Friday, February 29, 2008

Calendar girl

I have the most awesome calendar in the world. I got it for Christmas and it's based off of these two cute little Mini Yorkies (like mine) named Schmitty and Pudge. I absolutely love it!! I have decided to share it month by month with you. I have some catching up to do, so there are two. The first is January and the last is February. It's a calendar based off of movies and how they did knock-offs of them. It's hilarious. It keeps my co-workers laughing, and Lord knows we need more of that! I'll post the one for March on Monday. For now, it's back to work and then going home to pack to go visit our parents back at "home" for the weekend, and then go to my friends baby shower. I can't wait!!
Enjoy!!

Making fun of Men in Black:


Making fun of Brokeback Mountain




Thursday, February 28, 2008

cupcakes make anyone smile!

So, you guys probably know already that I have a fascination with cupcakes. I'm trying to branch out and make my own flavors instead of making box cakes, and I'm trying to do a little more with the frosting and other toppings. So, I ran across this blog and I loooooooove it!! It makes me so happy when I read it! It always has the most creative and beautiful cupcakes I've ever seen! It also lead me to another site. It's a cupcake shop back towards home. I had no idea we had cupcake shops, but it makes me want to stop next time I head back towards Durham. It has such beautiful creations! Check it out, it's name is Cupcake Envy. Here's their website. There's also a place in Raleigh called Bittycakes, another in Durham called Artisan Cupcake , and a sight in Carboro called Cakewalk. They all look amazing but I believe, by far, Cupcake Envy takes the cake (wink* wink* get it??... "takes the cake") Nice~
I've been talking to Phillip about nursery stuff for a while and I think my top idea for a girl is to have a cupcake nursery. There's not much out there along that design but I think I could whip together a comforter for the crib with some kind of cupcake design on it. Maybe the actual comforter could be the icing part with little sprinkle designs, and the dust ruffle could be the bottom part of the cupcake... who knows... I'm sure I can dream up something :) If it's a boy, there's no doubt it's going to be an aviation themed room so he can be like his daddy :-p

Gotta run~! Have a great day! Feel free to drop off any ideas for the cupcake bed if you have any!! :)

Isn't this adorable!!! Ok, ok, I'm going a little overboard with the cupcakes..... I'LL STOP!!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

"When I grow up I want to be a marine biologist"

I really wanted to be a marine biologist when I was a kid. Didn't we all? Why is that? Anyway, ran across this and thought it was interesting.




You Should Be a Social Worker



You are deeply caring and empathetic.

You are able to take on other people's problems as if they were your own.

Sensitive and intuitive, you understand human emotions well.

Helping others gives you the most joy in life. You feel like it's your purpose in life.



You do best when you:



- Have a lot of responsibility

- Greatly impact someone's life with your work



You would also be a good philanthropist or stay at home parent.



Really? Awesome!! Guess what.... been there, done that, doing that, loving it!!!! :)

Long time no see

Sorry it's taken me so long to blog again but lately I've been completely and utterly annoyed.~ My weekend was absolutely wonderful, and then my week was crap- and we're only three days in. All weekend I sat behind my sewing machine to pound out the most beautiful gift for a friend's baby shower that's coming up on Sunday. I'm super psyched about it and absolutely tired of seeing it at the same time. I tell ya, I've put a lot of love into it, and I'm so proud of it!! I really hope I can finish it before I have to head home on Friday! I'll put up pictures of my project when the shower is over. I'm not sure if my friend still reads my blogs or not ;) So, on Saturday we went out to dinner to Speedy's with Katie and her hubbie and little girl. I just love that little one! She's sooo cute and sweet! I could just eat her up! I have to say that I am so impressed with Katie's husband. He didn't miss a beat during the whole dinner. He was just so amazing with Katie and the baby. When the drinks came out, he made sure he drink was full at all times. When the hot pizza came out, he cut it up for Katie and had it waiting for her because Katie was busy with the baby and couldn't cut it up (without being asked!). He was just on top of everything. He held the door for her, he held her hand to make sure she didn't fall down the steps with the baby.... VERY IMPRESSIVE! Between you and me, I hope Phillip was taking notes!! :) He's good to me though, I don't think he'll have a problem :-P So, then Monday rolls around. I have two people tell me that I look like I'm showing already. I love these two people to death and I know they meant no harm in the comment, and were super excited when they made the comment. But, I've been sooooo self conscience about my weight since I graduated from college because I'm about triple the size that I was when I entered college. I used to be slim and fit from marching band and softball filling up my schedule. Not so much the case now. My belly feels like it's swelling. I know it's not the baby, but I don't know why it's doing it and it's really upsetting me. I can't fit into any of my pants and my shirts look like Chris Farley's famous quote... "FAT GUY IN A LITTLE COAT!"


