Saturday, March 28, 2009

Rhapsody In Powdered Sugar

Several years ago, two poor but very in love and newly engaged college students decided to spend Spring Break in New Orleans. Armed with every cent of money they were able to earn in the six weeks before the trip, they rented a car and made the long, perilous journey to the Big Easy.

After checking into their bed and breakfast (newly engaged, remember?) they decided to hit the French Quarter immediately. They fell prey to Pat O'Brien Hurricanes, hot dog carts, and scam artists. The evening left their meager cash reserves substantially lessened. They lost heart and worried they wouldn't be able to last a week.

The next morning, they dined on their breakfast (thankfully already paid for) and headed back into the Quarter.

They discovered Mecca, Zen, and Enlightenment.

What I Made:

Beignets:



I used a coupon and got a fryer yesterday just so I could make these (they were awesome). This morning I made beignets. Recipe from Joy of Cooking. While mine weren't like the ones at Cafe Du Monde (theirs are more like a fried dough and these were more a pate a choux), they certainly tasted great with coffee.




This one was my favorite. I named him Octi.

Now that I got the deep fat frying out of my system (and need to run a few on the treadmill) I have put myself on an oil-buying freeze. But I think my kids loved 'em.




If I had any technical skill I would make a mini movie of these two pics repeating. Because that is exactly what happened.

As for the New Orleans trip, we got smart, did a driving tour and found a local at a cigar shop who gave us all the insider tips we needed. It was a great trip.

From Tooth To Toe

We had a visit from a new friend this week:



Yes, I'm happy to announce the Tooth Fairy has included our home in her list of MapQuest stops. Though the Businessman assures me that she uses Google Maps. I've also learned the going rate is four quarters. Twenty-four dollars over 6+ years seems reasonable--we did recently open a savings account.

What I Made:



Another sock. What can I say? I'm on a roll. The yarn is Mirasol Hacho (again, if you should have a Ravelry sign in, you already have it) and Mountain Colors Bearfoot. Vish picked out the Hacho, but I didn't think it would be enough to make two socks, so I alternated rounds with some scrap Bearfoot from my stash. You can see the pure Hacho in the heel and the ribbing on top.

Neither yarn is machine washable. Any bets how many times these will be worn before I destroy them?

Thursday, March 26, 2009

(Half)Snow Day

What is up with this?

The school decided to stay open. Until all the kids got there and had an hour of class. Then they decide to close, and request 300+ parents to drive and pick up their kids.

And that was just one school. Every school in the city did this.

Is it just me, or wouldn't it have been safer to cancel school in the first place rather than put every parent on the road at the same time, when poor driving conditions are the reason they are putting hundreds of parents on the road?

It's March. It's not like we're anticipating three more months' worth of snow days.

What I Made:

Snow Ice-cream:


Big bowl of snow (large mixing bowl)
Sugar (1/2-1 cup)
Vanilla (some)
Milk (until it's the consistancy you want)
Rum (when your husband comes home and decides it could use a "kick")

It's not the tastiest thing in the world, but kids LOVE it.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Daring Bakers-March

I'm a slacker. I didn't do my Daring Baker Challenge. *sigh*

The whole DB group is undergoing an overhaul. There's a new website, new forums, new groups (Daring Chefs!!!)and it looks great. I'm just having trouble ironing out the kinks.

Do consider joining us.

My Weather Prediction

First, we were supposed to get 6-8 inches of snow on Tuesday. We got nothing but a lot of wind. Now we were supposed to get 12-18 inches of snow. We have an inch. Ft Collins has had one decent snowfall this winter--and it melted in 36 hours.

The water table projections are scary low. And the pine beetles...Those little buggars have killed thousands of trees in the mountains.

Dead trees + Low water tables = Horrifying Forest Fires.

I have a bad feeling Colorado is going to make headlines this summer.

***edited*** School has been cancelled (after the kids were already there). Probably up to six inches now. But, Mrs. nature, I have hot chocolate! Hah!

I Doubt The Weather Channel

It's supposed to dump snow all over Colorado's front range tonight.

I'll believe it when I see it.

In the meantime, I'm going to the library and stocking up on hot chocolate fixin's. On second thought, maybe I'll forget about the hot chocolate just so Mother Nature has a reason to snowbind me.

What I Made:

Soap. I created a recipe (there's thousands on line--I didn't actually use just one), bought the caustic chemical and set my little organic chemistry lab in action. It was fun, but a little intimidating to mess around with lye (NaOH for you other nerds out there).

I'll take pics when it's done curing. Right now it looks and feels like bricks of soft butter.

Carriage Returns

Since I've been uploading more photos, I've noticed an issue with my paragraphs lately. Sometimes there is a paragraph break, sometimes there isn't, sometimes there are several. The actual entry rarely has the format I intended, and the html isn't revealing the problem.

Please bear with me while I try to figure out what's up.

Interior Decorating

When I moved into my second house, I felt it was a true adult house. I wasn't in a "starter home" anymore and I felt the need to take some resposibility in my decor.


I started by trying to decide my color scheme. Everytime I went to a hardware store, I grabbed five paint chips that appealed to me. After amassing about 50 of these (you go to hardware stores a lot when you're buying and selling a house) I dumped them all on the floor and looked for trends.

Then I got a sturdy notebook and glued my new color scheme into the cover. I resolved to not purchase anything unless it coordinated with those colors. This didn't mean eveything had be those colors, it just had to look good with those colors. This became my Home Notebook. It holds paint chips, fabric swatches, catolog clippings, etc. Every room has a section.

