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Sunday, March 18th, 2012
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11:56 am - I Can't Take This BS Anymore
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If you know me personally, or have read my blog over the course of the past few years, you'd probably know that I have Liberal-esque political views. And for the record, I am socially liberal, fiscally moderate, and generally disappointed with how things our going in this country. Instead of things being progressive, it seems like certain parties want to regress to the 1950s or further. Even though we may idealize the olden times as being good and perfect - but in reality they were only good if you were perhaps male, white, straight, and Christian. Not so good if you were a woman, gay, a different race, different religion, etc.
First off, what's the big damn deal with contraception especially when it comes to the Pill, Patch, Ring, Shot, IUD? How come no one is mentioning condoms at all? Or does the Conservative Right want to make those difficult to get too? In my opinion, the folks that are trying to pass all of these re-damn-diculous anti-contraception, anti-abortion bills are just anti-sex. Why are women only being attacked? It does take a penis which is attached to a man for a baby to happen. Here's my theory:
Obviously, these folks are anti-abortion. I have mixed feelings about abortions - but more on that later. To prevent an abortion from occurring (outside of rape, medical issues, etc), either you don't have sex or use contraception. But if contraception now becomes difficult to get, then that means no sex or use condoms (granted those don't become banned or whatever). Additionally, if you do become pregnant, and the baby is born to a single mom, a young mom, etc, you're shamed too. On top of that, these Conservatives also want to ban sex education in schools. *facepalm* So basically, what I get is that these people only want sex to occur in order to make a baby, and preferably to a couple who is married. That is fine and dandy, but not realistic.
Let's face it. We as humans have been diddling each other for centuries. In the past, women (probably of a certain social stature) were not left without an escort to prevent any illicit activities. Plus, you were more than likely married off to some old guy at a very young age. If you did end up pregnant, without a husband, you were either married off immediately to the guy or probably banished and / or shamed for the rest of your life. And the kid's paternity was also a big damn deal. In the not so distance past, many women could not inherit property from their husband. Instead, it would go to the oldest male heir - which may not even be a son. It could be some male cousin twice removed. So it was big damn deal to the man, for the child to be of his blood. But in these modern times, we have DNA testing and you can leave your fortunes to whoever you damn well please, including the family dog.
I know some of this shit has been going on in this country for awhile. I just tried my best to ignore the crazies and hoped that other intelligent people would do the same. But now that state laws are actually being passed, I don't think I can remain quiet for much longer, especially since I'm concerned that my uterus may be under attack soon. Thank God that Georgia, despite being in the South, can be moderate, thanks to Atlanta being somewhat Liberal.
Let's start at sex education. Thankfully, I was fortunate to receive information on the basics of this in school. I got to learn about how babies are made, different forms of contraception (briefly), and what STD's are and how you get them. But honestly, I think sex education should be a lot more scary. Teens are going to be having sex - especially since it's glorified in so many TV shows. And that 16 and Pregnant TV show doesn't help either. Teens should be shown how to put on a condom, be told about some of the horrible side effects of birth control (spotting, weight gain, depression). They should be shown what diseased genitals look like. Additionally, they should have to do things like change a baby's poopy diaper, hold a baby when it's projectile vomiting all over you. Just to show that babies aren't always these cute and cuddly things that you get to dress up in cute clothes. Maybe, that'll encourage kids to use protection. Secondly, why don't we teach kids about masturbation? It's not THAT bad of a thing.
As for contraception, I don't see what the big damn deal is. If because of your religious beliefs, you don't want you or your wife to be on birth control, then don't use it. This is NOT an attack on religion. You can practice any religion you want - but you can't enforce your religion's morals / beliefs on other. I consider myself to be a Christian (believe it or not), and I am all for contraception. I'm all for responsible, family planning. I actually worked for a company who did not cover contraception as part of their insurance. (But I'm pretty damn sure they covered boner pills though!) I was just shocked by that. It probably also didn't help that the majority of employees were male. But it was a shock to me to find out when I had to switch to their health insurance. My Nuvaring, which was $15 - 20 with insurance, now was going to cost me $65. That's still cheap as some drugs go, but still sucked to have to pay that. That's why I then switched to a generic birth control pill, that only cost $14 out-of-pocket.
So there are some options if a woman can't get birth control via an employer's health insurance. But as someone who has been on several different types of contraception the past few years, my body reacts differently to them. So what if I couldn't have been on a generic birth control due to nasty side effects? What then? Let alone if I had to be on a certain type of contraceptive for other medical reasons.
As for abortion, I have mixed feelings about it. I was raised Catholic and was always told that abortions are bad. But I do not oppose abortions if the are necessary for things such as rape, incest, and medical reasons. But if a woman still wants to have the baby, despite these adversities, she's a saint in my opinion. I had the chance to meet some pro-choicers when I was in college, and it opened up my eyes in regards to abortion. For the most part, people who are pro-choice don't want abortions to occur. But they realize that it is a very difficult decision for any woman to make, and that decision should be up to her, not the government. Most pro-choicers are for things like better access to birth control, better sex education so that way unwanted pregnancies can be prevented. Makes sense, right? And my mom, who is very pro-life, chooses not to donate money to pro-life groups, who only picket abortion clinics and do other hateful things, that don't really help the problem. Instead, she donates money to woman's health care centers that specialize in aiding mother's who may not have the means to adequately care for a new child, therefore hopefully given a mom an alternative to abortion Why aren't more pro-lifers doing this? Why aren't they helping mothers with a positive solution to their pregnancy? Give them aid if they can't financially support a baby. Improve the adoption process. Have better access to birth control. More thorough sex education. All of these things would decrease the number of abortions. Picketing clinics and shaming women doesn't help anything.
I watched a documentary about abortion clinics called 12th & Delaware awhile back. The premise of the documentary, is that there is an abortion clinic across the street from a crisis pregnancy center. It goes into detail about the lives of the people that work at these 2 places as well as the pregnant women who visit these places. As for the pregnant women they interview, they all had good reasons as to why they may want to terminate their pregnancy. One woman was still in high school, and having a kid would basically mess up her future. Another woman was 19 and had no job or health insurance, so wouldn't have the financial means to take care of a baby. Another woman already had 6 other kids with her current husband, and didn't want the responsibility of taking care of a 7th child. And another woman was in her early 40s, I believe, and had a medical condition that would have made pregnancy very difficult, let alone being able to take care of a child at her age and health problems. If these women had decided to keep their babies, the same people that would shame them for having an abortion, would probably also shame them for bringing a kid into such conditions. For some people, babies are a blessing and wanted thing - but sadly that is not the case for everyone. I can respect the reasons why these women wouldn't want to have a baby - but the thing I wanted to know is that it seems like all of these women are intelligent enough to know that having a baby isn't a good idea. Therefore, why aren't they using some sort of contraception to prevent pregnancy? I know that having a baby right now in my life, even though I technically have the means to care for one, would turn my life upside down. Therefore, I take certain means to prevent pregnancy. It's that simple. Secondly, why aren't we offering these women other options - such as free or inexpensive medical care during the pregnancy and for the child afterwords? What about making adoptions easier to do? Wouldn't these solutions provide a more positive means to unwanted pregnancy?
I also can't help but feel that the white men who are trying to enforce such crazy regulations can't help but feel threatened by women who use contraception. I can't find the article now, but basically this article goes into some of the most important inventions of the 20th century, and one of those inventions is birth control - something that is easily overlooked compared to things like cars, space travel, computers, the internet. Birth control (not condoms) gave women the power to determine when they want to have kids, while still being able to have sex, inside or outside of marriage. Because of this power, it allowed us to be able to enter the work force and do more things with our bodies besides just produce kids. And isn't that a good thing, right? But it could be seen as threatening to men who believe in patriarchy.
In the end, I'm hoping that these frivolous abortion / contraception laws being passed by states, won't be heavily enforced. But in the meantime, please vote in this upcoming election. I'd hate to see what would happen if Rick Santorum would become president. *shudders* Even though I haven't seen the "change" I wanted from Obama, I still have hope. But even more concerning, is the though of Republicans taking over the Senate. So please vote and if you can donate money to organizations that aren't so anti-woman such as Planned Parenthood.
current mood:  discontent
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| Saturday, November 5th, 2011
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12:12 pm - Rosemary Spiced Nuts
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You're gonna love my nuts. *snicker* No seriously, these roasted and spiced nuts are amazingly tasting. And also quasi-healthy for you too.
I love this recipe. It's very simple and quick. I like making these nuts when I need to bring an appetizer or munchie of some sort to a party, but don't feel like doing anything too elaborate. Heck, these nuts would even make good Christmas gifts. Especially if you packaged them in tiny mason jars with cute labels and ribbons. This recipe can also be easily doubled if necessary.
The spice blend could also be modified too. I personally love the combination of the fresh Rosemary, mixed with a bit of sweet and salty, and the heat from the Cayenne Pepper. But I could see myself also trying basic Cinnamon & Sugar, or perhaps even an exotic Curry spice.
