I haven't been posting, since October. Yeah. Well, here's why. We are having another baby. SHE (that's right another girl. ESTROGEN POWER!) is due in May and I've been a little preoccupied. So I've decided to take a blog hiatus. I'm sorry I didn't warn you. I am warning you now. I do not know when I will be back. I want to focus some time on my growing little family right now so I'm trying to spend less time on the interwebz. <3 you all!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Pumpkins
I know i haven't posted in awhile. I'm so terribly sorry. This thing called life keeps happening, and I've decided that I want to experience it as much as possible. So I've kind of neglected my blog. For that I am sorry.
I decided to be festive in this post.
There you go. It's a pumpkin, 'cause it's fall and stuff, y'all! I love a good pumpkin pie, cheesecake, bread, cookie, or muffin. I love the way it smells when it's baking. I love the smooth flavor. It just tastes like autumn should taste. So today I salute the pumpkin.
Today I started planning my Thanksgiving menu. I love to cook Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey and I, we spend quality time together. I'm especially looking forward to this year because instead of just me and M and the Hubs, we're having some very special familial guests. For that I am extremely thankful and willing to go out on a culinary limb. That's right. I'm going to make my own pumpkin puree instead of buying the canned stuff. All I know so far is that I need to buy a pie pumpkin and not one of the big jack-o-lantern pumpkins. Once I figure it out, I plan to post pictures of the process and maybe some tutorial tips, so stay tuned.
Fall is my favorite time of year. What's your favorite time of year?
PS My friend Lauren is doing an awesome giveaway this week of a vintage Coach bag from Orange Twine. Make sure you check it out!
I decided to be festive in this post.
There you go. It's a pumpkin, 'cause it's fall and stuff, y'all! I love a good pumpkin pie, cheesecake, bread, cookie, or muffin. I love the way it smells when it's baking. I love the smooth flavor. It just tastes like autumn should taste. So today I salute the pumpkin.Today I started planning my Thanksgiving menu. I love to cook Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey and I, we spend quality time together. I'm especially looking forward to this year because instead of just me and M and the Hubs, we're having some very special familial guests. For that I am extremely thankful and willing to go out on a culinary limb. That's right. I'm going to make my own pumpkin puree instead of buying the canned stuff. All I know so far is that I need to buy a pie pumpkin and not one of the big jack-o-lantern pumpkins. Once I figure it out, I plan to post pictures of the process and maybe some tutorial tips, so stay tuned.
Fall is my favorite time of year. What's your favorite time of year?
PS My friend Lauren is doing an awesome giveaway this week of a vintage Coach bag from Orange Twine. Make sure you check it out!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Things I love right now
Like, right this second. Because the things I love change often.
My sunflowers in a mason jar
We are trying to sell our house. This means a lot of things. It means most of our stuff (including our vases) are in storage right now. It also means that our realtor said to make our house more "welcoming." What's more welcoming than fresh flowers? Of course, I didn't remember that we had no vases until I got home with these beautiful, happy sunflowers. No worries. I had an empty mason jar in the cabinet, so I cut the stems short and made a sweet little bouquet that's not overpowering. Don't they look like they're saying, "Hi! Buy our house at the price we listed it at!" I felt so much like Martha Stewart when I did this, except without the insider trading stuff.
We are trying to sell our house. This means a lot of things. It means most of our stuff (including our vases) are in storage right now. It also means that our realtor said to make our house more "welcoming." What's more welcoming than fresh flowers? Of course, I didn't remember that we had no vases until I got home with these beautiful, happy sunflowers. No worries. I had an empty mason jar in the cabinet, so I cut the stems short and made a sweet little bouquet that's not overpowering. Don't they look like they're saying, "Hi! Buy our house at the price we listed it at!" I felt so much like Martha Stewart when I did this, except without the insider trading stuff.
Mockingjay
Dude. I've told you already to read Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Now you have another book to read. I can't even talk about it without spoiling, but I will say that it is FANTASTIC and your life is LESS because you haven't read these books. Seriously, I would say they're on the same level as Harry Potter. Yeah, I just went there. They are in no way comparable in storyline, but in a beautifully crafted story they are running in the same race. Read them.
Dude. I've told you already to read Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Now you have another book to read. I can't even talk about it without spoiling, but I will say that it is FANTASTIC and your life is LESS because you haven't read these books. Seriously, I would say they're on the same level as Harry Potter. Yeah, I just went there. They are in no way comparable in storyline, but in a beautifully crafted story they are running in the same race. Read them.
Blanket
One of my dear friends is having her first baby, a little girl. I started crocheting this sweet melon blanket for her last week and it is almost finished. I can't wait to give it to her!
