:::KnitFit::: ranting & raving

Really Great Smoothie!

I didn't realize how low I was on frozen fruit until I went to make my smoothie tonight.  So I improvised.  I had a hard workout with the kettlebells so I wanted to replenish my body with protein (hemp milk) and glycogen (dates and bananas) so the smoothie had lots of yumminess in it:

2C hemp milk (use your milk of choice)
2 chopped dried dates (I chop them and add them to the milk and let them sit and get a bit softer - its easier on my weak little food processor)
2C baby spinach
1C frozen pineapple
1c frozen sweet dark cherries
1 banana

Blend it all together and enjoy.
Makes two large drinks. 

per drink: 334 calories, 3.5g fat, 71 carbs, 8g protien,
7g fiber, 0 cholesterol, 100% rda calcium

Since there is a higher ratio of milk to frozen fruit its more like a drink than a frozen smoothie. Oh, and I think adding a bit of cocoa powder would also be delicious!

No pictures because I drank it all before I thought to take a picture.

My Own Personal Hand in Global Warming.

I'm tired and exhausted and I don't want to get in another car for a month.  I swear, this weekend I single handedly caused global warming:  On Friday I drove from my house to the gym and back (45 miles), on Saturday I drove from my house to Arlington to take my niece swimming (17 miles), then from Cambridge to Pawtucket, RI (50 miles), and then from Pawtucket back to my house (57 miles).  Then on Sunday I drove to my dad's house and back for a Mother's Day bbq (27 miles).  I'm so sick of driving.  Besides, I have no gas left in my car and I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to fill my tank twice in one weekend. 

What was I doing in Pawtucket?  Going to the PawSox Stitch N Pitch, of course! It was lots of fun and the game was great.  We even got to see the Tides manager get tossed from the game after two minutes of chest-bumping with the Ump.

bye bye

this fan clearly had an opinion
of the Manager's behavior

We were mature and chanted "fight, fight, fight" because, as I've mentioned many times, we are sixteen.

Then on the way home we stopped at a bar that had metal detectors at the door, and a very, very pregnant woman sitting at the bar.  I don't think she was drinking, but... ???? Oh, yeah, I'll take you to the classiest joints in town.  Overall, it was a great event.  You can see more pictures of the event on the Ravelry Stitch N Pitch page.

Now I'm ready for bed. 

Things I'm Loving Right Now...

Still loving my Bare Escentuals make-up:

Word of advice, if you do try them... don't wear everything they try to sell you.  It's way too many layers.  I mix a bit of Mineral Veil with the foundation and that is it.  Oh, and concealer, of course, but only on my nose.  No primer, either. But I sure do lay that eye shadow on thick... I love me some eye shadow.  And MAC Kohl eyeliner, too.

I'm off to Rhode Island tomorrow for the Ravelry Stitch N Pitch PawSox game.  Should be a great time -- there were over 130 tickets sold to our group! Whoo hooo, knitters!  First, however, I have another training session with the Kettlebell trainer at Punch.  Remember her? The one that pressed the 100 POUND LOG?  Yikes. She kicks my butt, but I still love this training.

Since I'm posting about things I love...

Yeah, I need a hobby.  Thank goodness school starts back up soon because with work, home, family, exercise and knitting I just have way too much time to spend looking at pictures of that man.  And this one too.  Also, this guy. (p.s. if you click on any of those links, be prepared to waste a whole lot o'time.)

I Love My Bosu.

So, in addition to the Kettlebell training, I've also added a day of Bosu workouts to my week.  I'm currently using this video:

Agility and endurance are my weaknesses (er, two of them anyway) and this video is great to work on that.  The trainer who leads the video is a bit cheesy (quick feet! quick feet!) but the routine is a good one.  This video also uses a 4lb fitness ball.

I purchased the Bosu from Target, and it was pricey but so worth it.  Sometimes I just stand on it while I'm watching t.v. (always with good sneakers to support my ankles).  Other times I use various work out videos which incorporate the Bosu.

The reason I purchased the Bosu was because I heard that people who train with it have strong ankles and knees and that when they stumble they do not twist their ankes (this comes in to play a lot when you are hiking).

