Crock Pot Lovin'

Hey Y'all,

Well, summer is in the air!  I am so looking forward to the days of reading trashy novels on the beach, having no where in particular to be and sleeping late. 33 more days folks!

Tonight I was wishing for chicken on the grill and a yummy dessert. Well, I made the dessert part and had to forgo the chicken because it would have taken way to long to thaw! I came across this recipe for Crock Pot Blueberry Cobbler a little while ago. This is the second time that I have made it and I really like it. When I cook with fruit, I think you should taste the fruit, not the sugar you add to the fruit. I really like the way this cobbler comes out because you can really taste the blueberries and the "cobbler" part is sweet without making all of  your teeth fall out. :) I am sure you Splenda fans out there can come up with a way to make this with Splenda, but with my sensitive tummy I can't use it and have to go for the REAL thing! So here's what you need....

Well, of course a crock pot. I have 3 different sizes. I use my medium size one because this cobbler makes about 4 servings. You can double and triple this recipe so you can have enough for a family.
Also, you will need....

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar, divided (1/4 cup and 2 Tbsp)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups blueberries (or berry of your choice) (Costco had some great blueberries this week!)
1/4 cup water

Lightly grease crockpot with butter. In a bowl, combine flour, half of the divided sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In another bowl, combine eggs, milk and oil. Pour and mix into the dry ingredients until moistened. Place batter in crock pot. *I have been using crockpot liners when I cook this. Less clean up later!

In a saucepan, mix together blueberries, water and the other half of the divided sugar. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.

 
Pour over batter in crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours. Uncover and let set for 30 minutes before eating.

You can add vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. YUM!

Whew! I am also on a knitting deadline as I type. We are throwing a baby shower for a teacher on my team who is expecting her first baby in a few weeks. So... I have a sweater on the needles. At this point, I don't know if it will be ready by Thursday, but I am working as fast as I can!

 

                                      

Well let me run. Kate Gosslin is in the bottom 2 on Dancing With the Stars tonight. I SO HOPE SHE GETS KICKED OFF TONIGHT!!!!! Yes, I am hateful!

:) JKP

Growing Pains

Hey Y'all!

Well, as you can see I am playing around with the ol' blog again. I wasn't really in love with my last background and I guess that is why I haven't been posting as much. I am still  hunting around for one I love, but until then you will just have to make due with basic pink! Don't worry if you check in once and then again and things are totally different. It is ok.

As I have had to tell myself several times today... count to ten, take a deep breath. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Yup. It's been one of those days. It seems that my good news I got on Friday, may not be about to happen. So. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

My Mom is taking one last vacation with her Mercy Nursey gang before she starts her new job in May. So, Miss Zoe Bowie has been staying with us while she is gone. Pitty Pat and Zoe still don't get along and yesterday it reached a creshendo. I had to put both of them in time out and head to the beach. And y'all.. it was only 64 degrees outside! While it did warm up at the beach after a while, my peace was restored and I came home to deal with the two monkeys. They are still fussing and fighting today, so I don't think that is EVER going to end.

On the bright side, I only have about 2 more loads of laundry left to do and then my closet change over will be complete. I did get my house cleaned and I had the windows opened yesteday to air the house out. Of course all it really did was give Paddington an excuse to incite a riot of barking in the neighborhood.

Well, let me run. Dancing With the Stars is on tonight and my fingers are crossed that this is Kate Gosselin's night for getting kicked off! Yes, I know I am hateful. But I swear she has bought all 8 of her kids and their nannies cell phones so they can vote for her every week. Also, I have some major knitting to do on a baby sweater for a shower this week, and DWTS provides the perfect mindless background noise. Hopefully I will be wide awake for Castle tonight... it looks like it is going to be good!
Tootles!
:) JKP

Avoidance

Hey Y'all,

Well, my house is just a mess. And we all know what kind of OCD tendencies I have. It is absolutely driving me nuts, but I can't find the motivation or will power to take care of it! For one thing, be assured that my house is nothing like the show Hoarders, but to me that is what it seems like today! I am in the middle of going through my winter and spring clothes, making piles to donate, what to pack up for next year and figuring out what I have to wear over the coming months. This year it's not SO bad. I have been healthy, I am eating and exercising and have NOT had to have any evil prednisone. So basically I am where I was last year size wise, so I am just going through last year's stuff trying to decide to keep or donate. This morning I went through all of my winter clothes and put what I wanted to keep up in the attic. My last task I have is to wash all of my summer spring stuff/iron it/hang it. I gave up this morning and went to the beach instead! It's such a pretty day here today (80's) and the rest of the week is only going to be in the 60's and 70's. So it was pretty much mandatory that I spend time on the beach today!

