Ths photo issue is driving me NUTS!

I have photos... I have a computer and for some reason I can't download. It has been SEVERAL months of me taking photos and not doing anything with them. I have posts ready that just need a photo or 2 so that they can be complete (these are projects and I am refering to the photo in them so they are needed...) It is driving me nuts!

So what did I do on Halloween?

I dyed yarn. I really wish I could share photos, but since the move, I can't download photos. Don't know why, but I have close to 1000 photos on there of kids, yarn and projects and can't get to any of them. It is frustrating... Anyway. Once I get that figured out I will be sharing photos... I will, I promise!

Happy Halloween

I hope everyone with little kids gets lots of candy! Have a safe night!

Sonogram

Well I had a sonogram yesterday and I am 16 weeks along. That is all. Thanks.

Glamour Knits - book review

Before I moved to Hawaii an great friend of mine gave me a knitting book called Glamour Knits by Erika Night, and I love it, I really do. But I am a rather advanced knitter (knitting almost 20 years...) know things that less advanced knitters do not and as such can fudge my way in some things.

The book itself is laid out with all the color photos in the beginning and all the pattern photos and script being monochromatic. They are the same photos as the beginning photos so if you need more detail or want color you can just flip to the front.

The photos all look VERY glamorous and very pretty on the model. They were taken like they were meant to sell the garment but doesn't really show the construction of the garment. This makes it hard to see what you are doing wrong in comparison to the photos. (of course Ravelry only has user photos not the book photos so you can use those if you want help with pictures, the only problem I see is that Ravelry only has 11 of the 15 patterns for this book on Ravelry... so if you like a pattern that isn't on Ravelry, you might have some issues.)

The patterns themselves are quite straight forward and I like them. Easy to read and the like. This book does not have graphs, it only has the written pattern, so if you are a graph knitter then this is not a book for you.

Also a quick search shows that there are errors in this publishing of the book (hopefully to be fixed in the second run) and here is a link to the errata.

Overall, the book has it's issues (don't we all?) but can be overlooked or just be non-issues by the right knitter.

Edit: Also there are more reviews here.

The path the Lord sets.

Recently I started reading a new blog and I thought I would share. Emily, at Under $1000 per Month, is an amazing woman living a life that most in America would find impossible. She is doing this because the Lord has called her and her family to it. She has some AMAZING recipes and frugal tips on top of being debt free.

Updates...

I was reading through my last months posts and realized how much stuff has changed. So I thought I would do an overall update post.

G is 18 months. He is right on target in walking and talking (actually he is a little advanced in the talking, but just by 2 months so not something to really get worked up over). His fav word is "I did it" followed by clapping. I am very sure he sees this as a word because it a phrase his sister uses at least 100 times a day. We also have him trained to put away his toys (he says "I did it" and claps after EVERY toy, it is soooo cute). He has started doing toilet training. So far he goes to the bathroom to poop while holding the toilet about half the time. I have caught a few times and actually gotten him in the toilet a few times. I love not having to clean poopy diapers and hope to catch him more often soon.

N just turned 4. She we got her a tricycle for her birthday. I was going to get a used one, but all the used ones I had found were beyond repair or more expensive to fix than new. I feel bad buying a new one... really I do. N also had surgery at the beginning of this month. (She had a cyst near her thyroid that she was born with... the doctors wanted to remove it because the cyst had the possibility of getting an antibiotic resistant infection sometime in the future. those same doctors wanted to wait until she was about 4 because then the neck would have grown (a smaller chance of complications) and it wasn't life threatening (why do it now when it will be safer to do later?).) For her surgery I got her a used playhouse for outside that was 30 dollars (a completely frivolous purchase, but one my daughter LOVES).

Well, that is about it.

Pregnancy smells

Oh so often I hear women complain that while pregnant they can smell EVERYTHING and make it out to be the worse thing that can happen. While it can be annoying to smell your neighbor 10 houses over smoking that cigarette, there are also wonderful smells too that you never noticed before. My favorite is the smell of my children. No not the "eww poopy diaper" smell, more the normal smell of their head. My son smells like daffodils and apples. An interesting combination, but sweet smelling and delightful. My daughter smells of fresh milk (like fresh, fresh from a dairy cow before any processing) and tulips. Again, not the most normal combination, but not yucky smelling. I personally love the smell of my kids and could hold them all day and just smell them.

The good and bad of military houseing

Ok, well we are settled in now (only took what, 2 months in the house!) and over all it is great. I love my neighbors, there are lots of kids the same ages as my kids, there is a play ground with in sight of my house, the house is HUGE compared to our last place, and I have a fenced yard.

Of course there are some mild annoyances, but that isn't the housings fault. Seems here in Hawaii someone brought this one type of snail called the Great East African Snail as a pet and released it here. The thing is impossible to kill with poisons and eat ANYTHING you try to plant! Added bonus, they carry HORRIBLE DEADLY illness even in their slime trails... well if infected with the illness they do, but really do you want to check? Who ever it was that wanted to save their "pet" by releasing it... well I have some choice words for you... So far I have resorted to just taking a hammer out at night and crushing all of them I find every night. Tonight I killed a total of 350 (well I stopped counting at 350... there were more...) of them in back yard while I was out for 10 minutes... Oh and did I mention there is NOTHING on island that eats or hunts these things?

Anyway, if anyone has a sure fire way to kill them.. please tell me... please...

No knitting... or coffee

Ok, since being preggo, I have omitted coffee from my diet. This has been hard, as it means I have to sleep more (9 or 10 hours instead of 7 or 8) and I am less focused (ADHD- self medicate with caffeine, which not nessarily good for you, is in my option better than the drugs they perscribe). These are not good things as I am falling behind in house work.

This means I am falling behind on knitting too. I have about 15 to 30 patterns that need finishing touches one way or the other for a PDF (mostly just knit, photograph and slap on the PDF) and then I can start selling those patterns. After I have the patterns ready I can make bundles of them and set it up as an Ebook. When I make money enough off the Ebook, I can actually publish the book and sell it! Of course I am still behind on the house so until that happens, I am having to put this whole thing on hold...

But hey, I still have Christ so it isn't all bad!

My son: the nudest

This is just too funny not to share!

