Friday, April 12, 2013

Friday Mishmash

The winners of Jen Larsen's Stranger Here:  How Weight-Loss Surgery Transformed My Body and Messed with My Head are:


Congratulations!  Please send me an email (40somethingsjourney@gmail.com) with your mailing info so I can give it to my contact.  If I don't hear from you within a week, I'll have to choose another winner.

********************

Yesterday Erica and I did our usual early morning run.  What wasn't so usual was how we had to dress for it:
Why yes, I had my camera all set up on the tripod, ready to document our winter outfits...because who would have believed it otherwise?

Y'all.  This was on April 11th.  In Texas, for crying out loud!  It was cold and windy, and a little over halfway through our run, it even started raining.  I mean, seriously.  Springtime in Texas is short enough - I think this sums it up pretty accurately:
So to be bitterly cold this week was a shock to the system.  Or WAS it?  Here's another accurate Texas weather graphic:
 
Sadly, this is also true.
 
********************

Speaking of spring, here's one of our lovely flowers in full bloom already:
 OK, it's a weed.  But hey, I can appreciate weeds when they make such pretty flowers!

********************
 
I'm on the hunt for a new brand of fish oil capsules - the brand I've been using (Norwegian Gold First Omega) must have changed their formulation because where it used to have a pleasant light orange scent, it now reeks of fish.  And I loathe and detest fish.  Quite disappointing, as I've been buying it ever since I did a review two years ago - but  the last bottle I ordered is unusable to me (and unreturnable, since I order from Amazon and opened the bottle).  I like to take fish oil not only for the heart-healthy omega-3s, but also because it's good for the joints, and my runner legs appreciate that!  Anyway, if you take a fish oil that does not smell fishy (nor produces fishy burps), please let me know what kind in the comments - I'd appreciate it!

********************

Sit and Knit update:  I have not been doing nearly enough of this!  I have, however, been doing quite a lot of Sitting and Unknitting...and I'm getting pretty good at it.  In other news, I will be SO GLAD to finish my mystery shawl - this thing will be the death of me...and I've renamed it the "I don't care" shawl - for example, after hours of unknitting to fix a mistake, and reknitting that 268-stitch row plus two more rows, I was short a stitch.  You know what?  I don't care!  I just added one in the next row.  It may end up looking a little wonky, but guess what?  Say it with me now:  I DON'T CARE!  Ahh, it feels good to get that off my chest.  We got the final clue for this project at last night's knitting guild meeting; it should go fairly smoothly as the really difficult stitches are not in this section.  Notice I said "should" - but one way or another, as Bob is my witness (Rugrats), I am going to get this dang thing finished!

********************

No race tomorrow, but we do have a run scheduled to celebrate Julia's birthday month...yes, she gets the entire month of April.  I don't know how she managed to arrange this, but it makes for a fun time to be her friend!

Have a great weekend!

20 comments:

  1. I've been taking NatureMade Fish Oil 1200mg capsules. They are available pretty much everywhere (Walmart, Target), though I get them at Costco where they are on sale this month - $12.99 for 2 huge jars. I wouldn't say they have a pleasant scent, but they don't taste or smell like fish either. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yuck. I hate fish!

    Anyway, we have cold weather again here. Spring one day, winter the next ?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I read this about fish oil every time you write about it and then I promptly forget it. Maybe I should be taking it? And someone somewhere has written about fish oil that tasted great, but I don't remember who. I hope it is someone who reads your blog.

    LOL at your Texas weather. Been there, done that. Here we're having this wonderful, drawn out spring, but I know darn well we will have a big frost and maybe even a snowfall in May, so I don't dare plant the tender plants yet.

    Yes to the adding of a stitch in the next row. I have done that one million and one times. But I'm an I-don't-care kind of stitcher from the start. Or, if I have too many stitches, I will knit two together. The only think I worry about is a dropped stitch, but if I see that, its easy enough to fix too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. As Bob is my witness - LOL!!!

    Oklahoma Weather is Texas Weather's schizophrenic sister - this week we had 80 degrees, then 24 hours later it was 37, and today it's going to be 70. What up Mother Nature???

