Pretty Snow

IMG_1963
Originally uploaded by His_Mrs

It's snowing again this morning. It's so very pretty. We have around an inch of accumulation. Click over to my flickr to see more pictures.

Lots of snow...

Too bad I'm too old for a snow day. We've got at least half an inch of snow on the ground this morning and it's still coming down, pretty heavy too. It's sooooo pretty. I love the first good snow of the year. It doesn't usually come this early, but I'm not going to complain. I don't think I remember it snowing before Christmas at all since I moved here 5 years ago. And this is still November! I'll try to get pictures later. I woke up to all this lovely blue light streaming through the window and it was completely silent out. I love that about snow. It's completely quiet. So peaceful and beautiful. Snow makes me happy. It's my favorite part of winter. I hope we still get snow when we move.

In other news, knitting is coming along slowly. I need to take photos and update ravelry, which means I'll be updating here as well.

Yanked from someone...

Lets101 - Online Dating

BlogStalk: Breakfast

Steel Cut oatmeal, made with rice milk, molasses, brown sugar, and several spices. Yummy. I usually make a big pot on Sunday and then dish it up into single servings for the week ahead. It usually only ends up lasting 2 days though. I roughly follow Alton Brown's recipe, it's available on the Food Network Website, but I make it healthier, using rice milk instead of cream and molasses & brown sugar. Very Yummy and filling!

BlogStalk: Thanksgiving Edition

For Thanksgiving, it was myself, my husband, and a friend who couldn't make it to see his family for the holiday. Since no one should be alone for their first holiday without family, we made him come over. The husband played video games with him and I cooked. A lot.

We had duck:


The first time I've ever cooked a duck, first time I've ever tasted duck. It tasted just like the dark meat of the turkey to me, but then again, I only had 2 bites. The husband says it was quite good. Next year, it's vegetarian meatballs or loaf. No more poultry in this kitchen!

Sides #1:


Salad, salad dressing, and the roast tofu, that was cold by this time, but I didn't know that.

Sides #2:


Cranberry Sauce, From scratch!, dressing, green beans with lots of garlic, roast garlic mashed potatoes, and turkey gravy. The bread isn't pictured because it was a minor disaster and I didn't feel like showing you it's issues.

Garage Flooring

What does your garage floor look like? Is it beat up, dingy, oil stained, cracked? Or are you one of the lucky few who have taken the time to cover up the nasty concrete with something more appealing?
We don't have a garage anymore, but the garage in our old place was nasty. Someone had used it to spray paint car parts without putting down drop cloths. My old car leaked oil and radiator fluid. Despite my husband's efforts, it never came clean. The entire time that we lived there, my husband talked about how nice it would be to be able to cover the floor in some way.
When we move again, he's dictated that we will have a garage. And that garage will have some kind of garage flooring. This site has more options for covering up concrete than I've seen anywhere else! They have enough colors to go with any theme that you might have going on in your garage. Take a look!

Pumpkin Biscotti

Pumpkin Biscotti

• 5 cups White Flour
  
• 1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar
  
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp all spice
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips
  

1 Preheat oven to 350 F.

2 In a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients, including the spices. In a second bowl, mix the wet ingredients together until well combined. Mix the wet into the dry until well blended. Add chocolate chips or chopped chocolate and kneed until well combined. It should feel like a stiff biscuit dough. Chill for 30 minutes. Shape into 3 logs and place on a large baking sheet. I use silicon mats to bake them on.

3 Bake for 22-30 minutes, until the center is firm to the touch.

4 Let biscotti cool for 15 minutes and then using a serrated knife cut into 1 inch wide pieces. Turn the oven to 300 F and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes. Cool completely. I like to cool them in the oven so that they harden up nicely. Store in an air-tight container.

Pina Collada Power Bread

This bread is so good, and healthy! Very low fat, high in grains. And yummy to boot!

