“Running is just a small part that makes me happy and it will
always be there for me when I’m ready to come back to it! Oh, and
remember that I am still a runner, even if I’m not running for a little bit.”
I can’t remember what blog I stole this from, but it’s one I read
regularly and this statement really hit home for me. As I’m sure you all well know (those of you that
are still sticking around, that is), I have not been running much at all. Like, weeks will pass between me going out
for runs. It’s not for lack of WANTING
to run. It’s a whole combination of
different things all added up together. First,
I’m still working an average of 64 hours a week. Second, if I’m not working double shifts, I’m
most likely at my boyfriend’s house (oh yeah, I started dating someone about 6
months ago). Third, I’ve been heavily
distracted with crafting and costume making.
Fourth, if I have down time from those other 3 things, I’m exhausted and
don’t want to do anything and if I do anything at all, then I’m cooking and/or
cleaning.
Anyway, the gist of me including that quote is that even though I’m
not really running right now, I’m holding onto my identity as a runner. I’m not willing to give that up. I’m just on a hiatus right now. I’ll get back into it. I know I will. I love it too much.
So…even though none of this will be running related, let me fill
you in on what I’ve been up to! First,
it’s been exactly a month since my last post.
My response to that? Oops. I’m really sorry, I truly am, but I’ve just
been so preoccupied with everything else going on in my life right now. I’ve wanted to write posts, but when I sit
down to write, I can’t think of anything.
My last post, I wrote about costumes and contacts. I did end up buying a full 6 month supply of
daily wear contacts. That will last me
quite a while as I only intend to wear them while sporting a costume or if I’m
going to be outside all day, that way I can wear some stylish sunglasses (of
course, if I’m doing something sporty, then I’ll wear my most awesome
double-tinted prescription sunglasses). I
had just completed pirate jacket #2. So let’s
pick up there…with the pirate jackets.
I have now completed THREE pirate jackets! And I will tell you right now, the third one
is my favorite. First, it’s pink…well,
more of a dusty mauve, really. Second,
it’s corduroy! And thirdly, I’d already
made 2 jackets before it, so I pretty much had all the “bugs” worked out of the
process of making this pattern…namely with the sizing issues I was having. Also, it just plain looks fantastic and
unique. I also received my pirate hat in
the mail and I love it! I was able to
decorate it without using glue or poking extra holes in it. So I’m pretty happy with that.
I also started working on a scalemail bra which I plan to pair
with a kilt for wearing after hours at the renaissance festival. Scalemail is actually fairly easy once you
figure it out, it’s just tedious and takes a while. But, I’m really happy with how it’s going so far. I’m completely done with one side of it and a
little over half done with the second side.
I’ve recently relearned how to do the basic knit stitch! I’m pretty excited about this and am already
2 skeins into a scarf! I’m going to do
another ½ skein and then finish it off. Then
I’ll start work on a scarf for the boyfriend as part of his Christmas present…pretty
excited about doing that for him. after I’m
done with his scarf, I’ll hit up the YouTube videos on how to knit a beanie hat
with the remainder of the yarn for my scarf so I have a matching set! So that’ll be fun!
Another thing that has happened is I got another tattoo! I love it!
It was done by an apprentice artist and she really did a fantastic job
and I would totally get another tattoo from her. I do plan to have my regular artist add to
this tattoo by doing a background of a tattered American flag behind the eagle.
The boyfriend and I also went out to his friend with the leathershop's place and made sheaths for our spearheads and I'm pretty happy with how mine turned out. However, I do wish that when I asked him which leather dye would match the leather wrapping that was already on the spear that he had told me the correct one. Oh well, I do like how it turned out and how the dye isn't solid in its coloring.
I cooked some Indian food (a mash up of beef curry and tikka masala which is good but not exactly what I was hoping it would be) and made this rice recipe that called for saffron...so I bought saffron! I went to this awesome spice shop in the Arboretum in Austin called Savory Spice Shop. I highly recommend this place. The staff is super friend and knowledgeable and the selection is huge! While there, discovered that coriander leaf is another name for...drum roll...cilantro. HA! I felt a little silly when I found that out. And they threw in a free baggie of vanilla bean sugar, which I gave to the boyfriend.
During the last month, boyfriend and I attended a Viking Feast event at a local brewery. Dressing up in garb was encouraged and we jumped at the chance to do a test run with our Viking garb! We got there a little early and we were getting ourselves pieced together at the same time as the Viking Invasion re-enactors, so we struck up conversation with them. We got lots of compliments throughout the night, including the re-enactors referring to us as "the pretty people"...HA! Then, one of them gave us a little private lesson on hand axe fighting. That was pretty awesome!
I think that's pretty much all my updates from the past month. I, again, apologize for my lack of posts.
