Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Election Day!
What more can I say that hasn't already been said...
VOTE!
People have died, been incarcerated & voluntarily gone on hunger strikes to give YOU the ability to vote. Don't take this freedom for granted.
Get out and VOTE!
Go now!
Really, I'm not kidding.
Go now and VOTE!
>^.^<
VOTE!
People have died, been incarcerated & voluntarily gone on hunger strikes to give YOU the ability to vote. Don't take this freedom for granted.
Get out and VOTE!
Go now!
Really, I'm not kidding.
Go now and VOTE!
>^.^<
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Dining in Pittsburgh
Today I find myself with my co-worker 'D' in Pittsburgh. We're here a day early for a training class at a company facility. I have only been to PIT once before about 3 years ago. Similarly, I was here on business attending the same facility.
Feeling rather adventurous, I wanted to find a 'local' restaurant for dinner. And beer sounded really good too. After perusing a 'what to do while in Pittsburgh' magazine, I found Penn Brewery. The magazine claimed it serves German and American favorites. We both thought...yummmm German beer. Decision made.
Armed with directions from Mapquest, we started our adventure. Follow street A to street B. Drive through a trippy underground tunnel. Turn here, turn there. Exit on Exit 7C. Missed 7C completely. I swear there wasn't a sign. Drive out of our way. Turn around. Drive completely out of our way again. Finally we managed to get off the highway and onto a local road. Using the crappy map in the "what to do while in Pittsburgh" magazine, we managed to navigate downtown PIT and finally arrived at our destination.
The restaurant was super cute. They have a great cobble-stone patio which I'm sure is well used during the summer and on the weekends in October. Inside they have long tables where 6 or 8 could sit. Very European...or so I've been told.
I immediately ordered a Penn Dark. Very malty with rich flavor. Went well with the musical stylings of a little German polka band made up of a string bass & and an accordion. I wished I had a stein and had a few more friends around to really play up the toast the band occasionally made.
The menu was completely overwhelming. Not a scant trace of American food. Oh no, this menu was full of calorie laden, artery clogging German comfort foods. I was giddy. I could not decide on what to order, so the waitress helped. I ended up with this...
SCHWEINELENDENSTÜCK
Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloins grilled to order and topped with pan gravy.
Served with Bavarian Red Cabbage and Mashed Potatoes.
The beer was really affordable, however the food was a bit on the pricy side. All in all - it was worth every penny.
yum yum
>^.^<
Feeling rather adventurous, I wanted to find a 'local' restaurant for dinner. And beer sounded really good too. After perusing a 'what to do while in Pittsburgh' magazine, I found Penn Brewery. The magazine claimed it serves German and American favorites. We both thought...yummmm German beer. Decision made.
Armed with directions from Mapquest, we started our adventure. Follow street A to street B. Drive through a trippy underground tunnel. Turn here, turn there. Exit on Exit 7C. Missed 7C completely. I swear there wasn't a sign. Drive out of our way. Turn around. Drive completely out of our way again. Finally we managed to get off the highway and onto a local road. Using the crappy map in the "what to do while in Pittsburgh" magazine, we managed to navigate downtown PIT and finally arrived at our destination.
The restaurant was super cute. They have a great cobble-stone patio which I'm sure is well used during the summer and on the weekends in October. Inside they have long tables where 6 or 8 could sit. Very European...or so I've been told.
I immediately ordered a Penn Dark. Very malty with rich flavor. Went well with the musical stylings of a little German polka band made up of a string bass & and an accordion. I wished I had a stein and had a few more friends around to really play up the toast the band occasionally made.
The menu was completely overwhelming. Not a scant trace of American food. Oh no, this menu was full of calorie laden, artery clogging German comfort foods. I was giddy. I could not decide on what to order, so the waitress helped. I ended up with this...
SCHWEINELENDENSTÜCK
Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloins grilled to order and topped with pan gravy.
Served with Bavarian Red Cabbage and Mashed Potatoes.
The beer was really affordable, however the food was a bit on the pricy side. All in all - it was worth every penny.
yum yum
>^.^<
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
12 Weeks
Tomorrow I am going back to work after being on maternity leave for 12 weeks.
*sigh*
I have completely enjoyed spending time getting to know my girly. I feel fortunate that I could afford to take 12 weeks off from work, but I am sad that I must go back to work so soon.
