Crochet for Halloween

It's about that time of year again.  Halloween.  It isn't something I celebrate usually for a variety of reasons.  It has proven problematic with having four young school-aged children, however.  Now we make sure they get their share of candy  but we do not allow trick-or-treating, at least not in our neck of the woods.  We have done similar types of outings such as trick-or-treating in the dorms at my alma mater (we missed it this year) or having the kids give out candy to children who are doing it in the neighborhood.  They aren't content with doing just that this year.

I've found a list of stores that are participating in trick-or-treating on Halloween.  They will just have to be content with that.  We carved a pumpkin last night, something I hadn't done since I was fifteen.  It was relatively easy.  I only had one of the four bother to help and even she eventually abandoned me in favor of Candy Crush.  She did pick the design and take out a handful or two of the seeds...that was it. 

Here is our (my) creation.  Scary, isn't it?  I adore it because it looks absolutely hilarious from the street, and we are the only house that has one so far.  We may do another one...I'm aiming for a vampire or black cat.  It remains to be seen.

The children wanted costumes (of course they did) for Halloween and I made it abundantly clear I wasn't buying a single one.  So I'm making two of them, my stepdaughter can crochet and make her own (with my guidance) and I don't know what the boy is going to do.  He's going to have to figure out Freddy Krueger all on his own.  So we have a Clawdeen Wolf from Monster High who can't match worth a darn and a vampire.  Their costumes are pretty much the same aside from one wanting to be black and blue (the vampire) and one wanting to be mis-matched.  So I tackled Clawdeen Wolf first.  The ears are easy so I focused on the top which I made in pink and black.  The skirt is in purple.  I told her she could forget about those boots.  Then I made the blue tank top for my little one.  I ran out of black yarn so I couldn't finish until yesterday.  Here they are!

 This is my little vampire (or vampress...who taught her that word!).  She absolutely loves this halter.  I don't think I'll have enough time for her skirt so I may have to settle for a pre-existing one.  She didn't seem to mind. 

 Okay, this doesn't look exactly like Clawdeen Wolf but she didn't care.  She only cared about the colors and the style.  She loves the tank and she loves the skirt.  The skirt is supposed to have ruffles all the way up but she was happy with this (thank goodness). 

The pattern for the top came from the Slice of Sweet Halter pattern on Crochetville!  The skirt is the Tiered Ruffle Skirt from Ravelry!  The girls chose what they wanted...I would have been more original had I started these earlier.  I know for next year.

 I'm teaching my girls how to crochet now.  My vampire has mastered chains and single crochet and is intent on making me a skirt!  Well who am I to discourage ambition!  Have at it baby girl! 

I am having temporary withdrawals from lack of new yarn acquisitions.  Okay I just made that up as an excuse to get more yarn.  I've been partly content.  My gift basket from Lion Brand yarn came through not too long ago from a giveaway I won back in January, and I had fun with that for a couple of months.  The novelty has worn off and I need new yarn to tickle my fancy. 

Christmas is coming up!  Or what I call the biggest yarn stash buster of the year!  I am aiming to make hats and scarves for local hospitals and assisted living homes in the area so I need to get started right about now!  I will hold off on making purchases until I have successfully whittled down my rather large stash of yarn.  Well at least that's the plan...


Updates coming soon!

Fitness Thoughts and November Challenge!

I worked out alone this morning.  My hubby wanted a break even after I told him I wouldn't complain, whine, or give him the evil eye for working me so hard.  I trekked to the gym alone.  I don't work twice as hard without him there.  Yes, I did get through the workouts but I didn't give myself that extra push that he would.  I need that extra push.

I've zoned in on my obliques.  Up until my mid to late twenties, they were a non-factor.  They never put on fat and I never worked them.  Then all of a sudden they just popped up.  This picture from two years ago tells the tale.  The black check shows some oblique action...I'm not completely contrapposto, I'm mostly straight.  I was starting to get a little belly action too as indicated by the red check.  I remember I was around 152 pounds then.  I am ten pounds heavier now and you wouldn't think it would make so much of a difference...but it does as you can see.  I think 145 is a good weight for me so 17.5 pounds left to go!

