The Swing - then and now

In case you're still following my blog, I have an update on life! I started back to college and plan to get my bachelor's degree in mathematics.

My first class is a Critical Thinking and Writing Class. I didn't really think I was a good writer at all, but turns out my instructor thinks I write pretty well. How exciting!

Our assignment this week was to write an ekphrasis poem on a piece of art. I chose to do it about the paint "The Swing" by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, which was done by him in 1767.

In 8th grade, I had to do a posterboard-sized painting of the original painting. So, I'm posting a pic of the original and my 8th grade piece of The Swing. Then below, I've posted the ekphrasis poem I just wrote about it today. Enjoy!

The Swing

In this lover’s park where cupid plays and cherubs whisper

We rendezvous, but in secret for we know it is forbidden.

The shadows of the trees hide you well, but I know

You are there waiting, watching, yearning for a glimpse.

A storm is brewing

Not in the background, between the trees

Where the ominous clouds have dimmed the sun

No, a storm I must weather between he that controls

And I, who longs for your eyes in my view.

My dress, not red for desire but its softer cousin.

Pink for playfulness, but also passion and premonition

That it soft layers should flow up and over

Yes up and over your precarious point of view

There, among the wiry bushes.

They don’t hurt you but carefully prod you

Maybe closer, just within reach.

Our eyes meet again and again with motions back and forth

My legs thrust me; pelvis moving.

Ever closer but teasingly away again.

Will my slipper alone satisfy you?

Perhaps by accident it floats your way

But no, not by misadventure, but by hoping and wanting,

Waiting for the time where not only my slipper meets you, but I do.

Something is holding me back—a power beyond me.

The reins of this swing are pulling me, keeping me away.

Joined to the reins are his hands.

I keep trying to get closer to you

But am detained, maybe forever

Or maybe until love comes of age

He can’t let me go, he won’t let me go.

Finally, goodbye for the day

I’ll protect us from the fierce storm for now

But I’ll remember your position

I’ll remember you were nigh

The memory of us can dance in my head

When those slippers come together

In learned steps of lust, but not lust, love

Love longed-for

A memoir of our swing.

Jelly-filled, please?

Beware: This blog post has nearly nothing to do with my normal theme. I'm just thinking on virtual paper.

I just read my last post where I was "so excited" to start exercising at 6-weeks postpartum. Don't they say you always want what you can't have? Yep, now that Tax is nearly four months old and I have the freedom to workout however I want, somehow the desire has left. However, the desire to fit into my old clothes has not!! I did buy a new pair of jeans since I couldn't bear to wear those maternity pants one more day! They don't look bad and with heals; I can still do the walk, but I know they're a size bigger than I used to wear. Ugh!

We've given Tax a few tastes of this and that knowing he'll be getting ready to eat more than breast milk in the next few months. This makes me endlessly worried that all this VORACIOUS EATING that I only get to do while breastfeeding, will soon be gone (no, I did eat like this while pregnant). Then, what am I going to do?! But also, I'm a little concerned that I've been a bad example to my daughter the last few months. A doughnut or two almost every week, soda with dinner a few nights a week, lots of chips with melted cheese on top and salsa at snack time, lunch time, dinner time (really any time!!), too many McDonald's french fries and an ice cream cone (the only way to eat ice cream) and a half to a whole beer almost every night (no, not at the same time lol)! Most of the time she's been taking part in mommy's indulgences (except the soda and beer, of course!). This just can't be good for either of us. I know better, but really, I'm teaching her these bad habits are okay.

Two days home from the hospital, I was so excited to have this from my hubby that I took a picture!

Portion control has always been what I've leaned on as my weight-maintenance routine, so essentially that's what I'd like to get back to. (Before I got pregnant a year ago and after 12 years of marriage and a child, I was only 4 pounds heavier than I was the day I got married). I'm not even 5 feet tall, so I've never been able to eat as much as everyone else, and I've never been good at giving up anything completely, so I've just learned I need to eat less. But breast feeding is amazing in that I can eat like a normal person lol (or so I like to think).

So, starting tomorrow (not Monday), I'm going to do two things. First, start walking EVERY day! Even 10 minutes on my treadmill (yes, there's no excuse), but hopefully outside, with the kids, maybe even hubby, for at least 20 minutes. Second, one small indulgence a day. Not a whole doughnut, not a whole beer, not a whole cupcake and hopefully no soda at all. (I wasn't drinking soda before or during my pregnancy. Why have I started now that I'm breastfeeding??)

Well, is that enough? Hopefully. I'll let you know.

Married...with Children

Remember this post? That was just the beginning. That boredom turned into my desire to have another child. A few months later yep, I was pregnant. And this time, nine months later (as opposed to 6 months like with June Bug) we have "Tax". This nick name was given to him by my mother, thanks to his birth date - tax day!

But I know what you're really eager to hear about - the finished blanket for BFF. Yes, over 200 hours later, here it is!!

Its final measurement was 34x36. A better photo of it is in its new home at BFF's house.

Oh, wait, I actually remember why I wanted to blog tonight. Nothing exciting, but I'm nearing 6-weeks postpartum, which means I can start exercising - officially!! Walking daily is my first goal. Ten minutes a day to start. No dieting per se, since I'm nursing, but I probably could cut back on the slice-of-banana-bread-a-day-with-lots-of-butter-on-top I've been eating EVERY day. But BFF has me hooked on having "just a little something" with my coffee (which I can finally have) or maybe a cup of tea. Yum! Maybe I'll have to look for a healthier version. I think I hear my kitchen calling...which is good since the baking department practically shut down while I was with-child. Glad to be back to my old domestic self, now to get back into those old jeans!!

