keeping track

now that i've taken up cycling, i need to find a way to keep track of my progress.  i have a few goals in mind because cycling will be my primary source of exercise.  the constant walking is really taking a toll on my knees.  i want to stay as active as i can, and this has the least amount of impact that isn't swimming (which i'm not good at anyway). i also want to firm up my leg muscles-this means lots of resistance training(really i want thighs of steel!) and improve my cardio (endurance). so, what i've done so far is 2 rides on the silver comet trail: 1 ride was almost 20 miles and yesterday was about 16.  the sct is great for this because it allows me to up the resistance on the bike gears, with minimal coasting and stopping (the sct crosses over several streets).  in order to do this i need to allow for 90-120 minutes for a "good" ride, AND i have to drive there- this'll take some scheduling.  however, when i don't have this much time i'll opt for shorter "in city" rides like i did on sunday-in my neighborhood for 50 minutes, and on on tuesday through midtown. the downside to this is there was more coasting than i wanted, and i haven't figured out a good route that allows me to have a continuous ride without too much worry about traffic. my midtown route was 5th to charles allen, looping inside piedmont park 4 times, then back to charles allen to piedmont avenue back to 5th. my overall goal is to ride the sct in it's entirety (33 miles one way) and back, the trail goes to anniston, alabama.  hopefully i'll do this by spring 2013 (or sooner). in the mean time-enjoy some views from the sct!

overlooking the dogwood golf course

okay, this wasn't intentional, but when i saw my shadow i figured it was worth keeping!

a view from another bridge

heading back towards the parking lot

where i turned around yesterday, start marker is 4.2 miles.

something new and different

yesterday, steve and I rode 18 miles on the silver comet trail:  even though it was about 90 degrees, the trail was mostly shady, and we went through a couple areas that seemed subterranean, and at those points there was a noticeable change in temperature. it was a lot of fun, and i think there might be a couple bikes in our very near future.  as well as very cushion-y seat and probably cushion-y bike shorts.  i'm hoping there will be a cart of some sort that steve can pull so sophie can join us-we'll see.   i couldn't tell you how long ago it's been since i was on a bike, but i'm thinking at least 28+ years.  later in the evening we watched the recap of the tour de france, and i have a much greater appreciation for THAT sport let me tell ya!

currents. on friday the 13th

listening -the quiet of the house (taking the day off from work)

eating -greek yogurt and peaches

drinking - coffee (of course)

wearing - running skort and my LA t-shirt (early morning walk with sophie completed :-)

reading - back on Gumbo Tails, Apology Languages, Apothecary's Daughter (on kindle), and Acts 2

weather -74 degrees, cloudy, and 90% humidity


knitting- my summer top-about 50% through the body, and have done part of a sock while at my meeting in annapolis.  have gotten together all the "tools" for the ravellenic games-am participating in cast on trapshoot.

needing - to get motivated and make cards-primary reason for taking the day off.

enjoying -new things i'm learning about relationships, and acknowledging (more often) that my glass is more than just half full, but overflowing.

looking forward to - quilt club tonight, the boys home from their camp jobs, pancake breakfast at church tomorrow, and martha's baby shower on sunday.

wondering -what cheese i should put on the shrimp and pesto pizza.

how about you?

giving myself an A+. .

i've made some progress since this post.  i'm quite please with what i've accomplished, and for meeting my deadline within a day or two.
my sewing table now looks like this.

i made 2 bags-a box pouch bag and a tote bag. in my quest to de-stash i made some cocktail napkins/coasters with the left over fabric.  i also put in a zipper in one sweater which i'm sorta okay with-it closes much better, it may become one of those "around the house" sweaters.  i also added snaps and buttons to another sweater, and i'm pretty pleased with the way that turned out.  i put one quilt top together, and have all the pieces for the border sewn and pressed.  i also decided that it was better to have the dry cleaners hem 2 pairs of sweats that i bought since a lot of fabric had to be cut off, and i really stink at hemming.  i went back and forth about whether it was worth paying someone, and i concluded my time was better spent on other projects. so all the mending projects are completed-yea!