After some paint, and a few key pieces of furniture I decided to take the art stituation into my own hands.

What I Made:

I found scrapbook papers that appealed and basically made a patchwork quilt.



Then I washed some paint on a canvas and glued some silk flowers.



This one isn't my favorite. While making it the businessman told me it looked like the 70's (you can see it in the upper left corner). Then I went crazy with the string and thought about a cat playing with yarn. It's distorted, but the joke is there: the Businessman does everything he can to pretend cats don't exist.



They aren't art, but they fill my blank walls nicely. It was much cheaper than true art.


And they're me. Which is what interior decor should really be about.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Survey Results

Okay, so everyone has read Harry Potter, except the Businessman (who also won't read my blog...correlation?). I read the first four books out loud to him way back when we used to carpool. Then we stopped carpooling (because I would rather read outloud to our children) and he hasn't heard the last three books.

He tried reading them, but he claims I do the voices better (?!?). I also mispronounced Hermione's name for a good 1500 pages, but didn't we all?

So now I want to know...of the five Olympic rings, which one is your favorite? I told you some would be ridiculous.

What I Made:


It's always noteworthy to finish two socks that match. It makes them wearable (unless you are fortunate enough to know someone with one foot, which would be excellent for anyone who only likes to knit one sock). Alas, my children are both of the two footed variety.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

The Sweater

I never started my mom's sweater. But she still got a handknit sweater. You see, I made this sweater. And then I loved it so much I made this one.

My mom saw the gray one and thought she might like to borrow it. Permanently. This of course made her B-day very easy this year.

I gave her my sweater.

What I Made:

Black Forest Sandwiches:

Chocolate peanut butter
Cherry jelly
Toasted Bread

Perfect for a picnic at the zoo.

My Mind's In The Gutter--It Must Be Spring

Today was one of those Colorado days. March is typically our snowiest month, which explains perfectly why it's 75 degrees today.


I made Lemon/Limeade.

I also finished:


A sock for Yummy. Before you tell me it looks really skinny, allow me to demonstrate the beauty of ribbing:


Is anyone else reminded of the sex-ed demonstration? The one where the girls were told to never accept the excuse "the condom is too small."

Now that I've put the words 'ribbing', 'condom', and 'sex' in this entry, I can't wait to see what disappointed crazys come...er...stop by to visit.

Spring cleaning should start with my thoughts. Sheesh.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Trailblazing

Spring break is almost over...

*controls desire to do happy dance*

Today the weather report predicted 75 degree weather so we did the obvious...

...and went snowshoeing.

And if you are ever in the situation where you have been on the trail for an amount of time that can be counted somewhere between seconds and minutes but your children are already whining because they are too tired/hungry/cold/hot/big/little to go any further you can do what I did.

Every time you touch a tree holding one of these:*

...you get an m&m.

See how effectively it works:

That's Yummy and Vicious, who spent the first leg of the trail in a sled the Businessman had to drag. In this picture they are trekking as quickly as they can to the next blaze. We went about a mile like this (snowshoeing miles are very different from hiking miles).

And hello Miss Silly, I did think of you today. Did I win the lichen contest?

What I Made:

It was my mom's birthday, so the kids and I made cupcakes.




*We called them "Blazes" which may or may not be the correct term. The Park People put them on the trees to keep people from getting lost. In theory, you can always see the next one from the one you're at.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Til We Meet Again

I'm going to the mountains today. No access to Hi-Speed or other technological marvels (like cell phone reception or air pollution). My parents don't really live too far in the backwoods, but it makes for fun blogging!

What I Made:
This was one of the cupcakes I made for Vish's Birthday a few months ago. My husband was excited to use a blowtorch to toast the marshmallow frosting. I'll be baking again tomorrow. Must. Remember. Camera.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Saint Patrick's Day

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Being neither Irish, nor Catholic, I usually end up wearing green today because it is 90% of my wardrobe and I don't want to be pinched like I was back in third grade when a first grader pinched me and drew blood and when my teacher asked me what was wrong she told me that I couldn't have been hurt that badly (she didn't see the blood)--I was even wearing green. (Wow! Where did that suppressed memory come from?)

I really do appreciate a man who can drive all the snakes off an island though. He's practically my patron saint because of that.

I used to celebrate by making Reubens, but those are off the menu this year. I can make a vegetarian corned beef, but it's work and I have knitting tonight...where I might start my mom's sweater.

What I made:

More muffins. I'm starting to get addicted. My kiddos serve themselves and I get that many more minutes of sleep. I followed the recipe but I subbed blueberries.



Monday, March 16, 2009

Spring Break Status

My kiddos will not be going to the in-laws tonight. Turns out, when one of your children wakes you up in the middle of the night after vomiting on every bed linen he owns, you don't feel comfortable letting him spend the next night somewhere else.

Not even when he wakes up bright and early and behaves as though he is the healthiest child in the world.

Not even when you have to chain yourself to the washing machine all day.

Not even when you have a deadline to knit a sweater for your mother in four days.

At least now I know I have a conscience.

What I Made:

A big pile of clean laundry. I'll spare you the photo.

On the First Day of Spring Break

Nothing will bring out your control issues like having children.

I love letting my kids make things, but I have to resist the urge to "help", "fix", or "do it faster" (sound familiar Mom?).