Finally, one for the boy

The blanket for the BFF baby is showing much progress. I've now got 31 pieces of the 36 I need and 20 actually stitched together! I draped the blanket over my rocking chair this week and it looked so beautiful! I might just have to keep it for myself - just joking lol. I did, however consider making one for my own home, but I know I'd never finish it. At least with the BFF baby blanket I have a deadline of April 6 for completion.

So last time I wrote I was going to cast on some wavy scarf, but I knit about 10 rows of 240 stitches and quickly cast off. It's a great idea, but it still needs some tinkering and probably better yarn.

So, back to Hubby's socks, which are almost done. But then I actually had an idea for something for our new baby boy. I told my sister that I had an idea for an intarsia vest. She said, "Don't start another project, Sarah!" Did I listen to her? Of course not. It was Saturday evening and Jeff was at Sac Brew Fest, so I cast on while I was on the phone with her. Six hours later it looked like this.

I even got quite a bit further the next day - up to the shoulders - but then I didn't like how the checkerboard was too tight and squeezed the chest in too much. So I ripped out the whole thing to the first teal line. Oh, boy, am I glad I did. I went with more of a castle watchtower look and I think it turned out great. I was planning for it to fit a 9 month old, but it may be more like a 6 month old. I finished it last night.

Don't worry, I made a slit at the back with a button hole since Hubby and I knew that no little baby head would ever fit through that tiny little opening at the top. Uh-oh! what does that say about how that little head is going to fit coming out of me!! Only about six weeks until I'm due now and even with 12 weeks worth of Bradley Method Classes I'm still scared out of my mind about trying to push this baby out!

Anyway, if anyone wants to see how 34 weeks pregnant looks on me, here it is (photo taken by June Bug).

Hubby just left for work and he said, "Have fun knitting today!" If only I had something fun and exciting to knit...wait, I've got a cousin-in-law due to have twin girls this summer. I better go start hunting for a pattern!

Oh, and I've been craving cake, so I actually may do some baking. But in my current "not interested in cooking at all" pregnant state, they'll be from a box mix. I know, yuck :( Maybe I'll make my own frosting from scratch.

Still Relaxing

Since I've been trying to relax so much (to keep my BP down, of course) and knitting is the ultimate for me, you've probably noticed an absurdly abundant focus on nothing but knitting lately. But hey, I'm eight months pregnant so standing around cooking or digging in the garden (in February) are just not options right now. I really hope I get over this after the baby comes. (Doesn't anyone want to come over and cook something for me?)

I've finished a pair of socks for myself...

But, I'm sad because they are a wool/nylon blend and they're very itchy. Bummer dude!

Since I finished them in record time and didn't really feel quite ready to work on something new since the BFF's baby blanket still needs hours and hours of work, I decided to organize my knitting needles.

Well, that was fun...but I was already missing knitting so what did I do? Go back to the blanket? Of course not, I cast on another pair of socks for Hubby.

These are an Acrylic/Nylon blend and oh boy are they soft and surprisingly thick. Yeah, I know they'll get all pilled up eventually, but oh well. Really these are just for relaxing and mindless knitting, so of course I wanted something else to work on. So I tried a little swatch of something else.

What's it gonna be? When I got pregnant, BFF got me a super great gift of High Tea here. So when we were there a couple weeks ago finally enjoying that tea (thank you again!), I saw a scarf that had this great puckered (read billowing) effect. I tried this swatch with a bit of Aran weight acrylic yarn just using various sizes of needles (thus the organizing of my needles above) to get that bulging effect. It worked, but the yarn is hideous for it. I'll have to find something else. 

In the meantime, I finally got the urge to start blocking some of the pieces to BFF's blanket. I've blocked them to 6.5 inch squares. That's a bit of a stretch for some, but others open up beautifully. 

Oh, seeing them laid out like this really put some fuel inside me to get back to this blanket. Yeah! So a day later I found myself piecing them up. But first, I thought I better sketch out the placement just in case I go brain dead and try to sew them in the wrong order.

June bug helped color it in. So here's how it's coming together. 

By the way, since BFF is about my most loyal follower, this will be the last sighting of the blanket until she sees it at her baby shower at the beginning of April. Sorry. But don't worry, I'll take pics and post them later before it's gifted. Hopefully later there will also be some pics with it cutely flung over her crib or something nice like that (not sure how she feels about pics of her baby being posted on the Internet yet, so I can't promise you'll ever see the baby nestled inside it). Oh, and since these pics were taken some days ago, I now have 7 pieces sewn together and 5 more blocked and ready to sew on today... 

...wait where are my knitting needles? I think I know what yarn I want to use for that billowing scarf :) 

Hats delivered

I really thought I had something exciting and interesting to post tonight. Maybe I'm not a real blogger and certainly not a writer for that matter. Unless you were eagerly awaiting seeing the finished product of the four hats, just close this blog right now and move on...

Really I just wanted to show that I actually finished the third and fourth baby hats.

Hat Number 3

Hat number 4

There you have it. Four hats in just nearly two weeks. The girls got them at class last night and all were received with great appreciation. I didn't select who would get which hat, only that those having girls would get the girl ones and likewise with the boys. BFF got the one I hoped she would (boy hat above) and I think everyone was happy. Especially me! But, then they all asked for booties!! Not booties for their babies, no, ones for those cold hospital floors. Uh...I politely declined. I think that's more of a crocheters project, don't you think? lol.