I wore my heart monitor and was working at a high rate of bpm's.  The work out took 57 minutes and my total calories burned was 518, at 35% fat calories.  Purchasing the Bosu, baseball video and fitness ball is not cheap, but it's already paid itself off.  Plus, I can incorporate the Bosu into other work outs. 

I highly recommend purchasing all three pieces of equipment.

She Kicked Our Butts.

The woman who trained Krista and I in kettlebells on Friday is featured in this new circuit work out at Punch.  She is the woman pressing the 100lb log.  She is also the only woman in the video but I wanted to stress that she is pressing a 100 POUND LOG. The thing is huge.  I know because I sat on it after my session.

You can watch her (and Anthony and Kevin) in this video:

For the record, this is NOT what Krista and I did on Friday.  This is an advanced circuit but yes she is that strong and super cute and nice.  And young.  And strong...

New Stuff!

New knitting!

This is the Corrugator scarf knit up in a skein of Dave's beautiful sock yarn. I'm not sure what the colorway name was for this, but I've renamed it Taos.  This yarn came with me to Taos, was knit into one sock, then ripped back (I knit it too small).  Recently I've been trying to bust through my stash using first all the yarn I have wound up into a center pull ball.  I tried the pattern out with this yarn and LOVED the way it looks.  Since the yarn is so thin, it's kind of hard to see the pattern, but I still love it.  I saw all the other Corrugator's in Ravelry and thought it would be fun to use a different weight than other knitters used. It makes for slow progress but that is ok with me -- I'm not in any rush!  More details here in Ravelry.

Also... new sink!

OK, so maybe that isn't exciting but I love it when I get to make an improvement on my home.  Plus, the old sink was a double basin and you couldn't fit one pot in either side. It was a pain and I always ended up splashing water everywhere.  We really only needed a new faucet because the one we had was leaking, but I figured that if we were going to fix it, may as well do it right!

And finally... new butt!

Er, well not yet but I had my first one-on-one Kettlebell training session at Punch gym and I know that this will most definitely get me results and keep me disciplined.  It was so much fun! And so hard!  I actually used a 26lb kettlebell and was able to keep my form.  I could only complete one full snatch on my left side, but it was in good form and I know that I will only get stronger.  I could feel so many muscles working together to complete the moves.  I'm so excited to incorporate kettlebells into my routine.

Oh, and there may be a "new" cat here as Chez Mac soon.  I'm not that excited to have three felines in my home but am willing to give it a shot.  We'll see!

Be Good Today, its Earth Day.

Awe, hell... EVERY day should be Earth Day.

Sun Dried Tomato Quiche

Last night I made the deep dish Sun Dried tomato Quiche from Vegetarian Times.  The recipe itself seems vegan (although I'm not sure about those mashed potato flakes --- I didn't use them).  Of course, I altered the recipe to what ingredients I had and what I felt like doing.  Seriously? I can't follow a recipe to save my life.  Have no to desire to either.

stolen from the veggie times site

I did everything in that recipe except add the mashed potato flakes, scallions, capers, sherry or fresh basil.  I mixed my miso with 1/4 C of the leftover soaking liquid - and then dumped the rest of it.  I definitly think I didn't need the extra liquid without using those potatoes.  I also added broccoli (thawed out from frozen) and 1 small can of drained mushrooms (first time I've ever used canned mushrooms but I didn't have any fresh ones).  I love green veggies and mushrooms in quiche - it just works.

OK - so my version isn't as pretty...

I had originally seen Susan's recipe for Mushroom and asparagus Quiche with Brown Rice Crust and wanted to make her quiche (brown rice crust? YUM!) but have been wanting to use up a frozen pie crust that has been in the freezer forEVER.  The pie crust definitely made the dish decedent (especially since it was a butter crust). Although the bottom of my crust was a bit soggy - it was delicious quiche.  I ate half the pie last night.  oink

Because of the crust - my version was not Vegan but next time I'll use Susan's Brown Rice Crust.

drinking for a good cause! PUB CRAWL!

I told you that I was going to notify you if I saw some interesting fund raising ideas for the 3-Day Breast Cancer walk.  This particular one is definitely down my alley!!  A Pub Crawl!!

