An Intro to Me, and some free stuff

So, seeing as I am about to leave on a grand adventure, I'd thought I'd do a little over sharing.


I have a really unique first name. No really, my parents were hippies, it was the 70's, I'm relative sure that there were drugs involved. I don't share it here because of it's uniqueness, but I will happily give it to you in person. It is on my business card. I do have some frightening ex's, so please keep it to yourself.

I am an introvert at home (I need my me time) but an extrovert at work (I deal partially with customers, and I'm chatty), but I also share stuff with strangers. I can't make up my mind if I'm an I or an E apparently.

I work in IT with PC's (a job I love) but I have a Mac at home because I refuse to let it be known that I'm really a super geek.

I have tried nearly every craft at least once. The only ones I've managed to keep up are knitting, crocheting and sewing. Sewing is hit or miss, I knit and crochet pretty consistently.

I learned to crochet from my Grandma Marie when I was little. I taught myself to knit when I was living in NYC was horribly lonely. The fall after I learned I knit 24 hats taking the N from Brooklyn to Chelsea.

I'm too loud, to honest and too direct to be a Minnesotan, despite having been raised here. I feel most comfortable with my loud mouth in NY. My love and my life are here, but I feel like an east coaster at heart.

I hate passive aggressive, since I am horrible at telling what people "really" mean.

I have crocheted at least 20 (still counting) potholders to take with to BlogHer. Am I a dork who could be taking them all home. Maybe. If you see me, ask me for one. Am I a dork who is going to give some away here? Sure.

So, if you're feeling like you could use a new potholder, made out of brightly colored cotton, then leave a comment. I'm giving away at least three, but depending on how many people comment, you could all get one.

Super secret pumpkin bread recipe

I have always dreamed of hosting big family holiday dinners. Unfortunately my in-laws already have trenched in family traditions (that nearly everyone complains about, but no one changes) and I have a small house, and small family. (though you know, we're working on that, my brother is getting married next year) That doesn't mean that I don't aspire to cook legend worthy meals when I get the chance. Last year it was a beef roulade stuffed with blue cheese and walnuts. Seriously spectacular, if I do say so myself.

For the firmly entrenched family plans at the in-laws I bring one small dish, and all the good ones are taken. You are also required to make the same thing, every year, made exactly the same way. The year I tried to branch out and make a really awesome Brussels sprout dish, the only one who really got into was A's cousin's English husband. While I adore him, I'm not so sure about having my food compared to beloved English food. The track record over there, not so good.

So, my one dish is my pumpkin bread. It is based on the pumpkin bread recipe from the Joy of Cooking. Here are my changes/additions. I'm not going to print the entire recipe here for fear of copyright infringement. I'm sure you can find the cookbook at the library for the details, or you know, contact me.

Replace the 1 1/2 c. all purpose flour with 3/4 c. whole wheat flour (I like a pastry flour, but any is fine) and 3/4 c. all purpose flour

Replace all of the spices with 1/2 to 1 T Chinese Five Spice (I get my from Penzey's who has a number of local stores, and does catalog and internet) powder and a small amount of fresh grated nutmeg. This is the secret part that no one ever figures out. Unless of course they are familiar with 5 spice. Which not nearly so many are in the Midwest.

Reduce the amount of sugar (using the brown sugar variation) to 1/2 cup (that makes it 1/2c packed brown sugar and 1/2 cup sugar) And seriously, use cane sugar. The stuff made from beets just isn't the same.

Unless you like lots of work, use canned pumpkin. I use the big can, and make a double batch. (have to have some to save for home) Watch your cans or you'll end up with the presweetened, preseasoned pumpkin puree. You want the pure stuff which usually is actually sqaush, not pumpkin

To butter/flour the pan use Baker's Joy. That stuff is amazing, and I'm only sorry I didn't discover it until it was in a basket I won at a work event.

This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by Butterball. I consider myself a pretty knowledgable cook, but I've actually called their hotline. It so rocks. Raw turkey does not. So pay attention to those thawing instructions and cooking times.

In which I eat my words...

I swore to a friend of mine, shortly before meeting A that I would never ever date another gamer. No, not computer games (though there are those in our life too), but you know, D & D, GURPS, Rolemaster (if you recognized any of the last couple, well, here's to you). You see, being the geeky, theater loving small town girl that I was, I was once a gamer too.

So I swore no more, never again. Then I used a quote from Monty Python on my online personal ad. Yeah... ok, so maybe I didn't really mean it.

A was and still sort of is a gamer. He's also a collector. Which means that the third bedroom in our house is full of books, miniatures, and well, more books. There are also our computers, since well, we're both professional geeks.

While I wouldn't call it a man cave, it is most definitely our cave. Parenthood has slowed our collecting, since we would rather spend time with M than just about anything else. Our new found status as hermits does mean that we're in here an awful lot. So much so we're planning on moving rooms around to give it more space to be a family friendly room.

Here is a part of A's collection.


Lest you think I am innocent, here is part of mine. The good books life in the living room.

