Habby Nuw Yeah

Who knew you could type with a cold. *sigh* I'm sick. I have a cold. And I think it is currently trying to turn into either a sinus infection or bronchitis. Or both. I blame St. Louis. Because it was cold there. *sigh*

Spent New Year's at my parents where we had our Christmas. That was fun. It was good to see them. My aunt Grace was there, too. It was a good, relaxing family time. We even took family Christmas pictures.

Dad, Mom, Gracie, Me and Dan

And now, on to something completely random... With all the St. Louis hockey I've been seeing, I just had to comment on this. The Blues goalie's mask. Toivonnen's mask has ears painted on.

Check out the EARS. Freaky.

Every time I mention how those painted on ears freak me out, Dan has to comment on the fact that it is modeled after the mask that a very well known Blues goalie used to wear and so those ears are that famous goalie's ears. But still. Freaks me out.

And now for something fun, not freaky, to end this babbling, cold medicine-induced post:

Attack Moneky

My mom sent me this. My mom rocks.

And oh yeah, happy 2008!

More Hockey Goodness

Well, last night Dan and I went to the last of our series of three Blues games. It was the Stars vs. Blues. We got the tickets from Dan's boss, Kelly. Kelly and his wife joined us for the game and it was a lot of fun.

Dan, Kelly, and Gina

Sadly, I forgot my camera so I had to make do with Dan's camera phone. Not the best pictures but it is better than nothing. Of course, there was no AndyMac to stalk this game (he's out with a pulled chest muscle) so at least I didn't need to camera-stalk anyone.

At first it looked like the Blues would have as much luck against the Stars as they had against the Red Wings. But a little bit into the first period, the Blues were suddenly reminded that, oh yeah, they were actually supposed to be playing in the hockey game, not just watching.

After that, the game stayed close, though the Stars kept the lead most of the game, with the Blues only taking the lead in the third. Ex-Duck Paul Kariya even had a hat-trick - go ex-Ducks!

In the final minutes of the third period, the Stars took back the lead, but with 10.7 left in the game, the Blues tied it up, taking the game into overtime.

No one scored during the OT and it went to a shoot out. Dallas got a goal with their last shooter and the Blues had none, so the score ended up 5-4 Dallas. All in all, an exciting game. And much better than the game against the Red Wings!

I Have Returned!

YAY! I have returned from the arctic north (though Dan still insists it is call the mid-west... whatever, it is so totally the arctic north) and no frostbite to be found. Of course, it is still winter in Texas, but our lows are St. Louis' highs.

So, let's see what all I have to share:

December 24, cont.
After opening presents (Dan got a whopping 15lbs of gummy worms - he's thrilled and would have liked to have gotten even more, the nut), we finished up Christmas Eve by going to the Zimmermann's church for not quite Midnight Mass (since it started at 11:00pm and the church is Episcopal). The choir, including mother- and father-in-law, sang some lovely songs. It was very neat. Though I do think that our church's Jesus cookie tastes better. And yes, I realize calling a communion wafer a Jesus cookie is not church-sanctioned. But that's what it is in my little world.

December 25
Yeah, so after five years of marriage, Dan never thought to tell me of the Zimmermann tradition of all the women-folk getting aprons and taking a group picture for Christmas. Now, it's an odd tradition, but Dan's aunt makes the aprons and she is an awesome quilter, so that's pretty nifty.

Group Apron Shot

Still, you would think Dan would mention something about it. Sigh. I guess it is because he isn't the one that gets to wear the pretty apron.

Anyway, we spent Christmas day with the extended Zimmermann horde, had some good food and a fun white elephant gift exchange. Quite a change from my regular Christmas experience which is just immediate family. It was also the first time in 11 years that I hadn't been with my parents for Christmas so I missed my mommy. But we are going to do Christmas in Graham New Year's Eve, so I get to see them then.

December 26
Okay, today was a busy day. We went to the City Museum and a Blues hockey game. The City Museum is... insane. There is no other way to describe it. It's not so much a museum as an urban playground with stairways, underground and overhead tunnels, hidden pathways, and just a whole bunch of weird stuff - including the World's Largest Pair of Underpants!

Tunnels!


Isn't My Hubby Cute?


Underpants! And Sister-In-Law!


Yeah, it was a weird place. I wanna know if they really need this warning.