Back to my socks and yes, of course that blanket for BFF. But first I gotta read some more of that knitting blog. Hey, I need some inspiration!

Knitting is the name of game

I have been in a knitting frenzy the last couple weeks - gosh maybe longer. As you know I'm expecting a baby boy in April. You'd think I'd be all too excited to knit up a wonderful blanket or some clothes for him, but alas I bought the yarn for a blanket and decided against it after knitting a swatch for the pattern. It turns out it's a very heavy gauge holding two strands together to make a very bulky weight yarn. Not really baby blanket-style to me. So, fortunately my BFF is also expecting a baby boy - just one month after I am due. Well, of course I had to start a project for her!! I had seen this cute patchwork blanket here on Ravelry when I had been looking for a design for my own baby's blanket. My BFF is set on a very specific color scheme of gray and yellow  for her baby's room, so I headed to Michael's and picked out the perfect shades and included some white to have a good variety. I remember when I first showed them to her, she gave me a hug and said, "Finally someone understands what I want".

I set straight to work on it. That was back in November. My original dimensions were just 4 squares by 4 squares but when we laid out the first few I had finished she decided it should be 6 by 6. She's my BFF so I went along. :) As of a few weeks ago here's how it looked so far. There's 21 1/2 piece done in this pic, but now I have 24 complete - 2/3 done!

However, if anyone knows what kind of knitter I am, they might ask why I decided on a patchwork blanket since I HATE the finishing part of knitting. That is, piecing together and weaving in all the ends. Do you see how many ends and pieces I will have to put together? What was I thinking!!

So, last Thursday I was feeling a little shaky about my current pregnancy and frankly worried that things were starting to go downhill toward Pre-Eclampsia (turns out it was all in my head), so I decided I need to relax. What better way than knitting - and not something frustrating, but something mindless and fun. How about socks for me? Besides, I finally completed a pair for Hubby a couple weeks ago (after he was complaining that I was spending too much time on BFF's blanket) and honestly after they were done I thought, "that wasn't so hard". What took me so long?!

So, trying to spend my days relaxing both Friday and Saturday, I knit my little heart out. I finished one whole sock for myself. Here was the start. It is a self-striping yarn I got at a thrift shop for only $3.50 that still had the original price tag of $17!

After texting my BFF about my new socks she reminded me that I had told the other girls in my Bradley Method birthing class that I would knit them all hats for their babies. There are two having girls and three of us having boys. So I set aside my sock and started straight away! Here's the first girl hat.

Well that only took about two hours so I then went back to work on my socks and by Sunday evening I had a whole first sock done. Back to work on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday so not much time for knitting. However, by Friday, I was back in gear and back to baby hats. Actually, this next one turned out more like a toddler hat, I think, since it nearly fits June Bug. Oh, well it was only about two hours, so if I decide to keep it for my baby and make a slightly smaller one for the.other girl's baby, it'll probably knit up in a jiffy.

Last night I was determined to tackle some sort of start of seaming up the blanket for BFF's baby. I had to start somewhere, right? I tried two different techniques. Mattress stitch and whip stitch. What do you think?

Mattress Stitch

Whip Stitch

This is the back of the blanket. Hubby likes the whip stitch and I think I do too. The front looks really nice and about the same for both. I'll ask BFF what she thinks too, but I'll show her the live pieces.

So, today I am suffering with a head cold so I couldn't go to a very anticipated kids party where June Bug was invited. However, hubby had the day off and took her for me. What a great husband! I rested and of course knitted. I did a little work on my second sock and as of this evening started the second baby girl hat. I think that that hem alone took two hours, but I was watching Vanity Fair with Reese Witherspoon, so I was a little distracted. lol I love Reese! I can't beleive I've never seen it. I've watched Sweet Home Alabama probably half a dozen times! Well, Dr. McDreamy is in that one too, so you can't blame me. :)

Oh, here's how the baby girl hat #2 is progressing

P.S. In case you were wondering why I've been in such a knitting frenzy (besides trying to relax), it's because I found a new blog to follow. Yes, I've caught up on every post she's ever done. Wait, should I admit that? Anyway, what a knitter!! You can find her here http://allkindsofknitting.wordpress.com/.

A new routine?

This week my daughter was off of school due to the holiday. So, I decided to use some of my PTO to be with her. For part of it we headed to my sister's house. Every time I go there I come home with some sort of life-changing improvement idea. These ideas include saving money, couponing, building a budget...you get the picture. Well, this time it was an extra bit of desire to have a clean house. Sarah, you say, really? It probably is because my sister is in the process of moving so her normally very clean and de-cluttered house is less cluttered than ever! As you can tell from the title of this blog on my home page I generally can find lots to do besides my housework. Yuck!

I became pregnant 6 months ago, so that 'avoiding housework' feeling has increased even more and of course brought me even more grief than before from hubby. He works 45 hours a week and if you include his 45-minute commute each way he is away from home about 50 hours a week. Since I work 19.5 hours a week right now and only work 10 minutes from home, I'm the obvious choice for the majority of the housework.

