Back To Class

I finally made it back to black belt class. This was the first time in two weeks I'd gone. I still have a chest full of congestion, and I can't even walk across the room without panting, but I went. I had this crazy idea that exercise would help break that congestion up. Well, we'll see.

It was just Barrett, Joshua, and me there. We started by doing kata to warm up. Then we went over Sanchin kata. Funny, after nearly 4 years, sensei has decided that I am doing sanchin all wrong. (I'm just doing it the way I was taught.) So now I have to relearn the whole kata. It's not that the moves themselves are vastly different. He just wants me doing them in a different way.

The last half of the class cool. We talked about bunkai sort of. For those of you not in the know, bunkai is the application. It is what each move of the kata is doing. Usually as kyu ranks, we just look at the bunkai of each kata. Now we are looking at moves from different kata countering the same technique. We also looked a bit at combining moves from different kata and using them in self defense situations.

It is going to be interesting.

It's All Over

The Pro Bowl is over, and with it, the 2007 football season.

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Pro Bowls can sometimes get kind of boring, but this one was a good game. Both teams scored on their first possessions, but then the NFC gave up two turnovers and quickly fell behind 24-7. Get this, Demarcus Ware--Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker--got to return a kickoff. Unfortunately, he fumbled the ball and AFC recovered it and capitalized, going on to score a touchdown.

The NFC tried everything it could to get kickoffs and punts into the hands of Devin Hester, who had returned six of them for touchdowns during regular season. At one point, Jason Witten caught a kickoff in the end zone and tried to hand it to Hester. It was cute--as much as a football play can be cute. On another play, Hester did catch the ball, but when it was clear he wasn't going to go anywhere, he lateraled it to Witten, who was wide open. If Jason had just a bit more speed, he'd have gone all the way.

As the game went on, though, things began to get serious. After the first quarter was over, the NFC began slowly chipping away at the AFC lead.

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

The AFC only scored 6 points in the final three quarters of the game--two field goals by Rob Bironas. The NFC answered with 5 touchdowns, winning the game with a final score of 42-30.

The late Sean Taylor was honored by his team mates. All three wore his number, and when introduced, they entered the stadium with their heads bowed. Taylor, if you don't know, passed away in November after being shot in his home during a botched robbery attempt.

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

As for me, I finished my Clapotis prior to the game.

The yarn is Red Heart Super Saver in Fall colorway, and this wrap took nearly three skeins--at 244 yards per skein. The total yardage used was approximately 700. I found this to be a very soft yarn. I washed the Clapotis right after I took this picture, and it came out even softer than before.

I had enough yarn left to whip up this Calorimetry.


I knit this during the game, and was nearly finished by the time it was over. I still have to find a button and sew it on. I modified this pattern slightly after reading many of the comments on Ravelry about it. Most people said that despite getting gauge, theirs ended up being way too big for any human head. So instead of casting on 120 stitches, I only cast on 88. It fits my head, but snugly. I think from now on, I'll cast on 92 stitches.

There is just a smidgen of this yarn left over. I'm thinking about making some wrist warmers, or a headband out of it.

Finally, I cast on my second roundabout sock. Can you believe that it is the only project I have OTN at the moment? I can't. But it is. I'd better get on it, because Cody wants some socks for himself.

Speaking of, I got out all my sock yarn--every bit of it--and told him to pick which yarn he wanted socks out of. What color did he pick? Black. Solid black. The only solid black yarn I had.

"It's the only kind that doesn't look weird," he said.

Saturday Sky

They blacken the sky.


They get so noisy that they drown out the TV.

They can empty a birdfeeder in a matter of minutes.


And when they land, they fill two or three trees.


They are the blackbirds.

Eye Candy Friday

I've been busy working on Clapotis, anxious to get it finished. I'm on the decrease rows--finally. Of course, since I'm decreasing, it takes less time to do each row. I'm excited about that!

I have to work tomorrow (Saturday). Woo hoo! Overtime!

Oh, My Goodness!

You've got to be kidding me.

Mississippi is now introducing a bill into the state legislature that would ban fat people from eating at restaurants. Technically, the law would ban restaurants from serving anyone that could be considered obese. This is the nanny state taken entirely too far! Fat people don't get fat from eating at restaurants. They get fat from eating too much, no matter where they eat it. Restaurants don't drag people in off the street and shove food down their gullets. People choose what they eat, and where, and how much. True, Mississippi is the fattest state in the nation, but it all boils down to personal responsibility. People choose to overeat. They can also choose not to.

Be sure and read the comments. I was astonished at how many people actually think this is a good idea. Astonished, I tell you.

On a brighter note, Sus awarded me with this:



Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times.

I'm passing it on to:

1. Opal My knitting buddy from the Aloha State.
2. Carol Carol always has the most interesting stories to tell about her adorable grandson.
3. Robin My fellow Cowboys fan. Need I say more?
4. Tabitha We share a birthday, and have connected on many other levels as well.
5. Dani Knitting friend and fellow martial artist, Dani always seems to know just what to say when I need advice.
6. Lou An artist, mother and grandmother, her stories of her daughter and grandbabies always bring a bright spot to my day.
7. Cindy I met you first online, then in person. I'm glad I did both.
8. frotoe Another one of my fibery martial artist friends.
9. Buck I know this isn't really a guy thing to do, but I found Buck's blog purely by chance, by clicking the Next Blog button on my toolbar. I'm so glad I did.
10. and finally, back to Sus, who I think must be my long lost twin sister. We have so much in common we've got to have some shared genes somewhere.

I know some of you have already gotten this award, so don't feel you have to do the meme again. Frankly, it was hard to choose. There are a lot of blogs I like, and enjoy reading that I could have nominated. The ones here, the reason I listed you is because you're not just an interesting author, somewhere out there. You have touched me, and I am honored to call you my friends.