There was also an aquarium and there was a box fish there that was totally flirting with me.

It's hard to focus when the subject is less than one inch from the camera

Anyway, after the City Museum, we went to the Blues game against Detroit. OMG. Total blow-out. The Blues lost 5-0. Ouch. I'm pretty sure the Blues were still on Christmas vacation. But, total bonus, I got to boo the home team along with all the other fans! Woo hoo! Dan even said they deserved it. And, double bonus - I got to camera-stalk former Duck center, Andy McDonald. Go Andy Mac!

Dan and Me at the Game (and I'm wearing my nifty Western Conference Champs hat from SIL - way cute, no?)


This fight was pretty much the most positive excitement the game generated - the Blues player won.


Andy Mac!

December 27
Well, we came home the 27th. It was about an 11 hour drive and there was a lot of fog, but it was really good to get home. The kitties missed us greatly. Of course, before we left on our road trip, I had to get one last kitty cuddle from my favorite furry sister.

Me and Simone (yeah, I look crumby, but it was early!)

Merry Christmas and Stuff

Well, I have been out of pocket for a little bit. Travel is a grand thing, no? Don't know when I'll get to post this (composing in Notepad, don't cha know) so I'll just compile and post when able.

December 22
First and foremost, something I should have posted before when I still had my home network available and didn't have to depend on "the kindness of strangers":
I have officially been terminated from my job. I guess I should explain. Since it was up in the air, I haven't really posted anything about it. But on October 2, I was told that I had to go back on leave - no choice - since I still wasn't 100% from after my surgery (I wasn't able to walk the miles required by a portion of my job duties). So, long story short, I went out on leave, spent almost two months on short-term disability healing, then when I was ready to go back, was told that there was no job available for me since my job had already been filled (by the temp that I had been working with - I knew that would happen since my job was no longer protected due to the total amount of time on leave I had already used this year). Anyway, things hung out at that point - neither employed nor jobless, until I spoke to someone on Wednesday that let me know that paperwork would be put in to terminate me.

So now I am jobless officially now. I'm not too upset about it and neither is Dan. He's been looking forward to rolling over my 401k for ages now. Silly boy. But now I need to see if there is any chance of getting unemployment. Hmm. Get some of my tax dollars back.

In other fun news, I was complaining to Dan about not having any Ducks stuff with the new logo. Well, Super Mother-in-Law comes through! Faster than a speeding bullet (though maybe just with a charge card (: )! Anyway, now I have a way cute Duck's t-shirt and Duck's sleep pants. Oh, and an obnoxious orange practice jersey that is surprisingly and way cute. Now if only Dan would get me Giguere for Christmas... I promise to feed him and walk him and brush him and water him every day! Anyway, Dan also got some nifty Blues goodies, but honestly, it's the Blues so who cares? (:

. . . . .

Randomly, I've been getting random headaches lately and can't figure out why. Sigh. So far it seems that Splenda and tater tots in almost any form do it. Odd, yes? I'm sure there is something (like a preservative or something) that is doing it. Can't figure out what yet.

Also, St. Louis is cold. There is still snow on the ground in some places, particularly parking lots where it had been shoveled into a pile that was so large, the recent rains haven't been able to melt it. I have no idea how on earth I survived four years in Iowa, spending whole winters there (well, aside a short break to go home for Christmas). Of course, during those four years, I had to deal with lots of seasonal depression. Man, and now I remember why. Not only is it cold here, but it gets dark at like 4:30pm. And even when it isn't dark, it has been so overcast and not bright. Makes me cold and grumpy just thinking about it.

But, bonus for being in the arctic north in the dead of winter - I get to play with my in-laws kitties. Dan's parents have Simone and Max. Max is kind of a Princess-like kitty (evil to all save those he loves) so he's not so great with the cuddles, but Simone is a doll. She makes me think of Gidgie. She's got a bi-colored nose and a nice square muzzle. She's also colored kind of like the negative version of Gidgie. And did I mention that she's a total doll. She's so sweet, soft and cuddly. She doesn't cuddle up like the Gidgie does, but she'll let me pick her up and hug her and I just adore loving on her. And then my sister-in-law has Duncan and Molly, both of who are sweet and adorable. Dunkie is a chunkmiester and Molly is a fuffy little girl. Sigh. They make me miss my babies.

