Foggy

It's foggy this morning.  You can barely see the house on the corner, catty-corner to mine.

Cleaned...

I finished two of the cleaning projects last night before heading to Queen Practice.

 The shelves by the refrigerator.  They look a lot better.

And the corner cabinet.  You can't really tell that I cleaned this out, but trust me, I did.  It's more organized, in any event.  There are certain things I keep in here that I didn't move out otherwise I would lose them.

Sometime today (probably after the queen contest), I am going to tackle our bedroom.  The living room (and fireplace area) is scheduled for Monday.

Taco Soup

It's raining and a tiny bit chilly out today so I'm declaring it a soup night in our household.  We will be having Taco Soup for dinner.  This is the recipe I use http://allrecipes.com/recipe/taco-soup-iv/ .  It's quite good.  

(this is not my photo...it's the photo shared with the recipe)

Taco Soup

2 lbs. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 (10.75 oz.) can of tomato puree

1 (10.75 oz.) can of tomato sauce

1 cup water

1 (15 oz.) can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 oz.) can of whole kernel corn, drained

1 (1.25 oz.) package of taco seasoning mix

1. In a medium stock pot brown beef and onion, about 10 minutes; drain grease if needed.
2. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, beans, corn and taco seasoning. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Top with cheese, corn chips, sour cream and olives.

Cleaning and De-cluttering...

It's that time of year again.  The deep cleaning and de-cluttering time.  Not my favorite, that's for sure.  But it's got to be done.  With Big C coming home from college next weekend and bringing a friend (an International Student from Britian), I want the house to look it's best.

 So...yesterday I deep cleaned the kitchen.  By the time I was done, I had cleaned the stove, refrigerator, microwave, all the little appliances like the coffee pot and toaster, bleached the cabinet tops, wiped down the cabinets and the walls, and mopped really, really well.  I also cleaned out the pots and pans cabinet and the tupperware cabinet.  Those are always cluttered and a mess to get anything in or out of.

 This morning, after the visit to the beauty shop, I worked on Small T's bathroom upstairs.  Everything is cleaned up and bleached down now.  No nasty germs hanging out anywhere, that's for sure.

Small T abhors her 1970's era bathroom but honestly, retro is in these days so I've left it alone.

Now...I can't believe I'm going to share the following photos with you, but I'm doing it simply to shame me into cleaning the mess up.  You see...we're clutter hogs.  Yep.  We are.  These next four photos show what I'm getting ready to work on now.

 This is the shelf unit by the refrigerator and the hallway that leads to the bedrooms.  It always looks like this but after today...NO MORE.  I'm de-cluttering and throwing stuff away.  ASAP.

 This is the corner cabinet in the dining room and a pile of stuff that I swear needs to be left on the dining room table (which is really a lie I tell myself so I don't have to clean it up).

These next two photos are just horrible.  I'm ashamed.

 The right side of the fireplace.  Geez.  It's a catch all for everything we don't want to put away.

And the left side of the fireplace.  I will admit that it's almost all yarn stuff.  Totally my fault.

So...while the cleaning bug has reared it's ugly head, this is what will be keeping me busy today and tomorrow and probably a few more days as the fireplace area will be quite the project.

Nails...

I spent a couple of hours with Small T this morning and our good friend, Miss D (soon to be Mrs. D as she's getting married tonight).  Small T is competing in the Pecan Festival Queen contest tomorrow and Miss D gave Small T a french manicure this morning so her nails will be at their best.  As always, whenever we visit Miss D she wants to wax someone.  Today it was my turn (whether I wanted it to be or not).  So...I now have beautiful eyebrows and no mustache for awhile again.  *sigh*  Waxing and I are NOT best friends.

Procrastination

Today is the day.  No more procrastination.  Seriously.

 So...out came the trusty sewing box.

 I covered the furniture and carpet with sheets so the jewels on the dress wouldn't snag.  Then brought up the dress that needs the sewing.

I re-attached the hook and eye closure and checked out the beads on the front to make sure they were firmly attached.  

Whew!  What a job!

And now, the dress is back on the hanger downstairs in it's place of honor with the other dresses and the sheets are all folded up and put away along with my trusty sewing box.

I'm so glad this is done.  If I hadn't kept putting it off, I would have found out how little time it took to get it done.  Stupid me.

Something Extra...

I forgot to add a couple of photos to my previous post.  Imagine that!

