After the class was over, I did nothing for two days and then picked up the Hunger Games trilogy. In 8 days I read all 3 books, which is insane for me. Now Diablo 3 is out and I finally got to play last night, seconds after I had finished Mocking Jay. Of course, my online statistics class starts on Monday. Can you not feel the love for this?

Right now I have a little girl trying very hard to nap but talking up a storm and going everywhere, so I will cut this short. I have a few posts planned for the coming weeks that should get me back into the habit of writing.

No, YOU take a nap, Mommy!

Since I’m in such a foul mood, I decided to do a post on what annoys me about running.

Running Skirts

Do we really have to “girliefy” everything? You are running. Put on a damn pair of pants. If you want, make it pink, flower print, or cute little puppy dogs with hearts and flowers proclaiming how you ruff someone. I don’t care, but at least wear pants. I don’t need a skirt to show people that I’m a girl. That’s what the boobs are for. And speaking of boobs…

Sports Bras

Either women with absolutely no chest or men design sports bras,  because no woman over an A cup would throw on a piece of spandex with a “thick band around the bottom and think that will support a woman with breasts that, if not properly strapped in, will poke her eye out. And yes, there are some good sports bras out there, but they are hard to find and are expensive. When I run, I want the girls so squished down that I look like a prepubescent boy. Why? Because it HURTS otherwise. Things move, things pull, then things hurt, and then you’re blind because a nipple poked your eye out and it’s been left at mile 2 because I’ll be damned if I’m going back to squish it back in and ruin my chance to PR.

The fact that I know about PR, bonking, fartlek, etc.

Need I say more?

You don’t know from rough. I have to fight crime every day!

I have to say that I feel for every vegetarian and vegan out there who do this every day, because they choose a different way of eating and are in the minority, their options while out can be vastly limited. I found that if I was lucky, the restaurant would have one token vegetarian option. If I was super lucky it would be something I would actually want to eat. Were I trying to be vegan, many of those options were full of cheese or cream and wouldn’t work. And this was in LA!! Of course, a highly touristy part catering to outsiders, but still.

The buffets at the class and training were worse. Only one day included a meal with a dominant vegetarian entree–veggie lasagna. The rest of the meals provided were predominately meat and I had to make do with rice, salad, and if I was lucky, beans. Let me tell you, the lack of protein options was tough.

Here’s the thing that restaurants, conferences, office parties, etc. don’t understand. It doesn’t have to be that tough to provide for vegetarians and vegans. Beans, lentils, nuts, soy, quinoa, tempeh, vegetables, pasta, brown rice, etc. are out there and easy to incorporate into a menu. Granted, not all are cheap, but some can be quite cost effective. If your only option is going to be a salad then at least provide a salad that has some, pardon the pun, meat to it. A lettuce, tomato, and onion salad with sprinkled cheese and maybe one lone cucumber just won’t cut it. Provide options for people.

Look at McDonalds. I don’t know of one straightforward vegetarian option on the list. I can get a paltry salad with no chicken, but then what’s left? Cheese, lettuce, maybe two tomatoes? You could get the apples with walnuts and possibly mix the two. If that’s the case, why can’t McDonalds do that and offer it as a meal? At least Burger King has that horrible veggie burger that some how sucks the life out of every sandwich I get. All McDonalds needs to do is make a black bean/soy burger or a salad that is built for vegetarians in mind, with beans, nuts, or dare I say more veggies. And I don’t mean to pick on McDonalds specifically. Wendy’s has similarly limited options (would it kill you to have a vegetarian chili?). And while Burger King has a veggie burger, it’s pretty mediocre and not much else on the menu.

I am actually quite lucky. I did the week as a vegetarian on a whim, to see if I could do it. If there was nothing for me to eat, I could always fall back to meat. Not everyone is so lucky.  I decided to try my social experiment, because I’m on that precipice where I’m not ready to give up meat, but I’m flirting with giving it up. What I found was that I missed meat. I did decided to make more of an effort to cut back on it again, but not give it up completely. I am fortunate that I live in an area with many great restaurants and stores with many great options for a vegetarian and vegan lifestyle, and I’m going to do my best to support them.

Leave it to the Blue Booger to provide more food options!

I have to back up here a bit. My friend, Yarnkettle, decided to try a smaller sock yarn club. Hers lasts for three months and I think only sends yarn. For two months I watched as she blogged about the yarns she received–both extremely beautiful. At our February knitting group, right before I was to receive my yarn she asked me a question. One that would freak me out and make me panic until I received my shipment. At least I think it was at group, it may have been earlier. What? I have old-lady brain!

Yarnkettle asked if I was worried about getting a color I didn’t like.

Or at least it was something like that. Again, old-lady brain. It may have been what color would I hate to get.

Up until then, I wasn’t worried about the yarn. I figured I’d love anything I got and really, I kind of like all colors. But it got me thinking and I got worried. My shipment wasn’t here yet. Enter minor freak out. Why am I freaking out about yarn? Because I can. What if it was…um…and that’s the thing. I can’t think of anything I would out and out hate. I’m sure it’s out there and I know I’ve seen it sitting on yarn store shelves, but I can’t think of it. Yet I was worried about it.

Needless to say, I didn’t need to be worried.

I don’t think this photo quite does the red justice.

It is beautiful, and it came with a little project bag! The yarn is Richness of Martens Fingering
by Alisha Goes Around. It’s 4 ply fingering and 75% Merino, 15% Cashmere, and 10% Silk. It’s like petting heaven covered in fur.

Bag, card, and yarn.

I should take that as a life lesson to stop worrying. Yeah, because that will happen. Not only do I love the yarn, but I like the cookie recipes which are fortune cookies and flourless fiery chocolate cookies which will be made for knitting. Hopefully. I’ve started one of the sock patterns with a different yarn, and I’ve cast on a cowl with the sock yarn sent because as much as I’d love the yarn on my feet, I’d like it more around my neck. Of course this means I’m back to my ADD ways and working on 3 projects. Fun, fun, fun.

The sock I started is Makoto. The easier of the two patterns. I’m making it with Socks that Rock I picked up at Rhinebeck the last time I went. I have to admit, Makoto was not my favorite of the two patterns, but the more I looked at it, the more I liked it. I’m almost done with the first sock and will hopefully finish before the end of the month. Except, I’m not sure what day it is.

It’s little fortune cookies!