What is THAT?!???

Is it:

a) my finished Fad-Classic,
b) a Band-Aid on my chin,
c) an Ace bandage in my wrist, or
d) all of the above?

Yes, you astute blog-reader, it's d. First of all, the Fad-Classic. I actually finished something this summer! Woot! I like it, although I wish it was 1 1/2 inches longer. But I love the color and the way it fits me, so I'll just keep tugging at the bottom every once in a while.

Options b and c go together (and are accompanied by road rash on my knee, shoulder and hip/butt cheek, not visible in the photo). We went up to Chicago this past weekend, so I tried to get my 5 1/2 hour workout in after work on Thursday. 9 minutes and 48 seconds into my ride, I went down (and not in a good way, according to DH). I was turning a corner and just fell over. Turns out my front tire went flat. I had never had a wreck before, so this was a ton of fun. As I skidded across the road on my chin, I thought, "THAT won't be attractive!" When I popped up and got my bike out of the road, my hand started hurting. "Oh shit - I can't knit! I'm going to be on a plane tomorrow and I can't knit!" We thought my wrist was just sprained (at least that's what the ER doc told us that night) so we just kept it wrapped and I kept taking Advil. No matter how much Advil I took, no matter how many pieces of Connie's Pizza I ate, no matter how many beers/Jello shots/Red Headed Sluts I drank, it still hurt like a mofo. The doctor I saw on Monday discovered I have 3 broken bones in my hand and some torn ligaments around a fourth. Cast for at least 4 weeks, then maybe a splint for 2. I can run - good. I can swim, but it'll be REALLY awkward and I'll have to let my waterproof cast dry out for 2 hours afterwards - not so good, but okay. I can ride my bike on the indoor trainer but not outside - totally sucks. I spend my Saturdays on my bike with my friends. I don't know what I'll do without that. This Saturday I have taken care of - my girlfriends and I are going to Florida - but after that it will be weird. Oh well - at least I'll be healed in time for Ironman in November. And it could've been A LOT worse.

And if you're wondering, I have figured out how to knit. Fortunately I don't knit continental. However, my hand starts hurting after 2 rows and I'm afraid my gauge is off. (I'm over halfway done with Deciduous, which I started after seeing Jen's. Scroll down to the July 24th entry. Awesome. Yeah, I know - she did hers in July, I'm not going to finish until September. Whatever. It stays hot here for a while. And I am going to Florida in November.) I'm thinking of starting a felted Noni bag since it won't matter if my gauge gets off or I make a mistake.

Here's another shot taken in the kidney bean in Millenium Park. I thought it was cool that I could finally take a picture of myself, seeing as how I've not mastered the bathroom mirror trick:


And here are a couple of shots of Hayden's horse camp:



Isn't it beautiful?

I actually have a FO...

...but no picture just yet. I finished the Fad-Classic vest and it's oh so cute in all its orangeness. I wore it to work yesterday and meant to get a picture taken before we left the house, but getting Hayden to school on time took precedence. The next time I saw my photographer, it was 8:15 at night and I was in bike shorts and covered in salty sweat from a tough bike ride. But we are going to Chicago this weekend and I am packing my Fad-Classic, so I promise a picture very soon.

And speaking of Chicago, can anyone suggest a good yarn shop or two that I can visit? Today is my husband's 40th birthday (he just recently shaved his chest - Lord knows why - so he doesn't look at day over 12!) so we're going up there to celebrate and hopefully watch the Cubs beat the Cardinals. (We're definitely going to Friday's and Saturday's games. Whether or not the Cubs can win is a totally different story.) 2 years ago I went to We'll Keep You In Stitches. Everything was in plastic bags and therefore not really easy to look at. Last year I went to the Knitter's Niche, but it's so very small that I saw everything in less than 5 minutes. I'll probably have time to go somewhere Saturday late morning/early afternoon, depending on when the Cubs game is.

Suggestions, anyone?

I actually have a FO...

...but no picture just yet. I finished the Fad-Classic vest and it's oh so cute in all its orangeness. I wore it to work yesterday and meant to get a picture taken before we left the house, but getting Hayden to school on time took precedence. The next time I saw my photographer, it was 8:15 at night and I was in bike shorts and covered in salty sweat from a tough bike ride. But we are going to Chicago this weekend and I am packing my Fad-Classic, so I promise a picture very soon.

And speaking of Chicago, can anyone suggest a good yarn shop or two that I can visit? Today is my husband's 40th birthday (he just recently shaved his chest - Lord knows why - so he doesn't look at day over 12!) so we're going up there to celebrate and hopefully watch the Cubs beat the Cardinals. (We're definitely going to Friday's and Saturday's games. Whether or not the Cubs can win is a totally different story.) 2 years ago I went to We'll Keep You In Stitches. Everything was in plastic bags and therefore not really easy to look at. Last year I went to the Knitter's Niche, but it's so very small that I saw everything in less than 5 minutes. I'll probably have time to go somewhere Saturday late morning/early afternoon, depending on when the Cubs game is.

Suggestions, anyone?

Dilemma

Aargh - I think I'm in a knitting slump. (I said to my training partner the other day and he belly laughed. Guess I forgot that not everyone is a knitter.) I have several things going on, but I keep getting stuck.

1. Sampler Stole - no motivation to work on it because it involves more attention than I can give to it right now.

2. Rowan Cricket Vest - I am sooo close to finishing it, but I realized that when I divided for the neck, I got off-center by 1 stitch. I think I'm scared to keep going for fear that it'll be so blatantly obvious that it's off-center that I'll have to rip the whole thing out. Plus, it's very springy (blue and yellow) and we're almost into fall.

