During the Day

What I've Been Up To

2010-08-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

When someone is pregnant with her fourth baby, she has been there, done that, and, for some reason, doesn't always seem to think she should celebrate like she did for the first three.

Hopefully that someone will have a friend like me who insists that she does and prods her into having yet another baby shower.

It was really just some way to show off the quilt I made:

I don't know how the monkey-in-the-jungle theme came about, but it just worked so I went with it. I painted giant leaves to hang about to get that rainforest vibe.

I got a friend to bake the cakes. All I had to do was smush a couple of monkeys out of marzipan and chocolate.

This cake is a lemon chiffon with blueberry filling. It was heavenly:

This one is a chocolate espresso tiramisu creation. Also fit for the gods:

The pregnant lady of honor's favorite cake combo is yellow cake mix with store-bought chocolate frosting. Since she has to count every carb she eats for medical reasons, I wanted to make sure she got what she wanted in a portion controlled package. That's how the cupcakes came about.

There was a potluck lunch and mimosas and, for an estrogen fest, it was a great little party.

Quilt Block Swap

2010-03-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

Swapping on Craftster.org is a lot of fun for me. Lately I've been doing some quilting swaps and the latest one I did is a swap of quilt blocks. I make three blocks for each of the four people in my group, and in return I get 12 blocks.

Each person in my group chose a different block style. Here are some of the ones I did for them:

Sailing Ships

This person is making quilts for some little boys and I think this block is adorable.

Raw Edge Circle

I wasn't sure about what to expect with these, but they came out great. They were my bf's favorites. I may have to make him a quilt like this.

Pinwheel #8

These went together very quickly, after I cut out all those triangles. I didn't know what HST and QST was when I was making these blocks, but now I do.

Wonky Houses

These were my favorites to make. I especially love the striped chimney on the second one. As you can see I started off rather simply, then, by my third house, I think I had two stories and a walkway. I will definitely be making some of these for myself!

What I did on my Costa Rican Vacation

2010-03-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

My Costa Rican (or Tican, as the locals would call it) vacation took place in December of 2009. This post is long overdue!

Here I am in San Jose at the Hotel, um, well, it's been so long I can't remember the name of the hotel (maybe Grano de Oro). But it was the fanciest of all the hotels we stayed at and the breakfast (during which this picture was taken) was amazing.

After breakfast we rented an all-wheel drive Daihatsu and went driving to our next destination - La Fortuna.

We did a lot of driving and I took a lot of pictures out the car window.

Here is our bungalow hotel in La Fortuna. I stole a pen from this place so I would remember the name of it. It is the Montana de Fuego Hotel.

This is our view from the patio - Volcano Arenal and some pretty flowers.

The pina colada was my drink of choice. Look how fancy!

The chicken there was the best chicken and I had a black bean dip that was so good it is beyond description. But I will say that my bf, who does not like beans, also loved this bean dip.

One of the best things we did, if not the best, was to go into the Venado Caverns. A guide took me and my bf up and down the caverns through bats, stalagmites, stalactites, the giant papaya, tunnels full of water, and lots of little scurrying creatures. It was just a little bit scary, but a lot of fun. We got fully wet and dirty, and we were glad we brought a change of clothes. I didn't get any photos, so here is a picture from the internet:

Another night, we took a hike up the side of Volcano Arenal. This is an active volcano and we could hear the lava popping and crackling. It was cloudy so we didn't see much of the activity except for some ash flowing down the side.

It got dark and the hike down the mountain was kind of scary because we were in the jungle, just the two of us, with just a couple flashlights and a camera. We were having trouble finding our way back to the road when we heard some voices. It was an older Scandanavian couple who were even more lost than we were because they didn't even have a flashlight! They got separated from a group they were with. Somehow, maybe because now we were responsible for more people than just ourselves, I found the trail that led back to the road and all was well.

Monte Verde was our next destination. Here is a picture of some coffee fields we saw on the drive over.

In Monte Verde we went on a night hike through a forest, but didn't see much that was noteworthy.

We went to a butterfly garden that kind of sucked.

So we drove back to La Fortuna and stayed there for another day. Then we decided to go and stay a couple days in Alajuela, which was close to the airport.

During the drive our car was swarmed with a group of these little animals - the Costa Rican Raccoon. There were about twenty of them that walked out of the jungle and across the road, all around our car. It was really cool!

While we were staying in Alajuela, we went to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens where there was a much better butterfly garden.

And a hummingbird garden that was freakin' amazing! If you like hummingbirds, that is. If you don't like them you would really hate this place because they were everywhere!

And there was a great frog room. These frogs were impossible to find if you didn't know where to look. Luckily, a staff member pointed them out to us - because we didn't know where to look even though there were signs on the leaves of where each frog liked to hang out. And they literally hung, as you can see.

We also visited the town of Sarchi, which is known for its oxcart paintings.

And the town of Zarcero, where the church grounds are landscaped like they belong in a Dr. Seuss book.

We did a lot of fun things and saw some amazing sights, but there is still so much we didn't do that I think it would be wonderful to visit Costa Rica again - and soon!

Look what my Mom made me!