Which leads me to:

What I (We) Made:

Cookies. The simplest cookies ever (recipe at the bottom of this post). Yummy wanted to make them "swirled" (where he comes up with this stuff...) so we have a batch of regular peanut butter and a batch of chocolate peanut butter--I found a peanut butter that has no mystery ingredients, no hydrogenated fat, and is chocolate. What? Like the idea of Black Forest PB & (sour cherry)J has never occured to you?

Yummy did just about everything, except the oven stuff. He cracked eggs (onto the counter), he measured ingredients (onto the floor), he stirred (slowly), he scooped out cookie dough (in misshapen, irregular lumps) and you know what?



They turned out just fine.

The recipe is one my Mother-in-law gave me several years ago. I've come across this recipe a few other places so forgive me for being skeptical if anyone declares a copyright on it.

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Bake 350 about 12-15 minutes until they collapse a little and look done. They may need to cool on the cookie sheet a few minutes.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Spring Break Plans

Tomorrow starts Spring break. I'm sure some of you feel it started when school got out on Friday, but Monday at 8:00AM is when it starts for me, because that is when I'll realize I have twice the number of mini-masters running around expecting me to serve their every need.

There will be high points: My In-laws are taking the kids tomorrow night and all day Tuesday. Also, I will be schlepping my brood to the mountains to visit my parents for a couple days. So my sanity should remain intact.
I will have all day Tuesday to knit my mother a sweater, for her birthday, on Thursday. No, I haven't started it yet. What was I saying about my sanity?

What I made
I needed to come up with something for a birthday present and whipped up this frothy little number. I am assured that while the little girl who received it loves it, her little brother is infatuated and wears it everywhere. As you can tell, the only model I had in my house was a lampshade.
This is another member of the Business Plan Club. If you want one, just invite me to the party.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

*snores*

The Businessman just corrected my math. Five survey takers would be a 25% increase.

You know I'm tired when the Businessman has to correct my math. This is a very sad state of affairs.

Knitting Survey

It took me about six tries to spell my name tonight, so bear with me. Please.

I had a new survey in the side bar this week. Five of you responded, which is a 20% increase in participation. I will try not to let it get to my head.

I am surprised to know that three of you knit. And pleased. And the one person who wants to knit--you are welcome to my home any time and I will teach you, provided you aren't a psychopath, in which case we'll meet elsewhere. I may even send you home with a mile of yarn since I have a few to spare. (27 last time I checked).

So I will keep putting surveys in the side bar. Sometimes they will be ridiculous. Sometimes thoughtful. Mostly I'm just curious.

What I Made




I'm surprised I didn't blog about this when I did it. It's a mural I painted in Yummy's room. The Pixar fans should recognize it from Cars. It's very simple and stylized, but people seem to know exactly what it is.
This is one of the things for which the Businessman wrote a business plan. I am very willing to be the operations end of any business he wants to persue, but I tell him repeatedly that I am not production.

Generation Green?

Yummy and I had to wrap a present for a birthday party yesterday. I have a stash of wrapping paper (of course) and I have kept nearly every gift bag I've ever been given, just in case. So I told Yummy I would run to My Sewing Room and grab something.

Yummy: "Mom, we really should use newspaper. It's recycling and better for the earth."

I'm so proud. *wipes tears of joy* My little boy is becoming an environmental activist.

I chose to run with it rather that mess with his little head about how the paper probably won't be recycled, the toy he chose is cheap plastic junk, and most of my wrapping supplies are Second-hand/reusable. Small victories people, small victories.

What I Made



Last year I came across this pattern which is one of the most popular patterns in Ravelry, and rightly so. The chart is so simple and effective. Perfect little Jolly Rogers in 13x11 stitches. Amazing.

I've made numerous versions of this hat for my kiddos. This one fit my son for a year and then I donated it to an auction. It was my best color combo (so far) and used up leftovers--always a bonus.

Friday, March 13, 2009

I Am Tough On Band Aid...

I have a callous on my finger from knitting. To be fair I have always had a small callous but I have been knitting socks, which use very thin needles of which my set happens to be rather sharp, and a cotton top on an old set of size 4s, cotton being a fiber with no give and this particular set of needles is sharp from years of being rubbed together. So, my callous has developed a small crack. It doesn't really hurt, unless I'm stabbing something in it repeatedly.

For you non-knitters, picture a paper-cut that you keep stabbing a pencil in, about 80 times a minute.

Yeah, sucky.

So I'm knitting with a band-aid on my finger. Much to the distress of Vicious who thinks band-aids are only for serious wounds, like bumping his head on the table (again).

What I Made

First I shall make it clear that just because I post it today, doesn't mean I made it today. I do have young children and a house full of toys, dust and men of various sizes and species.

I call this my newsboy hat. Whenever I see this style I'm reminded of a kid selling papers on a street corner. It's made from an embroidered corduroy I found on clearance (there are sequins in it too) and a Vogue sewing pattern (7619). I just noticed the pattern is out of print, which surprises me since I see this style of hat everywhere.



I'm not sure what's up with the mouth-breathing on Yummy. We'll just assume modeling isn't in his future. It's a hat for me and I think I look kind of cute in it--though the pics my boys took were contrary to that.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

You Really Should Listen To Your Inner Voice

Remember yesterday when I saw what I thought was a horribly obvious error in my knitting but my friends assured me was unnoticable. Turns out I was right. It kept bugging me because I have worked with this lacy stitch before and the only way it could go wonky is if A) I knit instead of purled a row or B) I skipped a row...

Skipped a row...that seems ominous. Of course I didn't skip a row. There's no way. To prove it I'll count 1,2,3...