My 18 month old son has discovered the joys of nakedness. Every morning I wake up to find him in his crib buck stark naked. At no other time does he remove his clothing but when he is in his crib so at least that is a bonus. But today he did it while taking his nap. It is just so cute to have a little boy stand up and say "Hi!" to you in his crib while letting it all hang out.

Vanity sizing and why it is bad...

Let me begin by saying that I was blessed with my father's genes in that I reached my full hight and waist size at 13. I remember going to the Gap and buying my first set of non children's size cloths and being so happy. I was a size 2 had a 28 inch waist with 32 inch hips.

I still have the same measurements when not pregnant, but now I when I shop for jeans I seem to wear a size 14 in childrens.

Now I understand that stores and fashion designers sell more if they "vanity size" things, and I know it started in the Victorian Age when a size 16 ment you had a 16 inch waist and considering that in Marilyn Monroe's time a size 16 was more like today's size 8, this vanity sizing thing is going much faster into the super sizes than ever before.

But that isn't the point of my post. The point is that I am normally a size 14 in childrens and need maternity clothes... Which for some reason are not made in childrens sizes... I am really dislikeing vanity sizes... Can't I just tome travel to some time in the early 90s and get clothing there?

I'm Pregnant!!!

That is all... thank you.

WOW! Been a while!

I am really sorry, I have been really busy. N is getting surgery Oct. 1 and the house is still a mess.

What the surgery thing is just out of the blue? Well, yea, it kinda is. See, N has a strange growth in her neck. It is basically a bit of skin that make a pocket in her neck. It gets infected and then you have to squeeze the puss out like you would pop a zit. It isn't likely to kill her but it could become infected with something really bad and then she could die. So they are going to cut it out now that she is big enough to do so.

I have alot of unpublished patterns

I have been looking at my patterns and just realized that I have about 25 dishcloth patterns that are unpublished. Really. So I have been thinking. What should I do with them? Should I give them out for free and ask for donations? Should I sell them online? Should I try and publish a book? a combination of the above? I am really on the fence on this.

Lots of updates

Well, mostly unpacked. Still need 2 more bookshelves and need to move a few ceder chests but that will have to wait until MIL and FIL show up.

The next door neighbor is giving birth as I type. She will be having a boy and has 3 other littles so I know she will need help.

I have been meeting a bunch of cloth diaperers here, many more than I knew in FL. It is nice because I don't get questioned as much about why I cloth diaper here.

Swine Flu and A Broken Spinning Wheel

So this morning I got a call telling me that N's results were in and that N had the Swine Flu. She was tested for it 2 weeks ago and is now well over it. It is nice to know that she has had it and that is one more illness that we can cross off the list.

So little N is better but my spinning wheel is not. Seems that if you let a spinning wheel sit unused for several years things weaken and will break under the pressure of a 3 year old jumping up and down on them... like the foot pedals plastic connection to the wheel. Thankfully it can be fixed easily with some leather (we have leather so I can fix it at my leisure). Still sucks.

Avoidiance behavior

I am madly trying to get the house under control so I can have fun when my MIL comes. I know her, she will want to play, and so will I and if the house isn't completely she won't let us play (Sometimes I need to be sat on to get working... which is why I get along with her so well, she is as stubborn as me but twice as nice.)

So back to the house: It is driving me nuts, mostly because I don't have places to put most of these things and I need something to entertain the kids while I pay attention to this box I am unpacking and not to them. N is easier, give her crayons and paper and she is so happy she will color at the table (and not on it) for hours, but G... well, he wants to see mommy at all times so if mommy isn't in view, well the world has come to a screaming end.

We need to buy furniture (bookshelves mostly) but Hubby wants to be there when I buy it so that is on hold until he stops getting up at 03:30 (3:30 am) each morning to get to work and gets back at around 20:00 (8:00 pm). It is just frustrating.

have internet!

Have house have internet, now I just need to unpack.

Fevers

The kids came down with something last night, or I should say N came down with it, G is just being a butt and wants stay up late and play with N. N just wants to sleep.

I sign for the keys tomorrow at 10. I need to get up early an take all the bags down to the car tomorrow morning.

Saw the house!

So we (meaning hubby) signed on a house today! We will be living within walking distance to EVERYTHING. Rocking!

Long nights... longer days.

Living in a hotel room is not conducive to knitting/crocheting, let alone designing. I have designs running through my head but haven't had the time do anything about it.

In other news I have been toying with the idea of actually publishing a book. Either dishcloths or kids clothing. We will see. Need to get better at photography if I do that, or find a REALLY killer photographer (I have one not nearby but really want one close by).

Housing

Well, we are still in a hotel and it looks like that will be the case until the 13th - 15th of July. At least we will be getting a 3 bedroom house.

Redesign

I am planning on changing my color scheme. I have 2 sets I like but can't decide on: this one or this one.

Here in Hawai'i

We have been here a while but are staying in a hotel for now. We are moving on post some time in July. That is really all I have right now.

Another update.

Well, still homeless (not like that just in transition) and we had 2 birthdays. Hubby is another year older and G is one now. He was given his first piece of cake that he tasted made a face at and tossed on the floor.

The movers came today and boxed all of our stuff. It was actually a lot less stressful than I thought it would be.

Craziness

Well, still "moving". Right now I am at my parents house. I am working on my mother day present for my mom. I am cleaning out all the dead leaves from her yard. I am taking before and after photos and when I am done moving plan of posting them.

G is starting to talk more. So far his vocabulary is "Mu" for me, "Da-du" for hubby and "Uh-uh" for Uh oh. For some reason he only says "Uh-uh" when he drops food on the floor. Must be a boy to be so food minded.

N is missing home and keeps asking to "go in plane home" or "go house up steps". Since we flew here I am betting she is missing FL and considering that we lived on the 3rd floor in FL "up steps" makes sense. We only have another month before we have a new place.

Moved! sorta...

Well I am in Kansas at my parents house now. The have internet so updates will be forthcoming. The most interesting thing that happened was the arrest that happened on the plane. Seems some really drunk guy had to have a smoke in the bathroom on 3 separate instances. Just so you know, if someone flushed a cigarette that isn't fully out doesn't he toilet is can actually cause an explosion in flight. At least that is what the flight attendant said. He even had an accomplice calling the stewardess up to the front of the plane so he could go smoke more. Fun stuff that!

