Battle of Knits

Shawl (again!) & some updates + news

Yeah, I am going to make you look at that shawl again. Sick of it yet? I seriously love that thing. If i didnt mention already, that shawl is going up to Maine to live with my cousin Allie. She will appreciate and I know it will safe from grubby little toddler hands! Besides she has much more time to wear something like that. If it lived here it would be hanging on something for 363 days a year… what kind of life is that? That shawl was made to party!!! Ha, yeah… okay in all seriousness… I bragged like a little kid who just won a spelling bee on my LYS’s forum on Rav and Lorena is going to post some picks of it on the Hanks blog. Without further ado…

BEHOLD:

Traveling -up to Maine shawl

I think this my biggest accomplishment since carrying a child for 9 months inside my body.

It has really brought me back. I was out of sorts for awhile.

…

Totally unrelated news…

I have some more donations lined up for the big giveaway! I was hitting a lot of walls at first, but now I am having better luck– Keep checking in for more info!

Josh is in Miami tonight, for some work related conference. Now I have gone to many work conferences back when I was in the corporate world. Most of my conferences involved drinking tasting wine and trying to hold important conversations while completely buzzed worrying about how red my teeth were from the wine, but never once were they ever held in a strip club. What you say? A strip club? Well, he didnt tell me that is where they are held… I can just only assume he will be going to one and then will sleep in far too late to attend the conference. We will see. In 2010 I intend on exposing much more of my personal life. Why? Well, why the hell not? I Facebook and Twitter all day anyway. I would like to give ya’ll something interesting to read besides just pics of my knitting, pics of my kid doing crazy stuff and general whining. The stats have gone up considerably in the last 2 months. Now, dont let me scare you off… Stats just tell me how many people are reading, not *who* is reading. So you are still an anonymous reader. How do I know you wish to stay a closeted reader??? You dont leave comments. Come on people. I think you can do that anonymously too. So keep on stalking reading!

(Does this mean I need to hit the spell check once in awhile?)

I have a bunch of gluten-free product reviews to post. I just have no time. Clingy child= neglected blog. Sorry! Do I even have any GFree readers? Most people think this is completely in my head, with the exception being Josh, since he knows how sick I get. GLUTEN IS EVERYWHERE!!!

I am really feeling for the survivors down in Haiti today. Normally I live the usual selfish live, believing if I cant see it, it aint that bad. Well, today I watched Oprah (sue me.) and Wyclef Jean (dont be hatin’– I love him) was showing actual video his brother shot on a flip cam. There are piles and piles of bodies everywhere, dead children and lots of people just freaking out in general due to lack of supplies and care. He said the stench is overwhelming and the graveyards are full. Here I sit in my nice big house, drinking my wine, listening to music on my laptop, typing away on my blog— and it makes me feel terrible! I dont know what there is that I can do. My only idea is this baby hat pattern I made. I am going to post it on Ravelry tonight and sell it for $5 and list it under the Patterns for Haiti. All proceeds go to help Haiti. I was going to type it up and give it out for free. I mean, its just a baby hat… but if you need to get something for your donation… here you go! I sometimes wish I was independently wealthy and didnt have a young toddler to chase right now– I would go down there and help out the people. That would be a great life. Might be hard work, but at least I would sleep soundly knowing I did what I could for my fellow peeps. Yeah, if I had a billion dollars… I’d be there digging through the rubble in Haiti, trying to save people… children… and well, humanity in general. Until then… I will cherish my son and raise him to be as giving and caring as his mommy is. The kid is golden though, he will be a a wonderful addition to society, I just know it.

(LISTENING TO WYCLEF)

Okay off to post my pattern, then off to knit and watch some Nip/Tuck. Wait! I cant leave this on such a somber note… SO here you go:

Don't be hatin' on Wyclef.

PEACE.

I’m too tired for a title tonight.

Poop!

There I said it.

I have been cranky lately and I dont know how to fix myself. I would love to blame the lack of interesting television… things have not been the same for me since Bret Michaels found his “Rock of Love”, but I dont think tv is too blame this time. I am even in a knitting funk. I have been slack on a few projects and now can only seem to  knit for the shop… if you have seen my shop lately you will notice I have not been very productive.