3. Morehouse shawl kit - VERY easy - just stockinette in the round - but when I joined, I twisted the stitches. Because of the 200+ stitches being crammed onto my needle, I didn't notice this until I got about 5 inches done. I don't want to start over, so I'm hoping that when I cut it (it's knit in the round then cut to create fringe), the twisting action will resolve itself. But, like the vest, I'm scared to go on because I'm afraid I'll have to rip and restart. (Does anyone know the answer to this? If the twist is positioned near where stitches are dropped and the cut happens, will the twist go away? I think it will, but I'm not sure. Ironman training turns my brain to mush sometimes.)

4. Knit and Tonic's Fad-Classic - the straps are a pain in the butt! I did the back, but when I took the provisional cast on out and put those stitches on my needles, I couldn't tell which side was the right side, and I guessed wrong. So I've ripped all of that out and tried to start over again from that point, but I failed. I have half a mind to start totally over, but I'm afraid that it's getting too close to the end of summer for this top. I don't intend on wearing it alone as a tank (I originally envisioned it looking adorable with a tight white baby tee and my white cargo capris), so it could be worn into the fall, but some part of my brain (probably the part that's turned to mush from too many training hours) is having a hard time accepting it as an all-seasons top.

So herein lies the question: do I throw all of these projects to the wayside and start with something fresh? My sister is due with her second child in the beginning of November, so I could do a quick baby thing. Or I could start a sweater for Hayden, which I always love to do. I've been so sporadic in my knitting that it probably wouldn't get done until it's cool enough to wear it. (Having over 19 hours of Ironman training to do in one week, plus the normal work/mommy stuff that needs to be done, leaves little knitting time.) The sensible side of me tells me to knit a baby hat as my Idiot Project and work on a Hayden sweater at home, but the silly side of me really wants a Fad Classic. If I could get past the stupid straps, I think I'd be good to go. My first attempt at a Knit & Tonic pattern failed (Somewhat Cowl), so I really want my Fad Classic to turn out. Anyway, what do you think???

Too many M&Ms

When I was a senior in high school, I ate so many M&Ms that I puked. My poor boyfriend sat beside me on the bathroom floor and stroked my back as I threw up blue, red, yellow and brown hard candy shells. Not a pretty sight. And all of this on the day I became a lifetime member of Weight Watchers (meaning I had reached my goal weight and maintained it for 6 weeks). It was a year before I could eat M&Ms again - well, almost a year.

This morning they opened up registration for next year's Ironman Lake Placid race, held at the end of July in New York. I tossed aside my rule of not signing up for another Ironman before finishing the one I'm currently training for (Florida this November), got my insurance card, my credit card and my USA Triathlon membership card out of my wallet, and bit the bullet. I have a friend who decided that she wants to do it, and I just couldn't let her sign up alone. It'll be my third Ironman in 3 years, and my second one in less than 12 months (Florida is this November 4th, Lake Placid will be the end of next July).

I think Ironman triathlons are becoming the new M&M.

I promise one of these days I'll talk about knitting again on my blog, and I'll actually post some pictures.

If anyone still reads this...

...I'm still here. My summer has turned into a whirwind full of bikes, pools, sunscreen, driving, and horses, and I have not really had the chance to blog. I hardly have time for knitting either. Poo. I have some pictures to share with you, though, and will do so the next free moment I have. Pictures of an almost-there Rowan Cricket Vest and of an especially cute little boy on his favorite horse, Vader.

For those of you wondering what is behind the mention of a cute boy and horses, Hayden spent last week at Saddle Up! camp. Saddle Up! is a therapeutic horse program for kids with special needs (autism, Down's syndrome, cerebal palsy, etc.) , and they offer a week-long summer camp for kids who are on the waitlist to get into their regular program (we've been on the list for over 2 years now - sheesh). He got to learn how to take care of a horse and ride him. He had an absolute BLAST. So, to the TRIAD camp people who wouldn't let him in: kiss our butts. We don't need your stinkin' camp. Riding horses and doing arts and crafts is way more fun than all day therapy sessions.

One second.

One second is what separated me from the girl who finished 5th in my age group at a triathlon this past weekend. One second. How annoying is that?!? The way the start happened (I won't bore you with those details), I had no way of knowing, but I certainly could've gone 1 second faster. Or 2 just to make sure to beat her. Argh.

This summer has certainly been busy for me so far! The weekend after my race in Florida, Hayden and I went to Memphis with a friend. She was participating in and I was volunteering at the Memphis in May triathlon. My legs hadn't recovered yet from the previous weekend, so I was playing it smart and not racing. At no point during that race was I jealous of any of my friends who were racing. My legs were still tired and it was hot. Damn hot. It amazes me how much hotter Memphis is than Nashville. That morning it was 95 degrees. I always feel sorry for the older or heavier people who do that race because they're usually the ones who take over 3 hours to finish, and they get to melt under the blistering sun. This one guy who must've weighed over 400 pounds took 5 1/2 hours to finish (for comparison, I did that race last year in 2:38) and immediately walked right into the lake to cool off. Poor guy, but at least he's out there doing it. Anyway, we got home that night around 8:45. The next weekend I went to Clarksville (about an hour away) Saturday morning to ride with my friends. There was an organized 60-mile ride that was flat and fast, much like Florida, and we had a BLAST. The weekend after that, which was this past weekend, I went with a friend to a triathlon about 1 1/2 hours away. A lot of my friends were there, and I think we all had good races. This weekend I think I'm actually staying in town! Won't that be amazing?