Remember that cocoon?

I posted a coocoon and mentioned how I was swapping it for free photos. Well they posted baby photos of it in use. Check it out!

Funny how professional photographers take better pictures of it than I did... :P.

FO Fridays - Coocoon 2

I made another one for a friend of mine. We are swapping as well. I get children's photos of my kids and she get this.

She is a professional photographer. you can see her family blog here and her photo blog here. Yes she does all of her own HTML and such. She is very talented. (I can do HTML too I just haven't had the time!)

Super Simple Flavored Vinegar

Every so often I come across a recipe that calls for some specially flavored vinegar. Raspberry, blueberry or something. Now this isn't often enough to warrant actually BUYING flavored vinegar. Instead I make enough flavored vinegar for a recipe about 3 hours before I actually cook. Traditionally that means actually having the fruit/flavoring on hand and fresh but my way is a complete cheat.

What you need:
1 cup white vinegar
1 teabag of whatever flavoring that is called for

Set vinegar in clean GLASS (plastic doesn't work for some reason... don't know why) cup or bowl with teabag in it. Let soak for 1 to 3 hours.

This keep up to 3 month refrigerated if kept in glass with a lid. Never tried freezing it.

This is linked to The recipe swap on The Grocery Cart Challenge and Food on Friday's on Ann Kroeker

Converting a bread recipe to machine...

This is very easy...at least for me. It is mathematical and well, I like math... a lot... too much maybe...but I digress...

You have to start knowing how many pounds your machine holds. The standard sizes are 2 pounds, 1.5 pounds and one pound.

2 pound machine holds 4 cups of flours/grains.
1.5 holds 3 cups.
1 pound holds 2 cups.
(note this is just flours and grains... don't go and add in the sugars or dried milk!)


Add all the flours and grains in the recipe together. (In the recipe I gave last week the original recipe called for 10 cups of flour/grains... sure it make 2 or 3 loaves but would not fit in a bread machine!) Err on the side of too much flour (ex: if the recipe says something like "5 to 6 cups for kneading" go with the 6 in the math.)
For this math we are going to have you plug in numbers:

"P" is the percentage you need to multiply the WHOLE recipe by.
"B" is the number of cups you can fit in you bread machine.
"O" is the number of cups you got from the original recipe.

P = B/O

Plug in numbers and calculate.

Now take P and multiply it by each ingredient in the recipe. It is best if you don't have to round but if you do go out at least 2 decimal points before rounding.

The first time you make the "new" recipe check it out in the machine 5 minutes into mixing to see if it is too dry or is too wet. add one teaspoon of water of too dry and one teaspoon of grain if too wet and then wait another 5 minutes and check again. Continue until it looks good.

babies + coffee

So now both children have now high amounts of caffeine. No I didn't let them drink coffee... they have both eaten coffee grounds/beans.

Hubby was making coffee this morning and dropped a few bean while filling the grinder.... and G is a fast crawler. You can guess what happened.

Though this is not how N ate coffee grounds. N is a finicky neat eater. In fact, when she spills any food on herself she INSISTS on a wash cloth to clean up and WILL NOT eat anymore until clean... she has always been like this. She is also VERY good at eating without spilling.

So when she was about 10 months old she got into the trash... or more notably, the coffee grounds in the trash. Being the super neat eater she was I didn't know she had eaten any coffee grounds and of course she didn't want to take her nap... and had a major diaper blow out.

She did this for about a week before I figured out that she was doing this. Looking back it is funny but at the time I was really frustrated that she was not taking naps because that was my "clean the house then knit" time.

Noticed something...

I have been doing FO Friday's for a few weeks and I guess they are not as popular as I had hoped... in fact I go from having 25 to 30 subscriber to my blog all week and then seem to drop down to less than 10 on Fridays. This tells me that it is not only unpopular but it is down right a killer. So what is wrong with it? Is it Mister Linky making you feel bad that you didn't finish anything all week long? I am kinda thinking that is the case and as such I am only going to use Mister Linky once and a while from now on and I will give everyone a fair amount of warning too.


OK, now that I have made that announcement I might as well tell everyone that I don't know how much I will be posting come April until June. We are packing up early April but that means packing the computers as well and that means no internet... I know... It is sad. As such I am giving everyone warning of leaving for a while...

FO Friday - pretty and cheap table decor

What you need:

• votive or other small candle
• drinking glass (thrift stores have these for cheap mine was 10 cents)
• dry erase markers and wet erase markers

all you do is color the markers n the glass and then put a candle in and light. So easy and cheap and if it is one of your "good" glasses then you can actually "erase" it off with either a dry cloth (dry erase markers) or water (wet erase markers). This isn't that good of a pic but you can get the idea.

So if you want to join in please read the rules...

Oatmeal bread recipe

I don't buy bread. I make bread everyday. I used to make it by hand but then I had kids and that just became too much work... enter the bread machine. I did the math and converted my recipe for the bread machine. (I'll post how to convert recipes some time next week.... promise. Scratch that I have posted it here!)

The recipe cost me 15 to 17 cents per loaf. This does not include power. If I include power I think ti came out to 20 to 23 cent per loaf back in 2005 when I got the machine. So we are talking cheap here... very cheap. Now note: I by ALL ingredients in bulk at Sam's Club. That means I buy 50 pounds of flour (Used up in 3 months) at a time and 5 gallons of olive oil at a time (used up in 5 months).

The reason I make oatmeal bread is because oatmeal is a whole grain and it the cheapest whole grain you can buy!

Oatmeal bread (2 pound loaf)

Ingredents:

• 1 cup oatmeal (Quick Oats)
• 3 cups flour
• pinch salt
• 1 cup dried milk
• 1/8 cup sugar (you can sub honey or molasses but will not get as big a loaf due to it not rising as well)
• 2 table spoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 packet of yeast (or if you buy yeast in bulk like me 1/2 table spoon)

Put all wet ingredients first followed by all dry ingredients. Put on either whole grain setting or normal bread setting (you might need to experiment to see which works better...).

more recipes at The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Teaching about God.

