The Story Never Ends...

Quitting an addiction.....

2012-01-26T20:58:00.000-08:00

Some people are addicted to drinking, drugs, smoking, .....

my addiction always seemed to benign compared to those, but an addict I am nonetheless....

to...

Diet Coke!

Okay, now that you've got done laughing at my attempt at being serious, this post is about quitting the dreaded Diet Coke habit. And when I say it was an addiction...I mean I was in it hardcore, drinking several a day. I crave that cold crisp fizzy drink like some people crave a cigarette after a good meal.

But as one of my big things this year is "rebooting" how I take care of my body, the beloved drink had to go. Exactly 10 days ago I quit my habit. Dropped it like a hot potato...or is that a cold turkey? Either way I stopped drinking it.

The first few days of caffeine withdrawl were tough, as I got headaches frequently. But I guzzled down bottles of water and waited it out. Now here I am 10 days later...soda free. I decided to just try and stay away from all diet soda to make the break easier. Plus another thing I am trying to keep out of my system is the artificial sweeteners... (apparently they are bad for you!). I've read scary things about aspartame (the sweetener in my beloved coke) and figured it was a good idea not to be ingesting it so much anymore.

So far I've been drinking alot of water and found a couple water flavorings that don't contain the aspartame to use as well. I actually do feel better and my wallet is enjoying not being pilfered on a daily basis for a fix.

This body reboot is going to be a one step at a time kind of journey, but I feel good about kicking this first bad habit. Gives me the courage to go after a second.

Comments are always welcome! What bad habits are you trying to kick this year?

Re Boot

2012-01-25T16:33:00.000-08:00

So you may notice a few things changed around here....

Let me try to explain.

My life has been on a changing course over the last couple years, and some things are definitely coming to a head and needing action. It is a hard thing to start your whole life over. But by clinging to the hope that some miracle would happen to allow me to return to my old life that I knew...I actually was hindering myself from ever moving forward.

I have had some time off of work the last few days (not for a great reason but it still gave me time to think) and I have finally decided that I want a different life. I am done accepting the status quo and just reacting to everything. I want to start being PRO active and making my own path.

There are several things in my life that I want to take control of. I've neglected this blog since i went back to work, and regretted it. I hope to become regular again and connect with people out there who might be on a similar journey.

These are the things that I intend to change in 2012.

1. BODY REBOOT: I have been overweight since high school. I could blame it on many things, but since I am being honest here....it was mostly about the poor eating habits I developed and that I was never into exercising. I would like to change this first...while I work on others. I am trying to really examine what I put into my body and how much I move during the day. Today I took a walk with my son in the stroller, purposefully just being active for an hour. It's small but I hope to work up to full on workouts.

2.WRITING REBOOT: This one is two-fold, as I am intending to blog again on a regular basis, as well as discipline myself to finally start writing out the novels that swim around in my head. I have always written stories since i learned how as a child and I dreamed that I would be an author one day to make my living. But if I want to do that I need to actually FINISH one of my stories and submit it until I get published. I will update on this as it goes.

3.FINANCIAL REBOOT: This area of my life has been improving steadily over the past 2 years, but if I kicked it into gear, I could turn it around faster so that I can have the things i want and provide better for myself and my child. My credit card debt has come down very far and if I can just whittle off the last of it, i will be debt free. I have a few medical bills to add in, but I intend to learn how to budget so that these things can get paid off.

4.CAREER REBOOT: This one is a bit more complicated. I dream of being a writer and having that be my full time job. But until that dream is realized I need to keep plugging away at my day job. In the fall I changed jobs to one that I actually ENJOY! I don't dread going to work every day like before, I have a reasonable boss and the work is something I am good at. I intend to keep working my hardest at this job while also pursuing education for something further in the future.

There those are the BIG FOUR areas of my life that I intend to make a change in this year. I will be blogging about the steps I take, as well as the successes and setbacks. Sometimes I will be blogging from my phone so I will apologize in advance for grammar mistakes lol. But a messy entry is still better than none.

So since I am "rebooting" my life this year, I figured a new clean look for the blog was in order. And since I LOVE Rain (yes i know I'm strange), I thought this layout would do for now.
Not too mention that my son who I often refer to as "The Boy" is now a BIG BOY and not the baby that was shown in my header. The Boy is now 3 years old and doing wonderful other than a small hiccup this month that I will fill you all in on later.

I hope that those who used to read my entries will come back for this journey, and welcome to any new readers that have stumbled across my little corner of the web.

Holiday Cash Flow

2011-11-25T07:07:00.000-08:00

So I'm proud of myself this morning!

Want to know why?

Because instead of spending money on Black friday, I paid an online bill instead. Yes thats right...I had my online cart ready to go...even went so far as to rummage for a credit card...then thought the better of it and surfed over to pay my phone bill instead.

I know that sounds so boring and silly in light of things , but that is a big step for me. I have been working on saving more money and cutting out impulse buys or things that are merely "I wants". I've tried to whittle my purchases down only the "we needs" and those don't include fancy coats for The BOY from Old Navy just cause they happen to be on sale this morning.

Anyway, little boast over.

Back to your regularly scheduled program.

New blog up and running!

2011-05-30T23:01:00.000-07:00

For those who follow me and/or enjoy knitting and yarn....

feel free to check out my new blog: RiverDragon Designs

I'll be using the other blog for knitting related posts, pattern designing, testing, kits and such.

Thanks for your support!

Did you Know...

2011-05-16T07:31:00.000-07:00

...that socks never seem to stay in pairs. Even if I safety pin them all together every time I wash them, they still end up slightly different shades of white so that they don't match perfectly. And don't even get me started on The Boy's socks...sheesh, I'm lucky if I can find two.

...that hackers seriously suck, at least the ones that have nothing better to do than to hack into an old hotmail account in order to send out a viagra ad to everyone in my contact list. Now I have to get a new email address, and deal with the teasing from my friends and family.

...that there is something insanely addictive about a little iphone app called 'Pocket Frogs'. O.M.G., I don't know why, maybe its some OCD tendency in me, but I have this deep seated need to collect all the different little toads in this game.

...that during days off i struggle for inspiration or motivation to work on projects , but if I have to be at work in an hour? WHAM! Idea/energy rush! Why can't they get on the same schedule?

...that The Boy can now sing the entire ABC song from start to finish and in order? But only when he thinks no one is listening. And heaven forbid if I try and get the video camera out!

May Ponderings

2011-05-15T12:38:00.000-07:00

Apparently May is a month full of new ideas for me.

I'm not sure why but I seem to get a new 'idea' for a plan everytime I turn around. My problem is getting to the real root of each idea and deciding whether or not it is worth the effort I'm investing in it. Just thought I would share some of these current 'ideas' with my blogger buds.

1. I want to design a knitting needle wrap case. I love the idea of using wild and crazy fabric for a cute but functional little roll to keep needles from stabbing holes in all my knitting project totes.

2.Knitting Pattern designs! These keep hitting me like crazy lately. I'm currently working on several patterns at the moment, and trying to knit prototypes and get them typed up for testing. Currently being worked on in this catagory : Ruffled hooded cape for baby girls, socknshoe booties for babes, Headband with bow, Newsboy cap, and a flared girl cardigan.

3. Online Store: The thought of starting up an etsy shop to sell my knitted creations and patterns keeps jumping to mind, just gotta sit down and start it.

4. Adding a message board to my blog. I know there have to be other single moms out there who like to cook, craft, and chat online when they can't sleep!

5. Starting some kind of business so i can get the heck out of poverty. (And yes I know that startin a new business would most likely lead to more financial issues, especially in this economy).

6. New recipes. Been trying to coach myself into cooking experiements lately. Made nutella crepes this morning which fresh whipped cream. More like dessert than breakfast, but oh so freakin good!

7. Thinking of getting a booth at some of our local markets this summer to sell handicrafts and lessons for those looking to learn.

8.Novelty tees. I simply adore www.cafepress.com . I've been into coming up with silly logos and lines for tees lately.

9. New Book Idea. Thinking of starting a new novel about my life. I like the idea of using my life but fictionalizing it enough that I could change the ending.

10. Thinking of starting a new "Blog Project" to keep me focused and blogging this year. I like the idea of possibly making a Knitting/Blogging goal. Where I have to do a project a week (small ones of course) and see how many I can finish in a certain length of time.

11. App ideas. I'm seriously addicted to my Iphone and I keep thinking that there has to be a way to get hooked up with a programmer to make up some Mommy apps that would actually be functional for those of us who just love our phones too much!

How to Play Nice

2011-04-08T07:57:00.000-07:00

Are you ready?

Here is a fun blog about how to get along with other people in your workplace. Everyone has those people at their job who can just ruin everyone's day. There are always people that give you a smile and make it a little easier as well. Lately I've been thinking about this list alot so here it is for your reading pleasure.

10 Ways to "Play Nice with Others" while at work
(And a few things to avoid unless you like your coworkers throwing darts at your breakroom photo)

10. Leave your "bad day" at home, in your car, the parking lot, anywhere....just don't bring it in to work with you. So your dog chewed up your favorite shoes, your son spilled his cheerios all over the floor, or you didn't sleep well....yes it happens to all of us and it sucks.... but honestly your coworkers will be much more understanding and supportive if you DON'T come in and lash out at everyone because of it.

9. Clean up after yourself. No one likes a "Pigpen" (thank you Charles Shultz for the charming visual). If your lunch explodes in the break room microwave, please clean it up. Your newspaper can be folded back up when your done, and if you get out a work project with lots of pieces....do everyone a favor and at least try and straighten up before walking out and leaving it for everyone else.

8. Count to ten before approaching someone when you're angry. We all lose it at work, you know it and I know it. But the difference between someone that everyone likes being scheduled with, and THAT person that makes everyone cringe....honestly this is a big factor. If a coworker screws up,or you're not happy with them, go in the back and count to 20, then try and remember how much it sucks to be yelled at...then go back to that person and have a discussion about the problem. 10-1 they will be much more receptive to your suggestions and criticism if its done in a calm respectful manner.

7. Success is nice, but paying it forward is better. No one likes someone who brags about their accomplishments all the time. It's okay to celebrate a promotion, or be happy you hit your quota. But you'll make more friends if you pair that "victory dance" with an act of selflessness later on. For example, you're exceeding your sales goal for the week....jump in and help nab one for a struggling employee once in a while. A little goes a long way with this one!

6. Act your age. This goes both ways. Immaturity and "I'm older wiser and better" are both things that grate on your coworkers nerves.

5. If you need help, ask for it. Don't be a martyr. If you don't ask for help, you won't get it. And this one goes both ways. Martyrs end up resenting others for not helping them after awhile as well. In a work place, coworkers really don't enjoy someone who never asks for help, but them complains about not getting it.

4. Gossip is a BAD THING. If someone tells you something, keep it between the two of you. We all get along with some people better than others, but do NOT be tempted to get into the gossip mill. It is way too easy to say something that to you seems harmless, but once it goes down the line it can become distorted and end up biting you where it hurts. Plus people tend to know who the 'talkers' are and it can lead to a tense environment.

3. Forgiveness is a divine thing. Everyone makes mistakes, everyone does have that 'bad day' that throws them off (even if they are following rule 10 and not taking it out on everyone). Correct the persons' mistake and then move on. When they're feeling better, they will be grateful for it and perform better for you. If you berate them and make them feel worse, you're likely getting another dart to the face in that break room photo I mentioned earlier.

2. Don't try and 'force' a friendship with coworkers. People naturally gravitate to who they are comfortable with. Just relax and be yourself. Trying to create a 'big happy family' of coworkers who are best friends and hang out together ....usually doesn't work unfortunately. So many different personalities, it's inevitable that some won't get along as well as others. Accept this. Being polite and tolerant will make it more comfortable than expecting all to link arms and make daisy chains.

1.Leadership is a tightrope, watch your step! This is the big one. If you are in a leadership position you know the battle. In my opinion the key is being able to delegate responsibility, correct kindly, have clear and reasonable expectations, and a calm level disposition. Trust me, EVERYONE hates the boss who barks orders, berates employees mistakes, and then wants to behave like your best friend later on. Unpredictable mood swings are a no-no at work, and alternating between super tough and pillow soft leaves you with employees who are on edge as they never know which 'you' to expect.

So there it is, Katie's guide to getting along at work. I honestly think that these 10 things are key to keeping your workplace a good one. I think that everyone knows people who break any or all of these rules and you know just what happens when they do. (All of us have those moments where we want to stomp back into the stockroom and kick some empty boxes around.) I hope you got a laugh out of it!

More new stuff

2011-04-03T14:36:00.000-07:00

So i have been experimenting with some new ideas on the net lately.

Here is one of my ideas that I tried a while back but ran out of steam on. Now I'm back to it and revamping it to see if I can make a go of it again.

Ever heard of Cafepress.com? This site is all kinds of awesome for those of us who like original, one a kind, (crazy and weird too) things to wear or own. You can design your own graphics/logos/phrases and sell merchandise with them on it. For those of us that are addicted to blogging, this would be yet another cool way to market your site!

I am thinking of making up some 'blogger' graphics to put on shirts and what not, still in the drawing board phase on those. But for now I've got some cute photography related designs up there for those of us 'shutterbug babes'.

Check it out and help support Katie Neverending while you're at it!

Katie's Cafe Press Shop

Testing

2011-03-31T13:45:00.001-07:00

So im testin a new app that will supposedly let me blog from my iphone! So lets give this a whirl an see how it works!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Back to Blogging!!

2011-02-27T16:19:00.000-08:00

So I seriously need to set myself up with routine so that all the things I love to do don't get neglected or fall by the wayside. Remember when I posted on here lamenting about my woes over not finding work? Well..as you know I did find a job, a full time one! And as amazingly thankful as I am over that I do find that it takes up my time so much that so many things that I used to love to do are now getting to be further and further down my priority list. Time to regroup!

While I do spend quite a bit of time at work, and the other daylight hours spending time with The Boy, I do want to make an effort to organize my time better so that I can still get in some cooking, knitting, writing, photography, and blogging!! This poor blog has gotten somewhat neglected while I've been working away at the job.

But there is no reason that Working Single Momma can't do it all!! So while this blog before was more about the ups and downs of being a stay at home mommy, now it can be all about the single working mommy roller coaster!

So I hope those who haven't given up on me yet will come along for this new ride. There might be some changes to the layout and the way I do my posts. I would like to get back to posting a couple times a week.

To start off, a shameless comment begging session! If you're still here drop me a line with your best organization tip, for just making extra time or easy fun ways to keep chores done while still maintaining sanity with a full time job. :)

a little late, but none the less

2011-01-10T08:34:00.000-08:00

With New years having come and gone, I finally now have the time to sit and reflect on how I spent 2010. It seems like every January I go through this week or two of reflection and think about how the next year can be better, different, more productive or whatever. I've been typing this up for awhile, but I finally got it uploaded to my blog.

So here it is: Katie-Neverending, year in review

2010

January: The Boy's first birthday! Cookie monster cupcake and all. (check my archives if you want to see pics!) The party went great, the boy smeared blue frosting all over himself and his highchair and the kids had fun.

February: A little blah this year. Spent most of it looking for work and trying to coach my 13 month old in how to walk.

March: Tax refund was a welcome surprise this year (the amount that is) and it made life a bit tolerable as my debt went down a smidge and I was able to purchase one thing for myself. My ipod touch! I still use this thing everyday and I don't regret buying it, EVER! Seriously my ipod and i have quite the exclusive relationship going on.

April: This was the first Easter that The Boy was really able to participate in. He had fun hunting for his plastic eggs and digging all the surprises out of his easter basket. This was also the month when my unemployment stopped due to budget woes in the state/country.

May: Another month of being broke, looking desperately for work.

June: Summer arrived and fortunately small children are a still a joy even when you have no money. The Boy managed to be giggly every warm day thanks to a $5 inflatable pool and floating toys.

July: Unemployment reinstated, thank the good Lord! Things were starting to get bleak in the finances area.

August:Got hired!!! Hallelujah!! Finally landed a full time job. The hourly pay isn't the best, but it's full time and at a good store.