My knitting hasn't been nearly as exciting or productive as my racing. I think I'm in somewhat of a funk. I have yarn all over the house and a couple of projects started, but I feel like I'm getting nothing done. I had started a little tank top out of the Brooks Farm mohair I bought at MDS&W, but I'm planning on frogging it because the yarn is doing something incredibly funky. I finished the back of my Rowan Cricket vest and have started the front, but it's not picture-worthy yet. Hopefully soon. I'm also still working on my Sampler Stole. I need a mindless, idiot project for speech therapy days or days that I'm too tired to think but can't stand the idea of not doing anything, so I may cast on for my Morehouse shawl this afternoon. I need to get back to my Fad Classic and frog my Somewhat Cowl so I can start the Faery Net Blouse from IK, but I really want to finish at least one project before doing that to give me a sense of accomplishment.

And to end this ridiculously boring post, I'll share a conversation I had with a boy from Hayden's school a few days before school let out. When I picked Hayden up at 3:00, I usually let him play on the playground for a while. I'd take my knitting and sit on the bench while he played. The YMCA has an after-school program for kids whose parents work full-time called the Fun Company, and at 3:20 the Fun Company kids would come out to the playground. Hayden loved to be in the middle of the chaos, so we'd always stay until 3:30 or so. On this particular day, this boy who was probably in the 4th grade walked over to my bench.

Boy: So, you're knitting, huh?
Me: Yes, I am.
Boy (who is now fondling my yarn): What are you making?
Me: A vest for myself.
Boy: You know, I've heard that knitting is real mate magnet, so you're bound to get a husband soon.

At that point one of his friends came over and they walked off together, so I didn't get to respond. I was laughing too hard to say anything, anyway.

Somewhat Cowl...

...is somewhat ugly. At least mine is. What a bummer. Not even deserving of a picture. I should've followed my gut instinct and not attempted this pattern. Not to offend anyone, but the SWCs I've seen on the Internet (with the exception of Wendy's) aren't really all that appealing to me. But nooo, I thought that if I splurged on the Alpaca & Silk, I'd end up with the same sexy sweater that Wendy has. I didn't think about the fact that my boobs are probably smaller than hers. The cowl diminishes my small rack even more, and the back is bunchy, like there's too much fabric. If the yarn weren't so damn expensive, I'd save this for a birthday present for a bigger, more bustier friend, but I just can't do that at $9.50 a skein. I already have plans for its reincarnation, though: the Fairy Net Blouse from the Summer IK.

I actually got back to my Sampler Stole last night - woo hoo! I was watching the first part of the "Top Chef" finale, though, so I didn't get too much done. I was sad to see Dave pack his knives and go. I want to find him and eat his food. It sounds delicious. (Joe from my Baltimore plane ride thought so too. He's in culinary school and watches "Top Chef" as religiously as I do. Girls in the Providence, RI area, take note: Joe is REALLY cute, has a great New York accent, loves to cook, has a brother who knits socks, and is not gay! Go for it!!!)

Whirlwind weekend #2: brought to you by the letter F

Florida. Fun. Flat. Fast. Fantastic!

We left on Thursday afternoon for Panama City Beach, an 8+ hour drive. Saturday morning I competed in the Gulf Coast Triathlon, a half Ironman race. (Actually, I should say half Iron distance race because Gulf Coast isn't an Ironman sanctioned event. But you get the idea.) 1.2 mile swim in the ocean, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile run. Florida is very flat, so I was excited to see how fast I could go. My previous PR (personal record) for this distance was 5 hours, 59 minutes, 58 seconds. My goal was to break that, but hearing about how the wind and the heat can really make this race a doozie, I wasn't sure I could do it. Friday morning I awoke to no wind and a pleasant high 70 degrees. I ran a little with a friend of mine, and we kept praying to the triathlon gods that we get the same weather the next day. Fortunately, someone up there heard us, and we had awesome conditions. Here's how my race went:


1.2 mile swim: 41:39 (goal was 47:00)
T1 (swim to bike transition): 3:47 (goal was 4:00)
56 mile bike: 2:49:58 (goal was 2:57:00)
T2 (bike to run): 1:43 (goal was 3:00)
13.1 mile run: 2:03:25 (goal was 2:00)
Total: 5:40:31 (goal was 5:51:00)

I came in 18th out of 63 women in my age group - top 30%. I was very pleased. The ocean swim wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, and the bike was really fun and really fast. The run even went well for me - at least up until mile 10. I lost my focus after that and struggled a little the rest of the way. I'll blame it on seeing a fellow Nashvillian pull over to the side of the road to puke, and another walking in pain just 2 hours after happily blowing by me on the bike. Overall, it was a great race for me. Today I am very sore and tired, but happy.

Unfortunately, I wasn't very productive with my road trip knitting. Last week I decided that my Somewhat Cowl was somewhat short, so I ripped out all of the ribbing on the bottom. I didn't have a chance to steam the kinks out of that used yarn before we left, though, so I just had to work with what was in the bag. I have about 15 rows of ribbing left to do, the neckline to whipstitch down, and ends to weave in. And it needs to be blocked. This yarn, as nice as it is, shows little inconsistencies in my stitches very well. I'm counting on a good blocking smoothing things out. Last week on my way to Maryland I started the back of a Rowan sweater vest. I finished the back of it in the car on Friday night, but I have to rip the whole thing out and start again on smaller needles. That's what I get for not doing a gauge swatch. I'm going to blame that on my plane companion Joe - had it not been for a great view and good conversation, I would've paid more attention to what I was doing. Joe - you're killing me.

I'll leave you with some pictures from the weekend:

Saturday afternoon delight.


This is what the ocean looked like on Sunday. Good thing the race was the day before! I don't know if I could've made it through those waves.


He looks like he's grimacing, but it's just the sun. That's his normal "Cheese!" face. He had a absolute blast on the beach.


Sunday's car ride back home was not the highlight of the weekend, that's for sure!


Hanging out on the beach drinking beer all afternoon isn't the right way to recover from a race, but it sure was fun!


The only true race injury I had: a gash on the inside of my right knee.

I have a Bento Box that I strap on the top tube of my bike to hold snacks. It makes it really easy to ensure you're fueling correctly during the race and won't bonk. However, it wasn't strapped on tightly enough to stay in place and kept leaning to the right. Every once in a while, the hard piece of plastic in it (that later I found out I could've removed - d'oh!) would stab me and cause me to mutter curse words that would've caused me to get an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty had the officials heard. Note to self: keep my box nice and tight. It'll make everyone happy in the end.

Whirlwind Weekend #1 (and some socks!)

Sunday night was the conclusion of Whirlwind Weekend #1 (the first in a 3-part series). Friday night I flew up to Baltimore and the wonderful Eunny picked me up. We spent the weekend running, eating (me more than her, as noted in Monday's post on her blog!), getting lost, and enjoying the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. I bought some glorious merino/mohair at the Brooks Farm booth, a kit for a really intricate shawl at the Morehouse booth, a drop spindle, and some roving. Eunny showed me how to use the spindle Saturday night, but I still suck at it. Fortunately she gave me some roving to practice on so that I wouldn't waste the Bunny Balls or the pretty silvery grey wool top that I got. I need a LOT of practice before I can produce something worthy of being called yarn. Since others have already posted pictures, I won't bore you with many, but here are some of my favorites:


He looks like a punk rocker to me. Maybe he's got an iPod underneath all that hair and he's listening to the Sex Pistols or the Cramps.


So cute! Such a funny face!


Pixie Purls, Eunny and me enjoying the sun and the company during the knitbloggers meetup.

This weekend will be Whirlwind Weekend #2 - we're leaving on Thursday after Hayden gets out of school for Panama City Beach, Florida, where I will be competing in the Gulf Coast Triathlon on Saturday. It's a half Ironman distance race - 1.2 mile ocean swim, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile run. Hopefully I won't melt in that Florida sun!

And before I forget, the next part of this post should've happened last week. Bad blogger! Wednesday I got home and found my Sockapaloooza package in the mailbox! Sandra sent me some great socks:

Simply Lovely Lack Socks from the Spring 2006 IK. She used some Brooklyn Handspun in gorgeous purples, greens, and pinks. They fit me like a dream, and they're sooo soft. I just love them! Also in the package were some other goodies:

Pocky, roasted wasabi peas, a postcard from New York, and some cosmetic bags for holding my notions. (The bags are not in this picture b/c they're being put to use and have found their spot in one of my current project bags.) The Pocky and the peas are so so yummy, and the bags were much needed - I had been storing all of my notions in an old Ziploc bag. Anyway, thank you Sandra! She was at the Sheep & Wool Festival also, but unfortunately, we didn't get to meet.

And did I finish my Somewhat Cowl by last Friday, you ask? Nope. I was really close on Thursday night, but then I tried it on and decided that I may need to do some frogging. I had measured the body of the sweater last week before doing the ribbing on the bottom, but somehow the measurement was different when I tried it on and I need to add length. So I have to rip out the ribbing, do about 2 more inches of stockinette, then redo the ribbing. And I'm not quite sure the neckline is going to look exactly the way I'm hoping it will, so that may require some fiddling with. I'm doing just what the pattern says to do, but for some reason it's not turning out quite as sexy as I want it to. Of course, it doesn't help when you're trying it on with your unsexy pajamas, no makeup and helmet hair from the bike ride you took earlier in the day.

Should I...

...bust my butt over the next 48 hours to get my Somewhat Cowl done so I can wear it on Friday when I travel up to Baltimore for the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, or put that aside until next week and start my Fad-Classic so I can be working on it this weekend? I've got the bottom ribbing and neckline left on the SWC, but I also have to do a 2 hour and 45 minute workout this afternoon. I REALLY want to finish it because I REALLY want to wear it because I think I'm REALLY going to like it. However, I can't drive myself crazy over it. I guess if I can get through the bottom ribbing and start the neckline today, then I'll forge on, but if I don't get that far, I'll wind the yarn for the Fad-Classic tonight and start swatching in the morning. And what color might my Fad-Classic be, you ask? I got the happiest color of orange - not obnoxious orange, not University of Tennessee orange (Heaven forbid anyone think that I'm a Vols fan!), but a bright, summery, happy tangerine orange. I've got a pair of white cargo capris and a tight white short sleeved top that I think the orange vest will look smashing with.