Rosemary Spiced Nuts
Ingredients:
1 pound Unsalted Nuts (I used Pecans, Walnuts, Hazelnuts, Almonds, Cashews, and Brazil Nuts - but feel free to use whatever blend of nuts you like)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Rosemary (fresh Rosemary is key here!)
3/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 tablespoon Butter, melted
Honey, to taste
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Spread nuts on a rimmed baking sheet, and roast for 8-10 minutes, until nuts are starting to brown.
3. While the nuts are roasting, chop the Rosemary and blend with the remaining ingredients, except for the Honey. This should make a thick paste of happiness.
4. Dump the roasted nuts into a large bowl and add the your spice paste. I like to add a little bit of the paste at a time, then stir, to make sure the nuts get evenly coated.
5. Taste your nuts. If you desire them to be a bit sweeter and sticky (like I do), drizzle the nuts with a bit of Honey and stir to combine. Continue to add Honey until the desired level of sweetness is achieved.
current mood:  sick
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| Saturday, October 29th, 2011
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3:58 pm - Would I Be Considered the 1% or 99%?
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I have mixed feelings about this whole Occupy Wall Street, 1% vs. 99% stuff. I definitely think that there is some stuff that is quite fucked up with this country at times. Who knows what the solution is. It also probably doesn't help that it seems like ALL of our politicians are on the payroll of large corporations.
I came across this website with all of the rants of the so called 99%. It's some super sad stuff. But some of it does come off kind of whiny. So where did it all go wrong? A lot of these rants have to do with debt.
Maybe the American Dream, whatever that is, isn't quite as formulaic as it's thought to be. Growing up with a middle class lifestyle, it seemed like the way to achieve this dream was to go to college after you graduated from high school, so you could get that degree that will guarantee you a good job. Hopefully, you would meet that special someone during college or shortly thereafter. You would then get married. Buy that house in the suburbs. Then have those 2.5 kids or whatever the average is now. Sounds simple, right?
But to do ALL of that stuff, it takes money. And if you have money, life, who is a cruel mistress, happens, and might take everything away from you.
So college. Having a college degree was supposed to guarantee a good job. Not so much anymore. I guess I'm lucky that I chose a field (chemistry) that has proved to be rather lucrative and I live in area where there is somewhat of a demand for these skills. Sadly, I can't say the same thing for other areas of study. But it is so stressed at the high school level (even back when I was in high school) that the key to success is to go to college. I have problems with that. First, not everyone really has the fortitude to handle college. But parents and high school advisers insist it's the only way to achieve success. What about trade schools? And seriously, what the hell can you really do with a BS in History or Philosophy once you graduate from college? Perhaps, we should be getting young people to think more about what they want to do career wise, and do what it takes for them to get that career vs. stressing education.
Education is a good thing, but it's hella expensive. College institutions know this and they are definitely benefiting from more and more people pursuing higher education, especially with their false promises of good jobs afterwords. You would think that with there being more and more colleges, that tuition would go down. But tuition has actually increased greatly over the past decade. Even state schools or some community colleges are no longer affordable options. Heaven forbid you actually go to a private school where a year's tuition is more than many people's yearly salary. Call me lucky or just plain spoiled, but I graduated from college with Zero debt, thanks to my parents. But even if I did have student loans to pay back, I might have been OK, as I have managed to be fairly successful career wise and haven't had to deal with any major healthy catastrophes that could change everything.
As for my career choice, I didn't initially start off super successful when I first graduated. I had a night Lab Technician position that paid $12/hour. Thankfully, the job also came with health benefits. But by no means could I live large on that salary, let alone support anyone else besides myself and my cats. I was very frugal and tried to make good decisions with how I spent my money. I was fortunate to also have a car that runs well and was paid off. Heck, I'm still driving my 11 year old Honda Civic, with 150,000 miles on it, to this day. Thankfully, with each new job I took, I was able to move up the corporate ladder and increase my salary. But even now, I wouldn't say my current salary is anything to sneeze at, but I'm definitely comfortable. I still live a frugal lifestyle though. I'm not into designer clothes and if I had more time to hunt for bargains, I'd shop more at thrift stores and places like TJ Maxx. Most of the furniture in my house is from IKEA, Craigslist, or vintage finds at local antique shops. My biggest expenditures are yarn and going out to eat. But even then, my yarn expenditures aren't too much, and I get as much joy eating a bag of $1 tacos from the local taqueria as I do from eating a fine $50 steak.
Now marriage. Getting married is expensive. Especially now it's considered normal to have this big gala with outlandish decorations, flowers, music, food, choreographed dances that sometimes get more attention than the actual couple who is getting married. What happened to small, intimate weddings or just renting out the high school gymnasium? This may sound hypocritical from someone who did have a large-ish wedding and a Vera Wang dress. But that was more of my parent's choosing than me. I wanted the fabulous dress. It didn't have to be a Vera Wang gown, but nothing else that cost less had the look I was going for, simple and modern. Besides, could you see me in one of those big poufy princess dress with all that lace, embroidery, and rhinestones? I tried them out and it just wasn't me. But as for the wedding itself, I wanted a mariachi band and tons of delicious (and cheap!) Mexican food or maybe get married in Vegas by an Elvis impersonator. Sounds like a good time to me? But my parents wanted to throw a big party for their only daughter. Again, call me lucky or just plain spoiled.
As for housing, some people just aren't meant to be homeowners. It's a huge responsibility, especially financially. When I made the decision to get a house, it was because I knew I would qualify for a decent interest rate and I would have the 20% down payment needed. For the people that didn't do this (and make less than me yet live in a bigger house than me), I have little pity for their crappy decisions.
As for kids, I know that they are expensive and that's one reason why I haven't had one yet. Not to mention the time and other sacrifices it takes to raise them. I'm not ready for that just yet.
All and all, call me lucky, fortunate, or whatever. But I know that my so called good fortune could be taken away in a heartbeat. What happens if something drastic happens to my house and insurance won't cover it but yet I'm stuck with the mortgage? What happens if I or the husband lost our jobs? What if something happened to me health wise and I couldn't work or I had an insane amount of hospital bills? I have some 'oh shit' money set aside for emergencies, but I know that it's nowhere near enough to cover any type of crazy, outlandish emergency. And I doubt that most Americans even would? $5 - 20k set aside can cover some things, but what about catastrophic accidents? You'd have to have at least $100k set aside if not more. And who really has that besides the 1%?
Despite the fact that the American Dream, may no longer be attainable, I still think there's stuff wrong with this county, especially for it to be controlled so much by large corporations. I was really sad to see Obama deny the EPA the ability to set forth more stringent standards for clean air as it could hurt business growth. While there may be some truth in that, what about having better air for the people of this country to breath? Are we more concerned with helping these corporations vs. the people that live in this country? It's obvious that these corporations don't always care about the 'little people'. Look at all of the unchecked pollution some corporations have spewed out in countries such as China or India. They'd do the same in the USA if we'd let them. They're all about profit and not necessarily taking care of the little people that work for them. I do think that large corporations should have some say in government, but because they fund the campaigns of so many politicians, they get too large of a say, in my opinion.
current mood:  contemplative
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| Saturday, October 1st, 2011
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11:21 am - Get Your Booze On: Bacon Bourbon Manhattan
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Despite living in the South aka Baptist country, we do like to get our drink on. There's even talk of having liquor sales on Sunday's of all things!. Anyways, I do rather enjoy my libations, in moderation of course. Typically, I'm too lazy to mix up a drink at home, so I typically just stick with beer or wine. As for beers, there's always my tried and true Pabst Blue Ribbon. But as of late, I've been trying a lot of craft beers and micro-brews. Two of my recent favorites have been Dale's Pale Ale and Southern Tier Brewing's Creme Brulee Stout. As for wines, I'm a fan of red wines, mostly Cabernet Sauvignon or Grenache. But I only try to drink the cheap shit, stuff that's under $10 a bottle.
As for mixed drinks, I've found that I'm no longer a fan of the uber-sweet, popsicle flavored crap I used to drink in my college days. Actually, I'm not a fan of sweet drinks anymore really. I will consume a finally crafted fruity tiki drink or a mojito from time to time, but overall no sweet stuff for me. As of late, I've noticed that Bourbon and Whiskey has become all of the rage in hipstery restaurants. I used to think that stuff was gross, but now I'm starting to become fond of it's subtle flavors. Sometimes I'll just drink Bourbon or Whiskey, straight up on the rocks or mixed with a bit of Soda Water, which makes for a great sippin' drink in the evening.