September: Turned 30. Not my happiest birthday, but not the worst either. My dad stepped up and made sure that a trip to the ocean and BBQed oysters made the decade transition a little easier.

October: The first Halloween that The Boy really participated in. Dressed as "Bones" he stomped to a few houses on our street and asked for candy. :)

November: Thanksgiving, as always filled with food and fun.

December: What I thought was going to be a sparse Christmas (due to bills and $$ issues) ended up being full of miracles. So many people pitched in to give The Boy and I a wonderful Christmas that I won't be forgetting for some time!

there it is :my 2010 in a nutshell.

Here's hoping that 2011 will go better!

Something To Consider

2010-11-20T08:24:00.000-08:00

I apologize for being absent from my blog lately.

Like I said in a previous post, with my full time job and trying to keep up with The Boy, it leaves me with very little spare time. I still love to write and blog, but I don't want my blog to become just a place where I vent my frustrations of my day (and for those who work in retail, you know exactly what I mean!).

But there is something I've been working on in my spare time, another 'project' if you will. One thing I have learned over the past 2 years (since my ex and separated) .....is that the whole business of being a single mother in this economy is extremely difficult. I know there are MANY women in the same position out there. I honestly don't know how some do it. If I didn't have the support of my family (helping out with babysitting, etc) The Boy and I would be in some serious trouble. But as it stands I have a good support system, but we are still barely making it.

When you add in bills and daycare costs, my entire check is gone and I am scrambling for enough gas money to just get to work each day, and having a hard time coming up with food money. With Christmas around the corner, I'm beginning to think that maybe giving this year will be difficult. Everyone on my list is getting knitwear, (since I still have a small box of yarn leftover from when times were better).

Is there a point to my sob story? Yes. When I get down about my own situation, I try and think of others. I'm sure there are so many single mothers out there who are having a worse time than me. I have been trying to work out a plan to start a charity organization to help out single mothers who are struggling. I would like to set it up as a 'grant' type program at first, where women can write in their needs and their story and the organization can see if they can help out a little. Even if it's just a giftcard for groceries or gas, or something more.

If you are at all interested in helping this organization get off the ground, please consider donating via my new paypal button on the right. I currently know of another single mom at my church who is facing her first Christmas alone (without husband) and has 2 small children. I would love to raise enough to get her a giftcard to buy her children christmas presents this year.

Thanks for reading!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T16:57:00.000-07:00

I finally have some to post here! Things have been super crazy as of late, between long work hours and too many commitments. My free time has mostly been consisting of sleeping these days. But today is a special day: Halloween!!

To those who celebrate this spooky holiday: I hope you and yours enjoy a fun and safe night of jack-o-lanterns, candy, and trick-or-treating! I plan on taking The Boy out to a couple houses on our street for his first run.

Enjoy it!

Personalized Holiday Cards!!

2010-10-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

So...how many of you are thinking about Christmas/the holidays already? Okay, so I know that there are a few camps of people when it comes to holidays: Camp One: The type A personalities who start Christmas shopping in June, send out newsletters every december, reserve their turkey months in advance, and have the ultimate perfect holiday every year! Camp Two: Those of us who like the holidays but don't really get into it until they actually arrive Camp Three: those of us who dread the holidays and try to ignore them. If you fall into Camp One or Two (or somewhere in between, where I reside!)check out this post!

The folks over at Purple Trail have made "sending holiday cards" more fun and easy than ever! They have a whole bunch of cute templates that you can personalize, order, and send out. There is one more thing off your to-do list. While browsing through their site, I even found some invitations for the Halloween party I could order!

For those that get bored or are clueless about the "holiday card" phenomenon, here are 5 ways you can jazz it up and have fun with your photos or designs.

1. Take a "non faces" photo for your card! Try putting all your families hands together, or have all of you hold out your favorite ornament and use a shallow depth of field on the camera, so the hands and ornaments are in focus, not the faces.

2. Take an objects photo. This is a great one if your family is super busy and has a hard time carving out a niche to be all together for a photo shoot. Line up the families shoes in descending size order, or better yet, all the christmas stockings hanging on your mantle!

3. Make a snow family! Get the hubby and kids together to make snow angels or snow people and pose them in a traditional pose. Snap a photo, have the real people peeking around behind their snow personage!

4. Send out a family trivia quiz. On the front of the card, type out some events that happened to each member of your immediate family, so recipients can guess what happened to whom, have the answers and explanations inside.

5. Take a photo of your house all lit up with christmas lights, either with or without the family posing with it. It sends the message just fine!

I wrote this post while participating in a PurpleTrail.com campaign which makes me eligible to receive a Purple Trail gift code. You can check out the contest information page here.

10-10-10

2010-10-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

In honor of the crazy date today.....

Katie's top 10 lists

Top 10 Foods

1. Sushi
2. Hot pastrami Reuben sandwich
3.Diet Coke
4.Grilled ham and gruyere cheese sandwich
5.Parmesan popcorn
6.BBQ oysters with tequila butter and lemon!
7. Any seafood!
8. Pumpkin bread
9. Homemade tamales
10. Scrambled eggs with chorizo

Top 10 Clothes (fave to wear)
1. Avenue bootcut denim jeans in petite length (perfect length and oh so comfortable!!!)
2. Skater style sneakers
3. Oldnavy graphic tees
4. Knitted fingerless mitts (when cold weather sets in)
5. Black hooded peacoat
6. Pink hoodie tee
7. Flannel PJs
8. Striped socks in silly colors
9. Vintage graphic tees (think 80's cartoons)
10. Denim mini skirts

Top 10 Memories from 2009 (thus far)

1. January: The Boy's first birthday, complete with cookie monster cupcakes!
2. February: Taking The Boy to San Francisco to see the new Academy of Sciences! So much fun, such cool exhibits, well behaved son, awesome day.
3. March: Tax refund was more than expected, welcome surprise!
4. April: Knitted my very first sweater! And completed it!
5.May:Discovery of GLEE, and the finale of LOST
6. June: The Boy is now WALKING!
7. July: The Boy's first 4th of July that he actually was aware of. (Last year he slept thru it)
8. August: Watching The Boy play in his little pool outside.
9. September: My 30th birthday.
10. October: The Boy's new phrase "Hold you?" (Meaning: he wants to be held.)

1.

Let's have a party!

2010-10-07T10:38:00.000-07:00

I need your best ideas for throwing a great Halloween party!! I'm helping someone throw a party and we need some ideas. So far we have a guest list. I'm open to any ideas you have:

We need thoughts for:
-fun food
-games (adults and/or little ones)
-decorations
-anything else!

So far I've picked up some cool prizes for games, cute Halloween themed cupcake liners, and some goody bag items for the little ones we're inviting. Some things we have thought of and are on the table as possible: a 'pumpkin' hunt for the little ones (I found a set of little plastic pumpkins you can put goodies in and hide in the yard. Like easter eggs, lol), we also thought of having a jack-o-lantern carving contest for the adults (putting people into teams of 3 and giving them a time limit of 30 min or so).

What are your best Halloween ideas?!

New Knitting project ideas!

2010-09-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

I have quite a few friends with little ones, or are expecting babies. I need to get started on knitting my Christmas presents so they will all be done in time! Let me know what you think of the following ideas. (All patterns/photos are from ravelry.com, great knitting site!!!)

This little cardigan looks perfect for a certain little wee=one that I need to knit a gift for. The wee one is a little boy, do you think this design looks feminine? I was thinking of knitting it up in a navy or green?

*************************************

Now onto some of the little females in my life.... I adore this sweater "Little Red Riding hood sweater" by Tina Good on Ravelry. I browsed through all the "project photos" to see how it looked in different colors and it looked pretty darn awesome no matter which way it was done.

My only question to you is...where would you mark the age cap for this one? It looks so darling on little ones, up through maybe ...6yrs? Other than that not sure...

I have a couple more ideas as well to post, but I'll leave it at these two for now. What do you think?

Teen Mom Review

2010-09-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit it, this show is a guilty pleasure. It's free on our OnDemand, so I can catch up with episodes when I have time, after work. I normally don't watch mtv, but this show got me hooked. If you haven't watched it, it's about four girls: Amber, Farrah, Catelynn, and Maci who became pregnant in their teens and are now dealing with the aftermath, a baby. The girls are about 18-19 now and the show is in season 2.

Currently there are about 6 or 7 episodes this season and I can sum up each girls story in a nutshell.

Amber: She and her fiance Gary break up and makeup in every episode. Their apartment needs a revolving door, as many times as that guy is kicked out and comes back. Their poor daughter is always in the middle and I feel sorry for her.

Farrah: This season she is feuding with her mother, moving out with her daughter and realizing that life on your own as a single mom is a tough gig to juggle.

Maci: One of the most stable of the four girls. This season she has a new man in her life and is trying to move to be closer to him, but she faces opposition from her family and her son's father.

Catelyn: My favorite character. She and her boyfriend Tyler chose adoption for their daughter, as they felt too young to take on parenting. It is proving to be a very wise decision as Catelynn comes from a very unstable home, with a mother who is anything but supportive of her. Watching them grieve, grow, and come to terms with their decision is the best part of the show.

I enjoy this show on a level that I am doing the single mom thing myself (though not as teen), and it's interesting to see the difference. And honestly, I watch it for Catelynn, I think that she and Tyler made the best decision in regards to their daughter, and it's nice to see that they are growing and changing and happy that they chose a better life for their offspring.

So the big 30 ...it happened!

2010-09-11T20:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I survived my thirtieth birthday yesterday, and it wasn't half bad!

My dad and I took the boy out to the ocean and bought a bagfull of oysters, like we did last year and came home and grilled them up. So much goodness it was amazing! These oysters were huge and flavorful, to the point that we couldn't finish out bag so we had to put the rest on ice in the fridge for tomorrow!

I also spent some time in the evening with my mom and she volunteered to watch The Boy overnight so I could get some decent sleep. The kind that doesn't involve waking up every other hour when The Boy snores or flips around in his crib like a fish.

I completed alot of the projects on my 30 by 30 list, though not all. Between working full time and being strapped for cash (isn't it nice when working suddenly means you have LESS money??!) I wasn't able to get to all of them, but I tried! And it made the dreading a little less intense.

I'll post a full recap of which projects got finished later this weekend.

Circle of Life

2010-09-07T23:00:00.001-07:00

Sometimes things in life happen so close to one another that it causes you to marvel at how much of a circle life really is. Today was one of those days for me.
Early this morning my family got two kinds of news, the very best and the very worst. And to get them so close together was a little muddling. First of all, a very dear friend of our family lost her battle with cancer last night. She was a friend to one of my parents for over twenty years and was one of the kindest, most wonderful people I've ever met. She fought against the disease for many years, but had to leave us last night. I would never wish cancer or death on another, but as I have thought many times since her diagnosis.."why did it have to be her?" This was someone who smiled and laughed often, was kind and generous, and made you feel like family even if you'd only just met. She will be deeply missed, any of you who pray..please add her family to your prayers tonight.

Just behind this sad news we received wonderful news. My cousin had her baby late last night. She has wanted to be a momma for years, and after her wedding in 2009, she and her hubby had been trying and trying to get pregnant. Their little one came into this world with a healthy mop of hair and a face that I'm told "looks just like daddy". I am so happy for them, as I know how excited they were about their little boy. She decorated the cutest nursery for him, and her parents were overjoyed that they were about to be grandparents. I can't wait to meet the little tyke!

It was a rollercoaster day for emotions in our household as you can see. But with such extreme ups and downs I am reminded that life is indeed a circle. As one beloved soul leaves, so enters another wonderful little life. Sigh....sometimes it's just the way.

One week left....clock is ticking....

2010-09-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

A week from today, I will be leaving my twenties behind, for a whole new decade in my life. My 30's!

I am so mixed about this. Everyone keeps telling me that this next decade will be one of the best ones of my life, that i can leave the turmoil of my 20's behind, make a fresh start, make changes, and build a whole new life for myself. I am excited about those possibilities, but I am also slightly mournful for the 20's that could have been.

The last 10 years of my life have been a rollercoaster. Some where mellow and pleasant, while many of the years were wrought with some of the ugliness that comes from being involved in someone who is struggling with addiction issues. I have moved many times, had several jobs, and in this last year have had a child and now am a single mom struggling to do the best I can.

While I am happy to be free from some of the unpleasantness that went on in my 20's, I am also nervous about what the future holds. I pray that I will be able to carve out a comfortable life for The Boy and I, and that I will be able to raise him to be a good kind young man as he grows. I also hope to someday experience the joy of having another child.

I am still plugging away on my 30 by 30 project, but the new full time job is eating up the majority of my time these days, so I will be happy with whatever number of projects i am able to complete by next friday.

On another note , there is something so fresh and good about the month of September! Maybe it's because it's my birthday month, but a new year for me always starts on September 1st. All those years of going "back to school" and turning a new year older have me always hopeful that things can change as autumn begins. I hold out hope for this new year to be better than the last, happier, more productive, and filled with less drama. I don't hope for perfection, just for an improvement on last year.

Sending out positive vibes to all you out there in blog-land, are you enjoying September?

30 by 30 Update!!

2010-08-29T09:16:00.001-07:00

For those who follow me, I have still been slowly but surely working on my 30 by 30 quest! (Check out the link at the top of the page for a list of the tasks!)

I have so far finished the following:

1. Buy a pair of shoes with a heel and wear them! Bought, haven't worn yet!

11.Get a job! (or at least 2 interviews) DONE : Yep, been working for 2 weeks now!

12.Make a new cupcake recipe! DONE :Amaretto cupcakes were so good!

13.Scrap at least 15 pages into The Boy's album! 8 Down!

15. Pack a Bento lunch! DONE! :Actually have packed several these last 2 weeks, lots of fun!

16. Get a cute, different haircut! DONE! :Not super different, but I got sidesweep bangs and cut 3 inches off the length!

21.Buy one new outfit that is out of my comfort zone but looks good. (ie. no tshirts). DONE! : Bought it at my new store actually, employee discount is a wonderful thing!

23.Buy a piece of jewelry (costume) and wear it! DONE!

Working Momma!

2010-08-25T23:02:00.000-07:00

So apparently the universe just conspires against a single mother sometimes.

Raising The Boy alone (not totally alone, but without a Dad) has not been easy. But being home with him while I job hunted was still doable. I enjoyed my time with him, and now that I'm working, I totally miss him. He's doing pretty well with his new daycare, and spending more time with his grandma (my mom is helping out when I work nights)...but even though I've landed a full time job..it doesn't pay much per hour and I'm paying about HALF of my check just to cover The Boy's care. It's pretty darn frustrating!

I'm very glad that we live with a relative and that I already own my car, I would not be able to support us if I had to pay rent, utilities, car payment, etc. As it is, I'm barely going to be able to pay for our food and gas, and my cell. You would think that finding a full time job would mean I would be able to make it work a little better, but hopefully time will tell and things will get better. One of the GOOD things about finding full time work, means that after my intro period I will qualify for health benefits!!!! Yay! That is a reason to trudge on, if nothing else.

Don't get me wrong, I do like where I am working now (back in retail), and for the most part I like all my coworkers (small store), but I really wish that the hourly wage was a bit higher!

Wow,....suddenly it actually feels like summer!

2010-08-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

So, here where we reside, we've had a foggy cool summer for the most part. Felt much more like fall than any other season. But this week...BAM....triple digit heat! Yipes, I wasn't prepared for this...lol. Time to dust off that kiddie pool I got for the boy and toss him back in, now that he won't be shivering through his swim time.

On the work front, job seems to be going well...not sure how the daycare situation is going to work out. I like where he is, but their schedule (ie. naps/snacks) is very different from what he is used to and there is a bit of an adjustment issue going on there. We shall see.

Have worked on doing bento, but need some suggestions!!!

Sorry for the post and run today, but it's a little too hot to hang out inside by the laptop!

More Bento

2010-08-22T09:26:00.000-07:00

So I packed 2 more Bento lunches this week because I liked the first one so much. I didn't get a picture of number 2, but it was similar to the first one I posted. That was another plus to doing Bento, no multiple store trips this week! Working in small portions meant that the baby corn I bought lasted all week, same with the fruit.

