Knitted Coffee Snuggly

I used bamboo yarn, Size 10 needles. This is my first pattern so tell me if I wrote something wrong. :)

Coffee Snuggly

Size 10 needles

Pattern:

Cast on 18 stitches

Row1 (rs): (K1, P1) 9 times

Row2 (ws): (P1, K1) 9 times

Row3 (rs): (K1, P1){K1, K1, K1, K1, P1, K1, K1, K1, K1, P1, K1, K1, K1, K1} (P1, K1)

Row4 (ws): (P1, K1) {P1}14 times (K1, P1)

Row 5: repeat row 3

Row 6: repeat row 4

Row 7: K1, P1, C4B, P1, C4B, P1, C4B, P1, K1

Row8: repeat row 4

Continue to repeat pattern (Row 3-8) until your work is about 9 inches long ending on row 8. Work in button holes as follows. K1, P1, K1, yo, k2tog, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P1, yo, K2tog, K1, P1, K1.

Finish with:

Row 2

Cast off.

Knit my cares away!

I've been working on health stuff for a few months now. I get tests done and they tell me to do more tests; and then they tell me there was nothing to worry about!

No matter what, I can always use my hands and knit all my cares away. Just in the last week I learned how to follow a pattern for my first baby bib. (Pattern here!)

And I wrote and executed my first pattern!! I'm so excited that I can work on these projects as much or as little as I want. What a great week!

Prozac and Panic Attacks

I started working full time again and thought I was getting everything together. I still have pain in my belly, I go to the bathroom a lot, and I haven't slept through the night in ever!

I feel like the normal stress of a full time job that everyone has, with the sleepless nights and sporadic eating is just too much to deal with.

I went to behavioral health and they upped my meds and sent me to a therapist. They also want to see if I am lacking in any nutritional values.

I'm just saying; a year ago, I had my reversal done. I still feel that I am recovering and I don't know when I will be done recovering...

At least work is extremely supportive.

Roasted Sweet Potato Fries!

Is there anything better? A healthy side dish you eat with your fingers! Mmmmm

It took a lot of trial and error. This is the best recipe I could work out.

But I slice up the sweet potato the size of regular fires- not too big. I mix with chopped garlic, maybe 2 cloves. Some times I sprinkle it with some pepper and paprika if I am making a spicy dish. Then dress with olive oil. Oven at 375 for about 30-40 minutes. I line my cookie sheet with foil and put some olive oil under the fries so it wont stick. Also, I don't really put the fries in a single layer... stacked works just fine. Salt after cooking.

Another variation is with a little Parmesan cheese half way through cooking.

I've had most problems with getting them to cook evenly so size matters! Hahaha as long as they are all the same.

Enjoy!

Garden Tea

When I have dinner plans with friends, it is always nice to bring a gift. But that can get expensive... We can always whip something up from our garden or with one of Eli's wood pieces. This time, we made mint tea for our block party. Easy as pie. Even easier!

Boil fresh mint leaves (the more the merrier) with two bags of tea (we also add some pineapple sage leaves for fun). Cool in the fridge. Add ice.

Voila!

It's what you can't see

Tonight I made homemade pizza! Mmmmmm But what you can't see is the roasted garlic smothered on the crust paired with grape tomatoes from our garden-perfect!




I used:
Bella Cucina pizza dough
Mushrooms
garden tomatoes
roasted garlic
rosemary
mozzarella

For a side, and to use up the dough, I made garlic cheesy bread....

What was I thinking: bathroom project day 2

We have made some headway on our bathroom. I started to pull off the the first wall of the shower tiles to find a really thick backer board stuck to the tiles- I mean forever bonded to these twelve inch squares. I tried to do one tile at a time but that was not going to happen. The entire wall came together... I guess that makes it easier?

I've got most of the wood framing the tiles off of the wall. As we started the second and biggest wall- RODE BLOCK! There is no backer board behind this tile? It is tiled directly to the wall, as far as I can tell. Not great. Each time we tried to pry the tile from the wall, we made a new dent in the wall.

Now, Eli used to support my idea of re-doing the bathroom, but took a "hands off approach." After a week of confessing that he was no longer intimidated by the project, he took over the project today. I guess that makes it easier for me...

Another chance

I need just one more chance at a baby.

We have been trying for a couple months now. My PCP, who met me once, suggested we wait nine months; my OB who knows me from last year is very excited that we are trying again. Last year was devastating. I hope I never lose another baby.

Every month, we get our hopes up. I stop with the coffee and... that's my only "vice" really- if you can call it that! I tell more and more people that we are "trying". I come up with new reasons why this month would be better than last month to get pregnant. I research the due date to see who's birthday the baby would be born around. I become that crazy lady that talks about the cluster of cells in her belly she can't feel but "knows" is there...

Every time I get my period, I feel like I did last year. I feel like we are never going to be parents. All my friends who have been through this tell me that it gets better; that it will happen one day. What if it doesn't?