So, naturally I discussed my new idea with my BFF right when I returned home and she smartly suggested I look up some help on the Internet. So, I did. I searched things like, "How to maintain a clean house" and "Keeping a clean house". I soon found several blogs and some how-tos for daily maintenance. Several had suggestions from flylady.net so I went there.  In a nutshell she has a "program" that you follow for maintaing a clean house.  Day 1 is simply to shine your sink. So June Bug and I eagerly watched the how-to video and got right to it.

So here it is two dinners, 1 breakfast and one lunch later.

  

My BFF is already eager to hear how things will play out. 

I didn't hear any skepticism in her voice, but if there would have been, I wouldn't have blamed her. Lol

I'm Bored

I’m not really sure what has really kept me away from blogging, but hopefully I’m back (probably not since I composed this way back in January 25!!) I’ve composed today’s blog about 30 times today, but honestly they were all just me examining life - mine to be exact. I think my first blog explained it all. This blog is for me! I need it. To “sort myself out” as my BFF likes to say.

The bottom line is...I’m just plain bored. The truth is we have a TV. Now understandably, we’ve had TVs in the past, but this is the first time we’ve had one permanently seated in our living room in our house of 10 years. We even bought a TV stand for it at IKEA! (One must visit IKEA once a year to buy something, unfortunately I had already made my annual visit a week earlier so sh’ant have bought it).

Now the reason I blame my boredom on my TV is that it has made me into a couch potato. I’m not joking, I'm being unbelievably honest. I caught sight of myself in my full length mirror last night and got really grossed out! So, today I bought a mocha, had a coke, ate pizza (homemade, of course), made cupcakes (ate three, albeit they were mini), and am currently sitting on the couch drinking a beer! Say it with me "c-o-u-c-h   p-o-t-a-t-o". (Here's my view).

I don’t know, maybe I’m doing a last hoorah, but I have not really made a plan, except that I need to make one! You’ve heard about my past “diets”. Let’s see what I’ve been through:

Ediets.com – Expensive and menu too expensive

 “Fat Fallacy” – Loved the purity of the anti-fake “food” but too much self-control involved. Hello, Chocolate is allowed and ENCOURAGED after dinner!

 “Body for Life” - Need a buddy and can’t find one, also exercising 6 times a week, please!

“South Beach” – Great for the first two weeks (for me) but then determining your own number of servings of carbs for continuing your “weight loss” meant for me – I’m sure I can eat them all and not gain weight! Yeah right. Also, too much fake sugar. See “Fat Fallacy” above.

“French Women Don’t Get Fat” Loveable anecdotes about how she got fat in America then came home embarrassed, but again too much self-control involved

“French Don’t Diet Plan” Yes, I’m sure by now you can see why I failed, again. I can’t control myself!

“The Abs Diet” Kinda like Body for Life, but less emphasis on the actual workout and no “Before and After photos” to encourage you to continue!

“The Sonoma Diet” Couldn’t wait for my first glass of wine, but then making my own separate meals was too labor intensive.

It's now May 23 and I'm finally posting this January 25 page. But, guess what, I'm on a new plan. Imagine that! Stay tuned :)

School rules!

I think I could have stayed in school all my life. Today (actually, May 17) I attended Constant Contact’s Boot Camp in Sacramento. What fun! You may not know Constant Contact by name, but chances are they sent many of the emails now in your in box. They are one of the most popular email marketing companies around – and I can see why.

Many things I already knew based on my use of it over the last few years, but the class certainly built upon my knowledge. I can’t wait to incorporate all its many tools and features into enticing my clients into reading and opening and engaging them into opening my company’s emails. It even makes me feel like I want to start a business all of my own just to see how I could build a company just by using this amazing tool all by my self.

You never know…

Chicks are here!

Two days ago my BFF mentioned that I never blog any more. I don’t really know why I don’t. I have the Internet now (via Hubby’s mobile hotspot) and most evenings I know he wouldn’t mind the distraction, but honestly, I think it’s just that my life hasn’t really been that interesting. Nothing new, nothing exciting, not even much cooking in the kitchen, barely knitted all winter and the garden has been hibernating over the winter. But somehow I decided that things are exciting enough to write two paragraphs.

The exciting news – we have baby chicks. We bought four, but sadly one passed just 15 hours after we got them. I think I took it worse than June Bug, but Hubby buried it and we continue with three. Their names are Dixie, Sally and Jacob. I chose Dixie’s name and June Bug chose Sally and Jacob. Sally and Jacob are Rhode Island Reds. Dixie is black but I’m not sure what type of chick she/he is. It’s so sweet to hear their quiet little peeps most of the day. They’re in the dining room in a cardboard box with a heat lamp for now. In about four weeks I guess they can move outdoors. Honestly, I think I’ll miss them.

Even bigger news is that I want to have a baby – and even better, Hubby has agreed to help (that’s pretty important, I guess lol)! I’m not even posting today’s edition of the blog on facebook, since I don’t want to get anyone too excited. I’ve done so much “googling” on ways to prevent my last pre-term pregnancy that I’m about googled out. What I’ve learned for the most part is eat healthy, take my pre-natal vitamins and some extra folic acid and try not to get too stressed out! I’ll post more about my eating regimen soon. Hopefully my post will be due to the fact that I’m actually pregnant since eating according to this regimen as I am right now (not pregnant) is causing me jeans to get a little too tight – ugh!

It's Never Like It Is On TV

So, it’s been ages since I wrote here. I wasn’t even sure if my blog still existed, but so far it lives on. My latest hobby has not been knitting or gardening or even avoiding housework (It’s true, this new hobby has even encouraged me to be tidier, it’s a revelation). Let me explain.