That's me right now. I don't know why. I've been eating more healthy now that I've found out I'm pregnant, but I'm still a blimp. What's the deal? I've always thought that I would have one of those wonderful pregnancies where I don't really gain any weight and it just looks like I've swallowed a basketball. Well, here's my taken on those skinny bitches now.... I HATE YOU.... EAT A COOKIE!!

Friday, February 22, 2008

TGIF!!!


How can you not love this face?


Holy crap, thank the Lord it's Friday. I don't know if I could handle working another day this week.... DRAMA!~ So, last night "Lost" was on. Friends, this show just sucks me in!! I LOVE it! I have to say, that from the very beginning when we found out that Kate had a child, I didn't think it was Sawyers (if it was, this would be one b-e-a-utiful child!), or Jacks, I told my friends that I had my suspicions. We started counting in our heads the Oceanic 6 that we knew had been rescued. So, we have 1- Kate, 2- Jack, 3- Sayid (ggggrrr baby grrrr), 4- Hurley. So, we don't know who the other 2 were. So my guess was, Claire and her baby get on the ride out, because we all know the rule from Titanic so well- "Women and children first!!" Or something happened to Claire on the way home, or she wasn't able to get on because someone else was hurt and it was critical that they go home, so she sent her baby (oh-so-nobley) in hopes that she could follow later with a good life waiting for the baby. Who was right.... ME!!!!!~ (I say this in the form that Elle says on "Legally Blonde" when she finds out she made intern for the law firm.... "ME!!!!"~) I love it when I'm right. Let me boast a small bit ;) Anway, I have to address the fact that I hate "Freckles" #1- because my husband falls over himself when she comes on screen, & #2- for the fact that she looks much better without makeup than with. Holy crap! Lucky %$&*!! I love the fact that she has a soft side now, and is taking care of this baby.
Overall, last night was good, but so is any night that has a new episode of Lost. And, we made a crap load of sushi. It was all delicious and I hate that I didn't have a camera because it was AMAZING. Oh, and so was the eel sauce that my friend Richie made to go along with it..... YUMMY! It's a good thing that this crab meat was immitation crab meat, b/c I almost cleared a full container of it myself. This is before I realized that I can't have crab now that I'm pregnant because it's a "bottom feeder" (ggggggrrr!!!!). But, thank god, but also ewwwwwww!!, that this is imitation crab meat and is really made from some fish. Either way, I didn't really have a problem putting any of it back. It's funny because I always liked seafood, but I love it and crave it much more now that I can't have it. I'm one of those people though... tell me not to do something and I'll do it! Can't risk little bambino though. Really have to control myself now. He/she is totally worth it :)!!!!
Have a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday!!
P.S. - my night was even better b/c I heard from Kristi and she is just delightful! I miss her and Matt so much!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Garlic Pork goodness


So, last night was a success in the dinner department. I know the pictures looks completely unappetizing and heinous, but it was actually quite delicious. I marinated a pork loin in garlic marinade for a day and cooked it in the oven. Served sugar snap peas and a baked potatoes on the side.... MMMMMM... HEAVEN!!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Happy Hump Day!

So, last night we celebrated a dear friend's birthday. She looked lovely, the company was wonderful, just an all around perfect night for this lady to relax. I tried to make it extra special for my friend by baking cute little cupcakes. My oven's thoughts on this.... NOT SO MUCH. Friends, my ego is incredibly deflated at the moment. It is the first time I've EVER burned a cake or cupcake!!! It was awful! It smelled up my whole entire house and make me have the stench in my clothes while visiting also. I don't know why they burned. I followed my everything correctly. Hmmmphhhh.....!! Good thing someone else bought her a cake. It was much better than my burned little Betties. To top it off, this morning started off crazy too. Phillip and I have our laundry sorted in the floor right now, and at some point, I threw my coat on top of it and didn't realize it. I'm getting out of my car at work and realize that some scandalous underwear has snuck it's way to the velcro on my jacket and was along for the ride today. My Lord, I can't imagine how MORTIFIED I would have been if I had made it to work, or a clients house with my little friend dangling along side..... EEEEK!! Anyway, here are some high lites from my weekend:


Daddy hanging with Gizzy


Gizzy and Cheeks McGee

We are "fierce!"


Crazy head


Mohawk

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Fill in the blanks

Found this on another blog site. Very interesting.... you try!

