Let them have cake!

So baking and cooking happen to be another passion of mine. The more I post on here and the more you get to know me, I'm sure it'll become very obvious I'm a passionate person. When I find something I like, I tend to throw myself in head first. It's a bit of a hazardous approach, but I'm not getting any younger here, people! (I'm only 23... According to a lot of people that makes me extremely young. I like it, because some days I feel extremely too old for this body.)

So two of my friends have had birthdays in the last couple months. First, there was my friend Jeri, who was actually in California when she had her birthday. So we celebrated the weekend after she returned to us in the deserts of Nevada. We were going for a 70's sort of vibe with the cake, so think Scooby Doo, disco, so on and so forth. It's a small pic from my cell phone, but you get the idea.

This particular cake was a chocolate cake with whipped vanilla frosting. I used icing paste to color the decorative icing.










The next friend to celebrate a birthday was Donna, who wanted something Wonder Woman themed. I searched up the Wonder Woman logo and designed the cake around it.

The cake is a marble cake, and the icing is vanilla and was made entirely from scratch. Unfortunately, due to the heat in the house coupled with the final not-so-thick consistency of the icing, it didn't want to hold very well. However, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, because it lent a sort of vintage comic-book vibe to the overall outcome.




There are a bunch of other cakes in my photo album on MySpace, which I should probably get around to posting up on here. Or, you can find me on MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/linniebaby . Just leave a small note that you found me through here so I know you're not that crazy.

The Great Living Room Escapade

Okay, after searching, frustrated, for approximately 30 minutes, I can't find the before pictures of the living room that I'd taken shortly after we moved in. (Fine, I'll be honest, it was more like five minutes. My attention span has been shot lately.) However, I do have the after pictures. This is what I have been up to that's prevented me from blogging:



Okay, first of all, ignore the clothes on the sofa. I've been attacking the laundry monster. It's winning so far, but I vow to be victorious. Initially, the sofa was in the middle of the living room and the entertainment center was where the desk is now. Follow?





The entryway into the kitchen looks a little cramped. Mostly due to the basket of cloth diapers under the bar, Breanne's highchair. Oh, and our dog. Who's now the size of a small mule.







And this is what I had to do with our "dining area", since we don't technically have one. Which sucks. But I think the space has been utilized to its fullest potential at this point. There's actual space for the kidlets to play, which at this point is the most important part.



So that's why I haven't been blogging. Because I've been rearranging. I pretty much flip-flopped everything around. In the last picture, the hutch with all the toys on it used to be where the dining table is, and the dining table used to be where the couch is. It was all sorts of cramped and crowded in here. But it's soooo much better. I can finally breathe!

Making Halupki

I love love love, and did I mention that I love, making my family's recipes? I remember my Gram making halupki, I remember it from block parties (street carnivals) and other assorted events. I don't know that I liked it when I was growing up - if I call my Mother to tell her I'm making it she makes funny noises or if she's here she looks at me funny - but I love it now. I just don't make it as often.

Luckily for me, I have some amazing friends who are willing to try just about anything once. And when I explained what it is to them, they were excited! So on Friday, we had a dinner together. Here's the cooking part:



Steam 1 large head of cabbage in 2" of water until you can easily peel the leaves back.
(Note: They get super hot, obviously, so don't forget about this like me and be careful!)







While the cabbage is steaming, bring 1/2 cup rice and 1 cup water to a boil, and then set aside. You want it to be only half-cooked so it'll cook the rest of the way later.








Take 2 pounds ground beef, salt, pepper, and 2 eggs and combine, using a fork so the mix stays loose. (See? There was a reason the fork is in the picture.) Optionally, you can add 1 diced onion, and 1/4 lb of bacon. I had neither on hand and prefer the simpler taste anyhow.






Add the rice in to the beef mixture and mix it all up - again with the fork to keep it loose.








Make your assembly line. Meat mix, cabbage (I started pulling some leaves off to have them ready), and your cooking pot. I used the same pot I steamed the cabbage in.








Put 2 Tbsp of the meat mix on the cabbage leaf, and wrap it up - easy peasy, lemon squeezie! (No, there are no lemons in this recipe. It's just a cute saying.) Then start laying them in the pot, seam side down. Keep rolling until the leaves are too small or you run out of meat. If you run out of leaves first, don't worry. Just make little beef patties and put them on top of all the rolls.






Mix 2 small cans of tomato sauce (or if you're like me, one very large can of tomato soup) with 2 Tbsp of vinegar. Then pour over top of your lovely wee pile of halupkis.





Put that bad boy on the stove and cook it slowly for 1 1/2 hours. Or, again, if you're like me, get to making this around noon and let it cook until you're ready to eat. I'm paranoid and like the extra hour or two assurance that it's thoroughly cooked.

I would have photos of the finished product on the plate, but uhh... well, they got eaten too quickly for me to get any pics! Besides, once it hit my plate, I was too busy drooling and scarfing them down to worry about taking photos.

Just trust me - they're super yummy.

