Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Flamingos!



Flamingo Mittens! By SpillyJane Knits. I am obsessed. By the way this is my first purchased pattern, that's how much I love them. There's a story of course. These will be for my BFF who I met the first or second day of school when I moved here (sophomore year of high school). We would write notes almost everyday, sometimes twice a day and somewhere along the line she started to draw a flamingo at the bottom of our notes and named him lingo the flamingo. She's a goof I tell ya and that's why I love her but any who. So since then it's been an ongoing joke, I think one year I even bought her a stuffed flamingo. So naturally when I stumbled across these bad boys on ravelry I instantly thought of lingo.

So I just purchased this pattern and I plan on starting them this week! This is what I love about knitting, or shall I say these are the things that I love to knit. I come across a pattern that instantly strikes me as being perfect for one of my friends or family members. There is nothing better than seeing someone open a gift that you have poured your heart and soul into making. I just love it. I am totally a sucker for handmade gifts, I just think they are so much more meaningful than just buying somebody something. Anyway I'll get off my soapbox.

Fun Fact: my BFF and I have tattoos together, two sides of a heart on our wrists so when we put our arms together they match up! It may seem corny to you but I love it. Every time I look at it I think of her, its like we're linked even though we are states apart. Another Fun Fact: Lyddy and I also have tattoos together!

Happy Knitting!

Riz

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Etsy



Just a few fun goodies from Etsy. I haven't done a lot of Etsy browing lately. I'm dying to work on my next knitting project!


Night,

Riz


PS: Tum said he just no longer has the ability to do this because he's old...


Lame excuse. He's just jealous. I can even sissor with these hands, boo ya.


Me A-Z, Lyd Style

So I realize I have not been posting recently.  Sorry, I have been busy busy busy, but what else is new.  To get myself back in the swing of things, I thought I would participate in this little get to know ya that Riz introduced.

So here we go...

A. Age: 21
B. Bed size: Not big enough for me and Kitty Daddy
C. Chore that you hate: Scrubbing toilets!!!
C. Cats: B AND G!! my everythings! (Ya, I made a second "C" for my cats, I will not be judged)
D. Dogs: Lady Dog! and the other two circus clowns of course, you guys might have heard us mention them a time or two.
E. Essential start to your day:  B's fat butt sitting on my face or eating my hair or pawing my face so he can be fed
F. Favorite color: Purple 
G. Gold or Silver: Silver
H. Height: 5'7"
I. Instruments you play: none
J. Job title: Bank Teller
K. Kids: Heck no techno.  Not ready for that business yet, I still ask my momma to come to the doctors with me.
L. Live: Midwest with my Kitty Daddy
M. Mother's name: Cat
N. Nicknames:  Lyd, Lyddy, Mel (however I hate it when anyone other than family calls me this because I feel like the name Mel is reserved for truck drivers and fisherman, not my fave)
O. Overnight hospital stays: Nope, fit as a fiddle
P. Pet peeve: When I can hear people chewing, gag!
Q. Quote from a movie: Can't think of one off the top of my head
R. Right or left handed: Lefty! My Grammie says we'll rule the world one day!
S. Siblings: R and J, thick as thieves
T. Time you wake up:  Way to early, hate work/school
U. Underwear:  ...is a necessity. Sometimes I wear two pairs (I can't go commando with the built-ins in running shorts, just not going to happen)
V. Vegetable you hate: A lot of them
W. What makes you run late:  Everything, I struggle with punctuality, just ask Riz
X. X-Rays you've had:  teeth. back (I got scoliosis like a mo' fo')
Y. Yummy food that you make: hhmmm, I enjoy my lasagna
Z. Zoo animal:  Lemurs

Later Gators!
M

Me A-Z

So I just discovered a new blog. Here's an interesting post from One Sheepish Girl that I thought I would partake in.

