sugar egg party and the lessons I learned...

so,the big sugar egg party was today. this has been a long time in the planning and I'd say it was a super-hit! I think I've just started a tradition. I had AJ,B,and AE over to make "sugar eggs"


that's how they look in an 'ideal' world. ours were a bit different.

and that's okay. these little girls are 4. they had so much fun making the eggs, that the finished product barely crossed their minds. and the eggs looked great. just as something a 4 year- old should look like. like they did it. 100%.

I love all of these little girls and I feel like they teach me so much. I realize that sounds cliche and that people always say they "learn so much from children." I really do. They have such a simple and honest way about life and reacting to it. I love it. Back to the point...

I have a life lesson to talk about in relation to this, but the honest truth is...I'm too tired. After the party, I met a friend for lunch and she "made" me go shopping which cut a big slice out of my highly anticipated afternoon nap. I was crankster sitter tonite for sure. Mainly because of my serious lack of sleep but also because of my "air mattress" neck. ugh. Needless to say...life lessons will have to wait.

before I get too much into complaining...I will say that I lay content as can be-so fresh and clean in my clean,favorite sheets.

for much more exciting news check out...

oh and here are a few pictures from our party!!






oh,and no party would be complete without a dance recital...thanks AJ

mary so sleepy right now!

so I went out of town this weekend,had a fabulous time,lost a great deal of sleep, and must be in fighting form tomorrow morning. so I can't say much-but I can say...I had a great weekend...you can look at pictures. I can say that I've been "cooking" sugar eggs for oh,9 hours now and still haven't gotten one really "right." I can say that I need my mom to help me with such conundrums. and that's about all I can say! oh,and here are pictures from the weekend! great,great fun!!

ps,everyone was scaring me about the beach in Texas-and I will say it was no California coast "sunset cliffs" situation-but it exceeded my expectations for sure!

we went out last night...

happy hour accidentally turned into a 'quick trip' downtown which turned into an oh my...it's real late!!





dancing seemed like such a good idea at the time. glad to know i looked so...attractive. my goodness!

things you didn't want to know...

1.) my shift key doesn't work

2.) my mom used to send us 'twinkie-weiner sandwiches' on april fools day. i miss those. if you don't know what those are...watch uhf. ugh to my shift key not working!

3.)Happy Anniversary m and d!!

4.)bubs won't text me back and this makes me sad.

5.)i'm late to get ready for happy hour!

6.)because i'm too busy typing this nonsense!

7.)i'm tired of people announcing pregnancies that are april fools induced. come on people,i waas doing that in the 10th grade! grow up!

8.) the girl above me and her boyfriend got into a ridiculous argument last night which cultivated in her screaming senselessly and throwing his stuff over the balcony. so,i have a pair of cargo shorts at my disposal now. the joys of apartment living.

9.)why won't bubs text me back?

10.) I don't know what to wear tonite.

He's got the whole world in His hands...random updates

I got to spend the morning with precious little M yesterday and goodness goodness. That little girl is too adorable. She liked it when I sang "whole world" and so I probably sang it 50 times during my 2 hour stay! She just smiled at me the entire time. What a little hunk of pure love! I did feel a little "fish out of water" with such a small infant(burping?bottles?swaddling?what?)-but we made it through somehow. I love how she loooves watching her momma,big bro, and big sis. In most of these pictures she(and I) are staring at one or both of them while they provide entertainment. We couldn't ever get a clear one where we were both looking...here's to candids!!
she is quite a little pumpkin pie if I do say so myself. and does she look like AJ or does she look like AJ. what a cutie pie!

in other news,I registered for MORE classes today to get certified as a reading specialist. I don't care if the whole world knows my secret...I LOOOVE SCHOOL! Can't help it!!

here's an example of how my day of tutoring went...

me: K,read me your homework for the night
K: Okay,it's...(long pause) Monday...right?
me:nope,yesterday was MOnday-so today is what?(thinking this was a breeze of a question)
K: WEDNESDAY!!!!
me: texting my co-teaching friends..."where's happy hour?"

I kept E,J,and S tonite and I was a little cranky(I think from the tutoring debacle)which equals Nazi babysitter. I confess. But they do know how to uncrank me and did so after about 10 minutes of straight tickling...(I'm super super ticklish and they latched onto this weakness about a day into Telluride)

My parents anniversary is tomorrow and ONLY my parents would start celebrating a day early(out of their mouths-not mine) by going to a movie on a "school night."(I secretly looove that they make their anniversary such a big deal) They also celebrate the anniversary of their engagement. I will do this also. Any excuse for a good dinner and a night out.

I had two pieces of costco cake today that I ganked from the faculty meeting. two. like I needed that...it's just soo good.

Lastly,it's almost time for me to buy that thing I HATE to buy...which means some lucky Austin friend is going with my to Target soon.

