Elizabeth Downie

Weekend Update

2012-01-29T20:54:00.002-05:00

This weekend has been about as busy as a weekend can be. Here's a list of some of the things I packed into this weekend:

*I watched my friends give talks on their specialities at a "Ted talks" style activity.

*I played Cranium.

*I tried Mountain Dew Voltage and have been craving it ever since.

*I drove to Grand Rapids and helped my sister move. I accused her of being a hoarder and I decided she reads too much/owns too many books. I had a pretty good time.

*I went to a masquerade party and won for most original mask!

Check out the googly eyes I put around the outside. :)

*I had an instagram competition with a friend. We both won.

*I learned that there are some pretty scary animals in the jungles of Vietnam from a friend from Vietnam. I got scared.

*I made a giant sugar cookie for my grandma for her 92nd birthday.

*I went to church. (It was awesome.)

*I went to a combined birthday dinner for my cousin and grandma.

*I told my 5 yr old nephew a scary story after he begged to hear one. He covered his ears for most of it, but told me he could still hear through his hands, and didn't want me to stop.

*And I did something with my niece and nephew that both they and I love to do: took a ton of self takes.

You know I love you guys if I'm willing to share those with you.

How was your weekend?

Pinterest Finds Thursday

2012-01-26T09:57:00.002-05:00

After a four-day work week last week, this five day one is becoming a real drag. So I thought I'd share with you a few fun things I've found on Pinterest lately to take your mind off things you probably should be focusing on instead. ;)

Source (Um....somewhat relatable...)

Who doesn't love Ron Swanson!? Source

Sooooo much easier than working out! Source

Yep. Source

Neville Longbottom is hot, say what!? Source

Oops, my inner nerd is showing. Source

The one and only Mitten State! Source

Which is your favorite?

Wednesday Thoughts

2012-01-25T09:09:00.000-05:00

This morning, even though the temperatures outside are still freezing, I'm thinking a lot about spring. One of the reasons I'm thinking about spring is because of baseball! A very exciting new player is coming to Detroit this spring! I'll give you a hint: his name is Prince and he is one of the following:

If you guessed Prince Jackson, Michael Jackson's son, you'd be wrong. But you're close because this Prince is also the son of a well known person. And no, it's not Prince William either. Nor is it the artist formerly and now again currently known as Prince. It is actually Prince Fielder, the son of Cecil Fielder! Check out this adorable picture of Cecil and Prince together in 1993!

Detroit!!!

I can't wait for baseball to start. A few years ago my friend Christi and I got tickets to Opening Day and it was so much fun. She even flew out here from Utah for it! (That's dedication.) I'm thinking about going again this year....oh baseball, I miss you.

But I have another reason for looking forward to spring, and it has to do with realizing a life-time dream. If you know me well you may have already guessed! I am going to Arizona and will be seeing the Grand Canyon while I'm there! I am super excited. When I told my grandma about the trip, she said, "No, no, no. You go to Arizona to see beautiful men, not beautiful places." She also told me to save the Grand Canyon till the end of my trip (I'll be in the Phoenix area the rest of the time) so I can meet a guy and take him with me. I told her I'd think about it (but I'm not really interested in being murdered by a stranger on this trip so I'll probably pass on that suggestion).

Spring! Spring! Spring! Now if we can just get through February....

Happy Wednesday!

Nominations

2012-01-24T13:10:00.005-05:00

Last night I made a huge mistake. I watched the Lifetime Original Movie, "Untouchable" about Drew Peterson (the accused wife killer), starring Rob Lowe. You would think that since it was a Lifetime movie, and Lifetime is known for encouraging trust in men and marriage*, it would be really positive and life affirming, but if you thought that you would be wrong. It was really upsetting. For one thing, Drew Peterson is straight up terrifying. For another thing, Rob Lowe should never again adopt the Drew Peterson look. It's a travesty.

The movie left me with a lot of questions: where is Drew Peterson's last wife, Stacey? Why was Drew SUCH A JERK!? And lastly, can a Lifetime movie be nominated for an Oscar, because seriously. The script was top notch** and the mid-western accents were very natural.***

Speaking of movies, the Best Picture Oscar Nominations were announced today! Usually I couldn't care less about these since I rarely see any of the nominated movies. But this year I've happened to have seen most of them. Here's the list of nominees (plus one), along with my 3-word assessment of each them (I've underlined the ones I've seen):

“War Horse” - Lots of death.
“The Artist” - Want to see!
“The Descendants” - Won't be seeing.
“The Help” - Loved it mucho!
“Hugo” - Would see again!
“Moneyball” - Different than expected.
“Midnight in Paris” - All around great!
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” - Still too soon.
“The Tree of Life” - Looks really pretentious!
"Untouchable: The Drew Peterson Story" - Shouldn't be nominated.

What do you think of the nominations? Have you seen any of them? Would you recommend them? Which do you think should win? Out of the ones I saw, I think "The Help" was the best, though that's not an easy decision. Luckily for those nominated, my opinion means nothing to the Oscar committee. After all the calls I made asking why Chipwrecked wasn't nominated, they're now ignoring me.

*, **, *** soooo much sarcasm in this post. I hope you caught that.

The Universe Makes it Happen

2012-01-20T13:03:00.000-05:00

I did something pretty cheesy last week, but also pretty exciting. I made a "vision board". Have you guys heard of vision boards before? Basically, you think about the things you want out of life, such as success, love, fitness, a new bike, to read more, adopt a puppy and so on. Then you find pictures in magazines that represent your ambitions and make a collage of them on a piece of poster board.

I've been thinking about doing one of these for awhile, and finally did it! I am not going to post a picture of it though because that will reveal way too much about me. But I'm sure you can imagine some of the things on it.

I hung it up on a cork board in my bedroom, and I have to say, it really has been motivating me! I've actually made some concrete changes and plans for the year, and I think it has at least a tiny bit to do with the board. Is that crazy? It might be. But whatever works for you, I guess. Right?

The title of this post is a joke, and comes from this video clip about vision boards from the show "Happy Endings". I don't really think that putting a bunch of pictures on a collage makes the Universe hand them to you. I just think that the board serves as a visual reminder of what you want out of life. Let's face it, it's really easy to get caught up in day to day life and forget your long term goals. It is for me, anyway. So the board is a reminder that in 2012, I want to go to the Grand Canyon, I want to exercise more, and I want some other stuff, but that's between me and the Universe.

Wednesday Thoughts

2012-01-18T10:35:00.001-05:00

Oh my goodness, it's Wednesday, isn't it? I'm off on my days this week since having Monday off.

So, this morning I made quite a spectacle of myself to any of my neighbors who may have been watching. My car door was completely frozen shut. I was running late so I didn't feel like going back inside to get hot water to pour on it, so after tugging and tugging for a long time, I ended up climbing in through the passenger side. Awesome.

I have one more winter complaint: heels and snow = no bueno.

COLD!

But enough complaining about winter. I started watching Downton Abbey this week! I'm only two episodes in, but I'm definitely hooked. Do you guys watch the show? What do you think? (No spoilers, please!) So far I've noticed a few things about the show:

Accents

Moolah (I don't understand how old-timey lords kept the money coming in - does anyone?)

Servants

Scandal (cover-ups! pbs-style affairs! secret pasts!)

English words (not American-English)

Horses

Intrigue (I knew there would be intrigue in 2012! Called it!)

Anyway, thanks for your support in my post about dieting. I'm still half loca with my diet but I'm getting saner, I think. What are some healthy snack ideas that work for you? I usually try to snack on fruit or 100 calorie packs (though most of them are fiber-less and therefore not filling). I'd love to hear any tips! (Just don't say "rice cakes" - they really don't qualify as food.)

Well, since Wednesday sort of snuck up on me this week, I think those are all the thoughts I have today!

Happy Wednesday!

Day in Detroit

2012-01-17T13:44:00.004-05:00

Yesterday morning, while still lying in bed, I did a quick check of my email on my phone. One email in particular caught my eye. It was a promotional email from the scooter store telling me I might be eligible for a free or discounted scooter. Um, what!? Ok, I know I just had a birthday last week, but I am not old enough to need a scooter. Yet.

However, later in the day I went to Detroit to go to the North American International Auto Show, and in order to get to the People Mover, I had to walk through the Greektown casino (I didn't gamble). And guess what? I got carded. So I guess in the end, yesterday was a wash, age wise.

After getting carded, my day really picked up. I went to the auto show with friends to start. Not being a car person myself, I don't know what to report to you on that. I saw a lot of cars. Most of them had four wheels, some of them had souped up dashboards, they were all in various colors. I think most of them probably had radios and CD players. Oh, and gas pedals for sure. Brake pedals too.

On the right you'll see some pictures of some cars I thought were pretty. I know nothing about them, so don't ask. I liked one of them because it reminded me of Barbie's dream car.

Another cool car was on roller coaster tracks (but we couldn't ride in it). :(

One car looked boring but a bazillion people were staring at it so I was forced to take picture.

Some cars looked like they were from the future.

Another car had tinted windows and messages went across the side. I would love to see this car driving past me on the road. I took pictures of a few of its looks:

But all the cars had one thing in common: I'll never be able to afford any of them.

After that I met up with a couple other friends and we went ice skating at Campus Martius in the heart of downtown Detroit, which is something I've been wanting to do for a long time. It was as fun as I'd imagined except there were a million kids, and they were playing tag (on the ice, in ice skates), and they weren't that awesome at ice skating. Needless to say, it's amazing they all left without severed limbs.

Skating companions!

So all in all, it was a very successful and fun Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And not only did I do some good hard thinking about civil rights yesterday, but I drove past Martin Luther King Blvd. What are the odds!?*

Also, I got to continue my tradition of doing something new in Detroit with Sarah and Sara on MLK Day. Last year we went feather bowling, this year ice skating, next year... (?) Suggestions welcome!

*pretty good, actually.

Snow Legs

2012-01-14T12:34:00.002-05:00

The snowy, icy roads yesterday were eye opening. It's been a really mild winter here so far, so I wasn't prepared (emotionally) for the slippery ride I took to work, apparently beating the salt trucks on the road. It reminded me of this clip from Parks & Rec this week. Seriously, it was exactly like this, except for I was in a car, in the road.

The up side of snow is how cozy it makes you feel. Plus, unlike the birthday balloons, Daisy is loving it as evidenced in this picture of her rolling in the snow trying to get me to rub her belly, then later watching over the fence as I shoveled.

Ok, here's the thing about snow: it's pretty, and it's cozy, and it's sooooooo nice for Golden Retrievers to roll around in. Like, so nice. Plus, it's good for sledding, snow angel making, and probably something else but that's all I can think of. Here's the other thing: it is wet and heavy and makes the roads a straight death trap, not to mention the sidewalks which are unwalkable until you get your snow legs (like sea legs, but different).

But it's pretty, right? Let's just focus on that until May.

No "Fat Talk"

2012-01-13T09:56:00.002-05:00

source

One of my favorite blogs is a blog called "Espresso and Cream". The woman who writes it is a food editor, and she posts recipes along with tidbits about her life. I have made a few of her recipes and they are some of the best I've tried. She's a very health conscious person, so she often gives tips on how to make a recipe healthier. Recently she wrote a post about her New Year's Resolutions and one of them really stood out to me: "No 'fat talk'". Meaning, no saying "I'm fat" or "my thighs look huge". She was quick to emphasize that this didn't mean she was going to stray from her fitness goals; just that she wasn't going to say mean things to herself about her body. I was surprised to hear her say this, because she's absolutely gorgeous, and I would have never thought she was insecure about her body. Why are we so hard on ourselves?

Her no "fat talk" goal really struck a cord with me. I've been dieting lately and I find that often (always) when I diet, I tend to get a bit whack-a-do in the head. As in:

(standing on scale) "Are you serious!? I've been dieting all day and I haven't lost a pound!?"

(looking in mirror) "Baby got back." or "I don't think you're ready for this jelly." or "No one is ever going to love me!"

(sitting at desk at work) "I can't believe I ate a potato chip this morning. I hate myself."

(looking at pictures people tagged of me on facebook): "How can anyone even stand looking at me!? I'm a monster!!"

Some of those might be a slight exaggeration, but only slight. It's really hard for me to be kind to myself, even when I'm not dieting and so focused on my body. I am definitely my worst critic. (As far as I know, anyway. If you're a worse critic of me than I am of myself, please stay far, far away from me. )

So, no "fat talk" for 2012 sounds like a great goal to me. I'm still working on a theme for the year, but I think I should make the ban on fat talk a general goal for me (for life). I want to keep up with my healthy eating changes and exercise without the increased negative body focus it brings.

I will need to come up with things to say that replace the negative, so that's something I will be working on. I need some mantras, and not something like, "a lot of guys like big derrieres" but instead something like, "my toes are freaking awesome."

What do you all think? Is this something you struggle with? Why is it so hard to have a positive body image?

Wednesday Thoughts

2012-01-11T09:17:00.000-05:00

Today is my birthday. In an effort to be more positive about it, I hung up some balloons last night so I'd be cheered up in the morning. Unfortunately, I'm house sitting and the dog is terrified of the balloons, which I didn't realize. She won't go anywhere near the main room where she usually spends most of her time. So the balloons were a short term decoration, but they did cheer me up!

(hating life)

Other things that are cheering me up on my birthday?

My coworkers! Look at these awesome gifts they gave me, and the hilarious card one of them made for me:

Mustaches!? Funny pen? Flowers? Parks and Rec (check it out, I'm at their party!)!? Yes, please!

Oh, and even Facebook is cheering me up today. Birthdays are the one day of the year Facebook redeems itself for all the crappy things it did to you all year (showing you pictures of fun things you weren't inviting you to, letting you know that one guy you really liked is engaged now, showing you that picture of yourself where you looked really fat, etc).

And the last thing cheering me up today is all the comments you guys are going to leave me telling me your favorite things about me. Oh, did I just manipulate you? It's my birthday! Deal with it! (Plus, I was kidding. Or was I.)

The nice thing about having a birthday at the beginning of January is that it feels like a new start all the way around. New year, new age, new nose (when the bandages come off). I have noticed that people seem to be coming up with themes for 2012. Like, "move" or "be prepared" or "create". I really like the idea of a theme, and hopefully will come up with one before December. I only have one New Year's resolution: to learn how to French braid. Hopefully I can accomplish that soon, then just take it easy the rest of the year. We'll see.

Happy Wednesday!

Birthday Shtuff

2012-01-09T22:57:00.000-05:00

My birthday is later this week. I've been anticipating it since July. But not in the excited way that a seven year old does. More in the "I can't believe I'm going to be that old" way. If anyone asks how old I am, the consequences will be dire, just so you know. In fact, I'm thinking that from now on, when someone asks how old I am, I will just say, "adult." Wouldn't it be nice if after a certain age, you could just give that answer?

In case you were wondering, here's what an adult does on their birthday:

Wake up at 5:30

Sort out my pills for the day

Read the paper (obituaries)

Drink a Slimfast

Go to work

Eat dinner at 4:30 (early bird special)

Take some Boniva

Do my taxes

Call NPR with a complaint about a grammatical error

Write out a five year plan

Check my head for gray hairs

Shout at some kids to get off my lawn

Drink some Metamucil

Get really T.O.ed about politics

Go to bed by 9:00

(I'm actually about fifty years too young for that plan, don't worry. I'm having a real party - with friends, cake, and maybe some Boniva milk shakes.)

War Horse

2012-01-05T18:14:00.001-05:00

Before Christmas I saw an advertisement for the movie "War Horse". I remember turning to my sister and saying, "I wonder if I'm going to see that movie." There was something about it that kind of appealed to me even though it's pretty much the exact opposite of any movie I would normally see.

Well, see it, I did. Yesterday, to be precise. It was a very emotional movie. Luckily I was able to see it through a light hearted lens - literally. I bought a silly lens yesterday at the Detroit Institute of Art. My friend and I purposely sat in the back row of the movie theater so I could try it out on the movie. Don't worry, I didn't film the movie, use a flash, or have the sound on. I only occasionally took a picture that looked like this picture of the War Horse (right) and his best friend. (I added the heart later.)

BFFs

War Horse was pretty good. I give it 6 neighs (out of ten). I'd give it more except it was sad. War Horse had to go through a lot, and saw a lot of things I'm sure he'd rather forget. As far as animals movies go, it was much sadder than Babe, and even sadder than Free Willy, as seen on this illustration I made (I was told my whale didn't look right, but personally I think I nailed it):

All three animals had to go through a lot, but I think War Horse definitely had it the worst.

Babe: Had to learn how to herd sheep, make friends, and get the farmer to dance (which was pretty much the most emotional scene in movie history).

Free Willy: Had to teach a boy to love, deal with kids tapping on his aquarium without totally losing it, then jump over a breakwater to freedom. And didn't he also have to go through a car wash?

War Horse: I really don't want to say what he went through because it was too awful. But suffice it to say, he'll never be the same.

Throughout the movie I just kept repeating in my head, "no animals were harmed in the filming of this movie" because it's not easy to see animals suffer in any movie. Remember when a goose made fun of Babe? Heartbreaking.*

If you want to see War Horse, see it. Just know, it's sadder than Babe as far as animal movies are concerned.

