Sometimes, Life Gets in The Way

For the longest time, I was updating three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with the occasional post on the weekend. Lately, I just haven't been able to keep up with that. I have quotas I want to meet for new items for the rebrand, which means I am knitting even more than usual. I've even been knitting on my breaks at work! Last week, I took the bus to go for dinner with a friend, and even got some knitting done on the bus. (more on this later) I'm trying really hard to get my stash eliminated as much as possible. I managed to get three balls of yarn used up this week, if you count the tiny balls I am donating. This brings me to +57. I'm getting there!
I'm starting to go through my yarn and finding more yarns that I thought I really liked, but after more consideration, they're just not what I want. I don't know what to do with them now. Part of me wants to donate to a group that can use it, but the rest of me says "hey, you put a lot of money out for this, don't just give it away." Does that make me a bad person? I hope not. It will still take me some time to decide what I want to do with all this extra yarn.
Now, about dinner! There is a new place in Windsor that opened, called The Nacho Suite that I heard about on Windsorite. I have a friend that loves to try new foods, so we made arrangements on Twitter to meet up there and try some food. Totally delicious, and I can't wait to go back. I'm planning on trying the seafood option next time.
Have you tried any new restaurants lately?

My Week In Instagrams: April 26, 2013

This past week, I've been knitting. A lot. More than usual. I have a craft show next weekend, and I want to have a good stock of baby knits available. I'm considering only setting up the winter stuff that is on super sale, and then focusing on my baby knits and earrings. I'll have to see how large my space is, and if I'll have room to do that.
Anyway, this is what I've been up to this week!

Like I said, lots of knitting. I made this "baby" had in the same colours as the blanket I brought into Trinkets and Treasures (A photo of that later on in the post). It was supposed to be baby sized, but I think it's big enough for a 3 year old. Oh well, live and learn. I pretty much made up the pattern, with no idea how large a newborns head actually is, so I don't count it as a fail.
Second! Rick made some awesome chicken and rice soup this week. There are leeks and carrots in there, too, which makes it extra yummy. I think I'm going to have a bowl of that as soon as I'm done this post!
I've been eating a lot of A&W the past little while.  They recently changed their packaging, and there is this little blurb on the back of it. It's a great thought, but if the waste is just going in the garbage, which goes to the landfill, it's not going to decompose much faster than their old packaging. Great idea on paper, but in practice, it's really just greenwashing.
Last night at work, I had another Tim Hortons tea. This has started to become a regular thing for me. Which is good, I need to up my tea intake!
Here is the blanket I brought to Trinkets and Treasures. It's a pretty variegated green with a light tan. It's 20x30, so not huge, but big enough for a stroller or car seat. I have a couple more blankets in the same size that I will share with you guys on Monday.
I'm really hoping these baby knits go well. If they do, I will start making more, and then have something for spring/summer craft shows. I love knitting them, no matter if they sell or not. If I have them for an extended period of time, I will probably donate the hats to LeeLee Hats and figure out something to do with the blankets. I hope it doesn't come to that!
What are you fine ladies (and gents?) up to this week?

My Week In Instagrams: April19, 2013

Happy Friday! This week has been a fun one. I haven't worked since Saturday, so I got a boat load of knitting done. More about the knitting on Monday!
This is what I've been otherwise up to this week.
When people bring back their bottle returns at work, some of them come in really strange boxes. Cat litter is a surprisingly common one. Any time this happens, I laugh, and refer to the customers as my special kitties. This week was the first time I thought to take a picture. Maybe this is only hilarious to me. Oh well, it makes time at work go by faster.
Since I had nearly a whole week off work, I decided to paint my nails. This happened Sunday, and it lasted a whole 10 hours before I mucked something up. I hit my one nail off something and there is a tiny, round dot in the middle of it that is lacking polish. Oh well, I'm not too worried. I think I'm going to continue doing my nails more often. I like the way they look.
Rick has been cooking again this week. This plate is steamed asparagus with lemon, roasted tomatoes, pan seared lamb chop, and a fried egg over potato and onion hash. So completely delicious. I'm so lucky having someone that enjoys cooking as much as he does. There are so many things I wouldn't have ever tried if it wasn't for him. Lamb being a major one. We have to go stock up on groceries before we have any crazy fun meals again. Our fridge is looking pretty barren.
We went to Trinkets and Treasures this week to drop off a couple things to Mel. On the way back, we came through Windsor so we could stop at Taco Bell. It's probably my favourite fast food restaurant. I used to eat it several times a week. I know it's not the healthiest of foods, no fast food really is, but it's something I treat myself to now and then.
There's a lot of food and drink going on this week! When we lived at the apartment in Windsor, and we both were working at home, we would have "grown up" drinks together. I'd be knitting and listening to podcasts, drinking vanilla vodka and 7up, and Rick would be coding websites and drinking gin and 7up. This is one of those strange things we do "together". We're doing the same thing, in the same place, but more or less completely ignoring each other in every other respect. I've been doing a lot of behind the scenes work on my various blogs and Etsy shop and what not, so a drink has been my reward for not pulling my hair out. Rick is building a website for his dad, and his gin has been a reward for not yelling at anyone.
On Wednesday, Rick and I went up to London to get his phone fixed at the Apple Store. He's been having problems with his power button for about a month and finally said enough's enough. We took the scenic drive up there, going through many, many little towns without so much as a Tim Hortons. I did a typical dirty mirror self portrait before going because I was excited, and thought I looked half decent. Sometimes, not often, I feel good about the way I look. This was one of those days. I'm working on that whole self confidence thing, and it's slowly working. There are more days that I feel good about myself than there used to be. This is one of my new years goals I set for this year.
Once we were done at the Apple Store, we walked around Masonville Mall for a little while, just to see what else there was. Lots of the same stuff that we have at home, so nothing too exciting. Then I happened to see inside DAVIDsTEA after almost walking right past it. I turned abruptly and I think my eyes got as big as dinner plates when I saw their tea wall. So many teas! I worked at Teaopia (which is now Teavana) for a couple holiday seasons, as you longtime blog followers know, so I have some knowledge about tea types. We smelled a few teas, and found a few that we liked. I got an iced Vanilla Orchid Oolong tea, which was absolutely phenomenal. Rick got a hot Rooibos de Provence. He loves lavender, and this one had some in it. Not as much as he'd hoped though. Teaopia had a blend that was just lavender buds and white tea. We're still on the hunt for something like that. Once I get more paid off on my credit card (another new years goal) I'll be ordering some tea from them online. I know Holly absolutely loves DAVIDsTEA, her blog is the first place I ever read anything about it, so I'm sure there are a lot of good blends to be had.
What have you folks been up to this week? Keep an eye out on Monday for some knitting content. I've been a busy little bee this week in the knitting department.

