I made this about 4 years ago from an extreamly easy pattern. It only has 4 or 5 pieces. I made pants to match and while these pics do it NO justice, this is the outfit that I have gotten the most compliments on in my entire life.

Talented Tenth

This child here has got to be my number one source of entertainment ever. I will let this video speak for itself. That girl has got TALENT!

Wiggin' It

Anybody that knows me knows that I do not like to wear fake hair. I especially do NOT like wigs. However, because of the wonderfully considerate person that I am (lol) I bought this wig fairly cheap and it looks ok shockingly. I am going against my every principle by wearing this from time to time for my husband. He hates short hair so just to give him a reprieve I wear this for HIM. Aint that so nice of me?

Head Band with a Bow

This is just something I made up. I chained enough to fit around my head. Then I made dc clusters in 3's. Its somewhat hard to explain. I made this during the Super Bowl because I was bored. Since it was so long ago I cant remember the exact number and pattern. :( 

Capelet

This is a cute little cowl turned capelet that I made from Crochet World  December 2012 edition that I subscribe to.  It was originally made for an adult so I made a few changes to scale it down for a child. Aint she so cute! And yeah. The cape too.

Rippled Shawl

I subscribe to Crochet World that comes to my Nook quarterly. I found this pattern in September/October 2012 edition.  It was very easy to do and it only took me a day and a half to finish. I mainly use it to throw around my shoulders if it gets a little chilly in the house. This color palate is my favorite as you can see it on my furniture and wall color. :)

Natural Cold, Flu,and Pretty Much Everything Else Remedy

I was on Face Book one day I saw one of those memes that had a pic of a few items that you may have in your kitchen that was purported to be good for just about everything from colds and flu to stomach upset to arthritis. The items pictured were honey (which I forgot to add to MY picture on the right), garlic, ginger, lemon, and apple cider vinegar. I did a little searching around and heres what I found out.

Some top doctors have revealed that the combination of ginger garlic lemon apple cider vinegar and honey is a wonderful drug that can cure everything from Cancer to Arthritis, and makes you lose extra body fat and weight. Also home Remedies for Alzheimer disease, arthritis, cancer, asthma, high blood pressure, headaches, hemorrhoids, toothaches, obesity, Remedies for heart diseases by Natural Benefits Of Ginger Garlic Lemon Apple Cider Vinegar and Honey. Amazing studies from respected universities around the world prove the miracle home remedy that costs just pennies a day to make, a super way to fight just about any affliction. Experts have verified that this health restoring trick of garlic, ginger, lemon juice, vinegar & honey can wipe both our common & not so common ailments.

Success also includes acne, Alzheimer disease, arthritis, asthma, high blood pressure, some types of cancer, excessive cholesterol levels, gas and indigestion, headaches, heart and circulatory problems, hemorrhoids, infertility and impotence, toothaches, obesity, ulcers, and many other diseases and conditions.

In a study of arthritis Dr. Angus Peter of the University of Edinburgh’s Arthritic Research institute found a daily dose of vinegar and honey reduced pain by 90%.

A daily dose of garlic ginger lemon apple cider vinegar honey has proved to be a powerful and fast weight destroyer and reducer, according to Dr.Raymond Fisk of of London’s  Lamsus University Research Center. The prestigious British Medical Journal Lancer reported that cholesterol levels plunged on average from 237.4 to 223.4 in three hours after volunteers consumed 60 grams of garlic and four ounces of butter. The study proved adding garlic to your diet could neutralize the dangers associated with high fat.

A study of 261 adult patients by the German association of general practitioners indicated thatcholesterol and triglycerides levels factors associated with the risk of heart disease are significantly reduced by regular use of garlic in the diet.

Houston’s M.D. Anderson Cancer Institute in Houston, the Pennsylvania State University and ULSA, support earlier evidence that certain ingredients in garlic block agents that cause cancers of the breast, colon, skin and esophagus. The National Cancer Institute found in a study of 1600 people that eating a lot of garlic is linked to a reduced risk of stomach cancer. Dr. Erik Block of the State University of New York atAlbany has discovered that garlic release at least 100 sulfur producing compounds all of which are powerful medicines.

THE MAGIC POTION

There appears to be little doubt that this astonishing potion made by mixing ginger garlic lemonapple vinegar honey can extend life by protecting you from many proven killers. Dr. Han Len Tsao writes in China’s respected Journal of Natural Medicine, that “patients when given this miracle drink before breakfast showed a remarkable reduction in high blood pressure and cholesterol in less than a week. The Italian nutritionist Emilio Stefan adds, “Years of scientific investigation by experts around the world have proven beyond doubt that garlic, honey and vinegar are nature’s magic potion. The powerful ingredients are available every where and cost only pennies a day when consumed. Considering all what these natural substances can do for the human health is amazing.