December 23
I don't operate well in the cold. I think my body is trying to hibernate. 27 degrees this morning. Brr. Not cool. Well, actually, yes, very very very cool.

. . . . .

Dan went to a hockey game tonight with his dad. I stayed home to hibernate. Seriously. We've got another game on the 26th which I am going to, regardless of hibernation need. So tonight, I will nap, cuddle kitties, play on the computer, nap, and nap some more.

. . . . .

December 24
Not much to say other than MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! Or, as my uncle's email stated it:

To All My Democrat Friends:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or explicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

To My Republican Friends:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

O (Mini) Christmas Tree, O (Mini) Christmas Tree

Dan and I have an 'ittle Christmas tree this year. It's 15-inches tall (Dan measured). Oh yeah. We don't even have any ornaments on it. Of course, if we had ornaments on it, we could only fit like 8 and then it would still be overwhelmed.

Mini-tree

Even our presents (and we don't have a ton) are threatening to take over the tree.

But I still think it is cute. And the kitties have only knocked it over once (and now it is surrounded by presents and can't be pushed over).

And because I like playing with my camera features, the tree in "Illustration" mode:

Merry Christmas!

Shoes!!!

My hubby spoils me. We went to DSW to get him a new pair of tennis shoes (got him a cute pair of Asics to replace his oh so very old New Balance - I think he got the New Balance when we were dating). Anyway, Dan bullied me into getting three, yes three pair of shoes! Of course, he really didn't have to twist my arm very hard. I love shoes, after all. And my casual shoes were needing to be replaced. And somehow all three pairs ended up being Pumas. Hmm.

Two pair are Puma Replicats. One of them is exactly like this pair:

Tan and Pink!

The other pair of Replicats is a chocolate brown with teal accents. Way cute.

The third pair is more sneaker-like. Black with silver accents and also way cute. Dunno why it is so hard to find them online. Sigh. But I'm still very excited about them.

Shoes make me happy!

Christmas Laundry Kitty

First off, Dan and I are lazy - we have pathetic Christmas lights this year. I wanted to outline the house in lights since it looks so plain, but Dan won't let me operate our ladder (which honestly is probably a smart move) and he's been working so hard, I didn't want to push him to do it. So we have three bushes with net lights.

Our Christmas Lights

I must say, I do like the net lights. Quick, easy, but rather pretty. Dan did a good job. Of course, now that we are actually trimming the bushes (yay for having hedge trimmers!) the lights look even better - and the bushes look very square (which actually they are - I'm surprised Dan hasn't gotten out there with a level when he trims them). It was hard putting the lights on last year when there were runners from our bushes growing out five feet or more. Seriously. We don't have bushes, we have fluffy, freestanding vines in our front bed. They would take over our house if they could. They've tried.

Fun pic of our lights. Because I can.

Anyway, that takes care of "Christmas". Now let's work on the "laundry kitty" bit of this post title. To do that, I give you a balancing Bitty (well, not give. She's ours and we aren't giving her up. But I'll show you a picture).

Hamper Bitty

This is Bitty showing off her immense balancing talent. Not only can she balance on top of the scratching post, but she can balance on our laundry hamper. Which if fairly impressive since the middle section is just the edges of mesh bags with a rope in it stretching from one side of the hamper frame to the other where it is tied off (if that makes sense).

I have such talented babies.

Ugh...

Ugh, I have grease burns in a splatter pattern on my left hand and wrist from where I dropped my borrowed candy/deep fryer thermometer in hot oil, ruining it; I have managed to spill almost 5 quarts of dirty water on my kitchen counter all at once, including on clean dishes drying in the dish drain; and my entire house is filled with smoke because the oil was too hot when I fried the fish because - of course - I didn't have a working thermometer.

On the plus side, I used my stand mixer to make hush puppies and 1) the mixer is very cool and 2) I can make some awesome hush puppies.

But I really could have done without the burns, spills, smoke and broken thermometer.

Classy Christmas

Okay, I shared pictures of this a couple of days ago, but now I'm uploading the video so you can get the full experience. And no, I did not add the sound - that's part of the experience of these two particular homes.

(Have I gone video crazy lately? Sorry about that. Back to normal pictures soon (unless the kitties do something really cute that I have to video). Though the reason why there have been few videos before is because I keep forgetting that my camera has a video function on it. Yes, I am a dork.)

