Push-Ups

This is Day 11 of the pull-ups/push-ups challenge.  So, I can do 10 pushups in a row baby!  Can't tell me nothing.

I'm on my way to 25 in a row push-ups!  By summer I will have arms and shoulders like one of my favorite fitness inspirations:

Photo by Reuters/Landov

That's the plan at least.  My shoulders are soft and round now and nowhere near the shapeliness they had when I was in my early 20s.  I could do up to 30 back then (in sets of 10) and I could do pull-ups.  I am getting better and better with the pull-ups.  My husband has put the bar up higher and I can actually hold myself within an inch of the bar for six seconds now.  I do 3 reps of those.

My middle is whittling away.  I won't do any more measurements until February 24, 2014.  Hopefully I will see some inch difference.  I feel the difference already.  The weather has been cold but I cannot let that deter me from my fitness goals.

The hubs has a pretty good collection of resistance bands that I want to use eventually.  I am overall happy with my progress...the thing is my waist is pretty much where I want it to be (give or take an inch or so) while everything else (muffintop) isn't moving as fast.  I think the Russian Twists would help especially using the resistance bands.


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So digging back through my archives I came across this little ditty from 2010.

  Yes, this is me.  I weighed about 135 pounds, which in my opinion is way too small for me.  Look at my clavicle sticking out! I don't want to be this small again.  Anyway, that isn't why I posted this.  See the top I'm wearing?  That is the Blissful top from The Happy Hooker (2006).  I made some changes to the pattern...I connected the back so this is a full shirt.  I made it from Bernat Satin Sport yarn and was really really proud of myself.  I couldn't fit into that thing for anything these days but that is besides the point.  I am making it again!  This time I decided to use Pink Bamboo thread yarn (size 10) which makes for a lot of modifications.  It's just really beautiful and something I want to aim to wear come summer when I hit the beach.

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!