Falling Into Oblivion

Not me... but my blog sure is!

I am a blogging failure lately.  This used to bug me, but it really isn't right now.  I have SO much going on, and a lot of it is away from the computer.

Any obligations that require me to be on the computer have taken the sidelines.  If I can't do it on my phone, it either gets done day before deadline, or probably doesn't get done at all. 

Right now, I am ok with that.  I'd rather be with the kids, or knitting (usually both).  Yesterday I let my son watch a tv show episode and I started singing along to the theme song and he scolded me "Don't sing that mommy, just knit!"  Well, if he says so, I will!

I figure it's only fair.  We started the new year getting rid of our cable and limiting the kids screen time (tv, video games, iphones, etc).  Makes sense that mommy limits hers as well (during daytime hours that is)! The kids got many new toys for Christmas, with birthdays following, so there is no need to be spending time sitting on the couch letting the minutes waste away.

With the new year, new ideas, new personal goals, I hope to keep my blog afloat, but it will probably take the sidelines while I get distracted!

Now the computer will be turned off.  We got many inches of snow last night and it is time to bundle up the kids, brave the "feels like" 1 degree F weather, and have some fun!!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to my family, friends, online friends, and blog readers!!

I haven't been too faithful to my blog the past few months.  I apologize.  I can make promises to do better, but I don't like making promises I'm not 100% sure I can keep!  Therefore, I will promise to try my best to keep up with my blog... at least blogging once a week!!

I hope to find some inspiration again, but right now all my creative brain power has been taken up with knitting.  I blame Pinterest.  So many fantastic ideas that keep my brain running on overdrive!!

Three Thanksgivings, Three Years of Thanksgivings, and Friendships

I'm pretty sure the pilgrims only did one Thanksgiving for a reason- stomachs are NOT designed to handle three Thanksgivings!

However, this year my family will be putting it to the test... more specifically, my husband and I will be putting it to the test (so far Thanksgiving dinner is a fail on my son who only ate waffles....). 

Being in the Navy has made planning Thanksgiving dinner fairly tricky.  Our first Thanksgiving here we did potluck with friends.  It was unclear if the band would get leave, if they were doing a parade, if there were other gigs.  So everyone stuck around.  It was a nice dinner, though a bit awkward since I didn't really know anyone who was there.  We had only been in Great Lakes for 8 months and I was still trying to make friends.  My husband accepted a dinner invitation before realizing there were other options.  But that was fine.  We ate good food, I made an awesome peppermint cake =) 

Last year we did another Thanksgiving potluck.  The band was certain to do the Thanksgiving day parade in Chicago, so everyone was here.  This time was with closer friends.  I made two pies and bread. YUM! Challah is kick-ass bread! 

This year, however.... my parents were in town last week.  So we did an early Thanksgiving dinner.  It was Thanksgiving as I remember.  All my favorites, cooked by my mom (all I did was pie... do you sense a theme with my contributions??).  It was awesome! But in tradition of my mom's cooking, there was WAY too much leftover.  Just as I finish recovering from turkey and stuffing overdose, I am about to do it ALL. OVER. AGAIN. 

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  Again, the band is doing a parade.  We are doing a small dinner with our close friends.  I'm making turkey (just the breast... I don't think I could handle the whole thing!), stuffing, pie, cookies (my kids don't like pie...WTF?!), and either bread or rolls, I haven't decided yet.  It will be a nice, quiet dinner. Hopefully a lot of the leftovers will be brought home by our friends. Because...

We also accepted an invitation to a potluck on Friday. Lots of people, so I am told!  New friends for me, new friends for the kids.  It will be fun, chaotic, and what Thanksgiving is about.  To me, it is not just family that makes Thanksgiving.  It is all of our relationships.  Close friends, acquaintances, in laws, new friends. Everyone is what this holiday is about.  I am very thankful for many things (if I ever update my 30 days of thankful you will know... oops...) but near the top of my list is my relationships.  Even ones that have long since past have helped shaped me into who I am today. 

