Under Construction

Since you asked, Wendy

Do any other bloggers out there have this happen? You get in touch with a friend to catch up and the conversation begins with, "Well, I already know what you've been up to. Still enjoying the ice cream maker?" I mean, I know some of my friends read this but it's just so weird.

And of course it reminds me how ridiculously narcissistic is it to have a blog all about me and my silly life. I suppose it makes me feel (a little) better to know having a personal blog is not quite as weird as the self congratulatory world of Hollywood. For the record, I think you have a great voice, too!*

And for my friends who do have blogs, I LOVE keeping up on photos of their kids by reading so I'm equally guilty of the "no need to tell me what you're up to; I've already read it all conversations."

ANYWAY. That was a long tangent. Particularly when I logged on just to post a few photos from our recent weekend in the snow with my in-laws. There was a lot of snow and a lot of pink.



Cute, aren't they? So this post is for Wendy who knew everything I'd been up to except what I'd done on my 3-day weekend away.

*Did everyone catch that Best Actress presentation at the Oscars?

Feeding my addiction

Beth says it's de-lurking day so it must be true.

And I've been meaning to update my blogroll for ages to include all the folks who are kind enough to swing by (and comment on!) ye olde blog.

So, leave a comment and, help me get my blogroll updated.  I already added a few new blogs (that are in random order because a Bloglines wizard I am not).

In case that doesn't give me enough reading material, I've also signed up for Twitter. Let the productivity end....now.

Things that are awesome (an incomplete list)

Anna-Mae's custom stamp business, Village Impressions. If you need one-off custom "rubber" stamps I highly recommend her. The prices are the best I've found and the customer service and responsiveness were incredible. (and the product was just what I expected).

Lauren's free mouse pattern at Pimp Stitch. This totally saved the day when Plan A fell apart and I needed something mouse-themed pronto.

Alicia's book, Stitched in Time, which had a MUCH better idea than my original plan for a photo memory card game.

Printed Treasures fabric sheets that go through an ink jet printer. The quality is better than I was expecting and I love JoAnn's 40% off coupons. Also, a pinking blade for your rotary cutter.

Biscuit asking to do some sewing.

That's probably enough for one evening. Could I get an extra day before Christmas? That would be super awesome!

Habit

I'm trying to get myself back in the blogging habit. Not a lot of luck, sorry. But I thought opening Typepad and starting a post might help.

Hmmmm. Nope, guess not.

Here's an online game to distract you while I come up with some content. Via Bonny Glen.

And I had a great photo to post (future blackmail material for my darling daughter) but it seemed mean to post that on the internet so let me describe the scene if I may. Almost 3 year old, cute t-shirt, no pants, Lightening McQueen Big Girl Boy underwear (with black accents) and my brown sling back heels. Posing in the hallway door. Funny stuff.

Instead, here's a photo of what happens when we try to get 20 minutes of extra sleep on the weekend with the kid in our bed without any rules.

And here's what happens when you try to take a photo of the kid with her grandparents:
#1 Biscuit=good; grandpa=bad; grandma=mediocre

#2 Biscuit=bad; grandpa=mediocre; grandma=good

And so it went. Not a single decent shot. This reminds me of Swistle's Christmas card woes but shouldn't it be easier if two people are adults?  Oh well, thanks for the free childcare mom and dad!

Peppers

I made this wooden cutting board for my sister after a conversation about telling "veggie" cutting boards from "meat" cutting boards.  My sister is a vegetarian with meatetarian roommates so it seemed like she should have a dedicated cutting board.

The BEST part (in my opinion) is the fact that I mailed it as-is. No box, no wrapping.  I woodburned her address on the back (with a soldering iron so don't knock the penmanship), affixed postage and dropped it in the mail.  Hers was a test run and it arrived safe and sound--ready to wash and use.

I have enough wood glued up to make two more of these so I thought I'd send one for my next round of Pay it Forward.  I'm heading out on vacation for a week so, leave a comment before I get back (next Saturday) and you'll be in the running.

