Serenity Achieved

The other night I settled in to cast-off the stitches for the Serenity blanket. After almost two weeks of squinting, re-counting and, I'm not going to lie, more than a little bit of cursing, it was complete. And, if I do say so myself, really beautiful. I love this pattern and will definitely make it again albeit not immediately. I have been committed to working on one project at a time, and not casting on stitches, printing out patterns for or even fondling the yarn of the next project. It's amazing how much more I've been able to accomplish when I focus my undivided attention on one project. Hm. Weird.

(freshly cast-off and unblocked)

I am in love with the texture of this blanket!

Recently I heard someone talking (probably while I was knitting and watching TV while listening to music) about how nobody can truly multi-task. You're always actually only working on one thing, while temporarily neglecting the others. As part of the Game On challenge, my bad habit I am trying to remedy has been that I'm on the computer too much; specifically the internet. When the kids go to bed and the house is quiet, it's so easy to get sucked into just one more game of Word Twist, or reading one more blog post and dreaming about the next knitting project on Ravelry (an invaluable social networking site for knitters and crocheters), or the next recipe from 101 Cookbooks. No more. I've dedicated my evenings now to reading, watching TV and knitting. Monday nights, I meet some knitting friends at a local coffee shop and Tuesdays I take a yoga class from my friend, the sublime Ms. Jennifer Henry. 

Yoga is a whole other post, but suffice it to say, it's been the first time I've taken it and really just been able to get over myself. Maybe it's because the instructor is my friend but honestly she's just so real, you don't feel silly or awkward. It's not that you're uncoordinated or stiff, you just can't get into that position yet.

But back to my now 'free' evenings. I completed Serenity, then immediately cast on my first of two socks and before I knew it, I'd turned the heel on sock number two. Now, I just need to finish the foot of that sock and I'm casting on the Josie Newsboy Hat. I. Can't. Wait. to get my hands back on the lovely cashmere from Pepperberry Knits with which I will knit the Josie Hat and Agnes Rose to pin on it. 

If you're wondering why you just got to see the completed Serenity, since I'm the first to toot my own horn, it's because I realized after posting about it a couple times both on this blog and facebook that the recipient sometimes reads both. Whoopsie! Since this is posting on November 7th, I've traveled back to Massachusetts to gift it to the happy couple and am safely ensconced on a cross-country flight back to my fam.

Serenity Now!

My SIL was gifted a beautiful baby blanket when she had my nephew. It was such an interesting design, and just looked like it would be fun to knit so I asked if she could find out if the pattern was available, and available it was. Serenity by Laura Wilson-Martos has already proven to be the most rewarding, addictive, and also at times the most frustrating pattern I've ever knit. Frustrating because every few rounds I question whether I'm doing it right, and because it's full of beautiful cables, lace and other great textures, one stitch out of place is noticeable. No 'good enough' for this one. 

It's one of those character-building projects that make you slow down, count all the stitches and really be present in what you're creating. While I do love those projects that allow you to just zone out and watch about 4,000 episodes of Sex and the City before you look down and you've got a full-on sock in your hands, it's nice to know that I'm making something I'm going to be really, truly proud of. 

You'd think all that counting and crossing of fingers would be tedious, but it's an incredibly addictive pattern. Knit in the round, you slowly wend your way through the row of patternwork, and then the next row you get a little rush from whipping around with all knit stitches. Suddenly, your mind is refreshed and you not only want to see how the pattern will emerge, but you also are looking forward to that next little knit row. Like a boozer at last call, you keep begging for just one more round.

I have had to stop, close my eyes and take a deep breath more than a few times, and I ripped it back to the start three times before I figured out how to make it all work in the beginning. However, once you get to a certain point, the pattern starts to lend itself to you, and you can see immediately when you've made a mistake. Hopefully, I don't have to see that too many times! 

While it's knit in the round, when you bind off you do so incredibly loosely so that you can block it, and you end up with a square blanket with slightly scalloped edges, as in the photo above, which is by the designer herself.

I had to take a little break tonight because one round was just not working out right, so I thought I'd take my self-imposed time-out to share this new project

Shine On, Happy Family!

I've had the opportunity to try an awesome baby/toddler food line, HappyBaby, at a couple of venues, and was really excited to see that they are currently one of three finalists out of over 4,000 entries in the American Express/NBC Shine a Light contest to win $100,000 in grant money and marketing support. They were nominated for being a business that has shown dedication to customer service, innovation and a commitment to improving their local and global community.