A. Age: 22
B. Bed size: Queen
C. Chore that you hate: Homework/Studying/Writing papers. Basically school.
D. Dogs: My Boo Boo! Lucy Lou my love bug. 4 lb 4 year old long haired Chi. And then I'm an Auntie to Snouts and Lady Lamb of course. (And boy I would say is a dog/cat, what do you think Lyd? Does B count?
E. Essential start to your day: Bathroom for me then Lucy.
F. Favorite color:  Pink.
G. Gold or Silver: Silver.
H. Height: 5 foot 5 inches and a half.
I. Instruments you play: I used to play violin does that count?
J. Job title: Intern. Teaching Assistant. Personal Assistant. Student. Depends on the time of year.
K. Kids: Do I have any? No. Do I want any? No. Well I guess it might be necessary later on in life but for now, helll no.
L. Live: Midwest.
M. Mother's name: Cat.
N. Nicknames:  Riz. Rizzo. Re. Re Re.
O. Overnight hospital stays: I don't think any overnight.
P. Pet peeve: Fakeness in any form.
Q. Quote from a movie: "I've been violated!" Come on, Donkey from Shrek?
R. Right or left handed: Righty.
S. Siblings: Love em! Lyddy and J. BFF's for evs.
T. Time you wake up:  Depends. As late as possible, if I wake up early I hate life.
U. Underwear:  You can never have enough.
V. Vegetable you hate: Raw tomatoes. Mushrooms. Hate's a strong word.
W. What makes you run late:  Waking up late. Our canine circus.
X. X-Rays you've had: Teeth. Wrist. Foot.
Y. Yummy food that you make: Brownies. Trifle. Always desserts. I can bake. Cook? Not so much.
Z. Zoo animal:  Zoo's seem cruel to me, no?
That was fun! Maybe Lyddy will do it as well. Speaking of Lyddy. The siblings and I came up with the marvelous idea to have a sibling holiday next Monday cause the rents are out of town and we all have the day off (keep your fingers crossed for me). What shall we do what shall we do.... Still pondering it but whatever we do it should be fun! The weather is supposed to be lovely as well.


Tootles

Riz

Monday, August 29, 2011

My New Obsession

So ya know how I have been obsessed with turkey sandwich's? I have finally moved on, meet the bacon, egg and cheese.


Now this is a very complicated recipe so pay close attention. Ahem.

Step1: Cook egg whites. Cook bacon. Toast a bagel.
Step 2: Place bacon on cooked egg whites, top bacon with white american cheese, melt. Then place between bagel. Ta Da!

I have this fantasy that once I move out I'll turn into a chef and cook gourmet meals for myself and my friends and family. It becomes harder and harder to believe when I get so much satisfaction from a bacon egg and cheese.

The End.

Riz

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Thankful

M and I got about the worst phone call you can get on Thursday. We were headed home from school and our Dad called us and said "Don't freak out, but your Mom was in a car accident and I'm headed to the hospital now." Worst phone call ever. We drove straight to the hospital and found our Dad in the ER waiting to be let into her room. He didn't know anything, just that she had called him from the ambulance and she was in a car accident.

She's okay thank goodness. Some guy hit her doing around 65 when she was dead stopped. He swerved at the last minute which basically saved hers, and his life. It was during rush hour and ended up being a 4 car pile up.

The police officer showed up at the hospital and said with accidents this bad people usually don't walk away. It was horrible.

Our Mom walked away with only cuts on her head and whiplash side effects. She's lucky. So lucky.

Let this be your reminder to tell those close to you how much you love them, because you never know when it will be the last time,

R

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Muzak

So at work we have Muzak and 9 times out of 10 it blows.  However, sometimes it plays a gem such as this...


Love, love, love.  For any of your Oprah fans out there (Love you O!) this is also the song used in this video...


Makes me cry every time.  For any of you out there that missed this Oprah episode, after Kristian was diagnosed with cancer and had begun treatments, he made this love letter for his wife Rachel for her birthday and posted it on youtube.  Then Oprah heard about it and while she was doing her Australia vacation for the favorite things crowd, she gave Krisitian and his family $250,000 to help with their huge medical bills.  Let the waterworks begin people...

Now lets all be subconsciously disappointed in our significant others for not being half as romantic as Kristian and Train...Ready, Set, Go!

