Lasik, Yay or Nay?

Lasik surgery always scared me a little. But I am personally weird about my eyes. I have trouble with contacts, even. After reading up on it a bit, however, I have discovered Lasik is the most often performed surgery in the US, so it can’t be that risky. Stahl Eye Center seems to have a lot of good info on Lasik.

Awesome Workout Playlist

Music definitely affects our mood and energy level. Everyone needs a good workout playlist to mix things up and get away from the same old mp3 playlist. This awesome playlist can help pump you up for your exercise or strength training routine. Matching the tempo to the pace of your workout makes a great deal of difference in being able to do that last rep or make it those last few minutes. Here are 15 songs from 3 genres to spice things up!

Alternative/Rock
1. Good Girls Go Bad – Cobra Starship
2. BYOB – System of a Down
3. Love Drunk – Boys Like Girls
4. Uprising – Muse
5. Wheels – Foo Fighters
6. Hell – Tegan and Sara
7. All the Right Moves – OneRepublic
8. New Fang – Them Crooked Vultures
9. Devil on My Shoulder – Billy Talent
10. Break – Three Days Grce
11. New Divide – Linkin Park
12. Burn It to the Ground – Nickelback
13. Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
14. We Will Rock You – Queen
15. Down With the Sickness -- Disturbed

Hip-Hop/Rap
1. Day N Nite – Kid Cudi
2. Empire State of Mind – Jay Z
3. Run This Town – Jay Z
4. Hotel Room Service – Pitbull
5. Baby By Me – 50 Cent
6. Pornstar – Swollen Members
7. I Know You Want Me – Pitbull
8. Face Drop – Sean Kingston
9. Fire Burning on the Dance Floor – Sean Kingston
10. Replay – Sean Kingston
11. Right Round – Flo Rida
12. Shooing Star – David Rush
13. Angels – Diddy
14. We Made You – Einem
15. Boom Boom Pow – Black Eyed Peas


Pop/Dance
1. Just Dance – Lady Gaga
2. Funhouse – Pink
3. Disturbia – Rihanna
4. Womanizer – Britney Spears
5. 4 Minutes – Madonna
6. So What – Pink
7. Hot N' Cold – Katy Perry
8. Beat It – Michael Jackson
9. I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas
10. 3 – Britney Spears
11. When I Grow Up – Pussycat Dolls
12. Radiosong – Alice in Videoland
13. Sweet Dreams – Beyonce
14. Bad Romance – Lady Gaga
15. Candy Shop – Madonna

Photo Credit: Gabriella Fabbri

Preparing for Guests

When I know I am going to have guests over, the first thing I do is rush around cleaning. Even if the place is a mess, they can't know just how much of a slob I am! Once I have cleaned, I then consider food. Am I making dinner? If not, what snacks do I want? Here are some tips on preparing for guests. My personal problem area is clutter, hands down.

Some questions I always ask myself include: How many people are coming? Do they have any special dietary or health needs? Do I need to have something to keep kids entertained? Thinking ahead will prevent uncomfortable or embarrassing situations.

FlyLady is a great site on decluttering and household projects. You can sign up for daily email reminders, like me. Martha Stewart is my favorite source for homemaking and organization.

Home Customizations

So I was checking out ways for customizing your home and garden and I came across http://www.mailboxandbeyond.com/. They offer customized mailboxes (Victorian, column, mail slots, secure locking, post mount, Whitehall, and assorted wall mount) address plaques/house numbers (all different shapes and sizes such as oval, round, estate, petite, holiday, and even Disney and Harley Davidson) personalized doormats and the like. A lot of items have free shipping as well. I, personally, am a sucker for free shipping.

For the mailboxes, you can get custom painted animals, flowers or scenes. Same goes with doorbells. There are grapes, frogs, flowers, boats and more. I tend to go with themes for things (such as apples in my kitchen) so this would be perfect for that!

Crochet and You - An Introduction to Crochet

CROCHET AND YOU
An Introduction to Crochet

Crochet is a wonderful thing. There is nothing like sitting down with a glass of wine or a cup of coffee and taking something as simple as yarn and weaving it into something wonderful. That makes you a creator. You are basically turning a very long strand of fiber into something glorious. I have had friends, that do not crochet, just marvel at how they looked at the skein of yarn that sat dutifully by my side and watched it slowly evolve into a beautiful scarf or afghan or sweater... Well, you get my drift. Sometimes we overlook how great that really is. All the while, I am chatting away or watching a movie and barely even looking down. Even knowing how to make one single stitch can turn into something beautiful, especially given the fact that crochet is wonderful at designing lacy items.

