Secret pal and Brew to Brew Run

I have to say, it's ALMOST as much fun, if not even a TINY bit MORE fun to shop for a secret pal than it is to shop for me. I am loving it. I'm reading her little blog, checking things out, realizing the poor chic that gets stuck with me gets almost no help here as I barely write on knitting-related subjects except FELTING is my FAVORITE THING EVER now. Anyway, I'm heading over to the knitting shop tomorrow and going to do more browsing aka "my ritual petting of the yarns and sighing."

Here in the dungeon, we have a lovely little one mile loop of sidewalk that goes around a park and school and I've been stomping my little way around it each day trying to get ready for the stinking 4.16 miles I'm running in two weeks. Normally I wouldn't mind a little jog/walk thing, but this one's for cf, the Brew to Brew run, 44 miles from a bar in Westport to the Free State Brewery in Lawrence (HI VICKY). My little group of friends are doing the run for my Team Joey to help raise $$ for Cystic Fibrosis research. Good cause, one I am afraid even I can't back out on. Still no worries, I just asked not to have to do the last few miles as, for those of you non-Kansan bloggers out there, Lawrence is on the top of a big-ass hill. It's not big-ass when you drive it, but it WILL be when you are running up it. So, what do they do, stick me in the middle, where it doesn't matter if I'm walking or jogging??? NO MA'AM, they put me FIRST!!! with everyone WATCHING!!! How sad is that for the relay team of 9 other people to see me starting out the pack in the rear? Cripes. So, I'm thinking my current rate of jogging for .3 miles, yes POINT three miles before I'm out of breath and walking isn't going to cut it. These people run for FUN, sad isn't it? SO, I'm out there yesterday cussing my way around the track two times and as I round the next-to-last bend, I see this man carrying a little girl about 2 yrs old and a bag of groceries and holding the hand of a little boy around 4 yrs old and walking in the cold. I think, man, I'm superficial. I've got a blazer, gas in the tank (ok 1/4 tank but still), food at home, a job, two basically healthy kids, and I should quit my bitching. I got all happy, peaceful, loving of my neighbor and that crap and then I rounded the last bend of the track which has a PIZZA HUT delivery shop back door sending out the smells of pure heaven and I'm trying to get all healthy and after paying extra medical bills have about $50 to make it the rest of the week, so it royally pissed me off again, and I was back to normal, superficial, easily pissy me. :) All is right with the world again.

OK, so apparently everyone in the world is wanting the poncho Martha wore on her way home from prison. I thought, how cool for the woman that created it? She could put out the pattern and be famous, get some recognition or even make a little money. But then I figured you probably can't earn income while in prison, but couldn't the $$ go to her family? Lion Brand is creating a copy of the pattern and will have it out soon, which at first I thought was very cool (as I too loved the poncho) but then it just doesn't seem right. I don't know. I'll probably end up making the damn thing anyway. Two days without chocolate and fast food are making it hard for my little brain to function.