Friday Fill In - 1/30/2009

Life is a great big canvas,

and you should throw all the paint you can on it.
— Danny Kaye

1. I'd really like to be home right now, with a good book, a good movie and my knitting.

2. OUCH is the word you'd most often hear me say if I stubbed my toe.

3. Possession is 99% of the battle.

4. I HEART Captain Jack Sparrow.

5. Marshmallows and fire go together like wine and cheese.

6. This winter is just going on and on.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing (Lindsey and Sarah are both out, Zachariah could be in bed by 7:30, Dave by 9:00, me by midnight), tomorrow my plans include WW, swimming, Library, relaxing and Sunday, I want to go to Mass, pick up Lindsey, relax!

Snow and pics included

Check this out. This is the view outside my office window.

All schools except for one suburban school district and Cleveland Municipal School District are closed. My hubby's school closed by 6:00. My daughter's school closed at 6:30 . . . not very helpful, considering she has to be at swimming at 5:15. When we left the house, we had about four inches of new snow fall. The weather gurus (the only job in the world where you can be WRONG 50% of the time and still be gainfully employed), anticipate another eight to twelves inches of snow by 7:00 p.m. tonight.

When I got to work, I could see across the street.

In fact, from my office window I can see the Brown's stadium and Lake Erie. Seriously, I am in the building closest to the Lake besides the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Guess what, in the pictures below, on most days, you would be able to see, the Amtrak station, the Browns stadium and the flashing sign with ads, time and weather. Check it out, they are all gone:

I am so looking forward to the drive home. My general rule of thumb is that if it takes me more than three hours for my 30 minute commute, I won't be in the next day. It doesn't look good for tomorrow.

A contest at Bitty Bits & Pieces

For those of you who love contests, you need to go on over to Bitty Bits & Pieces and check out the Valentine Day Contest.

Tell her I sent you and post it on your blog for more chances at winning.

If you don't like contests, you should go check it out anyway cause the prizes are really cute and clever.

Secret Pal 13 - Package #2

Wow! I received a package from my Pal and it is fabulous. Truly and incredibly fabulous.

See this is the box, with all these nice packages.

Do you see the ribbons on the left side? Seriously, look at them. They are magnetic and are used to mark patterns, as bookmarks and are so incredibly clever. The possibilities are great!

Oh, and here is the entire package. There are candy bars -- three Crispy Crunch bars and two Skor bars. Yummy, yummy, yummy. There are two books: One Noni Happy Stripes Oven Mittens and Trivets and Leisure Arts I can't believe I'm Felting.

To go with the Noni book is two skeins of Cascade. One skein of Citron (the light green) and one skein of Highland Green.

A notebook/journal is peeking up from the left. I love notebooks/journals and this one is perfect to tuck into my knitting bag.

And then there are the mittens.

Aren't these totally awesome. Oh, in the picture to the left the mittens are the pile of green to the left. Hmmm, bet you can't seem that well.

Can you see them now?

What kind of mittens are these, you ask? They Bella's mittens. They are based on the movie/book Twilight. They are in a wonderful green and have cables up the back and are 12 (count them) 12 inches long. Perfect for Cleveland weather.

The cool thing is that someone in my knit group had shown me the pattern and told me where to get it (through Ravelry and can be found here). I don't have to make a pair for me . . . I'll just have to keep my 14 year old from snagging these until I make her a pair.

I did try to take a picture with it on my hand so you can get a good idea of how it looks:

These are truly wonderful. And it was a wonderful package. And I am SO SPOILED.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Cocoa Swap Topic #3 - Marshmallows/Whipped Cream

Marshmallows/Whipped Cream - The big debate.

How do you prefer you top your cocoa?

If you like marshmallows, do they need to be the big ones, little ones, homemade, gourmet, flavored? If I use marshmallows, I prefer the little ones over the big ones. In fact, if I only have big ones, I cut them into quarters or sixths. How weird is that?