I have decided to add more oblique workouts.  Technically I'm not supposed to do crunches or any "crunch-like" movement per my doctor due to a hernia.  I've been doing side crunches anyway.  Bad, I know.  I did a google search to find some good oblique exercises.  This ONE has some gems!  I will double check with the hubby to get his thoughts...he may have a variation that works better.  I've found that whenever I find something I think is great, he has a better version of it.

Okay enough chitchat about obliques. I decided to enter the Black Women Losing Weight November Challenge!  So the deal is for you to give up all bad stuff like soda, sweets, and simple carbs.  Done and done!

Here are the guidelines:

• No Soda – That includes diet soda. Already done.
• No Fast Food  Zaxby's...gonna work on it.
• No Alcohol  Easy enough...I don't drink it.
• No White Bread – Easy enough...I never ate it.
• No White Sugar or High Fructose Corn Syrup I've been avoiding this for years (trying to)
• No Store Bought Juice – I guess Naked Juice is out.
• Any packaged foods you eat should have less than 12 grams of sugar per serving. I do this already...
• No Sugary Snacks –  First thing I did three weeks ago.
• No Pasta I love pasta but it was easy to give up...will continue.
• You can have artificial sweeteners in moderation – Don't use them...I don't even use the natural ones like agave and honey. 
  

This should be easy.  The challenge is to keep that up through Thanksgiving and even I don't know if I can resist my Mama's red velvet cake and sweet potato pie!  I am partaking in a Naked Juice Smoothie today (Green Machine) as I had a coupon.  Without thinking I had went and asked my boss if he liked Naked juice (he's into fitness and natural eating too) and the look on his face was beyond priceless (***DEAD***).  When I realized my folly it took me a minute or two to stop laughing before explaining I meant the juice.  I had asked him if he liked it to see if he wanted to get a coupon...perhaps I should have thought that through more.  He was like, "I knew what you meant." (wink, wink) So yeah, no Naked juice at work or anywhere else for that matter.  Goes right up there with, "Oh, your husband works you out?"  This question almost immediately follows my casual comment of "I work out with my husband."  Everybody has a dirty mind these days!

Here is a coupon for $1 off on a 15.2 ounce bottle of Naked Juice.  I don't know how long they are going to have the promotion for so get it while it's hot (and naked).  What an unfortunate name.

Back to the challenge.  I will definitely work on giving up Zaxby's, the very last fast food frontier I have to cross.  Those grilled chicken sandwiches are so good.  I don't even get fries or onion rings.  I get celery with a water to drink.  I had their Blue Zalad with Mediterranean dressing and grilled blackened chicken yesterday.  I have to stay away from that place.  I've been good about giving up the sweets otherwise.

Rather than wait until November, I'm starting today. 

Tunisian Crochet Headband Pattern (FREE!)

I discovered Tunisian crochet a few years back before I learned how to knit.  I loved it, creating two toned fabric in the Tunisian single stitch (tss) and later learning how to purl.  The thing is this process takes up more yarn than I typically plan on using for any one purpose so I rarely do it.  I own several sizes of double-ended crochet hooks for whenever I get that itch.  I had to scratch it two days ago when I did this headband.  I debated about whether to offer the pattern but seeing as patterns in Tunisian crochet are becoming more popular, why not add to the mix?

This pattern has no purl stitch, just the Tunisian single stitch and chains.  The "shells" aren't really shells at all, just a few loops pulled together.  Sound confusing?  Allow me to explain.

For those who don't know how to do Tunisian crochet, let me borrow someone else's video to show you the basics of casting on and the simple stitch.



