Come to me my Husbands Awesome Chili

 I decided to get a head start on Dinner today since both kids (Bean and MiniMonster) were down for a snooze, something made possible by us having tortilla chips and all the ingredients for my husbands fantastic, beanless Chili.

 For some of you this may be heresy, but I have to admit I've never been a big 'bean' person, and never even really big on Chili, though I like spicy food, so being introduced to Tilmani's chili for the first time when we were still dating was virtually a religious experience for me. It was Chili, WITH BACON IN IT. It was chili full of meat and smokey goodness, tomato sauce and a touch of salt from the chips, and just a little heat. Enough that I could enjoy it, not so much that Tilmani, who's not so big on Spicy food, couldn't.

 Since I've got a batch simmering in the Crock Pot now, to continue cooking until we're all ready to dive in (or until my willpower caves and I go after it early), I thought I'd share it with you, my patient handful of readers, that you may experience this godly stuff for yourselves.

 What you Need to cook this amazing stuff is the following:
  1 lb or so of Ground Beef, 90% lean ((A little more or a little less is just fine, depending on your preference, but you don't want to get too fatty a meat for this.))
 1 small can of diced Chili's.
 1/2 jar of -REAL- bacon bits. Screw the artificial stuff. ((You can use and crumble regular bacon, but this works just fine for me and I'm a bacon nut. .... actually I cheated and put in the WHOLE bottle of bacon bits. He doesn't need to know if he doesn't notice.))
 1 6oz can of tomato paste
 1 29oz can of tomato sauce
 1 onion (we use sweet), chopped
 and 1 pack of McCormic's Chilli seasonings: OR mix Black Pepper, Red Pepper, Garlic and a Dash of Mustard Powder.  ((this is my twist on the original seasonings.))
 
 and Tortilla Chips if you like Chili with Chips. Use your favorite brand.

 Put everything except the seasonings and ground beef into your crock pot and set it to start heating up. It can start to simmer together while you take the ground beef, put it in a pan, season it with the above seasonings, and brown it carefully. When it's nice and brown and chopped up into smaller bits to your liking, drain off the fat carefully and put the meat into the crock pot. Set it to Low (or Warm, if your crock pot runs hot.) and let it simmer with the lid on for as long as you'd like. Technically since everything's ready you could eat it as soon as it's hot, but Chili's one of those meals that's really great when it has time to sit and converse with itself, so why not let it do so?

 Have a blast and try not to think too much about what it might be doing to your arteries. ((Hey, the bacon bits have lower fat than pan cooked bacon, you can always comfort yourself with that. And more Chili.))

 Serve

Hagravens don't take rejection well

 We got a copy of Skyrim earlier in the month: Tilmani and I both have characters, though he's played more than I have... which lead to the interesting discovery that inspired the title.

 Hagravens in Skyrim, if you don't know, are pretty much exactly what they sound like. Part Hag, part Raven, and they're generally unpleasant characters, as probably anyone would be if you looked wrinkled, bent, grouchy and feathered. Anyway, Tilmani's character... named Tilmani, got drunk, and apparently one of the things he did while drunk was go get a wedding ring and propose to this delightful woman he'd met while smashed out of his mind. The jeweler was happy to inform us how he'd described the most ROMANTIC of evenings in the moonlight, and let us know she'd take the ring back if we weren't engaged, but sounded a bit less than approving that he didn't seem to remember any of this. ((Surprise surprise.))

 So we cruise around for a while and he finally gets around to finding out who he went and got engaged to while drunk and when we get to the area, the lovely beautious lady is... a HagRaven.

 A Hagraven who is VERY. VERY. Angry when asked to return the ring (the only option the game gives you on this front... sadly... otherwise I think this could be kind of awesome.) And she attacks on the spot. Tilmani won, though since he'd JUST been fighting a equally angry dragon (maybe it knew the Hagraven?), it was a little on the close side. Don't know where the rest of this particular quest will go but that was a rather funny discovery.

 So yeah apparently HagRavens don't handle rejection well. Sorry lady.

I think you just cost yourself your point

So I've been following some arguments about a rather controversial video. You may have seen it. It's the one where the guy's daughter decides she's a 'slave' because she has to make her bed, clean the counters, and take out the trash,and in return gets nothing but her own laptop, cell phone, food, shelter, clothing and education...
 Ok you can probably guess I wasn't thrilled about the kids behavior and I highly disagree that it's normal. ((You can become independent of your parents without slandering and lying and failing to acknowledge what they do for you. You really can. It's amazing.))

 Anyway the guy's gone viral because he read her really horrible, slanderous bitchfest letter to them on video and destroyed her lap top. With his gun. Which is from a certain perspective the very extreme equivalent of throwing away a kids crayons because they won't stop drawing on the wall.

 I can see where this would freak people the fuck out. I can. Peoples idea of what constitutes appropriate parenting has changed a lot from when we ourselves were growing up, but really thats not what I'm here to write about.

I have my own opinions on if he was right, wrong, or right but over the top, but some of the people in the 'wrong' camp...