2010-01-11T07:28:00.000-08:00

For Christmas my mom made me a gorgeous quilt. It is a bargello design and I absolutely love it. It is the perfect thing to cover up the very comfortable but not very attractive gigundo chair in our living room.

Thank you, Mom! I will finish yours soon - I promise!

Stump

2009-12-31T07:19:00.000-08:00

This is a mini art quilt, about 16" x 16", I made for a quilt swap in the fall of 2009. It is supposed to be a gnarled tree stump. I hand-painted the fabrics I used for the bark and the bark was done with curved seams! I quilted some wool yarn on there for the knots. Although it was a simple conception, I like how it came together. I really like painting my own fabrics so I think I'll be doing more of that in the future.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T06:11:00.001-08:00

I wasn't planning on dressing up this year. I was planning on visiting family for the weekend for some wholesome fall fun at an apple orchard. Work got in the way of those plans so the bf and I accepted a last minute invite out to a bar where we were expected to go in costume.

What kind of costume could I put together in 3 hours? I opted for something simple and classic - a zombie!

While the bf went out to get a few things like a fake mustache for him and some liquid latex for me, I went to work shredding and bloodying old clothes I pulled out of the donation box.

The hair got a quick messy treatment because I spent most of the time on my face. It was worth it. I really freaked people out!

Coffee Dying Fabric

2009-10-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I started assesing the fabrics I'll be using in the quilt I'm making my mom for Christmas. This quilt will be made up of different cream colored fabrics and for contrast I chose to use pure white fabric. Some of the the fabrics I had in the cream pile were actually white on white and they didn't contrast at all. So I dyed them with coffee.

My recipe:

Ingredients:
Lots of water
half cup coffee grounds
tablespoon of citric acid (vinegar could also be used)

Directions:
Baste raw edges of cotton fabric
Bring mixture to a boil
Add fabric
Let boil about 10 minutes
Let cool a bit
Dump into a strainer
Rinse
Wring out
Iron to heat set the stain
Wash and dry fabric

The amount of coffee and the darkness of the roast are probably the factors that would affect the intensity of the stain.

I got a slight antiqued effect. It's not dramatic, but it has a natural look to it I like very much and, most importantly, it's no longer white.

Now it's time to cut!

Wonky Log Cabin Quilt

2009-09-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

I finished my latest quilt top - the Wonky Log Cabin. There are twenty blocks sashed with 100% natural linen. The linen gives a great texture. I will probably quilt this sometime after Christmas because I've started cutting fabric for my mom's Christmas quilt, which is also going to be a log cabin variation and I'm very excited about it!

Wednesday Pink - Charm Monday Quilt

2009-09-08T21:48:00.001-07:00

I finally cut into the cute bundle of pink fabrics and decided to make a quilt for which I've been collecting fabrics for years - pink, lime, orange, white, and yellow.

The pattern I chose is a free pattern from fatquarterfactory.com meant for charm packs, but I used fat quarters and yardage which worked fine.

All the pieces are cut and I've started putting them together. Here are a few closer peeks at the little I have done so far:

But I've put this one on hold to work on the wonky log cabin. I should have my twenty wonky blocks finished by the end of this weekend. Then I will get the sashing fabric for it at the same time I get the last bit of fabric I need to start my mom's quilt and some other fabric for another little project that's got me very happy and excited to start - some throw pillows for my little sister's new place!

Starting a New Quilt

2009-09-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

Quilt Dad is leading the third round of the Old Red Barn Co. Quilt Along - Rd. 3: Wonky Log Cabin, which started September 1st.

I've always wanted to do this block and it feels very good to have a bunch of other people along with whom to do it. I still feel like a newbie quilter so I always seem to have lots of questions which everyone seems happy to answer.

I've done two blocks so far. This is the first one and I love it a lot more than I thought I would:

Here's the second:

I don't quite like the second block as much as the first and I think it has to do with the cream fabric I put in there, but I have an idea percolating that will fix that later.

This is the second quilt I've started in the past two months. The other one I started I'm saving for Wednesday, because it's very pink.

Wednesday Pink - Fabric Bundle

2009-07-12T12:39:00.001-07:00

My mom got me this gorgeous bundle of pink fabrics a while ago and I just haven't had the heart to mess it up. It's so cute!

But I am thinking of making a quilt with it sometime this year because, really, it's too cute not to use.

Thanks, Mom!

Patio Update

2009-07-12T12:27:00.001-07:00

All the junk is gone! My boyfriend is coming home today with a big broom so we can sweep away all the leftover dirt and get the patio looking spiffy.

We also have a pepper with more on the way, it looks like:

And the hibiscus tree I thought was dead has come back very well:

My First Art Quilt

2009-07-11T10:14:00.001-07:00

This quilt depicts the Egyptian Goddess Nuit. I made it for a quilt swap on craftster.org and it turned out pretty good for my first art quilt.

I pieced the background with different blue/aqua fabrics for the sky and a brown fabric for the earth at the bottom.

The Goddess was appliqued onto some muslin then appliqued again onto the quilt top. I left the muslin unfinished so it would fray into an interesting texture when I put it through the wash.

