Huncut Knitter

I Must Like This Salad....

2010-07-25T21:08:00.001-07:00

I really do actually like the watermelon salad, and it's in season, and is tasty, and doesn't heat up the house. So what did we eat this week....
Fattoush - Jewish (p.86) - It's a veggie middle eastern salad, yummy with pita bread!
Pita Bread - My Own - Yum!
Vegetable Risotto - PB&J (p. 79) - It's made with brown rice so not quite as creamy as real risotto. I also doubled the seasonings, turned out well, though it's better the day of than as leftovers.
Mung Dal Na Poora - East (p. 263) - One of DH's favorites, and it's easy to make. Basically a slightly spicy bean pancake. I swear it's good!
Bibingka - East (p. 259) - It's cake made with rice flour. Pretty good despite my getting lazy with the folding half way through and letting the mixer finish it. It think that's how it ended up with 2 layers instead of one. So the heavier denser cake was at the bottom and it had a lighter, almost like angle cake or sponge cake as a top layer from them separating. Still tasty though! I think I like it with butter and jam over the suggested butter and coconut topping.
Bean, Rice, and Cheese Burritos - My own, It's easy and tasty. Plus I made a TON of tortillas so I'm thinking we will be having more.
Salad with Watermelon and Feta Cheese - Jewish (p.348) - Made it again, because it's tasty and we need to use up the watermelon we keep buying. Since we bought yet another at the farmers market I see it in being made again.

Not Much This Week

2010-07-16T16:43:00.000-07:00

I didn't really make a lot this week. I made some just add water and salsa dry tortilla soup. I added chickpeas instead of the suggested chicken. Not bad. Another night I went out so DH ordered a broccoli garlic pizza.

So what did I make.....

Asian Miracle Salad - Vegan Lunch Box (p. 92) We've had this before, love it!
Lentil Soup - My Own Basic and good
Broccoli w/ Sesame Seeds - PB&J (p. 52) Had some left over Broccoli I needed to use up. It's broccoli with garlic and sesame seeds, yum.
Peanutty Peas & Noodles - PB&J (p. 70) Another we've had before. I added some frozen mixed stir fry veggies in with the sauce and peas. Obviously we like this one too.

What We Ate Before Going Back Home

2010-07-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

I really should try to get better at doing this in a timely manner......
Anyway....

Spinach and Artichoke Dip - Good Eats Seriously, it's spinach artichoke dip, we love this stuff! I tend to add a bit more seasonings, and used seasoned marinaded artichokes. YUM!
Avolemono - Jewish (p. 117) More of an eh. It's lemony and eggy soup. Kind of odd, not terrible, but don't see making this again.
Beetroot & Potato Salad - Jewish (p. 347) It reminded me of my favorite Ethiopian beet and potato salad. I loved it! DH wouldn't eat it, but he hates cold potatoes.
Bean, Cheese & Rice Burritos - My Own Yummy!
Greek Spaghetti - Better Than PB&J (p. 72) I've made this once before. It's quick, easy and yummy! I double the amount of veggies in it though and add a bit more cheese.
Red Currant Mini Cakes - Here YUM! A great way to use the small amount of currants that I got from my tiny little bushes.
Wild Strawberry Mini Cakes Same thing but topped with wild strawberries picked from the yard.
Strawberry Jam Yummy! Just followed the recipe in the pectin box.
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Again yum! And went basically off of the box.

I Have Not Been Good About This......

2010-06-25T06:42:00.000-07:00

So I need to work on updating this more. Since it's been awhile, and I really liked some things I made, I'm just going to put a huge list down because...
1. It's easier
2. I'm lazy
3. Really these lists are for myself to remind myself of dishes I really liked, and make it easier to figure out what dish I'm trying to think of or in which of my books it's in.

So here goes....
What we ate the week or so before our last trip back to IL.

Fasolada - Jewish (p.112) A yummy hearty bean and veg soup.
Old Country Mushroom, Beans & Barley Soup - Jewish (p. 113) Another veg soup with peas, beans, and barley. Yum.
A Pottage of Lentils - Jewish (p. 122) A lentil soup, I only blended half of it because DH likes his chunky. Good, but I believe DH said a bit too much lemon for him.
Mushroom Soup - Local Newspaper Clipping A good creamy mushroom soup.
Vegetable Saute - Food Network - Good Eats I generally like his recipes, and this is no exception. A basic veg stir-fry, what's not to like.
Sweet Potato Walnut Burritos - 3 Bowls (p. 84) I've made this several times because we both like it a lot, and it's fairly easy to make.
Fava Bean Soup - PB&J (p.37) Good, better than the first time when I made it with dry fava beans. The jarred ones had a completely different flavor.
Fava Bean, Lemon & Parmesan Risotto - 30 Minute Vegetarian (p. 48) I love this, DH though it was a bit to lemony. It wasn't quite as good as a leftover though. Next time I'll probably just make a half batch.
Soba Noodle Soup - My own I made this up as I went along. Basically veggies, braggs, and noodles. I believe I also put in garlic, I should probably write it down when I'm making it up as I go.

After we got back from IL......
Tzimmes - Jewish (p.380) A bit on the too sweet side. Next time if I made it I wouldn't add any honey, it didn't need it at all. We ended up adding the leftovers to our falafels and that was pretty good, better than on it's own.
Cauliflower with Tomatoes and Cumin - Jewish (p. 391) It's similar to Indian food, so we liked it.
Orange & Green Salad - PB&J (p. 39) Kind of weird. Didn't care for the combination of cucumber and oranges. I think this would be good without the cucumber maybe.
Firefighter French Fries - PB&J (p. 46) Sweet potato french fries... Of course it's super yummy!
Lettuce Wraps - PB&J (p. 62) Yum!
Howlin Hummus - PB&J (p.47) I add more garlic and spice. We love hummus though.
Cheese Dumplings - Jewish (p. 378) I seem to be incapable of making decent dumplings, though DH did like these.
Pita Bread - My own It's pita bread, it's simply good.
Falafel - PB&J (p. 58) For the pita sandwiches. Yum!

