Cat Mat

Taco has been so terribly patient the last few months with the puppy and all, so last week i decided to treat him and i got him a nice big wicker basket that he could curl up in and be safe from the mutt. Its perfect because he can hide down inside it and when Aiko approaches he pops out and gets her. He love's his basket. This week i decided to go one further and i crocheted him a little blanket/mat for his basket, I used the pattern for Beth's Little Star Afghan  and i did it through one skien of Moda Dea Vision in the Blue Moon color way (which is more purple than blue) topped with catnip and Taco loves it! Fantastic! now i need to find a pattern(s) for the Ravelympics well anyway here are some pictures of my creation. cat pictures will come eventually, maybe.

and the silly dog, every time i turn on the camera she comes running. 

camera whore.

Alana's Super Salsa

4 tomato's

1 med-largeish onion

2-3 garlic cloves

3-4 Jalapenos

3-4 bushels of cilantro

1 lime

cut up tomato and onion, in about 1/2 inch cubes, dice jalapeno and mince garlic and cilantro add all to a bowl juice lime and pour over, sprinkle with salt. cover bowl and shake up, or stir, i think shaking is way more fun. 

birthday presents

well for my birthday i got the heart rate monitor i've been lusting for, to aide me in my healthy weight loss, and i also got the tattoo i've been wanting.

Twenty Six Years Ago Today

(we'll yesterday July 26)
i was borned.

Don't try to say i wasnt the cutest baby EVER!!!! cause we all know i was.  

more pictures of birthday fun will be shared later. 

workin it out!

so i’ve been trying to find a workout routine i can stick to, i heard about the couch to 5K but really never looked into, even though i’d like to run a 5K eventually. i have heard that the program is available as a a free iTunes download., but fuck me iTunes had five Couch to 5K, well one of them said music, so i downloaded all of them, well the original sucks, but the one that said Podrunner Intervals has the music and it kicks ass. yeah for me. i made it through today's thirty minute workout without dying.

Dinner

i dont want to blog about dinner because it was a FAIL.

i tried crock pot mac and cheese, as many before me, mine curdled. fucked. so we went out, and the eat out sort of sucked too, double FAIL. i may try this again though, it looked really good, i think my low on my crock may be a bit high, and it may require much more attention than i gave it. or i could just cut my losses. 

Tonights DInner

Cowboy Crock pot stew

compliments of  headless family  via Year of Crockpotting

--1 pound browned hamburger (can use turkey)
--2 cloves chopped garlic
--1 can tomato sauce
--1 can diced Italian seasoned tomatoes
--1 can corn, drained
--2 cans whole baby potatoes, drained (unless you can find a great big can of potatoes)
--1 can tomatoes with green chilies
--1 can Ranch Style beans (with the baked beans in the grocery store)
--1 cup water
--sliced jalapeno peppers for garnish (optional)

The Directions.


This makes a lot. Make sure that your crockpot is at least 5qts.

Brown the hamburger with the chopped garlic cloves on the stove top. Drain the fat. Let sit in the pan for a bit to cool.

Open all of you cans, and dump them into the crockpot. Drain the corn and the potatoes, but add the rest of the can liquid to the crockpot.


After adding all of the can contents, add the browned meat and a cup of water. Stir with a spoon to mix a bit.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-5. Soup and stew tastes better the longer you cook it, so opt for the longer cooking time if you can.

Garnish with sliced jalapeno peppers, if desired.

Recycle your cans!

this was good, smelled great. it was a little bland but with some Mortons Seasoning Salt it was better.

i also modified this by adding an Onion, some Chili Pepper, and a dash of Paprika for just a bit more kick, unfortunately it had just a little too much kick and made my nose run just a tad. 

ratatouille

no not the rat movie silly, the food.

i was presented with a recipe for this thanks to the lovely ladies at LSG on ravelry. it was amazing. this will absolutely be made again.

its funny because Paul and i arnt veggie people, we eat steak and burgers and more steak and burgers. the last veggie i made was a potato and before that maybe some canned corn, i rarely buy fresh veggies, and i have never bought (or had that i know of) eggplant. 

this was phenomenal.

Serves 4

Serve this with a simple salad, polenta, couscous, rice, or bread.

