Almost a week...

So, its been almost a week since my son left for Navy basic training. I have made some progress on his room. 3 bags of trash have been removed. The HUGE mountain of laundry is now just a butte. We officially have towels again. The first day he was gone was pretty rough. I cried every time I thought about it. Since then I hadn't cried, until today. Today I attended a memorial service for a 14 year old girl. Friday we learned one of the girls in my youngest daughters small group at church had died. Jacque was not super close to this girl, but it is still someone she interacted with weekly. She had a brain aneurysm on Tuesday and her parents made the difficult decision to take her off life support on Wednesday. Needless to say this upset her a bit. Today was the funeral. The funeral home was standing room only. It was such a beautiful service. Unfortunately this was the 2nd times in less than six months that something like this has touched our family. The first time was someone closer to my kids and it rocked their world. It was the first time they had really lost someone that wasn't a grandparent. Needless to say this death opened old wounds for my kids. For me it was hard because in some ways I feel like I have lost one of my kids. He is gone, and I can't talk to him and here I am packing up his room. I know that this is temporary, and I would never truly compare what I am going through to losing a child. It is not the same. Still, this packing is becoming more and more difficult for me. Today, I packed up most of the sports memorabilia, his books and his dress shirts. I will probably stick his ties in the same box as his shirts. Except for the rest of his clothes, and his electronics and some misc. stuff in his closet, I am pretty much done. Unfortunately I also feel stuck. There are some things in his closet that he really doesn't use, that I sort of want to get rid of, but then I think they are his and he should really be making this decision. More and more I wish we had spent time before he left doing this. One thing I haven't packed, and I really don't want to are his sports participation trophies. He has a few that are actual trophies for achievement, like the one from volleyball where they won the tournament. That I want him to keep because it means something. The others though drive me crazy. I hate that we give kids trophies for being on a team. Trophies are for winners. I hate how our society tries to make equal participating and winning. They are not the same. I truly feel that we are doing children a diservice by not teaching them how to lose and not still be rewarded. Plus, what do you do with all these dang trophies later in life? Anyhow, once again I have rambled and gone off on a tangent. Sorry, hopefully soon my posts will be more coherent and include more knitting. As for the knitting, still working on the same socks. Still not feeling inspired. I did however tell my husband that I truly wanted to "downsize" my yarn and fabric. I am hoping to knit a bunch of hats and scarfs and blankets to donate to charity. I'm sure there will be some gifts in there too. I am also planning on making some scrap quilts with all the fabric I have. I'm thinking I may sell, or raffle them off to help fund mission trips for my family as they seem to have the "bug" thanks to Gwen. That way I am killing two birds with one stone. Also, I am helping Jacque finish her girl scout silver award. She is making some fabulous floor pillows for church. They are a psuedo water color, and super awesome. The only pictures I have right now are on my phone and honestly I am too lazy to download them to post right now. Maybe soon. The dryer just dinged so I guess I will fold that last load and go to bed. TTFN, M.

New Chapter-the day my son moved out

Today begins a new chapter in my life. One I have been preparing for 18 years for. One in which my son no longer lives with me. One that no matter how much you prepare for, you really aren't prepared for. Today, I said goodbye to him at MEPS(local military processing)so he could leave me for basic training in the Navy. Don't get me wrong I couldn't be more happier for, or proud of him. He made a well thought out choice for his life. One that I fully support. The kind of choice I have been teaching him all along he was capable of making. My house now seems lots quieter. There is no longer the sound of video games constantly running in the back ground. I have already begun to clean and pack his room. His youngest sister has claimed it as her own. He was a little put out by the concept of not having a room here, but as I explained to him, I wasn't keeping it as a shrine to him. Plus, his sisters are tired of sharing a room, and I don't blame them. Jacque wants the room empty and hers now. I tried to explain that this would not happen quickly. First the room had to be cleaned. It was a total disaster. Then I would need to thoughtfully pack it up. Some things he would want after basic, others not so much, others still he wouldn't want for a long time. She understood this, but still wants the room now. She told me she could wait a few days but wanted to be settled before she left on vacation next Wednesday. I told her not to count on it. Today she decided not to help me clean and pack, I guess this is my punishment for not giving in to her. The saddest, craziest part is I get to do much of this again next month when his sister leaves for college. Of course she will be back more often, so her room won't need to be packed up like his. Also, hers is clean, so I won't have to do that. But, she will also be leaving, and once again the house will be a little quieter, our evenings a little less busy and I will be cooking more food than we can eat. I honestly don't know how to cook for 4 people. We have been 6 teens/adults for so long I can't figure this one out, and believe me I have been trying. I remember when I was done with nursing school, or even on my summer breaks that I joked that I didn't know what I did with my time before I went to school. I think I'm heading into something similar now. Don't get me wrong, Rece and Jacque keep me plenty busy. But, with two less to worry about on a daily business, it will seem slightly uneventful. Two years ago, Craig and I joked we had a 6 year plan. We just had to get them all out of the house. Now we are four years away from it and two are gone/leaving and it's a bit overwhelming. I know that so much good will come from this, both for them and me, but still... . This Sunday at church a friend told me that even though we are married to one person, we have several marriages through our life. The marriage when we are first married, the marriage when we have young kids, the marriage when we our kids are a little older and we feel we can have a little of our life back, the marriage when we have teens, the marriage when our kids leave home, etc. I liked how he expressed this and have thought about it a lot lately. I guess in a strange way, I'm mourning the loss of the marriage I had, and beginning to embrace the one that is just starting. The one in which I have two adult kids that live mostly out of my house and where I have two kids that still live at home. I can't see what other transitions I get to go through. I hope this all makes sense, and finds whoever reads it well. I know my thoughts sort of rambled, but that is where I am today. Also I know it wasn't about knitting. Today was an other stuff sort of day. BTW, I am slowly working on a pair of socks made with some BRS yarn from Ray that I bought a long time ago. My tendonitis has been acting up a lot lately which makes knitting uncomfortable at times. Typing too, but strangely no pain yet. Almost makes me want to pick up the knitting. LOL! Ok so that is all I've got today. -M