In this Bento I got a little more into it and made a ham sandwich, but cut the crusts off to make it into a diamond (sourdough loaf was a wonky thin shape). Then added some berries, baby corn, garlic mushrooms and smoked gouda sticks. Yum!

These lunches are awesome. And that container is small so it's portioned normally. You couldn't fit a cheeseburger in this thing and close the lid (if that gives you an idea of size). But despite the small portions I feel full after eating these lunches, all the way to the end of my shift. Maybe it's the variety, or the presentation that tricks my brain, whatever it is, I like it!!

I'm quickly becoming Bento addicted. hmmmm.....methinks me has an idea for a sister=blog to Katie Neverending...... Bento Never Ends? lol, what do you think?

2010-08-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

So here is my first attempt at a Bento lunch. I found this great shallow square tupperware to use and packed it full of leftovers and goodies. It's not the healthiest lunch, but not too bad. I need to get to the store on my day off and load up on some veggies that can be included in lunches. But it was very yummy, and surprisingly filling for being that small container! I plan on scouring Bento sites for ideas and recipes this weekend.

One more thing off of my 30 by 30 list!! I need more ideas, so please leave a comment with a project idea if you have one!

Oh and vote for Katie Neverending at topmommyblogs.com _---------------------------->>>>>>

Work, daycare, and Bento.

2010-08-14T22:45:00.000-07:00

So, I am about to rejoin the world of the working! And while I am VERY thankful to have finally found employment, I am sad that my time staying home with The Boy is ending. I have sincerely loved getting to spend the last 18 months watching my baby grow. If I had my way, I would win the lottery tomorrow so I could stay home with him always. :) But alas, my luck is not that amazing (altho you never know hehe) and for now I am going back to work.

I have found a wonderful little home daycare for The Boy, quite close to my new job. During the interview he jumped right in with the other kids and was amazed at all the new "toys" that they had. In fact that was his greatest impression of the whole visit...as he chanted "toys, babies, toys, babies" all the way home from the interview.
I am also still plugging away on my 30 by 30 project. Today I thought of another item to add to my list: pack healthy lunches to bring. And this leads me to something that I have always thought was interesting: Bento lunches!

On a msg board I hang out on there are many mommas who pack bento lunches for their school age kiddos. I have found many cool sites on how to makes these cool (well portioned) lunches using a plethora of ingredients. I am going to try and learn how to do this as one of my "30" projects. I will try and get pics and keep you updated as to how it goes, and you should just SEE all the cute boxes you can get to make lunchtime more entertaining! Google "bento box" and you'll see what I mean. {Image from www.thecraftyhomemaker.com}

Oooh....new cupcakes!

2010-08-13T11:56:00.000-07:00

These beauties were created for my Nani's (grandmother) 96th birthday!! One of the major blessings in my life is that my Nani is still with us. I feel very happy that The Boy has got to meet at least 1 great-grandparent on each side of my family. Plus one thing that I will never forget (and yes I did scrapbook a page on it!) is something my Nani said when we brought The Boy to meet her when he was only 3 months old. She said, "I did it, I lived long enough to see my youngest child become a grandfather!" To me that is so special, considering that my dad is the youngest of SIX children. :)

These are almond cake with amaretto frosting (colored purple for a festive touch!). I was a little skeptical about the icing recipe, but I followed it and man were these babies amazing!!! The icing had real flavor (not just thick sugar taste) and the cake was light and fluffy. Not too mention the gorgeous bright violet that the coloring produced.

One more thing off my 30 by 30 list! If you want to see the list, check out the link at the top of the blog! I need more suggestions, so by all means add a comment to tell me another thing I can add to my list.

Events!

2010-08-11T20:50:00.001-07:00

We had an event here this evening.

An earth quaking, absolutely terrifying event!

THE BOY DISCOVERED HOW TO CLIMB OUT OF HIS CRIB!!!!! no no no no no no no NO!!! *Runs around the room in a screaming panic fit*

Oh okay, okay, I'm calm now, sort of. This was just so unexpected as the fact that he has a sleigh bed crib, with the mattress currently on its lowest setting and The Boy is only 18 months old! He's not big enough to understand "stay in your bed" yet. Plus when I saw him doing this (thank goodness I was in the room), the flexibility, strength, and intellect he displayed was a little shocking to his Momma! He practically had to stretch his foot up next to his face (limber little thing!) and then use his chest and arm strength to drag his upper body onto the rail, then fling said leg over the side. I do not know what he would have done about the drop, as I walked in from a quick restroom trip to see him tettering on the edge like a monkey.

This resulted in a very loud "OH MY GOSH NO!!!" from me and I rushed to put him back in the crib, which resulted in some loud screaming from The Boy. (He despises the word No). I had to sit on the floor and collect myself after this, then frantically search the net for what you do with gymnastically-inclined-monkey-toddlers. Some suggested using crib tents, but I quickly read that they do not fit sleigh bed style cribs....so no on that idea. Then another Mom post suggested turning the sleigh crib around, so the high side faced out, lower rail against the wall. Unfortunately by the time I found this solution, The Boy had passed out (Mommy hung out in his room with the laptop at bedtime to assure he did attempt another escape). So I placed several couch cushions around the outside of his crib just in case he tries anything in the night, and tomorrow we will spin that crib and see if it helps!!

Another life changing event occurred around here this week: are you ready????

Drumroll please.........

dadadadadadadadada ......

I got a job!!! yay!!!1 I have been looking for over a year, but the market around here is terrible and I wasn't having any luck. I have recently been hired as an Assist. Manager for a ladies clothing store around here. And as God is good, he helped me find a wonderful home daycare for The Boy to stay at while I work. :)

More details to come! But that is one thing off of my 30 by 30 list, get a job! done!

30 by 30 project!!!

2010-08-10T10:03:00.000-07:00

I have started a new project for this month! check out the new page here! It's tabbed up top as "30 by 30".

Some good news, finally!

2010-08-04T18:16:00.000-07:00

The Boy is currently going through a massive vocabulary burst!
Here are his new words that he has adopts in the last week:
Uncle
Me
Like
Crackers
Cookie
Abby (as in Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street).
Shoe
Sock
truck
car
ouch
and My personal favorite word of the week is: Hug!

I love hearing him plead for a "hug"! It is the cutest thing ever.

We are going through a period of change right now. I recently landed a job that I start in two weeks and I am both excited and nervous. I have been looking for work for some time and I am very happy to have finally found something. But on the other hand I am going to miss all the time I get with The Boy. I have loved being home with him, especially through all the turmoil of this last 18 months, he has been what kept me going. I am scouting out daycares this next week to find a safe and fun place for him to spend the time when I work.

I would love advice from any of you single mommy bloggers out there. What are your best tips for being a working single mom?

Som fun At the Fair!

2010-07-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

Well today The Boy and I took an adventure to see the County Fair. What fun! This year The Boy was big enough to take in all the sights, have tastes of the yummy goodies, and he was thoroughly impressed that he got to see so many animals up close.
The weather was just perfect for roaming around the fairgrounds, sunny, but not too hot. One of the highlights of the day was seeing the baby piglets. The Boy couldn't get over his amazement as he shrieked "Pig Pig Pig Piggeeess!!"

One of My favorite things to see at the fair is the amazing flower exhibits. This year's garden was a real beauty, there was so much color!! I had to snap some shots of these gorgeous blooms.

Such a fun afternoon, and I really love sharing the experience with the Boy.

Midnight Ruby

2010-07-23T22:39:00.000-07:00

These little mitts were inspired by the Twilight Saga. This red/black yarn (coincidentally named "Midnight Sun", from Cascade) brought to mind images of the sinister Volturri with their red irises. I love fingerless knitted gloves, they are some of my favorite items to knit. I wanted a set that were a little different, but not overly complicated. I thought about some cables, but I found that putting a cable up the back with these gloves either left me with a very thick section, or loose fitting mitts. I need some more practice working with/designing small cables I think. :) My personal preference for mitts is to have them be snug in the hands, so I tossed out cabling for this set.

Anyhow, I worked up this design for a set of snug fingerless mitts with a little black ruffling at the wrist. It's hard to tell in the photo (due to the angle) but the black band at the wrist actually has stragetically placed eyelets for lacing a red satin ribbon, or leather cording through.

What do you think?

Open letters to people and things!

2010-07-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

Forgive the copycat idea, but a post on another blog inspired me today.

Here are some open letters to the rich and famous, as well as certain concepts that are bugging me lately!

Dear Stephanie Meyer: Thank you for writing the Twilight saga. Good for you to be living the dream of all of us struggling writer moms! It's nice to see someone succeed so majorly with their first novel/series.

Dear Jillian Michaels: Losing it was a great summer show! You really showed that there is more to you than just the "screaming trainer" on BL, and I loved watching, it was inspiring. PS. I worship you!

Dear Cast of GLEE: You have made my in-the-car-karoake sessions so much more fun! You are also responsible for me coming within a hairs breadth of embarrassing myself by singing along with my Ipod at the gym lately!

Dear BP: It is my personal belief that none of the high-ups in your company should not make more than 6 figures until the gulf is cleaned up. All those million dollar bonuses should go to clean up efforts!!!

Dear Economy: Enough Already!!! To spend money, WE NEED JOBS! People can't buy stuff if they can't work to earn money! Jobs, give them back to us!

Dear Wall street: Do you really need millions of dollars in bonuses a year??? There are people who would kill for a job that paid 30 grand a year total! We need to even this out!

Dear legs, ankles, shins: Yes we have started running, and I'm sorry to tell you that it's going to continue! I know you hurt now, but I promise we will get stronger and it will get easier!

And lastly, an ode to my weight: We've had some good times, but I hope to be seeing less of you this year. :)

Sunday Shakedown

2010-07-18T16:17:00.000-07:00

The Sunday Shakedown!

Garage Sale Report: A smashing success! I got rid of a driveway of stuff, and only had a few boxes to go to goodwill. I got lucky and a lot of people in my neighborhood were having yard sales as well so we all traded traffic and everyone had put up signs so there were alot of customers milling about. My extra yarn sold so well that there wasn't any left!! I had a large sterilite tote full of half balls, even a few full acrylic skeins and they all sold, including the extra circular needles and knitting magazines in the bin! I was very happy they went. The nice thing is to have more space in the storage and hopefully par it down to cheaper unit. Plus made enough cash to pay the bills this month, thank you Lord!!!

Scrapbook stuff: The only thing that didn't sell was the LARGE box of scrapbook supplies. If anyone out there still paper scrapbooks and would like a kit of patterned paper, a 3 ring album (never used) rubber stamps, stickers, page protectors, etc.....drop me a comment! We can make an amazing deal. I need to get this stuff out of my space. I still love to scrap but never have the time anymore and I've mostly moved to digital nowadays. If you're interested, you could be getting the steal of the century. :)

New knit design! I'm still working on my knitted cape pattern (and will need test knitters shortly, wink wink). Last night I worked up another kiddie pattern for a beanie with a ruffled edge and a matching scarf. I hope to have that sample up soon. Just need to decide the right colors.

Farmers Market: My mom came with The Boy and I today to see the farmers market in our little town this afternoon. What fun! And a bonus, we discovered a children's clothing consignment store! yay, another place to donate The Boy's used clothes. :)

How was your weekend!

Creative day, plus prep work

2010-07-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

For some reason I felt creative today, inspired in a sense.

I was cleaning out my scrapbook supplies to see what I could sell off in tomorrow's yard sale. I came across some monogram papers that for some reason just screamed "Twilight" to me. Just the way the design was. So I whipped up some premade Twilight layouts. I figure maybe they'll sell for a few bucks on ebay to a fan who is looking to make a scrapbook of any and all thing Twilight. :)

Also, I organized all my yarn and made a crate to sell some of that off too. Hopefully this stuff will go. But as I pawed through my yarn, deciding what to keep or sell, I got all kinds of crazy ideas for projects and designs. I kept my sketchbook on the floor nearby to scribble out pattern ideas as they came to me, then wrote down which yarn had inspired it. Once this sale is over, then I can concentrate on some more creating!!

I love how the inspiration just strikes sometimes. Although I do wish it would come when I'm not incredibly busy with other stuff! lol

A little sunnier today

2010-07-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

So, my apologies for the heavy of yesterday's post. Sometimes you just gotta vent!

Today is better thus far. I have my 2nd run training scheduled for this afternoon and I'm half excited, half scared of it. Oh wait...I don't think I told you guys about this! I downloaded an app to my itouch called "Couch to 5K". Basically it's a training program that teaches you how to run and gives you a plan for developing your endurance. It gives you a 9 week schedule and each week it changes what you do. You get ready for your run and start whatever music you like, then open this program. It times your warm up, running segments, walking segments, and cool down. The trainer pauses your music when it's time to switch, then your music comes in again. It's pretty awesome! Especially for a non athlete like me who doesn't know what to do half the time.

I did my first run on Monday and it was TOUGH! But I'm hoping it will get easier.

Onto something completely different: Knitting!

I finished another sample of my sundress pattern. I knit this up following my own pattern, working on adding the mods for a smaller size. Now the pattern includes both sizes and it looks just as adorable in light pinks as it does in bright ones!

If you are interested in getting this pattern, you can find me on Ravelry.com under "Riverdragon Designs".

Or if you're not a raveler and want to purchase the pattern drop me an email!

I'm currently working on second for sale design...it's a hooded cape for girls. I've got a couple other designs on the back burner too, burning a hold in a my notebook currently. I wish I could knit as fast as I can design!

Here are some simmering ideas:
Ruffled bonnet
"Bear Hugs" baby hat
Super hero baby blanket/cape

I don't envy God....

2010-07-13T22:09:00.001-07:00

I don't like to talk too much about my personal life on this blog but every once in awhile I have to let it out.

Today was a hard day for some reason. Maybe it's just getting to me, maybe it just needs to come to a head, maybe I'm about to get a monthly visit from aunt Flo....for whatever reason...today was a hard one.

Which leads me to......

I don't envy God.

Now let me explain what I mean by that: bear with me...if this makes any sense. :)

I believe in love. I believe in several kinds of love: soul mate love, parental love, sibling/family bonds, friendship love, crushes, loving your pets, loving the beauty of nature and creation, loving yourself, and above all... the love of my Creator.

I believe that all of these loves have places in our lives. But there are some things that I think get mixed up between romantic love and God's love. The phrases: "I can't live without you", and "if I can't/don't have you, I don't want to live", "you're my only reason for living".... I personally think that these should only be said in terms of your relationship with your higher power (whatever that may be to you, I understand it's different things to different people.). The reason I think that humans should not put this kind of thing out there in the bonds of "romantic love" is that it is too much pressure on the other person. As much as I can love someone, I don't want to be their "only reason" for existing!! I'm happy to be loved and appreciated, but I'm human and too flawed and small to handle that kind of responsibility. It should be reserved for your higher power who is big enough to handle that.

You can prolly tell that these kind of sentiments are getting tossed at me as I go through this struggle of separating from my husband. The logical part of me knows that it is just the last clutches of a drowning man who has thrown everything away and does not want to accept that. I have spent many years helping/loving/waiting for this man, and praying for change. But you cannot change someone, and you can only help yourself. As much as I know the truth of it all, it still hurts to have the one you love say this to you. And that is why I have the sentiment that I do not envy my Creator.

I keep a happy face on for The Boy, and try and make our days together full of love and smiles so that he has happy memories of his childhood, despite this turmoil. But sometimes at night...it just gets to me.

This used to be my playground.....

2010-07-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

Forgive the old Madonna lyric, but it fits this post.

I am about to get on a soapbox here, just a warning!

But honestly, what the heck has happened to playgrounds?!!!! I remember the joy of going to playgrounds as a kid, they were the whole point of the park. Especially finding new parks when I was out with my mom, or if we traveled. It was always fun to see the different designs and play equipment that different parks had. I remember one park in our town had a big dragon made of steel pipe that was designed to be climbed. Another park in our area had the most awesome merry go round, really wide, you could spin it fast and the more kids hopped on, the more fun it was.