The "hieroglyphics" were quilted by drawing the pictures onto tissue paper and quilting over the paper.

It wasn't the best idea I've ever had, but it worked out okay in the end. There's got to be a better way to do it, though, because picking all that tissue paper out of the quilting lines was a big p.i.t.a.

This is what the quilting looked like after the paper came off - a little underwhelming:

Then I detailed the lady with some quilting:

To make the quilted symbols stand out more, I painted them in. Here are some of my favorite little parts:

I added some stars to Nuit's torso:

Here's the quilt from her perspective, where you can see the beads I added to her arms:

And here's a gratuitous extreme headshot closeup:

The next art quilt I want to attempt is a landscape quilt. Probably of some mountains. Like the ones in New Mexico. Yes! I am still talking about New Mexico!

What a Great 4th of July Weekend!

2009-07-06T06:22:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 3rd, my boyfriend and I drove over to Magician Lake, Michigan where we stayed for the weekend with friends of his who have a lake house there. Magician Lake is just north-north east of Dowagiac, MI, in the south-east corner of the state and it is one of the best places I've ever celebrated our nation's Independence ever and this past weekend did not disappoint.

Friday night we took in some local flavor at the Hartford Motor Speedway:

They have stock and modified dirt car racing there. The first race we saw was won by a 13 year old driver! He was very cool about winning. When asked how it was he said, "It was fun." He did remember to thank his sponsors and he split his hundred-dollar prize with his dad.

The speedway put on a fantastic fireworks show for us and then we called it a night.

Saturday, the 4th, was the day of The Annual Lake House Challenge. This year was a cornhole tournament.

Cornhole is a game also known as bags. Two inclined boards with a small hole at the top are set up opposite each other. Two players try to toss bags filled with corn into the hole. I was out of the tournament quite quickly as I am not very good at this game. There were 22 people participating in the tournament so it went on all day. We had our final players lined up to play under the lights after dinner.

Saturday was our turn to cook (so many people stay at the lake house during the 4th that we are split into groups of four and given a certain night to prepare dinner for everyone). Well, it was our friends' turn to cook and my boyfriend and I helped. Our theme was Texas BBQ so we made brisket, which got started at 3am! That was the main event of the meal and there wasn't a single piece of it left after dinner. We also had grilled pork roast, two kinds of homemade bbq sauce, homemade coleslaw, southwestern potato salad, Texas toast, green beans, and, for dessert, apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Everyone was impressed and very full.

The night game was a lot of fun. My boyfriend decided the players needed to be announced "professionally" and given nicknames, a la professional boxing style. He also provided a running commentary on the players and the game. It was very entertaining, but his voice is still, two days later, pretty hoarse.

After the final game was won, we decided to visit the local bar, where the promise of riding a mechanical bull was too great a temptation to resist.

The Legacy was the place to be that night. It was packed with mostly college-aged kids who all seemed to be from Chicago or the Chicago area, just like we were. Orland Park, Illinois was the most common denominator between everyone.

Me and three other ladies of our party were the only ones brave enough to ride the bull. The hardest part was getting on the thing! It was a lot of fun and I will do it again if I ever have the opportunity - and it is free like it was at this place. I wouldn't pay money to be in such a potentially embarrassing situation.

Sunday, the sun decided to come out in full force which made for a great day to be on the water. My boyfriend and I rode the wave runner (which is kind of like a jet-ski) a bit and I even drove it - a first for me. We got wet just enough for it to feel good and it was a lot of fun. Later my bf rode the wave runner with another guy there and they tried very hard to flip each other off. They succeeded at last, going about 50mph, making crazy turns - both of them went flying and flipping into the air. I only heard about it second hand, but I wish I had seen it. I would have laughed.

We left Sunday afternoon so we could pick up Basil the yorkie, who had been staying at my bf's parents' house, and get home before dark. We got back to our place around 6pm and we were so wiped out we barely moved off the couch all night.

Yep. It was a great weekend and I'm already looking forward to next year. Happy 4th of July everyone!

I'm in love with New Mexico

2009-07-02T14:38:00.001-07:00

Last night I returned from meeting up with my parents in New Mexico, who were there for the PGA 42nd Professional National Championship (a golf tournament).

My mom and I mostly hung out together taking in the sights and we spent two days at the Santa Ana golf course where she did the calligraphy for one of the score boards. Here we are at the golf course:

The mountains behind us are the Sandia Mountains. Here was the view of them from our hotel balcony:

The culture there is very artsy and we saw lots of great expressions everywhere we went - like on this old washing machine:

She and I hit quilt shops in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe area as well as the Georgia O'Keeffe museum. We really went off the beaten trail when we decided to drive over the mountain instead of around it one day.

Everywhere we went was a wonderful experience and I am already planning on visiting again as soon as I can get away with my boyfriend. We'll probably go hiking/camping in Taos, which seems to be the place to visit for mountain lovers like me.

Sock Progress

2009-06-21T07:54:00.001-07:00

My first sock is coming along!

