Wednesday, October 28, 2009

New Pieces

Hubby brought home a canoe he bought for $100 this weekend. It's about 10 years old, but the man he purchased it from had used it about 10 times before it sat unused in his garage even though his wife gave him shit for buying a $1,000 canoe! Hubby was as proud as a peacock when he showed me his steal of a deal. I had to laugh because he was so excited about it and immediately put it in the pool to check for holes. He has big plans of taking me canoeing on TL, and I must admit it sounds fun.

The he tells me he found a desk for our bedroom made out of Mexican Pine. He's super excited about it and I grudgingly make the 45 minute trek from home to the seller's house so we can pick it up. I was quite surprised at how nice the desk was and the front was actually finished, so it doesn't have to go flush against a wall. It could be a show piece in an office or something like that. So Hubby seals the deal for $175 and after we load up and drive away he gleefully exclaims "I found one just like that for $600 in the store near my work last week!!!" He was so happy and claims this will help him keep his side of the room more organized, but I have my doubts.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Progress and PMS

Yesterday was a bit touch and go. First thing in the morning I watch a tribute video about a dog that was used in rehabilitation and comfort of elderly patients. He had died recently at the age of 19 and it was so touching and made me bawl at work. Great start to the workday. Then I had a counseling session and I got all upset and cried some more. Awesome. Then on the way home I was moody and crabby and that sucked on the hour drive home.

I did take some excellent PMS pills once I got home and decided to start making my Halloween cake decorations. I needed to make ghosts, pumpkins, a black cat, etc out of fondant and all that takes at least 3 days to dry properly. I actually managed to get all the pieces done and I felt better afterwards. I also make the bottom tier to my cake to get that over with. I thought it was done until I cut the top off to level it and realized a shot glass size portion was still gummy! So I was up until 11pm finishing baking the cake. Ooops!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Weekend Wrap Up

I love lazy weekends! No big plans, just doing whatever you feel like it. Friday night the minute I got home I changed into comfy pants, a sweater and fuzzy socks. It was awesome and short-lived because Hubby wanted to go party at a neighbor's house. With my ass being firmly entrenched in the couch, I sent him alone to go blow off some steam. I didn't expect him to stay out till 2am, but whatever. I got to relax and watch some girly shows.

Saturday I hit up the gym early to start my treadmill interval training. It's a 6 week program, where you basically start with running for 2 minutes, walking for 3 minutes, and doing that for 6 cycles. I only made it for 3 cycles, but I'm going to try to complete the whole 6 week program and hopefully kick start my exercising goals. I then did an awesome Body Flow class that left me sore but feeling pretty light on my feet if you will. After class, I had to hit up Spec's for some liquor for the Halloween party shots as well as a cool costume gift for the grand prize winner. And since I was by Party Pig, I decided to stop in and see what kind of decorations were on sale. Sadly, nothing was, but that didn't stop me from picking up a few odds and ends! Saturday night we went to our uncle's house in the neighborhood for chili and football. It was a totally laid back night and it was great.

Sunday I had a hair appointment and had my hair colored darker. My celebrity reference was Zooey Dechanel and my colorist hit the nail on the head. I love the color and I think it complements my winter skin-tone. I need to rework my makeup for the darker hair, but I'm in love with the overall look. I meet up with C for some lunch and some shopping. She found 2 great jackets and I got some new makeup at Sephora. Then I headed home and Hubby helped me with my levitating table. It's about 75% done, and I need to get some last minute items to finish it up.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Roll The Dice

Last night was my turn to host Bunco, and I must say it was a smashing success! The decorations were all up and looking spooky, the furniture had been rearranged for optimal seating and the food was fantastic. Dinner was bowtie pasta with roasted red pepper sauce, mystery rolls, salad, sea salt chocolate truffles, and mini-pumpkin pies. Everything was homemade and T was gracious enough to come help me cook all afternoon.