About 2 weeks ago......
Halloumi & Grape Salad - Jewish (p. 358) Oh dear god this was good! I added extra grapes to mine. Salty and sweet, just oh so good!
Italian Style Potaoes - PB&J (p. 55) We aren't really a fan of this. It's rather heavy, and it's like spaghetti, but with potatoes. Eh.
Bulgur Wheat & Veggies - PB&J (p. 71) Made this with couscous instead since I have aton of that and very little Bulgur wheat.
Greek Spaghetti - PB&J (p. 72) DH and I agree this is yummy! Another plus is that it's simple and quick to make.
Soup with Knaidlach - Jewish (p.134) DH and I would call this Matza Ball soup. It's good! DH loved it, and said it's the best he's had. He's was also really happy since he hasn't had any since becoming a vegetarian.

Last Week......
Fresh Cabbage Shchi - Jewish (p. 124) We liked this, it's pretty close to my Betty Crocker Russian Cabbage Soup. I do prefer Betty's version though.
Potatoes and Onions - Jewish (p. 388) It's just fried potatoes and onions, basic but tasty.
Chickpea soup with Spinach - Jewish (p. 133) Yummy, simple tasting soup.

This Week......
Couscous Tacos - PB&J (p. 76) It's good, but WOW! That's a lot of filling! Next time maybe cut it in half?
Salad with Watermellon & Feta Cheese - Jewish (p. 348) Sounds like a weird combination, but oh is it super good! Num! Num! Num!
Avacado, Orange & Almond Salad - Jewish (p. 74) Another one that sounds like a weird combo, but is oh my goodness yummy!

What We Were Eating

2010-06-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try to be better about this so.....
This is what we ate before we went on vacation.

Tomato Soup with Israeli Couscous - Jewish Cooking (p. 121) - Yum! And very hearty!
Lubuya - Jewish Cooking (p. 121) - It's a bean soup, pretty good.
Black Bean and Corn Salad - I made this one up, it was pretty good.
Courgette and Asparagus Soup - You Are What You Eat (p. 109) - always a great way to use up asparagus trimmings, and tastes creamy and buttery despite the absence of both.
Sesame Rice Balls - You Are What You Eat (p. 197) - We've had this before. It's a tasty healthy snack, love her cookbook!
Creamy Rice Caserole - From the web - Tasty, but not very healthy, kind of like mac n' cheese.
Fries - My own - they are cut whole (non skinned) potatoes with paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper, then drizzled with olive oil and baked - Always yummy!

When it's time to say good-bye

2010-04-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

I am grieving you can’t be the person I wanted you to be, that I wish you could be. I am sorry you can’t grow up, that you can’t see the world though eyes or the perspective of someone else. This has been a long time coming, and I’ve fought it for a very long time. I’ve waited for you to mature, act like an adult, and as I’ve bluntly put it, grow up. I can see now that it is impossible. I mean you are nearly middle aged now, and really if it hasn’t happened by now, it’s just not going to. I go over in my mind so many things you have said and done over the years, and honestly I’m disappointed in myself that it’s taken this long for me to let go. Others have told me you were who you were, and you weren’t going to change, and I just didn’t want to see it.

I go over in my mind the things you have said and done over the years. There have been the little things like when you claimed to have made your matron of honor dress for my wedding, even though we both know my mother and I did nearly all the work on it (thanks for letting me know I needed to do it just 4 days before the wedding BTW). Then there are the really bad things, like when you told me that it was “too boring” to spend time with your father who was dying of cancer. Or when you told me your tinnitus was harder to deal with than people who loose limbs, are dying of incurable cancer, and your father dying (though you couldn't be bothered to stick with the treatment that actually was working). I still clung to hope that you would eventually mature, could see the error of some of the things you had said and done. Even when you told me that it sucked that your mother in law had breast cancer, not because she would have to go through treatments, or could possibly die, but because you would no longer have a free baby sitter, I was appalled, but I told myself she doesn’t really mean that. But you did, you meant everything you said because you are incapable of seeing how another person might feel. It took until you belittled me over being upset over losing my baby. I tried to brush it off at first, but you wouldn’t let up. You had to keep insisting that not only must there be something wrong with me to have lost the baby, and that I wasn’t doing enough to have kept her, you insisted that I “get over it”,and “let it go” because after only a few weeks I was still grieving my loss. You even insisted that I help you find maternity clothes, asking me over and over to help you look and telling me what it was going to be like for you to be pregnant and telling me “not that you’d know”. Later you couldn’t even apologize for your words, and insisted that you meant them. Then you were told by others that what you did was wrong, and you lied. You said the exact opposite had happened. That you looked out for me, comforted me, and even told me I might want to do something else because you were going baby shopping. We both know what you really did, and what you really said. I guess you can live with it, but I can’t anymore. So I’m done.

I can’t keep forgiving you and keep any kind of respect for myself. I’ve begun to think of it like when I left my abusive ex. I kept waiting for him to get better. To be the person he claimed he was. But he couldn’t be that person. He could only be an abuser, he would only take from me, and could never give, could never love, even though he said he did. He simply wasn’t capable of loving anyone. You are like that in a way. You are not capable of really caring about other people enough to see what you have done or said. You can’t act like a mature adult, and see that other people have feelings. I feel sorry for you, and there is still a part of me that wants to keep forgiving you, but I just can’t anymore. I’ve reached my limit. So I have to let you go. You are just too toxic for me to keep subjecting myself to you. If I keep looking the other way, and stay your friend I wonder what that says about me? That I think that kind of behavior is ok? That I’ll accept anything? That I am ok with being a doormat? That I’m ok with how you think of and treat other people? I had to leave my abusive ex for my own sanity, and I see now that I have to let our friendship die for the same reasons. It’s funny in a way because you two hated each other so much, but I think that’s because you were so alike in some ways at least. Since you are family I’m sure I will sometimes see you, and I don’t have a problem being cordial around you, but I just can’t be your friend anymore. So I’ll grieve the loss of our friendship, the person who I have been friends with since we were literally babies, and be sad. Sad you can’t be the person I’d like you to be because I can’t change you, I can only change how I react to you.