I know
I'm extremely irritating at times.

I believe in quiet time for yourself.

I fought the law and the law won ;)

I am angered by stupid parents.

I love my husband, our little bambino, my pup, my family, my friends.

I need all of the above.

I take too much time to read blogs and friends webistes in the morning.

I hear absolutely nothing! I'm soooo deaf!

I drink sweet tea like the world is coming to an end.

I hate mullets.

I use way too much toilet paper.

I want to be a stay at home mom and not work.

I like sitting outside on beautiful days and watching the trees blow in the wind, or watch waves crash on the beach.

I feel at empowered by a good sale.

I wear the same clothes over, and over, and over. Anything that fits is good for me at this point.

I left the house with the lights on again and the heat on full blast.

I do very little when I'm feeling lazy.

I hope I'm a good mother.

I dream of my grandmother, mother, and sister.

I drive through mountain curves like a maniac. It gets my heart pumping and makes me feel free.

I listen, in guilt, to Miley Cyrus "See you again", in my car and jam out.

I type fast.

I think slow.

I wish I didn't have to work for a living.

I regret being so far from my family.

I care about a lot of people, until you piss me off.

I should wash clothes more often.

I am proud to be a blonde.

I said many things, but most of it came out as jibberish because I can't speak for crap.

I wonder if anyone will miss me when I'm gone.

I changed my mind about everything I do. I'm very indecisive.

I cry when I get nervous.

I lose my cell phone every hour or so.

I leave a night-lite on in the bathroom for my many midnight trips.

Shrimp Scampi


So, this is what our dinner was last night. Shrimp Scampi with Linguini... beautiful right? Too bad it came from a bag ;)

Yup, I cheated. But it was totally worth it. The Bertolli version is AMAZING! It only took 10 minutes to cook, and I didn't have to add anything. PERFECTION!~ I was not feeling like cooking last night and this really hit the spot. Beware to anyone who doesn't like garlic though. There are large SLICES of garlic in it that will knock you out. I'm not talking pieces, or chopped, or slivers of garlic.... I MEAN SLICES!! Enjoy!!

Monday, February 18, 2008

Is it 5:00 yet?

So, I am dragging today and have already busted out the "Cape Cod" kettle cooked chips for a pick me up. Now, I'm onto one of my favorite lady comics and her antics. It's always funny to find crazy stuff with your name in it. Songs are my favorite, but this is hilarious! Hope you enjoy... (pardon the potty mouth in the video)

Weekend glory

I went home to visit my parents, sister, and neice this weekend. It was very much needed. I just get so homesick, especially now that Cheeks McGee is here and I'm pregnant. Cheeks, her momma, and I got to hang out a lot this weekend. It was wonderful! I can't believe how much that little one is growing. She's rolling from one end of the house to the other. We all headed out and got furniture for my mom's house. They've lived at our house since I was a baby and have had pretty much the same furniture all this time. I can't wait for mom to get everything in the house and together. They've made lots of changes and it all looks fantastic! Looking at all that furniture made me itch to paint and redecorate... I know, I know... we haven't even lived in our place or had our new furniture for a year yet! I'm just one of those people that could re-decorate and re-organize a room in a heart beat if I could afford it. I have an urge to put this beautiful green on the walls at my home that I saw in the Anthropologie catalog. They have the most beautiful green and white bedding set that has a matching green on the walls that is to die for!! I looooove it! I would also like to go with an aqua color at some point... you know, like the color of a Tiffany's box or Martha Stewart's logo? It's just so pretty!
Anyway, my chicken pie went well on Valentine's day. The crust was oh-so-not-professional looking in the slightest bit, but it sure was tasty. I think I did pretty good considering this was my first attempt with any kind of homemade crust. Phillip and I visited Old Salem in Winston Salem, NC with friends last summer and picked up a recipe book with a bunch of recipes from goods they sell on site. They have recipes like their sugar bread (AMAZZZZZING!!), Moravian cookies, and other good stuff. I'll put the picture up of the recipe card now, but will re-post it later just in case you can't read it.
Cooking the chicken:




the finished product:

Thursday, February 14, 2008

















Happy Valentine's Day!! I usually don't do much for this holiday besides cook my hubbie a nice meal and give him a nice back rub, but I went a little further this year. I made Valentine Cupcakes with Raspberry Preserves mixed with my icing, got Phillip a box of chocolates, a cute card, and there's gonna be a seriously good chicken pie for dinner tonight! The cupcakes were delicious and simple. Just make a normal cupcake, I should've chosen chocolate but everyone on God's green earth was snatching cake mix up last night. But, anyway, the vanilla was good. Cook them as directed. Let them cool for about 10 minutes on a rack and then slice the tops off. Use a knife to cut out the hearts, I have a cookie cutter and it made it much easier! Mix a jar of vanilla frosting with three tablespoons of seedless raspberry preserves in a medium bowl. spread onto cupcakes with a touch more in the middle part. Be careful not to fill it too much, as you can tell from the picture some of them decided to spill out the side. Then, place the lids back on top... DELICIOUSNESS!!