I did a short-row heel which was not hard, but I think I may have made some mistakes in there a few places. There is a bit of gapping where the short rows connect with the ankle, but I can live with them. I'm so excited about being on the home stretch for this sock that all the little errors are completely forgiven.

Wednesday Pink - Garden Gloves

2009-06-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

We did gardening recently. We have this...area...in our back patio that contains dirt and used to contain weeds.

I cleared out the weeds and got it looking a little more respectable.

After digging out the weed bushes that I couldn't pull out by hand, we put in some sod and plants. I wanted irises so I got irises.

We also wanted some shade plants so I put in a hostas, foxglove, and, in the pot, Lily of the Valley.

My bf wanted some herbs and peppers. We put basil, serrano, and another kind of pepper that I don't remember in a separate container. They are doing great!

We also planted some peas and we got a peapod the other day!

The gardening isn't done yet. Next to the irises I put in some hydrangeas I rescued from the garbage at work and we have a hibiscus tree - we aren't sure if any of those are going to survive. We also got three types of flowering vines we hope to use to block out our view of the neighbor, but we haven't planted them yet, and I want to get some trailing flowers to hang off the balcony.

Hopefully we'll get all that done soon so we can enjoy the patio more when summer finally gets here!

My first sock!

2009-06-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

I've knit my first sock toe using the short-row toe method from the book "Socks from the Toe Up" by Wendy D. Johnson.

It's a good book and it taught me the provisional cast-on as well as short rows. It took careful reading and re-reading of the instructions for me to get it right. The photos are gorgeous and inspiring.

The yarn I chose is Berroco Comfort Sock in the color 1816, Cosmopolitan, and I'm using size 2 DPNS.

I think I ripped this toe at least five times until I finally got it and I knit this toe during a non-stop two-hour period while watching TV the other night. Now, if I can find my fifth needle, I will be able to continue with the rest of the sock.

Kitchen Mess

2009-05-24T07:03:00.001-07:00

I love to make messes. Something good usually comes from my messes.

On Mother's Day, I made a mess in the kitchen and a great veggie lasagna came out of it.

The recipe is the Freeze-Ahead Lasagna Primavera on the Martha Stewart website.

I didn't follow the recipe exactly. Instead of frozen spinach I used fresh baby spinach which I chopped very well in the food processor. I also added chopped red bell pepper and used Romano instead of Parmesan.

It turned out great and it was the hit of the Mother's Day lunch we had at my bf's parent's house.

This recipe is a keeper!

Wednesday Pink - Crafts for me!

2009-05-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

A little while ago I participated in a craft swap and my partner sent me some really cute, cool, and PINK hand-made things.

She made me this gorgeous pear pin cushion:

I love it and it fits into the color scheme of my craft area perfectly. The pattern can be found at Retro Mama's etsy shop.

She also made this fabric coiled bowl that totally blew me away with its crafty coolness:

I like it so much I decided to find a tutorial for it so I can make some more. I found one at Craftstylish.

Thanks, C'lest, for these wonderful gifts!

Wednesday Pink - Craftroom

2009-05-13T05:59:00.000-07:00

For today's pink fix, I am highlighting my personal space. It is my craft/exercise room and it's got a lot of pink in it.

The most noticable pink thing is my chair. My mom bought this for me for my birthday a few years ago. It is really cool and I love it.

I also have a pink Ott-Lite that I bought for myself when I saw it on sale. It's pretty cool, too.

But my favorite thing in this area is the lampshade. It's not 100% pink, but it has pink in it. I splurged on it during a visit to Ikea. The pink rug is also from Ikea and it is made out of woven plastic.

Doesn't it just make the room? Yes. Yes it does. And that is a pink Rubik's snake in the shape of a dog next to the lamp. Cute, eh?

Here's the other side of the craft room:

It sure did come quite a way from before!

Baby quilt

2009-05-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

I started this quilt back in November of 2008 for a baby that was due February 23, 2009. That was plenty of time to finish it before she was born.

This quilt was started during a quilting retreat weekend with some of my best friends in the world. We all went shopping for fabrics and supplies, then we holed up in a hotel suite and had a blast cutting, sewing, talking, eating lots of junkfood, and drinking bad hotel coffee.

During our initial quilting shopping trip, I bought the pattern book for the pattern I used for this quilt. It is "New Cuts for New Quilts" by Karla Alexander and there are a few patterns in there I'm looking forward to making in the future.

Although this quilt is technically finished and sent (the baby had been born a couple months before I sent it), I am thinking the quilt needed more quilting. All I did for quilting on it was stitching in the ditch along the columns and a criss-crossing wavy line on the thick border areas.

After I had sent it off, I found out the sewing machine I recently got for Christmas from my boyfriend can do free-motion quilting! I'm practicing and getting better at it, but it's still not a walk in the park for me. Either the quilt is too heavy, or there isn't enough space on this machine, or for whatever reason(s), I can't do it consistently well. I can't move the quilt around under the needle with any kind of finesse so doing a free-motion pattern on my sewing machine seems to be completely out of the question. I suppose all I need to do is practice more. Practice and work out my arm muscles so I can push and pull 10 pounds of blanket around like it's nothing.

