Yarrrrrrrn

I haven't been knitting but I have been playing with yarn!

Almost 2 years ago, I won some dye-able yarn from the Carolina Fiber Festival. I've held onto some of it...just waiting for the right opportunity to present itself.

Last weekend...that opportunity showed up!

A couple of us Dirty Knitters went over to our friend M's house. I shall call her Darkside because we always joke that she balances me out in the world. Everything I love, she hates. Everything she loves, I hate. We're complete opposites...but it works because she's the sweetest person ever.

Darkside has the neatest basement ever. She has a great craft area and it has it's own kitchen with a pull out stove that is seriously retro-cool.

She has done a lot of dying so she knew what she was doing and had the right dyes to make everything super easy. We had all pre-soaked the yarn so we just soaked it a little more with some dawn to make the yarn "open up to take the dye" and then we put the yarn on the stove in big pots with the dye until the dye was "exhausted." What's cool is that if you do it right...the yarn will EAT all the dye and then the water will turn out clear! Sweet!

That hot pink is my yarn!

 

I picked a hot pink color to dye my main yarn. I love bright colors and I couldn't believe that Darkside even had that dye! Apparently a friend of hers bought it. LOL! It's currently drying over my kitchen sink...waiting to be turned into a hat with a tiara in it!

 

I also stuck a skein of yarn in with one of the Dirty Knitter's yarn...for a beautiful teal. My yarn wasn't taking the dye so great so it had to stay after school with Darkside for more soaking. She sent me a text though...it's looking pretty good!

 

 

 Oooohhh pretty!

 

Not sure yet what that one will want to be. But I'll keep you updated! :D 

Turkey Trottin!

It started on Tuesday night when I went to go pick up my bib. It was a cold, dark, rainy night and it took me an hour to drive not even 20 miles. Once I got there it was really easy to pick up my bib...it took 5 mins. Then I almost got hit by a car as I was crossing the parking lot. Really? How do you miss a person with a huge, bright umbrella?! I gave them a few choice words. My heart was beating a little fast after that.

It has my name on it!!!

After a week and a half of not running very much...I was slightly worried about running an 8k. For those of us not so great at math...that's right about 5 miles. That's the furthest I've ever run.

I woke up the morning of and ate some peanut butter crackers. I needed something in my stomach to keep it settled. I also drank a Gatorade and ate some energy chews. Yum!

RB (RatBastard) drove me to the race. He had made me a sign and was planning on hanging out to watch me run. I was excited to have someone there to cheer me on!

 

Rockin and ready to run!

 

I had a ton of layers on. I had a base pair of tights, running pants, 3 technical tops, wool hat, fingerless gloves, and a neck warmer. Plus I bought new socks that sat higher on my ankles.

 

There were just over 3000 people there! I saw so many people dressed up! I saw a girl dressed as a pie, dozens of turkeys, a pilgrim and Native American running together...lots of fun costumes!

 

The run itself wasn't too bad. It was very hilly but I just ran when I could and walked when I had to. I did have to stop in the middle of the race and pull off one of my layers. I took water at the first stop but not at the next two stops.

 

I was so excited as we ran down Ridge Rd and got closer to the finish line. I knew RB would be waiting for me and I couldn't wait to see what his sign said! As I rounded the corner back into the parking lot...I heard a group of people cheering my name! It was my running friends from the Hibernian Harriers run club! Awesome! I pointed at them and cheered and kept on running. Straight ahead was RB! Holding a sign that said "Lady Na-Na, Run like crazy for the turkey and gravy!" I blew him a kiss and booked it to the finish line!

 

Now for the results!

 

In my age group I came in 119th out of 158. Overall I came in 1549 out of 1940. Not too bad! Not the best but not the worst!

 

My gun time was 57:45 and my chip time was 56:05.

 

Splits:

 

Mile 1 = 11:38mm

Mile 2 = 10:12mm

Mile 3 = 9:42mm

Mile 4 = 11:17mm
Mile 5 = 11:23mm

Obviously, I hit my best stride in Mile 3. But overall...I'll take an 11 min mile! After the race I grabbed a banana and a cup of water and made a very nice stranger take our picture. Please excuse how crappy I look...I just ran 5 miles!

 

He's pretty good looking...no?

Friendship and love

I am thankful for my friends.