15 minutes later (and asking Vicious if I have my counting numbers right) I had to admit it. I skipped a row (and had lots of practice counting to 12, 24, 15 and 27).

So it is now a pretty green circle with a huge glop of ramen noodles hanging off it. It should be all sorted out by tomorrow.

BTW, the yarn is Brown Sheep Cotton Fine in Peridot, An acquisition from my field trip.

What I Made:



Simple napkins. Seriously easy. I have made napkins before and even have some fabric lying around simply for the purpose, but I hadn't gotten around to hemming or surging them. Then I dined at a restaurant where they had cloth napkins; they simply left the edges raw.

Genius.

This batch is from a cotton print I found in the clearance section. A $2.00 a yard, I can't pass up fabric with cats on it.

Item: I have a friend who spent some time in Europe getting her Hotel & Resort Management degree. They were graded on table setting and the students with the fancy folded origami napkins--not so hot. You see, when you fold a napkin in a complicated manner, you touch the napkin more--it becomes a health issue. Think about that next time you're at a fancy dinner.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Startitis

I have startitis. A well known, if not common, ailment among knitters. See a yarn, cast on a project. See another yarn, cast on another project. This is related to the very rare disease of finish-itis. To date, very few knitters have had severe cases of finish-itis, most have had startitis.

For me the cure is to let the disease run its course. Eventually something will grab my attention and I'll be unable to stop.

That may have already happened.

What I Made:
I have an old Vogue Knitting (1998) and this project caught my eye. I may never wear it, but the desire to knit it is overwhelming. So much so that I cast on with yarn that I know I don't possibly have enough to complete the thing as written and will have to do some massive wrangling when I get to the sleeves. But see? I'm already talking about sleeves like I might actually get to them.
I'm going to keep it a surprise. It is slowly creating a delicate, beautiful image and all will be revealed as I knit.



There is a glaring error staring at me. My SnB friends assured me no one will notice it but these pics make it plain as day. There is clearly a row in the lace panel that has gone awry.



And that is what I made yesterday.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

What I Made Today

I am often in the mode of making things. Baking, cooking, crafting, knitting, sewing, etc.

I am going to try something a little different on this blog. In addition to the usual blather you are still reading (for a reasons that escape me) I will insert a "PS"-a picture (hopefully) and description of something I have made.

To that end:

What I Made:

Muffins of Power!



I got the recipe here but this is the second time I made it so I subbed millet for the quinoa and raisins for the blueberries. A combo of apple and lemon juice for the orange juice and some palm sugar for some of the agave.

Can you tell I am trying to clean out my pantry? It is so nice to have a change from cereal on school mornings. Especially since the time change has my boys 'sleeping in.'

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Fifteen Minutes

Yesterday, 4:41 PM

Hey look, it's snowing! Yay! Maybe it'll stick.

4:45 PM

Oh. It stopped.

4:54 PM

It's sunny. Is that a rainbow? Tell me that's not a rainbow. It is. It's a flipping rainbow!?

I'm tempted to pull out my summer clothing just to encourage winter to stop by. I hear it's visited the rest of the country already. It's our turn.

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Creativity

I had a poll up (look to the right) about creativity. Since I know three of you who read this blog, and I had four answers, I'm not entirely shocked by the result.

All of you feel you are creative (with one of you being smart about mind altering substances). I'm glad to see this. In my experience with the real world, most people claim no creativity whatsoever and this frustrates me.

In my MOPS group this week, we had an interior designer guest. She was a great speaker and had great suggestions, but she didn't have "rules." I loved this; it seems no one else did. Rules are too limiting. You should just do what you like. The problem being we don't know what that is.

When someone asked what we can do about art when we can't afford it I finally butt in and said MAKE IT YOURSELF! Seriously. Go to the craft store, grab supplies in colors you like and slap it on a canvas. Most of us can't interpret abstract art anyway (including me). You can have something on your wall in an afternoon for less than $10.00. I have been in the homes of "collectors" and often they don't even enjoy the art on their walls (though some do)--it's an investment meant to be sold in the future. At least slapping some paint or other media on a canvas you'll know you like the colors.

But few people think like this.

How can you break into a mindset and extract ideas? How can you convince someone that creativity isn't about perfection, it's about trying?

Friday, March 06, 2009

Overreaction

I listen to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on my iPod so I'm a little behind by the time I actually listen to it. It came to my attention that one of the panelists openly mocked knitting. (Some of) The knitting community was in an uproar and demanded an apology.

Curious, I listened to the culprit episode. Toward the end, Mo Rocca mutters about handknit sweaters being itchy.

Okay, knitters, come on! Do you honestly think you serve the cause by griping?
  1. WWDTM mocks everything. That's why it's funny. If anything, this is free publicity.
  2. I have a number of handknit sweaters. Most of them itch. I also have a collection of layers to counteract this.
  3. Yes store bought sweaters can itch too, but I usually can't afford those. Perhaps Mr. Rocca has the same problem.

Seriously? We're griping about this? Is it really such a travesty? Are we so concerned about NPR listeners getting the wrong impression about knitting? If we're going to stereotype, I'd say NPR listeners are smart enough to see through it.

Now we are simply the oversensitive demographic that makes itchy sweaters while huddled in a rocking chair, drinking tea and wishing for more grandchildren to practice our intarsia on.

Great.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Socks

I have a lot of sock yarn. At one point, I decided sock yarn would make great "souvineers" when we travel places. Except for one problem: I don't wear socks.

