Michelle’s House of Horror

That’s really about all I have to say. It’s a great workout, and someone makes you keep pushing it so you can’t get lazy. Sometimes the music is a bit too electronica for my tastes, but that’s about the only negative. Well, that and my wrists hurt. I know– my wrists always hurt. Now I want to get a real bike. And ride it. Outside. On the street. Maybe I should put air in the tires of my Burningman bike first, and see if I even like riding in the street? I will have to figure out how to get the lock off first. Yep. Forgot the combo.

I propelled myself over 100 miles this month…with one day to spare!
Running/biking/walking and ellipticalling for a total of 103.33 miles.

What’s my new goal going to be? I don’t know–I’m thinking maybe I’ll try for bringing up my average miles per month for the year to 100. I’m at 181.68 miles for the year which is only 90.84 miles per month on average, so I’d need to do 118.32 miles between now and the end of March to make up for my “low miles” in January. That’s reasonable, I think.

I don’t know what I’d have to do in April to top that.

Yeah, well…a bit. When I’m not trying to run/walk/bike/elliptical 100 miles in a month. A girl’s only got so many hours in a day, y’know.

I do have a pair of fingerless gloves on the needles. In a very pretty color (sienna over bronze? I don’t remember!) of Sundara Yarn. And then there’s the scarf I’m knitting out of a particularly pretty shade of Blue Moon’s Silkie called Oregon Red Clover Honey. Knitting only at lunch and weekends a bit is slowing me down considerably.

Mark talked me into taking a spin class tonight. The biking kind, not the sheep kind. I was convinced that it would kill me, and yet I am strangely not dead. Not even particularly suffering. In fact, dare I say? I thought it was fun. There, I said it. Fun. Sweaty, but fun. I will definitely do some more of that. It will help me reach the new fitness goal for the month. Really, I should think of them at the beginning of the month, don’t you think? However. How does this sound–running/walking/ellipticalling or biking 100 miles by 2/29/08. If I count the spin classes conservatively at 8 miles, it’ll be feasible. I think I’ll go for it. After all, I’ve already reached my goal for 4/1 so I need a target.

Who knew I was so numbers driven?

All of our parental units have returned safely from their travels with photos galore.
Mom and Larry’s photos are here on the kodak gallery if you like pictures of Machu Picchu and cute llamas and such.
Jim and Marcy don’t have an online photo repository, but had some nice pictures of their Egypt travels. Camels, pyramids. What’s not to like? If Mark gets a cd, we’ll post some over in the jolin-carleton gallery.

if I met my goal?

Yes, sports fans, that is correct–I have officially walked/run/ellipticalled over 100 miles between January 1st and April 1st. If I am not very much mistaken in my calendaring skills, I even met my goal well ahead of schedule.

That means I’m done until then, right?

hornswoggled if I’m not just about to 100 miles (92.45 to be precise) already, mostly on the elliptical. Remember how I said I wouldn’t do anything crazy like run with my feet actually on the ground? Don’t worry–I didn’t. I did do about 10 miles of running on a treadmill though, but my knee didn’t appreciate it. I may try it again some time, but OMYEFFIN’GAWD it’s BORING on a treadmill! I may have to try running outside.

Mark is taking spinning classes. No, not the fiber kind. The bicycle kind. He wanted me to get up at 0730 on a SUNDAY so he could go. Not going to happen. He’s a maniac on a bike–and looking forward to getting back out on his real bike when the weather is nicer.

All interesting or noteworthy activities have pretty much come to a halt whilst we are eternally at the gymnasium. Knitting is happening, but I have no photos. Blogging, obviously is not happening very regularly. Reading is happening a little.

Oh, except I finally got together with my friend Christine after 8 years. It was so great to talk to her!

The spousal unit bought a new Prius and an obscenely gigantic TV. AND he’s getting cable.
We made room for the car in the garage by donating our motorcycles to the Humane Society. Yes, folks–we have 2 cars in our 2 car garage. It’s true.

Mark’s parents are off galavanting around Egypt. Mine are off to Peru.

I need to do the taxes.

Work is maddening.

That’s about it!

Remember when I said that the gym was sucking up all my free time?

Huh. Yeah. It still is. We’re still going 5-6 times a week. I’ve been putting in a lot of miles on the elliptical machine. It’s like running in the air while moving levers with both hands. I’ve become quite good at it. For “good” read “not awful.” Mark’s taking a spin class.

In fact….

I’ve decided to try to do a bit of a challenge over at runagogo: I am going to move my none-too-svelte physique at least 100 miles by April 1st. There, I said it. Stop laughing. I mean it. In fact, I’ve already done over 25 miles since January 1st. I can get there by running, walking, swimming, biking, crawling, or whatever other method I choose. Like my friend the elliptical trainer.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything crazy like really run. Like with my feet on pavement. Ew

In important knitting news, I did finish socks for Larry in time for Xmas and also a new shawl for myself. No pictures yet, though.