Dr. Jack Soltanoff, who is a national expert at New York, praises the benefits of apple cider vinegar. He recorded remarkable success stories involving arthritis sufferers. He says, “I have seen many arthritis patients start to loosen up at once”

Some even call it (apple cider vinegar) a natural arthritis tonic that frees them from stillness pain and aches within just a few weeks, and most pain wrecked patients can pertain normal activities because of this simple tonic. The boxing legend Muhammad Ali took a daily dose of this potion to fight the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and many other athletes are heard to be taking it for having a competitive edge.

“Honey has been described as the perfect food” notes a respected researcher, “it contains a lot of nutrients and minerals, the important part of nine vitamins, six acids and four key enzymes in their most natural state. The patients who took the daily dose of this magical drink were more vigorous, had fewer infectious disease and in general even healthier than those who didn’t. “There’s no question that this astonishing elixir can lend life by replacing from many proven killers.”

Well, I dont know about you, but all that sounds like a winner to me! So I went and added all the ingredients to my food processor and blended them. I had a large ginger that I used, skin and all and let me tell you, that bad boy is HOT!! I had no idea that ginger was hot!! While I was making this is smelled so good, almost like a marinade. I take a teaspoon everyday and I get my children to take one when I can. I must say since I have been taking it, I dont seem to get sick  since so yep. This is a winner!

Going Natural Again....I Guess

Well, as some of you may know I can never make up my mind what to do with my hair. Last time I had all my hair chopped off, wore it in a short short afro, then wore a snazzy relaxed pixie cut, shaved that off and was bald for a while. The baldie was the absolute BEST style EVER.

 Man, do I miss those days. Just get up, let the water from the shower run all over my head, wipe it off with a towel  rub a little grease on it, and GO!! Then when It got to the length on the right I just washed it, put mousse on it, and GO! Cant get no easier than that.

*sigh* Well, it caused quite a ruckus in my house and even though this goes against my every principle, I decided to let it grow back SOME. Not to the lengths of former days, but to my chin maybe. MAYBE.

Will I stay natural? Hmmm....I guess. Yeah. Probably. Perms tear my scalp up too bad. Plus I want a minimal amount of care to be given to my hair. Besides I have 3 other heads to do and I dont want to do them. Im over hair so theres no way I plan to add more hair to the maintenance menu if I can help it.

Crochet Mini Bags

I made this bags for my cousin. She wanted 4, all of them lined. She got beige, white, blue, and white. They were so CUTE!!

I used this cute pattern. It really didnt take that long to work up, but it did take a little work to sew those linings in. I figured out that you have to sew it on the machine a little different than you do regular cloth. Sewing on yarn is tricky because the fabric stretches. I actually had to rip out one lining 3 different times!

Shoes on or off in the house?

If you are a germaphobe like me and you have carpet in your house then shoes off at the front door should be what you vote for.

Just think about it. You walk around all day in all this filth like car oil, dog pee and doo doo remnants, spit, dirt, grease, grime, ect and this is all on the bottom of your shoe. Then you wear you shoes INSIDE your home and alla that then transfers to your carpet. More than likely you take your shoes off at some point and when you do alla that transfers to your socks/bare feet.

I dont know about you but I dont want alla that on my feet. To take it even farther, when you go lay down in the bed and you have all this outside yuck on the bottom of your feet/socks you bring it to your bed. Ummmm....gross!! If you have any babies who are just beginning to get mobile, they are rolling around on the floors. Do you want your child laying in dog feces remnants? Surely not.

Its Shoes-Off etiquette to have a neat little basket or some other sort place to store socks for your guests. Some people may not want there lil footsies to be on your bare floor so have them some socks to put on.

Thats the least you can do! 

Whiting Fish Chowder

This fish chowder is so good I felt that it needed to be shared with the world. Its healthy, its hearty, and it's freaking DELICIOUS!!!

This is a fish chowder so use the fish of your choice but I recommend whiting. Put 2 pounds of whiting in a pot and cook for about 5 minutes or until it's flakey.  Once done use a wooden spoon/utencil to chop them into medium sized chunks. Meanwhile hopefully you have chopped up your veggies. You can add whatever vegetables you like but these are the veggies I use. Keep in mind, you will need to dice the potatoes so that they will not take long to cook. 

Celery, carrots, red potatoes, onions, red and green peppers

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          So, now you will need to sautee your veggies in olive oil for about 5 minutes or until they begin to soften but don't cook them to death. Sautee them just a bit but not so much until it's soggy. This kills all the vitamins and nutrients.

This is how they should look after sauteeing

After your vegetables are sauteed add it to your pot of fish. Now it's time to add your seasonings. Here are the things I add to mine. I forgot to picture the milk and salt. My bad. Lol!!

 Add the milk, add the seasonings to taste, and now's the time to thicken it up with the flour. Here's how you do that: add a good bit of flour to a bowl and add water. Use a whisk to smooth it out then put it into your soup and stir. You may have to do this a few times to get it to the consistency that works for you. Once you've done that, that's it!!

Eat up!

I'm sure by now you have noticed I didn't quantify anything. 1/2 teaspoon of this, 1 cup of that, ect. I don't measure. You don't really need to measure for cooking. Baking, yeah. Cooking, no. Just season and add stuff until it's right.