Not to a dee-luxe apartment in the sky (oh, that all the TV I watched in my youth was not burned so indelibly in my brain) but to a shiny new self-hosted Wordpress blog. You can find it here.
It's not all prettified yet, but I'll be working on it over the days and weeks to come. I don't know if anyone out there is reading or subscribed, but now would be an ideal time to update whatever internet thingamies necessary to keep reading or subscribing. Oh, and yes, now that you mention it, I do intend to start posting again.
As my high school English teacher Mrs. Weber used to say, "Come on over!"
Showing posts with label random. Show all posts
Showing posts with label random. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Why I don't exercise
This morning, I woke up feeling happy and positive. I decided to take a little walk around the block to get the body moving. Yesterday I finally finished a skirt, the pattern for which was fit when my tummy wasn't as round as it is now, and it's not terribly flattering. I can make another skirt that is more flattering, but I also want my flat tummy back. Better get off my butt and do something about it.
So I decided to just walk around the block. It's a 1-mile walk. Just a little something to get myself going again. I haven't really done any exercise since my last attempt at walking 4 miles on the elliptical machine with no breakfast before and not enough after left me feeling wretched for a day and a half.
And it happened again. Ever since college, I've had this very annoying problem. I found out about it the hard way when I tried to go jogging with some friends. I got half a block from our dorm and started itching like mad. My legs first but eventually my whole body will itch. It is torture. I can't jog or even do a brisk walk without this all-over itching happening. When I do walk, I have to go pretty slow so I don't get itchy, which means I don't get my heart rate up, which means not the best exercise ever.
I have asked doctors about this problem, I have asked anyone I've met with any kind of sports background, and no luck on finding out what is causing it. Is it something to do with nutrition? I mean, probably, but what? What specifically do I need to eat or not eat to make it so that I can walk around the block without wanting to claw off my own skin?
It doesn't happen with rollerblading or biking, which leads me to believe that something about the impact of walking is part of the problem. It also doesn't happen when I walk on the elliptical, so that's something, but I just wish I could be outside in the fresh air to get my exercise. I could bike, but it's so much easier to walk here. I live in a somewhat non-bike-friendly suburb, alas.
I really wonder how the heck I can find out about what causes this problem and what to do to solve it. If anyone reading this has any clue what could possibly be going on, I'm all ears. Right now I'm going to go try not to scratch.
So I decided to just walk around the block. It's a 1-mile walk. Just a little something to get myself going again. I haven't really done any exercise since my last attempt at walking 4 miles on the elliptical machine with no breakfast before and not enough after left me feeling wretched for a day and a half.
And it happened again. Ever since college, I've had this very annoying problem. I found out about it the hard way when I tried to go jogging with some friends. I got half a block from our dorm and started itching like mad. My legs first but eventually my whole body will itch. It is torture. I can't jog or even do a brisk walk without this all-over itching happening. When I do walk, I have to go pretty slow so I don't get itchy, which means I don't get my heart rate up, which means not the best exercise ever.
I have asked doctors about this problem, I have asked anyone I've met with any kind of sports background, and no luck on finding out what is causing it. Is it something to do with nutrition? I mean, probably, but what? What specifically do I need to eat or not eat to make it so that I can walk around the block without wanting to claw off my own skin?
It doesn't happen with rollerblading or biking, which leads me to believe that something about the impact of walking is part of the problem. It also doesn't happen when I walk on the elliptical, so that's something, but I just wish I could be outside in the fresh air to get my exercise. I could bike, but it's so much easier to walk here. I live in a somewhat non-bike-friendly suburb, alas.
I really wonder how the heck I can find out about what causes this problem and what to do to solve it. If anyone reading this has any clue what could possibly be going on, I'm all ears. Right now I'm going to go try not to scratch.
Friday, November 21, 2008
More happy news
Yesterday one of my dreams came true. I don't know how, but magically, I got Pandora to play via my Squeezebox (mine is an older generation version, not so sleek but just dandy). I'm currently listening to Coles Whalen radio (you might need a Pandora account for that link to work), but should my mood change, oh, the choices I have. I don't think I've mentioned before how much I love Pandora, but I love it. And now that I can listen to it through my good speakers, instead of my shitty little computer speakers? I love it even more.
The radio is keeping me company today while I (fingers crossed) finish a skirt I have been working on sewing for a couple months. Not a couple months of actual work. Very small amounts of working on it spread out, for no good reason, over a couple months. This project is one that should be able to be done in a day. Last night I called a home ec teacher I met at a draping class I took in September who generously agreed to give me some sewing coaching to confess how stuck I was and what had happened. I tripped up at the waistband stage, but the good news is, my problems are probably not because I suck but more because I didn't know enough about different kinds of interfacing and used the wrong kind. I felt so much better and wished that I hadn't waited so long to call her for advice.