Coffee Set, Part 1

I arranged a trade with a wonderful mama on Granola Chicks. I'm getting some things for the family, and she's getting a crocheted coffee set! What does the set include? Well, that's why I'm posting here! Here's Part 1 - one of the coffee mugs:




This one is the first one that's been crocheted entirely out of wool yarn. Normally I work with cotton - it's cost effective and overall the easiest to work with. But I have to say, the wool has been bending to my will quite nicely! (My inner control freak surfaces.)

Francesca the coffee mug will be joined by a partner - Frank - as well as a sugar bowl and a small pitcher of cream. Photos to come as they're completed!

Confessions Redux, Part Deux

It seems I might have gained myself a new reader on this blog. Hello, there. Good to know I'm not spouting my crazy thoughts into a void. Or at least to a very small following. Regardless, perhaps I should continue.

One more Mix CD Confession and things should be evened out, because this will reveal the full extent of my dorkification and then I can go back to blogging about crocheting and being a housewife and people will get bored.

The next one has "Mix (1st Try)" written on it. So I know for sure I mixed this in either my junior or senior year, maybe that summer... I can't quite remember. But be forewarned for my more "hardcore" readers. I loved "boy bands". (Still do *blush*)

Title: Mix (1st Try)
Mix Date: Unknown
Songs:
Rock the Party - P.O.D. (extended mix? i think?)
Thundercats - Relient K
Bring in the Noise - N'Sync
The Call - Backstreet Boys
Who's Got My Back? - Creed
Forever - LFO (oh, hey, look who's there again? i remember deciding i needed a happy song after the Creed track)
A Techno Track (i honestly don't know. i know for sure it came off one of my BreakBeat Science albums, but that's the best i can give)
I've Got the Power - Snap
Cinderella - Britney Spears (i'm cringing to admit it...)
My Ding a Ling - Chuck Berry
Misery - Pink feat Steven Tyler
Better Off Alone - Alice Deejay
Wedding Peach - an anime track...
Low Rider - War
Gravity - LFO

Bonus points to whoever can guess who my favorite group was.

I can't believe I ever thought I was / could be a DJ. The songs have absolutely no cohesive flow whatsoever! But that's the joy of mix CDs, no? Maybe I should put it on shuffle.

For the record, it so was LFO. Without a doubt. I got caught up in military life and now married with kids life after I heard they'd split. I remember being so heartbroken! I only lived in PA but never got to see them in concert, can you believe it? And, to respond to a comment from the previous blog - they should release some new songs for a new mix. I'd put at least three per mix CD. Promise. *wink*

So until I have some project pictures to show, I've got to go back to reality - my smallest one needs a nap and once she's sleeping, my oldest needs some music education.

Life truly is good. ;)

Embarrassing Confession, Mix CD 1

I was chatting with my good friend Donna earlier and we were talking about mix tapes, which were subsequently taken over by mix CDs. It just so happens that when I was in technical school for my job in the Navy, my family sent me my entire collection of CDs. In this CD book is every CD I've ever purchased, burned, and...

mixed.

So I've decided to share with you a play list I kept in my very first car. I would ride around the streets of rural Eastern Pennsylvania thinking I was the baddest of the bad. In my '94 Plymouth Sundance. My white '94 Plymouth Sundance. And this CD

Title: Jersey*'s Sweet Ride Mix
Mixed: 3/24/02
Songs:
Red Letter Day - LFO
What About Us - Brandy
The Little Things - Good Charlotte
Run Away - Linkin Park
Nocturnal Transmission - BT
Deep Enough - Live
Debonair - Dope
Mercedes Benz - Say Yes
Superstar - Saliva
Watch Your Back - Benny Cassette
East Coast Anthem - Good Charlotte
Life Ain't a Game - Ja Rule
Sex U Up - LFO
Area Codes - Ludacris
Back That Thang Up - Juvenile
Furious - Ja Rule
POV City Anthem - Caddillac Tah
She Get It From Her Mama - Juvenile

So I pretty much jacked the Fast and the Furious soundtrack. And a couple other things. I'm also noticing all the seemingly risque stuff was hidden at the end. Rap / hip-hop was almost forbidden in my house, which made it that much more appealing.

I'm flipping through now and remembering all the good times. The times I thought for sure I was gonna go to the West Coast and make it famous. Or open a club in Boston.

Now, I'm a Mama, married into the military... and I still love my life. Pretty damn good when you can look back over the past, all your old goals and dreams and still say you're satisfied and content with where you are now.

*Jersey is an old nickname that only two other people knew about until now. I was told I spoke like a person from Jersey, and was also a huge fan of Coyote Ugly.

And then there were three

I have absolutely no idea what came over me. Most likely it's my ADD kicked in coupled with some health issues as of late. (Don't worry, I don't have the Plague or anything. I'm just spawning some zombie kittens.) But whatever the true reasoning may be, I've got three projects going at the moment.

Yes, that's right. Three.

I went through and finally started the process of untangling my yarn that the kids had attacked and strung all over the living room, and then got to work on the skirt, then before I knew it... well, I got here:


The white is for some things for the shop, the green is the skirt (I've been having a thing for green lately), and the wee thing on top of the skirt is the beginning of a base of a coffee mug. It's part of a set I'm whipping up for Darcy. Don't mind the red. it was part of the Great Untangling event and decided to hop in the picture.

