On Fatherhood

I watch too much daytime television. I will freely admit that. But after so many episodes of Maury, Wilkos and Jeremy Kyle, I have become aware that a lot of men out there just don't get it. (I'm not saying women are innocent, but we just seem to be less vocal about this.) Men come out on the stage, laugh and prance around, scream they aren't the father and the mother is ho. Well, for 1, YOU slept with that ho, so what does that make YOU? For 2, it isn't about YOU or HER. It's about the child. Someday, that poor little girl or boy will see that episode and see their father jumping around, acting an ass and saying they won't accept them because they aren't their child. Does anyone ever think what that will do to a kid?

Men, stop and think about your actions! Don't EVER badmouth a woman if there is even a remote chance you're that kid's father. It's just not morally the right thing to do. Step up, be a man and act right.

Another thing: a check every month isn't being a father. That's being a financially-responsible sperm donor. Kids need their dads in their lives. Dads provide things moms can't. A lot of girls who grew up without fathers end up in abusive relationships, bad marriages or in counseling. 

That being said, if you HAVE kids, PAY FOR THEM! I hate to see people having babies and then just leaving them to fend for themselves. Babies need diapers, kids need food and soccer equipment and Christmas presents. 

My husband is the best dad I have ever seen, and I am ever proud of him. He loves our little boy, plays with him every day and is proud to take him out shopping with him. Anyone can father a child. It takes a real man to be a daddy. :)

Before I go: stop saying "baby daddy". That's tacky. It's "the father of my child" or "my ex-boyfriend". Thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble gobble.

Recipe: My World Famous Oreo Pudding

As a treat for Thanksgiving, here's a recipe that is sure to delight. I learned this from my mother, and I'm going to share it with you. It's very amazing, and everyone loves it. The best part is it is so simple. It takes only a few minutes to make this great dessert, and it's very cheap to make, no matter the amount.

You'll need:
1 or 2 packages of Oreos, depending on how much you like in your pudding
1 regular-size tub of Cool Whip (can even use the Sugar Free or Fat Free kind)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (I use Eagle brand)
2 small boxes or 1 large box of Jello vanilla pudding
2% milk

Make sure you thaw the Cool Whip ahead of time or else it's hard to stir it in.

Combine milk, condensed milk, and pudding mix in a large mixing bowl. Make sure you stir it well because the Eagle brand is thick and takes to some time to fuse with the other ingredients. Once all of those are mixed well, add Cool Whip and mix it in very well. Break up Cool Whip clumps. Using an electric beater here, because it makes this so much easier. Once the pudding is finished, crumble Oreos into the mix, breaking them into pieces the size you desire. I use my hands. Stir the Oreos in, making sure to get them all the way to the bottom. Then put the pudding in the fridge to set. Once it's set you can add crumbled Oreos to the top for appearance. That's it!

I make this in huge quantities to feed my husband's shop on base. They rave about it. I try to use the sugar-free versions as much as possible in the ingredients since there's so much in the Oreos and condensed milk. 

Another great thing I need to say is that this recipe can easily be changed to banana pudding. Just change out the Oreos for banana and wafers. If you want an extra kick, swap the vanilla pudding for banana cream pudding. Yum!

Well, everyone, have a wonderful holiday! 

The Nerd In Me (Stronger Than Ever)

If you know me well enough, you know I'm a nerd. And not just any nerd, but the Queen Nerd. How did I come to that title? Honestly, my mom gave it to me. She's actually very right, though. I AM the Queen of all Nerds. 

Here's why:

 I bought this. And JDF (Jason David Frank) even sent me an autograph with it. :) You have no idea how giddy this makes me. I'm such a weirdo! I, like most of kids my age, was totally in love with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Most of all, Tommy. It brings back such good memories to see him still out in the public eye as an MMA fighter. What makes it even better: he's a Christian MMA fighter that prays before every match. I think that's a rare thing indeed. I fully support Jesus Didn't Tap, because I think God should be included in everything. Just because you're a Christian doesn't mean you can't whoop someone's behind. He's a 6th degree black belt, so I'm not picking a fight with him any time soon. I had no idea his karate school was in Texas, and it makes me want to take a day trip. lol You heard me!

Why else am I a nerd? This pic here makes me squeal:

  

Yes, that's the original Zach, Walter Jones. And he's hanging with my current heroes, Power Rangers Samurai! I watch Samurai every Saturday. Now, don't get me wrong. There have been some PR series I didn't like. Dino Thunder, despite having Tommy in it, wasn't my cup of tea. Ninja Storm was stupid, (and that's pretty bad because ALL PR series are stupid). I really enjoy Might Morphin', Power Rangers SPD, Power Rangers Mystic Force, Power Rangers RPM, and of course Samurai. 

Once, when Jake was a couple of weeks old, I was rocking him in my mom's living room, watching RPM. My stepdad came into the room, rolled his eyes and remarked "I thought we outgrew this crap 15 years ago!" Ha! Fooled you! I'm Queen Nerd until someone overthrows me. 

And I put up a fight. You can't win.