*I don't remember if that actually happened but I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

Wednesday Thoughts

2012-01-04T07:14:00.005-05:00

Welp, vacation is over. I read a tweet the other day that pretty much sums up my entire vacation:

"All I had to do today was buy sneakers and I didn't even have to do it and I didn't even do it." - Dave Horwitz

I had really high hopes for my vacation. I was going to get up early and work out every day, eat healthily, get a bunch of projects done, form meaningful relationships, and find a cure for male pattern baldness. But what did I actually do? Slept a lot, ate a lot, saw some movies (including Hugo in 3D, which was really good), hung out with friends, and cured male pattern baldness. So, it wasn't as productive as I'd hoped but it wasn't a total loss.

I did do some things I hadn't been planning on but that were pretty awesome. For example, I got to teach my niece the best scary story to tell at her first sleepover. You know the one I'm talking about - "The Call is Coming From Inside the House!!" She's seven years old, so I didn't make it too scary. I told her the story because she asked me what I did at sleepovers when I was a kid. I didn't tell her about putting people's bras in the freezer*, putting their fingers in warm water when they're sleeping to make them pee (does that actually work?), prank calling boys (pre-caller ID), or playing games like "Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board", or "Bloody Mary." All I told her was that we played games, ate junk food, and told scary stories. Did you have a favorite scary story when you were a kid?

Oh, and it finally snowed! It had snowed earlier in the month but it all melted. We had a green Christmas. It was not cool. But it snowed on New Year's day, which I think is a good sign. Here's a picture of Katherine looking out at the snow:

Also over the break, I realized I forgot a VERY important item on my best of 2011 list: going to the New Kids on the Block/ Backstreet Boys concert with my sisters! That was one of the best things I did all of last year. We danced, we sang along, we screamed till we lost our voices. And most importantly, I saw Jordan Knight for the second time in my life. Remember this?

My and Jordan's wedding picture

Here's the original post (link).

And on that note, happy Wednesday.

*I don't know if I ever actually did that or just saw Samantha do it on an episode of "Who's the Boss?"

New Year's Eve

2012-01-02T01:19:00.000-05:00

I typically find New Year's Eve a bit disappointing. Too much pressure, you know? It's gotta be AMAZING and you have to kiss someone at midnight and it sets the tone for the whole next year! That's way too much pressure for one night. I'd rather just stay in, eat some chips and dip, and watch a movie.

But this year I helped a friend throw a New Year's Eve party, and I have to say - I had a blast. It was a great way to start the new year! We played games, ate delicious food, laughed a lot, and drank some non-alcoholic bubbly at midnight. At midnight we also read our 2012 fortunes from some fortune cookies I made for the occasion.

idea and instructions here

These are the fortunes I wrote for the fortune cookies:

The funny part was that the wrong people got the wrong fortunes, generally speaking. The skinniest guy in the room got the one about going down a pants size, a manly man got the one about getting eyelash extensions, and I got to the one about everyone finding me good looking in 2012, which is like duh, I mean of course they will (I kid, I kid).

My friend also had a Magic Eight Ball out, which said without a doubt that I am going to get married this year. And those things don't lie. So things are really looking up.

Every year at midnight on New Year's Eve, my friend Jimmy texts me that it's going to be the BEST YEAR EVER. He's been doing this for I don't even know how many years, and even from a couple time zones away, he always sends me the text at midnight Eastern Standard Time. Last night was no different. This year, I am hoping he's right! And I think he is.

So far this is what 2012 has going for it:

1. Drama (cause of the whole Mayan end-of-world prediction)
2. Excitement (because it's a leap year - seriously, SO much potential there)
3. Intrigue (because of the presidential election - I'm thinking about throwing my name in the hat! Why not!?)
4. Espionage (I'm not totally clear on what that word means)
5. Romance (Oh, there will be romance - I can feel it)
6. Betrayal (I just know Snookie's going to try to pull something on Jersey Shore*)
7. Feats of Strength (summer Olympics, much?)
8. Beauty (I had a pretty good hair day today)

2012 - Best year ever? All signs point to yes!

*I've never seen that show in my life, for the record.

2011 Review

2011-12-30T22:03:00.002-05:00

I don't usually do "best of" lists because frankly, I can't remember everything from the whole year. So I thought I'd use my journal as a record, but you guys, two pages into it and I had to quit. That book is seriously depressing. (Apparently I only use it to vent.) So that leaves me to fall back on mere memory which is faulty at best and inaccurate at worst. So if I list something on here that you clearly remember doing with me in 2005, just don't tell anyone. And if I don't list something here that we did together, it doesn't mean I didn't love it at the time, it just means I've forgotten about it completely. So, there's really no reason to take it personally.

So, with that introduction, here are just a handful of some of my favorite things from 2011.

1. Feather bowling with Sarah, Sara, and Matt, Sara's husband. I love trying new things and feather bowling definitely fits in that category. Plus it's always fun to do things in Detroit. And doing those new things with two of my oldest friends? Even better.

2. Amococo. In case you forgot, Amococo was this huge inflatable "building" with lots of tunnels and rooms. I was slightly scared that the whole thing would come crashing down on us and we'd have to stab our way out. This did not happen, and it ended up being a very cool thing to experience.

3. Spontaneous road trip. One summer day, a cute boy and I had a plan to drive to a place called Irish Hills, but something came over us and we ended up driving all the way across the state to Lake Michigan that day. It was fun and spontaneous and a great summer memory.

4. Shipshewana. I've always been curious about the Amish, so one day my friend Erin and I drove to an Amish community in Shipshewana, Indiana, and spent the day at their shops, eating their cheeses, and admiring their horses and buggies. I scandalized the whole community by wearing my hair down.

5. Olde Timey baseball, and Greenfield Village. Of course, the two go hand in hand since olde timey (aka historic) baseball is played at Greenfield Village, but I also went to GV on its own several times this year and loved it. It is one of my very favorite places to go and buying a season pass was one of my best decisions of the year!

6. Tigers baseball. I went to a record number of games this season and never tired of it. I know most people find baseball boring, but I love it! Especially when I'm actually at the stadium. It's one of my very favorite things to do in the summer. This year I had a special treat of having very good seats a couple of times and that was very glorious. One day, with a very cool guy, I went to both an olde timey baseball game AND a Tigers game. That was a good day.

7. Family Vacation! I love my yearly family vacation to Ludington. This year was as magical as ever. I have a great family.

8. Watching the stars from the lighthouse in Ludington. I had never walked out to the lighthouse at night before, and sitting out there with friends one summer night was truly magical.

9. Trip to DC for Barry and Dana's wedding. I love Barry and Dana (my cousin and his wife) and was so happy for them when they got married. I also had a lot of fun with my family in DC!

10. Trip to Chicago to meet up with my friend Christi. This was a whirlwind trip but we packed a lot in! I even hailed a taxi for the first time! I love Chicago. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's my favorite city.

11. The Heidelberg Project. If you ever go to Detroit, please go to the Heidelberg Project. It is so strange and unimaginable. Is it art? Is it garbage? Is it terrifying? Is it awesome? Yes, to all four.

12. The whole month of October. Between Halloween parties, Edgar Allen Poe book club, Halloween Nights at Greenfield Village, and corn mazes, October was (and always is) a magical month.

2011 definitely had its wonderful parts. It was full of rewarding relationships, personal growth, and happy memories. But it was also a hard year for me in many ways, and I'm looking forward to a fresh start. I have a really good feeling about 2012. How about you?

How to Live a Sitcom Life

2011-12-30T00:29:00.000-05:00

I got to spend time today with some good friends, Emily and Kelly, who I only get to see a couple times a year, when they come back to Michigan to visit me. And by me, I mean their family. Well, it's like 40% for their family and 55% me (and 5% miscellaneous). But anyway, today after we went out to lunch we decided to tour around their hometown of Adrian and check out what the downtown area had to offer.

We spent a lot of time in the local used book store where the proprietor offered wayyyy too much information on how to use her store. I think she said something like,

"Hard cover books are four dollars, everything else is half off the original price, and if you bring in a trade you get half off your total order, then you also get these punch cards which you can share with each other and you get three free books when you fill this up. If this is your first time here you get five free punches."

She repeated that every time you made eye contact with her.

At one point, while looking at a book I found interesting, I said quietly to Emily, "how much was this? That lady gave me way too much information and now I can't remember." At which point the "lady" shouted over the shelves, "FOUR DOLLARS!"

I left with a bag full of books which I honestly have no shelf space left for. Mostly Agatha Christies with a couple Garrison Keillers, and one by Charles Frazier, which Kelly swore by.

I almost bought a silly looking book called, "How to Live a Sitcom Life" simply because the inscription couldn't be beat:

In case you can't read it, it says,

"Dear Julia,

We know we should have given this

to you much earlier,

but as they say on

Golden Girls, better

late than later.

Happy birthday

Love,

Mom and Dad

2003"

I have so many questions about that inscription, and the book itself, I don't even know where to begin. I just know I love it.

After leaving the bookstore, we wandered all over town, checking out the library, the opera house, the Running with E's store, and the local candy and magazine shop. Unfortunately, even though I remembered to take a whole bunch of pictures of the used book store, I forgot to take any of actual humans, except one. A stalker picture I took of Emily.

I told her she should make this her new Facebook profile picture but I'm almost positive she won't. How's that for gratitude?

Anyway, if any of you are going to be in Adrian any time soon, you can borrow my used book store punchcard. After using it for one day, I'm already on my second punchcard.

Wednesday Thoughts

2011-12-28T18:06:00.003-05:00

I got a new coat this winter. It's full of feathers and it's very warm - in fact, it's supposed to be so warm that it will keep me warm even in temperatures of negative forty. So up till now I've been welcoming the cold weather as a challenge. When I hear it's going to be really cold I think, "bring it!" Then I turn to my coat and say, "let's see what you're made of" in a super challenging tone.

The problem however, is that my coat isn't a snowsuit. Meaning, my torso and arms are pretty warm, but my legs and fingers are mostly frozen. So I need a better plan if I'm going to survive winter... But on a more positive note, it made me think of a poem which I will share with you now:

I heard a bird sing

I heard a bird sing

in the dark of December

a magical thing

and sweet to remember.

"We are nearer to spring

than we were in September,"

I heard a bird sing

in the dark of December

- Oliver Herford

I like that thought. And as far as other thoughts are concerned, I thought I'd share some instagram pictures with you today from the last few days, including Christmas. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I know I did.

EXTREEEMME CLOSE -UP! (Waynes World reference)

My niece and I after doing each others hair

Luminaries lining the street on Christmas Eve

Broken ice today. See the little heart?

A cool lamp at a restaurant today. My friend said it wasn't cool
but that's where he's wrong because it clearly is.

One more update: I'm halfway through my vacation and I'm not at all bored yet. Usually I get all "rawr-I'm bored-what do I do with all this free time!?" But not this time. I'm loving life this week. I'm sleeping in, shopping, working out, napping, and so forth. What's your favorite thing to do on vacation?

Happy Wednesday!

A Christmas Wish

2011-12-24T15:16:00.000-05:00

A Festivus for the rest of us!!

2011-12-23T08:39:00.000-05:00

From me to you. Happy Festivus.

As a huge fan of Seinfeld, I want to wish you all a Happy Festivus! In case you don't love Seinfeld as much as I (or millions of other people) do, let me fill you in.

Festivus is a holiday Frank Costanza (George's dad) made up to fight the commercialism of Christmas. He explains it thus:

Frank Costanza: "Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way."

Cosmo Kramer: "What happened to the doll?"

Frank Costanza: "It was destroyed. But out of that a new holiday was born: a Festivus for the rest of us!"

Kramer: "That must have been some kind of doll."

Frank Costanza: "She was."

The celebration includes:

The airing of grievances ("I've got a lot of problems with you people!" - Frank Costanza)
Feats of Strength (until George pins his father, Festivus is not over)
Putting up an aluminum pole for decoration ("requires no decoration. I find tinsel distracting." - F.C.)
Recognizing "miracles" that are actually not miracles at all, such as this one:

Gwen: "Jerry!"

Jerry Seinfeld: "Gwen! How did you know I was here?"

Gwen: "Kramer told me!"

Cosmo Kramer: "Another Festivus Miracle!"

Also in this episode, George finds a way to get out of giving Christmas presents to his coworkers by making up a charity called "The Human Fund" and handing out phony certificates to his coworkers which say, "A donation has been made in your name to the Human Fund."

It's one of my top three favorite episodes of Seinfeld, and that's saying a lot. Here are some great images of Festivus which I found by searching the interwebs:

Frank shows the pole to Krueger, George's boss.

Frank explains Festivus to Kramer, who
proclaims that it's scratching him where he itches.

I can't even tell you how hilarious this episode is. Besides the introduction to Festivus, other storylines include Kramer going back to work after 12 years of being on strike, and Jerry dating someone who is attractive in some lighting, and hideous in others. It's a classic. But of course, the best parts are the parts about Festivus. For some Festivus highlights, check out this video.

Happy Festivus! (I will not infringe on your rights to celebrate new holidays, unlike Kramer's manager at H&H.)

"Festivus is back! I'll get the pole out of the crawl space!"

"George, Festivus is your heritage; it's part of who you are!"

- Frank Costanza

Wednesday Thoughts

2011-12-21T12:59:00.001-05:00

Only the best toy EVER!

Today is the shortest day of the year, and tonight is the official start of winter. Today is also my dad's birthday. (Happy birthday, Dad!) So all in all, it's a big day!

To those of you who have expressed concern that my previous post was about you, it wasn't! As far as I know, the person it was about has never read my blog. Most of my friends and family are very sensitive and would never say something like that. But we all know one or two people who seem to love putting their foot in their mouth. I'm sure the person who made the comment didn't mean any harm. She just wasn't thinking about the impact of her words.

In thinking about Christmas lately (I know, I get wayyyy too into holidays; I can't help it!), I've been thinking about Christmases from my childhood. I don't remember too many toys I asked for, though I'm sure I asked for many. But I do remember one year when I really really really really really wanted something SO BAD. Not getting it simply wasn't an option I was willing to face. That toy? A Cabbage Patch Kid.

What made the Cabbage Patch doll so amazing? Well, I'll tell you:

1. It came with its own birth certificate.
2. It had a tattoo on its butt of the name of its creator (which is kind of weird, in retrospect).
3. It was the cutest doll ever!!
4. TV told me I needed one.

I begged and begged for one that Christmas, when I was probably about seven years old. I clearly remember that Christmas morning, seeing the large wrapped box under the Christmas tree with my name on it. I remember thinking the gift looked to be the size of a Cabbage Patch Kid, but could it be!? And - because I can't keep you in suspense any longer, I'll tell you - it was. I was beyond thrilled! I simply couldn't believe my luck. A Cabbage Patch Kid of my own! I remember taking it to school after Christmas vacation, where the teacher had all of us line our Cabbage Patch dolls along the table in the back. They were glorious, sitting there all together, and I counted down the minutes to recess until we could reclaim our dolls and admire them together.

This year, on Black Friday, my sister Katherine and I went shopping together. As we were meandering through the crowded store, I came upon some Cabbage Patch Kids. I smelled them before I saw them. They have a very distinct powdery smell that, for me anyway, smells exactly like the 80's. I told Katherine to close her eyes and smell it. She was overcome with the same nostalgia as I. Neither of us bought one that night (even though they were on mega-sale), but we both regret it. Katherine still has her Cabbage Patch Kid from when she was a kid, but it is covered with liver-spot like dots now (they don't age well).

When talking about this with my mom recently, she told me that in order to fulfill my childhood Christmas wish, my dad had had to drive many towns over to find a Cabbage Patch doll for me, as they were out of stock nearly everywhere (they were hugely popular at the time). And not only that, but they were very expensive. Of course, as a child, I had no idea about any of this. I just knew I wanted one so bad! I'm grateful my parents went to so much trouble to make my silly childhood wish come true.

What was the one thing you had to have as a kid?

Happy Wednesday!

A Christmas Story

2011-12-20T13:01:00.012-05:00

What I'm about to tell you is a true story. A few years back, one Christmas day, someone (who shall not be named) told me that I'll never understand the true joy of Christmas until I see my own children opening their presents on Christmas morning. After I punched them in the face*, I gave that idea some thought. Is it true? Can Christmas only be truly appreciated when you have children? After thinking about this over the years, I've come up with an answer: NO. Christmas can be wonderful even without children.

Do I want kids? So very much! Do I think Christmas would be even better with kids? Yeah, I do. I won't deny it. Is Christmas a bunch of garbage without kids? No way! Just get that out of your head right now!!

As a single adult, I've found other ways to enjoy Christmas. For one thing, I sorta spoil my nieces and nephews, so I guess I can kind of get a piece of that "joy I'll never understand without my own children" from them.

But I also just like to focus on the happiness part of Christmas with or without kids. The part where you make gifts for those you love, and bake and bake and bake to fatten them up for winter. The part where you watch "White Christmas" and then watch the weather reports closely hoping for an actual white Christmas. The part where you decorate your Christmas tree and put up decorations and lights, and remember happy Christmases from the past. The part where you visit old friends and get together with extended family and play games and laugh. The part where you sing Christmas songs in church, and remember the birth of Christ.

In other words, though the holiday season can be hard for single people, it can also be just fine. It can even be awesome. It's just a matter of focusing on what you do have, and thinking of others. Oh, and O.D.ing on sugar. Some day, I hope to have children of my own. But until then, it is possible to understand the true joy of Christmas. I promise.

*Totally kidding!

Calories are coming to town

2011-12-19T07:34:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, we had a nutrition meeting at work. The point of the meeting was to give us healthy tips for the holidays. The posters, which were hung up around the office building advertising the meeting said, "Calories are coming to town! Or are they?" (Spoiler alert: they are.)