In non-knitting news, I've started taking Hot Yoga classes. Hot Yoga is essentially bikram yoga, a series of poses done in a 100-degree room. (Actually, our room is 99 degrees. I looked at the thermostat on Monday night.) A friend and I decided to try it out because we both have half Ironman triathlons coming up in hot weather climates (mine in Florida next weekend, and hers in Georgia in the beginning of June) and need to get somewhat acclimated to the heat. Man, it's HOT!!! The sweat just pours off of me - in certain poses, I look like I'm peeing and it's just running down my leg. (I promise I'm not peeing. It really is sweat.) When I get home, I peel my clothes off and hang them up to dry in the bathroom - that usually takes 2 days. But I do love it, though. (Except for when the woman ran out of the class Monday night and barely made it to the bathroom before throwing up. I was near the door, so that could've been an incredibly disgusting disaster.) And hopefully it'll pay off when I run a half marathon that is not in the shade at any point after swimming in the ocean 1.2 miles and biking 56 miles next Saturday.

Finally - sock pictures

I've been trying to post pictures for 2 days now, but the computer I use to upload pictures kept locking up. So I tried again today and saved the draft of this post every time I uploaded a picture, and now I'm on a more reliable computer. Damn machines. Anyway, here are my finished Sockapaloooza socks, basking in the sun on our back deck:


Hayden wanted in on the action, so he offered to model:

Wait, something doesn't look quite right -

- much better. Six year old boys always have to touch their pingas, I guess just to make sure they're still there.

I'm mailing the socks on Monday. Hopefully my pal will like them. I meant to go to the post office today, but I volunteered at the Country Music Marathon this morning and was there longer than planned. (Do you know how exciting and scary it is for a Kenyan running a 5-minute mile to take a cup of water out of your hand? Yikes!)

Since the socks are done, I've been working more on my Somewhat Cowl. It was sloooow going until I finished the raglan increases, and now that I'm past the neckline, it seems to be flying. I'd really like to finish it sometime this week so I can start a summer project. Here's what I'm thinking about:

Wendy's Fad-Classic
Prairie Tunic from the Spring issue of IK
Green Gable

What do you think?

In other news, DH gave me my Mother's Day present 2 weeks early: a plane ticket and hotel room in Columbia, MD next weekend so I can go to the Sheep & Wool Festival! How fun is that?!? I'm very excited about hanging out with Eunny and Kelly again, and meeting other knitbloggers. Who else is going?

And last but not least, one more gratuitous Hayden shot:

Last weekend we went to a local community college's production of Rogers & Hammerstein's "Cinderella." I didn't know that it wouldn't have a lot in common with the Disney version, but Hayden liked it just the same. Actually, he liked it from far away - as in the doorway. For some reason, he just wouldn't set foot inside the theater, even though it wasn't that big. That's okay, though - we just scooted our chair back to the door. Doesn't this Fairy Godmother look like Glen Close?

Liar, liar, pants on fire

Okay, I lied. I emailed my Sockapaloooza sock sister last night to tell her that my socks were going to be totally done before I went to bed and that I'd post pictures this morning. All I had left to do was graft the toe of my second sock and weave in 2 ends - easy, huh? But then I went to swim practice and stayed after a little to talk to 2 fellow Ironman Florida bound triathletes. It was almost 9pm before I got home, and I still had to eat dinner and put Hayden to bed (yes, he's a night owl). And I was tired from swimming, so the socks did not get done. I PROMISE that they will be finished this afternoon, though, and pictures will be up tomorrow.

Sockapaloooza progress

Just as promised - a happier, shorter, knitting-related post. Here's one of my Sockapalooza socks (and yes, I have a flip flop tan on the top of my feet):


Here's another shot so that you can see the cable better (and peep my tat!):


I started the second sock last Thursday and it's going much faster than the first one. Today at work I was able to turn the heel, thanks to yet another sick computer. I expect to be done with it by the end of the weekend.

I've also been working on my Somewhat Cowl, but I'm only 7 inches into it. A pic right now of it would be Somewhat Boring. Once the sock is done, I'll be able to make more progress on that as well as get back to my Sampler Stole. And start Wendy's Fad-Classic. And start my Rowan Cricket Vest. And some baby booties for my sister (who's expecting her second child the day before Ironman Florida - poor planning on her part, I must say). And....

Warning: long post ahead, not related to knitting at all

April is Autism Awareness Month. I've been wondering what to do on my blog for it (almost typed "to celebrate it", but that sounded totally wrong). I could give you the statistics - 1 in 166 kids is autistic, blah blah blah - but then I came across Cathy's blog and decided to copy her. Her son is autistic and she shared her story, so I'm going to do the same. I know all of my regular readers know Hayden and know he's autistic and know how cute he is, but I don't think I've ever shared our background. Here goes nothing:

