Blonde Moment #387

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

It's been a while since I've told you any of my ridiculous stories. I was going along being normal for so long that I forgot what it's like to pull an Angie. Thankfully I remedied that situation and once again have a reason to laugh at myself...

Yesterday I was jonesing for some Thai food and our normal Thai place was closed, so I ordered takeout over the phone from another restaurant that I've been to before but don't frequent as much. I drove to the place when my food was going to be ready. This restaurant is in a little strip mall, so I park in front and walk to the door. I have to walk a little farther than I thought I had to, but think that I must have just misjudged my choice of parking spots. I walk in, look around, and notice the decor consists of bright blues, reds, oranges, and yellows. We're talking vibrant colors here. Odd, I think, but I just assume they changed the look. Then I see the "specials" board advertising soft tacos. Our normal Thai place randomly also sells fish & chips, so I don't think too much of this Thai restaurant selling soft tacos. There's no one at the front counter, so I have time to look around some more and notice a painting on the front door (that I had just walked through), which says "Felize Navidad". I literally thought, "Wow, how multicultural of them". It wasn't until I was approached by a Mexican server that I realized I was not in the right restaurant. I was so turned around and baffled by my loss of reality that I actually had to ask for directions to the Thai place.

Granted, I did have some impetus for my blond moment. As I had been parking, I was doing a semi-terrible job of it and a couple of guys stopped on the sidewalk to gawk at me. No joke. Feeling slightly embarrassed that anyone had seen me make such a mess out of a simple parking job, I got out of the car and just started walking. I somehow was following the guys who stopped and was desperately hoping that we weren't going to end up in the same place. Unfortunately, I just followed them right into their restaurant, completely bypassing mine. I was definitely groaning inside when I realized we both needed to go to the same place. And then I just made an even bigger ass of myself and ended up looking like I was trailing them on purpose when I suddenly made a mad dash for the door after having to ask for directions to the restaurant RIGHT NEXT DOOR.

Don't you wish you were me?

Snowflake Saturdays

Saturday, December 20, 2008

I have been thoroughly chastised for not updating my blog in a while. I do apologize to those of you who are upset with me. I haven't done anything stupid or funny or ridiculous for the past few weeks and didn't want to make something up for the sake of my readers. So instead, today I bring you pictures of my all day project-- paper snowflakes! Jess and I started making them this morning and somehow just kept on going. We did 55 in all, and have them covering every window in our place. Um yeah, so maybe we did go a bit overboard. But what else is a person to do when they are snowed in?!

Here's some of our handiwork. You can click on any of the pictures to see more.

Awesomeness

Sunday, December 7, 2008

I got some distressing news on Friday and my friend Joel sent me this video to cheer me up. I laughed a lot while watching it. I'm posting it because it's hilarious, but I'm going to make the disclaimer that it does have an F-bomb in it and some suggestive phrases. I don't care about that, but I know some of my readers do so I wanted to make sure you didn't watch it if you were going to be offended.

Johnson Kids

Monday, December 1, 2008

This past weekend I went to the house of one of my coworkers to take some pictures of her kids for her Christmas card. Doesn't she have gorgeous kids!

A-Z Thankful List

Friday, November 28, 2008

So my friend Vicky did this on her blog (which was inspired by one of her friends) and I liked the idea so much that I had to copy it. It's a little late, but I didn't see the post until yesterday. Here goes...

Art supplies

I love creating. Painting, sketching, crafting. I love visual representation of people's ideas. That's why it would be very hard for me to live without my art supplies.

Books

I read all the time. The perfect day for me would be hours upon hours of reading. I couldn't live without books in my life. During one particular 6 month period in 2005, I read 170 books. I was in a job that basically gave me a ton of down time to do what I wanted and the best way to occupy myself was to bring along a book. I read almost one a day during that period

Camera

I think it's pretty obvious by now that I like to take pictures. It would be impossible to overstate the joy it gives me to see God's world through the lens of a camera.

Drama-free living

Drama sucks. I will not get pulled into it and consciously live my life in a way that has no room for it. I surround myself with people who act the same way and have very much purposefully removed sources of drama from my life. There is no need for it and I will not allow myself to participate in it.

Etsy

I love checking out what people are making these days by logging onto etsy.com. I get inspired by their creativity and enjoy the eye candy.

Family

They're great. 'nuff said.

Google

I've been known to say that if I could marry Google, I would. I love their search capabilities, maps, documents, notebooks, and most of all Gmail! I ADORE all things Google!

Honeycrisp apples

Ever since March, I have been eating an apple a day. I used to hate apples but forced myself to eat them since they kept coming to us in our box of produce from the farm. I quickly learned to love them and when the honeycrisps came into season late August, I have been eating them solely. I refuse to compromise and will pay the extra amount of money for the bestest apple in the world! Jess and I have actually gone through an entire box of "seconds" from an apple farm and are starting on the second box. I don't know how I'll survive when they are gone!

Inauguration

I think I've mentioned this here and here.

Jess

The best roommie a girl could ask for. We're on our 7th year together and have our routines down perfectly. I don't know how we'll survive when we surely move apart some day.

Kitchen

I think I have made it abundantly clear that I love to cook. LOVE to cook. I would be super sad if I didn't have a kitchen to make everything in.

Laptop

It's where the magic happens. Emailing, editing photos, researching recipes, blogging. My little lappy and I are great friends.

Mochas

I love coffee. Mochas or a caramel latte are my usuals. I always have to do decaf though because my body doesn't handle caffeine well. And I always get an 8 oz, which is so small that most places (including Starbucks) don't even have it as an option on their menu. Those of us in the know however, order these little cups of heaven that are just the perfect size. Strong, bold flavor.

Nissan Sentra

My car, Arnold. He is currently in the shop (bad fuel pump) and I have been driving my dad's car for a week now. I really truly miss Arnie. He's the cutest and most reliable man I've got in my life right now. We'll be reunited on Sunday and I'm counting down the days!

Obama

Is it ok that I used him earlier for Inauguration? Because I really am that excited about him. I'm sorry if I keep talking about him, but he's totally my President crush.

Photoshop

I have basically taught myself Photoshop. I edit photos with it and have recently experimented with designing various print forms. I made my Christmas cards with it and will be sharing those with you soon.

Quips

I like to be funny. I like people who are funny too.

Red

A wonderful color. Maybe my favorite right now? I can't be sure. But it makes me happy to have red around me.

Singledom

It really is a blessing to be able to do what I want when I want. I am loving this stage of my life and the abundant blessings there are associated with it. Don't get me wrong, I want the marriage and kids too, but I am reveling in the great place God has me at the moment.

Take Root Farm

I think I talk about "The Farm" way more than a person should. But I love it. Our weekly box of produce is such a treat.

Ugly Betty

This tv show is quirky, fun, and makes me sigh inside. I have recently stayed up late the past few nights catching up on it and adore the way Daniel and Betty interact. Seriously, I just sighed. Out loud.

Vocal cords

I don't know how many of you know this, but I love to sing. I did various choirs throughout high school and also helped lead worship at my church. I haven't really done anything with singing since then, but am thankful that my church has a long worship time so that I can sing to my heart's content. It does my soul good.

Work

I am blessed to have work. And moreso, a job that I like in a company that I like. Many people aren't so fortunate.

XML

This was a total stretch, but my blog uses XML for the template. So I guess I have to be thankful for it.

Youth Group

I help lead an awesome group of high school girls! My GO Girls Only Group is seriously some of the most fun I have every week. I love listening to them and hearing what's going on in their worlds. I love my girls!

Zany antics

I am all about spontaneity and doing stupidly dorky things. I will freely admit that I am a dork, but will maintain that I have more fun than someone who is on the more proper end of things. Really, why would someone want to behave all the time?

What. Are. The. Odds!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

So remember this post? The one just three days ago where I erroneously thought I woke up late? The one that made my heart start racing and my adrenaline flowing? The one I was so thankful was just a false alarm?

Well think again, because IT. REALLY. HAPPENED!!!

Yesterday morning I managed to sleep through not one, but two alarms! I always set two alarms (it's a system I have-- too long to explain) so that I am guaranteed to wake up. Apparently in my sleep I must have turned them off and not realized what I had done. I pried my eyes open a little after 6:20 and panicked when I saw that I had exactly 10 minutes until I had to leave. For the second time in several days, I jumped out of bed, running full speed around my room. I was almost doing laps in my haste to get ready. I decided to prioritize my needs and firmly believed a shower was in order. Again, the hair wasn't looking so hot. Generally it doesn't.

I will gladly announce here that I am quite proud of myself for being damn good at getting ready under pressure. I managed to take a shower, get dressed, brush my teeth, do my hair (minus drying it, which would have taken 20 minutes itself-- no joke) grab my lunch and breakfast for the road in UNDER 10 MINUTES! Yes people, I am good.

However, to be fair, one of my friends pointed out that this success may not count because I had a practice run just a couple days prior. I still maintain though that I did an excellent job. I may have known to not waste time throwing off my pajamas and putting them back on before exiting my room, but that small advantage didn't gain me more than a minute. I would have still been right at 10 minutes even with that penalty time added.

You may applaud now. I know you're dying to.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Framed Flowers

Sunday, November 23, 2008

I just found these in a random folder on my computer. Since the days of copious amounts of free flowers from The Farm are long gone for us, I thought I would share these to make the time until next summer a little more bearable. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE fall, I just wish we could still have fresh flowers every week. Where's a boy to bring me some when I need them?

Pico De Gallo

I know I'm getting a little wild with the posts this weekend. Is this my 5th? 6th? I don't know, but I don't care. I'm making up for the weeks of silence from me. I don't know why I didn't write to you all, I just didn't do it. But I'm back now. And wanting to grace you with a simple delicious dish that should make you long for days of picking cilantro at The Farm. Oh wait, that's me.

Anyway, pico de gallo is all things I love, especially the lime and cilantro combination. Seriously makes my mouth do a happy dance when those flavors hit it. If I ever ate this while doing my jog-walk, you'd better watch out. I might just win every talent show you've ever seen.

This recipe is extremely forgiving. I have adopted it as my own from a conglomeration of several recipes. No need to be exact by any means. It is great as a sala for chips, on eggs for breakfast, or with any sort of Mexican food. Or really any food for that matter.

Pico de Gallo
Typically, you can just use one part tomatoes (seeded) to one part onion to one part cilantro. Throw in some minced jalapeno and juice from a lime and you're done. Chill for several hours in the fridge for even better flavor. Or, if you're like me, dig right in because you're too impatient.

10 Roma tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 bunch cilantro
1/2-1 jalapeno
1 small lime, juiced

Cut each tomato in half widthwise. You will need to get rid of all of the seeds (my favorite part of the recipe). Just stick your finger in the hole where the seeds are and they will squirt out. Make sure you're wearing an apron or are very careful to not squirt yourself. After seeding the tomatoes, finely chop and set in a bowl.

Finely chop the onion and add to the tomatos. Cut the cilantro leaves from the stems and roughly chop, adding to the bowl. Seed and chop the jalapeno (you may want to wear gloves to prevent the oils from making your hands burn) and add to the bowl with the lime juice. Stir, and you're done! Chill 2-4 hours for best flavor.

Meatloaf Love

I always feel somewhat ashamed to admit I like meatloaf. I don't know why I feel the shame, but it's always felt like a bit of a taboo food to me. I know it's all in my head. I know I'm being silly. I know meatloaf is normal and acceptable. But it still doesn't feel right to me.

Still, I luuuuuuurve meatloaf. If I could marry a comfort food, it would be meatloaf. So meaty and hearty and strong. He smells good too. And you can really craft him into whatever you want him to be. Meatloaf doesn't start out as one thing and ask you to love him as is. Oh no, there is plenty of room for experimentation and change. He does it willingly. He's a good food. Warm and tasty. That's why I'd marry him.

Still, until the day it becomes legal to marry your food, I think I'll just stick to eating him. And not in THAT way... get your mind out of the gutter. This is thus far my favorite way of crafting meatloaf. I don't think I'm completely done tweaking the recipe, but I'm going to post it anyway because I want you to experience the same love that I have. I'm really a lucky woman, you see, and want to share some of it with you all. Meatloaf love is a rich, heady, dizzyingly wonderful love. I wish you all the same happiness that I have.