We're OK

Some of you may have heard about the storms that blew through the South last night. It did get pretty bad for a while. There was a severe storm that passed through around 2 AM. The lightning woke me up. Yes, it was the lightning. It was that bright.

Or maybe it was the cat climbing my face.

Either way, it was bad, and tornadoes whizzed all around us, but we made it through unscathed. Some people weren't so fortunate. Keep them in your prayers, would you?

Let Me Tell You The Kind Of Day I Had

I got to work and was in the breakroom getting my diet Dr Pepper out of the machine. One of my coworkers walked in. She was wearing scrubs. A lot of people wear scrubs to work, claiming that they are cooler. Anyway, this co-worker's scrubs had a bright cartoon character on them and I was trying to figure out who this cartoon character was. About the time she got close enough for me to see who the cartoon character was, my coworker greeted me.

"Good morning, Elmo," I replied.

It was all downhill from there.

Superbowl Sunday

First, the bad news. The rhino-thing I thought I had turned out not to be a rhino-thing after all, but a full fledged case of bronchitis, complete with fever. Fortunately, the fever never broke 100, and it seems to be clearing on its own. I spent most of Sunday parked in front of the TV, watching the 5 hours worth of pre-game show, followed by 4 hours worth of game. Nine hours of football, and I'm still bummed that the season is over.

The Superbowl is always a bit of a let down for me. Not because of the game itself, but because once it's over, it's all over until next season. Superbowl Sunday ranks second only to Christmas in our household.

Rylea is giving Cody puppy dog eyes--literally.

"Please, Uncle Cody, can I have a piece of steak? Pleeeeeze?"

Here are our Superbowl Sundaes. Cody got a little football on his.

But because the little footballs are made with eggs, I only got rainbow sprinkles on mine:

I finished the first roundabout sock,

and worked quite a bit on my clapotis. I don't have pictures of that, though. It looks pretty much the same as last time I posted a picture, just a little longer.

Only 180 days, more or less, until pre-season starts.

The 1972 Dolphins

Can pop the cork on their champagne now. The Giants pulled off the upset of the century by defeating the New England Patriots in Superbowl XLII.



It was an exciting game, going right down to the wire, with the Giants pulling off a last minute miracle touchdown.



The brightest spot of the day for this Cowboys fan was that Howie Long's Ultimate Tough Guy Award for 2007 went to Jason Witten.

Coolest Thing EVER!!!!

Just watch, and pay attention toward the end. It blew my mind.



P.S. I was going to save this one for one of those days when I had blogger's block, but it was way too cool not to share.

h/t: Theresa

SuperBowl

Stashalong Update

First off, here are the projects I finished in January:

One Row Scarf. This one used 300 yards of worsted weight yarn. The yarn is Trendsetter Tonalita. I really liked this yarn, though the end product is a bit scratchy. I'm going to soak it in some conditioner to see if that helps.

Branching Out Lace Scarf Approximately 200 yards of fingering weight. I actually used a ball of sock yarn for this. The ball was 400 yards, and I used about half of it.

Tidal Wave Socks. One ball of Tofutsies sock yarn. I love this yarn. It feels so silky and smooth. It must be the soy silk in it.


Cody's hat. A basic hat pattern that used about 100 yards of worsted weight yarn--or just under half a skein of Red Heart Super Saver. There is enough to maybe make a really narrow or a really short scarf to go with it. This was actually made from my free day purchase for these two months. I bought it and knit it before the month was up. Pretty cool, huh?

Total usage for January: 400 yards of worsted weight yarn, and two balls of sock yarn.

For the purposes of Stashalong, I'm going to count the yardage/skeins used toward the two month period in the month that I finished that particular project in. For example, if I start a blanket in February and finish it in March, and it takes 1000 yards of yarn, the total yardage will count toward the March/April time period. I'm not going to try to think, "Let's see, I did approximately 1/3 of the blanket in February, so that'll be about 300 yards in February and 700 in March..." No. That is too complicated.

Some people are setting their goals to knit up specific amounts of yarn or numbers of projects per month. Like, "I'm going to knit up 15 skeins of yarn in February." Or, "I'm going to complete these 7 projects in February." That is fine if that's what works for them, but it isn't for me. I knit for relaxation and enjoyment. Putting a deadline or a quota on my knitting would make it too stressful. I just knit what is there. My stipulation is that I must buy less yarn than I've used up during those two months.

It seems to be working so far. Now if only my mother doesn't clean out her closet again!

Groundhog Day

Judging from the sky today, it seems we will have 6 more weeks of winter.



I am at that worst point in my rhino-thing. I don't feel quite bad enough to justify staying in bed all day, but I don't feel quite good enough to get about and do much of anything. So I just keep reminding myself that in our ancestors' day, knitting wasn't a hobby, it was a job. If those women didn't knit, their families wouldn't have socks, or scarves, or sweaters. Cody wants some socks. I'd better get back to work.

Congratulations To Me

I am the proud owner of my very own rhino-thing.

If you don't watch the show, that means I have a cold. I went to bed at 8:15 last night, and Cody said, "Boy, you really don't feel good!" Since I was in bed at 8:15, that also means I wasn't at karate. I wasn't, however, too sick to knit. I got one more pattern repeat done on the Clapotis yesterday, and today have worked on the socks. I've gotten past the heel turn and am ready to pick up the gusset stitches. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Which Military Aircraft Are You?

What military aircraft are you? F/A-22 Raptor You are an F/A-22. You are technologically inclined, and though you've never been tested in combat, your very name is feared. You like noise, but prefer not to pollute any more than you have to. And you can move with the best.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

h/t: Buck