I have a good amount of friends. I have knitting friends, running friends, GS friends, friends from college and high school, friends I only chat with on facebook, texting friends, long distance friends and even a best friend.

I am truly blessed with good people who share my sorrows, my joys and keep me sane.

That being said...I have noticed several different reactions when they find out that I'm back with RatBastard:

• "Why?! Why would you do that?! Are you out of your mind?! What are you thinking?!!!"
• "I think you're making a huge mistake.
• "I think you're making a huge mistake and I don't want to hear anything about it. I just can't handle hearing about him."
• "You do what you have to do."
• "Who am I to judge? Just be careful."
• "You'll be sorry when he breaks your heart again."

Some of these reactions were hard for me to hear. Some of them, I have no response to. How do you put into words how you feel about someone?

I understand why they've reacted this way. They love me. They don't want to see me hurt....again. They've been there, done that, and don't want it to happen again. Trust me....neither do I.

I can't even begin to explain why I'm back with RatBastard. I just know that I love him. I love him for the man that he is, the man that he was, and the man that he is going to be. I see so much potential there. I know how I feel when I'm with him. I know that he loves me. I know that he has some issues that need to be worked out. So do I. And we're working on them.

Hopefully...this relationship will last a long time and my friends will come around. Time will heal old wounds and new memories will be made.

Either way...I know my friends have my back and always will. And I love them for that.

Thank you friends.

Running update

I have been running!

Last week was a crazy week with running.

Monday - Hibernian Harriers Run Club
Tuesday - C25K meetup group - W8, D1
Wednesday - Ladies night at Fleet Feet
Thursday - should have been W8, D2 but I needed a rest day
Saturday - C25K meetup group - W8, D3!

On Wed, I went to Ladies night at Fleet Feet. It was very fun. I got there and there were about 14 of us ready to run. We took some pictures and then we were off!

Good looking group!

 



It was a straight shot down Six Forks Rd and then back. The way down was easy...I was running at a good pace and felt great. I loved watching the people in the cars just staring at us as we ran past. The way back was much harder...it was all up hill! I don't remember there being any downhill!!!

Back at the store they had some delicious cocktails for us to try as well as some snacks. The stuffed mushrooms were particularly delicious as I shoveled about 12 of them into my mouth. I had to apologize to a lady for eating while she was talking to me but I was STARVING after running 3.49 miles!

After I ate, I decided to go get a chair massage. I was 2nd in line so I talked to a guy about being cryogenically frozen. Apparently, its the new thing to do in sports medicine. You take off your clothes (you wear panties and gloves) and then step into this machine with your head outside of it. The blast you with cold for about 3 mins. It makes your blood go to your core and is supposed to rejuvenate muscles and all that good stuff. I can make an appt for to try it for just $20 so I might do that. It sounds interesting!

The chair massage was excellent. I wish I could get one of those after every run! After that, it was all over. I took my picture with my running friends and we were outie!

 

My running girls!

 

 

On Sat...we ran our last meetup group! It was kind of bittersweet. It was awesome because everyone was able to run the full 35 mins and most of us went the full 3.1 miles (5k!). We actually ran a little further...3.35. Not too shabby! I also found out that I look like a total doofus when I run!

 

 



Goofy girl!

 

This week will be rough trying to fit my running in. I need/want to run at least 3 times this week...but I have a full schedule.

 

Mon - Meetup group graduation! Hooray for a nice dinner with running friends!

Tues - Macklemore concert! I can not wait!

Wed - Therapy session with RatBastard - should be interesting

Thurs - Stitch n' bitch

Fri - Girl Scout meeting

Sat - will definitely be able to run

Sun - The new Hunger Games movie! Catching Fire here we come! 

Adulthood

I have NO toilet paper in my house.

I swear...who let ME be an adult? Shouldn't there be some sort of test or rulebook to follow? Nope...they just throw you out to the real world and you're forced to fend for yourself. Such craziness.

I obviously can not be held responsible for my own lack of TP in which to wipe my behind!

Guess I'll have to "borrow" a roll from work to get me through til I can make it to the grocery store. Jeez.

In running news...