Meatloaf
I served this with cubed yams mixed with olive oil and Ras el Hanout spice mix (Moroccan) that I make myself. I put the yams in the oven with the meatloaf and stirred every 20 minutes. They were done when the meatloaf was finished.

1 lb ground beef
1 lb Italian sausage
1 small onion
1-2 celery stalks
2-3 garlic cloves
2 eggs
2/3 cup ketchup, divided in half
1 cup bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. Worscestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
dash salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Finely chop onion, celery, and garlic. I use a food processor to save time. Mix all ingredients together with your bare hand, reserving 1/3 cup ketchup. Pat mixture into a loaf pan. Pour remaining ketchup over the top. Cook in oven for approx 1 hour, until no longer pink in the middle.

False Alarm

I wish you guys could be me for a day so that you could see how absolutely ridiculous I am. Until that is a possibility, I just have to tell you stories and let you imagine it.

This morning I was having a not so pleasant dream about a big storm and fire that were rocking the area. For some reason, I was with my dad and siblings and we had to evacuate the house. We went to some vacation rental/store that had a lot of couches for us to sleep on. We all fell asleep late that night. I woke up the next morning, looked at the clock, and realized that I was hours late for work. For those of you who know me, you understand that I am never late. Ever. I think it's plain rude. I panicked in my dream and started rushing around trying to figure out how I was going to get to work.

At this point, I woke up in real life and rolled over in bed to go back to sleep. That's when I noticed that my clock said 6:40, which is 10 minutes past the time I normally leave for work. My heart leaped in my chest and I lurched out of bed, running on pure adrenaline. I ran to turn on the light, threw off my pajamas and started scrambling in my closet for clothes for work, all the while rehearsing what I was going to say when I called in to say I was going to be late to work. I then caught a glimpse of my hair in the mirror and literally said out loud to myself, "Sh*t, I have to take a shower!" I start to dash for the door to my room when I realized that I had to put something on in case Jess happened to be in the hallway at that moment. I shot back to my pj's, quickly pulled them on, not caring that they were backwards and inside out. Fully covered at that point, I run back to my door and have my hand on the knob when I come to the realization that today is SUNDAY! Sunday! As in sleep in day. As in lay in bed all morning reading day. As in I don't have to set the freakin' alarm because I don't have to get up day!

There was no way I was getting back to sleep after working myself into such a tizzy. I crawled back into bed (after adjusting my pajamas) and have been reading and emailing all morning. I would also like to make a side note for those of you concerned about my apparent lack of church going. My church offers a Saturday night service in addition to several on Sunday morning. I tend to go to the Saturday night one so that I am able to lay in bed on Sundays. I love my lazy mornings. Assuming they aren't started at a freakishly early hour by my ridiculous mind. Don't you wish you were me?

So True

Saturday, November 22, 2008

I don't normally post many videos on here, but I saw this one and had to post my second for the day. Seriously true!

Oh. My. Word.

My favorite part is around 4:20 when they start really getting into it... Strip grandma, strip!

Freak of Nature

Thursday, November 20, 2008

That's me all right. Uncoordinated klutz who's everyday stories are ridiculous yarns spun only from the truth. Which brings me to last night...

I was up late working on designing my Christmas card for this year (more to come on that soon). I went to bed around 11:30, which anyone can tell you is definitely late for me. I fell asleep quickly but was woken an hour later by my body violently choking... on my own spit. That's right people, I somehow managed to inhale spit while I was sleeping and thank the Lord that he created a good cough reflex. I coughed and I sputtered. I sat up in bed and gasped for air. I reached for the glass of water always at the ready on my bedside (for such emergencies) and gulped half of it down. I calmed down some but my heart was still racing and I was still coughing, so I got up and made myself tea and watched an episode of Pushing Dasies. Which is actually something I might have been doing, thanks to my unruly spit. Lame joke, I know.