What are you loving right now?
One of my dear friends is having her first baby, a little girl. I started crocheting this sweet melon blanket for her last week and it is almost finished. I can't wait to give it to her!
What are you loving right now?
Monday, August 16, 2010
Eyeball of Fire
So today I set my eyeball on fire. It was fantastic. A life lesson for sure.
We're doing some home improvement. Hubs noticed that the caulk in the shower was a light beige, instead of being white, and asked if I could see if I could get it clean. You know, because I know so much about caulk (that was sarcasm). And because I'm a cleaning ninja (that was not sarcasm). So I armed myself with vinegar and baking soda, which was a bust, but is awesome for cleaning a toilet or building a model volcano. Then I went for the big guns: Bleach. Let me tell you about bleach. It'll kill you with it's fumes. It stinks like a rotten egg. But it will clean anything, including almost-but-not-quite-white beige caulk.
We have a woodpecker at our house. Bear with me, I'm not having an attention deficit moment. I hate him. He likes to peck on the metal window frame in our bathroom. So he chose the moment that I was pouring pure bleach onto the cloth to start hammering away at the window frame like he was drilling an oil well or something. So of course I jumped.
I watched the bleach arc through the air in a slow-motion movie montage. There was nothing I could do but yell NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! for a few seconds as the splatter flew toward my face. It hit right below my left eye. FIRE. FIRE, I TELL YOU! Pure bleach burns. Public Service Announcement. I fell to the floor, clutching my face, completely unprepared for this type of disaster.
I am prepared for many different disasters. Tornadoes, check. Earthquakes, check. Zombie Apocalypse, check. Freaking bleach in my eye, compliments of a unintelligent woodpecker? Not so much. I scrambled into the bedroom and called Poison control:
Me: AUUUUGHHH! FIRE! FIRE IN MY EYE! IT BUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRNNNNNNS!
Poison Control Operator: What?
Me: MY EYE IS BURNING! EYE OF SAURON! MY EYEBALL IS MELTING! BLEEEEEAAAAACCCCCHHHH!
PCO: You poured bleach in your eye?
Me: NO! WHY WOULD I POUR BLEACH IN MY EYE ON PURPOSE? I'M NOT A MORON! WHY AREN'T YOU MORE UPSET ABOUT THIS? THIS IS UPSETTING!
PCO: Ma'am, calm down. Did you get bleach directly in your eye?
Me: No! It landed below my eye!
PCO: Your eye is just irritated from the fumes. You need to rinse the area the bleach touched, then hold a cold cloth over your eye for about half and hour, and you'll feel better.
Me: I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! I LOVE YOU POISON CONTROL MAN!
PCO: If the irritation continues, or if you have vision problems, you need to go straight to your ER.
Me: What is your address? I would like to send you a slightly inappropriate card to thank you.
PCO: *click*
So I have a spot on my face that looks like leprosy or something. My eyeball has stopped being on fire and is simply smoldering. It looks something like this:
Please be careful when cleaning with pure bleach. You never know when an insane woodpecker is going to destroy the semblance of peace in your cleaning haven and cause you serious injury.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Insomnia
I have insomnia. All the time. At least once a week. It really stinks. Sometimes people ask me why I don't just use that time to get things done. It's because I'm too angry. I really love my sleep. I think sleep is sacred and holy and wonderful and it makes me very angry when I can't sleep. Even moreso now that I have a child and I can't take naps during the day. Someone asked me the other day what it's like to have insomnia. I think everyone's experience is probably different, but here's what it's like for me.
9:00 - I start my bedtime routine. Yes, like a baby has a bedtime routine. I have one, too, per order of my doctor. All lamps but one go off in the living room, my computer goes off, tv goes off. I read or crochet, nothing involving bright lights.
9:45 - I brush my teeth, put on my pajamas, all that jazz.
9:55 - I do two Sudoku puzzles. I don't know why, but I can't sleep if I haven't done two of them.
10:15 - Go to bed. No reading, TV, or keeping my lamp on. Dark, quiet, cool.
Most nights this works. The nights it doesn't work, it goes something like this:
10:15
Brain says: "I won't go to sleep! You can't make me! Think of stressful things! THINK OF STRESSFUL THINGS!!"
Me: "Noooooooooooooooooooo! Go to sleep!"
Brain: "You're not my mom! I refuse to go to sleep!"
Ear: "I can hear everything within a 10 mile radius! Hooray! Brain! Stay awake and listen to my sounds!"
Brain: "Suh-weet!"
Me: "GO TO SLEEP"
Brain and Ear: "NO!"
