Random Thoughts…

If I were to be a song I would be Landslide by Dixie Chicks
If I were to be a color I would be Lavender
If I were to be a flower I would be a Jasmine
If I were to be a bird I would be a Goldfinch
If I were to be a rock I would be a Pink topaz
If I were to be a tree I would be a Teak tree
If I were to be a fish I would be a Seahorse
If I were to be an ingredient I would be Butter
If I were to be an animal I would be a Panda Bear
If I were to be a cloth I would be Linen
If I were to be a piece of furniture I would be Chaise
If I were to be a shell I would be a Sand Dollar
If I were to be a yarn I would be Marino wool
If I were to be punctuation I would be a?
If I were to be a gift I would be Handmade
If I were to be a letter I would be “L”
If I were to be metal I would be “Titanium”
If I were to be an element I would certainly be “Uranium”
If I were to be a season I would be “fall”
If I were to be a city I would be Edinburgh, England
If I were to be a car I would to be a Jaguar
If I were to be a children’s book I would be ‘Oh the places you’ll go…’ by Dr. Seuss
If I were to be a dessert I would be Banana nut bread pudding with Vanilla sauce
If I were to be a politician I would be Al Gore
If I were to be an inventor I would be Karlheinz Brandanburg
If I were to be a place I would be Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
If I were to be a perennial I would be a Hydrangea
If I were to be a number I would be 7
If I were to be a month I would be April
If I were to be a chocolate bar I would be Dark Chocolate
I were to be religion I would be Buddhist
I were to be a sound I would be heard
If I were to be a wine I would be definitely Red
If I were to be a castle I would be Raglan Castle, Gwent, Wales
If I were to be a continent I would be Australia
If I were to be a keeper I would be a Secret Keeper…

Dining on a Budget with style…

Everyone is cutting corners to stretch a dollar it could be for fine living, traveling, raising kids, and gardening, almost anything you can name…

We love pizza, gourmet style, and we would have it once or twice a month but now we can have it once a week with all the topping you like or you can customize toppings. I found some really yummy pizza dough recipes. I personally like thin crust kids like anything you put in front of their plate as long as it’s pizza. I have baking this for couple of months, no take out and I control fat and amount of other ingredients goes into this lovely piza, works cool, great and saves money…

Added fun when, kids get involved in this creation, it could be a very simple task like grating cheese, flattering dough, cutting ingredients, arranging toppings, and most of all trying new toppings could be really interesting sometimes even getting some green vegetable into their little stomachs. (When kids make it they love to try it)

I love making it more Italian by adding fresh tomatoes and basil. I would love to plant a pizza garden may be this could be one my future goals… I love fresh herbs and vegetables and loves to go to farmers market but that’s me.

If I can control the Food and Agriculture industry I would make organic not a choice but a must… try to meet the demand with less preservatives and make it natural but I am not that person… banned genetically modified food. My future dream is to have control over food we consume; it’s a dream I believe in ha… ha…

Here is the link to the pizza dough… super easy…

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/food-processor-pizza-dough.html

I use all kinds of cheeses sometimes get them as chunks to cut the cost and great them at home, try new topping each time we make pizza at home has become a fun activity for kids…

Quote of the day “take time to play”

Enjoy!

New England clam chowder…

Living close to the coast brings a lot of opportunities to dine and wine on sea food. I always enjoyed seafood we as a family tolerate a lot of seafood. I was waiting for my little one to complete a year to introduce to shell food. She is already dining on clams. Myself on the other hand enjoy the RAW side of the seafood this includes clams & oysters can’t get enough of it. Since we love this so much I learned how to make New England clam chowder of course; I have twist it and add my own things so here is my version of New England clam chowder… Clams are enjoyed all parts of the world in so many ways raw, cooked, steamed, curry, and soups.
Here is my version of clam chowder

Ingredients

4-6 slices of bacon diced
1 ½ cups chopped onion
1 ½ cups water
4 -5 cups peeled and diced potato (of your choice)
1 ½ table spoon of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups of half-and- half
3 tablespoons of butter
½ lb minced clams
½ lb fresh bay scallop (this is my version)

Method
Cook the bacon on a large Dutch oven or a stock pot until crisp. Add onion and cook for about 5-6 minutes. Stir in water and potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Bring to boil and cooked uncovered for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender. Pour half- and- half and add butter add the clam, bay scallop with the ½ liquid into the soup. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until heated through, do not allow it to boil.

