In Which Our Heroine Becomes a Marathoner

About 8 months ago, I pretty much lost my mind.

I signed up for the Chicago Marathon.

I started running in June 2011, when my friend Shara suggested that we run the Lincoln Park Zoo 5K together. While I had never run more than two miles at once - and that was in college - I was in fairly decent shape thanks to a regiment of hot yoga (with weights!) and long walks several times a week. I figured I could hang for at least a 5K, and running through the zoo would be a great time.

I ended up having a blast with Shara, and decided that I would make running my new workout. I signed up for the Hot Chocolate 5K in 2011 and vowed to run at least a few times a week.

Except....I hate running by myself.

Here's the thing - I'm incredibly lazy when I have down time. I have a fairly strong work ethic and I work hard at my job, but when I have a moment to relax, all I want to do is sit on the couch. While I enjoyed running a race, running by myself was a different story. My thought pattern was typically, "What a nice day! This is great for a run. Wait a minute, why do I suddenly have a side cramp? And why is my foot hurting? Better turn around and head home to my couch. Might as well stop and pick up a pizza on the way. I did just run, after all."

And then I met Tom.

As many of you know, Tom and I met on OkCupid. When we met, he was training for the 2011 Chicago Marathon and mentioned in his profile that he would love to have a running buddy for long distances. Look, I don't advocate embellishing online dating profiles, but Tom was super cute, his emails made me laugh, and he once ate at Mickey's Diner from The Mighty Ducks movies. I had to get a date with him. So....I said that I was a serious runner too. He suggested that I sign up for a race he was doing before the marathon, the Bucktown 5K, so I convinced Shara to do it with me.*

Tom quickly found out the truth about me, and he stuck around for some reason. But after seeing him train for the 2012 Ironman, I wanted to do something out of my comfort zone, so I signed up for the 2012 Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon. Tom wrote me a training plan and it worked - I had a lot of fun and finished at a decent time. Afterwards, my mom asked me if I would ever do a full marathon. I believe my response was "ABSOLUTELY NOT." While the half marathon was fun, it hurt towards the end. A marathon would hurt twice as much!

And then I changed my mind.

Inspired by friends who completed the 2012 Chicago Marathon and Tom's training for the 2013 Ironman, I vowed to sign up this year. My friends trained using the Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA) Marathon Training Program and couldn't say enough nice things about it, so I signed up for that too. I ran a few races with Shara (and some on my own) after my half marathon to stay motivated, but I entered the training program with a very low running fitness level. I've learned that if you don't run to maintain your fitness level, it goes away quickly.

When I did the Rock 'n Roll in 2012, I ran with a run/walk pace team. CARA offers a run/walk pace group, and I immediately joined the group during my first training run in June. We would run for 6 minutes and walk for 1 minute, and repeat until we were done with our distance for the day. We would average around 11:40-12:00 minute miles, which was manageable for me. I really loved running with my group and enjoyed getting to know everyone during the past 4 months. We were one of the smaller pace groups, but I felt like that made us stronger. I felt accountable to the members, and I often pushed myself out of bed at 5:00 every Saturday morning, knowing that if I didn't go, everyone would notice.

The 20 mile training run took place at the end of September. It is organized like a race, and runners select their pace group during registration. I signed up a couple of months in advance and placed myself in the 11:30 run/walk group. My buddies, Ben, Abby and Kathryn, signed up in advance as well, but none of us could remember the pace groups we selected.

On 20 miler day, I discovered that I was in a different wave from my friends, which made me quite nervous. 20 miles is a long distance to run by myself, and I had really started to rely on the energy of the group. Luckily, I found that I was in a good groove with the wave pace leader, Pam, and another woman, Jessica. They both trained at my CARA training site but with different pace groups, so we'd never run together before. The 3 of us stuck together the whole way, and we ended the run finishing strong. We exchanged contact information and tossed around the idea of running the marathon together, since we had such a great run that day.

Pam expressed that she was hoping to go a little faster than we had during the 20 miler, and Jessica and I agreed that would be fine. I let Abby and Ben know my plan and hoped that we would either all run together, or that I would see them during the race. Kathryn was not going to be running the Chicago Marathon, but will be running the Detroit Marathon next week. I was nervous about the possibility of running without my usual buddies, but knew that Pam and Jessica were awesome too.

Enter race day. The best laid plans often go awry.

After leaving our bags at the special CARA gear check, Jessica, Pam, Chavella (another awesome woman from our training site) and I headed over to the corrals. After waiting for awhile, we took off running. Pam was determined to finish in less than 5 hours, and I had a hard time keeping up initially. I've been generally healthy and uninjured during my training, with the exception of one small issue - my feet. My feet swell occasionally, causing me to experience some tingling or numbness in one or both of my feet. I can generally fix this with slipping my feet out of my shoes, relaxing them a bit and then putting them back into my shoes. This generally only happens on the first or second mile of my runs, and then my feet just adjust.**

Not today.