We started drinking wine at 7pm and didn't stop until I almost fell asleep in my chair on the patio. We played CLR and it was a crazy game. T won the pot twice and my MIL won the other game. People were rubbing the dice on their boobs for good luck, it was so funny my cheeks hurt from laughing so much. We showed off some bitchin' dance moves and decided whatever happens at my house, stays at my house! Maybe it's the festive spirit of Halloween that makes everyone act crazy.

I drank waaaaay to much wine and passed out promptly at 11pm without even taking off my makeup. I never do that! It was rough getting up this morning, but I'm feeling about half-human right now after a Grande Soy White Chocolate Mocha!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Random Musings

Today is a better day. I finished my salted chocolate truffles for Bunco last night and they look pretty darn good. Hubby said they taste great, I haven't tried one yet. I didn't realize the whole process takes about 4 hours to make them, but it was worth it. Even got points at work for bringing in some samples!

Hubby surprised me with flowers the other day as well. He got them because it was the 9 year anniversary of our first official date. We both remember it pretty well. I went to a hockey game with Hubby and that's when he introduced me to all of his guy friends. I even remember the soft blue sweater I wore because it made my tan look excellent! Hubby prefers to acknowledge our first date over our wedding, but whatever. I'll take what I can get!

Tonight I'm learning to make fondant roses in my cake class. I'm going to make some traditional colored roses as well as some black roses for my Halloween cake. I've got a few more decorating items/cleaning to do before Thursday's Bunco. Luckily T is coming over to help me get the food ready and do any last minute things earlier in the day tomorrow. Gotta love my job, they let me take off half a day when it's my month to host Bunco! It must help I bribe them with food.

I found some great old bedsheets at Goodwill yesterday which I proceeded to age with fake spray blood last night. They look awesome, so glad I found cheap sheets. I'm always trying to have new decorations for my Halloween parties so people don't get bored by the same stuff each year. This is my 4th year hosting, so you can imagine the treasure trove of decorations I have.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Overwhelmed

I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed at the moment. Got a ton of financial reports due this week, Bunco to host on Thursday, a Halloween party to clean and finish decorating for,etc. I know I should be excited about having all these fun events, but I'm tired and cranky and in the bitching mood. So there. Anyone have any chocolate?!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday night Hubby and I just wanted to relax, so we took some champagne out to the hot tub and relished in the cooler weather and yummy drinks. I got so relaxed I zonked out at 8:30pm! So much for a romantic evening. But I've been running on full steam since I got back last Sunday and obviously needed some sleep.

Saturday hit my yoga class that I haven't been to in two weeks, so I was in desperate need of some stretching. Class was great and I really enjoyed the Tai Chi portion of it. Afterwards I hit up the grocery store to stock up on all my items for my Bunco dinner this week. It's my month to host and I'm going to make Bowtie Pasta with homemade Roasted Red Pepper sauce, mystery rolls, salad, pumpkin pie bites and chocolate truffles with sea salt. Later than evening a group of us went to see Vallejo at a free concert near the house. It was a beautiful evening and we sat outside in the amphitheater and rocked out.

Sunday we headed to brunch at Moonshine to celebrate out 4 year wedding anniversary and our 9 year anniversary of our first official date. It was a yummy brunch and then we headed over to C's house to check out her new baby. S is looking adorable and already has gotten so big. Her mommy showed me her expanding wardrobe and she has the cutest clothes. I'm sure her Daddy is thrilled with that! Afterwards we headed home to do some housecleaning and Halloween decorating. T came over to help me get all the decorations up and I must say, we did a great job! It looks like Halloween threw up all over my house and I love it! Hopefully the Bunco ladies love it this week as well.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Anniversaries and Dog Feet

Yesterday was my 4 year wedding anniversary. We waxed poetic about how we couldn't believe it was 4 years ago we celebrated our wedding with over 125 guests from Michigan, Texas, Florida, Delaware, Georgia,etc. It was a crazy wedding and we loved every minute of it and every funny photo that was taken.