If it’s whipped cream, is it fresh, the kind in the can, flavored? I prefer real whipped cream over the can stuff. I prefer the tub stuff over the can stuff (and actually prefer the fat-free tub stuff over the regular tub stuff). Which might explain why we have had a can of the can stuff in the fridge since Thanksgiving.

Or are you a fluff gal? Never done the fluff stuff. Just seems weird and terribly sweet.

Or… do you like your cocoa naked? If I make cocoa at work using the packet stuff, I add a tub or two of half/half to give it a little boost over the water. And, often will add a shot of coffee to it too!

Thought for the day:

"Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness.

Every act creates a ripple with no logical end."

- Scott Adams

Simple Woman - 1-26-09

"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have."

- Thomas Jefferson

FOR TODAY ~ Monday, January 26, 2009

Outside my Window... there is snow, lots of snow, we have already had 44 inches. The normal average for the "season" is 63 inches. We still have February and March and April, and sometimes early May. February's usual average is 14 inches, March is 10 inches and April is 3 inches. if we still to average, we will have 71 inches, oh and we still have to get through this last week of January, for which they are predicting a potential for up to 8 more inches.
I am thinking... snow is nice to look at, from a distance, like Florida
I am thankful for... spring and summer and fall
From the kitchen... two cakes: pineapple/angel food and cheesecake for a co-worker's birthday tomorrow.
I am creating... a scarf for Lindsey . . . see the pics below
I am going... to a meeting, lunch and shopping
I am wearing... jeans, turtle neck shell and knit sweater
I am reading... 19 minutes by Jodi Picoult
I am hoping... to finish Lindsey's scarf by the end of the week
I am hearing... not much. The snow is very quiet. My blackberry keeps buzzing, I suppose to should check it to see if anyone from work needs anything right away. Sigh.
Around the house... replaced a zipper. wound some yarn.
One of my favorite things... not having to wake up to the alarm
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... meeting today and one tonight at Lindsey's school, meetings tomorrow, meeting Thursday, meeting Friday.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

I started this scarf on Christmas for Lindsey. The initial problem was that I couldn't read the pattern (remember the eye surgery), so my sister wrote it out for me. It is really easy and given the ease I may adapt it with beads for Sarah's wedding shawl . . . add about three more repeats in a lace weight with beads. It just might work.

The advantage to this is that it is in Knitpicks "bare" and when Lindsey gets tired of the "bare," it can be dyed.






A close up:


And this one is a little bit back with the balance of the skein of yarn to be done.

You know when you use size 3 needles the thing just goes on and on and on and on and on.

Friday Fill In - 1/23/2009

1. Oh, I am so sleepy (the early morning swimming practices are beginning to take their toll)!

2. Some changes, big and little.

3. During the winter, I prefer to hibernate.

4. Single digit temps again; are you kidding me???

5. Right now I'd like to be home. In bed.

6. Books are my favorite gadget (not what you thought!!!)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to bed early, tomorrow my plans include WW in the a.m., Zachariah's swim lessons, a trip to the library, timing at Lindsey's swim meet and Sunday, I want to replace the zipper in a jacket, go to Dave & Buster's for Zachariah's birthday!

Impressed, Cautious, maybe a tad optimistic

We possess or are entitled to many treasurers by living in the United States, including the Freedom of Speech (which is why blogging is so prolific), express our opinions and the choice to vote for whom we choose and the freedom to wear our hearts on our sleeves, whether those hearts are filled with new found love, lost love or bursting with patriotism.

~

If you read blogs, any kind of blogs, EVERYONE voted for or is in favor of President Obama. As my husband duly noted, it is like when an accident occurs or something exciting is going on. Everyone was either a witness to it, voted for it or, in many cases when things go sour, voted against it.

~

I have to be honest and tell anyone who reads my blog that I am not a Barack Obama fan. I think the man is charming and charismatic. I am not sure that he has the experience or expertise to lead our country. However, I am also not a John McCain fan.

~

As a matter of fact, I (along with many of our acquaintances, friends and families) were torn during the election process. I mentioned on more than one occasion, that I would have liked to have had the option and I think it should be automatically included on the ballot, that we could vote for "None of the above. Start over."