Nutrition Value: clams are high in protein and fat free. One pound of clams, after the shells has been removed is about 68g
Following are the nutrients clams have:
8.6 g protein, 31 mg calcium, 213 mg potassium, 9,5 grams iron, 10.8 mcg folate, 33.6 mcg vitamin B-6, 204 IU vitamin A

Serve and enjoy with a toast slice of bread…

Quote of the day “eat at regular intervals”

Organizing Documents…

I am initially taking over, the job of organizing documents from my hubby to give him a break… also it’s my turn to give it a try we have a moveable filing box ha… ha… Yep but I am going to make it work for me. In other words the mobile filing cabinet is going to work for my filing needs. I have a plan and I have to stick to it but BAD thing is I also have to C-H-A-N-G-E, if you have read my earlier posts about time management (a book currently I am reading) might have a clue what I am talking. I thought as the book says all the BAD words have four letters but the word above has 5 letters. First job was to clean the mobile filing cabinet it was not a pleasant job trust me. I timed and shredded paper for a period of 1 hour for 2 days had eight bags of shredded paper for recycle. Task number one was done and completed. Next task was to run down a list and print out labels for all files needed get the job done. Have to get paper work in and label files mission accomplished…

I needed to print more labels and create more files in that manner all the documents had their own place this was a great. Top it off I want my son to access this mobile file cabinet to file his certificates hopefully this will give him teach some organizational skill hopeful thinking…

I enjoy maneuvering task like these… less time spending looking for documents problem solve hopefully. Changed myself to handling bills appropriately but who get excited with a task like this. I am doing the best I can…

Quote of the day “do things that make you feel passionately alive”

Be Grateful…

Middle school, approaching teen hood, & being responsible was a major task for my 11 year old. Good news is he is performing an A+ job with this statement. Yes we do have good days and bad days we both learn something out of it. This is surely a learning curve for me as well as for my son. His LOVE of reading books got him in trouble many times during this school year but with much hesitant he learned and moved on to my delight and his sanity.
He got poor grades but the lessons he learned are priceless. Amount of talking I did with him was painful and I sometimes dread having some conversations with him.

Now the weather is getting better days are getting warmer I want to be outside with him before it gets too hot. His school’s over by 2 O’ clock but I notice the teachers job doesn’t finish at that time they stay behind to help and guide children which I appreciate very much.

Sometimes you have to work with challenging children and emotionally these tweens are very vulnerable but still wants to do the best. I think a lot about these teachers probably I use to be a teacher too it’s a great service and a great satisfaction you received from children and parents.
I want to be part of paying tribute to this amazing career with my son as we are coming to the end this school year. We want to rejuvenate the Yellow Team (my son’s teachers) with some bake goods, bouquet of fresh flowers, coffee and a card…
That’s exactly what we did; I wish some more parents could participate in this too…

Quote of the day “Feel for others as you do for yourself”

Enjoy!

Knitting Community…

I was so thrilled when I saw the notice at our local library for a knitting group. Initially I came to know about a library close to our town was meeting with a knitting group. Since I love our town and take my kids to the library very often for story time, references, and many more things I wanted it to be at our town so I try to persuade the Librarian in many ways even told her about the Old Folks house and to get someone from there that has pioneered the technique.

