Feeling productive.

I woke up before 5 am yesterday to check on NJ Transit and see if the snow was causing delays. As of that time, there were no major delays listed, so I went ahead and got ready for work. By the time I'd finished getting ready, all of Northern NJ's buses had been suspended and school had been cancelled. So Pi and I stayed home again.

Since I was up and ready, going back to sleep wasn't really an option for me. Once I'm up, I'm up! So, I figured I'd make the most of my time.

While my family slept, I finished up another Molly Monkey that I started a few days ago for a little neighbor who is turning 5 today. Her socks, sleeves, skirt, and body were made entirely from scraps. The brown is leftover corduroy from that last Molly (I think there's enough to make one more too!). This project is awesome for scrap busting!



She should actually be called Maddie Monkey, because that's my neighbor's name. The tiny embroidered "M" personalizes the gift just a little more.



Her shoes (and beret) are made from leftover pink felt from Pi's Halloween costume. Yellow buttons tie in the yellow from the skirt and the embroidery. I hope Maddie enjoys her.



After finishing that up, I decided to try a recipe I saw over at Knit Circus for Challah bread. Pi and I lived in a hasidic Jewish neighborhood for 5 years and were introduced to a lot of the foods they eat regularly. Challah bread has always been one of my favs, so when I saw the recipe I got really excited.

It looked intimidating, but it was honestly so so easy. The hardest part was the kneading. It came out slightly crunchy and golden on the outside and slightly flaky on the inside. Mmmmmm!!!




I'm feeling pretty productive and I like it. Its good to get things finished and try something new too. Today isn't shaping up to be that productive. I think I might curl up with a book today.

Happy Saturday peeps!

Dear Snow

You can stop now. Plskthx.

-Not Fondly,

Christina

All done

The biopsy went well. The doctor was late and had me waiting over an hour, which just about killed my nerves. The procedure was uncomfortable but not too terrible. The doc warned me when the real pain/cramping would come and it lasted about 10 seconds. I won't lie...it hurt, but not as bad as I expected. The best way I can describe it is like a severe contraction while in labor.

I'm in no rush to repeat it, but I'm glad its all done. Thanks for the good thoughts and prayers. I'll let you know when the results come in.

Peanut Buttery Goodness

Not a whole lot going on in the home front lately. Pi's had a cold for the last few days and we kept her home from school today. She's so congested, she sounds like a miniature Darth Vader while she's sleeping.

Over the weekend, I noticed this lonely bag of peanut butter chips in the cabinet. Hubby had bought them on sale awhile ago, when he was also getting chocolate chips. I wanted to use them up, but wasn't sure how. Google to the rescue!



This Peanut Butter cake recipe from the Cake Mix Doctor looked good, so I went with that. The cake is good, but doesn't have that "wow" factor, so I'm not sure I'd make it again unless its requested. After it was all frosted, I sprinkled peanut butter chips on top instead of crushed peanuts. It was only then that I realized I didn't need the whole bag for this recipe and so still had the problem of using up the chips. D'oh!


Looks more like a spike cake, eh?

A little more searching landed me at this Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chip Cookies. The only adjustment I made was to add a tablespoon of peanut butter right in the dough. They are amazing (and disappearing at an alarming rate)! Definite wow factor here.



On the crafty front, I made three more calorimetries for co-workers who decided they had to have one. They're made with good old RHSS. Are you sick of seeing these yet?

In other news, I'm scheduled for an endometrial biopsy tomorrow morning. The doc has some ideas about what might be causing my girlie issues, but she needs a biopsy to confirm her suspicions. She doesn't suspect anything malignant, so nothing to get too alarmed over yet. But I am nervous about the procedure (and the pain!), so if you wouldn't mind a quick prayer/good wishes/happy thought, I'd appreciate it much.

Meet Molly Monkey

Back in November, I was browsing through craft blogs and saw this adorable (and free!) Molly Monkey pattern by Larissa at mmmcrafts. I bookmarked it because I didn't think I'd be able to make a stuffed animal just yet. I've looked at the pattern a few times over the last few months, but kept talking myself out of trying it.

This past week, I bought some brown corduroy (2.5 yards for $5!) at a winter fabric clearance sale in the hopes of making a simple skirt. After it was all cut out, I was left with a fair amount of scraps.

Molly calls for corduroy, so I checked to see if I had enough to make her and I did. I figured that for $5, I was already going to get a skirt out of the fabric. If I messed it up, not a whole lot would be lost, so what was the harm in using the scraps to give this stuffie a try?

I'm so glad I did because I love her! Meet Molly Monkey, my first sewn stuffed animal.



A dragonfly button in light green matched the floral fabric in her skirt nicely.



A purple butterfly button played up the purple in the skirt.



The body, sleeves, socks, and skirt were made from quilting scraps that a friend sent to me ages ago to practice sewing on. Her face and eyes were made from felt squares I had in my stash. I thought Molly would look pretty cute in a bow, though next time I want to try the beret in the pattern.



Before she was completely finished, Pi asked who I was making her for. I said I didn't have anyone in mind. She said "good, we can share her." Haha, I guess Molly is going to be living in our house.

I highly recommend you check out mmmcrafts. Larissa is truly talented and I've spent more hours than I care to admit, reading her blog.

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent.

This season is really important for Catholics, spiritually. I use this time to try and bring myself closer to God through more prayer and fasting.

We give up something that we're attached to for 40 days and also abstain from meat today and every Friday during Lent.

Broccoli and liver made a run for most loved foods, but sadly, they didn't make the cut this time. In the end, it was a heated internal debate between coffee and chocolate. If I'm going to be totally honest with myself, coffee is definitely much harder for me to give up.

So, I'm going to go with the major challenge and kicking coffee for the next 40 days.

No, I'm not crying.....yet!

Crochet Calorimetry

Remember this scarf I made a few months ago? The co-worker who took this scarf home asked if I could make a headband like the ones the street vendors sell that have the giant flowers on them. I told her I couldn't make one exactly like those, but I could make something similar.

Since the scarf she has is crocheted, I wanted to crochet a headband to match. The Crochet Calorimetry pattern seemed like a good match.

Except, I forgot one teeny, tiny detail. The pattern used ww yarn, while I was using Homespun, which is bulky. The headband came out to be waaaay too big.

So, rather than re-do the whole thing, I improvised. I folded the giant headband in half and whipstitched it closed. Perfect solution because it fits just right now.



The giant flower is from yarncat and can be found HERE.

My poor Heady is looking awfully pale. Guess she can't wait for spring either. :)