The nutritionist who came to speak to us gave us all sorts of tips for keeping weight gain at bay during this holiday season. Tips like substituting oil in recipes for apple sauce. She even referred to oil (any kind of oil) as "liquid fat" and told us to avoid it at all costs. She's the one who got me on my apple eating kick too, describing apples as "so filling" that sometimes she "can't even finish one!" I've mentally rolled my eyes at that line many times since as I find myself craving a snack a half hour after finishing a whole apple.

But I digress. As the nutritionist predicted, the calories have come to town. And though I'm eating a record number of apples to help in avoiding the sugary alternatives, I'm also contributing to a serious cookie and candy problem around here. So far this season I've made:

toffee
molasses cookies
peppermint fudge
sugar cookies
brownie bites
shortbread cookies
apple crumble bread
peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

And later this week I'm still planning on making:

buckeyes
chocolate truffles
homemade thin mint cookies
sugar cookie swirls
more toffee

It's a serious problem. Luckily I've given most of it away - I don't trust myself to have self control with that stuff around. I made the mistake of keeping some toffee in a container at home to snack on between now and Christmas, thinking I could pace myself. Yesterday after church I was so hungry, I opened the tin and consumed enough to give myself a stomach ache. In my defense though, it doesn't take much of that toffee to give you a stomach ache (it's delicious but packed with butter and sugar).

What are some of your favorite holiday treats? Do you have a recipe that you only make (or eat) at Christmas time?

Creative Wrapping

2011-12-18T21:16:00.004-05:00

A few of you have asked to see more creative wrapping ideas so I thought I'd share some more presents I've wrapped. Feel free to use any of these ideas if you'd like! I've gotten a lot of inspiration from this website (link) so if you need more ideas, go there. She's wayyyy more talented and creative than me!

Without further ado, I present to you (get it? present?) some creative gift wrapping ideas:

Heckuva Rush!! A la The Grinch (post office scene)

Monsters peeking out of their packages.

Ornaments and felt for my little niece.

yarn ribbons

Occupy Christmas!

In case you can't see the image on the last one, here it is:

I photoshopped it with a few borrowed images from the internet. I have several more gifts to wrap later this week and can't wait to think of more wrapping ideas. If any fun inspiration strikes, I'll share it with you.

Merry Christmas! Less than one week!

Christmas Favorites

2011-12-16T09:56:00.001-05:00

I have that Charlie Brown Christmas song in my head right now. You know, the one that goes, "Christmastime is here, happiness and cheer, blah blue blue, blue blah blue blue blue blah blah blah ya dahhhh." I love that song. And seriously, Christmastime is here. It's only eight days away!

That means I have only one week left to check the rest of my Christmas to-do list off:

* finish my Christmas shopping

* make Christmas frosted sugar cookies

* make another batch of Christmas fudge (first one got et*)

* watch Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (my favorite)

* watch It's a Wonderful Life (painful, but necessary to watch so I can learn my lesson)

* watch A Christmas Carol (George C. Scott version)

* watch Forest Gump by myself (a Christmas tradition, every year after watching it I say to whoever will listen, "Forest did soooo many things with his life! What am I doing with mine!?" It motivates me to practice ping pong more.)

* watch A Christmas Story (you'll shoot your eye out)

* go to the Greenfield Village Holiday Nights one night (I doubt this is going to happen)

* wrap Christmas presents

Usually I hate wrapping presents, and I'm not very good at it. But this year I decided to take a creative approach to wrapping presents to make it more enjoyable. I've been using googly eyes on presents, weird papers, home made bows, etc. Here's "A Christmas Story" themed gift I wrapped for my brother-in-law (the gift inside has nothing to do with the movie):

"Fra-gee-lay"

Wrapping gifts creatively is way better than wrapping them nicely. Maybe I'll evolve into being a nice wrapper next year (or even better: a nice rapper).

What's left on your Christmas to-do list? Do you have one?

*eaten

Wednesday Thoughts

2011-12-14T10:11:00.002-05:00

Men are impossible to Christmas shop for. I can never figure out what to get them for Christmas! Here are some of the things I know men like:

1. women
2. fishing
3. gore
4. youtube videos
5. cars
6. explosions
7. sunflower seeds
8. sports
9. scars
10. chili

Most of those aren't easy to buy for Christmas presents though, let alone wrap. What do you usually buy for your dad/husband/boyfriend/brother/friend?

By comparison, women are easy to shop for. When in doubt, just get a woman: lotions, nice candles, candy, jewelry, a scarf or gift cards. So easy! (Though honestly, I kind of don't need anymore candles. If you already bought me one though, thanks! I love it!)

In other Wednesday Thoughts, some organizations are calling for a "truce" in the war over who's the real Mitten State. They're trying to turn it into a positive thing by using the mitten attention to collect mittens for those in need. Fine. I'll donate some mittens (if I remember), but I will never be ok with Wisconsin claiming to be a mitten. This is the picture on the Pure Michigan website calling for a truce. All I'm saying is would anyone in their right mind buy the mitten on the left? No. It's ridiculous.

If you'd like to donate, here's one of many places for doing so (link). It's a good cause, and personally, I think mittens are a little warmer than gloves so I like this idea. Just don't get the Wisconsin shaped mitten. It would never fit a human hand.

Happy Wednesday.

Mitten Smitten

2011-12-12T09:54:00.000-05:00

This was just too amusing not to share.

America's High Five

2011-12-11T19:22:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry but I'm still not over Wisconsin trying to be the Mitten State and I need to blog about it one more time. I'm pretty sure I won't be over it until they back down and go with something more fitting of their shape. They claim it's just a gimmick for winter tourism, but I'm sure if they thought about it, they'd discover that they have other options. I can't think of any right now, but I'm sure they've got 'em. Pretty sure, anyway. (If you want to read a funny article on the conflict in the Chicago Tribune by the way, click here. Then come right back.)

Last night while browsing in a little store in Royal Oak, I saw these t-shirts and had to share the picture with you:

Don't mess with the mitten.

On Friday, this was the headline of the Detroit Free Press:

"Hey Wisconsin, keep your mitts off our mitten."

In the spirit of Michigan pride I thought I'd share some Michigan-themed Pinterest finds today. Which is your favorite?

Hand map, from Pinterest (no source found)

Yep. (from here)

hehe! (from here)

Love it. (from themittenstate.com)

Our state motto (from here)
"If you seek a pleasant peninsula,
look about you."

Mitten....(from here)

By the way, I am in no way saying that this silly conflict over who the real Mitten State is is any more important than some of the very serious problems going on in the world. I'm just saying it's probably in the top three.

Mittengate

2011-12-08T23:31:00.008-05:00

Everyone from Michigan knows that we are the Mitten State. If you look at a map of the US, it's obvious that Michigan is shaped like a mitten. You know what state isn't shaped like a mitten? Wisconsin (and the other 48 states, for that matter). However, Wisconsin recently decided to steal the mitten shape for themselves and claim that they are the Mitten State! This is an outrage.

Mittengate has been in the back of my mind all day today. Partly because it amuses me and partly because it outrages me. It's pretty much 10/90.

Here's some simple photographic evidence from this article on the Pure Michigan website, and this one on the Detroit Free Press website that proves that Michigan is the Mitten State. If you don't understand why this is a big deal, that just means you're not from Michigan. It's ok. I understand that you wouldn't feel passionately about it. But still, check out the pictures from those websites on hop on board.

One of these states looks like a mitten.

X-ray evidence

Wisconsin's mitten

Michigan mittens

The evidence is clear. Michigan is the Mitten State. Go to the poll on the side and vote! And if you're from Wisconsin, don't get too up in arms about this, it's all in good fun. But you and I both know you're not the Mitten State. I mean, let's get real.

PS, have you heard what Wisconsin's state motto is? "Come smell our dairy air." Wordplay.

The Eternal Question

2011-12-08T09:09:00.002-05:00

"Can men and women be 'just friends'?" is of course, the question to which I refer.

Yesterday a male friend sent me this link:

If you watch it you'll see that when asked the question about whether or not men and women can just be friends, the women all say yes, while the men say no. I have had conversations and debates about this with friends many times. I still think that men and women can just be friends because I have had it work. But I think the key is talking openly about it.

My most successful friendship with a guy was just last year (he's married now). I think it was successful because we openly discussed our "just friends" status from time to time. Even though he was an attractive guy, I wasn't attracted to him. And even though I'm a stunning woman (I'm kidding, of course), I got the impression that he wasn't attracted to me, though he never explicitly said so (he's not an idiot). And I was totally fine with that because we were just friends. So, it can happen.

On the other hand, lots of my friendships with men haven't been that cut and dry. There always tends to be a problem like:

I like him as more than a friend.
He likes me as more than a friend.
We're both attracted to each other but think we should just be friends.
We get married but only because he needs a green card.

That last one never happened.

The problem with being friends with someone of the opposite sex is the confusion. If you think they like you as more than friends, but you don't like them back, do you mention it? Or do you wait for them to? If you don't mention it, are you leading them on? And most importantly, what are some of the signs that you are "just friends"? I'd say if you talk to them about guys you date, you're sending a clear message. But I don't know. That's not always true. I've had friendships with guys twice where it turned out they had a secret girlfriend they never told me about. Men!

That last paragraph was loaded with emotion which tells me one thing: men and women can be just friends, but it's not always easy and it's rarely uncomplicated. But it can work - I am sure of it.

What do you think?

Wednesday Thoughts

2011-12-07T00:12:00.000-05:00

My relationship with apples might be moving too fast. Just a few days ago, I was trying to talk myself into eating one single apple. Yesterday, I ate three. Yes, three. In one day (scattered throughout the day of course). I'd forgotten how much I enjoy honeycrisp apples. But three? And what's worse is they're not in season, so they're not cheap.

I just can't find a happy medium with apples.

In other thoughts, I learned to knit! This is big news for me. My patient friend Sara took the time to teach me in a crowded Cuban restaurant last night. I was pretty nervous about this lesson because my grandma (not the grandma I often talk about, but my other grandma, who passed away years ago) attempted to teach me once and I couldn't be taught. For some reason, the information just wouldn't click in my brain. My knitting self esteem was sort of shaken by this. But luckily, Sara stuck with it and I kind of learned! I'm pretty happy about this because now I'm one step closer to becoming a hipster.* Next step: mustache.**

Are any of you on Twitter? If you are, I hope you're following Bridger Winegar. There are several people on Twitter who crack me up daily, but none as funny and random as Bridger. I thought I'd share with you today some of my favorite Bridger tweets:

If you want to read more, click on the link on his name, above. Seriously, you will not regret it. Unless you do in which case you will. You'll find all these plus so many more, such as, "just nailed a baby with a water balloon." (I feel like I need to add, "for the low, low price of...!" I'm not trying to sell Bridger to you, I'm just trying to bring you some joy.)

You know what I realized yesterday? Christmas is in three weeks! Where did the time go? Have you done any of your Christmas shopping? I'm about half way through mine. If you're wondering what to get me, I'm running low on honeycrisps.

I feel like this was one of my more random Wednesday Thoughts. Still friends?

Happy Wednesday!

*It's obvious this was a joke, right?
** This wasn't.

I'm going to eat an apple today

2011-12-05T10:16:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to talk myself into liking apples. Last week, we had a nutritionist come into work to give us some tips on holiday eating and weight control. As part of her presentation, she briefly mentioned apples as a good option, extolling their many virtues in an effort to get us to eat those instead of fudge. It's not like this was news to me exactly. I mean, I grew up hearing, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away," though to be honest, an apple a day seems like overkill. I mean really, every day!?

I am not a picky eater. There are very few foods I won't eat, and I love apples in things - apple pie, apple sauce, apple.... (gosh it's hard to think of things with apples in them). They're fine when combined. But a straight apple? Something about the tartness, or the way you just have to bite into it like a savage beast, ripping it apart and tearing the fruit from the core with a loud crunch, juices dripping down your chin.

Maybe I'm eating them wrong.

But anyway, I don't know if it's for me. That being said, I'm going to try, in the spirit of healthy changes. However, it's going to require some mental planning before I can dive into it. I packed an apple for a snack today, and I've found myself thinking things like:

"You're going to eat an apple today. It's going to be different, but not in a bad way. I know it's tart, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. You'll feel full afterward and that's good. You ate one yesterday and you kind of enjoyed it. Just stop worrying about it, it's going to be fine. You're going to eat an apple today."

I think my apple aversion goes back to when I was six years old and lost a tooth in an apple. You guys, that's how strong apples are. They can rip teeth right out of your mouth! I'm going to add that to the "con" list. So far I have:

Pros:
High in fiber
Filling
Packed with vitamins and other good stuff

Cons:
Rip teeth out
Juices spill down chin
Tart
Must be eaten like a savage (unless sliced, which is too much work and I could cut my finger off)

Hmmm.... Is it worth it? I can't decide which column wins. I better just stick with my mantra, "I'm going to eat an apple today. I'm going to eat an apple today."

Update: I ate an apple today.

Pinterest Finds Friday

2011-12-02T13:32:00.000-05:00


Cat wig!! YES!! (from here)

I really want this doormat! (from here)

I couldn't love this more. (from here)

A week late, I realize. but still good. (from here)

Love this! (from here)

I wish I'd seen this before Halloween!! (from here)

Pretty cool, huh? (from here)

What's your favorite?

Wednesday Thoughts

2011-11-30T09:59:00.002-05:00

I couldn't get into my car this morning. It wasn't an emotional thing; it's not like I couldn't face the day (though I suppose that's not entire untrue). I just literally couldn't get into my car. The door was completely frozen shut. And remember my awesome new scraper? It was frozen into my ice-sealed trunk, unable to fulfill its destiny. So I used an old-school scraper and when that didn't work, a giant glass of super hot water. Eventually I was able to get the car door open and face the slippery drive to work.

I'll admit, the drive in could have been a lot worse, but the prettiness of the snow softened my heart somewhat.

I was totally watching the road when I took this, no worries.

And this scene greeted me when I walked up to my office building:

Fine, snow. Fine. I'll concede. You're pretty.

Between the snow and parting my hair on the other side of my head as an experiment, today is definitely going to be a challenging day. Let me explain about the part. See, I heard this piece on Radiolab about mirror image, and how the way we see our reflection in the mirror is different than how people see us. They had a guy on the show who talked about how he thought the way he looked in the mirror was fine, and couldn't understand why he was unpopular. Then one day he got several passport pictures taken and discovered by examining them that he was goofy looking. He blamed it on his part, and parted his hair on the other side of his head from then on. And because of this, he claims his life improved dramatically. He was more popular and had more friends. Because of his part.

So I decided to experiment and change my part today. I had talked with my coworker, Justin, about the Radiolab show yesterday so he knew about the guy who changed his part. Today I told him about changing mine, and asked him if changing it made me more likable, less likable, or the same likable. He paused and I added, "And you can't take into consideration the annoyingness of the question. This is based on part alone." He then quickly answered: "same likable."

So now I have to feel "off" all day and I am not even more likable. In fact, if I'm being honest, it's probably making me less likable. Or maybe that's the snow's fault?

Between the snow and my part, the deck is definitely stacked against me today. I guess I better take a quick look at the bright side for today: peppermint hot chocolate, Chinese food, a party at my grandma's retirement building at which Elvis* is going to be performing, and my book club. (Oh boy, all those people are going to see me with this weird hair part. [Sigh.])

Happy Wednesday.

*not the real Elvis, cause you know....he died and stuff.

Stayin' Alive

2011-11-29T10:04:00.004-05:00

I haven't blogged about my grandma for awhile, but I know at least a few of you enjoy my grandma stories, so I thought I'd write a few updates about her.

My grandma, whose name is Fran by the way, tells me she's living on borrowed time lately. She's been telling me this for about three or four years but it always worries me when she says it. She's almost 92 so you never know, right? A couple months ago, her son told her he's coming to visit in December. She adores her son (my uncle) so she is really looking forward to this. But when telling me about it, she got overwhelmed at the idea of having to wait a couple months for his visit. She sighed heavily and said, "First I had to stay alive for Barry's wedding (my cousin), and now I have to stay alive for Larry's visit." I told her it was only a couple months away and she could manage it. She agreed that she could probably make it to December. Just to play it safe though, she decided to celebrate her January birthday with the November birthdays in her building because she's "not sure she's going to be around in January."

Yesterday I called her after work to ask her if I could pick her up any dinner. She thought about it for a bit and said, "How about a strawberry milkshake?" I said,"Is that all?" She said yes. So I got her a medium strawberry milkshake from McDonalds (her favorite), and she sipped away at "her supper" while I helped her with some stuff at her place. I guess when you're almost 92, ice cream for dinner is completely acceptable. (She finished the whole thing.)

Now, I know you'll have a hard time believing this story, but she recently told me that while she still loves my curly hair, and still thinks men prefer curly hair, she has been liking the way I've been wearing my straight(ened) hair lately. I should have gotten that in writing....

She has a best friend who lives in her building, a blind man named Lewis. Every Saturday evening he walks over to her apartment and they have dinner together then watch the O'Reilly Factor*. In one of their recent get-togethers the conversation turned to me and my persistent state of single-ness. She complained to Lewis that though she prays for me to get married all the time, God must just not be doing His job. Lewis wisely told her that God works in his own way, and that seemed to pacify her for the time being.

