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Saturday, October 31, 2009

Good News, Bad News and an Ode to my little store

Hi all.

I have good news and bad news.

Good News!!: I have sold my store. Hallelujah! I am now free to further pursue my dreams. Like, going back to school. I want to go back for Graphic Design. I have discovered that is something I really like and wouldn't mind having a degree in. Took me till I was almost 38 to find out what I wanted to do when I grew up...but, I suppose, better late than never.

Bad News: I will not have internet access for a while. So I will not be able to be on here for a little while. I am actively looking for an alternative to our local phone company. We have several internet needs between school for my kids and just keeping up with life in general. So, I WILL find a way.

I was so excited, relieved and at peace with the store selling. I am finding now that I am mourning it a little. I have spent time crying. Somebody put it into a neat perspective for me. She said "You birthed this." And I did. In lots of prayer and hard work. I knew I would never keep it forever. I knew that I opened it to sell it. And the fact that it has is an absolute testament to the power of the Word of God. I just feel so stupid for crying over something I've been aching to get rid of. Almost like never being happy even when you get what you want. Except I am happy. I am most moved and touched by how much God loves me and takes care of me. He has totally held me in the palm of His hand and has rescued me right at the point where I thought I would come apart at the seams. But, I'm going to miss my store. At least for a little while. And then life will get busy and I will be so glad for the freedom that the pain will go away.

So, goodbye little store. You have been good to me. I have learned many things and gained much experience. You are in a cherished little corner of my heart.

Saturday, October 03, 2009

Crock Pot Pulled Pork Loin

Another "came up with it one-day" recipe for you to try.

Crock Pot Pulled Pork Loin
by Elizabeth Mareno

Need:
3-4 Lb Pork Loin or Roast - Lean
Minced Garlic
Dried Basil/Oregano
Salt and Pepper

Place roast in crock pot. Cover entire top of roast with minced garlic. (no kidding, the whole top)
Sprinkle Basil/Oregano over the top till its dark and everything looks covered in dried herbs. ( i know this is vague) Even if it looks like too much, trust me, it's not. I use a salt grinder. I made a few passes over the top with the salt and the pepper....and cook for 8 hours.

Simply shred the pork roast into the juices it created and serve on buns. It's incredible.

Crafting and Life Update

I don't have much to say, really.

I have still been working so much that I have not done any designing. I didn't even get my submission in to the magazine in time. Trying to decide, now, whether or not to just put it on here as another free pattern. I want very much to share the pattern. But, I want very much to see if I am good enough to have a pattern submission accepted as well. It's a conundrum.

Have great ideas in my head about things. Have a Vulpix (pokemon toy) about 1/4 done. Actually more, I just have to do his head and tail. But, I have had no desire to work on that. To be honest the carpal tunnel in my arm is getting ridiculous. I HAVE to go see a doctor. I lose sleep at night from the pain in my arm. I can't knit or crochet very long and I have to set things down cuz I can't do it anymore. That is seriously cramping my style. Seriously.

As far as what I have on the hooks and needles. I am currently working on a ripple afghan in crochet being done in scraps only. And this one really is scraps. I will not buy any yarn for this one. I know you've heard that a hundred times from me if you've heard it once. But, I mean it this time! On the needles, I just finished up 3 pairs of wool mittens **for the family. I just have one more pair to go. And I have a 'mind of its own' log cabin-ish afghan on the needles. This one, too, is scraps only. This one is the almost full skeins of yarn that get left over in the pile. They are too little to do a big project and too big to just use for potholders, etc. So...I'm making it work. :) But, these, too are moving very slow. The whole arm thing.

We've made some decisions about the store. We currently have a buyer in the works. I'm believing that God is going to move things and we will be able to sell. Just be in agreement with us. And if you can't be in agreement...then just don't say anything at all.

I'm tired. I'm worn out. I work way too much. I'm ready to go back to being a part-time employee and being home with my kids. They are at an age where they need me even more than when they were babies. Then, it was the physical need. Now, is the time of life where the big questions and big decisions come up. I don't want to be absent when they happen. Or be too tired to care. They are arrows and I have every intention of pointing them with a destination and a future.

**Leave the fun fur out of this pattern and use Wool-Ease chunky for a GREAT mitten! Size 9 needles for women's hands. Size 10 needle and a few extra rows before the finger decrease for men.

Crock Pot Southwestern-ish Chuck Roast

No pictures for this. Just don't have a working camera at my disposal. After thinking about this, somebody, somewhere probably came up with this idea before me. However, I didn't get this recipe from anyone but my own brain, so I'm posting it as an original recipe. I hope you enjoy this as much as my family did. :)

Crock Pot Southwestern-ish Chuck Roast
by Elizabeth Mareno

Serves about 5-6 people generously

Need:
3-4lb chuck roast- frozen
1- can tomatoes and green chilies- do not drain.
1- can Bush's Texas Chili Starter (we use medium heat)
Ground Cumin
Instant Rice (we made a 4 serving size and had tons left over)
Shredded Cheese (optional)
Large crock pot (ours is an oval 6 Qt)

Put the frozen chuck roast into crock pot. Pour can of tomatoes/chilies over the top of the roast, juice and all (don't add extra liquid). Sprinkle generously with cumin. Cook 8 hours.

About 15-ish minutes before serving, remove all fat and bones from roast (i just leave it in the crock pot and do this), then shred meat. Add the can of chili starter. Let cook in crock pot about 15 minutes while you get the instant rice ready.

Serve over rice with shredded cheese. Last minute serving add-in's could be jalapeno's for some heat, extra green chilies, sour cream, crushed tortilla chips....use your imagination.

This makes AWESOME leftovers!!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Oatmeal-Fruit Preserve Bars

This is my family's current favorite dessert. Wonderful for Fall parties. We've used raspberry preserves and apple butter....wonderful any way you slice them!

Oatmeal-Fruit Preserve Bars

1-1/2 sticks of butter/margarine (3/4cup)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 cups of rolled oats
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
10 oz jar of preserves, any flavor

Cream together butter and sugar till fluffy. Mix flour, salt and soda together to incorporate. Add oats and flour mixture to butter mixture till crumbly.

Take 2/3 of oat mixture and press into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Spread preserves over the oat mixture. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture on top of preserves.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until browned. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting. Also serves great right out of the oven as a 'crisp' with ice cream.

Monday, August 24, 2009

20 Year Class Reunion.

I totally forgot to tell you!

I went to my 20 year reunion in one of the three cities I went to high school in this weekend. It was my first high school. These were the kids I grew up with through grade school and middle school. I left October of my freshman year. And they invited me to come to the reunion. :)

It was so good to see them. Many people I couldn't recognize. I just didn't spend enough time with them when we were kids apparently. But, I readily recognized Michelle, Brenda, and Deb. They don't look any different. And I got the chance to sit and talk with Michelle for quite a while. Found out she lives only a few hours from me and we could actually get together for lunch or go shopping or something! Too cool. She was my closest friend at the time that we moved. Apparently she had been looking for me for years and finally found me on Facebook.

I never thought that they would remember me. They all did. It meant the world to me. I hadn't seen any of them for so many years that it was almost like Arcadia never happened. But, it did. This reunion meant alot to me. It completely validated my childhood.

Somebody remembered me. :) And quite a few of them had stories about me that I never even remembered!

We drove out to the valley I grew up in and drove all the way to the back of it and then turned around, so that they could see the whole thing. As we were driving along one of my kids (i think my son) said "Wow, this is a really pretty valley, Mom". And it is. It is still as beautiful as when I was a child. Maybe even more so. I love that side of the state. I miss living there. Someday, I want to own the place where I grew up. The old house is gone now and somebody else built there. But, I want that piece of land. So many of my memories are wrapped up in that valley.

Someday.

Monday, August 10, 2009

August Update

Life has been so hectic for us. Lots and lots of traveling in July. We went to Youth Invasion in Midland July 28-Aug 1. It was great and life-changing and, well, completely awesome!

I've been a little crafty lately. I haven't had a lot of time to sit and work on things. I have a sock started...about 1/2 way done. I've rounded the heel and I'm in the foot at least. And I've been working on a few charity things, but nothing huge. Some baby hats and I've started another scrap afghan.

Finally, here is a picture of the completed Mitered Corners afghan from Mason-Dixon Knitting. This was made with Vanna's Choice Baby yarn. Now its a sample in my store.


Here we have "Toby's Hats" :) He is my newest cousin. He was born a few months premature and I found a pattern for baby hats (though for the life of me, I can't remember which one I used) through Knitting Pattern Central that gave me such a variety of sizes to choose from that I became quite confused and befuddled. But, I got through it and made these cute little hats in an evening. These, too, are made from Vanna's Choice Baby yarn (except for the white one).


We have had almost no heat this summer at all. My garden has suffered. It's been so cold and rainy that things haven't grown the way they should and some of it is just rotting where it sits because it's too wet. My potatoes and peppers are going great, though. My tomatoes are starting to perk up. I fear for my cabbages, zukes and cukes....

Monday, July 13, 2009

Summer is a busy thing...