My Week In Instagrams: April 5, 2013

This past week has been a busy one. I worked quite a bit, we had Easter Weekend, and other fun things have happened.

The first three photos are from Good Friday. Winston doesn't like other people, but likes to see what's going on, so we put him in the office with a glass door, just off of the kitchen area. He's pretty content in there, and it keeps him from getting too stressed out. I wish he was better around other people, but it's not entirely his fault. Some people do bother him, and that upsets him. 

Rick's mom goes all out for holiday dinners. We had king crab legs, calamari, a shrimp ring, and baked salmon, as well as a whole bunch of fantastic sides. The crab legs were my favourite, as usual. I had quite a few of them. After the meal, Cindy and I cracked the rest of them, pulled out the meat, and bagged it up for later. Yesterday, Rick made a delicious Asian-inspired crab meat, avocado and cucumber salad, with mayo and wasabi. It was absolutely wonderful. I'm so lucky that he creates such amazing food. 

With the meal, I decided to treat myself to a beer. I am trying to lose weight, so despite having a metric crap tonne of beer in my fridge, I don't have it very often. I looked through my collection of random beers, and the only one I knew would go well with fish was a Corona. I don't normally choose imports, but I knew this would be a good pairing. And I was right. I only have one bottle of the stuff left, and it will probably be sitting in my fridge for quite some time. Maybe I'll just have to give it to someone who would enjoy it more than I would. There's nothing wrong with drinking Corona, it just isn't really for me.

Saturday, I was back to work. I packed up some yummy fruit left over from the night before, and munched on that for lunch. I love pineapple and melon, and they were pretty darn good, considering they weren't in season. The watermelon that was in the fruit tray, was not so delicious. Which is why you don't see any in my little bowl. I'm trying to eat healthier, and this was a good start. It beats the heck out of a bagel or donut from Tim Hortons which is often a snack for me while I'm at work. I'm making little steps towards the weight loss/healthy eating thing. I know if I try to change too much all at once, it will backfire. 

Easter Sunday, Rick and I joined my moms side of the family at my Uncle's house not far from where we are. This is a get together that is repeated for more or less every holiday. We have a big family, so these events are usually pretty fun. My Uncle and Aunt from Ottawa come down with their three kids, and their hilariously awesome goldendoodle, Molly. That's the cartoon-looking pup in this photo. One of my littlest cousins, and my brothers girlfriend had to hold her steady so I could get a decent picture of her.

I've started drinking tea more regularly again. With there being a Tim Hortons right across the street from work, it's pretty easy to do so. I prefer Earl Grey, but I won't turn down just about any kind. We still have a pretty large loose leaf tea collection at home, but I'm lazy, and hate cleaning out the infuser after making it. I might just go out and buy a big ass box of green tea bags and do that every day. This is another small step towards healthy living. I need to get soda out of my diet and replace it with healthier alternatives.

I saved the best for last in this post. This is a picture of a car dashboard. A bad picture, but a picture nonetheless. This car dashboard is in our driveway. I was sitting in the passenger seat of this car. Rick was in the driver seat. It's a silver 2005 SmartCar. Diesel, 52 000kms, convertible, awesome. It's not ours though. But we will be using it regularly. We went to Windsor the night we got it, and drove all over the place. Then back and forth to work for me, and a few other trips in town, and we still have more than half a tank of gas left. With our old car, we would have had to put $30+ in the tank. I think I love this car.