 

 on the knitting front, i just finished all the knitting on my graham cracker cardigan, will weave in the ends and block this week, i'm in no hurry for buttons cause it'll be a LONG time before it's cold enough to wear it.  i'm quite please with this sweater.  i also re-dyed and blocked my NY cardigan, this turned out to be an "okay" project,  this was a project that i was determined to finish regardless of whether or not i truly LOVED the results-sometimes the "joy" is in the completion.  aside from running out of yarn for my spring forward socks, 

i'm pretty pleased with where my knitting is at right now.  i have swatched for my next 2 sweaters, and am making plans for 2 more sweaters from stash yarn.  i did splurge on some madeline tosh dk for my gnarled oak cardigan. you'll have to go to my projects page for details. i do need to add photo though.

i completed my OLW for June and went with a blue, grey and white palette. my thinking was that blue has a calming effect, and in order to really focus on what i need to, there needs to be a sense of calm or peace.  also when trying to focus for clarity, some things get a bit grey before they become clearer.  i added the words focus on the small and big, in my own handwriting, which i think makes it more personal.  i'm pretty excited about july's focus on music. i love how songs "speak" to you, so it'll be interesting to see what i can come up with for prompt.

i finally finished a book i got back in may, elizabeth george believing the lie, i dropped it off at the library this morning, so no telling what my late fine is going to be!  it was a good book, and i'm glad i kept it til i was finished. based on the ending there is definitely another one coming.

my goals for july will be to complete my OLW prompt before the end of the month, continue with the sewing projects on my table, and i'd like to finish my summer top before the ravellenic games start on 7/27. would LOVE to have the 4 sweaters cast on/planned completed before September 1-we'll see-now i just need to figure out what to take on the plane for my trip to anapolis next week.  something for the plane and meeting and for in the hotel-hmmmmm. how are YOU doing on your project(s)?

currents on a friday

listening -the a/c unit at work and enjoying the relative quiet of the office-maybe i'll listen to something on my iphone

eating -banana bread with a bit of peanut butter and an apple for breakfast

drinking - coffee

wearing - jeans, white tank and grey top with flats-i do love casual friday!

reading - believing the lie (it's ONLY 600+ pages)

weather -80 degrees and sunny

knitting - sleeve #2 for graham cracker and i have to reknit sleeve #1 and my spring forward socks (2nd one of that pair), about an inch completed on my summer top-have been trying to get my graham cracker finished, hopefully by sunday.

needing - plants some more basil and fertilize the tomatoes-they're kinda puny right now

enjoying -Andrew has been home all week-no campers to cook for, and that he is always willing to help with stuff around the house and with sophie-he went with me to the dog park yesterday.

looking forward to - quilt club on monday and pj coming home tonight (at least i think he is)

wondering -if i'll sell enough of my stuff at our yard sale this weekend to get the yarn i want to purchase next week.

how about you?

focus on the mess

here's a photo of my sewing/craft table. my One Little Word this year is "focus", and includes many areas of my everyday life. for the summer this is one area that needs serious focus.  task include putting a zipper on one sweater, buttons on another, a couple project bags i want to make,  quilt tops to complete, and i'm sure there's more hiding under there.  my goal is to focus on one project on this table at a time so that when fall rolls around i can change with the season without feeling like i still have a lot to weed through and my focus really gets out of whack. i've got a girls weekend and a family weekend planned in october, so i'm aiming for new and fun stuff to work on for these trips. and  while i haven't posted much lately (darn google chrome and blogger new formatting), i am getting things accomplished- i've completed and blocked 3 sweaters and a shawlette that i started at the beginning of the year and i'm about 80% done with another sweater.  i've got a summer sweater on the needles and a second sock.  i'm itching to start something new, but am hoping to stay focused on the tasks at hand. my timeline includes getting the 80% sweater and the socks completed by  the end of June, and at least the mending projects off the sewing table.  i've got a craft day (no knitting) planned in july and since i'll be traveling earlier in that week, i'll take full advantage of plane and hotel knitting, so i'm not feeling deprived! i hope to document this adventure, otherwise the blog is going to be very quiet cause nothing much else is going on with both boys at camp all summer-which is OKAY!  know what i've learned-life gets real messy, but prayer, hard work and dedication works like a new roll of bounty paper towels (my paper towel of choice!!!)

currents.

listening -an episode of monk

eating -earlier we had pizza, and i had a small bowl of vanilla frozen yogurt

drinking - pinot grigio

wearing - embroidered jeans, green top and bare feet

reading - believing the lie

weather -72 degrees and sunny (although it is almost 8:30)

knitting - 4" left of the second sleeve of my NY cardigan (yea, almost done) and my spring forward socks (2nd one of that pair)

needing - organize and print my 2011 travel albums

enjoying - PJ being home and the fact that it's friday

looking forward to - making my first box pouch on sunday with brenda AND starting a summer sweater hopefully this weekend.

wondering -how much more sophie's gonna grow


how about you?