Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Busy busy busy

Lately, I always have something on my mind to do. Knit, crochet, sew, bake...I am in the midst of a little bit of each of these.

We acquired a large freezer from Kevin's parents and have finally begun to put things in it. We didn't even plug it in for at least 3 months because we didn't know what to put in it. Now, I'm starting to get a few extra things on sale at the grocery store and cooking some freezer meals for around the time the baby arrives. I'm trying to make extras of our favorite meals to stow away. I'm experimenting with freezing chicken-broccoli alfredo. I didn't make the noodles, but I put frozen broccoli in the bag first, then stuck that back in the freezer for a bit. Then I cooked up some chicken and cut that up, and let it cool. Next, opened the jar of alfredo (no, sorry, not homemade) sauce poured that in, then added the chicken. I squished it around a bit then closed it back up and stuck it in the freezer. Pretty easy. I suppose cooking and freezing the chicken would have been sufficient, but I am trying to make things as easy as possible. Open one bag or open two bags and a jar... :)

The next project on the list is a crocheted scarf. A friend found out I was making scarves and brought some yarn over for me. I didn't tell her that the reason I was doing all this crocheting and knitting was because I was trying to "get rid" of yarn. So, there are more to come.




In the yarn project bag is also a knitting project. A neck gator using a circular knitting needle. I had never tried this before and had to search to find out how to actually use it. The directions emphasized that you make sure the first row was not twisted. I checked, and double checked, and triple checked on the first few rows, and then on about the sixth row, you know what I found...Yes, the gator was twisted. So, my neck gator has a very nice little "tuck"/blemish in it...a fix so I wouldn't have to start over!

The next project. I wanted to make a dress for Kj again this year, and figured now was the best time to do that. So, that is 98% finished. All that is left is to figure out how I am going to finish off the ends of ribbon that are the shoulder straps. It is unraveling some, otherwise I would just leave it. I just don't want to make it bulky at the ends...




Let's see, anything else? Ah, yes...

~ Hooded bath towel for Kj.
~ Fleece scarf...if I have the right size fleece leftovers (approx. 7"x32")
~ Wash the dishes from surprise birthday party last night
~ Clean the bathroom before my mom and sis come to visit
~ ...I'm sure there are more...

(Jan. 22...black and red scarf, Kj dress...finished!)

Monday, January 18, 2010

What timing!

The question of the week: Why not add another project to the before baby to-do list??

My husband and I have been saving the last several months for a home improvement project...Thinking it wouldn't be a monumental task, we hoped to have it done before our next baby came (mid-March). Since that time we have been saving, talking a little about what we expect/want, and thinking it could be done in a timely manner. About a week ago, we decided that we needed to just start, even if we didn't get a whole lot done right away. We could at least start with purchasing some of the supplies. So, this past weekend, we passed our nearly two-year-old off on her grandparents (lucky them!!), and we started.

Here is our progress...

New hardware for the cupboards. I started doing this and got most of it done, but the new hinges were a little deeper than our old ones, so Kevin had to do some drilling.


Working more on taking the old plastic tiles off of the walls. We learned through an internet search that heat helps to take the adhesive off the walls. So, here is Kevin trying to use our bathroom heater to test that. It really does work. It makes for a little quieter job as well, so we can do it while Kj is sleeping!


We also purchased our new faucet and some new towel rods. All very exciting. We even found flooring that we like. Now to order that, and figure out if we or someone else will be installing it!

It is crazy how exciting buying these items is when you are a homeowner. I never thought I would get so excited about drawer handles, faucets, and linoleum! :)