Motivational Monday

Not much to say today. I'll just leave you with a quote that always makes me smile. Read it, remember it and use it :) and let me know how it goes.

"Ba-zinga"

-Dr. Sheldon Cooper, The Big Bang Theory

Pattern of the Week...with a twist

Okay, so this week wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. It has been very looooong, though. So, I'm glad the weekend is here.

Anyways, back to the "pattern" of the week. This week I decided to do something different and post a recipe...just because that's how I roll, ;). Today's recipe is pita bread, pita bread, pita bread!!! I LOVE pita bread. I'm a big fan of crusts so this is the best kind of bread for me :)

ROTW: Pita Bread (picture from about.com)

I found this recipe online and it is fabulous. The author, Dedemed, is very thorough with her explanation. You will get about 15, 6-7" pitas with this recipe.

I've made these pitas twice, once with 100% whole wheat flour and once with 100% all-purpose flour. The whole wheat version didn't puff up very much, but the all-purpose version was just beautiful and yummy with a warm, yeasty smell.

If you want to use whole wheat, I strongly suggest you mix it with all-purpose flour if you want the bread to puff up (I would say 1/2-1/2, but I haven't tried it yet so you might want to stick with a 1/3 to 2/3 ratio).

Here are some other pointers so that you can get the best pita bread possible:

• Yes, the oven has to be THAT hot (500°)
• You have to use plenty of flour to roll out the bread, because the dough gets very sticky.
  
• Don't leave them in the oven too long. I don't let them brown, because they tend to get brittle if they bake too long.
  
• Store them in a plastic bag to keep them moist. Make sure they are cold before you stick them in the bag...you don't want wet pitas.
  
• Fry them up. This recipe makes yummy pita chips.

That's it, guys. I must say it again: this recipe makes great pita bread. Don't be afraid of the yeast, just let it bubble up and it's good to go. Happy cooking!

p.s. If you have a problem with the link, let me know, and I'll see what I can do.

Progress Report: Pattern of the Week

Hey guys! Like I promised here are some pictures of my Dolman-sleeve bolero. I haven't had much time to work on it, so it's coming along quite slowly :(. But, I'm going to make the effort to speed things along because it's getting quite hot, and I'd really like to use it for summer :)

Enjoy!

My progress so far. Slow but steady!

The long stitches I put in every nine rows. Makes knitting SO much faster :)

The two yarns that I'm using to knit. I had them both for the longest time and could never quite find the right project...'til now.

Motivational Monday

Man, this week is going to suck. I just know it. I have a deadline on Friday, and I just despise writing meaningless articles that have about as much truth as a presidential campaign.

Nevertheless, I try to stay focused and up beat about it. After all, I do have a lot of great things in my life that make that sacrifice worth while (for now at least). So here's Monday's quote:

"Perspective is the most important thing to have in life."

-Lauren Graham

Have a good day, Monday-haters...this week I am one of you ;)

This week has flown right by. I so do appreciate short work weeks, but I almost forgot it was Friday! Anyways, here's my pattern for the week. It's a dolman sleeve bolero. I love boleros, and I've been wanting to make something with a dolman sleeve ever since I found out what a dolmen sleeve was...ha! Without further ado here's the:

POTW: Dolman Sleeve Bolero

I pick two different yarns, 100% cotton. One is a gorgeous teal color and the other is variegated with light calypso and tan. I love the combination.

The pattern and instructions can be found here. I'm adjusting the pattern to my size so there's a lot of frogging and re-knitting going on. Aaand, I also tweeked the pattern a little by adding a long stitch every nine rows. Alas, that is the life of a knitter. I'm about halfway done with the first sleeve. I'll be sure to post a photo of my progress next week.

If you're a beginner, this is a great project to try. The website is in Spanish, but just follow the pattern mold and use the stitch you are most comfortable with. Have fun!

Motivational Monday

"No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined."