Yes - 12 weeks = too soon.
>^.^<
*sigh*
I have completely enjoyed spending time getting to know my girly. I feel fortunate that I could afford to take 12 weeks off from work, but I am sad that I must go back to work so soon.
Yes - 12 weeks = too soon.
>^.^<
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Win the Essential BabyWearing Stash
As some of you may know - I am a babywearer. It started with a recommendation from Audrey to register for a Hotsling. Unfortunately I registered for the wrong size, but by doing so it forced me to look at different slings on the market. What I found was a whole subculture of babywearing wares. Pouches, ring slings, wraps, mei tais with straps, mei tais with buckles, etc...
I purchased a MayaWrap ring sling in apple green and now I'm hooked! Mr. CrazyCat even wears the Girly in it. (I once woke up to Mr. Crazycat wearing the Girly while making muffins!)
I've been thinking of getting a BabyHawk mei tai for those times where I'll need to wear her for longer periods of time. Until then I'm going to try my hand at a wrap. I plan to stop by Joann today and pick up 5 yards of gauze. I'll just hem up the ends and give it a try. It is certainly less expensive than buying a wrap right, but of course I'm quite enamored with two commercial wraps this one and this one.
Now for my shamless plug in an effort to receive more entries in a contest....
For those of you who are interested in babywearing this is your lucky day. Alongfortheride.biz is holding a contest to win the essential babywearing stash. Enter by July 31, 2008 to win...one Gypsy Mama Wrap, one Hotslings pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Beco Butterfly, and one ZoloWear Ring Sling - in your choice of any in-stock colors or patterns. Click here to enter:
Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)
>^.^<
I purchased a MayaWrap ring sling in apple green and now I'm hooked! Mr. CrazyCat even wears the Girly in it. (I once woke up to Mr. Crazycat wearing the Girly while making muffins!)
I've been thinking of getting a BabyHawk mei tai for those times where I'll need to wear her for longer periods of time. Until then I'm going to try my hand at a wrap. I plan to stop by Joann today and pick up 5 yards of gauze. I'll just hem up the ends and give it a try. It is certainly less expensive than buying a wrap right, but of course I'm quite enamored with two commercial wraps this one and this one.
Now for my shamless plug in an effort to receive more entries in a contest....
For those of you who are interested in babywearing this is your lucky day. Alongfortheride.biz is holding a contest to win the essential babywearing stash. Enter by July 31, 2008 to win...one Gypsy Mama Wrap, one Hotslings pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Beco Butterfly, and one ZoloWear Ring Sling - in your choice of any in-stock colors or patterns. Click here to enter:
Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)
>^.^<
Saturday, May 31, 2008
The things I've learned in 17 days...
Parenting my first newborn is one of the most challenging tasks that I've ever taken on. I don't think that anyone could have prepared me for the challenge either - I wouldn't have believed a word they said until I went through the experience on my own. (then again I'm just stubborn that way.)
Mr. CrazyCat has been my rock. I know this has not been easy for him either as we're both dealing with taking care of a newborn and my recovery from a c-section. I usually forget that having a c-section is MAJOR surgery, so I feel the need to be somewhat productive around the house and feel guilty when I take a nap with my girly.
Since my girly was born, I've learned a few things along the way...
Transition from the hospital to home -
During your pregnancy & while you're in the hospital all of the focus is on you. I felt like royalty at the hospital. The nurses were very helpful and caring and made me feel like the center of the universe. I (half-heartedly) expected some sort of fan-fare when I was discharged. The best I got was "room 1344 is discharged." while we were walking out of L&D. Not even a "Good Luck" from anyone. What happened to being the center of the universe? Oh yeah - that was given to the woman in the room next door who just delivered her baby minutes before. I was old news with my 4-day-old. And by the way - you're totally on your own once you leave the hospital.
Return policy for newborns -
It is totally normal to want to return your child on day two at home. I've done the research and cannot find any return policies posted on the hospital website. I know they've done this intensionally and am convinced it's a conspiracy.
Pushy lactation consultants - I have a lot of respect for lactation consultants. Breastfeeding is not intuitive. I really believe it is an art form where LC's are the art teachers. Now there are LC's who are there for you and there are others LC's who seem to have their own agenda. Beware of the latter. The pushy LC will tell you do not need to feed your babe anything other than your colostrum before your milk comes in (and then makes you feel guilty for even questioning her knowledge.) When it is 3:00am and the colostrum you're offering your screaming 10lb. is not enough to satisfy her hunger - supplementing with formula is OK.
