Weight Loss, Family Meetings, and (more) Crocheting

I've decided I'm tired of being the weight I am, I'm not used to being 132 and I don't like it. I don't feel as confident as I used to, my old clothes that I actually liked don't fit me, the clothes I have now don't look great with what appears to be a beer gut protruding horrendously from my shirts. I'm not happy with myself and I often dread even being seen in public. So, I'm changing that. If you'd like to follow my progress, you can follow me on tumblr.
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I met Corey's step parents last night. At first, I was horribly nervous, especially since I thought his step mom hated me for the first two years of our relationship but she actually seemed to really like me. She cried when we arrived and left and so did his little brother. His "dad" even gave me a hug and Corey said he never hugs or touches anyone. I felt that was really special. :) They brought us gifts too. Corey got a pinhole camera and a really cool sketchbook. I got a beautiful sketchbook as well. I don't sketch but I can use it to write my favorite patterns as well as any I come up with. I've already made an entry. :)

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In my last post, I showed off a hat I made for a friend. She got it last night and it looks really good on her.

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My dreads turned six months yesterday. The only picture I have of them is really shitty, but oh well. It's a picture. The dreads underneath in the back are very knotted and starting to sort of harden a bit but I'm still having problems with the dreads in the front and on top. They'll knot up eventually.

(mmm, yay for chunky arms)

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Okay, this is the last thing I have to post about and I'll end this entry. I made a pixie hood the other day and it's pretty comfy. I used Lion Brand Homespun (which is deliciously soft) in Deco.

All credit goes to Elsie for the pattern to create this wonderful hood.

Granny Square Hat!

I love this cute little hat! A friend of mine wanted a hat and after showing her a few of my favorites, she made her choice. I can't wait to deliver it to her, she's going to love it!

All credit goes to Christina for the pattern to create this adorable hat.

Youtube and Ravelry

A few weeks ago, I made a YouTube account to use for makeup and craft tutorials. I was really excited when I first made the account, but quickly got unmotivated to make videos when I realized how annoying it is to edit and put together video clips and pictures. I've got a grand total of TWO videos, both makeup tutorials, but I plan to change that. Perhaps I'll do dreadlock info/ updates in the near-ish future.

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I found a pattern for this beautiful scarf on Ravelry and instantly fell in love. It's very simple and works up quickly. I've made one for a friend a few states away and another for my grandmother.I'm working on one for myself and a few mini-scarves for my sisters. 

All credit goes to Susan for the wonderful pattern/ tutorial used to create this gorgeous scarf.

Modeling

So for the last few days, Corey and I have been going out and taking pictures. Well, he's been taking the pictures, I've been the oh so interesting subject (sarcasm much?). It's been fun, but I must admit I'm not a very good model but I plan to (try to) change that and improve. I think the main problem is that Corey takes pictures of me when I'm not quite ready, likes them, posts them on deviantART, and makes me look like I don't know how to stand upright or smile or not look like I'm high on something. :(

Anyway, we took a picture the other day that I absolutely loved. Feedback please?

Kansas City Hempfest 2011

For the last week or two, I've been excited about attending this year's Hempfest in my town. Overall, the experience was not at all what I expected.

There was a handful of tents selling various things, maybe sixty people altogether, and some music. Did I mention it was raining and freezing outside? Damn the weather people and their false reports. I made over forty pieces of hemp jewelry in hopes of selling some, or at least make a few friends, but that was not the case; I still have the same amount that I had when I left my house. Out of the handful of "vendors," there was one who was selling hemp necklaces, and although they were nice, they weren't anything I hadn't seen before.

No one talked to us ("us" being my aunt, her boyfriend, my friend, and myself), several people walked by, but unless they were running the event or trying to advertise or sell their products, we were ignored, with the exception of my friend who happened to know several people there and was all over the place. I didn't feel the peaceful vibe I should have felt.

I don't believe I'll be attending Hempfest next year. Although it's to support a good cause, creating what felt like a social event for it just doesn't seem to help legalize the growing of hemp in the United States.

My aunt and I

 

The tents

Brownie

Banana muffin

BH Cosmetics 120 Color Palette 2nd Edition

After waiting for what seemed like forever, I finally got my BH Cosmetics 120 Color Palette, 2nd Edition. When the UPS man walked up to the door, I all but tackled him and told him how happy I was that he had arrived as I wasn't expecting the package for another day. It's beautiful, I love it, the colors are incredible. I am very happy. Over the next few days, I'll be experimenting with colors and looks. Who knows, maybe I'll start making videos and upload them on YouTube. Only time will tell.

Noodle Shit

I don't know what to call this other than Noodle Shit. My mother cooked it for dinner one night a few years ago and referred to it as such and ever since it touched my tongue, I've been in love. 

The recipe listed below feeds four people easily, with multiple servings left over.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 - 16 oz. bags of penne or rotini noodles (these two types of pasta work best)
• 2 - 24 oz. jars of meat flavored pasta sauce
• 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
• salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Start boiling a pot of water. Add several pinches of salt and 1/4 c. olive oil to the water. When the water starts boiling, add the pasta.
   
2. Brown the ground beef in a large, deep pot (7 inches deep is suggested). Strain and rinse when finished browning to wash away unnecessary grease. Dump the meat back into the pot and add both jars of sauce, a pinch of salt, and the remaining 1/4 c. of olive oil.
   
3. Strain the noodles when they're done and dump them into the pot with the sauce in it.
   
4. Stir and serve.

Pizza Anyone?

Corey asked me to make a pizza today and homemade pizza sounded good so I figured, why not? The pizza tasted soooo good. I shall never buy frozen pizza or pizza from a restaurant (such as Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, etc.) again. Homemade is the way to go.

Before cooking...

After cooking....

INGREDIENTS

• 2 boxes of Jiffy pizza crust mix
• pizza sauce of your choice
• 1 large bag of mozzarella cheese
• toppings of your choice
  
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix the dough according to box directions.
2. Add sauce and toppings of your choice.
3. Bake at temperature listed on dough mix boxes until the cheese is melty and slightly browning around the edges.

Four months!

My dreads turned four months old yesterday. They don't look much different than they did last month, but they definitely feel more knotted. There are quite a few dreads in the front that aren't knotting at all (I believe it's because I backcombed them but twist 'n ripped the others closer to the back) so within the next few days I'll be brushing them out and re-knotting them.Wish me luck!