Any Spare Minute ... to knit: Prefold to fitted!

Any Spare Minute ... to knit: Prefold to fitted!

I think I may have found the superiour pattern to the one I was using earlier. I can't try it tonight, but I really think this will look better and fit better..
My previous attempts (which were fairly successful) can be seen at 'Prefolds to Fitteds'

Vegan chili and a beer!

Tonight's easy meal plan is vegan chili . It doesn't have a firm recipe, but there are some constant ingredients.
2 green peppers diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 onion diced
Hot chilies,maybe 2-3 depending on size.
2 cans diced tomatoes (I dig fire roasted or chili ready )
1 can each chickpea, dark kidney, black beans
Big can chili beans in sauce
Big can pumpkin puree

I saute the vegetables with some olive oil in a big pot. Drain and rinse all the non -sauced beans. Add tomatoes to big pot .add beans and puree. Then I gauge how much water it needs donr my personal tastes. Stir in my favorite combination of chili spices, Going heavy on the turmeric and red pepper flake!  Heat until bubbly.

It's not a very complicated recipe. It freezes great and is wonderful all year round. Tonight I'll be enjoying mine with garlic toast and a wheat beer!

Returning to the workforce

Going back to work has been exactly what I wanted it to be-- A relaxing, low-stress vacation. They might as well hand out beach towels and fruity drinks, because it's bliss... I have a very narrow set of responsibilities and 8 hours (plus a silent, and well paced lunch hour) to accomplish them.

I am sitting here typing with one hand because I'm breastfeeding a baby.. She literally sustains life because of me (heavy stuff, I know). I'm dreading 14 minutes from now when the oven timer goes off because I'll have to get up and put the baby down long enough to get my husband's french fries out of the oven (just in time for him to walk through the door from a long day's work). My diaper laundry is currently going through its pre-rinse/spin; so I'll have to attend to that in about 30 minutes as well.  

STILL TYPING WITH ONE HAND.

All that while being amazingly insightful for you.. You better f-ing believe I can't wait to get back to my desk in the morning.

Hair cut!

I'm currently sitting in the chair, while my new super sexy hair color is being mixed. It's darker and awesome.
I love doing big changes at the salon. Which is funny because I hate having to repeat myself. And big change always comes with the same phrases,  "Did you color your hair? "(Duh) "Do you love it? "(Yes )

Tie Dye and all that goes with it

There are some expectations you have when you see someone in a Tie-Dye t-shirt.. You hope they're wearing sandals, adorned with a few power beads, and totally willing to tell you how the man is keeping us all down. Well, a few days ago I got a hankering for tie dye. So I got together some prefold diapers, onesies, toddler t-shirts, and some adult sizes. Last night I went to town on them.
I used a pre-bottled mix I picked up at Walmart. I went with the 5 color option, because it had extra dye so I could do two batches. My daughter did a large amount of the color choosing and placement, I did the squeezing of the bottle.
As far as ease of use goes, it doesn't get much simpler. Add water, shake, and squeeze. The fun part was doing the rubber bands and deciding how to fold/roll them.  I let them hang out over night, wrapped in plastic wrap. This morning I rinsed them and gave them a very hot wash with a touch of Rock'n Green Laundry Soap. Dried them with some dryer balls and this is what I ended up with.

My hands in the aftermath.

So, now I can finally dress appropriately for my next peace rally or casual lunch at McFoster's Natural Kind Cafe.

Finished the Sock. Fucked it up, but it's still finished

I was trying to be quicker than my camera, so you can't really see where I messed up the sock. But it's in the toe. In the last 15 rows I messed it up. Just my f-ing luck...
Anyway- the source of the mess up was that I was using 5 needles instead of the typical (American style) 4 needles. So when the directions for the toe were based on 3 knitting needles and one working needle, I failed to convert that to the 4 knitting needles I had going.

Borders Going Out of Business

Yes, we finally took the time to go into Borders with a list of books we were looking for. And we walked out with NONE of them. It's pretty picked over, but thankfully, we have off the wall hobbies and life styles. There were tons of vegan cook books, and plenty of book on knitting socks. 
I got Veganize This and The Postman. So all in all it was a win!
Tonight we're going, as a family, to Ted and Wally's again, today's vegan option is Strawberry!

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My 3 year old daughter's first soccer game ever was this weekend. She was pretty excited, and got pretty tired. Everyone wins when a toddler is exhausted before 10am.

Mighty Kickers!

My three year old daughter's first soccer game is tomorrow. They play 3v3 for 30 minutes with no goalies. I can only imagine the hilarity and exhaustion that will ensue. On the other hand, I just assume she'll display all the natural grace and skill of a young Becks.. Or I can hope so. Maybe she'll get signed by a major club, I'll move to the English country side to be near her/manage her career......