And as a consolation prize since, unfortunately, you might not win, a recipe (the obsession with food preserving continues--I just took pickles out of the hot water bath):

Jalapeno Jam (adapted from this recipe)
1 large (or 2 small) green bell peppers
15 fresh, medium size jalapenos
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
pinch salt
5 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 bag liquid pectin (about 3 oz)

Remove stems from jalapenos and remove seeds from all but 4 of them. Very finely chop jalapenos, bell pepper and some vinegar in a food processor (use gloves with the jalapenos!).  Dump puree and remaining vinegar in a non reactive (non metal) pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

Stir in sugar and salt and bring to a hard boil over medium-high heat. Boil one minute stirring constantly then turn off heat and immediately add pectin.  Stir well and put into sterile half pint jam jars. Process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.  Remove and let cool on a towel. (follow other directions for specifics of processing if you haven't done it before)

This made about 5 jars of jam for me. It was pretty spicy but was delish on a cracker over cream cheese.

Enjoy!

PS If you're going to comment anyway, feel free to share a random/stupid fact about yourself. I'd love to know more about you.

Pay it Forwardpalooza

Janelle really outdid herself with the Pay it Forward gift!  She must be a card making machine! Look at all these cards (even after Biscuit stole several out of the photo)

She also included a cute little notebook and some twisty crayons for Biscuit--Biscuit has already filled several pages with scribbles.  And the notepad for me is perfect! I am always looking for a list making notepad by the phone and now I have a cute one!

In addition to ALL the paper goodies there was some yummy lotion and lip balm and a Sudokhu book that I can take on my vacation next week.

Ok, sorry, enough bragging about my luckiness with this package.  Thanks to Swistle for hosting the fun. And Janelle, Taryn will thank you too because after seeing this haul I threw another little goodie in her package.

Stay tuned tomorrow for another chance to win Pay it Forward here at Under Construction.

Oh, so that's what they call it

Last night I called the AT&T Wireless tech support line. After running all the "tests" and making sure I had the power switch on the tech specialist diagnosed my sometimes working most times not working internet connection as, "intermittent wireless service."

Really? I couldn't have guessed.

At 7:18 a.m. I have service but last night was a no go. Not sure when I'll be able to post my mega-post about going to San Francisco (flowers in hair not included).

Have a great day--and not just intermittently.

I was shocked to discover that some people aren't reading Swistle yet

You know who you are. So go here for a most excellent post on parenting (perfect for non parents too)

For those of you already clued into the Swistle thing, might I suggest Constance? She recently conducted a poll, the results of which may (or may not) be interesting to some.

And if you prefer crafting to parenting....hmmm...Bitter Betty has been fun lately. And Speckled Nest has some great, new tutorials up.

And if neither crafting nor parenting is your gig, read Seth Godin with the rest of the blogosphere.

Finally, my kitchen recommendation for the evening--the Barefoot Contessa's Chocolate Chunk Cookies from her Parties book. I'm not going to post her copyrighted recipe on the web but you can buy the book on Amazon.  It's worth it just for the fact that a tray full of these cookies, warm from the oven, will convince your friends that it's okay you were 30 minutes late to a meeting.  Not that I would know....

Can't leave without a photo

More artisan bread experimentation.  Pretty but mediocre. Again :(

It looked more like a seance

I'm still not sure what the whole  Earth Hour thing was about (well, now I am since I looked it up on Wikipedia but at 8 p.m. I didn't really know). Still, I dutifully flipped off the lights and computer for a whole hour. My in laws probably think I'm nuts but it was actually kind of nice chatting over candle light.

And after they headed home I finished my coffee and read my book by candle light. An hour later I still haven't turned on any lights (just the computer :).

Cooking or Sewing?

I was soooo lucky I commented quick and got to be a part of CurlyPops' Pay it Forward game!  That gal is so on top of things I received a package from her (from Australia!) before I even posted about this on my own blog (as I had promised to do). Now, I'm finally catching up.

adorable apron and headband from CurlyPops. Sorry for the bad photo.

Here's the deal.  Comment on this post (be sure your email address is included so I can reach you). On Friday, March 21 I'll draw three names and mail each person a surprise package.  In return, each winner has to "pay it forward" on your own blog by doing the same thing and surprising three of your readers.  Make sense? 

So just tell me, do you prefer cooking or sewing?

P.S. I just spent the last 20 minutes checking out a new blog. I love the quilt in this post. Dang, this woman is a productive quilter!