My feet and legs were cramped the first mile, causing me to immediately panic that I was going to have a horrible marathon day. My goal was the same as Pam's, to finish in less than 5 hours, and I started to see that slip away. As I passed mile 2, my legs and feet started to feel worse, so I pulled over to adjust my shoes. I ran to catch up with the group and started to feel pain again, but decided to push through it. As I was clenching my jaw, I saw somebody out of the corner of my eye waving - Abby! I was so happy to see a familiar, smiling face and she joined up with our group.

Happy to see Tom! Abby is next to me and Chavella is in front of me.

As we approached mile 3, my feet and legs were getting worse, so I pulled over and adjusted my shoes again. By that point, I realized that I was not going to keep up with Pam, Jessica and Chavella - and that was ok. I knew that I was going to risk burning out too early at that pace, and that I could stick with Abby and feel comfortable and strong. I caught up with Abby and although I had to adjust my shoes one more time, I felt great the rest of the race. I have theories about my swollen feet, but I'm grateful that this is the only problem I seem to have when I run.

By this point, I had seen Tom twice on the course. My wonderful boyfriend bought a giant Hello Kitty balloon to attach to his hat, so that I would be able to easily spot him. Tom's mom did this (but with a different balloon, of course) on Ironman day, and it worked really well. I knew that I wouldn't see Tom for another 5 miles, so Abby and I kept a good pace and enjoyed the scenery. Running through Lincoln Park was quite pretty, and I grew excited as we approached Lakeview, because I knew that I was going to see two of my most fabulous and closest friends, Kristin and Andrea, and their wonderful significant others, Ryan and Stu.

I knew that Andrea and Stu would be near Roscoe and Lake Shore Drive, and I got ready to call out to get their attention. I spotted them quickly and started screaming as loud as I could. Andrea held up her sign that said, "Go, Budday, Go!" and I felt a boost of energy. I sped up slightly, as I knew that Kristin and Ryan were just a couple of blocks away, and started screaming when I saw them and their awesome signs, "Team Cooney" and "You are so smart and pretty!" I screamed a happy babble (like a drunken baby) and headed down to Boystown.

I spotted Tom again just south of Boystown, and unfortunately missed my aunt Nancy and cousins Elizabeth and Matthew shortly after! I felt a lot of positive energy and love from the crowd where they were stationed, so their cheers definitely worked. I was strong and confident.

And then....I hit mile 9.

Let me preface this by saying that while I am naturally pretty clumsy, I also have pretty quick reflexes. I almost wipe out at least once a day, and I catch myself 90% of the time. I have never fallen during a race. Ever. Nor have I ever fallen during a training run.

But of course, I would fall today.

While running through Lincoln Park, my mind started to wander and my foot caught on an uneven portion of the street. I went flying, and luckily Abby noticed because she quickly got out of my way and yelped, so the runners behind me avoided tripping over me. As I was going down, I thought to myself, "This is it. You're done." I landed on my right hand, left shoulder, left knee and sunglasses. I jumped up and noticed that my right shoe had come off as I fell so gracefully plummeted to the ground, which some spectators pointed out. I threw my shoe back on, inspected myself for road rash and cuts, and realized that other than a couple of scrapes, I was just fine. Abby and I walked for a moment to make sure my knee was ok, and took off running. She jokingly pointed out that I was going to feel the pain in my knee in a few hours, and I laughed that she was right, but hopefully we would be done by then.

I was mortified, but also really grateful that it wasn't worse. I would've felt terrible if I'd taken down Abby or someone else in front of me, and someone behind me could've been seriously hurt as well. But the fall did one good thing - it lit a fire under me. I was going to finish this race, and I was going to do it in under 5 hours. I still had a shot.

Around mile 11, Abby decided to slow down, so I sped up a bit. My goal was to hit the 13.1 mile marker in 2:30, and then I would pick up some speed before I hit the 20 mile mark. I felt quite strong, and smiled when I remembered how painful the Rock 'n Roll was in 2012. I had come far, thanks to my training.

My mom and Allie came in from Naperville to see me on the course, and Kati met up with the crew. As I approached 13.1, I saw my family with Tom and Hello Kitty. I read their signs ("Do this for Gordon Bombay!", "Cooney! Show me something, now!", "Zack Morris wants you to run!" and "Run, Lauren, run!") and cheered as I passed them. I was halfway there. The next time I would see them would be in Chinatown, after mile 21.