If you wanted to teach your child to read what would you do?

A) Spend time going over the ABC's/spelling, get age appropriate books, help them read through them, and read to you child.

B) Send them to the library once a week for an hour and hope they learned something.

C) Read to yourself, and hope they just happen to pick it up.

Kinda obvious that A is the best answer, but many parents teach about God by only doing B and/or C. You send your child to Sunday school once a week and/or go to Bible Study yourself and hope that somehow your child will just "pick up" information about God. This doesn't work. in most cases.

You need to actually teach about God. And someone made it easy! Family Time Training has a goal to help families train their kids from preschool up. They even have a free activity every month. Go check them out. Think of it as actually giving you child working ideas on how God works and how Jesus work.

ECHO...

We volunteered this weekend at a place called ECHO. It was a lot of fun. They had Farm Day and has all sort of cool things going on (in fact one of the goats gave birth!)

Volunteers got to have a lunch break and get some time free time to play. If you are living in Fort Myers and looking for a volunteer opportunity you might want to look into it. They allowed us to take out 2 kids to help out too so you can teach the kids about helping others and be out all day.

FO Friday!

Ok, I have nothing. Sorry. Moving and had a horrible day. If you want to join in feel free! Read the rules first!


Sorry no entries. It will be back next week.

I won a contest!

It seems I won a contest! Wow! I feel loved!

Not feeling well.

I am sorry i have been ignoring my blog. Packing is taking up my time as it sleep (sinus infection like thing). I will continue to host FO Fridays but might miss participating in a few of them.

FO Friday

The What a Kool way to dye group on Ravelry is having a Dye A-long. This month is themed Mardi Gras and I am participating.

the yarn is sock yarn (Buckthorn Stripes by Patons Kroy Striped Sock yarn). The green has 2 Lemon Lime KAs, 2 Berry Blue KAs and 1/2 a Grape KA. The purple is 2 Berry Blue, 1 Blue Raspberry Lemonaid KA, and 1 1/2 Grape KA.



Please look at the rules before posting.

FO Fridays Participants

1. Nette

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

One of those days...

You know they type where the kids just seem to be on your last nerve and you just can't wait until nap time... yea... that is today.

New Houseing Frustration!

As mentioned before, we are moving soon and though I am not expecting to be given steep price discounts or have a perspective landlord "save" me a spot without prepaying for a saved spot, i do have a few "rules" that I follow before I am willing to rent... and it seems that NO ONE can meet these exceptions.


Now I don't think these expectations are super high either and to show you here is a list of my 3 prerequisites:

1. 5 bedrooms (I know people are going to want to come visit for extended periods of time... we need the space!)
2. yard with fence (I want to be able to plant things and have a swing set... or something like it)
3. up to date on mortgage or at least be not in foreclosure (Come on, we just had 70-80% of homes foreclosed on in my area and I am going to guess that about 90% of those were rentals... I have seen people sign a lease and then a WEEK later be told by the bank that they have to move out! This is MANDATORY because I am not going to let it happen to ME!)

I can find LOTS of houses that I like in Hawaii that fit the first 2 prerequisites but I have yet to find a single landlord that can give me a straight answer and tell me that they are willing to take me to the bank and PROVE that they are up to date or not in foreclosure. SERIOUSLY people!

Anyway... end rant.

The blame game

I have been looking for a Christian based weekly meme for a while. If you know of others PLEASE comment below about them! If you want to join in check it out at Internet Cafe Devotions. This week's question is as follows:

How would my life look if I no longer struggled with taking responsibility for my actions? What if I was completely free from blaming others for my actions through Christ’s power…


I am going to start by saying that I am terrible at blaming people for my mistakes. TERRIBLE! I blamed the pregnancy for not disciplining and teaching my daughter. I blame my husband for me not having dinner done on time. In fact I have been known to blame my parents for not teaching me not to blame people for my actions!

Now it I might be ok with this but for the fact that under the heat of the moment I spout my mouth off and make a scene. I have been working on this for quite some time (with Christ's help) and have actually come a long way. Sadly I still have a LONG way to go!

If I no longer struggled with this problem I would have a much better marriage and be a better mother. Sure we would still argue but blaming people drives a wedge between people while other forms of disagreements can actually bring people together (that is as long as you handle them properly).

FO Friday!

Ok, so I am running late! Tomorrow morning I will be adding my FO to this page but until then I am leaving Mr linky for all to love. Please read the rules!

Ok, I have it up!
It is a Coocoon used as a photo prop with babies. I made it as a barter with a friend. I got photos of one of my designs professionally photographed and she gets this.

Sorry, Mr. Linky will be back next week!


FO Fridays Participants

1. Marianne (rav Mar1anneC)

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

I'm a sucker for free yarn...

So Love and Peas is having a free yarn contest. Go check her out!

KaBoom Placespace finder!

Moving all the time, like we do, I like to know what is around a perspective place to live before I even have a chance to visit. That is why the play space finder from KaBOOM! is so awesome! (just click the pic to link to the site.) You can find play spaces wherever you go! Like on vacation, moving, or even one that was newly built in your area! The play space finder is still in beta so if you have a suggestion go and suggest it!

(on a side note: I am looking for memes to do, esp. ones that will challenge me as a Christian and in my walk with God. If you know of one please comment the link to me!)

For more AWESOME stuff go over and check out WFMW at We are THAT family!

FO Friday: Shorties

So last week I had 3 more rows and I finished them Saturday. This is a pair of shorties that was inspired by Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket. It is made to fit a 9 month old.





Look at the rules before posting on Mr. Linky.

Mr. Linky will be back next week for our next FO Friday

Vegetables Au Gratin

I am just going to say I love this recipe. It is easy, quick and has so many substitution options that you can use basically everything. All measurements can be fudged a bit one way or the other. I don't actually own measuring cups so... I am kinda guesstimating on all the numbers.

Serves 6-8 (these are smaller portions, you will get less if you are like most American's and are used to Super Sized food)
Preheat oven: 350 F.
About 20 minutes actually cooking and another 20 minutes baking.