Sorry for this ridiculous randomness.

seek ye first: the story as I remember it. to erica on her 27th birthday

Now,I'm not trying at all to be sacrilegious. Just to be clear. It's Erica's birthday so I am sharing this just for her sake. She thinks this story is positively hilarious. And then this morning in church-the very phrase(seek ye first) came up so I just feel compelled to tell you guys(us guys) all about it.

flashback to senior year. I was finished with cheerleading. My mom was a bit afraid that if I did not have an "extracurricular activity" that I would get into trouble. So, she told me to try out for the school play. Now I remember quite a lot of arguing over this. I mean ME...in the school play?? I was way too cool for this. I mean-I sat at the cool lunch table. I couldn't be caught dead in the school play! gag!

but as these fights usually did play out-my mom won out and I agreed to try out. I didn't think too much about it which is a polite way of saying I thought nothing about it. I knew I'd have to sing for an audition-but hadn't really thought ahead to what I might sing. I don't even know that anyone knew I was trying out. Maybe Erica-but she would have been under strict instruction not to tell a soul.

but the day came-I remember quite clearly-it was a Friday afternoon. I had to walk into the auditorium(which was quite huge) and was expected to sing a song. Now there are two problems which immediately should spring to mind:

1.) I have a terrible voice
2.) I had no idea what to sing

I mean...what do you sing for a musical audition? I clearly didn't know. I knew how to cheer and be cool-but that was about it. So I marched in there looking confident-feeling slightly less than that. It just so happened that I had to sing in front of Mrs. L and Miss. D. I had a long history with Mrs.L. It began in 9th grade when my horrendous boyfriend made me cry all the time and she became my therapist. Then, during sophomore year she continued to be my therapist when this same horrendous boy and I broke up and he proceeded to date my then best friend. By junior year I was over that and had begged my way into yearbook(she was the sponsor) and by senior year I was leaving during yearbook each day to go "sell ads"(code for 'erica and I are going to get ice cream and McDonalds' When I was in yearbook I would harass her with questions about life,love, and marriage. So we became quite close. Oh, the days. I was quite a terror in high school. Anyways, long story short-Mrs. L and I had quite a history(pretty certain that is how I ended up in the play after this horrific audition.) Miss. D and I also had quite some history. I have known her all my life through church. So that is just setting the scene-these weren't complete strangers-they were FRIENDS!

Here I am in the auditorium-still without a clue as to what I will sing next. Now, I'm not really sure what compelled me to do this but all of a sudden in a very off key voice I started singing...'seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness' okay,words can't really describe the looks on their faces. It was absolutely terrible. Awful. But somehow I made it through that first verse and they cut me off and very politely asked if I knew anything else. I was so mortified that I said 'no.' I didn't know what else they had in mind-but I wasn't sticking around to find out. So on that glorious audition note-I left...called Erica to do the post-mortem and I think I hid out all weekend dreading facing those 2 on Monday.


Why 'seek ye first?' good question. It just came to me. To this day-when I think of it-I seriously want to shrivel into the fetal position and never come out from under the covers. I can count on one hand the amount of times I've been truly embarrassed and this tops the list for sure!

How did it all turn out you ask? Well,Monday my name just happened to be on the list.I made it. I was going to be an actual "drama queen." I was no leading lady-but then again-I never expected to be. I was floored to even be on that list. I'm pretty sure it was only because Mrs. L knew I wouldn't take no for an answer. I've never been very good at taking no for an answer. And you know what else-the play was amazing. No thanks to me of course. But it really was. E can vouch for that! She came twice! And I think it was good for my "too cool" attitude also. These are the kinds of things where I look back and know that mom knew best.

ps,the stage director gave me a "britney-like microphone" not knowing anything about my audition...let me just say that after one practice round with it-I was politely told that someone else might be better suited to get that mic. Oh well..life goes on. Seek ye first!

double dutch and grilled cheese

Today was a lovely day. It was quite perfect and much needed after my slightly less than delightful day yesterday.

I babysat this afternoon. Now, the last time I kept these awesome kids-they challenged me to all kinds of outdoor activities. I had had all kinds of fun the night before and very little sleep-so the jumping rope,jumping on trampoline, and 2 hour game of freeze tag were all great fun but a little difficult on me at the time. But, we jump roped and did DOUBLE DUTCH-which is an old favorite of mine.

Now,I've never claimed to be a competitive person. My dad loves to tell the "track" story about how I refused to pass anyone because I was afraid of hurting their feelings. Which is why my track career was so short-lived. So,I've just never really had that competitive drive. But, jump rope is a different story. The little girl blew me out of the water last time-and although I was gracious-all I could think of was next time I WILL do better(because I KNOW I COULD DO BETTER). Oh-you should have seen me today. I was ON! Maybe I should be a competitive jump-roper! And I absolutely LOOOOVE it! Time flew! We had so much fun. I absolutely love the fact that there are still little girls who spend their time double-dutching! What a wonderful world! then we had a grilled cheese picnic! Complete with brownie at the end of the meal. So simple and perfect. I can't really think of a better way to spend a Saturday! It was most definitely just what I needed. Now, I wish I had a picture of us double dutching-but unfortunately-I forgot my camera. This is very close to what I looked like though...yeah right!