Baby Spit Up - Nothing is more traumatic that watching your babe hork up breastmilk through her nose - especially when she horks up the same breastmilk you are currently feeding her. Note to self - keep a change of clothes for mom in the diaper bag too.
Swaddling -
My girly really likes to be swaddled. I watched the nurses in the hospital and have watched video's on the Internets. I however am swaddling impaired. I cannot swaddle my girl using a receiving blanket to save my life. For the other swaddling impaired out there - this - is the worlds best solution. It has been a life saver for us.
Usefulness of sound machines -
One of the most useful gifts we received was a sound machine. One of the 'sounds' is a heartbeat. It makes sense that a newborn would feel comforted by the sound of a heartbeat since she's listened to mum's heartbeat for 9 months. I learned the hard way how comforting the sound is when I set the heartbeat on a timer for only 60 minutes. At minute 61 my girly started crying.
Growth spurts & cluster feedings -
Nothing will make you feel more like a cow hooked up to a milking machine than growth spurts & cluster feedings. When your babe, who regularly eats every couple of hours, is eating every hour just give into the fact that your sole purpose in life is to be milked for the day.
Baby blues -
Feeling overwhelmed? Your life has transitioned into a new dimension with your old life never to return. Let yourself have a good cry. Talk to new parents - you'll be surprised that you're not the only one experiencing the same problems. And let me tell you it is very reassuring to know that you're not totally screwing up your two-week old child when you feel your world is about to implode because of her latest cluster feeding which sent you to the hospital website searching for the return policy.
All in all these past two weeks have been, well while stressful, very rewarding. ...and if I could figure out how to upload a photo to this post, then you'd see a pic of my beautiful little girl. Blogger obviously has other plans for me today.
edit: I've been told that the picture does display. There must be something wierd going on with my computer.
Mr. CrazyCat has been my rock. I know this has not been easy for him either as we're both dealing with taking care of a newborn and my recovery from a c-section. I usually forget that having a c-section is MAJOR surgery, so I feel the need to be somewhat productive around the house and feel guilty when I take a nap with my girly.
Since my girly was born, I've learned a few things along the way...
Transition from the hospital to home -
During your pregnancy & while you're in the hospital all of the focus is on you. I felt like royalty at the hospital. The nurses were very helpful and caring and made me feel like the center of the universe. I (half-heartedly) expected some sort of fan-fare when I was discharged. The best I got was "room 1344 is discharged." while we were walking out of L&D. Not even a "Good Luck" from anyone. What happened to being the center of the universe? Oh yeah - that was given to the woman in the room next door who just delivered her baby minutes before. I was old news with my 4-day-old. And by the way - you're totally on your own once you leave the hospital.
Return policy for newborns -
It is totally normal to want to return your child on day two at home. I've done the research and cannot find any return policies posted on the hospital website. I know they've done this intensionally and am convinced it's a conspiracy.
Pushy lactation consultants - I have a lot of respect for lactation consultants. Breastfeeding is not intuitive. I really believe it is an art form where LC's are the art teachers. Now there are LC's who are there for you and there are others LC's who seem to have their own agenda. Beware of the latter. The pushy LC will tell you do not need to feed your babe anything other than your colostrum before your milk comes in (and then makes you feel guilty for even questioning her knowledge.) When it is 3:00am and the colostrum you're offering your screaming 10lb. is not enough to satisfy her hunger - supplementing with formula is OK.
Baby Spit Up - Nothing is more traumatic that watching your babe hork up breastmilk through her nose - especially when she horks up the same breastmilk you are currently feeding her. Note to self - keep a change of clothes for mom in the diaper bag too.
Swaddling -
My girly really likes to be swaddled. I watched the nurses in the hospital and have watched video's on the Internets. I however am swaddling impaired. I cannot swaddle my girl using a receiving blanket to save my life. For the other swaddling impaired out there - this - is the worlds best solution. It has been a life saver for us.
Usefulness of sound machines -
One of the most useful gifts we received was a sound machine. One of the 'sounds' is a heartbeat. It makes sense that a newborn would feel comforted by the sound of a heartbeat since she's listened to mum's heartbeat for 9 months. I learned the hard way how comforting the sound is when I set the heartbeat on a timer for only 60 minutes. At minute 61 my girly started crying.