So, tomorrow night, as I lay back in my turkey induced coma, I will think about my friends.  I will think about my best friend from birth, Emily, whom I played with for 12 years, went to elementary and middle school with.  We may not talk to each other every week, or even every year, but she helped shaped my childhood and adolescent self.  I think about crushes in high school, the friendships of my best friend circle whom I still hold dear to my heart and think about constantly.  I think about the friends I partied with, the ones I was a bit too wild with.  I am thankful I did that in high school so I could focus more in college.  I am thankful for my college boyfriend.  He not only put up with a lot of my crap I was going through, but he is still a good friend.  I think about finding Dave again after not seeing him for years. I think about all my new friends here, who have made my first move with the Navy a positive and rewarding experience.

So thank you, friends.  Very very much from the bottom of my heart.

30 Days of Thankful: Day 3

Day 3: I am grateful for my cats. Sometimes just a rub against my leg, a mew, or a cuddle can make all the difference in my mood.

30 Days of Thankful

I will be joining Holly over at Sunny Side Up in an Upside Down World this month for 30 Days of Thankful challenge. 

I am excited about this one... partially because it is only 30 days, and we've all seen how I tried to do a 365 day challenge. Yeah, not so much.  But also because I think Thanksgiving seems to get lost in all the commotion between Halloween and Christmas holidays.  This will get me to really remember what it means to be thankful.  Each day I will post something I am grateful for.  Please join me in this wonderful opportunity!

Day 1: I am grateful for my husband's job.  Not every musician out there is so lucky!

Day 2:  I am grateful that my daughter woke up today and said "I promise not to do anything to annoy my brother today."  Even if she doesn't follow through completely, it was nice of her to say that.

Friday Confessionals: On My Affair

That's right... I confess I am having an affair.......


I am cheating on my BLOG!



with this....

 and this....

 and this...

That's right.  I haven't been blogging lately (er... for awhile...) because I am starting an Etsy / Facebook knitting business.  I'm having such a blast knitting for friends that I decided to start selling  my knitting projects.  I have a lot of custom orders already, so I'm spending all my spare time (and not so spare time... sorry house, you are also neglected during my affair) knitting! It's gotten to the point that I am so into knitting I can barely sleep at night because I'm thinking about knitting.

Slightly pathetic... but it makes me happy!

Do you have any confessions today?  Be sure to link up with Mamarazzi! 

Wordless Wednesday: Preview Post to Why My Blog is Failing This Fall

Cinnamon Apple Crumb Pie

It's been two weeks since we went apple picking and I STILL have a fruit drawer full of apples... Nothing using up a ton of apples in such a delicious way as apple pie!

This is my FAVORITE apple pie recipe.  Not just because it is super yummy, but because it only requires one pie crust, and it is far easier to make a crumb top than a second pie crust (I am just NOT skilled at putting on a top to a pie!)

The pie dough is a basic pastry dough recipe that I grew up baking with my mom.  The filling is a tweaked recipe from Williams-Sonoma Baking Book. 

Basic Pastry Dough: Makes one pie crust
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 stick (4oz) cold butter cut into small chunks
1 tsp salt (less if you use salted butter)
(You can add 1 tsp of sugar if you prefer)
about 1/4 cup cold water

Add flour, butter, and salt to a food processor (I use a mini one because 1. it is all I  have, and 2. it fits the dough perfectly).  process until mixture has a coarse consistency.  Slowly pour a little bit of water at a time through the lid of the processor while running it, do so until dough begins to form a ball.  Turn out onto wax paper and shape into a flat disc.  Use immediately or refrigerate or freeze for later use.  Let stand to room temperature when ready to use.

Cinnamon Apple Pie Filling and Topping
Topping:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
5 TBSP cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces

Filling:
up to 10 Apples, about 6 cups when cut (depending on the size, you can use more or less.  I always prefer to use more than needed...those extra sugary/seasoned apples are great to snack on while the pie bakes!)
1 TBSP lemon juice
 1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 TBSP flour (recipe originally called for cornstarch, but I've always used flour in pies)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Roll the dough into a 12 inch disk. Transfer to a round 9inch pie dish.  Trim the edges and pinch together to create a high rim.