Unfortunately for the kids of today....parental fears and the "safety police" have replaced all the cool playgrounds with the same brightly colored plastic "play structures" surrounded by wood chip beds. Gone are the wooden castles, simple swing sets, merry go rounds, parallel bars, climbing gyms, now it is all the same plastic set. And honestly, it's sad to see. (I even saw a post from another blogger in a diff state saying a similar sentiment, mourning the loss of swings. )

Today I took The Boy out for walk in his stroller, and we went to a park I used to love in town. It has fields, hiking trails, and it used to have the LAST cool playground around here. But what did we see as we walked toward it? yep, the rangers were installing a new "plastic play structure" just like all the others, the cool equipment was torn down and gone. My heart sank, it was the last original playground left in town and now they are all the same.

I am really curious, did SO MANY of us kids of the 70s and 80s die or do ourselves permanent harm at the playground??? I remember falling off a few times, a skinned knee or two, but our equipment was in a sandbox so the ground was soft. At the park there were always benches surrounding the main area for all the mommies to watch from and visit with each other (these benches are usually gone now too). Heck I remember my parents SENDING me to walk to the park down the street and play with my friends, they wouldn't even come. I don't recall a single friend of mine getting killed or even breaking a bone! (That came later in Jr. high when we experimented with bikes and skateboards! lol)

Now, before someone jumps on me .... I do understand that older wooden equipment can rot out or just start to break down from overuse. Why not rebuild the playground in wood again? Design a new castle, build a new merry go round, with better rails? There are so many ideas. I just don't get it. If you're going to tear it out and install a new one, why not design one that is fun and creative, and ORIGINAL?? Maybe that is a future career for me, playground design! hehe, could be fun!

I was going to upload some photos of this stuff, but Blogger won't let me, I'll try again later.

All kinds of baked goodies!

2010-07-09T15:47:00.000-07:00

Well today is a baking day. Yes, you heard me right. In the middle of summer, smack dab in July I am in the middle of baking trays of goodies. Why? Well, because I'm crazy of course.

Ha! Gotcha! Well actually I am baking in July, but luckily for me our summer heat has taken the week off and it has actually been breezy and pretty cool outside. And I DO have a reason for this weirdness: The Boy and I have a family reunion of sorts to attend this weekend and I was slated to bring desserts for the clan.

So, that leads to this afternoon....after a crazy last minute Walmart run to get disposable trays. (Normally I would use my own pretty trays, but this is outside with alot of people and I'd rather not have my stuff I always use lost, stolen, or broken accidentally). Walmart had exactly what I needed with disposable baking trays complete with plastic lids! yay, makes toting them on the drive all the easier, plus no clingy plastic wrap for me to make a mess with and humiliate myself by swearing at it.

So far I've got a batch of my "Snow topped fudge squares" done and chilling in the fridge. In the oven (making the house smell yummy) are the first batch of cupcakes.....well actually now the 2nd batch (I took a break while composing this to switch!)

I'm going to try a new idea with the last batch. German chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel filling! ooooooohh......deliciously good!

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

2010-07-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

So, I got a chance to be childless for a few hours to go see the new movie in the Twilight saga: Eclipse. And I must say.....
LOVED IT!!! I think it's the best of the three that have been made. You got to see the Cullens interact with each other more. And I really enjoyed the scenes with Rosalie, Jasper, Alice,etc. The character of Alice is my favorite and she was really showcased a bit more in this movie.

Plus, I want to give props to these two:
While I've always thought they looked the parts ...I wasn't totally a fan of their acting ability. I think in the previous two films both always looked apathetic (aside from certain well done scenes). In this movie they both have upped their game, or the director finally decided to let their faces show emotion when called for. Plus in this movie I actually bought the fact that Edward loves Bella. In the other films, Pattinson was saying the words most of the time, but I wasn't feeling the emotion. This one it's there! You can see the love, yay!

Kristen Stewart likewise does better as Bella, but many scenes she still looks so uncomfortable!! As if someone said something that embarrassed her. There are scenes that she manages to sluff off that look and really pull out some acting. I just would like her to actually LOOK happy and in love when the script calls for it. She can do pained, she can do "lost in thought", she can do "anxious and worried", but happy seems the hardest.

Kristen....if you're out there...honey you are getting to play one of the most popular characters in teen fiction, you are a beautiful girl, you probably are set financially for life now....SMILE sweetie!! Be happy, you are living a life so many dream of. Or at least let Bella look happy on film!

Then again, she could be laughing and smiling off screen all the time, and the directors make the decision for Bella to always be like that. Maybe in Breaking Dawn she'll really bust it out, maybe she's saving the best for last. :)

Go check out this movie!

Random news

2010-07-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

Things I'm thinking about lately:

Writing, I'm working on a novel idea, in the vein of a sci-fi romance. My real life keeps bleeding in though and kind of corrupting my inspiration. I keep finding myself wanting to write my story, but give it a different ending. Something like, my real true love shows up and rescues me from my current situation. It's a nice fantasy, but I need to get it out of my head so it doesn't keep clogging up my fictional inspiration.

On the knitting front: I had a few testers look through my pattern for the sundress I posted, edited it for errors and it's now up on ravelry!! If you're on there you can find it my shop under Riverdragon Designs. I'm now working on a new design, a hooded cape for girls. I've got the pattern written up according my sketch and measurements, and the hood part is finished, now I'm onto the cape part.

Thirdly: I need a job! Why won't anyone hire me? As much as I love my family for helping me out, it's pretty yucky to apply for job after job, after job after job...and not get any call, or simply be told no. I've had a couple of interviews that clearly did NOT want to hire a single mother. They are not allowed to discriminate that way and i even said so when one potential employer flat out said "oh we're not interested in a single parent"...their reply was that single parents called in sick to work too much when their child was ill. Even after convincing the person that I had a large family support system (including a retired parent) who could care for The Boy if need be ...they still never called me back for another interview. It is making me crazy. I've always been a hard worker, always done well in every job I've had...even been the top seller in several companies....but it's not helping me in this job hunt. I know that everyone is looking for work right now...but honestly if any of these people who just hire me for a trial period they would see that I'm a good worker!!! I'm not a slacker, I don't call in sick, I like people....I like getting paid!!

Ack, okay vent over.

Fireworks and fun!

2010-07-05T13:40:00.000-07:00

Did you have a happy fourth of July? The Boy and I certainly enjoyed our weekend. This year was fun as The Boy was a little older and neither of us were sick (last year we were sharing an icky summer fever-flu bug). We hung out with family, my Dad BBQed steaks, everybody brought a salad and we had a small bag of fireworks to set off.

Of course, being a shutterbug by nature, I had to grab my camera and try and catch some firework shots. I got a couple of good ones. The Boy enjoyed almost all the fireworks, except a particularly noisy one that he whined at a little.
From our yard we can see the fireworks that the town shoots off, so we all snuggled up on benches in the yard with blankets and watched. The Boy had taken a long late afternoon nap so he hung in there while we watched the fireworks, and passed out as soon as they were over.

All and All, it was a great holiday. I really love fireworks, the big ones and the backyard kind, they just bring out my inner pyromaniac. :)

The Bliss List

2010-07-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

I saw this title in a magazine and thought that it was a great idea! When people list there "top 10" moments in their life, sometimes they are expected memories (weddings, babies, etc). Sometimes they are not what you'd expect. Here is my "Bliss List", in no particular order.

1. Christmas Morning when I was a child, my family was still whole, and my mother really embraced the spirit of the season and went to great lengths to make this holiday magical. My dad played his part by keeping us busy and up late on the Eve so that we would sleep later the next morning. He played board games, we watched Christmas movies, baked cookies for Santa and left them out with milk. The next morning our tradition was that we all had to enter the living room together, no peeking! Mom and Dad would cover my brothers and my eyes and lead us in. The magic of seeing that Christmas tree all lit up, presents scattered beneath, bites taken out of the cookies, milk gone...it was all so amazing to me as a child.

2.Making tamales with my Dad. I'm in my twenties and my precious Nani (Dad's mother) has recovered amazingly from a heart operation that we thought would take her from us. When we visit after her hospital stay, I beg her to tell me her Tamale recipe. She does and I have to grab paper and pen to write, scrambling to keep up as she talks. This, and all her other recipes are in her head, not on any paper. I get her recipe and that Thanksgiving, my Dad and get busy in the kitchen. It is such fun cooking with my father as he tweaks ingredients and together we make the amazing tamales that used to come out of Nani's kitchen. We experiment with new fillings, different fats, until we have a plethora of goodness...each one wrapped in a corn husk. The kitchen is a mess, our bellies are full, life is good.

3. My first digital SLR camera. I am in my mid twenties and have finally saved up enough to afford a new digital SLR camera. I have always loved photos and photography, but could not always afford the learning curve of film and wasted prints. Now I hold the Canon digital rebel in my hands and the possibilities open up. Now all those photography books I own can be put to quicker study as I can simply upload files to my computer to see the results of a days shooting.

4. The backyard swing. I am 9 years old. My dad has revamped the backyard swing he built with a studier rope and new seat. It is a 1 rope swing with a circular seat. You have to hold tight and if you build up enough momentum you can push off the tree trunk and really fly high. I'm wearing headphones and singing along with a cassette tape as I swing endlessly on a summer evening.

5. Spending the week with my Grandmother. I am 11 years old. My mom's mother lives an hour away and lets me spend a week with her in the summer each year. It is such fun to have her all to myself. We eat out, watch the same movies over and over in her VCR. (Big Business, the Jetsons Movie, and Beaches, Grandma was a Bette Midler fan). I get to play with her big fluffy gray cat, color on big sheets of paper on her floor, and just enjoy our time.

6. Halloween at my Dads. Older me, in my twenties. There are kids everywhere on our street, lining the sidewalks. Every house is decked out and we have a counter covered in costco candy bags to hand out. I carve jackolanterns in the afternoon and put gravestones in our yard. The kids tromp up our stairs in costume and we watch The Princess Bride on Dad's tv between doorbell rings.

7. Laying in the hospital the night after my lovely little son came into this world. They wheeled his plastic bassinet in next to me and I just lay there and stared at him for hours, despite how tired I was. All wrapped up like a burrito, just his little red mushy face peeking out, his poor little bruised head hidden under a cap. He seemed so mythical during the last nine months, and now here he was in the flesh. Despite all the pain, the complications, the fears, I could never have guessed how much I would instantly love this baby boy.

8.Hitting the top seller mark at my job. Hearing the supervisor read off the top sellers for the season, and hearing my name at the very top of the company list. I sit back, knowing that all the hours I put in, the hard work, all of it was recognized, if only for a moment.

9. Hawaii. I am 27 and in Hawaii on vacation. A family member has taken us all out here as a special treat and as I sit on the condo deck, watching the colors of the sunset over the ocean I am amazed at the perfection and beauty of God's creation. The water here is warm, flowers are bright and fragrant, the air is moist and smells of the sea, I cannot imagine anything better.

10. Snuggling with my son. The time is now. Any given morning, my little son will wake up a little too early and make noise. I rise and lift him out of his crib. He lays his head down on my shoulder and hugs me. We snuggle down in the big bed and he tucks himself into the crook of my arm, sucking his binky contentedly. After a few moments he dozes back off and I lay very still, trying to memorize the sweet features of his face in this second, as he changes daily.

Yay, it's finished!

2010-06-30T22:14:00.001-07:00

Pink Lemonade Sundress

Yay, my first big design project is finished!! Excuse the bad photo, but it was nighttime so I was reduced to flashy photography. ( I will take some better natural light pix soon!) I have been into designing lately and the more I do it, the more fun I have. I love browsing patterns in magazines and online but often find that I like one aspect of a project vs. the entire design. So I started tryign my hand at designing, and now I'm addicted. Everytime I pick up a yarn I think about what I could create for it.

I've done a few hats, a bootie pattern, but this dress was my first full pattern design where I didn't draw on any other pattern for inspiration. My inspiration for this little dress was in the yarn mostly. I found this yarn "Angel Baby" and it came in this yummy colorway. The photo doesn't do the pretty pinks, peach, and yellow variations justice. It just screamed summer!

I gauged squared and played with a few designs and worked up this one. The bodice is ribbed to keep it snug, then the skirt flares out with an eyelet row thrown in each panel for interest, finished off with a cute little ruffle. I designed it to work as a dress on a smaller baby, then grow into a top as baby grows.

I'm thinking about putting it up as my first sale pattern on Ravelry.

What do you think?

The Boy and The Beach!

2010-06-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

So I decided to do something summery today. The Boy got up pretty early and I decided that we would make the most of the early morning rise and pack up some stuff to go hike the trails at the beach. So we were up and dressed by 8 am (due to the early riser baby) and I whipped up some tuna salad sandwiches, fruit, and baby snacks, packed up the car with a blanket and the good stroller, then we were on our way.

We are lucky enough that we live within driving distance of the beach. We drove to my favorite trail to hike, this trail so awesome...it meanders along the top of the cliffs by the ocean and has built wooden walkways over areas and it has a gorgeous view. Plus you get the fun of being by the water without dealing with a baby who wants to eat the sand!
The Boy got settled into his stroller, lunch towed away underneath and we hiked our way down the trail. The early hour meant the weather was perfect, not too hot, bright and sunny. The bonus was all the critters we saw. The Boy hooted, hollered, and learned a few new words along the way too! "Beach", "Bunny", and "ocean"...although that last one came out sounding more like "hooooo shone...." lol . We got to see a few baby bunnies scampering around and even a little red weasel...at least I think that's what he was, he stayed too far away for me to get a good look.

What a great morning though! We had a picnic lunch in a flat grassy area ( far away from the cliffs!!) and then hiked back to the car. I get in some good exercise and had alot of fun listening to my little man talking about all the things he saw. The bunnies were the biggest hit, they were pretty darn fearless, as they didn't hop off into the grass until we were quite close.

I'm back!

2010-06-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

The Boy and I are back! We've just returned from an amazing weekend visiting some of my favorite family members. I love going to see this family, they live about 3 hrs from The Boy and I and despite the long drive, it never fails to be a fun time and a great visit.

And the icing on the cake was the occasion was my cousins baby shower! And such a fun one at that! My cousin and my aunt throw the best parties (cousins wedding shower last year was like something out of a magazine it was so pretty!) and it's always fun to see the theme and how they go with it in the shower planning. I swear that those ladies could make a great business out of party planning if they had the inclination. The theme was "the baby bump", and since my cousin is one of those lucky ladies that looks wonderful and just has this cute little baby bump of a tummy, it was perfect. Best of all she got all kinds of adorable stuff for her little one and seemed to have a great time. This little one is who the knitted blanket, booties, and hat went to.

As much as The Boy and I love a great party, it was even more fun the next day just hanging out in their lovely home enjoying the company. We all trekked out to their mall for a bit and just enjoyed the air conditioning while we browsed. The Boy came out of the deal with two new pairs of shoes, the lucky man. Cute little red converse, and some brown saltwater sandals....I can't believe they still make these...I wore these as a kid and loved them.

I would love to post pictures of this fun trip, but unfortunately I got some kind of error msg on my flash card and I am currently working on my computer to try and recover the pictures that were on there. I really hope they are not gone!! I will post the results later on. If it works I will be doing some free PR for data recovery software!!!

Heart melter

2010-06-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

Don't they just melt your heart when they're sleeping so peacefully?

I know The Boy sure melts mine. Even if he's been in a cranky mood all day, even when he's tantrumming all afternoon, even when he's been in cry mode over everything because his little molars are getting ready to come in (which is going on currently).... these moments when he sleeps so peacefully just turn my heart to a puddle of goo.

Finished projects!!!

2010-06-21T21:51:00.001-07:00

Yay, I can finally report some finished projects! Excuse the bad photography, lol, but here is the set of things I knitted for my cousin who is pregnant with a baby boy. I found this lovely so soft yarn around Christmas time in a local yarn store (thank you for relatives who give yarn store giftcards!) , and these colors were lovely and muted, and boyish. At first I was trying a patches type blanket with squares that had different patterns, but this yarn is a little fuzzy and I was losing the design when you looked at it from a few feet away. Plus I figured this will be a nice stroller blanket, so I went with a simpler square pattern that I could work up quickly and have fun with stripes.