Torani syrup review

SheSpeaks and Torani Once again the wonderful people have given me something to review at Christmas time. This year it was two full size (750mL) bottles of Torani syrup. The flavors I received were Gingerbread, and Hazelnut. Both bottles were sugar free. I have always loved Torani syrups. In the past I have used them in Italian sodas, and as a coffee flavor. In addition to the bottles I received several coupons for a dollar off my next Torani purchase, and a recipe idea pamplet. First off, I was a little unsure of what I would think. I have never tried the sugar free. Secondly, I am not a big fan of hazelnut. I'm not going to lie, I was really hoping to get a bottle of bacon. Oh well, guess I will use a dollar off coupon for that one. Anyhow, back to the syrup...because I spend what seems like most all of my time at work anymore, I brought the bottles to work to share. What a treat! Everyone loved having something to add to the coffee. The first day we all tried the hazelnut. I was surprised that I really liked it. There is an ongoing joke in our office that I am a coffee snob because I won't drink the maxwell house brand we have. I actually liked the coffee. Most everyone else in the office did too. I did have one coworker say that it tasted a bit like fake frangelico and that she felt like she was missing out on something. The second day we all tried the gingerbread. At first I was pleasantly surprised. I liked the spicy scent. And the flavor in the coffee was interesting. I will say that the colder my coffee got though, the less I liked it. The more I drank, the more I felt as if there was an aspartame aftertaste that I did not like. This flavor was not as well received by the rest of the office. They also felt like there was more of an aftertaste. I did take both home and tried in my coffee house coffee and had the same results. I had hoped to bake with the syrup before the deadline, but that did not happen. If I get around to it, I will let you all know how it turns out. The coupons were given to the people at work, and some of my patients. Can't wait to buy my bottle of bacon syrup! TTFN, Miki

Christmas project revealed-(Spoiler alert)

Yes, I know I said Christmas and spoiler alert. Remember I didn't have money to ship by gifts to the west coast. Two house payments and one income is no fun! I finally had enough money to send the Christmas presents. They were VERY late, which makes me ill. Fortunately though, my friends and family understand. My mom and best friend have already opened theirs, and I don't know if anyone else reads my blog, so I feel ok about posting pictures and such.

If you do read my blog, and you received (or are waiting to get it from my mom) a gift and have not opened it yet...SPOILER ALERT...stop reading now.

Okay that being said, drum roll please...

For the main gift this year, I made these FABULOUS "green" blue jean grocery bags. They are made with recycled/repurposed jeans from my family, and from anyone who would share with me. I had been collected jeans for awhile for another project, but when I saw this pattern I decided this made better use of them. I will say, it takes a lot of denim. I had 1 1/2 large rubbermaid tubs full. Some of them were shorts, so that does factor in. That being said, I made 16 bags. Yep 16! This is quite an accomplishment for me as I usually do something once, and then never again. It's like the thrill of seeing how it will turn out is gone and after that it becomes tedious. However, I was ready to part with all this denim and I LOVE these bags. The pattern is from Islander Sewing Systems Re-construction Zone. It is called the Double Green Shopping Bag. I did not do the exact pattern they gave. Actually there are 3 different bags. I sort of did a meld of them all. But, I will give credit where credit is due. As I think I have said in previous posts, I LOVED everyone of them, and did not want to give any of them away. I did however, and now need to make some for myself. Several people have suggested that I sell them. Because of copyright laws, I will not be doing that. My daughters have ask me to make some more like purses. I may do that, I'm still trying to figure out a pattern that will work. I may take the concept and tweak it more, not sure yet.

Another funny, not so funny thing is I actually ran out of denim. Then it was a mad dash to find more. I looked at the fabric store, but I really prefer the worn look, and the blend of different colors. I made my kids go through their drawers again, that yielded a few pairs. Finally I went to Goodwill. I wanted ones that had been donated, that they couldnt sell because of rips or stains. I can use those and just cut out the bad parts. They told me they sent all that stuff to a recycler. Darn!! I ended up buying shorts, out of the bin for 49 cents each. I bought the biggest sizes I could find. I had HUGE pairs of shorts. One pair though wasn't huge, but so 80's I had to buy it. They were white with a pink and blue floral pattern on them. LOVE! I have also recent'y bought several more pair of crazy blue and black capris to make bags. Can't wait to see how they turn out. I also bought some very large jumper dresses.

