Beantown

We were in Boston a couple of weeks ago. Just me and the hubby for a vacation. Neither of us had ever been, so why not? It is a very walkable city and not as big as I was expecting. The T was great to get around on too. Although on Friday night we almost took it back to our hotel but I forgot the card so we ended up taking a cab. Between the station that we would of gotten on and the next one there was an accident and 46 people were injured when one train rear ended another. I'm not sure if it was inbound or outbound but I am super glad I forgot the card!!! Wouldn't that have sucked? We ate at some good places but not fabulous. Antico Forno was my favorite in the North End (Italian District). Fenway was fun! Sox won 13-3, scoring 12 runs in the 6th inning to tie a record. The place was a madhouse. We did a Duck Tour- it was cheesy but fun! We sat next to Tim McCarver (an old time Cardinal) on the Duck Tour who still calls the World Series and who called at Fenway Sat nite. Steve was the only person who recognized him. We went to Harvard and Hah-vahd Square, Boston Common, Boston Public Library, Public Gardens (loved this!!), Newbury Street, Beacon Hill, Freedom Trail, USS Constitution... We had desserts and drinks at The Top of the Hub which was cool. It overlooked the whole city.

AJ had picked this book, You Can't Take a Balloon Into The Museum of Fine Arts, up from the library before we left although I didn't realize it then that it was about Boston (and it didn't have any words- just illustrations). I picked it out of the bag 2 days after we got back and it was so funny because we did EVERYTHING in the book EXCEPT go to The Museum of Fine Arts! So there are some funny pictures and it gave me a way to tell him about our trip. The story line (picture line) is that the little girl has a balloon and she can't go into the museum with it so her Grandma stays outside with it and it floats all through the city and people in each place (Fenway, an ump and 3rd baseman) help her grab the balloon and continue with her. Of course she gets the balloon back right in front of the museum right when the girl is walking out. It is a neat book.

Steve & I at Faneuil Hall in front of the Samuel Adams statue. We thought this was going to be really cool but it wasn't. A bunch of junky souvenir shops in a historic building... And then outside was a bunch of chain restaurants and shops, whatever.

How cute is this? This was in the middle of the Harvard campus! Absolutely had to take a picture!!

Steve at Fenway!! We had really crappy seats but we stayed dry when it was raining and we could see everything, so who cares? They played the Indians that night and won 13-3.

More Fenway

Tell me this picture isn't so cool! These were the tulips at the Boston Public Garden. There were 9000 planted in the park!!

Again with the tulips... They just look like they are glowing.

I thought the cemeteries were really cool here. All the graves were so old. This of course is Samuel Adams grave but I took pictures of several other tombstones that had kitschy pictures of an angel dancing with a skeleton and skulls with wings. I didn't post them because I didn't want to be too macabre. There are stories about why designs were chosen and a lot of them had the same designs.

Trinity Church. This church was so pretty. It is on the Freedom Trail. The Freedom Trail was marked all over the city by red bricks and was about 1.5-2 miles. You couldn't lose your way!

Where everybody knows your name... Cheers Bar. (Taken from the Duck tour)

Book Review: Henny-Penny retold & illustrated by Jane Wattenberg

Henny Penny isn't a new story by any means but this one is HILARIOUS! The 'illustrations' which are photographs cut out are so funny. Honestly, the pictures are a little scary for a youngin but I was cracking up the whole time! And when I read to my guy I use voices and accents (not very well but I still do it) and read loud and it was fun to read aloud. This book should be on your list the next time you are at the library.

Craig's List

I admit it. I am a Craig's List novice. Never bought anything off of it, never sold anything on it. Same with Ebay. It's just overwhelming to me. I did buy one thing off of Ebay once and I hated bidding on something that I knew someone else was just driving the price up on. I ended up paying $20 for something that was 'retired' but originally cost $12. Yesterday, I posted some big stuff on Craig's List because I don't want to ship it anywhere because it would cost a fortune. I posted 6 things that have not been used since forever. Four of the six I have received bids on in less then 24 hours, 1 of them in less than 2 hours. If I knew it would be that easy to get rid of my crap I would have done this a long time ago!

I do have the purging feeling lately. I have things that have never seen the light of day and keep being carried from one house to another house (hopefully THAT won't happen anytime soon again- no more moving!!), one room to another room and most likely end up in the storage room. More like accumulating room. It has a tendency to just accumulate things. Over the long weekend I moved my studio from an upstairs bedroom to a room downstairs that just got a set of new french doors & a paint job. There is no closet in this room so I am using a portion of the 'accumulating' room as a closet (the door for the storage room is in the studio and the storage room is HUGE so no worries). As I am moving and reorganizing, I just couldn't believe how much stuff I had. Scrapbook paper? I could open a store! And here's the kicker: I DON'T EVEN SCRAPBOOK!!! But I do use it for my cards. Like 1/32nd of it... I had it organized into polka dots, stripes, flowers, etc. but that isn't working for me. I think I need to go by color instead. First, I need to get rid of 3/4 of it and then organize it by color. Other craft things that I am never going to get to? Check. Have lots of them. A desire washes over me, I buy the materials and then they sit and sit and eventually I forget why I bought this stuff in the first place. What project?

So what this boils down to is that I am going to take the money I make off my Craig's List listings and buy some more scrapbook paper and maybe take up crocheting. Hmmmmm... :)

Book/Movie Reviews: Twilight, Midnight Sun, New Moon

I am reading the Twilight saga... I like it. A lot. I don't know what is getting me sucked into this madness. Maybe it is the easy going writing, I don't know.

Twilight (the book) was awesome. I loved it. It was romantic and I didn't want it to end (and I have 3 books to go so I guess I'm in luck...). I'm not sure why it was romantic, I mean who would really want to fall in love with a vampire? Sounds really creepy to me actually. And the fact that he is always cold? That doesn't sound really comfortable when they are getting it on. Well I suppose there was no getting it on really... After all this is a teen book.

I thought the movie sucked. It didn't follow the book enough to do it justice and was super cheesy. Like I said before, I don't like Rob Pattinson. I don't think he is that good looking (and that is the one thing that was emphasized over and over in the book). And even though the whole family is suposed to be super fantastic looking- Jasper looked like a FREAK. They should have kept Peter Facinelli's (Carlisle) hair his own brown color (or just gave him highlights) instead of dying it blonde. Same with Nikki Reed (Rosalie). You could see the make-up lines that made them 'pale' and it looked awful. My high school's make up crew could have done a better job and they were all regular students!! And one other side note, why did they change the Biology teacher's name? Did they think people wouldn't notice? That was just weird. This is better than the movie. Check it out. It is hilarious!

