Knitrelief

On the Creativity Bandwagon…

knitrelief — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 12:27:47 +0000

Ugh, I have been so SICK the past few days. Maybe it was that rain storm I got stuck in with that good-for-nothing micro umbrella? I was soaked from head to toe with water-logged shoes. Of course by the time I made it to my car and got in…it stopped raining. Just perfect.

All this staying home did give me plenty of time to get some things done though. I finished a custom order for two scrapbooks…

And now I’m working on a baby girl themed scrapbook. They are so much fun to make! There’s always a silver lining to being stuck at home, right? Plus I’ll be baking my famous chocolate cake today…YUM. Then I think more theraflu is in order and crawling back into bed…

First Half Marathon – Check!

knitrelief — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 20:49:02 +0000

I completed the Rock n Roll half marathon – my very first, ever. It was a blast! There were SO many people converging on this city I almost couldn’t believe it. Roads were closed, parking was scarce, there were people everywhere. 11,000+ runners and when you think about all the family and friends there’s probably 15,000+ or even 20,000 people there! Crazy.

Talk about a runner’s high, I’m half amazed my legs carried me all the way to the finish line. I met my goal. Therefore, I win. =)

Now there’s grumblings about signing up for the Shamrock half marathon…hmm, too soon to think about doing this again.

How did we recover from the race? Probably (okay, most definitely) not the best way possible. We celebrated with my all-time favorite treat: a Big Mac, large fries, and a soda. Of course that came after the free beer they give you at the finish line, and after the McDonald’s ice cream cone which is my most favorite ice cream cone of all time. But let me say, that Big Mac was hands-down THE BEST Big Mac I have ever had. I should get an endorsement contract…

Feeling a little sore the next day or two, and a little groggy. Kind of like I’m perpetually drained of energy. We have eaten better foods since the post-race recovery meal, but of course we went to the post-race night concert on the beach and stayed up til all hours. I need a good night’s rest!

So long Rock n Roll, til we meet again next year?

knitrelief — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:55:49 +0000

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

This album can be found here

Notes on Wedding Photography…

knitrelief — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 00:18:41 +0000

My recent negative experience with a wedding photography business really takes the cake!

I hired The Pros (www.thepros.com) to do our wedding ceremony and reception pictures because I saw badges of approval from several wedding websites like TheKnot, so on and so forth. I definitely learned a lot from this experience, let me tell you!

But back to my story…

The photographer arrived on time and took pictures, he had some small device he was using which he said was a “light meter” at various points throughout the reception (professional, right?), he walked around the reception snapping photos, etc. All the things that you think a photographer is supposed to be doing, am I right?

A week later I receive the link to the digital photos that had been uploaded to the website.
…
…
…
All I can think is, there must be some mistake.

Every single photo was crooked. The majority of the photos were blurry and improperly focused. He had people in the wedding party that couldn’t be seen because of where he was telling them to stand for photos. There was a smear on the camera’s lens which clearly showed up in virtually every single photo – from the FIRST photo to the LAST photo.

I. Was. Livid.

Wouldn’t you be?

I mean, this is my wedding. It’s not gonna happen again – I can’t call for a “do-over” on this one!

I called the company and spoke to a manager. He tried to tell me the crookedness of the photos is an art form called the Dutch Tilt and it is the “trend” right now.

Excuse me? I didn’t ask for a Dutch Tilt, and even if it is “trendy” why on earth would you photograph an entire album in this manner, especially if you had not first cleared it with the customer?!

He also tried to tell me that the photos were not blurry.

Excuse me?! If you actually look at the photos and not the thumbnails you can clearly see the photos are blurry.

He told me the smears from the lens could be photoshopped out.

A week or so goes by and only a handful of photos are photoshopped by the photographer. He is clearly an amateur. (He probably does not even have Photoshop.)

The photos are over-exposed (which means you can barely see any details of my dress) and our skin is totally unnatural-looking. He tried to remove some of the smears but made it end up looking like a big smudge instead. Don’t ask me how this even happens.