I picked up time during those 8 miles, and as I hit mile 18, I realized that I could slow down a bit and still finish in 5 hours. While Abby and I stuck to our run/walk intervals, I decided to ignore my watch and listen to my body. If I needed to walk, I'd walk - but if I was feeling strong, I'd keep running. I didn't want to overthink the run; I just wanted to enjoy the last stretch. I saw my CARA pace leader, Robyn, in the crowd during this stretch and gave her a big hug. She was sidelined with an injury a couple of months ago, but remained a great leader for our little group. Pace leaders like Robyn make CARA a great training program!

Everyone who's run a marathon talks about the wall that you hit at mile 20. On the Chicago course, there are few spectators from mile 22-24 and your body really starts to hurt at that point. I hit a small wall during that point, as my legs and feet were sore, but I pushed myself to keep going. If you keep going, I told myself, you will finish faster.

A little after mile 23, I felt a tap on my shoulder and heard a voice say, "Hi!!" It was Ben! I was so happy to see one of my pace buddies, and we began running together. He was hurting a bit, but in great spirits as we were getting closer to the finish. I looked down at my watch to see if I could still finish in 5 hours, and Ben encouraged me to run ahead and finish strong. I wished him well and took off towards mile 24.

And then my watch died. Crap.

I knew that I had to keep running if I was going to make 5 hours, especially without my watch to guide me. By this point, we were running north on Michigan Avenue. I knew that when I passed our condo, I would have 1 mile left to go. I would have just 6 blocks to go until Roosevelt - and then I was practically done! I kept running, and began looking for Tom and my family as I approached Roosevelt. I was going to see them one last time before I finished.

 Approaching Roosevelt. I may be smiling, but I just yelled, "I'm ready to finish now!"

Before approaching the finish chute, runners must run up Roosevelt to Columbus, which is on an incline. I have run up this hill many times, and it's certainly not my favorite thing to do - especially not after a 26 mile run. I vowed to run the entire hill, but stopped to walk for 10 seconds as I felt my heart race. The rush of almost being a marathoner was kicking in, and I was terrified that I was going to pass out!

I heard Tom's voice say, "I better see that kick at the finish!" in my head as I ran toward the finish line. I raised my arms over my head as I leapt onto the timing mat, relieved and incredibly happy to have conquered the marathon.

Walking through the finish area and to the spot where runners reunite with their posses took ages, but it was good to keep moving. All I wanted to do was sit down, but I knew I wouldn't be able to get up. I quickly found Tom, my mom, and Kati, and we chatted while I sipped my post race beer. Tom had been tracking me along the course, and confirmed that I had come in sub-5 at 4:59:31. It may be sub-5 by 29 seconds, but I'll take it!

Tom and me at the post-race party. I am so happy, but a bit sweaty!

My sister Kati, me and my mom at the post-race party. I am lucky to have such a fabulous family!

We headed to the Hilton so I could grab my gear (and bump into Jessica, who had a strong finish too!) and mentally prepare for the walk home. Kati took my mom back to Union Station so she could head back to Naperville, and Tom and I went to the Recovery Room. My legs felt much better after some time in the Normatec compression boots, and it gave me time to go through the texts and Facebook messages I received today.

I really am overwhelmed by all of the well wishes and kind things that people have said today and throughout my training, and I am forever grateful for all of it. This has been such a wonderful experience, and just reinforces the fact that I have the most fabulous friends and family.

I celebrated my race this evening with Tom, Kati and my sister Meg (who had to work today, unfortunately!) at Lou Malnati's. A couple of slices of deep dish pizza and a beer were exactly what I needed to finish this day!

Again, thanks to everyone for their awesome support today and always. And a special thanks to Tom and my family and friends for coming out today and spending their Sunday running around the city. Your support means a ton and made my race day great!

And before anyone asks, I'll do this again - either in 2014 or 2015. I want to go sub-4:30.

*I have such fabulous friends.
**My shoes do fit, so I know that's not the problem. It's usually only an issue when I try to go out too fast and my body reacts poorly.

My Spring/Summer of Blankets and Books

I'm clearly not a dedicated blogger at the moment...but I am a dedicated knitter.

Remember the blanket that I was making for my mom as a belated Mother's Day gift? The one I hoped to finish in July?

I finished it the day before Mother's Day!

This project still took quite a bit of time, but went much faster than I anticipated. I put in a lot of hours, especially as I finished this up, but the end result was well worth it:

Finished blanket and close-up of detail

I used the F343 Coffee Beenz Textured Throw pattern from Plymouth Yarn Company, which was available for free on Ravelry. I wanted to remain true to the pattern and use Coffee Beenz yarn, so I ordered some from yarn.com. I talked with my mom about what color she'd like for the blanket, and she said she would like either blue or green. The Coffee Beenz green wasn't super pretty, so I ordered Wedgewood. The pattern called for six skeins of yarn. I have only worked with balls of yarn, not skeins, but this yarn was easy to work with. 