In the (mini) food processor, combine pie topping ingredients.  Pulse until mixture is crumbly. Do not overpulse, or put ingredients into a bowl and use a pastry blender.  Refridgerate until ready to use.

For the filling: Peel the skin off all the apples, then cut into 1/2 inch pieces.  Put into a large bowl toss to coat with lemon juice.  Add the rest of the pie filling ingredients and mix well.  Fill the pie dough with the apples, then cover pie with crumb topping.  Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat over to 375F.  Bake pie until crust is golden and filling is bubbly, 50-60 minutes. Cool completely to set.

Mommy and Me Monday

Helping my daughter climb up the slide.  This ended with mommy being pulled down the slide!

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Want to participate? Make sure you link up!

400th Post!

Since January 23, 2008, I have written 400 blog posts!  CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

Yeah yeah... I would have hit 400 ages ago had I been a more consistent blogger.  But hopefully I have some regular followers by now who are forgiving of my laziness?  Maybe??

If you regularly read my blog, I'd love to hear from you.  Seriously, I have no idea who reads this.  I promise I won't stalk you or bug you with questions or bounce ideas off of you.  I just want to see if I am getting lost out there in blog world.  (but if you do have suggestions or critiques, I'd LOVE to hear them!!)  Obviously don't tell me something like I need crazy graphics or to change html because, in reality, there is only so much a partially computer-illiterate broke person can do!

Anyway, back to the number 400.  It's amazing how my life has changed over those 400 posts.  I added another kid to the family.  My husband got his masters degree, joined the Navy, we moved to Great Lakes, daughter started preschool, sister moved to Houston, mom had major back surgery, etc etc etc.  It's been a rough but wonderful few years.

Yet, over all that time, I still feel like I haven't quite found my blog niche.  (Here's where your suggestions can really come in handy!!)  Should I take the navy band wife approach?  I really don't have much to say on that respect.  Most of the recipes I make aren't my own, so that's kind of lame.  I'm a half-assed crafter (ie, I don't finish half the projects I start!).  So, yeah, you can see why I am still feeling a bit lost out here.

ROAR

I love Target.  I found these dinosaur wall stickers in the dollar bins a few weeks ago and HAD to buy them.  Now that my son is into trains AND dinosaurs, it only seemed fitting to have a dinosaur themed wall in his room. 

Friday Confessionals: On Turning 30

Hosted by Mamarazzi

Link up and confess your

secrets from the week.

 In 4 more days I turn 30. Here are some confessions I have about this upcoming birthday...

I confess... that I have been telling EVERYONE that I'm not bothered at all about turning 30 because I am already married and have children... But I AM bothered!

I confess... that I am a bit nervous that I am almost 30 and have NO idea what to do with my life.

I confess... that I am a bit nervous my husband isn't getting me anything.  We always say no gifts, but really, isn't that woman's talk for "you'd better be surprising me!"

I confess... that I totally want to break my diet and go out for Chinese Buffet.  Of ALL the places I could pick to eat at that night, that's where I pick.  Bring it on!

Got any confessions for today?  Make sure you link up!

Wordless Wednesday: So Proud

Extra-Curricular Activities with Preschoolers

In the past 4.5 years that I have been a mom, I have yet to sign either of my children up for a class (excluding preschool and summer camp).  No baby gym, no baby music, no mommy and toddler swim, no dance.  Nothing. We've had museum memberships, zoo memberships, that sort of stuff, but I really hadn't seen the point to carting around two small children back and forth between activities that they probably really didn't care whether they were signed up for or not.

Until now...

The community center down the street from us offers three programs in the fall for ages 4-5.  Soccer.  Dance.  Tae Kwon Do.  Apparently I waiting too long to sign my daughter up for soccer, so I gathered up information about the two remaining classes.  Dance was one day a week and $35/month.  Tae Kwon Do was 2 days a week and $30/month.  WELL. I am the sort of person who wants to get the most for her money, and my daughter really didn't care which I signed up for, so I picked Tae Kwon Do. Thankfully you pay per month, so if she doesn't like one class, the next month we can sign up for the other!

