Birthday Week

Today begins my birthday week. So, I get to celebrate ALL week, right? Ha. 

We've already celebrated a little. Last weekend Rocket Man got me tickets to see Wicked for my birthday! It was the last night in town and it was WONDERFUL. I've been obsessively listening to the Wicked Pandora station all week and singing along. I loved how the show was all about "good" and misunderstandings. It really puts a new perspective on how I've been looking at some things lately. 

This week will be hectic! Not only will I turn 29 (for real?!?!), but I'm also headed to Chicago for a work event. We have a meeting with some of out top leaders for the Eastern part of the country and I'm headed there as support. Unfortunately, I fly out on my birthday. :( So I won't get to spend any time with Rocket Man, my family, friends, etc. on my "special day." But, I will get to hang out with my brother on Sunday after our meetings end. I booked a late flight and will get to spend most of the day hanging out with Rick! I'm preparing for stinkin' coooold weather, too. Windy City, here I come!

You readers out there that don't leave any comments - any tips for a can't miss stop in Chicago? Especially for a cold, rainy/snowy day?? 

13 in 2013

Hello Bloggy Friends -

With the new year quietly creeping along, I thought I'd share with you my 13 "resolutions" for 2013. I usually don't make resolutions so this year I was excited to do so! 

1. Begin to set aside money to play. I'll start at $50 each month and go from there. Once I've done this for 6 months or a year, I will do something wonderfully splendid! I'll take a cruise or buy a plane ticket or something. It won't be much, but it will be something. And I will have planned it! 
2. Experiment more in the kitchen. I usually fall into the same-'ol-same-'ol and it's boring! So, for breakfast the other day, I made poached eggs! Not the craziest thing out there, but it's something I've never done that I've always wanted to do! I need work, but I'll get there! 
3. Find my decorating style! I've been in my new house for 7 months now. I need to decide on paint colors and a style that I like. And I need to commit to it!
4. Join a gym with a pool. While in Arizona over Christmas, I went with Rocket Man's niece and nephew to their swim practice a couple times. While I was a swimmer, I was never a medal-winning swimmer. But, I liked it. And watching them swim, I missed it. I'll start this again and get myself healthier. 
5. Remember/relearn all that I learned in my college photo class. Rocket Man's Christmas gift this year was a beautiful/amazing/wonderful Canon DSLR. I'm in love with this camera. So, I will find places to use this and I will remember everything I learned. I will also need to invest in an external hard drive to store all my images. 
6. Be a duck. A what? A duck. Meaning, I won't let myself sit and stew over things people have said or done. I will ask myself "will this matter in 5 days, months, years?" and if it won't, I will move on! 
7. Keep my house cleaner. The faster I type this list, the sooner my floors will get some attention. Two black labs and one long and fluffy haired cat make quite a mess!
8. Show Rocket Man what he means to me. Sometimes I take him fore granted and I don't want him to feel that way. 
9. Make less impulse buys. This links back to #1. When I successfully do not impulse buy, I will keep track of the amount I've saved and add that to my play savings. 
10. Spread the "Tupperword." If you start to see a monthly email from yours truly, read through and check it out! It will include the monthly specials that I may have handpicked! If you buy tons, maybe I'll get a promotion!! 
11. Continue to learn Spanish. I have Rosetta Stone from my company. I will make a more concerted effort to study. 
12. Mail people their cards, gifts, etc. I call my guest bedroom the gift graveyard. I have SOOOO many cards and gifts that have been purchased with good intentions and then they waste away because I don't go to the post office. 
13. Find/Create more time to spend with the girls. I've changed a lot in the past year and I've moved a little away from my girls. Making a renewed connection with those ladies will be a point I choose to make this year. 

(Second try... Much better, don't you think?)

I exist!

Hi! I'm still here. We've just been very busy. Pictures to come at a later date. 
Since July, here's what I've been up to: 

1. Trip to the Keys for Mini Lobster Season! What a fun trip! We spent hours on the boat snorkeling and diving for lobsters. 
2. Trip to Tally to see my brother graduate from FSU!! He moved up to Chicago and is settling in nicely. 
3. Trip to Disney World and Disneyland for work. Very long, very exhausting. 
4. We got another dog! By we, I mean Rocket Man. But, I'm calling her 'ours' because he already has 'his' dog Shadow and I want in on the fun. Mandy is a 4-yr old black lab who is the sweetest thing ever. She needs a little work on the house training, but other than that she's been a dream dog. She stays at Rocket Man's house during the week, so I miss her (and of course Shadow and Rocket Man). 
5. Lots and varying home projects. This weekend included the purchase of a new faucet for my bathroom and two unfinished Adirondack chairs that I started staining and can't wait to put together!

That's about all. There's been other fun stuff in between, but the big stuff is covered. I can't wait to show off our cute 'family' photo. We have to have it emailed over; I only have a hard copy. 

I've made some fun recipes that I can't wait to share: bread, crepes, brownies, etc. I'll get back to posting more than I was. Promise! 

Last Year's Failure

I tried my hardest to make these crazy Irish Car Bomb cupcakes (or a similar version)... And I flat out  failed. The cupcakes were like bricks. They were stuck in the pan (silly me, didn't buy any mini cupcake papers). The icing was eh. 

This year, it will be different. I will succeed. I'm going to follow the recipe, exactly. I'm going to make them and they will be delicious. Yes.

I will do this.

Who Doesn't Love Sparkler Candles?

Yesterday was my mom's birthday and tonight is a family gathering at my aunt's house. For both occasions, I am bringing cake. Because really, who doesn't love cake? 


For my mom's dinner, I made a cake from the box (sad). But, I added a little bit extra to bring the yellow cake/chocolate frosting combination to life. STRAWBERRY FILLING!! In-between those two fluffy yellow layers was a sweet, fresh and delicious layer of strawberries. We loved it! Grandma, Aunt T, Mom and Mike all enjoyed a slice. I could have continued eating, but I had to get home to finish my cake masterpiece for tonight! 


Tonight's cake is blowing my mind. Really. I don't think I've ever done something I'm so excited about. It's a Lemon Layer Cake (recipe from the March 2012 Saveur mag). Hello, delish. I made this one from scratch. And I've discovered why all my previous cake adventures have failed - grease AND flour the pan. Oh, and I also discovered the wonders of using cake flour - it's finer, it's fluffier, it's better. I made the layers last night and am finishing the lemon curd frosting today. I can't wait to eat this. I hope it turns out as beautifully as I see it in my head.