Introducing 'Wednesday Pink'

2009-04-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's a little-known or widely-known fact that I like the color pink, but I think, since I do like it so much, I should dedicate a day of my week to pink. Why not wednesday?

Yesterday I bought some new shampoo and conditioner which are supposed to make hair really shiny, but I think I bought them just because they are pink.

The liquid inside is a light shimmering pink and it is a tad bit on the runny side. It has a nice fresh floral-y scent - just what you would think pink is supposed to smell like.

A while back I bought another pink bath product - Neutrogena's Pink Grapfruit Body Wash.

This smells great and the little beads feel nice on the skin.

I love this topic of pink and I am thinking of all sorts of pink things I will be writing about every week. Fun!

Free-motion quilting

2009-04-12T08:52:00.001-07:00

Now that I know how to do free-motion quilting on my little Kenmore sewing machine, I have been quilting it UP!

I tried to free-hand some wood-like quilting on these pillows. Not too bad for my first try.

Then I went crazy on the border of a quilt I made for a friend.

Quilting is a blast!!!

Easter Baking

2009-04-12T08:31:00.000-07:00

For Easter, I will be going to my boyfriend's parents' house for brunch and I am bringing a batch of delicious coconut custard bars.

This is something my mom made for us when I was a kid. I loved it then and it turned out just as good as ever I remember it being.

When I asked my mom where she got the recipe, she said on the side of a box of Bisquick. I was surprised because I thought it would have been one of those old family heirloom recipes that are kept in vaults until one of the younger generation is old enough to bear the responsibility of keeping the recipe in the family. That's how good this recipe is.

If you like coconut, a chewy self-forming crust, a crispy browned top, and a firm custardy texture, you should try this recipe because you will love it. It's on the Betty Crocker website as Impossibly Easy Coconut Pie.

The one tip I highly recommend is to use the shredded coconut in the blue bag.

And Basil says "Happy Easter!"

Felted Bowls

2009-03-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

Last week I watched a tutorial on how to make felted bowls out of loose wool (or roving). I happen to have some so I decided to try it. Here are the bowls I made.

This one kind of looks like a planet:

This one reminds me of a pink tulip:

This one is my favorite:

I'm looking forward to making more of them. First I'll need to get more wool so I can dye it in different colors. If you are interested in making some yourself, the tutorial is here on craftedby.us.

Curtain Fabric

2009-02-26T18:58:00.000-08:00

This is the fabric out of which I'll be sewing some living room curtains. It's Michael Miller's "Fleur Tatto."

I first saw it on equilter.com and, at $9.25/yd, it was one of the more expensive fabrics I had in my selection of "maybes" for the curtains. I decided to look elsewhere online to see if I could find it cheaper and I did. Craftersvision.com had it for $6.90/yd! What a deal! I almost bought it right then, but my bf suggested I wait until I looked at some fabric stores here in town. I thought that was a good idea and it was the perfect reason to finally go into Vogue Fabrics on Roosevelt.

I had this image in my mind of Vogue Fabrics being like the Mood fabric store on the show Project Runway, but it wasn't. It was a depressing fabric store. The selection wasn't as large as I thought it would be and it was not good fabric. It was a bunch of old, musty, boring, ugly fabric. But the prices were fabulous!

After that disappointment, I ordered the "Fleur Tattoo" fabric online from Crafter's Vision. In addition to the great price, I was able to add a note during checkout to ask if the fabric could be cut into four pieces of 3 1/4 yard each if a continuous length of 13 yards wasn't possible. I felt very good about this purchase.

The next day, Temera from Crafter's Vision called me about my order. She said they only cut fabric in whole yards. There went my plan to try to make sure I didn't get a seam in an unlikely spot across my curtains. And then she told me something else. She told me if I were to order the whole bolt, which was only an additional two yards, I would get each yard for $6.10 because they offer a whole-bolt discount. It would save me seven dollars total and I'd be getting more fabric. I said "Heck, yes, I'll take the whole bolt!"

This is the first time I've ever bought a whole bolt of fabric and I really hope it is going to work for my curtains. I'm having it delivered to my work (because my home delivery situation is stuff enough for many therapy sessions) and I also really hope it isn't too hard to get a bolt of fabric home on the El train.

It is also the first time I've ever heard of or bought anything from Crafter's Vision. Based on this one shopping experience, I recommend them. The prices are good and so is the service. I was very impressed by that phone call. I am looking forward to shopping with them again.

"Celebrate" - Illustration Friday - 02.13.2009

2009-02-16T19:55:00.000-08:00

I've been on the Illustration Friday's mailing list for maybe a year now, but I've never contributed - until now!

And now you see why I don't do art. This is supposed to illustrate the current topic of "Celebrate." I thought of stars shooting up into the sky like fireworks. Then I thought why couldn't the stars themselves be celebrating? So, that's why they're wearing party hats. Yeah, I know a seven-year old could have drawn this, but, what the hey, it's all in good fun.