Hayden was a typically developing little boy. He laughed, played, crawled and walked when other kids do. I had been working as a full-time staff accountant, but I became a stay at home mom shortly after he turned one and had dreams of doing all the fun things stay at home moms do - have playdates, go to the park at 10am on Wednesday, put him in Mother's Day Out program twice a week so he could have friends and I could ride my bike in the middle of the day. However, I started noticing around 18 months that he wasn't adding any new words to his vocabulary - in fact, some of his words had disappeared. I called the doctor and voiced my concerns, but he just said, "Oh, don't worry. Boys are late talkers." This conversation between he and I happened 3 times until his 2-year checkup. After that, the doctor said that maybe we should check into it. Our first step was going to the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center to have his hearing tested - normal. Then we had an evaluation done by the Tennessee Early Intervention Services to see if Hayden qualified for free therapy. TEIS does an overall evaluation, and if your child has at least a 25% defenciency in 2 areas (communication, gross motor skills, etc), they provide free therapy, whether it be speech, physical, or occupational. Hayden, of course, qualified. We started speech therapy when he was almost 2 1/2 years old. In TEIS' evaluation, they suggested I look into occupational therapy because of things like Hayden having an aversion to messy stuff like shaving cream, but I blew that off. Nobody really likes messy stuff, do they? Big mistake. Unfortunately, TEIS only pays for therapy until the child is 3, so after that, we were on our own. We enrolled Hayden in a preschool for kids with special needs. There were therapists there at school, so we didn't have to take him anywhere - the therapist just pulled him out of his class when it was time for him to work. This school didn't come cheap - the first year Hayden was there, we paid over $20,000. A college tuition for a 3 year old! Our insurance company wouldn't (and still won't) pay for any therapy, so needless to say, I went back to work. Nobody could figure out what was wrong with him, but everyone agreed he wasn't autistic. There were just some things that he did that autistic kids don't do. (What they were, I can't remember, because looking back on it, it was so clear that he was.) I had scheduled an evaluation to be done when he was 3 1/2, but cancelled it because a)everyone said that he wasn't autistic, and b)everyone said that even though he wasn't autistic, he'd be labeled as such, and that label would follow him throughout school and teachers would expect less of him, yada yada yada. Another big mistake. After his fourth birthday, though, I rescheduled his evaluation. Mike was out of town for a marathon, and Hayden had a particularly autistic weekend. I couldn't control him at McDonald's, he had a panic attack when I tried to take him to a classmate's birthday party, things like that. Mike wasn't happy that I was having him evaluated, but I decided to do it anyway. He came around before the evaluation, though, and we had come to accept that the diagnosis was going to be one of autism. That made the evaluation process so much easier, because our response to "Your child is autistic" was "We know." At the evaluator's suggestion, we took him out of the preschool he was in and got him into a program for autistic kids through the public school system. Through the school system Hayden gets speech and occupational therapy, and we supplement that with private autism and speech therapy. The speech therapist we work with (the best out of the many that we have worked with over the last 4 years) only works with autistic kids, so it's great. He's made a lot of progress over the last 4 years, but he still has a lot of work to do. He used to not be able to handle being around other kids; now he's in the thick of things when it's recess time. He doesn't play "with" his classmates, but he plays alongside of them, and that's the best we can ask for right now. His eye contact is not great, but we're working on that too. He's verbal, but 90% of the time his speech is not easily understandable (except for by me - after all, I am Mommy) or is straight out of a book, video, or computer game (echolalia is the technical term for that). He flaps his hands (called stimming) when he gets excited about something (last night while driving home from dinner he stimmed off of the street lights we drove by, and every day he flaps when he sees me coming to pick him up from school), and he laughs sometimes when nothing is going on. (I have a great 90-second video on my digital camera of his stimming off of the Teletubbies, but I don't know how to upload a video onto my blog.) He is learning how to have conversations, but right now all of it is memorized, so unless someone asks him a question the exact way we or his therapists ask him, he won't answer. But he is a great kid. He has no behavior problems; he loves to dance, sing, and make people laugh; he's pretty good at math; and he loves to give hugs and kisses. And he's super cute to boot. (And he's learning how to climb, Jen - we've been to the climbing gym twice since Thursday, and he really likes it!) With a lot of hard work, I hope that he'll be able to live a fairly typical life.

With all that being said, he did not get into the TRIAD camp. I got a letter today basically telling me that he's not high functioning enough to go to their camp. What a blow. I usually have a great attitude about our situation - sure it sucks, but he is a sweet, loving, fun kid, so I make the best out of what we got. Today, though, I've been crying and can't stop. (So please excuse any typos - sometimes they get lost in the tears.) Telling me that Hayden is not functioning enough to go to a camp for autistic kids makes me somewhat lose hope. Last week I posted that I was afraid that the TRIAD people thought I was this desparate, disillusioned mom - I guess they're right. Maybe I'm not seeing what others are. I'd love for Hayden to be the kid who shoots all the 3-pointers at the basketball game and becomes a hero - today that dream was shot down. I'm starting to think that I'm going to be one of those moms who everyone feels sorry for when she walks through the grocery store and her 25-year old autistic son is following her because he can't function without her. And now I have no idea what I'm going to do for the summer. I had planned on him going to TRIAD camp for his summertime therapy and going to a summer camp at a typical daycare the rest of the time. Now the therapy is gone, and because they don't think he's functioning enough to go to their camp, I don't think he's functioning enough to go to the typical daycare camp. I got a brochure for it today, and the things they say they do scare me. They go on field trips every Friday and go swimming every week. What if wanders off because he doesn't understand that he's supposed to stay with his class? (That's happened before.) Daycare workers aren't trained to work with autistic kids. And he can't swim, but he doesn't understand that he shouldn't jump off the diving board. So now I have to come up with an alternative plan. I don't know what that is right now, but I guess between now and May 23rd it'll come to me. I have to work, so something has to come along.

Cathy has some links on her blog to some great stuff, one of them being a sweet ESPN commercial. I urge you to visit her blog and check it out. I promise my next post will be a)happy, b)knitting related, and c)not so long.

Are you jealous? Just a little??

I rode my bike yesterday when DH got home from work. I took my camera along (I pulled over to the side of the road to take the shots - they weren't taken while I was riding - I can talk on my phone while riding, but I don't think I'm coordinated enough to take pictures) so I could show you the beautiful scenery I get to enjoy while on my bike. This is the Natchez Trace Parkway, which starts about 2 miles from my house and ends down in Natchez, Mississippi:


This hill is a bitch to climb up, but it sure is fun to fly down on the way home!


