Electrolux Goes Green...Kelly Green!

Check out the details of the new Electrolux Washer and dryer at Knitty Reviews!

Put it Away For a Rainy Day

Never have I been a good saver. My sister, she's a saver. She's also the only sister of the four of us that's been to Europe, or Mexico, or went to school out of state. Or, or, or. Since marrying J, I've been forced to seriously re-evaluate my spending habits. If I had a 20, in my head that was not the beginnings of a ticket to Hawaii, or a trip to Europe; it was one week's worth of coffee.

Now that I don't make the dough in the family, I've learned better how to save it. It's amazing what happens when you no longer adopt the attitude of "I make the money, I can spend it however I want!"

When Sherri had baby A, I was really hit with the realization that I had no idea when I'd get to meet her...that's never happened in our family. We are a tight-knit group who sits in the labor and delivery room to wait out every wince and holler.

The family reunion for my mom's side is being hosted at my mom's house this year, and Sherri is attending that, but I can't. Plus, who wants to spend their dirty thirty at a family reunion? I spent my 21st visiting J and his parent's house while we were dating over summer break from college...I didn't have a single drink...I plan to make up for lost time at my 30th.

J has two weeks in June off, so I seized the opportunity to plan a trip to visit Sherri and Baby A. Oh, and her husband too, of course. I'm almost giddy with the thought of having three to four days without my children, or I guess I should say without children who can understand what we're watching; now it's SATC 24/7 for us! I'll be having my first pedicure in over 9 months...I've never gone 9 months without a pedicure, and lots of quiet, dinners all. by. my. self. Well, with Sherri, but still, I'll get to eat my entire meal every night and I'll get to drink every cup of coffee in the morning while it's still hot. The first time.

What's funding this little adventure you ask? Why Craigslist, of course! Between the commissioned knitting projects and the baby items I no longer need, I'll have ticket in hand by the end of the month.

Land of Corn, here I come!

A Whale of a Tale

In case you didn't catch this story on the news the other night, I thought I'd post it. I was sitting for a friend, when I saw the teaser of "An unusual sighting in the Hudson River today..." followed by a video clip from high in the sky of what seemed to be a whale. Then, of course, it cut to commercial, and I got distracted, so I just remembered this morning to look it up and confirm.

Yep, Henry the Humpback a 30-40 foot whale headed up the Hudson River and was sighted near Brooklyn before heading back out to the ocean (they assume, since they didn't spot him again after several sightings throughout the day). He was a typical tourist, however, making a stop at the World Trade Center before going home. A safety corridor was set up so that shipping traffic in New York harbor wouldn't harm, or be harmed by, the whale.

Not since Humphrey the Humpback swam 70 miles up the Sacramento River in 1985, only to be lured back under the Golden Gate bridge by artificial female flute like calls, has a whale been known to swim up-river.

Of course, I'm especially partial to the nickname they've chosen for this latest wanderer.

Totally off-topic from this post, but since I was on they NYT site, I clicked over to Judith Warner's (Perfect Madness author) column Domestic Disturbance. Though I don't always agree with her points, she does always give me something to think about.

Socks and the Knitty

I am super excited that I'm doing my first commissioned order of hand-knit socks! The java jackets have done pretty well on etsy, and I've also sold some infant hats, so I'm really excited that this great hobby is also helping me have a little spending money on the side as well. I think more than anything, what I miss about working is having my own money...yes, the money J makes is both of ours, but it's just not as fun to buy a birthday gift for someone with their paycheck.

I love making socks and have been making use of my library card for books like Knitting Circles Around Socks and Socks a la Carte, which are helping me to start creating my own sock patterns while still having a good foundation. (I have to admit that the two-at-once are attractive because there's no chance they'll end up wonk-tastic like the mismatched pair I made around Christmas...good times!)

Culture Club

It's the simple things that really make me happy lately, and I love eating yogurt in the morning. It's just an easy, quick way to get a filling breakfast and you can do a million things with it; basically, it's Summer's oatmeal.

At New Season's there's a dessert that I always loved and it was a Swedish Cream with lingonberries on the top; so good! That dessert is exactly what I thought of the first time I tried Greek Yogurt (Greek style has just been drained so that more of the whey is removed). If you've not changed up your morning yogurt routine by branching out to other types, now is the time. From Australian to Greek then back to the good ole US, there are so many yummy varieties.

I've tried Fage, Chobani and Oikos, which is made by Stonyfield Farms, and all of them are so thick and creamy. Greek-style yogurt has about 50% more protein than regular yogurt and has less lactose so may be a good option for people with sensitive tummies. It's important, however, that you opt for the low-or non-fat as it is higher in fat than the standard. Don't worry, with fat-free you'll still get all the texture and taste but you'll save on the guilt (Speaking of guilt, Happy Good Friday!), and because I get the plain yogurt, I have endless flavor possibilities. When we went to Warren Farms, I had real maple syrup to drizzle over it and some strawberry slices; yum!

My current favorite is the Archer Farms Blueberry Granola with Flax (Target) mixed into about 1/2 cup of yogurt. It's filling and tastes really good.

If your store doesn't carry Oikos or Chobani, look for Fage (pronounced Fay-uh), as it seems to be the most widely available brand. Of course, if you don't want to pay the extra (because it seems like it does cost more) there's a way around that; you can just buy low-fat plain yogurt and strain it overnight. Before writing this post, I found that little nugget and am going to try it out myself to see how I like it...I'm always up for saving a little more on my grocery bill.