A cupcake in the oven

(fabulous illustration borrowed from: http://blog.roseflash.ca/category/illustration-friday)

So there's something going on that I realized I've started talking about on Facebook and have failed to mention on my blog...I'm growing a cupcake, er baby! I'll be 17 weeks along tomorrow and am due June 1, 2010.

So far things are going well (with the baby anyway...I've been sick and having issues but the baby seems to be just fine) despite being labeled "high risk", which so far has just meant extra monitoring and an ultrasound every 4 weeks (no complaints on that here!).

Because we have been "blessed" with needing extra baby viewage we were able to see the baby last Wednesday AND find out gender a little early (most women don't get their "anatomy check" ultrasound where they check out all the baby's parts and gender until 20-24 weeks...mostly because most women only have a couple of ultrasounds their whole pregnancy). So we're having a.....BABY! lol Sorry. You thought I was going to tell you the gender, eh? Well I will. Just not yet. The night before our ultrasound Husband decided he thought it would be fun to wait and tell everyone on Christmas....so that's the plan. We'll let you know later.

Anyway...that's our fun news. Thanks for letting me share. :-)

Fun Christmas Knitting Project Idea

I was poking around on Ravelry today looking for for Christmas patterns and found this fun thing:

Christmas Lights

Available for download on Ravelry for $4.99

One person had it styled as a cool scarf:

Fun new blog

I just discovered today that one of my friends has a great blog that I never knew about. Not only does she have an adorable little girl and mad photography skillz, but she blogs nearly everyday. Unlike certain blog owners who shall remain nameless.

Anyway, if you're looking for fun and crafty inspiration, fun stories about life with a one year girl or super thriftiness, check out my friend Patti's blog at: http://brettandpatti.blogspot.com/

Cooking MacGyver Style

There is a special place in my heart for doing things differently. Like when Joe and I moved from Boston to Portland and drove cross-country, we utilized what we had (a car) to make lunch a la Manifold Destiny. You can check out our blog entries on this here: Our Little Lunch Experiment Take 1, lunch experiment take 2 and Mmm burrito.

So today, when I was scouring the internet for something completely different but happened upon a post about how to make chicken and cous-cous in your coffee pot I thought it was BRILLIANT. It almost makes me want to go acquire this kind of coffee pot just to experiment to see if it might work.

What about you? What kind of creative cooking (or otherwise) exploits have you undertaken to do things just a little differently than the rest?

And now for something completely different...

So a co-worker made a comment to me yesterday when I asked if she had made something on her desk and said, "Yeah, I'm not really into super lame crafts." So inspired by Amy, here is my post highlighting my favorite, not-necessarilly-super-lame, but definitely quirky crafts of the week:

1) Fake Dog Poo Knitting Pattern

I am not even joking. I found this two nights ago and couldn't stop laughing. For only $0.50 it can be yours. Find it on Ravelry here.


2) Fish Hat [Dead or Alive?]
I actually really really like this pattern. And what's not to like about a hat that looks like a giant fish is eating your head? But you've got to admit....it's quirky. 1,127 Ravelry knitters who have made this pattern can't be wrong! Find it for free on Knitty here or on Ravelry here.

3) Babies in a Blender
It's a hat. It has plastic baby appendages. It's....really weird. In fact, it's so weird, I'm really surprised this woman doesn't live in Portland. It's not a published pattern, but Ravelry users can see it on Ravelry here.


4) Womb
A knitted womb, that is. So in case yours has gone missing, you can knit yourself a replacement. Also featuring pirate version, "biological" clock version and anti-hitch-scrotum version. Pattern available for free at Knitty.








That's all for now! And don't forget: craft weird. It's the Portland way!

Help me name my new "pet"

In the spring, pretty soon after we moved into the house, I bought a beautiful fuschia hanging basket that has flourished and done pretty well for itself...

But the heat wave that we had 2 weeks ago killed it dead. So after failing to be able to revive it, I went to take it down to trim the long dead branches and something flew out of it but I didn't really think much of it, until I got it on the ground and saw a nest with some eggs in it! A bird totally moved into my hanging basket!

This picture was taken a couple days later and you can't see the eggs because it's up pretty high and the bird was mad I was getting close to the nest, so I tried to stay back a little bit.

This is what she looks like:

She's pretty little. Maybe only 2.5 - 3 inches tall. Does anyone know what kind of bird she is? Even better, does anyone have any good name suggestions? Please share in the comments!

For the blanket incompetent

You all know the Snuggie, right? The blanket with sleeves for people that think using a normal blanket is too complicated? Or who wish their choir robe was jut a tad warmer so they could use it as lounge wear?

They have solved the problem every dog owner has...how to keep your dog from being jealous of your Snuggie. Introducing the Snuggie for dogs (no joke!)