Almost Forgot

2009-08-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

I forgot to finish writing about last weeks menu so here is the quick update on that......

Dosas -DH loved these I thought they were good, but he totally loved them.
Potato Masala Filling - Good we both liked this.
Sambhar - Again we both liked this, but I think DH liked it more.
Mung Dal Na Poora - I've made this before and it's one of DH favorite things. I like them too. I made it slightly different this time (not as spicy threw in some leftover chives and not as much onion) and DH did say that last time they were better. Of course he always likes thing spicier than I do.
Beet Raita w/ Dill, Lime & Honey - We both agree this is yummy!
Veggie Flat breads w/ Goat Cheese - This is like an upscale, healthier version of pizza. What's not to like? Seriously definitely on the yum list.
Fresh Chinese Parsley & Mint Chutney - I've made this before and we both agree last time was better. This time it had a slightly bitter quality that wasn't great. Not sure if it was the yogurt I used or the cilantro that was a bit old, but last time was yummy and this time was kind of eh.
Paximadia Cookies - Basically like a Greek version of biscotti. Again, what's not to like? I did not make it anise flavored though as DH does not like black licorice. I made mine with hazelnut flavoring and a shot of amaretto.

No Worries

2009-08-24T17:31:00.000-07:00

My Dr wasn''t concerned about the rash (it was gone by the next day), so I'm good. Ya!!! It would be just about impossible for a tick to have been on me long enough to transmit anything since I usually take 2 showers a day, and even if I did skip and took one a day it still wouldn't be long enough. So good no antibiotics.

So for this week we are eating.......
Aubergine, Lemon, and Caper Salad - Jewish (p.363) We had this tonight and it was good!
Curried Parsnip Soup - Practical Soups (p.11)
Yogurt and Spinach Soup - Practical Soups (p.17)
Potato Salad - Jewish (p. 154)
Sesame Noodles - Fresh current month (p. 18)
Goat Cheese and Chive Souffles - Fresh /current month (p.28)
Quinoa and Black Bean Salad - Fresh /current month (p.35)
Zucchini Rotini - Flat Belly magazine /current month (p.65)
Potato and Radish Salad - Ultimate Vegetarian Book (p.145)
Courgette and Asparagus Soup - You Are What You Eat (p.109)
Fig and Cranberry Oatmeal
Chocolate Almond Macaroons - Flat Belly magazine /current month (p.77)

We had the aubergine, lemon, and caper salad tonight and it was good! I had to tell DH not to eat it all so I would have some for lunch tomorrow. The courgette and asparagus soup we have had a few times as it's a good way to use up the tougher part of asparagus that you would normally throw away, or in my case compost. I didn't blend one bowl of it because DH likes his soup unblended and chunky. Oh, and even though I made the potato and radish salad last week I decided to make it again to use up some more of the radishes we have, and I really liked it even if DH didn't.

Rash?

2009-08-12T20:04:00.000-07:00

Crap. I have a sort of bulls eye rash. I had a rash a few days ago in the same spot, and now I'm getting a little more concerned. I emailed a picture of the current rash to my doctor, and I'm really hoping it's not Lyme disease. I do NOT want to be on antibiotics for 3 freaking weeks! CRAP. I'll give the doctors office a call tomorrow, to make sure they got the email. DH wants me to go on antibiotics now, but I'd rather wait if I can. If it turns out I do have it I'm going to have to wait another month before we start trying for a baby, which also sucks. And I am so not looking forward to the massive yeast infection I will get from being on antibiotics for so freaking long. I'm pissed.

BTW DH did not like the cold chickpea soup because of the cucumbers in it. =( Well, I thought it was fine, although I'd eat it more as a dip than a soup. It's pretty much like hummus with cucumbers. Ah well.

Not Over It Yet

2009-08-12T07:59:00.000-07:00

Well, since I was still mad about DH's reaction I told him if he wanted to eat dinner he was going to help make it. So he picked through the spinach leaves washed them, and grated and sliced the cheeses. He said he liked the veggie stuffed portobello's a lot, but I'm not sure if he really did or if he was saying that because he knew I was still mad. He was going to go back for seconds though untill I reminded him we had more food so maybe he really did. We also had corn on the cob, figs with goat cheese and honey, and more of that really yummy salad.

Menu for August 9, 2009

2009-08-11T07:51:00.000-07:00

So since I usually don't go on here I figured I might use it to keep track of my weekly menus as opposed to how I usually do it which is keep the paper that I write it on. OK, I'll probably still probably keep the stack of papers, but now I can also add notes about what I cook. So for this week.....
Dosas -India (p.173)
Potato Masala Filling - India (p.174)
Sambhar - India (p.178)
Mung Dal Na Poora - East (p.263)
Beet Raita w/ Dill, Lime & Honey - 3 Bowls (p.119)
Vegetable Bowls w/ Yogurt Lime Dressing - Better Homes and Gardens (p.190)
Chilled Cucumber Chickpea Soup - Better Homes and Gardens (p.195)
Veggie Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms - Better Homes and Gardens (p.201)
Veggie Flat breads w/ Goat Cheese - Better Homes and Gardens (p.202)
Fresh Chinese Parsley & Mint Chutney - East (p.364)
Mushroom & Swiss patty melt w/ Peas - Whole Deal- Aug/Sept (p.6)
Fig and Cranberry Oatmeal - Foodnetwork (Goodeats, Alton Brown)
Goat cheese Honey & Figs
Paximadia Cookies - Lunch Box (p.243)
Honey Bee No-Bakes - Lunch Box (p.241)

Since I can't get curry leaves here I'll be using plain curry powder and am considering buying a curry tree, for the future. I also can't get drumstick vegtables so I'll eather leave them out, or substitute asparagus. Since we don't eat meat for the turkey patties I used TVP and chickpeas and just mixed it all in so we could eat it wrap or taco like with some flat bread. I made the no-bakes with real honey, but about half what was recomended, and more than double the almond butter, and a big dollop of soy nut butter, and more coco powder than called for, and made half with a shot of agave syrup.