M

Monday, August 22, 2011

Book Worm


Scribbler of Dreams by Mary E. Pearson is about a girl who was raised to hate long lost relatives. This was a good story. Kinda wordy, not in a hard to read way but in a over written kinda way. If that makes sense. Still worth reading.


Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner is about a girl part of a village that is living in the aftermath of a War fought between Faerie and humans. This is also a good story. Not the best book I have ever read but also definitely worth reading.

Four more books to go before I get through this stack.

I'm dreading school tomorrow as my sister is, I think I have accepted though. It is what it is ya know?

Wish us luck tomorrow,

Riz

It's Been A Minute

Man, it's been a while since I posted.  I wanted to share some pics from our vaca as well, I'll try to not do too many repeats of what Riz already posted.

The Children's Chapel, Camden ME
Camden Harbor
Pretty Garden
Alpaca Farm
Pretty


More Alpacas
Lady, the sweetest dog we met at the Alpaca farm







Wild Blueberries
Rockland Harbor, ME
On the home front, works has been a cluster as usual.  Gotta love coming home to an audit, sweet balls.

On a more positive note, whose Kitty Daddy had the whole apartment cleaned and some treats waiting when a certain someone came back from vacation? You guessed it, mine did! I was so happy, he has no idea how a clean bathroom and kitchen can warm a girls heart.

Also super random, but I bought a new face wash that I am liking a lot so far.  It is Noxzema Clean Blemish Control Daily Scrub. Definitely worth checking out.


photo credit

So as my sister said, school starts tomorrow and I am dreaadddinnggg it.  Kitty Daddy is crazy, he loves the first day of school.  He's all social and enjoys meeting new people.  I on the other hand want to sit in the back corner and curl up into a ball. So to all of you college students out there whose semesters are starting up again, I feel your pain!

Happy Monday Everyone!
M

Here we go again

Ya ya this is my last semester and all but it's still another semester. I actually think I am over the school part (ask me that in a few weeks and I may have a different perspective) it's more the what to do after its over part. No insurance with no jobs and no way am I going to grad school.

Ya I have an internship now and ya it's a good oppotunity but what happens when you don't like it? Ya I know I should be grateful but after you bust your ass for 4 years you want to have a light at the end of the tunnel. And right now the light isn't looking too bright.

It's scary to be so unsure of what your future brings. I don't want to hate my job. I don't want to hate getting up every morning. Who knows what 2012 will bring but it's bound to stir things up a bit for better or for worse.

Time to put on the big girl pants now,

R

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Shoes

I love shoes. One of the few pieces of clothing not affected by weight. Maybe thats why I love them so much. Or maybe I love them because I usually treat them as my accent in an outfit. I usually do one thing that stands out from the rest because I tend to have a pretty plane jane natural style.

So of course my shoe wish list is about a mile long. Here are a few of my favs.

TOMS - Slate Wool Cordones 69$


Minnetonka - Thunderbird II Suede 40$

Minnetonka - Thunderbird Boat Sole (Smooth) 45$


Minnetonka - Thunderbird Suede Boat Sole 40$

Minnetonka - 3 Layer Fringe Boot 90$



Hunter - Hunter Original 125$

Madden Girl Women's Exxtreme 75$

XAPPEAL Dominique 40$


The End

Riz

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Book Worm

I have been trying to cram in all of the reading I can before school starts again (Ugh).


Night World No. 1 by L.J. Smith was written by the same author that wrote Vampire Diaires. Which are some of my favorite books. This book was good, not as good as Vampire Diaries but still worth reading. It has 3 separate stories in it about different people that are all related.


The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal was a story about a girl who got switched at birth with another girl so led a life as a princess until she was 16. Good book as well.

I went to the library today and got plenty more books so hopefully I'll have another book worm post coming up soon.

Riz

And We're Back

I'll start with our flight to Maine. As M mentioned it was horrible. We had a teensy plane for our flight to Wash. Dullus (only 3 seats in a row) and it wasn't well air conditioned. Add this along with horrific turbulence for the last 30-45 min. and Riz and M were doing breathing exercises. We were totally freaked out and we kept loosing all views out the window due to the clouds we were flying in. So Riz threw up. Not my proudest day. So embarrassing. Have you ever even seen anyone throw up on a plane and actually use those tiny barf bags? Me neither. And since airlines are cutting costs, they only have one barf bag per row. Ya. Thank goodness Mel held it together.