I'm not sure if I've told you this before, but my grandma thinks the best case scenario for me is to find a widower to marry. Specifically a widower with kids. She justifies this fantasy by saying, "you're just so good with kids." I have to say, "I know I'm not in my twenties anymore, Grandma, but I can still have children of my own." I'm not sure if she believes me on that account or not but she seems skeptical. Either way, she's sticking by the plan for me to find a widower. I just hope she's not trying to find one for me in her retirement complex.

I'm really lucky to have my grandma in my life. She really is very sweet to me and though I know I'm far too flawed to believe I'm as great as she tells me I am, her kind words stick with me after I leave her place. I just need to plan a big event for a few months from now (and another a few months later) that she "has to stay alive for." Any suggestions?

*She recently told me that watching tv just makes her angry most of the time. I can't help but wonder if her choice of programming is the problem. I told her to stick to sitcoms.

Thanksgiving Update

2011-11-26T00:51:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving day was full of many of the things I am grateful for: family, food, and recognizing how how blessed my life is. Here are some pictures from the day, and one short video. I'll start off with the video. My nieces and nephews were SUPER excited about going to Disney World for vacation, so I asked my niece what she was going to see there.

It goes without saying that we had sooooo much delicious food. I mean, SO much. I guess it was necessary to have a ton of food though since we had 30 people there. But still, we had enough food to feed twice that many people. I brought the green bean casserole and some mini cheese cakes. They both turned out really well, if I do say so myself.

As per our tradition, we made candy houses after dinner (to avoid watching the Lions lose, and Nickelback perform). The kids went first, then the adults took a turn. My uncle made an outhouse, which probably would have won if we'd done the voting this year.

I played outside with the kids a lot. I pushed them on the tire swing, helped the little ones teeter-totter, and played tag with the boys. They were a bunch of cheaters though because they tagged me back even though I specifically said, "no tag backs!"

The chickens tried to come home with me. The chickens amuse me to no end.

It was a super fun day. I definitely have a lot to be thankful for. Later that night/morning, my sister Katherine and I went out to do some Black Friday shopping. But that's a story for another day. I hope your Thanksgiving was as good as mine!

Wednesday Thoughts

2011-11-23T16:22:00.001-05:00

America's national bird is the bald eagle. Personally I've never been that into the bald eagle. First of all, they're scary looking, and secondly, they're scarce (which isn't a bad thing considering my first point). But I suppose I don't mind having it as a national bird since it has little to no impact on me, personally. Benjamin Franklin thought the national bird should be the turkey. He criticized the eagle for having "bad moral character," and being lazy and weak, whereas he said the turkey, "though a little vain and silly," is a "bird of courage" who "would not hesitate to attack" an enemy invading his territory. He forgot to mention the fact that it says, "gobble gobble" which is also a very American ideal. (Gobbling, that is.)

Not only is the turkey brave and fierce, but let's be honest, it's delicious. The turkey is present in most American homes at least once a year on Thanksgiving.Turkeys and Thanksgiving go together like (insert something that goes together). What other animal can claim to be the centerpiece of any other holiday? I guess for the Fourth of July we eat a lot of hot dogs, but those come from lots of animals (among other things), so we can't give any one animal credit for the hot dog.

But I digress. This year for Thanksgiving I am in charge of the green bean casserole, and I'm taking that responsibility very seriously. Sort of like when Chandler was in charge of making the cranberries on Friends (anyone remember that)? Green bean casserole is one of my favorite dishes for Thanksgiving. Along with mashed potatoes and the aforementioned turkey.Oh, and gravy of course. For dessert, my mom always brings her famous dessert, "Oreo Delight" which the crowds go mad for, myself included. What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? What are you cooking this year?

I love Thanksgiving. I love that we have a holiday that focuses on gratitude, and counting our blessings. It kinda makes me sad that Thanksgiving gets so overlooked (it seems to me, anyway). Especially with many stores opening their doors at midnight on Thanksgiving night for Black Friday. I don't love that. Though I suppose it was inevitable. But I do love that I'll be spending so much time with my family and enjoying an extra long weekend. And gobbling up lots of delicious food!

Turkey for National Bird, 2012!

Happy Wednesday.

Creative Weekend

2011-11-21T10:21:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned this before, but this time of year always stirs up creativity in me. When it gets dark at 5:00 in the afternoon, I guess it becomes necessary to find things to do inside (besides carbo-load and mope - my two fall back winter activities).

This weekend was an all-out craft weekend, starting with Friday when I stayed in, watched a movie I'm ashamed to admit*, and made a wreath for my grandma. This was a super fun project and I'm going to make another one this week. Sorry the picture of the finished wreath is blurry. I couldn't get the dang thing to hold still.

I spent any free moments the rest of the weekend making headbands to give as gifts. I'm addicted to this project these days.

Saturday afternoon I went to a painting class with some good friends. I was very nervous about this. One of my sisters is a very talented painter (check out her website), and I know that compared to her, I seriously stink at it. But I had a blast in this class and would definitely go again.

There's us with our final paintings. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with mine. A friend of mine looked at the picture and said, "Oh wow, it's good!" I said, "really?" And he said, "Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't buy it and hang it up, but it's not bad!" That kind of honesty always makes me laugh. But if you want to lie and tell me it's amazing, I'm always ok with that too.

*The first Twilight movie. I know you'll never be able to look me in the eye again now. And what's worse? I've seen it before.

A Happier Friday

2011-11-18T07:54:00.004-05:00

It's Friday so I should be thrilled right? Well, I am. I mean, really I am. The weekend is almost upon us. But there's still work that has to be done today, and not only that, but the air outside is winter air. It feels like when you stick your head too far in the freezer, looking for a popsicle in the back. It's crisp, and it stings. And because of that, I need a little pick me up. I thought you might too, so I thought I'd share some fun Pinterest finds again. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. And if not, well... tough. :)


I love Arrested Development (from here).


The feelings expressed here do not reflect the feelings of management. (from here)

I wish this was in my wallet. (from here)

There are no words. (from here)

Michigan, in leaves (from here).

Yep.

Please tell me you've seen Labyrinth (from here)!

Which do you like the best? Happy Friday!

Wednesday Thoughts

2011-11-16T12:23:00.001-05:00

Wednesday! Wednesday! Wednesday! (Please read that in the voice of the guy who announces the monster truck rallies.)

You guys, I am in a state of shock that next week is Thanksgiving. What the what!? This year is going way too fast. And in a broader sense, now that I think about it, my life is going too fast. Dang. I am not getting any younger. Pretty sure I'm going to make it a New Year's Resolution to get married in 2012. Think I can do it? Does making it a goal help at all?

In other thoughts, I got busted this morning by a coworker who caught me listening to Sufjan Stevens' Christmas CD box set. Is it still too early for Christmas? I've crossed over, I think. It's too late to go back. If it makes you feel any better though, I watched a Halloween special last night too.

Oh my goodness, you guys, I have been way excited to show you this ice scraper mitten I bought from Eddie Bauer the other day. (There's a handle inside the mitten.) Pretty cool, huh? It's honestly sad how excited I am about this. Nothing puts me in a foul mood in the morning like scraping the ice off my windows and getting wet, cold fingers.

Winter..... I.... think....I.....can....do.....it.....again. (Sigh.)It snowed last week. It didn't stick or accumulate at all, but it came down hard for a little bit. My coworkers and I stared at it out the window, adjusting to the variety of emotions it stirred in us. For me it was mostly dread, but oddly enough, a bit of happiness. Winter is part of me, I guess. Even though I mostly hate it.

And lastly in Wednesday Thoughts, I've been a crafting fool lately. I went to a church Christmas craft workshop over the weekend, and that only fueled the fire (check out some of what I made here). My nieces and nephews are going to get some of the awesome-est home made gifts they've ever seen for Christmas this year! And some store bought stuff too, because I still want them to love me.

Happy Wednesday.

Travesty

2011-11-15T09:38:00.001-05:00

Nickelback: Rated Teen

You know what's just like the seriously most UNFAIR thing to ever happen to Detroit in like the history of time!?!?!? I'll give you a hint:

What do you get when you put too much change in the vending machine?

Yep, you got it: Nickelback is playing the Lions game halftime show on Thanksgiving Day.

The outrage over Nickelback playing the halftime show is a real source of amusement for me. The petition to get them replaced has over 50,000 signatures! I feel kind of bad for Nickelback. (I'd feel worse if they weren't millionaires.) I'm not sure exactly what people are mad about, though I'm assuming it's the way that guy sings with that super gravely, rocker voice. Personally, I'm indifferent.

The big complaint, besides that goofy voice, is that they don't represent Detroit (and that there's no "mute" button when you're actually at the game). So who does represent Detroit? Here are some other musicians from Michigan. Who do you think would be best?

Kid Rock: Kid Rock can basically do no wrong here. But how many times can one hear "Bawitdaba"? The answer: an infinite number. I'll never tire of it, personally.

Eminem: Too angry for Thanksgiving.

Insane Clown Posse: Just kidding.

The White Stripes: Wait... did they break up? And did anyone ever find out if they were married or brother and sister?

Madonna: Nope. She's British now.

Sufjan Stevens: Hmm. Love him, but he's not exactly for the football crowd.

Alice Cooper: I don't want to see scary make up or a boa constrictor when I'm trying to digest my turkey and mashed potatoes.

Ted Nugent: He's too busy releasing wild boar into the suburbs. (This is an inside joke for Michiganders.)

Iggy Pop: Once again, not while I'm eating.

And lastly, three of the most loved and most used Michigan artists: Stevie Wonder, Bob Seger, and Aretha Franklin. Personally I'd love to see Stevie Wonder perform. I'd definitely put down my second plate of Thanksgiving dinner to sing along with Superstition. Instead, I'll be straining my voice trying to do my best Nickelback rocker-voice impersonation. (Either way it will be awesome.)

But let's be honest, no matter who plays the halftime show, there's one thing we in Michigan have to be thankful for: the Lions don't suck this year. So maybe we should all just calm down a little bit.

(Not) Engaged

2011-11-14T11:31:00.000-05:00

I saw this ecard on Pinterest today and it reminded me of a conversation I had with a good friend over the weekend. This is NOT about you. You're extremely attractive. This is about other people.

Friend: Remember that super awkward guy who came to visit me for the weekend and left the "size" sticker on the side of his jeans the whole time? He's engaged.

Me: What!?!?

Friend: And that giantess from work? The one with the horrible personality? I overheard her mention a husband the other day.

Me: Oh brother. Well, they're probably married to weirdos... That's what we have to tell ourselves anyway so we're not so sad when we die alone. (pause) Sorry, I shouldn't joke about that. We're not going to die alone.

Friend: But we probably are.

Me: Yeah, most likely.

This conversation was followed by laughter, so don't feel too bad for us. You have to either laugh or cry right? Laughing is usually the better option.

A Happier Thursday

2011-11-10T11:00:00.001-05:00

I haven't done a post about Pinterest in awhile! I think I'm overdue in showing you some things that are making me happy on Pinterest lately. I hope these images brighten your day a bit!

Ron Swanson (from here)

Adorable!! (from here)

T Rex and I have something in common. (from here)

Oh, turtle. (from here)

Love Mary Tyler Moore! Love this. (from here)


Who doesn't need to be reminded of this? (from here)

An ad from the 50's. There are no words. (from here)

The "awww" factor is overwhelming. (from here)

Here's to a happier Thursday. :)

Wednesday Thoughts

2011-11-09T08:03:00.005-05:00

Heads up: this is an old fashioned Wednesday Thoughts. Ready for a lot of disconnected thoughts? Let's go.

A few days ago I woke up to a ginormous pimple on my cheek. At first I was sort of mesmerized by it. I have dry skin and I almost never get pimples, so I honestly didn't mind it at first. It entertained and amused me. It was something new and different. But now, several days later, it's still here and I'm tired of it. What am I supposed to do with this thing? Pop it? (Gross.) Ignore it? Oxycute it?

Should I switch to the "new look" of gmail? Have you switched yet? Is it going to be terrifying to make the switch? Will I recover? Can I go back? Change is hard.

Daylight savings was nice on Sunday, when I got that extra hour of sleep, but now that the sun is setting pretty much when I get out of work, I'm not so sure how I feel. In a way, I don't hate it. Yet. I mean, it's a novelty. (Like my pimple, I'll probably be tired of it in a few more days.) Yesterday I was running an errand after work and noticed how dark it was. I got discouraged thinking about how late it must be getting, and how there was still a lot I needed to get done. Then I looked at the clock and it was 5:20. Weird.

I wrote a status update on Facebook on Monday asking people if there's still time for me to get married on 11-11-11. Only a few people had faith that there's still time. Some people suggested waiting till 12-12-12, but I mean, I don't know. If the Mayans were right, and the world ends on the 21st of that month, that doesn't give me a lot of time for wedded bliss. But if I must, I must. If I can't get married on a cool date, I'm not getting married. It's as simple as that.

Happy Wednesday.

Crafty

2011-11-07T11:18:00.001-05:00


i wish i could make this!

This past weekend was one of the more relaxing weekends I've had in a long time. I hardly did anything, and it was wonderful. I went to my favorite restaurant, I re-taught myself how to crochet, I watched my favorite show on DVD, I went for walks, and I slept. A lot. I slept so much. I think I slept 11 or 12 hours Friday night, and at least 10 Saturday night, with the daylight savings boost. Who sleeps that much!? Not me! Not usually, anyway. But I did this weekend and it was awesome! Minus the weird dreams that are inevitable when sleeping that long.

I blame it on the weather, which is cooling off a lot. I think I'm going into hibernation mode, where I spend much less time outside, want to sleep a bit more, and have a deeper desire to do crafts and learn to sew. I always go into craft and create mode when the seasons shift. It's relaxing, therapeutic, and a good way to avoid the impending cold weather.

Pinterest is only feeding my increasing obsession too. I browse Pinterest for ten minutes and suddenly I need to order a lucet, and I need to learn to knit (anyone want to teach me?); I need to get coupons for JoAnn's, and stock up on yarn. Once a year I become a pioneer woman, except without the skill level of a true pioneer woman in any area.

What I'm trying to say is, if you'd like a poorly made gift for Christmas, I'm your gal. Want a funky scarf? You got it. A home made bracelet? I'm all over it! An imperfect blanket? Got it. Just know that your mind won't be blown when I tell you I just learned to sew/knit/use a lucet this year when you get your present.

Any requests??

Under the Surface

2011-11-06T18:14:00.001-05:00

I've been thinking lately about why I blog about the things I do. I blog a lot about seasons, holidays, and other random thoughts. But I don't blog about the more personal things - my worries, the guys I'm seeing, the things that upset me, and so on. I think I've figured out why that is. Here are some of the reasons:

I don't know who's reading this blog.

I DO know who's reading this blog. (Catch the difference?)

I don't want people to think I'm looking for pity.

If I get really personal about loneliness or worries, people are bound to give well

meaning advice that will just annoy me or make me feel like I was fishing for it.

I'll feel vulnerable.

The breakdown of what I end up publishing looks something like this, with the top layer being what I blog about, and the bottom being what I don't.

(I don't have any serious health issues, but occasionally I get sick and don't want to be all "I'm sick, wah wah" about it, though I may acknowledge it briefly.)

Both parts of that picture are me at different times in my life. I am happy for the most part, and I try to enjoy life. And the bottom layer list doesn't tend to happen all at once, thank goodness. But there's a lot of stuff going on in my life. And, I'll be honest, I do wish I could be more open. I wish I could tell you that I haven't been over the top happy lately, that I'm worried about the future, that I sometimes feel lonely, and the upcoming holiday season, though I love it, often compounds those feelings of loneliness. But I can't tell you those things because it makes me too vulnerable.

But at the same time, I think a lot of you could probably relate to some of the things I'm feeling so I think, I think, I'm going to try to be more open. We can all survive the upcoming cold weather together, and the bad and funny dating stories together, and the holidays together. Sound like a plan?

It's Official.

2011-11-03T15:53:00.000-04:00

3 Musketeers is the least desirable of the left-over Halloween candy in my office. Just two days ago, this pie pan was over flowing with a variety of mini candy bars, but now look at it! I felt so bad for them, I actually ate one this morning just to show some mercy on the poor, forgotten, 3 Musketeers bar. Sitting there, all rejected, passed by for other more delicious candies. It broke my heart. Ok, that's a lie. I wanted chocolate and I didn't care what form it came in. I have to admit though, it wasn't the easiest way to get my chocolate fix.

There's nothing interesting about the 3 Musketeers bar. It has a thin chocolate covering and some sort of mystery filling on the inside. No caramel, no peanut butter, no cookie center, no nuts. Let's face it, it's lackluster! But on the other hand, it is chocolate. (Kind of.)

What's the last candy to go at your house/office?

Wednesday Thoughts

2011-11-02T11:37:00.002-04:00

I've been walking backwards into winter, keeping a close eye on summer and fall, and the start of November has been startling to me. I know it's still fall for almost two months, but it's starting to not feel that way. On Halloween day I went to Target to get candy to pass out to trick-or-treaters and the store was decked out in Christmas decorations. It was jarring. How can it almost be Christmas?? Last month was August! At least, I thought it was. Time is moving too quickly.

I've found myself accepting some parts of the change of seasons. For instance, I'm excited that pomegranates are back. And I swapped out my apple cider for some egg nog, which I do not drink but instead put in my oatmeal (just a dash and it is SO good). And I've found myself singing along with Christmas songs on the radio at least twice before I quickly turned the station. Truth be told, I was already sneaking in some Christmas music last month, but now that people are declaring this the Christmas season, I feel like it's too early.