Insert Witty Title Here

A conked Bitty for your viewing enjoyment:

A sleeping Bitty wedged between my afghan-covered legs and the love seat.

Also, in my last (two) post(s), I mentioned something about the early Christmas present Dan and I got. Wanna guess what it is? I'll give you a hint: it starts with "Kitchen Aid" and ends in "Stand Mixer". Woo hoo! I'm so excited - as is Dan. He's been wanting one of those forever. I have a feeling I'm going to love it almost as much as I do our food processor, which I absolutely adore. Dan's already thinking of things he wants me to make with it.

In other Christmas gift news, the kitties also got this cute little singing Christmas thing (sorry, no clue what they are called). Normally, I'm not a fan of this whole genre of Christmas item, but this one is freakin' hilarious. It makes me laugh until I cry. As proven by the stellar camera work in the video below. I was fine until that little hat on the penguin gets going - that does it to me every time.

The kitties also got gifted with a second hand (formerly their Uncle T's) soft-sided, leopard print cube. They can't decide if they want to crawl in it or on it but they know they love it. I've got the camera out today to see if I can take some cute pictures. We shall see!

Pointless Post

Well, technically I suppose there is a point to this post. It's just not a very interesting one.

I have stuff to blog about - including the goodies Dan and I got this weekend. But my head hurts and I feel icky, so the post will be delayed until tomorrow. Got a cute Bitty picture to share, too. Maybe other goodies if I can get my act together. But I hated not to post since I really meant to post today and didn't want to fall into poor blogging habits again so soon.

Bad! Bad Blogger!

Sigh. I was doing so well. Posting every day for the nine days. And then nothing. But just for two days. And now I'm back. Now, I'm not saying that I'm for sure going to continue with the daily (or sometimes even more frequent) blog posting, but I'm not going to try not to either. Just depends on what I have to say, I suppose.

And currently, I have some stuff to share. Friday night Dan and I went to Graham to help my parents with a yard sale (the Last Yard Sale, part three, I think) on Saturday. On Friday night we went to the Baptist church to see their Living Christmas Tree thing. It was... different.

The Living Christmas Tree

Dan and I figured that the final number was really Jesus's entrance music for when he joined WWE's Monday Night RAW. I mean, there are no fireworks, but there are banners and singing, so I think he's working with what he had available at the time. In honor of that, I've made a video, but really, you shouldn't watch it.

After the...uh, interesting Christmas thing at the church, we went and saw some Christmas lights. Graham turns their Christmas lights off early. You have to go before 9:30pm. But there were some that were, as usual, noteworthy.

This house is always neat

And these two houses are always - well, bright.

I've got more stuff to share, including what our big Christmas present from my parents was (which we opened since we won't be back there until New Year's Eve) and what the kitties got. But I should leave something for tomorrow.

*Drool*

(Okay, this was unintentional, but this post will be all about drool. Don't worry, though - it's not a long post, so not too much drool going on. You won't need a raincoat or anything. Though you might need a bib.)

Gidgie drool! Last night, I got another dance from the Gidgie and got a picture of the happy dripping!

Happy and Drippy Gidget

Okay, yes, it is weird but I think it is cute because drool equals happy Gidgie.

Now comes the part where you might need a bib. I have discovered chocolate covered honeycombs. Sprouts had them and it sounded interesting, so I got some. SO good. The center is kind of a combo of a sugar cube and the crunchy bit of a Butterfinger. (Actually, I think it might be a meringue, now that I think of it). And then it is smothered in chocolate. I had like five of them yesterday and my mouth still waters when I think about them.

*drools*

So what do I do when I get distracted/obsessed with something? I Google it! And lookie what I found - a recipe!

Chocolate Covered Honeycomb

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 cups (12-ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

1. Line bottom and sides a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan with lightly buttered aluminum foil. Set aside.
2. Combine combine the brown sugar, sugar, corn syrup, vinegar and butter in a large, heavy cooking pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Continue cooking syrup, without stirring, to 300*F (150*C) on a candy thermometer, about 15 minutes. (A small amount of syrup will separate into brittle threads when dropped into cold water.)
3. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda, mixing well. Mixture will foam up. Quickly pour into prepared pan. Allow to set at room temperature until firm. Invert pan and peel off foil. Break into pieces.
4. Melt chocolate and shortening in double boiler over simmering water; dip candy pieces in chocolate. Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets and allow to dry at room temperature. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

Makes about 2 1/2 pounds candy.