So then my friend Lindsay told me about Midnight Sun which I read fast and furiously on my laptop despite the fact that to read the computer screen makes me sleepy. Midnight Sun is Twilight in Edward's perspective. It is only a partial draft as it was leaked onto the internet. So Stephenie Meyer was pissed that it was leaked and put it on her website and probably won't finish it. Here is the link to it. Bummer. It was again really good. And I didn't want it to end and it did right in the middle! I finished Twilight and read this 3 days later and it is basically the same book! What's wrong with me...

So I wasn't going to read the next one in the series so soon but since we were going to Boston I thought I would have time to finish it and not be ignoring my son while I was obsessed with reading it. I had also heard that this one was the worst book of the series. I liked it but didn't love it like Twilight. I am not crazy about werewolves and it was so obvious what was going to happen in this book that it could have been about 200 pages shorter. It ended on a weird note and was unresolved (maybe it will be resolved in Eclipse?). And there was hardly any Edward in it.

I started Eclipse late last night. I am also reading another good book (Stalked by Brian Freeman) at the same time. What I don't like about Stalked is that it is the third Detective Stride book and I haven't read the first two and it gave away the stories of the other two. Don't you hate when they do that? Certain books shouldn't have to be read in order. Twilight- yes. It is a saga and the books are obviously a series but Stalked was the only book that I could find at Barnes & Noble when I was there. Note to all the authors of the world: if your book isn't an obvious series, don't spoil the other stories within it!!! I hate that! They should really number things... Thank you Janet Evanovich, Sue Grafton, Sweet Valley High & Babysitter's Club authors and all the other authors that use a system to their series! You make it a lot easier for people to read and figure out how to read your books.

SLACKER!!

I am a total slacker! No post in 3 weeks??? For shame! I have A LOT to blog about- just trying to find the time...

AJ is two. He is behind in language so he goes to speech therapy. It is totally funny the words that he DOES say. Like microwave. WTF?? Why does he say microwave and not pig? I will never understand...

So I can't wink. Unless I put real effort into it and then it looks like I put effort into it and is weird. BUT when I eat something sour I can't stop winking. Bizarro. The sour hits a certain spot on my tongue and I keep winking. It's just very weird.

Just a couple of random thoughts...

Book Review: Gap Creek by Robert Morgan

My mom handed this book off to read. I liked it, definitely didn't love it. It was written about a young couple at the turn of the 20th century, much like what the author envisioned of the relationship between his grandparents at that time. I personally have a hard time reading primitive writing. It was written as if Julie, the main character, were writing it. I tend to keep re-reading the same sentence a couple times thinking that I missed something. I thought it was kind of repetitive and a little anti-climatic.

I have succumbed now to reading the ever popular Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I now see what the fuss is about. Not that the book is a great literary masterpiece but it is very addicting. I'm not sure why. It is very easy reading (since it is written for the pre-teen/teen crowd) and strangely compelling. I think I will like it. Also, I will see the movie after I read it because I heard the special effects are kind of cool and I want to see what it is like. I don't see what the big deal about Rob Pattison is though. I don't find him very appealling. Now if they would have gone with their first pick (he was too old at 25 to fill the role of a teen and doesn't look like a teenager (that is for sure!!)) of Henry Cavill, I would have been in line drooling. Henry Cavill plays Charlie on The Tudors and even my husband thinks the man is too good looking. Click here for some Henry eye candy... :)

Some of my favorite combinations

These things are just very appealing to me and maybe they are to you too. We'll see...

* The color chocolate brown & any pastel (really with any color...)
* Blue jeans & a white T-shirt (I wear this way too often...)
* Lay's Kettle Cooked Original Potato Chips & Claussen Kosher Dill Pickles- I love it when the pickle juice gets into the chip. So yummy. My little one has also taken a shine to this combo. He 'dips' his chips into the pickle!
* Pretzels and M&M's
* Chocolate & peanut butter
* A medium-rare filet mignon & a really good glass of Cabernet
* Aged sharp cheddar cheese & my mouth (my favorite is Hook's 12 year but it is too expensive to buy for everyday)
* A Vienna hot dog (or corned beef) & Plochman's yellow mustard
* George & Brad & Matt (I love the Ocean movies)
* Blue cheese & a medium rare hand-patted hamburger
* Peanut butter & honey & strawberries
* Turquoise & red & lime
* Mixing LoWeR & uPpeR caSe LetteRs in eveRyday handwRiting
* The scents of grapefruit & lemongrass together (Dove makes a nice bodywash with these two)

I am sure there are more that I love but just haven't thought of yet.

Pretty Vegas Song Game

1. Put your iTunes on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Paperweight (Joshua Radin & Schuyler Fisk)
WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Miniature Disasters (KT Tunstall)
HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Warning Sign (Coldplay)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd)
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Forever My Friend (Ray LaMontagne)
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Lucky Bastard (Colin Hay)
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Madly (Tristan Prettyman)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Quinn the Eskimo (Bob Dylan)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Don’t Fade On Me (Tom Petty)
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Upside Down (Jack Johnson)
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Riot Radio (2005) (The Dead 60s)
WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Saboteur (Amon Tobin)
WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
My Generation (The Who)
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Are You the One? (The Presets)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Cross Road Blues (Robert Johnson)
WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
You Sexy Thing (Hot Chocolate)
HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Daughter (Pearl Jam) (Good thing I don't have a daughter...)
WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Best of You (Foo Fighters)
WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Breakin’ Up (Rilo Kiley)
WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Old News (Dr. Dog)
WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Free (G. Love)
DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
You Should Never Have Opened That Door (The Ramones)
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
New Age Girl (Deadeye Dick)
WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Colorful (Rocco DeLuca)
WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Pretty Vegas (INXS)

Isn't it funny how some of these actually fit as a response?!? :)

Nicole Googles Nicole...

Ok, here's how it works...go to Google and type your first name and then the rest of the question. Type the first thing that corresponds. These can get a little wild!