Last week was her first week and, although she didn't quite grasp the concept of how to punch, she did really well. She followed directions about as well as you can expect from a 4 year old, and she really did try.  This week she will have her cute white uniform like the other kids, so I will make sure to have my camera ready!

I hope she sticks with it for awhile. She looks too cute!!

6th Wedding Anniversary!

This day EXACTLY I married my husband.

6 years ago today was a Monday.  He took off school and I took off work and we headed down to the local judge's office.  The building was next to the bowling alley I went to as a teen.  It was next to the movie theater where I had my first job (aside from babysitting).  The building also used to be a little ice cream shop where my camp (then high school) friend Rifka used to work.

Stepping into this building, holding my soon to be husband's hand was nothing but WEIRD!  We signed in, handed the clerk our paperwork, and waited for our turn to enter the judge's chambers (really, just a small room with some chairs!).  While we waited a large man with a loud voice barged into the waiting room and announced "I WANT TO SUE SOMEBODY!" We were called back to the judge's chambers before we could hear who was being sued and why. 

It is amazing that one small, hidden space, among many other small businesses, can hold so much energy, memories, and emotions.  Every time I go back home and am driving around the city I grew up in, I always find myself driving by that building at least once.  I wonder if that person actually sued another person.  I wonder if the Polaroid the judge snapped is still hanging on the wall of other eloped couples.  I wonder how many of those couples made it to 6 years like I have. 

One question I NEVER ask myself is "did I make the right decision".  I have no doubt in my mind that walking into that building was the best decision I have ever made.  I am looking at my husband right now, sitting in silence while the children are sleeping (hopefully), and I don't have negative thought about that man running through my mind.  I'm not saying he's perfect, I am not delusional (much...) but I know that we are a prefect fit!

I hope the next year is just as amazing as this past one!

Instagram

I am usually pretty behind on most iPhone App crazes.  I only recently (the past month) downloaded and started playing around with the Instagram app. It is a fun way to tweak your photos and make them look fun, old school, unique without knowing anything about photography.  This is the app for someone like me who can only handle the camera on her phone or a point and shoot camera.  If you like taking photos but don't have an "eye" for it, this is a fun app to get.

My kids having a picnic with a friend before instagram:

 My kids having a picnic with a friend after instagram:

Sunset during my run before instagram:

Sunset during my run after instagram:

View of the Pittsburgh skyline from my car before instagram:

View of the Pittsburgh skyline from my car after instagram:

Autumn Is Upon Us!

Pants, long sleeve shirts, sweaters, fleece jackets... all these items have been taken out of closets and put into our dressers.  Temperatures have dropped, apples are being picked off trees, pumpkins are in the grocery stores.  Kids are back in school.  Hints of yellow, orange, and red are appearing on leaves. 

It is becoming autumn, my favorite season of the year.  I love the feeling of the crisp, cool air.  I love wearing sweatshirts.  I love hearing little feet crunch fallen leaves with every joyful step. I love taking my kids to the local apple orchard and watching their faces as they glow with the delight of doing something so simple as picking an apple off of a tree.  I absolutely LOVE fresh apple pie!  I love hearing the kids talk about Halloween and what they want to be, changing their minds every week because they are too excited to pick just one costume.  I love that my daughter ONLY wanted to get Halloween books and cds from the library because she is so excited about a holiday that is over a month away.

What is your favorite season?  Does it bring you as much joy as Autumn brings me? 

Wordless Wednesday: I Just Don't Even Know How To Respond To This

Wordless Wednesday- Flashback!!

my dad.... circa 1970s

Smiles Shouldn't Be This Difficult!

After many months of wanting to grow her hair "like Rapunzel"... My daughter decided the tears nearly every morning from tangled hair wasn't worth being like a princess.  She declared "I want my hair to be shorter and styled".

I really wanted to get some nice before and after photos since she was getting about 4 inches cut off, but for some reason getting a 4 year old to smile on cue isn't as easy as you would think!!