JAMMED

My two new favorite songs. CAN'T STOP PLAYING THEM!!!!




Happy Friday! Jam out and enjoy your weekend!

RUNNY

On Saturday, I participated in my first race since 2008. The Zoo Run Run was also my first race ever, so it was neat to kick off this whole I-guess-I'm-running-again? plan with a race that's near to my heart.

Speedy Gonzales and I got our bibs and he was none too happy about his assigned number. Red flag much?
Once it was time for all the participants to line up, I shooed El Diablo off to the front to run with the fast people. His kind. Meanwhile, I hung back with the walkers until all the crazies were 1K in, then took off.

Just like last time, we ran through the exhibits and I saw elephants, horses, TIGERS!!, a snow leopard and some flamingos.

I was proud of my time: I went running three times this past week and finished one minute slower than 2008, when I had been running 3 to 4 times a week for three months.

Someone had time to cool off, take a nap, get something to eat, make a few calls and warm up the car stood patiently and waited for me to near the end of the race, and then jumped in and ran the last 10' with me to the finish line.
Official party line: it's not that I couldn't have kept up with him, I just didn't want to run anywhere near #666!

BUMPY

Want a "bumpdate" on my little precious prince of the world nephew baby angel love?

His Birmingham baby shower was weekend before last and my goodness did the little fellow collect. So many cute little outfits, toys, a homemade blanket from one grandma and a homemade baby blue feather boa wreath for the hospital door from the other (I'll let you guess which grandma gave which). It was a really precious time with some of my sister's close friends as well as women who are important not only in Jennie's life, but mine and mom's as well. Booboo is already so loved! But the line forms here to snuggle him, ladies; let's just be real.

Also, he has a name. Mimi, Bebop (don't ask) and Aunt Nin had to play a little word scramble to figure it out, which was pretty clever way to reveal it, if you ask me! Four minutes in (a terrible time, we'll have to be faster for baby #2), we finally solved the puzzle and were thrilled to have a name by which to call him! Not that I can share here, of course (hence, smiley faces where his initials should be). But trust me, it's cute. Just like he will be!
It was so weird saying goodye to my sister that night, knowing the next time I saw her, she'd be in labor. Would you believe me if I said I've already started my list of what to pack? Yes, even aunts need a hospital bag!

CAKEY

Every once in a while, a recipe comes along that you picture yourself making at least five times a year until you die. This cake and I will have a long, long relationship, I just know it. This will be the cake my kids and grandkids beg for on special occasions. This will be the cake little old church ladies will ask me to make for the potluck. "Lindsay's gonna bring one of her chocolate cakes, naturally; Gladys, what will you bring?"
My friend (and fellow adviser) Allison brought this cake to our December board dinner. I didn't even eat the dessert I brought to share with everyone, I was so consumed with this cake. So using my KitchenAid + new SUPER HANDY glass mixing bowl with a spout and new bundt cake pan, I made this for Evan who joined me for dinner and the Golden Globes on Sunday evening. Since I am a lady first and chef second, I won't say who ate what but I will point out he took some with him to nibble on later. Either way, this is what two people did to this cake:
YEAH. It's that good.

What's that you say? Your new year's resolution was to eat a cake all by yourself? Okay - here you go! This will fix you right up.

1 box of Duncan Hines Butter Recipe Fudge Cake Mix
16 oz. Sour Cream
12 oz. Chocolate Chips
4 Eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 pkg. Instant Chocolate Pudding

Dump everything into a bowl. Mix and pour into a bunt cake pan. Bake at 350 until done (approximately 60 to 90 minutes).

And they lived happily ever after!

RUSHED

Crickets.

Crickets.

Crickets.

I just renewed this domain name for another year. Did I just waste $9?

So, fun update. I helped out quite a bit this week with sorority rush recruitment at Vanderbilt. I am LOVING being an adviser, by the way. Since 99% of you probably went through rush in August like me, I have to tell you how different it is. In previous years, school started on a Wednesday, henceforth rush was Monday, Tuesday, Thursday night and Saturday night, with Bid Day on Sunday. This year, it changed and rush was from on Friday and Saturday nights, two weekends in a row! In January no less! Don't get me wrong, I sure hated being a sweaty betty running all over the hill in the Auburn August heat. But it's like 15° outside up here. The poor PNMs have to line up for the parties outside the houses and quickly throw their coats off at the last minute. Brrr!