It's like I don't even know myself. Usually I'm crazy about the holidays. They just came too fast this year. I need to change my attitude.

I think I'll ease into it, eking out as much fall as possible until the inevitable start of winter. In that spirit, I wanted to share with you these pictures my friend Sara took last weekend when we went to a corn maze. We spent a lot of time that night deep in the corn maze, looking up at the stars which Sara, who lives in Detroit, couldn't get enough of. My other friend, Sarah (notice the "H" - they are two different people, who I often refer to as "the Sara(h)'s"), recently got the new iPhone which has a constellation recognition ap that she wanted to try out. So we stood in the middle of a corn field, gazing up at the sky for quite awhile before one of us pointed out the uniqueness of our surroundings.

Beautiful, isn't it? Both of these pictures were taken from a little look out tower the owners set up at the entrance to the corn maze. Some people have gently accused me of being obsessed with corn mazes, and I suppose this post is doing nothing to prove them wrong. But I hope these pictures show a little bit of the appeal of the corn maze. What the pictures don't show is the flickers of flashlights we could see from inside the corn maze, or the screams and chainsaws we could hear from the "haunted" corn maze (adjacent to the non-haunted one). They also don't show our muddy shoes, our gloved hands, our scarves, our empty hot cocoa cups, or the bonfires set up nearby.

On that note, I'm starting to think this post should have been titled, "Dear Fall, I'm in love with you. Do you like me back? Check yes or no. Love, Elizabeth." But it's Wednesday so I can't call it that. Instead I will just say:

Happy Wednesday.

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-31T09:40:00.000-04:00

It's Halloween and I'm definitely excited. I don't know why I love this holiday so much. I was talking to a good friend from Taiwan yesterday and she described Halloween as "weird." Well, yes, it is kind of weird. But only if weird equals awesome, right?

I mean, when else do you get to sit next to someone dressed as Where's Waldo? all day? (As seen below - he knew I was taking his picture even though it doesn't look that way, for the record.) When else does your office dog dress up as a pirate? (Not pictured due to the fact that he's in the Witness Relocation program.) When else do you get to eat tons of treats almost guilt free?

Here's a little Halloween mosaic to get you in the Halloween spirit. In this mosaic are some Halloween scenes from the last couple weeks, including two of my costumes (a rag doll and Professor Trewlawny), scenes from Bone Heads, the spooky restaurant we went to Friday night (it was awesome), and more.

Are you dressed up today? Are your kids? What are you/they dressed up as?

And lastly, a spooky song from 30 Rock that I've had in my head all morning (the video quality is crap-ola, but the audio is fine)! While flipping through radio stations this morning I heard that one local Detroit station has already gone all Christmas music. Um, wait one more day, how about!?

Happy Halloween!

Recipe for Halloween Spirit

2011-10-28T12:11:00.003-04:00

It has come to my attention that not everyone loves Halloween. Some people can't wait for it to be over, in fact. I don't know why anyone would hate Halloween. Maybe they had a traumatic childhood experience? Maybe they don't like being scared? Maybe they are allergic to Halloween candy? Maybe a witch stabbed them with her broom? Maybe Frankenstein won't take the hint? Whatever the reason, I'm going to try to cure you Halloween Grinches of your Grinchy-ness.

Here are Elizabeth tips for getting into the Halloween spirit!

1. Buy a bag of candy corn. Eat 5-10 candy corns per day leading up to Halloween - no more than that in one sitting or you will turn against Halloween forever.

2. Listen to a Halloween playlist. I made one for you, in fact! Listen to this while you read the rest of the list.

3. Choose a Halloween destination. Not necessarily a haunted house, because if you don't like being scared, that will only make your resentment grow. Next thing you know, you're punching the guy in the mask with the chainsaw and there's no way that's ending well. But I digress. Choose a fun destination to get in the spirit. Last year a couple days before Halloween, I went with a few friends to Hell, Michigan which was perfect. This year I've been to the Greenfield Village Halloween nights, a haunted corn maze, and tonight I'm going to a restaurant called Bone Heads that's reputed to be haunted... I'll let you know if I hear any chains rattling. These destinations put you in that spooky Halloween spirit. Don't hide from it!

4. Take a plastic bag, or better yet, a pillowcase, and stuff it with 10 of each of the following: Smarties, Tootsie Rolls, Snickers, Reeses, Dum Dums, pennies, one toothbrush, and a handful of some kind of gross pink gum. Now shake it all up, open the bag and take a big smell. That's the smell of Halloween night.

5. Acknowledge the pumpkin. I don't care how you do this. You can carve one, you can buy a pumpkin scented candle, you can make a pumpkin recipe, you can go to a pumpkin patch, whatever works for you. But you must acknowledge it or you're not truly trying to get into the spirit.

6. Watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! Or Hocus Pocus, or any other Halloween movie that puts you in a state of nostalgia reminding you of all those wonderful childhood memories. Unless you're suffering from a childhood Halloween trauma, in which case, do not do this one!

7. Read a scary story or book. This month we read some Edgar Allan Poe short stories in my book club. Very spooky stuff, and very fun to read. I brought eye themed candies since Poe was obsessed with the scariness of eyes. (I'd recommend The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat, and The Masque of the Red Death to start.)

8. Put up some kind of Halloween decoration - I don't care what it is. A spider web, a fake skull (I felt like I needed to say "fake" just in case), a pumpkin, etc. Just do it.

9. Every night before going to sleep, quietly recite to yourself, "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat."

10. If you hate dressing up, but people put tons of pressure on you to do so, just put on some cat ears and call it a day. That'll shut 'em up.

Any other tips, Halloween lovers? And to you Halloween Grinches, let me know if any of these tips work!

Happy Halloween! Love, TV

2011-10-27T11:44:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite things about the holidays is the holiday episodes of my favorite tv shows. I almost feel like I should be embarrassed to admit that, but I'm not. Halloween is an especially fun time for holiday episodes, but this week some of my shows have betrayed me with reruns. Not cool. So here's a look back at some Halloween episodes of some of my favorite shows.

1. Parks and Rec, 2. Modern Family, 3. Happy Endings, 4. Full House 5. The Office, 6. Friends, 7. Community, 8. Raising Hope 9. How I Met Your Mother

Do you have a favorite?

Wednesday Thoughts

2011-10-26T12:04:00.002-04:00

Today I'm going to share with you some random facts about me.

Shows I've watched all available seasons of on Hulu (that are not currently on tv):

Major Dad

Alf

Newhart

Mary Tyler Moore

I think it's completely inhumane to expect anyone to wear pajama pants (or any kind of pants) to bed. They get all tangled and hot and twisted. I will never wear them! Never! Not even for naps.

When playing Monopoly, I like to be the iron. If I can't be the iron, I'll be the battleship. What playing piece do you choose? I'm curious. The options, besides the two I already mentioned are: car, horse, shoe, top hat, thimble, wheelbarrow, and cannon. Unless you're playing a different version of Monopoly, of course.

Which is your favorite? (I am going to evaluate you psychologically based on your choice.)

I get really annoyed when movies have aliens in them. I'm not interested in aliens in the slightest. They're not scary, they're not interesting, they're just silly. I'll still see movies with aliens in them because I'm a team player, but I will roll my eyes when an alien comes on screen. I'm not saying I don't believe in aliens, I'm just saying I think they're boring and most likely inaccurately portrayed.

I think Kleenex is superior to Puffs.

My top five vacation destinations in the US are:

The Grand Canyon

Alaska, to see the northern lights

Hawaii, to relive the Brady Bunch vacation

The Redwood forest

Wherever you live (of course)

Sidenote: the northern lights were visible the other night in the part of Michigan where I live, but no one informed me and I slept right through it. Heartbreaking, isn't it? I'm not over it yet.

Happy Wednesday.

Apples, Pumpkins, and Halloween

2011-10-24T00:26:00.000-04:00

I've mentioned on here before that I consider October weekends very valuable. This weekend was no exception. Considering I was sick all of last week, I may have over done it this weekend but it had to be done - October weekends are too precious to waste! Here's a quick run down of some of the awesome things I did this weekend followed by an overwhelmingly large mosaic. There will be a quiz later.

1. I went to a Hallwe'en nights celebration at Greenfield Village. My friends and I went dressed as rag dolls. I don't even know where to begin in talking about how fun this evening was. We watched a story teller recite the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, we walked through Sleepy Hollow itself, we saw a headless horseman, we walked through a haunted covered bridge, we had our fortunes told by a fake fortune teller (my fortune was that someone from my past will come to visit me), we drank hot chocolate, watched ghostly holograms float across buildings, and wondered if Halloween was always this cold, or if we just didn't care when we were kids.

2. I went to a friend's birthday party which has nothing to do with the "fall" theme but is important anyway. Happy birthday, Janice!

3. I canned apple sauce with my family and played outside with my nieces. This is definitely one of my favorite fall activities. I love spending time with my family, and we have so much fun doing getting together in October to do the canning. Also, I got to see the chickens again which always amuses me. Some of my friends have accused me of being obsessed with chickens but, um, hasn't anyone else noticed that they're hilarious!?

4. I went to a cider mill with some friends. The weather was perfect - sunny but crisp. And the cider and doughnuts were divine. But side note: why do bees and cider mills go together so well? We need to figure out a way to break them up.

5. I went to a super fun Halloween party where we watched "Wait Until Dark" - a very suspenseful classic! Highly recommend! We also ate about a million calories apiece at this party, keeping with the Halloween theme.

6. I helped carve a group pumpkin. At one point six hands were working on the same pumpkin. Surprisingly, it turned out great. And we won the competition. Some people reading this who were there tonight are probably thinking, "what competition? There was no competition!" Well in our minds, there was. And we won. Your pumpkin was fine though, don't get me wrong.

Did you do anything particularly "fall-ish" this weekend?

The Great Lakes State

2011-10-22T18:15:00.000-04:00

Whenever I travel, I almost always pick up postcards from the towns or cities I'm visiting. The problem is, I never send them. But that doesn't stop me from buying them. Yesterday I saw a picture of a vintage Michigan postcard and it left me wanting more. I decided to do a little search on ye olde internet and found some fun ones. I thought I'd share some with you. Some are old, some are new. But they all look old, and that's what matters. Hope you enjoy. (And I really do wish you were here. [Well, most of you.])

Love this.

Why does Marquette looks scary and ominous in this postcard?? I never
want to go there now!! And no, I won't calm down!

Ypsi!

I don't like this one because Michigan looks weird.
Like an amoeba.

Trying not to think about how this was probably done from the perspective of
someone in Windsor.

Durand, Michigan? That's not a real place. I've never heard
of it in my life. But if it is real, it deserves a shout out.

Ok, I don't think this counts as a real postcard but I stumbled upon it
and I have to complain because the idea that a chicken would invite people
to come inside to eat chicken is just ridiculous. I don't believe it for a second! Unless the chicken is making something else, like corn. Then, maybe.

My favorite, of course. The town and beach house that I love,
love, love!

Which is your favorite??

Wednesday Thoughts

2011-10-19T19:11:00.002-04:00

Well, it's a good thing I decided to stop blogging every day as of last week since I've been too sick since Saturday to come up with anything original to say. I went back to work today but for four days before that I was in bed almost nonstop so my blog posts would have been something like,

"Sleeping a lot, thank you Nyquil. Went through two boxes of Kleenex. Watched an entire season of Mad Men. Slept more. Coughing a lot. Need more Tylenol. Bored. Entertain me?"

But today I went back to normal life again. And I'm not going to talk more about being sick because being sick makes me so mad! It's frustrating when your body betrays you.

Anyway, back to Wednesday Thoughts (it is Wednesday, isn't it?)

1. I miss Gilmore Girls on ABC Family. I used to watch it every day after work. Now it's been replaced with That 70's Show. Who even likes that show?! Honestly!! It's not funny. I don't know how many times I have to say that. Searching for an alternative to watch after work today, I turned to the local news and found myself very amused by a newscaster who was apparently following a slow tele-prompter. I mean, unless she intended to talk like this:

"She's a mother of two.
Children, who just bought a new vehicle."

"The new center represents equality for all.
People. And opens today."

2. I don't know if people outside of Michigan or Ohio know this, but Michigan and Ohio resent each other a lot. I was going to say we're enemies but that's not exactly true. But there's definitely animosity, especially when it comes to sports. Why is this? I don't know. Maybe it goes all the way back to the Michigan/Ohio war that ended with us giving them Toledo in exchange for the Upper Peninsula. Maybe they're mad because they want the U.P. back. Tough luck, suckers!!! Either way, there's tension.

Anyway, I'm not sure if you guys have all heard about this or not, but it's been on the news that some guy in Ohio was a collector of exotic animals. He had over 50 of them, most of them pretty dangerous (tigers, lions, baboons, bears, and a monkey with an infection). Yesterday he committed suicide then released all of them. Or rather, the other way around. Police have been hunting down the animals, and killing them (there's still a few on the loose, including the infected monkey). Today on my home from work, I was listening to the radio and the DJ said, "This guy was allowed to keep that many exotic pets and I'm not even allowed to have a dog bigger than 30 lbs in my apartment!? Ohio!!"

The fact that he ended his diatribe with somehow making the problem "Ohio" made me laugh. Though for the record, I think Ohio's pretty ok. I like how it's round on the ends and hi(gh) in the middle.

3. Every year I blog about (and think about, and talk about) costume ideas for Halloween, but I almost always end up being super lame and not dressing up at all. Or being a witch, my ultimate cop-out costume. This year things are looking up, with the help of a group costume idea (which will be revealed later). But I think secretly I don't like dressing up. I always thought I did. It's strange when I make these realizations about myself. Do you like dressing up for Halloween?

Happy Wednesday.

Some things making me happy this weekend

2011-10-16T15:37:00.009-04:00

(Random corn maze picture)

What had been a lingering cold the past couple weeks turned into full blown sinusitis this weekend. As you can imagine, I'm thrilled about this. But I can't complain too much because there have still been some things making me happy this weekend. Here are some of those things:

1. I went to a haunted corn maze with some friends. Before going in, we stood outside the corn maze, putting our scarves on and getting our tickets out (yay, Groupon!), and we got nervous. All we could hear from inside the corn was screaming and chainsaws. We started second guessing ourselves. The guys especially. I think they were worried about not looking manly or something. My friend and I were teasing them, that as women, we were supposed to be the scared ones, not them! But when we got inside, they were fine. My friend and I, on the other hand, were not! To make matters worse, one of the guys told one of the monsters my name, so behind me in the corn I heard a creepy voice saying, "Ellliiiiiizzzzzaaaabbbbeeeettthhh" over and over. No me gusta.

Back in the car, safe and sound, I was given the "most touchy feely award," or something like that. As if they didn't like it!! I'm just glad I survived.

2. We watched Watcher in the Woods afterward. Still scary after all these years! If you haven't seen it, you should. Just don't watch the alternate ending unless you want to undo all your spooky feelings. It's ridiculous.

3. Cool Touch Kleenex. Have you guys tried this? I don't know if I'd use it on a daily basis, but when I'm sick - wow. It's really nice. I'm in that stage of the illness where I keep flipping my pillow over looking for a cooler part to rest my head, so this Kleenex is rocking my world. How does it stay so cool? I don't know, and I'm trying not to think about it too hard.

4. This video staring Brandon Flowers, lead singer of The Killers, talking a little about his spiritual journey, and his religious beliefs. He's a Mormon, and so am I. This isn't something I typically talk about so much (though I'm very active in my church), but with the political situation here in the States, there has been a lot of political debate about what Mormons believe and who we are. Instead of letting other people make proclamations about that, we feel the need to say for ourselves who we are, and what we believe to be true. This video isn't at all preachy, just sincere. I liked it and thought I'd post it in case any of you were interested. Don't worry friends, I won't be any more in your face about my religious beliefs than I ever have been, but I might be sharing a bit more of this type of thing on my blog and I'm always willing to answer questions.

How has your weekend been? I'm laying in bed with nothing to do, so I'd love some updates!

More on Autumn

2011-10-13T21:31:00.001-04:00

I know you probably get tired of my reflections on fall, but it's just blowing my mind with its beauty right now. Sometimes as I'm walking down the street I'm almost overwhelmed with how pretty the trees, and consequently, the sidewalks, are! The leaves are getting to full color right now. It's gorgeous. Like a fairy tale.

Today I raked some leaves, bought some pumpkins and some bulbs, and listened to the geese fly south. It reminded me of a poem and I wanted to share it with you guys, followed by some pictures I've taken recently. If you're not into poetry, don't worry, this is the first time I've shared a poem on here and it probably won't happen much more!

Something told the wild geese

by Rachel Field

Something told the wild geese

It was time to go.

Though the fields lay golden

Something whispered - "Snow."

Leaves were green and stirring,

Berries, luster glossed,

But beneath warm feathers,

Something cautioned - "Frost."
All the sagging orchards

Steamed with amber spice,

But each wild breast stiffened

At remembered ice.

Something told the wild geese

It was time to fly, -

Summer sun was on their wings,

Winter in their cry.

Wednesday Thoughts

2011-10-12T21:41:00.001-04:00

I had to take my car to the shop yesterday. What's wrong with it, you ask? Well, it's making "a sound." What kind of sound? I dunno. Something like a rruuuurrring or a fast chchchchchchcch, or maybe more of a tststststststst, or like something's loose, or just....something's different than how it normally sounds.