 I think they kind of seriously cost themselves their point when they compared the destruction of an inanimate object to RAPE or BEATING YOUR WIFE. I also think it's kind of bull that they think it's ok for the kid to say horrible horrible lies about their parents ((I mean where's the fine line on that one? When does it stop being ok to make up stuff about someone because you're angry?)) But really.

 Don't compare things to rape UNLESS IT'S RAPE.

 When you do that you've completely gone off the fucking tracks, especially over something like this,and you have pretty much LOST. THE POINT. In fact you have actively damaged the chances of anyone siding with you because they're probably sitting back wondering what the fuck they just read.

 I was. I mean hell. I'm as fascinated by an argument as any typical internet voyeur, but that? I draw the line at that bullshit.

 ((Oh and apparently before anyone freaks out: the guy has in fact been investigated and everyone seems to be ok. Including the "poor poor abused girl who lost her laptop." It's the internet that can't let the whole thing go. Wow. What a surprise. Although perhaps for her an even better way of demonstrating that NOTHING on the internet is really private than having her dad discover the letter was.))

Oh Hey, still here

 Oh hey, just thought I'd let everyone know I'm still here... those handful of people who are still out there anyway. HI PEOPLE.

 I've pretty much come to accept that I am never going to be Allie from Hyperbole and a Half ((Whom I wish well, and hope she feels better soon.)). Hell I'm never even going to have Bitchy Waiter's following. I'm just not that exciting. I don't hit peoples nerve I guess.

 I could try but I wouldn't really be 'me' then... but thats an tangent that will bore people stupid... so I'll skip it.

 What have I been up to?
  -Mostly running around 'playing mom'. MiniMonster is officially two years old, and loves his brother like crazy, with occasional and understandable bouts of jealousy. I'd be jealous too if I was too little to understand just how much work a little brother can be, especially one that's only a bit over a month old. We try and find time to make time thats 'just for Mini', but jealousy still happens, and it's going to, but it's so overwhelmingly topped by love, hugs, and kissess that I think it will work out just fine.

 I've clearly taught the lad well... though I'll be the first to say that the choice to love rather than resent his brother is all his. Now the BATMAN corruption, that I think I have a hand in. Offered the choice between little rubber action figures for kids his age, he will, without hesitation, choose Batman over Superman. Padawan I have taught you well.
 ...I have been joking that it's because of my Batman shirts, and this has lead to jokes about the eventual confusing revelation that Batman is not actually Mommy. I think it will all work out though. It's fun in the mean time though to wonder if my two year old thinks I'm secretly a superhero.

 NomNom, who needs a better blog nickname (Bean maybe? He's small and ridiculously intelligent like Card's protagonist, and like his brother seems likely to grow to towering size. What do you think?) NomNom is doing well. He's wicked strong, and trying to beat every physical benchmark he can, and also smiling and grinning. I forgot how silly and endearing a baby's toothless, open mouthed grin can be. Especially when he's flashing it at you with a mischievous glint around the end of his bottle, or while curled up in the crook of your arm.  He's very visual, more so than his brother was at this age, and we're wondering how this will play out over time. It's definitely made him more interested in his mobile. MiniMonster was way more about the music, but NomNom likes to watch the stuffed owls rotate. I just wish the damn thing was battery operated so I didn't have to crank it back up so often when he wants to watch it. It just doesn't seem to stay on long enough for him to really relax. ((Although it's fun to see him try in his limited way to reach for them.))

 I'm still knitting, though I had to pull out the dragonscale shawl I was working on. I got distracted, botched a row, then botched tinking it back... and then it all went to hell. And I lost a chunk of the yarn pulling it out because the silk glued itself together. Again.

 ...Yeah.

 I got a couple books on making socks for Christmas, which was awesome and cool. One was for knitting them two at a time but I think first I'll work on doing ONE and see if I can do it correctly. Then I'll work on doing them two at a time and avoiding knitters "Second Sock Syndrome" ((You finish one sock, then you're so bored of sockness that the second sock sometimes never gets done. I don't know if this is less common if you have yarn that does something cool with self patterning, but we'll see. Tilmani will be my guinea pig for my first pair of test socks. I have some patterning gray-scale Kroys sock yarn that will make a nice warm pair of socks ((if I can do this correctly)) perfect for wading out in the cold and blasting snow, though since he runs on the warm side, thats probably the most use they'll get, since the man would probably otherwise collapse of heat stroke.

 ...I'm running out of things to talk about unless I want to go on a tangent about the Immaculate Bakery and their yummy stuff, but maybe I'll save that for the day I become internet famous.

 ... That'll be never.

Yet Another Sidebar Link

I just added yet another new sidebar link, this time to Momastery, after someone on Ravelry posted a link to this blog post.

I don't know how other people feel about it, but I thought it was a really great post, and the author raised some great points. This was pretty much one of my favorite parts.

 Parenting is hard. Just like lots of important jobs are hard. Why is it that the second a mother admits that it’s hard, people feel the need to suggest that maybe she’s not doing it right? Or that she certainly shouldn’t add more to her load. Maybe the fact that it’s so hard means she IS doing it right…in her own way…and she happens to be honest.