To make these, my dining room felt like a sweat shop. I had 2 sewing machines set up. Each with different color threads. Mine had the blue denim thread, and Gwen's had the gold top stitching thread. I tried a bag without top stitching trying to save a step. It looks so much better with it. I also had my cutting mat out and denim EVERYWHERE. About half way through completion I needed to change the thread in Gwen's machine. With the new thread, the tension was WAY off and I could never get it to sew right. My mom suggested it was a timing issue, either way it will need to be repaired. Bummer! So the last several bags, I had to keep switching the thread in my machine. This makes for a much slower process. If you make these and have access to 2 machines, use them.

Now for the photos. I took pictures of each side. I will group them together so you can get and idea of what each bag looked like. I like some more than others, but don't have a favorite. Just when I think I do, I see another one and rethink it.

































































Okay...I have messed with the photos for too long now. For me in preview they don't show together. I have tried several different things and they never move in preview. UGH! Sorry. Tomorrow, I will try to post the knit projects I worked on. TTFN

Ugh!

Okay let me start by apoligizing for not writing the last few weeks. It has been rough! I will say that since moving away from all my family and friends, November through the first of the year has been hard. I miss sharing my birthday and the holidays with my family. This year has been one of the hardest. Being in a new city, with few friends, and no money has been emotionally draining. It doesn't help that I haven't found a job, and the weeks before Christmas my friends who had just graduated were all getting jobs, and I was getting rejection letters. Then I busted my ass to get all of my Christmas presents finished only to find out that I had no money to ship them. Are you kidding me? I am not writing this for sympathy, just to vent. There have been lots of tears. Oh, and did I mention I had yet to buy anything for my kids. Merry Christmas!Needless to say, gifts to our kids were creative. There were a few I.O.U.S.(for their big gifts, and some custom knitting of their choice), and some scavenging. We gave Jacque a ring that I received when I was 13. She loved it. The other kids gifts were similar. BTW, the custom knitting was also a big hit. Gwen first thought that she wanted some socks, but she now thinks she wants an infinity scarf. The funny thing is, I was going to make her one, and the big project I was working on took too much time. Unfortunately I still haven't sent the packages. Boo! I had hoped to get them in the mail today, I may have to wait till payday on Friday. Middle of last week our best friends from Richmond came to visit. We had so much fun. I was able to give them their gifts and they loved them! Yea!!! I knew they would. I can't wait to share them with you.Yesterday was the Rose Bowl. The game was so exciting! No, that is an understatement. There were records broken and long runs, and lots of scoring, and the coach jumping up and down for joy on the sidelines. I wish there had been some better defense, but wow it was fun. The Ducks won, and for a little while I thought it was the start to a great year. Then today I went to the DMV. Before I left I checked the website just to make sure I had what I needed. We still need to license the cars. I hate to say this, but Craig's tags expired in August, and we still haven't done it. So, I got my paperwork together, made copies of his drivers license, and went to the bank (they don't take debit or out of state checks). Fortunately my wait wasn't long. The person who helped me after a few minutes of filling out paperwork told me that we couldn't complete it as I needed to have the title application notarized and that would require my husbands signature. What? Are you kidding me? So, after this, I decided to head to the police station to have my finger printing done for my RN background check so I could complete my licensing application. The form I received from the nursing board told me to go to the local courthouse or police station. When I got there, the lovely lady ( and I am not being sarcastic, she was lovely) told me they no longer did them "locally" and that they only did them in downtown Raleigh. Yea me...what a wasted day! So, tomorrow I am hoping to drive into Raleigh and get my finger printing done. Maybe tomorrow will be better. That is all I have for now.