Chili

2009-01-26T19:23:00.001-08:00

Once upon a time, I made a glorious batch of chili. The leftovers were frozen and enjoyed for many months after. When all the chili was gone, I made it again. It cooked all evening and all night long. The next morning it was just as tasty as the first batch so I took a serving with me to work for lunch. I enjoyed my chili lunch very much, that day. However, in addition to cooking all the previous evening and all the previous night we decided to let it cook all that day while we were at work. We came home to a crock pot containing a giant blackened tumor. Down the toilet it went.

I recently made it a third time. This time we cooked it just the right amount of time and it tasted wonderful, even with a few deviations from our regular chili recipe due to buying crushed tomatoes instead of pureed and only having one teaspoon of salt in the whole place. We cheered and we dreamt about all the chili we would be having for dinners and lunches in the days and months to come. However, the next morning when we saw the chili still sitting on the counter and not in the fridge where it should have been, all our dreams were dashed. It is still sitting there, even now, because neither of us want to throw away a mass of rotten chili. It's not a pleasant task. I'm thinking about calling Mike Rowe from "Dirty Jobs" to ask him to come over and do it for us.

Yuck.

Exercisingly

2009-01-24T15:18:00.000-08:00

You know that piece of exercise equipment people have but don't ever talk about or, more to the point, use? I have one (the Vision Fitness x6000 pictured above), and I almost stopped using it entirely, but, thanks to some planning and support, now I'm using it regularly and loving it. Here's how I got on the wagon:

1. Figure out when and how long
First I decided on a reasonable amount of time I would be willing to use it per day and how many days a week I'd be willing to get sweaty. I chose a half hour, four days a week. I also scheduled my exercise for the half hour right after I got home from work.

I know that seems like a wierd time to schedule exercise, but it works for me - mostly because of my supportive mate.

2. Have a supportive mate of some sorts.
My boyfriend, with whom I live, has always done the majority of the cooking for us. While he's slaving away over a hot stove, I'm slaving away on the eliptical trainer.

Does it seem selfish of me, to leave the coking to the man in my life? It could be selfish, but I help too.

3. Pre-planning is necessary.
Every night before bed, I clean the kitchen so it's ready for my boyfriend to start dinner in it the next day. This way, I am contributing to the whole dinner making process without feeling guilty for not helping him cook it.

There is one more pre-planning step that helps me as well.

4. Prep the clothes.
Before working out, I put my evening clothes (aka pjs) in the bathroom, ready to wear when I get out of the shower.

After working out, I put a set of work-out clothes in an easy-to-grab spot, separate from the rest of my clothes. This way when I get home from work I don't have to hunt around for something to wear to get all sweaty and gross in.

Here's my timeline:
5:30 Get home from work, let the dog out.
5:40 Change into workout clothes, put evening clothes in the bathroom.
5:45 Sweat for a half hour, shower for 10-15 minutes, set aside work-out clothes for tomorrow.
6:30 Eat dinner with boyfriend.
7:00 Enjoy the rest of the evening and clean kitchen before bed.

This plan is amazingly simple and practically foolproof for me to be able to stick with it like I have. I don't know if it will help me shed these 30 pounds that don't belong on me, but I do know it is doing me good health-wise so that's what I'm focusing on.

Since maintaining this routine, I feel more energetic and I don't snack in the evenings as much as I used to. I'm also drinking a lot more water than I used to and I'm not snacking at work as much, either.

And all these perks come from just a half hour a day? It's almost too good for even me to believe.

Craftroomy

2008-12-18T20:05:00.001-08:00

In order to get ready for holiday activities, I had to clean up my designated crafting area, also known as the back room.

Here are some pics of the process:

Disaster area

What a mess!!! Who lives here? Pigs?

Getting my priorities straight

I took the shoes out of the shoe caddy to use it to organize half of my yarn stash. The caddy seemed much more useful after that.

The closet is done

It may not look done to you, but it works for me.

Not pictured:

I have set up my eliptical machine, a bookshelf, and a sewing area. I'll post pictures of the rest of the room when it looks more presentable. It is still pretty messy and is mainly being used as a resting place for our dead plants. We don't want to admit that they're really dead, so we keep them about, sort of pretending that their twiggy bodies and dried up leaves add that certain something to the place. What that certain something is is the air of death, but I'm happy with the progress so far. I did have enough space to wrap all the Christmas gifts, which was my main goal at the time.

Christmasly

2008-12-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

Saturday we looked for some furniture for the place (we need two dressers, one little and one big, a small dining room table, and a futon), but all we came home with were decorations for our Christmas tree, which we also needed because all the tree had on it was lights and candy canes. It was kind of pathetic looking.

But not any more!

Now the tree has glittery poinsettia blossoms, birds, and glittery holly leaves stuck into its branches and it looks beautiful. I also put all my old ornaments on the tree and it was fun to look through them.

The tree could still do with more ornaments so I'm going to keep an eye out for some more bird ornaments.

All the ornaments on my tree except for three are things with wings. There are lots of birds, some butterflies and dragonflies, an angel, two cats, a snowflake, and some ceramic things that remind me of wings, but they are just decorative elements.

The tree also needs a topper. I'm thinking a big red ribbon will look nice.

Most of my Christmas shopping is done. The people left on my list are my boyfriend and one of my cousins.