So while Riz was throwing up in her bag M got hit with cramps and Aunt Flow. Nightmare. Needless to say she ran off the flight as I handed my filled barf bag to the stewardess. Thanks!

We later reconvened in the bathroom. No shame. We had basically no layover. Just enough time to get some Dramamine and Advil, use the toilet and get on our next flight.

And of course another tiny plane. Thankfully we got the row that separates 1st class from the rest of the plane so we had lots of room. I thought we would be better. Nope. Lyd was throwing up in her mouth on the ascent and reaching for our once again only barf bag on the descent. Lyd however doesn't have the ability that I apparenty have to barf daintily. O no she was croaking and making those horrific gagging sounds. And she couldn't stop.

The worst part is that no one helped us on either flight! Can you believe that? No one around us or even the stewardess'. When mel was tossing her cookies on the 2nd flight the second we landed I jumped up to get her some napkins. And the steward looked at me like I had 10 heads. I'm like umm get your ass out of your seat and get me some napkins for my poor sister! Good god I was furious. These people.

Finally as we were taxing to our gate he comes over to us and I'm like okay he's going to ask if shes alright , ya know what he says? "Did it get anywhere?" O my god I could have killed someone. No sir, your precious plane is spotless and o ya don't worry my sister is OK.

So needless to say we looked like hell. We were both pale as ghosts and M had bruises under her eyes. What a wonderful welcoming to our grandparents.

So that was our insane plane experience the way there. What a way to start off a vacation right? Thankfully it got better.

Camden, ME:






Camden, ME from the top of Mt. Battie:



Rockland, ME:


Camden Snow Bowl:



Camden Cone:


Cappy's, Camden, ME:


Jealous right? I love Maine. I'm really considering living there.

All the food was delish. Here are the places we went:

Cappy's Bakery, Camden ME = best croissants I have ever eaten. I used to walk down to the bakery at 5 in the morning with my Dad when I was little when my grandparents used to live in Camden.
Camden Cone, Camden ME = One of my favorite ice cream places. Martha Stewart goes there too.
Blackraspberry ice cream with chocolate jimmies (east coast term for sprinkles) in a waffle cone.
Dormans Ice Cream, Thomaston ME = I hadn't gone there in years. Best ice cream since Miss Plums (another ice cream place in ME that was shut down for some reason that had the best ice cream ever). Blackraspberry with chocolate jimmies in a waffle cone. Heaven
Wasses Hot Dogs, Rockland ME = best hot dogs ever. Just a little trailer thing and all they do is hot dogs. Steamed buns with hot dogs cooked in peanut oil with multitudes of toppings. Need I say more? We ate there 3 times in 7 days. And dirt cheap.
The Brass Compass, Rockland ME = Delish breakfast. Huge portions. The owner was on showdown with bobby flay. Homemade bread.
Come Spring Cafe, Union ME = Best breakfast in a little Maine diner full of locals. Homemade bread and english muffins. Yum. Cheap!
Moody's Diner, Waldoboro ME = The first time my Grandma went to Moody's was when she was 4 and the first time my Grandpa had been was in his teens. How cool is that? Once again delish and dirt cheap. The daughter of the original owners was still waitressing, she must have been in her 70's. We go for breakfast.
The Helm, Rockport ME = We have been going here since we were little. Great salad bar and the Maine essentials. I had clam chowder and fried Maine shrimp. Delish fresh baked bread.
The Waterfront Restaurant, Camden ME = One of my all time favorite restaurants. The best clam chowder I have ever had. We have also been coming here for years. I have many favorites on the menu. I normally get the clam chowder and roasted pear and walnut salad. Best salad ever.
Le Garage, Wiscasset ME = On the harbor in Wiscasset. Pretty place. Food was OK. My grandparents love their crepes. I don't eat crepes myself.
Athens Pizza, Thomaston ME = Just a little pizza place in downtown Thomaston. However, pizza is delish. They don't know how to do pizza out in the Midwest. We were used to having plenty of options for great pizza growing up in MA. They know how to do pizza on the east coast.
Chez Michel, Lincolnville ME = Another one of my all time favorite restaurants. Here's what I get: Haddock Oscar with croquets and a salad with bleu cheese. Homemade bread. Yum.
Youngstown Inn, Lincolnville ME = The best meal I have ever eaten. Beautiful Inn up on a hill run by a husband and wife, the husband is a french chef. O my. I cant even explain the goodness of this meal. Of course it's expensive, but so worth it. My grandparents have been going there for 20 years. We walked in and were greeted by the owner (wife) and she was like O my gosh I haven't seen you two in years since you were little! Gotta love that. She treated my grandparents like they were old friends which I guess they technically are. I got the filet mignon and M got chicken. We practically licked our plates. We had cheesecakes for dessert. Heaven.