Whats on your needles

I can't tell you. ;-) Christmas is too close. Right now my main project is not on needles. I still have some gifts that need to be knit though. Right now, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. This is TOTALLY my fault. I have no excuses, I should have started sooner. I have had plenty of time. It will all get done, but I don't like the idea that until it is, every spare second is spent working on it. I will say that what I am working on is turning out pretty fabulous. I know some of the recipients will like them, others hard to say, but I don't really care. On an other stuff note...I had my eyes checked last week, and my new doctor disagreed with my previous doctor and said that I am able to have lasik surgery, or wear contacts. He gave me some contacts to try. I really want them to work, but I really don't know if they will. The first pair we tried didn't work at all. My vision was SUPER blurry. The second pair was better. I know that with my astigmatism, with contacts my vision will never be as crisp as with glasses. Now I need to decide if it is crisp enough. So far this is what I have learned, my eyes and contacts don't like florescent lights. For whatever reason, my eyes start freaking out in stores. My vision goes blurry and I can't focus on anything. It is totally crazy. Not sure if this will get better or not. Second thing, it is so much easier to drive at night with them in. I had anti glare on my glasses, but there is still a little glare, not with contacts. I like the freedom of putting on my favorite sunglasses. I sometimes feel like I am squinting when the contacts are in, not cool. My eyes have a hard time transitioning for far away to up close work. Sometimes I feel the contacts in my eyes, other times I don't. Sometimes it feels like my eyes are welling up with tears. I have no idea what the first contacts were (think they were Acuvue Oasys), but the second ones are Air Optix. My sister, who has never to my knowledge worn contacts, told me that I need to give them at least a week for my eyes to get used to them. She says your eyes change shape slightly to conform to the contacts. I have no idea. All I know is that I was able to wear them for about half a day yesterday and then could not get them to focus, so I took them out and put my glasses on. Today, I am wearing my glasses again, so that I can try and finish up my projects. Maybe tomorrow I will put on the contacts. The last thing I am going to blog about, I have wrestled with for a few days. I am frustrated and sad. I feel like I have no right to be, because the cause has nothing to do with me. However, I am a caring person, and I can't seem to block that. I am also feeling a bit selfish, and that makes me feel guilty. Sunday night my daughter and her boyfriend broke up. They had only been going out for a little over a month, but had been spending all of their free time together for almost 2. I got to know him and his family very well. They were kind enough to include us in their Thanksgiving and even Christmas Eve plans. For once since we moved here, I felt like I had made friends, and beginning to have a social life again. Now all of that has changed. He told her he loved her, she said she didn't feel the same and wasn't sure she ever would and she broke up with him. He is DEVASTATED. She doesn't seem to care. She says she needs space to figure out her feelings. He says he is lost without her. I feel like all I do is cry. I cry for his broken heart. I cry because I have lost friends. I cry because I feel guilty for feeling so emotional about this because all I want is for my daughter to be happy. She says she isn't sure she was happy with him. I am proud of her for having the strength to do what she thinks is right, but this sucks! I feel like I am not being the supportive mom I need to be. I know they had only been going out a short time, and that they are both young, but it still sucks! The last few days my relationship with her has felt broken. She knows I feel like she made a mistake, I have told her as much. I told her that love and relationships are not like what you see or read about in a Nicholas Sparks book/movie. Love isn't at first sight. It grows and changes as you get to know someone. She thinks her feelings will never catch up to his, and it is better to break up now than later when his feelings are even stronger. I feel like she hasn't given her feelings a chance. Maybe I am just forcing on her what I think is good for her, and honestly I know she knows best, but this sucks! So now my Christmas Eve plans have fallen apart, I have a gift to return as he doesn't want it because it will remind him to much of her, and I have lost the only friends I have made since I moved here. I really need a job to get me out of this house!

Needle Update and YUMMY recipe

After posting and looking through the house again, I finally found the missing needles. Since we moved, I have been trying to be a bit more organized. I usually know where things are, but not always. Part of this organization was to but all my straight needles in a box, all my dpn's in a box and all my circulars in a box. The boxes I am using are like the ones you see in all the craft stores. The best part is I get them for free. The grinding discs my husbands company uses come in them. They were just tossing them, so employees started taking them home. Yeah me! I wish I had more, but there are other people that one them too, so I take what I can get. I love how they have handles and latches and stack so nice and are clear so I can see what is in them. Sorry off on a tangent... So far it has worked pretty well. At one point I had them all in the same box, but was growing tired of digging through the kids of needles I didn't need for each project. This way is working better. The issue with the missing needles was, I never put them in the box, or my knitting bag, which right now has a stash of needles for the projects I am currently working on, or just finished. I bought these needles so my daughter could knit her boyfriend a beanie. I left them out for her. She then moved them, and the box they would go in into the office and then stacked a few books on top of them. I knew something was amiss when I couldn't find the box of dpn's. As soon as I found them I started on a beanie. The pattern I am using is called, "Cool Hats". It is from Better Homes and Garden Knit It, 2004, designed by Nancy Thomas. It is quick and easy. I knit it in a dark green with a pale yellow stripe in some Caron Simply Soft that I had left in my stash. Yesterday I worked in all the ends and started on one in the same green with a white stripe. I just need to work the decreases and work in the ends. Woo hoo two more hats done! I will try to have my son model one or both of them later. As promised I have a picture of Gwen in the slouchie beanie. Love it!

I am thinking I will knit this again. I may not make it quite as long, but we will see. Also, as a bonus to today's post, I am sharing a recipe. Yesterday my cousin Lisa Rangel, who shares my love for bacon posted a photo on facebook of some chocolate bacon cupcakes she had made. I immediately ask for the recipe, which she had frankensteined together for a few different recipes. Therefore, I am calling it her original creation. Here is the recipe...enjoy!

CHOCOLATE BACON CUPCAKES Ingredients ½ C Cocoa Powder 1 C Boiling hot water 1 1/3 C flour 2 tsp baking powder ? salt (the recipe she sent me said to add salt but not how much, we just added a dash. I have ask her to send me the amount. I will edit the recipe if she does.) ½ C butter, room temperature 1 C white sugar 2 eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract ½ C chopped fried bacon Directions Preheat oven to 375. Line muffin cups In a small bowl, stir hot water and cocoa powder until smooth. Let cool to room temperature. In another bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Using an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat until smooth. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in vanilla. Mix in the chocolate mixture. Add the flour mixture and bacon and beat only till incorporated. Don’t over mix! Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 min or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove and cool on a wire rack. CHOCOLATE CARAMEL FROSTING Ingredients 4 Tbsp butter ½ C packed brown sugar 2 Tbsp milk 1 ½ C powdered sugar 1 Tbsp cocoa powder 1 tsp vanilla extract Chopped bacon for garnish Directions In a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved, then add milk. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Sift together cocoa and powdered sugar. Blend into butter mixture and add vanilla. If too thick, add more milk. Spread onto cooled cakes. Act fast as the frosting sets up quickly. Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top BEFORE the frosting cools… otherwise it rolls off!