Bird: " It's nighttime, but I'm going to sit outside your window and sing like it's daytime! LALALALALALALALALALALALALALA!"
Crazy Neighbor Dog: "OH MY WORD! THERE'S A BIRD! A BIRD! A BIRD! BIRDBIRDBIRDBIRDBIRDBIRDBIRD!"
Nyquil: "Take as much of me as you want. I'm not helping you sleep tonight!"
Neighbor Truck: "I'm a ridiculously loud piece of machinery. I shouldn't even exist because my noise is so obnoxious. That doesn't stop my owner from idling me in his driveway for 30 minutes at 2am then roaring off down the street like we're on the way to a fire or something."
Fire Truck: "I am on my way to a fire! WEOOWEOOOWEOOOWEOOOOWEOOO!"
Hubs' nose: "whistlewhistlewhistleSNOREwhistlewhistlewhistleSNORE"
Me:
3:00 am Everything is quiet. I start to doze.
Brain: "Did you remember to unplug your flat iron?"
4:00am I finally fall into an uneasy, not restful sleep.
7:00 am M wakes up.
Me the next day:
The point of this post? There's really not one. Just enjoy your sleep. And think of me and my pathetic unsleepy brain while you're wandering around in sugarplum land.
9:00 - I start my bedtime routine. Yes, like a baby has a bedtime routine. I have one, too, per order of my doctor. All lamps but one go off in the living room, my computer goes off, tv goes off. I read or crochet, nothing involving bright lights.
9:45 - I brush my teeth, put on my pajamas, all that jazz.
9:55 - I do two Sudoku puzzles. I don't know why, but I can't sleep if I haven't done two of them.
10:15 - Go to bed. No reading, TV, or keeping my lamp on. Dark, quiet, cool.
Most nights this works. The nights it doesn't work, it goes something like this:
10:15
Brain says: "I won't go to sleep! You can't make me! Think of stressful things! THINK OF STRESSFUL THINGS!!"Me: "Noooooooooooooooooooo! Go to sleep!"
Brain: "You're not my mom! I refuse to go to sleep!"
Ear: "I can hear everything within a 10 mile radius! Hooray! Brain! Stay awake and listen to my sounds!"Brain: "Suh-weet!"
Me: "GO TO SLEEP"
Brain and Ear: "NO!"
Bird: " It's nighttime, but I'm going to sit outside your window and sing like it's daytime! LALALALALALALALALALALALALALA!"
Crazy Neighbor Dog: "OH MY WORD! THERE'S A BIRD! A BIRD! A BIRD! BIRDBIRDBIRDBIRDBIRDBIRDBIRD!"
Nyquil: "Take as much of me as you want. I'm not helping you sleep tonight!"
Neighbor Truck: "I'm a ridiculously loud piece of machinery. I shouldn't even exist because my noise is so obnoxious. That doesn't stop my owner from idling me in his driveway for 30 minutes at 2am then roaring off down the street like we're on the way to a fire or something."
Fire Truck: "I am on my way to a fire! WEOOWEOOOWEOOOWEOOOOWEOOO!"
Hubs' nose: "whistlewhistlewhistleSNOREwhistlewhistlewhistleSNORE"Me:
3:00 am Everything is quiet. I start to doze.
Brain: "Did you remember to unplug your flat iron?"
4:00am I finally fall into an uneasy, not restful sleep.
7:00 am M wakes up.
Me the next day:
The point of this post? There's really not one. Just enjoy your sleep. And think of me and my pathetic unsleepy brain while you're wandering around in sugarplum land.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Recipe time!
Peanut butter pie. Mmmmmmmmmmm. I love peanut butter. I love pies. So peanut butter pie sounds like a win to me. Here we go. You'll need:
8oz cream cheese (softened)
1 1/4 c powdered sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 T evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cartons of Cool Whip (yeah, baby)
1 graham cracker or Oreo pie crust
1 package Reeses' cups
First you want to blend your cream cheese and powdered sugar until it's smooth. DON'T turn on your mixer full blast, or you'll end up with a powdered sugar fail, as demonstrated in this photo:
When your powdered sugar and cream cheese are smooth, add peanut butter. I love how smooth the peanut butter top is when you open a new jar.
Add your evaporated milk and vanilla at this stage. Once again, mix until smooth. Now comes the good part. Crack open one of those Cool Whip cartons and dump the whole thing in. Mix until you have this:
YUM. Pour this filling into your pie crust (we prefer Oreo crust, but we had a guest over tonight who doesn't like chocolate so I used a graham crust). Open your second container of Cool Whip and cover the pie with it. Chop the Reeses cups and sprinkle them on top.* Cover and refrigerate.