Also-special shout out to my BFF ERICA WYATT KING who turns 27 today! Wish we could have a "so happy right now-too expensive to tell our parents where we are actually eating hibachi meal" to celebrate!

"old and deaf"

that was what my favorite text message of the day said. context not important to the masses who read this! :)

3 random things from today...

1.) I had the most especially delicious dinner tonite at Scot and Krissy's(as usual)! My favorite part was when we were doing "day highs and lows" with the kids and Anna Joy's high was that Ms. Mary was at dinner! But,we had these most amazing cookies...I mean to tell you that they were especially scrumptious-and I usually tend away from oatmeal-type cookies...Anyways-I'm putting the recipe at the bottom of the post...mmm-they were good!

2.) I think I had at least 4 and all I can think is that I could eat 4 more.


3.) I have a job interview on Friday for a school that most of you know of. It's the school where\ everybody wants me to work-so there's a bit of pressure. Pressure? You ask? Well, to "prepare" for the interview-they recommend I read 3 books...which isn't that big of a deal for me since I love to read-but--I mean, come on-3 books just to prepare for an interview for a job that I'm not all that sure I want to take anyways? It's all a little hard for me to swallow. Especially since they only gave me 2 days to do it. So instead, I'm curled up with my latest Twilight series book. yes,I finally gave in. I mean, at the heart of it-it's just a good old-fashioned love story-and when have I ever been able to resist one of those?

Recipe(trust me on this,they're delicious! Bubs,I'm happy to bake and mail if you'd like-but you and Andrea would looove these I swear-she should try them!)

Oatmeal Cookies with White Chocolate and Craisins


* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
* 1/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 2 large eggs
* 8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
* 7 ounces Craisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, oatmeal, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Cream butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add salt, vanilla, and eggs, and beat until well combined, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture gradually, beating until just combined. Stir in chocolate and craisins. Cover, and refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.
2. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are golden brown around the edges but still soft in the center, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool. Cookies will keep, covered, for up to 1 week.

**also,I know I keep changing the "look" of the blog-but the old thing was getting too wintry and I've got spring/summer fever. just hang with me folks!

things you don't really care about...

so,since nothing too eventful is going on right now-I figured I'd start a weekly(maybe bi-weekly) segment called "things you don't really care about" (but I'm going to share anyway!!).


This week-I'm talking BBQ. Okay,so I've been jonesing for barbecue lately and I called up a friend to go and we met for dinner tonite. two things I have to tell you. first, barbecue gives me this odd "euphoria/dizzy" experience. I can't really describe it at all-all I know is that after I eat it, I have this really strange dizzy feeling in my head. Sometimes I get that after I eat Asian food(then I always blame MSG)-but seriously-it happens everytime after I eat barbecue. Odd,I know. And something you didn't care about-but whatever. So after dinner, I went to Bible study and the whole time I felt like I was somewhere else. It usually dies down after a couple of hours-and sure enough-3 hours later-I feel mostly normal. But-actually still a little hungry. That's a different issue completely!

Second,I realized that barbecue is NOT a date activity. Well,not a good first date activity. For most-at least. I, for one, don't particularly care about those types of things. I'm mostly happy to eat whatever I want in front of whoever. But I realized tonite as I was pulling my meat off the ribs somewhat ferociously-that it's probably not an attractive activity to most. And apparently, I'm pretty vicious when scouring for the meat. As my friend put it, "she never met a rib she couldn't handle." ha. So, in the event that I wind up going on a date with someone who I don't foresee a solid future with-I might suggest ribs-because something about nawing on a bone---just might not leave the impression you are quite going for in someone you might be interested in.

Whatever, it's not gonna stop me from tearing up my ribs.

Exhibit A-E and Me at Rendezvous a million years ago...rib in mouth does not equal "cute"

just another day at the farm...

but not actually at the farm! I am more than a little embarrassed to tell you all I "didn't" do today. I woke up late, turned in a job application, printed another one out at the local Kinkos(I really need a new printer my Bubs),then went for a walk,ran to the grocery,ran into a friend at the grocery (who I was already going walking with this afternoon),talked to her for at least 40 minutes(while clogging various aisles of the grocery),went home,ate lunch,went walking with her,came home,showered,and plopped down to "catch up" on my favorite shows! Yea, I started watching at 4 and it's now 10. I'm a tad embarrassed by that, but as an awesome friend just said-"you needed a little downtime from kids." which is oh-so-true! So basically I sat inside by myself and laughed and cried ridiculously too much for it just to be about tv shows! And-the good news is-I still have one more show(3 episodes worth) to catch up on!! I am going to take a little break for some house cleaning so that I do not develop bedsores! So tomorrow is back to Tuesday business as usual(sort of). I don't have AJ in the morning-but still have afternoon tutoring-which requires MUCHO patience and a Krispy Kreme incentive(for the both of us!) Sorry I'm so boring. I wouldn't write-except that I think E might have my throat if I didn't! just to perk this post up a bit-I've added a new picture of my very favorite niece and nephew! because-they perk anything up!