Pens, Paper, & Ammo

Not to be confused with Salad Fingers.  (it’s disturbing, don’t say I didn’t warn you)

This must be one of my favorite meals from childhood.  I remember my mom making it a lot during hot summer days.  It’s also a good way to tricking kids into eating lots of fresh veggies. 

Ingredients:

• 1 pre-baked pizza crust (this is the recipe I used) - cooled
• 1 small head cauliflower - cut into tiny pieces
• 1 small bunch of broccoli - cut into tiny pieces
• 1 large carrot - grated
• 1/4 c. light ranch dressing
• mozzarella cheese (to taste)
• Chili powder or paprika - for decoration

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Slather pre-baked crust with ranch dressing.  Top with veggies and then cheese.
3. Completely forget what you were doing, watch an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, and entertain 1 year old for half and hour.  (optional step)
4. Throw entire thing in oven long enough to melt the cheese.
5. Sprinkle with either chili powder or paprika for extra pretty-tude.
6. Let sit in fridge to cool, forget that you made supper and eat a chunk of husband’s homemade pizza bread.
7. Eat eventually.

I present to you…

…the Pac-Rack Drum Cozy for Rock Band!  Looking for a way to show off your crafter and gamer pride all at once?  Well, here you go!

Has it really been 4 months already?

 It’s all going so quickly…

My water just broke!  Whooosh!  Off to the hospital we go!

Wish us luck!  <3!

Only 18 days to go! I don’t have much to write, but here are some pictures!

While we didn’t actually celebrate Father’s Day this year (and we weren’t going to “jinx” it by doing it early), I did give him a small basket filled with “new daddy essentials.”

Caffeinated hot chocolate, baby manual, ear plugs, Aleve, Dove Chocolates, a mug that says “#1 Dad” in binary, gum, rubber ducky, and a onesie.

Yeah, we’re geeks.

The nursery is pretty much done:

It looks much better in person, I swear. The tin-foil is there to teach Sergio (pictured) that the crib is not his personal bed.

…and The Nooblet’s coming-home outfit was finally decided upon and I another pair of booties.

Yes, I know they don’t quite match. I have vowed not to purchase more yarn until next year. I’m sure she won’t mind.

I’m addicted to this pattern. Can you tell?

Before my baby shower last weekend, the MH and I drove up to the windmills in Somerset, Pennsylvania.  I had forgotten just how pretty Somerset is this time of year and the windmills only add the the beauty.

The windmills are even more spectacular in person.

The sky was absolutely perfect.

That’s a human sized door at the bottom.  These things are gigantic.

I also managed to finally finish the WHW Trim Soaker that I have had on the needles since last month.  It turned out much more cute than I had expected.  The directions are simple and the end product is lovely.

The colors are a bit off, but you get the idea.  Made with Paton’s Classic Wool.

I also ordered and received all the cloth diapering supplies that I ordered.  Since then I have washed and dried the diapers three times and they seem to have fluffed up nicely.  They’re quite a bit smaller than I had imagined though.  Hopefully the Nooblet will be able to wear them for more than a month or so.

Supposedly this will be enough supplies to last her for about 3-4 months, depending on how big she is at birth.  If nothing else, the diapers will make excellent burp cloths or cleaning rags.

Has it really been more than 7 months already? I never knew that pregnancy would fly by so quickly. I’m finally entering the time where I actually look, feel, and walk like a stereotypical pregnant woman. So far, I’ve had no complications and only minor brushes with nausea and heartburn. I’m happy to report that I don’t have gestational diabetes or blood pressure issues and the Nooblet seems to be healthy. Let’s just hope it stays that way. Tomorrow the Mecha-hubby and I start our Prepared Childbirth classes and I can only hope they’ll put some of my paranoia about hospitals to rest.

I haven’t been doing quite as much knitting as I was a couple weeks ago, but I did manage to finish the Curly Purly soaker that I started far too long ago.

Made with the Easter egg-dyed Fishermen’s Wool with undyed cuffs.

We’re still planning on cloth diapering (with prefolds) at least part-time while I’m still at home. We’ll see how it goes before investing too much money into CDing supplies. If nothing else, I’ll have some cute diaper covers to pass onto a friend or charity.

First of all, Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I don’t have any crafty St. Patty’s offerings, but here is a picture of some ugly green yarn I dyed recently.

Dyed with some ancient egg dyes. It’s ugly, but it’ll make some decent felt coasters.

This last weekend was a busy one. My mother and step-father came to visit and brought along a gift of a new crib, rocking chair, and changing table. It’s all starting to feel so real now. The Mechahubby and I finished putting the crib together last night and what was previously just a spare room is finally looking like a suitable room for the Nooblet. A lot of work still needs to be done. Decorating of any kind, for example.

This picture seems to be of especially bad quality. I blame Sergio.

In more crafty news, I attempted to dye some Fishermen’s Wool with Easter egg dyes. It didn’t go nearly as well as I had hoped. I think the natural yellowish tint to the wool makes the colors seem muddy.

Forgive the dirty window seal. It was the only well-lit place in the room.

The pink and blue are from a generic 3-year old package of egg dye and the purplish-blue-whatever sections are the result of using really old Wilton cake dye. I still don’t really know why the Wilton stuff always comes out all tye-dye for me. Suggestions?

A new Wegman’s just opened up near us and I finally got to see what all the ruckus (does anyone still use that word?) was about. Needless to say… I am in love. They even had an Indian food section. That’s where I found this little gem:

The Mecha-hubby has nice hands, no?
So, basically, it’s “masala flavoured” ramen. It smelled like an Indian restaurant and had a pretty basic ramen flavor, except much spicier. It must have been the TASTEMAKER.
The TASTEMAKER is where it’s at.
I’d probably buy it again for those times when I’m desperate for something “Indian-ish” and can only spare two minutes. Plus, it’s vegetarian and costs under a dollar!

Oh yeah… and I made these:

Pattern from here. Took about a day to finish. Made with Wool-ease… which really isn’t suited for a project like this.

Image dump alert! *woop woop wooooooo ehh-ehh-ehh* Image dump alert!

A selection of things from our trip to the beach:

There really were teeth attached to the sign…

I want one!

Hunted down by teenage girls, the Mecha-hubby keeps his cool. Note the placement of the smiley face?

I love the beach.

And now for things of a more crafty flavor.

Made from plastic bags and left-over cotton yarn.

Remember this? But what do I do with it?!