Cookies = Happiness

So…. I know it has been over a month since my last post. I am sorry for that. Apparently my whole “Get up and go” idea from the last post was easier said and done. It has been a month of ups and downs, but I am still going. Everything is just taking much longer than anticipated.  I went through 4 weeks of physical therapy to find out that it didn’t have the results that the surgeon was hoping for, so I am back to surgery. My pain has increased and my mobility has decreased…. how that is possible, I have no idea. Anyhow, I am trying to keep busy and not go out of my skull with a wide range of ailments (boredom, anger, pain, depression, etc).

One thing that has kept me busy has been knitting. I was talking to a very good friend of mine, Ryan. Ryan is my fashion

My Knit tie

savvy friend. He always dresses to the nines. So we were talking and he sent me a link to Ralph Lauren where they had knit ties selling for $85. Ryan really wanted one, but was not completely happy with them.. He is a bigger guy and wanted the tie a bit wider. I looked at it, and said, “It looks easier enough to make”…. the only problem is that I stupidly said this out loud. The response I received was “OH? Can you PLEASE knit one for me?”  How can a girl say no to that? I stupidly agreed. After much procrastination, a lot of failed starts, tiny ass knitting needles pairs with thin yarn, many curses, and a few episodes of flinging the project across the room… I finished knitting the tie…. and my reaction to it is… THAT IS THE MOST IDIOTIC, CRAZY PROJECT I HAVE EVER AGREED TO DO. It was just a tedious project that seemed to go on FOREVER! But the end result I am quite happy with. I mailed it on its way and RYAN absolutely loves it. He is wearing to a wedding tomorrow, so I have requested pictures of it. I will post one when I get it. I am supposed to make two more ties for him, but I need a little bit of a tie break.

For the tie, I used the Pattern Dennis by Kathleen Dames as a starting point. I made a few modifications to the pattern. The yarn I used was ToshSock by Madeline Tosh. The color is called Mourning Dove. (Its gorgeous.. and pictures don’t do it justice.) I knit the entire tie on size 3 needles. You can see my complete modifications written out on ravelry.com here.

Ryan in his new tie

So now on to the title of the Post. COOKIES!!!! So I love food. Its no secret. And I am not ashamed of it. As some of you read in my last post, My favorite cookies are the Samoa Girl Scout Cookies. I even made a cake that was out of this world! Anyhow. Today my mother picked me up to get me out of the house and keep me sane. We of course went to the grocery store. I love going to the grocery store because I now have an excuse to ride that sitdown electric cart thingy. (It comes equipped with a horn!) Any how, as I am cruising through the grocery store at a neck breaking pace of 3mph I take a sharp turn down the cookie isle. I really didn’t want anything… Oreos didn’t sound appealing so I kept on rolling. Then like the holy grail shining the most amazing image popped out at me from the cookie shelves. The picture of Samoa cookies. I stopped dead in my tracks. Samoa

Yum!

cookies on Keebler packaging, aptly names Coconut Dreams. It seemed too good to be true. SOOOOOO we know that I just had to buy them and try them. There was a good chance that they would be nothing like the wonderful Girl Scout cookies I wait for all year long.  Upon opening the cookies and taking a bite, my taste buds starting to sing, and I almost passed out from sheer happiness. And the only thing I could think to say was “Screw You Girl Scouts! I have cookies all year long!” Yes, my friends. They were that good. Lovely with the caramel and coconut. For the first time in a long time, I felt so excited and like jumping up and down. Since that isn’t possible at the moment, I did a little jig in my seat. So I paid $1.98 for my cookies, while the cute little Girl Scouts hose me at $3.00 a box… I am not entirely sure exactly how I feel about that.

So with my dreamy cookies in hand and the fact that Ryan is loving his new tie, I am feeling pretty amazing today. I have a surgery in my near future (hopefully the beginning of August), so we will hope that in a months time I will be operated on and back on the mend…. able to skip down the cookie isle of the grocery store instead of rolling through it in my electric cart.