 See this kitty?  She's a kitten, but not small.  She showed up at the house a few days ago and after eventually finding her owner (who said she isn't the owner but others say she is) and then taking her back to her home, she has shown back up at our house.  *sigh*  I do NOT want a cat.  I am NOT a cat person.  And I have told my family to NOT feed her or she will never leave us.  I am going to attempt to take her home yet again tonight, but she found us after travelling all the way back across town, so I don't know if it will work again.  But I'm going to try.  She's very friendly and will let you pick her up but she has fleas.  I just wish her family would take her back.

And, I made a trip out to the farm yesterday and brought back some pumpkins.  I wanted more of the white ones but they are almost all gone and I couldn't reach the few that were left which was less than six.  So, I brought home a variety, including a couple of green ones.  I have plans for all of them with the small ones getting vampire teeth (yep, the plastic ones) and then they will line each side of my steps to the front porch.  The big orange ones will go in the two planters on the porch.  The green ones will also be on the steps with some blood shot eyes (beer pong balls that look like eye balls).  The white ones will be made up to look like skeleton heads with the blood shot eyes as well.  I can't wait to get them all readied up but it still has to wait a few weeks as I don't want them rotting before Halloween.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and This Morning...

Gosh...it's been a very busy week so far.  I need a break.  Seriously.  :)  So...this morning, I'm taking a tiny break to spend some time with my yarn and to do a bit of baking (in with the laundry and errands, shower, etc. before we leave for the game tonight).  I swear, a woman's work is never done.

 I thought I would share an update on the pink camo baby blanket that I'm knitting.  After de-stressing with some knitting on and off yesterday (which I definitely needed), I was surprised to see that I had worked 33 rows and had the first skein completely used.  Woo Hoo!!!  Can you tell that I really needed to work off some stress?  I usually don't knit that much in a single day.  And let me tell you...I had very little time to do this.  I was working part of a row or a row, putting it down, doing something else, coming back to the knitting later, working on it some more, and so on.  It makes me smile to see this photo though and I needed a bit of a smile.

 This is a bit of a spontaneous photo that I took this morning while baking yet another two loaf batch of beer bread.  I can't tell you how much of this bread I've baked in the past month, but it's a LOT.  I always make 2 loaves a week for Big C and his college roommate and other buddies.  I've made 2 loaves each time and have given away countless loaves of it to others that have suffered the loss of a loved one or just needed a general pick-me-up, but I've not made a single loaf of it for my own home and Medium J said the other day, "really mom...don't you think you could at least make some for here so we don't have to just smell it?".  lol  So that's what I'm doing right now.  I've got 2 loaves in the oven and in 30 minutes Medium J will have some available for eating on.  :)

By the way, if you'd like the recipe for the beer bread, click here.

Then there's the scrap baby blanket.  This is where I currently stand with it.  I have a few more circles to make up and then I'll be able to start adding the squares around the circles.  This morning, I felt like I needed a bit of crochet time since all I've been doing lately is knitting.  So, that's exactly what I did.  And honestly, I need to have taken a shower already and also to have fixed the hook and eye closure on Small T's pageant dress.  I'm procrastinating on doing that and I really don't know why.  Oh well.  I will do it today.  Before 3 pm.  I have to.  Maybe I should tell Big Daddy to make me do it.  lol  I might have to though.  

Game Night at my Alma Mater

Monday night was game night versus my Alma Mater.

I have to confess that I've not been back there since I graduated, 29 years ago.

 I went to this school for one year (as a senior) and that was the 2nd year that the school had been opened.  It's basically a great big metal barn in the middle of nowhere...and three towns bus their children there in order to have a school for them.  At the time I attended the school, it was a tannish yellow color.  I was greatly surprised to see it painted white when we arrived.  They've also added a concession stand by the ball field and a small metal barn for vehicles maybe.  Otherwise, it looks the same.

 I was trying to take a few photos of Small T "on deck" warming up.  This is always a challenge because she doesn't like me taking photos of her "when she is aware of it".

And then I got caught.  *sigh*  Oh well.  Both are still good photos.  :)

I'm Amazed...

I don't get the opportunity to drive by the family farm very often since it's a little ways away from where I live.  But Monday night, we drove by the acreage that is next to the highway on our way to the ball game.  I have to say that I'm just amazed at what the corner pasture looks like now.  The photo above shows a bit of it.  It's been divided into three parcels with one of the parcels holding a church.  I just can't believe how different it is.  It's even harder to see our house gone (it was tore down).  Things sure changed in the 14 years since my dad passed and the farm was sold.