1. Google ''[your name] needs'':
Nicole needs a boob job. (Really…)
2. Google ''[your name] looks'':
Nicole looks good in my shirt- and out of it! (apparently I don’t NEED that boob job if I look good out of a shirt…)
3. Google ''[your name] likes'':
Nicole likes guys that look like they have no blood in em. (WTF??!?!?)
4. Google ''[your name] says'':
Nicole says, "Her heart was never in it with Brody.” (I assume they are talking about Brody Jenner and his model of the moment…)
5.Google "[your name] wants":
Nicole wants bigger boobs. (Again with the boobs!)
6. Google ''[your name] does'':
Nicole does the mom thing. (Yes I do.)
7. Google ''[your name] hates'':
Nicole hates her boobs. (I seriously think there is something wrong with this particular Nicole…)
8. Google ''[your name] can'':
Nicole can't stop. (although farther down there was ‘Nicole can’t flash her crotch.’)
9. Google ''[your name] goes'':
Nicole goes to prison. (Does it have something to do with the boobs and crotch flashing?)
10. Google ''[your name] is'':
Nicole is having a baby! (I’m not.)
11. Google ''[your name] loves'':
Nicole loves her Jamba Juice! (Believe it or not, I have never been to a Jamba Juice. I’m not really into that whole thing. Plus, there isn’t one for probably 100 miles…)

My conclusion is that I think Nicole Richie hates her boobs.

Let her eat chocolate!

I gave up sweets for Lent. It was easier then I anticipated. I didn't even eat granola bars or graham crackers. The only things I allowed my self were Honey Nut Chex cereal in the morning and honey roasted peanuts. If I was really craving something sweet I would eat some pineapple or yogurt (which I think has just as much sugar in it as some sweets). Well, yesterday I ate enough chocolate to make up for the 40 days that I didn't eat any. We went to brunch in the morning and I only had a graham cracker & strawberry dipped in the chocolate fountain after that when we got home... I didn't even eat dinner since I had eaten too much junk. Bad me. I am happy that I can eat it again though since I made my little pretzel yummies and am really looking forward to digging in!

On that note, let me please recommend a fantastic book that came out in paperback (with this great new cover) today by one of my favorite authors (and Facebook friend!), Sarah Addison Allen's The Sugar Queen. Read it. It is great!!

Weekly Culinary Adventures

What have I made lately... nothing outstanding that I have to get the recipe on here pronto. If you have been reading this blog you know that one of my goals this year was to make a new recipe once a week. At first I had a bad streak and then I had a few good ones in a row and the past 5 have been average. I made one 6 weeks ago that was really good and I am trying to figure out if I can do a pdf on a blog so I don't have to type it all out. So this is what I have made since the last culinary post:

Sage Crusted Pork Tenderloin with an Apple-Shallot Sauce from Cuisine at Home magazine (Dec 2008): This was excellent and it's the recipe I want to share. Even though I overcooked it, it was still great!

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta from Art Smith's Back to the Table: This is where everything went south. It was good not great. I think I used too much basil and it wasn't oily enough. It was pasty. Plus, AJ helped me make it- fun project for him but it may have been overprocessed too (see above).

Baked Ziti from the New Good Housekeeping Cookbook: When we were in Gainesville, FL in February, we ate at a place called Francesca's. Their Baked Ziti was so delish that I was craving it when we got home. Made this recipe- good not great. I look forward to Francesca's next time we are in G-ville!!

Mexican Chicken Mole from Cooking Light: This smelled fantastic in the beginning. Mmmmm! The way the tomatoes and chocolate aromas melded together... The shocking thing about this recipe was that it was made completely in the microwave. There, I believe, was my problem. I halved the recipe and the sauce burned because the length of time I had to cook the chicken stayed the same but the sauce cooking time would have had to been cut down. The chicken was still good just not the sauce. Such a shame because if I had 5 other people I had to cook for then this probably would have been fab.

Three Cheese Chicken & Penne Florentine from Cooking Light: This was good so here is the recipe. It was a nice casserole with good flavor. Add garlic though!

Easy Enchilada Casserole from the little Ortega Cookbook that you get in line at the supermarket: Not as good as I expected. I would much rather make regular enchiladas. There is a great recipe for Easy Chicken Enchiladas in that same cookbook as well as one of my all time favorites Tortilla Lasagna. I included the recipes for those instead for you! :)

Now I am up to date on recipes. I don't know what I am going to make yet this week!

How I know I live with a toddler (part 5)...

* I eat like a 5 year old 5 of the 7 days of the week. My diet consists of grilled cheese, mac & cheese (he doesn't even like this so why am I making it?), peanut butter & jelly and pizza.

* All the 'sticky' child locks that are supposed to last (they are $8 a piece!) have all failed (they have only been on the cabinets for less then 6 mos- c'mon!) from the constant tugging and I have had to resort to screwing them in. The screws almost went through the front of the cabinet door...

* There is always a tissue in one of the loads of laundry per week. Picking out tissue from all over your clothes is a pain in the junk trunk.

* Speaking of laundry... when it is folded neatly and in piles on the couch or in the basket it somehow always ends up not folded on the floor or the socks are pulled apart (that's fun) all over the living room.

* An entire box of cereal has been dumped out onto the kitchen floor and I have scooped it back up and eaten it. Good thing my floor was semi-clean.

* I have tried to give a time out in a shopping cart. No, it didn't work.

* The other day he unrolled an entire roll (yes, it was a new roll) of toilet paper and threw it in the garbage. At least we have moved on from the toilets...

* Yes, he is dumping the yellow dye out intentionally in the above picture. And, yes, it was a mess. But it could have been worse.

Book Review: Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich

I love Janet Evanovich. She's just plain funny. Her Stephanie Plum books are hilarious. I like the numbered Plum books so much better than the 'in between' numbers books. It is a series that you have to start with 'One for the Money' and work your way up. She's on 14 now I think. Anyway, in between her numbered books she has books that are 'holiday' based. This one was St. Patrick's Day which was ironic because I started it on St. Patrick's Day! She has this character 'Diesel' in all the in between books who I don't get (which I think is the point) and would much rather she stuck to Morelli and Ranger and forgot about Diesel all together. So for a super fast read, give it a shot. But read the number books first!

How I know I live with a toddler (part 4)...

* I find socks all over the place. His thing is going barefoot... even in the winter.

* He's the only one I take pictures of. I probably have a million.

* If I bagged up all the treats that have fallen into the cracks and on the floor of my car I would have a super value size bag of an eclectic party mix.

* I go to the bathroom with the door open. All the time.

* We lost the phone the yesterday because he was talking on it and then it was gone. It's battery is dead so we couldn't 'page' it and today he pulls it out of the pantry for another conversation! Sneaky little devil...

* All the rocks on my candle plate are in the nightstand drawer or in the linen closet.

* Our alarm clock's volume is either turned way down so we wake up an hour late or is so loud that it scares the bijimminies out of us. Or all the alarms are set to wake us up at 5:20, 6:00 and 6:30 on Sunday morning... Any way it is a rude awakening!

Book Review: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

I shouldn't have gone to see the movie while I was reading the book because I had absolutely no motivation to finish it because I knew what happened! The book was good but (and I never say this) I liked the movie better. I don't know if it was because I saw it first or that I really liked Helen Mirren in the role of Elinor or it had some comedy in it... Probably all three of these things. I think the book lacked comic relief which was appreciated in the movie and would have been in the book as well. It is a good read if you like Harry Potter and sci-fi/fantasy books but don't see the movie first! I do have the second book in the trilogy but I am not going to read it for awhile. My book now is just a fast, funny one from one of my favorite authors, Janet Evanovich.

30 Random Songs...

My girl, Mel, from Chicago Girl Gone Mild had this posted on her blog. Something fun- maybe you'll get some new songs out of it.

Put your ipod (MP3 player, whatever) or itunes on shuffle and what are the first 30 songs that come up...

1. Battleflag- Lo Fidelity All Stars (featuring Pigeonhead) Explicit lyrics but a really cool song!
2. We're Going To Be Friends- Jack Johnson A cover from the White Stripes for the Curious George movie
3. Icky Thump- The White Stripes
4. Wait- Get Set Go
5. Call Me- Blondie
6. I Can't Be (Demo)- The Ramones
7. I Remember You- The Ramones Two in a row? Really?
8. Downtown Line- Griffin House
9. No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature- The Guess Who
10. Evil (Is Going On)- Howlin' Wolf ??
11. All My Days- Alexi Murdoch
12. Take A Picture- Filter
13. Ocean Stone- Chris O'Brien I LOVE this song!! This would go on an 'All time favorites' list
14. (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man- Muddy Waters
15. Sir Duke- Stevie Wonder Stevie's my man!
16. The Obvious Child- Paul Simon
17. I Can See For Miles- The Who
18. Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk- Rufus Wainwright
19. Missed the Boat- Modest Mouse
20. Peaches- The Presidents of the United States
21. Good- Better Than Ezra BTE rocks!
22. And It Stoned Me- Van Morrison
23. I'm Shipping Up To Boston- Dropkick Murphys
24. Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle- Cake I like Cake. A LOT.
25. Little Green Bag- George Baker
26. Waiting For My Real Life To Begin- Colin Hay The dude from Men at Work!
27. Paperweight- Joshua Radin & Schuyler Fisk Schuyler is Sissy Spacek's daughter. Don't ask me how I know that. Cool, mellow song.
28. Forever My Friend- Ray LaMontagne
29. Breakin' Up- Rilo Kiley She is pretty cool. I like her.
30. Better Together- Jack Johnson

For as much Bob Dylan that I have on my ipod/itunes, I am very surprised he wasn't even in the top 50 in my shuffle... Weird. Yet The Ramones (I have, like, 30 songs in there by them) and Jack Johnson (about 30 songs again...) got hit twice. Out of 1300 songs that is what came up though!

Random bits...

I forgot to mention this in my last post: Frosting is not my favorite medium. It is very unpredictable and messy. Maybe I'm not doing it right. I don't know. Just to clear that up.

I was driving behind a Hummer this morning and noticed the bumper sticker: 'Your SUV is hurting MY Earth.' Hmmmmm. I'm not quite sure about this. Aren't Hummers the worst when it comes to pollution? They are major gas suckers, right? Just a little hypocritical, isn't it?

I want to have a giveaway... BUT I'm not sure I have enough readers of my blog. I'll make something that people will surely like... Cards? A neat necklace or bracelet? How about some delicious homemade cookies to go along with it? A fun CD? We'll see. Maybe I'll put the word out on Facebook and then all the people on my Friends list will respond. I'll let you enter even if you don't have a blog!! Guys can enter- I'm sure whatever nifty thing I make they can give to their wife, girlfriend or best friend. Come on people, you know I am creative, don't you want some of that? :) Leave me comments! What do you want? Keep it within reason, please!!

The Birthday Party!!

We had AJ's 2nd birthday party this morning. These were the details!

The birthday boy

The birthday party invitation. I drew, colored and cut out George and then added the balloons. Obviously Curious George was the theme...

I was trying to make the cupcakes look like George the best I could. Although they really don't look like George, at least they look like monkeys! The cake and frosting were both homemade. I gave up sweets for Lent... so I have no idea if they were any good or not! I didn't even lick the batter (or chocolate chip cookie dough) off my fingers.

I made a paper banner that I figured I'd use every year. The colors are masculine and neutral so it can be used for anyone.

The goodie bags included a CD mix of kids songs (mostly by They Might Be Giants, Barenaked Ladies, Jack Johnson & Lisa Loeb- music that I can tolerate as well!!) and Curious George masks that I made.

All in all it was a great birthday party. I was glad with all the little handmade details!

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde & Hoisin Pork with Snow Peas Stir Fry

Last night I made the Hoisin Pork with Snow Peas Stir-fry and it was great! I would have added a little chili garlic paste to give it an added kick and then it would have been perfect. The sauce consistency was excellent. This was a nice light and easy stir fry that I would make again. Click here for the recipe! I think you could easily substitute chicken, beef, tofu or shrimp if pork isn't your thing. Oh, and I made mine over rice not rice noodles. It pretty much looked like the picture!

I made these Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde last Saturday night and they were very good. The recipe is from Cooking Light and you can make them yourself by clicking here to get the recipe! They were super easy and didn't take long to make at all. Of course, my plate presentation wasn't quite like the picture above...

Book Review: Mary Had a Little Ham by Margie Palatini

This story was so cute! It is about a girl named Mary that has a pig, Stanley Snoutowski, who she knows is going to be a star! Stanley leaves Mary, his family and farm behind to find his way in the big city performing. He gets rejected and through his very encouraging friend, Mary, always gets back out there. It is a great book about the power of positive thinking, friendship and encouragement and self-esteem. It is a definite feel good book and teaches kids about not giving up.

Puppies! Puppies! Puppies! is out of print!

I can't believe this adorable book is out of print. Steve was at B&N yesterday and that's what they told him. Well, I found it on Amazon in an 'imperfect' lot at an overstock marketplace shop. And it was cheap! So my dog loving little boy won't have to go without this book.

Book Review: Puppies! Puppies! Puppies! by Susan Meyers

I am only going to review children's books that I truly love- this one- ADORABLE! You could insert the word 'babies' for puppies and it would still mostly make sense. I have to give a shout out to David Walker, the illustrator, for his simply too cute for words acrylic paintings. This little pooch in the left bottom corner is so sweet! Keeps even the most distracted kid focused if they like dogs. My guy loves dogs so we will be adding this book to our personal library. Again, AJ found this while pulling random books off the shelves at the library. Good pick, AJ!

