Knitting Looms

While at our local craft store, Hobby Lobby, this weekend the girls and I picked up a pack of knitting looms.  I've never learned to knit but have done crochet for years.  I had heard that knitting looms were good for kids to learn on and also thought it would be a fun activity for us to do together.  It was timely as later in the day, Penny came down with a stomach bug and had just enough energy to do the loom while laying on the couch and watching the Olympics. 

My first project was a hat.  The girls are working on hats too; smaller versions for their American Girl dolls.  Our supplies included a knitting loom, a loom pick, and cheapo acrylic yarn I had on hand.

 

The process to get the yarn started on the loom is very simple.  Both girls were able to start their own after I secured the slip knot.

 

The loom really helps with even consistent stitches.  This is what the inside of the hat looks like at about the half-way point.  Side note: Penny has started reading Charlotte's Web on her own.  She loves pigs and I hope she isn't traumatized by the ending.

This is my sicky girl wearing the hat I finished today.  It has an unfinished band and took about 4 hours to complete.  I'll probably start another one for another kid this evening as it is very relaxing to do in front of the tv and I can easily pick it up and  put it down. 

Happy Kitchen, Popin' Cookin - Hamburger

This last Christmas my niece, Caitlyn, introduced the girls and I to the fantastic world of Japanese DIY candy. At the top of her Christmas List was something called Popin' Cookin. Since I am the favorite aunt I had to deliver.  I began my search to find out what this Popin' Cookin thing was. I quickly found myself trapped on YouTube watching Popin' Cookin' videos and trying to figure out how I could get a shipment of candy from Japan before Christmas! 

Popin' Cookin is made by the company called Kracie.  The concept is that you not only eat the candy, you make it.  It's a bit like some of the Cra-Z-Cookin toy kits that are popular with young girls in the US.  The difference is that Popin' Cookin doesn't require an Easy Bake Oven or special gadget except a microwave on occasion. The kits come with a plastic tray, mixing spoon, and a series of powder packets that are mixed with water.  Directions are written in Japanese but include pictures which makes it fairly easy to follow if you don't know Japanese.  If in doubt, you can always find a YouTube video to guide you through as well.   Popin' Cookin comes in a variety of kits including Cake, Donuts, Hamburgers, Sushi, Bento Box, etc. 

The girls and I ordered a large lot of the kits from Japan (along with Caitlyn's collection for Christmas!) and have been slowly working our way through them.  This last weekend I tried out the Hamburger kit.

The Hamburger kit is the first savory kit that I've tried and wasn't really expecting it.  Most kits are candy versions of the food, i.e. candy sushi.  In the Hamburger kit you make 2 cheeseburgers, a soda, a packet of french fries and ketchup for dipping.  It does require that you "cook" the bun and hamburger in the microwave.  Although it was a savory kit, it really was pretty edible and a lot of fun to make because of the variety of components.  The french fries looked very much like fast food fries.  The soda bubbled like it was carbonated and the cheeseburgers had authentic looking cheese, buns, and hamburger patties.  It's amazing that it all came from packets of powders.

 

Since the holidays, I've learned so much more about Japanese candy and snacks. There are several other brands that we plan to try out.  I'll be posting follow up reviews on the kits as we work our way through them. If you are interested in watching some Popin' Cookin videos, I highly recommend the emmymadeinjapan channel.

 

 

Inspiration

As I was looking around my office, I came across the lot of books I got for Christmas from my family. I tend to ask mostly for cooking and craft books each year so I've got quite the collection built up.  I always have good intentions of starting projects or making yummy dishes but in reality, I usually do very little with the books that I receive due to being too exhausted from work.

I'd like to change that this year. Here are the lovelies waiting on me:

 

 

Paper to Petal is a book that shows you how to make beautiful paper flowers with various paper mediums.  I think it would be so neat to make a paper bouquet for the formal dining room as well as flowers that can be used to decorate wrapped gifts.

 

 

A few years ago I had the girls silhouettes done at Disney World.  I was fascinated by how quickly the artist moved as he clipped the intricate details of their impish grins and whispy fly away tendrils.  The silhouettes were so good and I thought it would be neat to learn how to do paper cutting.  Creative Paper Cutting is a beginner's paper cutting instructional that teaches the basics of creating designs that can be used as wall art and cards.

 

 

 I have a real love for woodland critters.  If the animal happens to be dressed in a dapper outfit, even more adorable.  Mollie Makes Woodland Critters is part of series of craft books by the craft magazine, Mollie Makes.  Over the last few years the most crafting I have done has been in the form of crochet and felting.  Given the choice, I felt or crochet dapper animals.  I'm looking forward to diving into a few of these projects.

The Tupelo Honey Café is a restaurant in Asheville, NC that is famous for southern cooking with a flair.  I've never been to Asheville but it on my list to do some day.  The Tupelo Honey Café cookbook is full of awesome dishes that I would love to master. 

Enough

I've been home sick the last several days recovering from the flu that has plagued the country. In my search across daytime television, I came across the documentary called First Comes Love on HBO. Nina Davenport is an Indie Filmmaker who at the age of 41 has yet to find the right partner in life to settle down and start a family with. She makes the decision to get pregnant on her own with the help of friends, including one who donates the sperm and another who acts as her birthing partner and main support throughout her pregnancy. The film wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be but actually tapped into something that was very relevant in my life.  Throughout the film, Nina continually looked to others for validation of her life choices including the big one, parenthood.  Throughout the film she records several conversations with her father over his continuous disapproval for how she lives her life and over her decision to get pregnant.  After her son is born, there is a scene where she is outside and her son is playing in the grass. I believe she has a bit of revelation as she watches her son play and says something like, "At some point, I am the mother, the one who is responsible for my actions."  It appears that she realizes that she doesn't need anyone's approval to do what she feels is right for her life. 

