Month: April 2013

Ollie Monster

/ Shane / 2 Comments

I finally finished knitting Ollie’s monster, just in time to give it to him for his birthday. It came out most magnificently, if I do say so myself.

I knew I wanted to knit something for Ollie for his birthday, and a monster seemed appropriate. I spent a long time looking at different patterns before finally settling on this one. Just before the big day, Sara asked Oliver what he wanted for his birthday and he said, “A monster”. Score!

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I really enjoyed this project. This is really the first significant thing that I’ve knit, so it was really fun to see it take shape. I’m so happy with how it came out. I love the way the mismatched eyes look. I love the way the red stitching adds a little color. I love the way the teeth look.

Ollie named him “Floobbooberbabbooberbubs” but we call him “Floob” for short. Ollie likes him, but I think not as much as I do. Unfortunately, Ollie’s baby has a firm hold on his heart, and there’s not too much room left over. Floob spent a few nights in his bed, but is now relegated to the floor.

Regardless, I enjoyed making it and giving it to him. So even if Floob never secures a place in heart, he will always be one of my favorite gifts. And if Ollie doesn’t play with him too much, that just means he’ll last that much longer. Maybe old Floob will be around for the next generation of little monsters.

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Quote Monday is all about Ollie

/ Shane / Leave a comment

I think this is probably the first Quote Monday ever that didn’t feature a quote from Ms. Evelyn.

Ollie: “Why do you have to clean the door?”
Sara: “There’s dirt spots on it. Someone must have touched it. You must have touched it.”
Ollie: “Evie must have touched it, that naughty, naughty girl.”

::Ollie trying to sit in my lap::
Ollie: “Crisscross your applesauce!”

::Ollie opening up a birthday present of ballet shoes::
Ollie: “I’m trying to see if there’s any more in there.”
Me: “Well, you only have two feet.”
Ollie: “What if I was an octopus?”

::Ollie eating birthday cake::
Sara: “Ollie, time to go to the bathroom.”
Ollie: “Did I have anything to drink?”
Sara: “No, do you want your water bottle?”
Ollie: “If I didn’t have anything to drink, why do I have to go to the bathroom?”

Touche, 3 year old. Touche.

Our 3 year old

/ Shane / 2 Comments

Ollie is turning 3 today. I didn’t think I really had much to say about him, but then I looked back on the post I did when he turned 2, and I realized he really has come a long way.

When he turned 2, he was just starting to talk. Now, he never stops talking. Then, he was starting to be able to do things on his own. Now, he can zip his coat, and can (mostly) go to the bathroom by himself.

Although he *still* has very little interest in getting himself dressed. I guess when someone has applied creams over your entire body and dressed you morning and night for every day of your life, you don’t have much motivation to change that. Who said all that time I spent watching Downton Abbey was a waste? It turns out I would make an excellent lady’s maid (or I guess a valet if it came to that).

In the last few weeks, he as DEFINITELY become a 3 year old. Hoo boy. All of a sudden he loves being contrary just for the sake of being contrary. I know that it is very typical of his age, but it’s also very surprising, just because he’s usually so accommodating. He would absolutely argue with you about the color of the sky. I know that this is all a part of becoming an independent “big boy”.

Speaking of being independent, I think he’s becoming slightly less cuddly as he gets older and more independent. Still pretty cuddly, but not as much as he used to be. Less cuddly towards his parents perhaps, but not towards his baby. Boy oh boy does he love his baby. He carries him everywhere, cuddles him, whispers to him, tucks him in to bed, and talks about him nonstop. He likes to make spontaneous statements like, “I’m a good daddy to my baby!” or “I love my baby and my baby loves me.” Actually, he’s pretty good about making similar spontaneous statements to his parents (I told you he was still pretty cuddly).

Aside from his baby, the thing Ollie likes the most is being goofy, especially if he’s tired. For some reason, he really likes to pretend to fall down. He also likes to switch song lyrics to things that don’t make sense. For example, he might sing, “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the fork!” and then laugh, and laugh, and laugh. Another favorite thing he likes to do is complain that he has a tummy ache. I don’t know why.

The best part about Ollie is how well he gets along with his sister. He just absolutely adores her and wants to be just like her. He loves to play with her, and the two of them play by themselves for long periods of time. He’s never happier than when Evie is playing with someone else her age and he is just sort of trailing behind them. I think she can probably expect that for many years to come.