I should totally do a contest to see if you can see what icon of Monty Python is in his, and what amazing published blogger's book is in mine.

This post is part of a blog blast from Parent Bloggers Network, sponsored by Bill Me Later. Because you know if I win, I'm totally using the money to buy more books from Amazon. Write your own post to enter, let your cave show!

Working Mom Toddler Food

When M was little and just breastfed or maybe ate a few solids, the whole working mom thing was easy. Sure, I pumped at work, fed her right before daycare, and right away the moment I walked in the door at home. When she started eating real, you know, normal people food I started having issues.

We knew from the start that we didn't want to get in the habit of just feeding her "kid" food. The processed stuff is full of things we didn't want, especially sodium. Good food habits start early too, and we had seen how busy parents we knew (with now 23 year old kids, lest anyone thing I'm talking about them) had ended up with kids who wouldn't eat anything except bread, meat and cheese. However, working doesn't make that easy. It is time to eat the moment I get in the door.

Most of the time, she eats what we eat, or what we ate last night since it is ready right away. But sometimes there are no leftovers, or we're being slackers and eating malt-o-meal for dinner. I can steam veggies for her quickly, and I alway do a couple of servings worth, but my challenge has always been protein. Easily portioned food she would eat. (the kid still isn't as big of a fan of chicken as I'd like)

My solution, mama's meatballs. I make little meat balls that I freeze and can reheat a portion at a time. Here is my basic recipe:

1 lb lean ground beef (sometimes I double it or use half ground turkey)

combine in mixer (love my kitchen aid, saves huge amounts of time with this one) using batter attachment.

1 Tb each of dried basil, dried oregano, dried thyme.
ground pepper to taste
1/2 tsp of garlic or three cloves finely chopped (she eats the more quickly the more garlicy they are)

1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs (optional)

Make sure to lock the mixer, and mix until combined

Portion into small meatballs. Another time saver, I use an ice cream scoop, the spring loaded kind (thank you Alton Brown for that idea) and I get 16 per pound. Two meatballs is an ideal serving size, 2 oz of meat. Roll. Brown in a pan with a little olive oil. (Eventually I want to try baking them in the oven in muffin tins like I saw on Good Eats, but so far it hasn't been cool enough. )Then simmer on low for at least an hour (I've gone close to two hours with a large batch in a larger pot), in a mixture of 1/2 jar commerical pasta sauce (I use a higher end brand) and and equal amount of water. Make sure to put a tight lid on it. If it isn't covered tightly enough, you may need to add more water to keep it from burning.

Lay on cookie sheet, freeze, then transfer to a bag or some such. M couldn't have tomatoes because of the acid for a long time, but this was mellow enough since I took them out of the sauce. They are really flavorful, but still healthier than processed food. It is a bit of work to make, but I think it pays off in knowing she's getting good food.

My other favorite shortcut, just make her a cheese omelet. The loves them.

I've been meaning to write about my meatballs for awhile, but I finally did it because of the Blog Blast at PBN, sponsored by Ore-Ida (time to make some tater tot hotdish). I am curious about the whole steamed mashed potatoes, since I'm totally loving steam in bag spinach.

So much for my sick day...

I've been fighting what I thought were allergies since we returned from vacation, but Tuesday it became clear it is a cold. A nice present from my trip and the lack of sleep on it.

So today I finally gave in and realized that I stood a better chance of recovering if I stayed home and rested. Initially I thought about keeping M home with me, so we could bond, since she's been seeming a little under the weather too. Within half an hour, I packed her up for daycare. I love the little stinker, but she has too much energy.

After I dropped her off I came home, made a list, and went to the store. I suffer from this other sickness where I can't take a day off without doing something, so I decided to cook some stuff that it hard and too time consuming to do with all of the family around. It didn't quite go as planned when I crashed for three hours on the couch. However, I think I'm on my way to some rocking charra beans. I am not sure quite how they will turn out, but I think after like six hours, they're showing potential. Which is good, because it would have been an unfortunate loss of 12 ounces of bacon.

Still giving away a Wish Come True over at Savvy Source. (email my Savvy email address, or the one on my profile here) Seriously, they're cute and very fun. M loves hers, and Amy at Kiddywampus has generously donated it to be given away.

WW - The Bean

You know, the cheesy Chicago tourist shot.



Pssst. I've got a fun little give away at Savvy Source. Check it out.

More WW at www.wordlesswednesday.com

Winner!

We have a winner of the sock monkey.

Birdie

She's been notified, and here he/she is. Still needs a face, but I wanted to see who won first, since I couldn't do some things if it was going to a baby.

Since the whole win a sock monkey thing was such a huge success (I was giggly giddily over the number of entries), I'm definitely doing it again. Maybe not a sock monkey, maybe a pig or something next time. Either way, I promise it will be good. So, if I was going to make another sock monkey, which socks should I use? I'm kind of thinking the seahorses, but I'm open to suggestions.