I went back to bed and fell asleep again. I woke two hours later with a sharp pain shooting down my leg. This was definitely no charlie horse. Oh no, it felt like my leg had gone past falling asleep, past any sort of cramping, and had decided to instead stage a mutiny from my body. Instinctively in my sleep addled brain I somehow knew that I had to get blood moving to my leg. I threw myself over the side of my bed, picked myself up off the floor, and proceeded to jog-walk in place next to my bed. My eyes stayed closed to allow myself the denial that I was truly awake but my racing heart told no lies. The more I jog-walked, the better my leg felt but the more my hope of sleep left me. I plopped back in bed and tried valiantly to slumber for the next hour before my alarm went off, but occasionally my leg would twinge up and I would have to shake it around in bed to get it to stop. That's right, I was like a sleeping dog last night who dreams of catching his rabbit and acts it out with leg twitches.

So I sit here in my reading chair right now, tired beyond belief, yet trying to delay the inevitable bedtime. I don't know what tonight will bring and I somewhat dread the stories I may have to tell you tomorrow. So until then, I bid you goodnight. I'm off to practice safe sleep.

Did I Mention?

Monday, November 10, 2008

That I'm going to the Inauguration?

BECAUSE! I! AM!

Um, still really excited here.

In case you couldn't tell.

Tickets

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Jess and I bought plane tickets tonight... to go to the Inauguration in January!

I'm so excited I can't sleep!

Praise the Lord!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Obama won!

Jess and I both cried at McCain's concession speech. Heartfelt and class act.

Then we cried at Obama's acceptance speech. Trite and cliche, but for the first time in our lives we are actually proud to be Americans.

Obama is not the answer to all of our problems, but he is a start. God has provided and will continue to provide for us, our country, and our world. Regardless of who is in office. I am excited that he chose Obama this time. How great is our God!

Tomato Soup with Red Onions and Cilantro

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

I saw this recipe on Orangette this morning and absolutely had to make it tonight. It is rare that I make something the same day that I see it because normally all recipes to try get put in my Google Notebook. However, the siren song from the combination of tomatoes, cilantro, and lime was too much to resist. May I just go weak in the knees now? Because I couldn't believe how flavorful and amazing this was. It has elevated itself to repeat status, which is very difficult to achieve in my world. I make so many different recipes and hardly ever pull them to the side to go in my personal recipe notebook because life is too short to eat the same thing twice. I think the most amazing thing about this is that I didn't alter a single thing about the recipe. That is huge for me. I NEVER follow a recipe exactly. Thus, I am going to go let you find the recipe over at Orangette and read what she has to say because her words are so much more poetic than mine.



And really, what is tomato soup without grilled cheese? I couldn't just make the normal kind because it was well, just too normal. Oh no, it wouldn't do. I pulled out the pesto and fresh mozzarella, layered them between some pugeliese bread, and grilled to crispy goodness. Oh my, the perfect partner for this soup.

Sigh. It was a good night.

Bellingham Love

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Sometimes I just wish that I could mesh different pieces of different periods of life all together to create one great experience. Sadly, it's not possible. I so greatly miss Bellingham and the character it has. It feels like home. It is quirky. Fun. Full of culture. And fleece. And men with beards. Kids with dreads. I love it. My heart just longs to live there again but I know its not where God wants me at this point in time. There is work to be done here in Puyallup. I can wish all I want, but it's not going to get me any closer to living up north again. Until God does bring me back there, I just have to visit and feel like a stranger in a land I consider home.

This past weekend I took a jaunt with Jess to visit Lucy and watch what every 26 year old is absolutely giddy over-- High School Musical 3! Well, maybe it's just us. We are closet HSM junkies and had no choice but to get together to watch the movie on opening night. Oh, and don't worry, we went to the 9:45 showing and almost the entire audience was made up of people our age or older. There was a line of people waiting to take a picture in front of the HSM sign. That's right people, a line!



The next day, we had breakfast at the Mount Bakery. I so wish Puyallup had good little restaurants with tons of character like Bellingham eateries. Seriously, Ptown is SO lacking in this department and I have found that most people who live around here don't even realize it.





We then went around town visiting favorite shops and the farmer's market.







Fall in Whatcom County wouldn't be complete without a stop at Bellewood Acres, where we picked up a 25lb box of Honeycrisp apples and Honey Roasted Peanut Butter.