So I stopped buying sock yarn and started knitting socks for my kiddos. The idea was, I would knit for my oldest and then it would be handed down to the youngest. But I felt bad and decided to knit my youngest a quick pair. He loves them. As soon as they are out of the dryer, he puts them on. If they're in the wash, he pesters me until they're clean again.

How can I ignore this sort of gratitude?

So, I bought some rainbow yarn (rainbow being the favorite sock color around here) and found this pattern in a book I have (you need a Ravelry ID to see that link--if should have a ravelry ID you already have it) and voila:



One sock. One of the most adorable socks I have ever seen, much less knit. I cast on for the second yesterday but the first one is so darned cute!

It's also big enough to take him into next Fall, as I (hopefully) won't make him wear them with sandals this Summer.

Bubbles, Bathbombs, Bright Shiny Links

I've been making my own cleaning supplies for almost a year so it would follow suit that this website is enchanting me.

I haven't begun trying to make my own soap...yet. But I do have a bar of handmade soap that smells like mojitos. I try not to use it too often because it smells so nice (I have a 'standard' bar in the shower)--I also had a mocha bar that smelled yummy but I used it up. If I made my own...

Hmm...

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Daring Bakers-February

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.


I had fun this month, even though my posting might contradict this.

I knew immediately I was going to make my Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream. So I thought I might want to try to do this cake with white chocolate. I had a potluck at my SnB and decided that would be the day to showcase my work. Alas, my "white chocolate" burned when I tried to melt it. Errg! So, a week later, I tried again. I got the White chocolate to melt, but the cake ended up looking and tasting like a really sweet omelette--Yuck!

At this point I realized the "white chocolate" I was using was actually not really white chocolate--it had no cocoa butter in it (the definition of true white chocolate). So I gave up and went extra dark bittersweet.



And it worked beautifully. Here it is getting ready to go to the SnB.

It had actually started snowing so I felt the snowflake was appropriate.

Here's my ice-cream:


I used almost 1 1/2 Tablespoons of chili powder--I even pulled out the big guns I got in Santa Fe. It was snowing and I thought it would be easier to eat icecream if it had more heat in it.

So I'm all proud of myself, bringing treats to the SnB, and giving a fond farewell to a fellow knitter who gets to live on Mount Rainier for a year, when this woman comes in--carrying a cake.

Needless to say, it's good there were lots of women there. There was a lot of chocolate. The other cake tasted much better than mine, but my ice cream was pretty stellar.

What I learned:
  • read your labels
  • I had never made a flourless cake before--not my favorite
  • I make kick a$$ ice cream

Friday, February 27, 2009

The Art of Folding

My son found my origami books.

This should thrill me, but I have spent over 20 years collecting advanced origami books--full of models that shouldn't ever be attempted by mere mortals...

...or five year olds.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

From the Halls of Montezuma...

Recently I went to the gym and started my 10 minute warm-up. Everytime I enter the gym I intend to leave with the hope that something will be sore the next day. As I was sorting out my routine in my head, I became aware of the significant number of combat boots wandering around, and fatigues. Oh dear, the Marines are here.

(Why there is a boatload (pun intended) of marines in a landlocked state still eludes me)

I had to make a choice. Do I avoid my weight training and stay on the treadmill? Do I alter my training and stick to the "girly" side of the gym? Do I just enter the fray and and crank it like I intended?

I'm proud to say I chose option C. A less recent edition of Mountain Mama would have chosen a different option but this one stuck to her plan. And while I was straining to do those assisted pull-ups subtracting 65% of my weight, one of them caught my eye and thumbs-uped me (he was doing pull-ups with weights tied to his waist...someday...). It felt great.

At my knitting group, one woman said she wanted to join a gym but she hated the idea of people ogling the "fat woman on the treadmill." Of course we all want to be in our comfort zone, but look where my comfort zone got me.

I would rather be ogled on a treadmill than in a fast food restaurant.

Show and Tell

For Show and Tell, Yummy had to create a caricature of his favorite storybook character.

Imagine my delight when this was who he chose:





If you need help, refer to numbers 75 and 76.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Burn Baby Burn

Treadmill: 10-15 miles/week
Yoga: 1-2 hours/week
Zoomba: 1 hour/week
Weight training: 2 hours/week
Sore: every f-bomb day

While whining about how little weight I've lost despite working out (hard!) almost everyday, one fellow yummy* told me I should just strive to have my clothing fit better.

I wanted to say "I don't want my clothes to fit better, I want your clothes to fit me better."

I'm about to hit a weightloss milestone. It would happen faster if the Easter m&ms weren't out.

*Yummy-What happens when a woman gives up her yuppie existance after creating one or more yuppie larvae.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Survey Says...

I'm toying with a gadget. I'll blog about the results when it closes.

Nostalgia

An old friend posted my 1st grade class picture on Facebook. It has induced a stream of funny memories. We've been been reminiscing all weekend.

So much fun!

I think you need to be my friend, and a member of Facebook to view the link. If you really want to see me in all my crooked-tooth, near-sighted glory, you'll just have to ask.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Knit Pics

"You finished seven sweaters! Where are the pictures of the other six? Why don't we get pictures?" you all ask.

Well, none of you asked, but all my sources say blogs are more "fun" with pics so here you go:

This one I started five years ago. I finished it a while back but waited months before sewing in a zipper. I thought I would wear it more often than I do, but it's sort of boxy on me. I was larger when I started it.


This one I blogged about before, hopefully while drunk. I ended up finishing this one in record time and wear it so much...


...I made another two weeks ago.