How I know I live with a toddler (part 3)...

* I have to lock the bathroom door now and open it with a chopstick to prevent him from throwing anything else in the toilet.
* My husband said that his Xbox is going to melt if it is on all day because the little one was playing with it. (Is this true??? I have no idea!!)
* The pan lids are being used as cymbals.
* I have a headache from the cymbals.
* My husband has a headache after talking on the phone with me for 2 minutes while there is cymbal playing in the background.
* I have to check the garbage cans to make sure he didn't throw away anything he shouldn't have.
* The garbage can in his room is on top of the dresser to make sure I don't have to pick through poop to find something that he shouldn't have thrown away.
* There are shreds of napkin, tissues and toilet paper all over the house (see picture above for evidentiary support).
* Every time he toots (especially during a diaper change) it is as if he heard the funniest thing on the planet and cracks up. Which in turn, makes me crack up, which continues the cycle. What? His laughter is contagious! :)

New Design #3

I'll do this one in many colors but this is one of my favorites!

99 Things...

Saw this on melissahead yabberings and since you know how much I love these you can stop emailing them to me and just refer to this blog entry... :)

1. Started your own blog- 3!
2. Slept under the stars- on a boat named Equinitimas in the Caribbean
3. Played in a band- grade school band? I played (faked is probably a better word) French horn.
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland - I've been to Disneyworld
8. Climbed a mountain- hiked a mountain?
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo- in 7th grade- Almost Paradise from Footloose. Well, it was a duet but I sang some of it solo.
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea- on a boat named Equinitimas in the Caribbean
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch- Maybe. I'm not sure.
15. Adopted a child- best thing that has ever happened to me!!!
16. Had food poisoning- on vacation in San Diego! :(
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight- did a perverse guy come up with this? ;)
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise- it depends on how you define cruise...
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors- besides my mom and grandparents (Chippewa Falls, WI), no.
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - I'm satisfied with what I have now
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke- horribly
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant- it was easy at the restaurant we owned!
44. Visited Africa- would love to!
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted- caricatured?
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check- not intentionally!
68. Flown in a helicopter- see #4
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy. Oh, Butterbear!
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial- it is truly AMAZING!
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book - not yet!
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House- I stood ouside when we were there in '05, it wasn't open yet for tours since 9/11
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating- this comment sounds gruesome but does a fish count?
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous- how about before they became famous? Otherwise I think I have met some sports stars...
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Spinach Lasagna- DELISH!

I made this spinach lasagna (click for recipe) tonight and it was fantastic! And it was light! After 5 not so great recipes I was getting discouraged. Don't let the odd ingredients fool you. I did add some garlic to the saute and added more mozzarella cheese. I have had it in my file for 11+ years and have never made it until tonight but I will definitely make it again!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had lots of Valentine's Day cards to send! AJ got to work on it last Saturday night by fingerpainting the owls (but we didn't know that they would be owls yet!). I cut out the owl bodies from the finger painted creations, wings from a double-sided piece of patterned paper and beaks from orange ribbon. We used black buttons for the eyes and there is a glittered pink heart in the corner. I put some glue down and AJ put the wings, beaks and eyes in place (or off place, however you look at it). He lost interest after about 5 (not the five pictured above) so I made the rest. Inside it says, "Whooooo loves you? I do! I do! Owl love you owlways! Happy Valentine's Day!" The only thing I wish were different is that I used a different piece of his artwork for the wings. I thought they were cute anyway! :)

Valentine Yummies Recipe

Since I keep raving about these super simple yummies, ya wanna know how to make them? It's EASY!

All you need is:

*Pretzels (rings or tiny twists)

*Hershey Kisses (in any flavor- I used milk chocolate and cookies 'n' creme)

*M&Ms

*A cookie sheet, parchment paper and a 200 degree oven, pre-heated

Place the pretzels on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Put a Kiss in the middle of the twist or ring. Put them in the oven for 5-10 minutes (until the chocolate looks melted and has a glossy sheen. The brown chocolate takes longer than white.). Take them out of the oven and press a M&M in the middle (M down). Let them cool on the parchment on the counter or if you are in a rush in the fridge. Enjoy!

This is a great project to do for any holiday with kids of any age.

Culinary Adventures

Well, my mission of making a new recipe once a week is going fine, except for the fact that every dinner I have made I wouldn't make again! So far I have made 5 dinners and 1 dessert (the Valentine yummies which you won't be able to stop me from making again- delish!). I am making my 6th dinner tonight (I missed a week when we were in FL).

1.) Lasagne Soup from Cuisine's Splendid Soups. Steve is a vegetarian so I eliminated the Italian sausage from the recipe. That must have been where all the flavor was. It still had some great ingredients in it- spinach, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, mozzarella cheese... but it lacked seasoning and flavor.
2.) Chicken Pasta Mexicana from allrecipes.com. I renamed it. It was called chicken macaroni casserole. I tweaked it A LOT. Added salsa, sauteed onions, etc. Steve wanted a Mexican pasta casserole and I couldn't find one in any of my books or on the internet. So I used a base recipe and made it Mexican. I probably would make this again with futher tweaking.
3.) Baked Potato Soup from The Big Book of Soups and Stews. Blach. It was gross. I didn't even finish my bowl. Forget about the leftovers- they went down the drain.
4.) Buffalo Chicken and Potato Casserole from the little book called Casseroles that I got in the checkout lane at the grocery store. The chicken was good. The potatoes never cooked! I had it in there 45 minutes past the original time to try to cook the potatoes. Grrrr. The chicken had a butter and cornflake topping that was good though. The potatoes went in the garbage and the chicken went on a salad.
5.) Macaroni and Cheese from Art Smith's Back to the Table. The cheese never got 'saucy' and it lacked the cheesy flavor that you get from a box of the processed stuff. It said for kids to make it with American and cheddar and for adults you could make it with just cheddar. I will try it again and use American and maybe a different recipe. He is (was? I don't know anymore. He was when I bought the book an eon ago.) the chef for Oprah so I honestly thought it would rock. Very disappointed.

Tonight I am making Spinach Lasagne that I cut out from Cooking Light. We'll see how this turns out. I do have a lasagne recipe that I made up that is fabulous! I always want to make that one instead of trying out a new one. It is definitely one of my signature dishes.

So when a recipe goes awry what do you do with the food? Doesn't it feel like such a waste to just pitch it? One thing I do know- it is getting expensive!