Scrap Yarn Baby Blanket

 Remember this yarn from my stash?  I was having trouble deciding on a pattern to use with it and was wanting to make a Fantasy Blanket out of it but didn't have enough yarn.

 So I bought two skeins of yarn but it still wasn't enough.

Well, I finally decided on a pattern after a long time of "thinking" on it.  I'm using the Bouncy Ball Baby Blanket Free Pattern on the Deb's Crafts blog.  You can find the pattern by clicking here. I've actually made one of these before but in a full sized blanket.  I've decided to use all the scrap yarn that I can and the extra skein of yellow that I bought.  I won't be adding the new skein of pink yet.  I don't think I will need it.

I worked up 5 of the center circles yesterday (the photo above this one) and then added the outer "square" to see how it looks.  I was hoping that the variegated yarn would work out ok as the "square" instead of the inner circle.  I think it's ok.  Maybe not perfect, but ok.  What do you think?

Knitted Baby Blanket

Well, it's been one heck of a past few days.  I've had Small T in the hospital, Big C sick at college, and Medium J's great-grandma passed away.  Big Daddy has also been sickly and Little Ty has been giving me some 13 year old attitude (for which it's about time).  While I sat at the hospital, I managed to do a bit of knitting when Small T wasn't having "issues"....and not just medical issues....attitude issues as well since she missed the art field trip that she really wanted to go to.  Anyway....

 I had been planning to start a basic knitted baby blanket made out of the pink camo yarn, so that's what I did.

I'm a slow knitter, but I managed to get quite a few rows done.

Another Pair....Problems....

 Remember this?  The "Another Pair" of wrist warmers I started last week.  Well, I've knitted and knitted, frogged it, knitted and knitted and now I've got problems.  Still.

No matter how hard I try, I cannot keep the seams from showing.  I've tightened up the yarn over and over again and I still have this (shown above).  Ugh!!!!!!!!  No what do I do?  I didn't have this problem with the other yarns I was using for the two previous pairs of wrist warmers.  Help me!!!!!!

Still Trying...

I'm still trying to find a couple of coordinating yarn colors to go with the yarn from my stash.  (This will be a Stash Buster Project...hopefully.)

 The yarn from my stash is shown above.

I'm wanting to make a baby sized blanket using the Fantasy Blanket pattern found here.  The pattern used 10 different colors of yarn and I'm no where near that yet.  I think I have enough of 5 of the colors above but I'm not sure.
**edited to add...it uses 12 different colors of yarn for the pattern.  sigh.  i might have to choose another pattern after all.**

I did buy 2 colors today so that makes 3 more that I need.  My only problem is trying to "match" the colors.  With the variegated yarn I'm using (pastel colors of yellow, pink, green and peach with white), I don't think I could successfully add purple and blue tones.  I'm not necessarily "matching" colors but more like trying to stay in the pastel range.  I plan to go downstairs in a bit and dig through my yarn stash again and see if I have anything else that might coordinate with what colors I already have.  I'm hoping I have some peach stashed away but I don't think so.  Anyway, I could really use some input from everyone on what they think.  Please and thanks.  :)

Another Pair

I just cast on another pair of knitted wrist warmers.  This time, I'm using some I Love This Yarn Sport Weight Tweed in the color Red Tweed.  I'm still using the size 7 DPN's though.  And I cast on 45 at the beginning instead of 34 since this is a much thinner yarn.  I want to make sure it will fit my big hands/wrists.

Cowboy Lasagna

Last night's dinner was Cowboy Lasagna.  It was pretty good.  In fact, there weren't any leftovers.  None.  So that's testament to its tastiness.  I got the recipe from here on the Peppermint Mocha Mama blog.  We have food allergies in our household, so I omitted a couple of things like the ground mustard, but those were just spices.  To speed things up, I have included Peppermint Mocha Mama's recipe here on my blog.  For clarification, this is NOT my recipe or my photo.  Stop by her blog and check it out.