This next one is beautiful, but you will have to take my word for it since my camera doesn't like me. It's one of those sweaters that no one would ever think I made (unless you knew me) because it's so right. I wear it often...

...but it doesn't look as curvy on me as it does on Violet.

And finally, we have the third fair isle concoction (the first being here). Once I got going it went quickly. Providing I block it adequately, it fits beautifully (the shoulders are a bit tweaky--I blame the weightlifting). It's another "You made that!" sweater. When I wear a push-up bra with it the Businessman is happy and I could get a wenching gig in Bavaria.
And number six? Well, I thought Iwould have finished it by now. But Colorado being what it is, I have had no desire to work on my Dale of Norway.

99 Things About Me

I have been working on this list since I started my blog. Now that some old chums from my oast are crawling out of the woodwork, I felt the need to finish the list.

1. I have two children.
2. I have been happily married since 1999.
3.I was born in Edina, Minnesota.
4.I moved to Evergreen, Colorado when I was four.
5.I lived in that house in Evergreen until college. My parents still live there.
6.I have had seven addresses--three of them houses we've owned--in the past 10 years.
7.I hate moving.
8.I was two and a half when I learned to read.
9.In 3rd grade, a teacher told me that boys were better at math. This bothered me. A lot.
10.In 6th grade, the school district created an accelerated math curriculum for me (though other students were invited to participate).
11.No seriously, I had three teachers tell me this--when I never did my homework (but aced all the tests).
12.I have a degree in Biology.
13.I tested out of all the math I needed for this degree.
14.I love math. I should have chosen a major involving math.
15.I love being creative. I should have majored in art.
16.I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
17.I met my husband my first week of college. He was the first straight guy I met.
18.I was so freaked out about meeting Mr Right when I was 18, I refused to marry him until we had been out of college for at least a year.
19.I graduated from high school with almost all of the people in my kindergarten picture. (Need to verify numbers)
20. I use my middle name
21.My first name, Marianne, has been passed down to the first daughter for at least four generations.
22.When I was pregnant with my second son, my pregnancy-induced insanity tried to convince my husband to name him "Ariann." I was soundly vetoed by both him and my (German) mother.
23.I broke the chain and only have sons. I will insist their wives sign a prenup stating they will name the first granddaughter Marianne.
24.This means my future daughter-in-laws will hate me--better them than my ancestors.
25.I have a complete and utter terror of snakes. I must withhold this information from any future DILs.
26.I also have a fear of worms and anything else that doesn't have appendages.
27.If a furry snake were discovered, I would not be scared of it.
28.Toilet paper should come over the roll, not under. I have switched the rolls at other peoples' homes.
29.I don't get invited to many homes.
30.I am a vegetarian. I eat no land animals and very rarely fish. Gradually I will become vegan.
31. I love cheese.
32.Before becoming a vegetarian, I was willing to try anything once. I still am, but I would draw the line at animal flesh. I don't know if I would eat meat in a Million Dollar situation.
33.I'm not likely to be offered a million dollars to eat meat.
34.Mayonaise is gross. It creeps me out and I have never liked it.
35.The best deviled eggs in the world are made by my aunt-in-law. The only thing she puts in them is mayo. When I learned this I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.
36.I dated one of the writers of South Park. Nothing serious.
37.My appendix ruptured when I was 12.
38.Two weeks after my appendix ruptured, I got a spectacular case of chicken pox.
39.I have been to Hawaii three times. I'm willing to make it four.
40.Most of the time, I would rather do something myself than pay someone else to do it. This includes housecleaning, home repairs and haircuts.
41.I always choose scissors in scissors paper rock.
42.Unless you know that. Then I choose paper.
43.I like headgames.
44.I refuse to keep dull scissors in my home. Either they are trashed or sharpened.
45.It bothers me when people won't throw away pens that don't work.
46.I hate the feel of writing on newspaper in pencil, this is why I do crossword puzzles in pen.
47.I don't like Crayola's "Cornflower" color. It feels like writing with a birthday candle.
48.I don't eat blue m&ms. Or any blue food for that matter. (Blueberries are cloudy purple).
49.I love chocolate, but don't like chocolate ice-cream.
50.Unless it is my homemade Mexican Chocolate ice-cream.
51.Chocolate in or on my ice-cream is fair game.
52.I rarely wear socks unless I'm working out. Even in Winter.
53.Though I'm American, my ancestry is 100% German. People who work in Scottish apparel shops refuse to believe this. They insist that somewhere in my gutteral nomenclature is a good Scottsh Tartan. Apparently I can't just choose a pretty one.
54.I love men in kilts.
55.I love babies in overalls.
56.I have never been to Europe, but would move there in a heartbeat if a realistic opportunity presented itself.
57.I have used only 275 cell phone minutes in the past year.
58.I used to work for T-Mobile.
59.My favorite color is green.
60.And blue.
61.I do not like red roses.
62.I have a bad sense of smell. I think it's from several bad allergy attacks when I was younger.
63.I knit. I knit fearlessly. There are few patterns that scare me.
64.I sew. Not as much as I knit, but just as fearlessly.
65.My fearlessness has resulted in millions of UFOs.
66.I have never watched American Idol.
67.I am glued to the TV during the Olympics.
68.I would be perfectly happy if I had no television.
69.Sometimes I think technology is bad.
70.I love my iPod, my high-speed internet, and my Wii.
71.Someday I will inherit land in North Dakota. (Hopefully later than sooner)
72.Though I have been known to bake the futziest of recipes, I buy premade piecrust.
73.After Book 3, I wanted to adopt Harry Potter.
74.I had a crush on Merlin (as in King Arthur's magician) in High School.
75.I also had a crush on Waldo. Almost every guy I dated resembled Waldo in some way.
76.The first time I met my husband, he told me he was once Waldo for Halloween--without knowledge of number 75.
77.I worry about the environment.
78.I worry about our society.
79.I'm not convinced we are creating a better world.
80.I do feel if we all put in a little more effort, this world would be a better place.
81.I have never purchased margarine.
82.Or non-stick spray.
83.The last time I drank an entire soda, I was in eighth grade.
84.Unless you count rootbeer floats, love those!
85.I dogear books rather than use a bookmark.
86.I read in the bath tub.
87.I fall asleep reading in bed. My husband often ends up removing my book before he falls asleep.
88.When someone loans me a book, I try not to do 85-87.
89.I would rather be in my home, creating, than exploring.
90.Alas, exploring leads to inspiration.
91.Inspiration leads to creativity.
92.Repeat 89-91 to find my inner turmoil.
93.My work ethic is good, but I would be perfectly happy if I didn't have to work (for money) ever again.
94.Dessert island: iPod, survival guide, boat.
95.I might trade the boat for a helicopter.
96.I love some alternative music, I hate other alternative music.
97.I listen to country music in the car because I like it (and because I have no CD player). The alternative radio station is too bipolar for driving (see 96.)
98.If you've come this far, I am genuinely shocked to see you here.
99.I think Americans waste too much of their lives on the computer.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Here Be Monsters

