52 weeks of Happiness: Thanksgiving Weekend and an Update.

For Thanksgiving this year we had a lovely time. We had family and friends over for a potluck Thanksgiving. We had tons of food and a lot of fun together.

After Thanksgiving we were invited on a camp out with some good friends.  We had a great time walking through the woods, making s'mores, and spending time together at Buescher State Park.

After long weeks of going back and forth about the big move we are really getting things moving. We were worried last week when unrest began in Cairo... but now that the elections are moving along as planned we have begun moving forward again. I will probably not be posting much during this busy time... but I'm sure once we are settled in I will have tons of photos and news to share.

Cheers,
Jenn

Well Folks It's Official... We will be moving soon...

After all the stress it looks like things worked out...  We will be moving to Cairo Egypt in less than two months.  I have been working my behind off trying to prepare for the move and the holiday season at the same time.  I have a turkey to bake on Thursday, presents to finish by Christmas, and a whole household full of stuff to sort through and pack for storage.  I will post updates as often as I can... but until then...

Happy Thanksgiving!
Jenn

Denial... It ain't just a river in Egypt...

Forgive me... it has been almost a month since my last post.

But you see, things have been a little hectic around here.  I've been riding a crazy wave and it ain't finished with me yet.

Not long ago my husband applied for a job at his old high school.  They called him for an interview,  contacted his current employer, checked his references, and finally... after a long pause... sent him a job offer.  It sounds pretty routine right?  Did I mention that this high school is in Cairo, Egypt? 

So for the past few weeks I have been running around trying to get everything ready to go.  I've been clearing out the cobwebs, boxing up what's left, collecting documents, renewing passports, basically I've been doing everything I can to get ready for an international move that is scheduled to happen in a little over 6 weeks.

Then yesterday... after I had finally told myself it was possible, I had allowed myself to want it, I had even convinced those I was leaving behind that it was a dream that needed to be followed... we smacked into a roadblock that threatens to derail the whole thing. 

But I don't want it to be over!  I want my Egypt damn it!  I want to see the pyramids, shop in the markets, buy cans of food with Arabic writing on them and try to guess the contents before opening them...  I want to take a boat on the Nile, make paper out of papyrus, and eat hummus and pita until I'm sick to death of them.  I want to breath in the smells good and bad, ride a camel in the desert, and share something with my family that might change us forever...I want it all... the good and the bad.

But right now it feels like my dream is a tiny scarab beetle caught in the paws of a giant Bureaucratic cat... I can't decide if I want to sit by and watch the beetles limbs get ripped off one by one with the hope that it will escape to live another day... or if it would just be better to let the damn cat crush it and get it over with.

 All I can say is it ain't dead yet...

Cheers,
Jenn

52 Weeks of Happiness: Happy Campers

It has been a long time since I posted a 52 weeks of happiness post... but that doesn't mean that I haven't had many happy moments along the way.  It simply means that I've been too busy to post them. 
This past weekend I got a chance to get away from the family and have a camp out with a friend that I've know since grade school.  It was nice to get away.

 Due to a burn ban in Texas we couldn't have a campfire... so we made do with this ghostly light.

 We couldn't cook on the grill... but propane stoves are still allowed so we made up some chicken and vegetable tacos for our dinner.

And what would camp stove tacos be without some old school (with a K) salsa.

 Feeding the fire.

 Two happy campers.

I need to treat myself to getaways more often.

Cheers,
Jenn

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Check out my OuchComics page on Facebook and give me some love!

It has been a busy couple of weeks and I'll have lots of news to share soon.  Life has been keeping me busy.    My younger daughter turned 4 on Tuesday and we celebrated with a small family party. 

Cheers,
Jenn

Little Creature Promotion

Just in time for HALLOWEEN!

Buy one Little Creature Pattern and get one free right now on Ravelry.

Just select two of the above patterns and when you check out you'll get them for the price of one!

It has been a long time since I've written anything for this blog.  I have been busy writing crochet patterns, and trying to get some creative ventures launched before Christmas. So far I have only sold a couple of toys and I haven't sold any patterns yet, but I'll be patient, success doe not happen overnight.  So far I've published 3 patterns in my Ravely store.  Hopefully something will come of all the hard work.    

My basketry class for BOW went wonderfully. I met lots of really nice women and they have invited me back to teach again at the next BOW in March.  I also sold the above batch of toys, a crocheted frisbee and two of my baskets in the fund raising auction and made over $215 for the program.  I had a good time and I look forward to doing it again in the Spring.

Here is a link to the Becoming and Outdoors Woman page.  You can use it to find a BOW near you.

Over the past few weeks I've cooked a lovely Paella with mussels and shrimp,  I made some lovely chilaquiles with New Mexico style green sauce, and I made this stunning hat for your amusement.  I will post my recipe for the chilaquiles soon... and if you are interested in my crochet patterns and more about my basketry you should check out my other blog Worth a Knit.

Cheers,
Jenn

Weaving Baskets in the Woods...

Well I'm off for a wild weekend of weaving baskets in the woods.

I'm leaving tomorrow and heading off to my favorite retreat... Becoming an Outdoors Woman. This will be my first time at BOW as an instructor and I'm a little bit nervous but I must say that I'm excited as well.