I am reading the best book right now too! So I had to go to the beach to read today! Many of you have probably seen the movie Julie and Julia. I picked up the book by Julie Powell last summer and read it on the plane out to Lake Tahoe. The book was ok, but I found myself wishing the book had more bits about Julia Child and not Julie Powell. So yesterday at the library I picked up My Life in France by Juila Child. Y'all... it is SO interesting! The interesting part is that Julia went to France with her husband, Paul Child, when she was my age. It is so weird to think of Julia Child not knowing how to cook until her middle 30's! I love reading about her trips to Paris restaurants and how she and her husband made these great friends while in Paris. The book is hard to put down!

Speaking of cooking, yesterday on my hall at school we had a "Death by Chocolate Day." Everyone had to bring a dish made of chocolate. I made a very yummy Chocolate Caramel Marshmallow Torte. It was very easy to make and the results were great and tasty!

Also yesterday, I got a bit of great news at school. It is a secret, so I can't spill it on the blog yet, but it is safe to say that I am extremely happy about this recent turn of events. I will fill y'all in as soon as I possibly can!

Well, I guess this is enough avoidance. I guess I must tackle my bedroom and closet now.

Toodles!

:) JKP

I Will Be a Better Blogger. I Will Be a Better Blogger. I Will Be a Better Blogger.

Hey Y'all!

Shock. Gasp. Shriek if you have to. Yes, I have a mother of a post to update the ol' blog today! Yes, you have heard it before dear readers, I have been busy. In fact, I can't believe that it is the 15th of April already. However, I am more than ready for the next 35 days of school to fly by!

So let's get to the update!

Last time I left off, I had acquired a roomie, was thinking hard about opening and Etsy shop and was in great denial about going back to school after spring break.

So here's where we are today. Love the roomie. Pitty Pat is in love with Kate. He's a different dog around her. He is no longer playing hard to get. The boy has it bad!

My Etsy plan is coming along. Still knitting up inventory, but this week I have had to take a break. I have to knit some gifts for some baby showers that we have coming up at school in the next few weeks. But, here's a sample of what I am working on for the shop. Check out this precious bear hat. It. Is. So. Cute. I had to restrain myself from putting it on Pitty Pat. Yes, that would not be wise!

This past weekend the Fam pulled off the surprise party of all surprise parties. My Aunt Gwen turned 60 this past Sunday. My cousin Jordan had ALL of us over to her house in Charleston for the big "surprise." Aunt Gwen was REALLY surprised. I can't believe we pulled it off. I just knew that someone (ok, me) was going to spill the beans on facebook! Here's a pic from the event. Aunt Gwen, Mom and Me (justjuliaknits).

Also, I have other news! My mom is moving to Beaufort! She has accepted a job at the Naval Hospital and starts there on May 10th! Mom's house is for sale (so if you need a house, let me know!) We are all excited for her. I hope that Miss Zoe will adjust to the move!

The last piece of news is that my district has decided not to offer summer school this summer due to budget cuts. So now I find myself suddenly with a wide open summer. I am not sure what I am going to do yet, but you know me. I have to have a plan or I will go crazy by the time we have been out of school for two weeks! So because of this recent development, I am sure that I will open my ETSY store, but now I can wait and devote myself to it over the summer.

Let me run, FlashForward is on and I am already confused!

Later Gators! :) JKP

Spring Has Sprung!

Hey Y'all,

Well as I write this, we are wrapping up our spring break here in Myrtle Beach. Luckily, it has warmed up.. into the 80's! So I have spent the last few days on the beach soaking up as much vitamin D as possible!

This spring break started out with a bang... I got a roommate! Well, roommate is really not the right word. I have known Kate since she was itty bitty and she needed somewhere to stay that was safe until she finishes up college in July. Since I never use my upstairs and thinking of the furlough days that I have coming my way next year... it seems like a great fit for the both of us! I spent all day last Saturday cleaning out my monstrous closet upstairs and I ended up taking 6 bags of clothes to Goodwill. So with spring cleaning out of the way, I was free to enjoy the rest of my week!