It’s couponing. I know what you’re thinking, “Are you ‘Extreme Couponing’ like on those shows?” Well, no and yes. I’ve seen the shows and honestly they were certainly the motivating factor, but frankly my family doesn’t need 40 boxes of cereal, 100 candy bars and 30 packages of hot cocoa mix even if they’re freakishly cheap!

It all started with attending a “couponing class” put on by the SacBee a few weeks ago, which honestly was really just a big push for subscribing to the SacBee (yes, I subscribed to two copies every Sunday lol at $.77 an issue, though), but it did give us a heads up to an awesome website they sponsor – sacbee.grocerysmarts.com. It’s our local go-to for price matchup-ups for our local stores (Safeway, Save-mart, Raley’s and Wal-Mart) and a few pharmacies (Walgreens, CVS, Rite-Aide and Target).

Here’s how it works. Basically when you get the Sunday paper there are coupons in one of three different coupon inserts – Smartsource (SS), Red Plub (RP) and Proctor & Gamble (PG). The grocerysmarts website literally takes the local ad prices for the week and matches whatever current coupons are available in these coupon inserts (and some other sources, I’ll explain later) to alert you to the best prices around (3-star, 4-star, 5-star, Free and better than free – you get paid to buy it!). Technically, you don’t even have to clip the coupons until you’re ready to use them. You just see what the best deal for the week is from their list and you go back to your coupon inserts and clip them then. Also there’s a coupon database at hotcouponworld.com so if there’s a killer price at the store (close-out or clearance or something) on an item you don’t see a coupon match-up for and isn’t listed in the local ad, you might be able to find a coupon for it on their website and print a coupon from the source it mentions. A smart phone is useful for this, so you’re not searching through all your inserts forever while standing in the store!

I don’t want to overwhelm you with all the other great little tips for now. Let me just tell you about my two shopping trips this week.

At CVS

Finish Power Dishwasher Detergent

Reg. Price $6.39

Sale Price $2.99

Plus $.75 coupon

Final price $2.24

Carnation Evaporated Milk

Reg. Price $1.79

Sale Price $.88

Plus $.50/2 coupon

Final price $.63 per can

I had three coupons so I bought six cans!

At Rite Aide

Halls 25-30 Count Cough Drops

Reg. Price $2.69

Sale Price $1.50

Plus $1/2 coupon

Plus Rite Aid +Up $1/2

Final price $.50 per package

I had three coupons so I bought six packages! I would have bought eight since there was the availability for a maximum of 4 +up rewards, but I only had three manufacturer coupons. (BTW, I had three coupons since I found a Sunday paper in my local starbucks and snagged the inserts that week).

Wrigley’s Gum

Reg. Price $1.29

Sale Price $1

Plus Rite Aid +Up $1

Final price Free!

(I’ll explain how this works later)

Orbit Gum

Reg. Price $1.29

Sale Price $1

Plus $.25 coupon

Plus Rite Aid +Up $1

Final price $.25 money maker!

(I’ll explain how this works later)

So there are two morals to my first post about couponing.

One, if you only subscribe to or get one newspaper (one set of coupons), you will only be able to buy one (or maybe two) items for that killer price match-up, but if you subscribe to more or can get your hands on additional papers or set of coupon inserts, you’ll have better buying power to “stockpile” for when your family needs the items you would normally have to buy at full price when they need them.

Moral two, couponing is going to take a lot of patience. The killer rock-bottom prices don’t happen on everything all at once. Like right now lots of baking things are on rock-bottom sale and there are plenty of coupons floating around. In summer, lots of condiments and those types of things will be on rock-bottom sale. The key is to buy enough to last your family for the time until the items go on rock-bottom sale again. Most things if you aren’t brand-biased (choosey about the brands you use), go on rock-bottom sale every three months. For example, I have never bought Finish detergent (over 6 bucks, no way!), but since it was on such a sale and I had a coupon, it was way cheaper than my normally cheaper Cascade! Same goes for Halls cough drops. I used to always buy the store brand or go to the dollar store, which seemed cheaper. I doubt the Rite Aide store brand or the ones at the dollar store are ever going to be 50 cents a bag! 

So for now, part of my weekly grocery budget is going towards normal sale stuff like meats and produce and a small portion is being devoted to stockpiling just one or two things a week. It may not sound like much savings, but you gotta start somewhere. Not as exciting as “Extreme Couponing” but life is never like it is on TV, right?

I can feel it coming

I've been knitting like a mad woman and summer's not even over! A jacket and hat for my friend Leslie's baby (yes Leslie who had a baby last year about this time!) - which got completed so quickly I had to start something else. It's a cabled jacket for June Bug that I'm dying to show you. More writing and pics soon!

Where does the time go?

Too long to mention it all, but here's a few highlights. Knitting has come to a complete standstill. Gardening has sped up like a freight train and cooking had been a chore - until three weeks ago. Let me explain. I visited my aunt recently and she lent me a book I'd seen in the Sac Bee, Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson. It was the first book on her shelf and it called to me the minute I set eyes on it. It's almost as if it knew it'd have a fabulous home with me. Now my aunt warned me that she hadn't attempted the recipe since the starter alone needed about 5 days to feed and nourish. But, I still didn't start right away. I wanted to read the whole recipe, again and again. (It's just my way). Well, that took about two weeks. (Remember that night time ritual I picked up from my mother-in-law?) Hubby was getting antsy and my tummy was starting to grumble too. Ok, I was finally ready. Mix 2 1/2 lbs of white bread flour and a 2 1/2 lbs whole wheat flour into a 5 lb mix of ... 1/2 white flour and 1/2 wheat flour, big whoop. Then grab a single handful put it in a small glass bowl add a little water, stir, cover with a cloth and come back tomorrow. Boring.