So Sunday we had leftovers and the figs ad honey, and we both liked it. It was tangy sweet and tasty!

I loved the no-bakes, DH was ok with them.
Last night we had the patty melts and veggie bowls. I liked both. DH only liked the veggie bowl, he hated the patty melts so much that he actually spit it out onto the table! Which quite frankly pissed me off. He has no problem saying "ewwww", "that's gross", "this is awful" (which, let me tell you, does wonders for the ego), but he's never actually spit it out onto the table! I pretty much wanted to smack him. I'm not sure it was the taste though as the only thing he did say was that he didn't like the texture, which really doesn't make sense as he's had TVP before and has been fine with it. I'm still pretty pissed over his spitting his food onto the table, and I really feel like I'm cooking for a very cranky, picky 4 year old sometimes. He rarely compliments what I make, unless I prompt him as to what he thinks about it. I know he usually likes what I make, and he's always asking me to make things to bring to his co-workers, but it would be nice to feel appreciated. That and when he doesn't like something I've asked him to say he doesn't care for it, not "Ewwww", althought that would be better than spitting it on the freaking table!

I made the oatmeal this morning and used dried cherries instead of cranberries by mistake , but I think my cut oatmeal is old and I need to replace it. I knew that I was putting in cherries, but I thought I was supposed to instead of looking and seeing it said cranberries not cherries.

I am so excited....... about a weed!

2009-03-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

Dude! Seriously I am so excited! I was just looking online how to grow artichokes, since I bought a pack of seeds and have no clue how to do it, but was a little concerned when I noticed on the back it said 180-360 days until harvest. Whoa! How long????? I live in a cold place here, our growing season is so not long. Then I found out it's OK, they should be ready in about 100 days and I can totally start them inside. Cool! But as I was reading along I also happened on a site for Jerusalem artichokes. I totally love them, and they are a tad expensive, so I don't buy them often, not to mention the nearest grocery store I know of to buy them is about 2 hours away, and we only get to go there about once a month if we are lucky (DH has a once a month class/conference thing and I go along so I can go to the "big city" and go grocery shopping for all the stuff I can't get where we live). So anyway, I find out Jerusalem artichokes are super easy to grow. As in some consider them a weed, that is nearly impossible to kill. Are you kidding me? I'd love to be overrun with these things! I can even grow them in a big pot, so that means I could have them year round even, maybe. I am so excited about this!
I like gardening, but I grew up with my parents method of gardening, so my idea may be slightly different from the average gardeners. See we planted seeds, and plants, and all that, and we were really good about weeding, at first. But then around the middle/end of the summer, it was like why bother, just step on/over the weeds pick what you want and don't worry about the weeds. Now my dad does try, his newest way of dealing with weeds, and this does work fairly well, is to mulch with all his grass clippings. So anyway how cool is this to find a plant that you can pretty much ignore and you are still going to have a ton of crop!
On a similar note, I am so freaking sick of winter I have decided to grow, just about anything I can in a container. I of course have the usual herbs, but I am now trying salad greens, soybeans, beets, strawberries, peppers, kohlrabi, potatoes, kale, broccoli rabe, avacado trees, radishes, carrots, turnips, pretty much anything I can get to grow. Ha! Take that winter! I will see green things growing! Yes I do know it is technically the first day of spring, but if you look outside my windows you are going to see plenty of snow still. It is finally melting, and I can see grass where our septic tank is, but there is still a bunch of snow out there and honestly, the grass that I do see isn't exactly green and growing. So at least I can have my bit of life inside the house.

So it''s been awhile.....

2008-10-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

Well a LOT has happened! We got married! Moved half way across the country, went on our honeymoon, and are looking to buy a house. I am considering trying my hand at a craft show, but I'm nervous. Of course AC Moore was having a sale, and I bought a ton of stuff, so now I had better make something out of it to sell! My husband is getting very irritated that I am not working, I know I should be, but dear god I don't want to start up some crappy job that I will hate. I've done that before (when I was with my ex) just to pay the bills and I know it's a kind of laziness, but I just don't want to do it again. I'm going to have to get serious about subbing soon, and if I do sell stuff at a craft show that would help too. And if for no other reason, soon my money from my last teaching job is going to run out and I will need money for stuff I want like yarn. However, my DH did offer to buy me a wheel, but I think that's because he felt a little guilty buying his bike after getting so upset over money, and I'm not sure he really understands how much they cost, although I'd be happy with a cheap one. BUT I do own a spinning wheel (even if it is an irritating used one), it's just that it got left behind at his parents, and I am hoping to go back and get it soon sometime, so I don't really feel like I can justify the expense right now. Besides I have my two spindles, and I can throw them in my backpack.
By the way on a whole new topic..... it is freaking cold here in ME like seriously. As far as I can tell Maine only has 3 seasons and unfortunately the one I like the best (summer) is the one that is missing. I only wore shorts about 4 times here during the summer. I like the heat, I love the heat actually I think anything below 75 is freaking cold. But apparently I must be getting used to it here because we didn't turn on our heat until just this last week (I finally called and set up the oil delivery, it's comming Monday WHO HOO!) so I convinced my husband to let me turn on the heat (and use our last few gallons) at least a little. I was cold all the time, but now just having the heat on 65 feels nice (60 when we go to bed), I never thought I'd be so excited about having heat before. But all utilities are a LOT more expensive here and I've lived in several places in the country now. So I guess I'd better get used to it because we are here for at least 3-4 years.

THE Wedding Dress!

2008-05-18T21:44:00.000-07:00

I am using my grandfather's parachute from WWII(I hope) for the fabric of my wedding dress. I have been really, REALLY nervous about cutting it, since if I make any bad mistakes (are there really any good ones?) I will not have enough fabric to finish it. My wonderful mom actually ripped out most of the seams for me which is HUGE considering the army REALLY didn't want the seams to come apart. So they sewed each seam with these tiny stitches FOUR times. Yes, that's right to rip out a seam it's not like a normal seam where you rip out just one row of stitches. On this thing four rows of stitches have to be riped out for each seam. My mother has the patience of a saint. OK, so as of today the parachute has been cut, but I don't know how well it will hold up since it's cut almost entirely on the bias (it was the only way to fit the pattern pieces). It also took some very creative folding of the parachute to be able to cut the center panel of the dress without it going through any seams. I'm kind of afraid of what will happen when I unpin it from the pattern. I really don't want to have to iron stabilizer to the entire thing (although if I have to I will), BUT at least I am done for tonight! and I'll worry about the rest tomorrow.