I spent a lot of time knitting in late April/early May, and I realized that I would be able to finish the blanket for my mom in time for Mother's Day. I turned up the speed on the project pretty quickly once I had an actual deadline, and grew slightly frustrated once I realized I would need eight skeins of yarn instead of six. I placed my order for the two extra skeins a few days before I needed to complete the project, and pulled an all-nighter the Friday before Mother's Day to finish up the blanket.

The pattern is very easy and was quite manageable on large circular needles. I love the texturized look of the blanket, and the finished product is super cozy. The pattern said that the finished blanket would be 32x32", but it's definitely bigger - which I like. I tested it out on my own lap before giving it to my mom, and it was the perfect size. She was very happy with her Mother's Day gift!

I was happy with it too...so happy, in fact, that I decided to make a blanket of my own.

While searching for a pattern for my mom's blanket, I came across one that I liked on Ravelry. It was a little complicated, but I loved the colors used in the pattern. I decided to make myself a blanket using the same pattern that I used for my mom's, but with some of the colors in the other blanket pattern. Instead of being one color, my blanket would be striped. 

The yarn I used is called Manos del Uruguay Maxima. The colors I chose are Oxygen (a very light blue), Eucalyptus (a dark green), Foil (gray) and Coral (....coral). Knowing that I would need eight skeins of yarn this time around, I wanted to be prepared.

While I am thrilled with how the finished product turned out, working with this yarn was a bit of a pain at first. I may have thrown a slight tantrum, screamed, "KNITTING IS STUPID!", and thrown my yarn on the ground. Because I'm a child. 

See, this yarn arrived in skeins, like the Coffee Beenz yarn. Unfortunately, these skeins were very difficult to work with. The yarn was knotted at some points, and the strands would stick to the rest of the skein as I would try to knit. 

Luckily, I have Tom. He suggested that we wind the skeins into balls ourselves and offered to help me do it. This was a huge lifesaver, but took up a lot of time. If anyone has suggestions on how to wind skeins up quickly, I would love to hear any advice!

Once my yarn was wound up, I was ready to rock. This was my first time working with multiple colors in a pattern, but I was confident I could handle the challenge. As long as I attached the new balls of yarn on the same side of the project, I knew that the blanket would look great.

I took my time on this one, as I didn't have an actual deadline. I love the final product, but of course, there are a couple places I could've improved.

I didn't have any set plan as to how many rows I would do for each color. I figured I would simply knit the first color until I ran out of yarn, and then handle the other colors the same way.

The problem was that the skeins of yarn were not uniform in size. They were advertised that way on the website, but there were definitely differences - especially with the Coral, which was my final color. I could've knit five more rows with one of the skeins, but I ran out of yarn on the other skein. The yarn is held double throughout the pattern, so once I ran out of a skein in a certain color, I was finished with that color. This was slightly annoying, but since I was just making the blanket for myself, it wasn't that big of a deal.

Here's the (sort of) final product! I still have to weave in the ends, but I wanted to put up a picture here:

I'm really happy with it! I like that you can see the texturized pattern a bit more, since the colors I used in my blanket are solid. I do think the colors offered in the Manos del Uruguay line are beautiful, and I'm glad that I stuck with this project. I'm so excited to use this for my fabulous Real Housewives/movie nights.

Now I need to think of what I'll do next. I need to finish up a hat that I started making for Tom a couple of months ago, which should take about an hour to finish. I still need to work on my cowl scarf, which I put down once I started working on my mom's blanket. 

I think blankets may be my favorite thing to make though. I like having a long-term project, especially one that I can work on while watching movies. I'm currently training for the Chicago Marathon, so my knitting time has been reduced, but I still want to have some things to work on for the rest of the summer/early fall. I may take a socks class at Loopy Yarns, as Bree has raved about making socks, and perhaps I will look into making a sweater as well!

In other news....I have been reading like crazy. If any of you are looking for some funny reads, I have been going through a bunch of good books this summer. Here are some of my favorites:

• Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan: I (obviously) don't have kids, but I thought this book about raising five kids is hysterical. I love Jim Gaffigan (Tom and I went to see him in April) and love his self-deprecating humor about being pale. If you've ever seen any of his comedy specials, some of the jokes will be familiar, but the book has plenty of new material.
  
• The Potty Mouth at the Table by Laurie Notaro: I love Laurie Notaro. She writes incredibly funny memoirs in a short story format, so they're easy and hilarious reads. I read Autobiography of a Fat Bride last summer and couldn't stop laughing at how suspicious she was of her husband when they started dating. He acted like a gentleman towards her, and she kept thinking that he was obviously some sort of freak. Clearly, that's how I felt about Tom when we started dating. The Potty Mouth at the Table made me laugh out loud and I'm already excited for her next book to come out.
  
