BLOG!

Hiya there! So I keep wanting to blog, but then get stuck at the part of actually compiling my thoughts into the keyboard; I have to learn to just got for it!

So my plan for the immediate future to share... some fun food stories, a new Recipe Roundup group of links, lots of crochet projects (from the holidays even!), and even a funny Blogger story!

Here, we can start with the last one since it was the most recent, just happening yesterday...and here is a picture of a daffodil I took earlier this month to add some Springy inspiration to this rainy day!

So I had noticed the other week that my cute little Flickr gadget to the right was no longer working; I assumed it was temporary and gave it a few days to fix itself. It didn't! I took some time last night to research and it seems it isn't my blog, but the gadget itself! Blogger has a cute little interface for choosing what you want on your side/top and bottom bars, but the particular one I had been choosing no longer functions. I love Flickr, but finding what I needed in regards to HELP was giving me some trouble; was I just being silly and not seeing where to type your question? Probably, so I simply pasted the error message into Google; "Flickr Error: Invalid API Key (Key has expired)". After digging a bunch it seemed the answer was clear, yet not simple to find? Maybe I was tired, maybe I wasn't paying the best attention, but the answer is to make a Flickr Badge, and not use the gadget Blogger lists by Blogger Buster.

Fixed the problem, but I did like the style and layout of the old one better. The flash Flickr Badge is cute, but too small for my current blog layout (or am I lucky and have a nice big screen and it looks awesome on a non-widescreen?) I chose with the html badge, but I do wish there was a size between the thumbnail and mid-sizes graphics. After what seemed like hours of fussing, I went back to the thumbnail since I couldn't get the mid-sized graphics to line up within the right column without sticking out.

That's what happens when you aren't writing your own layout in notepad with basic html! Haha that was me in the late 90s with my silly Angelfire sites. With all the lovely css' out there for free today, it is so easy to use a pre-made layout; but difficult knowing that every little thing is customizeable, and you don't have the knowledge to do so!

In other frustrating blog things, I thought my Etsy-mini bar at the bottom wasn't working. Finding the answer to that ws much simpler; Ad-Blocker Plus was blocking me from viewing it - so nothing was actually wrong! It was an easy fix to not block ads from my own blog. Can't be annoyed with that one, it is an ad after all. :)

Purples

Purples
Originally uploaded by rengawk

New baby gets the new blanket? Na, mom does, but I bet she will share ;)

About an inch per row, how many do you think I should add before it is ready?

The original blanket was a wavy-granny, which I loved, but I wanted a lavender to go with the purple that isn't orchid (seriously, those are called Orchid and Light Orchid) and sat waiting to find the right yarn. Additionally I didn't like how the starting row was (way too loose I think) so I started a traditional granny square blanket.

Decided to frog the other blanket so I didn't keep staring at it; that helped, and I used the yarn in this project!

So what size is nice to share with a new mom and her little one? I know Spring has sprung, but the nights are still chilly!

Pizza!

Lets play a little good idea/bad idea!

When making pizza at home for the first time...

Good idea; Taking time to roll out the dough on a floured counter top for a nice, even shape.
Bad Idea; trying to roll the dough with the rolling pin while on the pan which has a lip.

Good idea; using the lip of the pan to help hold the dough to the edges, no shrinkage!
Bad idea; not closely monitoring how far over that dough is going, and allowing it to cook around the lip into an inedible pan-man shape.

Good idea; Pre-shredded mozzarella cheese, on sale.
Bad idea; two bags are unnecessary.

Good idea; chopping your own ham from the fridge.
Bad idea; not adding enough ham to balance with the cheese (boo!)

Good idea; adding fresh onion in super-thin slivers to only one half to meet both diner's needs.
Bad idea; finding out the second party likes them on there sliced super-duper thin, and now they're only one one side.

Good ideas in general (no sillies this time): getting pre-made dough from the grocery store to save time and energy, jarred sauce that has the more "authentic" looking label (tasted great, sorry Ragu your lost out to old-world Italian looking font, colors, and images) [not to self, write down the brand], feel free to use the whole jar, the whole-wheat dough tasted great so stick with it.

Other ideas for the future - what does it take to diy pizza dough? Too much planning? Is it easier to get the stuff Giant makes fresh for two bucks rather than make your own the night before? What other home toppings would be great that are easy for us to work with (meaning we normally buy) besides ham, pineapple, ground turkey with taco seasoning, taco-seasoned cheese, etc.?

I'd say a success, and the other pieces should reheat well in the oven. Cheaper than ordering out, even though it was home-assembled from store-bought components.

Other grocery/food success this week? Found teeny pre-made steak-burgers on manager's special - we don't eat red meat too often so getting a taste of a burger was like OM NOM NOM. I took them and some scrambled eggs and cheddar cheese and made breakfast burritos. AWESOME TASTING. Cabbage was $.25/lb for St. Patrick's Day, so I got one even though I made halushki last week. Heard from a coworker about making cabbage with mashed potatoes and bacon; wonder if I can crumble a steak burger in rather than bacon? Still sounds good, to me at least!

What have you been enjoying cooking or eating?