Valentine yummies

I made these little pretzel heart buttons last Friday night (and a couple days later with my niece and nephew and again this afternoon...). One of my favorite combinations is pretzels and M&Ms. I picked up the idea from The Crafty Crow (who got it from Enamor) which has a collection of great crafts to make with kids! And she posts almost everyday! Anyway, those little tasty morsels reminded me so much of the vintage button ring that I bought from Miss Nikki over at WhiMSy love. So I just had to snap a picture (which actually proved to be quite difficult as I had my hand in the picture and was trying to take it with my massive camera with just my left (not dominate) hand)!

Inkheart

I'm reading the book Inkheart right now and while we were in Florida last week we wanted to go see a movie. Steve wanted to see Valkyrie and I didn't. Is Tom Cruise right for that role? No way. If you ask me, he just got weird after Jerry Maguire. So Steve and I went to see different movies at the same time. I couldn't decide on anything at that theater so I went to see Inkheart. I was only 65 pages into the book but went to see it anyway. I don't like when I do that but it was a pretty good movie. The beginning of the movie was nothing like the beginning of the book. There is a lot more humor and comic relief in the movie which made the movie better. The book is dark. And it is a 'children's book'. Harry Potter-esque. I read something else by Cornelia Funke and enjoyed it enough. This book has a lot more depth and adventure than The Thief Lord. Everyone in the movie had a British accent and I couldn't quite figure out how Brendan Fraser was cast. He was fine in it but he didn't talk with a fake accent yet his daughter had one... All in all it was an entertaining movie and I would recommend it to anyone that liked Harry Potter.

Buddha hand

Have you ever seen one of these?? It's called a Buddha Hand. I saw it at the grocery store and wondered what it was. I asked a couple of other shoppers and then they were curious as well. The produce guys told me it was like a lemon so I bought with the intention of coming home and googling it and making something with it. That was last Friday. I googled it and found that basically you can either make candied peels, flavored liquor or use the zest in many creations as you would a lemon. It doesn't have the bitter pith that a lemon does and it basically has no flesh so you can use the whole thing. My mom (she's into the culinary thing) came on Sunday and I didn't want to make anything with it until she got a look at the weird beast. We cut off some of it and chewed on it. By Sunday night it was starting to look pretty sorry. The skin just got all tough looking and it dwindled fast after that. I don't think I'll make anything with it since it looks so pathetic now! It is a bummer too because I was going to make the candied peels and bring them back to the grocery store and let the produce employees try it. None of them had the guts to do it because it looked like a corpse's hand. Oh well. It provided a nice eye sore to our kitchen while it lasted! :)

(A side note I started this post on Sunday, Feb 8th but didn't really write it until Thursday the 12th)

26 Random Things About Me

Chicago Girl Gone Mild had a cute post on her blog called '25 Random Things About Me' and I thought I would follow suit... except I am doing 26. So here goes:

1. Steve is a great husband even when I nag him. We are a perfect fit and I couldn't have asked for a better guy. I love him like crazy. That's not really random is it? That I love my husband like crazy? How about I knew after 2 months (essentially 3 dates since we were long distance) that I was going to be with him forever.

2. I loved my major (Health Promotion/Wellness) in college and I think it made me a more well rounded person, but as far as 'career prep' I think it was a waste of time. Although, I've never really wanted a career anyway.

3. I find working out to be a chore and don't like doing it at all. I do, however, admit that I like the way it makes me feel. I only do it because I am terrified of getting really fat.

4. I make handmade cards, yes, but sometimes I just want to buy them instead. I feel guilty sending a bought card to someone and think that they are disappointed when they receive it.

5. I really love that I am creative and artistic. Thanks mom and dad for those genes! :)

6. I think I may be a bit (ok, a little more than a bit) of a compulsive (and impulsive) shopper. I have a lot of crap that I don't need nor really want.

7. I am an organized messy person. Translation: I know where everything is in my gigantic mess.

8. I hate when the house isn't clean and someone stops by. I clean pretty much for everybody (with the exception of my studio) even if they are going to be here in 10 mins, just for a minute. I pick up most rooms. Even if it does all just get shoved in drawers, closets, etc.

9. I really like planning the party but I don't like the actual party as much.

10. I suck at interior design and picking out and arranging furniture.

11. People think that I know a lot about wine but I really don't. I know what I like and don't like and can pick out some key taste notes but that's about it. I'll tell you one thing though- I really like a medium rare filet and a good cabernet. When the two tastes melt together... mmmmmm.

12. I am truly addicted to paper. It doesn't matter that I don't scrapbook, I have to have it if I really like it. I have TONS of scrapbooking papers. My studio is like a store.

13. I like cheesy teen movies. I don't know why- they are really dumb.

14. England, Italy and Africa are on top of my list of places to go. Steve will definitely go to England & Italy with me but says no way to Africa.

15. I'm not a very good driver but I am much better than I used to be and I think I am better than the other people on the road.

16. I like really dark beer. If it has notes of chocolate- even better!

17. I don't like frosting or whipped cream or white chocolate.

18. I look forward to getting the mail everyday.

19. I have been to (spent the entire day in or spent the night) 24 states plus DC, lived in 3 states, been to more than a dozen islands and will add my 25th state (Massachusettes) to my list in May.

20. The feel of paper bags and construction paper give me goosebumps. Even just thinking about it. I have goosebumps right now!

21. My favorite place is Lutsen, Minnesota. I love Lake Superior. Even though I have only been to Lake Tahoe once, it is probably my second favorite place.

22. I like cold weather better than hot weather because you can always put more clothes on- there are only so many you can take off and you are still hot!

23. When people use double negatives and incorrect spelling it drives me nuts. Sorry, but it's true.

24. I remember a lot of things (like people's phone numbers, names, faces, addresses, memories, etc.) but I can't remember history, religion or geography. I think Steve is sometimes disappointed when I don't know major historical moments. He is incredibly smart when it comes to history. On the other hand, he has a hard time remembering the things I do. One more reason why we are a perfect fit!

25. I have always wanted to develop my own font. Artistic typefaces fascinate me. I have over 5000 fonts on my computer.

26. I didn't light a match until I was 18 and I only have lit a lighter (except for the long wand kind) once if ever. Fire too close to me freaks me out!

Book Review: The Appeal by John Grisham

Frankly, this book just pissed me off. It made me so angry about they way 'big money' can buy their way anywhere. In this particular book, it was a seat on a state supreme court.

There wasn't a lot of character development or warmth. I didn't particularly like anyone in the book. Pretty one dimensional. I despised Carl Treadeau, especially at the end. The ending left a bad taste in my mouth.