Awhile back I saw this tutorial on how to make Bacon Bourbon. Needless to say, I was intrigued and gave it a try. It's rather simple to make and a great way to use up leftover bacon fat. Not that I cook a whole lot of bacon, but I do save the drippings. It's cooking gold! Basically, you just pour the liquid fat into your bourbon in a container than can be sealed. You then place the bourbon and bacon fat concoction in the fridge for a few days to let the booze absorb all of the lovely bacon flavors without the fat! After a few days, you filter out the fat. I used one of those tea bags for loose leaf tea, but a coffee filter would work too. I used Knob Creek bourbon which is one of the higher end bourbons. It tastes good with the infused bacon but I think next time, I might go with a lower end bourbon just because the bacon flavor does over-power some other flavors of the bourbon. I would imagine you could do the same think with Vodka and make Bacon Vodka, which would probably make for some kick ass Bloody Mary's.
Now what to do with your Bacon Bourbon? Make a Manhattan of course! It's a classic drink and it really shows off the flavor of Bourbon nicely. I prefer my Manhattans on the rocks.
Bacon Bourbon Manhattan
1/2 ounce Sweet Vermouth
2 ounces Bacon Bourbon
1 dash Angostura Bitters
Stir the Sweet Vermouth, Bacon Bourbon, and Bitters in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass with ice. Garnish with a cherry.
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| Saturday, September 10th, 2011
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7:37 pm - Asian Chex Mix (aka the most addictive thing you'll ever eat)
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I'll be honest. I'm a HUGE fan of Asian cuisine. Thai, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, I love it all. Luckily, I live right down the street from some of the best Asian restaurants Atlanta has to offer. I adore the sweet / salty / sour / savory tastes of Asian food and I can never seem to get enough.
Awhile back, I was introduced to Rice Seasoning at my beloved Buford Highway Farmers Market. They give out free samples of various stuff on the weekends. Sometimes if I'm feeling at tad bit hungry, I'll stop by the market just to have a worldly snack. One day, they were having a special on Rice Seasoning and giving out samples of it sprinkled on clumpy, white rice. It was heavenly. I bought a jar of the stuff right then and there.
I don't cook too much rice. But I do find that the Rice Seasoning is very tasty when sprinkled on plain old microwave popcorn. If you don't have an Asian market nearby, you can order this stuff on-line. My favorite is the Nori Komi Furikake 'flavor'. It's basically bits of Nori seaweed, sesame seeds, and a little bit of salt and sugar. Some of the other 'flavors' contained dried fish flakes. They are tasty - but the dried fish smell may be off putting to some.
Anyways, I've seen several recipes on the internets for Asian Chex Mix made with the Nori Komi Furikake Rice Seasoning. I've made it a few times for parties and it's been a huge hit. I refer to this mix as 'Godzilla Mix' but it is extremely addictive. It has this wonderful sweet and salty flavor mixed with crunchy with a bit of umami. This mix would also be great if you're hosting a party and need something a bit more exciting that chips and dip for guests to munch on.
Ingredients:
3 cups Crispix Cereal
3 cups Rice Chex Cereal
1 bag Bugles (they are my favorite part!)
1 bag Goldfish pretzels
1 - 6 oz. container of Roasted Almonds
(Or depending on your taste you could sub out some of these ingredients with regular pretzels, popcorn, peanuts, wasabi peas, or any other crunchy snack food or cereal)
3/4 cup Butter
3/4 cup Light Corn Syrup
3/4 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Vegetable Oil
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 teaspoons Hot Sauce
1 bottle Nori Komi Furikake
1. Preheat the oven to 250 F.
2. If desired line a roasting pan with tin foil or parchment paper to make clean up easier. (I can never seem to line pans right so I opt out and just spend the extra time cleaning.)
3. Mix the Cereals, Bugles, Pretzels, and Almonds in the roasting pan.
4. In a sauce pan, melt the Butter over medium heat.
5. Add the Corn Syrup, Sugar, and Vegetable Oil. Stir until the sugars are dissolved.
6. Add the Soy Sauce, Worcestershire, and Hot Sauce. Stir until combined.
7. Pour the sauce over the dry ingredients. Stir to combine. (I like to add the sauce gradually to ensure that everything is evenly coated)
8. Place the roasting pan, uncovered in the oven for 15 minutes.
9. Take the roasting pan out of the oven and sprinkle on the Nori Komi Furikake. (I like to add the Nori Komi Furikake gradually to make sure I don't end up with a big glob of it)
10. Continue baking the mix and stirring every 15 minutes or so until it reaches a golden brown color and it's no longer goopey looking. This took about 1.75 hours for me.
11. Let the mix cool before serving. It will keep for several days in a sealed container.
Chopsticks aren't necessary when eating this. But it's so damn addictive, the chopsticks prevent me for shoveling this stuff into my mouth by the handful.
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| Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
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9:15 pm - When It's Just Too Damn Hot to Turn on the Oven or I'm Just Too Lazy to Bake
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As I've mentioned before, I have joined the neighborhood Bunco group. If you don't know what Bunco is, it's a stupid, little dice game. It really takes no skill or strategy to play, which allows for easy conversation and plenty of drinking. It's been a great way to meet all of the wonderful ladies, young and old, in my 'hood. And did I mention we play for money? My winnings typically = yarn money.
The Bunco group meets up once a month. The hostess just provides the booze and other beverages, where as everyone else usually brings some sort of appetizer to share. I know I could just bring Salsa & Chips or grocery store bakery cookies, and no one would judge me any less. But for some reason I always feel compelled to make something homemade to bring. Depending on my mood or energy, I'll bake some sort of yumminess. But other times, especially if it's been a busy week at work, I don't feel like putting too much effort into what I make.
Last month, I tried some sort Cookies n' Creme bars (think Rice Crispy Treats but made with ground up Oreo cookies!), thinking it would be an easy, simple, yet tasty dish to bring. It was easy, simple, and tasty, but my bars ended up coming out looking like these dark brown logs. They tasted great but literally looked like crap. I think I may have ground up the Oreos too much. Because of their appearance, I didn't dare bring them to Bunco so I whipped together a Pesto Pasta Salad last minute.
This month was a busy month and I didn't feel like doing anything too elaborate. Thankfully my bestie, Kari, had recently posted a recipe for Sugar Shock Bars on her craft blog, The Craftinomicon. I highly suggest checking out her blog for all sorts of amazing craftiness and tasty recipes. Anyways, the Sugar Shock Bars were super simple and quick to put together, plus they were a huge hit at Bunco. Peanut Butter and Chocolate is just an amazing combination.
I'm surprised I was able to get the melted chocolate to be smooth. It probably helps that I did buy a Cake Icing Spatula awhile back for such things. And check out my newly finished knitted dishcloth.
Bars ready to be devoured by the Bunco Babes:
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| Sunday, August 21st, 2011
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2:42 pm - Baby Knits
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No, I'm not trying to announce anything on here. I am NOT with child. But I will say I am slowly defrosting to the idea of having kids. I don't see myself having any in the immediate future. But that could change if that biological clock ever goes off.
Anyways, whenever I find out that a friend or relative is having a baby, I can't help but feel compelled to make something for the baby. For closer friends and family, I usually invest the time in making a baby blanket. Despite their smaller size, baby blankets can still be quite a lot of work! For smaller objects, I usually stick with things like hats and booties. But one of my favorite things to make are burp cloths and bibs. As you know, babies can be rather messy.
When choosing the yarns for baby items, I try to stick with something that will be low maintenance, such as acrylic or cotton, or a blend of the two. I figure most parents won't have time to hand wash a 100% wool baby blanket, not to mention some babies could be allergic to the wool. But in the knitting world, there are concerns with using acrylic yarns. Since it is plastic, it can melt onto the child. But I figure by the time the baby is in a situation where whatever acrylic item is melting, there are probably bigger things going on that would be detrimental to the baby's life.
As for color of said baby items, I try not to usually stick with the traditional pink or blue, or icky pastel colors, that most baby yarns seem to come in. I try to shake things up by using bright colors or something with a modern color palette. Depending on the recipient, I may try to make the colors gender neutral but sometimes I do opt for the traditional pink or blue.
I recently finished up this rainbow colored baby blanket for a cousin who just had a baby girl. I love how it came out, but I don't think I'll be making any baby blankets out of fingering weight yarn for quite some time. This blanket took quite some time to do and by the time I got to the last row, I think it contained at least 600 stitches.
Keeping with the rainbow theme, I made some cheery bibs for a sweet neighbor who just had the cutest girl ever. I really liked how these bibs came out. You can't tell in this photo, but I found some equally bright colored buttons, to fasten the bibs shut.
The bib pattern is from the Mason-Dixon Knitting book, which I have unexpectedly learned to adore. Maybe I am becoming a Southerner? But what I love about the bib pattern, and the burp cloth pattern, featured in the book, is that they can be customized in lots of fun and simple ways, such as adding an interesting button or patch.
The following bibs and burp cloths were made for a friend in FL who just had a baby girl awhile back. I opted to go girly here, but the addition of the cupcake patch definitely takes the cuteness up a notch.
I had a lot of fun customizing the following set up bibs and burp cloths with a punk rock theme. I used skull buttons for the bibs and a skull patch on the burp cloth. I didn't feature this in these photos, but I was able to locate some diaper pins and used those to attach the patch vs. regular safety pins. You would never believe how difficult it is to find diaper pins. I searched every craft and baby store, but somehow managed to find them at this variety store in town.