You can choose how much or how little you invest in it. You can buy a small cheap ball of acrylic yarn and a plastic hook or you can go all out on fancy yarn (the possibilites here are endless) and bamboo hooks. It all really depends on what you want to do with it. Do you want to make doilies? Afghans? Sweaters? Socks? Some people want to do it for one specific purpose, such as making blankets. Others, including myself, want to make anything and everything.

The granny square once looked at as something tired and old, now has so many new possibilities. People are designing all different shapes and sizes and not just using them as a typical afghan square. I have seen them sewn together to make purses, scarves, table runners, anything you can really imagine. One of my favorite quick projects involving the granny square is making an afghan out of basically one huge square instead of sewing a bunch of smaller ones together.

Crochet is a form of therapy. It can be a mindless or mindful thing, depending on the project and difficulty. You can crochet away mindlessly and happily as you watch t.v. or your children's sports, plays, and whatnot or it can be mindful when you want to drone out the hustle and bustle that modern living has come to be. Multitasking is a way of everyday life and what better way to unwind than to sit down and focus 100% on your crochet project? You can unlock your creative spirit by doing some freeform crochet, where you just take your yarn and hook with no pattern and see where it leads you. Many relate it to painting, with the crochet hook being equivalent to the brush and the yarn equivalent to the paint.

The main stitches in crochet are single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet, and triple (or treble) crochet. There are others, but those are the most common. You can come up with many different pattern combinations just by using those in different variations. You might use a thin yarn and make chains a lot when your object is going to be lacy or use bulky yarn and regular stitches when it is going to be more solid.

You can add embelishments to items and my personal favorite of late is crocheting with beads. I made a few simple patterns for crocheting with beads and they are the Beaded Headband, the V-stitch Headband, and the Quick and Easy Beaded Coaster.

Another popular idea is crocheting with graphs or even cross stitching onto a finished item. There is a special crochet stitch which makes cross stitching onto it an especially good idea, and it is called the Afghan stitch. You use a special hook (it looks like an especially long crochet hook) and it produces stitches that are more square, which makes the cross stitched graph more accurate. Regular single crochet stitches tend to be a tad wider than they are tall.

Once you have acquired a hook and some yarn, I would recommend snuggling up in a big comfy chair with a tall glass of wine and try a basic pattern. One of the worst things you could do is start off with a project that is too daunting and end up frustrated. I would recommend a basic square item such as a dishcloth or scarf.

Personalized Home and Garden Decor

So I was checking out ways for customizing your home and garden and I came across http://www.mailboxandbeyond.com/. They offer customized mailboxes (Victorian, column, mail slots, secure locking, post mount, Whitehall, and assorted wall mount) address plaques/house numbers (all different shapes and sizes such as oval, round, estate, petite, holiday, and even Disney and Harley Davidson) personalized doormats and the like. A lot of items have free shipping as well. I, personally, am a sucker for free shipping.

For the mailboxes, you can get custom painted animals, flowers or scenes. Same goes with doorbells. There are grapes, frogs, flowers, boats and more. I tend to go with themes for things (such as apples in my kitchen) so this would be perfect for that!

BBQ Veggies

Just gathering some ideas for veggies on the grill:

ASPARAGUS
Grilled Asparagus - Crispy not mushy!
Prosciuitto-Wrapped Asparagus

BRUSSEL SPROUTS
Grilled Brussel Sprouts

CABBAGE
Grilled Cabbage

CORN
Southwest Corn on the Cob

EGGPLANT
Grilled Eggplant - Breaded
Grilled Eggplant Parmesan

JICAMA
Jicama Slaw - Great on burgers

MIXED VEGGIES
Veggie Ribbons - Zucchini and Squash
Veggie Panini

ONIONS
BBQ Onions
Beer/Cola Onions
Vidalia Onions on the Grill

POTATOES
Grilled Potato Skins
Sweet Potatoes
Potato Salad
Garlic and Dill Grilled Potatoes
Potato Chips
Chili Oil Potatoes

SQUASH
Grilled Squash

ZUCCHINI
Grilled Zucchini
Stuffed Zucchini

NIN Chart 34 x 15

Double Knitting

I just came across some double knitting patterns. I can't believe I haven't sooner! What a time saver. If I could learn how to do this it would save time and hassle sewing pieces together in items such as scarves, potholders, etc.