That's the answer I gave the mechanic when he asked yesterday. He repeated the sounds I'd made back to me, but changed them a little bit, rolling his r's more, and giving them a bit more umph. In general, making more the types of sounds little boys make when playing with matchbox cars: "t-t-t-t-t," "bbbbzzzzzz," and "krrrkrrrkrrrkrr." Talking about the sound your car is making is the only time English turns into an African click language.

On one of my favorite national public radio programs, "Car Talk," people call in and tell their car problems to the hosts, Tom and Ray Magliozzi. Tom and Ray ask questions to try to determine the source of the problem, and one of their main questions is, "what sound is it making?" They love to make people make embarrassing noises on the radio. I understand the purpose of it for diagnostic reasons, but I still find it very embarrassing to do myself.

I wish that taking your car to the shop was more like getting an eye exam, where you could listen to two pre-recorded sounds at a time, and say, "number one.... no wait, number two." Then listen to two more sounds and eventually get it narrowed down to just the right sound, without having to make a "rurring" or "t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t" sound yourself.

Instead we have to go in and make embarrassing sounds, then clarify those sounds even more - it's less of a "ka-dink, and more of a "ka-donk." Maybe next time I go in, I'll bring a matchbox car for inspiration and channel my inner four year old. Or better yet, bring a four year old with me to do the sounds for me.

Anyway, I picked up my car from the mechanic tonight. He couldn't find anything wrong with it. He did however hear another sound though, and it sounds something like this: "Tszzz-Tszzz." He said I should listen for it...

Happy Wednesday.

Spooky Time

2011-10-11T10:20:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I made an exciting purchase on Amazon - I ordered one of my favorite childhood scary movies: Watcher in the Woods (trailer). In looking for images from that movie for this post, I got scared and had to stop for a bit. This movie, meant for children, still gives me the creeps. In the elementary school I went to, we were shown Watcher in the Woods as part of the curriculum in fifth grade. Ok, maybe it wasn't part of the official curriculum. It was just something the teachers did every year around Halloween for us older kids. It was a right of passage for us into the realm of scary movies.

One of my sisters, who shall remain nameless because I haven't asked her permission to tell this story, was a very obedient child. She was (and still is) several years younger than my brother and I, who are only a year apart in age. When my brother's turn came to watch this movie in school, he became as big a fan as I, and we rented it to watch at home with some friends. My younger sisters were told they were too young to watch it at that time. So my sister got it into her head that she was never allowed to watch it, and even told her fifth grade teacher, several years later, that she wasn't allowed to watch the movie. She was sent into the reading room for the duration of the movie. This year I gave her permission to watch it so she's about to experience the scare of her life.

Each year around this time, I blog about some of the spooky movies I'm going to watch leading up to Halloween. Am I the only one who has a list of movies to get through in the month leading up to Halloween? That makes it sound like a chore, which it definitely isn't. I love watching these movies. I'll admit that none of them are overly scary - most of them fit more in the "family friendly" category because that's how I roll. (I'm a wimp.) This year, besides Watcher in the Woods, my list includes all my standards: The Changeling (still scares me), Hocus Pocus (confession, I already watched it in September), Ghost Busters (I also watched Ghost Busters 2 last year and it was funnier than I remembered), and maybe something like the Skeleton Key or The Sixth Sense.

Any recommendations for a semi-chicken like me for Halloween movies? What are some of your standards?

End of Post a Day

2011-10-10T18:48:00.002-04:00

I've been writing a post a day for about six or seven weeks now, but sadly, that is coming to an end today. I will still probably write a lot - you may not even notice much of a difference - but I will not be writing every day anymore. My life is busy and it's hard to write something interesting every day. I'd rather write slightly less frequently and have better quality. (By which I mean more Prancing Leo, of course.)

Today I have a question for you. I love taking pictures. (That's not the question.) I'm not aspiring to be a photographer per se, I just want to take more quality pictures which means I need a new camera. I take about 99.9% of my pictures with my iPhone, and it does take good pictures, but I mean, it's a phone. I do have a camera but it takes worse pictures than my phone. So I'm going to start saving up to get a decent camera.

What would you shutter-bugs recommend? What's the best camera I could get for the best deal? I'd really appreciate your tips!

Some of my phone pictures

An Update

2011-10-09T23:20:00.000-04:00

I had a great post written in my mind today. Then I fell asleep this evening and now it's late and it will have to wait. But I will tell you one thing: remember "The Smell" (scroll down to see original post by the same name) in my car? Well, I found out what it was. After some pretty impressive sleuthing this weekend, I found a bag of bananas wedged in the back of my hatch. They were from ONE MONTH AGO! So I use the word "bananas" loosely. They are now some kind of gross liquid type nastiness with a smell unrivaled by most bad smells.

I took them with me on my trip to Chicago in an effort to eat healthy, and they destroyed me as a payback for eating junk food instead. The good news is that they are now out of my car.

The bad news is this is all I'm going to post tonight.

October Bucks

2011-10-08T23:57:00.005-04:00

October is such an awesome month, and October weekends feel like valuable currency that you'll lose if you don't spend them by the end of the month. Nothing against November, but it's no October. October has so much to offer that just the other day, after looking at the calendar I said to someone, "I'm freaking out because I want to make sure I don't waste any of this month!"

So far this season, I have spent my October bucks on hosting a bonfire, admiring the trees, going to a pumpkin patch, eating caramel apples, watching football games, going to a cider mill, making spiced hot apple cider, watching a couple scary movies, eating almost an entire bag of candy corns, and walking along crunchy leaf-y sidewalks (the leaves are crunchy, not the sidewalk).

Today I went to Greenfield Village to see the fall colors there. As I've mentioned on here before, Greenfield Village is a historic village in Dearborn, Michigan. It's one of my favorite places to visit. My mom and I went today, and had a blast. We even rode the train, which I haven't done since I was a kid. I couldn't help but take pictures all day of course and here are some that captured some of the beautiful fall colors.

Magical, and totally worth the money. What are you spending your October bucks on?

Fall

2011-10-07T00:31:00.003-04:00

I know I've said this before, but October is truly the prettiest month of the year (at least, in Michigan, that is). The leaves haven't all changed yet, but they've started to. Have any of you gone "leaf peeping" before? "Peeping" has such a negative connotation, like you're leering through your window curtains with binoculars staring at the leaves without them knowing it, watching them change (colors).

I've never gone on any special drives to go leaf peeping, but I like the idea and I'm kind of thinking about maybe trying it out this month! Any tips? Driving a car to do this seems like a bad idea because the driver shouldn't be distracted, and plus, you're going too fast to really enjoy the leaves (at least, the way I drive). Walking seems to slow, roller skates are out of the question and a tandem bike seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Maybe a rickshaw?

Anyway, though I haven't done any official "peeping" this season, I've seen some pretty leaves, as pictured here. Every day I like to see which trees in the neighborhood have started changing. The bright red leaves are my favorite, but I also love the ones that are a myriad of colors - seemingly unable to land on just one. They're all pretty though, really. Do you have a favorite?

I hope you're enjoying fall as much as I am. Peeping or not.

Wednesday Thoughts (by which, I mean Thursday)

2011-10-06T22:35:00.002-04:00

My Wednesday Thoughts* are going to be brief tonight. I'm watching the Tigers/Yankees game while also baking some delicious treats for tomorrow night's bonfire so I'm a little distracted. This game is killing me! Are any of you watching it? And does it annoy anyone else how they keep walking Cabrera!?! Ugh!

Did you guys know that two of my favorite things are connected?? That's right, Magnum PI (my celebrity crush) and the Detroit Tigers!

My loves

I get so tense when I watch the Tigers. Good thing I don't get excited about too many other sports (unless the Pistons or Red Wings are doing well). I'm so tense I keep turning the channel when things get too close but then immediately turn it back - it's almost exactly like watching a scary movie through my fingers. I'm still seeing everything, but I feel safer.

But anyway, I guess I do have some other thoughts:

1. I really hope the national news gets to the bottom of "fart-gate" on Dancing with the Stars. I don't watch the show, but I heard all about it (including audio) on the radio the next morning. In case you guys don't know, Nancy Grace was being interviewed after her performance on that night's episode and someone "let one go." Everyone's accusing her of it, but I don't believe that for one minute because women don't fart. We're too dainty.

2. I can't believe I used the "f" word just now. It'll never happen again on this blog. (I'm pretty sure.)

3. I got hit on at the gas station tonight! I'm too embarrassed to tell you any details. Let's just say it was both flattering, and I was glad when it was over.

4. I'm finally getting my hair done on Saturday, so I'll be presentable again. No one look at me until then!!! (See you all tomorrow!)

*Guess what? Today isn't Wednesday. It's Thursday. I've been off on my days all week so I thought it'd be funny just to leave this up. It was a geniune mistake.

Today

2011-10-05T20:51:00.001-04:00

I have good news and bad news today. Which should I start with? The bad news? Yes, let's get that out of the way first. And since no one wants to hear a bunch of bad news, I'll just quickly make a word cloud with my complaints today. Then I'll move on.

More stuff is annoying me than this but this is a start.

Making me happy today:

♥ Trololo. I hadn't heard it in a long time so I listened a couple times this week. It's so much better than I remember it. Especially the low notes!

♥ This blog: Espresso and Cream. It is the cutest blog with the most delicious recipes!

♥ Speaking of that blog, I got the most wonderful cookie recipe from it for peanut butter and white chocolate chip cookies. You guys, I'm not cookie rookie. I come from a long line of cookie bakers and I've been baking since I was two* so I know what I'm talking about.* But these cookies.... These cookies. Delicious. I'm a huge fan (and if I keep making them, will literally be a huge fan). Here's a link. Try them! They're amazing. For those of you coming to my bonfire on Friday, I will have some there.

♥ This sign is making me happy. I saw it while on a walk recently. It's so good.

♥ The weather this week. Mid-high 70's and sunshiny? What more could I ask for?

What's making you happy this week?

*An obvious fabrication. But I think I made my point.

The Smell

2011-10-04T21:58:00.001-04:00

Around the middle of last week, I noticed a strange smell in my car - it smelled like vinegar. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from! I searched under the seats and in the hatch and couldn't find the source. Google searches were inconclusive as well.

So I asked my friend Vaughn, who knows a lot about cars, and he gave me some ideas of what it could be. One of his ideas was that I could have a lot of fermenting leaves under my hood, creating a leaf brewery. On Saturday, I took my car to the spray wash and saw that that was indeed the case. So I sprayed and sprayed and sprayed until they were all gone. Over the weekend the smell lingered, but decreased in power.

However. Yesterday (Monday) morning I bought a bag of cumin from a spice store and left it in my car all day when I was at work. Throughout the day the cumin and vinegar met, fell in love, and mated. The moment I sat down in my car after work, I was assaulted with the powerful odor of their offspring. Opening the windows wasn't working fast enough, so I did the only thing I could think to do: spray the car down with the vanilla and lavender scented Febreze I keep in the back of the car.

Little did I know that was a bad idea. The three smells turned into a force not to be reckoned with.

So, yeah. Smell wise, it's been a rough week. Keeping my sunroof cracked all day has helped but I don't know how long it will take for the smell to be gone completely. Should I just sell the car?

Kevin!!!

2011-10-03T21:52:00.000-04:00

I had to pick up a prescription tonight but didn't feel like going into the pharmacy since I was feeling a little grungy after working out. So I drove up through the drive through window and had the following conversation with the pharmacist working there:

Pharmacist (with a thick accent): "What's your name?"
Me (knowing that they usually want your last name first): "Downie"
Pharmacist: "Repeat that?"
Me: "Downie."
Pharmacist (misunderstanding): "Kevin?"
Me (out loud): "Downie," in my head though, after I had a brain-splotion, my thoughts were, "I mean, my hair is in a pony tail, but is my hair the only thing stopping me from looking like a Kevin!? Should I be wearing more makeup!? Should I shave my beard??"*

I'm traumatized.

*Upon further inspection, I don't have a beard. I don't know what that guy's problem was. And nobody call me Kevin!

Monday!!!

2011-10-03T18:36:00.003-04:00

Every Monday is my New Year's Day. Each Monday morning I think, "this week I'm sticking to my diet, getting to bed early, exercising one hour every evening, organizing that corner in my bedroom, and realizing my life dreams."

So far I haven't followed through with this ('cept the part about realizing my life dreams, but that was the easiest one). This morning I woke up, thought it was Sunday, got really excited and went back to bed. A little bit later I realized it was Monday, and groggily dragged myself to work. Pretty sure this is my week. I'll keep you updated.

But until then, I have a few questions for you guys today:

1. What do you think about Groupon? I was talking about this with a friend this morning, and he is skeptical about whether or not you're actually getting a good deal with it. I have only used it once - to buy passes to a haunted corn maze this year - but for me, that was a good deal since it was something I was going to buy anyway. I think it's probably not a good deal if it's not something you were going to get otherwise. Have any of you guys gotten amazing deals from it? Are you believers in Groupon?

2. Are you all Halloween fans? I read a blog post today where the person said she doesn't like Halloween (and listed costumes, candy, and haunted houses as reasons why)! I just assume that most people love Halloween! My world has been turned upside down. You guys like it, right? I'll put a poll up to make it easier to weigh in. (This is a very important vote.)

3. Greenfield Village is one of my favorite places to visit. It's a historical village near Detroit that was set up by Henry Ford and features historical buildings, reenactors, olde timey baseball (my favorite), and a lot more. I've been looking forward to going to their Halloween celebration for awhile now, so today I went to their website to get my tickets.

On the website is a description of the event:

Step back in time to a turn-of-the-20th century Hallowe’en. Follow an endless path of hand-carved jack-o-lanterns and meet colorful characters along the way. Feel the whoosh as the headless horseman rides by, banter with a clever witch, and make stops at several treat stations spread throughout Greenfield Village. It’s frightfully fun for the whole family!

Sounds kinda cool, right? I picture it being dark, chilly, atmospheric. But then I made the mistake of watching the video they have up on their website. If it's anything like this video, I'll be way more scared than I would be if I saw the actual headless horseman. Watch at your own peril.

I'm unable to embed it here for some reason, so click here to see it. The really scary thing? I've watched it twice!! What is wrong with me??

K, time to get back to kicking Monday's boot-ay (using all my willpower not to pull this super warm fleece blanket over me and calling it a night)!

ROCK 'N' ROLL!!

2011-10-02T17:43:00.001-04:00

I had a dream last night that I wrote a hilarious blog post. I made special pictures that went along with it perfectly and everyone was laughing their heads off. Sadly, I remembered nothing about the content of the blog post when I woke up.

Since I can't remember the dream blog, I'm going to instead tell you about my real weekend, which was SUPER rock-n-roll!!!!! In fact, it's practically not appropriate for a family blog (which this isn't, but if it were... I'd get complaints).

1. I bought a pumpkin from a certified pumpkin patch. I felt like I was straight out of a Charlie Brown Halloween. Which I happened to watch that night, come to think of it. :)

2. I scrap booked with my dear friend who I adore. Later in the evening she hypnotized me with this game piece. It was just like when Kaa tried to hypnotize Mowgli in the Jungle Book. And equally effective.

3. I went to my 7 year old niece's birthday party. She had a Strawberry Shortcake cake. So jealous!

4. We danced to Justin Bieber, or as all kids seem to call him, "Justin Beaver."

5. A chicken approached me.

6. I watched General Conference with my family today (my new cousin, Dana, is pictured here). General Conference weekends are the best, aren't they? For those of you who are not LDS (Mormon), this a conference which is broadcast all over the world twice a year (spring and fall) in which the church leaders, including the prophet, speak. It's something we look forward to!

Not pictured:

I baked and cooked. A lot. I made some chicken chili, some tomato soup, and those chocolate peanut butter thingies! They were all divine.

The Lions won, and are now 4-0. Can you even believe that sentence!?!?

I slept 12 hours one night. Try not to hate me for that. Now that it's fall, we're in the best, coziest sleeping weather!

This was one of my most low-key weekends in a long time and I've loved it. How was your weekend?

Now that it's October...

2011-10-01T22:22:00.001-04:00

...Here are some of the Halloween projects I want to do from Pinterest!

Candy Corn Pudding! (Link)

Monster Cake! Someone please give me an excuse to make this!!

Candy Bar Mummies
Does it say something about me that these actually scare
me a little bit?

I am so excited that it's October, the best month of the year! The colors, the coziness, not to mention the best holiday, Halloween! Well, I guess if I really thought about it, in my opinion, Halloween is tied with Christmas. But it's really close tie. What's your favorite holiday?

Some Thoughts on Weather

2011-09-30T23:51:00.004-04:00

The weather around here has been pretty yick lately. (Yes, that's a word.) It's been rainy, windy, and chilly. I wouldn't mind so much except that I had to postpone my annual bonfire because of it. But I can handle it... I can be mature.... I don't have to stomp my feet and whine about the postponement. I don't have to throw myself on the ground and pound my fists. Not me. Never.

But even though the weather has been super blah, there have been some beautiful moments in nature lately. In fact, today and yesterday the sky has been full of rainbows, and it's all people can talk about. There's something about a rainbow that just catches you off guard. It's like they're supernatural or something, and you feel like you have to tell people that you saw one. Like that time I saw a unicorn.

Today there was a brief window between one storm and the next when the day became beautiful. Cold, but beautiful. Nature was super impressive today. Here are a few pictures I took.

One hour of beauty + one week of blah = almost even. Almost.

Seasonal Shifts

2011-09-29T11:13:00.000-04:00

My friend Erin painted these. Isn't she talented!?