You have to go to Maine if you haven't, it's the best place ever.

Riz


Thursday, August 11, 2011

Sneak Peek!

My sister and I made it to Maine alive, just barely. We'll explain when we get home, it's kind of a long story. But to tide you over, here's a picture of our paradise.
Camden, Maine
Jealous yet?
M

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Leavin' on a jet plane!

It's official we are leaving in 7 hours for the airport! Woo Hoo! Unfortunately the forcast isn't looking great but I bought some yarn and got plenty of books so even if we are stuck in side for some of our vaca it'll be ok!

The grandparents are so excited for our arrival. So cute. Gotta love Grammie and Grampy.

Guess I should go to bed now huh? I told Lyddy to pack light but I am having trouble myself. It's so hard to make outfit decisions ahead of time. At least it is for me. Sometimes I like an outfit and other times I don't. Ugh. The hardest part is trying to pack for different weather when you have been living in scorching heat (as in 100 degrees) for months. I can't even remember what pants look like ;) And I don't want to either, I hate jeans. I really only have one pair that I wear no joke.

I tried to explain this to my Mum today and she just wasn't having it. So I thought about it and was like she's right how do I only have one pair of jeans? O ya. I wear sweats and leggings to school and dress pants and skirts to work in the fall/winter so there really isn't a need for jeans. Works for me because I hate them, so constricting. Lyddy agrees but the rest of the world doesn't seem to. O well.

I charged up the camera so there will be plenty of picture taking so brace yourself for the ample pics I'm sure sis and I will be taking.

Hooray for Maine, the most beautiful place ever,

XOXO

Riz

PS: Obviously I made it through my last summer school class alive. It was brutal. I was the first one to hand in my test, does that tell you anything? I was like peace out guys its been real.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Monday Mania

Gotta love a Monday that just makes you want to crawl under a rock until it's friday again.  And today wasn't any better.

The sweater didn't work out, my stitch count got off at one point so the pattern got messed up, bummer.  Then I was just so tired last night my plan b wasn't going to happen either.  So I just settled for the red velvet sandwiches I made. Forgot pictures, my bad!

Now all I have left is to get ready to go out of town. Cleaning and packing what's up!
In the mean time, can we talk about how much I am going to miss my kitties while I am gone!! And I swear they know I'm leaving cause they both have been such cuddle bugs.  This is not unusual for B, G however is a strong independent woman and doesn't always want to snuggle her momma, but check out this pic I just snapped of her wedged between me and my knitting bag, precious.

An B, need I say more.  He legit sits like this for 10 minutes, just staring.  Melt. My. Heart.

Gotta love that Kitty Daddy accepts my obsession with these little babies.  Case in point, this little scenario from the other day.

I'll give you a little backgroung info, we were trying to get skype to work on his MacBook so we can see each other while I'm gone.  Something was wrong with his camera so we had to give up.  The next night he mentions that he is going to go to the Apple store when I leave so they can fix his whole camera situation so we can skype, then this convo happened.

KD: I'm going to go to the Apple store so they can fix my camera so skyp will work.  That way you can see
       B cause I know that's who you really want to skype.
M: Oh stop it, you know I want to see you.....holding B.

Love it!
M

P.S. My babies...
Snuggling!