I've been knitting quite a bit these last couple days. I'll update about that on Monday. I'm hoping to get some pictures taken with a real camera before then, but we'll see!

My Week In Instagrams: March 29, 2013

It's Friday! I have the day off for the holiday, so I took advantage and got some Etsy work done. More about that later on in the post. This is what I've been up to this week!
Rick is an awesome cook. This week he made bacon wrapped filet mignon, over caramelized onions, a fried egg and toast. Super tasty, and a wonderful breakfast. I'm so spoiled with how well he cooks for us.
Winston has been really good this week. He has days where he is a total grumpy pants, and hates everyone, but we haven't experienced that for a few days. He's so cute when he sleeps, I can't help but take pictures of him doing it. Seriously, I looked through some folders on my computer today, and found a few dozen snaps of him snoozing. Somehow, yesterday, he cut open his paw pad on one foot. It looks pretty gruesome but it doesn't seem to be bothering him. I'm hoping it heals up soon.
I often get cravings for very specific foods. The other day, I really wanted a single Reese Peanut Butter Cup. Just one. So Rick and I went to the convenience store and picked up a couple packages of them. They were buy one get one free, so there was no way I was turning that down.  We got a couple other little bits and bobs, and came home. We watched The Following, and Bates Motel while munching on our spoils. I'm really enjoying both of those shows. Have you watched either of them? What do you think?
Thursday was Winston's third birthday! We got him a cheeseburger like we've done for the last two years. He did really well wearing the crown before we gave him the burger. This year was a Whopper from Burger King. He loves his burgers! He's so funny when he eats things that aren't dog food. He sniffs and sniffs before he'll eat it. Rick is in the process of putting together Winston's burger eating video. We record him eating his burger every year, and Rick puts together a short video. The ones from the last two years have been hits. I can't wait to see what music he picks this time.
I got an order for some hair bows from a friend of mine. She's the one that got the pink head band with the white flower. She also picked up a hair bow when she came to the craft show, and now a bunch of her friends and coworkers want some. I had some very specific colour requests, so I had to dig stuff out of some of my bins. Some people have been asking how much yarn I have. These four bins are less than half of what I have. I have four more of them, filled to the brim, as well as the drawers you can kind of see behind the bin, on the right. There are three sets of those too. And those bags in from of the drawers are filled with knitting/other crafting supplies. I'm sure you can understand why I'm doing a stash down this year! I'll update you on my progress in that department on Monday.
Like I said earlier, I have today off work. I took some pictures of the rings I've been making lately, with my iPad, and got a few listed in the shop. It's really nice being able to take and edit pictures without having drag out the camera and tripod. Much more convenient for small things. I will be adding more earrings at some point in the next couple weeks, and take the photos in the same way.
What have you all been up to this week? Do you have any exciting plans for the weekend? I'm going to be working Saturday, and visiting family on Sunday. Not a bad weekend, I'd say.

My Week In Instagrams: March 22, 2013

Happy Friday! The weekend is almost here, and that means it's craft show time for me! Tomorrow, I will be at Essex High School from 10:00 until 4:00 selling my knitwear, and earrings. I'm super excited. I'm going to have a whole rack of stuff that's on sale for super low prices and hopefully, I'll clear some of it out. I need more space! Now, onto what I've been up to this week
Crud, I just realized I already talked about these pretty tomatoes in last week's post. Oh well, I think it's a pretty picture, you get to see them again! A lot of people I know are already planting the seeds for their gardens indoors to get a nice start on the growing season. We have seeds and what not, but I'm not sure if we're going to be attempting a garden this year.
I made a pretty mustard yellow treasury the other day. I want to get back into the swing of many them regularly. They really helped bring traffic to my shop, which is really what I need to do. I don't know how some people make such popular treasuries, but I need to figure it out! I want to be on the front page one day! If you have any suggestions for treasuries, please let me know!
We had Chinese food the other day. Egg rolls, mushroom fried rice, wonton soup, chicken balls and much more. I really like Chinese food, even though it's terribly unhealthy being that it's all fried and what not. I don't think I'm doing myself any harm by having it as infrequently as I do. Like Cookie Monster says, It's a sometimes food. I opened my fortune cookie at the end of the meal, and was told that "my enthusiasm inspires people". I couldn't help but laugh. I was in such a crappy mood, and the farthest thing from enthusiastic. If nothing else, it boosted my mood a bit.
Onto the second part of the crappy food this week. Rick and I were both kind of grumpy the one night, so we treated ourselves to McDonald's. Yeah, emotional eating, whatever. I know I'm guilty of it. I got a fish sandwich, and shared my fries with Winston. And before someone decides to post a snarky comment about how I shouldn't be eating out, and I should be saving money instead, both of our meals cost us less than $12, and we used coupons. I've gotten some rude comments on here, and my Tumblrs from people who think they know what's best for me. Argh, I shouldn't even be posting about this, lest the get the satisfaction of knowing I am annoyed. Oh well.
Now, onto the healthy eating! I cooked up some mushrooms with plans of making an omelette. When I noticed they were starting to turn brown, I decided to use all of them. Which would have been way too many for the omelette. I ended up making wraps with them. Added some thyme, a little mozzarella and a teeny bit of ranch, and I was set! I love mushrooms and thyme together. The only thing I would change about these would be to cook the mushrooms for longer. They still had quite a bit of water in them, so the rolled wraps leaked mushroom juice out the back end. Minor problem, but easily fixed.
I also made a fried egg on toast with cheese. Not the healthiest meal, but definitely better than some. It was absolutely delicious, so that counts for something, right?
Last night, I made another batch of Indian lentil soup. Lots of carrots, onions and lentils, with some vegetable broth, and spices. It took me a couple hours to make it from chopping to blending, but it is so worth it. I still have to work on getting the spices just right, but it's not bad for being only the second time I've made it. And considering I have no idea how to season things, I'd say it's pretty good. It's currently sitting in a big bowl in our fridge, waiting to be eaten. I'll probably be bringing some to work with me today.
Last but not least, some knitting content. After making the soup last night, I decided to bust out my 24mm needles. Yes, 24 millimetres, or pretty much 1 inch. I was holing three strands of worsted weight yarn together, and doing stockinette stitch but I didn't like the way it was looking. The fabric was great, but it was rolling so badly that I just hated it. Even if I'd put a garter border on it, it would still roll pretty significantly. If I was using wool, or a blend, I would just block it, but since it was 100% acrylic, I wasn't going to even try that. So, I ripped it out, and now I'm doing it in garter. I'm not holding my breath that this will become something awesome. This is basically my doodling or sketching. Trying new things, to see what I actually like, and what to pursue. Hopefully I can get something I like.
I'm off to work now. I got called in a couple hours early. Not sure why exactly. This doesn't happen often, unless someone called in or had to leave early. Hopefully it's not too crazy tonight!
How has your week been?