Gamers can't last till the end

I read an article today about the percentage of gamers that will actually finish a video game. It is something like 10%. That's pathetically low, lower than it was 10 years ago. Then again, 10 years ago you couldn't spent 60+ hours combing through the wreckage of WWII French country side or post apocalyptic Washington, D.C.
That 10% does not account for my ever-commited husband of course. He does finish his games. One at a time and over the time span of a few months. He stays up until 3 a.m. to get in a few more areas. He finishes all side stories. No minutia of the story line goes unread. He is the ultimate gamer. Mildly obsessive compulsive (I've even argued it's a form of Asperger's).

CNN Article on Finishing Video Games 

W.I.P. Socks Going Strong

Haven't F-ed it up yet! Pretty excited to be on the heel flap. But, the curse of things coming in twos may strike. I never seem to get to the second of a pair.

Prefold to Fitted Diapers

So, I used about 20 minutes of my free time today to make another (and much prettier) fitted diaper out of an infant prefold. 

 You might notice I didn't put the elastic in the back. It just didn't feel necessary. I also didn't extend the front tabs; again, it didn't feel necessary. It fits pretty well on my 9 pound baby, we'll see how it holds up after another wash.

The original website I got the pattern from is : WWW.diapersewing.com

W.I.P. and a vegan desert that went just okay

Right now I'm working on knitting SOCKS! I've finally mastered (I think) double pointed needles. I am using the book "Getting Started Kitting Socks". I haven't gotten past the cuff of the sock yet, but it's encouraging that I haven't screwed it up yet.

My vegan desert that only went ok was nectarine shortbread. It lacked two things, sweetness and a vegan cool whip. But here is the recipe I used:

 Dough

• 2 cups unbleached flour
• 6 tbsp vegan butter (should've used the whole stick I think)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• c.a. 1/3 -1/2 cup soy milk (vanilla or plain)
• 3 nectarines sliced thinly
• 1/4-1/3 more cups of sugar for the fruit

1. Pulse flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder until the mixture looks like grated Parmesan cheese.
2. Add milk and pulse until dough slightly comes together
3. Take out blade
4. Grab palm size balls of dough and form rough loose-ish balls. Sprinkle a little extra sugar on top.
5. I baked at 375 for 12-15 minutes
6. In pan on low mix and simmer sugar and nectarines until a nice syrup develops and the fruit is soft.

When the shortbread is done just cut the balls in half, and top with the fruit and syrup. A healthy dollop of the whipped topping is a must! or vegan ice cream.

My Tribute to Breast Feeding Week, and the breakfast that almost wasn't

My tribute! That's right, it's Boobies made out of pancakes and bananas.

 

National Boobies Week!

I'm a breast feeding momma. I think it's awesome. There are a number of reasons it resonates with me.

1. I have some serious 'crunchie' tendencies.
2. I'm cheap.
3. I hate cleaning bottles.
4. I love burning the extra calories every day (hello pre-pregnancy weight!)

I participated in The Big Latch On today at Ted and Wally's in downtown Omaha. It was a great chance to be communal and eat some seriously delicious ice cream. They even had a cashew coconut variety for my vegan husband! It was pretty delicious as well. There were 22 moms and several husbands and children there. Which was a pretty good turn out, considering Omaha has two official events for this year's attempt at record setting.

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 What I'd really like to discuss is how I turned a prefold diaper into a fitted diaper. Also, I didn't break my sewing machine (which I have done before). I took my cues from a great site DiaperSewing.com . Rather than muddle through the explaination, I highly suggest you follow the link and do exactly as they say. Except I sewed in the extra layer before I did the elastic, I think that's easier.

 Now I didn't do any measuring for the template. And I also think that my next attempt will include tacking the elastic then sewing the casing and stretching it through after; I was a mess with the elastic.
But as far as economical and a fun way to spend an hour- It's a total win.

Troubles with motivation

I'm having trouble mustering my 'get it done' attitude. I want to get some things down about an awesome trip to Vallisca (and of course the axe murder house therein). I turned a prefold diaper into a fitted diaper, which of course I'll want to share with all.... But as of 7:44 am, I don't want to do a damn thing except tune out with a little Bejeweled Blitz before the baby wakes up.

What I can tell you is that I'm attempting to not pick up after myself or anyone else today. I started yesterday. So far I'm screaming on the inside to pick up, but if I do that no one will ever see the huge effort I put into not letting it get this bad.

On a side note. The hoax study that 'proved' IE users were dumber than other browser users. Just because it was a hoax, doesn't mean it wasn't true.