What's on Your Needles Wednesday #9

After posting last week I was surprised I got the WOYNW number right. I totally guessed. So, I am still working on my socks (grape twist), knitting a pair of a man in my life tbd later(could be Craig, could be Dad, suppose it could even be Cory). Yesterday finished up a cute slouchy beanie in an ivory Caron Simply Soft for my niece, Kassie. She doesn't read my blog, so I am safe talking about it. The pattern is from day nine of Caron's 12 days of Christmas. Each day for 12 days they sent a new pattern for gifting. I usually only like about half of them. Lots of hats and scarfs. I know everyone isn't like me, so I really don't give a lot of hats and scarves. I on the other hand love them, and could probably wear a different one every day. My husband and kids could too. Kassie loves fashion, and loves slouchy beanies. I knit her a cute cabled one for her birthday in hot pink simply soft. My sister suggested this one be more neutral so she could wear it with more. I LOVE how it turned out. My only dislike was the pattern was written to be knit flat and seamed. I believe things that are round like socks and hats, should be knit in the round. No problem right, just knit it in the round. Well, maybe I have mentioned before when it comes to knitting I don't like to think. If a pattern needs to be manipulated much, forget about. I know it is probably simple and I wouldn't have to think much, but I think it should have originally been written different. I liked the hat, as did my girls. I will probably knit it again, this time in the round and will have to think. UGH! So having finished the hat, I was prepared to start on a hat for one of my nephews, I grabbed some yarn and went to my bag for the size 8 circular and dpns I bought a week or so ago. They weren't there. Neither were the denim sewing machine needles I bought. I have now torn my house apart looking for them, and have even gone through the trash. YUCK! They are no where to be found. I am sick to my stomache. Money is TIGHT for us this year. Two house payments for 4 months and me not working are killing our bank balance. I can't afford to go buy these needles again, but as I need them to make my Christmas presents and save some money, I have no choice. DRAT, DRAT, DOUBLE DRAT!!! The next thing I need to work on(other than the hats with the missing needles) requires the denim needles, or wool yarn that is in the garage. It is COLD here. Clear and cold. Okay, so maybe 46 isn't cold, but when you have been in the 60-70's it is. I don't want to go out there and find it. Yes, this is me whinning. I know it isn't attractive, but I really don't care right now. I will try to add a picture of the slouchy hat when my daughter gets home. TTFN, Miki

What's on Your Needles Wednesday #8?

I have no idea what number WOYNW this is. I am still working on gifts so I really can't share. I have made a little progress on my socks, but not enough to need to take a picture. Everything else is top secret! Wish I could share, but I want it all to be a surprise. Monday was my 40th birthday. I was blessed with facebook notes, calls and cards from friends and family. It was a nice day. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I am thankful for the health of my family, that my husband has a job, that our house in Richmond has finally rented, and so many other things. We will be spending the day with Gwen's boyfriends family. We haven't had Thanksgiving with anyone else since we moved 7 years ago, so this should be interesting. We were told we didn't need to bring anything, but Jacque was having none of that. She insisted on making cranberry sauce and pink salad. She really wanted to make pumpkin rolls, but I was able to talk her out of it. We will make them for Christmas, or maybe just later this week. I did however, make 2 loaves of Snickerdoodle bread. Thanks Daysha and Val! It smelled wonderful cooking, and hopefully tastes good too. If you want the pumpkin dinner roll recipe, clink on the link. For the snickerdoodle bread one...here you go. ‎2 1/2 cups FLOUR 2 teaspoons BAKING POWDER 1/2 teaspoon SALT 2 teaspoons CINNAMON 1 cup BUTTER, softened 2 cups SUGAR 3 EGGS 2 teaspoons VANILLA 1 cup SOUR CREAM 1 (10 oz.) pkg. CINNAMON CHIPS 1 Tablespoons FLOUR 2 Tablespoons TURBINADO SUGAR (aka Sugar In the Raw) 2 teaspoons CINNAMON Preheat oven to 350°. Grease loaf pans (I used 2 full-size, but you can also do this as 4 or 5 mini loaves.) Combine flour and baking powder in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat together butter, 2 cups of sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add eggs, beat well. Add vanilla and sour cream; mix well to combine. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Coat the cinnamon chips with the 1 Tablespoons of flour and stir into the batter. Divide the batter between the greased pans. In a small bowl, combine the turbinado sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture over each loaf. Bake 35-40 minutes for mini loaves and 60-70 minutes for full-size loaves, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes before removing from the pan. TTFN, Miki

