Making Monday

It's Monday again and it's time for me to show off what I'm currently working on. Well....it's.........NOTHING! Lol Yep, that's right. I'm not working on anything right now. I'm currently in between projects. I just finished some little headbands made from i-cords, but I'm anxiously awaiting Tuesday to arrive so I can start my next project for my Knit A Long (KAL).

These are what we will be making. They are knit slipper socks. I wouldn't call them socks myself. I think they're more along the lines of muk luks or something of the sort. They have a lined sole on them that is made of suede and lined with acrylic. I purchased Deborah Norville's Serenity Sock Yarn in Picasso Marble for the slippers. I will probably be double knitting them since the sock yarn is pretty thin and another Ravelry member had suggested doing that. The picture I linked doesn't do the yarn justice though, and I couldn't find a picture that really showed it well. But it is gray, orange, olive green & navy blue.

Meal Plan 3/17-3/31

I always try to meal plan as much as possible. I thought it would help me save $$, but it doesn't. I don't think I really do it right though. I guess maybe if I took the time to meal plan around the sale fliers from the grocery stores and based off the coupons I have it would work more in my favor. But I haven't seemed to master that yet. I'm going to try to work on it though. Until then, I'll just stick to my regular meal planning for sanity purposes. I like looking at a list and knowing "This is what I have ingredients for". This meal plan will mostly be vegetarian. I am trying to cut meat out of my diet as much as possible. I have already cut red meat out and had cut out pork for a while but recently seem to be indulging in too much bacon. ::blush::

Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese
Vegetarian Lasagna
Ravioli Stew
Eggplant Pasta
Veggie Pot Pies
Garlic Artichoke Pasta
Onion & White Bean Flatbread
Moo Shu Veggies
Tofu Parmigiana
Barley Hoppin John
Stuffed Peppers (These I'm going to improvise myself because I couldn't find a recipe I liked. I will use orzo, mushrooms and onions though)

And just for fun...

RAW FETTUCCINE ALREDO! I was told to try zucchinni for the *noodles* so that's what I'll be using.

Making Monday on Wednesday!

I missed posting about Making Monday because I was driving from Albuerque, NM back home to Phoenix. But I made this hat and finished it on the road so I'll post that. I found the pattern on Ravelry (of course!). It is called Aaron's Hat and it is a waffle stitch beanie. I decided to add a brim to the front though.

Making Monday

I came back to post another entry when I realized it was Monday and I always like to post what I'm currently working on. I am part of a knitting swap on Ravelry.com called The Runaways. We're currently doing a favorite color swap and my partner's favorite color is purple. I started a beret for her but messed it up horribly. Not horribly enough for it to never be worn, but horribly enough to not have the courage to send it to another knitter! :-p So I restarted it, put it down to knit some items for a fundraiser, and just recently picked it up again this morning.

It is called Crumpet Beret and I am knitting it in Patons Silk Bamboo Orchid.

I'm back!!

It's been a very long time since I've posted in here. I kept telling myself "Monday, I'll do this." "Next week I'm going to post a new blog" "After the holidays I'll get started again" Of course, all of those came and went and there were no new blog entries. :-/ *Sigh* Well, now here I am sitting by myself in an unusually quiet house and decided that this was the perfect time. I'm sure I will get right into the middle of this only to have my toddler wake up. So off I go to type as quickly as I can!!

This weekend I went to our local co-op called Bountiful Baskets (http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/) to pick up my produce basket and 5 loaf pack of sandwich bread. It was really cold and windy (and early!) but I was happy to be getting my stuff since it had been a while. We love the sandwich bread more than the basket itself. The inexpensive produce just seems to be a bonus for us. For those who don't know what BBs (Bountiful Baskets) are, is as produce basket from your local & surrounding states that is in season at a reduced price from the grocery store. The baskets are only $15 and the bread was $10 (for 5 loaves). This is what my basket contained this week...

