I've been busy....obviously.

I have bee trudging along in the history class, keeping up with housework, helping kids with homework, extra curricular activities, and of course, yoga, my knitting projects, a sewing project, a birthday, and heck, even my social life!

In the past few weeks I have been working on a hat for a good friend, but for some reason, the pattern is just not coming out right.  I have ripped it out and re-knit it 3 times, and I have finally cried uncle on it.  I asked her what sort of hat she was really interested in, and she pinned a few ideas to good old Pinterest, and I went from those ideas.  Well one hat in particular really caught my eye, and of course it was an broken link....so I searched Ravelry high and low for something similar....with no luck.  So kids...I am writing my very first pattern.

The Apple app store had a knitting pattern design app so I am using that, and hopefully it will all come out just as it looks in my mind!

Thinking of a friend...

I've known two people in my life so far to have been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder.  I have watched them both struggle with all aspects of life for a time, then be total rock stars in life for a time, and the cycle always repeats.  They push people away, they hide from society, they self medicate, they suffer greatly...or so I imagine. A good friend is currently battling with this, and is inpatient treatment.  Her family is at home, hoping the amazing person they know will come back to them in 30 days time, and stick around.  I hope so too.  I feel helpless to do anything for her from so far away, but I am sending out positive, healing energy towards her and the family.

Life lessons

Life is fun, random, hard, crazy, hectic, happy, heart wrenching, joyful.

 Friends are hard to come by, and I don't mean regular friends, I mean true blue, stand by me, tell you like it is when our breath stinks, when your kids are being butts, and hug you tight when you are having a bad day and they don't even have to ask what's wrong.  I have had the great blessing to have exactly 4 of these friends in my lifetime, and even though we are all (mostly) half a world away from each other I know that if I need one of them, they are there. Or even if we don't talk to each ther for 6 months, we can pick up right where we left off!

I am trying to teach C about friendships, and about being kind and polite to people you just don't get along with, just for the sake of prosperity. Sometimes in life there are people who are nice it you just don't care for, whether for something they've said or done, or just because they give u a bad vibe.  If this is a co-worker, for example, you still have to be around this person, and it's not acceptable to be mean or rude to them, you just have to suck it up and smile and be polite.

It's not easy, but as I am teaching C, life isn't easy, but it is always worth the effort, because I believe that Karma is real, and what goes around comes around.

Peace

Irritations (VENT POST)

A lot of really dumb things irritate me in life, and I know I need to let go, I believe my mom once told me, " You can't police the world"  Well why not?

I am really a pretty laid back person, I follow the rules of life, the road, society, for the most part...the ones that effect others especially.  Being in the UK, we drive on the opposite side of the road, but some people are driving left side drive cars (US SPEC) and others are driving right side drive cars (UK SPEC), the bases have 2 lanes of traffic entering, for ID checks on the drivers side of each car, one lane clearly marked US SPEC, the other marked UK SPEC.  This morning on my way to Yoga class I am behind a line of 3 cars, with about another 4 behind me, all going to the UK SPEC lane, and I see a woman in a small SUV drive from the back of the line, through the empty US SPEC lane and get through, even though she had to park, unbuckle and lean across the car.  This pisses me off. She broke the rules, and was allowed to do so.  I mentioned it to the only guy checking ID's and he just shrugged his shoulder at me....REALLY.  That is just shitty in my opinion, shitty that nothing can be said or done, and shitty that there are people who think they are special enough to break the rules and get away with it.

UGH

I won't even get started about the 2 young women in my yoga class complaining about how much they hate it here because there is nothing to do.

Do they realize where they are?

Can I strangle them for not valuing the amazing opportunity that has been handed to them and they are sitting at home on their butts complaining about it?

no?

booooooooo

playdate, knitting, gym day

I know I lead a super exciting life, but really, some people think SAHM's sit around on their bums all day.
J and I went to a local park with a couple of mom's I know and their cute preggo belly's and their toddlers, and we had adult conversations speckled with feeding snacks, and some breast feeding, and lots of playing.
After the park we popped into the local store for a couple of things, then came home and I pulled weeds, and the kids both played.  I sat and knitted off and on, working on a baby blanket for a good friend's second son's arrival in the next few weeks!
Hubs texted me to say he was going to the gym around 5 and I really wanted to join him, I've been itching to get back to the C25K program and actually finish it.  To be honest, I really don't LOVE running, but I know it will help my body be in great shape with alternating running and my love of Yoga.
Came home, whipped up some brown rice and a giant stir fry of fresh veggies from my Abel & Cole box!  fresh and healthy and DELISH.



I never said this blog would always be super interesting....

So get over it.


Tomorrow's plans involve Yoga, maybe some shopping with a friend in Cambridge, and knitting.  I really want to get started on J's new/old quilt, but I am still not sure where to start....

