Only the first five people that click are eligible to pass this on, so click fast!

I was smarter today and wore socks with my shoes and brought a sweatshirt, but my hands and nose are still cold. I usually use Josh's shoulder as a nose warmer, but he wasn't willing to come to work with me today. Apparently he has to go to work, too. I could really use one of these in this place right now. Actually, I think it could be pretty useful in most places during the colder months. June in Iowa isn't supposed to be a cold month. I found an electric company in MN that lets you purchase blocks of wind generated energy each month for about 50 cents per 100kwh. I think it's totally worth it.

My good internet friend Melanie posted a link to Musicovery, which I am quite enjoying. At the rather chilly lab, I usually listen to Pandora, but this is a nice change and a different way to approach listening to music based on mood rather than it's musical qualities.

I have been knitting on the Poms and on my traveling socks (so far the heel flap of the 2nd is on it's third iteration), but nothing yet for Summer of Socks. I think I will need to bust out the baby sock patterns for this one.

I need some pizza ideas. I have another ball of this dough in the freezer (leave it in the freezer for a week, trust me, you won't be disappointed) and so far I have made taco pizza, white sauce with chicken, peppers and red onion, and something else, but I can't remember right now. Josh has been adamant about no red sauce, so I better steer clear of that no matter how much I want a cheese pizza right now.

Josh and I are going to start moving stuff this Saturday, which makes me kind of excited. We started packing up the kitchen and my bookshelf as well as two of our three computers, so a truckload is heading north with us. It will be nice to get the boxes out of our current place. While in the throes of packing I noticed some sticky brown syrup dripping down our plastic shelves in our storage room. This is the shelf that Josh stores all his beer making ingredients on. Somehow, a bottle of malt extract broke and slowly leaked all over the floor. Luckly, since it is mostly sugar, it was fairly easy to wash away, but I had to use my bench scraper to get the stuff off the floor. Why was I cleaning it up an not Josh?

I just took the ecological footprint quiz on this site and am quite dismayed with myself. I like to think I have a low ecological footprint, but I don't. I thought I was even below average, but I am not. It's hard to figure out what else I can do. It's frustrating and eye opening, but also very discouraging. A lot of things I can't change, such as where the electricity that gets pumped into my apartment comes from and what appliances are in my apartment.

On to less depressing topics, I finished my super secret socks, though I still can't share them with you. I know you are all waiting anxiously for the reveal. Right? Since I finished a pair, I decided to start a new pair, which only makes sense. Actually working on another project would make more sense, but I will ignore logic in this case since I have wanted to make this pair for ages. Bellatrix (Ravelry)is a pattern designed by a lovely woman who recently passed away. She designed a bunch of free patterns, but due to copyright issues when her site was taken down, they haven't been available for several months. Her husband as generously taken the time to upload them all to Ravelry so we can once again use them.

Here's a picture of the ball of yarn I am using since the pictures I have taken of the start of this sock aren't interesting in the least.


The yarn in Yarn Pirate in Kalamata from the Booty Club and has short repeats of chocolate brown, a dark purple, light brown and a my favorite shade of green. I think it will be perfect for this pattern. By the way, after the first repeat, I was totally hooked. Hopefully Ornette won't get too lonely.

Attack of the Giant Chocolate with Vanilla Frosting Cupcakes!!!!


Made using this pan and this recipe cut in half. I can only eat half of one of these at a time.

I don't understand people's obsession with big vehicles. Most parking lots are now dominated with SUVs. Especially with gas prices going up and global warming taking center stage in the news, I don't see how people can even think about driving around in their large cars. I do understand that large families and some jobs require a truck with a large engine or van, but for the most part they are unnecessary. It looks like more people are starting to think the same way I do.

I love my little car. It gets 30-40 miles per gallon depending on the type of driving we do. I can squeeze into parking spaces surrounded by large trucks and SUVs, though finding it later is a bit tough. Granted Josh and I are a bit cramped when we drive, but not uncomfortably so. It's also a manual, which I adore unless I am in stop-and-go traffic, then my adoration wanes a bit. I hope my car lasts me for a few more years until they can make more hybrids with the same gas mileage as my car.