For those who are like me and like reading directions, here you go:

Casting on:
Chain the desired number of stitches.  Working back into the chain, insert hook into first chain from the hook.  YO and pull up loop.  You now have two loops on the hook.  Insert hook into the next chain, yo and pull up loop.  Continue this across all chains.

Return Row:
At the end of the row, yo and pull yarn through one loop.  *Then yarn over and pull yarn through two loops.*  Repeat * to * across until you have one loop left on the hook.

Tunisian Single Stitch:
See those nifty bars left by the return stitch?  *Insert your hook into the first bar, yo and pull up a loop.*  Congratulations!  You've just made the first stitch.  Continue * to * across until all bars, including that stubborn one on the end, has a loop pulled up.
Complete return row.

Tunisian Open-Work Headband

Worsted Weight yarn (I used Vanna's Choice)
    This would be lovely in a DK weight yarn to really emphasize the lacy quality
5 mm hook

First measure your head, or your victim's head to see how long to make it.  I think this would make a lovely scarf as well with more starting chains.

Chain a multiple of five stitches plus 2.

Ch 17.

First Row:
Cast on as usual.  The fun part comes in the return row.  Ready?  Yo, pull through 1 loop on hook, *yo, pull through 2 loops on hook, ch 1, yo, pull through 4 loops on hook (makes a "shell"), ch 1, yo, pull through 2 loops on hook;  repeat from * to last stitch and pull through 2 loops on hook.

Second Row:
(Loop on the hook counts as a stitch).  tss in next stitch, *insert hook in next ch-sp, pull up a loop, insert hook into top of shell, pull up loop, insert hook into next ch-sp, pull up loop, tss in each of next 2 stitches;  Repeat from * across.  Return Row:  Yo, pull through 1 loop on hook, *yo pull through 2 loops on hook, ch 1, yo, pull through 4 loops on hook (makes a "shell"), ch 1, yo, pull through 2 loops on hook; repeat from * to last stitch, pull through 2 loops on hook.

Repeat Row 2 until the proper length.

Final Rows:
I'm putting this even though I didn't do mine this way.  I just slipstitched the ends together from the last row to the first to avoid sewing...scandalously lazy, yes it is.  Here is the way for those who don't mind taking the extra steps towards perfection.  I like clean connects so bear with me.

Repeat row 2.  On return row: At the end of the row, yo and pull yarn through one loop.  *Then yarn over and pull yarn through two loops.*  Repeat * to * across until you have one loop left on the hook.

*Insert hook into vertical bar of the next stitch, yo and pull up a loop and go through loop on the hook.  Repeat from *  until you are left with one loop on the hook.  Fasten off and you are DONE!


Whipstitch the two ends together.  Blocking is optional.  I would have definitely blocked if I was using thinner yarn but with worsted I didn't see the need.  I can't take complete credit for this.  The elements of the Tunisian stitch were written in severe shorthand in my journal, obviously taken from a book I could not procure (I didn't write down the name of it either...darn).  Must have been a Books-A-Million run.  Either way, it makes a pretty headband.

ENJOY!

Fitness Thoughts

I love reading on the treadmill or elliptical at the gym.  It seems to make the seconds and minutes zoom by therefore increasing my actual productivity more so than music and the subtitles to CNN/ESPN.  The thing is the books I desire to read are paperbacks which do not want to stay open on their own accord.  Nerveracking.  So I decided to save that reading for more stationary times and pulled out the only hardback book I own with large print that doesn't have anything to do with art, crochet, or knitting: Chef MD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine by John La Puma, M.D.  I got this for a great deal at Food Lion in their book bin.  What's sad about that is this Food Lion is right next door to Books-A-Million that I have never bought a book from.  Any who, I've had it for over a year and hadn't actually cracked it open.  The only reason I even had it readily available is that it managed to escape my trip to 2nd and Charles last weekend.