During the course of the conversation she said something that I hope to be able to say myself someday. She said, "I could make a hundred wool skirts really quickly." Fantastic. I'm finishing one cotton skirt slowly, but maybe once I finish this one, I'll make another and will take less time to do it. Next up is definitely going to be wool or a wool blend, because a) that's what my home ec teacher mentor told me to use, and b) it's snowing here.
The radio is keeping me company today while I (fingers crossed) finish a skirt I have been working on sewing for a couple months. Not a couple months of actual work. Very small amounts of working on it spread out, for no good reason, over a couple months. This project is one that should be able to be done in a day. Last night I called a home ec teacher I met at a draping class I took in September who generously agreed to give me some sewing coaching to confess how stuck I was and what had happened. I tripped up at the waistband stage, but the good news is, my problems are probably not because I suck but more because I didn't know enough about different kinds of interfacing and used the wrong kind. I felt so much better and wished that I hadn't waited so long to call her for advice.
During the course of the conversation she said something that I hope to be able to say myself someday. She said, "I could make a hundred wool skirts really quickly." Fantastic. I'm finishing one cotton skirt slowly, but maybe once I finish this one, I'll make another and will take less time to do it. Next up is definitely going to be wool or a wool blend, because a) that's what my home ec teacher mentor told me to use, and b) it's snowing here.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
I rode my bike to work
That is all. Oh, and it's TV Turn-Off Week. Do join me in switching off the tube this week. I've started reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, currently overdue from the library. Loving it so far.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Personal best and signs of spring
Today marks a record-setting event for me. In a few short hours, once I receive one last piece of information, I will have gotten everything to the accountant for my taxes before April 15th. I don't think I've accomplished that feat in maybe 10 years or so. It's been Extension-land for me for a long time. It helps having an accountant who gives you a deadline of early March, and if you don't get stuff in by then, you're fired. I was more prepared this year than ever before, having started to keep a simple pocket file on the shelf by my desk for anything tax related. As it came into my life, I just put it in the folder, and then when my early March deadline rolled around, it was mostly all there. Not everything made it into the folder, but a lot did. This year I'll do an even better job, and 2008 will be even less stressful. Progress is nice.
In other news, yesterday on my way to the J-O-B, I saw a little bird fall off an electric wire overhead into the street and then flap around on the pavement in the middle of the street for a couple minutes. I had stopped my car to figure out if there was anything I could do, and was trying to find something in my car to use to sort of shovel the poor guy to the side of the road so he wouldn't get hit in case he recovered from his fall. I didn't want my human scent on him in case it would make the other birds back at the nest kick his ass or something, but I didn't really have anything appropriate in the car. Anyhow, I finally got out of the car empty-handed just to see what the precise problem was (broken wing? hurt foot?), only to find out it was, in fact, two birds... getting it on. Luckily, upon my approach, they decided to move their assignation to the treelawn, and I got back in the car and continued on my way. Ah, spring!
The pants project was postponed (say that 3 times fast) last weekend, having been bumped so I could do the fine-tuning of the organization of the sewing room, which looks fantastic now, almost ready for some showing-off pictures. Everything is all labeled and accessible and stored logically. The pants will be much easier to accomplish now for having taken the time to set the stage. Stay tuned for photos and, I hope, bragging about how great they turned out.
In other news, yesterday on my way to the J-O-B, I saw a little bird fall off an electric wire overhead into the street and then flap around on the pavement in the middle of the street for a couple minutes. I had stopped my car to figure out if there was anything I could do, and was trying to find something in my car to use to sort of shovel the poor guy to the side of the road so he wouldn't get hit in case he recovered from his fall. I didn't want my human scent on him in case it would make the other birds back at the nest kick his ass or something, but I didn't really have anything appropriate in the car. Anyhow, I finally got out of the car empty-handed just to see what the precise problem was (broken wing? hurt foot?), only to find out it was, in fact, two birds... getting it on. Luckily, upon my approach, they decided to move their assignation to the treelawn, and I got back in the car and continued on my way. Ah, spring!
The pants project was postponed (say that 3 times fast) last weekend, having been bumped so I could do the fine-tuning of the organization of the sewing room, which looks fantastic now, almost ready for some showing-off pictures. Everything is all labeled and accessible and stored logically. The pants will be much easier to accomplish now for having taken the time to set the stage. Stay tuned for photos and, I hope, bragging about how great they turned out.
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