My Week in Instagrams: March 8, 2013

We've reached the end of the work week for most, and I'm pretty much just starting. I worked one shift so far this week, and now I'm working the whole weekend. Most days, I prefer weekends, just because it's busy, and it makes the shift go by faster. But the way it's going right now, I'm thankful for any shift. Soon it will pick up! I have to keep telling myself this.
This is what I've been up to this week.
I mentioned last Friday that I picked up a 6 pack of Shock Top Honeycrisp Apple Wheat. Well, I tried it that night. No joke, it's one of the best beers I've ever had. I love wit/white/wheat beers, and this one is no exception. It smells like fresh apple cider as soon as you open it. It's really smooth, and not overly apple-y. I will definitely be getting more of this. It is a seasonal brew, so I'll have to keep an eye out for when it is available. I'll probably also get some of their other types.
At the craft show, I was knitting quite a bit. I used some of the sparkly pink yarn I picked up at JoAnns to make a pair of boot cuffs, and a matching headband. With the left overs, I made some bows a couple days ago. Haven't gotten those photographed yet, but they're looking pretty cute! I made a few other things at the show. I'll probably have a sewing up marathon before my show at the end of the month, and you can see everything then. With these bows, and some stuff I made from another skein, I eliminated two more balls of yarn from the stash. Small ones, but like I've said before, I have to start somewhere.
You also saw this earring rack last week, before my Dad and I made some adjustments. I picked up the teensy weensy clothespins when we were in Michigan, and they were MUCH too small to use over the cord my Dad had put in there. It was an easy fix, and less than a half hour later, the improved rack was ready to go. It fits a ton of earrings, which is awesome. It got most of them up off the table, which was my goal. I got several compliments on it, which I passed along to my pops. You can't really tell in the photo, but there are dowels on the top that I put my rings on. I didn't sell any of those, but I will be making more of them, for sure. I want to get some of those up in my shop as well.
I am so incredibly happy with how Lucy's blanket turned out. It's the perfect size to tuck into her cradle now, and transition into a crib or stroller blanket. I have leftovers of both colours, and I might make something for Christine that matches. A hair bow or brooch maybe? I'll have to see exactly how much of each I have before I make any decisions.
Winston has been kind of weird lately. I mean, he's always weird, but the past few days it's been extra strange.
he likes to carry his pig ear around, and bring it to the cat to see if he wants some. He's the most gentle dog when it comes to toys and such. He still has all but maybe one of the toys we've ever got for him. He's the same way with pig ears. It can take him days to finish one. Chew a little here, a little there, carry it around for a while. Oh, wait, I can eat this thing!? I swear that's how he thinks. I'm not complaining. We save money on toys and treats this way.
Rick's been making some fantastic food lately. He picked up some groceries while I was at my parents and that's turned into some pretty yummy meals. Wednesday, we had asparagus with lemon juice, couscous-quinoa salad with tomatoes, zucchini and mushrooms, and bacon wrapped filet mignon on a bed of fried onions, mushrooms and garlic. That makes us sounds fancy! It was very good, and I love how well Rick can cook. I'm so lucky that he makes amazing food for us.
Yesterday, I spent some time working on photographing new and old items to put up in the shop, and on my Facebook page. I have an album on the latter full of scarves for as little as FIVE DOLLARS. Yeah, I might be crazy, but I need to clear out space in my KNK storage abyss! The bin hasn't been even close to closing for aaaages, and now it's even farther. I knit much faster than I sell, and I need to remedy that. It's so hard finding a balance between knitting and promoting. I should start getting into the habit of posting and tweeting stuff daily again, that seemed to help drive traffic to the shop. I'm going to be bringing all the super sale stuff to the show I do at the end of the month and have a discount basket on my table. Hopefully that will help clear things out if the Facebook album doesn't do it.
We also picked up an elliptical machine yesterday, which was... fun. I used it while we were watching Wreck it Ralph, and my legs were burning. I think I'll enjoy using it.
This week just about did me in. I was quite busy for a good chunk of it. I'm looking forward to a couple days off again next week.