I also wanted to knit up a set of booties and hat for the baby boy. Little beanies like this were always a godsend when The Boy was a newborn, especially since he was born in January. Everytime I had to take him out I worried about his little head getting too cold. I would just grab one of his little beanies and away we would go. The booties came from the pattern I made up, but I alternated to make them chuck lookalikes. :) What little guy wouldn't want his booties to look like sneakers? hehe :)

Knitting baby items is so much fun!

Summer Splashin

2010-06-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

Summer finally arrived here. We had such a wet winter, and the rain lasted all through May which is unusual. Although I am a cold weather person, I have to admit that watching The Boy play in his new baby pool out back on a hot day was great fun. And I can't honestly think of any other $7.00 purchase that has gotten this much use or joy from it. The Boy is a fan of the water and dearly loves to splash his momma during every bathing session.

So when we blew up the new pool and set it up out back I figured it was a shoo-in for him to love it. At first he was genuinely confused when I walked him out back in the sun in just his swim shorts and sandals. He just stood next to the pool and stared for a moment. I showed him his bath toys that I'd put in it and he looked around, looked at me, looked at the pool, then back at me and asked... "Bath?" His expression was so confused as if he was saying:
"I don't get it Momma, aren't baths usually an indoor activity?"

I popped him into the water and he gave it a few test splashes before squealing with glee. Two hours later I had to finally get him out... to his great chagrin) to have dinner and settle down for the evening.
The Boy also added a few new words this week: Pool, duck, quack-quack, boat, and turtle.
Are we sensing a theme here? lol

I highly suggest this to any Momma out there that would like to be able to relax a little in their yard this summer! Chilling in the shade while The Boy splashed to his hearts content was pretty darn relaxing, I even got some knitting in.

The best part? No having to mop the bathroom floor afterwards!

Gearing up for a BIG garage sale! CONTEST

2010-06-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

So, I'm now trying to clean and sort through 9 years worth of two people's belongings and pare it down the BARE minimum that need to be kept. With the deteriorating state of things between my ex and I he signed over the contents of our storage unit and I am cleaning it out and trying to get it down to a very small amount to get the bill down.

Soo....that entails days upon days of sorting through various boxes, clothing, books, dvds, games, game systems, etc etc etc. I never realized how much STUFF we had. We moved so many times that alot of things that we had have been in boxes for years and all of it has been in the storage for a year now. Ex had so many computer games and things that I'm now trying to sell, and I've had to squelch my bibliophile tendencies and actually decide to get rid of some of the hundreds of books I own.

It's kind of a depressing task to be getting rid of so many things that were ours, but since I can't afford to store it all and to be quite honest...what good are these things to me really if I haven't even thought of them in over a year?

Sigh....so since I never heard back from the contest winner, why don't we try another round of

"Who wants some free yarn?"

This time the rules are:

-become a follower of my blog
-vote for me at top mommy blogs here ----------------->>>
-Leave me a comment letting me know you did the first two.
-Include in your comment a garage sale tip!!

Oh and if you happen to be looking for a good deal on baby boy clothing, dvds, computer games, or any other miscellaneous thing...let me know!! :)

Time-eating designing!

2010-06-07T14:49:00.000-07:00

Summer is coming....

Well, one last shout out to my contest winner!!! Are you out there? Please comment/email me if you are and would like your prize!

If I don't contact her soon, I'll pick another lucky lady to send this yarn too.

And speaking of yarn......I need to get grinding on these projects! Lately my mind takes a designing turn everytime I dig through my stash. I think about what I could create and instead of pattern hunting (which I used to do) I now grab my note book and start thinking on paper about measurements and such. This is awesome, but the actual production part is lagging. I get so wrapped up in the sketch and design and math that I run out of actual knitting time!

But I'm working on remedying that this week. I vow to complete at least 1 project this week before I work on any designs in my notebook!

Crepes!

2010-06-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

New recipe experiment to add to my total (of which I've lost count, I'll backtrack and update in a bit!) This recipe came from the "I don't want to shop, but would love to make something new" collection. Plus I have to admit I was reading "Julie and Julia" the other day and there was a whole passage about learning to make these things.

So I looked up a recipe and got to work one morning this week. We had a big bag of frozen strawberries in the freezer, so I defrosted some and smooshed them, then cooked them up into a chunky strawberry filling. We also had a can of whipped cream in the fridge (no substitute for homemade but hey..it was there!) from last weeks pie. I followed the directions, mixed up the batter, poured it into the pan and prayed.

They turned out GREAT!! Every single crepe was thin and golden. I did cheat a little and used a large spatch to flip them instead of the jerking the pan and throwing the food in the air trick. I added the filling, rolled them up and sprinkled a tiny bit of powdered sugar and Voila!! Strawberry and cream filled crepes!

The Boy squealed his approval when he got his very own crepe to tear into pieces and make a big mess with. (But I do have to add that after the tearing/mess he ate ALL the pieces!)

A week of Endings

2010-05-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

Let's start with the MOST talked about ending of the week. LOST. I didn't get into this show until around the third season when someone loaned us the DVDs and I started watching from the beginning. I was instantly hooked by the creative plots and mysteries surrounding all these characters as they tried to survive on the Island. I haven't always watched religiously, but I catch my self up towards the end of each season until I can watch the finale when it airs. I was unable to watch the series final the night it aired but thankfully Comcast had it up OnDemand pretty quickly.
I have to say, I was pretty satisfied with the last episode. I liked how they finally explained the "sideways" flashes and how they reunited our characters one last time to say goodbye. It was almost like a fan fueled send up as we got to see so many characters that have been long gone, and we got to remember with each person as they connected. I admit I teared up at quite a few scenes (Sawyer and Juliet's reunion sniff) , especially the last one.
That show will be missed.
Next: The Biggest loser finale!

I love love LOVE this show and am a big Jillian fan. I was excited to see who won this show. I was pretty happy with the final four and was really rooting for Ashley, from the pink team. I think all four of them looked GREAT at the finale taping and they should all be very proud of their hard work. But I have to say... Michael's transformation was pretty amazing. He looked like a different person! And he deserved the win, that was A LOT of weight to drop in that amount of time. I truly hope that he keeps it off and starts enjoying life more.

On a side note: Miggy (the mother from the green team) looked incredible!

Another side: I can't wait to check out Jillian's new show on tuesday nights this summer!

The last ending this week I have to discuss is a personal one.

And coming at the end of a "fluff" post about TV finales this is going to sound strange but oh well... I filed for divorce this week. Unfortunately the downward spiral of my ex just continues to get worse and I have had to face the fact that he will never again be the man that I married and his lifestyle now is not one I can live with ever again. I am very sad to admit this, but it's been coming for a long time and we have already been separated over a year. Now it's just paperwork time. I continue to hold out hope that one day he will clean up and straighten his life out, but for now, it's an end for me.

And we have a winner!!

2010-05-28T11:33:00.000-07:00

Congrats Jolene!
******************************************
I voted!

My husband's favorite sandwich is my Grilled Cheese and Ham Supreme!

- Butter the Bread a little on both sides of both slices (I like to use medium/thick cut homemade bread)
- Layer Sliced Ham, Thinly sliced onions, and shreadded cheese (I like a mix of medium cheddar, havarti, parmesan, mozzarella... but you can use whatever you have on hand) and Sprinkle a little freshly cracked black pepper (the ham and cheese themselves usually have enough salt/flavor so you don't need salt)
- Fry the sandwich in a pan (like you would a grilled cheese sandwich) until the bread toasts golden and the insides are melted together.
- This sandwich goes great with soup! Crunchy and gooey and delicious!
(beware, one of these sandwiches is rarely enough!)

Jolene
(jobodesigns on Ravelry)
***************************************

So The Boy and I tried your grilled cheese and ham recipe and it was a big hit! I've done variations on this one before, but hadn't thought to use onions in it, or how you did the bread. But it was tasty! Thanks for playing.

Walking!

2010-05-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

The Boy has reached a milestone!

He is officially walking now. And I have to say, his little toddling steps are the cutest thing I've ever seen. He walks all over, uses his pretend keys to try and unlock the "real" doorknobs, and chatters nonstop (not all of it in English)

Keep the Sandwich contest entries coming!

Contest time!

2010-05-19T15:02:00.000-07:00

Sandwiches are one of my favorite foods and I need some new recipes to try. Plus I have some great new yarn to offer up as a prize!

SANDWICH CONTEST

This is an easy contest! Here are the rules

1. Visit Katie Neverending (see how easy, you're already here!)

2. Vote for me in topmomblogs, just click the button to your right. --------->>>
(Not too mention, if you're looking for lots of awesome blogs, they have them!)

3. Leave me a comment with your answer to this question. What is your favorite sandwich recipe?

And that's it. I will draw for a winner on May 25th!

The lucky participant will win two skeins of this yarn! Debbie Stoller has come out with this great line of yarns, this particular one is called "full o sheep" it is a wool yarn that comes in some great vibrant colors.
Good luck! And I'm looking forward to seeing the sandwich recipes.

2010-05-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

Sunday Somethings:

-Went to church today, but honestly I feel very tired of people coming up and giving me the concerned "oh hun, how are you doing?". Everyone knows about Ex's issues and that we are having serious problems. I don't care that people know, but I'd rather not have to discuss it over and over when I am trying to stay positive and enjoy church. It would be nice if people were just happy to see The Boy and I and left it at that.

-The Boy's language is exploding. Today we got a couple new words: yellow, blue, green, and door.

-I love that the boy is VERY into watching Sesame Street right now, but can someone talk to Comcast and get them to update the ondemand selection a little more often. I am getting very tired of the same 8 episodes, lol. I could recite them for you word for word if I cared to.

-I honestly think that my bed is the most comfortable spot in the world. (That is where I am snuggled up currently with my laptop.)

-I wish I had my own home. I see all these closed up houses in foreclosure (just rotting there) and it just saddens me. I wish I had the money to buy one and fix it up.

-I have found some really great blogs recently while surfing around. Check out the topmomblogs site, you can click thru the button on the right here. (vote for me while you're at it hehe) They have hundreds of fun blogs to read through.

-I think it's time for a contest here! I've got some great yarn to offer up as a prize, whether you knit, crochet, or just craft...some pretty colors! I'll post details tomorrow.

Saturday Small talk Six

2010-05-15T17:22:00.000-07:00

Saw this meme on another blog and thought it would be fun for a quick saturday post

may 15 – 6 names you liked, but opted not to name your child or children

1. Landon: loved this one, but it just doesn't work with the last name.
2. Benjamin: Another love, but The Boy's dad vetoed.
3. Jasper: cute, but just didn't work
4. Lewis; I really fought for this one, but lost
5. Sabrina: If he'd been a girl...
6. Parker: So cute, but a little too formal sounding for our last name.

Small talk Six Link

Sweet sleeping baby

2010-05-14T22:18:00.000-07:00

As I am typing this, The boy is snoozing peacefully in his crib. It is these moments, tiptoeing in to take a peek, that I am so very aware of how much this sweet little baby has changed my life.

Boy, this is for you.

My sweet little son
You have done so much for me in the short period of time you've existed.
You have forced me to do things I would not have had the courage to do otherwise
You have inspired me to work harder at everything
You have opened my eyes to so many possibilities
You have brought me more joy than I knew I could feel
You have made me smile at least 100 times more a day
You have stretched my heart to near bursting with the love I feel for you
You have made me look at myself and realize that I AM worthy of everything I dream of.
You have made me want to make the world a safe, clean, healthy place so you can enjoy it
And you have done all this just by existing
You didn't even have to try.

I love you little man.

Granted you have also brought me: a year of interrupted sleep, vomit stained shirts, sheer exhaustion, worry over every fever or sneeze, countless diaper changes, toys always underfoot, chewed crib railings, searches for lost binkies, and tired arms from carrying you everywhere....

But in ten, twenty, thirty years: I will only remember the sweet softness of your cheeks, the way you always smile so genuinely, your sweet voice calling me "Mama" and how you have made me so very happy just by existing.

Binkies in Bulk!

2010-05-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

PSA: If your child is a Binky kid (aka: nuks, pacis, soothers, plugs, whatever you call them in your family) you will relate to this post.

The Boy is a binkie baby. Now as a disclaimer: I don't want a bunch of comments on how I am a horrible mother for doing the binkie thing. I made a choice, and that is just how it works in our family.

I am lucky in that The Boy is not particular nor super dependent on his binkies. They are only a necessity nowadays when it is naptime, or bedtime. During the day they are usually only in his mouth if he's having a super drooly day. We do this to avoid him having a constantly wet shirt (or wet bib leading to a wet shirt).

But there is one thing about binkies that I find very hard to believe. They are expensive! And for a little thing that constantly gets lost, I cringe every time I have to buy another pack of binkies because it's like5-8 bucks for 1-2 binks!!! Plus so many binkies are ....and I am going to be brutally honest here....ugly. They often come in only two color variations: the girl pack which has cute pink/purple ones, and the boy pack which has usually yellow and green. It is surprisingly hard to find BLUE binkies that aren't for newborns. The only BLUE ones I find are the 0-3 months size and too small.

The boy has few preferences about his binkies: they have to be the ones with the clear nip (as opposed to the coffee colored ones), and they can't be these "open" guys on the right. Not that I'm knocking these, but for The Boy, they are just not his fave.

What I would love is for someone to sell binkies by the bag or box, where you plunk down 10 bucks, but instead of getting 4 binkies, you get like 10-15. Because lets' all be real momma's here...if you have a binkie-babe you have or will experience any and all of the following:

-Binkie falls out as you are moving child into carseat in a parking lot, goes unnoticed until after you are home. (Or binkie drops right in the oil slick in the empty space next to you and then you promptly drop it in the nearest trash bin).

-Binkie gets tossed behind/under the couch. (Of course you won't know this until you move the furniture to vacuum weeks later and find several of the sneaky little suckers hiding there.)

-Bink gets left behind at a playdate.

-Bink mysteriously vanishes from crib. (Again, when you move the furniture you will usually find three or four binkies underneath every item.)

-Bink gets spit out and falls into any of the following: drainage ditch, toilet, garbage disposal, public restroom floor, etc. (Most mommas will toss these guys into the garbage rather than take the time to boil their fear...er I mean germs..off of them.)

-Binkies disappear during car rides. (When you take the car in to get serviced/cleaned, the attendant will most likely find several binks wedged in various spots under the seats.)

And there are many more ways that binks tend to escape, go awol, or just become unusable.

So, let's get the word out to all those baby manufacturers! Binkies should come in bulk!

Also, can we get some cuter varieties for our boys binks? Other than just blue polka dots or yellow giraffes? It would make them a little more fun!

Happy belated Mothers Day!

2010-05-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

First off: Happy Belated Mothers Day to all you Momma's!!!

I actually had a very nice mothers day. The Boy, my Dad, and I drove two hours to visit my Nani (Dad's mom) and my aunt who we haven't been able to see since November. (Everytime we tried, somebody would be sick, lol). They asked me to bring pies, so I whipped up a hot peach pie and chilled strawberry pie. Both were new recipes and I was biting my nails as they carved them up hoping that neither would be a total failure.

Luckily, they both passed the relative test with flying colors. The strawberry pie was the biggest hit, and the biggest surprise. In the past I've had trouble with cream pies, jello pies...any kind of pie that has to "set up". They either end up too loose (ie. soup) or too thick (frozen solid). This time I was twice as nervous, as the recipe I was attempting had me making my own "filling" that had to "set up" in the fridge overnight. But as I stood over a saucepan, mashing and stirring (and praying)...I watched and darn if that strawberry mixture didn't clear up and turn into the perfect thick clear pie filling that I wanted! I poured it over the whole strawberries in the pie shell, smoothed it, added a lid and into the fridge it went. When we served it, I fully expected that perfect filling to have gone liquid or frozen ....but low and behold...it was perfect! The pie slices held their shape and with a little dollop of whip cream ...it looked like something they'd serve you at Marie Callendars! But it tasted better.