I missed all of last weekend's activities since I was in Birmingham for my sister's baby shower, but I pledged to help out as much as possible this week. I was at the house Wednesday night to help with the "Entertainment Round" preparations, including seeing their brand new skit, which they were so proud of! On Friday night, the last party ended at midnight. I didn't go to bed until 3 am! Pref parties were yesterday and I spent lots of time washing and rewashing tiny cups and plates in between parties and talking to girls. I answered questions about everything from rush at Auburn to job and career advice.

Someone recently asked me if it was worth it to have the extra "drama" in my life that a sorority house brings and I couldn't answer YES fast enough. I love being a friend to these girls and maybe a positive role model. I'm young enough to still get it, but old enough to have a different perspective on certain things. One girl has already asked me to be reference for her upcoming job search. This may be my favorite thing I have done in Nashville. I wish I had signed up sooner!

PINTERESTED

If you haven't heard of Pinterest by now, I hate to ask where have you been? but seriously. Where have you been? I will cut the guys some slack since all of us females know Pinterest can skew a little bit on the feminine side at times. But Evan, Elliott, Wes and lots of other guys I know hang right there with us, dotting my page with exquisite men's fashion, recipes and other handy little tips and tricks that I've been known repin myself.

Over the past few days I tried my hand at two Pinterest projects: one in the kitchen and one on the floor, I guess (where do you do your gift wrapping?) Neither of these were my first Pinterest project, mind you, but two that I tried more or less on the fly and was pleased with the results.

Thursday night I was wrapping up some cute and tiny clothes for a baby shower gift for Baby G. I didn't have just the perfect shade of ribbon to match, so I pulled this trick out of my hat I saw on Pinterest once (via Anna). You take a scrap of paper, fold it twice, cut some slits and curl away. It makes a fluffy, funky bow that will surely garner attention at your sister's baby shower... especially if you talk about it quite a bit in advance! More pictures and better directions can be found here.
And now for a project with a little more consequence, brought to my attention via Elliott! I told you I got a crockpot for Christmas, right? Yesterday I made my first crockpot dish. I put all the stuff in there before work and lo and behold, that meat was cooked when I got home! Whaddyaknow! Here's the recipe for brown sugar and balsamic pork tenderloin, or, a fancy recipe for barbecue. In the words of Randy Jackson, "it was just aight for me, dawg." It looks a lot better in the pictures, but it was still yummy for my first swing at it. It better be yummy, I have about 1.75 lb of it left to eat. Now what all can I do with leftover barbecue? Let me just look on PINTEREST! Bam. Full circle.

DELAYED

Friday night before Christmas, Mom hosted our family plus my uncle, aunt and Anne Heaton for dinner. It was fun to be together and kickoff the holidays!

And after the extended family left, we opened our presents. I was super excited to receive a Kindle, two DVDs, a Cam Newton/Carolina Panthers T-shirt, and lots of other fun things, most of which belong in my kitchen: crock pot, bundt cake pan, gift cards, food processor... exciting stuff!
The real highlight of the evening came when Mom unwrapped her last present. Earlier this summer, while my sister was visiting, we went shopping and found this amazingly heinous denim outfit that kindasorta looked like something Mom would wear. It was $2, which we paid for in pocket change, once we were able to stop laughing enough to do math. She kept it at her house until Christmas, when she wrapped it up and we got Mom's boyfriend in on the joke. He usually buys her clothes for Christmas anyway, sometimes clothes she's already picked out. That's what she assumed this was: something she picked out or something he saw and thought she'd like. Au contraire:


Everyone spent the night at Mom's house, which was a nice touch. We woke up Christmas Eve morning and lulled around the house for a while before heading separate ways: Mom to Greenville and the rest of us to join our other side of the family.

