That's the Way The Cookie Crumbles

Is it really the 15th already?! This year, the holidays feel like they've come way too fast and I have so much catching up to do. Today after H got home from school, I sat at the table and stuffed Christmas cards into envelopes while they sat and colored. I know! Yes, I just said 'while they sat and colored.' Every once in awhile they surprise me.

We've got almost all of the shopping for the boys done, Santa says he's completed the Wutzke list, and our Elf on the Shelf , Nicky, has been reporting back with mixed reviews to Santa each night, but it's an awfully great blackmail tool for good behavior. H gets out of school on Friday, and I haven't even fully decided what to get for his teachers yet. While I'm sure they'd love yet another plate of baked goods, I'm trying to think outside the box a little bit.

And, if my banana bread from tonight is any indication, I should get anywhere near an oven in the near future. I don't know what happened. I've been trying to satisfy my sweet tooth while still staying within the parameters of the game-on diet, which generally means vegan desserts. Contrary to popular belief, I haven't yet had one that was bad. They're all sweet and just as satisfying as the 'real' thing; though one might argue they are  the real thing since they have whole and natural ingredients instead of relying on processed sugars and grains. But I digress.

Tonight I made the banana bread from Natural Papa because I couldn't find the one I'd made last time. The recipe looked very similar, so I got out the bowl and potato masher and within ten minutes, I had a lovely batter in the bread pan.

I set the timer for fifteen minutes, knowing I'd have to do it a little longer. When I tested it, the toothpick came out clean in several places, but the top still wasn't golden, so I put it under the broiler to give it a crispy finish. After removing it from the oven, I turned it out onto the cooling rack and it just didn't look right. Because it wasn't. Realizing there was no way it just needed a little cooling, I plopped it onto a cookie sheet and put 'er back in the oven. After more time, all I can say is thank goodness it tastes so much more wonderful than it looks!

Paired with some fat-free, plain greek yogurt, you've got a great 'meal' (read 5th meal of the day, which I usually make a dessert of some kind) with protein, carbohydrate, fat (walnuts and olive oil) and a little bit of sweetener. I modified it a little bit to make it comply better. This food plan has allowed me to continue to lose weight while indulging in Holiday fun (one day off per week) and feeling like I 'deserve' those times instead of regretting them.

In addition to my never-ending quest to create a more natural kitchen, I've found another new love and that would be yoga. Specifically heated yoga. Now, those of you who know me know how much I love to be hot. Ha! Okay, you know that I get super self-conscious of the ridiculous amount of sweat that pours out of my body every time I just think about moving my limbs. After running, however, I've started to embrace that part of myself. I'm just really good at clearing toxins from my body, right?! Instead of thinking of being sweaty as an indictment of my fitness level, I was able to see that some people just sweat a lot, fit or not.

My friend Jen has a yoga practice that has been the best thing ever. I honestly was thinking to myself as I lay in the final savasana (don't worry, I've had to look all these up too) the other night that if I had her to talk me through contractions I could totally do a natural child-birth. She's amazing, and I would strongly urge any Walla Wallans who've been even thinking about taking a class to start now. I think it's really been a huge part in getting me through this holiday season without a major beyatch episode. Just a couple minor ones. Another huge benefit is that when I go running right after a yoga class I feel amazing. I'm already warm and stretched and that first mile is infinitely easier to slog through.

Which brings me to something pretty huge for me. Since my friends all got a sweet 26.2 tattoo emblazoned on their arches, I've decided that I too will earn that tattoo. They say you're supposed to tell everyone when you set a big goal so that you won't back down. On the converse, I've heard the that you're supposed to hold your dreams close to the vest so that people won't dash them. Well, I have a wonderful coach who's making a training plan for me, a supportive husband, and a will to go the distance. I'm counting on the people in my life to make only positive comments about this training. Because if you can't say something nice...well, you know the rest.

It's going to be a long road, with lots of training, probably some tears from the mental barriers I'll have to push through and about half a year to nine months where I'll be one-track-mind girl, but it will culminate in the most physical feat I've accomplished aside from child-birth. I hope you'll join me for the ride.

It's Been a Chard Day's Night

Last night I used chard for the first time. I never really thought to use it until I'd seen my friend's fritata post on Late Nite Kitchen where she used rainbow chard. I'm definitely an aesthetic person, so seeing the bright red stems against the deep green of the leaves in the produce department this week was all the further convincing I needed.

Back in the swing of the Game On challenge, I'm always surprised to be reminded of how much I love simple foods. We had salmon that I broiled after I'd brushed it lightly with a little bit of Olive Oil, WW Viognier and some garlic. On the side was a little brown rice and the chard, which I wilted in a saucepan with some spinach, garlic, sliced mushrooms and garlic.

I was so pleasantly surprised. I've been going through about two of the large bins of spinach each month because it's just an easy way to get in some veggies, but I vastly preferred both the texture and peppery taste of chard over the spinach. It went really well with the mild, buttery flavor of the salmon and the rice. Next up, I'll be trying out her chard and hazelnut lasagna (but I'll use the walnuts called for, since I've never been a big hazelnut fan).