My Week in Instagrams: February 22, 2013

I can't believe this is the last Friday of February. This year is whipping by. This past week, I've been pretty productive as far as knitting goes. I've eliminated a few skeins, which made me happy. I also made a small dent in a few other skeins, so they're going to be finished up quicker. Anyway, this is what I've been up to this week, according to Instagram.

This is the cowl I mentioned last week. It used almost a whole skein of Wool Ease Thick and Quick, but not enough to call it finished. I'm going to find a project to use all the partial skeins of T&Q that I'm sure I'll have soon enough.
Winston and I were goofing around, and sometimes I pick him up and throw him over my shoulder like a baby. A 55 pound baby. Rick took this photo, and I loved it.
I love white hot chocolates from Tim Hortons, but they're never full to the top. They're kind of frothy, I guess. Still tasty, and I will continue drinking them forever.
I was knitting with The Knit Girllls and Numma Numma. This cowl is another one I finished this week. More about it a little later. I love knitting and watching podcasts. If you haven't watched The Knit Girllls, I strongly suggest it. It's really entertaining.
I sold a pair of tiny flower earrings to someone in Texas. I couldn't find the ones that were actually in the shop, so I had to make them. I have to get more metal earrings made for my upcoming shows.
I dug this skein of Moda Dea Tutu out of my stash. It's been in there for about 6 years, waiting for the perfect project. It's the accent on a little project that I neglected to photograph, because it's not sewn up yet. I'll hopefully have that up some time next week.
All these wonderful vegetables that Rick is washing/peeling became some amazing Moroccan lamb stew. No recipe for this, because he mostly wings it. It was served over Israeli couscous, which was a really good pairing. There is still quite a bit left, I'll probably have that for dinner tonight.
I set myself up to make some more earrings the other day. I finally got around to making a few pairs today. I need need need to make more. I have the craft show next week, and my stock is running really low.
Rick also made a quinoa salad to have with the stew. I could eat this stuff every single day. There's quinoa, tomatoes, cucumber, a red onion, corn and the seasonings. Once again, no recipe unfortunately. I should get him to write things down.

This is most of what I've been knitting this week. First up is a creamy coloured lace neck warmer. It's my usual pattern, and I think it looks awesome. I still have enough yarn left to make something else, I just have to decide what I'll be doing.
This is the same neck warmer I was knitting with The Knit Girllls. I was hoping to finish off all three of the colours, but only managed to get two eliminated. That means I'm at +13 for my stash down so far. Only 63 more skeins to eliminate by the end of the year! I'm sure I can do it. I do have more yarn coming to me though. I'd better get cracking.
This is my new favourite neck warmer. It's almost the same pattern as the other lace neck warmers, but it wraps three times instead of two. I've had a couple people ask for longer ones, so I'm trying out a few to see if they'll actually sell.

Make sure you check out my sponsors, they have some amazing stuff.