PUB CRAWL IN BOSTON - April 26th

(Team Awesome) are running a pub crawl on April 26th in Boston from 3-9 (or whenever). If anyone is interested in coming get in touch with us at teamawesome_the3day AT yahoo DOT com

It's $30 and includes a clever shirt, a couple chances to win red sox tickets and a few other things and food at 2 of the 5 bars. There is a hotel right down the street from the last bar that's $89 a night, which is really a decent rate for Boston. It may be a dump though. We are hoping to have over 100 people and it's a huge group with most people only knowing a few people so it's going to be a blast, with the opportunity to meet a ton of new people! We did it last year and people are still talking about it. Get in touch with us if you are interested!
Laurie

Sounds like a great way to support a good cause!!  Grab a couple of friends, contact Laurie at the email address listed above and have a fantastic night!  Seriously... DO IT!

[I had all intentions of going to this, but then realized I purchased tickets to take my niece and nephew to the zoo that day! WTF!!  I was hoping to meet other 3-day walkers, AND maybe meet up with a bunch of YOU as well!]

Boston is a Sports Town.

Lots of sports this weekend. 

BC won the Frozen Four tournament,  [my first choice is Harvard 'cause I want to see Donato win, but they didn't make it], Red Sox beat the Yankees (two out of three ain't bad!) and Bruins won Game 3 at home, in overtime!

...and can you believe they dug that jersey up?!!

Think that guy lost his job? I hope not, but I suppose its not a good idea to be adding unauthorized materials to concrete.  Who knows what people would add and could possibly compromise the security of the structure.

Spring has Sprung.

Yesterday I raked the leaves off of my little flower garden and found a few surprises:

I was really excited to see the Sedum... it's one of my favorite plants.

Todays project are these:

Joe and I are going to tie up all the arborvitaes on our property.  The heavy snowfall this winter absolutely trashed them and now they are all bent forward.  They look horrible.  I read up on how to fix them and found out that they never grow back on their own, and that you need to tie them at the top.  Also, that we should wrap them in burlap each winter.  Uh, yeah...that isn't going to happen.

Turns out arborvitaes don't have one trunk running through the middle like a tree - instead they have a few thick branches that run up the middle.  That is what gets tied together.  which is what we are doing today!!

Things That Can Get Me Arrested, # 101

Mikey's hair.

(see this post)

Ouch.

My head is killing me.  I'm not sure if its due to my trying to detox off of sugar or if its really an earache in disguise from letting dairy sneak it's way back into my diet.

Or maybe it's because of this picture my sister sent me of my NEPHEW wearing a black on black NEW YORK YANKEES hat:

Ouch.

OK - that is better:

Funny:

This morning when I walked into work Krista the Crazy Cat Lady looked at me and asked, "How are you... are you ok?"   "Yeah, sure" I replied, puzzled and thinking that the hair cut I got last night must look a little funny.  Then she looked at me real serious and said, "I heard Mike Lowell was put on the DL."

This is hilarious for two reasons: 1. Krista hates baseball so the fact that she knows he was put on the DL is fantastic and 2. her concern for me and his DL status clearly shows that I have a Mikey L0well problem.  Of course the fact that I have the Improper Bos cover of him hanging on my work filing cabinet and two million pictures of him on this here knitting site and about eight different L0well ravatars would not imply that I have a serious Mikey crush. Not at all.  For the record, I'll let it be known that I have no intention of trying to get his autograph or meeting him.  I just want to look at the guy.  That is all.  OK, so maybe I'd want to possibly touch his hair - he's got the best hair! - but that is kind of weird and creepy and might get me arrested, so I won't.

It will be raining all day here in Boston on Saturday so I am planning on hanging out with my husband/son, watching the Yankees-Red Sox series, as well as Game 2 of the Bruins-Canadians match off.  If you don't know anything about hockey let me just say that B's + Habs = exciting and physical game!

Not Funny:

This was in Boston.com today: Pilot grounded after Fenway flyover.  You can read the article here, but this is a re-cap:

Three F-16s roared toward Fenway Park, flying wingtip to wingtip. Suddenly a fourth F-16, trailing behind the formation, caught up, flew under the three F-16s, then looped up and over the formation to take its rightful spot for a perfect V formation.