• Dear Girls Above Me by Charlie McDowell: Recently dumped Charlie lives below two twenty-something girls and can hear all of their (not so fabulous) conversations. He details his breakup, trying to decide if his fabulous roommate is gay, and dealing with the annoying girls upstairs. As someone who could once hear a little too much of her neighbors, I thought this book was hysterical. This is a very light read - I finished it in a day - and good for someone dealing with annoying neighbors.

Right now I am working on The Tao of Martha by Jen Lancaster (my favorite Chicago author - check her out!) and Cool, Calm and Contentious by Merrill Markoe. Clearly, I like memoirs - but I am always up for  good fiction! Any book recommendations are always appreciated.

Where Did April Go?

Seriously, where did the month of April go?

Today, it hit me that I had several emails/Facebook messages that I forgot to reply to, making me realize that a) I really need to figure out a system to remember to respond to my Gmail and FB messages (since I can't access them on my work computer), and b) it's nearly the end of the month.

I'm sorry for being MIA, dear friends. But April insanity brings May calm, so hopefully I will be able to blog more and go back to being a good semi-decent communicator!

Here's what I've been up to:

1. Knitting. Like. Crazy.

My knitting obsession has officially replaced my iPad addiction. For the past few months, I've grown used to reading blogs and other news (....or celebrity gossip) on my iPad after work for hours. After Tom pointed out that I might be borderline addicted to the iPad, I made a concerted effort to use it less.

After I started knitting, I started working on my projects after work or while we watch movies. My iPad addiction was gone! This was partly because I had to complete homework as part of my class and wanted to make sure that I didn't fall behind on my work. 

I finished my scarf the week after my class ended. Here it is!

My first scarf!

While I was taking my class, my friend Shara (an expert knitter!) recommended that I check out Ravelry. Oh. My. Gosh. This website is amazing! I found tons of awesome patterns (for free!), reviews on different brands of yarn, and knitting tricks and tips.

I flagged a couple of patterns that I was interested in doing - including the blanket for my mom that I mentioned in my last post and a cowl scarf for me. I also wanted to make a scarf for my sister Allie and a hat for Tom, so I knew that I would have plenty of projects to keep me busy.

Chicago was hit with some pretty nasty weather a couple of weeks ago, and I decided to make a visit to the yarn store on the first night of our crazy rain. It was my first time picking yarn out by myself, and it was slightly intimidating. I was very caught up on getting the specific brands listed in the patterns, but realized that as long as I get the correct blends/weightings, it didn't necessarily matter if I purchased the brand in the pattern.

I got to work on Allie's scarf and turned it around within a week. My teacher told me that the general rule for scarves is to make them as long as you are tall. I'm 5'8", so my scarf took quite awhile. Allie is a few inches shorter than me, so I knocked her scarf out considerably faster than my own.

Unfortunately, she picked up the scarf this afternoon and I forgot to take a picture of it! I used a gray and white Cascade 220 yarn to make her scarf. This is the same brand I used to make my scarf and hat, and I find it really easy to work with. It doesn't shed at all and is easy to handle - and it's very soft! The pattern was 2x2 ribbing and it looked pretty good. My scarf has a number of flaws, since it was the first thing I worked on, but hers is pretty perfect.

The pattern for my mom's blanket called for a lot of yarn - six skeins to be exact - so I decided to try ordering that online. I was worried that the color wouldn't match what was on the website, but it looks perfect. I am using Coffee Beenz yarn, which is super soft and sheds slightly while knitting. I started working on the blanket this week and find it to be easy so far. I'm using circular needles, making the weight manageable, and the needles are pretty thick. Check it out:

Mary Cooney's future favorite blanket

I'm curious to see how quickly I can turn this around. While I was intending for the blanket to be a long-term project that I would work on sporadically, I'm going to make this my main project for now. I still think it'll take quite a bit of time, but I would like to be able to give this to my mom by July. I'll call it a belated Mother's Day gift.

     2.  Winning.  

Yes, I made an outdated Charlie Sheen reference. Would you expect anything less from me?

I started volunteering for Minds Matter of Chicago this year. MM is an organization that provides mentoring services to high-potential high school students who don't have the resources to end up on a college track. This organization rocks. Tom volunteered as a mentor and then as Director of Mentors, and stepped off the team this year. I decided to volunteer (keeping it in the family) on the marketing team, and I'm liking it so far.

Last night was MM's annual Spring for the Students fundraiser. I went to last year's SFTS with Tom and thought it was awesome. The food was delicious, I'm always a fan of never-ending wine, and the silent auction items were cool. When I heard that this year's event was going to be at the Museum of Contemporary Art, I was very excited. I'm a bad Chicagoan and had never been there before!