I asked Steve if he wanted to read it after me (when I had first started) and he said no. 'All of his books are pretty much the same, the main character (the lawyer) is either evil or a saint.' He's right. I have read plenty of Grisham's books and only liked 4 of them: A Time to Kill, The Testament, The King of Torts and The Painted House (which was about baseball, not law). So why did I continue reading this book? Because I was hoping the evil dude would get screwed. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Book Review: The Lemon Sisters by Andrea Cheng

This is a children's picture book, just so you know. AJ & I were at the library and I let him go down the aisle and pick out a bunch of books (basically whatever he pulls off the shelf) and this one was in the last batch. This book is SO sweet that I almost cried. It's about an old woman watching 3 little neighbor girls playing in the snow and she reminisces about her 2 sisters. I don't want to give the story away.... So next time you are at the library (or at a bookstore- you can read it in 5 minutes or less), pick up a copy! I think I may buy this one for my library just as a feel good book. Steve even liked it (he actually listened which doesn't usually happen)! An enthusiastic thumbs up!

The Ellipsis...

Have you noticed that I am a fan of the ellipsis? You know the ...? Always have been. Don't know why...

How I know I live with a toddler (part 2)...

* I find paper plates and various other items in the dishwasher.
* The candles on my candelabra are all upside down
* A bunch of my books have teeth marks on them
* I found the block basket liner, his toy tools, and teddy grahams in the toilet. It's something new everyday...
* I ask him not to throw the washcloths in the garbage so he throws them in the toilet. (Do you think my kid has a fascination with the toilet? I think I need some lid locks...)
* I find dirty spoons (always the first thing to run out in the cutlery drawer) in random drawers AFTER the dishes have been washed.
* The strainer is the most fun toy in the house
* Every phone conversation is met with beeps and 'Hello? Are you still there?'
* I can't get anything done...
* No means yes and yes means yes.

So I am eliminating some...

You know how I said I watched way too much TV? Well, I am eliminating some. I'm just not going to waste my time watching a few of the shows that I don't like so much: My Name is Earl, Ugly Betty, Reaper and Secret Life of the American Teenager to name just a few. I forgot to DVR Earl on Thurs- oh well!, Ugly Betty got deleted before it was watched- oh well!, Reaper doesn't start until March- haven't missed it- oh well! and SLotAT's acting (and plot- 2 15 year olds getting married? Whatever!) is just plain bad. Except for Miss Molly Ringwald and John Schneider (c'mon, it's Bo Duke!), I don't know why I ever watched the show to begin with. Molly Ringwald reminds me so much of my friend, Marci. It's almost like I'm watching her on the screen. I started watching that in the summer when there wasn't a lot on.

I am, however, adding a show or 2 on to my schedule to see if they are any good... United States of Tara premieres on SHO tonite and I thought 'What the heck? I'll give that a shot.' Toni Colette is in it. She's pretty good. She has multiple personalities disorder. May be funny. We'll see tonite...

FNL was good on Friday but I wish last season's last show was shown the week before (and it could've been and I didn't notice but I don't think so). I missed some things b/c I couldn't remember all the way back to January...

Friday Night Lights

I have been waiting and waiting for Friday Night Lights to come back on the air. It is one of my all time favorite shows. The acting and story lines are terrific (not to mention (I am actually mentioning it though...) the abs on Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch). He's hot.) To save the critics' darling (a major reason why Matt Roush & I are TV soulmates), Direct TV struck some kind of deal with NBC to air the season in the fall and NBC would air it in the winter/spring. None of my friends watch the show that I know of, except for my buddy, Joe. And he has Direct TV. So he watched the season finale on Wednesday and I am watching the season premiere tonight. He called me yesterday for no other reason then to say 'Enjoy the season. It's a good one.' I tried to ask him questions but he didn't want to spoil it for me which I appreciated. I will relish every Friday night watching FNL (and Psych too which is pretty darn funny- especially for my age set b/c there are a lot of references to our childhood years)!

My friend, Kendra, was telling me one day recently that she always wanted to have a rock band in HS (even though she didn't play an instrument or sing) just to name it Fuzzy Wallpaper. I told her she should name her blog that...

I just received a call from our local grocery store's wine department... I can get my wine on! I had asked if they carried a particular wine a couple of weeks ago b/c I didn't see it on the shelf and the woman behind the counter didn't know but told me to leave a note for the manager with my phone number and the name of the wine. Apparently there were several bottles on the shelf and I just didn't see them. They have it though and I can go get myself (oh, I'll share it with the hubby) a couple of bottles. I wrote it down on our white board calendar about 9 mos ago when we had tried it (Five Rivers Cabernet) and if I wrote it down, I guess I liked it. Watch, I'll buy a couple bottles and it'll be awful. Your memory (drunk, probably) of a wine is always better than the actual wine. This has happened to us time and time again. We went to Wine, Cheese & All That Jazz (a local event) that is basically a wine tasting party (really fun too!) and we ordered a half case of 2 different wines. Much better that night than they actually are. They were 2 of the last wines we tried and we had tried quite a few by then. Everything tastes good then. Except in the case of Jordan Cabernet or Chardonnay. Then it is always good. :)

Well I must have eagle ears (do eagles have ears?)... I just heard my cell phone beep (low battery) from my office behind a closed door which was buried in my diaper bag in the coat closet near the garage. Go figure.

Okay, enough random babbling. I need to get an order finished.

2009 Mantra

Melissa at Operation NICE asked us to do a mantra for 2009 a while back (like January 1st). I thought and thought about it but couldn't narrow down and focus on one (maybe my mantra should have been Focus??? :D). Finally, yesterday I thought of the mantra that I want: Be Kind. Rewind. I know it is a movie title and it was on every VHS tape that you rented from the video store (I worked in a video store for 3 years in HS!) but it doesn't so much mean that. Actually it does. I can have a short fuse and so I have to remember to be kind and rewind. It's just a way to calm down before doing something I might regret. And everyone can strive to be a little (or a lot) kinder.

How I (and everybody else too) know I live with a toddler...

* My bathroom sinks are filled with clean, dry washcloths.

* Toilet paper finds its way all over the place (it is so much fun to unroll!).

* I have mysterious things in my toilets- one day socks, another day the whole roll of tp, etc...

* There are fingerprints all over every mirror, TV, window and glass thing in the house.

* The dishes in the dishwasher have been cleaned and recleaned and recleaned again b/c he keeps pushing the start button.

* Nothing breakable or of any value is lower than 5 feet.

* I hear 'uh-oh!' A LOT.

* My kitchen/dining room wood floors will need a sander to get the thick layer of food off of them.

* The kitchen pantry is always 'reorganized'.

* I can't see most of the basement floor because it is covered in toys.