ETA: Since Amanda mentioned it in the coments :P, Josh does have a small truck. We drive it about 2 or 3 times a month to run errands, take our recyclables to the recycling place or if we are going to two different places. It is usually filled, at least partially, with E85, and it is rather small and gets better gas mileage than most SUVs. As far a trucks go, it's relatively harmless. I think my taking of public transportation and Josh using my car or the motorcycle when it's nice make up for the convenience of having a truck to haul our recycling and large things that don't fit in my small car.

Ok, moving on...

Ornette progress!


Shiny and tiny new iPod, though the screen is bigger.


Frog Prince!

Top 25! Woohoo!

Go Iowa City! I am sure Coralville is included in Iowa City. Notice how my future residence is also on there. I know how to pick 'em.

Now my iPod will turn on, but I get an icon that looks like a folder and tells me to go to the support page. I tried the things suggested and still nothing happens. Their next suggestion is to get it repaired, but since mine is 4 if not 5 years old, I am willing to get a new one. I ordered a refurbished one as that saved me $50, and I am going to request a prepaid shipping label so I can recycle my broken iPod and some cell phones.

Ok, now my iPod won't turn off. I guess that doesn't really matter anymore, does it?

ETA: Woohoo! It shipped!

Thanks to The Pioneer Woman, I now have clean dishes! She mentioned Lemi Shine on her home and garden blog a last week so I decided to track it down and try it out.

ETA: Since itt's been asked twice now, I found it at Hy-Vee and Target in town. I didn't look anywhere else.


I found my very own, slightly different from her's, bottle of Lemi Shine for about $3.75. I didn't expect much because we have tried other things in the past with little success. I added about a tablespoon along with my regular dishwasher detergent.

Can you see the difference? The glass on the left has been washed with Lemi Shine and the one on the right has not. It's a crappy pic. The dirty cutting board behind them isn't improving their looks much, I might add.

And one of the best things about this stuff other than it's remarkable ability to make all my dishes, even the plastic ones I had in the dorms, look better is this...

It's phosphate free, which is good for the environment. Dang, I sound like an advertisement, but I am rather excited about having clean dishes again.

Ok, moving on. I have knitted stuff. I have started several small toys, which I am sure is a surprise to you all. So far I have a frog, Trogdor, Sausage Dog and a snail.


Hopefully they will all be done by this weekend so I can knit socks.

Happy Earth Day!

Be nice to the earth today!

Small changes

I have been trying to make small changes that not only save money but are lest wasteful and less horrible for the environment. So far I have become a little fanatical about what gets recycled at our place, replaced our laundry detergent with some homemade phosphate-free detergent, replaced the kitchen cleaner with some homemade (and cheap!) cleaner, take public transportation to and from work, bring reusable bags to the grocery store and mall(when I remember) and now I am working on replacing paper towels with microfiber towels and other reusable towels after reading this article. Not only will it save money but it's less wasteful.

When Josh and I get our house we are going to try to make it as energy efficient as we can afford. Since Josh works at Lowe's (is there an apostrophe in Lowe's? I should know this), he is fairly informed about appliances and can get good deals sometimes. I am also going to look into fume-free paints. Can you tell I am a little excited about owning a home? We have been spending way more time talking about buying a house than planning a wedding.

I really wanted to finish the Zombies yesterday, well actually Monday, but realized quickly that was not going to happen. I have a couple more rows before the gusset is done, which will be a relief. I can get rid of the dpns I am using to hold the extra stitches!

Any ideas what I should have for dinner tonight? We kind of indulged during our long weekend so I am thinking something healthy, but I have some fingerling potatoes I really want to slice, roast and cover in parmesan. Mmmm.... I made beef stew and soda bread this weekend as well as pancakes and oatmeal scones, so we have had our share of hearty food. Salads would probably be a good choice. I guess the parmesan covered potatoes can wait.

I'm a follower

But in this case, it's for a good cause. Today is Blog Action Day. Bloggers all over the place are posting about the environment. I have done those carbon footprint calculators before and I am always shocked how awful I am to the environment. I do a little to help, but definitely not enough. I take public transportation to and from work. I use reusable bags for shopping. I recycle whenever I can. I turn off lights and my computer when they are not in use. I turn the thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer. When I have my own house I want it to be as energy efficient as possible.

Today I am going to look for one more change I can make in my daily life to help the environment. I suggest you do the same! It doesn't have to be anything big, but the small changes can add up. I am going to look for more environmentally friendly cleaning supplies.