The bitching about the In-Laws Blog

2008-05-10T04:52:00.000-07:00

OK, I am seriously thinking I should change my blog name to "bitching about the in-laws". Here is the thing. I was told that my fiance's sister would be doing the blessing at the reception with her brother. Now before I was only told that my soon to be BIL was going to do it, and I have no problem with this because he has been nothing but nice to me this entire time. But I really don't want someone who has been nothing but a bitch to me for months to do it too. So I told my poor fiance that there was no way she was going to do it unless she apologized to me for the way she has been acting. Well, after a lot of arguments she finally apologized for how I felt about her behavior. Yes, that right, I believe her words were "I'm sorry if you got upset over anything I may have done". ARUGH! I didn't want an apology for me getting upset over her horrible behavior, I wanted one FOR her horrible behavior. But as it's probably the best (and most likely only) apology she's ever given. I accepted it, and told my fiance fine, even though I wasn't happy, she could do it. Here comes the fun part though, the NEXT day I noticed the emblem had been ripped off my truck. Now for those thinking well that happens there must be a reasonable explanation, sure it does to higher end cars, but not generally a ford pickup. Grrrrrr! Now yes, I know it could have been some delinquent neighborhood kids, but everyone knows how much I love my truck (she is 14 years old and I love her as much as the day I got her), and the timing of it happening is just very interesting. Yes, it could have also fallen off, but I actually found the emblem, and there were stress cracks right in the middle of it (that hadn't been there, just the day before) just like it had been bent a little from being pulled. Oh, and my facial soap that is thick and white suddenly turned to yellow water. Yes, that's right YELLOW and as thick as WATER. Let's think about what that could be for just half a second. EWWWWWW!!!!! I am sooooooo grossed out thinking that I've washed my face with her pee. I have been using this particular brand of soap for about 3 years now and this has never happened before. I brought it to my fiance's attention and he claims his sister is not that petty (um, right) and that maybe the cleaning lady did it. Is he serious here? Also, his mom keeps lieing to me. Such as when I later tried to bring up her daughters behavior at the shower she insisted that not only did a lot of people act just like my soon to be SIL, but that everyone at the party had snubbed them, and despite her trying to talk to everyone at the party, everyone ignored her and her daughter and wouldn't talk to them. Now, I was there and I never saw that (the party was only in 2 rooms of my aunt's house and I could see my soon to be MIL and SIL almost the entire time), and I even talked with my three other people about what she said and no one had any idea what she was talking about, and I never saw her even try to talk with anyone. She also keeps saying she is going to help with the wedding (I am NOT asking or even hinting for help), but then never follows through. Like she said she called for a cellist for the ceremony and claimed to have left my number with 6 places, but after waiting 2 weeks and not getting any calls I finally called a few of the places and got an immediate response (we now have a cellist). She keeps insisting that she did call, but the places I talked to (the ones she claims to have previously called) had never talked to her. Yes, I know, maybe they misplaced my number when she called, or forgot she called, but did ALL of them? Really? Come on here, all of them? Especially when I had no problems at all? Then she said she'd help with the the wedding favors, but she never did, and when my fiance even asked her "oh, are you going to help cut [the tulle]?" she even said "well, no, but I'll help tie later". Um, right. You'll help. Just not now, at some later point you will. Sure. I'll just sit here and hold my breath for that. I mean really, I don't care if she helps or not, I'd certainly never count on her to do anything, it's just annoying that she keeps offering to help, but never does anything. It's gotten to the point that I am having thoughts like "do I really want to deal with this family for the rest of my life? Which is what will happen if I marry my fiance." We only have 3 weeks left until the wedding, and thankfully we will be moving half way across the country two days after the wedding, but do I really, REALLY want to have to deal with this particular family for the rest of my life????? I keep hoping that once we move and I will have very little contact with them that it will get better, but my fiance's insistence that his mom and sister don't act the way they do is driving me nuts.

What a weekend!

2008-04-21T03:13:00.000-07:00

Well a little bitchiness, and some happier news.....
Let's just get the bitchy part out of the way. Why do people bother to go to a gathering just to be a nuisance? Seriously, two of my Aunts and my Dad's finance threw me a shower this weekend, and it was awesome. However, my evil SIL came and acted bored the whole time. You know what I mean, the only time she didn't act bored out of her mind was when a childhood friend of mine tried to get her into conversation and she got to talk about herself, otherwise she was pretty much a lump. Then when it was time for me to open the presents she actually sat there sighed, made little comments and rolled her eyes. I mean, really, I would have been much happier if she hadn't come at all. She isn't exactly my favorite person with her slamming doors and getting pissy about the wedding as it is, I would have much rather she just not come. Then, the next day my soon to be FIL told me "so I'm going to stress you out" and then started telling me we were having the rehearsal dinner on Saturday night again. Now this pretty much put me in a whole new level of pissed off. We can't have the rehearsal on Saturday because there is a graduation and party going on where we are getting married, not to mention since we have a Sunday morning wedding I'd really rather not be up really late the night before. We've had this argument and have changed the day back and forth from Friday to Saturday several times now and I thought we were done. I pointed out (again) that we couldn't have the rehearsal on Saturday, that it had to be on Friday, and he said, not a problem we will have the rehearsal on Friday and the rehearsal dinner on Saturday. WTF?! So lets get this straight, my family (that's who is in my wedding party), that lives a little over an hour away, you expect to drive all the way up here and back, on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday?! And Friday you wont even give them dinner? I was pissed. Now in his defense he did have a reason. He said a lot of their out of town guests would not be in until Saturday, so thinking he was confused I explained that his son and I had decided to go with the traditional route and we were only inviting the people in the wedding party, immediate family and grandparents. It didn't really seam to matter to him what we had planned though it was going to be Saturday. Needless to say I had a mini meltdown. Just so no one thinks I'm being a bridezilla here lets go over some of my reasons for why Saturday is not a good day.
1. We are having a Sunday morning wedding and quite frankly I'd rather not be exhausted during my own wedding.
2. My parents are going to mass Saturday night and wont be able to come to the rehearsal dinner if it's on Saturday night (why would we have it without my parents???).
3. I've already scheduled our manicures for Saturday early afternoon where my family lives and I don't want us to have to rush all the way back up here to eat dinner.
4. We CAN'T have the actual rehearsal that day, wouldn't it make sense to have the Rehearsal Dinner the same day as the rehearsal?
5. Quite frankly, I think it's unbelievably rude to expect my family to do all this traveling and be so inconvenienced.
6.If I am going to be up late the night before the wedding it's going to be because my dress or veil isn't finished, because as much as I'd like to believe I'll be done in time, I do know how I am at christmas time. If (god forbid) something isn't done I'll need Saturday evening to finish it, and I will not have time for a dinner.
So after my meltdown, where I told (possibly with a raised voice) my poor finance if I had to I would take my family out to dinner on Friday, and under no circumstances would I show up to their dinner on Saturday did they finally back down. I'm still very livid however over the whole thing and how inconsiderate and rude they are being to my family.
OK so deep breath.........
My happier news is that I bought an iJoy chair! I have been coveting this chair for a good 4-5 years now. I found a great deal on one and thanks very much to a bunch of gift cards, I bought one. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. It can even relax me with the stressed out state I'm in.