Indications of the changing season:

I've never been so cold at a Tigers game as I was last night. I drank a cup of hot chocolate to stay warm. My friend drank two. I wore a scarf, a jacket, and put a poncho over my lap and yet still I shivered throughout the whole game.

(Still had a blast. Never doubt that.)

I got a flu shot today at work. I've been looking forward to it all week because it gets me away from my desk for ten minutes. How sad is that?

I bought a groupon for two passes to a haunted corn maze. I could have bought one for a normal corn maze but I decided to live on the edge since it is the Halloween season now. If you go to that with me, be prepared to guide me through the corn maze while I close my eyes and hold on to you the whole time.

That's what I did in the last haunted house I went to.

Only problem was, I didn't know the guy who's jacket I was holding onto. I was so scared I didn't care. I just held on for dear life and kept my eyes closed tight. He never said a word to me about it, and we parted ways without so much as a passing glance. I loved that man.

This morning I heard the geese flying south. That's one of my favorite sounds. It makes me want to curl up under a warm comforter for the season.

I made myself sick eating candy corns yesterday. (That only required eating ten candy corns. Do those things have a small amount of ipecac in them or something? Still, the first five or so are delicious.)

I'm cold all the time. Someone please remind me to wear a jacket?

What are some fall signs you've seen or experienced lately?

Wednesday Thoughts

2011-09-28T19:17:00.004-04:00

Guess where I am right now? Here's a hint: I'm at the last Tigers game of the regular season (wow, I'm bad at hints). Sigh. I can't believe it's my last game for the year. The Tigers will go on playing, but I won't be there to cheer them on because, alas, playoff tickets cost an arm and a leg. But I shouldn't complain. I got to go to a lot of games this season, and none of them were losing games! (Great, now I feel like I cursed the game tonight by saying that. Good thing I wore my lucky underwear.) So it's been a good season for me.

For them too.

(Unrelated to me. [Though I like to think I helped.])

Here's what I love about going to baseball games:

The atmosphere! I love the crowds and the revelry.

The Tiger growl when the team scores.

The "eat 'em up Tigers" guy outside the stadium - in fact, all the colorful characters outside the stadium.

The kosher dogs.

Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera.

The sun beating down!

The Detroit skyline.

The music. I love the music they play at the stadium!

And everything else, except the wave. I'm not a fan of the wave. Too distracting. The wave not only requires a lot of concentration, but the people who want to get it going are bullies!

What's your favorite sport to see in person (vs. watching on tv)?

Frita Batidos

2011-09-27T22:06:00.006-04:00

Tonight I ate at a place I've been wanting to try for awhile: Frita Batidos, a Cuban inspired restaurant in Ann Arbor. Its claim to fame is that it's owned by a woman who was on Top Chef. (Side note: having never seen that show, I almost called it America's Next Top Chef just now. Close call.) It has a really interesting look:

Kinda trippy looking since that second picture is tilted, huh? In real life it's not tilted, so don't worry. I mean, unless one of your legs is a lot shorter that the other. In which case, this is what it will look like to you. But anyway, picnic tables instead of regular tables. Different, huh? I liked it. It felt like summer (about a half hour later, the place was packed, by the way).

But the surprises didn't end there. When my drink arrived, it was in a bag. A bag with a straw sticking out. Kinda looked like the bags hanging from IV's. I put it in a cup which made it look like it the cup had a muffin top.

When my food arrived (a chorizo burger), it had the fries inside, which made it look suspiciously like a character from Pirates of the Caribbean.

In conclusion, the place was full of surprises, and I'd have to highly recommend it. I plan on going there more in the winter since the inside looks like a tropical vacation spot. It's especially fun when enjoyed in the company of good friends! The food was great too, all joking aside.

I mean, if you can get past the idea of eating Davy Jones' face (joking back on).

What I'm listening to

2011-09-26T22:49:00.004-04:00

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem

Well, it's 10:20 and I haven't blogged yet today! I've had a busy and super fun day today but instead of telling you about it right now, I want to tell you about some of the music I've been listening to lately!

Music, like I was saying the other day, colors my experiences so I like to share it from time to time. So without further ado, these are the songs that are currently in heavy rotation on my iPod:

Ice Cream by Sarah Mclachlan. Oh, you forgot about this song? Yeah, me too! Until I remembered it! And now I can't stop listening to it. So good.

Pumped up Kicks by Foster the People. I liked this song more before I looked up the lyrics. I still love it, I just try not to think too hard about it. Super catchy. I dare you not to bounce a little bit when you're listening to it. Can't be done (medically speaking).

The soundtrack to Fiddler On the Roof. Yeah, I didn't say there was any rhyme or reason to what I'm listening to. (Favorites: Sabbath Prayer, Tradition, To Life, and If I Were a Rich Man)

Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Um, that's a really stupid band name. Kinda reminds me of Animal's band, Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem, except that Animal's band name is only the coolest band name ever! But I digress. Home is a really good song. My only complaint is the talking near the end because I hate when songs have talking in them. It makes me uncomfortable. Still, good song, if you don't mind fast forwarding through talking.

Changes by Tupac. Oh my gosh, I sound like such a poser putting this on here. Like I'm trying earn street cred or something! K, I promise I'm not trying to sound gangsta, I just love this song.

Hands in Pockets by Laura Gibson. Calming and soothing. Lovely. I think you'd like it.

Find the River by REM. If you only listen to one REM song this year, make it this one. The lyrics don't really make a lot of sense, but they also kind of do. They're like word jumbles, but in the end you think you maybe know what he means by them. This paragraph is a word jumble now that I think about it.

So there you have it, the songs I'm listening to the most right now. I love them all. What are you listening to?

The Golden Ticket

2011-09-25T20:16:00.002-04:00

Last night I attended the General Relief Society broadcast. The Relief Society is the women's organization in my church. Little fact: it's the oldest and largest women's organization in America! I think that's pretty cool. But anyway, several talks were given and they were all amazing. They were all given by women, except one, which was by President Dieter Uchtdorf. He made a lot of great points and one of them stood out in my mind so I wanted to talk about it just a bit and see what you guys think.

WAIT! Even if you're not religious, stick around and keep reading because this is just an interesting life principle, and doesn't have to do with religion necessarily. K?

President Uchtdorf talked about the Golden Ticket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The Golden Ticket, as you all remember, was much sought out for as it was the only way to get into the mysterious Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. If someone opened a candy bar and it did not contain a golden ticket, they were so disappointed that they didn't even notice or care that they still got a candy bar out of the deal!

President Uchtdorf made the point that life can be like that. We don't notice the good because we're too busy looking for the Golden Tickets - money, better job, marriage, kids, or whatever. Everyone's golden tickets are different. And even when life is pretty good, we're not satisfied because it's not REALLY good.

Examples....

The point is that it's important to find joy in life even when we just get a candy bar, with or without the Golden Ticket. After all, chocolate is still good, right? And life is still good, even when we're still waiting for our Golden Tickets.

I think I'm pretty good at this, but not always. I occasionally let myself feel really down because I don't have the Golden Tickets yet that I've been looking for. I worry about when things are going to happen and why I don't have some things yet, and it starts to suck the joy out of life. But I do try hard to overcome this and to enjoy life to the fullest. I am very lucky and have seriously great friends and a wonderful family. I try not to throw away my candy bars just because that's all they are. After all, I love chocolate.

What are your thoughts?

Things that made me go mmmmmmm...

2011-09-24T13:00:00.001-04:00

... on Pinterest this week.

Chocolate peanut butter bars (link)

Four layer pumpkin cake (link)

Tomato basil soup and grilled cheese (link)

Herbed cream cheese and cucumbers (link)

Pizza muffins (link)

Cream cheese pumpkin bread (link)

Which of these would you most like me to make for you? (You will be sharing it with me, just so you know.)

Time Machine Bands

2011-09-23T10:31:00.000-04:00

Hey people anywhere near me in age, wanna feel extra old? Nirvana's "Nevermind" album came out twenty years ago tomorrow. Twenty years ago. I'm not going to say how old I was twenty years ago, but it wasn't zero. I'll just say I was old enough to put on a flannel shirt, turn up "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and get good and angsty.

I can't believe that was twenty years ago. Darn you Kurt Cobain for making me feel old today!

And while I'm on the subject, darn you Michael Stipe for making me feel old this week! While I'm not exactly broken up about REM breaking up (I'm in denial, probably), I have been a bit on the nostalgic side, listening to my old favorite REM songs: Find the River, Fall on Me, Try Not to Breathe, to name a few. REM is just one of those bands whose music serves as a time machine, bringing me immediately back to the time period when I first loved their songs.

There's something about those formative years of a persons life that just seems to grab onto the music of its time and doesn't let go. Maybe it's because those years are so tumultuous and confusing, and therefore both emotionally rich and porous. It's almost like the music saturates the experiences, bringing flat memories to life years later. You can't hear the 14 year old voice of your high school best friend now, but you can hear the music you were listening to at that time, and that makes the memories more three dimensional. Does that make sense? Probably not, but it does in my brain.

Toad the Wet Sprocket, Counting Crows, Jellyfish, Pearl Jam and several others also serve as musical time machines for me. I listen to them and I'm suddenly knee deep in a memory from high school. I'm on the farm with Kelly, or hanging out at Abi's house, jumping on the trampoline at Carrie's, loitering in the hallways in my high school, burning incense at Kerry's house, or hanging out with Sarah. And a million other memories.

I don't long for those times, I just remember them more clearly while listening to their soundtracks. And thank goodness it's a good soundtrack! What are some of your time machine bands?

One Month Anniversary

2011-09-22T22:50:00.005-04:00

As of today, I've been blogging every day for a month. Have you been able to keep up? One friend complained that it's "too much." But other than him, people seem to be ok with it. I have enjoyed it, though at times it's not easy. Some days I don't feel like being peppy, and that has been reflected on here a little bit. Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm "allowed" to be more honest and real.

Today for example, I'm in a somewhat tender mood. Not a bad mood, and not a sad mood. And no, I'm not pmsing. I don't know what's going on with me. Just feeling somewhat tender. Like I want someone to wrap me up in a down comforter, give me a mug of warm cocoa and a giant cookie and keep me company for the evening. You know what I mean?

I'm feeling happy though. So much so, that I think I'll give you some more book recommendations! Continued from part one. But I think instead of five, I'll just give three for now. That way I can say a bit more about each of them. Each of these books is a book that makes me laugh. That's the theme for today.

1. How to Talk Minnesotan by Howard Mohr. I have been reading this book since I was sixteen which was.... like.... five years ago?* In fact, see that picture on the right? That's a picture of my copy of the book. I've had to tape up the edges because they are so worn. This book is written to be a guide book for people visiting or moving to Minnesota. It's funny to me because so much of it applies to the Midwest in general. If you buy this book, please tell me so we can laugh hysterically together.

Here's an excerpt from the chapter titled, "Non Sequiturs, Rebuttals, and Gifts."

"Phrase: Yeahbut

One natural response to a controversial statement in Minnesota is to end the discussion by saying that's different. Delivering an apparent non sequitur has the same effect. But there does come a time when you're forced to speak your mind and that's where yeahbut comes in handy.

Pronounced 'ee-ah-but,' yeahbut is the introductory phrase to the majority of Minnesota rebuttals. A Minnesota debate consists of a controversial statement by one person and a yeahbuttal by another.

ex: 'It's a big country, China, all those people. A guy kinda wonders.'

'Yeahbut they're drinking Coke and Pepsi now, so that's something.'"

2. In Zanesville, by Jo Ann Beard. This is the best book I've read this year. I would highly recommend it. It's about two 14 year old girls growing up in a small town called Zanesville. The author absolutely captured the voice of girls that age, and I experienced extreme nostalgia for that period of my life as a result. The book is hilarious and insightful.

"I'd like to be the kind of person who can do something weird and not become weird because of it, but that's out of reach for me - I am what I do at this point, and if I do this I'm done for."

I chose a short quote because so much of what's funny in this book is the dialogue, which would lose something taken out of context. I would especially recommend this book to my female readers, but men, you might enjoy it too. It gives a little inside glimpse into the young female mind.

3. In the spirit of witty books about young girls, the next book on my list is A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel. This book was recommended to me by a friend years ago and is one I often flip through when I need a pick me up. It is Kimmel's true account of her life growing up in a small town and it is as charming as it is funny.

One of my favorite parts is when Haven, aka "Zippy" accidentally cries while reciting the poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" in school. Mortified, she asks her mom later that day why the poem made her cry. Here's an excerpt:

"Mom thought for a moment about how to explain it. 'The best answer I can give is that poetry is all about the effect it has on a reader and Robert Frost was very, very good at that. If you're asking what it means that the line is repeated, I'd have to say I don't know. It's stylistic. But the effect is pretty clear.'

'Doggone right the effect is pretty clear! The effect is I looked like an idiot in front of my whole class and I'm never reading poetry again unless it's by James Whitcomb Riley!' And I went storming out of the house to try to shake off the injury done to me with words."

Those are a few of my favorite funny books, though honorable mentions include My Point and I do Have One, by Ellen Degeneres, and anything written by David Sedaris. What's the funniest book you've ever read?

*ha! Try six! (Humor me.)

Wednesday Thoughts

2011-09-21T11:44:00.001-04:00

I think I will make today a traditional Wednesday Thoughts and just tell you all the random things that are on my mind today. Sound good?

First of all, thanks for the tips on sleeping. I think I'll try crossword puzzles, as a few of you suggested. If you get a text from me at midnight asking for a five letter word beginning with "z" and ending with "q," it's your own fault. But I am going to give it a try. I'd rather do crossword puzzles than resort to taking a sleeping pill with all the crazy side effects that were so popular a few years ago. I'm not really in the mood to stab anyone or drive in my sleep.

(Later in this episode, Homer starts doing super crazy things because of Nappien. Things I don't want to do. And yes, I do take all my medical advice from the Simpsons. Which is why I also stay away from a drink called the Flaming Moe.)

In other thoughts, I'm going to visit my grandma tonight. Whenever I visit her she asks me to help her with some small task around her place, which I am usually happy to do. A couple weeks ago we cleaned off her kitchen counter, which was getting cluttered with boxes of crackers and cookies. She made me taste test a cookie or cracker from each and every box to see if they were stale or not. They were. Hopefully there will be no tasting today.

Speaking of tasting, for lunch today I'm having a salad, but do you know what I want? A huge bakery cookie with a mug of hot chocolate. Doesn't that sound cozy?

Anyway, enough about me. What are you up to today?

Happy Wednesday.

Buckling Down

2011-09-20T09:31:00.003-04:00

Raising Hope, Tuesdays 9:30
prerequisite: season one

Although fall is a truly magical and wonderful season, there's something about it that makes me resist its advent. Maybe it's because winter comes next and I dread winter. Or maybe it's just because I don't want summer to end because summer is so amazing. Maybe it's because fall is the most nostalgic time of year. Or maybe it's because since childhood fall seems to send the message, "summer was fun, but now it's time to get back to work."

I'm not in school anymore but I still feel that message loudly. It's time to slow down, time to focus, time to study. I do have a pretty heavy schedule this fall, I have to admit. And it's going to keep me inside many evenings, working to keep up. I may even have to cancel some social plans. It's not going to be easy, but I can't let myself fall behind.

So far my schedule looks like this:

Monday: How I Met Your Mother 8:00
Tuesday: Raising Hope 9:30
Wednesday: Modern Family 9:00
Psych 10:00
Thursday: Parks and Rec and whatever else NBC feeds me that night

And here's the scary thing: I don't have a dvr! But I do have the internet, so I guess if I decide to have a social life, I could always catch up later. But still. Then you have to worry about spoilers and falling behind. I mean really, ~~school~~ tv is hard! But it's fall and I must buckle down. I can't fall behind now or it'll be that much harder when the mid season replacements start in January. Summer was fun but it's time to get serious.

What's your fall schedule like? Do we have any of the same classes?

Sleep

2011-09-19T21:02:00.000-04:00

I'm really bad at falling asleep. Really, really bad. I toss and turn and my mind just won't shut down. I've always been a bit of a night owl but I was hoping I'd grow out of it. I haven't. As a result of these sleep problems, I'm tired. And I need your help. Could you please:

a. Tell me what tricks you use to fall asleep (warm milk, counting sheep, etc...)

b. tell me a really boring story that will put me to sleep.

As a thank you, I'll tell you a boring story which will put you to sleep! Just don't read it until you leave yours, cause this one's a guaranteed snoozer.

When I got home from work today I noticed my hair was kind of frizzy because of the rain. So I turned on both my flat iron and my curling iron and tried to fix it before my sister's birthday dinner. But it would not be fixed! My bangs looked awful! They kept going the opposite direction I wanted them to. I think it's about time to go to the salon and get my bangs trimmed. Anyway, eventually I just gave up on my bangs and put a headband on. Later as my nieces and nephews were jumping on me and messing up my hair, I wondered why I'd put so much work into fixing it in the first place.

The end.

If you're still awake, you must have as much trouble sleeping as me. K, now it's your turn. Put me to sleep.

Basic Equations

2011-09-18T22:48:00.004-04:00

Ah, the weekend. I'm loathe to let it go come Sunday night. I had some happy moments this weekend. I'll tell you a little bit about some of them with some simple math.