Around here, we had a couple days off school. It was cold and windy and basically felt like a new form of torture the school district implemented on the parents.

So I schlepped my brood to the craft store and we made art for the playroom. I was inspired by a "picture" Vicious made when he had a page of sticky eyeballs and a sheet of paper. I loved the effect so much I wanted a (more) permanent version:

"Googlops"

(Yes I cut his hair. Yes I regret it. Yes I think he looks like the offspring of the National Socialist regime. Hair grows.)

And speaking of hair. We decided we needed a hairy monster. I asked Yummy to close his eyes and picture the craziest, hairiest monster he could. What color is he?

Rainbow of course!

"Fluffy"
I cut. Yummy glued. I had no idea cutting monster hair would be such a chore!

I still have enough supplies for "Slime" and "Scales"

What? Where do you go for your wall art?




Wednesday, February 18, 2009

March Madness Isn't a Sale in a Garden Catalog?

Last week after my workout the I found the businessman shooting hoops. He asked me to join him so he could get practice with his rebounding.

It took about 10 minutes to realize this meant my suckiness was what he wanted, having only made about five baskets and seeing him get almost all my rebounds.

Next time he asks me, I don't know whether to be honored or offended.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Phrases I use far too often around here:

Because I told you too. (Relative of "Because I said so" which I would never say)
Did anyone feed the cat? Then why is he biting my ankles?
Where's the cat?
Stop hitting your brother.
You cannot throw golfballs in the house.
Do you think screaming is a good way to ask for help?
Because I'm mean.
Life isn't fair.

And my favorite:
Keep your underpants on. (Literally)

Monday, February 16, 2009

Airing of the Stash

There are numerous knitting Icons who encourage a yearly "Airing of the Stash" though I think the actual term comes from Cast On's Brenda Dayne.

This year, it wasn't hard: thanks to the work I did this Summer on My Sewing Room most of my yarn is sitting tidily in it's corner. The tricky part was finding the hidden caches, like the basket on a shelf in a cabinet behind another shelf (thank goodness for castors) or the wonderful totebasket for the living room to hold only my current project that multiplied exponentially and filled up the bookshelves.

I keep my stash in Excel so I can wrangle a funky equation that theorhetically tells me how much yarn I can buy (one skein for every two used) but really tells me I have bought far more then I should have (It was a silly resolution anyway) because I'm a nerd.

I was logging my yarn and I noticed a few differences between last year and this year:
  • I bought less yarn
  • No wait, I bought fewer different yarns. This means instead of one beautiful skein that I could make a ??? with (And I don't need any more of those) I would buy a sweaters' worth of yarn. So more skeins, but fewer rows in Excel.
  • I have finished seven sweaters since August. Four of them were started in the past seven months. While this consumes yarn, it leads me into a false feeling of stash reduction.
  • I still have an embarrassing amount of yarn. The only thing protecting my head from exploding at the quantity is the knowledge that it couldn't fill a moving box (and I have heard of people who have boxes (plural!!!) of sock yarn alone.
  • It takes a depressingly long time to knit up a 450 yard skein of sock yarn.
  • With all my fair isle sweaters (I've made three now) I have 50 partial skeins of Knit Picks Pallette (why does a pattern say it uses 750 yds of a color when it only used 422?)which is probably enough to make three more sweaters or six more vests. However, I will stab those 2.5 mm needles through my nostrils and out my ears before I cast on for another fair isle project.

So, not being in the habit of self voodoolation, I'm taking those fifty skeins into my SnB tomorrow and I will try to pawn them off on anyone who wants them.

Half of 50 is 25. I could buy 25 new skeins...

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Blog Blahs

Life is at a state of steady busy-ness: I have been very busy with the usual life stuff, but nothing of interest has happened.

This makes for slow blogging.

So, you can either hope for a microdisaster in my life so that you may be entertained, or you can get off the computer and wreak havoc in your own life.

Your choice.