But the pilot ... was flying at an altitude too low for such a maneuver: about 1,100 feet, rather than the sanctioned 5,000 feet or higher.

Funny:

This is a bit more from the same article:

"I thought that maybe he was having trouble with the plane," said Reitano, noting she has seen four other flyovers previously that didn't include such a dramatic maneuver.

"The people around me were drunk so they just went, 'Whoaaa,' " she added.

Those stupid drunk people! :P Whoooooa!  Hope everyone has a great and healthy weekend!

Ravelers...

...are amazing.  How awesome is this.  Jess & Casey really are cool peeps and have thrown everything they've got into Ravelry and I'm so pleased to see how well they are doing.  Not to mention that I'm totally addicted to Ravelry and want to see it soar!

...and how dang cute is Bob?!?!

Yesterday was the Red Sox opening day here in Boston.  There was a big ceremony before the game and we even got to see Dougie Fresh again!  Even if only for a minute. I loved the music choices played by the BSO for the different players... Tito and the coaches had the Magnificent Seven, Manny got Star Wars, or maybe it was Raiders of the Lost Ark (I'm too lazy to go check and both were played) and the infielders were played the music from a James Bond movie (quite fitting for Lowell, no?).  Of course, Pap got the song that won't go away.  I still can't believe they couldn't work Matsuzaka into the Ring Ceremony... I mean, come on!

I work about two miles away from the park and can you believe I did NOT hear the flyover?  Seriously.  How did I miss that?  My husband heard them twice!  I always loved flyovers... except when they scream by your hotel room in Las Vegas while you are still in bed on your honeymoon and the fighter jets are so close to the building that the whole hotel sways back and forth.  Then its pretty scary.

Unfortunately, I just read that it costs $100,000 in fuel to complete the flyover.  Yes, you read that figure correctly:

The round-trip journey, which will cost taxpayers about $100,000 for fuel alone, has become as much of a tradition as the ceremonial pitch on Opening Day.

In fact, it can seem there's hardly an event without a flyover these days. The roar of jet engines is heard at everything from Major League Baseball games to NASCAR races to town fairs and community parades. With requests for flyovers rocketing nationwide - to 3,623 last year, a 37 percent jump from the previous year - the Air Force says it is cutting back. [Air Force cut backs still allows roaring fly-by at game today Boston.com April 8, 2008]

Now I really wished I heard the damn planes!

Also, this Tuesday Jackie Robinson's jersey #42 will be un-retired so that MLB players can wear the number in celebration of his breaking the race barrier in baseball.  I'll be curious to see how many players wear the number.

A Gigantic, Invisible Bird.

If you know what I'm talking about then I guarantee you were laughing your ass off on Saturday night.  Just search YouTube for 'Christopher Walken' and sort by date and you'll get some clips from Saturday night.  Best SNL monologue ever!!

My So Called Silky Wool Scarf

My So Called Silky Wool Scarf
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, 2 skeins (green, yellow)
Needles: Denise, US11s
Pattern:  My So Called Scarf

This is such a great patter and makes a nice dense scarf, which I like. 

I had a couple of random Silky Wool colors lying around that I was dying to knit up so I knit them together into this scarf.  Using the #11's allowed me to have a thick scarf that still has some drape.  If you are familiar with Silky Wool, then you know how incredibly wonderful and soft it feels.  If you don't like wool, or silk, then you will not like silky wool.  Actually, I will only use silk yarn when it is in a blend.  I don't like the texture (or smell) of pure silk.  Yes, I am a strange one. 

Here are a few more shots of the scarf, it's length and width:

The colors are truer in the first (headless) shot, up above.  It's definitely more green than yellow. This scarf pattern has been knit by me, you and all our mothers (or knitting fathers) - there are currently 2,473 people knitting this pattern in Ravelry. Making this popular patter my own style was one of the reasons I wanted to use a yarn other than the Mano.  It was also the reason that I had originally added fringe to the ends but it look kind of immature and a bit juvenile (yarn can look juvenile?!) so I removed the fringe.

