another knitting blog

Big Fat Loser

Over Christmas vacation, my oldest sister, my brother-in-law, my niece, and I hatched a plan: our own version of NBC's 'The Biggest Loser.' [For some reason though, my sister insists on calling it 'The Big Fat Loser.'] We were all hooked on the latest season of this show. My sister and BIL have even taken to calling each other Suzy and Matt.

Here's how it will work: We each chip in $25. We then have the next 16 weeks to diet and exercise away as much weight as we can. At the end of the 16 weeks, the contestant who has lost the highest percentage of their initial weight wins $100.

I have been handicapping the contestants to try and calculate my chances of winning and here's what I've come up with:

Contestant #1: J (BIL, sales rep., mid-50s, married)

Pros: As the only male, he has the advantage of probably being able to lose more quickly than the rest of us.
If my sister sticks with it, he will benefit.
Also, he will probably be able to sabotage my sister while not giving in to temptation himself.

Cons: Desk job with occasional business trips (i.e., little exercise and lots of eating out).
If my sister gives up, he probably will too.
May suffer from overconfidence and/or apathy.

Contestant #2: D (sister, personnel manager, mid-50s, married)

Pros: Thinks this could be 'fun.'
Enjoys healthy eating (although also enjoys non-healthy eating).

Cons: As the oldest female contestant, she starts out with two big strikes against her.
Sitting down all day may actually be in her job description.
If J decides to sandbag her by waving tasty treats in her face, she's toast.

Contestant #3: E (niece, teacher, late-20s, single)

Pros: Youngest contestant.
Already getting exercise in karate class.
Actually has most active job of any of us.

Cons: With the least to lose, it may be difficult for her to drop a competitive percentage.
Often goes out to eat and drink with friends.

Contestant #4: M (me, research scientist, late-30s, single)

Pros: I have the most to lose, so I may be able to drop the first few pounds without too much trouble.
For health reasons, I must lose weight.

Cons: I am terribly lazy and completely demoralized by my increased girth.
My job entails long hours sitting in front on a computer on my nether-quarters.
Lattes!

Looking at this analysis, it's difficult for me to name the likely winner; it's just probably not going to be my sister. I think if I took this seriously and saw enough progress early on to keep me motivated, I could win it all. The first weigh-in was this morning.

I am the Big Fat Loser!

snow and ice

Yesterday, there was a rather un-Portland-like snow fall. It's mostly melted now.

For Christmas, I'll be traveling somewhere with quite a bit more snow. Maybe it will help me get into the 'spirit' of the season. I've had a terrible time preparing this year. Today, I ended up doing about 90% of my Christmas shopping in the hospital gift shop.

never...

...blog whilst drunk.

time machine

Not only is this a knitting blog, it's also a time machine.

Witness…

You have been transported back to October. The setting: a small gathering of knitters in honor of my departure. From left to right there is Lara, Amy, Sarah, Paula, and Laura.

I received a goodbye gift from the lovely Lara.

I loved the sparkly bag. And look what was tied onto the handles.

Stitch markers she made!

And inside? Sock yarn--two skeins of Lorna's Laces. How did she know?

My sock knitting has slackened somewhat in the past few weeks while I've returned to knitting sweaters. However, socks would make a perfect project for my holiday trip to visit my family. Now, if I could just find my ball winder, which went missing in the move and hasn't reappeared yet.

Rain Forest

No one is more amazed than I that I have an honest-to-goodness finished sweater to show off: Rain Forest.

In typical fashion, it has taken me almost two years from start to finish. [You can see the whole sordid affair on this page of all the Rain Forest posts]. We can see that I started off quite well, made steady progress, and then ignored it for months at a time.

No matter, it's done now.

Below are two full-body shots. Which do you think I should put as the 'official' picture on the Completed Projects page? The drapey, hanger shot? or the flat, floor shot? [Click on the pictures below for the full-size views].