~

I was impressed with President Obama's speeches. I thought his victory speech was much better than his inauguration speech. I find his attentiveness to his wife to be charming, but then Bill Clinton was attentive to Hillary, in public.

~

One of my co-workers, who happens to be an American, whose skin happens to be a rather dark brown, mentioned to me after the inauguration that his problem with response everyone is having, especially African-Americans, is that (and I am going to try to quote this as best as possible):

~

"The thing to remember is that he is not the Messiah. There are going to be people who are going to be horribly disappointed. It reminds me of the Jews during Jesus time, expecting a King and getting a wonderfully normal human who showed them the way. Unfortunately, they were blinded by what they expected and ended up being disappointed, disenfranchised, angry, bitter and resentful. Obama cannot work miracles given what he has been given. Too many people will expect it and it just cannot happen without their putting forth the effort themselves."

~

Incredible. On the other hand, this is part of what the President said. He didn't say "I am going to fix everything for you. He did say that we have to be involved. We have to be responsible. We have to take part and dust ourselves off.

~

I do wear my patriotism on my sleeve. I love being American. When my children ask me what nationality I am, I am not Irish-American or French-American or Scottish-American. I am American. We, as a people need to rid ourselves of the hyphens in our lives.

~

And then millions of dollars were spent on a gala. Millions and millions of dollars. For the last Bush inauguration his administration was skewered for spending less than half the amount.

~

And I was embarrassed that Bush was booed. We used to show people the respect due their office. What a wonderful impression we leave the rest of the world. No wonder they hate us.

Much better than any packaged cocoa -- Almond Cocoa

When I take the time to make this, my kids always say that this is so much better than any packaged cocoa. Go figure.

1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/2 cup instant coffee granules
1 cup sugar
1 cup hot water
6 cups milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon almond extract*
Whipped topping(optional - Lindsey and Zachariah don't like whipped cream)


Directions:
In large saucepan, whip together Cocoa, coffee, sugar and water so there are no lumps. Mixing constantly, bring to boil.

Boil 2 minutes.

Add milk. Reheat but do not boil.

Add extracts and stir.

Pour into cups or mugs. If desired, garnish with whipped cream.

Enjoy.
____________

*for Mint Cocoa substitute Mint Extract for Almond Extract. Do not substitute anything for vanilla extract.

Simple Woman's Daybook - 1/20/09

FOR TODAY ~ Tuesday, January 20, 2009

"Come to the edge, he said.

They said: We are afraid.

Come to the edge, he said. They came.

He pushed them, and they flew..."

- Guillaume Apollinaire

Outside my Window... ice, cold, snow
I am thinking... that our soon to be new President get the cooperation and encouragement from Congress and the Senate, because no matter how good a person or what good intentions he has, without their cooperation nothing can be accomplished.
I am thankful for... the fact that I live in a democratic society
From the kitchen... meatloaf, parmesan rice, beets, and fabulous salads
I am creating... secret stuff for secret pals
I am going... to spend time boxing books for the local school district
I am wearing... black slacks, black sweater, red and black jacket
I am reading... just finished Scarpetta
I am hoping... to get some projects finished
I am hearing... the news on the radio
Around the house... need to get the carpets cleaned
One of my favorite things... staying home and warm when its cold and blustery outside
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... book packing today, meeting tonight for American Red Cross, violin and KAL tomorrow evening, possibly staying home on Friday, timing at Lindsey's swim meet on Saturday
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... Zachariah's 8th birthday was Sunday and we had some friends and family over to help him celebrate.

Here he is waiting to blow out his candles while we sing happy birthday:

and he has success in blowing them all out:



and here is Aunt Jacquie helping him with his multi-colored cake:

Friday Fill In - 1/16/2009

1. Enough with the COLD, the bitterly, bone chilling cold. It was -10 degrees when I left for work this morning . . . with a wind chill, it is -30 degrees.