This hit me hard.

I feel like at the age of 36, I would be past this very thing myself, but I'm not.  Sometimes I feel like I just play "grownup" but in reality, I'm still just a child who will make bad decisions unless discussed and ruminated on for days.  And then I thought about my current situation.

I was sick at home feeling guilty for days for not being at work.  I am the best person to say what my body can and can't handle.  Why would I need to feel guilty or like a slacker for taking the time I need to get better?  I don't.  I am also an adult and am accountable to the decisions I make. I am not out to impress the world or live to please others. 

I am here for me.  And my family and friends. 

And the stress started to fade away. I don't have to be insanely good at my job.  I don't have to be the best at everything, including the things I really don't care about.  I just have to be what I want me to be.  And I am enough.

I can also be a child at heart and still be a grownup. I so often deny myself the things that are me that I miss out on the things that I love. 

I've returned back to the blog in hopes to help me be accountable to me and who I want to be.  I hope to be blogging more and sharing with you who I truly am.

Southern Gothic Zombies

 

 

I just got caught up on the latest episode of The Walking Dead. After watching each episode, I have to come down from the wave of excitement over what happened.  Who died?  Who is sick?  Who has changed the most? How many times did I wish that Carol and Daryl would get it on already?  My husband and I have to discuss it like we are gossiping about the popular girls in high school.... it is that sad.  And five years ago, I wouldn't have been interested in a sci-fi show let alone a zombie show.  Now, well, I LOVE ZOMBIES.  I'm pretty much addicted to everything zombie at the moment. 

 

Tonight I started to think about why I like the show so much. It hit me.... The Walking Dead is a Southern Gothic tale.  The situations that these people are put in, forced to make less than humane decisions just to survive is grotesque.  The true nature of human beings when stuck in miserable situations -- people still hook up, people still laugh, people still grow.... life goes on, somehow.  The gritty cinematography certainly helps, I can nearly count the sweat beads on Rick's brow, smell the illness of sick rotting in the cells, and feel the pain in each tired step they take trying to survive.  The music is also outstanding.  I heard Ben Howard's Oats In The Water on the episode tonight and it was perfect for the scene as people are dying of the sickness that has hit the prison. Ben Howard reminds me of Damien Rice with a stronger voice. The mood that was set was of despair and sadness but also of strength and I loved that.  I don't know of many movies that can capture a moment as well as The Walking Dead did.  Lastly, I'll admit it... Daryl is my favorite.  I like Carol too (obviously) but this picture of Daryl just sums it up -- redneck, grit, vintage, survival... it is the essence of the southern gothic.

 

 

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

I recently downloaded the book "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" by Dale Carnegie to my Kindle.  I'm over half way through and have found that the way in which Carnegie writes is so easy to read and relevant to my life and thinking.  It's nothing new but a fresh way of looking at worry and a no nonsense kind of directive.  What I didn't realize was that he wrote the book in 1948.  Yes, 1948.  Have we really changed so little since 1948 that people are still so overcome with worry that it is disabling at times? Apparently so. 

Worry has always been a big problem for me.  I worry about everything.  And when I worry... I am unable to do anything else.  I am almost paralyzed until the thing that I am worrying about has come to pass.  And typically it does.  And typically it doesn't actually cause anything bad to happen.  I get so caught up in limbo (worry) that it's the very thing that I hate the most.  I have developed several conditions because of worry over time... high blood pressure, hair pulling, ADHD, etc.  As I am getting older I am realizing that I've wasted a lot of time thinking about things that never happen.  And even if they did happen, there was nothing I could have done anyway.

I am currently considering a big professional move that is very scary for me.  It shakes my career and my finances but it's something that I am starting to realize I need to do.  If I don't, I am going to be stuck in the my current situation till I die.  And I'm pretty sure I'll pass prematurely if I stay in the same spot I am.  My work is exhausting and politically a nightmare.  I constantly am worrying about who is trying to undermine me or backstab me and I just don't want to be in that environment anymore.

I have put a lot off for my job and I'm just not willing to do it anymore.  I haven't been able to even consider expanding my family due to the stress that my body would have to endure and risk of losing a child.  I don't think that's reasonable and it's only through some recent feedback from other consultants that I am realizing that I am really worth more than all of this.  So I've got to get over the worry because if I'm going to take the plunge, there is going to be a lot of uncertainty and I need to be able to navigate through limbo. 

If you've been looking for a good self-help about worry, check out Carnegie's "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living"

Molly

What's better than a lazy basset hound laying at your feet? 
2 lazy bassets laying at your feet.

And that's what I now have.  Saturday we adopted Molly from the Humane Society.  She's a special needs basset as she has Addison's disease and needs a monthly shot to live.  Outside of the shot, she should leave a pretty normal life.

Mable and Molly met at the Humane Society before we adopted her and were instant friends.  Molly is four years older than Mable but still has quite a bit of energy.  She's quite a bit shorter than Mable but very similar in behavior.  Mable is a little jealous but seems to be adjusting.  She's especially loving all the wrestling and playing that Molly loves to do. 

Grimm (the cat) doesn't seem too worried about Molly either.  It's almost like we've had her for years and it's only day 2.  I have to admit I was on the fence a bit just because of what another dog means... additional expense, more dog smell, more dog hair... but I am pleased with the decision and so glad that we could help Molly out.

Here's Molly - freshly bathed and a new bandana.