I really just took it easy and did ALOT of reading and NO knitting. Can you believe it? I also had some time to meet some good friends for lunch and dinner AND I finally got my hair cut and colored.. which I desperately needed to do! This school year has really worn me out and I really just needed to rest. Also, I have really been fighting a bad depression this spring (due to school) and I just needed some time off of the grid! I think these past few days at the beach have done wonders for me and I am starting to come out of the fog. Pitty Pat has enjoyed having me at home. We still have Monday off, so I don't go back to school until Tuesday. From then on we only have about 43 days left in the year. Whew! I hope that it goes by fast!

I am still thinking about opening my store on Etsy. I had really hoped to build up my inventory while I was off, but I needed to rest instead. I still think it is going to happen, but probably later than sooner.

Well, I am off to walk Mr. Pitty Pat so he can enjoy this nice weather too!
Toodles!
:) JKP

Knitting Fever

Hey Y'all,

Well, instead of spring fever, I think I have knitting fever, which is quite a strange thing. Usually I am content with working on one or two projects in a month or two. Well, since 2010 started I have completed more projects in the past 3 months that I usually do all year long. Call it stress relief, call it creativity, but something has changed! Check out my finished projects for the weekend!

On Friday, Melynda from French Press Knits released a new pattern called Montebello Textured Cowl. Well, I wore my Breckenridge Cowl to school on Friday and caused a small frenzy. So I knew I had to knit Melynda's new cowl. It only took about 2 hours last night and after a bit of blocking, it was instant gratification time!

I worked it in the color green so I could wear it on St. Patty's day. It is supposed to be cool here this week, so this cowl will come in handy. I used some yarn in my stash, Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick in the color grass. I still had alot of yarn left over too, so this is a good stash reducer.
Also, I worked on a hat this weekend for my college roomie who just had a little boy. There is a sweater that goes with this hat, but I am going to have to wait until next week to get started on it. I accidentally got my wrist caught in the back of my CR-V's hatch while it was closing last week. I didn't break it, but it is definitely bruised. So I need to rest it for a few days and then back to attack knitting.

That's about all here. I am off to put in a movie and rest. Pitty Pat says hi!
:) JKP

At Loose Ends...

Hey Y'all!

I can not believe that I have NOT posted all month! It has just been insane. I have a lot going on right now, (when don't I?) and I have also been going to bed REALLY early. So, not much time for blogging. But on the up side, lots of time for knitting! My college roomate had her baby a few weeks early, so I am trying to finish up his baby set. I am also considering opening a store on ETSY to sell my knitted baby wares. I get a lot of requests at work to buy my knits, and also from friends of friends, so I thought it might make sense to open a store on ETSY. There is always a demand for hand knit baby items, so I may give it a go! I am also looking at starting a line of hand knit christening gowns too. So as you can see, I have been pondering some things and working out logistics as well. I want to make sure if I do go ahead with the store on ETSY that I have my inventory built up, so that if I get a lot of orders I am not trying to knit and keep up with school work! I have a feeling that over spring break (in TWO weeks!) I will really sit down and think it all through. Also, if I go ahead with ETSY I am going to need a new digital camera for pics. See note below on actual digital camera.

Pitty Pat celebrated his first birthday last week with lots of fanfare. He got some new toys and had some doggie "ice cream." I have video of it all and will post it over the weekend. Somewhere along the line my digital camera has up and DIED, so no actual pictures. I still have my little cam corder, but hopefully this weekend I am going to upgrade to a FLIP camera, so that will make things a wee bit easier to see. I love the little $30 video camera I have, but alas, it also shoots video like a $30 camera too!

On the knitting front, I have lots on the needles. I have made 1/2 of a pair of mittens, which were a ball to knit. Hee, hee. Knitting humor. I am working on the baby set for college roomie's baby, and in case you missed it, Melynda over at French Press Knits has a new pattern for a Montebello Cowl. I have already bought the pattern on Ravelry and I am itching to get it on my needles. I am hoping I can steal away a few moments this weekend to get some knitting done for me.

Let me run... remember, you can always keep up with me on twitter!!!
:) JKP