Tutorials - Basic Instructions for Double Knitting and Double Knitting

Heart Coaster

Heart Coaster [Ravel-It!]

Materials:
Lion Brand Micro Spun (green and pink)
Size 7 needles
Heart Chart (optional)

Techniques Used:
KG - Knit green (i.e. K3G means knit 3 green)
PG - Purl green (i.e. P3G means purl 3 green)
KP - Knit Pink (i.e. K3P means knit 3 pink)
PP - Purl Pink (i.e. P3P means purl 3 pink)
G - Green
P - Pink
SC - Single crochet
CO - Cast on
BO - Bind off
Intarsia

Gauge: 9 stitches and 13 rows in 2 inches of stockinette

With G, CO 20.
1. Knit across.
2. Purl across.
3. K9G, K2P, K9G
4. P8G, P4P, P8G
5. K7G, K6P, K7 G
6. P6G, P8P, P6G
7. K5G, K10P, K5G
8. P4G, P12P, P4G
9. K3G, K14P, K3G
10. P2G, P16P, P2G
11. K2G, K16P, K2G
12. Repeat Row 10.
13. Repeat Row 11.
14. Repeat Row 10.
15. K3G, K6P, K2G, K6P, K3G
16. P4G, P4P, P4G, P4P, P4G
17. Repeat Row 1.
18. Repeat Row 2. BO.

Make 2 and place wrong sides together and sew together or SC around outer edge in pink. (The edge in the pic is a tad messy, I will upload a new one shortly!)

Please let me know if there are any errors.

Ideas for Charts

Just trying to keep track of some ideas to use charted pictures in knit/crochet:

Dishcloth
Scarf (end design)
Potholder
Pillow
Bag
Afghan Square
Ipod Case

Heart Chart (20 x 18)

[Ravel-It!]

20 stitches x 18 rows

Mashed Turnips!?

I was eating thanksgiving dinner with family last year and was eating some sort of mashed vegetable that was yellow-ish and delicious! I found out they were turnips. I had never had them before (that I am aware of) and I thought they were delicious. They are high in vitamin C as well! The smallest turnip I could find at the store was quite large, so I had to boil it for a while, then cube it, then boil until done (about 20-30 min). Then I used a potato masher on them and added salt, pepper, sugar and margarine for flavor. Mmm!

Dr. Andrew Weil Rocks!

If you haven't heard of Andrew Weil, you should definitely check him out. He is an MD who focuses on a more holistic approach to being healthy. He advises you about vitamins, healthy eating (anti-inflammatory) and a plethora of other lifestyle issues. I personally have listened to his guided imagery and breathing audio tapes, and they have really helped me.

How To Clean A Comb/Brush

I don't know about you, but I tease my hair and always end up with dried up hairspray on my comb. It's a specialty comb so I don't want to just keep buying new ones as I had always done before. A few tips passed down to me to try:

1. Take 2 brushes/combs and GENTLY brush together with shampoo to work out some of that gunk. Rinse under warm water.
2. Take an old toothbrush and GENTLY scrub it. It could take a little more work, but will give it a good clean.
3. Soak it in a glass of vinegar.
4. Add some bleach to water and soak it for an hour.
5. Wash the comb with heavy items, such as towels. (Sounds a lil risky if you ask me though.)

Alas, if you routinely give it a quick clean and remove hair then it will save a lot of hassle in the long run! *ducks head*

True Blood Releases

It's coming! May 19, 2009 the first Season will be out on DVD! I can't wait. Nothing like pausing and recaping all those juicy scenes we love so much. The newest Charlaine Harris book will come shortly before that, on May 5, 2009. I've already pre-ordered mine! *drool*

Adding Another Blog

Hey all. Decided to try out a few more blogs I think. I am going to be working on a listing of legitimate work at home jobs and possibly one for reviewing books/movies.

It's that time again... Spring cleaning

The time we all (at least I know I do) love to dread! Here is a good site for 10 spring cleaning tips. So get those mops, rubber gloves, srubbers, and all the other cleaning goodies that are stowed away and covered in dust mites! (Yay)

Best Homemade Icing EVER!!

I wanted to make a cake and icing from scratch and although I haven't come across any cake recipes that are worth drooling over, I came across an easy-to-do delicious icing recipe on Allrecipes. Super easy and very yummy!

buttons Buttons BUTTONS

I guess it is all the new rage lately! I am seeing tons of crafts and articles featuring these cute, useful embellishments. Here is a way to doll them up some.