Amen to that, seriously. I get the same attitude from my mother and sister, from my Father In Law's mother... to a much lesser extent I get it from my Mother In Law when she shows up unexpectedly and I haven't cleaned up after Hurricane MiniMonster yet...

 Don't get me wrong, there are definitely bad mom's out there, but admitting that it's a difficult and stressful job doesn't mean you're automatically dealing with one, it just means we're human too.

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Damnit Devart

 Well next on the failure list is Deviant-art. Well known for selecting softcore fetish porn for it's Daily Deviations, and otherwise offending most of it's users, Devart has added a new touch of failure to it's list of sucks and annoyances. Specifically it's decided to EAT some of my old art. A couple of my cartoons, which I note are note adult in any way, one is just a head shot and the other was something funny that happened in a meeting, show up in my preview list if I search for them, but if you try and actually open them they don't load at all.

 The comments show. The title shows, both indicating that they haven't been ripped down for some imagined offense. ((insufficient naked ladybits perhaps?)), they just DON'T LOAD.

I'm damned annoyed by this and I really kind of wonder how many other of my pictures and drawings no longer load for no discernible reason.

Moving Forward Fingerless Mittens

 I've been debating if I should try and sell this pattern or just list it for free, and I've decided that since this is really my first shot at it, I'll offer it for free. Not that I'd object to people sending me money for it (I can tell people my paypal info if they really want to ship some money my way for the pattern, but it's not necessary.)

They're called the Moving Forward Mit's because the yarnover and k2tg patterning causes it to form chevrons that point toward the fingers, as though telling you where to go.

 I made these in a DK/Sport weight yarn ((I used Capra from Knitpicks for these.)) But the pattern is easy enough to adjust for size. Hell you could probably drop it to fingering and get some great kid sized mitts.

 I personally recommend either using solid colors like I did, or using yarn with subtle variegation, otherwise you kind of loose the pattern in the colors.

 And before anyone asks: Yes you may sell anything made with this pattern, BUT you may NOT sell the pattern itself. Please direct people to come and get a copy, it's good traffic for me, and I think getting credit and traffic for the pattern is a decent trade for a comfy quick knit.

 I'm also "Nightgaunt" on ravelry.com btw, so if you're on there, drop me a link. I'd love to see what you make with this pattern!
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'Moving Forward' Fingerless Mits:
 -Note: The 'important' (IE decorative) part of these mittens starts with the purl three border, and ends with the purl three border. If you find these come out too snug, and want to add stitches rather than increase needle size, I suggest increasing at either end of the starting stitch marker until they results are as comfortable as you want.  It shouldn't throw things off too much as long as the number of stitches stays even, though you'll use a little more yarn. Likewise, if you have small wrists and this knits up too big, decrease from the knit stitch repeats on the outside edges to get that perfect fit, or use a smaller yarn and needles until you get a really comfortable fit.
Materials Needed:
 --Yarn of choice ((Worsted or DK is recommended.)), --Scrap Yarn in contrasting color, stitch marker, size 7 dpns

Cast on 28 stitches, join in the round. ((I divided things over three needles with: 10-9-9))
(rows 1-6) -6 rounds in rib stitch. (k1p1)
(row 7)-knit 7, purl 3-knit 1, yo, knit 2 together, knit 3, knit 2 together, yarn over, knit 1, purl 3, knit 6
(row 8)-knit 7, purl 3, knit 9, purl 3, knit 6
(row 9)-knit 7, purl 3, knit 2, yo, knit 2 together, knit 1, knit 2 together, yarn over, knit 2, purl 3, knit 6
(row 10)-knit 7, knit 7, purl 3, knit 9, purl 3, knit 6
 Repeat rows  7-10 for desired wrist length. (should come to base of the thumb)
When you have reached the desired length, take a piece of scrap yarn in a different color:
For Left Mitten: Starting at Starting Marker
 K 1 in regular yarn, K5 with scrap yarn, slip scrap stitches back onto needle, knit with regular yarn. Continue with lace pattern above (rows 7-10) until fit reaches just behind the knuckle. Switch back to k1p1 rib for 6 rows. Bind off loosely.
For Right Mitten:
 Knit until just after the second set of P3 in the 'lace'. K2. K5 with scrap yarn. Pass 5 scrap stitches back and knit with regular yarn. Finish off mitten the same as the Left mitten.
 --If you're familiar with the "Picot" bind off, you can use it to make a fancier, more Victorian top edge, but since these were originally intended to be dressy driving mittens, I decided to go with the ribbed bind off for comfort and to minimize snagging.

TO CREATE THE THUMB ON EITHER MITTEN:
 Pick up stitches on the edges where the scrap yarn is acting as a place holder. Once you're sure you have captured all the stitches to avoid a run-back, divide your captured stitches around 3 needles. Knit thumb to desired length and bind off loosely. With thumb holes it's slightly more comfortable to err large than small, so picking up an extra stitch or two may be less annoying than one or two too few.