Need:

• 1.5 pounds (4 cups) of cooked veggies (I have been known to use raw but I like crunch. Esp good are broccoli, carrots, cabbage, green beans, zucchini and cauliflower. I have also used corn, dandelion leaves, spinach, sauerkraut and potatoes in smaller amounts.)
• 1/2 cup corn flakes/bread crumbs/croûtons
• 3 T. of olive oil, butter, some other cooking oil...
• 1/3 cup chopped onion (I like to use more)
• 3 T. flour
• 1 t. salt
• 1/8 t pepper
• 1.5 cups milk (or use some form of stock and dried milk)
• 1 cup of grated cheese (I have used Velvetta to Chedder and even Swiss... use whatever you have!)
  

Directions:

• Saute chopped onion and cooking oil in saucepan over low heat.
• After sauted to your satisfaction add flour, salt and pepper.
• Continue cooking, stirring continually until bubbly and add milk.
• Continue stirring until smooth and add cheese.
• Stir until melted and then stir in veggies.
• Put into pan for baking cover in bread crumbs (Note: you can stop here and freeze for later!)
• Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until bubbling.

Other options:

• Add cooked ham, beef, chicken or some other meat (I have been known to use corned beef hash)
• Add a cup of cooked rice.

Spice/herb options:

• 1 t. Parsley
  
• 1/2 t. of curry
• 1/2 t. ground allspice

As I said before. You can really omit any one thing (except for the veggies...) and this recipe really does turn out fine. So use what you have on hand and if you find you are out of cheese (been there!) don't run and get it, just cook it and be done!

Anyway check out the RECIPE SWAP for more recipes!

Family update.

I felt the need to update family things. These times just go so fast that I know I will forget all the cute things the kids have done if I don't record it.

G is finally REALLY crawling. Before he was letting his feet/legs drag and low crawling with his arms. Of course G being G, also figured about walking at the same time. He is now pulling himself up and walking around things while holding on to them. Hubby thinks that he is trying to talk and has named me "Bubu" because whenever he starts heading for me he just keeps saying "bubu". He also eats a WHOLE box of cheerios in one sitting. G also LOVES being swung around and bounced around.


N is starting to get jealous and rough house with G a little too hard. G likes rough housing but sometimes N takes it too far. She still isn't all that big. she wears a 2T and a 3T but really fits the 2T better. She is just a small kid. She eats well and her favorite food seems to be Ramen soup.


Daddy and I are going through the house. The goodwills down here won't take children's clothing anymore (Actually they will take it, but they throw it out! Stupid CPSIA law!) so I am freecycling a lot of junk. It is hard to believe that we only have a month and a half left here.

Feeling down

We are poor. And when I mean poor I mean we can get food stamps and Medicaid, Poor. We don't get either because I am just that cool and know how to live on the cutting edge of frugality, but we could.

Most the time I feel like I am winning because I can spend 10 dollars at the grocery store and walk out of the store with 2 or 3 full paper bags of food (usually saving is about 40 to 45% but that is including milk which we drink 3.5 gallons a week take out milk and well it goes up into the 60's somewhere) but lately I have been seeing others doing things and thinking/wishing I could do that too.

Example: The parks here are pay to park and so is the beach. We budget our food/entertainment together and we kinda expect that I will be handed a miracle in being able to feed us every week (which I don't thank God often enough for.. So thanks again God.) and the dollar and hour to go to the park is just not in the budget.

And that isn't the only thing here that is problematic. I can find nothing that is free for kids here in Fort Myers, FL. And it does need to be free, cheap to me means 10 cents or less and 5 bucks is just out of the price range. It seems all the fun stuff costs money.

I know, I am whining and No I don't need nor want your charity (Ok, I do WANT it... but I am not taking it) . In 2 more months we will not be in Fort Myers anymore and we be on our way to Hawaii. We will not be poor either, we will be making 3 times what we are making now (even though it is 2 times more expensive to live in HI). It just is so close to ending and I feel like I can taste it.

It is like making brownies... you can small them long before they are ready to eat, and you want them... you want them now. You know you have to wait but that doesn't stop the desire for them.

How Dry Erase Markers ROCK!

I use dry erase markers for almost EVERYTHING. I use it for writing on the tops of leftovers so I use them up in a timely basis (or know what that green fuzzy thing was...), I write things to remember (or love notes to the hubby) on mirrors or other glass objects, I put paper (like recipe cards, shopping lists, packing lists, or other "to do " lists) into page protectors and cross things off when I am done with them. The best thing about Dry erase markers is that they... ERASE! In some cases (like if you leave something up for several months) you will need to write over it with another marker but it will go away. I love this. It makes things much easier...

Anyway check out Works For Me Wednesday for other fun and helpful tips and tricks!

Someone cool blogged about me...

And I thought I would be nice and blog about them back. Anne has some really lovely pics. Go check her out!

(In other news I need to make a blog list again... later.)

DIY microwave popcorn!

I like popcorn but, it is so expensive and it has all this fake butter on it which I hate. So I found a better solution (and cheaper too), normal loose popcorn and a paper bag (fold over the opening) in the microwave for 1 minute. So much cheaper and better for you. Still want butter? add it before popping and all is good.

For other recipes please check out the Grocery cart challenge!

FO FRIDAY!

Yea! I have a meme! Rules are here, so please read before adding.

My FO fro FO Friday are these lovely set of longies! Ok, so they have been finished for a while so maybe it is a cheat but they are am FO I haven't posted before and the one I intended to post had 3 more rows left! Oh well, next week's FO Friday will be showing those off.






Mr. Linky will be back next week!

Sore arms and a rant!

My arms are killing me. I have crocheted 21 rows in 6 hours of my hubbies afghan and hate the thing right now. It is really quite lovely but still, I am just sick of it. It is the afghan that never ends! I had originally intended this as a wedding gift... that was 4.5+ years ago... then I was going to have it finished before I had my first child... who is now 3... then before the second child... who is now 9 months... so many broken promises in that thing. The good thing is that I every time I promise to finish it I do get a bunch done but then set it aside. This time I want it done before I move HI which I thinks means I will move to HI and remember it around X-mas... we will see.

From here on I am only going to make afghans that are pieced together. I can take them with me easier and they fit in purses and diaper bags better. I just hate being stuck at home when making something like that. That is the reason I keep making soakers/shorties/longies.