We were invited by Make-A-Wish Foundation to attend their 25th Birthday Celebration at Miller Park in Milwaukee. We decided that was a function we would attend. We were going to have to be in Wisconsin Dells Friday and Saturday anyway for a powerlifting meet (i'll post about that in a different post), so we figured we would just swing over to Milwaukee on Sunday and attend.

It was crowded and super busy, but lots and lots of fun. We attended with our good friends, the Halmstad's.

I'll walk you through the memories.....

First, is Stefani's name tag with the special sticker indicating that she is a Wish Child (2005).


Next is a picture of her ticket for the game. (Stef, you need to paint your nails!)


Here is Stef and Teo during the game. We were all sitting in direct sunlight the whole game, so we were pretty cooked. Yeah...my daughter, the diva and my son, the stud.


This is me and Tony. In case you can't see it...I'm lobster red. My face got completely fried (except half of my forehead, because I have bangs). Forgot to put sunscreen on the whole thing. I sprayed my feet, though. Priorities.


At the Make-A-Wish party that we attended for 2-1/2 hours before the game, we got to meet a bunch of the Star Wars characters. First up is Darth Maul (sp?). This guy looked so much like the original character, it was unreal! lol


Next up, we have the guys (Jay and Tony) with the kids (Stef, Teo, Brad & Taylor) with the 'Dark Side'. They were getting sucked in......

Here we are with Darth Vader. (Oh, the sun was so bright...the part in my hair got burned.) When we walked up to Darth I said "You have got to be hot in that thing." He promptly hit his "breathing like Darth Vader" button. I took that to mean, "Yes, very hot".
Heidi and Taylor at the game. Taylor eventually cooled off by dunking her head in the bathroom sink.
Jay and Brad. Brad was a trooper, he never showed any wear or tear.
Back at the Make-A-Wish party, we got to see Mickey Mouse for about 5 minutes.
More Star Wars characters. Later when R2-D2's remote operator was walking him back to the truck, I happened to be walking past him and for about two seconds I almost said "Oh my God, R2-D2, I just love you"....then reality slapped me and I told the handler about my almost faux-pas...and he said "You wouldn't believe the amount of people that do that." Thank the Lord, I'm not the only crazy fool out there. The Tie-Fighter Pilot actually made the "Tie-Fighter Scream" sound. It was cool. lol
When our family took a picture with the "Resistance", Tony was wearing his Milwaukee Brewers helmet, circa 1980's. Chewbacca took it off of Tony's head and wore it for the picture.

Then Chewy was kind enough to put it back on for Tony.
This was the score when we finally had had enough. The hitting wasn't very exciting. If anything fouled, it fouled to right field, or right behind home plate. It was so distracting, because the people in the five rows in front of us were up and down and up and down and up and down....the whole game. We kept missing the exciting stuff because people were usually standing in the way. A bottle of water was $4 and I just couldn't afford to keep the kids hydrated anymore. So we left.
Bye, bye Miller Park. Till we meet again.

After the game we headed back home, stopping in Waukesha at Jimmy's Grotto for a Ponza Rotta. Oh hallelujah, they tasted just as good as they did 14 years ago. :)

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Did Somebody Say Cake???

Sorry, not real cake (i wish)...yarn cake...:)

Remember my lovely birthday present from my hubby and kids? Granted, my link isn't the exact one..apparently Knitpicks has changed it to a less expensive, yet, more versatile model. Well, all that aside, I really haven't used the darn thing much. I thought...OOOO...a ball winder, that'll be EASY! Right?

Not really.

There is actually a knack you either must be born with or you just have to practice alot. I was the latter of the two. This last weekend, as I was demonstrating the ball winder to a fellow knitter (with much trepidation about how my cakes would turn out) I FOUND my perfect technique! Hallelujah!

Everybody do the happy dance. :)

1st up we have the first ball of 6. This is how many of my early cakes turned out. THIS I could have achieved by hand*...no ball winder needed for this beauty. *Remind me to tell you a story about balls wound by hand when I'm done with the cakes....


2nd is another of the typical cakes. Very loose and airy. Huge...feels like it'll fall apart if you jostle it too much. I used a pen to give you a visual reference.


3rd, my cakes are getting better. This is the exact same yarn brand as the yellow. Notice how much more compact they are getting? It's still messy looking, though. Not neat and uniform.


