ahh now i can relax

all is good, the surgery went well and we can all relax now... I spent the day at the hospital with max. he did so well :) we came home around 3ish. he didn't eat well while we were out, and he only took a short 45 minute nap... so he's kinda tired and cranky this evening. he's napping now, thank god! i'm blogging and getting ready to setting in to a night of tv. i am bummed that there is not a new ER on this evening though... i wonder when the new ones are supposed to be on....

anyways, i'm exhausted and totally rambling so that's all for now. just wanted to update things in regards to my stress.

the stress is mounting....

thursday's the day.... as mentioned below a close family member is having a pretty scary procedure done and i'm getting more and more stressed out about it. i don't think i'll be able to get a very good night's sleep tomorrow night. i can just feel the restlessness mounting. it helped to write about it last time so hopefully this will help as well....

well, onto other news, as most of you know, there was a party on saturday. most of you were in attendance :) max enjoyed himself and it was really nice to get out and do something different for myself too! Amy's home is beautiful and the nursery is adorable! just wait until you have a little person in there as well! it will make it oh so special! i'm excited for you! everyone else, it was nice to see you and catch up! i can't wait for the next knitting gtg!

knitting, i'm working on a few more sets of pot holders for some housewarming gifts. i have a few friends who recently bought new homes and i think they would appreciate a set :) I'm also much further along on my blanket. it's slow going at this point though... since i'm just doing one large square it's only bound to get more and more monotonous... but will be so worth it in the end! As of right now it makes a nice leg warmer but it doesn't quite keep my feet warm yet while knitting. another round or two and it should.

this past sunday, max was baptized. it was a really nice ceremony done after the noon mass. he was the only baby there (usually there are a few) so that made it nice and private. only our parents, siblings, chris's grandmother and the god parents and their children were in attendance so it was a nice small crowd. then we all went back to our home for lunch, i made baked ziti with pepperoni, my mother made a really yummy beef roast that was marinated and served cool with onions and mushrooms on rolls. she also made an artichoke casserole and my mother-in-law made a nice salad and a strawberry cheesecake. it was perfect. however we were exhausted and so was max. i'll share some photos soon - he looked adorable in his little dress. yes i said dress... he wore the same baptismal gown that my brother and i both wore and that my mother wore as well. it's now become a family tradition that three generations have worn. I hope to pass it down to my children as well since it's really in surprisingly great shape.

well, that's all. please think of us on thursday (early early morning) i'll be sure to update.

sometimes i'm a chef

i had some asparagus and i wanted them to be lemony, the rest is history. i concocted this myself and it turned out exactly how i wanted it to.

Lemony Asparagus and Chicken over Rotini

6 chicken breasts cut to bite size pieces
1 bunch of asparagus, cut to bite size
1 lb of rotini
4 cloves of garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
3/4 stick of butter
1 hand full of dried onion flakes
flour
red pepper flakes to taste
crushed pepper to taste
1 cup (total) lemon juice

1. Cook pasta to desired doneness and toss with olive oil and Parmesan cheese.
2. Place bite sized asparagus pieces into a bowl and toss with a few tablespoons of lemon juice let this hang out for a bit in the lemon juice.
3. Saute chicken in olive oil with red pepper flakes, pepper, and dehydrated onion in a large saute pan.
4. Once chicken is almost done cooking add asparagus and the lemon juice in to the sauteing chicken and cook until asparagus is just slightly crunchy.
5. In a separate sauce pan, melt 3/4th of a stick of butter on medium heat, once melted add in garlic and a little crushed pepper and let it mingle for 2-3 minutes, turn down heat and start adding flour one tablespoon at a time, you will probably need about 5 tablespoons, keep whisking and keep heat on low. This will get fairly thick and will continue to do so. at this time add lemon juice keep heat on low and keep whisking, you'll want to slowly add about 3/4 of a cup of lemon juice maybe a bit more and keep whisking as you add a little at a time. Your finished product will be quite thick and you'll be able to move this sauce to one side of the pan and it will stay there (just for a consistency check). Turn off heat.
6. Once the chicken and asparagus are finished cooking add the sauce to the chicken and asparagus and toss, then toss this with the cooked pasta and top with Parmesan cheese. Serve and enjoy!