Happy birthday big boy. I hope the next year is as good as the last. I can’t wait for you to start school. I can’t wait to give you the birthday present I made you. I can’t wait to see who you turn out to be.

Baconfest 2013, Taste Test

/ Shane / 3 Comments

Of course, the main feature of baconfest is the annual taste test. We had a nice collection of bacons this year. We didn’t get as many sort of rare or local varieties as I would have liked (especially compared to last year), but overall I thought everything was really good. It was a pretty wide range of flavors and appearances.

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Nathan:

Brand Rating (1-10) Comments
Boar’s Head (Smoked)  5  Good crisp – Light
Sobie Meats  6  A lot more tasty fat (by tasty I mean full body) thicker cut but still a crunch.
Nueske’s (Wild Cherrywood Smoked)  4  All the fat was at the end instead of throughout
ThinkGeek Tactical Bacon  2  super thing – nice for crunch but lacked flavor
Trader Joe’s Black Forrest Bacon (dry rubbed)  5  very similar to #1. A good flavor, very light.

Amanda:

Brand Rating (1-10) Comments
Boar’s Head (Smoked)  7  Sweet. Thin. I liked the crispiness
Sobie Meats  2  Very meaty taste is strong. Like fish.
Nueske’s (Wild Cherrywood Smoked)  5  Smokey & salty
ThinkGeek Tactical Bacon  6  Not much flavor. A good breakfast bacon.
Trader Joe’s Black Forrest Bacon (dry rubbed)  7  Taste is very different in a good way. I like how thin it is.

Sara:

Brand Rating (1-10) Comments
Boar’s Head (Smoked)  8  thin (which is nice), no overpowering flavors which is also nice
Sobie Meats  5  blah. has sort of a stale flavor, a little chewy
Nueske’s (Wild Cherrywood Smoked)  7.5  a little sweet, a little salty, tastes liek a delicious campfire
ThinkGeek Tactical Bacon  4  I confess to recognizing this one. Honestly, it tastes like nothing, which is better than I expected. The texture is fine
Trader Joe’s Black Forrest Bacon (dry rubbed)  6  Has a subtly sweet flavor. Not bad, nothing fantastic either. Also, thin in a good way.

2013_04_06_9899Shane:

Brand Rating (1-10) Comments
Boar’s Head (Smoked)  5  average bacon, decent taste, bacon size was a little uneven
Sobie Meats  8  good appearance, just the right amount of fatty, good after taste, a little smokey
Nueske’s (Wild Cherrywood Smoked)  9  great flavor, salty, little fatty
ThinkGeek Tactical Bacon  2  blech
Trader Joe’s Black Forrest Bacon (dry rubbed)  8  good taste, a little different, more tough than I usually like, but it all came together for me

Evie:

Brand Rating (1-10) Comments
Boar’s Head (Smoked)  6  smiley face
Sobie Meats  1  frowny face
Nueske’s (Wild Cherrywood Smoked)  2  unsure face
ThinkGeek Tactical Bacon  10  smiley face
Trader Joe’s Black Forrest Bacon (dry rubbed)  8  smiley face

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Overall Results:

Brand Average Rating Average Rating (with Evie)
Boar’s Head (Smoked)  6.25  6.2
Sobie Meats  5.25  4.4
Nueske’s (Wild Cherrywood Smoked)  6.375  5.5
ThinkGeek Tactical Bacon  3.5  4.8
Trader Joe’s Black Forrest Bacon (dry rubbed)  6.5  6.8

Very, very close this year. I can’t believe that Trader Joe’s bacon has won 2 out of 3 years! That’s crazy. It’s also interesting that the winner didn’t change with the inclusion of Evie’s rankings.

Ollie’s ballot was exactly what you would think Ollie’s ballet would be, each one signed with an “O” to be sure there was no hanky panky.

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I would like to talk for a minute about the Tactical Bacon from ThinkGeek.

Even though it lost pretty badly, everyone was very impressed with the TacBac. This can of bacon has been sitting in my pantry for more than THREE YEARS. Sara was so disgusted by the idea of it, that she couldn’t even look at the can. And given all that, i would put it up against any of the “precooked” bacons on the market. It was remarkable, and certainly worth eating in the case of a zombie apocalypse. In fact, you’ll notice Evie gave it a full 10! I think this is probably because she doesn’t like strong tastes and it has a pretty muted flavor, but nonetheless, if anybody can give old bacon from a can a 10, I think we’ve got a winner. (Full disclosure, I did drop the slices in the bacon grease from one of the other bacons to better disguise it.)