A Little More Complicated Than I Thought

I didn't realize preparing for this cruise would be so hard. I'm not used to staying in a place that has a dress code. We have to dress for dinner in church clothes, but OUR church shows up in jeans, hoodies, maybe a polo on our pastor. So I've had to scramble for clothes. It also said no shorts and tanks in the dining hall, so there goes another chunk of my wardrobe. WTH? We're going to be in the Keys, and I can't wear a tank top? Ugh. I've already asked my mom if I could raid her closet when I pass through Memphis, because now I can fit back into most of her clothes. (I'm just about 2 feet taller than her, tho. So pants are out of the question.) Tonight, we had to go to the BX and buy Bryan some dress clothes, because 10 year old shoes and khakis are NOT nice clothes, I don't care how much ironing and Febreze you use. We got him a new shirt, some dress slacks and a belt. Since all my clothes are new, I'm trying to piece together outfits for dinner. I'm sure I can make it work, since I have a basic black skirt and heels. All I have to do is find a couple of shirts to go with it. I feel like our packing is going to be crazy. I'm praying we can fit it all in our luggage. 

And then I have to figure out the travel from Memphis to Fort Lauderdale. I booked everything back in July, I just don't remember the details. Oh, it's crunch time and I'm flipping out! AAAHHHHH!!!


Thanks. I feel better. :)

Review: Ribbon Poncho

About 5, almost 6, years ago, when I was just learning to knit, I got a pattern from Lion Brand for a ribbon poncho. It required 5 balls of Lion Brand "Incredible Yarn" in your choice of colors. I picked Rainbow, because I absolutely love bright colors. The pattern was for beginners, and trust me, I was a beginner. So I made it, got all the way through it, and then dropped a stitch as I was binding it off. The entire thing unraveled in my hands, and I got pissed off. I rolled up all the ribbon yarn and stowed it until I had more patience. Well, I stumbled across all the ribbon yarn last week, and once I got all my custom orders sent out, decided to give it another go. I work patterns all the way up the "intermediate +" difficulty levels, so I figured this would be a breeze.

Here's what Lion Brand says it looks like:

I thought it looked really cute. And I still do. But here's the problem I had with it: it came out a lot smaller than the pattern said it would. The pattern is simple (I would post a link to it, but Lion Brand requires an account to view patterns). All you do is cast on 40 stitches and work in a garter stitch until the poncho reaches 48 inches long. Then fold it in half, sew up one side completely and sew 10 inches along the top side. So I did exactly as it directed. Mine didn't really come out as a poncho, but more like a shoulder-hugging shrug. This picture is not a good representation of the product, unless that lady is really small. My gauge was right, and I used the proper needles. I even used 6 balls of yarn, instead of the required 5, and it still came out short. So I waited this long to make this poncho, and I ended up wasting my time. It took about 5 hours to make, which isn't long, but I'd rather have spent longer and gotten something I could use. I think I'll just sell it on my Etsy shop at a discount to try to recoop some of the cost. 


Normally Lion Brand patterns work nicely. This was the first one that didn't turn out right. Oh well. Now I'm working on an original design scarf: My Little Pony "Rainbow Dash" chevron scarf. So far, it's nice. The pattern is a little troublesome, and I've had to start twice, but I think I have the hang of it now.

A Much Deserved Vacation

If you didn't know, we are leaving on Saturday for a much-needed vacation. We're going on the Music Boat 2011 Cruise, and I am so excited. I've never been on a cruise before, and the Newsboys are main-lining the event. (Google them if you have no idea who they are.) So I won't be posting at all next week. We'll be in international waters, and I couldn't even afford to text anyone, let alone use the Wifi. We're driving from OKC to Memphis, where our families are from. Our little boy is going to stay there with his grandparents, so we can go on to Miami alone. We had planned on taking him with us, but being 2 and very energetic, flying with him would have been a nightmare. And then trying to enjoy all our excursions on the Carnival cruise would have been another trial. So he's just going to enjoy some Grandma time. 

I will post pictures of everything when we return. We're booked to swim with dolphins, eat lunch with the Newsboys and enjoy a number of concerts. The ship will dock in The Keys, Cozamel, and Miami over a period of 4 days. It's going to be so exciting. I haven't had a vacation in 3 years. We have been focusing on our son and getting our lives straight, so money and time has been scarce. I think this is going to be a very good thing for our marriage and our anxiety levels. We're both worn smack out.

Review: Broad Street Mitten Pattern

Someone came to me on Etsy, wanting some convertible mittens in Harry Potter's Gryffindor colors. I've never made anything quite like mittens with a flip cap on them before, so I decided to see what I could make. I found a pattern for the "Broad Street Mitten" and thought it seemed easy enough. Here is my review of what I did.

First, check out the pattern here: http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall02/PATTbroadstreet.html 

Here's what they should look like when finished:

  But mine turned out a little different. Now, granted I modified the pattern a bit to fit my needs, but I followed the dimensions exactly. Here are mine:

They are HUGE! The creator said she had large hands, but geez! My husband can't even wear these. I haven't decided if I'm even going to bother selling these to the nice customer. The cuff fits really well, but it's where the palm widens that it gets all huge. I have no idea why. I used the exact needles and yarn gauge and everything.

To get to down to review basics, these gloves were tedious. When working with size 2 needles, your fingers get sore. The stitching is so tight it's hard to maneuver the needles at all. The pattern itself wasn't so hard to follow, but the last few instructions needed some clarification. I couldn't tell where or why I was supposed to be sewing the ribbed cuff down on the sides of the hand. I was thinking that would sew my gloves shut. I eventually figured out what she meant, though. These gloves took about 12 hours of work, and I don't think I'll be making any more. I'm going to look for another pattern to fit my needs because this one came out massive. Maybe my neighbor's husband can wear them. Hm....

My recommendations: if you're making these for a man, they will work great. If you're a woman, they will swallow your hands up. They will give you eye strain to make, and your fingers will want to bleed. The results look nice enough, but they probably won't fit. This pattern makes good practice to improve your knitting skills, but not much else.