This bridge overlooks Hwy. 96 from way, way up. I know you're supposed to ride on the side of the road, but when I cross this bridge, I tend to drift towards the middle. Too close to the rails is very scary, especially on a windy day.


I am so lucky to live so close to such a great place for riding.

And here's a picture of my Sockapaloooza sock:

I started turning the heel today at work. Unfortunately I didn't get to do too much because my boss didn't go out for lunch. Gah. But I am loving the way this is turning out. Hopefully my pal will too. I didn't make the sock as long as the pattern I'm using said to, but a)I think it's long enough, and b)my pal didn't specify how long she likes her socks, only that she likes them to go over the ankle.

And finally, here's a shot of my Sampler Stole and my Somewhat Cowl, laying on the new bedspread bought at Target on Sunday (gotta love Isaac Mizrahi - he reminds me soooo much of my best high school friend, Perry):

This picture really is to show you the colors, because the progress made on both is very little. One of my goals last week was to get through 3 repeats of the stole; however, progress was thwarted by too much beer and a shot of something and vodka at a friend's going away party on Saturday, and I still have 21 rows to get through repeat 3. The Somewhat Cowl will be much further along after I spend the upcoming weekend in Birmingham. Sunday morning I will be doing the Powerman Alabama duathlon, but I'll have Saturday afternoon and evening in a hotel room, doing some pre-race resting and guilt-free knitting! I'm using Alpaca & Silk - can I get a yum-yum? The yarn is HEAVENLY. Hopefully I can get it done and wear it before summer hits!

And speaking of the fabulous Wendy, have you seen this yet? So cool! It's making its way up to the front of my To Knit list at an alarming pace. Maybe I'll get the pattern after I finish the SWC. But I detest Cotton Classic - must find a substitute.

Socks have stolen the limelight...

...from my Sampler Stole. It hit me earlier today that the deadline for my Sockapaloooza socks is fast approaching, and I am not even to the heel of the first one. So I guess I need to spend more time on it than just at work or during speech therapy, which means the stole will just have to wait for a little bit. At the rate I'm going on the stole, it'll make a great Christmas gift for someone special!

And to those who are wondering how Hayden's interview went yesterday: it didn't go very well, at least not in my eyes. He's just not a good interviewer or test taker. Every time he's had an evaluation done, I've thought he could've done much better. Yesterday he wasn't answering questions I KNOW he knew the answers to, and I was/am afraid that he came across as just a bump on a log. Actually, he was more than just a bump on a log - maybe a bump on a log who really enjoyed making faces in the 1-way window that separated the observation area from the evaluation room. (He loves to look at himself or dance in front of a mirror. Why not? If I were as cute as he is, I'd want to look at myself all day too.) I was supposed to stay in the observation area, but after hearing, "Where's Mommy?" 10 times, the clinician suggested I quietly sit on the couch in the room with him. It was so frustrating to sit there and not be able to say anything because I knew I could ask him the questions in a way that he might've answered them. I left there feeling glad that DH wasn't with me (he tends to get more depressed about our situation than I do) and paranoid that they think I'm some disillusioned, desperate mother trying to get her son into camp. I turned in the form that Hayden's kindergarten teacher filled out, telling them that I read what she wrote and I really don't think he displays the behavior she says he does (he supposedly throws temper tantrums at school - I haven't seen him throw what I think is a temper tantrum since he was 2 1/2) and that his assistant, who is around him way more than the teacher is, agrees with me and that she was supposed to write a little note about her perceptions to accompany the teacher's form but she must've forgotten. Then after the interview, I told them that I don't think that was very indicative of how he really is, he's usually much more responsive, and that he doesn't have this separation problem when he goes to school or to his autism therapy group. Anyway, we're supposed to get a letter in a week or so telling us if we're in and the if so, the particulars. At this point, I really don't know what that letter will say. Cross your fingers!

Jayloungers

This picture of my finished Jaywalkers was taken on Sunday, when I was being completely inactive. (Gracie, although she looks like she's sitting calmly in the background, is making up for my inactivity. She's patiently waiting for the moment where Mike throws the ball so she can tear through the house after it.) I had a big nasty workout to do on Saturday, so Sunday I kitchener stitched the toe of my second sock, put them on, and put my feet up for a well-deserved bout of laziness.

Overall, I am pleased with my Jaywalkers. I love the yarn and I love the pattern. The only thing I would've done differently is make them on size 1 dpns. These are a teeny bit slouchy. But I'd rather have them a wee slouchy than too f-ing tight to get over my instep.

Because of my lacking in the skillz needed to make a sock fit properly, I have decided to go against the votes for the sock out of the Handknit Holidays book and have chosen the rib and cable sock. Not only have I chosen that pattern, I've started it. The yarn is as close to a solid color as I've seen Koigu get, so I think the cables will look fine. I do absolutely love the Handknit Holidays socks, and am anxious to see Alison's finished pair, but with the others I don't have to modify the pattern. And the less mods I have to make, the more of a chance I'll have at making socks that will fit my pal's feet.