1. The Eastern Market in Detroit

outdoor karaoke

the song "Footloose"

spontaneous dance party on the street

2. Scrabbble

a tray full of vowels

-
losing

happy

3. A headache

pain meds

a phone call from a good friend

snuggly puppy laying on my belly

Contentedness

4. Crafts
+
a huge Tiger's win!!!!!
=
an amazing night

Did you have any happy equations this weekend?

Things that made me smile...

2011-09-17T13:00:00.006-04:00

...on Pinterest this week.

From here

From Spongebob

Ugh, so relatable! From here.

Men, this is what you should be for Halloween! Link.
Is this a cool costume idea or what!?

Scrabble coasters! Love it! Instructions here.

Which is your favorite?

Hard Core

2011-09-16T21:15:00.000-04:00

The following is a real conversation I had with a friend last night, who I will call C, to protect his identity. (I will call myself "me" because I'll be the other one talking. I can't believe I had to explain that.)

C: I'd read your blog more if it weren't so generic.
Me: What are you talking about!? I'm not generic! I'm unique!
C: Yeah, in a generic way.
Me: (outraged)
C: I'd read more if you'd dish about the real details of your life. The juicy stuff. Be more personal.
Me: That's not happening.

If he feels that way then I'm assuming others might too. So I spent some time today racking my brain for juicy stories I could talk about: dating, ex-boyfriends, journal entries, personal struggles, menstrual cycles, and so on. I asked my friend Jesse what he thinks would be more exciting to hear about from those options. He said it'd be fun to hear about menstrual cycles because "it's funny to hear about irrational behavior." My response? "WHAT DO YOU MEAN IRRATIONAL!?"

So after exploring all the juicy things I could talk about, I finally landed on the most hard core thing I could think of:

That's right: crafts. No but for real, I just feel like writing about crafts right now. I'm sorry if that's not juicy in the traditional sense. You know I'd love to blog about other stuff but I'm sort of limited since guys I might want to date are reading.

Do you mind? In fact, I'm going to start doing posts here and there featuring fun things I've found on Pinterest. I hope I don't lose my male readers. But if I do...... ladies have I got some juicy stories for you!! (I'll tell you when/if the guys are gone.*)

*Guys, don't go. ;)

Cheesy

2011-09-15T22:06:00.003-04:00

After another fun-filled night in Chicago, I drove home very late last night/early this morning. I should have taken the whole day off work today but like a fool, I didn't. As a result, I've been a zombie all day! But instead of going on and on about that, I thought I'd show you one more picture from Chicago. Check out the cheese on this deep dish pizza!

Christi was trying to get a piece on her plate but the pizza didn't want to release it to her and held on with all its cheesy might. (What am I even saying? It's the exhaustion speaking.)

The diet starts tomorrow? I felt kinda bad consuming that many calories, but when in Chicago, you have to eat deep dish pizza. It's un-American not to. That's what I told myself anyway. No regrets!

Wednesday Thoughts

2011-09-14T13:41:00.001-04:00

A Tigers ice cream helmet plus
a Sox helmet = a collection. FYI.

My friend Christi and I are in Chicago for a couple days this week. We're going to do all the touristy things today (the Bean in Millennium Park, the Navy Pier, etc...) which I have done before, but still enjoy. But the main thing we were excited about doing, we did last night: see the Tigers play the White Sox! And win (again!), I might add!

Have you ever seen your team play at a rival stadium? I never had before, and it was a unique experience. Usually, when at Tigers games, I do a lot of this: "WoooooOOooOoOO! Yeah!!" Last night, however, I had to suppress my natural self which was not easy. I'd find myself standing up and shouting, "WOOOO...er...woooo" then quickly sitting back down and politely clapping, quietly.

At least 30-40% of the fans at the stadium, including the two guys sitting next to me, were Tigers fans, which made it that much harder for me to suppress my cheering instincts. But two things made me feel slightly guilty. One, Christi overheard the people next to her complain, "There's too many Tigers fans here." And two, the other half of our row was a group of nuns cheering for the White Sox.

The nuns spent a lot of energy trying to get on camera (and succeeding at times), which was very funny. But their presence also made us feel a little guilty about being too obnoxiously supportive of the Tigers. For example, one of the guys sitting next to me felt extra bad when he yelled at the White Sox, "You suck!" Then realizing what he was saying, quickly ducked his head, covered his mouth and said, "crap, do you think the nuns heard that?" The nuns being there almost made me wish the White Sox could actually come close to beating the Tigers. Not beat them, mind you, but come close. Just for the nuns.

Now I'm off to enjoy some of the sites of Chicago. What's your favorite thing to do here?

Happy Wednesday!

Halloween Planning

2011-09-13T03:20:00.001-04:00

Is it bad that I'm already thinking about Halloween? Wait, let me go one further, is it really bad that I'm also already thinking about Christmas? I'll stick with Halloween for this post though, so don't worry.

A few years back I had an annual tradition of throwing a huge Halloween party with some close friends. We loved hosting that party, and we'd start planning for it months in advance. Even though I haven't hosted many Halloween parties in the last few years, I still get that excitement around this time of year. Halloween is just such a fun holiday.

Feeding my Halloween obsession this year is Pinterest which has some amazing ideas. It's been filling my head with holiday craft ideas for days. What I'm trying to say is, Pinterest is an enabler.

Here are some of the spookiest ideas I've found so far. I'm sorry if it's too early to be thinking about Halloween. Don't blame me. Blame society.

So freaky!!! From here.

LOVE this idea from here.

This has to be my favorite. From here.
(It's made from chicken wire.)

I'm determined to make at least one of these. Maybe all three. Which do you think is the scariest?

Cooking Class

2011-09-12T09:32:00.000-04:00

In an ongoing effort to get married* become a more well rounded person, one of my goals for the fall is to become a better cook. I can already make the basics- chicken, tacos, toast, bascetti. And I have a few slightly more complicated dishes up my sleeve for dinner parties or special occasions. But that's about it. So this fall, I'm determined to become a more interesting, more talented cook.

To start out, I've been focused on crock pot cooking. Up till this point the only thing I've made in my crock pot is pulled pork, and that is delicious every time. So I have faith in the magic powers of the crock pot! But I need to branch out.

This is the crock pot recipe I tried yesterday:

Apricot Chicken

Ingredients:
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1/3 cup bottled Russian (or Catalina) dressing
1/2 envelope onion soup mix
6 frozen chicken breasts

Preparation:
Mix the first three ingredients together. Place chicken in crock pot and cover with apricot mixture. Cook on low 5-6 hours. Serves 6.

I threw it all in the crock pot in the morning before leaving for church for the afternoon. While in church, I found myself thinking about it as if it were my child: "Is it doing what it's supposed to be doing? Is everything going well? Is it burning?" (a thought I hope I never have about an actual child.)

[Dang, I just realized I'm blogging about cooking. This is weird. Moving on.]

Good news though, the meal turned out delicious. I served it with rice and a salad. So if you're looking for a good recipe idea, I give it two thumbs up.

I wish that cooking came naturally to me. I know a lot of people just have an instinct for it. A pinch of this, a dash of that. I'm the kind of person who studies the recipe very closely and refers to it nonstop the whole time I'm preparing it. Which is why I'm starting off pretty easy. The next recipe I'm going to try is for lil smokies. It calls for a cup of grape jelly, a cup of bbq sauce, and two packages of lil smokies in the crock pot for several hours. I'll probably make this for a football watching afternoon. I love lil smokies so I'm pretty excited about it. Plus, it's really fun to say lil smokies. Lil smokies.

Do you have any cooking tips for me? Are you a good cook? How did you get to be one? What's your specialty?

*Totally kidding!

Aging Gracefully

2011-09-11T00:19:00.005-04:00

A couple weeks ago I found out that I have a small fracture in my foot. It's nothing serious, but I have to wear a funky shoe most of the time (unless it doesn't go with my outfit). My doctor said it should be all healed up in no time.

The other day I got my x-ray results back and read through the report carefully. Something caught my eye in the report. There was a line that read, "minimal degenerative change of the first ray of the blobbety bloobety" (I'm paraphrasing). The word that upset me? Degenerative! What do they mean degenerative? I'm young(ish)! I grew up drinking milk! There should be no degenerative changes in my body for years!

So I called my doctor's office right away to get more information. They calmed me down and said the degenerative change is extremely minimal and just a natural part of not being a teenager anymore.

I was somewhat comforted by this, but still mostly traumatized. I had visions of myself taking over for Sally Field in those Boniva commercials (original picture here). I'm too young for this!

The new face of Boniva.

If you need me, I'll be over here drinking a tall glass of milk to wash all this Boniva down.

The Cider Mill

2011-09-10T14:16:00.000-04:00

It feels like fall today, and I started out the day with one of my favorite fall traditions: going to the cider mill for fresh donuts and apple cider. My friend Sarah went with me and the donuts were so good we each had...well, we each had more than one. That's all I'll admit to.

The moment we walked into the cider mill, I said the first thing that popped into my head (as per usual): "I wish I could take a picture of this smell." It doesn't make sense, but I think you know what I mean, right?

Fact: Michigan is the number three apple growing state in the country!
(After Washington and New York.) In case you were wondering.
And I know you were.

Check out the apple slushy maker!

Sarah's not blurry in real life, for the record. (But she is a
teacher,which is why she's hugging the
"great teacher gifts" products.)

We sat on a beach towel because it's been raining all week. Look at
those donuts! Fresh and warm, crisp on the outside,
but soft on the inside. Get in my belly!

The rest of the afternoon has continued to feel like fall. The University of Michigan/Notre Dame night game (first night game ever) is tonight and nearly 1 out of every 3 people I've seen today (including Sarah) has been sporting the maize and blue shirts and hoodies. There are already planes flying overhead near the stadium with banners flying behind them for all the sports fans to see. And the grocery stores are packed today with fans loading up on tailgating food.

It really doesn't get much more autumnal than days like today, does it?

What I hear when I listen to the news

2011-09-09T08:48:00.000-04:00

What all newscasters sound like to me
these days.

I like to be well informed, and I often listen to the news for a good portion of the day. But lately I just can't stomach it. It's so depressing and negative! I still want to be well informed but I've become a lot more picky about the news stories I'll listen to. I can't listen to all of it because this is what it's begun to sound like to me these days:

Thinking about going to the mall this weekend or a sporting event? DON'T! Because terrorists are targeting that very place you're going to go! Stay home! In fact, crawl under your bed and stay there all the time! From now on! I can't emphasize this enough: you're not safe anywhere.

Remember unemployment? From when we were talking about it five minutes ago? Well guess what? It's WORSE! Worse than it was five minutes ago!

That tomato you're eating might be bad for you. Also, you didn't wash it long enough. And you cut it wrong.

Thinking about retiring? You'll never be able to! The American dream is over! Mwahahahahaha!

When planning for a vacation there are several things you should remember:
1. Make sure you write a will before you leave!
2. Gas is really expensive! So don't go on a vacation!
3. If you do go on your vacation anyway, you'll be sorry! Because that place you're staying at has bedbugs! Also, terrorists.

Whoever the other guy is, who's running for president in 2012? The one you don't like? He's going to do all the opposite things that you want him to do! All of them.

I need a news vacation. Or I need to find a more upbeat news source. So far I'm considering The Onion, Weekend Update on SNL, and/or paying a friend to tell me the highlights at the end of the week. I'd be willing to give pay bonuses for creative made up stories.

Favorite Bookshelf Recommendations Part 1

2011-09-08T00:17:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I finished a wonderful book: Anne of Green Gables. If you can believe it, I'd never read this book before! Having seen the mini series years ago, I was pleased to relive the story as it was actually written. I can understand why so many of my friends list this book among their very favorites. There are parts of Anne we can all relate to.

When I was finished, I went to put the book in my "special bookshelf." I have several bookshelves, but one is reserved for my favorite books. These are the ones I like to pull off the shelf and leaf through, re-reading my favorite parts. However, I noticed yesterday that this bookshelf was getting too full, with rows being hidden by stacks of books in front of them. So I decided to go through and decide which books should be moved to the other shelves.

As I did this, I picked some out that I would send home with you if you were over asking for recommendations.

I chose about twelve, but because I know that is way too many to share in one post, I will share five in this post, five in another, and five in the last. No, I'm not that bad at math. It's just that by then I know I will have picked out three more. I'll tell you a little bit about the book and after that I'll share a favorite quote from the book.

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. This book is a classic for a reason. I love the feminist strong will of Jane and I love thinking about how shocking the ideas presented in Jane Eyre were at the time it was published. It's a dark book but full of hope and strength with a little mystery thrown in. Not to mention the morality questions posed.

"If all the world hated you, and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved you, and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends."

2. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. I love this book so much, I can't express it. I think I cried all the way through the last chapter (or more) when I first read it. It's about a young girl growing up in a poor family in Brooklyn during the Depression. You grow to love the characters as if they were your own family.

"Forward! Nonsense! Send the card if you feel like it. I hate all those flirty-birty games that women make up. Life's too short. If you ever find a man you love, don't waste time hanging your head and simpering. Go right up to him and say, 'I love you. How about getting married?'

3. Coming Up For Air by George Orwell. Most people think of 1984 or Animal Farm when they think of George Orwell, but if you ask me, this is his best book. It is as insightful and paranoid in some ways as you would expect, but without the aftertaste of doom and gloom that the other two bring. It is about a middle aged man who comes into a little money and decides to visit his home town and get away from his wife and kids for a few days. It's hilarious, with the dark, dry humor you'd expect from Orwell. Very witty and smart. I could go on and on about this book. It is one of my top three favorite books, for sure. But I'll stop. Here's a quote:

"Well Hilda and I were married and right from the start is was a flop. Why did you marry her? you say. But why did you marry yours? These things happen to us. I wonder whether you'll believe that during the first two or three years I had serious thoughts of killing Hilda. Of course in practice one never does these things, they're only a kind of fantasy that one enjoys thinking about. Besides, chaps who murder their wives always get copped. However cleverly you've faked an alibi, they know perfectly well that it's you who did it, and they'll pin it to you somehow. When a woman's bumped off, her husband is always the first suspect - which gives you a little side glimpse of what people really think about marriage."

4. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. An amazing and moving true account of her childhood growing up in Stamps, Arkansas. The book is funny, poignant, inspirational, and thought provoking.

People were those who lived on my side of town. I didn't like them all, or, in fact, any of them very much, but they were people. These others, the strange, pale creatures that lived in their alien unlife, weren't considered folks. They were whitefolks."

5. And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie. It is so hard for me to pick out a favorite by her! My second favorite is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd which will blow your mind, I guarantee. But And Then There Were None is so well done. So well done in fact, that when I re-read it a few years ago, I realized I couldn't remember who'd dunnit, and found myself shocked all over again! Please read it.

There was a silence - a comfortable replete silence. Into that silence came The Voice. Without warning, inhuman, penetrating.... 'Ladies and gentlemen! Silence, please! You are charged with the following indictments."

I want to go re-read all of these books right now, but I really have to focus on the stack of unread books next to my bed first. Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? What are some of your "must read" recommendations?

Wednesday Thoughts

2011-09-07T20:43:00.003-04:00

I'm two parts today: one part melancholy and one part cheerful. I think the melancholy is coming from the rain and the fact that I'm a little bit sick. But no one really wants to hear about that stuff and I don't really want to write about it so instead I'll focus on the cheerful part.

Some people have asked me if I saw the Labor Day Dancer when I was up north this weekend. Well, the tragic answer is no, I didn't see him. However, he did show up at the beach and dance his heart out for a few minutes, but then he took off and I arrived just minutes after that. Heartbreaking! I missed it! Everyone told me it was amazing though.

The rest of the day I sang "Tiny Dancer" a lot but changed the words to "Laborday Dancer." It didn't exactly flow, but I had to express what I was feeling and it worked. If you don't know who the Labor Day Dancer is, it's this guy who goes to the beach for one magical weekend and dances his heart out along the shore while listening to a walkman. He fills me with joy.

Here's a short video from two years ago. Turn the volume down because it's a tiny bit windy. But, you should watch because not only do you get to watch the dancing, but you also get to see a little bonus around the 20 second mark.

In other thoughts, last night I got chatting with a friend about the singer K$sha, wondering if her parents named her with that dollar sign in her name. I'm assuming not. But I am jealous of that dollar sign, and want a symbol in my own name too. I suggested "E!izabeth" to my friend, but he came up with something even better: El¡zabeth. Pretty genius, huh? Where would you use a symbol in your name?

Happy Wednesday.

Cinnamon and Pumpkin

2011-09-06T20:24:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend the temperatures dropped from the high 90's to the low 70's. I went from swimming in a pool on Friday to needing a jacket outside in just a few days. I don't know how it happened.

When I saw on the weather report that it was going to be getting cooler, my heart sunk, reluctant to let summer go. But now that the cooler weather is here, I'm finding it fits me like a glove. This is the weather I'm used to - summer is a fluke, a short lived vacation from normal Michigan weather, which is, in a word, cold. I'm sure we'll have some warmer temperatures come back before summer is officially over, but I have to admit, this cooler weather is pretty nice.

Today as I drove around running errands after work, I saw people walking down the streets in scarves - cute, trendy scarves, the care-free cousin of the more practical winter scarf. I saw people riding their bikes in jackets and hats. And they looked pretty content.

Weather like this makes me want to curl up under warm covers, read, bake desserts that have pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg in them, and go on walks in warm sweaters. It also makes me want to go to football games, get lost in corn mazes, and sip warm apple cider outside. It has me looking forward to bonfires and Halloween, to crunching leaves under my feet and cuddling up for warmth.

How do cooler temperatures inspire you?