My boyfriend's relatives and friends are on a different list and still need to be shopped for. I think those people are his responsibility, but I will bug him about them until we get them something.

I'll be sending out Christmas packages this weekend. I know they will get to their destinations after Christmas, but people will still like to get them just the same, I hope.

Thanksgivingly

2008-12-01T19:04:00.000-08:00

It was a lovely Thanksgiving holiday.

Got off work early on Wednesday and had four wonderful days of free time. It felt like a vacation and being back at work today seemed out of the ordinary after having so much time to relax.

Wednesday night, my boyfriend and I cooked a really delicious red sauce and some amazing meatballs. We were making this for Thanksgiving dinner the next night at my Italian boyfriend's parents house, who, along with the traditional American roast turkey and stuffing, serve all sorts of untraditional foods during the holidays.

The sauce was the best I ever had, as my step-grandmother is fond of saying, and the meatballs were a manly meaty concoction of beef, Italian sausage, and veal. Then we added some reduced wine to the sauce which, in my opinion, caused the sauce to sour. My bf thinks it's some other unknown reason, but it was fine before we added the wine, okay? Then we accidentally left the meatballs cooling on the counter all night. There went our amazing spaghetti and meatballs!

Thursday morning we decided to make lasagna instead. Spinach lasagna. It turned out very well and everything was fine. That evening we stuffed ourselves and enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving at my bf's parents' home with all his close family.

Friday, Black Friday, we slept in and, of course, ended up going shopping. I splurged on a Christmas gift at Jo-Ann Fabrics. Aaron splurged on Guitar Hero 4 for me! I splurged on Christmas wrapping paper even though I had almost made up my mind to make my own this year. Oh, well. Next year I will try harder to be greener.

Saturday and Sunday I worked on my hand-made gifts I'm hoping to finish in time before they need to be sent out.

Today I found out a co-worker got two dogs over the weekend, so the talk was all about dogs. From another co-worker I heard about a grain-free dog food that sounds really great. She feeds it to her dogs and they have the shiniest coats I've ever seen on non-showdog dogs. It's called Halo.

I also thought of a design for a footed dog sweater and I thought of something else I can make for next year's ADA craft fair - soaps!

Thursdaily

2008-11-23T07:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I did something I never thought I'd do. I bought a pair of skinny pants - the kind all the hipsters wear that hug the legs like paint hugs a wall.

Now, I didn't get skinny jeans, although that's what I was actually looking for. Instead I found a skinny black velvet pair. What prompted me to follow this skinny pant trend? It all started with the boots.

I found a pair of waterproof knee-length boots I could wear to work and in which I could walk a mile in style and comfort. After finding them, I spent too much money on them. But I bought more than just the boots, I also bought the right to show them off a bit.

They look great with skirts, but skirts don't look that great on me, and the pants and jeans I already own cover up the boots. That's why I need skinny jeans - so I can wear the pants on the inside of them, not covering them. I have yet to find a pair of skinny jeans that look flattering on me, though, but I'll still keep an eye out.

Could I be on the road to a half-way stylish wardrobe? The city certainly is inspiring me to live up to its standards. I've even been to the same hairdresser two times in a row and have an appointment to see "my" hairdresser next month.

On another note, I decided against participating in the ADA craft fair. After thinking about it logically, I decided there's not enough time before the event to make anything decent, I have to work, and I don't want to lug my wares on the L. There's always next year. Besides, I have increased the amount of my hand-made Christmas gifts to five and finishing them will be taking up any spare time I allow for crafting.

My two younger sisters will be visiting me for the New Year holiday and I am ultra excited about them being here. I'm starting to plan what we'll be doing and a lot of it involves being outside, walking from shop to shop. I hope it's not too painfully cold for them. They are used to Florida's climate, except one of my sisters moved to Michigan a couple of months ago so she is starting to get an idea of what winter is really like.

The lights are going up all over the area of the city where I work and that is getting me even more jazzed about Christmas. I saw a link to some great gift tags with elves on them that can be printed for personal use. Here they are - my early holiday gift to you: http://liquidpaper.typepad.com/liquid_paper/2007/12/elf-tags-for-yo.html

Todaily 11.18.2008

2008-11-18T21:10:00.000-08:00

Today I was knitting in my building's cafeteria and a jolly-looking older lady came up to me and asked if I was making socks. I told her no and showed her the picture of what I was trying to make. Emphasis on "trying." She must have been impressed, nonetheless, because she invited me to be in this year's ADA (yes, the dental association) craft fair and bake sale. The space is $10.00 and a donation of a hand-made raffle item. I told her I would love to do it! Now I just have to think of what to make for it. My ideas so far:

Biscotti

Hand-dyed Yarn

Cord cozies

Magnets (it's not a proper craft fair if there aren't any magnets)

And that's all I can think of that I'd actually want to make. Besides, it's December 8th - that's not much time to build up an inventory. Also, it's on a Monday - I would normally work that day. Maybe the craft fair is after working hours? I will have to ask a few more questions of the organizer (the lady who approached me about it) before I fully decide. I think I've already made up my mind to do it, though.