We hung out with my other uncle, aunt, cousin, husband and their son Tristan before going to the Christmas Eve service at the church where I was raised. Guess who kept one-year-old Tristan in her lap most of the service? I am going to be such a good aunt next year when we have TWO little boys, full of energy, that need "help" keeping quiet during the service. We had a delicious Italian dinner afterward that my aunt so kindly prepared for us. We used to eat Italian food on holidays all the time, thanks to my Granny. So it was nice to feel like she was there and reminisce about holidays gone by. Once we were stuffed to the gills, I followed my sister and her husband back to their house where I spent the night.

Christmas morning, Jennie prepared a delicious Paula Deen praline french toast casserole that was DIVINE. We got ready and once again, went separate ways: them to Jamie's hometown, and me to lower Alabama to spend the day with Mom. We visited with all kinds of friends and family, including a stop by Mawmaw's nursing home, before dinner with our second family, which has become a tradition that I enjoy so much! After dinner and a game, I drove back to Alabama and was asleep as quickly as I could be.

The next two days were a blur of Kindle reading, TV watching and sleeping in. But I made up for it on Wednesday morning, when mommy-to-be and I hit the ground running to knock out errands for l'petit chéri. We did the same thing Thursday. I think we made 20 stops over the course of two days. Then, it was craft time. Drawer liners from wrapping paper, dressing up some lamp shades, dressing up some mats for his nursery artwork, and my personal favorite: two loads of tiny baby laundry. The only thing that smells sweeter than a baby is a fresh warm load of baby clothes right out of the dryer. We sorted, folded, and tucked them into the drawers. They're only missing one thing now... and he will be here soon!

I left Birmingham on Saturday afternoon. It was nice to have 3 hours in a car on the last day of the year to do some thinking about the year that was and the year that will be. I had fun at Mary Byrne's house, watching the end of the AU game and ringing in the new year with a big group of friends.

But, 2012 is already showing shades of 2011. My car was broken into again NYE. Luckily, I had unloaded ALL of my things from the trip home or something might have been taken. When will he/she learn I don't keep nice things in my car? And just when I think things are straightening out at work, another huge wrench is thrown into the works, leaving absolutely no free time for blogging...

Hope your holidays were terrific and your first week back in the grind has been half as stressful as you thought it would be.

HOME

Well, Christmas may be over but my vacation is NOT. I still have another five days in the Magic City! Can you believe that?

It's been a whirlwind week. I was an errand-running machine on my first day off. I was able to get a lot of things done, from Christmas shopping to vehicle emissions testing. That evening, I had a yummy potluck dinner with five of my sorority sisters who either live in Nashville or were in town for the holidays. It was SO fun to catch up with them and hear about their lives.

I was originally planning to drive south on Tuesday until Mom told me she bought last-minute tickets to see the Rockettes in Nashville. So she and her best friend plus her daughter all got to town Tuesday after lunch. I pointed them toward downtown so I could continue packing, but we all had dinner at Germantown Cafe before their show.

Wednesday morning, Mom and I headed to Birmingham! We drove straight to Brookwood Mall to have lunch with my sister. We were feeling so brave after that, we even headed to WalMart later!

On Thursday, I slept in, which comes naturally to me in Birmingham, and listened to the rain and storms pass by before going over to my sister's house to see all the cute things she got at her baby shower a few weekends ago! Baby G already has a bigger wardrobe than I do... and he's not here yet! I can't wait to see him in all his outfits and playing with all the sweet toys. Later that night, I met my best girl Kathryn for dinner sans babies! Don't get me wrong, babies are great... but every girl needs a night out. We ate ourselves stupid on cheese dip at Superior Grill and had so much fun.

Friday began the Christmas celebrations! Yes, we stretched them out this year!

WISHY

Guess what time it is? Time for my annual CHRISTMAS LIST!!! I’ve done my best to think of things that really run the gamut this year so I won’t get any constructive criticism on my list like I have in year’s past.