Seriously, I am going to have to make these. I will end up being the size of a house, but I am making these. I just need a candy thermometer and dark corn syrup. Oh, and the chocolate.

Weirdest Tea Ever

Okay, so contrary to my post this morning, today did not end up being a total waste. Dad was taking Cody to the vet about his elbow and asked me to join. It was a lot of fun - nice spending time one-on-one with my pop. Though I'm sure his ears were thisclose to being officially talked off.

Anyway, we went to Sprouts which is a specialty grocery store - they have a lot of organic and gluten free stuff (thus Mom and Dad discovered it because of Mom's Celiac disease). They had some regular teas there, but they also had some funky ones. And I couldn't resist - I got one of the funky ones.

Alvita Ginger Root Tea

Yes, ginger tea. It's, well, weird. Not bad, though. Spicy. I put three sugars in it (my normal is two except for chai, then I do three - yes, I like my tea sweet. You should see my coffee). It's spicy and kind of makes my mouth tingle. It's really just like eating candied ginger (got some of that for Dan today, too) but without the gooey bits getting stuck in your teeth.

Very weird.

Oh, and speaking of weird, Dad collected some acorns from the vet's parking lot. They were burr oaks or something? The acorns were really big - ping pong ball sized.

Big Ole Acorn

Again, weird. But cool. And that applies to both my dad and the acorn.

One of THOSE Days

Okay, I realize it is still early yet, but I'm about ready to write today off.

First off, I woke up late after having weird dreams (something about an organizational guru sending her little minions after a mechanic - I think I need to limit my caffeinated teas to before lunch) and I can barely stumble through making Dan's lunch. Thank goodness he realized I didn't put a spoon in and grabbed one because I really wouldn't want him to have to eat the casserole I made yesterday with his fingers.

Anyway, I laid down on the couch to see if I couldn't wake my brain up (or get my body to fall back to sleep - neither happened) and Happy kept growling at me! Sigh. She's not feeling well at all because she had her rabies shot yesterday. Of course the whole vet thing freaked her out anyway, but the rabies shot always seems to knock them for a loop. So she's been camped out on the couch (hasn't moved from the afghan since yesterday evening as far as I can tell) and didn't want to share with me at all.

Puny Happy

Is there anything worse than have a puny kitty holding a grudge against you? Well, apparently yes, and that happened after my shower.

I took my shower and was feeling all clean, toasty warm and finally a little awake. I got dressed then went to open the living room blinds (yes, if you see my blinds closed during the day, you know I'm still in my pjs. I'll take the garbage to the curb in my robe but insist the blinds be closed until I'm dressed for the day). Anyway, I opened the first one blind and moved to open the second when I suddenly felt something cold and mushy squishing between my toes. UGH! I stepped right in cold kitty puke. Barefoot! UGH! Just thinking about it makes me want to wash my feet again. That right there kind of put the topper on my day. Sigh.

So to make myself feel better (after thoroughly washing my foot off), I decided to give myself a pedicure.

Pedicure for me!

Yeah, so I guess the day won't have been a total loss.

(ETA: I would also like to point out that I've posted at least once a day everyday since the 27th (if you include the no-post post). I guess I really am feeling better! I think I count myself fully healed (thought I wouldn't mind the scars going away now)).

Lookie What I Did!

I made potato chips!

Well, they are really sweet potato chips, but still. Homemade. Yes, I am insane.

Homemade (sweet) potato chips

It took a bit to get the time correct on cooking them. But even the overdone ones are good because they taste like roasted marshmallows. Yum.

My First Time Deep Frying

Like my apron? The other full apron I have is an El Paso one, so I thought it was close enough to Christmas to use this one.

I think next time I'd want to cut them a bit thinner, but since I cut them in the food processor and that was the thinnest cut, I'm probably not going to be doing anymore for a while. But now that I've actually deep fried something (first time, ever), Dan's all excited. He's already making mental lists of all the things he wants me to fry, including fish, potstickers, and breaded pork meatballs (not sure where the last one came from other than I'm defrosting some ground beef and pork for chili).