2. Schools that close causes me to be conflicted.

3. I've been craving good chocolate, really good, not I can buy a bag of candy bars chocolate, but really good stuff.

4. Listening to my children laugh makes me laugh.

5. I wish I could go to someplace, anyplace warm next week.

6. Organizing my stash has been on my mind lately.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting warm, tomorrow my plans include dentist, making Zachariah's birthday cake, cleaning the house, attending the Volunteer Appreciation dinner at Church and Sunday, I want to enjoy time with my family while we celebrate Zachariah's 8th birthday!

These are the pics that I used for Zachariah's birthday invitation. We don't do a whole hog blow-out party for the kids. We invite family and some very special friends (usually, they have asked to be included, including the kindergarten teacher and his wife . . . Zachariah had Chuck as his teacher and my husband and he are the stalwarts of the primary grades at their school). Anyway, the invitation said something like:

"How could you deny this face?

Please come to my birthday party"

"Pizza, cake and ice cream.

All the major food groups."

Retro Cabled Jacket

I really like this middle picture . . . the one with it open. Isn't this a classy looking coat?

However, I despise the way it looks buttoned. WHY??? Why would someone button it so that three buttons are buttoned down and pulled across the boobs and then, just to make sure that no one makes any mistakes, it hangs open to expose your gut. I suppose if you were pregnant, it would give you room to be comfortable but seriously, why would anyone want their gut "framed."

Sigh.

Elevenses: Competition!

Elevenses: Competition!

Elevenses: Competition! Go here and read about her contest. And, if you mention my blog and that you got there from here, I get an extra entry. Woo hoo.

Also, the fun thing is that you get to read about everyone's favorite characters. In case you missed mine, I voted for Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables with a close second being Jo March of Little Women. Decisions, decisions.

Cocoa Swap Scavenger Hunt

What a great way to learn about everyone!!! Now I really do need to get a bottle of Bailey's and Marshmallow Fluff!!


1. Who wants to try plant fibers? Emily
2. Who wants to learn to crochet? Alicia, Michelle and Jenn wants to learn more crochet stuff
3. Who collects yarn? Don’t we all???? Chelle, Holly, Emily, Jenn, Kate, Me, Michelle, Penny, Ruth, Sarah
4. Who loves yellow? Alicia
5. Who doesn’t like fruit flavors? Jenn
6. Who loves Malabrigo (who doesn’t??? hahaha) ? Alicia, Ruth
7. Who has one mitt to go to finish her Endpaper Mitts? Elizabeth
8. Who’s favorite animal is a dog? Alicia, Channon, Chelle, Holly, Jenn, me, Michelle
9. Who likes to paint? Kathy
10. Who has too many stitch markers? Michelle
11. Who likes Bailey’s in their cocoa? Becca, Channon, Jenn, Sarah
12. Who likes Starbucks salted caramel cocoa? Darcy, Holly
13. Who can’t stand vanilla flavored cocoa? Channon
14. Who’s favorite animal is a hedgehog? Ariel
15. Who might stab themselves over Neon Yarn? Laurie
16. Who’s oldest UFO is at least 15 years old? Kate
17. Who likes crystallized ginger? Chelle
18. Who likes whipped cream in their cocoa? Alicia, “the Knight” Channon’s hubby, Elizabeth, Kate, Laurie, me, Michelle, Monica, Penny, Rachel, Ruth
19. Who likes marshmallow fluff in their cocoa? Becca
20. Who needs stitch holders? Holly, Laurie

my knitting, explained.

and yet another quote to explain my knitting:

Victory is won not in miles, but in inches.

Win a little ow, hold your ground, and later,

win a little more.

— Louis L’Amour

Simple Woman's Daybook - 1/12/09

"The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one."