Let’s tackle this by department:

In the beauty department, I have had my eye on a Clarisonic face brush for a while. Picture it as an electric toothbrush for your face. I have heard this a great way to get gorgeous skin and I don't know anybody who would turn that down.
There are a lot of things I would like for my kitchen. This glass Kitchen-Aid mixing bowl solves my biggest problem right now with my mixer: I can't pour anything out of the bowl (into say, a bundt cake pan) without making a huge mess. Then, once I get whatever I am making poured and baked up, an offset spatula would be a handy way to transfer my yummy treats to a cooling rack. And if it's not treats I'm whipping up, but instead a savory dinner dish, then a regular sized slow-cooker, as opposed to my single-serve lilliputian one, would be nice. Bonus if it has a carrying case in the event I take my show on the road (would also be nice to have a cake caddy for that bundt cake I mentioned). And once everyone has been fed, some tupperware to put the leftovers in would be excellent. Mine is disappearing left and right. And just for good measure or to take up room in the stocking, some more nonstick spoons, etc. would be super handy.
Moving on to electronics: I've already told you how I can't wait to see Beyonce's Live at Roseland Ballroom DVD, so to that let's add Bridesmaids, Glee Season 2, Modern Family Season 1 and Crazy, Stupid, Love. Additionally, there are a few things I would love to own for my Macbook, starting with a Time Machine. No, Emmett Brown, not that kind of time machine. One to back up everything I put on this Macbook. I figure that's only the smart thing to do, lest I lose it all to a crashed hard drive one day. I also have wanted a proper microphone for recording songs (lullabies) for friends (my nephew).

And since no Christmas is complete without something Auburn related, I love this quirky little print of Samford Hall:
Also, am I the only one that didn't know that Hanky Panky (ladies, you know what I'm talking about) made collegiate... gear? War Eagle, indeed.

And speaking of clothing, the last, random thing: boot socks. I already told you I put a hole in one pair from all the walking I did in Vegas. But since lately I will only leave my house wearing boots (or so it seems), I need some thick, tall, warm socks as well.

So there you go, Santas far and wide! In case you are looking for the perfect thing for me to go along with that Friends frame you paid $42,500 for, hopefully will help.

BACK

Well, it's official. I signed up for a 5k. It seems that is the only way that I will get back into the running game 100% of the way.

The Zoo Run Run was my very first 5k when I was training for the half a few years ago so I am excited about doing it again. Of course, now that I have paid my entry fee and gone public about it, watch that be the day that someone goes into early labor. Ha - like I would be sad about that. I would run all the way home!

DEVASTATED

The unthinkable has happened. Instead of going into the Smithsonian Museum, or the NBC vault, some geniuses at Warner Brothers got to cleaning out the warehouses and they are AUCTIONING OFF THE FRIENDS COUCH! What a tragedy.
If I were rich and could buy this puppy, I would be the opposite of sad. I'd be thrilled. Because I'd be bidding like crazy on it. Can you even imagine watching an episode of Friends, parked on that couch? But unfortunately, as you already saw, I only won $100 in Vegas. I can't afford the couch.

I can't afford the paper mache frame from around the door (which should also be in a museum, honestly):I can't afford the living room artwork:I can't afford the bedroom artwork:
or the pickle jar kitchen utensil holder:...or any of the other items up for grabs, any of which I would bid on during the online auction on Wednesday, if just one of them were currently priced under the maximum credit limit of my credit card (thanks to absentee bidding option, the bids are already through the roof). Yes, I would max out my card for one of these. I know how ridiculous that sounds, but honestly. These things may seem like yard-sale fodder to some of you, but to be actually able to own an iconic piece of the set of my favorite, favorite, favorite television show? A piece of memorabilia from the 30 minutes of my week that I looked forward to the most for six and a half years? Something to forever represent the six people in my life that collectively did not change, that did not divorce, did not break up with me, let me down on a group project or die? What an unbelievable thought. I promise I'm not dramatizing. That show means THAT much to me.

Just in case you do have that kind of money lying around and want to know what else is up for auction: anything and everything from the Back to the Future trilogy, ranging from a DeLorean to the Sports Almanac to Biff's cane to costumes to the Hoverboards and more. Willy Wonka's hat. Superman's costume. Batman's costume. Judy Garland's gingham dress and ruby slippers and the Cowardly Lion costume from Wizard of Oz. A fake shark from Jaws. A Howard the Duck puppet. William Wallace's sword from Braveheart. Forrest Gump's running shoes. Wilson from Castaway. Tobey McGuire's Spiderman suit. Will Ferrell's Buddy costume from Elf. Brad Pitt's Lt. Aldo Raine costume from Inglourious Basterds. Kristen Wiig's bridesmaid dress from Bridesmaids. Yoda puppet from Empire Strikes Back... you name it, they've got it. I want to buy all of this stuff and put it in the garage of this house.