Anyway, if this keeps up, Dan's going to get me a Fry Daddy or something. He got really excited when I mentioned it. Who knew my hubby was such a fan of fried things?


(I would also like to add that this is my fifth post in four days. Geez, what's up with that?)

I'm a Posting Fool

No comment on that title, k? I've just been posting frequently - and now twice in one day. Geez, someone must not want to go pull the sheets out of the dryer and make the bed. Oh wait. That would be me!

So, I'm sitting at my desk, drinking my second cup of dessert tea (chocolate hazelnut - I am so in love) and I got to thinking about our crap electric kettle. Okay, not crap. It's just that we've used it so much, it is trying to die on us. For a while, the "boil" switch would turn off even if it hadn't boiled. But I apparently whacked it against the counter enough that that stopped happening (seriously - it was the only think that worked). Then it started leaking. Dan took it apart and fixed it (though it was close for a bit - we thought it was a goner). So it is still working and only occasionally requires a good firm thump to keep doing so.

But each time it starts messing, I start thinking about those lovely electric water dispensers they had in Japan. So, today, while sipping my oh so yummy dessert tea (Stash Tea, by the way - I've already requested a catalog and spent some time drooling over their selection, particularly their white and dessert teas) I started surfing the net to see what I could find.

And I found it. This? I want this.

I'm already dreaming about making Dan's iced tea without having to boil the kettle three times (and Dan goes through a gallon of it in about 4 days, sometimes faster, so no wonder our kettle has tried to mutiny).

Of course, then I'd have to change the way I make his tea a little. Currently, I boil the tea bags in the kettle, then immediately pour it into a old milk jug that has been designated as his tea container (it even has a little drawing on it that says "Dan's Happy Cow Tea" because the original milk jug we used was from the organic Horizon Farms and they apparently have "happy cows" and I'm a dork so I peeled the label off, copied the little cow on it and made it tea specific. Oh geez, I'm just going to take a picture and post it).

Yes, I drew that. I'm a dork.

Somehow I don't think Dan would let me get rid of that (I got a new milk jug and he pouted until I drew the cow on again). But I could just steep the tea in the jug I suppose.

I'm so off topic now. I think I'm just going to go have more tea. And one day I will get me a little Japanese hot water dispenser. Oh yes, one day.

Until then, I still don't want to do the sheets.

I made Angel Food cake...

...in a bundt pan.

Looks like a furry pound cake

And now I know why Angel Food cake is made with a tube pan. Because that stuff is sticky! So sticky that I simply cannot get all of the cake residue out of the little creases and dips of the bundt pan. I have scrubbed it 3 times at no less than five minutes each time and there is still bits of cake in my pan. And this is after multiple soakings in hot, soapy water, including an overnight soak. Grr. I didn't want to, but I've given up and stuck it in the dishwasher, hoping that will help. If that doesn't work, my next step is putting it in the oven while it does a self-cleaning cycle. It'll either warp the pan or clean it, but either way the bits of cake stuck to it won't be a problem.

But the cake is good. Though I will be getting a tube pan before I cook it again. (And I might be getting another bundt pan before I cook any other cake again).

I'm Taking Votes...

Well, it's really a case of collecting suggestions actually. What should I title future blog updates that really have no redeeming social value and are just me showing the world the fact that all I apparently do is scrapbook?

Yes, that's right - I have another completed layout. It's busy, but I quite like it.

Hockey!

Text reads:

Dan & I got to see the Sharks & Stars play thanks to more free tickets. It wasn’t a great game, at least not until the final period. Both teams were playing like girls with lots of playground-style pushing & no real checks. Bad puck handling & we couldn’t believe that Turco wasn't pulled from the game. But then the Sharks started racking up goals (3 goals in less than 4 minutes) which really turned the game around. Even though the Stars lost 4-2, it was a fun game!

Hockey is always fun, but extra bonus, ex-Duck Todd Fedoruk was playing for the Stars! He even had one fight that was sadly very short and ended up with Fedoruk losing his footing and falling flat on his back. I still love him, though. Go Fridge!