In other news I have silk ribbon yarn I want to dye but don't know what color! HELP! I'll take suggestions! No promises though ion me following those suggestions. The pattern it is intended for is All about Eve. Just help!

FO Fridays

I have been thinking about trying to do a meme every week for some time, in fact I have had it named and with rules for a while. I just didn't know HOW to do it. Well I took the last 2 days to figure out how mr. linky works and now I am ready to start one! I am naming it FO Fridays. So starting next Friday we will be showing off those FOs!

What is a FO?

FO stands for "Finished Object".

Who can participate?

Any person that has a craft that has been blogged about in the last week (with a finished object photo!). This craft can be knit, crochet, sewn, woven, an newly dyed yarn (yarn pron... *drool*)... you get the idea. If you are participating with a Work In Progress please put WIP somewhere in the title of the link (EX: MamaMay (WIP sweater)). I do have the ability to delete things and I might have the power to edit things too... hasn't come up yet...

What are the rules?

1. You have to link to post not the blog. Ex: http://your blog name here.com is wrong. http://you blog name here.com/blog post name is right. The fastest way to get the post url is to actually click the title of your post.

2. Yes you do need to have a blog. No Ravelry links, no Flickr links, no Forums, no Etsy shops... just blog links. (Though the FO can be for sale... just not LINKED to the sale page directly)

3. You MUST link back to me on the post or on the blog. I will be checking and I will delete those that do not.

4. I am sure there will be more as things come up. Check back.

Wiltons dye tutorial

Ok, first off going to say that this dye method is referred to as crock pot, dyeing or immersion dyeing, I am doing this low water.


The original yarn color. Yes it is a really pretty and rather dark, bright blue teal (actual name is Too Teal) like color. I just have a strong dislike for evenly dyed yarns...


Now most tutorials will tell you that you need to let the yarn presoak, and this is true if you a more even color. Since I am specifically going for UNeven, I am skipping this step and the dye will be the first water to hit this yarn! Though I am adding 1/4 a cup of vinegar at this point.


This is wilton's royal blue. Now I used to have issues mixing the colors in the water without getting little blobs colorant in the bottom. The way I fixed this is by actually spreading the gel on the side of the glass as thin as possible then pouring boiling water into the glass. If you can get it really thin, you don't even need to stir the water.


As you can see the water level doesn't even cover the yarn. This allows for very uneven colors. After this I turned on the heat to low and left it until the dye exhausted (the water was clear). I then picked up the yarn by one of the skein ties and rearranged it and repeated with black.

End result:



For more tutorials please click the little button  that says "Patterns and Tutorials" at the top left of this page as not all my tutorials are on this site.

I'm in the top 100!?!

Ok, I knew I got a lot of traffic esp for this blog only being less than 100 posts and not even 6 months old but I didn't realize that I was in the top 100 knitting blogs! I am actually number 38 in the list. This esp. weird to me because I post a lot about my kids too so I kinda wondered if this even counted as a knitting blog. Guess I have my answer.

9 months...

That is right, G is 9 months old. I am astounded at the differences in N and G. N is such a different child than G. At 9 months She was sharing food with mommy. Meaning that she would feed me, With G, I get no such thing. That is his food and if I even try to eat one of his cheerios... well all I am going to get a shrill scream out of him. I just think it is funny.

I already know we are going to have another child. No I am not pregnant but I am starting to go crazy for another baby. I can stave off the craze for a bit longer (say 6 more months) but after that I know I will be going baby crazy again.

25 things

Well I was tagged on facebook so I thought I would post it here and link to it!

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 5 people (or more) to be tagged (It was 25 but that is just crazy!). You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. It is a possible goal to own a farm someday or a restaurant.

2. yes it will have sheep/alpaca on it... and maybe a rabbit or 2.

3. I will be naming one of those rabbits Bun bun (Sluggy Freelance).

4. I can knit or crochet in the dark and not make any mistakes...

5. I used to knit and crochet in class and when I did I got better grades...

6. I am moving to Hawaii and we will be there at least 3 years.

7. We are working on getting a 5 bedroom (one main bedroom, 2 for the kids, one office for hubby (I am NOT dealing with his 100 plus medical school books all over the house anymore.) and one craft/guest bedroom) house so that we can have friends/family for an extended stay...

8. I really love being a mother. Even when it is exasperating, it is a dream come true.

9. I haven't gone to a movie in a theater in 3 years

10. I still am very "Natural" and seem to be leaning more that way. (Meaning I prefer natural fibers, don't wear makeup, perfume, shampoo, conditioner or deodorant.. though I do use the crystal... and seem to be doing a lot of green things like cloth diapering.)

11. I am very happy that Hubby is going into Family Med. This means that he will have more time at home and be able to actually see his kids as they grow up. (though I suspect I would have been happy with whatever he decided to go into.)

12. I REALLY miss my spinning wheel.

13. We will be "homeless" for 2 months while moving.

14. I really miss having cats, or just one cat. Hubby wants a dog though.

15. I am not a Democrat.

16. I am not a Republican.

17. I have not knit something for myself in full year... though I have made 12 + knitted objects...

18. I have a flickr account... I only use it for knitting/crochet and craft stuff...

19. I really love sock yarn... but don't like knitting socks... (so why did I make sock blockers?)

20. the title of my blog comes from the 3 things that keep me sane when EVERYTHING in my life seems h3ll bent on making me insane...

21. We have only one car right now...

22. Nap time is my favorite time of the day.

23. I am hoping to get a knitting pattern published in Knitty this summer.

24. I am not all that worried about the economy. Mostly because God is in control.

25. Unlike most people I derive pleasure from not spending money and saving it instead of getting something for it.

Tag:
Aunt Kathy
ElleCupcake
Tissuepaper
Little Red
Joana

Random update

Well things have been super busy here. And I have to update what has been going on.

The kids are sick. N and G both have sinus issues. G is throwing up every so often but not all the time. He is also sleeping all the time!

Hubbies car is down. The clutch was going out so he decided last month to fix it... well the car is not together yet. Since he only has weekend s to work on the car.. well that means another week without going out...

I won a roving contest. Very nice!