What is my problem? Let me break it down… first, my mother. She is crazy normally, but lately has taken a turn for the worst. Her house is a wreck and I dont know why she is letting everything go. Okay, by ”wreck” I mean there is barely a pathway to get through it. She is as emotionally removed as usual, but this has also gotten worse. In early November she called me and wanted to make plans for Christmas. So we did… Christmas Eve she called me to confirm the plans and everything was a go. She was supposed to show up around 2pm… so at 4:30 when she had not arrived or called, I called her. She called me back after 5pm and told me she had been in the ER because she thought she broke her finger, but it was not broken. I asked her if she could hurry, since the baby had to eat dinner (she was responsible for a majority of the food) and then take his bath and go to bed by 8pm. She said she had not had a chance to cook the potatoes, but I told her not to worry, we could cook them here. an hour later she called me sounding more wasted than Ozzy Osbourne, telling me that the pain meds they gave her were strong and she had fallen down trying to get the phone and was hoping she wouldnt puke… oh, yeah and she said she was sorry and that she loved me. I told her to get some sleep and call me in the morning. She did not call the next day or answer her phone, though I called at least 5-6 times all day. Same thing Sunday. So finally we all drove over there. No answer at the door. I knocked on all the windows, then I noticed her car was all scratched up and the garage door was busted as if she had driven into it. So I broke in and hollered to her. She was sleeping. Then she was upset that I had woken her up. Well, I proceeded to give her a piece of my mind. I just do not understand her. She has seen her grandson three times. Birth, as he was being rushed to the NICU, then at 2 weeks old as I was getting a ride from her to get my staples out. She held him as if he was contagious… like at arms length. This disturbed me. Then after she had moved into her new place I stopped by to visit, change a diaper and nurse the boy when he was around 7 months. Her house was not as bad as now, but still terrible and I was cringing about even bringing my son in there. I made it a fast visit and I refuse to bring him back inside until she cleans the place up. So the idea of her coming over for Christmas was delightful to me. I felt like maybe she was getting better… but I think she is in fact getting worse.

Sorry. Heavy stuff I know… it has been weighing on me.

Josh generally drives me crazy. Above and beyond being a typical male, he really lacks any and all initiative when it comes to… well, everything. He is not exactly the strong, compassionate and reliable man I dreamt of all my life. He can open a jar… and he has good personal hygiene, holds a job and pays bills, but other than that I cannot really count on him to help me with much. He feels like this is all he needs to do. He actually feels like I dont do enough!  His mother is one of those types who does everything for her man and for her child, all while keeping a perfectly neat and orderly home and taking care of every loose end… oh and the kicker– she would never complain either! So Josh is assuming that this is a normal quality for women in general… I just dont agree. I do not have a problem cooking, doing dishes, laundry, general cleaning and being a mom. I do however have a problem when I am always doing everything and then the weekend comes. Josh has two days off and helps with nothing. Usually he tries to get as much sleep as possible with a quick break for drinking and video games. I would just love some ”me” time. Some time off. I dont even want two full days… not even one full day! Lately he has been waking on Saturday at 8am and letting me sleep in for a few hours, then we trade-off. Yeah, that sounds really sweet right? Wrong! I have to bargain for it in some way or another and to me that just takes most of the enjoyment out of it. Just once I would love for him to do something nice, just to make me happy. HA-HA and one day hell just might freeze over too.

Sorry. This isnt a complaint blog now, I promise.

My son! Yes, my sweet little bundle of joy is another part of my problem! Recently, he has turned from lovable boy who gives me kisses and hugs who sings and has fun all day, to a maniacal little German midget who finds great delight in my despair and shock. He is not fully talking, but if I listen carefully I can decipher his German and he says little things like “I-get-up” or “I-go” which normally would be so adorable, but usually it screamed at me like an order I must adhere to! On the one hand, I want to stand at attention and follow his commands, on the other hand, I think that I need to take the upper hand in the situation. I mean, a child cannot make the rules, right? …right? HA. I try and lay down the law in my best ”Mom means business” voice and although I feel like I am stern and stiff… he just laughs at me. Then he continues his tirade. He is a very demanding young fellow. I am really looking forward to the part where Sesame Street starts teaching him english so I can actually understand him.

He has given up the highchair. He just wont have it anymore. I tried to enforce it, but then gave up and tonight he ate his meal on his knees in a regular chair at the table. I feel like he is too young for all this defiance and independence, but according to “THEM” he is right on track. I am afraid and I know that I need to figure out my game plan… since we seem to be playing a game of proverbial Risk and I think he might have been buttering me up with all those kisses and hugs in order to attack me when I am vulnerable. He did well and though he may fight a good fight, I intend to win this war and have a well behaved child without ending up in jail. This cant last forever, right? …right?  (Stop laughing.)

So these are my current stresses. Just add a gluten-free diet! (which by the way, 2 out of my 3 friends told me they think it is probably just “in my head”) I can assure everyone that I really have some sort of issue… whether it be Celiac’s diesease or just a severe gluen/wheat intolerance, I am not sure.

My life in a nutshell.

I do not know what to do about it, except just push through each day. I just keep knitting, reading, watching my tv and blogging in my spare time, hoping I dont end up as crazy as my mother.

Poop.

Wait, I cant end this on such a sour note. I refuse…

I finished cleaning my closet which included organizing my stash. Let’s just say I need to unscrew the lightbulb in there. Josh would freak out. I seriously freaked out! I had no idea I had so much. So score one for yarn hoarding.

Also, I lanolized 3 woolies items tonight and my hands are so baby smooth!

Oh an how about that Yarn Harlot? She’s amusing, eh?