Monday, February 09, 2009

Role Models

While folding laundry:

Vish: What's this?
Me: This? It's a bra. It's an undershirt girls wear when they grow up.
Vish: What's Dat?
Me: What?
Vish: Dat?
Me: What's dat?
Vish: Um, the boy who lives with us and drinks coffee.

*pause to hide giggling*

Me: You mean Dad?
Vish: Yeah, Dat!

Friday, February 06, 2009

At Least I think it's Cool

I popped into Crow yesterday in my yoga class.

Does anyone other than me find that impressive?

Monday, February 02, 2009

Mountain Dew, Fritos, and Ergonomic Peripherals

Okay, this next sentence is going to make you all know how much of a nerd I really am:

So I was listening to my math podcast...

*sigh*

...last December and they had some gift suggestions for math geeks. One of the suggestions was a computer game called DROD.

Normally I avoid computer games. Not because I'm against them, but because they have a potential for huge time-suck (which is also why I try not to linger on Facebook either, but I digress). However, my math podcast hyped it so I thought I'd try the demo.

I have found the need to limit myself to one dungeon room a day. There is just this huge satisfaction of swinging my sword at a cockroach (and hearing that popping noise) that has rendered me addicted. The game is intriguingly simple, but so darned challenging. I keep meeting new enemies, like tar and evil eyes, and I have to figure out the puzzles that will let me escape.

On occasion I get very stuck so I meander to the message boards for hints (not solutions) and I enter geekdom. These people speak languages I can't hope to understand, with words like "Data/Bitmaps directory" and "dynamically loads a .tim file." I am so swimming in deep, deep water here.

I wonder if any of them can fix my router?

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Daring Bakers-January

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.
So my mind ran off with itself regarding this challenge. I had visions of making these tuiles and shaping them into curlicues and spirals and then using them to decorate The Businessman's birthday cake.

I was humbled. I think I spent too much time imagining the finale and didn't pay full attention to the execution.
The batter came together nicely. I refrigerated it for a few hours and then rushed to make them. I tried to pipe long lines of dough which I thought I could wrap around wooden spoon handles for the curlicues. I baked them about 6 minutes and tried to lift one up to form it while still warm. It was a little underdone, I think, and stuck to the parchment. I tried to drape the parchment over a rolling pin and the sticks cracked on me:

My kids thought they were edible.
Then I tried the stencil thing. I pulled a sheet of plastic stencils that are meant to be used for scrapbooking--there were images of palm trees, starfish, clouds, etc. This was the smartest thing I had done thus far. The stencils came out of the oven beautifully. I let them cool flat. Unfortunately, the palm tree was a little underdone and broke when I tried to lift it.
Above: Beach shapes and blobs.

At this point, I was trying to make dinner, separate fighting kids, and clean the kitchen and the charm of tuiles had worn off. The cookies were inhaled quickly and all evidence destroyed.
What I learned:
  • Stop thinking grand until I've had practice
  • Try again later--perhaps Valentine's Day
  • Refocus my DB efforts and remember this is supposed to be fun!
Following is a recipe taken from a book called “The Chocolate Book”, written by female Dutch Master chef Angélique Schmeinck.
Recipe:Yields: 20 small butterflies/6 large (butterflies are just an example)
Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch
65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 180C / 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from bakingsheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones….

Friday, January 23, 2009

Deductions

I got Deduction Pro as a free add-on last year when I filed my taxes. I highly recommend it--providing you itemize your deductions. Especially with kids who grow out of clothes on a weekly basis.

I just went through the growing pile of outgrown clothing I stash in a corner of my office. I brought up a trashbag and carefully itemized everything I stuffed in it.

One trash bag of clothing ended up being about $250.00. I would have guessed its value to be $50.00. Had I bought this software, it would have paid for itself with the first trash bag.

I feel like I'm cheating--I'm not (big brother if you're watching) but I feel like it.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Confession

I hired a personal trainer.

I avoid hiring people to do jobs that I think I should be able to do. This includes housecleaning, haircutting and until now, personal training.

But I have been on my own for years now and I just haven't made it work. My gym was running a deal and I hired one. I see him once a month. Last month he gave me my exercise regime (he's really very nice but I feel better making him sound mean) and I obeyed. He also explained why all my time on the treadmill hasn't paid off and didn't even flinch when I suggested it might be because of the ice cream/chocolate and not because my body is "used to walking".

In four weeks I have lost 4% body fat. Very little weight, one inch, but 4% body fat. I also confessed that I wasn't tracking my calories at all (and promised I would do so for a month). He gave me another month's worth of exercise and kicked my butt (and arms, and back, and legs...)on a stationary bike.

I'm thinking this might have been money well spent.

Monday, January 12, 2009

There's Always a Kid Who Eats Paste

I teased you guys a few weeks ago.
Behold, the gift sent to me by a very thoughtful friend:
Doesn't this bottle look urban chic? I felt the need to reorganize my pantry so as not to have this sexy little bottle standing next to the kids' Campbell's soup. This beauty will be reserved for Daring Bakers.
There is a small iota of irony. For my birthday, my in-laws gave me the following:
Which leads me to believe I may be chatting this product up a bit (and deservedly so). This one will be rationed for "normal" baking (which just might be more frequent than most peoples').
But then, while reorganizing my pantry, I discovered:
Two full bottles and two half bottles--I have been rationing this scarce commodity.
Now I see much baking in my future. And I feel no need to ration anymore. I started my morning by drizzling it on my oatmeal--still indulgent but it helped the oatmeal tremendously!
 
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