As stated in a previous blog, our dishwasher has decided to die on us and we finally went out and bought a new one. We really want to get stainless appliances for the kitchen, but it's just not feasible right now, especially with a baby on the way!!!! :) So, we got the Whirlpool Quiet Partner II.... it's amazing! You used to not be able to stand in the room and hold a conversation while our old dishwasher was running... NOT THE CASE NOW! It's amazing! I love it! Well, I gotta go and finish up stuff that I missed while I was out of work last week. Happy Valentines Day kids! See you Monday!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Due Date!!!

Well, we had our first OB appointment today. It was a little overwhelming at first because we waited for an hour to be seen, but found out that our doctor was busy because one of the pregnant women we saw in the waiting room went into pre-term labor. She was pregnant with twins and was not very far along. Freaked me out a bit to say the least. We had blood drawn and talked about family history for a little bit with the doc. Dr. Potter is amazing. I have seen her several times before we found out I was pregnant and I liked her then. Phillip seemed to be very impressed with her as well, so that's good. We found out our due date.... October 20!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYYYY!! We are so excited! I half expected the pregnancy test they did today to come back negative and them to say, "just kidding, you aren't really pregnant!" I still can't believe it's actually true! The doc was telling me I need to down a gallon of water a day, or some type of fluid, and I am not excited about that! Went and got a Nalgene bottle today so I can keep up with it a little more. Anyway, I gotta get back to work, but I wanted to tell everyone the good news!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

God is good!

Well, it's been quite a while since I have blogged and there is a very good reason for it! In my last blog I noted that I've been feeling crappy. I called the doctor and they couldn't get me in for four days (grrrrrrr!!!) and until that time I was out of the office and away from the internet b/c I was ridiculously sick. I could barely hold my head up, I was nauseas, couching from innards of my soul, my nose was a spicket, the list could go on and on!! I finally got to the doctor and she ruled that I had the flu. Boo hiss! I have never gotten a flu shot and whenever I considered it I always said to myself, "there's no reason to have the shot. I've never had the flu, and I don't want the shot to give me the flu." My body says, "Nay Nay!" It was an absolute revolt and attack against me... it was awful!! So, anyway, my glands are super swollen and the doc thinks I may have mono. So she sends me for blood testing. I call the next day to get results and she says all my tests have come back within normal limits and asks me if there is any reason I would be pregnant. My response is "YES!! We've been trying forever and the lady was supposed to do a pregnancy test when she took my blood!" So, the doctor says, "Good, because your pregnant!!" I'M PREGNANT!!!! I'M PREGNANT!! I'M PREGNANT!!!!!!! I still cannot believe it! Looks like we'll be expecting a little Halloween baby (at least I hope!!!) We have our first OB appointment set for tomorrow and hopefully we'll get a date then. I can't believe this! It feels like we've been trying forever and have been frustrated by it FOREVER! I just sat on the bed shaking and crying when she told me because it finally happened. So, I pulled myself together and went into town to find someway to break the news to Phillip. I found an "Expecting Daddy's" book and a cute little bib with an airplane on it that says "I love daddy". We had decided not to do Valentines, but I put it in a Valentine's bag and told him I found something really cool in town and he had to open it early. He opened it and said, "Does this mean something?" and I said yes. He asked "are you pregnant?" and I said "Yes!" Hugs and kisses follow of course :) We are just so happy and nervous about the whole thing and so are our parents. Both of them were just elated. My sister was a hoot. She screamed and cried and was sooooo excited! I loved it! Now my little Paisley baby has a playmate :) Needless to say, I didn't believe the blood test was accurate, or even mine, so I bought an at-home test.... IT WAS POSITIVE OF COURSE (but you can't tell in the picture!) Well, I gotta get back to work. Enjoy our pictures from the big day!


Monday, February 4, 2008

"Someone's got a case of the Mondays!"