Growth spurts & cluster feedings -
Nothing will make you feel more like a cow hooked up to a milking machine than growth spurts & cluster feedings. When your babe, who regularly eats every couple of hours, is eating every hour just give into the fact that your sole purpose in life is to be milked for the day.
Baby blues -
Feeling overwhelmed? Your life has transitioned into a new dimension with your old life never to return. Let yourself have a good cry. Talk to new parents - you'll be surprised that you're not the only one experiencing the same problems. And let me tell you it is very reassuring to know that you're not totally screwing up your two-week old child when you feel your world is about to implode because of her latest cluster feeding which sent you to the hospital website searching for the return policy.
All in all these past two weeks have been, well while stressful, very rewarding. ...and if I could figure out how to upload a photo to this post, then you'd see a pic of my beautiful little girl. Blogger obviously has other plans for me today.edit: I've been told that the picture does display. There must be something wierd going on with my computer.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Joint Venture
I'm a wee bit tardy in uploading this post. I try to chronicle my finished works in order, so that my progression of a knitter/crocheter moves forward and not in some random order. The following project was finished before the "security blanket." In fact it was the project which lead me to finally finish the security blanket, as I was left feeling much more confident in my crocheting abilities. So the story goes like this....
While visiting my dad on Easter, he mentioned that he found more of my mom's yarn stash in the house. This caught me by surprise as I thought I had found all of it. He left the table and came back with all sorts of treasures. One of which was a beautiful work-in-progress....a baby blanket.
I know that this blanket was not intended for my child-to-be. Mom had only known for 1 month that I was pregnant before she passed away and during that time she was undergoing her chemo/radiation treatment. She generally felt crap and slept a lot, so I'm pretty confident that this blanket was started long before her diagnosis.
As we examined the blanket my dad asked if I could finish it. The body of the blanket did not look too complicated, but my stomach lurched at the site of the edging. I said that I could probably finish the blanket by the time my child was 20.
Then I looked at the blanket again. I noticed that the last stitched row created a natural scalloped pattern. I started mulling over my options and decided that I would try to duplicate the pattern around the other three borders.
Now you have to know that this was quite the daunting task for me as I've never done a border in my life. Straight lines have dominated all of my previous finished works....and that's not saying much since I haven't finished many crocheted projects.
A couple of days later I picked up the blanket and the pattern and decided to charter into unknown territory. I decided to duplicate the last row mom stitched as the border for the other three sides.
I ended up with this...
The stitch itself is identical, but not quite the same. This mattered not to me as I was crocheting my first border!
A couple of hours later, I was done (dang TV watching always gets in the way.) I couldn't have been more proud of myself.
My girly will be the owner of a blanket started by her grandmother and finished by her mom. What a special gift to pass on to her.
While visiting my dad on Easter, he mentioned that he found more of my mom's yarn stash in the house. This caught me by surprise as I thought I had found all of it. He left the table and came back with all sorts of treasures. One of which was a beautiful work-in-progress....a baby blanket.
I know that this blanket was not intended for my child-to-be. Mom had only known for 1 month that I was pregnant before she passed away and during that time she was undergoing her chemo/radiation treatment. She generally felt crap and slept a lot, so I'm pretty confident that this blanket was started long before her diagnosis.
As we examined the blanket my dad asked if I could finish it. The body of the blanket did not look too complicated, but my stomach lurched at the site of the edging. I said that I could probably finish the blanket by the time my child was 20.
Then I looked at the blanket again. I noticed that the last stitched row created a natural scalloped pattern. I started mulling over my options and decided that I would try to duplicate the pattern around the other three borders.Now you have to know that this was quite the daunting task for me as I've never done a border in my life. Straight lines have dominated all of my previous finished works....and that's not saying much since I haven't finished many crocheted projects.
A couple of days later I picked up the blanket and the pattern and decided to charter into unknown territory. I decided to duplicate the last row mom stitched as the border for the other three sides.
I ended up with this...The stitch itself is identical, but not quite the same. This mattered not to me as I was crocheting my first border!
A couple of hours later, I was done (dang TV watching always gets in the way.) I couldn't have been more proud of myself.
My girly will be the owner of a blanket started by her grandmother and finished by her mom. What a special gift to pass on to her.
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