First things first, this man loves food.  I mean seriously.  I am going to steal his television tagline of, "The fountain of youth starts in the kitchen."  He shared that doctors aren't really taught about nutrition in medical school which I already knew thanks to Michael Baisden.  A woman was on his show once talking about how she changed her diet not at the behest of her doctor but of an older gentleman at the grocery store who suggested she cut out meat and dairy from her diet to see if it helped her high blood pressure and diabetes.  She said that within six months both her blood pressure and glucose levels had stabilized and eventually she no longer needed medication to control them.  This encouraged her to find out more about nutrition.  This stuck with me because she was adamant in her insistence that diet was the most important part of beating the main disease culprits that are the bane of the Black community.  Now that this guy has already confirmed what I've heard before, I'm definitely getting into his book now.

Here are some nuggets he had that are just too good not to share.  For the folks who have to have their fix of fast food, grab a fistful of almonds within twenty minutes of ordering.  Apparently the antioxidants in the almonds begin to block the artery-stiffening and inflammatory effect of the saturated and trans fats in the fast food.  Bet you didn't know that.  I sure didn't.

Now I have been giving starches a hard time in my diet...this guy is working on redeeming them.  Apparently there are different types of starch and one of them is called resistant starch which can be your fat burning friend.  Eating more foods high in resistant starch cause you to burn more fat throughout the day because you use the fat before you can store it.  Examples of those are types of beans/legumes like lentils, peas, soybeans, and beans.  Since edamame is a form of soybean, those should count, right?  I love those things!  I do partake in the Vegetarian Ruprict from Moe's Southwest Grill.  I think it is mostly healthy with the black beans, grilled peppers, olives, cucumbers, pico de galo, and onions I get piled high on it.  Just ignore the super starchy tortilla chips and sodium laden cheese sauce they slather all over it.  That's why I eat those with a protein shake.  I am of the opinion that if you balance everything out (starch to protein ratio), you won't store it as fat.  This has a basis in some nutrition reading I did some time ago.  I am going to be on the lookout in this book to see what Dr. La Puma has to say about it.  Those Rupricts are hella hard to give up.

I'll give more little nuggets from this book as I go along.  I am reading and rereading for thorough understanding and memory.  Best of all, the darn thing stays open and flat while I work out.

Something else I have decided to do is to add green tea to my diet.  A cup in the morning, a cup after work and a cup before bed.  Decaffeinated, of course.  I have some organic green tea I just bought.  I read ahead in the ChefMD book to see what he thought about green tea and it seems I'm good to go!  Some things I learned:

Black tea, green tea, white tea, and oolong tea all come from the same plant.  They are all prepared differently which lends itself to the different tastes and health benefits (and apparently colors).

It helps protect you from having a heart attack and stroke and may help in delaying the onset of cancer.   I wonder if Lipton counts too.

Tea has no carbs, fat, protein, or calories...like water (bitter water, bleh!  I just tried some Honest Tea Green Tea and I honestly added a whole lemon to it to make it drinkable).  It does have catechins which are flavonoids (which are apparently good for you).  Green and white tea have more than black and oolong tea.  Black tea and oolong have their own types of flavonoids.
Flavonoid:  Usually colorful plant chemicals with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects; there are over five thousand of them.  They belong to the polyphenol family. 
Polyphenol:  Chemicals such as flavonoids and tannins, responsible for the coloring and protection of some plants and that fight heart disease and cancer.

A downside to this book is the need to constantly search for definitions because he just throws these words around willy nilly.  The upside is his index is pretty comprehensive and makes it easy to find the definitions of these obscure words he throws around.  I just added the definitions here to save you a Google search. 

Independent of this book, I read somewhere (the result of a Google search) that green tea contributed to fat burning which is what had initially peaked my interest in it.  Well, I'm going to start on Monday after I stock up on lemons.

No workout this weekend!  I'm a little achy (which is good) and I intend to work even harder next week.  Pain = progress.  I can visually see a difference around my middle but I have a long way to go still.  If it doesn't rain tomorrow I will take a few laps through the neighborhood and if it is raining I guess I'll attack my elliptical. 