-Harry Emerson Fosdick

Pattern of the Week

This pattern isn't a new find. It's actually an old one. I subscribe to knitty.com, and they have some fabulous patterns for knitters. If you're a beginner or a seasoned pro, check it out.

POTW: Nob Hill Shrug

As most knitters, I started knitting scarves. That got boring really fast, so I started looking for more challenging patterns. Soon, I was making boleros and shrugs...the next logical progression, in my experience.

This pattern is slightly more challenging than a regular bolero or shrug just because of the shaping required. Even so, it is a very fast project to knit.

I made my own version of this shrug last year. It is very comfortable and stylish. :)

Motivational Monday

Hey guys! Here I am again. Wow, two posts in 5 days. That's some sort of record for me ;)

This post was inspired by all my friends who hate Mondays. I, personally, love Mondays. Yep, you can call me crazy, but I think of them as a fresh, clean slate for the rest of the week.

Anyways, every Monday I'll be posting a comment or quote to get your week going with a bit of humor and/or some motivation. Here's the first of many:

"The best measure of a man's honesty isn't his income tax return. It's the zero adjust on his bathroom scale."

-Arthur C. Clarke

Enjoy your week!

Pattern of the Week

As you have probably already figured out, I've been really lazy about updating my blog. Well, I decided that that had to be fixed. So, here's my first post about the "Pattern of the Week" or POTW. Props to Kathryn W, because I stole this idea from her. :)

You can check back every Friday to see a new sewing/knitting/etc pattern or project that I find inspiring or note worthy.

POTW: Laptop Sleeve with Folk Embroidery by kuutydruk

I found this project on Etsy and thought it was just darling. I recently purchased a 17" laptop and have found it hard to keep it protected in a safe, but attractive way.

Both my sister and me liked it so much that we've decided to use a similar design with Chilean motifs for Cupernickel Crafts.

I'll let you know how the prototype goes.

Portion Control

First of all, let me just say that keeping up with two blogs is a CHORE. But, that’s not what this post is about :). It's about eating and losing weight.

I’ve have a weight issue since I was 10. I wasn’t overweight then, but I did think I was. So, I thought the logical thing to do was eat as if I were overweight. Ergo, my issue with food began.
It’s been a long road, but I have managed to lose about 80 lbs in the last 10 years and keep it off. I’m still not at my target weight. I’ve been struggling for the past 6 or so years to take it off. So, now I’ve decided to start with portion control.

I’ve done it before, and it has shown results. But, I usually slack off after a few weeks. Boo, for me. But this time I have a “buddy”, my sister. We’ve made a plan to cook food on the weekends and freeze it in individual containers. It’s scary because you get to see just how little food you really need to eat. Then you realize how much you were actually eating! We started Monday and so far so good. Today is fried rice day. I’m using Kylie Kwong’s recipe as a base. So you see, pre cooked meals can be convenient AND tasty!

I really support the buddy system when it comes to losing weight. I think that it’s really hard to do it by yourself. Kudos to those who do. To all of you out there who are on the same mission as I am: GOOD LUCK and STAY STRONG. It’s all for a healthier and stronger you :)

I Heart MDF

I've been working like crazy for Cupernickel. The other day we stopped to think about all we had done, and we realized that it has been a lot more than we thought.

We have a new blog, a website and we are starting the photographic database to fill our Etsy store: Cupernickel Crafts.

So, my sister is busy making new pages for our website, and I'm researching suppliers and making looms and more products.

Thanks to MDF, the loom making process in now a cinch! I love it! No more predrilling holes, no more wobbly frames...it's a effin awesome.

This is my first woven potholder. I love it!

Right now I have a couple of square looms, one potholder loom and one loomette-type loom for bias weaving, and a daisy loom. I'm still researching on how to finish my giant loom, but I'm almost there. I just need to figure out exactly how many pegs to use :D and I'll be good to go.

More pictures of finished projects to come.

Anniversary: 6 months and counting

Well, tomorrow is my 6 month-therapy anniversary. Wow, I can't believe it's been that long!