Yes, it is a layout for something that happened less than a month ago. Go me! Of course, I still have tons of stuff to do from earlier this year. So far everything I've been doing is from this year, but my ultimate goal is to go back to when Dan and I graduated in 2001. Have the scrapbook be basically our life together (which actually started a couple of months before graduation, but I think the only picture I have of that is me eating soup in Dan's room. Thrilling, yes?)

Of course, I ran out of two of my favorite adhesives - mounting squares and Tombo Adhesive roll. Sigh. Saturday I am so going to the craft store to get more. Yay for a new budget month! (I still love my budget, though. And Dave Ramsey).

Dave!

Oooh, speaking of budgets, Dan said that Dave Ramsey is going to be in Dallas in February. I think we are going to go. We both really want to because Dave is well, simply awesome. Not sure how much we actually need to go since we are about to start "Baby Step 6: Paying off the house early" hopefully in January.

Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps

Of course, we are skipping Baby Step 5 since the kitties do not require college education to shed and vomit up hairballs. And we are doing a little more than 15% in Baby Step 4 to try to max out our IRAs for this year (we got a late start because of paying off Dan's car so are playing catch-up).

Anyway, enough babbling about our finances. At least I didn't post our budget here. And no, I don't have a budget line for scrapbooking. Though that could be useful....

Butter - Now with Pictures! And More Words!

Ah, butter. The most spoken word at our house over Thanksgiving. And the most used cooking ingredient, too!

Four sticks were used for the turkey alone. The scalloped pineapple had two, then there was the cheesecake, the pecan pie, the two different stuffings... Of course, we also had cranberry sauce, deviled eggs, potato salad, green beans, three bean salad - none of which involved butter. Which is probably a good thing since Dan and I used almost 2 pounds and my parents used more than 1 pound. And since we had to do things gluten-free, it was real butter. None of this light or substitute stuff.

Dad waiting (not so patiently) to start Thanksgiving Dinner

Not all the food fit on the table

Our Butter-ific Turkey

Anyway, thanks to the butter, the good food and the great company, we had a fantastic Thanksgiving. My parents came down to spend Thursday and Friday with us and then Emily and Danny (the youth minister from my parents' church and her boyfriend) stopped by on their way to take Danny home.

Tis The Season...
The one thing that has been less than stellar this Thanksgiving has been the weather. Now, last weekend Dan was outside while he cleaned out his beer fridge and I kept him company. Well, we were out there for a couple of hours, I suppose, and I managed to get a bit of a tan. The weather was gorgeous. And then a cold front came in on Wednesday. It even snowed a little in Dallas on Thursday! And today it is rainy and cold and just ick. Poor Dan, I think he has a cold. He keeps sneezing and sniffling and dripping and coughing and snorting... I blame the weather change.

Of course, the bonus for the cold weather is now we are firmly in kitty-cuddle season. I've had Gidgie, Bitty, Cocoa (more than once!) and a Nibby camped out on me today. Bitty is sitting on my legs right now and half of this was typed around a Nibby-man perched on my chest (I'm laying down on the couch). So really, that's the only good thing about the cold weather. Kitties make everything better.

I'm a Stalker
And speaking of making everything better, Dan and I got to see the Ducks on Wednesday.

At the Game

It was Ducks vs. Stars and Dan's boss gave him tickets. Great seats - eight rows from the ice.

Duckies!

Giguere at the Bench!

But, before more about the game, I should mention that it was also Mike Modano night, to celebrate Modano breaking the American total goals scored record and American total points record.

Mike Modano

It was pretty neat. Modano cried. And I determined that he just isn't an attractive man when playing hockey. He's got this weird downward curved mouth and his teeth are almost always visible. Not that bright looking. But then, he's a hockey player, so he's not expected to be pretty.

Anyway, the Ducks lost the game 2-1 (and I endured some friendly ribbing from several folks in our section about my allegiance (I was wearing my Ducks jersey)) but it was a good game, especially the last 5 or 6 minutes - very exciting as the Ducks pushed for a goal to tie the game and send it in to overtime. And come on - it was the Ducks! You know I loved it!

But, the bestest thing about the game, what made it all better for having been a loss, is that Giguere was in net! OMG!

GIGUERE!

More GIGUERE!

*gasp* Still more GIGUERE!

I LOVE YOU, GIGUERE!

Ooh, more GIGUERE!

And who is this? GIGUERE? Why, yes!