The only change to this recipe...next time I'll whip up a batch of fresh whipped cream. (We were using canned).

Got a buy a baby gift? Read this first!

2010-05-06T00:10:00.000-07:00

Aww come on now... no comments on "Squid rice"? I was sure I'd get a few : "yuck"s or "that's just weird", or maybe a "Okay, I think you're officially crazy" comments out of that one. Ah well....I guess no one has a serious enough aversion to the tentacled critter to comment.

Onto other things: made up a new pair of booties off my fledgling pattern. tweaked the pattern to make the booties look like a Converse high top sneaker, complete with embroidered laces. It's too late to take and post photos tonight, but I will get them up in the next post or so.

Working on knitting up a layette for my cousins' baby that is arriving at the end of the summer. Little newborn is going to need some warm stuff since he/she is showing up just as autumn begins. My cousin called me and asked me what kind of baby stuff I found the most useful (she's registering for her baby shower) and I had to mentally run down all the do's and don't's gifts that I received when I was pregnant with The Boy. As we discussed the whys of each item I got to thinking that it might make a funny blog.

So here you go....the dos and donts of baby shower gifts, along with opinions.
And before you start, I am not saying that new moms are ungrateful for anything she receives. I personally used almost everything i was given, and sent out thank you cards. I only returned things I got duplicates of (when giver included reciepts). This is just for fun!

Gift Ideas....the Good, the Not so good, and the "why on earth did somebody buy me this?" (Why?)

Good: Diapers, wipes, baby shampoo, lotion. This stuff is great because you KNOW it will get used. Even if new mom is picky, there is a good chance that one day when she does not feel like going to the store and runs out of said item, she'll heave a sigh of relief knowing that she still has that gift basket of extra supplies.

Not so Good: Nursery decor that was not on New Momma's registry. I'm talking about the gifter who sees that the Mom-to-be registers/chose the zoo animal theme for her babys room ....but gifter thinks that the red white and blue sailor pattern is so cute that she buys the wall hangings anyway.

We have all heard about the "nesting" instinct right? Well there was no time more crazy with it for me than when I was planning the nursery decor. I scoured through tons of nursery themes online and in stores so when I finally decided that I wanted blue and green turtles for The Boy's theme....the last thing I wanted to receive was a wall hanging with a safari motif or rocket ships. It's not that the stuff isn't cute...it's just a tick that new mom's tend to have. The exception to this rule is of course, if the new mom registers and you buy pieces from the collection that she chose.

Why?: Ceramic figurines, plates, etc.
Okay, something breakable for the baby's room....right...that is exactly what the new mom needs. It may be pretty or cute...but if it's going to shatter when the frazzeled momma knocks it over, while she is frantically groping for the diaper rash cream and trying to keep a squirming infant on the changing table...it's probably not the best idea. Plus who needs more dust catchers when you already have your hands too full to clean the rest of the house, let alone nursery figurines?

Good: Carseat mirror.
This is a sneaky little gift that is actually a great idea. It doesn't seem very festive, but I guarantee you that when the New Momma is able to sneak a quick glance in her rear view to see that her new baby is sleeping safe in the car seat and not quietly choking or in silent distress (not that this happens often, but us baby momma's tend to get it in our head that it does) she will be very happy you gave this to her. If you still feel that this gift is too practical, include a cute little onesie outfit and you've got a great present!

Not so Good: Fancy newborn outfits that involve any of the following: several buttons, ties, laces, straps, or anything that needs to be ironed, washed separately in cold water, or other such laundry efforts.

This prolly speaks for itself. New Moms often don't have the luxury of extra time to hand launder that darling little three piece suit that you thought was perfect for her tiny son. And chances are that even if she did take the time to button him into that thing, do up the tie and suspenders, and tie the little patent leather dress shoes.....baby puked all over it before they even started the car to go to church.

Why?: Toys, blankets or clothes that the giver has sentimental value attached to ...and wants the item back when new Momma's baby is done with it.

It seems like such a sweet sharing thing to do, and the New Momma always appreciates the thought, but to be honest...a new baby makes you memory into swiss cheese (prolly due to sleep deprivation). New Mom is not going to remember what came from whom after awhile and even if your name is on the item, she is going to worry about her baby possibly damaging or destroying (The Boy would chew holes in stuffed toys) the precious item. Keep your special items, and consider buying a new item just like the one your child enjoyed, takes the worry off both of you!

Those were the big topics we covered in our conversation. Here are some more quick ideas:

Good: hats, mitts, socks (lots!! white so they are easy to match), receiving blankets, burp cloths, baby towels, washcloths, teething guards for crib (may not be used right away, but if they plan on having more than one kid, they'll thank you for keeping the crib from looking like a beaver cage for baby number two!). Anything off New Momma's registry.

Not so Good: Anything breakable, super fancy clothes, bottles (mom may decide to BF only), pacifiers (some parents elect not to use them).

Well, there you have it...hope it helps if you are heading to a baby shower this spring!

Squid Rice

2010-05-03T21:13:00.000-07:00

So here is something I came up with one day on a whim.

One thing I don't know if I've mentioned here, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE seafood. I am a sushi fan, and love fish, shellfish...if it comes from the sea, there is a VERY good chance I will eat it and love it.

So it's only natural that I came up with this wacky weeknight meal.
Wait, WAIT! Don't run away just yet...this picture does not really do the dish justice. It was taken with a cellphone cam during the cooking process. Well, actually this dish is not a big "looker" recipe. But it does taste great!

I've noticed that in the frozen food section you can now find frozen squid packs, tubes and tentacles already cleaned and separated. All you have to do is defrost, slice up the tubes into rings and it ready to cook. So I grabbed a pack, tossed it in the freezer and promptly forgot for a week or so about it, then one afternoon I decided to experiment.

So here is about the easiest recipe in the world:

Ingredients:
-1 pack cleaned squid tentacles/tubes
-1 box RiceARoni (I like the chicken/garlic flavor)

Prepare ricearoni according to box directions, in a separate skillet cook the squid with a little olive oil. Once squid is cooked, and ricearoni is almost done (like the last 5 min) mix together and finish cooking rice.

Voila, Squid rice! It's a yummy comfort food for those evenings when you don't feel like doing much but are still hungry enough to make something.

OKay, why didn't anyone tell me about this show?!

2010-05-02T11:33:00.001-07:00

I just discovered this show have been gobbling up all the episodes on Hulu. For a cheeseball wannabe-singer like myself...this show is pure vicarious pleasure! I was in choir all 4 years of high school, we were not a "show choir" except for one or two numbers, but I loved singing and performing. I also participated in musical theater with the drama/choir at church all through my teens. Being on stage is pretty awesome and I love to sing (just ask anyone who rides in my car with me, lol).

I don't know how I didn't know about this show! One watch and I was totally hooked and now my ipod is filling up with songs by the Glee cast. One of the best things about it is that the main soloist (character Rachel Berry) mostly sings in my key so I can belt along with these tunes in the car quite easily. I'm sure The Boy thinks Momma is a little crazy.

Too bad they don't have Show choirs for adults...that would be a fun thing to do in my spare time, not that I have any. :)

Booties, the Perfect Portable Project!

2010-04-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

Those of you have been around my blog for awhile will remember the challenge I issued myself back in September, AKA "The Plan!" This was to knit up all my overflowing stash from the BIG basket before my thirtieth birthday. So far it's going well, there was a slight hiccup around Christmas when family who (awesome as they are) gave yarn store gift cards as presents and thus I ended up buying some yarn. Luckily, I am happy to report that the hiccup yarn was quickly made into a sweater which I posted a few weeks ago. So therefore I am back to the stash project.

One thing that always evaded me in the world of knitting patterns was baby booties. Whenever you read about someone knitting, its often baby booties, or something like that. So of course, once i became a knitter I wanted to learn how to make them. Every pattern I came across was so confusing, and even if I had the patience to sit down and figure it out I ended up with misshapen booties, HUGE booties (think far too wide for a baby), or different size booties instead of a pair. Well, after muddling through tons of these patterns I finally created my own pattern. After quite a bit of experimentation (and mumbled curse words), and a lot of frogging and ripping, I finally think I got it.

Here are the booties I churned out this week from my stash. The fun thing about these booties that I'm learning is that changing the needle size changes the overall size fairly easily. Plus I've come up with variations to make the cuffs different (ribbing, stripes, lace).

What do you think?

Inner arguement

2010-04-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

What does it mean when your body just wants to sleep...and sleep...and sleep? Not that I have actually been oversleeping much, but lately I keep getting these nap urges! I was never a napper, except for maybe when I was nine months pregnant and could barely walk ten feet without feeling exhausted.

Maybe it's just catch up now that The Boy sleeps all night. (Which is still going strong!) Maybe my body is like

"Okay lady, it's time to catch up on the thousand or so hours we've been missin!"

The other part of my brain argues:

"Are you nuts? When The Boy naps...it is the only time we can get anything done! Let's bake, knit, email, write, blog, scrap, anything!!!"

So there you go...my inner argument.

I guess I'm crazy, but I'm used to it. :)

A post from The Boy

2010-04-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

Just peeking in!

It's been awhile since I telepathically communicated a blog post for Momma to send out to you all. So here goes.

The Boy's thoughts on Current Life:

Sleep: I guess my nightly jam sessions finally put Momma over the edge because she moved out of our room for over a week. And the nerve of her those first few nights not come in when I hollered. I was pretty mad, but I discovered that if I waited long enough for her, sleep came first! Now I sleep all night, and Momma moved back in so all is well. Momma certainly seems happier and I have lots of energy to play all morning...which leads me to...

Walking: Momma and Grammy, and Grandpa, and everyone else seem convinced that it is time for me start doing this thing they call walking. Are they kidding? It seems like I just managed this whole crawling business, now they want me on two legs, not four? Momma and I practice every afternoon, and if we visit Grammy, she makes me practice too. Whew, all this practice, you'd think I'd be perfect! I'm getting better though, I can go from couch to couch and sometimes all the way across the room, the odds are better if Momma is holding my favorite animal crackers!

Sesame Street: That whole TV business didn't interest me until these last few weeks, when I discovered something. Momma switched the channels and one day I met this little guy who lives in the TV, he is furry, red, and has a very high pitched voice. Elmo!
I think Elmo is the coolest thing since Animal crackers (did I mention how much I love those?!). Every time the TV is on now, I tell Momma who I want to watch "Elmo, Elmo!" In my opinion he is the only reason the TV should be on. Momma tells me that for a long time she had a beef with my favorite red monster, because he took over Sesame Street and all the toys/clothes out there were covered with him. She always I hoped I would be a Big Bird fan (as I call him "BihBir), or jump on her band wagon with the Cookie Monster obsession. Don't get me wrong, they are great too, and I like all the Muppets, but Elmo is my fave!

Well, that's all I have to report. Happy Blogging to all you Momma friends!

This is The Boy, signing off!

BuhBee (baby speak for byebye)

Why isn't there a group out there for people like me?

2010-04-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel like you are just in a totally different place than everyone around you?

I used to have friends when I was in high school, and even the first year or two of college. But after getting married and the ensuing years of work, and now motherhood....it feels like I just can't meet anyone who is in the same place. Everytime I meet someone that I think I could be friends with...one of the following is true:

1.They are younger than me. (Either in age, or maturity.)
2.They are single, and like to do "singles" type activities that are inappropriate for me.
3.They are married but childless and not interested in hanging with someone that has kids.
4.They work full time, then some and never have any free time.
5.They are a stay-home mom with multiple children and are too busy to ever hang out. (Even with kids invited).
6. They say that it would be nice to "get together" but then never call, and don't return calls.

It would be fun to have some friends that I could get together with, have playdates with the kids, or go to the movies with once in a blue moon. It would be amazing to find other mom's that knit even!!

I am beginning to think I am cursed. I love hanging with The Boy all the time, but I think it would be fun to have girlfriends near my own age, who would like to get together now and then. Is it so hard to find friends after age 21?

I think I should start a website/discussion board for people like me. Single mom's just looking for someone to talk to when they have a free moment, about crafting, or just life in general.

Sleeping all night finally!

2010-04-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

Yay, The Boy has now slept through the whole night for the last few days! I am so thankful that this training has worked. I feel like a different person, catching up on all this sleep is such a foreign concept. :)

On the other side of things, there has been some serious family drama going on and I am stuck in the middle. I have some people telling me to do one thing, some people telling me to do another. I am at a loss for which choice to make.

One thing I need right now more than anything is a day job. I have been looking for months and am having such a hard time finding one. All I can find is part time, or min wage for hardly any hours.

Yay!

2010-04-14T06:56:00.000-07:00

The sleep training is working!! I was a little worried last night, because it was the first night trying it at "work" (the home of the woman I nanny for). But I set it up so that The Boy's bed was in a diff room from me and guess what....he slept ALL NIGHT! Not a peep out of the monster!

This is so awesome!! If I ever have another child, I am doing this much sooner now that I know how quickly it works. The Boy is not any worse for the wear and has actually been in a good mood and taking his naps during the day as well.

In other news, the novel is working toward completion, I am coming up on writing the final battle towards the end. I am in that head space where I can see what is going to happen (like I am watching a movie in my head, I just have to get it down on paper the way I see it.

Wow, last night was .....amazing...I slept...

2010-04-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

Soooo.... I posted yesterday about the sleep training thing... and last night guess what?

The Boy slept almost all night. One small wakeup at 5 am, but only for a min or two then he nodded back off. Is this what it feels like to get a full nights sleep? All this energy...? All I have to say is...Wow!

Socks and sleep training

2010-04-12T20:57:00.000-07:00

Socks and Sleep training, perhaps you are wondering what these two things have in common? Well let me tell you!

I am currently in the midst of sleep training with The Boy. I was never a fan of letting him "cry it out" mainly because he is unbelievably loud and we share a room due to living arrangements. But my hope that he would eventually start sleeping through the night has never manifested into actuality. Not only does he still not sleep through the night, but he has lately started waking up multiple times again, not just once, not twice, we are talking three, or more. So after a particularly hellish night of him waking every hour, I decided that I was going to just have to bite the bullet.

I worked it out so that I could sleep in another room for a few weeks while training The Boy. So far we have completed two full nights and are about the embark on the third. The sleep training manual claims that the entire process should not take more than 1-2 weeks. I can hear him because the rooms share a wall. Here is the list of our results thus far:

Night Number One
11:30pm wakeup: 15 min of on and off crying before going back to sleep by himself.
2:30am wakeup: 7 min of crying
5:00am wakeup: 5 min of crying

Night Number Two
1:00am wakeup: 8 min of crying
3:00am wakeup: 3 min of crying
5:00 am wakeup: 2 min of whining, 1 loud scream, then back to sleep

We shall see what fun night number three has in store!! But so far the trend seems to be less time crying during each wake up. Hopefully he will soon just learn how to roll over and put himself back to sleep quietly.

But back to the title, what do socks have to do with all this? I have knit my first PAIR of socks!! Yay, I poured over several patterns, and finally found one for toe up magic loop socks. I could not find a pattern for how to do just ONE sock at a time on magic loop so I had to basically create my own from the many TWO-at-a-time patterns. I must say, they didn't turn out too bad. A little big, but I have small feet and need to buy smaller needles for next time. Will post pix soon.

hmmmm....not such a traditional easter!

2010-04-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

So when you think of Easter, you think of bunnies, eggs, church service, spring weather, tulips, and perhaps a big dinner with family. Well....that was not our Easter! :)

Woke up to cloudy skies and COLD weather, which quickly turned (like over the course of an hour) into pouring rain! By the time I had myself and the Boy up, cleaned, and dressed in our Easter church clothes, it was raining super hard and we were running late. So we decided to forego church, in favor of staying warm and dry.

I set up a small Easter basket for The Boy. It was very cute to see him make a beeline for it and check out the plastic eggs (which I had hidden some new binkies in). Once he figured out there were binkies in the eggs he had to shake each one and open it. Then he got excited about dumping the eggs out and putting them all back in.