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| Sunday, August 7th, 2011
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6:49 pm - Brunswick Stew + Cornbread
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If you had asked me 10 years ago when I was 20, where I thought I'd be living once I graduated from college, I probably would have told you Chicago or Indianapolis or some other big city in the Midwest. I would have never thought that I'd be living in the South. It's crazy where life takes you. Anyways, Atlanta is officially home for me now and I don't plan on moving anywhere else anytime soon.
Living in the South for 3+ years has definitely rubbed off on me. I have yet to speak with a drawl, but I have developed a taste for Southern comfort foods. Some of my favorite Southern delicacies include Fried Green Tomatoes, Pimento Cheese, Grits (mixed with lots of cheese & butter), Banana Pudding, Squash Casserole, and Mac N' Cheese (which is actually considered a vegetable in some restaurants).
You also can't live in the South without having a whole bunch of BBQ restaurants nearby. I had BBQ growing up in the Midwest, but nothing like the stuff you find down South. I've even ventured out to a few BBQ competitions such as the Big Pig Jig and Memphis in May. Needless to say, I'm a BBQ lover. Out of the numerous BBQ joints I've eaten at in Metro Atlanta, Williamson Bros BBQ and Swallow at the Hollow have to be my 2 favorite BBQ joints. One side dish you'll find at a lot of BBQ places is Brunswick Stew and it varies widely from restaurant to restaurant. Sometimes it's filled with veggies and big chunks of BBQ. Or sometimes it's finely shredded BBQ in a tomato broth. I think the stew is a way for restaurants to use up leftover BBQ and veggies. Anytime I venture out to a new BBQ joint, I always have to try their Brunswick Stew.
After trying many different versions of Brunswick Stew, I decided to try it making it myself. I've made a few batches over the past year or so, but I think I've finally come up with a decent blend of veggies and spices. But much like when I make chili, it comes out different each time, for better or for worse. Anyways, here's my take on Brunswick Stew. I do cheat a bit and get pulled pork from a local BBQ restaurant. But I've seen versions with just shredded chicken or beef (or if you really want to be adventurous use venison, squirrel, rabbit, as that's supposedly what Brunswick Stew was traditionally made with). This recipe would also be super easy to modify too, depending on your veggie preferences. I could see okra, lima beans, carrots, and other veggies added to the mix.
Brunswick Stew
Ingredients:
1 - large Vidalia Onion, diced
2 - Poblano Peppers, diced
1 pound Red Potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
1 small package Frozen Corn
1.5 pounds smoked Pulled Pork
1 - 28 oz. can Crushed Tomatoes
1 - small jar Roasted Red Peppers, diced
1 - 14.5 oz. can Diced Tomatoes
2 - Garlic cloves, finely minced
48 oz. Chicken Broth
2 - Bay Leaves
Olive Oil
Salt, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
Your Favorite BBQ Sauce, to taste
1. Saute the Onion, Green Peppers, and Garlic in a little bit of Olive Oil in your stew pot on Medium Heat, until the onions start to become slightly caramelized.
2. Add the Chicken Broth, Crushed Tomatoes, Diced Tomatoes (plus juice), Pulled Pork, Bay Leaves, Frozen Corn, Roasted Red Peppers, and Red Potatoes to the stew pot. Stir to combine.
3. Add BBQ Sauce, Black Pepper, and Salt to taste.
4. Allow the stew to cook on low heat, covered, for at least 1 - 2 hours or until the potatoes are tender. Stir occasionally to prevent the stew from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
5. Remove the Bay Leaves.
6. Serve with a slice of Cornbread.
As for the Cornbread, I followed this Skillet Cornbread recipe. This was actually the first time I used my cast iron skillet for baking. It allowed for the edges of the cornbread to come out nice and crunchy, while leaving the inside moist and chewy. Normally, I prefer my cornbread a bit on the sweeter side. This version was a bit salty and savory, due to the bacon fat called for in the recipe. But it paired perfectly with the Brunswick Stew. Bacon fat is cooking gold. Seriously. Save that shit.
current mood:  tired
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| Monday, July 25th, 2011
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11:08 pm - Roasted Vegetable Baked Ziti
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To be honest with you, I used to loath vegetables. I'd pitch a fit as a kid if I had to eat one. From time to time, I would eat corn or the occasional green bean. But for the most part, I hated veggies. Sad but true. Part of it was the stigma that vegetables have. The other part was how they were prepared for me growing up. Nothing against my mom's cooking. But usually if veggies were made as a side, they often came from the freezer or a can. Frozen or canned veggies are appropriate for cooking depending on what you are making. But when the veggie is the prominent star of the dish, having some limp, mushy, icky thing is not good eats. That's why, when I now eat veggies, I prefer them to be fresh and prepared properly.
Unfortunately, I probably don't eat as many veggies as I should. I try to incorporate them into my daily diet when I can, but it's difficult when you prefer them fresh and having to go to the grocery store constantly is a pain in the ass. Part of that has been resolved by me growing some veggies in the garden this year. My red bell pepper plants seem to be doing well (when the critters don't get to my peppers first!). Maybe next year, I'll try to grow even more yummy things.
Anyways, I happened upon this Roasted Vegetable Baked Ziti recipe awhile back and I finally got around to making it about a week ago. At this point in time in my cooking hobby, I'm not quite ready for coming up with my own recipes just yet. Frankly, I just don't have the time nor energy. But I'll modify the heck out a recipe to suit my tastes. I'll include my mods below. This recipe is definitely a winner in my opinion. Normally, I like my ziti loaded with meat, sauce, and cheese. But with this version, I didn't miss the meat at all. In my head, I like to pretend that this dish is quasi-healthy given the veggie content. If my mom had prepared dishes like this, I know I would have loved eating vegetables as a kid.
Look at all of the colorful veggies! I used squash, onion, red bell pepper, and asparagus. But the veggie mix could definitely be mixed up depending on your tastes. I could see myself trying out a version with mushrooms or eggplant. Or perhaps even a Mexican version with Poblano peppers, salsa, beans, and corn!
And here's my new instrument of destruction. It makes me kinda feel like a semi-professional chef.
And here's the final result. I like my ziti's to be loaded with cheese so that they are all types of ooey and gooey.
Roasted Vegetable Baked Ziti
Ingredients:
2 red peppers, cored, deseeded and cut into 1-inch wide strips
12 -16 thin asparagus, cut into 1-inch strips
2 yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch strips
1/4 cup olive oil
Pinch of Kosher Salt
1 lb. ziti
3 cups marinara sauce (I used Publix Garden Style sauce from a jar to up the veggie content)
2 cups fresh mozzarella, grated
1 /4 cup fresh Parmesan, grated and extra for the topping
1. Preheat oven to 450 F
2. Coat the vegetables with the olive oil and salt in a large bowl
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and toss on the peppers, asparagus, squash and onion. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until tender enough that a fork spears them
3. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook ziti for approximately 10 minutes. You don’t want them too overcooked since they will be put in the oven.
4. Drain the cooked pasta in a colander and place in a large bowl.
5. Add the vegetables, marinara, Parmesan, and 1 cup of the mozzarella along with a pinch of Kosher salt and a crank of pepper. Mix with a spatula until everything is completely combined.
6. Pour into a oiled 9×13 baking dish and lightly sprinkle with Parmesan and the remaining mozzarella. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 F or until crispy and the cheese has melted.
current mood: tired
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| Monday, June 27th, 2011
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11:21 pm - I Like Food, Food Tastes Good
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So in addition to knitting, crocheting, and gardening, I somehow also have time to cook. How I manage to find time for this on top of working a full time job, I don't know. But I figured it was about time to start showcasing some of my culinary adventures and share some tasty recipes on here.
I've always been able to cook or at least follow a recipe. To me, it's no different then following some sort of chemistry test procedure. You mix a few things together and apply heat, and you typically have some sort of chemical reaction. But up until a year or so ago, I didn't do much cooking. Mostly due to laziness and not having the space. When I cook, I have to have fresh ingredients, especially when it comes to fruits and veggies. Which means a trip to the grocery store, waiting in line, and dealing with people. Ugh. Sometimes, I just don't have the patience for that on top of taking the time to prepare the food. Sometimes, I'd just rather have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and call it a day.
When I did cook in the past, it would either be making cookies or boiling some noodles and adding sauce from a jar. If I had a cold, I'd sometimes make myself a big pot of chicken noodle soup. But now that I have a spacious kitchen and the most amazing farmers market is right down the street, I've found myself getting the urge to cook more and more. I get a lot of my inspiration from  . There's some amazing food pr0n on that website. But one of my favorite things to make are soups and stews. I usually only have to dirty one dish and it makes for a complete meal in a bowl. No need to multi-task and make several dishes at once for a complete meal - which usually stresses me out by the way. Plus, when I make soup or stew, I make enough for 8 - 10 people. Thankfully the leftovers freeze well and make for some very tasty lunches.