Super late What's on your needles, and some other stuff

I know once again my weekly knitting post is late. But it is late because I have been busy knitting. I am still working on those grape twist socks for me. It is really slow going. Not sure why. Maybe its the pattern, which isn't too complex. Maybe it's the needles, size 1 bamboo. I guess it could be the yarn. That being the case, I have moved onto other projects so I can finish up Christmas gifts. That being said, I cant really share what I am working on because I don't know who in my family is going to read this. I will say that some of what I have knit is fun and silly, and make not even be given as gifts. Some are firsts for me. I will share more about this later. Others are basic and I know will be loved. The best part is that I am stash busting. The worst part, a recurring theme, not having the right size needles. Seriously!!! I actually bought 3 new pairs of needles this week. UGH!!! I have looked at my needle chart and I am pretty close to owning every size, except the longer cable needles. If you are friends or family that still need to get me a birthday or Christmas gift, you can't go wrong with knitting needles. I would also love yarn from, or a gift certificate to knitivity I'm not picky about color. I seem to like everything he dyes. This is one of the reasons my stash is so large. Onto the other stuff. I had planned on writing a few different things, and now I have no idea what they were. Ooops. Monday I turn 40. I am feeling ok about this. Ask me on Monday or even Tuesday and my answer might be different. I am pretty much happy with my life. I love my husband and kids and feel I am where I am supposed to be. Couldnt ask for much more except maybe a job and I know that will come. Tomorrow we head to Richmond for some business stuff and a party for me. I am so excited to see my friends! I really need to get out more here. The last few days I haven't felt so good. Can't really put my finger on it aside from really bad reflux. Keep you up all night bad. Nothing is different, just reflux and stomache pain that medication isn't helping. This has left me tired and not wanting to do anything. I have worked out once this week. I did yoga. It felt great and I had every intention of doing it again, but I haven't. The day isn't over yet. On a good note, despite my not forcing myself to work out, I am still loosing weight. Still slowly. I guess that is just how I do it. Works for me, but I like to see results super quick! I will say I have lost 16lbs since August. I am wearing pants 2 sizes smaller and other than this stomache thing, feel better. My goal is to lost at least another 14-25. I think that is a good weight for me. I was happy at that weight and liked how my clothes fit. We will see how that works out. I will say though, that I don't have many pants that fit me now, and some of what I do have, hopefully won't fit for much longer. This sucks, because I don't want to buy in between clothes. I imagine I will be hitting some thrift stores soon. Well, I guess that is all I have to write for now. I do want to add that last week when writing my blog, my husband ask if anyone read it, or if it was just a sort of therapy for me. I have looked at my stats and see I am getting page views. They are mainly for Jacques adobe diorama. If you read this, could you please leave a comment. I would love to know who is reading, and if you have any suggestions to make it better, or add more readers. TTFN, Miki

What's on your needles Wednesday #7

I have had a lot on my mind lately and have really wanted to blog, but none of it pertains to knitting, and while I do usually add other stuff it involves my kids and some personal trials we are working through as a family and I didn't feel comfortable sharing with everyone. Please pray for us that we find the wisdom to help them make the right choices.

As for the knitting, I have been working on a few things. First, I knit this awesome hat. The pattern is called simply, Men's ski hat. It is designed by Irina Dmitrieva. I prefer to call it Crazy Celtic Cables. I knit it for my hubby. I used some Caron Simply Soft in grey that I had in my stash. I LOVE how it turned out. Once I am pretty much done stash busting, I will probably knit one for myself in a winter white. I found some alpaca silk that I think would be perfect. I found this pattern on Ravelry and bought it there too. The pattern is not to tricky. I finished in about 2 days, and that was time I devoted to concentrated knitting. I saved the veg out stuff for wash cloths.



I am now once again stash busting. I am knitting a pair of socks for me. I am using some yummy Crystal Palace Panda Silk that my bff bought for me. The color is #4006, which is a pretty variegated purple. This pattern was also found on Ravelry. It is by Rachel M. Blaine and is called Redvine/Blackjack. I am knitting the redvine version. This pattern is pretty easy. It however has been challenging for me as it uses a picot edge cast on that I had not previously done. Also it is knit on size one needles. I normally knit my socks on a size 2. For whatever reason it just feels like I am knitting with toothpicks. Of course it doesn't help that the needles are bamboo also. I am making pretty good progress, but it is slower going than normal. For example it took me about 45 minutes to cast on. Ugh! The edge is pretty though. I can't wait till these are finished and I can wear them.


I have also been working on another beard hat. This time for Craig. I increased the edges a bit as I didn't like the fit of the first one. Also, he wanted it furry, so I added a strand of fun fur. Let me just say that this easy pattern is made harder when you can't see the stitches because of the not so fun fur. This is why, this is not done yet. I am also trying to figure out a way (possibly tiny buttons- thanks Sarah) to make it detachable. He wants it on his new ski hat, but I like the idea of being able to remove it. TTFN!

What's on your needles Wednesday #6

Here it is Wednesday again. I started another dish/wash cloth yesterday. It is actually called a spa cloth. I like the sound of that SO much better. It has a diamond pattern with eyelets in it. The odd thing is, I am on row two, I think I have made yet another mistake, and will need to rip it out again. I think this is the 3rd or 4th time I have frogged it. I am beginning to think I am not going to knit this.

Yesterday I went through all my knitting magazines. I looked at all the patterns and had to decide if they were ones I would ever knit or not. I think I got rid of about 1/4 of the magazines. I few of them, there were one or two patterns I might knit, so I just tore those out. No sense keeping the whole magazine right?