1 large zucchini
3 large onions
1 medium eggplant
2 medium tomatoes
2 red, green, or yellow bell peppers
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup grated Romano, Pecorino Romano, or Parmesan cheese
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Cut all of the vegetables into 1-inch chunks and place them in a large bowl. You need 12 to 14 cups total. Add the garlic, toss with the olive oil, salt, and pepper, and spread on a baking sheet (or two).

Roast for 15 minutes and then stir the vegetables. Continue to roast for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring again after 20 minutes, until the vegetables are fork-tender and juicy.

While the vegetables roast, chop the basil. When the vegetables are done, put them in a serving bowl and stir in the chopped basil. Pass the grated cheese at the table.

thank you My Little Tribe youve made my day. 

Doggie poop bag holder

CO 30 stitches 

 *p1 k1* until end of row dividing to dpns

join and *p1 k1* until end of row

continue with pattern as follows until desired length (aprox. 2.5 inches) 

row 1 K1 *p1 k1*

row 2 repeat row 1

row 3 P1 *k1 p1*

row 4 repeat row 3

repeat these 4 rows for a total of 16 rows 

bind off 15 stitches 

knit remaining 15 stitches for 2 rows continuing pattern moving all st to one needle, rest of pattern will be done with 2 needles. 

3rd row after bo continue pattern 5 st in, bo 5 continue pattern for 5 more st

next row continue pattern for 5 st co 5 st 5 more st following pattern

continue on 3 rows following pattern *k1 p1* or *p1 k1* until end 

dec first and last on each of the next 3 rows until 9 stiches remain

pattern for 3 st, bo 3 st, pattern 3 st

pattern 3st co 3st bo 3 st

pattern for 2 rows 

Bind Off

you now have two button holes, one for feeding the bags through and one for a close button

knit an i-cord as per the directions here to the length of aprox 7 inches attach i cord as a handle to wrap around your leash. to finish attach a button and weave in all ends. 

FO!!!

and we've got a Finished Object!!! i think ive been on a roll lately, thats like 2 fo's in 30 days i think!

This is a Silk Garden Beanie knitted in Noro Silk Garden, this was an amazingly quick knit, i started it last night at about 11 pm knit the 2x2 rib in about an hour, this morning i started the body, worked on it off and on, i ran a few errands, worked on it some more, cooked dinner and finished it. super duper quick! check it out here for more specs (rav link)

weekend wrap-up

well its been one heck of a couple of weeks, after i went to the doctor in the previous post i got sicker. i am convinced it was one of those sick kids that were touching everything while i waited in the pharmacy for hours. so i ended up nearly deathly ill 4th of july weekend, and i didnt want to be a wuss and go to the doctor for the third time in 3 weeks so i stuck it out, just waited figured i'd get better last thursday i started to feel a little better, then friday i was dying again, hacking, no voice, sniffles the whole thing all over again. so i gave in and called the doc. the diagnosis, i was going through round two of a pretty severe case of bronchitis, thankfully i was given the hard stuff and here we are sunday evening and i can finally breathe again, my chest still aches but nothing like the pressure i was going through last week.  i am really hoping just maybe i can get into the gym tomorrow, its been like three weeks since i've been. but i am still loosing weight. 10 pounds down since i got here. yes i know its been 6 months and 10 pounds in 6 months isnt much but its good for me. 

we took Aiko to for a drive this weekend, working on getting her used to the car, she is a baby in the car, but she seemed to enjoy our little drive saturday.

fun at the clinic!

so i go to the doc today because i needed my stitches out from my mole removal last week. i told the nurse there were 5 because the doc used clear suture and you couldnt see them very well. so she counts them as she cuts them out. 1...2...3...4....4 i can feel her pulling on something, then says okay i got all four out, lemmie go get the doctor. i said i thought there were 5? "nope just four" and she prances out of the room. so i look at where she removed them and feel something, i was able to see a little something, so i realize i am right there are 5 and that is what she was pulling on, trying to get it out, but she couldn't so what is she just going to leave it in me? so i sit and wait, wait & wait, for the doc so i can have her finish it, after about 15 min i am still waiting. so i decide to grab the clippers she left in the room and cut it out myself. i sort of wanted to anyway.
so i took out my own stitch!!! i am so excited