We didn't have big plans to celebrate, and while we attempted to get dressed and go to dinner last night, we were both too tired to go! So we have a date for brunch on Sunday which I'm really looking forward to.

Our little dog hurt her foot while we were on vacation last week and it hasn't been getting better . Turns out her nail ripped from the skin and was hanging on causing her some major pain. So off to the vet we went this morning and her poor toe is indeed infected and I was informed the nail would have to come off! So they are sedating her, removing the remaining part of the nail bed so it can heal properly. A new nail will grow back and I need to keep her foot clean for about a week. So she'll be wearing a sock when she goes out to potty (please no laughing if you see her, she's very vain!). So what does all this set me back, about $250. Oh, and did I mention I didn't even tell Hubby I was taking her to the vet? This will be a good conversation when we get home tonight!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Music I'm Diggin'

I love One Republic! Song from their new album to drop on 11/17!

I Heart Fondant

Last night was the second week of my Course 3 cake class in which we work with more detailed royal icing flowers and using fondant. I've always wanted to learn how to work with fondant, from the coloring techniques to flavoring techniques. I missed the first class since I was on vacation, but I was able to get there early to learn what I missed.


Then came the fun stuff, covering a cake with rolled fondant! It's not as hard as it seems, but you really have to work the fondant to get it colored properly. We didn't have time to flavor it, but pretty much you roll it out and then brush on any flavoring you prefer and then mush it together and roll it back out flat to then cover the cake.


This is my finished product:

The cake is covered in a thin layer of buttercream frosting which acts like glue to hold the fondant on. I rolled out a large circle of white fondant which covers the entire cake. Then you roll out colored fondant to make the bow. The flowers are cut out of the extra white fondant with colored fondant centers. Square and rectangle cakes are the easiest to cover in fondant, while circle cakes are a bitch.
Next week we learn more royal icing flowers and the fondant rose!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Joy

To my surprise and delight, my local grocery store installed 2 large freezer sections of Gluten-Free meals while I was on my trip! I had to grab some last minute items for my cake class when I stumbled upon rice raviolis with spinach and ricotta cheese, cheese pizza, chicken pad thai, coconut curry soup, etc. Most of the food brands are ones that I know cook in a dedicated Gluten-Free facility, so I can eat their food without worrying!

Hmm, now what to have for dinner tonight. Pizza (which I haven't had in 6 months) or cheese and onion pirogi!

Monday, October 12, 2009

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Last night wrapped up a 9 day vacation to visit my family and to attend a dear friends' wedding. I left earlier than Hubby to spend some quality time with my mom, sister and grandparents. It wasn't as smooth as I expected, when I found out my step-dad was in the hospital with stage 4 kidney failure! My mom was trying to juggle seeing my and making sure my SD was okay. He ended up being in the hospital for 10 days, but is now home. As most of you know, I haven't spoken to my SD in over 8 years. I only got to see my mom a little bit, but it was still nice to spend some time with her.

My sister was awesome and hung with me the whole time and we saw the following movies:

Fame- Totally fun and catchy. Worth renting if you like dancing/singing movies
Zombieland- Friggin' hysterical. Woody Harrelson was so funny and it's my favorite movie I've ever seen him in.
Couples Retreat- Really funny. The whole cast is great and they did a bunch of improv scenes and it was great. I love Kristen Bell and she was totally cute in this movie.

She also made me get Bare Minerals makeup, which I'm in love with! I got the Matte version to help with oil control and it rocks. I barely got that dewy look even though it was crazy hot my whole trip. We also fit in some time at the beach and saw Manatees and got to see pods of dolphins while we were boating. Needless to say, I'm sporting a rockin' tan!

The rehearsal dinner was fun, but the dang place was hot as balls! We were all pretty uncomfortable, but at least they had good food. It was held at a Golf Country Club, so we did some midnight glow golfing that was really fun. I even managed to sink 3 putts which really impressed the guys. It was fun to run around without shoes on the green in the dark. None of the other girls gave it a go. It was a blast to spend time with our old friends. It was like time hadn't passed and we still lived there. The laughs and jokes were rolling the whole time and it was great.