My Week In Instagrams: February 8, 2013

I'm kind of a big grumpy pants today, but I'll try to not let that ruin this post. Work today was a bunch of crap. The car was frozen shut, so I had to take a cab to work, where it turns out they didn't even need me, so I could have stayed home. I wish they would have told me that, because I would have just gone back to bed. Okay, that's enough complaining!
-Rick and I made noodle bowls last Friday night for dinner. He did 90% of the prep work before hand. Chopping all the vegetables, cooking the shrimp and meat etc. I cooked the vermicelli in a strainer in the pot for easy removal. I then rinsed it to stop the cooking, and assembled the bowls. Clockwise from the top there was pickled cabbage (that Rick made), marinated beef strips, cucumber, pickled daikon and carrot (also by Rick), marinated shrimp, lettuce, and pickled red onion (another by Rick) with a fried egg in the centre. I always add some hoisin sauce over top, and then I'm set to go. Just describing it right now has made my mouth water. I want more!! Each family member got their own bowl, and it seemed like everyone enjoyed it.
-The order of my pictures is a bit off; the Laughing Cow cheese and the next photo are supposed to be after the craft show. Anyway, Laughing Cow is one of my favourite snacks. I've been eating this stuff since I was a little kid. I usually just spread it on a cracker and gobble it down. No exception this time around. We still have 3/4 of a package left. I'll probably go eat a couple once I'm done this post.
-Rick made more Asian inspired food the other day. We had udon, with stir fried bok choy and onion. Before Rick and I met, I only ate this kind of stuff when I went out to eat, which was very very rare. Now, we make it at home most of the time, and it's just as good, and sometimes better than going out to eat. Plus, there isn't a ridiculous amount of salt/MSG, and we save money! And, we can put exactly what we want in it, so I'm not stuck with a bunch of stir fried bell peppers, which I think are pretty icky. Definitely a win all around.
-Saturday was my craft show at Colasanti's. I didn't do too badly. I met my goal for total money made. I'm not the happiest with how I did, though. I only sold one knitted item, and the rest of my sales were earrings. I'm not complaining about having sold anything, I just wish I'd sold more knitwear. Knitting is what I am passionate about. The earrings are just something fun to do on the side. I didn't expect to sell a ton of knitted stuff, but I thought I'd sell at least 3 things. Oh well. My next two shows, I don't expect to sell much winter knitwear, if any. The shows are at the beginning and end of March, and by that time, most people are over the coldness, and ready for spring/summer to come in full force. For those, I'll definitely be bringing more earrings.
-Winston has been pretty cute lately. I have a photo of him like this that I took at our old apartment where he looks so much younger. Not that he looks old or anything, but he was definitely more of a puppy then. He's going to be three in just over a month. I can't believe we've had him almost three years! We got him in May of 2010.
-Wednesday night was the fundraiser show at Phog. Tracy and I split a Phonion not long after I got there. A Phonion is a Phog specialty. It's a poutine made with onion rings instead of fries. Now, in case you're unaware, poutine is one of my most favourite foods ever. It's usually piping hot french fries, with a bunch of white cheese curds over top, and some steaming hot gravy to slightly melt the curds. Wonderful! Phog's gravy is vegan, but you wouldn't know it unless someone told you. Later on in the night, I had some of my brother's friends poutine as well. I love that stuff. Every time I go to Phog I have to get one.
-Billy Raffoul played a couple sets, and did an absolutely amazing job. He is immensely talented. I would definitely go see him play again. I'll be keeping him in mind for future shows.
-A bunch of yarn was donated at the fund raiser, and I kept a small amount for myself. I added four skeins of cotton (likely for dish cloths) and four skeins of acrylic to my stash. The acrylic will probably turn into some manly accessories. I've used this yarn in the past, and it looks really nice knit up. It's a creamy white colour with flecks of grey, brown and black. This adds four skeins to my stash down count, which means I am at +11 for the year. I am going to have to crank out some stuff to get my number back down. I haven't had much knitting mojo lately, which has been a problem. I'll dig through my stash and get some more little balls and skeins of yarn used up. Even the tiniest of balls count! Once I start seeing the number go down, I will be more motivated to keep knitting.

Don't forget, the giveaway is still going on. There are over 415 entries the last I checked, and that number is climbing steadily. Get your entires in!
Rick is making some macaroni and cheese casserole for dinner tonight, and I'm looking forward to that.
How are all of you folks doing?

NaBloPoMo Day Six

I woke up this morning with a healthy feeling of anxiety. And by healthy feeling, I mean a terrible, horrible feeling. I wanted to just curl up and go back to bed, but I knew I had to get up so I could get stuff done before going in to work this afternoon, the main thing being this blog post. These posts do take quite a lot of time, which isn't surprising. I often start jotting down ideas in a draft post the night before, which I didn't do for today.

Rick and I watched Turn Me On, Goddammit! last night. A little while back, he watched a whole boat load of movie trailers online in a couple days, and downloaded all the movies he could find that seemed interesting. This was one of them. It's based in a small town in Norway, and revolves around a teenaged girl named Alma. There's a lot of sexual frustration on her part, which leads to some situations that turn her into an outcast amongst her classmates. If you don't mind subtitles, and are okay with some nudity, you should definitely give it a watch. I enjoyed it.

Not long after waking up, I watched the most recent YarnGasm podcast, by Voolenvine, aka Kristin. (I hope she spells it Kristin, I'm not 100% sure, sorry!) Her podcast is one of my favourites. It's actually the one that got me back into watching/listening to them after a long hiatus without any new ones. I really like how she does videos now, because it captivates my attention a little more. Sometimes when I'm listening to a podcast, I get distracted and start reading something, and then nothing gets absorbed. I have to go back and re-listen and re-read. Anyway, in addition to all the wonderful knitting content, she mentioned that when you get married, you often become "that couple" that wears the same thing, referring to her Pomme de Pin cardigan, and her husband's soon to be Cambridge cardigan, both in grey. Rick and I aren't married, and we often end up wearing the exact same outfit. A common one was Toms shoes or moccasins, dark jeans from the gap, a plain tee shirt in grey or black, and the same American Apparel cardigan in different colours. It has happened way too many times, and one of us always has to get changed.