Later, we joined up with Andrea at the ReStore, which is one of my all time favorite places to go. You just never know what you are going to find. The final stop at Avellino's completed our journey and really made it the most wonderful day ever. A long talk with friends old and new while enjoying their Carrot Cake really hit the spot. I was sad to leave, but know I'll be back in a couple weeks for our 4th Annual Bazaar Hopping event. Oh yeah, you'll definitely hear about that soon.

The Best Present Ever

Thursday, October 23, 2008

For my birthday, I asked my Dad to build me a huge custom cutting board. I have been wanting a board big enough to hold everything I'm chopping so I gave him the measurements and he outdid any expectation that I ever had! He made not one, but two boards, as well as crafting the most beautiful kitchen tools I have ever seen. Oh my word, I love them! Thanks Dad!



Look at how huge this is! It is so completely perfect and is absolutely the best thing ever when I am cooking. Seriously, the best present ever!

Biden Rally

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Yesterday was a flippin' fun time at my family bday party, but I need to finish taking a couple of pictures before I'm ready to share that with you. In the mean time, here's what I did today. Jess, her sister, roommie, sis' boyfriend, me, and some family friends went to the Joe Biden political rally in Tacoma. We had a lot of fun and I have decided that it counted towards 0.5 of my goal to be in a protest. Someday, somewhere, I want to hold a sign and shout things. Until then, this will tide me over. My throat hurt a bit from yelling and hollering and I managed to down 4 glasses of water when we went out afterwards, but it was fun! All of the following pictures are from Jess because I didn't want to lug my big camera with me.

Jess and me waiting in the cold for the festivities to begin



The rest of the crew



Apparently we made history because we were the largest group to see Biden yet. It was definitely a packed house.





Joe with Christine Gregoire, Patty Murray, and Maria Cantwell



Me getting really into the yelling.



P.S. You know you're firmly blue when you say something like, "I'm tarting myself up because you just never know what young Democrats are going to be there."

I'm Alive

Friday, October 17, 2008

I'm here, I promise. Just been too busy/tired to post anything. Hopefully this weekend I'll have some time to catch you up. Until then, I leave you with this. My siblings and I still quote from it long after we first saw it.

Ginger Cake with Cinnamon Honey Buttercream Frosting

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Yesterday was my birthday. My 26th to be exact. Of all the birthdays I've had, it probably felt the least like a birthday. It just felt weird. Not necessarily bad, just more of an un-special day. I didn't really feel like having a big celebration either, which probably contributed a great deal to it. However, I did give myself a lovely birthday present-- cooking my own dinner & baking my own cake. Weird to some of you, a real treat to me. Lately I have really been wanting to make a layer cake for something and couldn't find an excuse. Enter stage left, my birthday. I also made Champagne Chicken, which is one of my favorite meals, but we were too hungry to stop and take pictures. I guess I'll just have to make it again to share with you all.

So as I was deciding what kind of cake to make, I knew it couldn't be a "normal" cake. No vanilla or chocolate for me. Don't get me wrong, I hold no hatred in my heart for those flavors and actually like them very much. I just wanted to do something unusual. I cobbled together a few different recipes and came up with this particular cake. I had originally wanted to do a Mascarpone Cheese Frosting, but was unable to find the mascarpone anywhere. Guess that's next year. Still, this cake was awesome! As in unbelievably good. As in I will so make it again. As in I wish it was my birthday every day so I would have an excuse to have it more often. Yes, that good.

P.S. I'll be in California for the next 4 days, so it may be a while before my next post. Don't be a hater if I come back a little more tan than you.




Ginger Cake w/ Cinnamon Honey Buttercream Frosting
Makes a 4 layer cake.

Cake:

1 cup butter
2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
2 cup all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk
4 eggs

Frosting:
5 cups confectioners sugar
2 cups butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

Topping:
candied ginger, chopped
cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350.
Mix flour & baking powder in a bowl, set aside.
Mix butter and sugar until smooth. Now add eggs and vanilla extract.
Pour in milk and mix again.
Add the flour mixture, a little at a time. When everything is incorporated, add the grated ginger and mix.
Grease 2 8" cake pans, dust with some flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Bake about 40mins or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cake cool in pan for 10 min, then carefully invert onto a cooling rack.