And that's how it began. More later don't worry. (my sis is clamoring that I've been in the computer "all night")

Did I mention that I downloaded a fun little app for June Bug to "make" donuts. She loves it. Well, what do you think happened next? We had to make some "real" donuts. Actually, I've never made them. Nope just never really wanted to. Sure I WANTED to, but I also didn't want to have to buy bigger jeans! No worries, Hubby was going somewhere the next day where he could take all the "un-eatens". Thank goodness!

I still ate 6. Oh well they were small.

Thanks Barbie!

Tonight I had a real hankering for some chocolate. Hubby even offered to go to the store for me, but I declined since I knew his motives were less noble than they seemed (I'll let you guess).

I searched the cupboards and found those loyal chocolate chips but cookies would take too long. I needed something now! Fortunately a splendid idea came from the mouth of June bug! "You can have my barbie snacks", she said so sweetly. It sounded nice, but chocolate was the real craving and nothing else would do. Then the lightbulb went on. As a child (and also as an adult) I loved those chocolate dipped gummi bears--brilliant!

A little melting, stirring, dipping and dropping, then a little waiting--brilliant. Thanks Barbie!

How far can you stretch a turkey?

When I had internet at my house it was so easy to just sit down, type my thoughts and post! Now there’s no motivation – except for my faithful three followers lol. It’s been so long that there is was too much to fit into one post. I’ve got stories to tell about a $6 turkey and then there’s the new knitting project that I have worked on for 12 ½ hours.

The $6 turkey doesn't seem as exciting as when I had all the thoughts about the post at the time. Oh, well. Basically, Save-Mart had a coupon where you bought $20 worth of groceries and got any turkey under 14 lbs for only $6. Well spending $20 bucks at the grocery store is easy for me. So, I picked it up, drove home and dreamt of the the creations I'd make. I don't celebrate Thanksgiving so making that classic dinner, wasn't my goal. I'm really not as big of a fan of a whole roast turkey anyway (a whole fried turkey is a whole other story - yummo). In a whole roast turkey the breasts are dried out by the time the rest is cooked and then if you don't have a crowd to feed, you've got a whole lot of roast turkey meat that has to be used as "roast turkey meat". Come on, there's way more exciting things I can think of to do with all that meat rather than roasting it all in one shot. And besides the process for me is the exciting part.  If I roast the whole thing now there's no more fun in the days and weeks or months that follow!

Well it took almost five days to completely thaw in the fridge. Good thing I wasn't in a hurry! The gizzards were actually still frozen but they thawed quickly enough once I yanked 'em out. 

So, first, I removed all the "good" meat - like you would a whole chicken. Two breasts and two thighs.

Then I took off the whole wings and roasted them with the carcass, neck and drumsticks. You can't dry out drumsticks, right? Hubby and June bug ate the drumsticks for dinner and I nibbled on a wing. I made some stuffing too. If there's anything I like about a traditional "turkey dinner" it's stuffing. I could eat it morning noon and night - and I have. This occasion was no different. My recipe made two loaf pans worth and after a whole week of eating for a few lunches, a few dinners and I think one midnight snack, I think there was still some left. It went in the freezer for later (Oo that's right, now I know what I'm having for lunch today!!). Hubby likes stuffing too, but could care less about it after the first day - so it's all mine :)

Back to the turkey. Two days later it was time to make the stock. In went the roasted carcass, neck and bones that remained after dinner two nights before as well as the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, peppercorns and some leeks tops left over from the oxtail soup I'd made earlier that week. 

After two hours of simmering, I carefully lifted out the the meatier bones, let them cool a bit then removed the final bits of meat.

When the stock was done about 1 1/2 hours later, the meat went back in. Now I had almost two gallons of rich roasted  Turkey stock with some still sorta-flavorful meat (that's why I removed it before the stock was done).

Half the Turkey stock got made into Turkey soup with dumplings the next day - after the addition of some chopped fresh carrots and celery. The other half went into the freezer for a rainy day.

As for those two breasts and two thighs above. One half breast got ground into ground "lean" turkey -8 oz. Its other half and the other breast was sliced thin into 6 - 4 oz. pallairds. The two thighs were made into ground "not-so-lean" turkey - two 6 oz portions. All were frozen. BTW, the food processor works great for making "ground" meat. Chop into 1 inch cubes and pulse until it's ground to your liking - no meat grinder required. I've got pictures but they are on my camera at home - sorry.