After a couple of wardrobe malfunctions (and by wardrobe malfunctions, I mean that I decided that I hated everything in my closet...just for a minute), Tom and I headed to the MCA. This year's event was even better than last year's, and I was blown away by what everyone wore. I wanted to borrow almost all of the dresses that I saw! The silent auction items were amazing as well. Even more fabulous - bidding could be done through texting. I could outbid someone while hovering over the dessert buffet (and I did!) across the room.

I love silent auctions. I like bidding on things (hence my eBay obsession of 2009) and it's fun because it goes to a great cause. I ended up winning both of the items I was eyeing:

• A Chicago staycation, which includes a night at the Wit hotel, dinner at Bin 36 and a HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE. I have been wanting to do a hot air balloon ride for a really long time, and the second I saw that, I knew that item was mine. Poor Tom will likely end up with a broken hand, as I'm actually terrified of heights and will squeeze his hand when I'm scared, but I'm so excited to go up in a balloon!
• A Guerlain makeover package, which is seriously awesome. The makeover is for four people and the package included a gift box of Guerlain products. I. Love. Products. I love lotions, face masks, lip gloss, mascara...everything.

I had never heard of Guerlain, but I figured that it would be a fun outing for my sisters and me (good things come in fours...). I was able to pick up my gift box at the end of the night, which caused me to scream, "OH MY GOD I GET TO TAKE HOME MY PRESENTS!" I really am such a delight to live with. Tom is so lucky.

When we got home, I looked up some of the products online to see what the reviews were like. And oh. My. Gosh. This is fancy stuff. Like...really, really nice stuff - way out of the realm of possibility for me to purchase normally. I am so excited to use it! I've been playing with the lip gloss all day today - it's gorgeous AND it smells nice! Just ask Tom, since I made him smell my mouth. Really, I'm such a delight.

      3.  Work.

To support my knitting and silent auction obsessions, I work. I'm lucky in that I like my company, the work that I do, and the people who surround me every day. But, I've been incredibly busy lately. Things will even out soon though - and in the meantime, I'll keep knitting and staying fabulous.

My Fabulous Hat (and Scarf Progress Photos)!

I officially completed my first knitting project last night!

I apologize for the lack of blog posts. Somehow, I have been incredibly busy the past few weeks, although I don't know if I could tell you what I was up to. These weeks went by in a blur of delicious food, prosecco, and movie nights.

Last week in class, we started working on our hats. When my teacher said that we were going to be finishing our hats in the following class, I thought she was kidding, but it was a surprisingly easy project.

Every time I learn a new knitting technique, my initial internal reaction is, "No way. I can't do that!" I've learned that I take that approach to a lot of things, and I feel like I have let myself miss out on new experiences in the past because of it. I pushed aside any fear of messing up (what did I have to lose, really?) and found that the knitting techniques and skills that I was learning were actually quite intuitive.

We used circular needles for the hat, which I thought I would dislike. I had gotten used to working with regular needles for the scarf, but after working on my hat, I prefer the circular needles. It's easier to hold the project in my lap, and I feel like there were no interruptions as I created new rows.

My homework was to make a 6 inch tube by Wednesday, and then we finished the hat in class. Decreasing the stitches was tricky at first, but I think I have the hang of it and will do well on my next hat.

The hat is ribbed (2x2) and fits perfectly. Even though it's April, it was cold last night in Chicago, so I wore it home. Here it is!

Now that I am done with my hat, I can concentrate on my scarf. It's been easy to make the time to knit, since Tom and I watch a lot of movies (and I watch a lot of bad TV). While watching Iron Man and Iron Man 2 over the weekend, I got a LOT of work done. Combining three of my favorite things (Tom, Tony Stark/Robert Downey, Jr., and my new knitting hobby) never felt so fabulous!

Here is my scarf. I still have quite a bit of work to do, but I should be able to finish it by Wednesday. Tom and I are going to St. Louis this weekend for his fabulous sister's bridal shower, so I will have plenty of knitting time on the train. I'm really excited to have that time to relax and knit!

One of my homework assignments for this week was to pick out a pattern that I want to make next. I am debating what to do. I have already promised a scarf to my sister and a hat to Tom, which will be easy since they want the same color. But what else should I do? I'm tempted to try a blanket for my mom, but is that too complicated? What's a good long-term project for a new knitter?

Everybody's Working for the Weekend

Nick Offerman hates the mentality of "Thank God it's Friday."

Why?

Because why is it ok for us to not love life 5 days out of the week? Why are we living for two days out of the week?

And who is Nick Offerman and why should I care what he says?

Nick Offerman is best known as Ron Swanson, the greatest character on Parks and Recreation. He is also the object of my sister Allie's affection. My sister, her lovely friend Jen, and I went to Milwaukee a few weeks ago to check out Nick's stand-up show. The theme was 10 Rules to Living a Prosperous Life.