Tally, ho!

P.S. I also did three (or was it four?) loads of laundry today. There is more laundry waiting for me to do tomorrow. Wow!

weekendly 11.14 - 11.17.2008

2008-11-17T20:09:00.001-08:00

The weekend was nice. It was full of shopping, a little bit of cleaning, cooking, knitting, playing, and relaxing.

We made fajitas one night and the day after used the chicken and veggies to make quesadillas for lunch. We also made turkey burgers one night. Saturday morning, we had take-out breakfast from a nearby diner and I even got a bowl of soup from one of my favorite soup places. We ate well this past weekend. Which means I really should get on the eliptical trainer more regularly. I didn't get on it at all this weekend, but I had a decent excuse - a sore ankle. I picked up an ankle brace Saturday which helps a lot.

Instead of exercising, I spent my time on the couch either knitting or playing LittleBigPlanet, a video game I'm enjoying a lot. I need more practice at it so maybe this week I can use it as a reward for when I work out.

I'm looking forward to Christmas and I have two, maybe four Christmas presents I will be hand-making this year. I'm also working on something for my cousin's baby due in February, but, in order to finish it, I will need to borrow my bf's mom's sewing maching. And, if I do finish it and I like it too much, I may just keep it for myself.

The dog got a bath late one night because he was extremely rank and we also started building a stand for the television. We already had these beautifully carved legs for it, so we bought wood for the top and the back and stained it last night. The stain should be fully dry in a few days, then we'll give it a light sanding and put it together. This stand will give us an extra foot of space in the living room, which we direly need.

Some additional things I'd like to get done this week are:

- Finish upholstering the chairs

- Box up all the clutter that would do us just as much good stored upstairs in the attic as it would laying around on our floors downstairs.

- Do the giant pile of laundry that is accumulating in the laundry room so I can have the use of my laundry basket again.

- Organize the back room so I can use it as a place to wrap gifts and craft some holiday joy.

That's quite an intimidating list of chores! But getting it done will be well worth the effort. Hopefully I will have the energy, ambition, and motivation finishing all that will take.

Todaily 11.15.2008

2008-11-15T19:18:00.000-08:00

Saturday was full of plans to get lots of stuff done. Instead, we just got stuff. We went shopping at PetSmart, Target, Joanne's, CVS, World Market, Peet's Coffee, Whole Foods, and World Market again.

PetSmart was fun because I didn't have a headache yet and there were some guys going crazy for rodents. A guy my age had his lips practically pressed upon the glass of a mouse cage, making non-stop kissy noises. Before I realized it was him making that noise, I thought kittens were the ones making it. I wasn't disappointed that there were no kittens. I've seen kittens and I'll see them again, but that was a once-in-a-lifetime show.

I left the man and the mouse alone, as I'm sure they wanted some privacy, turned the corner and saw someone who could have been my father's age feverishly sweet talking a guinea pig. He didn't stop when I passed by. He was really into that guinea pig so he probably didn't even notice me. I hope they'll be happy together.

The rest of the shopping was fun, too. There was a point where I got pretty cranky due to my brains being tumbled about while driving in the truck, but a quick stop at CVS helped me there.

I'm starting to get into the spirit of Christmas shopping and I was kind of on the lookout for some special Christmas wrapping paper - something Christmasy, but not as blatantly Christmasy as most Christmas-themed wrapping papers are. I've got quite a few people on my gift list crossed off, so I've got some wrapping to do.

Now the fajitas are almost ready to eat. Mmmm...

Tomorrow. Tomorrow we will get stuff done.

Todaily 11.14.2008

2008-11-14T23:52:00.000-08:00

Today I tried a persimmon for the first time ever. It tasted like questionably fresh pumpkin in a more squishy form. I didn't like it. I'm surprised I tasted it, but the girl at work who served it to me went to the trouble of slicing it and putting it on a little plate and everything. How could I refuse such a wonderful gesture?

To reward ourselves for spending a few hours moving things out of the office and into our basement storage unit, we opened a bottle of wine this afternoon at work. I had a cup of coffee instead and I left work ten minutes early. I don't know why, but leaving early feels much more delinquent to me than drinking at work does.

I tried double-pointed needles for my second time and I actually made a bit of progress instead of banishing them into a drawer after a few failed stitches like I did after my first attempt. Now I'm looking for a stretchy cast on. I think the long-tail cast on will do.

After knitting group, my boyfriend and I went grocery shopping at Whole Foods. But, instead of grocery shopping, I detoured to a bowl of soup while he picked up the actual grocery items we were supposed to be getting. I did some Christmas shopping, got coffee beans, then met up with him at the checkout. I love Whole Foods because where else can a person get raw chicken and a pair of Earth boots at the same place? And I love my boyfriend even more because he doesn't make me shop for groceries.

Today was a wonderful day!

Yesterdaily 11.13.2008

2008-11-14T23:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I didn't call my best friend to wish her a happy birthday. I sent her an email, though! And I owe her 80 dollars. Wow. I shouldn't wonder why I don't have any friends where I live. Mystery solved - I'm not worthy of friends!