Next, we had planned to go visit family for the day, but plans fell through this week (illnesses, etc). So we decided to stay home and do an oyster fest! Dad manned the grill (under a tarp overhang to stay dry) and bro and I made garlic bread and cesar salad while the Boy napped peacefully upstairs.

Despite the crazy weather, the oysters were amazing! And we all came away with full bellies and big smiles. Such a fun day, despite all the mislaid plans. :)

How was your holiday?

Anybody want a cheap laptop??

2010-04-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

So, I am selling my laptop. If you are interested in a cheap, well working laptop here you go! It works great and it would be a great asset to any mom blogger out there! Plus I'd love to know it was going to a good home (ie. Mom blogger!). Check it out HERE!

In other news: Knitting furiously lately. Finished my first sweater!! I followed the "Mr. Greenjeans" pattern from knitty.com. (Here is the link to the pattern) I used Manos del Uruguay silk blend in a gorgeous colorway called Abalone. If you haven't seen this yarn, I highly recommend going to the yarn store to drool! It is so soft and comfy, and in such a lovely lavender/gray blend I just had to use it. (Thank goodness for holidays and family who know that gift cards from the yarn store are the best present!)
I am also working on my second design project! Using lovely fuzzy yarn from my stash (Chiara) in black, it is a shoulder wrap/tube style, in a lacy stitch. The idea is for it to be a great gift for someone who likes to dress in layers. I could see it looking really good over a long sleeve tee. I'll post pictures when I'm done. (Maybe even the pattern!)

I am also working hard on my novel again.I am about 50-100 pages away from finishing the darn thing, then I get to work editing and submitting it to publishers. It would be such a dream to get published, but I just want to be able to say I finished it!

SO how are things out there for all you in blogland? Has spring sprung in your area yet?

Tv Talk

2010-03-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

So these are the current two programs I'm following on TV. Do you watch?

The Biggest Loser: I love love love this show. I think Bob and Jillian are awesome trainers, and I've talked about Jill on here before and that I am a fan of her training program. Biggest loser is inspirational to those of us that need to lose weight. I dislike the survivor aspect (ie. the voting people off which incites the game-play drama), but I guess they have to have that kind of thing to keep ratings up. I was especially excited to see this week that apparently one of the teams this season was from my hometown! They even filmed an "at home" segment in our local 24 hour fitness!! I wish I'd known, but I'm sure they didn't broadcast it to avoid a crowd of onlookers during filming.

Lost: I'm so addicted to this show! I'm glad that the creators knew when they were ending the show so they could actually write an ending!! My pet peeve is shows that get cut off with no ending, especially ones that mysteries like this one. I can't wait to see how it all wraps up!

Stomach flu......ugh

2010-03-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, apparently when you sign up to be a Momma, you also sign up to have weaker immune system than you did previously. I used to work in a daycare for years, with sick kids all the time and I would only catch their bugs once, maybe twice a year. But now, since The Boy was born, I seem to catch every little thing!

It doesn't help that the boy I nanny for goes to daycare and brings home nasty bugs all the time. But I honestly don't understand how my immune system went from top notch (even with daily exposure to multiple kids) to so weak that being around one sick kid (and i washed my hands like mad, found a sitter for The Boy so he wouldn't get exposed) that I can catch everything. The latest bout of fun was a stomach bug that The Boy got first (I must say having a vomiting one year old is not fun, so much laundry!!), then I got last night. I hate being that kind of sick. Colds aren't fun, but nausea and puking are definitely the worst.

I felt awful all day, and so did The Boy (judging from his level of fussiness) and finally this evening it seems to be letting up. I was actually able to eat some toast and thus far it is staying down.

Oh and a small update on the job front!! I might have a really great opportunity for a job that comes with a free apartment! That would be amazing, so cross your fingers for me this week that they choose me.

As promised....

2010-03-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

Here are the photos I promised of The Boy modelling his new hooded cardigan. I designed this one and am working on getting the pattern typed up. (It was done through sketches, calculations, and chicken scratches in my notebook). This yarn is soft and squishy and worked well for this little coverup, plus it came in these nice rich colors of red and blue. I like bright primary colors for baby boys. Plus the blue matches all those jeans that The Boy seems to have so many of. :)

Just because i happen to be a nerd....

2010-03-13T21:23:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post this because I am looking forward to seeing this movie. I am also looking forward to New Moon being on DVD. I enjoyed reading these books, so it is fun to see them come to life. The one I am most anticipating is Breaking Dawn. :)

This week, pros and cons

2010-03-12T14:59:00.000-08:00

Somtimes you just have to make a list of pros and cons about how your life has gone this week. Here is mine:

Pro: I successfully designed my first knitted item! I measures, gauge swatched, did the math, sketched the design and implemented it into a pattern, then knitted it up. Voila a lovely hooded cardigan for the boy! I will post pictures soon. I was very proud of the accomplishment of figuring out how to create my own pattern, now I've got all kinds of ideas for garments I could design. ;)

Con: The little boy I nanny for came down with the nastiest bug earlier this week. I honestly do not know how such a small little person can hold that much puke inside them! Not only was it a messy, disturbing affair, I was petrified of The Boy contracting the bug (Luckily he seems to have escaped unscathed). so I was obsessively washing my hands throughout the whole evening. I am happy to report that this was Tuesday and as of last night, the worst of it appears to be over and he is feeling better.

Pro: Lovely overcast, rainy weather this week. Here is a shot of The Boy enjoying the chance to wear his new raincoat (new as in hand-me-down, but new to him).
Con: Driving in the rain makes some people lose their common sense!! I've been cut off and nearly rear ended much more than usual!

Pro: I've been writing again, it feels good to get back to what I know I should be doing.
Con: Of course, I get the most inspiration when The Boy is up and I can't get to the computer, lol.

Pro:Taxes are done, and the refund is definitely going to help pay some debt down! Yay.
Con: As soon as the money comes, it's gone again (to bills).

Overall, it was a good week! How was yours?

Youdata, ever heard of this site?

2010-03-06T20:40:00.000-08:00

I am always trolling the net for different work at home opportunities, and while SO MANY out there are scams, there are a few that actually do what they say. Youdata.com is one of the sites out there that I can actually recommend! I stumbled across this site and it is a NON-INVASIVE ad viewing site that does what it say. You view their ads, they pay you to your paypal account once a week.

What do I mean by NON invasive?
*. You aren't viewing the ads by email. (Alot of sites that advertise cash-for-email-ads, require you to fill your inbox with spam while you earn .00001 cents per message, and that sucks!) This site, you simply make an account, and log in when you want to view ads, the viewer is a java widget on THEIR site (you don't have to install a program that could potentially have adware/spyware built in). You just view the ads, and can choose to click (open the sites) for extra nickels. Each week they deposit your balance into your paypal account. Simple.

This is not a get rich scheme, the more you log in, the more chances you get to view ads, and you can also get a widget to put on your blog (mine is too cluttered at the moment, lol). What I love about them is....that is it! No email spam, no programs, no garbage!

So if you have a moment, check them out! this is the link to them.

http://www.youdata.com/join/katiemaria20

Getting back on the path

2010-03-05T20:59:00.000-08:00

So those of you out there who have been following my blog for awhile know that I am a girl of many interests. (I would love to say Talents, but I'm not always good at all of my hobbies, lol). I enjoy doing thing, learning more, reading, and finding creative ways to spend my time. But sometimes I sit and think and worry that the more things I become "interested" in, the more it takes away from what I believe was my true calling.

I have always dreamed of being an author. That is part of why I started blogging, was to give my brain a boost by writing more often, even if it was just silly stuff like gabbing about The Boy. I was always taught that the best way to get better at writing, was simply to KEEP writing, everyday. And as much as i love cooking, baking, knitting, scrapbooking, etc .....I really need to regain my focus and start working on my writing more often. This is not to say that I will stop doing any of the above things....I just need to get my priorities straight. I need to finish my novel and stop stalling. I need to use the time I currently have to really dig into it and finish what I started.

I always seem to put it off by telling myself that "I've got time"....but that isn't really true anymore. I am going to be thirty this year (omg......I actually said that....thirty....yipes) and I need to get going if I am ever going to make this happen.

Do you ever feel that you let things get in the way of what you always believed you were "meant" to do ? Tell me about it.

Sad times, glad times

2010-03-01T20:54:00.000-08:00

So sometimes it seems that good and bad things happen at the same time . One one hand, God has given me so many reasons to be happy and celebrate lately. My lovely little son is a year old and learning words so fast it astonishes me. His latest discovery is the word "UP" which is said repeatedly in desperation whenever he wants out of his crib or highchair.

I have two friends who have had beautiful babies recently (fun knitting the baby gifts!), darling little girls and it fun celebrating their family blessings with them.

I finally have a working laptop again, and the freedom to blog whenever I please!! Yay...that is the best announcement.

But the sad news is that this week I found out that my family is about lose a dear member. My great grandmother is ill and going to pass away within the next week or so. I brought The Boy to visit her in the hospital, and it is hard to see a loved one in that fashion. I am thankful that she is being made comfortable and getting good care in her last days, but it also sad. I pray that the journey is smooth for her and that God welcomes her into his arms. I feel blessed that my little one got to meet his great-great grandmother, as not many children do, even if for a short time.

yay, my laptop is back!!!!!

2010-02-25T21:28:00.000-08:00

You guys have no idea how unbelievably happy i am to finally have the use of my laptop again!!! YAY, I FEEL LIKE DANCING!! Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way, lets talk about something that has been on my mind....

I need to talk to all the single mommas out there, or just all the stay at home mommas that need to work to add to that second income... how do you do it? What kind of job do you work that pays enough for the daycare that it would require for your little one ? I have been applying for jobs and looking here and there, but not having much luck finding what I need.

What do the moms who work from home actually do? And I'm not looking for scam-central-buy-my-ebook garbage. If you do.... or know someone who ....makes ends meet without the daily 8-5 (baby in daycare) routine....tell me about it. I'm listening!

Just a quick Knitting Plan update!

2010-02-24T13:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick update on "The Plan" for those that follow my blog. The BIG BASKET is slowly emptying!! yay! I knitted this little sweater-jacket for a friend's little girl to use up some purple that I found in the basket. It is based on a pattern from a cute book I got for Christmas, "Old fashioned knits for Modern Babies" (forgive me i flubbed the title). Some very cute projects in there!! The designer really did an amazing job for those projects.

My only qualm about pattern books I've looked at lately (I've been haunting the library) is that so many seem to have you knit the larger projects in so many flat pieces. Especially sweaters! I don't understand why more people don't design for circular needles, at least for the sleeves...It seems so much easier to knit sleeves on circular needles than to add that one extra seam all down the arm! Maybe it's just me. :)

Hope everyone is enjoying the end of February!

And laptop update (ie....my sideways excuse of why I haven't been blogging as much....) the laptop company took 4 weeks to send me the WRONG cord AGAIN!!!@! I called again, this time freakin irate and they are supposed to be sending me the right one now. I really hope it is the correct one, because I'm ready to cry!

As promised....

2010-02-12T08:52:00.000-08:00

So last Sunday, The Boy, his father and I checked out one of San Francisco's neatest attractions. I have loved this place since i was a little girl, and over the past 10 years or so it has been being redesigned, rebuilt, etc. It finally opened last September, but this was the first time we had been able to go see the new site.

San Francisco's Academy of Sciences!

It was actually a clear warm day in San Fran, which was our first surprise as it's been so rainy. We packed some snacks, the stroller, and The Boy and got rolling early. We hoped that going on Superbowl Sunday would cut down on the normal weekend crowd. And we were partially right, there were alot of mommies with small kids (prolly all had the same idea!).

The Boy loves his stroller, so he was jazzed about the whole endeavor. One of the first things we saw was the Swamp exhibit, where the Albino Aligator lives. This is a neat animal to see up close.He justlaid there sunning himself, like he knew he was the star of the whole thing!

We took the elevator down to the new aquarium, and WOW. What a neat design! Waved walls, bluish lights, all made you feel like you were underwater. Not to mention the huge wall size windows into the bigger tanks. There were so many beautiful fish and other species to marvel at. The Boy thought the whole thing was great fun, pointing and hollering his excitement at all the critters.

We also got to walk through the Rainforest exhibit, which was like a huge clear ball that they built a working rainforest in, complete with animals. There is also a planetarium (which we had to pass on, as little guys are not allowed), along with many other neat exhibits, including the Living roof!

Here are some pix of my favorite things we saw.

I would recommend anyone nearby to go see this place!! It is truly amazing and a great way to spend a day in San Francisco!

Foodie discovery moment....mmmm

2010-02-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I may be late to the party on this one but this weekend I discovered something that I loved from the first tentative taste.

Ummm... wow. That is all I have to say about this stuff.....other than maybe....YUM! Someone gave me a jar of this stuff to try on Saturday and today I actually cracked the top and tried it. I was expecting maybe a peanut butter taste...possibly with a hint of cocoa, ....but oh baby, this little jar of chocolatey goodess is so much better.

Tomorrow morning I am planning on making Nutella-Stuffed French toast as my next recipe experiment, because this stuff is just too yummy NOT to use in something!

I also spent a great day at a San Francisco locale. Academy of Sciences!! So much fun, I will talk more about that tomorrow when I can get the pix posted!

Wow...

2010-01-29T18:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, since this is a Mommy blog....I need to put on my "Mommy" hat for a few minutes and talk about the most freaky harrowing experience I have had yet with THE BOY, aside from his birth/jaundice scare.

Tuesday: The Boy has a runny nose...big deal, colds are going around.

Wednesday Morn: The Boy wakes up with eye boogers all across one eye.... Umm yuck!! I cleaned him up, looked online to see that it might be related to his cold. Decide to wait 1 day.

Thursday Morn: The Boy now has boogers across both eyes. My first thought is pinkeye.....superyuck!!! I had to deal with this alot when I used to work in daycare. I itch just thinking about it.

Thursday midday: A visit to the pediatric clinic (by this point The Boy is sporting a fever as well a eye gook and runny nose and I am getting panicky) Doc says that he has an ear infection, and his symptoms stem from that. She prescribes some antibiotics and off we go. We have to wait an hour for the meds so we go to check up on my mom (just had foot surgery). She watches him while I run to grab meds (its cold and wet right now and I figure the less exposure his poor ear gets, the better).

It must be said, an infant with a fever is a scary thing. The Boy is normally a bundle of energy, always moving, talking, exploring, etc. The Boy-w.a-fever is a totally different story!! flushed, tired, snuggly, and whiny. Scared the living daylights out of me!!

Today he is already way better, no more fever (broke last night) and his eyes are not red, still a little gooey in the morning,but nothing like before. His personality is back, he's back to the groovin little talker that I normally have.

But now...... I HAVE IT! Ugh. Took a nap today and woke up with a bloodshot gooey eye!! I think his ear infection was viral, thus the eye issue. Anyhow, guess it's best that we both get it over with now. I will be getting meds on monday, and I have pink eye drops already for myself ( I was prepared for this to happen as soon as his eyes started up).

Anyhow....some other news:
Sadly, did not win the HP mini.... congrats to the bloggers who did!

And thanks for all the comments on my cookie monster cupcakes!! Here is a shot of The BOY enjoying one at his party.. which went SO WELL! I was very thankful! His little buddies were all able to come and we had a great time.

So, as I listen to the wonderful sound of rain pouring outside, I am signing off for the night! Hope all is well for all you out there in blogland!!

Some birthday fun, Cookie Monster style!

2010-01-23T20:18:00.000-08:00

Well yesterday was "the Boy's" first birthday! I can't believe its already been a year. He is getting so big and doing so many new things every time I look at him. Just lately he's attempting to stand unassisted. Pretty soon he'll be walking!! Ack!

Can't do a long post tonight, busy getting things ready for his party tomorrow. But here's a peek at the cupcakes I'm working on! Cookie monster!! The Boy loves him.

50 followers! Rock on! Contest!

2010-01-18T17:11:00.000-08:00

Wow, 50 followers? That is seriously awesome! To celebrate I'm going to do a contest. If you are a knitter, you will love this one! (Or if you know a knitter, this prize would be a great gift!)