I finished knitting another wrap bracelet. The blue one I mentioned yesterday is done, minus having the ends tied in. I also made a red one out of some red worsted weight acrylic, the same as the shawls I made last week. I'm starting on a bright blue one now, and I will hopefully get it done today, as well. I want to have 10 made for the Made inWindsor show. Anything over that number will just be gravy. And I like gravy. I'm trying to figure out the pricing for them currently. The cost of materials is next to nil, because I'm using a lot of yarns that are remnants from other projects that are too small for anything else. I have them for $12 each right now, but that might change. So if you happen to want one, let me know before I increase the price.

Now, onto some cool strange things about me! I'm only doing four today, because I got a little verbose in one of them, and I don't want to bore you too much.

16. I used to be vegetarian, but now I eat meat on occasion. I stopped eating meat altogether in 2004, just after the end of my grade 9 year. I stopped because of animal rights, primarily, followed by the environmental impact and because I really just didn't like meat, and it didn't like me.
First: animal rights. I still believe that factory farms, growth hormones, and the cruel way that most animals are killed are all bad things, there is no arguing that. Secondly, the amount of waste and pollution from this industry is huge. Overall, the energy needed for raising animals for meat is much, much larger than what growing food crops that would use. Third, I didn't care for eating meat. I had terrible allergies growing up, and red meat was one of my trigger foods. I couldn't eat beef without feeling incredibly sick after doing so. I stopped eating that first, followed by pork and poultry, and then I cut out fish and every other animal. I also made an effort to eat vegan options when possible.

Last summer, when working at the restaurant, my boss cooked a lot of meat from locally, and sustainably raised animals. This was something I could get behind. It wasn't organic, because that meant that if an animal got sick, they couldn't be treated, which could mean more suffering for said animal. But, they weren't pumped full of growth hormones and antibiotics, squeezed shoulder to shoulder on feedlots, or killed in a cruel way that caused a lot of suffering. I caved after a while, and had half a meatball from Rick's meatball sandwich I brought home for him one day. Unlike what I remembered meatballs to be (dry, and bland) this one was god. Juicy, well seasoned, and the sauce on it was wonderful. I started adding a little meat here and there into my diet; I didn't want to shock my system and end up sick. After a while, I was eating meat a few times a week, and then we went to Iceland. While there, I gorged myself on meat. It was raised locally, out in the open. The lamb we ate grew up gallivanting around the countryside, munching on green plants, and generally being free. I felt great eating this meat. Then I came home, and continued the trend of gorging. I felt like complete garbage. My system couldn't take the huge amounts of meat, and I felt sick. Now, over a year later, I still can't eat a lot of meat. I avoid meat from fast food restaurants, and any ground meats. I still eat a lot of vegetarian meals, because I prefer them, but there is definitely meat in my diet.

17. I want to open my own brick and mortar store selling handmade goods from around the world, along with well designed furniture from a few companies I already have picked out. I've wanted to open a consignment store for a while. Rick and I have actually looked into a few store fronts, to get an idea for the costs we would incur. We've talked a bit about names, what we'd both like to have in the store, and a bunch of other, more important things. Nothing is concrete yet, but it is definitely one of the biggest of my life goals.

18. I drink water. A lot of water. Since I was about 10, I've drank nearly exclusively water when eating meals. When I go out to restaurants, I sometimes ask for two glasses of water, or a pitcher left on the table. Some servers have ignored the request, and then scoff when I ask for glass after glass. I know I drink a lot of water, don't hate! Part of the reason I drink so much is another odd quirk about the way I eat (which is the next fun fact about me). Even at home, when I'm not eating, I drink a lot of water. I used to drink about 12-16 rather big glasses of water a day, now I know it's not quite that much.

19. This one is super weird. It kind of relates to number 5 from a couple days ago. I'm very particular about the way I eat. My food and drinks absolutely cannot be too hot, and they cannot be too cold. I have sensitive teeth, and this causes problems. Also, I'm way more about the texture of food than the taste. Stuff that is completely homogenous weirds me out. My mashed potatoes need to have lumps, I can't stomach so much as the idea of cream of wheat, and milkshakes are kind of gross. The only exception to this is soups, and only sometimes. Rick likes to blend the soups he makes, and this is completely okay with me if it's all root vegetables. Add anything else, and I need texture! I absolutely love Campbell's tomato soup, as long as I put a crap load of crackers, and some shredded cheese in it. As for the water, this is another strange thing. I need to take a drink of water pretty much every time I switch between foods. I take a bite of vegetables, drink, mashed potatoes, drink, meat, drink. I don't know what it is, but I've almost always done this. It doesn't usually cause a problem, unless I'm at a buffet. Then I know I'm filling up with water, but I can't help it!

My night at work was pretty uneventful. It's been pretty quiet the last couple days, so we knew some busy time was coming. Tonight was the start of it. It wasn't overly busy, but quite steady. The only remarkable situation was onion breath man. I always greet customers as they come in, asking them how they are and that sort of thing. One guy came up to my till, and after asking how he was, exhaled the BIGGEST breath possible, and it stunk like fresh onions. His breath seriously smelled like he'd eaten a ten pound bag of white onions, raw. It was disgusting, my eyes started watering, and I almost gagged in front of him. I couldn't believe it. Gross!

