The Backache

Last Thursday, I threw out my back.  I am not exactly sure what happens when you "throw out your back" as there wasn't any throwing.  I was just getting out of the shower and putting on my socks.  I only got half of one sock on before "it" happened.  I am still not sure what happened.  I was putting on a sock and then I was filled with pain and unable to move. I had to call my husband (on the phone since he was in the basement) to come help me.

Thursday started out as an interesting day.  I had to miss work to take Stormy to the doctor. I was really torn over missing work as I had to miss an event I had been trying to get going at my college for almost two years.  But, the event was in capable hands and I had already made contingency plans in case I had to miss work because Stormy had to be picked up from day care with a fever on Wednesday.  It was a really good decision to miss work because the doctor said, "Yikes!" as she looked into each of my son's ears.  There was a reason for his continued unhappiness and its called double ear infections. He was crabby the rest of the day. By Thursday night I was so happy to be showering. The kids were finally asleep and I could take a shower in hopes of making it to work on Friday. I never made it to work on Friday.

I went to the chiropractor Friday morning then spend the rest of the day and the weekend laying down while knitting and watching a lot of TV.  Thank goodness for yarn, Netflix and Hulu. I finished crocheting a baby blanket, knit three hats and two dishcloths.

I made it to work on Monday but was in a lot of pain.  Sitting is the worst. I moved my chiropractor appointment up to 2:30 requiring me to leave work early.  I got a call 15 min before I needed to leave for that appointment that Miss D was sick at school and needed to be picked up.  I got her, we went to the chrio and got home.  Soon she was vomiting.

Today I am home with a sick daughter and I received a text from Stormy's babysitter that he is the crabbiest he has ever been. She's going to drop him off after he wakes up from his nap. 

On the plus side, my back is starting to feel better. Maybe I can resume exercise next week.

I'm feeling like I can't catch a break.  Do you ever feel that way?

Valentine's Tri

I spent Valentine's day falling in love with the triathlon.  I guess it was just a matter of time since I like running, biking, and swimming; I might as well put them all together. I have been very blessed to have some very great ladies in my life that have inspired me to be more active and challenge myself with different races. I am already registered for a sprint triathlon in June and I hope to do many more in the future.

The Bradley Indoor Triathlon was a very low-key event which is perfect for an introduction to the sport. Swimming, biking and running was all based on how far you could go in the appointed time: 10 minutes for swimming laps, 20 minutes for biking (spin bike) and 15 minutes of running on the indoor track. There was designated transition time between, so there was no real hurry to get to the next phase. I swam 575 yd, bikes 6.94 and then ran 1.88 miles.  That is an 8 min/mi run!!!  I haven't run that fast since high school.  The results only have two divisions: college student and non-college student.  So my results are all mixed in with people of different ages and genders so I am not sure how I compare to other females in my age groups but I feel like I did really well.

The strangest part of the whole event was that I noticed on my wave information that there was a guy, my age, with a pretty distinctive name of someone I went to high school with.  I thought there was no way this guy from high school could be in my wave.  We went to high school in Iowa, how could we both possibly end up at an indoor triathlon in Peoria, Illinois. Turns out it really was him. I talked to him for maybe the first time in my life and found out he came from Iowa for the event.  I actually might see him around more if I start doing tris in the Quad Cities. Even though we never really knew each other in high school, it was nice to see someone from my hometown area.  I don't run across too many classmates.

The second strangest part was that the triathlon shorts I ordered were delivered to my house about an hour after I left. I didn't get to use them this time, but I will have many more opportunities to wear them.

How was your Valentine's Day?

My Big, Little Alien

It is snowing in central Illinois.  So much snow that my 5k was cancelled for today (Sunday) on Friday.  The snow should let up about 2 am. The forecast is for 7-10 inches. I hope we can go play later today.  It is big wet, heavy snow which is perfect for packing into forts, snowmen and snowballs. None of the snow so far this winter has been this perfect for play.

Snowy weather is the perfect time to finish up some projects.  I have been working on a hat for Stormy on and off for weeks.  I started out very happy with the project but as I went on, I lost a lot of interest because the pattern is not well written and the hat was not coming out quite right.  But this morning I decided to finish it off and see how good or bad it really was.

The pattern is called "Alien Elf" and it is in the book Monster Knits for Little Monsters.

Stormy looks exceedingly cute in anything so that really helps boost the cuteness of this hat,  It is supposed to have Yoda-like ears but I ran out of yarn on the second ear.  I ran out of yarn because the hat is so big.  I used the toddler sizing and got a hat that fits me.  The pattern called for size US 3 needles with bulky yarn and if you are not familiar with needle to yarn ratios, this ratio is weird.  Bulky yarn is the thickest of yarns while US 3 is on the small end of the needles.  I decided to use needles more suited of the yarn thickness and I did get gauge (how many stitches per inch there should be). However my gauge seems to have run amok and I ended up with this number.

I think I will remake it because I love the concept, but I'll fiddle around with the needle size a bit more to get a hat that will actually fit a toddler .

And that is how knitting (or really any project) goes.  Some projects turn out great, others get shoved in the back of the closet.  I think the majority of my projects do turn out nicely, but I still seem to focus on the wonky ones.  That's how I am at work too.  I focus on the projects that didn't turn out quite right instead of concentrating on all the good things.  Maybe that makes me a pessimist, but I see it more of always aiming for perfection.  I am an oldest child, I have perfection issues. I think that is why I like knitting, it shows me in tangible ways that something can be pretty good without being totally perfect. When I make something, I see all the flaws because I made them and I know where to look, but a person who sees my finished object only sees it in its entirety and they think it is great.

Even though this hat didn't turn out right, it is still okay and serves its function. Things don't have to be perfect to be great.  Knitting is full of life lessons.

What life lesson have you recently learned?