My Rachel Ray Moment

Here is a super quick dinner idea!

I was at my local grocery store last week and they had Aidells Hawaiian Style Chicken Meatballs on sale. Okay I said, I'll give these a try. The back of the package had three different serving suggestions and I thought the soup option sounded like the easiest.

Of course I didn't think it all the way through when I was shopping and failed to buy bok choy. I did however, remember the noodles and the first time I made this, I used Japanese Soba Noodles that cook up in a jiffy, just 4 minutes. Dinner was ready in less than 30 minutes! Here are the ingredients that I used in the first attempt:

Chicken broth

Aidells Meatballs

Ginger

Braggs Liquid Aminos (This tastes very much like soy sauce)

Soba Noodles 

Baby Spinach

I  used 3 boxes of chicken broth plus a little water & the entire package of meatballs. Ginger and Braggs were added to taste and I used 2 packages of the soba noodles. After the noodles were done cooking I removed the pot from the stove and stirred in about 8 to 10 ounces baby spinach. Voila... dinner!    

Holy Cow was this stuff popular! All my guys, Frizzlecuff, Surly, & Virtual were oohing and aahing and smack'n their lips! It was requested that I make this tasty dish again soon but they wanted me to try a more "chewy", substantial noodle. Well, tonight was the night for round two. The only thing I did differently was... I used udon noodles instead of the soba and at the last minute I decided to throw in some chopped green onion. It took about 40 minutes the second time around because the udon noodles needed about 13 to 15 minutes to cook.

This is now one of Surly's favorites!

Newtons First Law of Motion

Lately I have felt inspired by many crafty projects but I am plagued by inertia. I have been crafty only in my dreams. I actually tried yesterday! I recently bought a crochet book titled "Long-Legged Friends" by Hisako and Shizue Okawa.

Aren't those the cutest little creatures? I am particularly fond of the curly haired poodle. I even found the perfect yarn while on layover in Kona a couple of weeks ago.

Now, I am not that experienced with crochet and I can muddle through most of the time. I think it would be safe to say that I am a newbie. After 9 or 10 failed starts I threw up my hands in frustration and quit. (Not exactly a rage quit but close.) As perfect as the yarn is for a curly haired dog, I could not for the life of me see the stitches! ARGH! Tomorrow I am spending Thanksgiving with my guys and our friends the Carter's. Their teenage daughter is an amazingly talented fiber artist and I'm hoping she can give me some tips on how to see the bleep'n stitches and at least get me started. We'll see if it's a lost cause.

I absolutely NEED to make a new duvet cover for my duvet. Back in September when I was on vacation I was highly motivated and designed a cover in my EQ7 quilt design program. 

I cut it out and even managed to sew 224 half square triangles together before it was time to return to my jet lagged work life. So... that's where that project ended, at least for now.

Now all I need to do is sew together 504 pieces plus the border sashing! I really should get on that.

Meanwhile, I have come across a super cute doll pattern for hand sewn dolls designed by Shelly at Gingermelon Dolls. They are the perfect take along project to haul all over the world with me! I've ordered felt and safety eyes for this fun project. If I can get this one "off the ground" all the young girls that I know might find themselves a recipient of one of my creations! The boys might end up with a curly haired dog if that one "flies"! 

If you too feel inspired by this cute pattern it can be found here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Gingermelon

Then this morning I woke up thinking about Christmas themed projects... Oh well. I guess the list goes on!

Virtual, my physics major son tells me that Newton's First Law of Motion is at work here... an object (that's me) at rest stays at rest unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. I am experiencing NO net force so my velocity is holding constant at zero. I'm thinking I am in serious need of an unbalanced force of motivation!