- Mark Twain

FOR TODAY - Monday, January 12
Outside my Window... its snow covered. We had about 12 inches of snow get dumped on the area between Friday evening to Saturday afternoon, with another inch or so arriving on Sunday.
I am thinking... that I really need to find my hooded sweatshirt.
I am thankful for... boots, warm boots, warm, water-proof boots
From the kitchen... Chicken Parmesan on Saturday, Chicken/Brocolli/Stuffing casserole on Sunday and a lentil/pea/tomato/beef/pasta/rice soup for dinner tonight with a good bread.
I am creating... a lace scarf for Lindsey . . . took it to Ava's birthday party yesterday and got a good inch or so knit up.
I am going... to have to use more lotion on my hands and feet.
I am wearing... navy blue slacks, white scoop necked t-shirt, light blue wool jacket
I am reading... Scarpetta (still) -- too busy of a weekend.
I am hoping... to start on a project for my Cocoa Swap Pal
I am hearing... snow plows
Around the house... the halls are still getting undecked, have the tree left to do.
One of my favorite things... standing outside my children's bedroom door and watching them sleep
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... work. Nothing tonight or tomorrow night, Lindsey's violin and my knit group on Wednesday, meetings at work on Thursday and Thursday night and a doctor's appointment on Thursday, not much on Friday and a dentist appointment on Saturday morning.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...





Mini-Mochi that I won on the Carefree KAL . . . isn't this stuff totally cool!

AND, also from the SP13, Yvonne sent me this as one of the prizes from the Scavenger Hunt. Woo Hoo . . . the pictures just don't do the colors justice.

Finish or Frog.

Frog it or finish it . . . what a novel idea.

Anyway, there is a group on Ravelry and you can also join, I believe by going here.

And here are the rules:

2009 is going to be the Year of Decisions. I'm tired of my WIP pile getting out of control. I often lose interest in a project or fall out of love with it. Sometimes it was just not the right project and I leave it thinking it's a shame to frog it. But no more. This year, I challenge all of you to join me in the Finish or Frog It 2009 knitalong. Here are the rules. They're pretty simple.

1. On Friday, take a moment to evaluate your knitting projects.


2. Decide if you can either finish something or frog it.


3. If you finish a project, post a picture with the Finishing Friday button below. Link to this post so others will know about the Knitalong.


4. Tell us how it feels to have finally finished this project and let us know how long it's been on your UFO or WIP list.


5. If you frog a project, post a picture with the Frogging Friday button below. Link to this post so others will know about the Knitalong.


6. Tell us when you started it. Tell us why you fell out of love with it. Tell us how you plan to re-purpose the yarn.


7. I have officially started a Ravelry Group called Finish or Frog It. Post your pictures there, add a comment to the appropriate discussion thread (Finish or Frog) or email me or leave a comment with a link to your post so I can keep track of whose finished and whose frogged what.


8. I'll have a monthly prize give away for the random Finished O and the Frogged O.


9. There is no requirement to either finish or frog an item every single Friday. Friday is simply a benchmark to remind you to reflect. Go at your own pace. Once a week; once a month; once a quarter or even once a year. Use Friday as your incentive or reality check.

See, how hard could that be!!!

and then, peace settled over the land

So, this morning, I woke up. Laid in bed for awhile and then realized that it was unearthly quiet.

It had snowed. A lot.

A veritable winter wonderland.

I think we got 12 inches of snow.

No swimming.

No swim meet.

We undecked most of the halls (the Christmas tree is yet to be done).

Did the laundry.

Had a wonderful dinner.

Bowled six games of Wii bowling with Dave.

Drank some wine (his excuse for bowling badly, since you are supposed to be drinking beer with bowling).

And made paper airplanes.

Not a bad Saturday at all.

I hope your Saturday was as peaceful and relaxing and fun as mine. Life is good without the "hectic" in it.

Friday Fill In - 1/9/09

1. It's January; it's Cleveland; it's cold.
2. Warm feet is what I crave most right now.
3. Cork and wine go together like wine and cheese.
4. Laughing is so (emotionally) nourishing.
5. Let us dare to step back and spend time with family and friends.
6. I need to clean my home.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to spending time with Dave and Zachariah, tomorrow my plans include going to WW for my weigh-in (LOL), take Zachariah to swimming, buying a birthday present for Ava, undecking the halls, and Sunday, I want to go to Mass, enjoy a great breakfast with my family, go to Ava's first birthday party and spend time with my siblings and their children!

its a beautiful thing

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing."

