Friday 29 October 2010

8x8x8

Yenta Mary from Food Floozie tagged me in the game of 8x8x8. I'm to answer the eight questions, come up with 8 questions of my own, and then tag 8 friends to answer the questions. Let the games begin!

1. Do you speak any other languages besides English?


Kinda. I took 5 years of Spanish classes. I have a good vocabulary but I'm not as good with grammar. And I'm always scared I'm going to screw it up so I don't speak it often enough. Even though my best friend is pretty darn fluent.
2. Do you still have your favorite blanket, teddy bear, toy, whatever from childhood?

Yes! I had a soft blanket with pink and white squares- the white ones had roses on them. I also had a round lacey neck pillow.
3. Marshmallows on the Thanksgiving sweet potatoes, or not?

Keep the marshmallows, pass on the potatoes.

4. Do you have a compost pile/container?

No. My parents and grandparents do and I want one once we get out own place.

5. Baseball, football, hockey, basketball, soccer, golf, dodgeball, lawn mower racing ... what's your favorite sport to watch?

Either hockey or baseball


6. How many cookbooks do you own?

Seven
7. Do you like scary movies?
NO! I'm terrible with scary movies- and sometimes even thrillers
8. Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?


Yikes! No, which is unusual. I think its because I was out of the country and swamped with wedding planning. Usually I have a few presents under my belt by now.
Here are my questions:

1. What is your favorite cookbook?

2. What is a Chrismas tradition your family celebrates?

3. What holiday food is your favorite?

4. What is your favorite board/card game?

5. What was the best thing you ever made? (children excluded, think craft, food, clothing)

6.  What is the worst thing you've ever tried to make?
   
7. What was your alltime favorite Halloween costume?

8. What is your favorite Halloween candy?

As for the eight friends? I challenge you (you, you, you, you, you, you and you) to pass along the game!

Sunday 24 October 2010

My 2nd Guest Post!

Good Morning Ya'll!

I'll be posting over at Mandy's Life After 30 today!

A bit about Mandy:

  • She's currently working on a cookbook.
  • She's got a cute family and a lovely daughter
  • She does NOT like automatic flushing toliets or hand dryers
  • She posts magazines, book reviews and challenges
  • And she has a fabulous sense of humor so go check her out

Great Deal!

Amazon is currently selling magazine subscriptions at the low price of $6.99. For my favorite magazine, Real Simple, that is almost the price of one issue on the stand! I wish I would have waited a week to renew my subscription!

Saturday 23 October 2010

Quick Update

Fall Break went by way yoo quickly. I'm trying to come up with an effective posting schedule that fits into my schedule but is more frequent that I have been. Because I have been really slack lately. I am thinking about getting some guetposts to fill in for me while I'm on my honeymoon (December 19th-26th), but I know its a busy time of year. If you're interested give me a shout! I'll be guest posting on Mandy's blog next week.

But here's what I've been up to:

Classes and Homework.. This is the worst semester of my college career. My classes stink, and somehow I'm close to flunking Bio 101, even though I can tell you almost everything we discuss. Something about those tests....

Wedding Planning. Totally more fun than classes and homework, and thankfully, taking up less and less time as we get closer. Mike's booked us a room at Niagra Falls and we'll be honeymooning there. He's taking care of all of the details. RSVPs roll in every day and my father's family is throwing me a bridal shower on November 6th. I think I've settled on a centerpiece idea and I'm working on buying all of the pieces (bought eiffel tower candles from hobby lobby last night).

I've still got to find something to hold my post cards, make programs, make nail and makeup appointments, make a cd of the prelude music, finish writing my vows, wrap my bridesmaid gifts, try out my hairstyle, buy sparklers and make the centerpieces for the food table. And possibly convince my dad to make me a photobooth area. My dad's taking care of the alcohol and search for a cake table and Mike is dealing with tuxes.

Being Supportive. Mike threw his back out when he sneezed the other day. He also found a job but in the three weeks that he's had it  they have not been able to get in all of the training videos for him to watch. So he's spent all of his time off searching for a more reliable job. Yesterday, he got called for an interview for a state job. Its consistent work and better paying and offers better advancement opportunities, so please keep him in your prayers.

Saturday 16 October 2010

Fall Break is finally here!