Needless to say, there will be many more meals ahead from that $6 turkey. :)

Finishing touches

Hubby and I started dating when I was 19 and he was 18. I hated that I was older and when I found out his age I even tried to break up with him over it. Well, you know who won. We met at the Honda dealership where we both worked. He sold cars and I was a receptionist. He was tall and handsome and after he asked me out for about three months (and shaved off that silly mustache) I finally said okay. He lived with his parents, but made a bunch of money, so in my eyes he was rich, and just about spent it all on me! What was not to like about him? Why am I telling you all this? Isn’t this a blog about knitting and cooking and gardening? Bear with me a bit longer. One of our favorite ways to hang out was to go shopping. He looked good in anything (remember tall and handsome) – especially a suit. I recall one occasion at Off 5th where he purchased his “legendary” Hugo Boss suit, strutting out when he tried it on (giggle, giggle). He looked amazing! Sure, it had a European cut, which his broad shoulders filled out perfectly, but that waist of his was still slimmer than those slim Europeans! Of course, he was fit back then (weren’t we all?), so all his suits had to be taken in. (Really, I’m gonna get to the point of this story.) I adore a man in uniform – and isn’t a suit basically just a uniform? Okay, fast forward 13 years. That fabulous Hugo Boss suit no longer fits (it’s not that he got taller, lol). Having fun afternoons of shopping and spending silly amounts of money are long over. However, he still needs something to where to our meetings. I think June Bug was barely born the last time he got a brand new suit. So, tomorrow we are going to mall (big family outing, lol). I doubt the suit he chooses will need to be taken in. Maybe he’s finally grown into the man he was meant to be, who I love. :)

The real reason you’re here.

Cookies that June bug and I made yesterday. 

Neon food coloring is way cool! Not natural, but it’s not like we eat it every day. I forgot I had it until it fell out of the cupboard at me the other day.

And the first loaf of “white” bread I’ve made in a while. Even all those delicious whole grains get a little boring. Couldn’t just make it all plain though, I threw in some herbs, garlic and minced onion – yum!

And finally the knitting. Before my last post, I got into a major knitting groove. I finished the baby romper for Leslie’s baby. 

I’ve only made one attempt to give it to her, so better try a bit harder, since she might see this post and wonder if she’ll ever get it!

Then, what next? It’s funny how when I finish a knitting project, I immediately want to start another one. However, those finishing touches are what really slow me down! I’m not alone. Many knitters hate the finishing part of knitting. All the weaving in of ends and seaming things up – we just want to knit! And, knitting is something to just pick up to de-stress for me, so if there’s nothing there to pick up and knit, then what, chocolate, bread, chips? So many calories!

So, right after I finished the romper, I grabbed my shrug and I actually finished the last 14 of the 15 rows in record time (remember there were over 250 stitches in each row). I realized I was going to be about 3 ½ rows short and I didn’t want to purchase another ball of yarn, but I really wasn’t sure if it would be okay, so I procrastinated – a bunch. But, I was determined to finish. I’d come all this way, I’d hate for it to sit in my knitting drawers with all those other abandoned projects! So, I brought my project with me everywhere: to my moms, to my sisters, to watch TV, to the coffee shop. I even weaved in all the ends and seamed the arms together so that the second I was done knitting, I could be done with the project and just put it on! However, it sat (right next to me), unfinished for the last two weeks. Last Friday I visited my grandmother, who, in her heyday used to make all my grandpa’s socks! She’s actually quite proud that I’ve taken such a liking to knitting. I showed her my nearly finished shrug (yes, it was right in the car with me) and that purple shirt that’s been about half done for about 6 months (yes, it’s been in my knitting bag sitting underneath the shrug all along). She loved them. She realizes that she’s likely not going to be making all the little doll clothes she used to make for my sister and my cousins and I, so she gave me a bunch of knitting books. Oo, fresh inspiration! I tried to start a project for one of June Bug’s dolls, but couldn’t get the gage right, probably because the shrug was calling out to me to be finished! So, tonight I sat down and about 15 minutes later, it was done. 

I tried it on, spun around and yes, wondered, what next?

No Pity, Please

Well, it finally happened. A couple days after my last post, the folks with the Wi-Fi we’ve been snagging in our neighborhood, locked their Wi-Fi. And since I live about 25 minutes from the nearest Wi-Fi hotspot, I haven’t been too eager to make the trek just to write about my cooking, knitting or gardening. The garden is pretty much closed for the winter, so no news there anyway.

On the other hand, my cooking adventures have become more like an episode of “Iron Chef’ with loads of unexpected ingredients all the time. Seems even the very capable Hubby can’t sell much when there aren’t many customers. No pity, please. I’ve always bragged that I could whip up practically anything from just the ingredients in my fridge and pantry. So with the checkbook being squeezed for life’s other expenses I told my hubby I wasn’t going grocery shopping for a whole month! I had a couple containers of milk and a couple pounds of butter in the fridge as well as two 5 lb bags of apples my mother-in-law had given us a week before. I was set. Well, as you might suspect, I didn’t quite last a month before we needed more milk, some eggs, a block of cheese, a head of lettuce, two onions and some apples (I’m a firm believer in the ‘an apple a day..." mantra). But honestly, I haven’t purchase anything else. I think if I wouldn’t have told Hubby about the “no shopping thing” he might not have noticed (besides that weird pasta dish I made from canned salmon, tomatoes, zucchini and red peppers - it was gross). We’ve had spaghetti with meatballs, halibut with rice pilaf, chicken fettuccine Alfredo with broccoli, home made apple turnovers and an apple tart, homemade tortillas, raisin muffins, homemade hot chocolate (see recipe below), really delicious chocolate banana bars,

apple pancakes, soups (of course lonies), chile verde, Spanish rice, lots of beans, a pot roast, mashed potatoes, warm potato salad, potato pancakes, several different kinds of cheesey and artisan breads

and even some freebies - Baskin Robbins ice cream (thanks to my dad for the “pint for a pint” coupon) and a free medium fries from the coupon for McDonalds thanks to Monopoly last month!