I will be back on Sunday with stories and photos to share.

Cheers,
Jenn

Basketry, Little Creatures and a Trip to the Dentist.

Life has been hectic so I've been taking a break from my blog.

Here is what I've been up to.

I went to the dentist yesterday and it looks like I might be able to postpone the dental surgery for a while. I've been taking good care of myself and it has paid off. I'll have a follow up in 3 months and I'll know more then... but for now I feel good about it.

I have been preparing my basketry materials to teach a class for BOW. I'm very excited about this and I have been collecting, dying, and buying supplies for the two classes I'll be teaching over the weekend. I have been posting a tutorial on my other blog... Worth a Knit and there will be more stuff to come after my class is over.

I have also been crocheting up a storm for online and local sales. I just put a display at a local coffee shop and I have been talking to a popular local gift store about selling some of my handmade toys on consignment. The owner liked my work so hopefully when I have a enough ready I can bring some in for her. I also need to make a few to try out in my Etsy shop and really get that rolling again.



The toys that I'm making right now I also design... so I have been writing up the patterns, taking photographs and trying to create a professional looking pdfs so that I can sell my patterns online. I have had success with the free patterns I've put on Ravelry so I'm hoping that someone will like my work enough to purchase PDFs of the pattern for a couple of bucks.

I still continue to play hard, cook good food, and enjoy my family... I just haven't had the time to write as much about it.

Cheers,
Jenn

My heart goes out to all the Texans out there that have lost their homes (and in a few cases more) in these tragic wildfires. It has been a rough couple of weeks for many people in the Lone Star State.

Jenn

Makeover Monday: Putting my money where my mouth is...

A few weeks ago I came home from the dentist in tears. I found out that I have a whole mess of work that needs to be done. Thankfully my teeth are fine... it is my gums that I am worried about. My six year old patted me on the back and told me not to worry. She had a plan...she knew what to do. "Just rinse your mouth with salt water, mommy. That will fix it." I stopped crying and gave her a big hug. I had whipped up that home remedy only the week before for her when she had lost her 3rd tooth. If only it were that simple.

Well maybe it is not that simple, but maybe a little simplicity is what I really need. So I'm looking around at natural options for my ailing gums and I'll see if they help. It won't be enough on it's own. I'll still need to get some work done. But perhaps I can avoid oral surgery for a while with a little TLC.

This week I'm going to try out a rinse that uses Chamomile tea, vanilla extract and lemon juice. I'll also do salt water rinses(per my daughter's orders) and look into other options as well. I'll continue to brush and floss like a maniac, and do all the gum massage that my dentist recommended.

I need to do this so that I feel good about myself. To me beauty is not about makeup or a fancy hair style. Beauty is about feeling good about yourself and taking care of your body. I need to stop neglecting myself and take the care that I deserve.

Wish me luck!

Jenn

Does anyone else know of any homemade mouth care remedies? Leave a comment and share them.

I love weaving baskets!

I love weaving baskets

Cheers,
Jenn

There'll Be Some Changes Made and the Happiness Project.

I skipped my Makeover Monday post yesterday. It was the first day of school for my oldest daughter and I was busy in the morning helping her prepare for school and soothing my jealous little one. I took it easy on the writing this summer as well, and I gotta say that I'm happier for it.

So I've made a decision. I'm going to cease all the pointless networking that I've done to get this blog going and just make it what it is destine to be... a blog about my adventures in cooking and eating. I'm still going to participate occasionally in the hops that I enjoy (52 weeks of happiness and what I love Wednesdays), and I'm still going to post my Makeover Monday posts when I feel inspired, but I'm not going to scramble around looking for followers who probably never visit again after they push that follow button. I'm also going to slim down my reading list to include only the blogs that I really read. My feed is so full of clutter that I have missed out on a lot of interesting stuff.

This may sound like a lot, but the truth is that it is not going to change what I write or even what I like to read. It is only going to change the amount of energy that I put into it. I would like to put all my energy into writing and stop worrying about the stats altogether. I'm also going to start concentrating more on my other blog... Worth a Knit. I am in the process of getting my Etsy business going again, and my worth a knit blog is more connected with that pursuit. While foodlore and food writing are my passions my crafts of crochet, knitting and weaving are something that have more promise for turning into a future profession.

But enough with the idle chit chat... and on to the meat of the post... Happiness.

This weekend my older daughter's last "official" weekend of summer. So we decided to have as much fun as possible. We started out by having a fun Friday night. We visited friends, ate home style Mexican cooking, and took an evening dip in the pool.

Handmade tortillas with lots of wonderful toppings and fillings.

Inspiration in the kitchen... A friend from Mexico made these wonderful tortillas and I need to try my hand at it more often. They were so wonderful and fresh that my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

We stayed up a little late having fun in the pool before returning home. The kids had a blast and so did we.

After a fun Friday we decided to go geocaching on Saturday. On our run we discovered a really cool pirate cache for the kids. It was the complete package... the key, the treasure chest and even a pirate flag.

My little pirate's discover the loot.

A quick salute as they raise the pirate flag.

On the way home my little scientist had to stop to check out these huge bails of cotton.

So what did you do this weekend?

Cheers,
Jenn