I spent most of last week, or at least it seems I did, on a simple crocheted beanie and beard for Cory. The first hat I made was so small. I used the right yarn, and the right hook. I don't know what the problem was, maybe I just hold my tension way to tight. I decided to go up 2 hook sizes. This hat is much better, but I wish it was a couple of rows longer. Plus, I guess I am just used to knit fabric. I don't care for the openness of the crochet. I can see where there are times it would be nice, but knitting makes a much more solid fabric. I still need to attach the beard, so once again no pictures. I really need to get caught up on pictures!

Gwen has decided she wants leg warmers. Lord knows this is not something I will buy, when I know I can make them. I looked up some patterns on Ravelry, and ask her last night what kind she wanted. Her answer was, "there is more than one kind?" Really, yes of course there is. She didn't look over the pictures, so I guess that is a project that we will be putting off.

I also pulled out a few mitten patterns yesterday. I think this is something I would like to try. Might be kind of fun. I just hope I don't get second mitten syndrome.

Another funny/odd thing I noticed yesterday when going through the magazines, I don't have the right yarn for the projects I want to do. Remember last week when I said I never seemed to have the right needles from my projects even though I have TONS of needles. Well, I also have TONS of yarn. Most of what I have is worsted. It is either wool, or acrylic. I also have a large box of sock yarn. Then I have miscellaneous yarns. I probably have 4-5 Rubbermaid tubs of yarn. However, yesterday it sure seemed like everything I looked at needed bulky yarns. Hats, mittens, sweaters, scarves, everything. Here I am trying to purge yarn, and would need to buy new yarn to knit what I want to. I do know that I could hold two strands together, but that gives a bit of a different look and requires me to think more(remember there are 2 strands for each stitch). I will probably just keep trying to figure out what to knit with what I have got. TTFN

What's on your needles Wednesday #5, late again

Yes, I know it is Friday not Wednesday. I finished the hat scarf. It is like a really long elf hat. My sister says snowboarders were them. I have no idea. I do know that it isn't easy to put on, and I am pretty sure the pattern had a BIG mistake in it. I made it work though. The two younger girls are fighting over it. I know I should make another, but you know me and my crafters ADD, I really don't want to. I tried to start one immediately with the boucle. But, I stopped as I remembered why I hadn't used it yet. I really don't like knitting with it. The other problem was that I was supposed to start it on size 9 circular needles 16". For some reason despite all the needles I do have, I NEVER seem to have the right ones for a new project. The first hat I started on size 9 dpn's. What a pain. I then went to the craft store to buy new ones. Of course they were out of them. Unbelievable! Because with the boucle you can't really see the stitches, I decided to make the pattern super simple, and leave out the decorative rib pattern. After about 5 rounds, I decided that I might just knit it on the machine and run a seam up the side. I have knit this yarn on the machine, and while it wasn't super fun, it would go a lot faster than by hand. The seam would take away from it a little, but because of the texture of the yarn, I don't think you would really notice it. Plus, I don't think the girls would mind.

Then I knit a simple hat/cap. I used yarn from my stash, Bernat camouflage in pink and grey. I was hoping to get the camo feel from it. I didn't really. It knit up in chuncks of the color, that pretty much stayed all on the same side. Basically if you wear the hat one way you see only grey and then if you turn around you see pink. Gwen thinks it looks tie dyed. No one has claimed it yet. Maybe I will donate it to charity. I have been planning on knitting up my stash of worsteds for charity anyway. Acutally I was hoping one of the girls would take the HUGE hints I have dropped and knit them up for one of the silver/gold awards. Maybe I need to drop a few more hints.

Then I knit another starfish wash cloth. I REALLY like this pattern. It is simple and quick. Plus it turns out pretty. I chose a Lily, Sugar and Cream in Mod Ombre. It is blue and greens with yellow. It reminds me of colors used in a beach house. Once again I am a sucker for blues and greens. Yesterday while I was knitting this I was thinking about what my favorite color was. If someone were to ask me my answer would be red. But if someone where to see the yarns I choose, or even the fabrics for my quilts(aside from the red and black one that spoke to me), they would think it was green or blue. There is just something about those colors and shades that I love. Maybe I am just kidding my self and those are my favorite colors, not red. Come to think of it I have more greens and blues in my closet than red too.

Right now I have nothing on my needles. I am hoping to attempt a crochet project. I learned to crochet when I was about 12. I made a granny square blanket and that was about it. I am going to attempt a hat with a beard attachment. You have to see a picture to truly understand it. Cory said he would like it, so I am going to try. Wish me luck. TTFN

Treadmills and other stuff

Today I jumped back on the treadmill after a week off. I was lacking motivation. Not sure why. I mean I am losing weight...slowly, but still losing. I feel better, and for the most part am sleeping better. I did lift nearly everyday this last week, and I also did some yoga. So at least I wasn't sitting around doing nothing. I will say that after a few days off, I was scared to go back. I was worried that I would tire quickly, and we super sore. I am happy to say that neither happened. It felt great and so do I. I may pay for it later but that is ok.

On a super happy note, Craig received a check for part of the settlement from his job at Qimonda. It took almost 3 years, and is not even close to what he is owed, but it is a start. As of right now, 2 more checks are expected. I have no idea how much they will be for.