The show was hilarious, but it also carried a really great message. While blasting the TGIF mentality, Nick acknowledged the reality that many people cannot do what they love for a living. However, he stressed the importance of finding a hobby that keeps you happy during the week.

This is something I've thought about a lot lately. I am an anxious person, with a mind that constantly races even when times are calm. It is not my finest quality, but I am trying to find ways to channel my nervous energy. Boxing, yoga and reading help me relax, but I've been seeking something creative.

So when Nick Offerman suggested knitting as a hobby, I decided that would be my new adventure.

I have never tried knitting before, but I knew that plenty of places in the city offered classes for beginners. I found a studio in my neighborhood and attended my first class on Wednesday.

I. Love. It.

I don't really "zone out". I make mental lists during savasana and plan the next day's outfit during boxing.

But I zoned out during my knitting class. For two hours, I concentrated on knitting and purling. I didn't think about work or my weekend plans. I focused on having fun and putting together something fabulous.

I seriously loved it. My favorite part of the experience was coming home and showing Tom my first stitches. I felt like a little kid coming home and showing off a drawing. Tom joked that we could take a picture of my stitches and put it on the fridge.

But why put a picture on the fridge when I can post it on my blog?

I will be making a scarf and a hat over the next five weeks and I'll post pictures of my progress. I am excited to see how they turn out!

I Got 99 Problems, But a Chip Ain't One

Even though I hate the new Justin Timberlake/Jay-Z song, I'll still give Jay-Z props in my blog. Because well, he's pretty cool and snubbed Kim Kardashian at an awards show.

Just google it. It made me giggle.

Anyways. I started a new job over the summer and one thing immediately caught my attention.

The women I work with have fantastic manicures ALL THE TIME. Their nails look shiny and perfect every day.

I am no stranger to manicures. While my unmarried domestic partner thinks I got them on a weekly basis, I would often get a manicure every couple of weeks. Despite having hands that resemble catchers mitts, I do have nice nails. Manicures lift my spirit and make my hands presentable, so I allowed myself the bimonthly indulgence.

The problem I had is that my nails would chip within the first couple of days, if not sooner. Even if I was super careful walking the 2 blocks from the nail salon to my house, I would usually end up chipping a nail while opening my front door. I drink about 75 cups of coffee a day, so I couldn't exactly fix the polish myself without painting my arm. I would scold myself silently for ruining my manicure and hope that nobody else would notice my flawed nails.

So how in the world did these women have such amazing looking nails, when I could barely make a manicure last 48 hours?

No-chip manicures.

I'd heard of the no-chip manicure - I'm a Groupon user and they seem to have a no-chip deal every week. But I thought it was similar to putting on acrylic nails, which I did when I was a teenager. Tanning, bleaching my hair and wearing acrylic nails are mistakes I wish I'd avoided in my teens. Thinking that the no-chip would destroy my nails like acrylics, I said no to no-chip.*

But after talking to a few co-workers, I decided to give it a shot. I went to my normal nail salon shortly before Christmas to try it out. My biggest fear was outgrowth, as my nails grow quite fast. My technician assured me that wouldn't be an issue. I chose a purple polish (this was one of the few "fun" colors, as the no-chip polish selection selection is limited) and got started on my life changing manicure.

The no-chip application is simple. The technician will apply a base coat, two polish coats and a top coat. After each coat application, you put your hands under a UV light, allowing the polish to set and dry. The application takes longer than your typical manicure, but when your manicure is finished, your nails are totally dry. Totally. Dry. They are also super shiny, which lasts forever...or until you remove the manicure.

But.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to certain things - including my nails. I immediately noticed some flaws upon coming home. On some nails, the polish didn't come all the way down to the base of the nail, so it already looked like there was some outgrowth. The polish application on some nails was quite thick, which looked odd to me. Lastly, some polish was on my skin. That does NOT come off with soap and water. My unmarried domestic partner poked fun at my observations, but no-chips are not cheap. For $45, I expect a really fantastic manicure - especially if it's supposed to last 2+ weeks.

I planned to leave it on for a couple of weeks, but ended up having to leave it on for 3. You see, I got 6 stitches on New Year's Day after I jammed my thumb into the blade of a mandolin. To remove a no-chip, you have to go to a salon. They use an acetone remover to take the no-chip off of your nails, and I did not want any chemicals getting on my cut!

My polish did not chip, so it did live up to its promise. But I did research in those 3 weeks and found a salon that was a little more affordable and had fantastic ratings for its no-chip manicure.