Bitching and new pics

2008-04-08T20:31:00.000-07:00

OK so there was this huge thing with my fiancee's sister. She insisted that we (my soon to be husband and I) should never be in the bathroom together not even to brush our teeth, because it makes her uncomfortable. Personally I think if it really bothered her she shouldn't have followed us upstairs right after we said we were going to get ready for bed (yes it happened on numerous occasions, and then she'd complain). But we had to have a big family discussion over it and after she stomped her feet like a 3 year old and stormed off crying we (her mother and I) decided on some compromises, but mostly that means she got her way as usual. Now she has suddenly taken to going to the bathroom with the door open. And, no, I don't mean when she is home by herself, I'm talking about when her mother, father, brother, and I are all home, and she insists on doing it in the bathroom that there is no way to avoid walking past if we want to leave our rooms. Apparently that doesn't make her uncomfortable at all, I think she is just trying to rub my nose in the fact that she got her way again. Also, I know she is jellouse of the wedding but I think it's a little much for a 21 (about to be 22) year old to slam doors and huff around the house anytime anyone mentions the wedding near her. I mean come on I don't talk about it constantly, but it is less than 2 months away and her parents ask me everyday who responded. I know she totally rules the house and has been getting her way for her entire life, but come one, don't you have to grow up at some point? ARUGH!
OK, now on to some happier news. Like the veil. OK it's not done yet. Ha! I wish! BUT at least I can see the end of it, although I will still probably be knitting on it until I have to block it the day before the wedding. So here are pics again. It's a tiny bit bigger now as these are about one or two weeks old.

Also, Michael's clearanced the little frames I wanted for the wedding table numbers so they are now only 50 cents! That made them a little hard to find, as I went through 5 stores and only came up with 9, but since I have an awesome mom who went out and found 30 for me! I am done with that! Woo hoo!
Aren't they cute! I'm going to make a stand for them with beads and wire. I'm playing around with how to do it now, so I'm still experimenting, but I think it will look cute.

Still going

2008-01-13T16:51:00.000-08:00

So it's been awhile! Well, I'm still working on my veil, it now comes down to my eyebrows. Yaaa!

We had a massive cleaning spree, and I am trying to get myself to do all of my mending and sewing. We will see it that all gets done. I am also trying to organize myself, while is a huge task! So I got some photo organizers today that I plan on using to organize my receipts. I have also managed to organize all of my thread which is great as I am no longer using this terrible 1970's particle board bobbin holder I got from my mom. We are getting closer to being done with out wedding plans which is such a relief! I'm down to finding a florist and cellist. I have seen 3 florists so far and I will see the last one tomorrow. So then i will make a decision on that. I can't wait until everything is done!

Car Hat Pattern

2007-12-27T11:25:00.000-08:00

So here is what I did for the car hat.
With Wool-Ease thick and quick and US 11 needles
with red yarn Cast on 38 sts
rows 1-3 K1 P1*
rows 4-9 K*
rows 10- 18 string car buttons on black yarn and switch to black yarn and knit for 9 rows (dispersing car buttons wherever you think they look cute).
Change to blue yarn and knit for 11 rows.
Kitchener stitch closed.
for the braids cut about 24 inches of yarn in the 3 colors twice and thread through corners of hat. Braid and add a cute car or helmet button about 3 inches from the end then tie a knot .
Done!

Hats in 3 hours or less, and more cookie pics!

2007-12-27T10:22:00.001-08:00

OK, so here is a pic of the hats my cousins got.

The car one I got the idea from here. What is really neat about it is that the pattern is called Charlie's Car Cap, which is what that cousin's grandfather's name was (my Uncle Chuck), and he loved cars! So it was perfect.

The cousin that got the pink hat was excited that it was all her favorite colors (pink, blue, and purple). The blue one went to a cousin that couldn't come, so I don't know what she thought yet. So, I am glad that I did make them all hats, as the two at least I know were a hit!

Here is the hat I knit for one of my aunts, but I ripped it out. I didn't like the shaping, and the hole from one of the increases annoyed me. Well, to be honest I could have probably lived with the hole but the hole and the shaping combined was too much, so I ripped it out.

Here is what I used for a rolling pin because my soon to be MIL didn't have one and I did actually consider buying one, but the only ONE rolling pin they had left at target on christmas eve was $20. I thought about it, and then thought how I have 2 sitting in my storage unit (over an hour away) and thought never mind, I'll improvise. So I used a water bottle filled with ice (kind of like using my glass rolling pin). Oh, those little bits of gingerbread dough is all I had left over.