Blurry photos can’t be fixed and neither can bad subject-placement. The photos are a total disaster.

There is NOT ONE PHOTO that is professional quality. Not ONE!

The manager offered me a free photo album – the kind where each page is a printed photo of your choosing.

Excuse me? Why would I want a photo album full of crappy pictures?!

After several weeks of going back and forth about this rediculousness, I finally spoke to a higher manager. Finally! Someone who agrees that these photos are NOT the quality of a professional! But he can’t issue me a full refund and instead only a partial refund.

By this time I am totally fed up with The Pros and just want to be done with them forever. Partial refund? Fine.

I asked them to send me the CD with all the untouched images. They sent the wrong CD. Twice!

I’m done with this company. Please, if you’re in need of a photographer, stay far far away from The Pros!

The only thing that saved our wedding memories is that we had friends and family with good cameras who like to take pictures.

*****

We ended up getting wedding pictures done this past weekend. My brother did it for us while visiting and he did an outstanding job. My brother isn’t a professional photographer – but he should be!

Photo from the Pros: I don’t know if it’s large enough for you to see the smear that is clearly over our faces.

Photo from the Pros: I wish I could say that this photo was just a fluke…but virtually the entire album was like this – blurry people with the background being crystal clear! Not to mention crooked and over-exposed with that stupid lens smear…

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

A photo that my brother took (our official portrait): I love it!!

Knit, knit, frog. Knit, knit, frog.

knitrelief — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 21:34:56 +0000

We did a 10-Mile trail run this morning. Another deer crossed my path, only this one had big antlers. I got scared for a minute because it seemed like something (besides me) spooked him and he took of BOUNDING across the woods parallel to me at first. Then he leapt across the path ahead of me…I wasn’t sure if I should be scared of him, or scared of what spooked him.

Turned out to be nothing. I did, however, get stalked by a couple flies around mile 3. Argh!

In knitting: I messed up not once, not twice…not even three times… but FOUR times at LEAST on this darn sweater! Grrrrr…..Why does it have to say “at the same time” because even after I figured that part out, I STILL got it wrong! I had to rip it out so many times. Ugh! I put it away for a while because I was getting too frustrated with it.

I’ll pick it back up after dinner tonight. Besides, nothing better than relaxing on the couch and knitting when your legs are sore and your body is tired from some crazy 10-mile trail run.

knitrelief — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:14:33 +0000

This morning the running schedule was like a treat. 3 miles. Only.

I ran it at a faster pace and ended up making my personal best for this year. 9:50 minute p/mile. No way I could possibly keep that up for any longer. It’s close to my “normal” time from 2 years ago.

They say it’s good to get some fast times in your short runs to get your muscles used to the build-up of lactic acid. And of course it was so very muggy this morning I was positively dripping.

Tonight was also our last tennis lesson. We’ve learned a lot these past 4 weeks. I really want to get out there more often and practice, practice, practice! Depending on the sign-up sheet for next month we may be able to book the instructor again, if it’s pretty much the same group…and we can continue with doubles games and strategy. That would definitely be something to consider.

Waiting for the pizza guy to get here. It’s time to go sit and knit!

No creative juices…

knitrelief — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:53:06 +0000

My creative juices today are gone. Gone, gone, gone!

Don’t know what happened. I think I must be over-tired and needing to catch up on some Zzzz’s. I came home and started a new scrapbook project. Found out the new box of envelopes…they’re made crooked! Then my circle punch broke. Just…fell apart. The insides and the springs started falling out. What the…?! I haven’t even had it for that long, although it has been getting lots of use. Maybe I need a heavy duty one. Then I got a couple pages in…and didn’t like my creation AT ALL.

I put everything away to tackle another day. I promptly conducted some online retail therapy and am now happily anticipating a crop-a-dile corner chomper (heavy duty, right?) and some other non-necessities. Not a bad day.