I am also doing something on Swap bot. There is a gain exposure for your blog swap.

And the winner is!

... Becca!

Becca said...

I would love to win this for my mom. She crochets and always needs yarn. Thanks so much!

Go over to her blog and congratulate her!

My Points...

Ok, I am on a website called Mypoints. It is really nice. You basically sign up to be spammed and as you click on the spam emails you acquire points that can be cashed in for free stuff (gift cards). I know this works too because I have received several gift cards. The only problem I have right now is that you get more points for emailing people to join (they do have to join for me to get those points) and all my real life friends have joined. If you would like to help me get more points I would love to have your email and send you an invite.

Moving... (and a giveaway)

Well since we are moving come April sometime, I am doing a major destashing of my yarns! Anything I don't want to move halfway across the world is out of here. Now originally I was going to give all this to goodwill, but the goodwill here told me that it would end up in the trash because they wouldn't even try to sell it. Well that is just yarn abuse and I don't stand for abuse! So I am giving it away here instead, that is if anyone wants it....

And on a happy note bloggy giveaways are going on at the same time. Oh joy! After hitting this go check out all that yummy giveaway action!

Rules and legal junk:
You must have an address I can mail this to in the USA. Sorry, but I can't afford to do this otherwise.

I will be choosing the winner by going to random.org and having them randomly pick a number from the total number of comments. I will then count down the list until I hit that number. Whoever has that post, wins the whole kitten caboodle!

If you do not claim your prize in 4 days (I have to have your mailing address by that time) you forfeit the yarn and I will chose again (you can win a second time but don't expect to.) If the second time around no one claims the prize I am sending this to my nearest public school. They can always use yarn.

For prize tax purposes, I am going to make an educated guess and say this yarn would sell for 20 dollars American. Contest is void where prohibited. If you enter where this contest is void then I will chose another winner.

The contest ends on Sat. Jan. 31st (Eastern time) whenever I happen to close the comments. You can continue to enter until comments are closed.



Now to see what you could win! The yarn you see is what you get. (it is mostly acrylic that I have been carrying around for a long time.)




If you want to enter just comment here with a way to contact you.

Extra entries:
Click the "share this" button and Share! For ever different way you share you get an extra entry, just remember to comment once per share.

Really crazy extra entries:
Go to one of my other posts and Share that too! Comment here to get that entry counted.

And remember I need a way to contact you. Blogger doesn't let me see your email addresses so you either have to post them, do something so I can find you, or you can find me here. I will post the winner on this blog.

Pretty poncho....

While Tangerine Dreams is having a comment contest. Comment and see if you can win her super cute poncho. Blog about the contest and get yarn too!

@^$*! Batteries!

I was going to be adding major photos today to Ravelry and here but guess what, camera died. And I don't have any new ones... And I don't have the car... so guess I can't just load the kids up and get them either.

Patterns/Tutorials

These are all of my patterns and tutorials. So far all my patterns are free patterns so have fun!

Key:
(k) - Knitting
(c) - Crocheting
(s) - Sewing
(o) - Other

Basic Crochet Washcloth/dishcloth (c)

Coupon/Money holder tutorial (s)

Kool-aid dyeing tutorial (double boiler method) (o)

Kool-aid dyeing tutorial (kettle/Crockpot method) (o)

"Learn to purl" washcloth/dishcloth (k)

Miracle Preemie Hat (c)

"My first knit" dishcloth/washcloth (k)

Scalloped Dishcloth/Washcloth (c)

Spiral Washcloth (c) - 8 sided

Wiltons colorants dyeing tutorial (crock pot low water method) (o)

Spiral Washcloth

Starting at center, ch 3. Join with sl st to form ring.

1st rnd: 8 sc in ring, sl st in first sc made.

2nd rnd: Sc in same place as sl st, * ch 3, sc in next sc. Repeat from * around, ending with ch 3, sl st in first sc (8 loops).

3rd rnd: Sc in same place as sl st, * 1 sc in next loop, ch 3, sc in next sc. Repeat from * around, ending with sl st in first sc.

4th rnd and on incl: Sc in next sc (skipping one sc), * sc in each remaining sc across sc-group, 2 sc in next loop, ch 4, skip first sc of next sc-group. Repeat from * around. Join. (do this until you feel you have a good size washcloth)

Last row: Sc into next sc, * sc in each remaining sc across sc-group, 3 sc in next loop, skip first sc of next sc-group. Repeat from * around. Join. Cut yarn, sew in ends.

What is Ravelry?

I have been seeing this question on Ravelry a lot lately and think it is like trying to describe America to a foreigner. It is so many different things to so many different people that you can't just get a little sound bite of information and run with it.

When I was waiting for 3 months to join, I imagined that the Ravelry streets were spun in gold and all of my knitting problems might possibly vanish. That Everything I might want or need would be at my fingertips. And when I joined, it was... then I wanted more. I wanted better searches, more detailed information and different ways of organizing.

So I brought them up to Casey and Jess to see if they were worthy of Ravelry, and some were others were not (thoght to tell the truth the ones that didn't make it had good reason not to be accepted... like a better idea already in the works...) and those that were worthy made it on "The List". Casey works on The List everyday and every Raveler can look up the list and see what has been checked off or not and just see what shows up. Some things I didn't even know I wanted show up too, like being able to see what yarns have been sold at a local yarn store and their locations and project recommendations for a yarn I have.

But What IS Ravelry? It matters how you use it.

If you dye yarn, you can add the yarns to the yarn search and be one of the top 12 newest yarns for a bit. You can advertise on there too and make a group for members that like/love your yarn. You can see all the people that own your yarn and how they have used it.

If you write patterns, you can add them to the Ravelry pattern database and be one of the 6 newest patterns for a bit. You can advertise, make a group, and even see what people have done with your patterns. Did they make it something that was supposed to in a bulky yarn in lace weight so as to make it fit a child?

Need a yarn for a pattern you have fallen in love with? Want it to be a silk yarn that you can buy locally? Head on over to the advanced search. If anyone has bought a silk yarn and posted it on Ravelry, that yarn will come up on the search. (this does not include chain craft stores like Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Jo Anns, A. C. Moore or Wal*mart).

