Why the Husband Doesn't Let Me Watch Infomercials

I'm a sucker. Not for every single thing sold on infomercials, but occasionally I see something that I just have to have.

The most dismal failures have been the pet hair roller thing (several years ago) which was covered in cat fur after the first rotation and had to constantly be rinsed in hot water and dried to get the job done.

The most recent was the Peticure. I was fully prepared to slowly work James up to it, but he apparently had watched the commercial and freaked out and ran as soon as the Husband pulled it out of the box. It didn't even have the batteries in it and he had decided that it was the enemy. I worked for a week trying to get him to let me near him with the thing. I actually had him eating treats right next to it while it was on, but the minute we picked it up he lost his mind and became a boneless feline who could wiggle out of any grasp. It is now sitting on the bottom shelf of our coffee table, taunting me with the possibility of blunt cat claws that lie just out of my grasp.

So the Husband doesn't even allow the temptation in our house. If an infomercial comes on he distracts me or changes the channel. I still want the Shamwow, but I fully realize that they will probably suck, so I just don't think about it when I walk past them at Walmart.

Well, despite the Husband's best efforts, he can't control my infomercial viewing at work. I didn't mean to watch it, but my Partner had the remote and had left the room and I was too lazy to get up and change the channel so I got sucked into the Shark Steam Mop commercial.

At first I was skeptical as always. It always starts that way, but then they tell you about how it's only water, no chemicals. And the pads are washable. Well, that's environmentally friendly isn't it? I love environmentally friendly. And it would mean really clean floors for when our baby starts to crawl (see, I managed to work the baby into a mop purchase). But I hate to pay shipping, so never mind. But I bet they sell it at Walmart. Maybe I should just check the Walmart website. Hey, it's only $79.88. And no cleaner to buy. And it has 2 pads, so when one is in the wash, I have a back up. It has 4 out of 5 stars, not too shabby I rationalized. Let's read the reviews, bad ones first. Flimsy and cord gets in the way. I can work with that. I have a Swiffer and it's not the most sturdy thing, but no problems so far.

So should I do it? Does anyone have one and love it? Or hate it? Will it really make me want to mop? Will it break the first time I use it? Enable or stop me people.

Look what I found while looking up the link. It's just getting worse and worse.

Doll Quilt Update

The quilts went over even better than I expected. P, the little boy, is a major blankie lover and was very excited. He kept running around showing everyone and spreading it out on the ground to look at it. My partner said he has carried it constantly since he got it. I am going to call this project a success.

Next up is the tooth fairy pillow project I have had on my mind for a while. I gave M hers the other night since she is already in the tooth loosing stage, but I ran out of white fabric and could not finish P's yet. I didn't think it would be a big deal until he looked at me with those big eyes and said "where's my piwo." So sad. I am working on his now. I also have orders for 4 more from another co-worker. I may end up putting them up in my Etsy site.

Killing Time

So the Husband and I have made the decision to wait a few months until we start to see a little improvement in the economy before we proceed with the next step in the adoption process, which is forking over a large chunk of cash.

This is more his desire to wait than mine, but I see where he is coming from and I know that we both need to be on board completely for this major life decision. We have discussed that it will just be a few more months at most (unless something horrible happens that we don't foresee) and then we will proceed. I guess that in the grand scheme of things, a few more months is really nothing compared to how long we have been trying.

So, in the mean time, I am keeping myself busy, but not in a way that totally avoids the thought of adoption like I see so many others who are at various stages of the waiting game trying to do. For me this has meant working as much overtime as I can and crafting.

Due to the fact that my thoughts are still very much on being a mother, most of my crafting has centered on this fact. It's a little hard for me to make too much in the way of our own child since we have no idea when this child will arrive or what sex he/she will be, so I have been testing my ideas on co-workers and friends.

These are some of the results. These are doll quilts. They are the perfect size for a small child to wrap their dolls in and are very cute if I do say so myself. These two in particular are for my work partner's 4 yo daughter and 2 yo son. They are a perfect way to see if I enjoy piecing a pattern before committing to a full sized quilt and it turns out that I really enjoyed both of these.


This 9 patch is for M, the 4 (almost 5)yo girl. Like most human females her age, pink is her favorite color. This quilt was made completely from scraps, right down to the batting (pieced from previous project scraps) to the pieced backing. My machine quilting was not the best on this piece, but in my defense it was late and I just wanted it done. Actually, that's not really a defense. More of a pathetic excuse.


This whirlygig is for P, the 2 (almost 3) yo boy. I was anxious to try this pattern and it turns out I do love it as much as I though I would. In fact, I have about 5 more quilts in this pattern planned out in my head and one in the works (baby sized).

I am giving them to the kids tonight, so I hope they love them and enjoy them.

GO STEELERS!

It's Super Bowl Sunday and the Husband is firmly planted on the couch, wearing his new Roethlisberger jersey and periodically yelling at the TV. I am about to join him to do a bit of hand quilting and watch the commercials. I think it is safe now, since they just scored a pretty amazing touchdown.

I had big plans for the game day menu, but I am just getting over a stomach bug and the Husband's stomach is not feeling too hot either, so I just tried a few different recipes I have been wanting to make and we munched on and off throughout the day.


First up was this salsa. I love All Recipes for recipes because they have reviews and people always give great tips for changing it up too. The Husband didn't think it had enough heat, but I really liked it (total wimp about spice here). I need to figure out a way to up the heat because the roasted green chili peppers in a can that I bought seem very mild. I even added a bit of fresh jalapeno (very finely minced) and it didn't do much. I did it in my food processor and it is not chunky at all, but more smooth like the stuff you get in Mexican restaurants. I could have made it chunkier by processing it less, but we like it like this.

Next I tried these bacon wrapped little smokies, also from All Recipes. They were quite yummy, but learn from my experience and cut the bacon into thirds like they say. I cut it in half and had a hard time getting it crispy enough because it was wrapped around the smokie more than once. I also recommend saving part of your brown sugar back and once the tops look good, flip them over and sprinkle the rest of the brown sugar on the back sides and let them get nice and brown too.

The final recipe is one we have had many, many times. Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimp are amazing. We have also done it with chicken and steak, but into bit size bits. Very yummy. As I mentioned before, I am wimpy when it comes to spicy so I decrease the cayenne and the Old Bay when I make the shrimp. The chicken and steak don't seem to absorb the heat like the shrimp do, so I use the normal amount for them.