She was amazing getting this group together she was looking for an experienced knitter to help with leading the group…

I would ask each time I visit the Library how is it going she would say to I will call you as soon as we get a schedule one day I was browsing through the paper of local announcements and I saw what I wanted to see for a long time it was the “Public Library Knitters Schedule” I was holding my little one so I couldn’t jump up and down but I was screaming inside my head with thrilled. Here I am posting the schedule on the refrigerator with my flower magnets and kept staring it for a while…

First night was a Monday march 15th I couldn’t go to it because we went to NJ for my husband’s work came home on time but my kids were exhausted from the road trip. I knew immediately I would not be able to make to the next one since I had prior commitments. So when I was at the Library for the story time and asked are they meeting this coming Monday and she was not sure but would call me with an answer. Yes they are meeting, I was there, late but I was there…

I met this wonderful person who is willing to give her time, help, & teach… I thanked her for her commitment… and we talked for a while… Best thing is she is knitting the Continental way not the European way which I am knitting now but struggling to learn Continental. So here are my issues I am not a swatch person bad habit… I am starting a fairly big project so here I am doing my first swatch we will see what I am learning. I need gage measuring instrument and size 4 needles…

This was the first meeting for myself there was me, leader, and another beginner she was so cute I remember my struggles with knitting but she was cool not like me who cursed a lot out loud and in my head all the time…
Teaching from books sometimes could me frustrating… that’s why I loved the knitting group…

And leader of our group named Cynthia does a great job… she showed me how to hold the yarn to knit the Continental way I was happy to get some help…

Quote of the day “Take a walk in the park on the first warm day of spring”

Enjoy!

Self Help…

Well I have been counting days to stay at home… Yes, even though I have set aside big goals I like to enjoy this time at home beside all the chores and my creations now :not that I don’t but I still wanted to get more out of my time be more productive I would like to say.

I begin my day by preparing breakfast, cleaning soil diaper, preparing milk, dropping my son at school then get some time for writing, knitting, (recently) organizing, making calls and what not… So anyway making a long story short I feel like I am always running out of time. I feel like I am working only thing I don’t get paid don’t get yelled by my boss for not meeting deadlines what is this and what I am doing wrong…

So when I was browsing through the new books at the library this particular book cached my eye. Organizing your day – time management (techniques that will work for you) by Sandra Felton (the organizing lady) & Marsha Sims (sort- it – out, Inc)

Here I am reading this book now. Today is a somewhat productive day for me actually I want to re- state very productive day for me (I made breakfast on time, drop my son early at school with breakfast and lunch packed). Shred 4 bags of paper trying to organize a productive filing space for documents… but still more shredding to do… Baked Pumpkin Bars and crème Brulee (Chocolate) made an entry to my blog this is going to be the second entry. Time is 12:29 p.m. I think I am progressing but need to schedule some ME time…

I cannot wait to finish this book… so far I love it… I enjoyed reading this from the intro hope someone will too…

Each morning sees some task to begin,
Each evening sees it close:
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night’s repose

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“The Village Blacksmith”

Enjoy!

Crème Brûleé

There are certain things I wanted to master this happen to be one of them. Yes, I went to the outlet and got myself a blow torch in order to gain the perfect result… oops what did I just typed I wanted to take that word (perfect) from my vocabulary because there is nothing perfect. I have learned to love the imperfection… in everything… and fall in love with it…

Let’s get back to crème brûleé for some reason I thought this is a pain in the neck to make but actually it is a breeze. I can’t wait to take some pictures. Since it takes a while to bake I thought I will quickly write few lines about this wonderful dish… I first indulge this sweet desert in Denver, Colorado.(with a group of friends) I love it; fun part was cracking the sugar everyone else was able to break it I was doing something it won’t break I vaguely remember one of the girls was making jokes at me may be I need a hammer. I did break it without a hammer and I love it and wanted to make it ever since I guess now is the time …

This was a amazing dessert as the French call it burn cream however the exact origin of this dish is still unknown but enjoyed all over the world some say it’s French and there are versions from England known as Trinity cream or Cambridge burnt cream and was introduced at the Trinity college…

Whatever the history I just happen to love this and can’ wait to enjoy it with kids it’s going to be fun eating this with my older one… below is the link if some wants to try it out...

