Here are some pictures of what I've been working on:

I giggle everytime I look at these babies. I am addicted to crocheting them. The fiddly part is sewing on the eyes and buttons. This lot I crocheted in one afternoon. Emily picked most of the colors. She actually wants me crochet some pink ones. Pink owls ??!! lol

These are the beginnings of a knitted bear. I know. Just another bear but the history behind this bear and the pattern is heartwarming. The designer and knitter is Gregory Patrick, a homeless man, who pulled himself from rock bottom by knitting the bears and selling them.

You can read his story HERE. You can help him by buying his pattern.

A new KAL

Come join a new KAL. Find the information HERE. It's one of Liz Abinante's pattern called Flurries Cowl. And it's free.

I'm using Mini Mochi yarn (2 skeins) and here's what I started:

My Dirty but Healthy Salad

Before the year ends, I want to share a healthy recipe with my readers. Why dirty? With the balsamic vinegar dressing and ground flax seed, it looks like I dropped the salad in the mud-- lol!

I'm following a Fuhrman Nutritarian diet, eating mostly Greens, onions, mushrooms, berries, beans, and seeds. I don't do measurements well. Everything is a dash of this or that, following your taste. Here goes:



1 cup black beans ( I boil my own, no salt added) or use one in cans but low sodium

1 mango

1 stalk of green onion

1 clove garlic, chopped

a few sprigs of cilantro, chopped

1/2 avocado

salad greens or romaine lettuce

a handful of raw cashew

1 tsp of ground flax seed, sprinkle on salad last



for dressing:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp Stevia sweetener, or organic raw sugar (optional)

sprinkle of black pepper



enjoy!

For the coming year, I will dye more yarn and wool roving, knit more, quilt more, and design more free patterns to share with everyone. And I plan to sell yarn from my stash, yarn that I know I will never use. I will clean out my whole house, one room at a time.

That's my New Year's resolutions. Let's see how I fare.

Happy New Year to all of you. Here's to a healthier 2012!

I'm writing this as I'm listening to a BBC 4 Global News podcast of Kim Jung Il's funeral and knitting at the same time.

I'm knitting the Bandana Cowl from the Purl Bee. Chunky yarn, yes, chunky, fat yarn, using jumbo needles as well. That means, I will finish fast--lol!

Day after Christmas, we went and saw Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. The theater was packed but we found seats. I never thought I'd say this of a Tom Cruise movie but I liked it. Totally enjoyable. Missions 1, 2, and 3 were forgettable. I saw them all but barely remember what they were about. This one was so much fun that I didn't want it to end. I love his supporting cast of Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Paula Patton. I have been following Jeremy Renner's career and knew that he will be famous one of these days and it looks that has already happened.

He will be playing the hero in the movie Bourne Legacy, not to replace Matt Damon, but to play another character. My other favorite actor, Matt Damon, is not even going to be in this movie.

I can't believe that the year 2011 is almost over. Time is just flying way too fast.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Here we are, spending Christmas at my dad's. Everyone's home, lots of food as always. Last night, we took my aunt to the ER and spent several hours there. She's my dad's younger sister, 80 years old. She's had health problems for as long as I can remember. She's never married and lives alone. She took care of all of us, my sister and I, and all my other cousins, when we were still young and living in the Philippines. Being with her last night reminded me of when I was at the hospital with my mom, before she passed on. It makes me sad seeing my aunt like this and it saddens me because she might not recover from this one.

Red Schoolhouse

I can't believe how easy it is to knit this one and it turns out really cute too. Depending on the color of yarn you use, it can be a schoolhouse or simply an old fashioned 1900's house.

You can find the pattern on her website:

Chalklegs.com

or on Ravelry:

1900 House

I'm knitting two more in different colors and will gift them to Emily's teacher. She's one of those people who enjoys hand knitted items.

Here's a mitten ornament on our tree. I was going to make an advent calendar type of banner using mini mittens but I ran out of time. Maybe next year.

Some more handmade ornaments, this one given to me by a crafty friend.

I hate being kept in suspense. Last Friday, I had some blood work done. I've been having these dry eyes symptoms paired with dry mouth. I googled them and came upon Sjogren's syndrome. And, the more I read, the more scared I became. I should have listened to hubby who told me to stop googling my symptoms. The internet can be a good thing and sometimes, a bad influence. I should have listened.

So, come Friday, I went to my doctor and asked him to run some tests. I had to stew for 2 days before I got the results. It was negative for any autoimmune disease. I can breathe again.

Happy thanksgiving to one and all!

What I'm serving today:
Roast turkey with gravy
stuffing
home made cranberry relish
cream of corn from Honeybaked Hams (yummy)
my homebaked ham
carrots and brussell sprouts with almonds in garlic sauce
home made mashed potatoes with garlic
pumpkin bars with sour cream frosting from fresh pumpkin
chinese green salad with sesame dressing
sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows

whew! That's a lot of food!

Finished

Here is the finished Live Oak Shawlette:

A Star!

My daughter Emily is getting an award today for scoring really high in her STAR tests. Although my kids are homeschooled, we are still a part of the public school system. Under Horizon Charter School, we are provided books, curriculum and budget to take elective classes. We report to a teacher every 21 days, who then checks and makes sure we are following "the rules" of the public school system. We've been with Horizon for years now and we like the system.

