting stuff this week.

More knitting and less chub? That feels way better than eating McDonalds!

My dirty little secret

I have a secret. It's kind of embarrassing.

I am addicted to fast food. I love McDonalds and Wendy's and get drive through just about every time I am in the car alone. Then I hide evidence and don't tell anyone.

Now that Lily is 7 months old I should probably start being honest with myself. This 12 pounds that I can't seem to drop? Not baby weight any more. This chub is all Homestyle Chicken Wraps, Chicken McNuggets, Cheeseburgers and french fries.

So my challenge to myself is 100 days without fast food.

Today is day 3.

The rules: No food from any place that could be considered Fast food. This includes McDonalds, Wendy's, Burger King, A&W, Tim Hortons, Dairy Queen, New York Fries, KFC and any other place that serves their food fried and wrapped in paper.

Coffee, tea and the occasional snack from a coffee shop is acceptable during knit nights and coffee dates.

Eating out at restaurants once in a while is okay as long as the establishment cannot be considered a fast food joint.

If I am hungry while out and about I will either go home, go hungry, pack a snack or try to find somewhere that serves healthier fare such as sandwiches, salads or sushi.

Try to limit pop consumption to 1-2 cans per week.

If I can manage it I should get to December 1st 10 pounds lighter and a few hundred dollars richer.

Wish me luck!

(Just looking up a picture of McNuggets for this post made me hungry. This is going to be hard!)

Happy Half Birthday Lily!

My sweet Lily is 6 months old today. The last 6 months have been incredible but they went by too fast. I miss my newborn Lily so much, I would love to go back and do the last 6 months over again.

It's incredible how fast babies grow. 6 months ago from this moment I was holding my 2 1/2 hour old daughter, amazed at how perfect she was and how fast she came into the world.

Now, she is taking a nap after a busy morning of nursing, rolling around, sitting up and playing with her toys, eating toast and fruit for breakfast, taking a bath and jumping in her Jumperoo.

She has gained 11 pounds and grown 6 inches. Her eyes have changed from grey to brown and she has amazed us all with her happy disposition. This baby never cries. Seriously, she maybe cries for 2-3 minutes a couple of times a week and has been that way since birth. I have been blessed with the world's easiest baby. Perhaps karmic payback for my horrendous pregnancy?

Happy Half Birthday Miss Lily, thank you for picking me to be your Mommy.