I've not posted goals for the week lately, so I thought I'd do so now:

1. Do our taxes. April 15th is fast approaching!
2. Swatch for the Somewhat Cowl to see if I need to buy yarn. I'm going to Alabama next weekend and am planning on this being my road trip project. I might have a couple of candidates in my stash - Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere, or maybe Classic Elite Premiere?
3. Do more core exercises - specifically, 3 days in addition to my weight lifting day. I was at the bike shop yesterday to get refitted on my racing bike, and the shop owner made me do an exercise that showed me a)how important strong core muscles are, and b)how not strong my core muscles are.
4. Have at least 3 repeats on my Sampler Stole done. So far I've got 1 1/2. It's pretty, but slow going. Basketball is over (at least for the University of Memphis Tigers, and therefore also for me), though, so I should be able to knit more while watching TV this week.

And last but not least, here's the latest update on the TRIAD summer camp. Hayden has to go on Monday afternoon for a pre-camper interview to determine if he'd benefit from camp. I'm finding myself a little nervous for him! Should I put together a resume? Should I buy him a little suit, or just a sportjacket and tie? (I'm soooo kidding on the suit or the tie - I believe that 6-year old boys should dress like 6-year old boys, not little Alex P. Keatons. I know other people do it, but not this mom. Jeans and t-shirts or polos is what Hayden lives in!) Anyway, be thinking of him next Monday at 4pm CST and hope that he charms the pants off those TRIAD people!

Need your opinions, please!

I'm starting my Sockapaloooza socks once I finish my second Jaywalker (which I'm anticipating will happen tomorrow night). So now's the time to finalize my pattern decision. My pal seems to be a nature-y, down to earth person who said "nothing too crazy, but pattern is fine" in her preferences. I've got some light blue Koigu (not a lot of variegated colors; just their typical variegated shades of blue) and had thought I'd do a simple ribbed sock with a small cable on either side of the calf. However, I stumbled on this idea (scroll down to her March 21st entry) when blog lurking this morning. I have a copy of Handknit Holidays, and I've loved those socks from the first time I saw them. I have only 2 skeins of Koigu, and my pal didn't mention knee-highs, so I'd modify the pattern to be shorter. I'd also leave the lace design on the back rather than the cable that Alison is putting in (I like Alison's cable, but I do know that my pal likes a little lace). So since I'm being so Charlie Brown-ish (wishy-washy) on my decision, I thought I'd ask my readers. What do you think? Ribbing and cables, or stockinette and a little lace?

A mother's work is never done.

In my last post I lamented about Vanderbilt University's TRIAD summer camp. This morning I called the Autism Society of Middle Tennessee office to see if anyone there had any inside information that might help me. Long story short, I ended up calling the TRIAD office again and found out that there's ONE SPOT FOR A 6-YEAR OLD. I just about did a cartwheel while on the phone - at work - in my skirt. I have to work until 2 today, then I have a much needed massage scheduled from 230-330, then I am going down to the TRIAD office and delivering my paperwork plus the deposit money. I can't believe we're getting in. (And thank you, Michelle, for your words of encouragement. I WAS able to pull it off!) And this camp better be da bomb for as much money as they charge for it! The lady at the ASMT office I spoke to this morning told me that people come in from out of town and live in a hotel for 3 weeks just so their child can go to this camp. It's exciting that Hayden will have this opportunity, but at the same time it's sad that it has to be such a competition to get in. There really should be more services made available for these kids. Research has proven that early invention is the key to success.

Nothing exciting in my knitting world this weekend. I bought the Somewhat Cowl pattern for the Sexy Knitter's Club KAL, and I'm thinking of using some Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere from my stash. (Anyone wanna take a guess what color it is???) I'm a little nervous about the neckline, though, because I haven't seen a finished sweater that has a neckline that I absolutely love. I have an image in my mind of what Wendy's looks like, and I want mine to come out the same way. We'll see how it goes. It looks like a pretty straightforward project, so I'm planning on working on it when we drive to Irondale, Alabama (right outside of Birmingham) the second weekend of April for the Powerman Alabama duathlon. I'm working on the second Jaywalker and I've gotten through the first repeat of the center section of my sampler stole. According to one of the KAL participants, I am about 7% done. How depressing! I'm working on it slowly, while I'm able to devote attention to it, because I'd hate to rush it and make some stupid mistake. I don't have a lot of experience with lace knitting - my only "major" lace project is my Rowan Butterfly top - so I'm having to use stitch markers to separate repeats and a post-it note to help me know what row I'm on. And I've resorted to using the aforementioned spreadsheet to make little tickmarks on the rows that I've done. Stitch markers, post-it notes, tickmarks -- wow, I sound like a newbie.

My athletic endeavors were a little more exciting this weekend (and a lot more painful). I decided Friday night to run a half marathon Saturday morning. I went into the race hoping to run somewhere between 8:30-8:45 minute miles. I ended up running with 2 friends and we were able to keep our miles around and 8:20 pace, so my time was 1:49:36. I was pleased, especially since I was able to do that and talk the entire time. (Of course, as I was showering later, I thought, "Y'know, if we hadn't had talked the whole time, we could've run faster and I might've been able to beat my best half marathon time without really even trying." Runners and triathletes always find ways to not accept their times as the best they could've done.) My legs were pretty sore the rest of the day, though. Somehow my muscles aren't in as good of shape as my aerobic energy system is. Yesterday I rode with my friends and had planned on taking it easy, but of course that didn't happen. I was wasted last night. My massage this afternoon cannot come at a better time!

(Sorry this has been such a long post without any pictures. I'm at work right now with nothing to do, but my boss hasn't left for lunch, so I can't knit. Bah.)