Pina Collada Power Bread (12 servings)

Ingredients:

• 16 oz Yogurt - pineapple, pina collada, or coconut work best, but plain or vanilla would work as well. You may need additional sugar if you use plain, brown sugar would work best
  
• 1 small can (5 or 6 oz I think) Pineapple bits, drained, reserving liquid
  
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 tsp Coconut Extract
• 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 cups Rolled Oatmeal
• 1/4 cup Flax Seeds
• 1/4 cup Wheat Germ - toasted is best, but plain works as well, honey toasted would be lovely
  
• 2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
  
• 1/4 Cup Shredded Coconut

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F and grease a 9 X 9 square pan.
   
2. In a food processor, pulse oatmeal until a coarse meal is formed. Add flax and wheat germ and pulse until combined. Add flour and pulse until combined. I do all this on the medium speed setting in the food processor.
3. Dump in the baking soda and the yogurt and pulse until combined. Stir in the pineapple bits, drained, 1/2 cup coconut shreds, vanilla, and coconut extract. Stir until just combined. If the mixture is too thick, add in the pineapple juice a bit at a time until the batter resembles muffin dough.
4. Pour dough into the square pan and smooth. Sprinkle remaining coconut over top of dough and gently press to adhere it to the top. This will toast as it bakes and let off such a yummy smell and taste.
5. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
   

Pay Day Loans

In general, I am not a fan of Pay Day Loans. I've heard of so many instances where people have gotten themselves into huge financial messes with them. But sometimes the situation just calls for some emergency money.

Faxless Payday Loans as well as cash advances are just 3 clicks away. Pay Day Loan Quotes has a calculator right on their front page, so that you can get an accurate picture of how much you will need to repay on your short term loan. Their lenders get back to you quickly and the money can be transfered into your account within 24 hours. There are several time lines and repayment options offered. It seems like a very simple website to navigate and all the information you need is presented in an easy to understand format.

I hope this is a service that we never have to use, but it's great to know that there are easy websites out there if something urgent comes up.

2 More FO's.

Cherie Amour from the newest knitty. I made this out of a double strand of Mountain Colors Weaver's Wool, Evergreen. Ravelry Link
A few mods here:

- Shortened bottom lace section by one
repeat, shortened ribbing by 3 rows,
increased upper lace section by one
repeat before splitting for
neckline. This made the ribbing fall
under the bust line instead of
creeping up.

- No ribbing at the end of sleeves.
This eleminates the belling out in
the original pattern. I just ended
with a WS row and then cast off.

- Sleeves done from top down. Picked
up stitches around arm hole and
worked down from there, decreasing
2 stitches (one on each side) just past the
elbow.

- I ended up seaming about 2 inches of
the v-neck together to help the
shoulders stay up. At full open, the
shoulders kept slipping off. This
helped to pull them in enough to
stay up.

2X2 Rib hat, no pattern. Made out of Baby Alpaca Brush by Plymouth. DH stole my main winter hat last weekend and I had to figure something out to keep my ears warm! This was an incredibly fast solution. One day, maybe 4 hours total start to finish.

Photo Dump - Knitting Content!

Small horse for my aunt. Will be sending this off this week. Made out of Eco-Wool. Ravelry Page.

Slippers for my grandma for Christmas. FiberTrends pattern. Ravelry Page.

Tweed Fetching. Made out of DB Donagal Luxury Tweed. Ravelry Page.

Shop display wrap. My own pattern. Silk Rhapsody & Silk Mohair Glitter by ArtYarns. No ravelry link at this time.

Enjoy :D

BlogStalk: 3 I love, 3 I hate

I love fall. I love everything about this season. The colors, the smells, the weather, the leaves, warm drinks, hand knits. All of it. It is my favorite season.

I love the beach. And the ocean. I love the sound. I love how calm it makes me. I miss it a lot up here. It's really quiet here compared to the coast.


I love nature. And photographing nature. It's pretty amazing what you can capture on a little screen if you try hard enough.

