Monday, March 18, 2019

AMA (Redux) Answers

Hey guys, thanks for playing along and asking so many different questions!

Susan C:
I was wondering if you have finished that sweater you started for yourself yet? The one you showed on the blog a while back. Even those girls over at masondixonknitting.com some times abandon projects and come back to them years later.

Good question!  I pulled it out of purgatory to see where I was with that sweater, and almost immediately I remembered why I stopped knitting on it.  The yarn - it's fuzzy, it's got a weird twist that digs into my fingers after a while of knitting, it attracts dog fur, and it's a smaller weight than I like to knit with, which means ENDLESS rows of knitting knitting knitting.  I looked at finished projects on Ravelry when you asked this question, and others were lamenting the same thing about it taking forever, being tedious, and giving up.  And while I love that Mason Dixon admits to doing the same thing - setting a project aside for years - I just don't think I'm going to have the inner fortitude to finish this one.
Where I left off - I got the front and back yoke done and the sleeve holes finished.  What remains is miles and miles of garter stitch using size 5 needles.
The fuzzy yarn with the weird twist.  This is Madelinetosh Sport and while I usually love Madelinetosh yarn, I don't love this.  I got it when I signed up for a sweater yarn club years ago; I got to choose my color but had no idea what the yarn would be, and I learned a lesson with that...don't buy this amount of yarn unless you can touch it beforehand.  I wouldn't have bought this had I come across it in a yarn shop.  Oh well.

Wendy:
What races do you have planned for this spring?

I just ran a St. Patrick's Day 5K on Saturday, and I have several more in the next couple of months before racing season ends here.  Flyin' Hawaiian 5K this Saturday, the Silos 5K next month, the Chuck Norris 5K in early May (he's supposed to be at the finish line giving every runner a high five as they finish), and possibly one more 5K in mid-May if the timing works out.  My workout t-shirt collection will be replenished after doing all of these races!

Kim:
What are your favorite Will Ferrell movies in list form?

OK I have to preface this by saying that I am a huge fan and think Will Ferrell is super funny, but he's done a few clunkers over the years.  Still, choosing my favorites was harder than I thought, so I limited it to my top ten:
  1. Anchorman
  2. Elf
  3. Talladega Nights
  4. Step Brothers
  5. Old School
  6. The Other Guys
  7. Get Hard
  8. Stranger Than Fiction
  9. Everything Must Go
  10. The Lego Movie
Lynn:
What's your next vacation?

We are going to visit Sam in North Carolina soon, and I hope to get to California in late summer, but our big one is another family trip to Orlando after Thanksgiving - Universal Studios will have a new Harry Potter ride open so of course we need to go ride it twelve times.  I can't wait!

Jill A:
Are you still volunteering at the hospital? How are your kids doing? How are Paco's allergies?

Ooh, a three-fer!  I stopped volunteering nearly a year ago after three years there.  I got tired of a few things about that job and figured it was time to be done.  Our kids are doing great, thanks for asking!  Paco's allergies are better but he's still dealing with skin infections, poor dog.  I'll have a bigger update on him soon.

Summer:
I’m struggling with menopause and weight gain. It doesn’t appear that you are - or maybe you’ve got it all figured out? Any suggestions?

I went through menopause while I was losing weight and to be honest, I was pretty aggressive with cutting my calories plus I was working out and running a lot, so that probably helped a lot with no weight gain.  I still had weeks on end where I didn't lose an ounce, and that WAS probably due to menopause.  Still had hot flashes and night sweats though...it's a real bitch to go through, isn't it?

Barbara L:
Has there been a remarkable change in your blood work (A1c, blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides) from working out?

Ooh, good question and one I'm curious about as well!  I have my insurance physical in June so that's when the blood work and other tests will be done.  I did have to increase my BP medicine last year...hmm, wonder if it will be better with the extra exercise?  I'll try to remember to post about this in June. 

Chris B:
I am wondering how you started running to begin with... and how the renegade runners got their name. You may have covered it, but I have forgotten!

Funny you should ask this because I've been rereading some of my early running posts as of late.  I started running in 2009 when I was going to BCS Fitness - at first it was just a few minutes on the treadmill (and Brad had to show me how to use a treadmill without falling off, I was that new to running).  Eventually I decided I wanted to try running a mile and told my coach; I swear just a couple of weeks later, we were outside doing just that!  Turns out I really liked running, which is something my teenage self would never have believed.

As for the name, back when we were running with USA Fit, we'd get the route that our organizer, Dale, had carefully planned out, and we'd decide to do it backwards, or not do the entire thing but add something in another spot; eventually as we discussed what we were going to run each Saturday, the phrase "I'm going to renegade it" happened often enough that when we left USA Fit several years later, we stuck with that word and the Renegade Run Club was born. 

Once again, thanks for participating and helping me write a Monday post - sometimes these are the hardest ones to come up with. 

17 comments:

  1. I would frog the project, rewind the yarn and see if I could sell the yarn someone else might like it, and you might as well get some of your investment back.

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    1. Good idea - maybe this yarn might appeal more to someone else.

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    2. Um yeah....Just yank the needles out and I'll buy it as is! I have a project in mind...

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  2. Such fun to read! I can't believe Stranger than Fiction is so far down your list. Its one of my all time favorite movies! But its not one of his funny movies, I'm guessing.

    That MadTosh yarn is weird. I wonder how she came up with that. Most of her yarns in the shops are smooth.

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    1. When it comes down to it, I like to laugh first, so that's why the funny movies were higher. But I agree, Stranger Than Fiction is an amazing movie!

      As for the yarn, I wonder if this was an experiment...it's definitely not up to the usual MadTosh quality.

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  3. Replies
    1. Me too! This race is a fundraiser and I swear they could raise extra by charging $5 per photo with Chuck.

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  4. I missed the questions but I think they all got answered except when are you guys coming to NYC?

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    1. We are heading east later this year but will be going opposite of NYC - Orlando! One of these years we'll get there...

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  5. This was so fun to read! I especially love the origin of the Renegade Runners! How fun! It sounds like something my friends and I would do! Hah!

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  6. Love that you can destash yarn in your comment section LOL

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  7. I don't blame you or others for ditching that pattern. That yarn looks like a pita!

    Oooo, I have seen all those movies! I love that The Other Guys is on there. That is one of my fave movies!

    I can't wait to hear about the Chuck Norris race! I will be in Dallas that weekend. Too bad it's sold out ;)

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