    I think the key to fish oil is finding one with an enteric (?) coating or something like that. I think that's what keeps them from being fishy.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I take Vitacost Fishoil 2000 mg with EPA 360mg/DHA 240mg. I order it from Amazon and with shipping (because it is not a Prime item) runs $13.95. I can take it on an empty stomach and never have the fishy burps. Plus they do not smell fishy, but I also keep them in the fridge to help with that issue.

    Sorry for your crazy weather. We have suffered with about 20" of snow this week, but it has warmed up again so hopefully the snow begins to melt and I can pull back down the bike! Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  6. We have similar weather in Memphis as well. We caught the cold bit yesterday morning. Brrrr! I had to turn my heat on again last night.

    I'll be watching the responses to your fish oil question. It's a supplement I probably need, but I don't like fishiness either.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I use to take fish oil but have switched to Krill oil. No smell and no burps. The Krill oil supposedly offers a few extra benefits (according to lots of reading) "Both fish-oil pills and krill-oil supplements supply the healthful omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA. But there are differences. Krill oil comes from small crustaceans, not fatty fish, and typically contains more EPA. And unlike conventional fish-oil pills, krill oil’s omega-3s are linked to an antioxidant and other potentially beneficial substances called phospholipids, which sound appealing." The downside is they cost a little extra but I get them at BJ's when they are on sale $15 for a 90 day supply. I also like them because they are samller in size :)_

    ReplyDelete
  8. I take NutraSea (although I am in Canada and they may be a Canadian product, so not sure how available they would be for you). Anyway, they have different flavoured ones - I take a mint flavour so if I do have a "burp" all I taste is mint. It actually hides the fishy taste very well. Another trick is to take them before you go to bed so if you do have fishy burps you won't notice in your sleep. I tried enteric coated ones (they are supposed to dissolve in your intestine instead of the stomach) but I could still taste fish. May be worth a try though.

    ReplyDelete
  9. My doc recommended MEgaRed Krill oil and I've been taking it for a couple of years. Little tiny pills with NO fishy taste or burps. I get mine at Costco as they often run a coupon on them.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've never taken fish oil pills because I've heard you burp up fish, and that's just nasty to me, since I hate fish too. Hope you find a suitable replacement! Have a FUN run tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  11. My parent's doc has them on krill oil tablets, not sure what brand may be available down in your neck of the woods. They apparently don't taste fishy at all so you can embrace your burps yet again. Embrace your burps? What the heck is in this coffee of mine this morning?? Have a great Friday Shelley.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am so fed up with the weather here too! At this point, I would even be happy to a see a flowering weed. Sorry, I can't help you with the fish oil. I am having a hard enough time even taking other vitamins. I hope you have better weather for your run this weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  13. You are dressed for biking weather around here. Fly on out! :D

    You know, a weed is really only a plant that is growing in the wrong spot. Any pretty flower that grows is perfect wherever it is, unless it is in a crack in the driveway.

    ReplyDelete
  14. It's already 80 degrees here in Florida, and I would gladly trade you! I am from the north originally and still prefer cold weather. Great job to venture out in the cold and still go running!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Ha! I love the weather infographic. I didn't know it got so cold there! My brother lived in San Antonio for years and he never mentioned that, though anything is better than a Midwest spring so it may not have seemed too bad by comparison.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I also take MegaRed (Schiff)- omega 3 Krill oil. I'm not a fish fan but I can tolerate a few Salmon burgers (Costco) and Hake filets (Costco) if I dress them up with some homemade pesto.

    No fishy burps is a must. Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I LOVE the Rugrats, and Chuckie Finster, who said that line, is my FAVE! :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ooooh!! I WON I WON I WON! LOL.

    Yeah, this is just the craziest-cold spring. It's not winter like it was last year, it's just not spring. I am so over it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. This is the first time since we know each other that you are dressed up in Winter clothes for your run and I was wearing my Summer running clothes. Weird, weird weather these days. Hope it warms up soon.

    I never fix mistakes in knitting or cross stitching if you don't see the mistake, too much work :) Am curious about the mystery project though.

    Saw on FB that Julia's birthday run was a big succes!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thank you so much, Shelley! I'm looking forward to reading this book. :)

    ReplyDelete

Comments are now moderated to prevent spammers from leaving, well, spam - but rest assured that as soon as I read a real comment, I will publish it. So please, comment away, even though the blog is officially closed. Thanks!