Cowboy Lasagna

Ingredients

1. 1 lb of ground beef
2. Minced onions - 4 tbsp
3. Worcestershire sauce - generous sprinkling
4. Parsley - roughly 3 tbsp, divided
5. One can of tomato soup - 10 3/4 ozs
6. One can of corn - 15.25 ozs
7. Dried ground mustard - 3 tbsp
8. One package of tater tots - 32 ozs
9. Salt and Pepper to taste
10. Mozzarella cheese - roughly 4 cups

Directions

1. Brown ground beef with spices - drain. Add can of soup and can of corn, simmer for about 10 minutes.
2. In a greased 9x13 baking dish, arrange tator tots in single layer. Cover with 2 cups of cheese. Pour ground beef mixture over top and cover with remaining cheese and 1 tbsp of parsley.
3. Place in a 350F oven for 30 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Sparkly Wrist Warmers (knitted)

I have finished the 2nd set set of wrist warmers...this time in a sparkly yarn.  It's Caron's Simply Soft Party in the color Rich Red Sparkle.  I had one skein of it and I still have about half of it left over.  I used a pattern called Toasty but I didn't knit the thumb hole as I wanted to be able to slip them up and down really quick.  The pattern can be found by clicking here .  I used size 7 DPN's.

Here are the wrist warmers...just lying there.

 I put one on.  I like to wear them all scrunched up.

But you can also wear them smoothed out.

Wavy Stitch Baby Blanket - Stash Buster Project

How do you make a procrastinator go out of her mind???

Give her a gazillion ends to weave in!!!

 Eventually she will have to bite the bullet and just get it done.

So that's what I did yesterday.  Much to my dismay.

 Here's the finished blanket.

 A close-up of the detail.

All folded up.

I used this pattern, Caron's Simply Soft yarn in Blueberry and Off White (out of my yarn stash), and a size I crochet hook.

Beware

Beware of the Honeysuckle Bush at the corner of my driveway!

 There's someone hiding in it!

 It's good camouflage.

Don't you think?

53

Tuesday was Big Daddy's 53rd birthday.  We actually had a bit of extra time to celebrate that night since the softball game was rained out.  Woo Hoo!  On both the party and the cancelled game.  LOL

Game Night

Three nights a week, it's Game Night for our household.  Small T plays on the HS Varsity Softball team so that really keeps us busy.  The photos I'm showing here are from Monday night's game against Bucklin/Macon County.  We won 29 to 8.  But back to the photos, I thought I'd show you a couple of Small T leading off 1st base thinking about stealing 2nd.  Which didn't happen, by the way.

Granny Bag

I lust for this bag.

Seriously.

I'd really like to make it.  But I would use yarn instead.  And add a lining.

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/MrSnuffleupagus/29-210-44-striped-bag

MrSnuffleupagus' Plarn Granny bag

(photo courtesy of MrSnuffleupagus)

Kitty Litter Pudding Pie

I spent a bit of time this morning researching some cheap and creepy Halloween decorations for my sister that always throws a huge party for her teens.  While I was looking, I found the following "treat".  Whoever came up with it is absolutely SICK and I LOVE IT!  lol

Here's the link where I found the recipe (which I've shared here).

http://www.squidoo.com/cheap-and-creepy-halloween-decorations

Kitty Litter Pudding Pie

• Serves: 10-15
• Prep Time: 30
• Total Time: 30

Imagine the faces of your Halloween guests as you finish dinner and break out a Kitty Litter Pie for desert. It's simple to make. Make sure your friends and family don't see it until you are ready to serve. If you can do it with a straight face it would go off even better.

Ingredients

• 2 Boxes Graham Crackers
• 1 Cup Melted Butter
• 3 Packages Instant Chocolate Pudding
• 1 Package Instant Caramel Pudding
• 1 Cake Decorating Bag With Large Round Tip
• Whip Cream (optional)
• Milk.. as per package of pudding

Instructions

1. Pound Graham Crackers to the consistency of kitty litter.
2. Add Butter and mix gently so the pieces are coated but, not soggy
3. Bake on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes at 350. The pieces should be firm like a crumbled pie crust.
4. Prepare pudding as per package and let it chill for 15 minutes until firm
5. Spread half the graham crackers on the bottom of a clean, never used kitty litter pan.
6, Add the chocolate pudding
7, Completely cover the pudding with the second half of the graham crackers.
8. Place the prepared Caramel Pudding in a cake decorating bag and draw in the poop with the tip.
9. Add a clean, never used, poop scoop as the serving spoon.
10. Chill before serving
11. You can substitute tootsie rolls for the caramel pudding