Also, our house is finally leased!!!! Hooray! It leased for less than we wanted, and repairs are being done, so I am pretty sure when all the bills are done we will get no money to our November payment, but I am SO glad it is finally leased.

What's on you needles Wednesday #4

Today I will finally post pictures of some of the projects I have finished up lately. As I said before it has mainly been wash/dish cloths. I am using up the cotton yarn that I have been able to find. This last weekend we pulled the Halloween stuff out of the garage and I located my other yarn. Happy Day!!!! Now I can knit hats and sweaters and socks and whatever else I want to knit. First up will be a hat scarf that I saw on Caron's site. I will NOT be using the 1lb yarn that it calls for. YUCK! I truly dislike how this feels. I will make the first one our of some Caron simply soft in a bright aqua color. Jacque really wants hers to be multi colored. In my stash I found a purple gradient boucle that I had purchased years ago. I am afraid that it will be too light weight for this hat, but I will probably try. Why not...I have all kinds of time on my hands and I already own the yarn. Hopefully next week I will have pictures of this new project to show you.
For now here are the pictures I have been promising.

Starfish


Pile of projects



Lacey cloth



Chinese waves ( I used Peaches and Cream scents to knit this. It smells like lavender. I didn't know it was scented when I bought it. Jacque chose it because it was purple! Interesting to knit with, but not sure why you would want scented yarn. Wouldn't the scent wash out?)



Bee's Stitch



Lace again



Tawashi's




Fabriknit hat

Belated What's On Your Needles

Sorry, I just have not been in the mood to blog lately. I have been knitting. Lots of wash/dish cloths. I did not realize how much cotton yarn I had. And by cotton, for the most part I mean peaches and cream random balls. I will post pictures at another time. I have found a pattern I really like in that it is super simple and goes pretty fast. The pattern is called Bee's Stitch. Not sure why it is called that, but it essentially is a K,K1 in the stitch below, repeat, that is staggered with knit rows in between. I don't really have to think about anything while I am knitting and while I have made a mistake or two forgetting to stagger, the average person can't tell. LOVE that! I have also used up the ends of one ball on a scrubby or as the pattern calls it a "tawashi". It was simple and quick. I had to think a bit more on this one, but that is ok. In the end it was a little smaller than I had hoped, so I will probably need to increase the number of stitches, but all in all pretty good. Of course if I increase the stitches, it won't use up the end of a ball. Guess I should try it out before I go tinkering with the pattern.

I have a hat/scarf pattern that I really want to knit as I am really getting tired of wash cloths, but I don't know where my yarn stash is yet, so until I decided to finish unpacking the garage it will have to wait. TTFN

Kiss Dry Goodbye part 2

I am a blogging fool today. The workout is done, and I have now showered using the Biolage products from shespeaks. The shampoo is GREAT! It has a pleasant citrusy floral scent. It lathers really well. After using it my hair felt pretty dry, but of course I still needed to condition. I used the hair masque next. It also has a great scent. I don't know how I feel about the jar. It is a cream, so it comes in a jar, not a bottle. I have never used anything like this, so I was a little unsure how much to use. I took out what looked like about the same amount of conditioner that I normally use. I left it in at least 3 mins. The jar says 3-5, but I didn't bring a timer in with me. After rinsing my hair felt good. I toweled dried it and combed it out. Not tangles. I then used my blow dryer. Even after blow drying, it still feels soft. The masque says to use a few times a week. I will probably only use it once a week. I may also share these with my oldest daughter. Other than coloring and the occasional blow dry, I don't do a lot to damage my hair and dry it out. I realize just being dries it out. She on the other hand colors, blow drys, flat irons, curls etc. You know typical teen stuff. This may be just what her hair needs. I would recommend both of these products to people. These are items that can only be sold in a salon. I will keep you updated. TTFN

Kiss Dry Goodbye

Thanks to shespeaks, I went to a local salon, Hair Inc. and got a great new cut and color. I was also given a full size Biolage hydratherapie shampoo, and a Biolage Aqua Immersion Creme Masque to try at home.

At first I wasn't too sure about the salon. It is located inside Crabtree Valley Mall, by the food court no less. I however soon became impressed with my stylist Evelyn. She is very experienced in color mixing and worked for Aveda for a time. The prices with my cool shespeaks salon discount weren't bad, and I love my new cut and color. Take a look for yourself.

Before

and
After

I will probably go back to the salon, because they are not just another mall salon. But, I do still miss Brandon at Ciao Bella.

I plan on using the shampoo and conditioner later today after my work out and will let you know what I think.

BTW, if you haven't checked out shespeaks yet, please do. They are very cool. They ask women their oppinion on various products and services. I have gotten all kinds of free stuff, and lets face it, every little bit counts right. TTFN

Scarf pictures

Okay so it took two days. The blocking was a little more time consuming than I would have liked. Then I had to wait for good light. The pictures do NOT do the color justice at all. When it was damp for blocking you could totally see the lavender in it. I love this scarf. It is light and airy and soft. I LOVE alpaca silk blends! I just wish I could afford to knit with them all the time.
Here is the before.

And the after.