I spent a good chunk of the evening following the US election results, using a combination of a couple websites, Twitter, text messages, and chatting online. As of this writing, Obama is projected to win. I really hope this is the case. I'm keeping my fingers crossed until the official announcement is made.

Tomorrow, Rick and I are taking a nice drive to Trinkets & Treasures to drop off new stock and take care of some boring business matters. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to sort through my earrings and choose a few more pairs to bring, as well as some knitwear. I've sold a few things in the past months, so I need to get some new stuff in, and possibly remove the old stale items.

This post has 1725 words.

I am at 10 000 total words for this month.

Sunday Funday with Rick!

This week, I somehow managed to have three consecutive days off: Sunday through till tomorrow. I don't know how it happened, but I'll take it! I'm taking a chance on a different type of blog post, so I hope you like it. I'm planning on branching out from just knitting and including more of my day to day life on here. This post is a little longer than I expected it to be, I promise this won't be a theme in the future.

Yesterday, Rick wasn't feeling well, so we were expecting to have a quiet day at home. Early in the afternoon, he started feeling better, and wanted to go for sushi. The local place charges an insane amount on the weekend for all you can eat, unfortunately. The lunch price is eliminated, and we'd have to pay the dinner price, and only be able to choose from the limited lunch menu. Not cool, as we'd be missing out on some of our favourite things. We didn't want to make a trip into Windsor for just sushi, as good as it is. Rick then suggested Vietnamese. I called them up, and found out the local Pho place is still closed for renovations, so that was also a no. They are reopening Thursday, so we will definitely be giving them a visit soon. I thought tacos would be a good idea, but being Sunday afternoon, many of the migrant workers are at the authentic Mexican restaurant, and Rick wasn't feeling the loudness that comes with that. We thought about it a little while, and I suggested a pretty sweet place called The Main Grill and Ale House. They have some pretty phenomenal dishes, and are well priced for the high quality food you end up with.

Deep Fried Pickles

We ended up choosing two appetizers and two entrées. The first was deep fried pickles. They're breaded with pretzels, and have a beer/mustard dipping sauce. They were alright, but I've never had fried pickles before (How? I love pickles, and fried things, no idea how I haven't combined those two loves before this) so I don't have anything to compare them to. Not sure if we'll get these again, but I am glad I tried them.

The second app was pulled pork poutine. Now, if you don't know what poutine is, you are seriously missing out. A traditional Québecois poutine is french fries, fresh cheese curds and gravy.

Pulled Pork Poutine

Recently, poutines have become somewhat trendy especially locally (there is a poutine restaurant in Windsor), and pulled pork is a common variation. This one was made with seasoned waffle fries, pulled pork in a yummy sauce, and shredded cheese. I can forgive the shredded cheese because it was fully melted, and the whole dish was absolutely delicious. From the first bite, we were both super happy we ordered this version, instead of the plain one. The only downside to this is that it's not a huge portion, and it left us both wanting more.
For the entrées, we both chose perch, done in different ways. Rick chose perch and chips, and I picked a perch po'boy. I know Rick enjoyed his, as he gobbled it up fairly quickly, and left just a few chips that I brought home.

Perch and Chips

As for me, I'd eaten not long before we went out. Our day hadn't initially included going out to eat, so I made myself a bowl of soup. I regretted that as soon as I got my plate. The sandwich was on the softest baguette I'd ever had. It was toasted just enough to add some crusty crispness to the cut side of it. There was also some of the house coleslaw on it, which really made the dish fantastic. I ate half of it, and brought the rest home. I got a house salad with it, just to mix it up from my usual fries, and I was super impressed with how it looked. I didn't eat a bite of it, as I was completely full by this time. The salad came with some raspberry vinaigrette, which I think I will really enjoy.

Perch Po'boy

Overall, The Main was definitely a fantastic choice. Our server did a fantastic job, stopping by the table often enough to refill my drink, but not so often that we were annoyed.  I can't wait to go back.
After lunch, we went on a nice county drive. We stopped at a beach, and Winston and I dipped our toes in the water. He's never been to a beach in his whole 2 years, and he did fairly well, considering he's scared of practically everything. Terrified at first, after a couple minutes, he only tried to run when there was a wave breaking. His tail was wagging by the end of it.
We continued up the road past some really interesting houses, farms, and more beaches. Living in Essex County is awesome, so many cool things to see, places to go, and food to eat, and. Rick pointed out our favourite apple orchard, Delhaven. We've stopped there a couple times, and I was a little bummed they were closed. I think we'll be making a special trip there soon. Our final stop of the day was Manitree Fruit Farms. We picked up a container of peaches there. I have already eaten two of them.
Overall, Sunday was a great day spent with Rick and Winston. I can't wait till the next day we can spend exploring our beautiful area.
If you've stuck through till the end of this verbose post, please let me know what you thought of it!