Need a pattern for this lovely Soy yarn you have but don't want to have to do math in resizing to make the pattern work for you? Search the weight of the yarn in the pattern section and you will see a bunch.

Don't know how to use the searches? Ask on the yarn or pattern forum and someone will help you. We have all been in need of help before and someone is always willing to help out. (Though not do the work for you... they do expect you to learn...)

There is a bunch more too. You can search yarns based on who wants to trade or sell yarn in their stash, search finished objects, or get advise about how to dye yarn. So much to do on Ravelry, so little time.

I have a strange feeling that someone is going to copy and paste this and try to pass it off as their own... Don't, I hate people that plagiarize so don't even think about it. Link to this post if you like it so much.

Free sample of YARN or SPINNING FIBER?

Knit Fit Knitters is having a promotion. A crazy happy promotion!

They are giving away free yarn! All you have to do is go to their website and contact them with your address and tell them if you spin or knit/crochet (spinners get something like one oz of hand dyed spinning fiber and knitters/crocheters get 100 yards of hand dyed sock yarn)! Don't forget to put "Free Sample" in the subject line! You might as well tell her what colors you like though don't be disappointed if you don't get the color way you asked for.

This offer is only good for one per household and who knows how long this will last so jump on over and contact her today!

(She tells me that she is NOT sharing this information, though you might get periodical emails from her about sales or some such, she will not spam you.)

What!?! No craft stores!?!

I have just done an extensive internet seach of Honolulu, HI (where we are moving) and have discovered something horrible! There are no craft stores!!!!!!! Ok there are yarn stores (so knitting and crochet are still safe) but what will I do when I need to sew!?!?

Is this a New Years Resolution?

Ok, People that know me know that I hate new years resolutions (NYR). The reason for this is because if something is really important enough to change about yourself, why wait until the new year to do it? Seems like one is setting oneself up to fail because you know you don't really want to change. That is why I don't have NYRs. That and most NYR really would only take a few months, not a full year if you really wanted something to change.

Anyway, yesterday I realized I have a bunch of UFOs on my knitting bags, Tupperware containers and all sorts of other places. And I am tired of having them and not more yarn (about 50% of my yarn is tied up in UFOs. Until a project is an FO it is considered stashed yarn and not used in any way). So I am going to try to have NO projects that were started in 2008 or before still be UFO's by 2010 (except the scrap afghans don't count because I need the left overs to make it...). This means I am looking through my things and seeing what projects I have that need to logged onto Ravelry (and photographed... photos are important!).

This is soooo going to suck, but I really don't want the UFOs forever and ever. I really do want the FO but don't want to work for them I guess. Anyway, off I go.

If you have a Ravelry account you can look at the progress I make.

MARPAT yarn... hubby wants gloves

Hubby saw the fingerless gloves I made my sister for X-mas (sorry no picture of hers... but here is the pattern , though I did add a mitten fold over part.) and well, he wanted a pair... only different. Silly me, I asked him what his ideal gloves would be... and well I got them. The first step is to make truly random MARPAT woodland yarn. This actually really easy (actually double easy because I am using Wiltons food colorants!). I am just crock pot dyeing wool tan then rewinding on the swift then dyeing another color (the order I have chosen is tan, orange brown, green, dark green then brown). Between each dye I am reskeining a little bigger or smaller so as to keep the yarn truly random. to keep some the previous colors I am tying knots in the skien before dyeing. I'll be adding pics as soon as it is done.

It is only 11:20?!...

and so far I feel like I have run a marathon!

This morning G managed to get his diaper off, then poop... then play in the poop. All the while on the carpet. That was a fun mess. I was sorting laundry and had thankfully not started a load yet so all the poopy clothing went in.

N has something. Either she is sick or being stubborn and throwing fits because mommy can't hold her and clean up poo at the same time.

If this a preview of the day, I think I want to call in sick....

G has 2 teeth now!

Thats right he is all grown up with his 2 little teeth.

In other news we are going to Hawaii! The news came in in December but being so busy I kinda forgot to tell (ok, no internet connection really). Are we moving in spring or summer sometime. This is going to be a fun adventure!

Homeschool coolness!

I guess I am making up for lost time seeing as I didn't blog for almost 2 straight months!

Anyway, I think I stated somewhere on this blog that I wish to homeschool. Now this is not because I am some religious zealot or something (though I could be....*ponders*) but because we are military and this GUARANTEES that our children will be moved from one school to the next at a moments notice.

This has been giving me a lot of worry. See, I am not very well organized and am more than a little ADD. This means I need something that keeps me on track and that helps me organize... talk about a tall order.

Then we had Christmas break and I went to see some family friends that are using K12. (Don't mind the post about how the house is falling apart and she is overwhelmed... it did pass and school is going much better.)

K12 is a virtual school that can even be done by state. And since the school is the SAME wherever you go you know your kids aren't missing something like the revolutionary war because they were moved right before it was taught at their old school and right after at the new school.

And the best part? They actually have teachers that will help you and come in if you need them to and it is all part of the state school system!

Now that the house is *somewhat* under control...

I can blog about our vacation to visit everyone.

The flight was actually not that bad. We got stuck at our destination airport because of an ice storm for about 3 hours (plan was to have my sister, M, pick us up but she doesn't have the experience driving in ice so when my dad got off work he picked us up instead.)

We spent the first 4 days with my in laws and N got really sick. As in vomiting sick. No fun at all. We avoided the great grandparents that live in the same town so as not to pass whatever she had onto them.

The kids and I then went to my parents house to spend the night because the in laws were flying out of country that night.

We then drove back to my in laws house to meet hubby who had just driven up in time to just miss his parents by something like 12 hours.

After that everything is a blur. I know we saw our children's godparents, some really great med. school friends and college friends as well.

We also saw lots of family... almost all of the Siblings (in law).

By the end, we were all really tired.

And then we drove home... and I got sick. Like pass the plastic bag sick. I was sick right before we left too fine in the car and then sick all day the day after. Needless to say, now the house is *more* cleaned up.

Oh and the little boy got sick the day after me so we are expecting to N to be sick soon.

Back from break...

Sorry I didn't tell anyone that I was going on break, but I truly thought we would be spending more time somewhere with internet.