TRIPPED

Since no one bothered to guess, I am tempted to not even tell you that I up and went to Las Vegas... again... to see Kanye and Jay-Z.... AGAIN!

I know. It's getting insane how much of a devotee I am to music's second-most polarizing figure (runner up to Gaga, I presume). But talent is talent, people, and Kanye HAS talent. Regardless of what he says or does, I will never deny that. Throw in Jay-Z, who also has immeasurable talent, and it's just almost too much for me to bear.

When I saw them last time, I immediately started telling everyone whom I thought would actually go see them, to absolutely, 100% do it. Find a way and get there. One of those people included my pal David:
who was ready to sign right up for Camp Watch the Throne almost immediately. Next thing I know, plans are made and we're going to Vegas to see the concert!

After I get my Home Alone tour guide business off the ground, I think I will get a Las Vegas First Timer's tour guide business up and running. I have so much fun filling people's heads with interesting knowledge about Sin City and showing them around for the first time. Did you know there is no apostrophe in Caesars Palace because they want each of their guests to feel like a Caesar, important and powerful?

We stayed at the Encore, which is a beautiful property. We got there Thursday and decided to kick around there for the night, just strolling between the Encore and Wynn (pictured above) and taking it all in. Good thing we didn't log too many miles, because after breakfast on Friday, we did so much walking up and down the strip that I put a hole in my brand new boot sock. Yikes. We stopped long enough for lunch at Olive's at the Bellagio, where I discovered that I like beets (albeit candied beets), and at the Cosmopolitan, where I discovered that I want to live in this giant chandelier:

The show was Friday night and my boys did not disappoint. They had made some minor changes since I saw it last month and I was just as enthralled with everything as I was the first go round. They did the most exciting song, "People" in Paris, let's call it, SIX times in a row for the encore. They would catch their breath and let us scream and then Jay would shout "AGAIN!" and the beat would drop (yes, I just said that). It was both hilarious and awesome.

Conversely, Saturday was a low-key day with some leisurely time in a few different Sports Books with some shopping sandwiched in between. We debated about going to see MJ Immortal, the new Cirque show at Mandalay Bay that's about to kick off a nationwide tour, but decided to spend the last night prowling around the Wynn/Encore properties... oh, with a little gambling thrown in:
Yes, mama won $220 on the $1 slots. Actually, mama won $265 but got greedy before she cashed out. Then, got greedy again and lost all but $100 of it. I know. You gotta know when to walk away, a lesson I learned the hard way. I wish I had a video of that machine going nuts when I spun the lucky sequence of numbers. It was truly something I'll never forget!

Of course, no amount of cash could top meeting Jay-Z and Beyonce, an opportunity that I learned I missed while sitting at the airport on Sunday. Robin Leach tweeted a picture of the lovely couple backstage at MJ Immortal, where they met the cast after taking in the show on Saturday night. CHEESE AND RICE. This happened LAST time I was in Vegas except it was Lisa Kudrow and the Elvis show. Moral of the story: whatever Cirque show I feel drawn to next time I am in Veags, I must go see it!

Speaking of my next trip to Las Vegas, while Vegas in December lacks the poolside entertainment that Vegas in the summertime brings, I do think that my next trip will be in December 2012. I have my eye on this guy: the Las Vegas Half Marathon. Start at Mandalay Bay, turn around at Fremont Street and run back. Flat course, cool weather. Have I talked about this before? I really mean it this time.

I can't close without saying many, many, many thanks to an incredibly generous friend for an incredibly amazing trip! I had a "shoe"-per time!

SEASONAL

Nothing to see here! Business as usual! It's the holidays which means I am making brownies every other night and taking them all over the place for parties and dinners and the like.

I did use my KitchenAid to make something other than dessert, which is new. I have been living off my favorite soup this week and thanks to Pinterest, I learned that I can use the paddle attachment to SHRED! MY! CHICKEN! You have to say it like a game show. I cooked the chicken, threw it hot in the bowl and let 'er rip. Next thing I know? Fluffy, perfectly, evenly shredded chicken for my soup. This tip has changed my life! You are welcome.