Haiku Friday: A Monkey Prize

wild or classic it
just takes one pair to transform
footwear to primate

red face stripes argyle
so many choices of style
paralyzed by choice

I go for the wild
the crazy the absurd just
don’t forget the tail

Today's haiku is brought to you by The Great Interview Experiment. I was interviewed by San Diego Momma, who requested an on the spot sock monkey haiku. I couldn't let it go to waste, so there it is. She also asked when I'm giving away another sock monkey, so I thought I would combine the two.

So, here it goes. Leave a comment and you will be entered to win yourself your very own wild sock monkey. I was going to go for a great blue/green argyle, but if you win and have special requests, I'm open to that as well (within reason). Voting ends Monday August 11th, at 10 PM Central Time (aka bedtime). I don't sell the sock monkeys, because I don't have enough time to make enough to sell. I do like giving them away however. If you want to buy one I do have some great suggestions of wonderful artists who do sell theirs, just let me know.

Support Haiku Friday (and the rest of the blogosphere), visit A Mommy Story for more.


Here it is, the socks before the monkey. I'm nowhere near organized enough to actually have it done.

Update: Looking for the winner, see here. (Don't want to look? It was Birdie, comment number 2)

I named the baby doll Hazel

For me, toys are one of those things that evoke a serious emotional response. They were a sore spot of my growing up, and in hindsight one of my greatest joys. My parents were different than every other parent I knew as a kid. There was no searching, no waiting in line for the best new toy. Toys had to be educational and encourage creativity. I thought it was because my parents were boring. It was more likely that as self employed part time organic vegetable farmers, they were picky with a limited budget, and wanted to make sure I got the most out of their disposable income. They were also not into stereotypes, or giving in to the marketing drama.

I wanted a Barbie, I was given a baby doll from the collection of a woman who could never have children. One of her favorite baby dolls that she gave away in later life, long after her dream of having her own family had passed. I treasured that doll, sewed clothes for it, and never once gave it a purple mohawk.

I wanted a Cabbage Patch Kid, and got a hand made knock off made by someone in our community. She was perfect, she even looked like me (a choice of doll wasn't an option at the time, when you were lucky to get one, let alone have choice in appearance), and I named her Mary Lou, after Mary Lou Retton. It was 1984, the year she got the perfect ten.

I don't know if I had gotten what I thought I wanted most if I would have appreciated them as much as what I did get, or gotten too much out of them. At 30, I still have an active imagination, and that creative thinking helps me with the problem solving I need to be successful in my career. (who says art majors can't work in IT, and not as a designer either)

With M we are challenged to balance the flexibility we have because of our careers, with helping make sure she appreciates what she has. Add to that the issues with lead paint, the constant barrage of electronics, and it seems there are far more challenges than my parents had to deal with. Fortunately, so far we think we have found some balance. At her first birthday she didn't receive anything that required batteries, and as much as I want her to have everything I didn't, I am learning to be reserved. I do my research, I try to support independent businesses and ones that are more careful about the products they release. As she gets older, we are also going to make sure she knows how fortunate she is by encouraging her to be generous with those who aren't as lucky.

This post is a part of a Parent Blogger Network blog blast, sponsored by Hasbro. They're giving away a huge toy prize package, see the details about how to enter yourself at the PBN blog. Small extra plug since it is for a good cause, if you shop at Hasbro right now in addition to free shipping, they are donating a toy for every toy purchased, up to $400,000. You know, and they make my favorite preschool game from my own childhood. (we already own it for when M is old enough) Chutes & Ladders!

Pay It Forward - Amelia's First Contest

I like contests, I like winning things. I would like to win the Powerball, but you know, odds and such. I've won 3 so far, two from Celebrity Baby Blog, and one from A Mommy Story. All of this winning has actually, serious and stuff, made me want to give stuff away myself. I really like giving stuff. I just haven't known how...

Enter one of my favorite blogs, The New Girl. (found her originally thanks to a link to this post, made me laugh so hard I nearly peed my pants) She's having her first contest, and its a cool concept from someone named Swistle. Pay It Foward - Have a contest and the person who wins then has a contest and so on and so forth.

So, here it is, my contest. Must enter by July 4th, 2008. (counting Central US time and all) Entry done by leaving a comment. Winner picked by random number generation. (yeah, geek) You don't have to write anything other than you know, something, but if you want an idea, here it is:

What is/was your favorite children's book. Both for you doing the reading and being read to. (what, I need help both finding stuff for us, and writing for Savvy)
Mine, The Bear Snores On. Totally fun to read, and holds attention pretty well.

Oh, stuff? You want to know what the prize is? Well, I've been collecting some neat stuff while venturing out for my work at Savvy. Didn't know what I wanted to do with it, but couldn't leave these great shops empty handed. Included, but not limited to:

An Under the Nile organic toy from Wonderment
A book (or two) from Wild Rumpus
A toy, hand knit and felted by yours truly
A wild sock monkey, hand made by yours truly
A jar of local, single source honey from Ames Farm