I must say that I'm very happy with my shrink (my shrinks, lol). It's amazing all the crap you store up inside and don't even realize it. If at first I had no idea what I was doing in therapy (aside from trying not to get panic attacks), the road ahead has become clearer. My life is no longer attached to another person's needs or comments. That's a really big step for me.

I've also come to understand that the parent's are always to blame (lol), but it's our responsibility to fix whatever we think is broken in our lives.

Enough of the deep stuff. I wanted to show you what I'm working on besides Cupernickel.

Daniela, a friend, asked me to make her a poncho that I had made for myself a couple of years ago. She couldn't find the same yarn, but this one is just as beautiful.

Close up of knitted cable

Also, a friend asked me for some pointers on decoupaging. So I started off on my first class (ever) on decoupage. Here are the first photos of the preliminary steps.

The materials

My project

Isa's project

I'll post pictures of both projects when they're finished.

Whole lotta working going on

Wow, since my last post there's been a whole lot of stuff on my plate.

So, first we lost an associate. Boo :(. But she's doing good, so yay :).

We started the whole process of the online business. Whoa, is it more work than we expected! We started a blog, opened an Etsy and Paypal account. We thought about creating a Facebook profile but chose to start a Flickr account instead. All the while we were in limbo with the name!!!

But we finally decided on the name: Cupernickel. As we posted on our blog: "Cupernickel is a combination of two worlds, just like us. In fact the name (deliberately misspelled) comes from a copper-nickel alloy that is used in jewelry and coins. In Chile, it is referred to as alpaca, just like the camelid."

The Cupernickel blog has 3 posts. Please, check it out. So far, our Flickr account has a few pictures of our last vacation to the south of Chile...more will be uploaded soon. We expect to create a second photostream with our creations within the next couple of weeks.

Well, there you go. I'll try to get back to blogging on a more frequent basis. I'll keep you posted.

And then there were two...

Since my last post one of the partners decided not to participate in the company, so that just leaves me and my sister. I was sad to let her go, because we really get along great. But I understand that she has some issues that she needs to work out before getting involved in building a company.

About the company, we've gone through some changes and adjustments. Now we're focused on creating products with local goods but with our own twist. We've drawn upon our last vacation and the amazing landscapes in this long and varied country. Check this site out. The photos are fabulous and really inspirational.

We've both gotten into "old" crafting techniques which are now in style again, like felting and origami. I really enjoy drawing from the past to make things new and more current.

Right now we only have about three and a half project done so I kinda feel like we're a jeep stuck in the mud: trying real hard but getting no where fast. Even so, I'm really happy and enjoying myself immensely. :) I'll make sure to post our products as soon as I can so that y'all can take a look at them.

Laters

New Phase

So after a few months of therapy, I can truly say (with documentation in hand) that I'm more screwed up than I thought. For the most part, I've enjoyed my sessions, but others have been stressful and draining. I've learned a lot about myself and my family. Now, I guess I'm on the road to dealing with those issues.

But that's not why I'm posting today. I wanted to announce that we have officially started our company: Top Era Designs. That's what we're calling ourselves. ERA are the last three letters of our last names. Pretty neat, huh?

Today was our first day of office work, and it was quite interesting. There are three of us: Me, my sister and Daniela. All of us are TCK and that's been helpful. But just like any group of people we have our differences. However, for the most part, I think that we are going to get along fine.

Good luck to us! And I'll let you know when we have our websites up.

Summer + Viña = Seaside stroll

Last Saturday, I went to Viña with my sister and cousin, Yusi. We had lunch at Pizza Hut (yay!) and decided to take a stroll across the beach on our way to the mall. It was a gorgeous day, and luckily I had my camera with me. Enjoy the pics!

Sorry, wasn't in the mood to stitch the photos, but I think you can get a gist of the whole picture.

The pier you see in the background is scheduled to be torn down. What a shame, it's a local landmark where ships carrying sugar would embark. Unfortunately, it's in such a state of decay that it's no longer safe to walk on.

Sand art. I love the Homer Sand dude. hahaha.