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/valrhona-chocolate-creme-brulee.html

Quote of the week “Celebrate today” – Unknown

Enjoy!

Box of Hats…

Yes, I was delighted when asked by a good friend to knit two hats for one of her close friend’s new arrival a Norwegian Family. So I did a little research on the flag since she wanted to incorporated the flag colors which was red, white & of course blue however the new arrival was a girl. Yes I add my favorite hats and did some creative knitting… I loved how it turned out more than anything I love the fact how the seeds (of the watermelon) turn out I wish I took a photograph of watermelon hat. I cannot wait to knit that hat again and work on the seeds because I was not happy with my lazy daisy stitch at all. My friend did a wonderful job on creating those seeds…

Since one of the relative is expecting and schedule to have her baby in August. I am already gathering my gear to knit a box of hats for her too… but since I don’t know the sex of the baby yet, I am going to start with a pumpkin hat… it will work great on Halloween.

I enjoyed making the hats knowing that a little noggin is going to be warm makes my heart warm too…

Quote of the week “make the best of your situation”

Enjoy!

Cold Fighting Medicine…

Chicken Noodle Soup...

I like home remedies for anything before rushing to the Dr.’s. Yes I will Google answers for most stupid questions but that’s me. We at least myself and the kids always get sick with the weather changes no matter what you do. First it was my older one then it was me now it’s our little one. We always get the cold I know it does not work miracles over night but I do have to mention switching to chicken noodle soup instead of over the counter medicines have definitely made some strides with regard to getting ourselves back on the track.

This winter I felt like it was a staple dish in our family but it has drastically cut down the visits to the Dr. Office and it’s a fact.

Anyone who likes to try this please do… this is my own version of chicken noodle soup

Ingredients
1 cup chopped Onions
1 cup cubed/sliced Carrots
¾ cup cubed /sliced Celery
2-3 finely minced Garlic cloves
¾ cups egg noodles depends if it’s wide variety or the thin
1-2 pieces of chicken could e thigh or the breast (cut into small pieces)
2 tbsp Olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Parsley leaves (optional) for garnish (this has more medicinal value than to garnish)
Lemon/crushed red pepper

Method
Heat a saucepan or a Dutch oven with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Toss the chicken with salt and pepper and cook medium high heat; add garlic. Add onions, carrots, and celery cook until it turn to bright color add 6 cups of water and let it simmer.(Bring the heat to low medium) While it’s cooking cook the egg noodles to the package directions and add them to broth. Garnish it with parsley and serve with a lemon wedge, if you want a kick add some crushed red peppers trust me things are going to move from your nose…

Hello Spring... Goodbye Cold...

Enjoy!

Scarf's... and more Scarf's...

Scarf’s... and more scarf’s… during fall when I was just getting the hang of knitting, I bought this ball of yarn from the local yarn shop. I have mention in some of my earlier blogs (The Owner) was a very sweet and helpful person.
So I decided to buy some yarn from her shop when I first bought this yarn I had no idea what I am going to do with this. The reason I bought it was it was so bulky I have not seen yarn like this at the local craft store. It was pink and simply bulky yarn. This was sitting with my other yarn in the closet eventually I understood in order to knit from bulky yarn you need big knitting needles which I happen to own now.

I did a very simple garter stitch scarf and it came out very cool I love it so much I almost wanted to knit one more but there is no yarn I bought it from the clearance section and there is no more…. I just have to wait.
I loved and enjoyed creating these bulky heavy big loops from my knitting needles. It is very cool and amazing at the same time to create something from a ball/skein of yarn…

Buy what you need and what you love…

Enjoy!

Addiction...

I bought this yarn from an Asian inspired store. The reason I wanted to visit the store was the aromas of incents sticks were calling me to take a peek at this store. This was in Canada by the church of Notre Dame. There was a bunch of yarn in a bowl there were beautifully arranges as skeins. Interesting fact was there was a sign says recycle silk yarn from Nepal.

