I forgot to take pictures of the baby socks and other stuff I made for the baby shower yesterday. I always forget to take pictures of my FOs, but usually it is the baked goods that miss their photo op.

I mentioned a few days ago that I am trying out Everyday Minerals make-up. I got one of their sample kits which came with three foundations. The optimistthat I am, I chose three foundations in the fair category but not called "fair". I don't usually think of myself as being really pale just pale. I figured one step up from pale should work well for me. As I applied these pale but not too pale shades I realized they were too dark for me. Ok, I ordered another trial kit this time with the Fair and a couple others that were the same shade as I had originally ordered but with a different "finish", for lack of a better word. The only one that looks right is the fair with pinky undertones i.e. the cool fair. I guess fair sounds better than pale. I love that they let you order their free kit so you can figure out what works for you.

I really hate plastic bags you get from the grocery store. I keep them under the kitchen sink with recycling them as my goal, but they just sit in there for months. They are hidden and often forgotten when a trip to the recycling center happens. I stop at the grocery store at least 2 or 3 times a week to pick up random items for dinner or milk and cereal for breakfast the next morning. This means I accumulate plastic bags at, to me, an astonishing rate. I have decided this amassing of synthetic polymers in bag form must stop or at least slow a bit. Last time I was at Hy-Vee I bought one of their large canvas bags, which should hold at least 2 if not 3 bags worth of groceries. I have also purchased a couple of reusable shopping bags from The Container Store as well as one larger bag for taking to the farmers' market.

I like to have a few around when cleaning or for lining the small garbage cans, but they don't need to take over my cupboard under the sink.

One baby sock is done (minus weaving in the ends)and I am done with the leg of the second. I hope to finish it tomorrow night as long as I don't break anymore of my needles. I was in the middle of a purl when the tip snapped off of needle. i was quite traumatized. I switched to my longer metal set, which is quite awkward, but i don't fear I will break them now. One of the little wood dpns in the same set has a curve to it. It feels a little weird when I am using it, but it works just fine. I just emailed Brttany Needles for a replacement. I still may buy some metals ones because the wood is a little too flexible for my taste, but they are great for slippery yarns.

I made another bundt cake and again forgot to take a picture before we dug into it. I forgot the vegetable oil so it was a little dry and the texture a little off but definitely still edible.

I didn't like the cuff on the baby sock I started, so I started another one. there are three versions of these baby socks in the pattern so i am switching to a different one. I may try the first one again with a minor modification on the cuff. We shall see.

I decided to try Everyday Minerals after seeing them on Not Martha's blog. They offer a free sample kit which has 3 foundations, 1 face powder or blush and 1 concealer. I tried it out today and am quite happy so far. It was a little hard to get my large brush into the time sample jars without getting powder everywhere, but I managed. I am not sure the if the foundation I tried today is quite right, but I still have two more to try! I am strangely excited about this make-up. I think I may go ahead and get one of their kits once I figure out what I like. They even have a cute little travel kit.

I again have a cough I can't seem to get rid of and now I have a pinched nerve in my back. It's not bad enough for me to head to the chiro, especially since I was just there yesterday, but it is annoying and it hurts.

Pattern: Widdershins
Yarn: Plymouth Sockotta #6673

I finally finished my first pair of socks! There was no reason for it to take as long as it did other than the fact that I got distracted. I can't seem to stay on one project long enough to finish it in a reasonable amount of time.




Pattern: ball band dishcloth
Yarn: Lily Sugar'n'Cream #01130 and #00026

I started this while watching the last UFC because it is incredibly simple. I just started another, but I switched the two colors around.

This makes me smile

Enjoy!

Norberta

Norberta
Originally uploaded by chelsealynnw.

Dear Lexsea,

This is Norberta. She's filled out a little since this photo was taken. She also is in fewer pieces. She has a few issues with her legs that I am helping her work out at this time. You will see her shortly after I finish some darling little baby socks. I promise. Wicket I am not so sure about. He has arm issues. See my flickr page for photos.