…

The great polenta experiment.

I had polenta, once. It was okay. Pretty much the definition of peasant food… bland, boring, but edible. I had it with Prosecco and fresh cheeses at a dinner party in Italy. I remember it well. The prosecco was great to wash it down and the cheese was a total treat. Yesterday I did not have any prosecco and I had nothing but a block of Publix brand cheddar, but I wanted to make some polenta. Eating gluten free is a total pain in the ass and I am constantly hungry it seems. If I dont have something made already and stored in the fridge I do not have many options. I am so used to convenience meals, that it is mind blowing to think about cooking everything from scratch! Now, dont get me wrong… I can cook. I just dont particularly love to cook. I take it back… I love to cook for others, but I hate to cook for myself. Most days I find myself eating rice krispies, cheese, rice noodles, ice cream or chips and salsa. If I am lucky I have some leftovers in the fridge suitable for consumption. Usually a soup of some sort. I love soup.

I was surfing foodnetwork.com looking for the right polenta recipe and I couldnt decide. I finally settled on this Alton Brown recipe for, Savory Polenta. Alton Brown is amazing… part chef, part scientist with a dash of corny humor, so I figured at the very least this recipe would be edible. With the baby in the highchair, I set forth to make the polenta. I stirred in the corn meal whisking like a fool so not to have any lumps… HAHAHA it was lumpy as hell. when I popped it in the oven I realized I did not have a cover for the cast iron skillet I was using. OOPS. The oven timer went off and I set it on the stove to cool, then transferred it to a glass pan. The top seemed crusty and I tasted a bit… it was pretty savory. I didnt love it, but I didnt hate it either. It cooled in the fridge over night since I forgot I even made it. Then next day I fried some up for lunch and didnt like it. It was nothing like the stuff I had in the past. I sighed… another failed recipe. Recipes are like knitting patterns for me… sometimes they come out amazing and I am excited about the results… other times I am filling the garbage disposal or frogging and balling up yarn with tears in my eyes.

And just as I was prepared to dump it all down the disposal, I put a piece on the highchair tray for my little guy. To my surprise he loved it! I gave him the remaining polenta and he was actually double-fisting it! I still cant get over it.

In other GF news… I tried the Betty Crocker Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, reviews are “so-so” very expensive for a mediocre batch of cookies. they did taste pretty authentic, but they were flat and dried out by day 2. They looked like you put too much butter and not enough flour in the batter, but without the greasy butter flavor.  I would only buy these again if I was truly desperate for chocolate chip cookies.  So, only a few times a week. (only joking!)

Betty Crocker GFree cookies!

Am I getting sick?

It has been so long since I got sick, I cant even tell anymore! I dont feel so well. Yesterday and today… achy, tired, headache. I think this may be Swine Flu/H1N1 or whatever you want to call it. I just thought I was crabby from my time of the month. Unfortunately I think that I got Swine Flu from Josh, since my immune system was down this past week.

I am trying to stay on top of the sickness, since I cant ever let a virus win… so I am drinking lots of water, OJ and green tea. Eating lots of protein and veggies. This minute I am eating some homemade soup… here is my recipe.

Gluten-free, Wheat free FAST Chicken Curry Noodle Soup

Bowl full of rice noodles, 3/4 cup chicken broth (Kitchen), tsp olive oil, dash of curry powder, chopped cooked chicken breast.

Put ingredients in a micro-safe bowl and microwave about 3 minutes, Stir, let sit for 3 minutes, Stir, EAT.

I just want to lick the bowl! I appreciate rice noodles in a special way… since I cant have regular pasta and the corn pasta and quinoa pasta I have tried taste nasty, rice noodles are a beautiful thing. I think tomorrow I will make another chicken soup. This recipe I have in mind has chicken, curry and peanut butter. It is excellent, so I will find a link and post it.

Ack. I feel so terrible. Time to go curl up on the couch and watch General Hospital and enjoy my quiet time while baby sleeps.

Thanks Martha.

So I will admit it… I watch Martha Stewart. I hate her. I hate her holier than thou attitude and I hate how absolutely fake she is with every guest on the show. Why do I continue to watch? She is like a train wreck!!! I cant stop watching, no matter how bad it gets. She really inspires me with her crafts and cooking. Although I doubt my sheets, towels, place mats, dish cloths and dishes will ever be color coordinating and yet– never in my wildest dreams did I ever think Martha could unlock the secrets to my families health problems! I was watching her show yesterday about Asian noodles. The first noodle they went over was the basic ramen noodle. They were talking about how it is completely made of wheat… and I had that epiphany moment. I could literally see a light bulb going off above my head. You see, lately I have been having severe digestive problems. Ever since my pregnancy I have not been quite right and I was blaming vitamins, fast food, and breastfeeding. In the past three weeks though I have been thinking about going to the doctor, but since I have no insurance I was hoping I could figure things out on my own. Now finally I think I have! Martha and ramen noodles have shed light on this mystery.