I took a closer look at it but the young sales clerk has no idea where it comes from or anything about it… of course I had ton of questions in my head but the best thing was it was mark down from $9.00 to $7.00 so I bought 2 skeins had no idea what I want to do with this it is spun in a funny way not very perfect but that’s thing I like about this fuzzy yarn it feel somewhat rough also. So this was my souvenir from Montreal, Canada, I must admit it was not that bad.

I had this with me for a while I finally decided to make a scarf. I was busy working on my other projects and finally I wanted to make this scarf this special person in my life.( I am not a very good scarf making person.) Make something for myself too.

I really like the final product used two needle numbers… and then decided to stick with to one size # 10 was working really well. I have not yet given this to this special person can’t wait to see the reaction.
What I like about this yarn is the colors and the shades it is very beautiful.
That’s it for today hope to get busy with my creations…

Quote for the week ‘Participate in one new activity every week”

Enjoy!

Photography...

Can you guess the fiber count in this…
I love to see at objects or I would say nature with a different prospect… we were in Florida couple of weeks ago and I took the kids out for a walk everything was manmade but nature is still beautiful in its capacity… we were strolling down the city walk by the Universal Studio and it was beautifully landscaped and hotels were beautifully architected…
Personally I think people who cannot afford to make a trip to Europe or Africa it was a great escape children can learn a lot from the programs offered by the hotel and theme park staff…
Palm trees were gorgeous… this is a close up of the palm tree trunk how it looks when the leaves are fallen the fiber is interwoven naturally but breathtaking… fun is no cast on stitches or pearling… it’s just fiber in a natural harmony…
I love the simple stuff in nature….

Pumpkin Bars...

I want to share this recipe with all of you, this is a crowd pleaser; especially little ones love this and has a great amount of fiber and vitamins. Also this is great for autumn days those cold days it will add a great aroma to your kitchen. I have been making this for couple of years and we love this in our house. I have made this for Boys scout meeting and they just love it and gulp it down super fast…

I call them “Pumpkin Bars” if you are in a mood to add another extra step you can frost them with cream cheese & vanilla frosting its YUM! I make them in my mini cup cake pans as mini muffins works great with small hands and talk about portion control Yeah!

So here is the recipe you can try anyway you want it possibilities are endless…

Ingredients
4 eggs
1 tsp Salt
1 2/3 cups of white sugar
1 (3oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup vegetable oil (go crazy with healthy choices)
½ cup butter softened
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose floor
2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon

In a bowl, mix eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin with an electric mixture until light and fluffy. Sift together the dry ingredients. Stir into the pumpkin mixture until thoroughly combined. Spread the batter evenly into a 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in preheated 350 degree F oven. Cool before frosting.

Frosting
Cream together cream cheese and butter, stir in vanilla. Add confectioners’ sugar a little at a time, beating until mixture is smooth. Spread evenly over the cooled bars or the mini cupcakes again choices are unlimited…

LIVE, PLAY, EAT & ENJOY…

I am frustrated because I cannot figure out how to do the Picot Edging and cannot move on to finish the knitting project I have started. I decided to have a rest I know sounds very strange to me but I am in a mission to give it a break!
I cannot wait to finish this hat I started, because it has little chicks going around the head it looks very Easter to me…
Yep, my break is done and during my break I started another project… well I will get to that in a later writing. I want to stick the picot edging. Finally I was able to understand the written language and the technique and to transfer it from my mind to hand practically to use my hands. This is all very new to me but I must say I enjoy it very much I cannot wait my little one to try this hat, edging came out really cute.
The challenging part was to pick up the same number of stitches and to master the backward cast on. It sucks sometimes; finally I was able to do it…
I also like the part I had to sew the little chicks around the border it was fun. I can use some more practice with some projects like these… I use up all the left over yarn I had so it was a good project. I would like to try this edge on another hat again.
So that’s it for today Enjoy!