Watching Youtube to avoid Working

I'm supposed to be stitching around the letters in my MIL's wall hanging. I'm avoiding it. But in the process of avoiding my project I've found some really cool videos on YouTube :) The first video is actually my Belly Dance teacher at last year's New Years Eve Fire and Ice festival in Anchorage (I'm going this year and looked it up just for fun and came across her video). She's doing an improve fire poi dance. Sometime I dream of taking up fire poi, but then I remember two very important things. First I'm a klutz and second I like my hair. I have the feeling those two facts might be mutually exclusive if I add fire poi to the picture.



The second is the video for the FloBots' song "Handlebars." It's one of my favorite music videos but you have to pay attention to get the back and forth. I get all warm and fuzzy when a group uses their music to convey a message instead of just to get a paycheck.



Maybe I should get back to work now ... nah

A Very Domestic Solstice and Chicken Barley Soup

Today was a good day. I'm sitting at my computer, sipping raspberry herbal tea, smelling the wonderful soup I have simmering in the crock pot, and I can't help but think that today was a very good day. Honey got off work early and we were able to spend a couple hours just hanging out an watching silly cartoons. I got half-way done with the wall hanging I need to finish before Christmas for my MIL. I have my favorite soup in the crock pot. Honey cooked a wonderful dinner/mini-feast for us to share and then we performed our Yule ritual. As I said, A very good day.


(What I've accomplished so far on my MIL's wall hanging. I still need to put bias tape around the edges and get some brick red thread as the red parts are the only ones I still need to stich around)

My Favorite Chicken Barley Soup

(a big batch for putting up in the freezer)

Needed-
- 5qt Crock Pot
- 4 large Chicken Breast Halves (boneless, skinless)
- 4 cans chicken broth
- 2 C Water
- 2/3 C pearl barley
- 1 Large Onion (chopped)
- 2 garlic cloves minced (more if you like garlic)
- 4 large carrots (grated or shredded)
- 4 large celery stalks (chopped)
- 1/2 C chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1/4 tsp ground celery seeds
- 2 large bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- salt to taste (optional)

combine all ingredients (except salt) in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 1 hr. Change to low and cook an additional 7-8 hrs.

Remove chicken breasts. When cool enough to handle cut into bite size pieces (usually they are soft enough for me to shred them with a fork). Return chicken to crock pot and cook an additional 20 min on high. Add salt if desired.

I always eat one bowl of soup to celebrate the completion of the batch and then divide the rest into freezer safe individual portion bowls. Let the soup cool in the fridge and then freeze. If you keep it in the fridge it only lasts 3-4 days but in the freezer it can last for months (but I like it so much it usually doesn't).


(My batch of soup all ready to go in the fridge and then the freezer)

Pay-It-Forward Giveaway (Finally)

Now, that I have a working computer I am excited to start my own Pay-It-Forward Giveaway.

For those of you who might not be familiar with this type of crafty give away, let me explain. If you enter this giveaway you will receive something home made and crafty from me. Once I let you know that it is in the mail, you then get to start your own pay it forward giveaway on your blog and make three wonderful crafty things and send them to three readers of your blog who in turn start their own pay it forward giveaways. Basically, we are trying to cover the world in crafty goodness :)

A couple months ago I entered the Pay-It-Forward giveaway at Sara's blog Blessed Simplicity. She made me a wonderful fillet crocheted bookmark.

I wont say what I'm making for the pay-it-forward giveaway but I will say I already bought the fabric and I'm really excited to make them. If you are interested, post a comment letting me know and I'll contact the first three posters to get your addresses and such. I'll be honest and admit that it will probably take me a month or two to finish the crafty surprises once I have your information.

Thankful Thursday !!! I have a working computer again!!!

****Warning - Really Long Post - I have a lot to be thankful for ******

I have so many things to be thankful for this Thursday I'm having a hard time deciding where to start ...

- Honey is home. My honey got home at 1am Wed morning. And I can't stop grinning like a idiot.

- I have my computer back!!! I got so frustrated with the old broken down computer I decided it was time to take a few weeks off from the Internet but now I'm back!

- I have a ton of cookies from my families Cookie Party

- Last week Mom and I had a sewing night and I got a ton of stuff done.

- Dad and I got a ton of stuff done on the MIL apartment over the last couple weekends

- I can finally start my Pay-It-Forward give away since I have a reliable computer

- I made wonderful Chicken Barley soup tonight. (I always have a bunch of servings in the freezer for quick filling meals)

- Christmas Decorations

Make a Flake !!

I found a great website that lets you make your own paper cut snowflakes without all the mess and with an undo button when things don't come out quite like you envisioned :) Check out Make-a-Flake and make some snowflakes of your own

A Very Thankful Thanksgiving Thursday

This year I am most thankful for ...

-My wonderful honey. He's sweet, patient, cuddly, handsome, weird, funny, mine :)

-Being back in Alaska. You never think you'll miss -40 until you spend time +100

-Having my family nearby.

-Our wonderful, complicated, not-quite-finished new house

-All the help our family and friends have given us toward finishing our house

-Belly Dance and Jazzercise classes

-Titlewave Books

My Computer is Possesed ... Or Just Really Freaking OLD

I've been using our old laptop as MY shiny new laptop is in GA with honey (that's how he knows I love him). This laptop dates from honey's days in the barracks and has been dropped off an armored vehicle (or two) so it's not surprising that it has some issues. Mostly we've learned to work around them on the rare occasion we have to use it. However, last week it started crashing every few minutes. I've tried everything I can think of and a few things honey talked me through over the phone but I think it's time to accept that fixing it is beyond my skill set and wait for honey. To that end I haven't been on the Internet much (bumming computer time from friends). Here's what happened in the last couple weeks.

- MIL is recovering nicely. She's back home and self sufficient as long as I can come every few days to help with the things she can't manage yet. We managed to live together for two weeks without killing each other :)

-I'm still going to Jazzercise. I went three times last week. It still kicks my butt but I love it.

-I bought a treadmill on Craigslist for a great deal. I bought it from an older couple who live rather out in the sticks (that's saying something since this is Alaska). It's an older model but sturdy as hell and works great. From the sounds of it they never really used it as anything other than a treadmill shaped coat rack. I've been using it for low impact walking while I watch TV.

-Dad and I are still going strong on the MIL apartment. (I've got some pictures of all that we've accomplished I'll put up once I have a computer of my own again). Last Saturday I got insulation all over myself from crawling in the roof space and dirt all over me from working in the crawl space. I should have been miserable but I had a lot of fun working with my dad all day.

-I've got five aprons almost finished for Christmas gifts. I just need to put on the ties and they will be ready to send.

-I've been making snowflake kanzashi (another set of pictures I'll put up once I have access to my own computer)

-Last week was my last Belly Dance class until the new cycle starts in mid January :(

-Expect post to be fairly erradic for the immediate future. Sorry.