Last up, we have perfection. 3 beautiful, perfect, little cakes. Same amount of yarn, same brand as the last two pictures, yet, oh so much more pretty to look at. I am actually excited to use them! LOL


I would love to run around showing all of my family my beautiful, little cakes...however, they would not appreciate it. Not like you will. :)

*Ok, true story about hand wrapping yarn. I am sitting at a powerlifting tournament a few weeks ago. I always take my crafting with me. I had either not started my project, or I had just finished a project and was wrapping the left over yarn up (which is the most likely of the two scenarios). Anyway, an older lady a row down and about 5 people over suddenly says "Can I tell you? You're doing that wrong." (I've been wrapping my yarn by hand for almost as long I've had children, and I've never had a problem with it.) I said "Ok." So she proceeded to tell me how to do it so that it can be a center pull ball. It was interesting, even if it seemed impractical and too hard to pull off (ie: How do you keep the yarn taut enough to keep it from unraveling while you wind it?). I thanked her for her advice. I, then, finished wrapping my ball of yarn the way I usually do and put it away. I laughed when my friend was like "that was sorta ballsy", cuz I know that if I had a better way to do things and I saw somebody doing it the hard way...I'd say something. :)

Ok, on to my book reading. I've been reading this book for what feels like forever. I have 2 more books of hers to read ,yet. Thankfully, only one of them is as thick as this. This is, by far, THE longest book I have EVER read. Interesting story, even if it is repetetive at times. They could have edited out about 500 pages and had the same impact. But, she was revolutionary for her time and her writing is as timely now as it was back then. I can hardly wait to read "Atlas Shrugged". :)


So close, yet, so far away.......

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

New Favorite Food Blogs...

Thanks to Amanda...one of the six people who 'follow' my blog....I have found two new favorite food websites.

A Year In Bread.

and

Farmgirl Fare.

One is strictly bread, the other....mmm...inspires me to cook more! Both organically and naturally.

I've included them in my "Favorite Reads" for you to access them when this post is no longer on top.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner....

If you live in the Pokemon world...you might be thinking Brock...since he's ALWAYS hungry!

BUT, you'd be wrong!

It's Ash!!



I didn't want to give too much away and he's currently naked...so while he's only a stuffed toy...I'm really against pornography of any kind. You'll have to wait a few days for a full body shot!

That AND the pattern will be coming soon....

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Ok, if I had been a good designer, I would have come on here with a super cute Valentine's goodie for you to crochet......but apparently, I'm not, so no goodies for you. :) Go buy some chocolate! :)

Just wanted to share puffy heart jubilation with you and wish you and your significant other a beautiful, sunny, warm, California beachy romantic sunset Happy Valentines Day!! Which would all be so much better if I were really on a beautiful, sunny, warm, California beach.

Instead, I am living through winter #2.

We had about 4 days of sunshine and rain. Lots of mud and melting going on. Running around in only sweatshirts. It was 40 and balmy, folks. My kids were all like "Oh...yay...Spring is on its way...."

I had to burst their bubble. I could not let them go on in a hopeful daze. You never start anticipating Spring in February in Northern Wisconsin. Start getting excited for it in April...not February!

Anticipating spring in February is like taking an ice pick to your eyeball and trying to dig it out. Slow and seriously painful. By March, you are ready to cry...by April, you are pretty much sure that God has forgotten you live here...by May, you're just cranky and hard to live with. No getting around it. So for my own sanity...I dashed their Spring dreams on the harsh, cruel rocks of reality.

My hunka-hunka burnin' love bought me an MP3 player for V-Day. Total awesomeness. I am currently filling it to the rim with musical goodness. Oh man, talking like that made me realize I'm jonesin' for some coffee. (Brim coffee commercial, circa 1970's, ya know, "Fill it to the rim with Brim").

MMmmm...Jehovah Java...my energizer!

Ok, so enough of my rambling for today. Enjoy your lover's holiday. I'll be going to a banquet tonight that is serving all kinds of anti-Weight Watcher-friendly (yes, I'm back on that) foods. And I'm gonna love every second of it....WHILE staying in my points. Yay me (with London Tipton!)! Ok....if you ever doubted the validity of me having children...you can't possibly doubt it now. No adult in their right minds would know a line from "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" on their own. No one.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The Blanket of Many Colors...

Ok. I never make afghans just for the 'fun of it'. Is there such a thing? EEk.

No, if I make an afghan it's for a gift or because someone requested it. Someone special.

So it shocks me to the core of my being to know that I just cracked out an afghan for the 'fun of it' in the last couple weeks. I made this afghan pattern for my MIL eons ago. Then I made one for my mom. Then I think I either lost the book or lent it to someone. Either way, it was no longer in my stash of books. I kept looking at my mom's just wishing that I could make that afghan again...I know, sick... Well, anyway, I happened to be looking through the new pattern books on one of my favorite vendors on ebay (here is my other fave vendor for patterns and wools)and lo and behold....there it was. My pattern. I didn't care WHAT I had to pay to get that book..it was mine. Turns out I didn't have to pay that much and now I have my pattern back! Yay, me!

So I decided....stash only. Using up my stash. No purchasing yarn. Just stash. Yeah, that lasted about 2 days. I bought 4 skeins to finish it up because I wanted to throw a variegated in there and I wanted the red to continue throughout. Somebody saw it one day and said "Oh, are you making a Mexican blanket?" I'm like..."Um...Yeah....A mexican blanket." It had never occurred to me that my color choices totally looked like a mexican blanket! But, there it was....

So now it's called my Mexican Blanket. With lots of color.

Center medallion.

Gettin' worked on.

Finished in a fold.

Laid out, close up.

Finished.

Colors used were Gold, Carrot, Ranch Red, Rust Heather, Green fleck, Cornmeal, Fall variegated, Off White, Heather Gray, Oxford Gray, Warm Brown, and Williamsburg print.
Everything but the Oxford Gray and the Rust Heather is just basic Red Heart. The Oxford is Wool-Ease and the Rust is Bernat Super Value. Just in case you were wondering! :)

Book is by Leisure Arts. I believe the name is "Afghans for All Seasons". Could be wrong?? I hate it when I can't remember the names! This afghans name is "Fall Splendor".

K. Tah!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Big Girl Backpack

Ok, here it is (finally) for all of you who have requested this pattern. I do apologize at how pokey I've been getting it posted.





Big Girl Backpack


by Elizabeth Mareno 2009
Materials:
WW yarn- scraps work great- about 1/2 skn.
H hook
Yarn needle for assembly
row marker


BASIC-ONE COLOR
**do not join rounds unless stated**
ch37
Row 1- sc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch across (36) (do not ch1), work down the opposite side of the starting ch, sc in each ch. (72sc)
**from here you start working in a circle, so mark your first sc of your first row and keep moving it up as you go.
Row 2-42 sc in each sc around.
Row 43- ch3 (cts as dc and ch1), (sk sc, dc in next sc, ch1) around to last sc, join with 2nd ch of ch3. (36 ch1sp)
Row 44-ch1, sc in sm st as join, sc in each sc and ch1 around, join with first sc and finish off. tuck in ends. (72sc)
TIES: make 2
ch101, sl st in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. Fasten off leaving long end for sewing.
Assembling ties: First tie, weave over and under through dc. Sew ends together, pull on opposite end to hide. Do the opposite for second tie.
STRAPS: make 2
Holding 2 strands throughout, ch5
Row 1- sc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch across (4sc)
Row 2-47- ch1, turn, sc in each sc.
Row 48- drop one strand, ch1, turn, sc in each sc and row end around, putting 3sc in each corner.
Strap placement: Approx 3sc from edge, 3rows down (top) and 3 rows up(bottom) sew ends into place using a whipstitch.
"CHECK" Pattern:
Follow basic pattern through row18, 19th row (sc 2, chg color, sc 2, chg color) repeat around(carry the unused color in your sc all the way around, this will keep the inside of the bag neat). There will be one sc off at the end of the row.
Repeat this pattern for one more row, then switch to the next color for another 10 rows. Repeat check pattern for 2 rows, switching colors again for 5 more rows. Do the check pattern one more time, finishing with 3 rows.
Complete with the basic top, ties and straps.
This pattern is great to have fun with! Use lots of scraps and make it striped. Or mess around and see what kind of pattern you can come up with!
Enjoy!
biz

I need some help!

Ok, people. I have some super patterns to post, but I'm lazy. I would like to just put a link to the .pdf of the pattern instead of retyping them here.........so...how do I do that???

Somebody help me, por favor!

Monday, January 05, 2009

Yarn Ball Winder

O.M.G.

I can't believe I forgot to tell you! My hubby and kids got me a ball winder from Knitpicks for my birthday. It's pretty ok. I am still learning how to make my cakes tight enough and big enough without stretching the yarn. You should see some of them....oh my.

I've decided I love knitpicks. When I can no longer buy yarn at wholesale...KnitPicks is going to be my new favorite place ever.

Oh, and I bought myself like 12 cones of cotton from Elmore-Pisgah in December (jeez, I'm behind!). In the hopes of making lots of baby bibs, burp cloths, baby kimono's, dish cloths and towels...ya know all the Mason Dixon Knitting patterns I haven't tackled more than once and would like to make more of!!

Anyway, just had to share that.

Crafting Memories: Section 5 of the Memories Blanket CAL

     Crafting Memories: Section 5 of the Memories Blanket CAL Oh my gosh!! It's the last week of the Memories CAL already!! I can't ...