The socks that can't be finished

Seriously.  I think that's why the yarn is named Seriously? cause I seriously cannot finish these socks.

The yarn has been in my stash for years.  I finally cast on in late February.  Then two baby blankets came up that had to be done.  This one is for Rebecca & Martin who had their first, beautiful, baby boy.

And then this one was for Dwight and Priscilla who added a baby brother to big sister Bella.

So you can understand why the socks went on the back burner, right?

I made it this far by mid-May.

And I haven't photographed them since, but I'm up the leg, a bit.  Still about 4 inches to go in legging.  Ugh.

Christmas is rapidly approaching as well (as of this sentence there are ... only 194 Days, 14 Hours, 19 Minutes, and 31 Seconds! left until Christmas!!!)  I have the annual dishcloth presents to make.

So you can understand that I simply cannot get my homework for school done this week, right?

Back to school....

Funny how when the kids are just getting out of school, here I go back to school.  Old person has no business trying to learn how to study again.  Old brain is revolting.  And I'm two days into it. 

Kyle and I will be going to summer school together.  Sort of.  He will be taking Econ/Government at the high school to try to satisfy a requirement for graduation, since he has to take math next year.  Again.

I am taking two online classes through Mesa Community College in hopes of someday achieving that elusive college degree.  This time I think I finally know what I like.  We shall see.  My current courses are Small Group Communications and Microsoft Project Management.  One general ed requirement, one core requirement.  Both hard.  For my ancient brain.

On the more fun front of summer.....  we are taking the boat out for the first (and maybe last) time for a while.  Kyle will start school Monday, going all day, 7:30-3:15 which will severely limit time on the lake.  Yes, Ron still only has weekdays off and the weekends are too crazy at the local lakes anyway.

Was at the Apple Store a couple weeks ago to buy Kyle a new phone.  The "specialist" suggested I apply for a job there.  LMFAO.  I informed that I'd "been there, done that" and he said that it took him 3 attempts and 10 interviews to get hired.  Do I have that kind of determination or staying power?  Um, I dunno.

Made yummy lemon bars for a knitting get-together a couple weeks ago.  They were really good, but I totally forgot to take a picture of them.  Oops.  Here's the link for the recipe tho:
Lemon Bars
The Smitten Kitchen is an awesome food blog.  Check it out.

Also tried an entire new dinner the other night.  Tequila Chili Lime Chicken, Green Chili Rice, and Cilantro Corn.  Okay, the green chili rice is an old recipe that I love.  But the other two were new and really good. 

I am posting the chicken recipe here, cause Ron hates chicken and he loved this one.  He actually ate seconds which proves it must have been good.  Tequila Lime marinade can be tricky to find.  If you don't have a Fresh and Easy near you, I don't know what other kind to suggest. 

Tequila Chili Lime Chicken Breasts
(adapted from Betty Crocker Lime & Chili rubbed chicken breasts)

3-4 servings

Ingredients

• 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Tequila Lime Marinade (Fresh and Easy or other)
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons grated lime peel (about two limes)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Trim chicken breasts and flatten to 1/2 inch thick.
2. Place in bag with enough marinade to cover.  Soak at least one hour, or overnight.
3. When ready to cook, mix together remaining ingredients in small bowl. 
4. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry.  Rub both sides of chicken with spice rub. 
5. Chicken can be grilled, baked or rotisseried.  See below.

Grilling:  Place chicken on grill over medium heat.  Cover grill, cook 10-15 minutes turning once or twice until chicken is cooked through.

Rotisserie:  Oil rotisserie basket and place chicken inside.  Cook for 30 minutes.

Bake:  Place chicken in shallow baking pan lined with foil and oiled.  Bake at 375F for 30 minutes.

So we finally got him.

Osama Bin Laden. A decade after he unleashed hell on the American people. About time. And now what? Does anything really change?

Food for thought.

Speaking of food.... Made strawberry-banana muffins yesterday. Different. Yummy. Easy enough to make.

The recipe is adapted from Joy of Baking

I doubled the recipe for my jumbo muffin pans and used 5 medium bananas. My friend Krysten suggested covering the top of the muffin with raw sugar before baking to give it a nice caramelized crust. Next time for sure.

Baked them for 30 minutes in my convection oven. I think it might have been a few minutes too long, but they were still good. No one in my Desert Yarnies group complained.

In other news.....

Finished the Evil Mau5 head today. For those of you who followed the Deadmau5 saga, after a week of paper mâché-ing, plastering, spraying, stretching, gluing, cutting, sticky fingers, headaches from glue spray, third degree burns from glue guns, frustration, aggravation and elation, the Evil/Dead Mau5 head is DONE!

My OCD tendencies are making me want to start over or at least attempt to repair some of the flaws, but the teenage boy says NO.

Now what? I suppose I could clean. Bake. Paint. Or start a better Mau5 head. Um no.

Maybe, just maybe, I could start writing my blog more regularly. That would be a good thing. Actually write the blog for all the things I knit, bake, think.

We will see. For now I am going to allow my brain to heal from the glue fumes and my fingers to heal from the glue gun. then we will see what happens.

Mmmmm Mac and Cheese

In addition to baking my heart out (which I've taken a sabbatical from after the holidays,) I have been cooking again.  New stuff, cause I am painfully bored with the staples.

Last night I made macaroni and cheese.  In this house we are on a quest to find something that comes close to Red Robin's Mac and Cheese, because Kyle claims there is nothing better on the planet.  Last month I tried one recipe and it was thumbs down.  The sauce wasn't creamy enough, nor was there enough of it.  So last night I made this one.

Totally thumbs up.  Ron ate one bowl and 20 minutes later was in the leftovers in the fridge.  Kyle said it was awesome.

I made a couple of changes to the recipe.  I used 4 8 ounce blocks of cheese, two sharp cheddar and two extra sharp cheddar, in place of the 3 10 ounce blocks (plus Cracker Barrel is twice the price of the other cheddars, and I did want it super cheesy!)  When making the sauce, be sure to slowly add in the cheese, a handful at a time, whisking until it is completely incorporated, to keep the sauce smooth.  Also, I cooked it in a deep CorningWare dish with the lid on for the first 15 minutes, so the sauce wouldn't dry out so much.  I made two layers and split the 2nd helping of cheese between these two.  It definitely was heavenly.

Now I have a friend coming to visit for one night this week, and haven't a clue what to make.  Stay tuned.

Happy 2011!!

Happy new year everyone!  While 2010 was definitely not my worst year on record, I am looking forward to the start of a fresh, new year and all it will bring.

If you make resolutions, I hope that you have the resolve to stick to them.  If you don't, that's okay too.

I resolve to try to be a better person.  To love more, to laugh more.  To bake and share.  To run with my dogs as much as possible.  To try to finish one knitting project before starting another.  To spend valuable time with friends because I'm lucky to have them.  To enjoy my kid, because he's growing up too fast.  To remember that we need to be thankful for every day we are given, because we never know when there won't be another.

I wish all of you and yours a perfectly spectacular 2011.