On Cyber Monday, I started off the holiday shopping season and even got a couple things for myself. After a break from cloth diapers, we've decided to go back to them and I was so excited that BumGenius just came out with a fourth edition that is sized larger and has snaps! Believe me, I know just how lame it makes me that this was my coup of the day. One better, was that I got a Toddler Hawk mei tei at a huge discount. Fabric makes me happy. Both were purchased from mom-owned businesses; Nicki's Diapers and Frogmama.

Wai-ter, I Would Like The Pe-Can Piiiiie

What a busy few weeks it's been! Turkey day went off without a hitch. We deep-fried our turkey for the first time, and our house didn't burn down so I'm calling it a success. I make pecan pie a la Mark Bittman and it was fantastic. It was thickened with eggs and a little bit of sugar as opposed to the traditional glop of corn syrup so it had a wonderful nutty flavor instead of being sickeningly sweet like others I've tasted.

Just before going in the oven

My mother and father-in-law celebrated with us, and she taught me how to make her pumpkin rolls, which was really fun, and not as intimidating as I thought it would be. The trick? Turn it out immediately and roll it in a tea towel to cool. You know I would have waited for it to cool and then you'd find me hours later crying and cursing the cracked and crumbling mess as I tried to roll it. 

I listed my java jackets on etsy again, and have sold 18 so far! It's been fun to experiment with embellishments and textures, which is a good thing because if I was just doing the plain stockinette ones all the time....YAWN!

I made a cute pair of mittens, and modified the thumbs so that they can be peeled back for texting. They're modeled after the mittens Bella wore in the first Twilight movie.

I am also super excited that my licensing for the Pepperberry Knits Hannah and Josie Newsboys is complete, so I can now make them for re-sale. They are a super fun and relatively quick (don't laugh, Michele) project that was intimidating initially because of the steps (namely a brim with interfacing...seriously, it doesn't take much to make me doubt my abilities), but have been simplified by the designer by picking up stitches instead of seaming. I started on one for my friend last night, and the band is complete. My camera isn't picking up colors as well as I'd like, but you get the gist. I'm calling it Sublime in Lime on my ravelry project list.

Big J and I are interviewing a baby-sitter tonight so that we can attend our first 'professional' Christmas party, and I'm pretty excited. Hopefully she doesn't turn tail and run, because I've already bought a cute dress, I'm going to the trouble of mopping the floors just before she comes over so that she doesn't leave with fur boots and I might even take the time to clear the gourds from our front porch that have gone from decorative to decomposing almost overnight.

Locked and Loaded is done and blocked and I'm seriously considering keeping it for myself...we'll see...

Lastly, I'm starting Game On! again today with my bestie so that we can be happy with our Hawaii pictures. May the force be with me. My running group from Worcester started up again, so I've been following their program from afar. So not the same thing, but motivating nonetheless. I'm starting to think seriously about a full marathon this Spring or early summer prior to getting pregnant again. I really want the cool 26.2 tattoo that my running mates got on their arches after completing the Cape Cod marathon in October. Oh, and I want the amazing sense of accomplishment, too, of course!

(Don't) Flip It And Reverse It

I'm on my third of three skeins for the entrelac scarf, and I'm really enjoying this method. I think part of it is the yarn. Noro's colors are so vibrant, and it's visually just nice to see them changing from tier to tier.  I've seen comments from folks on Ravelry that said when knitting entrelac, it's worth your time to learn to knit backward so that you don't have to keep turning and purling on the wrong side.

I don't think it's quite as important for a scarf, because you don't have as much material, but if I were doing the blanket or shawl version of this, I can see where it would save a lot of time and tedium to not have to turn your work.

When I went on YouTube and saw just how easy it looks, I decided to try it out on the scarf so I can get the decreases down, and if it's as time-saving as it proposes to be, I can use it when I make a baby blanket. I love the idea of combining knitting and quilting for a winter baby. I was a little nervous that it would be awkward, or that it would take time to be quick with it, but it was super easy, and it makes very quick work of those rows. I will definitely use this if I have flat knit items that just need to be purled on the wrong side. I don't know how this would work for patterned items, though, as it would frankly be more work to modify the pattern to make it work.

I did break my rule and worked on some java jackets and baby legs while this scarf was on the needles, but that's because they were for an Etsy sale, which takes precedence over 'selfish knitting' projects.

I think I might actually keep the scarf for myself. I bought a fun faux fur collared down jacket when I was at Wrentham during my trip to Massachusetts, and this scarf will look mighty fine with it.

Here's the tutorial for you:

Bust Your Buns!

It's Day 1 of the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge hosted by Run To The Finish. If you want to sign up, it's not too late! A great way to stay accountable through the holidays and let your competitive side win. Even better, there are prizes to be won!

Today, I'm going to yoga from 9-10:20, which is 4 points and then running the three miles home, for a total of 7 points. I will also get in my 7 servings of fruits and veggies (3 down) for the bonus point. The contest runs through January 7th. Start working on those New Year's Resolutions in the old year!