Sick Day

We're having a sick day here at Chez Nom. Some of you may have read that last night the boy came home looking and feeling a lot like death. Today he is feeling very slightly better but is definitely still not up to his regularly scheduled state of function.

He's taken great care in making sure not to possibly get me sick just in case whatever he has in contagious.

Perfect has been a bit sick as well as of late, something seems to have given her a bit of tummy trouble.

As for myself, last night I took on a little more I could handle with the cold walk back to my car that was nowhere near last nights basketball game at the Schottenstein Center. My night was spent unable to roll over and a couple of charlie horses that lead to me screaming for a few minutes. So my messy kitchen is just going to have to wait.

Christmas Gifts

Obviously with my recent trip home* I did not spend the Christmas holiday with my family here in Ohio. Upon our arrival back into the state there was a bit of Christmas waiting here for us (as well as our dog who was more than thrilled we were finally back).

A few years ago the boys grandma offered to make me a quilt and in making it wanted to know what sort of things I liked so that she could try to incorporate them into it. I believe my response was "food, books, and wine."

After a lot of effort finding the appropriate scraps of material to make this quilt a reality I finally have it and it was of course worth the wait.

Recently I made a brief post via the Facebook fan page with the promise of more/better photos.


Not to worry everyone. Grandma got Perfect a Christmas present too. And she LOVES it.

*In the hyperlink video I am seen wearing the shawl I gave to my mother as a Christmas gift. This is her in her gift. To let her keep a modicum of privacy I've blurred her face, don't worry, my mother's face doesn't look like that in person. It's a perfectly lovely face, no blurs about it.

Nacho Challenge Pt. 1*

As promised via Facebook here are some more pictures of food.

Let me tell you I am beyond thankful that this time I was able to see one of my oldest and dearest friend from childhood.

What started out as a excuse for me to get some fresh air and her to get a cup of coffee turned into my feeling pretty compelled to eat once more (and soon!)

We headed out to what before it becomes a local watering hole to us locals, is where high-school kids can get relatively cheap noms. My favourite was always the nachos grande so that's what I ordered.

They were alright but of course some things can't live up to what you remember and in other cases you've just learned more about food to eat some things from some people and feel the same way about them.

Of course, this was one pregnant lady who wasn't complaining too much.

Obviously I was able to "choke them down."

Despite how long friends have known you and how big they feel your mouth is or has always been - it seems they can always be surprised at what you can shovel into your face.

H. and I definitely turned into the 12 year-old versions of ourselves. Which can lead people to a bad case of "monkey see, monkey do."

Whatever the boys excuse is - you'd have to get from him.

Being a picky eater, what has been dubbed "the nacho challenge" was not for him. But tortilla chips are. Of course they need to be properly stacked and counted (there were 13) first.

*I chose to call this "nacho challenge pt. 1" because I can't see how this won't happen again somehow.

A Post For Sock Knitters

Usually I try to post you something slightly more Pro-Portional Designs related, but this morning I read a particularly enjoyable tip list from Knitting Daily in my e-mail and have chosen to share it.

10 Tips for Longer-Lasting Socks

1. Don't wind your yarn into a cake until you're ready to knit. Winding a skein into a cake pulls fibers taught and over months the yarn could lose its ability to spring back into shape.

2. Choose the right yarn for the project; 100% cotton yarn isn't necessarily appropriate for socks because they will quickly bag and lose their shape when worn. Wool and wool/nylon blends are popular for socks because of their innate elasticity.

3. Choose high-quality sock yarn—inexpensive sock yarn tends have short fibers, which pill and wear out more quickly than longer fibers. If your budget is tight, you can find great deals in sale sections.

4. Go down one needle size (or more) when knitting the feet. If a label calls for a US 2 needle, knit the foot of the sock on a US 1, or even a US 0 so you get a dense fabric that holds up to wear.

5. Knit the right size socks. Too-big socks slip around more on the foot and cause more wear as they move around in your shoes.

6. Rinse socks separately before washing with other items. While dye shouldn't run, super-saturated colors might and you don't want your other socks to be affected.

7. Turn socks inside-out when washing. That way the inside of the sock gets a fuzzy halo over time, and not the outside.

8. Consider washing your finished socks in a small mesh bag in the machine so they don't catch on zippers.

9. Don't wash socks in hot water. Even socks labeled "superwash" could felt or shrink a bit.

10. Lay socks flat to dry. Over time, machine drying will lessen stitch definition and make socks look worn. The intense heat of drying might also break down fibers.

For the entire/original article you can go here.

Winter Message from Om Nom Nom Studios

For those of you who have this winter season starting to or already hitting you we hope you're staying warm!

It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Fortnight

It's that time again! Grocery day. A day that these days, for me, is packed with exercise.

This morning when I spoke to my mother on the phone she made a comment about Ohio State fans. Nothing derogatory of course, but she remarked on how much tOSU stuff the tOSU fans wear even back home.

While out looking for manager deals in the meat section I noticed this.

Even the chicken here is pro-buckeyes. I have to admit, this is the first time I have noticed chicken with such a message.

I decided at that point to take pictures of other instances of this in the store but the plan was not to go too out of my way to hunt it down. Items I photographed for her needed to pretty much be a tOSU item I just happened to pass.

I came up with a shockingly small amount of items. For those of you who don't live here or who have not gone grocery shopping in tOSU heartland I'll need you to imagine everything from Buckeye M&M's to Buckeye Tabasco sauce readily available.

These are what I came up with without going far out of my way to hunt down more items to photograph.

In the end it was a relatively successful day of grocery shopping for both myself and the dog who made it very clear she wanted to go errand running with me.

Ham.

Liz Lemon Moment