I've recently joined the neighborhood Bunco group, or Drunko as we call it. But with each monthly game, I get to try out a new recipe on the neighborhood ladies. My most recent triumph was Caprese Salad Skewers. Super tasty and refreshing, yet super simple to make! No cooking or chopping necessary!
Caprese Salad Skewers
Ingredients:
Olive Oil
Salt
Black Pepper
1 pound Cherry or other small Tomatoes
Fresh Basil
1 tub Bocconcini Mozzarella
Short bamboo skewers (longish toothpicks could also be used)
1. Rinse the tomatoes and basil with water and dry. Depending on the size of the Boccocini, cut into small, bite size pieces.
2. Place one tomato, then a whole basil leaf, then a Boccocini piece onto a skewer. Repeat until you've made enough skewers.
3. Align the skewers onto a plate. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. This should make about 25 - 30 skewers.
Not knowing exactly how many skewers I'd make, I ended up overestimating on my ingredients, leaving me with excess Basil and Mozzarella. I hate seeing food go to waste so I decided to come up with way to use up the excess ingredients. Immediately my mind went to Pesto! I followed this recipe for the pesto.
But I also needed to find a use for the mozzarella balls, so I figured a Pesto Pizza was in order. Not being in the mood to make my own pizza dough, I did cheat and buy one of those pre-made pizza crusts. It's not the best pizza crust in the world, but it'll make do in a pinch.
current mood:  creative
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| Sunday, May 15th, 2011
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2:06 pm - Busy as a Bee
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You would think that with working less than 40 hours a week, I'd feel like I have more free, leisure time. Sadly that isn't the case. Somehow I feel even busier. It seems like there's always something happening in Amanda-ville. And with the recent stretch of spring and now summer weather in Atlanta, I've been finding myself much more active. It's a good thing I suppose and it keeps me out of trouble.
One of newest obsessions is gardening and I have fallen in love with growing succulents and cacti. I adore the architectural beauty and just all around crazy look of these plants. Plus having a few potted plants, indoors and outside, has given the house a certain feel of lushness. I still have somewhat of a black thumb, but I've been doing pretty well with growing succulents and cacti. They seem to thrive on neglect. But I still always fear that I may be over or underwatering them. If for some reason Chemistry doesn't work out for me, I'd love to become a succulent planter designer. They look so awesome in my handmade concrete planters!
Here's my stone plant planter with a cactus. These plants look alien in my opinion.
Succulent / cacti triptych:
Retro planter that I scored for $5 at an antique market.
Pencil cactus. Another alien looking plant.
Succulents in my bullet planter.
Somehow I've managed to keep the mother-in-law tongues that came with the house alive. But then again they're supposedly impossible to kill. However, this planter has recently become infested with menehune.
I found this great cat vintage cat planter on eBay. I find it amusing that you're basically planting something in a cat's butthole. I've been trying to get a cactus in there. But the cacti at the stores are too large for the opening and trying to go cactus from seed hasn't been working out so much. Any suggestions on what to do?
I found this super awesome dino planter at http://www.etsy.com/shop/PlaidPigeon's etsy shop. True, I probably could have made one myself. But I do like supporting fellow crafty folks. He lives in my bathroom.
Another succulent arrangement.
Succulent planter with mini Mondo grass. All of these plants came from the ground cover section at Home Depot, oddly enough.
My vegetable container garden. I'm attempting to grow Red Peppers, Green Peppers, Poblano Peppers, and Tomatoes. If the critters or my black thumb don't get to these plants first, I'm going ot be eating a shit ton of vegetables this summer.
My pathetic looking herb garden. I originally had these herbs inside in my bullet planter, but they just weren't getting enough sunlight so I transplanted them outside. We'll see how long they last. I've already managed to kill a rosemary and lavender plant.
Now I'm trying to liven up my new front steps with some potted flowers. I think I need anothe pot or two. Thoughts?
And of course one of these potted plants on the steps has to be a succulent Ice Plant. So pretty!
And despite all of this gardening and all around business, I've somehow managed to finish a few knitting projects.
I finally finished the blanket (5 months later) that was supposed to be a Christmas present for my parents. But the finished result is well worth it I hope.
And last but not least, some knitting for myself!
High Line Wrap
I absolutely adore the colors in this scarf. So pretty!
current mood:  busy
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| Saturday, March 12th, 2011
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11:24 pm - The Death (and Hopeful Rise) of Manufacturing in America
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I read this article the other day about how some companies are deciding to bring manufacturing back to the good ole' US of A. This issue is definitely of a personal matter to me and for good reason.
First off, of all of the working professionals that are my friends and family, I'm one of the few who actually works in more of a blue collar / manufacturing environment. And have been doing so for quite some time. Even though being a chemist might be considered a white collar job by some, I'm exposed to blue collar work on a regular basis. Being a chemist isn't as glamorous as it seems. It's not all about test tubes, bunsen burners, and explosions. But since I've orientated myself more towards the quality assurance / R&D area of chemistry, I will usually have something to do with the manufacturing side of things and will need to be close to wherever the stuff I work with is made. Hence, why it's important for my job security for things to be made in the USA. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a global economy (I think it's unavoidable at this point in time) and do understand why so many companies send job over seas. Heck, even more white collar jobs are now being sent over seas.
And another reason why this issue of jobs going over seas is personal to me, is that it also impacts my family. As you may or may not know, my parents own a small factory that manufactures metal stampings i.e. small metal parts that are used in a wide variety of applications. My parent's business was started up in the 70s by my grandfather and my parents took it over in the 90s. Sadly, I have had no interest in going into the family business. Anyways, I've seen the impact of manufacturing being done over seas vs. in the USA on my parents business. They've lost quite a few customers to China and they just can't compete with the lower prices. Who knows how much longer their business will be able to survive, especially given the current state of the economy.
Isn't manufacturing what made this country so damn great? Look at the good (and bad) auto manufacturing has done for Detroit. I know why more manufacturing is done over seas (more on that later) but seriously what is so wrong with working in that field? Most young people don't even see a job as a factory worker as a viable option. But it's a halfway decent area to be in, especially if you're somewhat unskilled. It may not be the most glamorous of jobs, but one can make an OK wage as a factory worker. It may not be the most livable of wages - but it's not bad for someone who may not have a college diploma. Many factory workers may start off at $10 - 14 / hour, some as high in the upper teens / low 20s depending on the type of work. Hell, some people with a college degrees don't even make that! (I've seen job postings for part-time work that pay $8 / hour, just doing basic administrative type work AND a college degree was needed. Seriously? So you get thousands of dollars in debt just to be a secretary?)
Which leads me to another opinion of mine. A college degree is now the new high school diploma. I think it's wonderful that so many people are pursuing higher education these days. Education is always a good thing. But I think there's just too much emphasis on getting that college degree. A college degree can open many doors but is it always worthwhile to put yourself in that much debt? Back when I was in high school a long time ago, there was much emphasis on going to college i.e. if you didn't go to college you'd be a fuck up. But if you were a person who couldn't afford it nor had the academic fortitude to get into college, it basically meant you'd be that fuck up and I could see that being rather discouraging. I do believe that a college degree is critical if you're becoming a doctor, lawyer, engineer, etc., i.e. something where higher education is a must in order for you to do your job. But if you're going to college because you think it's what you're supposed to do and you're just getting a BS / BA in a softer subject such as Communications, History, Philosophy, etc., I have reason to question. Because seriously, what the fuck can you really do job-wise with a BS / BA in History? If you love History, I'm all for someone studying it, but in real life, it's not the most practical of studies. I really wish guidance counselors would push other types of education besides college such as trade schools. Being an electrician or plumber isn't all that glamorous but they can make a decent wage and there will always be a need for such skills. A college degree use to mean that you'd be more likely to have a good job and decent pay, but with so many other people with college degrees out there, it makes having one not as exceptional.
But as to why so many jobs are being sent over seas, it's just cheaper for them to be done there. And it's really a self-depreciating cycle. We all want to pay less for everything. But by sending jobs over seas, we now have people who have no choice but to buy these cheaper goods vs. all of us getting used to paying a little bit more for stuff just so that our fellow man & woman can have a decent job. And even when stuff is made over seas, the price doesn't always drop. For example, I'm a lover of Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars. I own several pairs. In the mid to late 90s, when these shoes were made in the USA, you could get a pair for $25. In the early 00s, Converse sent their operations over seas but now the same shoes cost $45. I'm confused. Inflation hasn't been that high over the past 10 years. The popularity of Converse has increased in recent years so that probably doesn't help with why a canvas shoe is so damn expensive. But I still don't get it. And not to mention, the quality of Converse has gone down once they were made over seas. I also love how some designer clothes that cost way too much money (and aren't even nice looking or made with quality fabric) are made over seas. So in reality, you're just paying a shit load of extra money for a label or status and not for better clothing?