And here are my cookies iced! MMMMMM!

The guy with the purple buttons doesn't look too happy that he's going to be eaten soon.

Christmas Madness!

2007-12-24T07:40:00.000-08:00

OK, OK, I know I told my family no one was getting knitted gifts this year, but then a week ago I found some supper cheap yarn, and some of it was this multi pink that was perfect for one of my little cousins (and it was only a dollar a ball!) and I was thinking it's been years since I gave them hats. Hats are really quick! And so the insanity began again.
I kept telling myself, I'll just see how fast I knit the first hat. If I don't get done it's no biggie, I'll just donate it, or wait until next year (ya right). I got the one hat done in about a week, and then Then I had my freak out. I felt guilty that my little cousins would for the first time in years not get anything knitted by me. So One hat is done and I do realize that with only two days until christmas there is no way I'm going to get two more hats done because the only cooking I've accomplished is the cookies (I do still have to ice them though).
Oh! speaking of the cookies! I have made.....
lemon
lavender
lavender lemon
sugar
stained glass
and gingerbread!

Yumm!
I do think the stained glass cookies are better for those who have a massive sweet tooth, are kids, or for hanging in the window. I ate one of them and I swear I could feel my teeth getting cavities!
I still have to make the veggies, veggie roast, cranberry sauce, and stuffing.
So the knitting dellema... I went out and bought super bulky yarn and made a fast hat. I am a slow knitter and it only took me about 3 hours (and I was watching TV which makes it take a little longer but at least I'm amused. It should fit my 10 year old cousin, but does stretch to fit me. Here is what I used:

Lion brand wool-ease thick and quick
US size 11 dp's (I'm also a bit of a loose knitter)
guage in k2 p2 10 sts=3 1/2 inches unstretched or a little over 5 stretched
Cast on 40 sts
k2 p2 for 4 rows
on 5th row k the second stitch then the first stitch (creating a simple cable) p2 for entire row
6th & 7th row k2 p2*
then repeat 5th row, and continue repeating 5-7 until you have about 6 inches ending on row 5.
Then k2 p2tog* 30sts
next row k2 p1*
k the second stitch then the first stitch (creating a simple cable) p1*
k2 p1*
then ssk p1* 20sts
k1 p1*
ssk* 10 sts
ssk* 5sts
break yarn thread through last sts and pull knot and weave in ends.

Oh, I don't know if it makes any difference but I am a left handed eastern knitter so if the cables are difficult just do it however you do simple cables.

So what else have I been doing? I've been knitting a stuffed cat, and made a cozy for my shifter on my truck. You may be asking why on earth would I knit a cozy for my shifter??? Well, let me explain. The center button that shows where the gears are is loose and it rattles, which is annoying so I kept taping it with whatever I had on hand (scotch tape, a band-aid, etc.), and it wouldn't last for long, it would wear out, and then I'd have tape goo on my hand whenever I shifted gears which is also annoying. So this time I used packing tape which lasts longer, but also has scratchy edges.

So I knitted a cozy so I don't have to feel the sharp edges, and when it also finally wears out, no sticky goo on my hand. I think I need to rip it out and reknit it smaller (I didn't measure anything and was totally guessing on size), but it will have to wait a little while. Here are some pics....

This is the cat, I know it doesn't look like one yet, but eventually when it is done it will. Oh, I changed the pattern a little because I will be felting it, but I got it from knitty here.

Ice Day

2007-12-11T19:59:00.000-08:00

Well, I had the day off today which is good and bad. Bad because our wedding is the day before the last day of school (providing we don't use any snow days). So I've been hoping that we don't use any snow days. It didn't snow, but we had freezing rain so they canceled school today. On the bright side I was exhausted this morning and was glad I could go back to sleep. I was also thinking about all the stuff I could accomplish with this extra day. Unfortunately, I didn't get nearly everything I wanted to done. I did at least get some mending done.

Better

2007-12-07T17:59:00.000-08:00

Well, I am feeling better. For awhile there it felt like my sinuses were going to explode. I can now almost breathe normally. I am still taking meds for it though. I only managed to knit a few more rows so the veil doesn't really look too different. Unfortunately now Adam is sick. Poor guy, he went in to work today came home and went straight to bed, which is what I did Monday so I know how he feels. He seems to have been hit with it harder than I was though, as his stomach is bothering him so much that even taking medicine bothers him. He is seeing the doctor on Monday. I hope he feels better soon. It looks like this will be a very early night for us, as he is already out, and I'm a bit tired myself. I'm hoping to get at least one row done tonight, and hopefully will post another picture soon. I am adding a picture of my veil from when I had only knit for 2 days. What a huge difference!

Yaaaaa! I'm so excited!

2007-12-02T14:32:00.000-08:00

I finally got my veil to where I can put it on my circular needles! Now I don't have to be in constant fear of it sliding off my dpns! Really, I was terrified of that. I was convinced that if I breathed too hard while knitting it was just going to fly right off. Yes, I know that sounds crazy now. I did get a little upset (read: my heart stopped beating for a second) when I went back to count my stitches and found I was missing one. I haven't explained about my veil yet so it's being knit on size 4us/ 3.5mm needles with a lace/cobweb weight mohair and silk blend. So you can understand the fear of having to rip anything out. As it turned out I had just miscounted on that section, but did find where I had forgotten to psso on another part which is easy to fix. So yaaaaaa! It should be a little less nerve racking to knit now. So here is a picture of it.

Unfortunately my nose is acting up, and I think I'm getting a cold. So I don't know how much more I'm going to feel like knitting. But I did get some cold meds, so hopefully I'll feel better soon, and wont need to take off tomorrow, because I hate missing work. Oh, I'm an art teacher and I'm finally not teaching in the inner city so I am a lot less stressed out this year. I actually miss a lot of the kids that I taught last year, and wish I could have made more of a difference, but the stress was beginning to affect my heath so I had to look somewhere else to teach. Maybe if the administration would listen to the teachers (and studies for that matter) more the kids in the inner cities would get a better education. Instead they insist on stuffing 30 or more kids in a class when what they really need is smaller classes so they can get more of the attention that they need. OK that is the end of my little soap box. Maybe I'll take a nap.

