As usual for this week, I have no time, so real quick….

I had a great week. I’m down a little bit in my hips. I weight 218.4!!! That means I’ve finally hit the 10 pound mark for the year.

I love CalorieKing.

I haven’t exercised this week, and I’m not giving up. I have until Monday to get 150 minutes in. Which is an hour and fifteen minutes today and tomorrow. Not going to happen, but I’ll try to get something in tomorrow at least.

While frantically cleaning through a big pile of papers today, I came across some measurements and weights from last summer, and I’m smaller than I was then! That’s a happy feeling.

How was your week?

First of all, I’ve heard from the Woolery already this morning, and they said that Majacraft is going to ship a new drive wheel (the green, smashed part) to me ASAP, and I can use the wheel as is in the meantime ’til it arrives. This is happy news. Thank you all so much for your sympathies. It helped last night.

If I had any spare time today at all, I’d be assembling my new wheel. But I don’t, and that’s a different story.

The deadline for Mary’s Mitts is today. I received mitts from Katie yesterday. They’re completely awesome. I don’t have time to post a picture now, but you can see them on her blog. They’re made from Silky Wool, and they feel soooooo good! I’m seriously thinking of making some exactly the same for myself.

Since we’re such a small group of mitt knitters, I’m going to wait for a few days to do the drawing. There are 3-4 more pairs en route and we’ll wait for them to come in. Thank you all so very much for knitting for my friend. She sent me an email a couple days ago expressing tremendous gratitude for the green gloves I gave her, and I grinned to myself. She has no idea what’s coming. That’s so cool.

Health Group has promise tomorrow. Be sure to stop by.

Finally, the girls and I have started something fantastic, and I wanted to share it with you. It’s called Girl Party.

It all started several weeks ago, when Veronica asked me to paint her nails. As I looked at them, her cuticles were growing halfway up the nail, so we moisturized them and pushed them down. A day or so later, Nate and I were in the Body Shop (love that place) and I saw their hand and nail treatment. Then it came to me.

Every night that we get to bed on time, the girls and I do Girl Party. We get in pj’s, put our hair back in headbands, wash our faces, moisturize our cuticles, push them down with orangewood sticks, and rub this yummy stuff on our hands before going to bed.

It’s all contained in a pretty cosmetics case that one of them goes and gets when it’s time. It’s the BEST! Once we run out of the Body Shop face wipes, which are fantastic, I’m going to look for something less expensive because that’s the only thing that makes this costly. My internet-shy-friend said that Costco has good ones. Does anyone else have a suggestion?

The girls just love Girl Party. I hope it sticks and that this is a great bonding time and memory for them.

And it’s broken.

And it was their last one, and they’re backordered from New Zealand, and they don’t yet know what they can do for me, and I won’t hear anything until tomorrow.

And I’m sad.

Good morning! I’m feeling exceptionally chipper.

We’re getting mitts! These lovelies were knit by Carol out of Koigu.

And these by Stephanie on the left, (also out of Koigu), and Cynthia on the right. Cynthia’s link shows a great model shot and she’s right, they’re way better on. I’ve worn them myself.

Thank you so much, ladies! I’m very excited to give them to her. And there are more coming!

Stephanie and I had a great visit yesterday, when she gave me the mitts and two bags of luscious handmade soaps, one for me and one as a prize for Mitts for Mary. My whole house smells fantastic. Thanks, Stephanie!

In other news, my Suzie Pro has finally been scanned again and it’s in Spokane, scheduled to be delivered tomorrow!

Also, and this is so cool, I was 219.8 this morning! That’s my first time getting below 220, I think in about 2 years!

Lots of exclamation points this morning!

Who cares? Lots of exciting things are happening!

We’re going nuts with the exclamation points!

It’s a happy day!

I don’t see any reason to stop!

You should try it!

It feels really cool!

I’m running out of things to say!

But we’re still going with the exclamation points!

I need to get dressed and get out of here because I have to give someone a ride somewhere!

Later!

Ok, I know I already posted today, but something incredibly cool just happened, and I want to dance and sing.

I just got dressed (pathetic, I know) and pulled a pair of jeans and a t-shirt out of the pile of clean laundry on my bed. I put them on and noticed as I was walking out of my room that they were extremely loose. Like, 2nd day wearing kind of loose.

I didn’t have time to investigate, as I had to get Veronica to school, but when I came home, I sniffed the laundry to make sure it was in fact a clean load. I continued smelling the clothes, unable to believe that a freshly washed and dried pair of jeans could feel like this on my body, until I came to one of Clark’s shirts. Ah, this will be the absolute, undisputed evidence of clean vs. dirty.

It was clean. Completely clean.

HAPPY DANCE, HAPPY DANCE!! My jeans, which were legitimately getting looser, have still been snug for the first few minutes of wear after a washing.

Not today, Zurg!

So I’m shaking my cosmic thing today. Nothin’ like a little success to boost motivation, eh?

My eyes are faster than my hands. Here are some knits accumulating on my desktop.