Many people want to blame the low wages they pay folks over seas. That's part of the story. I think it's despicable how companies treat some of these workers (low wages, poor working conditions, long hours, child labor, no benefits). But there are many other benefits for companies to ship their operations over seas. First off, other countries know what type of wealth these companies bring to their impoverished country. Therefore, they will fight to get a company to set up operations in their country. Whether that means given them free land, tax benefits, overlooking environmental issues, etc. Where as in the USA, we do sometimes make it a bit more difficult for companies to operate. I may sound like a bit of a Republican here, but I do know that environmental laws cause problems for companies. But these laws are there for damn good reason and I support them for the most part. Perhaps as a country we should make it just a wee bit easier for companies to operate in the USA vs. overseas. And perhaps the country as a whole should just get used to paying more for everything vs. trying to get everything as cheap as possible. I'd be happy paying a little bit more for clothing or other goods knowing that they're made in the USA and supporting my fellow American.
I do have a small glimmer of hope that manufacturing will become more robust in the USA once again. There have been so many recalls for contaminated and poorly made products over seas that consumers are becoming a bit more weary of buying goods made over seas, where standards may not be as high. And even though I am a bit weary of this whole 'green' movement that has become increasingly popular. But it has made people become more conscious of where their stuff comes from and people are willing to pay more for locally made products.
current mood:  pensive
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| Sunday, February 27th, 2011
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4:08 pm - February Crafting
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Unfortunately February wasn't the most productive knitting month for me. Not only is the month shorter, but changing jobs has made it a bit hectic to sqeeze in any knitting time. Perhaps I should have taken a week off between the job change. Oh well. Also, with the weather being unusually warm as of late, I've come out of my winter hibernation and been out and about around the ATL. But as typical, my yarn stash seems to stay at equilibrium. I use some yarn up but then I end up buying some more. I guess there could be worse problems. Now onto the crafting!
As I mentioned previously, I had decided to make my parents a blanket for Xmas. I'm still not done with said blanket. It also doesn't help that when I do make blankets they tend to be big enough for several people to snuggle under. I'm pretty close to finishing the blanket but I believe I'll have to knit up one more ball of yarn so that the blanket is the size I want it to be. Here's a photo of the in progress blanket. Hopefully, it'll still be cold enough in South Bend by the time I finish up the blanket.
And since for some reason I can't stop making blankets, here's another blanket I'm working on at a snail's pace. I tend to work on it only at knitting group. It's a good portable project that's just mindless and tedious enough to allow for conversation without fucking up the pattern. So far I'm really liking how it's turning out.
Here's the one project I did manage to finish, some Felted Wool Slippers. I really wish I would have made a pair of these slippers sooner as they keep my toes super toasty and warm. Plus they worked up rather quickly and I can see myself making a bunch of these as gifts in the future. I still need to find some leather soles for the bottoms, since the felted wool is a bit slick on my bamboo floors.
Pre-felting:
Post-felting:
I also started on this lace wrap, thinking it would be a quick knit. I adore the look of lace done up in a bulky yarn. But as whenever I knit lace I somehow end up fucking up somewhere. Can you see where I made my mistake? After noticing my boo-boo, I adbruptly put this project in the naughty corner to be addressed whenever I get up the nerve to rip it out and start over. I was about halfway done when I noticed the mistake.
And not all of my crafts are always yarn related. I do branch out into other areas from time to time. I got inspired to make these concrete planters after seeing a few on etsy and figured I could apply my concrete knowledge from my previous job to make them. Overall, I'm pretty impressed with how the planters came out. And they look stellar with a succulent or cacti planted in them. I made a couple of different sizes. The larger ones I don't have photos of yet, as I'm currently waiting for my succulent seeds to sprout. So perhaps I may post some additional photos later on. I did write up a tutorial on how to make them here.
current mood:  lazy
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| Sunday, January 30th, 2011
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9:15 pm - Stashdown 2011
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Well it's no secret that I love yarn. I probably have enough to last me for at least 5 year's worth of knitting and crochet projects. Every New Year I tell myself I need to go on a yarn diet, which usually never happens. It's tough especially when there's 2 annual stash enhancement events in Atlanta, Sitches South and the Atlanta Yarn Shop Hop. And a friend in my knitting group has the most fantastic yarn shop ever, Eat.Sleep.Knit.
Sock yarn definitely has to be my biggest yarn vice. I have enough sock yarn to make 73 pairs of socks. Not all of my sock yarn is destined for warm, cozy handknit socks. Some of it will be made into shawls and scarves. Which is why I love sock yarn so much. It's not too terribly spendy and you always know what to make with it. I can't say the same thing for other types of yarn. Plus it comes in so many gorgeous colors. Thankfully the husband and my mom like my handknit socks as well. Because I have no idea how I'm going to be able to wear that many different pairs of socks.
My goal for the New Year is to hopefully knit down some of the sock yarn stash by trying to make a new pair of socks every month amongst my other projects. But before I can even attempt this, I do need to finish up some unfinished projects before proceeding with anything new. This includes the 2 pairs of socks and sweater that have been in the naughty projects corner for some time and the unfinished blanket that was supposed to be a Christmas present for my parents. Obviously, the blanket has priority.
So far this year, I've been doing pretty decent about finishing up a few outstanding projects. It also helped that I had a few snow days to catch up on my knitting. Now onto this month's finished objects!
Noro Rainbow Wrap:
You can't tell too well in the photo, but the fringe is hand braided pieces of yarn. This took FOREVER to do.
One of the husband's Christmas present - handknit socks. I've made him a pair for Christmas every year. But sadly I'm not the best at finishing them on time, which is a bit shitty of me. These would have been done by Christmas except I had to reknit the first sock as it came out smaller than expected.
As for the following blanket, I'm mighty proud of it. It's probably the most expensive thing I've ever made. And it's very ridiculous as well. It's made out of 100% wool which can't be washed in a washer or dryer nor do I trust the dry-cleaners with such things. Heaven forbid the cats ever have an accident on my blanket. Which is why they aren't allowed in the same room as the blanket.
It is a bit fitting that I finished up my Lizard Ridge blanket right around this time. I have always admired this blanket pattern and pretty much anything made out of Noro yarn. The colorways of Noro are almost always droolworthy. I never thought I would get around to make such a blanket just due to the time and money involved.
When I initially started my current job, I was supposed to travel on a monthly basis to audit concrete manufacturing plants. I figured I would need some small, travel projects to occupy my time at airports and hotels. Therefore, I started on such a ridiculous endeavor. I also figured it would be a good way to remember each plant trip by making a few blocks for each trip. I was able to visit a few plants and make a few blocks, but when the economy tanked, all of my travel for the most part was cancelled. The audits were to be performed by the regional operations managers to save on money. So that left me with quite a bit of yarn to use up. To use up the remaining balls of Noro, I forced myself to make a square each week or so.
2.5 years after starting this ridiculous project, I'm finally done. Sewing together the individual blocks took quite some time too. But right as I finished this blanket, I gave my 2 weeks notice to my current employer. I will soon be a Product Development / R&D Engineer for a manufacturer of silicone breast forms for women who have undergone masectomies. I'm extremely excited about my new opportunity but also sad to be leaving some good, hard working people behind.
current mood:  excited
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| Monday, October 4th, 2010
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11:10 pm - If Only It Paid The Bills
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I've been comtemplating adding yarn dyeing to my crafty repertoire. I ogle all of the gorgeous hand dyed yarns on etsy constantly. I even buy a skein from time to time and add it to my ever growing stash. And now I finally have the space to dapple in it. Now if I only had the time. As much as I'd love to start up a new hobby, my knitting seems to get top priority over my other hobbies. Also, work and life just always seem to get in the way. *sigh*
If I were to dye yarn, I would want to do it more as a business vs. as a hobby. I have some amazing ideas for chemistry / science themed colorways. It's a bit gimmicky but it's what attracts me to some hand dyed yarns. What's not to love about a colorway named after a Mystery Science Theater 3000 movie? And since I'm also not afraided of the dreaded math, I'd even be able to figure out self striping yarn.
Now I've heard some smack about some indie dyers out there. And as beautiful as their yarns are, some just don't have the best business sense or consistency. I've heard everything from them flaking on orders, to colorways being drastically different from batch to batch (or even within the same dye lot!) Or they only dye yarn one month out of the year, so it's basically never available. Due to my chemistry and process engineering background, not to mention my analytical skills, I would make for one awesome yarn dyer. I'd set up a small dye lab in the basement and have lab notebook with all of my secret color formulations and techniques. That way I have something to fall back on for upcoming batches. Not to mention, I'd establish a retain program to ensure that dye lots are as consistent as much as possible. The variegation and uniqueness of each hand dyed yarn skein is one of the things that makes hand dyed yarn so special. But when each skein within the same lot is drastically different, that's just bad.