I'm not sure what I'm doing with the skirt at the moment, or even if I've gotten it right so far. I'm horrid when it comes to following patterns. For as literate as I am, I feel like I'm looking at some sort of ancient language when I look at the pattern for the skirt. Sad part? The pattern says it's easy.

Exhibit #1:


I hope I've got it right til this point. I have to admit I sidetracked myself when it came to the fourth row and I got all sorts of confused about the crocheting into the ch-2 space two rows below. It sounds like something pirates might chant on their ship. Or something.

But if all else fails, I still have...


All of this to play with. Plus there's some in that cabinet, too. Yes, they look like drawers but they're a face for the cabinet. That used to be a drawer. But it broke. So Marv the Man got creative for me and turned it into a cabinet. With a locking door. That I should probably use if I hope to get my kids to leave my yarn alone.

And if you look closely, there's a grey w/ pink and black argyle sock hanging out of the basket in the back. Those will be arm warmers for the not-so-small-anymore one. (aka my oldest) Photos of that to come later today!

Hoo boy.

So I've been tweeting. A lot. You know, on Twitter? (see side of blog for my Tweet feed) My strangeness is starting to come out even moreso. See, I'd been thinking that maybe I could appear to be a pretty awesome sort of domestic diva. But I've gotta tell you... I'm not. Not really, anyway.

Well, what I mean is, I try. And I do. Really. I do. But there's a couple roadblocks in the way.

1. I'm a klutz. Big time klutz. I should not be trusted with sharp objects, I tend to fall a lot. Opening a bag of M&Ms (or even rice) is a dangerous mission and I should be given a ten foot radius.
2. I'm easily distracted. Very... easily... ooh, shiny! Tends to leave a lot of half finished projects.
3. What?
4. I go through phases where I really miss being in the military.

That's kind of scary, considering when I was in I couldn't wait for my enlistment to be up. But then, being at home doesn't always get me the respect I could demand were I still in.

Anyway, expect strangeness to abound. I intend to utilize this blog more. And it could get stranger over time. Who knows? But this is a blog, I'm slightly narcissistic (should I have included that in my list above?) and if you don't like it, you don't have to come back.

It would be really cool if you did, though.

Just so I know I'm not alone out here on the interwebz.

Hellooooooo?
*cricket, cricket*

What's Next?

Gosh, you'd think after the knit-a-long I'd just take a break, but no! I am, in fact, planning out my next crafts!

I've got some things I'm hoping to make up to sell. (Oh my gosh, no way?! You're going to put stuff in your store? Yes, yes I will. I'm so glad the rest of you are excited, too.)

Along with that, the ever amazing and wonderful Mel gave me a pattern for a scalloped skirt and I'm wanting something pretty, so I'll be working on that.

Aaaaand... The Crafty Holiday Time Swap is going on over at Granola Chicks, and I've got to make my items for that! I'm so excited! I can't tell you what it is though! Why? Because even if you're not a fellow GCer, those gorgeous mamas are so sweet and read my blog and it would ruin the surprise!

In other news more related to homemaking, I'm so proud of myself! I went grocery shopping yesterday and through use of a couple coupons and some bargain shopping on my part, I managed to only spend $107.51 on groceries that'll last us for 2 weeks. And probably a little longer.

This whole "financial crisis" stuff that's going on has me a bit on the paranoid side, so I also managed to grab a couple extras to keep on hand. I know, I know, bailouts and all that stuff. Honestly - I have been wrapped in my little domestic cocoon and have no worthwhile knowledge of what's going on except those scary words everybody uses. You know "recession" "depression" and other "essions" used to terrify the bejeezus out of people.

So, that said, I'm sure I'll be posting bread recipes and other thrifty recipes, along with photos that will hopefully make you drool. It's one of the perks of having this blog - you get to bear with me on my amateur photography adventures!

Oh, and I'll probably post again later with pics from an awesome storm front that came through!

Action!

Here are the promised action shots of the neck warmer. All told, it's around 18.5" long, which gives me room to breathe without making it feel like I'm slowly being asphyxiated by a yarn-snake that I made to be a pet that turned against me in the end...

Not that that's happened or anything...

*cough* ... *cough* ...

Oh! Look! Here's the pictures!






Regarding the photo of me with the gorgeous hat - thanks for the compliment! And yes, my friend is fabulously talented. She's all I aspire to in the art of crochet, you know.

It Is Finished

Finally! Finally! Finally! The neck warmer is complete! Truly, it is!

See?


I went a little bit longer than the 16 inches the pattern requires for and I kept the buttons really simple. Just because by the time I got to that point, I wanted to put it on the list of completed projects sooooo badly.

That and I have the Granola Chicks Crafty Holiday Time Swap to get to crafting for! Look out for action pics of the neck warmer to come later today - I've been super busy and have some amateur photography to show off later!

Until then, enjoy some awesome crochet by my dear friend Mel that I recently received!