I have no more words.

Rockin' the Granny Puppy Panties

So, a couple weeks ago, our littlest one entered into her time of, um, "bark mitzvah" as one friend put it. We had waited too long to have her spayed and so now, we're dealing with the results.

Husband was a little freaked out by a puppy having a period (previous traumatic experience involving the human variety) so it was left to me to find protective options for the little one. Which is fine. I am the mama afterall.

My brother in law (a vet tech for the Army) suggested we could even use baby diapers if doggy diapers were too much. Dog diapers, for the record, are re-freaking-diculous pricewise.... $15 for 12 of them. Human diapers cost $8 for 36...for a high end brand even. For a while we were cutting holes for her tail in some pampers until Lola discovered that she could chew through the diaper to make a hole. Which wouldn't be so bad if diapers didn't contain a powder that expands when it comes in contact with liquid to make little crystals. Let's just say Lola was very thirsty for a few days and had some less than pleasant expereinces on our walks until it got out of her system.

So on to plan B: cloth diaper. This was the original option we wanted to go with (espcially since that's the option we'd choose should we ever have non-furry children), but cloth puppy diapers are also really expensive: $26 for the size Lola needed...and she is a wee one. But we got one anyway since eating diaper crystals isn't exactly good for her. We really needed a few, though, since I wanted to be able to rotate through at least two so I could wash them.

I thought about knitting a back up, but thought it would take too much time. Then I thought I could maybe sew one for a little time and a lot less cash.

With the store bought diaper as my guide, I traced out a pattern onto an unfolded paper grocery bag. I bought some fun cotton fabric along with some snuggle flannel (for lining) and set out to get my studio in usable-enough shape to use my desk and sew at it.

It took a few days (mostly to get enough stuff put away in the studio that I could see my workspace) but in the end I busted it out. I'm sure I did some things wrong (I'm pretty sure I did the bias tape part wrong and there is probably a better way to do elastic) but I ended up with a functional pair of puppy panties that are way more cute and fun than the ugly expensive one I bought at the store...complete with velcro, elastic and edging. This may not sound like much but I think up to this point, the most complicated thing I've ever sewn in my life was a very basic cotton dress that my mom held my hand step-by-step more than 10 years ago as I made it. So this felt like moving from the sand box to the desert ovenight. And I did it solo.

Anyway, check it out:

Not too shabby, eh?

I've got some more fabric, so I'm going to make another one and try a different construction technique to see if I can figure out a better way to do it.

I love presents!

Today, my co-worker, Tana, dropped this on my desk.  Someone had left it in her box in a different part of the building:

The photo isn't the highest quality (took it with my camera), but it's a piece of yellow legal pad paper that someone wrapped around something to make an envelope.  On it, it says:

Tana - 

Would You

Please give to Carissa Bonham -?  from a friend

:-)

Inside, I found this:

How freaking cool is that?  On several levels:

1) LOVE the packaging.  The cardboard looks like a cupcake and the dental floss container is pink with a cupcake on it.  Fun stuff.

2) It's cupcake flavored.  Admittedly, that part is a little strange but I love the idea still.

So if you're out there - thank you mystery-cupcake-dental-floss-gift-giver!

Fun New Cupcake Stuff

I have recently acquired some fun cupcakey things.  Let me share the love with you.  :-)

Fun cupcake thing #1: 

Cupcake "insulBUFF" from Fabulous Fabric Essentials on etsy.

I bought it because I hate when I buy a coffee at Starbucks and the last quarter of it is cold and I end up throwing it out.  Yuck!  I frequently get my coffee double-cupped to provide some additional insulation but I feel bad about the extra waste.  My new cup cozy keeps the contents either warm or cold and gives you a more temperature neutral place to put your hand.

Fun cupcake thing #2: 

"Cupcake dreams key fob" Wristlet Keychain  from Jimmy Pickles on Etsy.

One thing about me that only a few people know is that I loathe to take multiple trips from my car and into the house / work / etc.  I will totally overload myself with 3 trips worth of things just to avoid having to come back.  Beacause I do this, however, I have the unfortunate tendency of dropping my keys just as I'm trying to put them in my lock.  Which is a real bummer when your hands are full of stuff because then you have to put all your stuff down, pick up the keys, open the door, and get all your stuff inside.  This key fob is nice because I can loop the keys around my wrist so I can't drop them.  See?

Fun cupcake thing #3: 

"Buttercream Cupcake" flavored shower smoothie (combo shampoo, shower gel, bubble bath).  I bought it at Ulta yesterday with my sister.  Right now they are having a "buy 2 get 2 free" sale as well, so hurry in for yummy flavored shower stuffs.  If you don't have an Ulta near you, you can buy it online here.