1 bag of small Yukon Gold Potatoes
3 Turnips
7 Tomatoes
3 Yellow Squash
2 Acorn Squash
1 bunch of Spinach
1 bag of Green Beans
7 Bananas
5 Apples
17 Minneolas
4 Mangoes
1 Pineapple

And I say again "All of this for only $15!" I think it's a great deal. Even with price comparing, checking sales, shopping in season and shopping multiple stores, I don't think I could match this. Plus, it's all in one location and I don't have to go to the store and wonder "What do I buy this time?" I love it because it gets me to try new things as well. I don't think I've ever had a turnip in my life, so this will be new to me. If anyone has a great recipe, feel free to share!

Upon returning home with my basket I immediately got to work. I washed my apples and put them in the pantry. My toddler loves to steal these when I'm not looking so I like to have them washed ahead of time because I by the time I realize he has one he's usually halfway through it. I split up the minneolas. One half to put in the fridge to snack on and one half I peeled and separated to put in the freezer for smoothies. I snapped the ends off my beans, rinsed them, then blanched them to put in the freezer for later use as well. The potatoes I rinsed, cut in wedges, placed in a bowl with 1 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil, 1 tsp Parlsey, 4 minced garlic cloves, tossed together and put in a baking pan to bake for about 40 min (until tender & browning) in a 425* oven to freeze for a later dinner as well. I have yet to do anything with the pineapple though. I will be taking that for snacking for our road trip on Wednesday to New Mexico. Or maybe we'll have pineapple smoothies for breakfast on the way?! I need to prep my squash today as well because I don't know if it will hold up until we get back from our trip. I hate to waste!

Back in the Groove

I've made it through the first two weeks of our deployment! (*Happy Dance around the living room*) It went by surprisingly fast, too. I think that was due to my mom being here, though, and me not truly being on my own. That starts tomorrow. :( She will be flying out and heading back to Montana. I think I'll be okay though. It was nice having her here. She was really helpful and we got a lot of Spring cleaning done. Too bad we weren't motivated enough to do a little bit more though. I do think we wore each other out with all the cleaning, running around and playing with the little one.

So.....let me wrap up the last two weeks for everyone. Said goodbye to the DH (Dear Husband), cried a lot, had to take my dog into surgery and had to spend way too much money on it, air conditioning went out on DH's car, babysitter notified me that even though she knows the job is every Friday she will be out of town already so I need to find a replacement for that day, Verizon gives me the run around about suspending DH's cell phone line, landscaper does a terrible job and I get a write up from my HOA, my WIC gets canceled, DH spends $100 even though I said "We're broke!" beforehand, friends try to cheer me up with flower and they arrive smooshed, dead and slimey. Yep, that's a typical first few weeks for a military spouse suffering the curse. I can happily say that I think it's passed for now. Knock on wood.

I will say I have been lucky and have been able to talk to my husband on Skype 3 times since he's left. They've been choppy chats, we've been disconnected a lot, and there's not any privacy, but I've heard his voice and seen his face and that's what matters. My son loves talking to him on the computer as well. He thinks his Daddy is so funny! It warms me up just watching them interact with each other and seeing how their eyes light up. My boys are my world.

Busy Little Bee

Wow have I been busy. With the husband leaving soon, we have a lot of things to do. The preparation that comes with a deployment is different for everyone. This is our first so I don't really feel like I know what I'm doing. It is becoming stressful as I feel like I have to prepare for the every day regular things and also the "What Ifs" Those darn "What Ifs" are what is making this whole thing........fun. No one wants to think about that stuff and we all want to believe it can't happen to us. But I am a firm believer in hope for the best expect the worst (and plan accordingly).

I'm not sure if there's anything that could make this separation we are going to go through easier other than him not going. That's obviously not going to happen though. I keep saying to myself "I wish we were closer to home" I don't know if that would really help me though, as I've never really been one to rely on my family too much. We haven't lived near our family since we were married over 7 years ago. It's always just been us, doing our thing, living our lives, and figuring it out on our own. Why should I think that this time would be any different?! I guess we always have a little hope for things to happen that we know really aren't going to.


I will just have to keep looking at the light at the end of the tunnel, our vacation to San Diego. This is our first family vacation. It's definitely something we all need and will all enjoy. I'm really looking forward to this break and this time for us to be just us. No one around that we know, no work, no playgroup, no schedules, nothing. Just us being us and doing our thing.

I'm off to dream about it now......