When we were at Baby Loves Disco in Boston, they (along with Stonyfield Farms and some others) provided snacks and samples. Following my visit there, I'd offered to post about them because Charlie loved the food. In addition to great microwave-able meals like Mac and Cheese with veggies snuck in, they had puffs that were in the same size package as the Gerber puffs, but their container held about 40% more and had a LOT less sugar. Plus, from the couple I snuck, they're pretty tasty! They come in Banana, Apple and Greens. Julie at HappyFamily was happy to send me a couple of containers to try, as they're not yet widely available in our area. I wasn't able to try a lot of the other entrees because the stores right around me weren't carrying them yet.

One of the reasons I'm asking that people vote for HappyBaby in the Shine a Light is that the money and support will enable them to place their product in a lot more venues, letting babies across the nation in on the secret: baby food doesn't have to taste bland and nasty...it can be really good and good for you.

It only takes a moment to vote, and you have to register your information but I'm thinking that's because they don't want one person coming back to vote multiple times. Please take the time to support a company that is working hard to support and feed families in a positive and socially responsible way. You have until October 16th, but if you're anything like me...you'd be better to click over right now before you put it off until 'tomorrow' which will end up being October 17th before you know it!

Here's what they have to say for themselves:

HAPPYBABY organic baby foods launched on Mother’s Day 2006 with 5 products in 5 small NYC stores. The business is the brainchild of a social entrepreneur who wanted to make a difference using business, support sustainable agriculture, provide our children with the best start to instill eating habits for a healthy happy life, and simultaneously provid basic nutritional needs for less fortunate children simply trying to survive. Today, the innovative business has 26 products, always organic, formulated with leading pediatricians and nutritionists for optimal nutrition using the best ingredients nature offers, and can be found in over 5,000 stores nationwide with a loyal following.

The company’s ability to innovate is responsible for its great success. They care. HAPPYBABY pioneered a new movement in baby food with a line of sustainable organic home-style meals as an alternative to the processed jarred foods that had not been improved since the 1930’s. They were the first organic baby food to incorporate DHA, the essential fatty acid needed for brain development and used a sustainable vegetarian source. HAPPYBELLIES cereal was the first baby food to use probiotics which defend against the development of food allergies, asthma, and eczema while supporting digestive wellness. Their HAPPYPUFFS were the first organic puffed snack for baby as a low sugar alternative to the artificial products on the market. HAPPYMELTS are the first product to combine pre and probiotics in a truly healthy yogurt snack for tots. Their HAPPYBITES line encourages kids to eat their veggies by sneaking them into familiar flavors. Most recently, the company is the first to use the supergrain, Salba, the planet’s most nutritious grain.

HAPPYBABY has created a tight-knit community of its own with its Community Marketing Specialist Program whose actions positively impact local communities nationwide. These 50 moms support the mission to give babies the very best and work to educate parents about why organic is important for their baby’s delicate immune system, demonstrate how to make fresh foods, and simply get the word out. The global community is impacted in a truly unique way by the company’s very special partnership with the heroic nonprofit, Project Peanut Butter, that works to feed a starving child in Africa for an entire day based on each unit sold by HAPPYBABY!

Customer relationships are paramount to a company that exists to make babies and parents happy. The founding team personally responds to all questions, directs medically related questions to its experts, and really listens to the feedback and suggestions from parents in order to continuously improve. They further believe that being a resource for education and wellness is their duty.

HAPPYBABY ‘s philosophy is highlighted in their new book, HAPPYBABY co-authored by revered pediatrician Dr Sears, provides parents with affordable green parenting options to raise their own healthy happy babies in an environmentally friendly way.

I reviewed Baby Einstein's New World Animal Adventure DVD on Knitty Reviews today...come check it out!

After about four years of pouring over (obsessing is a touch strong) the lives of Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha I had my first chance to visit the Homeland. That's right, SallyHP Goes to NY-ington. There were a couple hitches in my I'm-going-to-NYC-to-be-glam-and-have-glam-times fantasy, and their names are H and Charlie.

Yep, I ventured into the city for my first time, and decided to do it solo with both kids. I wish I could say that hilarity ensued and there were so many misadventures I have to break it into multiple posts but sadly, for a city with such a reputation for crazies and congestion, my day-trip went off without a hitch. I was frankly far more impressed by the purple mowhawk-sporting punk rocker that was walking a rooster on a leash in Eugene, OR when I was 12, but that's just me. This could have a lot to do with the fact that we were on the Upper East Side, too, though.

I was helped greatly by Alex's husband who basically created a tailored list of directions for me to drive to Yonkers and then take the train to Grand Central Station; complete with a list of terms that would 'immediately and irrevocably alienate me from all New Yorkers', and a brief but concise explanation of the street/avenue orientation of Manhattan that came in handy more than once.