Fall Break is here and, naturally, I've been sick since Wednesday. If I'm not better by Monday I'll head to the doctor, but I'm thinking its just a cold that needs a good butt kicking.

I took my final midterm Friday morning and then drove to my parents house, where've I managed to nap, do some fun reading, suck down popsicles and actually get some reading for classes done.

This afternoon I went for my dress alteration appointment. I'm getting my dress shortened, bustled and taken in (Thank you, Korea), all for $50.

Tomorrow, I am meeting up with all of the grandchildren on my Dad's side of the family to have our portrait taken for my grandmother's Christmas card, doing some more homework and napping.

Monday and Tuesday I want to make some Christmas Cards and lay out the table set up for the wedding reception. Hopefully, by Tuesday afternoon I'll have all my homework done and be rested up enough to head back to school and finish out the week

Hope ya'll are having a great weekend.

Wednesday 13 October 2010

I'm so Thankful for my Crafty Friends: Wedding Planning Updates

I tend to have wonderful (in my opinion, at least) craft project ideas. However, the domestic/craft fairy skipped me when she was doling out talent. Thankfully, I've been blesses with the sweetest of friends who happen to have heaps of crafty ability. They've come in very handy in the wedding planning process.  Want examples?

A few of my friends and I got ALL of my invitations assembled, tied, addressed, sealed and ready to be stamped and sent out.

Envelope Front: 2 State Flag Stamps
Envelope Back: Sealed with a foreign stamp

Lyric made my flower girl baskets. I bought Easter baskets on clearance at Ross, pulled off the eggs and let Lyric have at them! (Pictures not on my camera....coming soon)

Lyric also decorated my mailbox, which will hold my postcards after the guests have filled them out. The papermache mailbox came from Hobby Lobby for like $2 and she painted it and covered it in $1 scrapbook paper.


 Lyric decorating the mailbox



The finished product. It looks 80X better in person. I think its absolutely gorgeous and have to find a use for it in our home.

I thought maybe this pic would let you see the scrapbook paper better.

Hotglue and I sewed my ring bearer pillows. The fabric came from the wrap that came with my 9th grade pageant dress.

Hotglue had never sewn before!

I hadn't sewn in years.

I think she did a pretty good job!



We're going to tie the extra invitation ribbon around them.

AND I found some awesome shoes that complement my dress perfectly! I found them at David's Bridal and they've got lace on them, which is perfect for my all lace dress.


Cute huh?

Tuesday 12 October 2010

Day 6: Whats in your purse?

At times, a better question may be: whats not in your purse?

  • Ibeprofuen, hair ties
  •  3 pens, 1 pencil and a small blue notebook
  • My plaid Scottish wallet (holds all my loyalty cards, stamps, sticky notes and coupons)
  • Way too scratched up to see out of sunglasses
  • 2 tubes of Chapstick (cinnabon and vanilla)
  • 3 Jumpdrives- 1 full, 1 broken
  • Tampons  Feminine Hygenie Products
  • A random business card for Theodore Morris
  • A pack of tissues- from my Delta flight
  • A small black mirror
  • 2 key rings (car, house, previous jobs and the dorm key ring)
  • And a packet of peanut butter flinched from the dining hall....so sue me

Monday 11 October 2010

I Did Not Do Much

I didn't do much of my todo list last week. It was just too hectic of a week. In addition to classes and homework I want to:

1. Mail remaining invitations.
2. Call someone and ask them to be a usher in our wedding
3. Call the sound guy at church
4. Call the Soup Kitchen
5. Make a bowl for charity
6. Do laundry
7. Mortar Board Meeting
9. Mortar Board Fundrasing duties.
10. Do a wedding update blog.
11. Pack and go to my parents for Fall Break
12. Write a feature on the smoking issue on campus.
13. Finish writing a guest blog

Wednesday 6 October 2010

Where I Live

This post was inspired by a Mama Kat's writing prompt.


My door has been decorated with Lyric's favorite quotes



Our big closet is so amazing that I randomly walk into it and wonder "hmm...what can I do in here?"



My messy desk is well, messy.



My baby fridge is covered in word poetry and handmade magnets.



And our bathroom is covered in Lyric's rubber ducky collection.




If you wonder about anything you see, or want to see some other things just let me know!

Monday 4 October 2010

Day Five: What's in your makeup bag?

Well, first let me ask you: Which one?

Do you mean the pretty black and white polka dotted one that holds my perfume?

Do you mean the one with the NY scene that holds my main lip gloss, hairbows and eyebrow trimmer?

Do you mean the puffy red one with the handle that holds all of my travel size tolietries?

Do you mean the hot pink kiss and make up that holds my chapsticks and mini nailpolishes?

Do you mean the leopard print one that holds a random assortment of rarely used makeup? The ones often givven as gifts?

Are you trying to tell me something?

To Do

This week's to do list

1. All classes, homework and projects.
2. Pick up wedding shoes.
3. Baking with Hotglue while watching Big Bang Theory
4. Call Soup Kitchen
5. Make Ring Bearer Pillows
6. Q Post
7. Wedding Update Post
8. Workout
9. Print Pictures
10. Plan out fall break
11. Try to get ahead on homework
12. Work in my premarital counseling workbook
13. Come up with article ideas
14. Writer Recruitment
15. Copy Bible Verses into my Inspiration Notebook
16. Journal
17. Pray about Mr. Groom's job search and his sister's health

Sunday 3 October 2010

Baking with Hotglue

I spent Friday night baking with Hotglue. We set ourselves a challenge to try out ten new recipes together this semester. This weekend was her roomate's birthday so it was the perfect time for us to try our hand at a new cake. We based our recipe off a William's Sonoma recipe for a black forest cake but the directions were unclear in some cases and in other's didn't make much sense to us, so we improvised a bit

Hotglue's Black Forest Cake
For the cake:

1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
6 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature


For the sugar syrup:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water

For the filling and frosting:
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 Tbs. confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. cherry juice
jarred cherries (marschino)
Semisweet chocolate chips

Steps

1. Preheat to 350. Grease your round pan
2. Mix the flour and cocoa in a bowl and set aside.
3. Beat the eggs vanilla and sugar for about 5 minutes or until the volume triples




4. Fold in the flour mixture.
5. (This part made no sense but we did it anyway). Add a dollop of the mixture to your melted butter, stir together and add it all back into the batter.
6. Pour into pan and smooth. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Willaims Sonoma says you want the cake to look puffed.





7. Put the cake on a wire pan to cool. We went and got milkshakes at this point.
8. Once the cake is cool cut into 3 equal layers.

9. To make the syrup, combine the granualted sugar and water and bring to a boil. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Let it cool.
10. Brush each layer with the syrup.
11. To make the frosting, beat the cream and powdered sugar until medium stiff peaks form. Add in the cherry juice, a capful of vanilla and the sugary syrup. Add the syrup and juice in increments unitl you've got it tasting the way you want. We added way more than the recomended tsp.

12. Frost inbetween each layer, adding sliced cherries and chocolate chips as you go.




13. Ice the top layer and the sides. Make sure to put a cherry in the center and surrounded with choc chips and cherries







Side note: Lu and her family keep their sugar, flour, pasta etc in mason jars and I think that is the coolest idea ever


Saturday 2 October 2010

Yard Sale Score

My church had a yard sale today as part of their efforts to raise money for the renovations. They rasied $3300 today! I went the last hour of the sale and they were running a deal where you could get everything you could put into a carboard box for $1. I paid and headed to my car, fully intending to go back inside, and stick a small crock pot and cupcake pan in a box for $1. But after settling everything into the car I forgot and drove away. I'm still kicking myself for forgetting the crockpot. It was the perfect size to feed just the two of us. But here is what I did get:



3 cookbooks and 2 novels


3 vases (I may use the round one in a centerpiece at my wedding reception)

2 basket (The red one now holds my pb packets, salt and pepper, toothpicks and coasters on top of the microwave

Giraffe, cow, llama and church cookie cutters

A decorative apple for my teacher-in-training roomate.


It moos and mixes up chocolate milk but I'm thinking it'll mix juice and rum just fine

2 photobooks to hold the photos I'm wating to scrapbook!


All for a grand total of $1 or  six cents per item!

What is the best thing you've ever bought at a yard sale? Do you go often? Any tips?



DARN CROCKPOT! Sigh... I guess everything happens for a reason....but it was so cute....

Friday 1 October 2010

Day 4: Someone You've Drifted Away From

I wrote this awhile back but I think it satisfies the prompt.

Beach Bound

We arrive on Saturday. Our car is packed with several suitcases, bedding and milk jugs filled with water from our tap. Chassidy is with me. My little sister has brought a friend too .We have brought enough clothes to last us a month, but we are indecisive and a tad bit insecure so we will go through all of the clothes in a week. We unload our car and then headed to Kroger’s where we will buy a week’s worth of hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwich supplies and junk food. And then we dress in our swimsuits and head to the beach on one of the two golf carts we have. As it gets closer to dinner time, we shower and then change into our “night clothes”.


These are the clothes that we will wear to impress boys, scoff at other girls in and wear while we push our golf cart back to the beach house and my beckoning parents who can’t understand why we don’t come in early instead of draining the golf cart. We head out to dinner. We spend the meal trying to catch the eye of cute boys sitting a few tables a way without my parent’s noticing. But my sister notices and calls us out. We are picked on the rest of the evening. We don’t care, tonight will be out first night on the strip and we can think of nothing else.

Back at the beach house, we fix our hair, spritzing our hair brushes with Hollister perfume and apply several coats of lip-gloss before hopping onto our golf cart. We take a few pictures and then we are ready. We cruise down the strip at the family campground my sister and I beg to go to year after year.

At first we are the lone golf cart, circling the park, occasionally breaking off down a side street for a change of scenery. We are always early. We don’t want to miss a minute. We live for this week all year long. Gradually, the sun lowers itself into the ocean and the others begin to come out. We continue to circle, passing each other, giving out appraising looks. The sun has set and we begin to wave, to call out to each other. We stop and talk to the boys propped against their cars, sipping out of red cups. We often had our own red cups, filled with orange juice or soda.

Things have changed. We used to be the ones standing around, walking the strip, waiting for a ride. Now, we hold the power to offer rides; to choose or deny. We are now sixteen. Although we say we are seventeen. At the beach, we are always a year older. Some years we are sisters, others we are cousins. We never remember our stories, but its okay, they don’t either. What’s important is that they remember us, our faces, and our names.

We all come the same week every year; we have our friends, and our enemies. All of our friends are male, some younger, some older than us. Our enemies are other girls, vying for our limelight. Some are guys who have pushed us too far, tried to follow us back to our house, or called us names. Because they are our enemies, they are our friends’ enemies as well. They are given dirty looks and withheld rides.

We give out rides to our favorite boys. We cruise around the strip, sometimes pulling onto a dark side road, hoping for a kiss. But most of all, we just ride. We sing out, verses from our favorite songs. We pass a particularly attractive boy and yell “Hey, hey good looking, whatcha got cookin’?”, and then a shirtless one “No shoes, no shirt, no problem”.

The sky grows dark and our golf cart weak. We check our cell phones for the time. It’s close to eleven and we head back to the house, saying our goodbyes. Some nights we push the golf cart up hills and to its home in the tiny garage. We have the help of boys, some we know from summers before and some we don’t. We make it back into the house, right at our eleven o’clock curfew.

We slink into our room after murmuring a goodnight to my parents, spray each others hair with perfume, so that we can sleep without the smoke from the boy’s cigarettes lingering over us. Crawling into bed together, we giggle over highlights from the night and send flirty text messages to “our boys”- promising to meet them again tomorrow. In our chats, we’d talk about which boy was our favorite, compare our “distance” scores, plan our outfits for the next, pine for mixed drinks, and tell dirty stories (at least, we think they’re dirty because we know of nothing worse). We are silly and naive, playing at being bad girls, they same way we used to make our Barbies roll around naked in the back seat of their pink Jeep.

We grow older and things change. Slowly, time pulls us apart and there are no more beach trips. Once, we promised that we would be old ladies together, racing each other down the nursing home hallway in our tricked out wheel chairs. Now, we move in different directions. We are no longer as close as we were as girls. We each have new responsibilities- me to my fiancé and her to her fiancé and his daughters; she raises them like her own. But we are bound to each other by the late night conversations and rainy day rummy games of our girlhood. Though we no longer live in the same city, see each other often, or vacation together we share a bond that no one can erase or replace.