* I have chocolate on almost every article of clothing I own. The pieces that don't, I haven't worn in two years.

* I tack on at least another $50 to the Sam's Club bill buying diapers and wipes.

New Designs #1 & #2

#2 Owl Love (the patterned paper owls are inspired by Nikki from WhiMSy love. Normally, I would have done them on plain paper but she inspires me to break out a little more. She's an Owlie girl- check out her totally cute owlies on her site! Thanks Nikki! :) )

#1 Moonbaby (Moonbaby was my CB handle in HS! I know you are probably thinking 'Wow, she had a handle? What a dork!' I ran with all the crowds... :) )

#1 and #2 done for '15 designs for MPM' from my list of 2009 goals and aspirations! It's a start and it's only January 10th! Only 13 more to design...

A LOT of TV...

Some people know this about me, but I watch A LOT of TV. I don't know when I watch it (because I am usually in my office when it is on) but the DVR is on overload. I should probably get a job with TV Guide because I watch so much. Matt Roush (Critic for TV Guide) and I are TV soulmates. I tend to agree with most of the shows that he raves/rants about. I really like 'smart' comedies- huge fan of Arrested Development (can't wait for the movie- woohoo!). But a lot of the TV I get into is also pure drivel. I don't know why I bother to watch some shows anymore. I like a decent drama. I love HBO/SHO. I got really into True Blood. It is fantastic! Definitely one of my new favorite shows. Fall is not only my favorite time of the year because of the weather, fall leaves, apples and football, but also the new TV shows. I anxiously wait every Tuesday for the mail to come for my issue of TV Guide. It is the only magazine I read cover to cover. Because of the writers strike, the hot time for TV is mid season this year. Which means NOW. I have to make my list strategically of what I am going to DVR and what I am going to watch online (since not all shows are offered). It is really insane. Monday nights are just as good (if not better) than Thursday nights. Sunday is awesome for HBO/SHO. So these are the shows that I am dying for to come back: Big Love, Flight of the Conchords, Scrubs (thank you ABC for picking it up!), Lost, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!! (one of my all time faves!) and Psych.

There are plenty of shows that I don't like to admit to watching like Gossip Girl (although it is SO addictive and Chace Crawford is SOOOO hot), True Beauty (I am not crazy about reality shows esp. b/c of the bickering and the fact that so many of the 'contestants' think they are so much better than most people), The Hills (yes, I watch it), The City, Bromance (shoot me now) and Secret Diary of a Call Girl (does that make me a bad person? Is that considered borderline porn? There isn't a lot of nudity in it, sex yes, nudity no. It really is fascinating...)

I know all the characters of all the shows that I watch. Like we'll take Desmond Harrington for example. Most of you are probably like, who? He is a supporting character. He popped up as Uncle Jack on Gossip Girl the other day and I racked my brain going through all the TV shows I have watched past and present to figure out what other show he was in. Aha! Dexter. He played Det. Quinn. It's the little things.

Shows I totally dig:
* New Adventures of Old Christine * Lost * Scrubs * Grey's Anatomy * Entourage * Bones * 30 Rock * Dexter * The Office * True Blood * Flight of the Conchords * Big Love * Samantha Who? * ER * How I Met Your Mother * Brothers & Sisters * Psych * Friday Night Lights * Desperate Housewives * Gossip Girl * Secret Diary of a Call Girl * Chuck * Greek * So You Think You Can Dance * My Boys *

Shows I still watch even though I am not head over heels for:
* Privileged * Reaper * Ugly Betty * My Name is Earl * Dancing with the Stars * Secret Life of the American Teenager * True Beauty * The Hills * The City * Bromance *

Isn't that A LOT of TV? When am I watching it? I still spend plenty of time blogging, reading others' blogs, working (if you can call what I do work) or rather creating, cooking, cleaning, spending time with AJ and Steve... I don't know. Call me crazy, call me a nut, call me anything you want, but don't call me late for the boob tube! Insane in the membrane!

Missing Cosmo...

Sometimes I just miss Cosmo. Right now, I really do. He was a good dog and a good friend.

2009 Goals and Aspirations

I am not going to say that I have 'resolutions' exactly, more like goals, which I guess are pretty much the same thing. They are quite attainable so I am not likely to get to much off track.

* 15 new card designs for My Pepita's Magic * read 15 novels (I usually read 25-30 but I thought I would aim low since I am already reading one (The Appeal by John Grisham) that'll take awhile b/c it's not really a page turner...) * try a new recipe once a week (I will have tried 52 new things by the end of the year!) * go to church at least 2 Sundays a month (that should be a given but AJ can be such a distraction) * make one silver jewelry piece * clean out the storage room * throw a really awesome fairy party * build a fairy house in the woods behind our house * paint my new office, the downstairs bathroom, the basement and AJ's room * hang our artwork * try one felted project * keep up with my 3 blogs * do one scrapbook * and do something a little rock star... *

Of course it would be great to say work out or eat better or save money or whatever the normal things are but I really want goals that I am actually going to do!

Book Review: The Last Summer (of You & Me) by Ann Brashares

I liked this book. It was hard for me to put down (a problem for me as of late). Ann Brashares wrote The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series which I thoroughly enjoyed even though they were written for teenagers. The Last Summer however was written for adults and it would have been a great book to read on the beach while drinking a margarita but alas I read it when the snow was 2 feet deep and the closest beach is light years away. It is a book of young love and tragedy, a story of friendship and betrayal. Very poignant and thought provoking. Her writing style is poetic and prose-like. It is unfortunate that it had to end.

Celebrating old friends

I forgot one moment of 2008 to celebrate... I reconnected with a friend from my high school days. I haven't seen or talked to him in 15 years! I had been looking for him for about 5 years but since he didn't go to the same high school as me, he graduated 3 years before me and he hasn't had a land line in quite a few years I would get old listings but not new ones. Finally I caught a glimpse of an old post (9 years old!) on reunion.com (you have to pay to see the listing but I could see a little bit of his post) that said he was working at a place in Lincolnshire, IL. I called the place and I was connected to his voice mail. I could not believe my luck! So I left a message and he called me back soon after that. He also said he had been looking for me as well! My parents had moved (out of state) from the house that I grew up in and I changed my name when I got married so I could see how it would be difficult.

When he was in college he used to write funny poems to me every month and I came across some of them which was why I wanted to look one more time. I'm so glad I did. We had fun remembering the good times we had together. He is a very talented musician and photographer (a sorta new hobby). So now we email here and there. So JLF, here's to you (I am raising my glass of Cabernet) and I hope we stay connected!