I went to Nas Salon (3757 N. Racine) on Wednesday and I am in LOVE. I cannot stop looking at my hands and have been waving them in Tom's face every day. I think he's hoping I'll stop but I NEVER WILL.**

Nas offers 40-50 polish colors for no-chip, and I chose a sparkly red for my nails. It. Is. Fabulous. My technician used new tools to do my manicure and was quick and thorough. She checked my nails after applying each coat to make sure that everything looked even and to ensure that no polish ended up on my skin. The best part? There was no extra charge to remove my old manicure. Some salons will charge you $10 for this, which I think is insane if you're getting another manicure done.

I am officially a no-chip addict. I love that I can beat up on my nails (I apparently type like I'm punching the keyboard) and they still look good. It's a total splurge, but it makes me feel extra fabulous knowing that my nails are shiny and flawless.

If you want to try it, do your research. Some salons do try and cut corners, particularly in the removal process, and that is how you can damage your nails. Hit up Yelp and find your nail salon match - and show me your pretty manicure! I need polish ideas!

*Just like Johnny Dakota said nope to dope on Saved by the Bell (and then smoked pot) and Brandon Tartikoff made an appearance on the show and claimed to be best friends with Mr. Belding. Tartikoff was way too cool for Mr. B.

**I am lucky that Tom is such a saint and supports my love of manicures and Rob Lowe.

Photo: My no-chip manicure 5 days in. The color reminds me of Dorothy's slippers in The Wizard of Oz. I was clearly going for something understated.

2013: Embracing the Casual

I decided to end 2012 by doing the unthinkable.

I. Bought. Pants. Made. Of. Denim. On. Purpose.

Not only did I buy jeans, I bought skinny jeans AND jeggings.

If you know me, then you know this purchase goes against everything I stand for. I am almost always in a dress and can no longer keep track of how many I own. I shop online when I'm stressed.* I'm pretty sure that my picture is framed in the corporate office of 6pm.com. Only recently did I hop on the leggings bandwagon, and that is because I feel that they are sweatpants that I can wear in public.

My explanation for my strong hatred of pants is simple - I don't find them to be comfortable. I carry my weight in my midsection and butt, so trying to button anything across my tummy is annoying to me. Even if pants are loose, I still find the button to be irritating. Perhaps it's my free spirit not wanting to be restricted?**

Truthfully, dresses are easy - and I'm lazy. Wearing pants means that I need to pick out an appropriate top, and when I'm struggling to get out of bed, the last thing I want to do is ask myself if my shirt is safe for work. Wearing a dress from the Lauren Cooney Business Fabulous Collection is quick and simple.

So what made me buy jeans?

Brandi Glanville.

You see, I have a number of vices. While dresses are my main vice, stilettos, prosecco and the Bravo network are tied for second. There are few things that bring me as much joy as a Real Housewives marathon and a glass of prosecco.

I was watching an episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills a few weeks ago. The ladies were gathering for lunch at Lisa Vanderpump's restaurant, each looking like they walked straight off the set of Dynasty. Look, I love dresses and glamour as much as anyone, but sequined dresses are not appropriate for a weekday lunch.

Enter Brandi. Wearing a simple white button-down shirt, skinny jeans and straight hair, Brandi looked stunning. She was fabulous and casual at the same time - she had achieved the impossible.

"I could be casual," I thought. "I can wear jeans and tops just like Brandi."

But then that little voice of doubt spoke up...

"She's a 6' tall model. You're 5'8" and just polished off a bag of chips."

I finished my glass of prosecco, told my voice of doubt to shut it, and went on The Limited's website.

My sister, Allie, introduced me to The Limited last year when I needed some new suits. I hate buying suits, but they're a necessary evil for my job. Color me surprised when I found that The Limited makes suits that are both cute and comfortable - and affordable! Their pants fit me well, and I decided to give their denim a shot.

I ordered their coated jean leggings, which are black jeggings with a little bit of sparkle. My size varies between two numbers, and I intended to order the larger size, so that the jeggings wouldn't be too tight. I decided to read the reviews before ordering, and I'm glad that I did. Most people advised to order the smaller size if you were between sizes, since the jeggings stretch a bit. I am glad that I did! They are definitely snug on the legs, but they stretch a lot in the waist. They would've been too big if I had ordered the larger size.

I ordered jeans because I wanted something to wear to work on casual Fridays. These are definitely not work appropriate, but perfect for a night out.

I also ordered the 678 5-pocket skinny jeans. These intimidated the hell out of me, as I have never worn skinny jeans. I tried these on and immediately loved them. They are so comfortable! They stretch just enough and are work appropriate. Tom, my unmarried domestic partner (or boyfriend, for short) took notice of my new jeans and declared himself a fan.

One of my resolutions for 2013 is to take more risks. I suppose it's time to take my first risk - the risk of being casual.

*On the day I resigned from my last job, I bought 7 dresses. That was not my finest moment. I returned 2 of them.
**Said the uptight girl with the Type A personality. Free spirit my ass.