As for my hates, no pictures. I use the word hate a lot, but when I sit down and think about it, they're all more pet-peeves that true hate.
1. I can't stand people without common sense. I have no patience for them. If you're stupid enough to get yourself into the situation, there's probably not a lot I can do for you so don't ask.
2. I hate ants. One of the main reasons we moved was because of the ants in the foundation of our old duplex. It was nasty and disturbing. I think this is one of my only true "hates"
3. The other is earwigs. I have an intense, irrational fear of them stemming back to my insane mother who thought that shaping her children with fear was a good plan. Therefore, hate, loathe, and am terrified of earwigs.
4. Since that kind of goes with 3, I'm going to give you a bonus. I can't stand ironing. See my post from last Friday. Hate, Hate, Hate ironing. It makes my back and knees hurt, it makes the house smell like warm, moist cotton, and it's beyond boring. Oh yeah, and the humidity makes my hair frizz.

ChatterJam.com

Do you always have to be the first to know about a new product or service? Are you generally the first person you know to try something new? Have you ever heard of Word of Mouth Marketing?

ChatterJam.com is the new WOM marketing company on the block! They are focused on promoting brand new products and services throughout the Christian community. As a ChatterJam.com member, you get exclusive rights to free samples, trial offers of new services, and a large variety of networking tools. All they ask in return is that you generate positive buzz about the products or services that you are sampling. It is a great opportunity to be the first to know about all the hot new products coming out! There is no limit on the number of people who can join, so check out this great new opportunity today!

Christmas is right around the corner...

And if you're anything like me, you're starting to plan out gifts. I've been working on the knitting I'm doing for about a month, but I have a lot of family! I can't knit for everyone. And I'm always looking for little things to add to their gifts, knit or not. The only problem is trying to buy these gifts and still pay bills. Coupons can definitely help with that!

Coupon Chief has one of the largest selections of vendor coupons that I've seen! They have a great selection of Home Depot deals. My husband is addicted to this store! If I decide to buy him a new tool for Christmas, the free shipping or online clearance center could help me afford something really nice for him.

I'm always nervous about buying my MIL presents, but I know candles will always be a hit! I've never seenThe Candle Bay before, The Candle Bay deals are so great that I will need to look at it! I think I'd be able to find little gifts to fill out my packages here.

So as your planning out your holiday shopping, check out Coupon Chief and see if you can find a great deal to help save some money this season!

Long Week...

Ugh, It's been a loooong week. DH has been in TX all week for training and I've had to take care of the house and the dog all on my own. Combine that with my boss having a breakdown and only making it in one day so far this week and you've got one doozy of an overwhelming week. But DH is back tomorrow and that means I get to breathe again. And relax. And sleep. But before he gets home, I've got a buttload of work to do! Italics means it's done! Italics are good:D
Look at that! I finished everything but the tomatoes and ironing!

I need to unload and reload the dishwasher. Not sure if it will need to be run or not. Quite possibly.
I need to wash the dog and then clean the tub. And probably most of the bathroom.
I need to clean the rest of the junk out of the kitchen and off the counters.
I need to put away the laundry that I did last weekend.
I need to wash sheets and towels.
I need to iron from the last month's laundry. (I HATE to iron. HATE, Loathe, despise, get the picture?)
I need to do something with the 5 pound of apples spread throughout my kitchen before they go bad.
Ditto for the 3 pounds of green tomatoes.
I need to put together a menu and shopping list for the next 2 weeks.
I need to make the nutball dough for Saturday dinner so that it can chill overnight. (meatballs, but walnut based instead of meat based)
I need to sleep. A lot. I haven't slept well by myself this week. I'm just not used to it and it's been cold.
I need to take out all the trash in the house because when 1 can got full this week, I just started using another and now 2 out of the 3 are full and they need to go out to the big can because I can't let him know what kind of slob I am when he's not home.

I am two weeks behind on blogstalker and just can't seem to motivate myself to catch up. I have my pictures all taken and edited for my 3 things post. I just can't make myself write it up. And I don't have my pictures for the statue post because the camera is in TX with the husband.

And work sucks. I don't want to go in to why. But I'm completely overwhelmed and frustrated with my job. I want to like it. I do most of the time. But this week has just been too much. Too much. Thank goodness it's Friday.