I know it's getting close to Ironman when...

...I crave fried chicken. Actually, I've been craving it for about 3 weeks now, which is exactly what happened last year before Wisconsin. Last year I said that I was going to go to KFC when I got home. I lost my appetite for about 3 days after the race, however, and had to force myself to eat anything. By the time I got my appetite back and wanted that greasy, crunchy drumstick, my f-ed up mind said, "You haven't worked out in 3 days. You can't eat fried chicken." So I didn't. I'm doing it this year, dammit! Saturday night after I've crossed the finish line! Even if I have no appetite and it makes me puke!

...my pants fall off of me. Last year my shorts and jeans got so big on me a month before Ironman that I could pull them off without undoing them. This year that didn't happen until this past weekend. I am proud to say that I went to the bike shop yesterday with my shorts barely staying up on my hips. (Actually, I'm not that proud. I was trying to make a joke. Don't start thinking I have some eating disorder. I loveloveLOVE to eat and can put away a serious amount of sushi or chocolate or spaghetti or pizza, and I'm sure I looked rather stupid running errands around town in shorts that were obviously too big for me. At least at this point in time. Give me a month and they'll fit just fine again.)

...I have enough time to finish a knitting project! I'd love to show you my Hourglass Pullover, but for some reason, Blogger is not downloading pictures right now. Grr... Anyway, it's still blocking, so the picture really isn't that exciting. It looks much better on me than on my silly blocking board. Hopefully Blogger will behave better when I get back from Florida. The yarn is Classic Elite Miracle, a blend of Tencel and alpaca. I really love the sweater - the color (green, not purple), the fit, the ease of the pattern. I added one more decrease row at the neckline since I had read everyone else's problems (think Flashdance), and I hemmed the bottom with DMC floss instead of yarn. When I did the neckline hem (which was a TOTAL bitch, I must add) the yarn broke on me, so I didn't want to run that risk on the bottom hem. I did not enjoy doing those hems AT ALL, but the end result is really nice. This sweater was such a joy to make - easy enough to not have to think too much, yet not too plain. The neckline, the slightly belled sleeves and the finished hems all give the sweater a little oompf. Who knows - maybe I'll make this again.

...I have a long car ride ahead of me and have started picking out a new project. My sister had Baby #2, Lucy (altogether now: awwwww), last Friday, so I am going to make a little sweater. The yarn is some pretty purple Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere out of my stash, and the pattern is the Pea Pod Baby Set, an IK web exclusive featured in the Summer 2006 issue. I'm gauging this afternoon and hope to get it started before we hit the road tomorrow.

For those of you out there wanting to keep track of me on Saturday, you can visit www.ironmanlive.com and check up on me from time to time. You can even watch the live coverage from the finish line - pretty cool! My number is #2215 and my last name is Honeycutt. I do have a time goal in mind, but I'm not going to share it right now so I don't jinx myself.

One last note: I wore my Deciduous top to my Hawaii Ironman party 2 weekends ago, and it caused problems for one of my training partners. His wife is very prim and proper and thought that what I was wearing was COMPLETELY inappropriate. They actually fought about me on the car ride home. Jealous b!tch.

Deciduous

I finished this yesterday so that I could wear it to a Hawaii Ironman viewing party last night. I ride with a bunch of men that sometimes forget I'm a girl (during our ride yesterday, one of them said, "Gentlemen, in 2 weeks we'll be doing Ironman Florida!"), so I have to set them straight every once in a while. Here's a shot of the back:



And here's a closeup shot of the front (and of the tan line I got from my bikini top over the summer - yes, that tan line is over 2 months old - my tan lines last forever):



I really do like this top; I just wish I had done it earlier in the summer so that I could've worn it longer this year. It'll go with me to Florida in less than 2 weeks (yikes!), but then it'll end up packed away until next year.

In Hourglass Sweater news, I'm done with the first sleeve and have started the second. It looks pretty good so far, but nothing picture-worthy yet.

And in Ironman news, I'm less than 2 weeks away from Ironman Florida. Yippee!!! I'm really excited about this one. I was excited about Wisconsin last year because it was my first one. I don't really like Florida too much, but I'm excited about the race because a ton of my friends are doing it and in spite of all the sh*t that happened to me this summer, I'm doing it. Who knows what the day will bring, but I think once I get out of the water, I'll do fairly decently. My biking is almost up to where it was pre-wreck (which is saying a lot for the strength in my legs, because I don't have much ability to use my upper body to pull myself up hills, and I can't hold onto my handlebars very comfortably yet - thank God for aerobars!), and my running is better than it was last year. My swimming sucks, but that's okay. I'm relying on the buoyancy of the saltwater and my wetsuit to get me through the 2.4 miles.

It was 40 degrees this morning - I think I'll work on a summer tank.

Before my wreck in August, I had started Deciduous by Marnie Maclean (sorry for no links - too lazy right now). I put it down while I was in a cast/brace/splint because I didn't want my gauge to be different. Then, post cast/brace/splint, I started an Hourglass Pullover because I thought that something really simple like stockinette stitch in the round would be perfect for the state of mind I was in and the way my hand was working/not working. I got all the way up to the armpits of the body by last Saturday and wanted to start a sleeve, but I didn't have a 16" size 5 circular. So I picked up Deciduous again and have been working a lot on it in an attempt to get it done MAYBE by tomorrow evening. Here's a shot of my progress as of last night (and my bathroom that Mike painted while I was in Destin the last weekend of August - I was really shocked at first and didn't know if I liked the stripes, but they grew on me):



As of tonight, I have 13 rows left of the body, the straps, and the back stuff. I'm hoping that it'll be warm enough in Florida when I'm there for Ironman (3 weeks from today - yippee!) so that I can wear it at least once before next summer. It SURE isn't going to be worn around here anytime soon; this morning I wore shorts, tights, 2 pairs of socks, a short sleeved shirt, a long sleeved bike jersey, a jacket, gloves, and a skullcap under my helmet for an 80-mile ride.

And here's a picture of the Cutest 6-Year Old in America, just in case you've forgotten what he looks like:



And for your amusement, here's a picture of the page of homework he was holding:



Take a look at the first question. I think there are 2 correct spellings.