Maybe someday I'll get so fed up with working for the man and corporate America and go to work for myself.
current mood: tired
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| Monday, September 27th, 2010
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9:55 pm - Nom Nom Nom
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Over the past few years, I've definitely turned into a bit of a foodie. I hope I'm not the snobby type though. I'm a far cry from the meat and potatoes girl I used to be. I have to thank the husband for some of my foodie-ness though. He's the one that introduced me to pad thai and BBQ!
Growing up in very small towns/cities in Indiana, didn't leave for much exposure to various cuisines though. But I do still crave a fried pork tenderloin sammich every now and then. My parents did expose me to fine dining every now and then. But for the most part, I was stuck going to chain restaurants, which I now abhor. Some chain restaurants are OK, but I try to avoid them now. Chipotle - bacon - ranch - Jack Daniel's flavored crap just doesn't appeal to me anymore. I prefer local mom and pop eateries these days. And lately I've been trying to not eat 'safe' things.
Some people may consider that since I eat sushi and pickled herring, that I eat weird shit. But some sushi and other things are actually pretty darn 'safe', at least by some foodie standards. I am trying to eat other animals and animal parts, such as goat, beef tongue and tendon. The goat and beef tongue were surprisingly tasty. But they were also in taco form along with a gazillion tasty spices. The beef tendon was OK, the texture was a bit weird though. I'm also trying to eat weird flavor combinations such as strawberry and basil, chocolate and chili, and lavender infused things. All are surprisingly yummy and very exciting to the palette. Another reason why I can't eat boring chain restaurant food. It's just no longer exciting or adventurous.
Living so close to Atlanta's notorious Buford Highway area has allowed me to expand my horizons even more. I <3 being so close to pho noodle houses and taquerias that are open till 4 in the morning. Not to mention that stuff is uber tasty and cheap!!!! I also swear that Vietnamese pho soup has magical healing properties. Whenever I have a cold, I get some pho with a little bit of Sriracha sauce in it. By the next day, I'm almost completely over my cold. I've also become addicted to bubble tea.
My favorite cuisines by far have to be Asian (Japanese and Thai are my favorite), Latin, and Italian. Even though I know that there's more to Japanese than sushi, I'm very fond of it. And I could probably eat sushi every day of my life, even though I have gotten mild cases of food poisoning form it from time to time. As much as I want to branch out into other Thai dishes, I can't resist Pad Thai. Yes, it's the hamburger of Thai cuisine, but it's just so damn tasty. As for Latin cuisine, I wish they'd use less cilantro. Sadly, I'm one of those poor individuals that thinks cilantro tastes like ass. And I'm a carb freak, so I could also eat noodles or rice every day of my life.
I do favor the ethnic cuisine, but I do heart me some frou-frou food too, such as beef tartare, rack of lamb, and other honky delights. Or maybe I just have a thing for eating raw meat?
The husband and I do seem to get around to some amazing restaurants in Atlanta. Living in the South has meant I've developed a taste for pimento cheese, BBQ, and grits!
And when I'm not out getting my eat on, I've actually starting to cook a lot more lately. I can cook, granted I have a recipe to semi-follow. Without a recipe, I'm kinda lost. Perhaps it's the scientist in me? Chemistry is really just scientific cooking. I tend not to cook much on weeknights, just because I don't have that much time in the evenings. But during the weekend, I've been getting my cook on. Beforehand, my cooking was limited to nuking something in the microwave or heating up a jar of spaghetti sauce and throwing it over some noodles. I'm still the queen of making noodles and sauce. It's perfect for nights when you don't have several hours to prepare a meal. But I do now doctor the spaghetti sauce with spices and meat. It also doesn't help that I now have a larger kitchen (apartment kitchens seriously blow!) and an amazing farmer's market nearby, with cheap produce. This market isn't a true farmer's market, but they do specialize in Latin / Eastern Europe / Asian goodies. On the weekends, they have all sorts of free sample booths set up around the store. I refer to it as eating around the world. It's a great way to sample items that you'd be hesitant on spending a few dollars on, just in case it tastes like dog balls dipped in liquor.
But over the past few months I've made Indian, German, Italian, Southern, and Mexican awesomeness. I've gotten a few recipes from Food Network. The Paula Deen recipes are actually pretty yummy. But what's not to love about butter? But my new favorite inspiration is foodgawker. I could look at that website for hours. But when I cook, I usually go all out i.e. it'll take me several hours to prepare a meal. But it's totally worth it and not to mention it makes for some awesome leftovers for lunches at work!
current mood:  hungry
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| Sunday, August 29th, 2010
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5:10 pm - Get Crafty, Part I
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It's been a bit since I've posted about my latest craft endeavors. Homeownership has left me busier then anticipated, it's a good thing I suppose. Not to mention working 40+ hours a week doesn't help. I used to spend at least 4 hours a day being crafty, I'd say that's down to about 2 hours a day now. But somehow I manage to get things made. I guess I'm superwoman?
When it comes to knitting, I'm a bit squeamish when it comes to making sweaters. I would love to have a drawer full of cozy handknit sweaters. But I'm a bit scared to make them. The idea of spending so much time and money on a sweater only for it to look like crap on me is a bit off putting. So I tend to make a lot of blankets. It's a bit crazy because blankets take so long to make but I'm obsessed with making them. I have patterns to make at least 6 more, along with the fact I'm currently working on 2 more! Maybe I'll be kind enough to gift them to a relative or good friend....
Here's the first blanket. A baby blanket for an expecting cousin. I'm always a bit nervous about making large baby items. Just because some people don't know the amount of work that goes into them, even if they are smaller! It always saddens me to see hand knit or crocheted blankets at thrift stores. Yes some of them are in pukey 70s colors or made out of the nastiest, baby melting acrylic, but there's so much work that goes into these things. Anways, my cousin did appreciate the gift. And the blanket is mature enough (no prissy baby colors for this child!) that the kid will be able to use in the future or if the blanket wears well, it would still make for a nice lap blanket around the house.
This other blanket is a bit crazy though. Why I am making such a labor intensive blanket made out of 100% wool is beyond me? But it will be gorgeous when it's finished. It originally started as my traveling project back when I was travelling more for work. I figured I'd knit a few squares for each audit trip I went on, and eventually I'd have a blanket. Well most of my travel got cancelled due to the economy. So instead I made a square each Sunday at my knitting group. I've finished making all 54 squares and now I'm sewing this son of a bitch together. The sewing has to be the worst part. I'm about 2/5 done with the sewing. But here's an in progress photo of my Lizard Ridge:
I've also recently become addicted to crocheting grannny squares. They're pretty fast and I found this awesome  so there's no need to sew all of the squares together! It's an OK method. It does leave gaps between the squares but it's worth it to not have to sew all of the squares together. And weaving in all of the yarn ends is a bitch and a half when you make granny squares.
Here's my first granny square blanket. It's made from leftovers from another crocheted blanket. I love the end result but it's a bit small for my liking. I prefer my blankets to be Queen sized (better for snuggling!) but this blanket came out more like lap sized.
I've always been secretly obsessed with the granny square blanket you see on the Roseanne TV show. So I made one. But I made it out of chunky yarn so the granny squares are pretty huge. This blanket is also made from some yarn scraps. But I did buy a few extra skeins of colors and the black yarn. Not the best photo but it's a pretty cozy blanket.
Next I combined both granny squares and ripple blankets for a granny ripple blanket. Crocheting with this boucle yarn kinda sucked but the end result is nice.
You would think that after all of that crocheting and yarn end weaving, I'd be a bit sick of granny squares. Well...you guessed wrong. I started up another granny square blanket, but this time it's granny hexes! This one is a bit crazy though since it's all out of fingering weight yarn that is 100% wool. But it should be gorgeous when it's done!
current mood:  accomplished
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| Saturday, July 31st, 2010
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10:14 pm - Homemoanership
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It looks like we got our first real dose of home ownership. Why does so much shit have to break like 6 months after we move in? I'm not naive and I knew shit was going to break eventually. We have an older home. It's expected. But so soon after moving in is a bit much.
First off, we've developed a leak in our main bathroom down to the laundry room below. It's probably been leaking for quite some time. During the home inspection, it was noted that the were was old water damage to the wood support beams and floor under our jack-n-jill bathtub. The beams seem somewhat sound and during the inspection the wood was bone dry. They're not rotted thankfully. For the most part, we probably would have never known there was a water leak until I just so happened to place a laundry basket in a different place and noticed water in it. This leak could have been going on for some time and we just never noticed since we don't usually head to the laundry room immediately after showering. I've had a few plumbers look at it, and according to them it's just a grout/caulking issue and NOT a plumbing issue. That's a relief. But now we (well mostly the wonderful husband) will have to re-caulk and grout the tub. The idea of possibly having to remodel the entire bathroom made me sick. For others it may be a relief to get rid of our retro blue bathroom. Some folks may consider it ugly. I think it's gorgeous. The jack-n-jill tub does make for some interesting bathroom moments. The couple that poops together stays together? Right?
