First of all, I have to say, what is up with the insane PS3 sales?! People camping out/lining up as early as Tuesday morning, people fighting in line, people breaking in stores and stealing them. For $600, I can buy myself a nice sewing machine. Or save up for a couch. Or buy lots of yarn. Hel-lo! Black Friday isn’t even here yet!!!

Not that I’m much of a Christmas shopper. I’m actually terrible with gift-giving. Good thing hubby is too; we don’t require gift exchanges between each other. I’m so relieved with that, it’s shocking. I can also do without the rush of Christmas shopping, all those cards/newsletters to write, decorations to put up, parties to cook/host, etc. etc. Don’t get me wrong - this is also among my most favorite time of year (for other reasons), but as an adult, I can certainly do without the obligatory stress that comes with the holidays. So yea, I don’t even want to THINK about Christmas until the big turkey day is over with.

So when I saw this pattern, I thought, isn’t it a bit early? After all, thanksgiving isn’t here just yet. But seeing how adorable and cute it is, I couldn’t help myself.

We have SO much leftover rice, it’s not even funny. I think we can feed nearly 10 people with all the rice, and they can all have second and third helpings. So of course, when you have leftover rice, what do you do with it? Make fried rice! We made two huge batches of fried rice, and pretty soon I was sick of it. So I decided to vary my methods of getting rid of the rice. =)

Recognize any of these? If not, here you go:

A = Preserved Duck Eggs

B = Lo Han Choi (Luo Han Zhai or Buddha’s Delight)

C = Rice Congee

For me, congee is a comfort food of mine. I have memories of eating this with pizza (strange combo, yes, but hey, I grew up Chinese-American). Hubby however, is not a fan of congee. It reminds him of the days he was sick as a boy. And yes, it’s good for when you’re sick too. And the preserved duck eggs (or what my parents call the “thousand-year-old egg”) may look gross, but they are SO GOOD. When I was little, I used to think they were “negatives” of real eggs (negatives in the sense of photo negatives, since they looked dark and regular eggs are white).

I also made a feeble attempt at nasi goreng. Hubby and I were at the grocery store and saw seasoning packets (yes, we cheated) and I argued for the Chinese brand (which was cheaper in price), but he argued for the Indonesian brand, thinking it would taste more authentic. It turned out ok (sorry, forgot what brand it was), but I would have liked it more spicy. But still good. Added egg, green onion, garlic, and leftover shredded roasted chicken. With chopped tomatoes and sliced cucumber on the side. (I wanted to add shrimp, but it was nearly $8/lb…. OUCH!)

Lately, I’ve been attempting stitching of a different kind (by hand):

I’m still a beginner, so if you look closely, you might find a hole (I was watching X-Men and wasn’t paying attention and I tugged a thread a tad too hard). But by all means, please don’t look *too* closely. =) I was actually thinking of bringing my embroidery project (hoop and all) to a football game. Reason being, I originally wanted to bring a knitting WIP, but forgot to bring enough yarn to continue the project (I was at the end of a skein - DANG IT). But I came across an old familiar dilemma: Should I or shouldn’t I bring my project to such-and-such event?

KIP-ing:
I’ve seen plenty of discussion on where/when people feel knitting is inappropriate. In social settings, by now I think I have an okay gauge as to whether it’s appropriate or not (otherwise, I just ask hubby and he gives me an honest, nonknitter perspective). But sporting events, I’m not quite sure. Stitch ‘n Pitch proved that at baseball games is definately not a problem - baseball games are low-energy enough that I can just kick back and do a couple stitches (or rows). Basketball - too high energy. I’ll end up dropping a stitch while I’m yelling from my seat. Hockey - probably the same? But football? Wasn’t sure. But after going to the Cal/UCLA game, I concluded that I definately feel uncomfortable bringing a project to a college game - WAY too high energy for that. Not sure about NFL though..?

Hello Kitty Machine Review:

Because some of you requested it, here it is. I finally tried out the cute green machine. First of all, this machine IS NOT A TOY. It is an honest-to-goodness real machine, with real metal parts underneath the cutesy cover. Here’s a link to its specs: Janome Hello Kitty 11706. It is based on an actual Janome model: Janome Harmony 1017 Jem Lite. Because it’s not a full-sized machine (it’s a 3/4 size), it’s a tad smaller, and lighter (only 11 lbs).

Pros:
Threading machine was a cinch. I sewed a couple lines on some scrap fabric I had lying around… and was surprised at how SMOOTH and QUIET this machine is! The sewing speed is slower (550 sts/min) but steady, which is perfect for beginners. I can see how this can work great for light projects. I haven’t tested out how heavy fabrics work, but I was told that this machine performs surprisingly well with medium-ish fabrics too. I love the size and the light weight; it’s perfect as a backup machine or a portable machine. It comes with plenty of stitch variation (zigzag and blindhem) AND buttonhole. And a reverse stitch feature. And did I mention how cute it is?!

Cons:
It doesn’t have full features as would a full sized machine would have (but that’s expected). But for it’s size and price, it’s a good deal. It came with plastic bobbins, but other reviewers have recommended replacing them with metal ones instead. Another thing I noticed - when I stop sewing (when I lift my foot off the foot pedal), the machine doesn’t immediately stop sewing. It will actually “coast” for a couple more stitches until it slows down and stops. Mildly annoying, but I can live with that.