My sister and Yusi on the boardwalk.

The poor pier.

One Month

So, it's almost been one month since my first panic attack. During the first few weeks I still had some minor episodes during sleep, but they were short and few. Since December 22 there have been no attacks or episodes. Yay me! Thanks to my happy pills (which are rather miraculous), I no longer have anxiety but I do experience passing moments of slight fear. Almost like something spooks me, but it's like a whisper and soon passes.

Despite my advances, December has been the longest month of my life, basically because I have done nothing. Let me re-phrase that: I haven't done anything on the professional front. That has got to be the hardest thing in the world for me to endure. I told my shrink that I feel totally irresponsible and un-professional, but he keeps reminding me that I'm not at 100% and that it's "me time". It's a moment in my life where I get to do what I want. That's kind of hard to adjust to.

I have been dedicated to doing some crafts, especially decorating pre-made mdf boxes. It worked out perfect because I gave some of them away for Christmas presents. I recently moved on to my unfinished knitting projects and am about to start making furniture because I'm getting so bored. Hahahaha! That's just like me, I always go overboard and not like normal people, but at the speed of light. But, my body keeps reminding me to slow down. At night when I wake up, if I turn around in bed too fast, I feel like I might lose my breath. So, I have to remind myself that no one is rushing me. I take it easy, breathe and everything settles. It's amazing to me that my body is so much smarter than my mind, so to speak.

Thanks to my therapy sessions, I've learned a lot about myself through my past experiences. I know that sounds weird and obvious, but when you have lay out your life in front of someone else, you pick up on things that you never noticed the first time around. The way my family unit is constructed is one of those eye-opening revelations. I thought that I was a psychotically independent because I was just born that way, and now I'm beginning to see that my nuclear family created such tight bonds that it made me an island.

The great thing about all of this is that it doesn't depress me. On the contrary, I'm really happy that I made the choice to treat my panic attacks. Since I started my treatment, I've had the opportunity to talk to a lot of friends and acquaintances about this. You would not believe the amount of people walking around with untreated panic attacks and depressions. I don't know how they do it, how they survive, how they remain so functional. Let me just tell you, my panic attack scared the *@!"$%&* out of me. I could not imagine going through this without treatment.

Anyways, that's what I've been up to. I'll be sure to post pics of my recent projects the next time I log on.

Panic Attacks

No, the title of this post isn't some clever heading or metaphor. I have been diagnosed with panic attacks. Me. How is that possible? At least that's what I though at first, but now I'm starting to get the idea as to why.

My first panic attack was last Wednesday night, and I thought it was just due to a respiratory infection. Then, wham! Friday I got another another one. Still I thought it was the cold. I went to the doc's office and I just started bawling. He (general practitioner) said he couldn't diagnose me with panic attacks based on 2 episodes, but he could tell that I was under some severe stress. "Go see a psychologist, ASAP", he said. And I did.

That same day (Dec 5) I met with a shrink and had another bawl-fest. We talked about how I had gotten to where I was, and he sent me to a psychiatrist. "OMG", I thought. "Now I need medication!?" I just went with it. I was so beaten down that I just said yes to everything.

My appointment with the psychiatrist was last Saturday, and I had another two episodes within a 40 min span that morning before my consult. I was seriously considering it wasn't psychological. Anyways, I kept my appointment with the new doc (bawled a whole lot, again) and, sure enough, I got medication: a tranquilizer and an antidepressant.

Every doctor I've seen since my first episode has said the same thing: I have trouble delegating tasks, I'm too much of a perfectionist, I have control issues, and at the same time I have issues with taking the right amount of responsibility so sometimes I just give up my responsibility to others...I just give up.

So far I feel that I am in good hands. And if I'm blogging right now it's because I thinks it's important to do so. I have no qualms about being pegged as a fruit-loop or "damaged goods". I don't believe that panic attacks are or should be stigmatic. Why should they be?

I refer to this as my wake up call. You would not believe how easily this rearranged my priorities and how meaningless some things have become. I think that I would have eventually killed myself with all of the stress I was putting up with.