Look–it’s actually finished!!!
Real pictures to follow once there is light and the blocking pins come out. The color is not true at all in these:
It’s Icarus.[newline]

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These two photos show the color a lot better, albeit at an earlier stage of the knitting:[newline]
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Mark and Mr. Squeeeks celebrated by going to bed early and reading.[newline]

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Yeah, OK, it didn’t eat the world but it sure has eaten up all of my free time!

Mark and I have been going faithfully (5 or more days a week) for about 5 weeks now. I’m really enjoying it, but miss the knitting time. Especially since I am halfway through chart 4 of Icarus the infinite shawl. I believe I have 11 rows of knitting left, if you count the bind-off as a row of knitting. I am trying very hard to get through Icarus before I knit something out of the latest Sock Club yarn, Lenore (It’s a beautiful black-with-some-red and looks just like me) and also have 2 skeins of Silkie Socks that Rock tempting me away…but I will be strong! I’ve been working out, after all.

Audio books are making the cardio a relatively pleasant experience. I finished “Jane Eyre” and started “Gulliver’s Travels” this morning.

So, I went to see a matinée with my best fella on Sunday–the lovely Storm Large in Cabaret at Portland Center Stage. Storm is about my age–why am I not tall, gorgeous and talented like she is?

And totally hot. Did I mention totally hot? Almost as hot as Salma Hayek. Of course, I don’t know if Salma can sing. Storm can definitely sing. She was very good, especially in the musical numbers. Her acting was totally fine, but she was outshone by Wade McCollum (the Emcee) as well as Michele Mariana (Fraulein Schneider) and Richard Mathews (Herr Schultz) in the stagecraft department. Herr Schultz and Fraulein Schneider pretty much stole the show from an acting standpoint. They were charming. Wade McCollum was suitably sexy/sleazy/menacing/dissipated as the Emcee of the Kit Kat Club.
Storm acquitted herself very well, and even managed to maintain Sally’s English accent pretty well, but her musical numbers were especially good.

I was googling around when we got home, and learned that Judi Dench played Sally Bowles in the original West End cast of Cabaret. I tried valiantly to find video, but was largely unsuccessful except for the tiniest video snippet of her rehearsing “Don’t Tell Mama” and some audio of her singing “Cabaret.” If anyone knows where to find more video, I’d love to see it!

As for the knitting–I’m still slogging along with Icarus. Actually, I’m getting excited as I’ve reached the third of four lace charts in the pattern so the end is almost/just about/kind of/nearly in sight. I need to hurry up because the Blue Moon Sock Club yarn is going to be here very soon, and I know I’ll want to cast that on immediately.

Try to resist instant gratification…just try….

Edited to add: forgot to mention the Kit Kat Club girls and boys–they were sexy and squealy and all kinds of fun!

Oof. If I’m not at work or at the gym lately, it seems that I’m Icarus-ing. It does not, however, appear that the amount of knitting I am doing is decreasing the amount of rows I need to knit in order to finish that mothereffing chart 1. I seem to have spent a ton of time knitting while I was at the beach this weekend. (OMG the weather was GLORIOUS, and if you haven’t been to the Oregon coast on a glorious fall day then I just feel sorry for you!)

Don’t believe me about the gorgeousness of the weather? Look now upon Jan, who was wearing SHORTS AT THE BEACH IN OREGON IN OCTOBER and was not cold. Verily, I sayeth unto thee:
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Yikes, mocketh thou not the crappy color correction for I art not a professional photographer. Doesn’t Jan have great legs?

Also, look thee upon the blue sky which we did view from upon the front porch:
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What in the HELL is wrong with me, and what’s with the really bad Bible-speak? Sorry, I don’t know what came over me.

My point was this: I have done a lot of knitting lately, with not much to show for it, but DANG isn’t the Oregon Coast beautiful? If you’ve got to do the infinite row thing, then you might as well do it in one of the best places in the world.

There was beer there.
And Jan and the Jan clan were there. One of the Jan children learned what a brown noser is. “But why is their nose brown? Ohhhhhh!”
Jan learned that a garter stitch bump equals TWO rows, not ONE. Those’re going to be some oddly shaped baby bootees!
And Kathleen was there, too, with her impaired finger. Kathleen has great legs too, but I don’t have a picture.
Jan, Kathleen, Mark and I walked to Sandlake at high tide. That’s far. And in soft sand. We deserved beer.

Robin came down on Saturday night, and there was much rejoicing.
We watched old movies that I videotaped from TV in the late 80′s when I lived in Oklahoma. Lots of commercials with big, big hair.

And I knitted on and on an on Icarus.

Still not done with chart 1.