Seriously. best. dessert. ever.
*Tip, freeze your Reeses cups while you prepare the pie. By the time you're ready to chop them they'll have stiffened up a bit and will be less likely to melt as you're chopping them.
Let me know if you try and like the recipe. Bon appetit, my friends!
8oz cream cheese (softened)
1 1/4 c powdered sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 T evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cartons of Cool Whip (yeah, baby)
1 graham cracker or Oreo pie crust
1 package Reeses' cups
First you want to blend your cream cheese and powdered sugar until it's smooth. DON'T turn on your mixer full blast, or you'll end up with a powdered sugar fail, as demonstrated in this photo:
When your powdered sugar and cream cheese are smooth, add peanut butter. I love how smooth the peanut butter top is when you open a new jar.
Add your evaporated milk and vanilla at this stage. Once again, mix until smooth. Now comes the good part. Crack open one of those Cool Whip cartons and dump the whole thing in. Mix until you have this:
YUM. Pour this filling into your pie crust (we prefer Oreo crust, but we had a guest over tonight who doesn't like chocolate so I used a graham crust). Open your second container of Cool Whip and cover the pie with it. Chop the Reeses cups and sprinkle them on top.* Cover and refrigerate.
Seriously. best. dessert. ever.*Tip, freeze your Reeses cups while you prepare the pie. By the time you're ready to chop them they'll have stiffened up a bit and will be less likely to melt as you're chopping them.
Let me know if you try and like the recipe. Bon appetit, my friends!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sara Rants and Raves
So I know it's been awhile since I posted. Sorry. I decided to take a little hiatus after LOST took it's permanent hiatus. We also had a death in the family, a week and a half vacation, and we're getting our house ready to go on the market. Squee! I love a new house! I'll be posting more from now on.
PETTY RANT - I hate going to the dentist. Let me re-word that so it's easier to understand. I would rather let Secretariat stomp on my face that go to the dentist. I hate it. I have very good teeth. They are straight, and I've never had braces or even a retainer. They are clean because I'm terrified of having bad breath, so I floss and brush regularly like a good little girl. My cleanings are always a breeze and take no time. The hygentist raves about my teeth and how I take such good care of them. I had an appointment today. Everything went swimmingly, then the dentist walked in. He did the dentist thing, where he told me to open my mouth, touched to of my teeth with his scrapy thing and said, "You need to floss more." Are you serious? I floss EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. Sometimes twice a day if I eat something stringy like celery. Are dentists just required to say that to everyone? Because it offended me. I know it's petty, but there it is. Dear Dentist: I already floss every day. Find something new to say.
RAVE - So Hubs and I took M to see Despicable Me this weekend. GO SEE IT! It's wonderful. Not only did it solidify my desire to have minions (who knew minions were so cute?!), but it had plenty to keep us entertained, and plenty to keep M entertained. I don't want to give the movie away, but I will share Hubs' favorite line with you, "I said DART gun, not FART gun!" Comic GOLD!
Parting notes: I feel like LOST created a vacuum and I should be writing a review of something occasionally. Any suggestions? Thanks for still reading, if you're still reading. Sorry I was MIA for so long.
PETTY RANT - I hate going to the dentist. Let me re-word that so it's easier to understand. I would rather let Secretariat stomp on my face that go to the dentist. I hate it. I have very good teeth. They are straight, and I've never had braces or even a retainer. They are clean because I'm terrified of having bad breath, so I floss and brush regularly like a good little girl. My cleanings are always a breeze and take no time. The hygentist raves about my teeth and how I take such good care of them. I had an appointment today. Everything went swimmingly, then the dentist walked in. He did the dentist thing, where he told me to open my mouth, touched to of my teeth with his scrapy thing and said, "You need to floss more." Are you serious? I floss EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. Sometimes twice a day if I eat something stringy like celery. Are dentists just required to say that to everyone? Because it offended me. I know it's petty, but there it is. Dear Dentist: I already floss every day. Find something new to say.
RAVE - So Hubs and I took M to see Despicable Me this weekend. GO SEE IT! It's wonderful. Not only did it solidify my desire to have minions (who knew minions were so cute?!), but it had plenty to keep us entertained, and plenty to keep M entertained. I don't want to give the movie away, but I will share Hubs' favorite line with you, "I said DART gun, not FART gun!" Comic GOLD!
Parting notes: I feel like LOST created a vacuum and I should be writing a review of something occasionally. Any suggestions? Thanks for still reading, if you're still reading. Sorry I was MIA for so long.