When I started this blog, my BFF mentioned I should inventory my pantry as a testament to the variety of foods I constantly stock. But who wants to read about ingredients, when you can read about the yummy food which they create?! Needless to say my pantry and fridge are gradually getting emptied (BFF said she’d come clean the fridge when it’s even emptier – woohoo!). But the month isn’t over yet. I’m already making my grocery shopping list (and checking it twice). And, man, am I eager to get to Winco for some real grocery shopping. I know the economy isn’t going to turn around just yet, so don’t worry I won’t be going wild or anything. However, I’ve gotten a little wiser about what I really need – no canned salmon!

Homemade Hot Cocoa

1 mug milk

1 small handful of chocolate chips

Gently heat a mugs worth of milk on the stove. As it heats up, add a small handful of chocolate chips (maybe 10-20, depending how chocolaty you like it).  Stir rapidly with a whisk until the chips are melted. Pour into a mug and enjoy! It's even better if you can find the new "gourmet" chocolate chips.

The Take-Over

There has been so much going on since the week of the wedding cake. But actually my neglecting the blog is mostly due to the fact that we have discovered that we can stream movies from Netflix (I know horrible excuse). Don’t worry, I have lots of pics of recent goodies from the kitchen and even an update on two of my knitting projects.First, the fun little cookies that June Bug and I made last week.

In case you didn’t know, my favorite thing to make is bread. I bake it about once a week in the summer (in the evening only after I can open the windows) and probably twice or more per week as soon as the weather gets the least bit chilly. I love the warmth the oven brings to the house and that intoxicating smell wafting out too. I admit, the bread machine is my tool of choice 90% of the time since June Bug came along (doughy hands can't help blow runny noses, or help with other dainty tasks). However, I do prefer the shape of the any loaf pan but the one in my machine, so I always do the final rise in a regular pan, or in rolls. Then, it’s all I can do to wait until my bread is cool enough to slice through without crushing it. No matter what time of day-morning, noon or night, after dinner, before dinner, after dessert- if there’s fresh bread coming from the oven, I have to have a slice. Slathered with butter and usually a tiny sprinkling of salt (I buy unsalted butter, but I think the better excuse is I’m also a pretzel lover at heart, probably from my childhood of having pretzels packed in my lunch box just about every day and nibbling those tiny granules off first - I love the cruchiness!). Anyway, last week I made this rye bread.

It’s a light rye, with only a ¼ rye flour, the rest (1/4) whole wheat, and ½ white bread flour. I had to crush the dill seeds, celery seeds and poppy seeds in a mortar and pestle before adding to the dough. It’s got the classic caraway too.

My BFF left for a 3-week visit to London, her hometown, yesterday (miss you already) and after she gave me some pastrami she couldn’t finish before she left, I made myself a Reuben. I am a devote Reuben fan, so with tons of pastrami left over and the Rye on its last slice, I had to make another loaf of Rye. Turns out Hubby likes Reubens now too, so we had them for dinner last night. Then mom came over today and I had to split one with her! I immediately stashed the rest of the pastrami in the freezer before I had a heart attack! Don’t worry it’ll be there for another rainy day. And the sauerkraut in the fridge-I think that stuff lasts forever, right?

Bread isn’t the only thing that gets my oven turned on. Pizza is usually on the dinner menu at least twice a month. Homemade dough, rarely with red sauce and never any pepperoni (Hubby's choice). Here’s the latest. Some final tomatoes from garden with homemade basil-arugula pesto dressing as the sauce - yum!

 

Oh, there was also some pumpkin from the garden. What a cinch to puree with my handy-dandy food mill (sorry, there will be a whole nerdy blog on this new favorite kitchen gadget of mine, but not tonight). 

The puree made its way into some really good Browned-Butter Sage Pumpkin Loaves from Martha Stewart and also some Pumpkin Praline Waffles and Pumpkin Pancakes, both from King Arthur Flour cookbooks. Who says Pumpkins have to be carved into Jack-O-Lanterns? I grow mine to eat!!

The garden is mostly in winter mode with just a few greens and some carrots (for Lilly to pull and snack on later). However, after three plantings and many raids by aphids and their buddies, the ants, I was finally the proud recipient of these four little beauties. 

Next year, I think I will once again just buy those 5/$1 corns at the store (ten years ago when I planted corn it was the same story of four baby corns)!

Speaking of aphids. After the corn got raided by aphids, they invaded my broccoli and then my Russian Kale and as of today, my turnip greens. Ahhhh they're taking over. I was so angry I just pulled it all up today. Summer's over anyway, so I can't be that mad. I managed to salvage a few turnips greens for a Barley, White Bean, and Kale soup (using the Turnips greens instead of Kale) only to later find in my soup way too many floating "bugs". I washed those greens three times leaving the leaves in the water the last time for nearly a half-hour. Don't aphids ever drown? I've now read a bit more online about defending my turf and hopefully next year I'll beat them.

On the knitting front, I’ve seamed up the little romper for Leslie’s baby, but it has now been so long since I worked on it, I can’t find the pattern – bummer. I’ll keep looking. Good thing the pattern is for a 1-year-old. She’s almost 3 months already!

My shrug is coming along okay, but 33 rnds of 242 stitches is exactly why I never knit scarves! 

I’m about halfway through those rounds, so getting a bit more excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I think I still have time to stream a movie :)