Hiking at Red Rock

I got a call to go hiking over the weekend and couldn't resist. I'm really wanting to lose weight, so any time I can get out and exercise is perfect. And even better, this is just one of the amazing views.
The kids all came along. It was awesome!!


I nursed at the waterfall. Kelli was quite comfy in her Ergo.


The boys loved climbing on the rocks!

During the hike, Jaxon fell a lot!! At one point, he started to fall and reached down to brace himself. Only there was a CACTUS!! So, I had to stop and pull about 30 prickers out of his hand. He was a brave boy though. He didn't shed a tear. Just showed mild discomfort. I pulled one out and it went into my thumb... it HURT. He's such a tough boy!

Cool Video

I like quirky videos. This one is quite interesting. The girl sleepwalks in her bed the whole time. Very creative.

Why do I love CVS??

1/14/09 CVS trip:

GE bulb .44
Bows .39
Wrapping Paper .39
Stickers .05
Christmas Window Cling .19
2 Puzzles .18
2 CG Mascara 5.50
Physicians Formula Blush 2.75
4 Gillette Mach3 razors 16.80
4 Glade refills 21.98
2 BIC refills 7.00

Coupons:
-.44 GE bulb
-1.00 BIC
-1.00 BIC
-2.50 CG
-4.20 Gilette BOGO
-4.20 Gilette BOGO
-5.49 Glade BOGO
-5.49 Glade BOGO
-10 off $50

Extra Bucks:
-4.50
-4.99
-11.84

Total: $1.89
Extra Bucks Earned: $8

Total Savings: $110.43

1/15/09 CVS trip:
So, today, I got:

8 boxes of SoyJoy bars 24.00
1 box chocolate mint candy canes .25
3 plush toys 2.07
2 pedicure sets 1.98
1 tea cup set .99
1 Nutratrim gum 3.99
1 Nasogel 7.99
2 2-pk Glade Candles 10.98
1 Gilette Fusion razor 6.00

Coupons:
-2.00 Nasogel
-5.49 Glade BOGO
-4.00 Gilette
-3 off $15

Extra Bucks:
-3.99
-4.00
-7.99
-5.98
-7.98
-12.00
-4.99
-1.00
-18.00

Total: $2.54
Extra Bucks Earned: $18.00 (This was from 3 or 4 separate transactions, just rolled from one to another.)
Total Savings today: $148.37

Headed back for the deal on Throat Coolers, now I've got my BOGO coupons!

My Banana-Sour Cream Cake

I'm not usually a baker, but I was invited to a dinner party and figured why not bring a yummy dessert? So, I looked through recipes at www.kraftfoods.com and found a really good looking cake.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/banana-sour-cream-cake-57771.aspx

I did change a couple things. I used a bundt pan and pecans instead. I only substituted with pecans because there were cheaper, though. It's cooling right now, but I just tasted the cream cheese frosting and ooohhh... it's yummy. It made my day of no sweets/sugar even more worth it so I can have a piece of cake tonight.

USM Longies Pattern

I've successfully made longies with this pattern. They turn out a little more tight fitting than I'd like in the larger sizes, so they still need tweaking. Please feel free to comment with any changes you made that worked well for you. Sizes are NB(S,M,L) but are only approximates.

Ultimate Sweater Machine Longies

Materials Needed: Cartridge size 3

Wool or Other Worsted Yarn

Tapestry needle

Gauge: 14 stitches = 4” wide and 24 rows = 4” high

Each side of the pants will be knit separately, from the top down, followed by the ribbing, and then joined together by seaming up the inside of the legs and then the middle of the front and back.

Knit across = go from right to left.

Purl across = go from left to right.

Using Scrap Yarn,

Cast on 24 (26, 28, 30) stitches. Knit a few rows.

Using your actual yarn,
Row 1 knit across
Increase one stitch
Row 2 purl across
Row 3 knit across
Row 4 purl across
Increase one stitch
Row 5 knit across
Increase one stitch
Row 6 purl across
Row 7 knit across
Row 8 purl across
Increase one stitch
Row 9 knit across
Increase one stitch
Row 10 purl across
Row 11 knit across
Row 12 purl across
Increase one stitch
Row 13 knit across
Increase one stitch
Row 14 purl across
Row 15 knit across
Row 16 purl across

You should now have 31 (33, 35, 37) total stitches on your needle.

Continue regular knitting for 24 (27, 30, 38) rows.

Wrap a small piece of yarn around the first and last stitch of that row. Use these markers as a guide for measuring the legs and also sewing up the seams later.

Begin legs as follows:

Decrease at the beginning and end of the next two rows for the crotch shaping. You should have 27 (29, 31, 33) stitches on your machine.

Continue knitting for 38 (41, 44, 47) rows.

Cast off with the stretchy cast off.

Do 8 rows of ribbing, follow instructions from this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuUGkwMVXfI

Next make the other side of the longies the same as the first side

When you're finished, seam the two sides together, using the mattress stitch or other seaming technique. (You may want to block your two sides prior to the seaming.)


Make a drawstring, thread it through the ribbing, and you're done.