- Abraham Lincoln

~

So, 2009 has arrived. We are just getting around to getting back to normal. The kids are moping around and sleepy. Poor Zachariah has had a really bad transition time. In part, it is because over the holidays, we were all home. Most evenings, he went to bed around 8:00 p.m. and slept until 7:30 most mornings. Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, we shuttled him off to bed by 7:00 p.m. In his mind, it was because we were being mean, truth be told, it was because Mom and Dad looked at his face and decided that he needed to sleep . . . "butttttt its not my bedtime yet . . . . "

~

Lindsey, of course, had been swimming throughout her break, although instead of 5:30 a.m. practices, they were swimming from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. They had a couple of swim meets over the holidays but this week is a bear. They have practice every morning at 5:30. They had a meet Tuesday evening (she got home around 9:30 p.m.). She has another meet this evening and another one on Saturday. Because finals are next week (and all the high schools are on the same "finals" schedule, there are no meets next week but they still have practice.

~

My surgery on Tuesday went well. I knew how bad my left eye was but didn't realize how bad my right eye was until my left eye was fixed. LOL. I have "perfect" vision with my left eye and once my right eye has totally healed, they anticipate that I will have "perfect" vision with my right eye . . . well, except that I will have to wear bifocals. Its all in the details.

~

This second surgery allowed me some time with Sarah that I wouldn't otherwise have had. We had great fun. The afternoon of the surgery, I laid on her bed while she cleaned her room. We also watched Mamma Mia at the same time. It is a cute flick and there is one scene when the mom was helping her daughter get ready for her wedding that we sat and watched together. It opened up an opportunity for us to talk about us and her and letting go. If you have ever had to deal with a child leaving, you need to listen to that song and watch that scene. Just have tissues available.

~

We also talked about school. She hates it. So, she has registered to take a nursing assistant course which lasts about eight weeks. She has taken so many classes with no end in sight but flits from one thing to another. Dave and I have been paying for all of this and, frankly, it has been getting very frustrating. I think I have decided definitely that many people should not go to college right after they graduate. I think our society or at least what most of my friends and family and the school systems expect is that ALL students should immediately go to college or HAVE to go to college. It isn't true. I believe that Sarah will probably go back to college someday (hmmm, maybe just like me). But for now, she will do this. I did tell her that I expected her to finish it. We will not be paying for any more.

~

I went to the knit group last evening while Lindsey was at violin. I find it interesting the variety of the talents and skills that each person brings to the table. The one woman is into mini-knitting. Mini-hats and mini-mittens.

~

Another woman, makes prayer shawls. Her goal for 2009 is to start and finish at least four. FOUR.

~

Another made Irish Hiking Scarves for all the adults in her family for the 2008 Christmas. Big deal you say? She made 13 of them. After the holidays and everyone ohhhhhed and ahhhhhed, she realized that she was the only adult in her family without one. So, she is knitting one for herself. She says she feels guilty about doing it but . . . . She is also the person that told me about Goodreads.

~

Another woman knits incredible purses and bags. She had this fabulous bag that she made over the holidays. Seriously. Over the holidays. And its lined. Very cute. And, when her sister saw that it was lined, her sister said, "you must be giving it to someone . . . you never line anything that you keep for yourself." She was right. The woman that made then handed it to her sister, laughed and said, "think of it as either a late or early Christmas present."

~

I am still working on the scarf for Lindsey. She has decided that she wants to knit a hat with the same yarn. Of course, it is fingering weight and she couldn't figure out how to wind it and ended up with a mess. Do you think it would be rude to put a sign on my stash that says "keep out, this means you, Lindsey"?

~

Anyway, for 2009, I think I need to spend time watching people and learning from them. The kids provide incredible gifts (even if it is a 14 year old who grunts at me that she has nothing to share and then spends the next hour on the phone telling her friends about her day . . . sigh). There are incredibly talented individuals that I have contact with. Online and in bookstores on Wednesday evenings. I am lucky that my husband and I are gainfully employed and, as far as I can see, will remain so for the foreseeable future.

~

And I can see, across the street . . . and its snowing and really, really rather lovely.