To make the frosting, mix ingredients together until light and fluffy.

Once cakes have cooled, use a long serated knife to cut each one in half. Frost cake & top with sprinkles of cinnamon and candied ginger.

Breather

Monday, October 6, 2008

I'm finally able to take a breather and sit down for a chat with you all. My lesson is planned for my GO Girls Group, my ginger cake is made and waiting to be frosted, the dishwasher's unloaded, and a project I'm working on for a friend is well under way. I have much accomplished, but much still to do. I have forced myself to stop and hang out a bit with you all. Because I have just so much to tell you.

Last week I went to Ocean Shores with my Mom & Sis. It was everything you could hope a vacation would be: relaxing, entertaining, and spontaneous. I don't quite have the energy or time to regale you with all the spectacular stories I have swirling in my head, so I'll just throw some pictures at you and call it good. Seriously, I wish that I could be paid to stay home and just write and take pictures. Sigh. Until my dream job somehow materializes, you're just going to have to make do with what I can come up with at 9:30 at night. Definitely not my best material but I'm sure you don't care. Because we're all friends here. And friends are always nice to each other. Even when they don't deserve it. Or when they have spinach stuck in their front teeth. Or they just farted. Or they are sitting on their couch with ratty hair, wearing jeans, tshirt, and a voluminous bathroom because it's more portable than a blanket but just as warm. No comment about which situation you are having to be my friend through at the moment. I trust you are still with me.

Anyway, here's some of our fun. You can click on any of the pictures to see more.







Joel recently bought some property out at Ocean Shores and gave me directions to where it is. After driving up and down the street numerous times, we concluded that this is approximately the location.



The BEST Irish food ever! Seriously fricken amazing!







My stunning sister







My sis happened to say that she was antsy right as we passed a high school field with these just sitting out in the open. I started yelling for my Mom to pull into the parking lot and she did. What a great Mom! Shan and I definitely had some fun with them.

Busy Bee

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Friends, I really do like calling you by that name. No, not Busy Bee, I mean Friends. I like that I can sit down and share how I'm doing with you. I kinda wish you could all crawl through your computer and sit down here on my couch with me. I could really use a good snuggle or two. I have even had dreams about spooning with a boy on the pavement of a mall parking lot. Yeah, that one was weird. But if all of you could come and squish with me in real life, I would really appreciate it.

All of that to say that you're going to have to wait just a wee bit longer for my next update. I've been out of town and have plenty of stories and pictures to share, but have to wait a while before my time will be free enough to share fun things. Like I last mentioned, work has been phenomenally hard and stressful. Our youth group stuff is also starting up, so I am having to do a lot of work for that as well. So much so that I made myself work for a few hours on it while on vacation. That kinda sucked. But this all will pass and life will get less hectic. When that happens, I will pull you round my dinner table and show you pictures and make you laugh. In the meantime, here's a random shot I pulled from my vacation stack to whet your appetite.


P.S. If you click on the picture, you can better see my look of concentration and effort.

Stress Relief

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Friends, this past week has been hard. There's been some big shake up at work and I am now in a new position in the company. I can't go into details because I have a policy of not writing much about my job. Just know that it was incredibly difficult and removing me from my position rocked a lot of people in my company. It's a weird situation and has nothing to do with me, I just got caught in the middle. So today I did what I always do when under severe stress-- I cooked.

I made Fleur de Sel Caramels and found out my candy thermometer is off because I ended up making hard candies instead of chewy ones. I have to thank my hammer for helping me break this into pieces.



I also made two types of caramel sauce, one being my normal every day caramel sauce (not pictured) and a Dulce de Leche.



I roasted garlic.



And put some of the cloves in olive oil. That way we can have them later and then use the garlicy oil for something else.



I also roasted vegetables and made my Roasted Vegetable Soup again.



And then I made chocolate chip cookies.





It was an enormous stress relief. I loved just putzing around and creating. It did my spirit wonders. Right now I am watching Sons of Provo, a Mormon movie, with friends old and new. Do you remember my love of Mormon movies? Because I really do think they're hilarious. This particular one is funnier than normal. It really is just the most wonderful end to a wonderful day.