Monday, August 8, 2011

Super Senior

Well it's official, after today I will be a super senior. I guess it makes up for graduating early from high school. These will be my last classes, the last books I have to buy, the last parking pass I have to buy, and the list goes on.

O ya and I'm posting at 7 AM becuase I HAVEN'T GONE TO SLEEP YET. Remember that paper I have been bitching about? Well Rizzo left it until 9PM the day before it's due. Yep, indeedle I did. So I just printed my paper (14 pages later) and I have to say I'm pretty proud of it. I actually think I might do well. Huh, who woulda thunk. Now I'll probably jinx myself.

So anyway, after I printed my paper I decided it would be a wonderful idea to cook myself a gourmet breakfast to try to get me through this day. So I cooked up a scrumptious (if I do say so myself) breakfast burrito. 2 scrambled eggs, 4 pieces of bacon, 1 slice of white American cheese, all wrapped up in a wrap, chum chum.

So now begins the studying for the ridiculous test I am about to take at 4 PM tonight. Joy. I can't decide which I despise more, tests or papers. Tough call.

O well I should just be thankful that somehow the stars aligned and I didn't have any castastrophe's tonight considering how last minute I left everything.

Wish me luck on my test. Poor Lyddy has a rough couple days ahead as well. She decided to ax the sweater and make a baby hat instead (much faster), I haven't talked to her since she left tonight so I hope it worked out for her. She's a nice one she is making fetus clothing for her ABM that's leaving. And she's making a homemade goodie to bring to work as well!

So Lyd, lets begin our countdown ... We're leavin on a jet plane!

1 more day between us and Maine. Can't wait,

Riz

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Due Date

So I am done with summer school now, but I still have given myself due dates. My manager got a new job and her last day is Monday.  As a gift, I am knitting her 6 month old daughter this sweater.
Autumn Leaves


I found the pattern through Ravelry, but you guys can check it out on What to Knit When You're Expecting. Man oh man, knowing how to speed knit would be so useful right now.  I am determined to teach myself one of these days.

Anyway, hope everyone has a great weekend! Keep your fingers crossed that I get this sucker done by monday!
M

Friday, August 5, 2011

New Project Idea

Today I was perusing the latest blog posts of my favs and came upon A CUP OF JO's post.

She featured a couple of pillows from this online store called catstudio.


These are the coolest. Come to find out they are all hand embroidered! Which got me thinking... if they can make them why can't I?

I'd love to make Grammie my own rendition of this Maine pillow. This is totally something she would love. I would tweak it to more suit our own families memories and favorite locations in Maine. I am getting so excited even thinking about it.

The only problem is... I don't know how to embroider. Kinda an issue right considering the whole thing is embroidered. However, I did watch my ex's Mom embroider a hat once and it came out amazing and she gave me a basic tutorial. Doesn't look too hard right?

Gosh my problem is always that I have too many ideas for people for Christmas. Is that normal? I don't think so, I think people normally have the opposite problem.

Ta Ta for now,

Riz

PS: In case you were wondering, I ripped this out. It just wasn't working out.

And I started this hat but I will probably rip that out too. Or try to teach myself how to do the magic loop method because I was trying to wing it on dpns, ya no not working out.

What's Cookin' Good Lookin' Rizzo Style

Check out these nuggets of goodness...


Ooo ya that's what I'm talkin' about. These are my new fabulous creation I came up with today. I call them...

Taco Scoops

Ingredients:
- tostitos scoops
- leftover taco meat
- shredded cheddar cheese
- assorted taco toppings (optional)

Directions:
1. Set your oven to broil (low). Line a cookie sheet with tin foil.
2. Arrange scoops on sheet.
3. Reheat taco meat and put small heapings into scoops. Cover each with some shredded cheese.
4. Cook under the broiler until cheese is just melted. Make sure you don't walk away from these or they will end up looking like this...


Kapeesh?

These bad boys are delicious. What a great way to use up leftover taco meat right? I also think they would be a great party appetizer. I feel like someone needs to pay me for this brilliant idea. Tostitos? Anyone at all? O well.

Eat these hot, top with your favorite taco toppings and Enjoy!


Riz