So now I have seventy-five 3-inch strands of Silky Wool in yellow and green.  I can't bring myself to toss it out though... not the silky wool!  Any thoughts as to what to do with seventy-five 3-inch strands of deliciously soft yarn?

Please disregard the goon modeling the scarf...

...she is ridiculous.

60-Mile Breast Cancer walk update.

So here I am two months after I signed up for the 60-day and although I am doing well with my fund raising, I still don't have a team.  There are a few friends who I thought would walk with me but won't.  Honestly, I am a bit surprised and super bummed out. One friend that I really wanted to walk with isn't able to walk due to health reasons and while that can't be helped it still bums me out.  Others are too busy with work and school, second businesses and new husbands.

I am going to give it another month or so and then see about deleting my group and possibly joining another.  I have no issues with walking alone, or camping with a random stranger (lord knows I've passed out in worse places!) but was looking forward to sharing this experience with friends.  I was hoping to get a group together -- people who could help gather others for social fund raising events (there are many local businesses/restaurants who would donate a certain % to the cause).  I'd be good at organizing with the business, but not getting people together to actually come.  All of it together is a bit overwhelming for just me.  Unfortunately, everyone is so busy and already committed to events in their lives. 

Anyhow -- I am going to hit up the "boston" message boards on the 3-day website to find some fund raising events to attend.  I'll post them here as well... maybe if you are in town and want to support a good cause you can attend too!

Me, proudly wearing my "3-day walker" pin on my Red Sox Breast Cancer hat!

More on Smoothies.

Many people talk about "craving" more greens as they eat more greens and I have to admit that this is true for me as well.  When I first started drinking the smoothies I put very little green leafy vegetable into it.  Now I stuff the food processor full of them. 

It was the changes in my energy, my health and my skin that motivated me.  Not to mention that the smoothies taste damn good! Seriously, it has blueberries! Or cherries & cocoa! Or mango and pineapple!  How can that not taste good? Because they have greens in them?  Add a handful of baby spinach and I'll bet you don't taste it at all. 

If you plan on adding protein powder then you may want to add a splash of soy milk to your smoothie but it really should just be about the greens & fruit.  It's all about maximizing the amount of greens you eat ... and it's delicious!

This is how I make my smoothies in my food processor:

1. wash and chop the greens, then pulse it in my food processor to get it started. If I am using ginger, I add the peeled and chopped ginger now).
2. add the frozen fruit (a bit at a time so I don't kill the machine)
3. add the banana and any other fresh fruit
4. add a small amount of water to get aid the processor.  I usually add no more than 1/4 C water.  I like thick smoothies, you may want to add a lot more water - especially in the beginning.

For me, I find the following three greens to be the most convenient and yummy in smoothies:

• Baby spinach has the least amount of taste in a smoothie and it blends well and makes the smoothie creamy.  I use three large handfuls per smoothie.  This makes two large glasses.
• Baby Bok Choy doesn't have a strong flavor either and blends well.  I use one whole head of baby bok choy (regular bok choy has a stronger flavor). 
• Romaine lettuce has the most "green" flavor, leaving a "lettuce" flavor in the smoothie.  It also doesn't blend as well as the other two greens and leaves behind a (very small) crunch in the smoothie.  This actually isn't a bad thing if you're used to greens.  I tend to eat romaine lettuce in my salads so I usually use other greens in my smoothies.
• Kale is a very nutritious green and has a slight taste. I always stem the kale before adding it to my smoothies.  Kale makes a very healthy smoothie.

I keep a freezer full of frozen fruit and my standbys are:

• mangoes
• sweet dark cherries
• peaches
• wild blueberries
• pineapple

My fresh fruits include:

• bananas
• kiwi
• pear
• ginger (not a fruit but I do add it)

Many people freeze their greens (raw) as well but I find that adding the frozen fruits is enough cold for me. Some people also freeze their bananas - especially if they purchased a lot of them at the store on sale.  Try out different fruit combinations, starting out with your favorites, then move on to other fruits and greens.  I typically thrown in a Cup of blueberries in every smoothie, then add other fruits depending on my mood - and always add a banana.

I make and eat my smoothie before I start cooking my supper and this generally keeps me from over-eating.  A good tip, if you are trying to control your portions.

Enjoy!