The boys were supposed to go golfing the morning of the wedding, but most of them were pretty wrecked and didn't make it, including Hubby. The boys left later on and I spent more time with my sister. I decided to get a hair blowout so it looked bouncin' and behavin' for the wedding and it was totally worth $25. The wedding started at 5pm and the ceremony was beautiful. The groom ( I was roomates with him and his brother in college) started crying as soon as the bride walked down the aisle. It was very touching and I definitely got teary eyed. Afterwards we headed over to the reception where the open bar was flowing! They had the best champagne and I drank Poinsettia's all night long! The food was amazingly good, the cake was scrumptious and the DJ totally rocked it. We must have danced for 2 hours straight and I managed to take over 250 pictures. We laughed, we shed a few tears and danced the night away like old times.

We finally called it night around 1:30am and headed home to sleep on some great memories. I know I drifted away with a smile on my face. Sunday morning we went to breakfast and hit up some boating time. We tried to catch fish and failed miserably, but we did see dolphins and sting rays! Sadly it was time to head home around 4pm. We were so busy talking we barely made our flight and we realized we had left Hubby's backpack at the house! Too late to do anything, Hubby threw a fit and we had to board the plane. He was super crabby and blamed me to which I told him to Eff' off. Halfway thru the flight his eyes flew open and informed me our car keys were in that bag. Shit. When we landed at our layover, we phoned home and my lovely MIL kept repeating "OH MY GOD!" After I got her to knock that off, she informed me we should take a cab. WHAT?! That would have costed about $100 because we live 45 min. from the airport. So I did what anyone would do, I pulled out the big guns. I called T up and begged her to take our spare keys to the airport parking so we could get home. Ever the most excellent friend, she agreed and saved our life and probably our marriage. I wanted to whoop Hubby's ass so bad! Then it turned out our flight was delayed for over an 1 1/2 and that was it. We finally laughed and threw in the towel.

We ended up getting home about 1am and promptly passed out. Flying is stressful, especially when you have to get up at 6am for work! But it was a great trip and I'm so glad I got to see family and old friends.

Friday, October 2, 2009

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem!

I'm off to soak up the sun! I'm heading South for a wedding and to spend some much needed time with my family. I'm going to sleep in, watch Westerns with grandmom, go see Whip-It with my sister and other fun things like that. Oh yeah, and hit up the beach and ocean a bazillion times!

So while you're at work, picture me lying on a beach towel, falling asleep to the rhythmic ocean waves crashing upon the beach. Sigh. Oh, and I'll sure as hell be drinking those ridiculously overpriced Pina Colada's!

The best part is I get to go to a ritzy wedding for two of our friends and eat fabulous food and then cry when I remember I can't eat the wedding cake since it has wheat in it. Damn. Guess I'll be drinking my dessert!

See you in 10 days!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Baby Visiting

I am so excited! I got to go visit C's new baby girl last night after work and she's adorable! She has a perfect head and face and her little wrinkly hands are so cute. She was a good sport and allowed all of us to hold her and pass her around to the next set of eager hands. Everyone wanted to hold the little cutie. C is doing well and heading home sometime today to start their life as a family of 3.

Tonight after work I'm heading down to the South hospital to visit T. She's doing better today and I believe she'll have the tube out of her nose and throat later today. We're going to cheer her up and to say hello!

I also have to start packing tonight for my trip to see my family. I'm leaving early Saturday and still have a ton to do. I'm getting my nails done at lunch so that will be taken care of and I guess it's time to start picking out some clothes to bring. Luckily I scored 2 cute dresses on sale so I'm taken care of for the rehearsal dinner and the wedding reception. Gotta bring my bathing suit and hopefully soak up some sun. Bad news is my sister was let go from her job (something I'm all too familiar with!) yesterday but selfishly I'm happy she'll be able to spend all week with me!