Happy Tuesday

Back to school

Yes it's last time of year again people!  I'm the first one to start back in our family, I am FINALLY finishing up along overdue associates degree in Liberal Arts.  My final class is US History to 1865, approximately 300 years to learn again in the next 3 months.

C goes back next Monday, starting 7th grade, and J starts year 1 (British schools version of 1st grade)  on the 4th of September!  Holy moly time has flown. We've been living in England for nearly 6 months already.

Crazy!

Kombucha

4 years ago while living in Albuquerque, I heard about this fermented tea drink called Kombucha.  I hunted some down at the local health food store, and tried 3 different flavors.  GT's Grape became my favorite very quickly, as well as the strawberry!  Within the year I learned how to brew my own, and that not only saved me money but it was so much better!

Today I hosted a group of ladies from the area that I'm in a group on Facebook with, I taught them how to brew their own, and let them sample some of mine, since many had heard of the benefits of Kombucha but hadn't had any!

We had a lot of fun chit chatting, I got to snuggle a handful of babies, and met all their really great momma's!

Here's a good link with some information on Kombucha.
The amazing health benefits of Kombucha

crafty or cleany or lazy

Those were my choices for the day, and I've done a bit of cleany, and a bit of lazy. (or maybe a lot of lazy, you'll never know)  I am trying to ward off a tension headache, plus I didn't sleep well...The kids are playing nicely together for a change though so that helps.

I am working on a chunky short scarf for a friend, and I have a hat to do for her too, as well as a pair of socks to get going for C, and a pair for me, and I have a pair of convertible mittens I'd like to do for myself before winter hits too.  You know the kind, mittens, but the finger part comes off and buttons back so you can use your fingers!  I have a great pattern I found on Knitty, I'll share them when I get to working on them for sure!  I also picked up some precut squares to add to J's crib quilt in my effort to convert it to a twin size for her, but I haven't started working on that yet either.

Sometimes I have crafters ADD/ADHD, so many projects to do, but I can't focus on any one of them for more than 5 minutes it seems like!

It's a bit cooler here today than it has been, and I am enjoying it immensely!  The windows are open and a nice breeze is coming in, it's blue skies with white fluffy clouds!

I noticed I have a handful of zucchini's (or courgettes to the non-Americans), but one has shown that they are getting blossom end rot.  *insert sad face*  I did see a blog post somewhere about saving egg shells, and grinding them up in the food processor, and adding it to the soil around the plant, so I am working on that.  I hope it will save the small growth from rotting too.  My tomato plants are doing nicely with growing fruit, but I still don't have any ripe, but when I do, I am going to have them coming out of my ears!

So yeah....I guess it's just been one of those days, things are getting done, but randomly, and leisurely.

What did you do(or what do you have planned) today?

Wordless Wednesday

Busy random blurbs

I can't believe ow quickly the last few days have flown by, the whole summer in that case!  The girls and I have been keeping busy with as much as we can handle while daddy works.  Just in the last two weeks we've been swimming, berry picking, and roller skating.  We've put in time in our garden, and have done some learning to sew projects as well as just plain old playing!

I have a dirty little secret... I'm addicted to a tv show that doesn't really give any benefit, and it's not even geared to my age group.  I'm in love with Teen Mom/Teen Mom 2. The one thing that KILLS me about these girls is their obsession with fake tans.  Do they not realize how horrible they look?

This is what I see...

Okay, not the green hair and white eyebrows so much, but you get my point!

On a nicer note, August is in full swing, that means back to school shopping, school supplies, and more importantly, my baby is going to school!  J is almost 6, and now that we are in England, and she could have started school at 4, and she could have started right away when we got here....I finally decided I do what her to have the British school experience.  I have convinced the hubby that she will come out on top because of it.  Generally speaking our American kids who go to British school, then go back to the states, can be 1-2 grade levels ahead!  She is very excited to go to school, no matter where she goes, but I will still probably cry a little, then enjoy a full day of quiet!  *wink*

A bit about England

We've been waiting for orders to somewhere really outstanding for a long time, we've enjoyed aspects of everywhere we've been, but honestly, my husband joined the Air Force with the hopes of getting to see the world!

When he got offered this slot in England we both jumped at the amazing opportunity.  How else in your life do you get the chance to live in a different country, for an extended amount of time, and then have the chance to soak up as much of this side of the world you can at a much discounted price than what you would pay coming over from the US?!  Probably for most, never.

Yes we miss our families, yes the weather is odd, yes they drive on the *wrong* side of the car, and road, but those things are so easy to overcome, and while we are 30-ish minutes away from shopping centers, we have been off and on for the last few years anyway.  PLUS WE'RE IN ENGLAND!!!!

