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…some COLOR!

Have you heard of Laptop Lunches? They are my new very favorite. I was never feeling motivated to make a healthy lunch. I’d either make a boring sandwich or grab some leftovers. One day I found the Laptop Lunch website.. and then I found the Laptop Lunch Flickr Pool. Talk about motivation and inspiration! I love filling the bento box containers with different things and trying to incorporate fruits and veggies with every lunch. It’s also great to see parents make healthy lunches for their kids while generating less trash. If a lot of kids (or adults for that matter) stopped bringing all those disposable bags and containers for lunch, think of how much less trash there would be! The containers seem small at first, but once you fill everything up it’s actually sort of heavy… and there’s definitely plenty of food. You’ll find yourself eating a variety of foods with more nutritional value. 1

Go get yourself a set today! Don’t forget an extra set of inner containers so you don’t have to wash them *every* night. I’m thinking of getting the insulated carrying case because it has some extra room if the dipping container doesn’t fit in the lunchbox. Their newsletter said prices are going up soon! The products may seem expensive at first, but you’ll probably save money by going out for lunch less. It is a small company with mostly USA made products, read the FAQ and About Us for more info. I hope you have as much fun making your lunches healthy as I have! (Hint: pack lunchbox after dinner while you’re still in “food” mode, the leftovers are out, and you’re not in a rush).

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I would like to thank the Academy for giving me the opportunity to sit down and knit during the Oscars. It’s actually starting to look like a sweater!

I put half the stitches on another long circular needle to try it on and it seems to be fitting pretty well. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

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Yup, it’s a sweater. A top-down v-neck from Knitting Pure & Simple. It doesn’t look like much yet. I’m looking forward to joining it in the round for some mindless knitting. I’m using Lorna’s Laces worsted weight yarn in color Cedar. I’m having second thoughts about knitting a long sleeved wool sweater in California with summer approaching quickly (in knitting terms). However, this is supposed to be my first foray into adult sweater knitting with the primary purpose of understanding the top-down techniques. It’s all good.

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Dear John Mayer,
I think your blog is really funny. You’ve always found time to entertain us with your creative writing and wit, even on tour. You must be too busy cavorting with Jessica Simpson to post to your blog. I’m disappointed! Not even a post about your Grammy win? Wake up, John Mayer. Wake up!

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(do you watch 30 Rock?)

A Valentine’s Day bouquet doesn’t get any better than this.
It must be love!

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I’ve done it. I’ve actually completed a pair of socks. The pattern is Thuja from knitty.com with Artyarns Supermerino wool.

In addition, (yes, that’s right, more than one accomplishment here today), I completed 21 miles of cross country skiing in two days. Does it rain at 8,000 feet in the middle of February? It can, and it did, on Saturday during my 11.5 mile ski to Glacier Point in Yosemite. It did snow overnight and I got what I wished for. How do I choose which pictures to represent this experience?

In some strange wonder of nature, this scene was only visible for about 45 minutes. Afterwards, it was completely clouded over. All that could be seen was gray without even a hint of the mountains. I was hoping for a money shot like this or better, but the weather wouldn’t allow it. Maybe next time? For now, it’s back to nursing the sore muscles in the arches of my feet and my gluteus maximus.

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For lack of other news, here are some photos from our trip last weekend to Bear Valley, CA. We took a 4 hour telemark skiing class. My telemark-ing wasn’t so pretty and it was harder than I thought it would be. For that reason, you will not be seeing any you-tube videos of me skiing from last weekend! I did however, find it enjoyable. I really like the telemark boots, bindings, and skis because they are easier to get around in. You can downhill ski just as easily as typical alpine gear, but with the option to do telemark turns and touring in the backcountry. My challenge is that I have weak quads and short achilles tendons so it was probably a bit more difficult for me to keep my heel(s) down and bend my knees and keep my weight centered or forward at the appropriate times. I started alpine skiing as a kid so that’s much easier for me… I guess I can’t expect to learn telemark in a day. *pout*.

As with many of our adventures in California, I was pleasantly surprised at the gorgeous views from Bear Valley ski resort. No, it’s not Lake Tahoe and it is more of a family resort, but I thought the views were grand. Doesn’t take much to impress a Chicagoan I guess! Bonus: it’s not Lake Tahoe and you don’t have to deal with all the Tahoe skiing traffic. Also, I just have to say, skiing in the Sierra Nevada is just so dang PLEASANT! It’s so warm when it’s sunny. Definitely not like chilly midwestern skiing.

Views of the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness on the left and the Mokelumne River Canyon on the right (the second deepest canyon in California, Kings Canyon is number 1).
Next up: Cross country skiing to Glacier Point in Yosemite this weekend.