My panic attacks manifest themselves as a closing up of my throat and the sensation that I can't breathe. Obviously, I feel like I'm going to choke to death. My medication has helped with that, thank goodness. But for those of you who are going through something similar, SEEK HELP FROM PROFESSIONALS. Don't let this slide. I have NO idea how some people can go through this alone, I surely couldn't. Maybe my episodes are a bit noisier than the norm, but I would never wish the sensation of sure death on anyone. And that's basically the reason I sought help so quickly.

I've had awesome support from my doctors and my family and friends. I really couldn't ask for more. Since I started with my medication, I've had about 7 pseudo-episodes. Last night was the strongest one, but it was no where near as strong as the first few episodes. I actually controlled it before it got too far. Yay, me!

Anyways, that's what I'm going through right now. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

"27 Hours of Love"

I always complain about the bad things this country has to offer: spite, mockery, laziness, tardiness, etc. However, I must as readily accept that there are certain things that are truly impressive and praise-worthy.

One of the most impressive is the Teletón. The Teletón was begun in 1978 by a famous, Chilean television host: Mario Kreutzberger aka Don Francisco. He invited the Society for Disabled Children (founded in 1947) to work together through a televised event. The idea was to raise more money and help even more children. Now, thirty years later, there are several establishments throughout the country dedicated to helping and rehabilitating disabled children and young people and their families.

Tonight, at 9:00 p.m., the Teletón begins its yearly transmission which lasts for 27 straight hours. Every year a monetary goal is set. Large companies, philanthropists and the ordinary Joe donate money to attain that goal. It isn't always reached within the 27 hour limit, but it's a true testament to the Chilean people's solidarity and committment to this cause. The whole country comes to a standstill. No matter where anyone goes, they always ask a store clerk, the bus driver or a random stranger in the street: "How are we coming along?" or "Are we getting close to our goal yet?"

It's a beautiful thing. During the televised transmission, we hear stories about families that have had to learn to live and excel with a disabled child: heart wrenching. I don't know of anyone who can sit and watch the whole 27 hours. I, myself, can only sit and listen to a couple or three per each Teletón.

Anyways, I just wanted to spread the word about this wonderful cause. I wish every Chilean luck in reaching this year's goal.

Business....as usual

Hey everyone,
I'm back from vacay. It was great! I promise to upload some pictures as soon as I can. Between Facebook, replying emails and paying the very-important-after-vacations-visit-to-briefly-describe-the-wonderful-food-and-sites-I-was-privy-to to most of my friends, I am totally out of time. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I also have to work every once in a while, hahaha.

Even though I had decided to take a break from architecture, my vacations gave me a fresh outlook on the problem. So, while I work on other projects (crafts and stuff) that I have lined up, I will be getting back into the architectural swing of things.

So let me see....right now I'm working on:

• 3+1 projects that are only paperwork. Those projects have already been built sans the proper permits. Therefore, I have the "pleasurable" task of putting together the properties' municipal dossiers with all of the missing documents, plans and reports. bO-ring and tEE-di-ous. At least they are almost in the bag.
• 3 bids (or estimates, not sure how to call them) for different projects that have yet to be built. All of these require design (my FAVORITE part). One is a restaurant, the second is a group of small cabins, and the third is the headquarters for a moving company. That sounds a lot more impressive and glamorous than it really is, believe me. I'm not sure if they'll except my bid yet, but I'm keepin' my fingers crossed.
• 1 project to turn two houses on one lot into collective housing...just paperwork and the owners are a pain.
  
• 1 project that was supposed to be finished by now. But the owners decided that the project they approved is now too expensive and they want us to change it to a less expensive budget without us charging for that!!!!!!! Clueless, they are completely clueless.
  

You know, I had to admit that I live a bohemian lifestyle and I like that. It's not something that I'm willing to give up just yet. I could never conform to a structured work day. I would, literally, die. So what was I thinking trying to fit into the real world?