Notes on trail running…

knitrelief — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 13:24:50 +0000

Early morning wake-up to beat the heat! We had a 9-mile run in our midst and we’re in the middle of this killer heat wave. Like trying to breath through a wet towel is how someone described it. Hmm, yes, accurate.

Had one of my scarier moments out on the trail this morning. I saw a snake! That’s pretty scary. He was 4 feet long or so, trying to cross the road, so to speak. I came to a screeching halt and suffered through a few indecisive seconds. Do I turn around? Do I go around it? Will it whip at me and try to sink its’ teeth into me? Will it slither after me faster than I can run? It’s that imagination again…

I ended up giving it a wide berth (as wide as I could anyway, which wasn’t very wide) and kept on going. There were more people out running/biking today than I’ve ever seen out there. I figured with it being so hot that there would be less people. We’re hard core!

I slowed down to chat with a woman (her hubby and 2 fur kids tagging along) to ask her what she was training for. She was in full army uniform with a huge ruck sack on her back, huffing away on the trail. She’s trying out for the Female Engagement Team in Afghanistan. According to a quick google search: The team, trained in cultural sensitivity, basic medical skills, language, and media interaction, as well as personal defense, crowd control, and tactical patrolling, enables the brigade to reach out to Afghan women in a way the unit’s male troops cannot. Sounds like a good thing she’s doing. I wished her luck.

Outlook for today: Relaxation! I’m going to be scrapbooking and knitting. It seems like its been forever since I’ve kept the weekend free of any plans.

Angry Birds

knitrelief — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 20:48:50 +0000

I went out back with the dog yesterday and noticed that a young bird had (apparently) fallen out of its’ nest. It was unable to fly yet so it could only hop around and scream it’s head off as the dog tried to sniff it (she’s curious).

Meanwhile, the rest of the bluejay clan was circling overhead and making it VERY clear they were not happy with the current situation.

I hurried inside to get the only thing I could think of at the moment – a towel (and hubby) – to maybe try to pick this bird up and move it outside the fence, lest the dog try to mouth it and accidentally kill it…and before the bluejay clan could swoop down to attack my dog and peck out her eyes. I really have no idea if they would even do that but give me credit for a little imagination.

By the time I got back outside the little bird had hopped it’s way across the yard and under the fence where the dog couldn’t get to it. So the dog was no longer a threat but the bluejay clan was still LOUDLY unhappy.

Fast forward to 6am this morning: the dog sets one paw outside in the back yard and the Angry Birds begin their protest anew.

NOT FUN! Are they going to do this every time?! It’s not exactly “peaceful” out there with all their ruckus.

Outlook for tomorrow: HOT HOT HOT! and a 9-mile run.

knitrelief — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 01:51:12 +0000

Alarm set for 3:51am (we went over this in our last post, yes?) Slam the snooze button and roll out of bed at 4:05. On my own this morning but it’s surprisingly not as difficult as I thought it would be to get out the door.

This morning was a 4-mile run. I’m starting to think the track where I run isn’t all too accurate. My track pace logs at a consistent 10:30 min p/mile. Non-track running is a consistent 11 min p/mile. Eh. Technicalities.

I’m feeling good so it’s all okay.

I must say the only downside to all this running training…is that my appetite revs up and I’ve never been one with strong willpower.

Anyhoo, I managed to get some craft time in last night and tonight since hubby was otherwise occupied with his softball games. I really must take a picture of the Bahama trip layout I made, I’m excited about it! It’s framed and going up on the wall! It’s only 9 months overdue…those darn technicalities again.

This is what I’m currently knitting. It’s Basic Black and I’m using Elsabeth Lavold silky wool. It drapes very nicely but I’m concerned it will stretch to ugly proportions when worn. We’ll just have to see how this yarn holds up. I finished the back and started a front side panel. Too late to stop now, must keep going!

Outlook for tomorrow: contemplate waking up early for a cross-train workout.