We've made it a point to try and get out and start seeing things from the start.  Our first big adventure was to a local farm, for lambing season!  There were tons of lambs, many sheep still pregnant, and lots of other great things to see!

It was pretty cold and wet that day, but we all still had a really great time!

There are many many places to go, and things to see in this small country, that I hope we can pack in as much as possible, not only in England, but throughout the UK and parts of Europe as well!

A sweet little gift

I love knitting, I love the art of it, I love the zen feeling it gives me to turn a strand of fiber into something gorgeous.  I (mostly) self taught myself via YouTube videos, and got a bit of tutoring via a good friend via FaceTime, about 3 years ago.  

I enjoy knitting for myself and my own family, but when really good friends have babies, I love knitting for them too!  Wee little knitted garments and toys are joyful gifts to give.

Here is the latest little lovely off the needles.

The pattern is Pepita on Ravelry, I altered it to have no feet though.  I feel like babies grow in length so fast, that putting feet on something limits the time a baby can wear something.  I hope my friend Natalie likes Pepita as much as I do!

Baking bread

Baking is one thing I LOVE to do!  Bread is always a good easy place to start learning I think, and it is always a great way to pinch pennies, and fill up your tummy when times are rough.

I took advantage of a cooler summer day here in the UK yesterday and made a nice big loaf of french bread to go with a Cesar salad for our dinner.  Simple and delicious.  I utilize my bread machine for the heavy work of kneading and rising at just the right temperature, and it always comes out just right.

Here is the recipe I use for my bread machine:

French Bread

• 1 1/2 cup warm water

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (olive or whatever is your preference)

• 1 tablespoons dry milk

• 1 Tablspoon sugar

• 1 teaspoons salt (I use Kosher)

• 3 1/2 Cups of flour (I use a half and half mix of whole wheat and AP)

• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Add the ingredients into your bread machine as they are listed with the yeast being the absolute last thing, set your machine to 1.5 lb loaf, dough only setting, and let it go!
Once the machine is done with the dough, I turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, and roll it out into a nice rectangle (roughly 13-9 inches) then slowly roll up from the wide end, allowing the ends of the loaf to be slightly tapered.  Once your loaf is formed, put it on a baking sheet, and allow to rise for about an hour.  Once it is risen well, score the loaf 3 times with a sharp knife and put into a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  (time will depend on your oven of course)
Once the bread is golden brown, pull it out of the oven and baste with 1 Tablespoon of warm water, with 1 tsp of salt dissolved into it. 

 (our oven here in the UK is quite a bit smaller than US standards, so I have to squish this loaf onto a smaller pan, and therefore isn't as long and lovely as normal)

Enjoy!

I got my yoga on this morning.

In an attempt to re-familiarize myself with a solid yoga practice, I am following a few yoga videos via YouTube.  This morning I followed this Hatha Yoga practice, and I am feeling quite relaxed, yet ready to be productive in my day now.

If you are starting out with yoga, remember to be gentle on yourself, it is much harder to stick all the poses than you might think.  Wear comfortable clothing that will no hinder your movements.  I practiced this morning in some worn out leggings and a light weight hoodie with a sports bra, but ended up in just the sports bra and leggings about halfway through, I got sweaty okay ;)  If I had been in a group class I probably would not have been comfortable taking off my top, as my abs are a bit fluffier than I would like them to be, but really be comfortable in your own skin, especially in your home!

Time to do some crafts with the kiddos and do some light housework for the day...yay (or not).

Namaste my friends!

Taking this blog in a new direction

I've made up my mind to blog more, as in almost every day.  I know how much people hate lengthy status updates on Facebook, so in an attempt to reduce that on my end, I am going to make my blog that much better!

I've blogged minimally about our recent move to England, and my becoming a vegetarian, and getting my family on a cleaner eating regime, but that will become more of my focus on the blog from here on out too.

Change is good, and this year has been full of it for me.  I am realizing more and more what makes me happy, and what I want to do on a regular basis.

Since moving to England, I have successfully planted and maintained my first garden, with a few minor setbacks, and fresh ideas, I can't wait to make next year's garden a lot more successful!

I'm still loving ASL, and have thoughts of being an interpreter when I get back to the states, but I have also renewed my passion for yoga, and would really like to make that a lot bigger priority in my life in the coming year.  I've even begun looking into becoming a certified yoga teacher, so I can share my love of the practice with others.

I will probably oft write about my love of food, and cooking as well as share recipes, and food pictures(something else I know irritates certain people on Facebook)!

Good, new things to come from me, I can't wait to share it all!

Crafty friends

I have met some of the coolest people while living in NM.  All just as awesome and crafty as me!

A couple of my fellow crafty friends have started a podcast they dubbed Multicraftual!  They are wicked funny, multitalented, awesome chics!  Check them out, every now and then they mention me *wink*  thanks girls!

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