Yup, it's Monday. Woooo friggin hoo. I'm in NO mood today. I feel like absolute poopy. I shouldn't let that over shadow my weekend though. I had a wonderful time. I've gotten a lot closer to the girls at work and we went out this weekend. Went to Carrabba's and had the BEST dinner. Their special was the Seafood Damian.... holy moley folks! It was AMAZING!! I've had great seafood, but this definitely ranks toward the top of the list! It was a piece of beautifully seasoned salmon, lobster ravioli, and lightly breaded shrimp and scallops. You guys, I almost kissed the waiter it was so good! Not to mention the amazing pomegranate/cranberry drink that I had, yum! My friends, we'll call them C and K, were there and were an absolute hoot. They kept me rolling on the ground in laughter almost the whole night. Anyways, before the big night out I decided to surprise the girls with a treat. I made red-velvet cake balls for them. The girls said they turned out pretty good, but I really don't know if they were just being nice. Phillip wasn't so fond of the outer shell but it didn't stop him from tearing in to a few and just leaving the outer shell on the counter! :) Here are the pics and comments with it:

Here are the balls after they were frozen and getting their legs (sticks)


Here they are dipped. I had a hard time with my dipping chocolate and the fact that it got really thick and wanted to fall off while standing on the styrofoam, so I had to lay them on wax paper instead.



I ran out of pink, so I had to use some red that I had left over from Christmas treats:


All in all, I think it was a success. A tad bit messy that's for sure! I think I forgot to mention to you guys that I have some texture issues and had myself in quite a pickle when it came to mixing the icing into the cake with my hands.... oh man! It was just too much for me, LOL! Also, I tried to get a little experimental with the dipping. Since I only had four that had the red dipping I decided to see what it was like to dip the pink ones in the red in different ways. I tried it on the side... it looked terrible. But, I stopped after I dipped it quarter-ways across the top. Just picture it guys.... it looked like a woman's body part (if you know what I mean!) Wont ever do that again! See you on Tuesday!

Friday, February 1, 2008

Working hard for the money, so hard for it honey!


(this is a black-iron piece on my wall at my house, I looooove this iron material almost as much as I love my orange walls!!)

Working for the state can be a beast!! We get paid once a month, with a measly salary I may add, at the end of the month. I don't know what the deal is with the state, but they pay us December's pay check two weeks before December actually ends. So, we have to hold onto that paycheck for two weeks of December, and then into January, which has 5, count them... 5, weeks to cover. It would be so much easier if both of us weren't working for the state, but unfortunately that's not the case. So, Phillip and I have been scrounging up money in the couch cushions and anywhere else we can find it when the end of the month rolls around. Inevitably, something goes wrong within the time that you are extremely strapped for cash. For us, both of us need oil changes, my car needs new tires (mountain roads are a bitch on tires!), our dishwasher is fried (I refuse to go back to washing them by hand now that we have this luxury!!), I have a baby shower to plan (I'm farrrrrr to excited about this~!), and my nephew will soon be coming home from Vietnam after the adoption papers come through from our government. Talk about strapped! Sheesh!
I haven't been into any of my crafty stuff and cooking lately. I've been absolutely drained when I come home from work this week. My excitement level did go overboard last night though. I'm an absolute fan of the show "Lost". I hated it at first b/c it really freaked me out, so I didn't watch the first season fully. But since then I've totally been into it. Last night kinda started getting back into the freaky stuff. Can I just say quickly how much I looooooove Hurley!! He's soooo kind hearted and just an awesome character to love! And, he's really cute in a "big boy" kind of way. I'm into those boys though. I don't like anyone that I feel I could smooch and break in half. I'm not going to lie, Jack and Sawyer are quite the eye candy also... gggggrrrrrrr!~ The part where Hurley was looking in Jacob's window and te eyes pop up- HOLY CRAP! I jumped in my seat and give poor Gizzy quite the heart attack as she lay sleeping in my lap! The episode was awesome though, and I cannot wait for next week! Oh, and you guys could probably expect me to talk a good bit about reality tv shows on my blogs also. I'm very much addicted. I love the trashy ones like Rock of Love, Flava-Flave, I love New York, Celebrity Detox with Dr. Drew (a total hottie also... did you see those guns!!! Whew!~), and all kinds of other crazy crap. Anyway, I just had to sit through quite a non-sense computer training at work and I'm totally drained. Here's some pick-me-up pics:


This was our driveway with our first snow at our new house. The next picture is the view of the neighborhood.




These were dancers at the Mountain Heritage Festival down the road from our house in Dillsboro, North Carolina



These were options for Gizzy's halloween costume. Which do you prefer, the pig or the cow?