Week One.

Well, this is not normal, and I never expect for it to happen again, but my positive obsessive thoughts and actions worked. I lost 4.4 pounds this week! I assume that two pounds are H2O and the rest might actually be real. . . . but yay!!!!!

Here we go.

Ok, so trying to have a baby makes for a bit of stress and obsession. I am trying to be more relaxed and not think about it ALL the time, but it is there. You do obsess about it when you live by your calendar. . .

AND: My body has suffered through my obsession. Between the legislative session and the slight bit of comfort eating that I have done through the baby-making process, I have gained a bit of weight.

So, I joined Weight Watchers (WW) last week. And, I am going to begin knitting like crazy. The knitting is just downright fun, and the WW helps to give me something else to obsess about. My first weigh-in will be Wednesday, and I am praying that my body didn't try to go into starvation mode this first week and hold onto every ounce. . I would like to even just lose maybe half a pound to prove that I'm headed in the right direction.

Weight Watchers makes you end up eating a TON more produce than you normally do - and for that reason, summertime is a really great time to start a structured eating plan. I am really looking forward to going to the farmer's market this coming Saturday - but for that reason, I need to eat everything in our refrigerator this week. I am up to this challenge. :) (I mean, Mr. Weller will help me, but he isn't someone who can eat just vegetables as dinner - or eat a tiny portion of chicken and a whole plate of veggies.)

Updates on this course of action to follow!

Birthday.

I have to say that this was probably my best birthday in the last five years. We spent time with my parents on Saturday - working in the yard and then went to lunch at Blue Dahlia, on East 11th Street. http://www.bluedahliabistro.com/ - I think I love the interior more than the food, but the food is also very fresh and very abundant, so it is one of my new favorites.

Monday, my actual birthday, my mom came in and we had lunch at East Side Cafe (I could eat there every day, I think) and went furniture shopping. We found a dining room table that is actually massive enough to the fill the space in the dining room, but wanted to leave it and come back later. Steven went with me to check out the table/chairs that evening, and we agreed to get them! (Yay!) We went to dinner at Guero's with friends, and it was lovely. I haven't done a 'big thing' for my birthday in a long time, and it was really a very good time.

On Tuesday, Steven and I went and bought the table/chairs. We brought home the pads for the table. (They are plastic covered heavy cardboard (I guess) with thick felt backing). . . The table and pads have clearly come from a home with a white cat. Gross. The pads are in the back of my car and I plan to thoroughly vacuum and then steam clean the felt tonight. The table will come home Friday, when my dad (thank you!) will pick it up with Steven and the trailer. So exciting! I will post photos when it is arranged in our dining room. After buying the table, we met up with family/friends for another birthday celebration (not really mine, but sort of) and went to Blue Star Cafeteria. I highly recommend the Garden Vegetable Bowl. Fresh sauteed veggies over boursin cheese grits. Amazing.

Now, I have to stop eating out!

Busy as a . .

I have been very busy over the last six months and have failed my blog. I am back and have a lot of catching up to do. I have made many things: Socks for Steven - I don't have a finished picture, but I will track down his feet and get one!

I also made a cutie baby sweater. It is a butter yellow, but again, I took this photo with my phone and it doesn't really do it justice. It was a class to learn a particular technique, and I now have the modified adult pattern for this sweater. . . which I plan to begin knitting for myself in the fall. . . . The sweater itself is super soft and I haven't yet given it away. I am saving it for someone special - maybe my own, probably someone else's, but nobody has had a little girl so it is in a drawer, now. I love it, though, because of it's color and the lace pattern - so I sometimes just take it out to stare at it!

Then I made this: Something for myself - and that doesn't happen very often! It is a scarf, made of silk and mohair yarn that I bought in a yarn store near Chicago. It is actually not quite finished, but I will model it when I am done. . . .

Then I started the summer baby gifts. A mystery animal hat for a baby boy, and a bumblebee hat (below) for a baby of unknown gender:

I have also knit matching socks for each hat but don't have photos, currently. Next up, finishing my scarf, maybe beginning a few Christmas knits. . .

Let the Games Begin.

I just like that post title. I intend to use it multiple times.

I have been kept really too busy for blogging as of late. . . even if I do have spare time, when I come home from work, generally the last thing I want to do is park it in front of the computer and type. .

I've had a lot on my brain and have had a difficult time sleeping this week. I think that a couple of nights of decent rest can really help, and I plan to walk Lucie for a long time this evening so that she is tuckered out, too. (and that will result in better sleep for all of us.)

I had such an enjoyable Saturday morning last weekend, I have decided that I should share. With others, I worked for five hours on a farm - called Johnson's Backyard Garden, http://www.johnsonsbackyardgarden.com/ , a 20 acre organic farm just minutes from downtown Austin. The farm is actually a co-op, where members pay a certain dollar amount for a box of vegetables each week.

It was damp and cold and we arrived around 8 am. Our first project was digging up and bundling green garlic. I was hungry by 8:20 because the garlic smelled so amazing. That was a very muddy way to start the day. We moved on to picking broccoli, and later picked collard greens. We picked and bundled spinach and then had to push the farm truck that was stuck in the mud. Once we were too cold to really do any good in the field, we went into the shed where we washed and bagged arugula and mixed salad greens. Finally, we got in an assembly line and put together boxes for that day's delivery. Each box contained about the same things: oranges and grapefruit from an exchange farm, broccoli, garlic, mint, flat-leaf parsley, kale, swiss chard, mustard greens, collard greens, spinach, arugula, salad greens, and beets. There were cats underfoot and roosters crowing. Everyone was so friendly and I felt very invigorated when I left. We have enjoyed new recipes all this week as a result of the assortment of early spring/late winter green leafies that I brought home.

mmmm. cupcakes.

As the legislative session blazes on and my ability to hang out in the kitchen decreases, I begin to look back on recent accomplishments with fond memories and I really look forward to summer again..

My most recent and favorite kitchen experience was the day House committee assignments came out. In a suite of three Republican offices, three members lost out big time. I went home and made this recipe. You can find a much better link on smitten kitchen, http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/car-bomb-cupcakes/ and the cupcake recipe was posted there. They were officially called Whiskey, chocolate, and beer cupcakes and playfully referred to as "irish car bomb" cupcakes. I called them what they were in our office: Bitter cupcakes filled with sad disappointment.

I have to say that disappointment has never tasted so good. I will definitely make these again.

yarn and cars

It is a little frustrating to knit in the car. You feel confined and, if you're like me, a little barfy. I can't look down for too long without a headache or some nausea. . But I am not really talking about knitting while riding.

I was thinking about cars and I was thinking about knitting and that is how we get this whole post title. We went to test drive a Honda Pilot last night. I love it, and when we find one that has what we want, I will be very excited.

I am thinking about knitting. Over the past two weeks, I have knitted up a cutie little sweater and I am happy to have it done. It was super easy and was a nice resting project after the houndstooth terror.