Category: Family

My daughter absolutely loves nori! From the time she was born until she was about three it’s something that was part of her weekly food rotation. As an infant, she was introduced to it since I nursed her.

Wrapping a variety of items into nori sheets was convenient since it turned most meals that needed to be eaten with utensils to something that could easily be consumed since the food was contained in its own portable roll.

While nori is commonly used to make sushi, we rarely use it that way. My daughter’s favorite way to eat nori is plain. The girl can go through several sheets of it daily, if I’d let her. Besides eating it plain we also use it instead of bread wraps. Sometimes I’ll grind it up and sprinkle over salads or various meals I prepare. I also use it to hold various seed/nut cheeses; sunflower, cashew, almond, etc.,

Over the years, I haven’t been as diligent in purchasing nori as I used to be. We eat a large variety of food. But, earlier today I ordered it just for my daughter.  My daughter has been craving these for weeks. I’m not the only one in this house that has food cravings. I can’t wait too see her face when she receives her beloved Nori. I like surprising my daughter and while the things I give her isn’t always extravagant, I must say they’re always appreciated by her. For her, it’s the thought that matters.

It’s been a lazy July fourth. My parents are away in South Carolina attending a family reunion and while we usually accompany them to South Carolina for the annual family gathering, this time we decided to stay home. And were enjoying our time immensely!

I had planned on doing some grilling today, but it was much too hot for that! Perhaps this weekend, I’ll toss something on the grill. I’ll make sure I get an early start to beat the heat. I did make some veggie steak, chicken steak, homemade ranch fries, and to accompany the simple meal I had fresh vegetables that came from the garden. Simple, delicious, nutritious and so satisfying. What more could a person want?

I do have a few special things planned for my daughter. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to reveal some of the surprises within the next few days.

Wishing those, within the USA, a wonderful Independence Day!

 

Yesterday, I told my dad Happy Father’s Day. I also said that I didn’t need a special day to let him know how much he’s appreciated. He’s awesome every day of the year. I knew I was forgetting to post something…

But I did forget to make a Father’s Day post here.

To all those awesome fathers out there, you’re appreciated. I’m thankful for my father and I’m still a “daddy’s girl”. I’ve enjoyed following him around since I could crawl and that still hasn’t changed.

This year, for Father’s Day, my daughter and I got my dad things that he can use when he’s outside puttering around. Like most within my immediate family, he likes useful things and doesn’t really do anything with “frivolous items”. In fact, his items (which I ordered online) will come tomorrow. I didn’t order them earlier since I knew he’d be out of town on Father’s day!

 

Death comes in threes…

This is a superstition, that I’ve heard throughout my life and while I’ve seen it with others I never experienced  it on a personal level until recently.

Last week, one of the older family friends died. She was 91 years old. Also my father’s cousin passed away, she was in her 60’s, and my aunt (my mother’s sister and the one with the brain tumor) died this past Friday. She was 76 years old.

Out of the three, my aunt is the one I saw the most and it has affected me more than the others. I haven’t shed any tears over her death, that doesn’t mean I don’t miss her. I do, I’m just not the type that cries. I imagine the funeral will be packed. My aunt was involved with a lot of outreach ministries through her church. She stayed active. I’m happy that she’s not suffering anymore and I know I’ll see her again in heaven.

Not only did my daughter make Honor Roll this quarter. This time, she went all the way to the top by making Distinguished Honor Roll.  She’s made honor roll all four quarters of the school year and I’m so proud of her!

In her school, distinguished honor roll, is a step above regular honor roll. This achievement is given to those who have a 4.0 grade average; all A’s.  As her parent, I do believe it’s my job to make sure she does her best in school.

At her Lutheran school, the headmaster repeatedly tells them that once they’re finished with their education at our school, they’ll be able to compete globally. One of his daughter’s has taught in Africa and she’s told him, along with others, how much further in advance many countries are when it comes to education. I’m happy that  with our schools program he’s not content to settle with just doing good enough with those within the USA.  He’s not the only one concerned about US education, so am I. Check about quote below…

In a report issued in 2010, we found only 6 percent of U.S. students performing at the advanced level in mathematics, a percentage lower than those attained by 30 other countries. And the problem isn’t limited to top-performing students. In 2011, we showed that just 32 percent of 8th graders in the United States were proficient in mathematics, placing the U.S.

Although my daughter is not 100% home schooled. I still do a lot of “home schooling” at home.  It’s a pure win situation; My daughter enjoys it since she knows mom will help her if she does struggle and it keeps me in the loop by staying so involved with her schooling.

 

Resources:

1. Is the U.S Catching Up
2. Are U.S Students Ready to Compete

Yesterday, after work, I finally attached the limbs to the voodoo doll that I was knitting for my daughter.  It’s about time, right? This project has been sitting around waiting to be assembled for about a week! The free time I had, my daughter was always around. Naturally I didn’t want to complete the almost finished project in front of her since she’d guess that it would be hers. I can’t slip anything past her! 😉

 

 

I chose a button eye, sewed the other eye and made a “stitched mouth” with some of my lovely Malabrigo yarn. I knit this doll on my size 3 Hiya Hiya steel sharp needles. I used worsted weight wool yarn. I originally wrote about the amigurumi knitted doll a little over a week ago.

In my earlier posts, I mentioned that I was knitting this amigurumi doll in front of her, but as it started to take shape I had to finish knitting the project when she wasn’t around. The results? My daughter was thrilled when she saw the knitted doll and promptly called her “Izzy”.  She’s already talking about making clothes for this doll, so it looks like we’ll be sewing clothing for her this weekend.

 

Where to find the knitted voodoo doll

I discovered the pattern when I was searching on Ravelry for a  quick knitted amigurumi doll that I could make in time for my daughter’s tenth birthday. I browsed many knitted amigurumi, but I kept coming back to this one since it was my favorite because it is so freaking cute! I was sold when I saw that it was knit in the round. That’s my favorite way to make amigurumi projects.  I promptly purchased the pattern ($5.00) and casted on. The pattern is called Voodoo you love Me. See… even the name is adorable! It’s designed by Susan Claudino. Susan, thanks so much for creating this awesome pattern. I thought this pattern was easy. If you know how to K, Kfb, k2tog, you too can make this knitted doll. I’m looking forward to knitting more items from this talented designer.

 

In other news…

Yesterday, my right angle clamps arrived so I assembled my Warre beehive! I’ll write more about that including pictures in a later post.