Back to Business

Ok… So I feel like I have wallowed in self-pitty for long enough. I have been home now for two weeks, and I have cried probably every day for those two weeks… Sometimes tears of depression about being away from Indonesia and my friends. Other times tears of frustration and pain because it hurts to move even a little. There were even tears for the unknown because I have no idea where I will end up after my surgery. I landed myself in the emergency room this past weekend because the pain became so unbearable and I had no pain meds to help me out. Ibuprofen just isn’t doing a damn thing and I couldn’t get an appointment to meet with the surgeon until June 1st. So its just time to manage the pain until I can get to that appointment.

Emergency Room

So even though I should be resting, I need to keep myself busy! Keep my mind occupied so that I don’t play the “What-If” game.

For mothers day, I decided to make this awesome Samoa Bundt Cake recipe I found through my Pintrest addiction (if you are not on pintrest, check it out and start pinning away. I seem to pin recipes like nobody’s business). So Samoa Girl Scout cookies are my absolute favorite! So I knew when I saw this cake that is was a must try! It looks just like a GIANT Samoa cookie!!!! I am not the best at decorating cakes, but even if it wasn’t the prettiest cake, the taste was out of this world! I am talking… so good, it makes you wanna slap somebody. It was a hit with everyone, and there were willing volunteers to take the remaining cake with them when they left the gathering.

Samoa Cake

I have also started knitting again. Since I am laying down 99% of the time, it is good to keep my hands busy. My grandparents have been kind enough to set up a pretty awesome TV in my room, and my mother has supplied me with a BlueRay DVD player, so I can’t complain at all. I have spent days watching TV and knitting. I am currently working on “Man Knits”.. I don’t have a man in my life… but I do have friends. So I will be gifting. I discovered Stephen West the other day, and instantly fell in love with all of his work. If you are a knitter or know someone who knits check him out. So I ordered his book (it came in today… It kind of felt like Christmas), “West Knits- Book Three” and started this slouchy hat (Dustland Hat Pattern). Its a pretty awesome pattern, and is knitting up quite quickly. I am making it for my devastatingly handsome friend, Travis. I hope he likes it… or at least to take a few pictures of himself wearing it. So Finished project pictures are soon to come.

Dustland Hat

So I had a little bout with dehydration. I was only drinking one bottle of water a day, because I went from being in the heat 24/7 to being in the air conditioning and resting all the time.. So the need to drink didn’t really register. So a few problems came from that. Now I am drinking plenty of fluids. I had a few spill issues from drinking in a lying position (as you can well imagine) so my lovely mother took me to the Disney store so that I could pick up a much needed lidded cup. It is a known fact (well if its not, it should be) that Disney makes everyone feel better. Even if you are 28 years old. Anyhow… they are coming out with a new Disney movie, and a new Disney princess! She is from Scotland! How awesome is that. Her red hair and freckles instantly won me over. The movie is ‘Brave’ and I can’t wait to go to the movies and see it. SO anyhow, I found a ‘Brave’ lidded cup and left the Disney store with a huge smile on my face. And I am not ashamed to say that is has been well used since I have gotten it, and it does make me feel better every time that I look at it. (Don’t judge).

‘Brave’ Cup

I also got a new camera… by got I mean stole from my mother. haha. It is a Nikon D3000 DSLR. Its pretty nice. I am learning how to use it. I just purchased a cute book called “Beyond Snapshots” to give me a little bit of help on taking pictures that will rock your socks off. So I will be playing with that and posting my progress pictures (hopefully).

So though I have been a little down in the dumps about everything that is going on, I know that things are going to be ok. How do I know this. Because my mother took me out to P.F. Changs for some amazing Chinese food and my fortune cookie told me so! It might be grasping at straws, buy hey, it works for me.

My Fortune

So the Indonesian pictures and updates are on hold, but with luck I will be back there soon and filling you in on all of the wonders there. Until then, stick with me. I will try to keep my posts interesting!