Secondly, the condensation pump for the AC decided to die. Since it could no longer pump water, it sat in an electrified puddle. Fun times. But the oh so wonderful and mighty handy husband was able to install a new pump and saved us quite a bit of money.
And the worst of all of our house woes happened a few weeks ago. The husband and I were watching TV like we normally do in the evenings when we heard this bubbling sound come from the downstairs bathroom. We go investigate and there's a few inches of rusty water that backed up into the tub. Dear husband then stays up late flushing Drane-O down the tub. Eventually the water subsided and we thought this was problem was fixed. Yeah right. Well the same thing happened a few days later. So we suck it up and have a plumber come over to snake the pipes. Well his 100+ feet of snake tubing didn't even make it to the street. And when he coiled it back up, it brought a bunch of roots and rocks with it indicating that the pipes had collapsed. As it turns out, terra cotta pipes were the standard for sewer pipes back in the 60s. Over time, they can develop leaks which attracts tree roots and we have shit fuck ton of trees.
The next day the plumber comes back to dig up the area where they think the pipe collapsed. The pipe just so happened to collapse right under our front concrete steps. About half of the steps had to be jackhammered to get access to the pipe. Good times. And then while they're digging 8+ feet into the ground to get to the sewer pipe they come across the main water line made out of galvanized steel. This pipe was also starting to become corroded. So we figured that since we have this big ass trench in our yard, we might as well have the water line replaced. And $6k later, we have new PVC sewer pipes and water lines. Hopefully, this will mean we'll never have to worry about his happening ever again. But damn is that shit expensive. (So much for planning a vacation this year...) We were without water for ~24 hours. However, we have some of the most wonderful neighbors. We had at least half a dozen of them offer up their facilities to us if we needed to drop a deuce if needed.
But now we're left with a torn up front yard and busted steps. Getting the yard and steps to look normal again is going to take some time and even more funds. *sigh* To get the front steps re-poured is going to cost a pretty penny. Even though I'm supposedly a concrete expert, I'm going to leave this one to the professionals. Mixing up THAT much concrete by hand is just too damn much work. And there's also the landscaping that'll need to be done. As much as I'm into DIY, it's just too damn much work for 2 people who only have free time on the weekends. There's other things I'd rather being doing like smooching on the husband or getting my craft on.
current mood:  bitchy
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| Monday, July 5th, 2010
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9:49 pm - The Lonely Goatherd
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Sadly, I knew what I was getting into when we got our house. It had a yard. A sizeable yard but nothing too huge. I do like that fact that we have trees. 40+ trees. It's something you don't see with newer construction. New homes rarely have trees. Sometimes they have some young saplings though. Now I understand why. Trees = a pain in the ass. And not just any trees. Pine fucking trees.
I grew up with deciduous trees in northern Indiana. They're a pain in the ass in their own way. But pine trees are a completely different beast. Raking pine needles is worse and you have to do it year round. And not to mention the scores of pine cones to pick up. It looks like we'll be removing a few trees in the near future. And will probably do so every year until we get down to a manageble amount. It'll make me and the Lorax sad. But really it isn't the most manageble especially since we are both full time working adults. And we don't want to spend every moment of our free time in the yard doing stuff. Secretly, I'm kinda jealous of the folks that have postage stamp sized yards, mostly those closer to Atlanta. It means that you own less land and are closer to your neighbors. But the yard maintenance is much more doable.
Technically, we make enough money and could pay to have the yard professionally done on a regular basis. Right now we're paying a neighborhood kid to mow the lawn every so often. Since we still haven't gotten around to getting a lawn mower yet. But the kid does a pretty decent job and is much cheaper than some sort of professional service.. If I made more money, I'd feel more comfortable with having someone do the lawn and whatever else needs to be done. Not to mention hiring a maid service. Yet another reason why I need a new job.
It's kinda odd though. I have a DIY ethic. But the idea of doing my own yard work and cleaning completely blows. I guess I'd just rather spend my time doing other enjoyable things such as knitting, sleeping in, lounging around in my comfy pants, antique shopping, thrifting, etc.
Which now leads me to my recent idea. Buy a pygmy goat. Supposedly goats will eat almost anything, including pine needles and English Ivy, my biggest yard foes. I've heard of some cities south of Atlanta, actually renting goats as a cheaper, more eco-friendly way of dealing with troublesome Kudzu vines. That works for me. Tether a goat and let them go to town on the backyard jungle, while I chill out inside.
Of course this is all probably easier said than done. First off, there's the matter of whether or not pygmy goats are even allowable in DeKalb County. Some counties are starting to be more open to 'urban farming'. At least I'm not one of those chicken people. (Are fresh eggs really that damn good? But then again, I've never had one.) I've seen a few pygmy goats for sale on craigslist for $50 - 100. Heck that's cheaper than some dogs! Then there's the whole matter of whether or not this would piss off the neighbors. Thankfully Northcrest is filled with more liberal minded folks and there's no HOA. But it's hard to tell sometimes. Also I have no clue how high-maintenance goats are. Thankfully they have small poops that hopefully decompose well. I'd have to get a little goat house for it and I could make it cute little goat sweaters for the winter! And if it's a mohair or cashmere goat, I could even use it's fur for yarn!!!! Sadly, I don't think those goats come in the pygmy variety. But a knitter can dream, right? I'd just be more concerned that any stray dogs, or other critters such as the neighborhood fox (no seriously, there is a fox that lives in Northcrest!), would fuck with the goat. Which means we'd have to get a fence installed and that costs $$$. Oh well....
At least in the meantime, the front of the yard that everyone sees, looks halfway OK. It definitely won't be winning any Yard of the Year awards. But I'm OK with that. And it's not the worse yard in Northcrest either. It really is somewhat of a blessing in disguise to not have an HOA. There are some houses in the 'hood that have additions or other stylings that aren't quite mid-century modern. Or they have jungle yards too. With an HOA, none of that shit would be allowable. Heck, you could even go to jail! But without an HOA, we're pretty much free as homeowners to do almost whatever we want with our properties. And I kinda like that.
current mood:  full
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| Saturday, June 26th, 2010
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3:37 pm - Busy As A Bee. Buzz Buzz.
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I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually longing for the gray days of Winter. I miss having those lazy weekends where you spend the entire weekend in your PJs and watching bad movies/TV. At least thats what I prefer to do when it's cold outside. I've just been so busy lately and I would kill to have one of those lazy weekends. It just seems like every weekend there's something going on or to do.
We were spending every weekend, or at least it seemed like it, looking for furnishings for our house. I'm utterly amazed with what we've gotten accomplished within the past 6 months. Thankfully we've been able to get most of our crap on the cheap from Ikea, Craigslist, eBay, and local antique shops. We went from a 2 bedroom apartment to a 4 bedroom house with a shit ton of living space. It's not 100% furnished yet, but it's getting close! Getting the living room somewhat together finally, makes me super proud. It went from a kitty playroom, to this swankyness:
I still need to get some sort of coffee table and maybe a rug. The chairs and couch need be to reuphostered someday. But it's a huge relief to not spend so much time just looking at furniture. Now I get to pay a little bit more attention to knick-knacks and what not. We also scored a new dining table too! I retired my pink diner set and it's now my sewing table.
Now that we're no longer hot to trot on getting furniture, I'm starting to put a little bit more focus on our jungle yard. The good thing is that there's no sort of HOA at Northcrest. So if you have a crappy looking yard you won't go to jail or have to pay crazy fees. Our yard isn't one of the worse yards in the 'hood, but with all of the damn pine trees, it does take some maintenance. And now that its warmer, weeds are sprouting up everywhere even though it's too shady for grass to grow. Gotta love that. We also have an shit fuck ton of English Ivy to deal with. That shit is so damn invasive and not to mention the Kudzu vines! (I've been seriously thinking about renting a goat for a month or so just to eat up all the ivy.) Sometime in the future, we'll probably be removing some of the trees. I do like them, and it's quite a change to see a 'hood with trees compared to newer subdivisions where there isn't a tree in sight. Last time I counted, we about had about 40 trees in the yard. I want to cut that down to half someday. And once the trees are gone, I'd like to get some professional landscaping.
But with all of this gardening, my green thumb is starting to become revived. I used to have one when I was younger. I remember one year (this is so embarassing!) that all I wanted for my birthday was a raised garden bed and plants and books on identifying wildflowers I was such an uber-nerd in 6th grade. So right now, I'm trying to grow some wildflower seeds where we used to have a crappy looking rock garden. (With as many trees as we have, trying to keep crap out of the rocks is a nightmare!). I also have 2 container gardens going, one with herbs and another with succulents. I'd kill to have the sun to be able to grown succulents properly since I have become pretty obsessed with them. I'd love to get some bullet planters and other retro funky planters so that I can have more green stuff inside the house. I'm also trying my hand at growing some peppers.
But despite all this stuff, I still find time to be crafty on top of working a 40+ hour work week. But that's for another post.
current mood: busy
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iheartmytho's journal