I was meeting my sister-in-law LuLu, who was visiting "the city" (should that be spelled like a proper name, as in discussing Him?) from Oregon and had joked that I should get in the car with the kids and meet her for lunch. "Umm...okay." I think she thought I'd just laugh it off, but people don't quite get the level of my unrequited "NYC as seen on SATC" obsession.

The utter lack of freaky people, wall-to-wall noisy pedestrians and situations in which I felt uncomfortable was a little disappointing, but I got over it. H was a trouper as we walked for almost four hours, which is really about twenty-four in pre-schooler time. I borrowed an Ergo carrier (definitely going to invest in one now!) from a friend and had H on the red-neck backpack leash, so we were footloose and stroller-free.

We ate lunch outside near Grand Central, then got on the subway and explored Central Park, capping off our stay with Tasti D-Lite which I have to say, as a soft-serve fan, was mighty tasty indeed.

Seriously, the biggest people watching shocker I have to report was when I deduced that the lovely girl sitting across from us on the train back to Yonkers was quite possibly a "dancer/entertainer"...and I don't mean at the Met.

What first appeared to be dewy, glowing skin under the harsh lights of the tunnel was revealed in the sunlight of Harlem to be body glitter over a fake-n-bake tan. The phone conversation in which she proclaimed to a friend to have "went in, made some money, and bounced" and that her plans for the rest of the day were "Heading to Westchester...but don't worry, I'm bringing us back some 'presents'...you'll see tomorrow..." as she smiled coyly and sipped from the pink straw in her clear plastic cup. The cup she'd filled with wine from a small bottle in her purse after wryly proclaiming to me while flouncing in the seat "Long day!" further served to prove my suspicion. But she was nice to, and tolerant of, my kids and I really don't ask for much more than that.

Saving the best for last, I debated about this one's retelling but in the spirit of fairness here goes...I didn't want Charlie to feel left out in later tales of humiliation, so I decided to get uncontrollable diarrhea about an hour and a half into the trip(what?! I'm an anxious driver when the destination is unfamiliar, so I can't have breakfast and consume lots of caffeine!), during which he had to be on my lap in the bathroom, as I was without aforementioned stroller. (note to self; okay to still bring stroller in the car).

Yep, same thing that happened with H when he Charlie's age...only that time, I was at the sketchville rest area at Dead Man's Pass, not a clean and comfy gas station in Connecticut. But, Potayto Potahto.

Now that I've got my first city-bound trip under my belt, I'm thirsty for more. Going with a 'non-tourist attraction' agenda probably helped in the stress-level, as there were no rushes or deadlines (other than just leaving the city by mid-afternoon, which turned into early evening; read: rush-hour). Also, a trip sans kids and into Greenwich Village may up the SJP sighting quotient, no? And they really do strut around the city in those fabulous shoes!

Boobs and Bacon

Every year at Stock Show I'd shuffle my pig around the pen with the cane, working up a couple tears as suggested in order to drive up the sympathy vote and land a few more dollars in my pocket. Not too many mind you, just enough to demonstrate the attachment you'd formed with this little porker you'd nurtured for the last six months, hoping to attain the perfect amount of back-fat, musculature and right at the high end of the weight range...you get paid by the pound after all.

I always ended up with the fighter pig; forced in the corner with a board around him so he didn't go crazy with the others in the ring. I inevitably got nearly dead last in showmanship, but I could raise me a fine hog and placed fairly high in finish.

While the first few tears may have been engineered, there was always that slightly sickening moment when the last ring men flew up his hands with a "Yep!" and the auctioneer's cadence was silenced that you watched your little piggy go wee wee wee all the way to the holding pen. The first year, I decided I needed just 'one last time' to say good-bye so followed her through. The next year, I knew better. There will always be one more that could be your last, so you learn to just let it go when the final gavel rings and the chute falls into place separating your pig's destiny from your own.

What in the world does this have to do with boobs? Well, the past couple of nights, I've thought 'It would be so easy if I just gave in and let him nurse this one more time.' Weaning C was a cold turkey deal. Five teeth in one month makes a very chompy boy, and the fact that he laughed hysterically at my stern "NO BITING!" made me realize that this was not a game in which I would be the victor. So, cold turkey for us it is. But that doesn't mean I don't have a feeling of loss or that kind of "is this really it?!" as another phase of life slips by.

**Interestingly enough, the phrase cold turkey has it's origins from the cessation of a hard to quit habit; heroin use. As an addict stops using the drug, blood is drawn toward the internal organs, thereby leaving the skin to resemble a cold, plucked turkey. Just your little fun fact for the day. Heroin addicts also gave us the term "kick the habit" due to the leg twitches resulting from withdrawl.

Got Milk? No? Want It?

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