Each time I've seen the Ducks play the Stars (actually been-there-seen then, not watched-on-tv-seen them) Bryz has been in net. Giguere has either been injured or resting because of back-to-back games. But this time, I got to see Jiggy. Second period he was in net on our end of the ice so I pretty much can't tell you a single thing that happened during that period because I was so busy camera-stalking him (as proven by the number of pictures above. Hey, I had over 100 to go through. You got off easy. )

Fickleness
And speaking of camera stalking, the last Stars game I went to, I camera-stalked ex-Duck Todd Fedoruk. Well, I wasn't even looking for him during the Ducks game and didn't realize until afterwards that I hadn't seen him (I'm such a fickle camera-stalker). Well, turns out Fedoruk is no longer a Star! He was claimed off of waivers by the Minnesota Wild, of all teams!

The Wild is the home of Derek Boogaard, the man that broke Fedoruk's eye socket (in my last post about this I said cheekbone - I was wrong). Ever time the Ducks and Wild played, Boogaard and Fedoruk would fight (sadly with Fedoruk usually being the one on the losing end, but then that seems to be most players that fight with Boogaard). And now they are teammates! Fedoruk isn't just a fighter, he can skate and score, too, but his main purpose on a team is usually muscle. So I can't help but wonder why a team that has Boogaard (who is very much muscle and quite good at being such) would need to add another tough-guy? And do Boogaard and Fedoruk get along or is there any animosity (after all, broken bones have been involved when those two meet)?

ETA Apparently, I'm not the only one thinking this. Dan found a great quote from Fedoruk about the situation in St. Louis Today's Sports

The tail-spining Wild claimed Todd Fedoruk off waivers last week. You might remember that current Wild enforcer Derek Booggard flattened Fedoruk in a fight in October 2006. “I’m just glad that I don’t have to deal with Boogey anymore,” Fedoruk said. “I’m pumped, but it’ll be a little awkward, I won’t lie to you, when we say hello. I’m going to say, ‘Hey buddy, remember me, the guy whose career you almost ended last year. See this dent in my face? Want to be roomies?’”

*snort* Okay, I even more heart Todd Fedoruk after that.

Of course, this brings up the problem that during the next Ducks/Wild game Fedoruk and Parros might be dropping gloves! Who would I cheer for? The Fridge or the 'Stache??

Fedoruk and Parros

Is This Thing On?

Yeah, so even though I get 25+ hits a week, I don't think anyone is actually reading this. So that makes me feel less silly for posting all the scrapbooking stuff. So if someone is actually reading this, comment and I might actually post content instead of pretty scrapbook layouts.

Okay, I'll probably post content AND pretty scrapbook layouts.

Baptism

The text is Mat 3:16-17, REB version.

And since no one is reading, cute pictures of mini-Dan.

Little Dan

Leah (Dan's sister) & Dan with a neighborhood kitty

Blood in the Water

Last night, Dan and I went to a Stars hockey game. Such fun! Actually, it was a pretty crappy game until the last 15 minutes or so. Both teams were playing like girls. Lots of playground-esque pushing going on, no real checks. Bad puck handling and neither Dan nor I could believe that Turco wasn't pulled from the game.

Game-age

Even if the Sharks hadn't started racking up goals at the end (3 goals in less than 4 minutes - which is what made the game really fun), I still enjoyed myself. Hey, bad live hockey is still live hockey. And even bad hockey isn't that bad when the tickets are free.

All in all, somewhat of a slaughter, at least for the 3rd period

If that weren't enough, though, there was the added bonus of Todd Fedoruk, aka Fridge, now being on the Stars.

On the bench

Fedoruk is a former Duck that was traded to the Flyers during the '05-'06 season after his cheekbone was broken during a fight with Boogaard (who is a dirty word for that and so many other reasons). Anyway, he's a Star now and I spent a decent amount of the game camera-stalking him. He even had one fight that was sadly very short and ended up with Fedoruk losing his footing and falling flat on his back. I still love him, though.

Fedoruk's not just a fighter - he touched the puck a few times, I swear!

Updates

Well, Dan was harrasing me yesterday about my webpage being so out of date (the non-blog part anyway), so I did a tiny bit of updating. Just a few tweaks on the Children page and I guess I have completed Princess's page. Still need to do more updates, but I will eventually. One day.

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