lost head and corn chowder

so our kitty stinky has a little toy that he loves, it's a doggie. the toy is one of those little stuffed animals that the hands are a clamp of sorts and you can clamp them to items such as your laptop screen or a note book or anything really that is less than an inch thick. well, yesterday i found doggie with a missing part and i found it to be hilarious so i took a few photos. apparently stinky doesn't mind that his doggie now can't see that his attacker is approaching because he is still happily playing with doggie's body sans head. poor doggie...

in other news, it's a beautiful day in coraopolis, i think i might bundle up the baby and take a walk once we reach our afternoon high (supposed to be in the 40's i believe). i can't see a cloud in the sky!

a friend sent me an email to participate in a recipe exchange and i have received a really tasty one that i'll share here. I made it on sunday and we both really enjoyed it! the recipe calls for a few foods that i don't normally stock, mostly prepared items such as pre-cooked smoked sausage and potatoes o'brien so i substituted a little and it was just fine.

30 Minute Smoked Sausage and Corn Chowder

makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 pkg smoked sausage sliced 1/8 inch pieces (Hillshire Farms - fully cooked) *See cara's notes below

1 cup green onions, sliced *more notes to see

2 teaspoons olive oil *more notes

2 cans vegetable broth, 14 1/2-ounces *again, more notes

1 pkg o'brien frozen potatoes

1 can cream-style corn, (13 3/4 ounce)

1 can mexi-corn *one last note

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes, crush them a little before tossing in

½ to 1 cup heavy cream (to taste)

Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. In large saucepan, cook onions and sausage slices in oil over medium heat 3-4 minutes or until onions are tender and sausage starts to brown/crisp. *another note

2. Stir in broth, potatoes, corn(s) and red pepper.

3. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low.

4. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

5. Stir in cream; heat through.

6. Garnish with additional sliced green onions and cheddar cheese, if desired. Serve w/ warm, crusty bread!

**** cara's notes ****

in place of the 1 pkg smoked sausage sliced 1/8 inch pieces - i used 1 lb of bulk sweet sausage i cooked this first then tossed in the green onions

in place of 1 cup green onions, sliced - i actually used a bit more, two medium bunches to be exact

i omitted the 2 teaspoons olive oil because the uncooked sausage provided enough grease on it's own

in place of 2 cans vegetable broth - i used chicken broth because it's what i had, i noticed no difference

in place of 1 can mexi-corn - i used one bag of frozen corn with peppers and onions, i couldn't find a can of this in the store, but will search harder next time as i prefer canned corn to frozen...

this was really good and warmed us up, enjoy!

baby milestone reached

max rolled over last night from belly to back 5 or 6 times in his crib which has a lot of give thus offers a little "help".... so then i put him on the floor and he got mad because he was tired out and he couldn't turn over there. so this morning i put him on the floor and he did it! all by himself, no help from mamma! he did it 3 times, belly to back - then back to his side! then continued to play with a toy on his side for a while.... such a proud mamma!

winter HAS arrived! it's cold! coats and gloves and hats and scarves are needed :) it's actually quite pleasing and i hope it sticks around for a while.

well, my office work is finished for the day so now i'm going to continue working on my blanket.

back to normalcy (almost)

today's the first work day for our household. we've done some end of year filing in the past few days but nothing major. today chris left at his normal time to head to a sales class he's taking and to run some errands. he's not supposed to be back until 1 or so. i am also getting some things prepared for an event we have scheduled for the end of the month. so far, so good, and no snags to speak of. chris still has some time off though and i think we're going to go for a hike tomorrow if we can get max into the kelty carrier that i bought chris. not sure if he's big enough for it yet.

speaking of end of the month events.... yesterday i got news that a close family member is scheduled to have a surgery on the 21st of jan. since i've been told this news i've had a pit in my stomach and really haven't been able to get the thought of it out of my head. it's a pretty serious surgery and the family member is pretty nervous about it too which i think adds to my nervousness. i am not a nurvous person usually, i only get this way when things are really nerve wracking and i'm not in control. for whatever reason i can't seem to talk about my nervousness either - talking seems to make me MORE nervous... so i guess updating my blog about it might help. we'll see how i feel after i hit Publish.

log cabin progress

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Originally uploaded by cararolinson.

here is the beginning of my first blanket and first ever adventure in log cabin knitting. it's a blast! i already have plans for my next log cabin project and i can't wait to finish this one in order to start that one :) it's a sickness i tell you...

another set

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Originally uploaded by cararolinson.

this is the set i made for my future sister-in-law. she loved hers too.

potholder examples

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Originally uploaded by cararolinson.

this is the set i made for my mom - she loved them