This cutie cardigan for Clark

I already have a dark green sport weight alpaca yarn that’d work great, (it was going to be legwarmers for me), but I may wait to get yarn in a light blue. Light blue is an amazing color on him because it really brings out his eyes.

The drop stitch cardigan from Spring ’06 IK

A modified version of the Airy Mohair Wrap from Fitted Knits

I’m still waiting for the Hempathy to come into my LYS that I ordered for Josephine.

And of course, I have a list of things I want to spin, spin, spin.

And sew.

I’ve been thinking about the summer, and what we’re going to do with all that time…

I’d like to sew with the girls. They’d love it, and I think they’re ready. Where do I start? Are there good sewing books like there are knitting books with simple projects in it? Do you have any to recommend?

As I typed in the title of this entry, I’m really quite amazed that we’re rapidly approaching the 4th year of Health Group. Wow. Every Saturday for nearly 3 complete years. That’s really something.

How long have you been following Health Group? I know some of you have been here for a long time.

I’ve been bad. I’ve been really bad. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, or why I’m having such a hard time, because I LOVE the program I’m on with CalorieKing, and it’s the first time I’ve really believed that I had the knowledge I needed to lose weight.

So what’s the freaking problem?

I don’t know, but dear Hayden gave me a sound, verbal butt kicking on Wednesday night, and it was great. I needed it. I needed more than justification, sympathy, and a buy-in to my excuses. She was having none of it, and it was refreshing.

I still ate bad Thursday and Friday, but yesterday as the day was ending, and I’d gone over my calorie target each day, and my fat limits were through the roof, and I hadn’t exercised, I said “ENOUGH!” and went for an hour long walk. And I went the direction that took me up what we call the “monster hill” in our family.

It was my first time walking up that huge hill, and it wasn’t even hard! That’s so cool. Similar to what Stephanie experienced when she saw John Mayer at the Gorge. I’m right with ya’. (BTW, Steph, I can’t believe how similar we seem to be. You’re making soaps, embroidering, and sewing. Three things I’m desperately wanting to do. Not to mention dieting, seeing John Mayer concerts, raising babies… We totally need to get together).

Anyway, despite my bad behavior, I only gained .8 pounds this week. I’m stoked. And I’m still down a smidge in my measurements. 1/4 inch in my thigh and 1/2 inch in my chest.

Whoot!

So, good week and bad week, depending on how you look at it. But I’m feeling very motivated right now. I have 90 minutes of exercise to squeeze in between today and tomorrow to fulfill my minimum for Calorie King, and I intend to do it. And I’m going to push myself.

Plus, I’m going to drink a ton of water to flush all the sugar and crap out of my body. It always seems to help.

How are you doing?

I received the first pair of Mitts For Mary yesterday!

Are you excited, too?

This is so cool. I was going to attach a piece of paper to each pair with the name of the knitter on it, to make it more personal for her. I’m so happy Danielle did it herself! How neat!

I can’t wait to see more of your mitts. Does anyone have anything to show?

I have a headache. Clark is still not sleeping well. He may be growing again, because he can’t seem to make it through the night without a bottle right now. Or two. It’s not looking good for a spinning all-nighter. I’m not going to have the energy!

Oh, and on that topic, my wheel departed Greensboro, NC at 8:44 this morning. But we’re not anxious.

Veronica had a very nice birthday yesterday.

She made her cake herself. Cracked the eggs and everything. And emptied two of the three bottles of sprinkles I gave her to use. She chose the “6” candle, instead of six candles, so Nate lit it for her to blow out 6 times.

Veronica is 6 today. We’re going to meet a bunch of girls from school and their moms at an indian lunch buffet in a few minutes. Veronica is disappointed that she doesn’t feel any different today than she did yesterday. I’m just tired.

Clark was up with a fever at 3:30 this morning, and up for good at 4:40. I’m not functioning very well. There’s a zillion things going on today at school and this evening.

I’m really liking the glove. I’m making this one bigger than Mary’s green ones. I have more yarn, and they’re cozier larger. I think the gusset is safe now, living through only one frog.

Have any of you read Life of Pi? I’ve read the last 1/3rd of it, after Nate described the book to me up to where he had read. I hate it, and yet, I kept reading. And I seriously thought I would be a vegetarian once I finished. I couldn’t stomach making hamburgers for my family for dinner days later. So right now, I’m a tentative carnivore, avoiding meat when possible.

Eww. That’s all I can say about it.

I don’t know why some people can read horrific things and not be seriously disturbed afterwards. Nate was unaffected. Hayden was unaffected. I’m emotionally and mentally unwell, maintaining my declaration that if I were stranded at sea in an open lifeboat, I would happily starve to death. I would certainly try to avoid being eaten by a Bengal tiger, but that’s where it ends.

On that happy note, enjoy your Thursday. I’m off to eat the vegetable entrees at an indian buffet. And it didn’t strike me ’til now how ironic it is that I’m eating indian vegetarian food after talking about Life of Pi. (You will not get the irony unless you’ve read it, too. And if you have read it, may I offer my deepest sympathies).