In honor of hitting the 50 follower mark, I will choose someone at random to win a prize. The prize will be knitting related; some nice yarns, needles, a knitting book, or maybe all of the above! :)

To qualify just do these three things!

1. Vote for me by clicking the "top mommy blogs" icon to your right.
2. Comment to this post, letting me know you voted.
3. In your post ask me a question you'd like to know about me or a blog topic you'd like to see!

This contest will serve a few purposes, help me get some votes, a lucky winner will receive a nice prize, and I'll get some new blog topics.

Check out this new book trailer!

2010-01-17T12:23:00.000-08:00

The author is a close relative of mine and I have been so excited for this book to be released.She has put alot of work into it, and the stories are amazing!! If you like to read christian fiction, check this one out!

You can find out more about the author at www.francinerivers.com

Knitting my way through a rollercoaster of a year

2010-01-15T09:59:00.000-08:00

Last night, while the boys were asleep (was nannying) I was finishing up a baby gift knitting project, (an adorable pink hooded poncho w/matching booties), and in the quiet I started thinking about all the things I've done through this past year, all the things that have happened, all the ups, the downs, and how through it all I have knitted. Once I finished the poncho, I fingered the soft pink wool and smiled, loving the finished product, and decided to try and write out all the knitting projects that have sustained my sanity during the turbulence that was 2009.

There is something about knitting that calms me, something about the rhythmic motion, the clicking needles, the soft yarn sliding through my fingers, and the creation of something from 2 sticks and a ball of yarn that helps take the pain away.

A year of knitting:

January 2009: Most of the knitting this month was a frantic attempt to finish a basketweave baby blanket for The Boy, who was due at the end of the month. I finished maybe a few days before my induction on the 22nd. There were also 3 or so baby hats knitted for The boy with leftover blue yarn from his blankie. My projects this month helped me get through the anxiety of expecting my first baby, the preparations, the doctors visits, and the worries that I was going to have no idea how to parent this infant when it arrived. As I watched Tivoed episodes of House, Iron Chef America, Lost, and The Biggest Loser, I prayed and knitted that God would help me through all my fears. And that month, I finished all the projects I started, just in time for the Boy's arrival.

February 2009: The Boy was still undergoing blood tests once every few days to make sure his jaundice continued to decrease. He also underwent light therapy, and I sat beside that incubator for 2 days straight, knitting frantically on a cable scarf (my first attempt at cables) and prayed with every stitch that my baby would be okay.

March 2009: The Boy recovered from his bout with jaundice, and was now wearing the knitted hats I'd made for him, and was much more alert. But his father's substance abuse problem returned and thus made this a month of worrying and trying to make VERY hard decisions. I worked idly on my Neverending blankie this month, adding squares here and there between feedings and dealing with the problems that were coming up.

April 2009: WORST MONTH EVER. I won't go into details, but lets just say I spent alot of time this month in and out of hospitals/jail/court and it was not for myself or The Boy. This is also the month that The Boy and I moved out. There were some nights I spent alone while partner was detained that I knitted furiously on a lap blanket for my grandmother. I remember it vividly because I made with Joann's Angel Hair yarn and I loved touching the softness of that blanket as it grew and grew, I needed to keep knitting that softness when so much in my life at the time was so hard.

May 2009: The rollercoaster finally started an upward climb. The Boy and I moved in with a loving family member that had a large empty house and was happy to have our company. One of the first things I moved (besides clothes/furniture) was The BIG BASKET of yarn (see previous posts) and continued to knit, glad to be in a safe place. I finished the lap blanket and gifted it to my grandmother, knitted a few squares on the Neverending Blankie, and still making hats.

June 2009: Partner still not doing well on his own, the emergencies of Feb-April plunged us into some serious CC debt that was bothering me. I checked out "Stitch N Bitch" from the library and fell in love with the patterns. I renewed that book as often as they allowed, having it for nearly a month and started working on a childs' knapsack pattern, my first experience with colorworking. I also had a garage sale in an attempt to get some cashflow, and sold some finished knitted items (hats/scarves) quite successfully. I also landed my nanny job.

July 2009: Jumped into the blogging world. I'd had some blogs before when I'd been childless, but now I felt the need to create a new one, about mommying, knitting, scrapping, crafting, venting, everything. I began my nanny job, also got the WORST fever/flu of my adult life. Still knitting, The Boy sported an American flag beanie for the holiday.

August 2009: Another garage sale, more nanny work (doing days for awhile, not just nights) and partner finally took a turn for the better. On the knitting front, checked out a diff knitting book from the library and got into making felted bags from wool yarn in my stash. Made a total of 3 bags.

September 2009: Made more hats for charity, attempting to make a dent in my stash. Not much else to report, good bad or otherwise. Sometimes boring can be a blessing.

October 2009: Still working on stash, many hat projects to use up leftover balls or half skeins. Started a box for projects that will go to charities. Partner finally lands a new "good" job. Financial problems continue to get better.

November 2009: Decide to knit presents for the nieces and nephews this christmas. Frantically worked to finish three hats and a glove/scarf set for the kiddos. Kept me busy through the month.

Decemeber 2009: Partner experienced short relapse, but was able to move on quickly and get back on track, due to this many prayers were knitted into my first attempt at knitting a sock!

Wow, what a long post...but hey that was a lot of knitting!!

Random Friday Post!

2010-01-15T09:49:00.000-08:00

First things first.... Lisa asked for the Black-N-Blue pie recipe.

Here ya go:

Ingredients:
-your fave roll out pie crust (2 crust pie)
- 2+ cups blueberries
-handful blackberries
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
-3/4 cup sugar
-1 tblespoon lemon juice

Directions: rinse berries well, preheat oven to 375. Line a pieplate with crust, brush crust with a smidge melted butter, then sprinkle sugar. Toss blueberries with sugar, cornstarch and lemon, juice. Pour into pie crust, add blackberries, making sure you get them well distrubuted. I put them in a circle so that each slice would get one. Cover with second pie crust, crimp edges and poke holes to vent. Bake for 30-40 min until brown on top. Let cool, serve with vanilla ice cream!

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Next: Don't forget to comment on my HP mini contest post! The deadline is Jan 20th, so get your comments in so that you can win a mini if my entry is chosen.

Shameless voting: Please vote for me by clicking the TopMOmmyblog icon to your right. I am currently ranking 112... help me crack the top 100!

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Black and Blue Pie!! Recipe #3 complete!

2010-01-13T10:34:00.000-08:00

Monday I attempted to create a new pie recipe. Blueberries were on sale at the supermarket pretty cheap so I grabbed some and we had some leftover blackberries as well in the fridge.

I decided to try and make up my own recipe for this one, since the only recipes I could find were for blueberry CREAM pie, not just plain berry pie. So I made up a crust and then added some sugar, lemon juice, and a little cornstarch (to thicken) and then tossed the berries together, baked it up, and Voila!!

Some visitors were around that evening, so we served up the pie with vanilla ice cream for dessert. It was a unanimous success!! Just the right amount of tart vs. sweet. Yay! I wrote this one down, and thus completed recipe #3 of my self imposed challenge.

Recipe #3 down, 49 to go!

Also, I wanted to add.....everyone PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT ON THE HP MINI POST BELOW!! You could win an HP mini if my entry is chosen, they will give 3 commentors a mini!!

And please, VOTE for me by clicking the Top Mommy Blogs button to your right here ------->
I'm so close to being in the top 100, help me out my lovelies!!!

Simplify my Life Please- Want to win your own HP Mini Netbook?

2010-01-11T11:48:00.000-08:00

Alien's Notes on Random Human Observation

Subject to be Observed: 29 year old human female who is raising her 11 month old offspring without help.

Observation duration: 24 hours, beginning at human pacific time of 12:00am.

12:00am: Subjects are asleep.

12:30am: Tiny human wakes up and begins a keening cry. Human female (referred to herein as "Mommy") feigns sleep in an attempt to fool infant.

12:45am: Mommy gives up and shambles to the crib to check on tiny human. Activities that follow may include: diaper change, nighttime snack, and quite possibly a pajama change if tiny human has soiled his clothing.

1:00am: Tiny human finally succumbs to sleep and Mommy goes back to bed.

3:30am: a repeat performance of the 12:30 awakening.

7:00am: Tiny human awakes and burbles happily, gaining in volume until Mommy reluctantly gets out of bed.

7:00-9:00am: Many things occur in this 2 hour time frame. Activities on any given day may include -
shower (for Mommy)
bath (for tiny human)
breakfast for both parties
Mommy cleaning up spilled breakfast from the floor
Redressing tiny human after said breakfast ends up on his clothing packing diaper bag with daily supplies
Loading dishwasher
Straightening living areas

9:00am-10:30am: Mommy packs up tiny human to go "run errands". This outing consists of lugging tiny human and heavy diaper bag into a vehicle to drive around to various locations to accumulate supplies, mail packages, deposit funds, etc.

Each stop involves unstrapping tiny human from his vehicle harness/seat, juggling tiny human and bag and wallet as Mommy walks from car to place of business, strapping tiny human into cart, after placing the protective fabric cover on the cart seat, quickly moving through store, keeping infant from climbing out of the seat or grabbing items from the shelves, then reloading tiny human and items back into the vehicle.

11:00am: Mommy and tiny human return home, tiny human is asleep in his carseat. Mommy carefully moves him into house/crib for a nap. Mommy uses this time to catch up on laundry, do chores.

12:00pm: Mommy finally settles herself down for a moment of peace, and attempt to check her email, blog, or research sleep training techniques for use with tiny human.

12:15pm: Tiny human is now awake and hollering. Mommy turns off computer (tiny human is not allowed in the room where the machine is due to dangers.) And moves herself and tiny human down to living area for "play time".

Playtime consists of tiny human slapping, banging, swinging, crashing, crawling, and generally wreaking havoc upon colorful plastic items referred to as "toys."

4:00pm: Tiny human is reluctantly put in crib while Mommy packs an overnight bag for "work".

5:00pm: Tiny human is put back into vehicle along with baggage and Mommy drives them to different house where another small human (but older than tiny human) is waiting with his caretaker.

5:30pm: Other human leaves her child in care of Mommy, Tiny human and child play together while Mommy supervises.

7:30pm: The bedtime ritual of tiny human and child is fraught with perils of finding clean pajamas, dressing the children, finding certain stuffed toys (that must be present for sleeping to occur), ejecting feline companions from children's room and finally putting children to bed.

8:00pm: Older child is asleep, tiny human is still standing in his crib clinging to rail, whimpering in hopes to avoid slumber.

8:30pm: Tiny human has finally succumbed to sleep. Mommy falls upon couch, exhausted and flips television channels, generally finding nothing interesting enough to watch. Mommy spends time cleaning up THIS house and wishing for a computer to use during this rare unoccupied time frame.

9:30pm: Unable to sleep, Mommy works on a knitting project with radio on for noise.

10:30pm: Mommy finally falls asleep, hoping that tiny human will not awaken for several hours.

Alien's summation of observation: The adult human female (Mommy) would benefit greatly from the possession of a HP netbook mini! This portable human invention would allow her to check her email, blog, and generally enjoy her rare and random moments of free time....since they do not generally come about when she has access to her home computer. It is this alien's opinion that a netbook would greatly SIMPLIFY the subjects life!!

To all my readers: please comment on this post because the contest is not only giving away a mini to the blogger, but also to the 3 commenters on the entry post!! Help me out by leaving a comment. You could win an HP Mini 110-1100 by Studio Tord Boontje !

Thanks for reading!

Finished shrug!

2010-01-09T15:18:00.000-08:00

I love this yarn colorway. It knitted up nicely, and I added a gray ribbed border and cuffs. It's actually pretty comfy.
It was based on a pattern I got from Ravelry. I really like how the cable turned out. :)

How is your Saturday going?

Buttermilk pie, yum!!! Recipe #2

2010-01-08T10:34:00.000-08:00

Alrighty, I tackled another new recipe from the Old cookbooks....hmm....maybe I should call this challenge "New from Old" or something similarly redundant. :) But on we go, today's new recipe was Buttermilk pie. Now one thing I see in these old cookbooks alot is calling for an ingredient called "Oleo"....I have no idea what that is. I asked my dad and he said he thought he remembered it being a name for margarine. So I go online and look it up.... he was right, apparently it was a brand name for a type of margarine that was sold in the 40s-50s. So since I'm not a big fan of margarine (and we didn't have any in the fridge) I went ahead and just substituted regular butter. (Because honestly, is more butter ever a bad thing??)

I whipped up the filling, poured it into a pie shell and tossed it in the oven.

First thing that happened was I filled the pie crust a little too much because it bubbled over onto the cookie sheet. So I had a moment of panic when I smelled burning, rushed to the oven, only to see that it was only the spillover burning a little on the cookie sheet, pie looked fine. It baked up to a golden brown top and then I let it cool down a little before trying a slice. Okay yummmmmM!!!!

I've never really tasted a custard type pie before and this was awesome! Plus it made the house smell like eggnog while it baked (thanks to the nutmeg). I think this would be a great pie to make around the holidays just for that smell (who needs a glade plug in when you can bake?) I did remember to get some pics this time!

Recipe #2 down, 50 to go. :)

Cloudy day, what to ebay?

2010-01-07T12:01:00.001-08:00

I love our current overcasty weather! It is dark and relaxing, comforting and cold, perfect sweater/scarf/hat/fingerless mitt weather! Perfect for a knitter! and especially perfect for this knitter who is trying to knit up her stash. I am furiously trying to finish a shrug made for myself out of the Twilight Lanaloft I posted (and yes...it is Brown Sheep). I am also thinking of using a leftover wool skein to make a needles case that I saw on Ravelry, to keep my collection of needles from congregating in the bottom of my knitting bag. (This happens no matter how many times I gather them up in a big Ziploc, they always escape!)

Also, a relative gifted me with an Ebay gift certificate and I have no idea what to spend it on? Any ideas? We're talking in the 50 dollar range, so sadly no big ticket items....would have loved to get a netbook....lol.

:)

Just another bloggy monday...

2010-01-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

According to "The Plan" I am not allowed to buy more yarn until I finish knitting up the yarn in my stash..... well does it count if I am given gift certificates to a yarn store as a Christmas present??? Lets go ahead and say that it doesn't. Because that is what happened. I went to the store to spend my gift certificate and ended up walking out with a few skeins of this beautiful lanaloft yarn!

Isn't it scrumptious?? I just love the colorway, it reminds me of fog, overcast days, and blustery winter afternoons, with just a touch of lavender to add a sweet hint of femininity....sigh. I am already trying to find a pattern for these skeins. I will post the finished result when I do, I think I might just try and create a shrug pattern for myself. :)

Also, a widget update:

I have added a blog frog widget to my page! I've seen these on other blogs and thought I would give it a try, so surf on over, via the widget on the far right (under the archive) and let me know about your resolutions, or start a new topic! Knitting, cooking, photography, mommyhood, all topics are fair game!

Also, please please please click the top mommy blog box over on the right. Every vote counts and I'm not above begging for a few!!

Banana Cake

2010-01-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

So to start the new year off right, I did my recipe challenge for the week. I surfed through one of those old cookbooks I received and found a recipe for Banana Cake. We had some overripe bananas and the rest of the ingredients in the pantry....so here we go.

The Boy supervised from his high chair (including flinging rice puffs at me when I wasn't working fast enough!) while I muddled through this recipe of a banana layer cake. It came together easily and baked up well in two layer pans.

Problem #1: Though the two layer pans were supposedly the same size and shape, one cake baked up slightly bigger than the other so I had to shave the edge a little with a knife and pray the whole thing didn't fall apart, .....it didn't, hallelujah!

Problem #2: The icing they called for (Cream cheese icing with banana flavoring) seemed to stick to the cake A LOT! It took some creative thinking and slow movements to ice this bad boy without ending up with just a pile of cake crumbs and goo.

But despite these setbacks, the cake was finished and tasted great! But....camera battery is dead so you'll just have to wait for a photo, unless it gets eaten first!!

1 Recipe down, 51 to go. :)