Unidentified Yarn Queen and Pretty Shells Crochet Pattern (FREE!)

Last year during a trek to the local flea market, I came across a young Mexican lady selling her wares which happened to be...you guessed it, yarn!  This particular color caught my eye and unfortunately there was only one skein of it.  She didn't have specifics that she could give me about but from what I can tell it appears to be a rayon and natural fiber mix (not cotton though).  I would say it is about a size 3 crochet thread and I'm itching to make something with it.  I am the queen of unidentified yarn.  I have many skeins that I have to play the guessing game, having acquired them from swaps and other sources.  I am still searching for the perfect pattern for this beautiful yarn.  Any ideas?

 This is one of my favorite scarves!  Last year, I sold a similar scarf at a vending event at my alma mater.  I had originally made it to enter in the state fair but for whatever reason I always miss the deadline.  So I decided to make another one.  It is a simple crochet pattern consisting of shells, roughly 7 inches x 6 feet.  It has great texture and the yarn creates a wonderful drape in the fabric.  This is made from one of those many unidentified yarns I have acquired over the years.  I have one more skein of it left.  It takes nearly two skeins to make a scarf this size so it is up in the air what I will do with this final skein.  If I had to take a guess I would say it was similar to homespun, definitely a man-made material, acrylic/polyester mix, fingering weight.  Obviously I put a lot of thought into this.  

Pretty Shells Pattern

Any size yarn (fingering weight used here)
Use hook size that works well with your yarn (3.5 mm)

Ch. 43
Row 1:    2 dc in 4th chain from the hook, sk ch, *sc in next chain, sk ch, 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc in next ch* Repeat * to * across to last two ch.  Three dc in last ch. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 2:  sc in first dc, *2dc, ch 2, 2 dc in next sc, sc in ch 2 space*  Repeat to last shell.  sc in top of ch 3 stitch.  Ch 3 and turn.

Row 3:  2 dc in sc from previous row.  *sc in top of ch 2 space, 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc in next sc*  Repeat across to last sc of the row.  3 dc in top of ch 3 stitch.  Ch 1 and turn.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until desired length.  I always end with a row of single crochet across the edge to anchor it into place.

Comment if you have any questions!  There is some variation of this pattern all around the web.  Most of the time I see it with a 5 dc instead of 2dc, ch 2, 2dc but it is the same kind of idea.

Getting Back on Track with my Health

Let's face it, staying motivated to exercise isn't easy.  With work, school, kids, nagging bosses, meetings, and the plethora of other things we all have going on with cell phones and tablets attached to our hands, government shutdowns and the imminent end of the world as we know it, it's amazing we get much of anything done.  With all of the talk about health insurance, it is sure to make some contemplate the idea of preventive care (eating healthier and exercising) even more now, myself included.

Three weeks ago, I went to the local flea market.  I went initially to get out of the house away from the  hubby and kids.  That's necessary sometimes.  I decided to go by and see some old friends while I was there.  I used to sell at the flea market regularly and considered a lot of the vendors some of my favorite people.  Any who, I ran into Annette, a really nice woman from Trinidad and Tobago who was always my vending buddy.  After we chatted for a bit, she kind of cocked her head to the side and said, "You're looking a little chunky there around the middle.  Be careful, you're getting older and it will creep up on you."  Now I don't generally take too kindly to folks reminding me of my age, especially as I intend to stay 29 for several more years, but I was caught more off-guard by the "chunky" remark.  I was chunky?  Yes, I am getting older, and yes, I was aware my metabolism had slowed.  It had not slowed enough for me to not eat boxes of Twinkies (the Sweetest Comeback EVER!), a half-dozen chocolate cake donuts (every day after work for $2, can't beat it), and chug down Mountain Dew like it was the elixir of life and still have people say, "I wish I had your figure."  That happens quite a bit so no wonder I never realized I was "chunky"!

