My New Favorite Comic!!

Ok, first of all, comics in general are a newish interest for me. Last year my friend Holly got me into comics and so this past August I decided to go to a comic convention which is where I met my boyfriend Ben (so comics have a rather special place in my heart now, lol). Anyhow, at the convention I heard of a comic that seemed like something right up my ally. I just recently bought it and finished it and I am here to tell you that this is something that I STRONGLY suggest reading....if you are not into comics now, you will be after reading this. The comic series is called Unwritten created by Mike Carey and Peter Gross. I cannot give you much about the story line without spoiling it for you, but I will tell you that it is an extremely intertextual piece of writing that blurs the lines between reality and the fictional stories that were written by real people. I have only read the first in the series and I am absolutely hooked. There are mature themes and it is not meant for younger adults and to tell you the truth I don't think they would appreciate it in the same way. All I know is that as someone who has/does study English Literature, this comic/graphic novel is able to totally capture my imagination in an intellectually stimulating manner. Just read it, and let me know what you think of it!

Making Something Out of Nothing

Okay, today I have a very simple tip that made my house a little happier... window writers. That's right, window writers. When I moved into the house I am living in right now, I noticed one thing right away: the ghastly mirror doors on my closet. They stared at me like some awful eyesore every time I went in my room and I had very little money to do anything about them. So one day I decided to be proactive and I went and bought some window writers. When I got home I drew a calendar on one side of the mirror with some drawn-on post it notes and spots for lists. On the other side of the mirror I write quotes (I call them my happy thoughts). Now my mirrors look a little prettier (if I could draw I'm sure I could make them really pretty) and they are extremely practical! There you go, tomorrow I will be back to tell you about a FANTASTIC comic book.

More Recycle Tips!

Well, I am almost done my Tetris scarf, so you can look forward to the pattern next week. While you are waiting I figured I would give you a couple more recycle tips, these ones coming straight from lessons I learned from my Grandmother who tried her best to never waste anything. So I will just list off the things she found a use for that you might too!

1. For crackers that come in a box with paper (The ones we have are a Newfy classic, Purity Cream Crackers)....the paper can be taken out to be used as tracing/pattern paper

2. Cereal bags can be reused as wax paper after being wiped out

3. While talking about what comes out of boxes, don't forget that the thin cardboard from the boxes is great for kids crafts and for patterns.

4. Milk bags are great as sandwich or snack bags or even bags for your crafty supplies

5. Any and all containers can be used again....I especially love when something comes in a glass jar...stay tuned for a pattern for a beautiful decorative vase from a recycled container!

So, just a small reminder that sometimes what we throw in the garbage isn't really trash! Let me know if you've found something useful in your trash!

This week is going to be different...

Ok, so I did not talk about any books on Friday because I was trying to finish the book I was planning on writing about. Now that I am finished, I am prepared to talk about it. However, this messes up the week a bit. So, this week I will write on a book Monday and Thursday (because I will be away Friday) and I will write about crafting tomorrow and give a happy house tip on Wednesday as usual.

Now that we've settled that, on to the book. I just finished reading a book entitled Navigating Route 20-Something: A Lifemap for the Road Ahead by Erin Keeley Marshall, a thirty something who wished to pass on information to those in their twenties that she wishes she had known when she was their age. The book was an easy read that had journal-like questions at the end of each chapter. I love journaling but never really find those types of questions helpful so I usually skipped them, but if you find that type of questioning helpful the questions are quite insightful. The thing I liked about the book was not actually the advice it gave, rather it was knowing that I am not alone in what I am experiencing. At this point in my life, I needed that knowledge. I would recommend the book to other people, for sure. It gives Biblical references throughout the book and would be great for someone new to the Bible since it gives a lot of background for the Biblical references. Since I am not new to the Bible I found it annoying at times, but I appreciated the fact that I could recommend it to new Christians. So there you go, a short book review. By the way, not all of the books I am reading are Bible related or Christian, it just so happened that this was the book I was almost finished. On Thursday I will be talking about a comic book that I am really enjoying.

Homemade Pizza Pops

Okay, so I got this idea from a friend of mine and decided to try it out one night and now this is my go to recipe for a fast meal on the go! Pizza can be a fairly healthy meal option, but often the store bought pizza pops or pizzas have things in them that are a little troubling. I always like to make things at home rather than buying them pre-made at the store and so when I got the idea for homemade pizza pops that were quick and easy to make, I jumped on it. Okay, I'm done ranting, on to the recipe!

Take 2 slices of bread (now this is why this can be healthier...you can choose the kind of bread to use, allowing you to make healthier choices), spread some pizza sauce (You can just use store bought pizza sauce, but if you have a pizza sauce recipe, that would be yummy) on both pieces of bread. Next, add the toppings of your choice (again, you can make healthy choices and aren't constrained by the limited options of the store's selection, not to mention that you can make veggie pizza pops without your kids seeing the veggies they don't like) and finish the 'pizza pop' off with some cheese. Put the two pieces of bread together, essentially making a sandwich, and then put it in a sandwich maker if you have one. If you do not have a sandwich maker, do not despair, what you need to do is treat it like a grilled cheese sandwich and VOILA! Homemade pizza pops.

I loved it, it took all of 5 minutes to make, if that, and I felt very satisfied afterwards because it felt like I was eating an instant meal, but I knew exactly what I was eating and that I didn't need to feel bad about eating it, lol. Try it out and let me know how it turns out!

Waste not, Want not

For this week's craft tip, I have a little recycling tip. Whenever you have a lot of ends in a crochet (or knitting) project -like my tetris scarf- you end up throwing out a lot of wool. I found the waste really annoying and plus the mess made with the yarn ends could get pretty intense. Here is my solution: I got a freezer bag and that's where I put my ends. I know what you are thinking, okay, so you got a mini garbage bag for your ends, big deal....but here's the cool thing, I now have stuffing for my various stuffed projects. The yarn I collect in my bag can be used for small stuffed animals or cushions, depending on how long I decided to collect it. TA DA! Waste not, want not.

I also wanted to show you my updated scarf. I commented on the previous blog that I ended up starting over and using double instead of single crochet. I like the results and I wanted to show you how it looks now: