Leaf Theif

uhhh ok has anyone else noticed how i just quit that however-long-days of thankfulness? no? me either. it just occurred to me.

cant win them all!

 

so i’d like to say that J and i are not obsessive about anything, totally normal, run of the mill people who dont stand outside in their gardens at night like SOME PEOPLE I USED TO KNOW. (and by some people, i mean our landlord of former duplex that lived in the other half of said duplex. really those flowers arent gonna do anything new while you’re sleeping, BUB)

but i would be lying.

we DO stand in our gardens at night!!! what the heck!?

all in the name of getting a job done, is what i say. ps- we dont just stand there LOOKING.

that makes everything normal.

ok, so with the obsessive green thumbing, now it is fall and i keep looking for what trees are turning radiant colors. cause on the hills of TN you can tell – even in the lamest of autums – that there ARE some trees who just look better than others. no offense, evergreens. i love you at christmas time.

ive decided my favorite is yellow. followed closely by orange.

in my quest, i happened upon some brightly colored trees that were within my reach. naturally, i snatched some leafage to investigate in my gardening encyclopedia. complete with pictures. nerd!

This leaf is from the Ginko tree, that is very suitable to the TN climate zone. happy me! duh i will be buying one. look how it glows in the sun! the trees were so bright, they were almost WHITE. amazing. annnnd my nature adventure has left me with dirty fingernails. ew.

Gold leaf here has yet to be identified. by me that is. i’m sure the Discovery Channel and my garden encyclopedia know exactly what it is. not a new species. Anyway, i think these must be like the ones i see up on the hills and stuff. very glowy as well and probably cheaper than a dang Ginko tree.

this little gem i may/may not have commandeered from my very own office parking lot (be the detective and notice trees in the background.) fabulous color. this we determined is a Red Maple leaf, but the variety is unsure. it could be autumn flame, indian summer, october glory…. maybe another. hard to determine. HA and you can see the photographers reflection there on the right. thats the sign of a BAD photographer. just so yall keep your expectations low here.

obvs, im in the market for trees. if you’ve ever been to our house, you may be wondering to yourself… “where the heck could you possibly plant something ELSE?!”…. because, obsessed. and i dont know what to tell you. i just know i NEED THESE.

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part b-

so remember the giant cake i’m making? yes well i started last nite. i got the layers cooked. and thats about all i managed. oh! and we also made the little cake topper. which i didnt take pics of yet cause i dont want to ruin the fun-ness for a certain pregnant gal who i’m not sure reads this or not.

but, we can talk about this:

ok first, let me back up and tell this story, and it will explain my neuroticness here in one sec. i lost a bet with a few people in my office and our penalty was food-related. i, naturally, was like heck yes i will make a cake. good practice, right? well, the thing is, i ran out of time, halloween party, plus it was our turn for dessert at small group, yadda yadda,… LOTS OF BAKING GOINGS ON. so i just threw a second batch of cake into a totally boring 9×13 pan, slapped some leftover halloween icing on top (read: green icing) and i was done .

not exactly sure what chemistry project it turned into, right now i am blaming MARGARINE, but the winner of said bet was convinced i was playing a joke on him because the cake totally sucked. icing was absorbed by cake and it managed to flatten itself out at the same time, essentially turning to the consistency of brownies and/or A BRICK.

i think this was wednesday when i got this news, and HELLO i am about to make HUGE cake with exact same recipe.

freaking out minorly.

so i find a new one, on a trusted cake products website, and proceed, praying to the cake gods that all will remain its own ingredient and not MELD together in one unified thwart against me. what did i ever do to you, cake? are you mad that you werent made in pretty layers and crafted so carefully, preserved in the fridge for 2 days? what??

this recipe is telling me to line my cake pans with wax paper. which ive never heard of before, but i am like OK! trusted cake products, surely you know what you are doing! and i’m a little worried cause mashing the wax paper doesnt exactly = smoothness.

uhh BLUR. you get the idea. i did have some wrinkles as suspected, nothing i cant fix via icing, but sortof annoying. PLUS the paper in the oven is a stink. literally. and a bit smoky. so, thats not happening again, however…..

look how it prevented any sort of crusting! (see wrinkles on the sides?) so that part is cool. i suppose if i really had the time i could cut strips and make it all nice in there. eh. 4 layers and 3 batches of cake already took me 4 hours, so i’m over it really. flour works just as well.

So there you have it. more photos after the actual party this weekend cause everything else will just ruin a very cute surprise.

 

 

 

bebehs-running-bebehs

hmm i felt like after re-reading that last post i am a little complainy- complainerson. there’s nothing worse than a negative blobber. poo.

has anyone ever watched that show “I Didnt Know I Was Pregnant” ?? ok, technically i never do either… i swear!! but i was killing time, waiting for J to do something before we watched us a movie and it was on and i got curious. i wonder if all the stories are similar, cause this one actually made sorta some sense…. SORTA. (boys reading, i am about to talk about girl things so proceed with caution or just skip to the break lines down there)

this woman, who is a rather large woman, was talking about how she never felt weird, never had any symptoms (no mentioning of NOT having a period, by the way- that is where i’m like ??REALLY???) ….. had a child previously so she was familiar with what being pregnant is like. i guess it was over the holidays or something….. and she DID notice that she’d put on like 20 lbs, but attributed that to the time of year. which, side note? how can you gain that much in a couple months? well, you dont. thats the thing. anyways, she started having cramps after one night at dinner, thought it was food poisoning, so eventually went to the hospital…. WHERE SHE WAS IN LABOR AND HAD A BABY.

i SORTOF can get this because if you are already large in size, you might not notice a baby-shaped bump. i will give her that. and i will maaaaybe give her the “holiday weight gain”. and not having symptoms…well thats not your fault… you have them or you dont. i dont understand how you might miss lack of menstruation. i know this can happen if you are underweight…. your body just stops because it doesnt have enough to sustain itself (or something more medically sound).  does it happen if you are overweight? OR maybe she is one of those lucky girls out there who dont have periods very often….. like 4 times a YEAR or something totally awesome like that!

these are the things i ponder.

and now i am curious about other stories of a surprise baby. arent you??

——————

update on my fitness program. cause i KNOW yall are keeping track. how much has she been going? whats she eating? i hope shes sticking to it! I made it past my 1/4 mile increments and was onto 1/4-1/2-1/4-1/2 (can you even decipher that? have i told you this already? i have alzheimers) level of greatness, when my knees got mad. i made it 1 day and then day 2 they were like NO!! NOO!!!!!!! so we’ll be going a lot slower with this than i was hoping. But thats ok, i’m more about being smaller in size than running in distance. and THAT my fine friends IS happening. my jeans fit better this week. joy. joy. JOY.

On that note, who thought it was a good idea to set a goal for a HALF MARATHON IN APRIL???? not this half of my house, i assure you.

——————

i’m digging these little perforated dividers. a little variety from the numbers, yes?

It’s less than 1 week away from the moment of truth. the moment where i make the big cake for the baby shower. i’ve gotten kinks out of a few recipes. learned from some mistakes. and made a giant list of i-still-need-this-stuff! i think i’ll be ok. but i’m starting early this week juuuuust to be safe. here’s our inspiration— which i love that the other girls loved it cause i can feel somewhat responsible for the theme. look at me getting excited about a BABY shower. something weird in the air. or just maturely designed decoration ideas! lets go with that.

i dig this stump idea for the cake pedestal. not sure where to find a random stump, and also i need a chainsaw. substitute everything you see here in BLUE with PINK. eek! lots of pink. i will deal.

fun right? with the feathers and the branches. we are actually planning on this game with the guessing of everyone’s baby photos. its not the typical bottles/strollers/diapers thing. pastels, yes, but this is done so well. i’m secretly saying this to all of you when i am prego. this idea? YES!….. bottles/ducks/froo-froo/etc? please refrain. you’re better than that!! this is proof.

roadkill hair and by the way nashville, you can’t drive in REGULAR weather either.

oh friends, how MUCH we have to catch up on. remember last time how it was the national crazy work week or something? lets just go ahead and make that a MONTH. NCWM.

i’ve felt like its been friday since TUESday. ay-yai-yai.

 

anywho, lets get down to brass tacks.

item #1- halloween officially overrated itself this year,  but i’m blaming that on NCWM and not the holiday itself. it had good intentions. i thought our party went fine. not the blast of the century, but i was too tired to care. lots of food and drinks & a fair # of people.

here you can see J in his Pirate Captain getup (i was the wench- not pictured) being arrowed by Andy, The Disgruntled Cupid. jamie the cute Gilly is recording history with me. frankly i think J looks more like a flasher from this angle…. and why the need for a romantic arrow A,TDC? was this wench not suitable? WALK YE THE PLANK, CUPID!

i think the chicken won the costume of the nite. stellar performance with Violet from The Incredibles. Effectively protecting Chad’s identity…. i mean…. oops.

Arrested Development for the Dudaks. Does that even make sense? i was going for the play on words, but its a show i’ve yet to watch. what the heck do i know?

Prom king and queen from the 80’s. groovin out. And HAHA i just saw my sis in law down there in the corner. i dont have a picture of her costume but she came as a prego nun & her hubs came as a dirty priest. for real there was a dirty mustache. in FACT…..

….here’s the Dirty Mustache Club we had going on

Lastly but not leastly, remember this guy? Jack the most awesome dog EVER?? he totally rocked the party with us just hangin out. BETTER BEHAVED THAN MY OWN DOG. (dont tell her i said so) but….alas….. moments before the party started we got a message saying they had found his owner. And nothing against college kids, but that is who was totally irresponsible accidentally lost this wonderful animal. i hated giving him back.

kids these days…..sigh…..

moving on.

item #2 – i finally got my hair cut. like FOR REAL FOR REAL professionally cut. hehehe. yesterday after work i went to this new girl carissa and she did a great job! i love when the stylist has hair like i do and KNOWS what he/she is doing. fab.   disclaimer- i’m looking like a total idiot here with my big teeth but shan was telling me about how on Project Runway they just told this girl that her outfit looked like ROADKILL. hence, i laugh.

ok but notice my hair. i mean i know i havent fixed it REALLY in months maybe, and i didnt even fix it here- this is last nites stylist styling. mostly. i mean i had total bed-head this morning so you know i had to do SOMEthing. this weekend will be the true test when i grow tired of fixing and just let it do its thang.

oh, and another side note? yesterday? POST- hair doing. i sat in traffic for an hour and 15 minutes. that is how long it took me to get home. here. i will show you why.

see all this red?

red means everyone on the road is basically at a STANDSTILL. hello DMV? or whoever? Road Guys? notice my documentation. i’ve marked all problem areas in case you happen to be color blind. cause some people are, and i’m nothing if not indiscriminatory. plus i had plenty of time in the car to write a whole book.

item #3- we saw Where The Wild Things Are last nite (at midnight since that was the approximate time i arrived home). amazing movie! i cried. i loved it. we will be purchasing go see it if you havent yet.

i think thats long enough for today. i have more but more important things today, no?

 

spooky kooks

Did yall know this week is National Insanity Work Week?

yeah… no one told me either.

 

We have a halloween party tonite, and i’m kicking myself about why i planned a party on a friday, but i did. because im nice to the rest of you, thinking everyone else would have a party on the actual DAY of halloween since its conveniently a saturday. Who is feeling a bit self-righteous about how she never thinks of herself?

I didnt really have time to clean, more like just shoved anything i saw into the closet. I didnt really have time to cook, but i made it happen last nite with 2 different flavors of cupcakes and buttercream icing (a little on the soft side thanks to margarine and not butter) all made from scratch.

would you like to know why i made them from scratch?

because im trying to for reals do this bakery thing.

and the cake decorating classes are out to squash me. because? if you want to signup for an expensive cake-decorating class? YOU ALSO HAVE TO BRING EVERY LAST SUPPLY ON YOUR OWN. such a raw deal. you’re telling me that not ONLY do i owe you $45 JUST for your knowledge and expertise, but i also have to go spend $100+ on my own supplies??

um. no.

so i’m teaching myself. may it be youtube videos for the rest of my life, that is fine. i’m really disappointed in this company mostly just because there was no forewarning about the supply list. and also? they’re a bit archaic. and by archaic i mean 1990 when you still had to mail in a registration form and send a paper check. WITH A STAMP!

anyways.

these cupcakes better be awesome.

oh! on a happier note. pumpkin carving! here’s J being his meticulous self, carving a pretty bad-ace face right there. he was way ahead of me. i’m indecisive. what? you’re surprised? yeah i know, me too.

k so that was basically the exact same photo. what can i tell you? the iphone takes some amazing quality images.

here we are completed. lights on, ready to be spooky.

and taa-daa! i did the famous Scream face from our good friend Van Gogh. dont bother saying hi, he cant hear you.

