My right arm has been numb and tingly for about a month now.

I picked the softest yarn I could find. I bought 12 skeins and settled myself down to knit the 1×1 swatch to measure the rows per inch to properly design the sweater. My husband had a meeting so it was a perfect night to start the new project.

The young’ins at work had also been talking about a new t.v. show called “Heroes.” Since I don’t watch t.v., I felt left out of the conversations. So, I surrounded myself with the laptop set to Netflix.com’s Instant Viewing option for the first season of Heroes, opened a bottle of wine and sliced off a huge hunk of Irish Dubliner cheese and proceeded to knit. And drink. And eat.

Four hours later, I looked up with a start as my husband walked in the door. I was surrounded by cracker crumbs, cheese droppings and my arm was tingly and numb. I looked over at the wine bottle. It was half empty. Oh. Perhaps that explained the tingly number arm thing.

Then I looked at the cheese. I had eaten exactly 3568 calories worth of cheese. Whoops. There goes all the diligent working out from the last week. Then, my eyes caught the sweater. Wow! I had made progress! And, when my dear husband said, “Hi Honey. What did you do tonight?” my mind raced furiously. Where had the last four hours gone?

All I could answer was “Um, I know the entire plotline for Heroes. Did you know that Nikki has a double personality and that it’s really the senator that can fly and the cheerleader’s father really isn’t a good guy!?! And oh, I knitted this partial sweater, drank wine and ate a straight block of fat.”

It’s been about a month now. I haven’t been able to knit again. My arm is still mildly numb at times and I can’t use the mouse at work anymore. So Nicole, I guess this is my way of telling you that the sweater won’t be done in time for the birth.

My folks visited this weekend. It was a gloriously sunny weekend in Bellingham (thank you, weather gods). We played a raucous game of Bocce Ball, complete with a kitschy ceramic squirrel as a prize. Whoops, my Mom is reading this. Make that a “delightfully charming, moss-covered, heirloom” squirrel. Modesty prevents me from saying whether my brother or I won. But, if you come over to our house, be prepared for an amazing, squirrel oriented front yard display.

My Mom even made me my favorite birthday cake = Betty Crocker Cherry Chip Cake Mix with (store bought) Canned Frosting. It was truly a gift from the heart. My Mom is a phenomenal baker and could easily have made a complex, from scratch, decadent delight. It pained her greatly to use a cake mix but as my newly sugar laden tummy can attest, it hit MY spot.

I had five pieces. FIVE.

And, I am only mildly repentant. It was that good.

I made the most delicious Greek Salad last night … or rather, the recipe has been delicious in the past. I got the recipe from InStyle magazine (of all places) and it makes a great easy cost-effective healthy salad.

4 Vine Ripened Tomatos, seeded and cubed
1 English Cucumber, cubed
8 ounces Kalamata Olives, cut in half
1 Red Onion, chopped
4 – 8 ounces Feta Cheese Crumbles
1 Tablespoon minced fresh Oregeno
2 ounces Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Directions: Add everything together. Stir well. Eat. This keeps for a few days and tastes even better on Day 2 and 3 as everything marinates together.

The whole thing is a lot of food prep if you don’t have a Cuisinart (I don’t. Mom and Dad, if you’re reading this, maybe that would be a good birthday present?) But, it’s a delicious recipe. I even shopped at the local organic store yesterday and all of the produce was farm fresh and locally sourced.

I’ve made this salad before and it was a huge hit. So, though I was crying profusely by the time the onions were chopped, I tossed them all in.

For future reference, onions can be different strengths!? Who knew!?! Locally grown, fresh, organic red onions are way stronger than the onions I normally buy in the produce section of my grocery store. So, we picked out 75% of the onions and the recipe was back to balance and delicious.

Our Super Saturday started off in a promising way – the sunshine rose bright and high in the sky. It was our first weekend of real sun. Apparently, even the weather in Washington wanted to show respect to the Dalai Lama.

Before the Seeds of Compassion show, Chris and I had a chance to wander around Pioneer Square. We found a cute little cafe (Cafe Umbria) that served European Drinking Chocolate. It was a bit like eating warm, runny pudding. The effect was delicious and comforting.

Then, we went to F.X. McRory’s for a s-l-o-w (service) lunch. We were delighted to be joined by Lela Barker from Bella Lucce and her Marketing Director, Jennifer. Lela had lots of energy and bountiful amounts of drive and ambition. We talked business, shared self-employment horror stories and laughed a lot. Lela shared that her very first order in her crafting career was from Bramble Berry. I was honored that she took the time to go to lunch with us.

Then, we went to the Qwest Field show to watch the Dalai Lama with 50,000 other people. Click here if you missed my post on the event.

After Qwest Field, we headed out to grab a bite to eat. Chris is thinking about getting some new glasses so we had fun trying on eyewear. These are the same spectacles that Bill Gates wears. Chris is in good company if he gets this pair.

After the fashion show, we headed to Trophy Cupcakes in the hopes of trying the Marshmallow Graham Cupcakes that Martha featured last week. Alas, they were out of them so we had to make do with Lemon (for Chris) and my traditional Red Velvet. Unfortunately, I had blocked out my last visit to Trophy. Their cupcakes have not improved since that last time and tasted heavy, bland and oily. But, we persevered and despite the challenges presented by the sub-par texture, we finished both cupcakes. I’ll be back in Seattle on Monday and aim to stop by again for one of those Martha-approved, Graham Marshmallow Cupcakes.

For now though, we’re happy to be back safe in our little home in sun drenched Bellingham and feel fortunate that we had such a jam packed, fun filled and enlightening Saturday.

Apparently, the secret love of pink runs in my family. I called my Mom, a bit like a wailing child in need of comfort from mommy, to commiserate over the giant pink shell our home had been turned into.

She immediately offered to drive up (3 hours one way!) to view the walls and help me figure out what to do. I demurred. She got my Father on the phone. He made comforting tut, tutting noises. Then, as an afterthought, he said, “Well, we just repainted and I guess our walls are also pink.”

And with that, my perception of our pink Barbie walls changed. My mom chose a pink color for her walls, on purpose! She did research. She painted six different colors on the walls. She had friends over. She pulled in a favor with a real, live interior decorator. Together, they chose the pink color and she agreed that the pink strip on the test wall was “comforting.”

So, my parents painted their entire house…pink. Oddly enough, this all took place at the same time my house was accidentally being painted pink. Check out the photos of my parent’s house. Notice the Pomegranate (Benjamin Moore #AS295) accent wall. It’s a bold choice that my parents both claim “makes” the entire room.

I can’t claim to love, love, love the color scheme at our house. I’m still aghast every time I see the empty shell. But, I feel soothed knowing that my Mom chose the exact same color with intention, thought and thorough research. And who knows? Since Mothers generally do know best,maybe… in time… I’ll grow to love it.