A little about me

2007-12-01T08:40:00.000-08:00

OK, well I'm a procrastinator, and tend not to keep up on stuff I start, I've never updated my Myspace (except for adding a few pictures) since I created it so lets see how this goes. I've been thinking about blogging for awhile now so I hope I will update this at least occasionally, and figured if nothing else I can just put up pictures of my knitting for anyone else who is obsessed with it (knitting in general, not just mine) and is always looking for new interesting patterns. I guess I should tell you a little about me then.

So yes, I knit, and spin, and do yoga (even if I only have time for 10 minutes a day most of the time), love to cook (pretty much no time for that right now), I prefer my hand spindle for it's portability, that and my wheel needs fixed (bad buy on Ebay maybe I'll complain about that later), oh and my spindle was always allowed on the planes, thank god! because otherwise I would have gone nuts. I tend to need more than one thing to do and will switch between knitting, reading, and spinning if it's a long plane ride. I can spin in a small space, and can even do it in the car. Don't worry only as a passenger! I'm also getting married in about 6 months and have decided it's a wonderful idea to knit my own veil, sew my own dress, and make our wedding bands. Yes, I think I am insane and know I don't always have a grip on time reality. I do have a backup for the wedding bands. A friend of mine gave me the name of an artist that made her wedding bands, so I figured if I have a total meltdown (and yes I can totally see that), then I will ask him if he can do it.

So why have I decided to add all this extra stress, because you know, planning a wedding isn't stressful or anything. Because once I get an idea in my head I tend to not be happy with anything else. I know what I want my dress to look like and no one makes it, I know how to sew, so why not make it myself? I also like the idea of knitting my own veil so sure I can do that too, and since I've taken some jewelry classes before and would like to some day get my masters in it why not make the bands that much more personal and create them myself (that and I know what I want them to look like and again have not found the design I want anywhere). Yes, I can see it, I can visualize the meltdown happening and me walking down the aisle as I'm trying to finish knitting my veil while it's on my head and exchanging over worked sloppily made bands. I can totally can see this.

How do I see this coming and continue you may ask? Because it's similar to what I do every christmas. My family laughs about my insanity every year. I typically stay up all night finishing hand made presents and do not get any, or maybe 2-3 hours of sleep on christmas eve. Last year I didn't sleep at all, but managed to make and can pumpkin butter (yes I canned it on christmas eve), for my entire family as presents (pumpkin was requested by one member as I tend to give a jar of some kind of jam to each family group every year), and knitted 3 ear warmers for my little cousins, although the last one was finished after she got to my Dad's house, but before the presents were opened, so I slipped it into her bag and in my book that counts as done in time) I also knitted a first cousin, my Mom, and a friends girlfriend a scarf.

I tend to knit something for my 3 little cousins every year (I guess they are second cousins I'm not sure how that really works, they are my cousins kids), although this year in a brilliant flash of insight I told everyone that no one would get knitted gifts this year because I don't have the time. But I've been thinking maybe I could just do a little hat for just my 3 little cousins instead of the poncho's and cardigan I was planning, they are quick right!? Yes, I have no concept of time, but I am now finally beginning to realize this at least.

Wait, so if I keep making all these comments about not enough time (would I love a 30 hour day!) why am I blogging? I don't know. It could be because I just want to talk, or share pictures, or maybe, as I may have been told before, because I feel the need to do too much (thanks Mom). Oh yes, I grew up with a super overachieving mom. Yes, yes, I know a lot of you are thinking so did I. But when you went on vacation did your mom hand you an itinerary? By half hour increments? And free time was scheduled?! I vividly remember one vacation where my mom was so proud because we actually had ONE half hour increment of free time scheduled. Let me say this again, this was a week long vacation, which is 168 hours, or 336 half hours and in all that time she had scheduled and one of those half hours for free time. You can not believe how proud of it she was either, we could do whatever we wanted! Read! Lay by the pool! Swim! Take a nap! BTW just for a little more clarification this was a driving trip about halfway across the country from IL to Philly and back. We did get to do a lot, we made pretzels, went to Hersey's, saw an Amish town and farm, saw all the historic sights in Philly and I distinctly remember Chinatown (probably because the dead goat hanging in one of the shop windows completely freaked me, the vegetarian, out, that and at first glance I swore it was a dog). So it was a fun, educational, and did I mention an exhausting trip. Oh, and since I was 15 and was soon to get my license I had to log 50 hours with my mom (this was her rule not the states) before she would let me get my license. I thought I was going to kill us all when she insisted that I drive on a mountain, during construction and it was night time, because she insisted I needed more practice and experience. I do think her making me drive in all conditions did help to make me a better driver, and now that I'm older and out of the speeding like a banshee stage (or maybe I inherited it from my father) I'm glad she made me be a better driver. Another proof of my Mom's insane energy (I would be so rich if I could bottle it and sell it). My mom would call one of my Aunt's up on a Saturday around 10 am to see what she was up to and my Aunt would tell he that she had just gotten up and was drinking her coffee. My mom would then tell my Auntie M all the stuff she had already accomplished by that time, breakfast, laundry, cleaned the house, and possibly canned something from the garden, or had sewn my brother and myself a new outfit. I think my Aunt was annoyed by this list, just a little.

OK, so I am planning on posting how my veil is coming, I've decided to splice two doily patterns together so we will see how this works. Oh, I've never knitted a doily in my life and have only knitted some simple lace a few times before. If you want to see the patterns I'm using go to Yarnover's site and look at the Egeblad pattern, and for the second part I'm planning on doing the leaves from the Rose of England design from the Second Book of Modern Lace Knitting. I chose Egeblad because it reminds me of a lilac flower, my favorite flower, and it's what I plan on holding as I walk down the aisle and the Rose of England because I'm planning on putting vines on my wedding dress though I'm not sure yet if it will be embroidered or appliquéd on. So we will see if I can keep this up, at least post occasionally.