I also know that homeschooling works for us as evidenced by the high STAR test scores my kids have. These tests are given by the state every year in April. My Matthew also excelled in all 4 test subjects he's taken (Math, Language Arts, Science and History). While home schooling is not for everybody, it works for us. And what about "socialization" as I'm often asked. My kids don't lack in socialization and activities. Our church activities keep them busy every week, non-stop, that Matthew had to give up one or two activities due to lack of time.

So far, this is what I've knitted of the Live Oak Shawlette. I like the pattern. It's very easy to follow and not boring.

This is one of the window displays at the H&M store at the Roseville Galleria. Pardon the blurriness of the picture. I did not have my camera, just my iPod.

We also went to Krispy Cream and got a dozen donuts. Emily picked this one as her favorite.

I wake up at 3 am in the morning and this is what I pick up:

When I was at Tuesday morning, I found some sock weight yarns, Araucania, wool/silk/nylon blend, on sale for $5.99 and 6.99 per skein. Not sure about the price difference but I bought 3 skeins, about 430 yds per skein. Not bad. I have a lot of ongoing projects but this one helps me with the insomnia problem.

The project is the Live Oak Shawlette from Knitscene Fall 2011.

When the anxiety kicks in, I turn to this project to get my mind off of thinking too much. Yesterday afternoon, I felt the anxious thoughts coming on. I decided to dance to the Wii. After 2 songs, it worked. I felt much better. Not only that, I was able to take a refreshing nap. It helped with the shortness of breath. I probably got about 5-6 hours of sleep last night, including the 3 am waking. I was able to get back to sleep, thank God! I have to cope with this perimenopause thing one day at a time.

I have been trying not to write this because it depresses me. I hate being sick and this chronic cough is getting the better of me. There is this one gadget that saved my sanity. It's called a Peak Flow Meter. First of all, my Xray came out fine and so did my Spirometry (breathing test). So, what could be wrong with me? Asthma?

I have been to my doctor 3 times this month and twice last month. No one even suggested a Peak Flow Meter. Finally, with the last visit, he explained to me how it works. My meter reading was very good. I wasn't experiencing an asthma attack at all.

So, I've been using this meter everyday now, for over a week, and I only had to use my albuterol once (before my exercise session with the treadmill).

I am, however, also perimenopausal. And if I was to believe everything I read on the internet, declining hormones can completely get you all wacked out. Big time.

Here are some of my symptoms:
1. anxiety (tightness in the chest, shortness of breath)
2. insomnia ( I wake up at 3 am in the morning, regularly)
3. Acid reflux (gerd)

All of the above happens around dinner time and before I go to bed. I am even afraid to go to bed nowadays, anticipating the oncoming attacks.

What relaxes me? KNITTING and listening to podcasts and audiobooks. AND, my faith in God , that He will deliver me from all of these. I am totally in His hands. If only I will remember to not worry.

Living with Asthma

I think I have asthma. Further tests are being done. I passed the first breathing test and my Xray is okay but I have chest tightness and cough. It is scary especially at night. It's hard to sleep and breathe. And sometimes, I think all of it is just in my head. I get panicky when I think I can't breathe and so, I can't breathe. A vicious cycle.

Knitting relaxes me and alleviates the panicky feeling I get. I knew it was good for something--lol!

This is the cloth I wove yesterday. Yarn used is Peaches and Creme cotton yarn.

Weaving on a Hazel Rose Loom. I bought this loom from their website, set it aside for a few years, and have now just picked it up. Quick gratification since you finish really fast.

Latest spinning news: 4 ounces of Merino Silk variegated roving (Before)

Handspun singles on the wheel (after)

The grimace on Emily's face was not really a grimace. Her mouth was just too full of deep fried Oreo goodness. Waiting for her was a slab of tater twists, all bought at the Santa Cruz boardwalk--lol! We had a wonderful mini vacation at Santa Cruz. I swear, all we did was eat.

We checked in at the Best Western Suites near the Boardwalk. I honestly don't remember ever using Best Western. It's a little more expensive than Motel 6 but not as pricey as Holiday Inn. So, I signed up for a 2-queen bed room for 4 people. As we checked-in, they upgraded us for free to a two-suite room with a king-sized bed, a queen bed, a sitting room, mini kitchen, and huge bathroom. Whoa!!

Here is Emily taking over the master suite. Have I mentioned that there were 2 huge TVs as well?

Here are hubby, Emily and Matthew at the beach. The water was still cold.

Emily and Matthew (and me taking the picture) waiting for Dad. He rides with them. I have vertigo and therefore, cannot ride.

Picture taken in front of the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. We had a mini vacation to Santa Cruz, and on the way back home, we stopped by WMH. I've been there in the early 80's and found this place really weird. It still is, 29 years later. The kids were fascinated by all the weirdness and the way Sarah Winchester had the house built. I'm going to include the link to the
house and you can read more and see some pictures. During the tour, we were not allowed to take ANY pictures, specially inside the house. They want you to go there and see for yourself. Outside, on the grounds, you can take limited shots but by then, I was too tired to even care. The tour of the house inside and outside took 2 and a half hours.

This is a finished shawl, designed by Stephen West, called
Daybreak. It was an easy shawl to knit. I used a cotton/wool blend yarn called Cestari. I'm not sure if they still make/sell this yarn though.

This last shawl is called the Ginger Leaves Shawl. I've seen a similar design from Evelyn Clark's Triangular shawl book where it teaches you how to design your own shawl. I enjoyed knitting this one as well.