(if you got that joke, you get 10 points.)

daisy is eyeing her escape route again, i see. pumpkins do not interest her even 1%.

Also- to add chaos to already chaos…. this is “jack”. we dont know what we’re calling him yet. i’m avoiding a name before we decide that he’s actually staying with us. BUT, nevertheless, he currently is hanging out in the garage.

liar liar pants on fire

ok not for reals. but i stole this quiz from facebook. its fun! i love quizzes! although i dunno why this is so hard to fill out without lying. they arent do or die questions. come on. also i tagged no one. cause im lazy. and thats the TRUTH!

Can you fill this out without lying? You’ve been tagged, so now you need to answer all the questions.  At the end, choose at least 8 people to be tagged. To do this, copy this entire message, then go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, delete my answers, and type yours.

1. What was the last thing you put in your mouth? grape

2. Where was your facebook profile picture taken? NYC – me and beckster about to go see WICKED at the Gershwin.

3. Can you play Guitar Hero? Not well. not well at all…

4. Name someone who made you laugh today? MCB & SS. the girls in my office are funny.

5. How late did you stay up last night and why? a whole 10:30

6. If you could move somewhere else, where would it be ? the beach. any beach. well not the gulf. cause, ew.

7. Ever been kissed under fireworks? i dont think so… i’m having Alzheimers these days so i might have forgotten.

8. Which of your friends lives closest to you? ooh! the dudaks. they’re our neighbors. sort of almost.

9. Do you believe ex’s can be friends? ehh… i havent had much luck with this. awkward when you’re married.

10. do you like Dr. Pepper? YES YES YES

11. When was the last time you cried really hard? months ago. thank goodness. darkest time of my life is over.

12. Who took your profile picture? becks. well maybe me? one of us.

13. Who was the last person you took a picture of? 4 male co-workers going head to head with the bubble hockey game.

14. Was today better than yesterday? ehh…  its monday…. could be worse. could be raining! (guess that movie!)

15. Can you live a day without TV? Not really… too many shows im addicted to.

16. Are you upset about anything? im a little upset that i grabbed a stinky sweatshirt this morning. and now my actual shirt is still reeking.

17. Do you think relationships are ever really worth it? absolutely!

18. Are you a bad influence? I’d really like to think so but i dont know how to break rules very well.

19. Night out or night in? In… old woman alert!

20. What items could you not go without during the day? coffee is the one thing i truly regret if i forget it.

21. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? wow. like no one for years. i guess brooke’s mom. i was less visiting and more keeping brooke company.

22. What does the last text message in your inbox say? “Rate it for Friday”. In response to me asking if i should bring leftover halloween candy to the office or save it for the party this weekend.

23. How do you feel about your life right now. Turning positive after too much negative.

24. Do you hate anyone? No, but there’s plenty that I could do without.

25. If we were to look in your inbox, what would we find? many an EVITE! a fun convo with becks about boys and her new side business (those 2 are completely unrelated btw), reminders to book plane tix ASAP.

26. Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass? Yes.

27. Has anyone ever called you perfect before? no. i hope they never do.

28. What song is stuck in your head? none right now. but i had some fun ones last week for no reason.

29 . Someone knocks on your window at 2:00 a.m., who do you want it to be? eek! that would have to be a circus freak cause my bedroom is on the 2nd floor. wait… i DONT want that… i dont want it to be anyone! ring the doorbell you weirdos.

30. Wanna have grandkids by the time your 50? no. please no. let me be like 60.

31. Name something you are doing tomorrow? work, small group. that reminds me, i need cash!

32. Do you think too much or too little? waaay too much.

33. Do you smile a lot? not enough!

Day 6- Take a picture of one thing, person, place or specific moment that makes you feel grateful. Share it with your social network.
Is anyone else bothered by the profound formality of these requests? who uses ’social network’? BAH!