I had an awesome run last night with the Hibernian Harriers Run Club! They had a rep from New Balance there, letting folks try some new shoes for the run. At first I thought, "Why would I want to try a new pair of shoes when I have my most awesome Adidas Supernova Sequence 6s?" But then he said the magic words....Free Pint Glass.

So I tried the new shoes. I have no idea which ones they were.

Bad Blogger.

 

I always like New Balance shoes. I mean...they have an "N" on them. Sprinkles starts with an N! Obviously those shoes are made for me!

 

With this group, I always start out way too fast (9 mm!!!) and end up much slower and towards the very back of the pack. I'm ok with this. Last night, these two girls caught up with me and were excited to see that I had a map as it was their first time and they were slightly lost. I let them know that they were totally cool to run with me, but I was slow and they would probably end up passing me up.

 

Turns out, they were right about my speed! What's even crazier? We were about halfway done running, when one of them asked me who else I run with. I'm explaining my meetup group to her when she goes, "Sprinkles?" OMG! It ended up that I was running with two of the girls from my first meetup group...the girls I ran the Electric run with! So cool!

 

So we ran the rest of the way together and I actually did really well! I felt good and fast and strong. I managed to mostly run up the crazy hills! We made it back to the Hibernian and I returned the New Balance shoes. They were alright to run in but my socks bunched up a bit which made my left toes go numb. I had that same problem in my old Adidas shoes but not in my awesome new shoes. I also collected my free pint glass! Yeah-ah! All in all...a great night!

  

 

If it's free...it's for me!



Hurricanes Hockey!

Hockey is big down here. You wouldn't think so, since I live in the south...but trust me when I say it is. We do things a little differently though. For example, we tailgate for HOURS before a hockey game! We believe in Redneck Hockey!

I'm a big hockey fan but not as big as my friend HotRod or even my boss. I follow games but not religiously. I tend to talk a bigger game than I actually follow. :D

So when the opportunity arose to go with HotRod to a Full Season Ticket Holder Event with the Carolina Hurricanes...you'd better believe I said hells yeah!!

We got there right on time and stood in line for a while. While HotRod waited in line...I went and picked up a ticket to go see Macklemore later in the month! Awesome! (yes...I'm not afraid to go to concerts by myself)

We picked up our food vouchers and schedule and decided to go up to tour the press area. This was pretty exciting to me because I love behind the scenes stuff. They had the door to the TV area blocked off but open...you could see inside but not go in. We convinced one of the guards to let us take our pictures in front of the TV backdrop...so that was awesome!

Coming to you live from the Hurricane's game...it's Sprinkles!

Next we decided to go down to the ice and take shots on goal. After waiting in a small line and signing our lives away...we were allowed on the ice to practice shooting pucks into the net. It is harder than  it looks! I made one of my 3 shots in!

 

Gooooooooooooaaaaaal!

After that we went and took a tour of the locker room. We stood in front of one of the most annoying people on the planet. Everything we said about how cool the locker room was or any joke we made about sneaking into somewhere...she had a know-it-all response to. But we quickly ditched her and made our way back up to where the food was!

 

Who me...hide in a locker? Never!!!

After sitting down and eating (nothing terribly exciting...chicken fingers, pork bbq sandwich, and pink lemonade) we went down to the ice and got to take our picture on the team bench, in front of the Zamboni, and in the penalty box! HotRod made me take his picture with the storm squad chicks. (I won't mention what I call them!)

 

Jumping over the players bench just like a real hockey player!

We were pretty worn out after running up and down the stairs after this so we picked up our dessert. (Dippin Dots for me and a cinnamon roll for HotRod) There was only one thing left to try to do.....meet Tim Gleason.

Tim Gleason is my favorite player on the Hurricanes squad. I love him. MommaB made me a shirt that says "Tim Gleason makes onions cry" and "There is nothing to fear but Tim Gleason." I met him back in 2011 when Raleigh hosted the All Star game and I got his autograph and gave him a kiss on the cheek!

So you'd better believe that I wanted to meet him again! Unfortunately....I had verbal diarrhea when I met Timmy and sounded like a babbling idiot! But I did get his autograph and I got to take a pic with him again!

 

Be still my heart!

 

And just because everyone thinks I went to this event by myself...here's a shot of the two of us on the player's bench. It was hard to get pictures together because one of us would take the pic while the other person was doing the activity or posing!

 

 



Yes ladies....he's single!