I know research is supposed to be frustrating, but when your controls aren't cooperating it gets that much more frustrating. I can't seem to get anything to work correctly in my current cloning project. First I was given incorrect information about my vectors and now the insertion of a small piece of DNA, which should be simple, is becoming increasingly complicated. I did make a stupid mistake initially, but i corrected that and it's still not working. Even my PI is confused.

I did quite a bit of baking this weekend. I hadn't done any in quite awhile, which is probably for the best so i don't have deserts laying around. Saturday night i started a loaf of No Knead Bread. the second rise didn't go very well for me. I don't think my apartment is warm enough. I didn't do a good job of shaping the dough ball either. It wouldn't hold it's shape. the recipe calls for a 6-8 qt pan, but I think something in the 4qt range would be sufficient. I think it may have come out rounder if I had used a smaller rounder dish. As for the taste, it was quite nice. It had a nice chewy and crunchy crust with a slightly yeasty taste. Mine was a little dense due to the lack of rise. I probably could have baked it a little longer, but the soup was ready and I was impatient. I will definitely be trying this again. I made creamy chicken and wild rice soup to go with the bread. I made a lot of soup; I didn't mean to.

I also made some banana bread using the recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook. I wasn't too impressed with it. It may have been better if I had baked it in to small pans rather than one large one. The outside got a little dark before the middle was done. Josh was quite worried that it would be burnt. I used a buttermilk powder rather than real buttermilk b/c the editors of Cooks' Illustrated told me it works in baked goods almost as well as buttermilk. I am not sure how much that substitution had to do with how it baked.

I started a pair of baby socks for a baby to be born in May. I think they are going to be quite cute if I don't totally mangle them.

I went to my sister's concert last night at UNI. I was expecting a long, drawn-out affair, since this is what my mom told me it would be, so I decided I needed to take something with me to keep my hands busy. I was thinking about bringing a sock to work on,(I am starting my Jaywalkers with a new yarn since the one I started with isn't doing the pattern justice), but I would have had to do a gauge swatch with the new yarn and didn't want to be messing with that in the dark. I have decided to make some washcloths, booties, and a hat for a friend of mine who is having a baby in May. I wanted to test out a washcloth pattern for softness and size before I made her baby some. I settled on this one since it was simple and I could knit it up in the dark. I used a nice bright green colorway I had in my stash because it looked spring-like. I finished about 3/4 of it during the 1 1/2 hour long concert. The concert was pretty good. My sister stood next to some rather tall guys so it was easy to find her. Corey, his fiancee, his grandmas, my mom and I went out to eat before and then went to Cold Stone with Lex and Jeph after the concert. My dad and grandpa were also in attendance. I am glad I was finally able to go to one of her concerts and still get home at a pretty decent time. I had to leave work early, but that was not too horrible of a sacrifice.

pacman and his ghost softies

There are too many incredibly cute and useless crocheted things I must make for myself. These are most definitely on the list.

Not really sure why I have been bad about this blog thing. There is no good reason.

I My current WIPs are Widdershins in Sockotta #6673. I am also working on Jaywalkers using Meilenweit #325. I should be starting Thermal for my sis soon. I need to refine my Wicket pattern. His arms look funny and I didn't write down what I did (duh!) so I am going to have to go back and count stitches to figure out what I did.

I also need to make some banana bread. I have very ripe bananas waiting for me in the freezer. Maybe it will happen tomorrow night. I may also try my hand at No Knead Bread sometime soon. I have always wanted to make a yeast bread and this looks like a good starting point. I hope my Dutch oven is large enough. It's only a 5 quart and this calls for a 6-8qt pot. I may try it in my insanely large skillet which looks more like a weapon than a pot. I really need to bake something soon. I haven't baked in a couple weeks. I haven't had the time or the energy. My cousin called to ask for my brownie recipe, which I usually have memorized, but I could not remember it today. It has been too long!!! I didn't even have a bag of chocolate chips in my apartment!! That is almost unheard of!