So, I went home and stepped on the scale, which I immediately regretted.  165 pounds.  I hadn't been that heavy since my second pregnancy in which I went up to a whopping 171 pounds (immediately dropping to 140 post pregnancy).  In August 2012, I weighed 146 pounds, right at the start of a master's program.  I graduated in August 2013.  Here it was the end of September, and I weighed 165 pounds.  How did that happen?  Where did that come from?  Then I started looking at myself.  My arms were much rounder.  Why hadn't I noticed that?  I generally ignored my abs because after three kids and a stint with diastasis recti, there hadn't been any reason to pay them much attention.  My pre-baby abs were long gone.   They were seriously out to lunch now.  I had love handles!  I never had love handles in my life.  I love my butt...it took me nearly ten years to grow it, but it was the only asset, so to speak, I even liked about my body now.  My face was rounder and I noticed that my knees ached a lot.  Constantly, in fact.  This just wasn't going to work.

It didn't take me long to realize that I was holding my health as a ransom to my own self-esteem issues and love for chocolate everything (except ice cream).  Quite frankly I didn't want to have to weave through either one of those particular issues so I just opted to just take my health back with a vengeance.

My husband, a personal trainer, really got it that night for letting me get out of control.  Poor guy, he was damned either way.  He insisted I looked fine and just needed to tone.  "Stop being so hard on yourself, you can get that off easy.  Think about the people who are much bigger than you."  That's what I like about him.  Every time I start complaining, he always manages to bring up someone who is much worse than I am.  I must thank him for channeling my self-deprecating tendencies into feelings of regret and self-disdain at my own selfishness.  So I challenged him to help me get toned.

He began PMA Fitness Training a little over a year ago.  He slows down around this time of year with clients so he has time to devote to me (yay!).  We have four months left on our joint Gold's Gym membership, a membership we had neglected to use for nearly six months with him opting for Planet Fitness and me opting for Zaxby's.  So back to the gym for us...well first it was at home (for me) with an Arabic belly dancing video set on Youtube.  That was fun.  Then I hit the gym the following Saturday to present for a total of almost two weeks so far. My husband won't let me complain and I can appreciate that.  I want to sweat and I want to hurt.  Makes me feel productive.  I'm amazed how much wind I have retained over the months.  It took my knees a week to stop screaming at me and they actually feel lighter now.  I had Baker's cysts behind them for awhile so I already knew my propensity to gain water on the knees.

I work out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday supplemented with an elliptical at home and walks through the neighborhood.

I've lost 2.5 pounds and I feel awesome.  Let me backtrack a bit.  I changed my diet as well.  I eliminated all processed foods and sweets from my diet and I increased my water intake.  I've done this so many times before that I don't even go through the "sweets" withdrawal symptoms.  My body's probably like, here we go again.  I only eat lean chicken (all natural from 14 Carrot) and fish.  I had a love affair with kale eating it every day until I realized it was making me exhausted (did you know Kale could do that?).  I increased my protein intake tremendously.  I want to lose weight but I want to maintain muscle, preferably those in the gluteous maximus area.  I've never been much of a cook, not because I couldn't do it.  I had no desire to do it.  There's a difference.  We bought a steamer last year, and I think we made the most use out of it in these past two weeks than in the entire time we owned it.  I have a wok also...I'll have to work my way up to that.  Everything else is baked.  I also made homemade pizza, which the kids loved sans the red and green peppers I would throw on them.  Generally they don't mind eating right which makes this journey super easy for me.  In another month, I am going to throw in a fasting day as well.

There was some definite water weight loss.  My arms slimmed down and such.  This past weekend, I went back to the flea market and saw Annette again.  I thanked her for pointing out my "chunkiness" for without her observation, who knows how far I would have gone.  She conceded that she needed to work out as well and I gave her encouragement.  It's hard to get started but you don't want to stop once you get going.  She said to me, "Yeah, you don't look as bloated now, a little trimmer.  Keep it up."  And I will.