Last week, just in time for the big bowl of soup I have been living off, I came down with a sinus infection. Normally, I just ride it out and try to self-medicate, but not wanting to be sick this whole week and weekend, I bit the bullet and went to my mean doctor. And by mean doctor, I mean this mean doctor. I answered all the nurse's questions and made it clear that this is a semiannual thing and I just want some drugs to nip it in the bud. When the doctor comes in, I run through all my symptoms again, remind him this is what usually happens when the weather changes quickly and homeboy puts his pen down, looks at me and says in his best fatherly tone, "Do you remember what I told you to do LAST time this happened?"

Me: blink, blink. Frown. "Um, obviously NOT or I would have done it." So one stupid copay and two prescriptions later, I will NEVER forget what I am to do when my sinuses start acting up again. I also will NEVER forget what a moron the doctor so rudely made me feel like, so yet again I declare: I am never going back there!

BUT. Speaking of places I am and am not going! I leave in 48 hours for a pretty fun trip. Can anyone guess where?

THANKFUL, part 2

(Longest, unnecessary, dramatic pause ever. Sorry everyone. Didn't mean to leave you hanging that long.)

The next day...was GAME DAY! I woke up at 6:15 am, slapped on a face tat and some orange attire and we headed to the Plains. I enjoyed getting to be there for my FOURTH time this season. Can I just point out that four home games is the total lump sum of home games I attended in 2010, 2009, 2008 AND 2007 COMBINED? And this year I went to four games in one season! I am still kind of shocked by that figure. Those of you that go to every game or most of them really need to count your blessings. But I digress.

So my fourth game of the season was not the wildest success on the field per se, but it was still a fun time and I could not have been happier to be there with family and friends. We stayed until the clock hit zero, something all fans should do, and soaked up a few fleeting moments before waving goodbye until next season.

Sunday, I braved the rain the entire way home. Never took the wipers off the highest speed. Thanks to my new boots, I'm happy to walk in the rain, but driving in it? That'll never be fun.

I hope you all had a memorable, fun-filled, laughter-rich holiday.

THANKFUL, part 1

Gobble gobble! Who had a good Thanksgiving break? Mine was just right. Lots of family, lots of food, a little football - just right!
I got to Birmingham a little later than planned on Tuesday but was happy just to be there. Last week it was announced that we were all getting one extra day to take to be with our family, a very unexpected blessing. So rather than drive home Wednesday, I got there Tuesday! Five whole days off!

Wednesday, Mom and I ran errands, including a quick trip to see my sister and her husband, who had thoughtfully brought her some lunch, before she got off work and they headed west to stay with his family. It had been more than five weeks since I had seen her or little bumpus mumpus. I got to feel a few good kicks (guess he liked his lunch) while we were there and then we continued about our low key day.

When we got back to the house, it was time for to make my contribution to Thanksgiving: two Salted Caramel Cheesecake Pies. I'll give you a minute to soak that in. My sister always advises me NOT to try new recipes for groups of people or guests: always test them out first, she says. Here's how it usually turns out: I never follow that advice and plan to make the dish anyway. Mid-prep, I always panic for a minute and rue the day I found whatever recipe I am surely ruining. Then, once it's all said and done and I taste the end result, I declare myself the best chef ever. In this case, that cycle did not fail. Cheesecakes are tricky little things. They never look done but you have to turn off the oven anyway. It's nerve-wracking. The caramel was super easy to do but the cheesecake made me all kinds of nervous. My mom finally got me to step away from the oven by taking me to Outback. Oven? What oven?
Thursday, we began the day with a little parade watching before heading out to the first stop of the day. Last Thanksgiving, while we were in DC, my cousin was giving birth to a little baby boy. Of all the days to come early, Tristan decided to make his way into this world the same day as the Iron Bowl. He ended up arriving a little after midnight the following day, but people that know my die-hard Auburn family can appreciate that the nurse had to turn my cousin's in-room TV off to keep her calm! Or maybe it was to keep my uncle calm. Either way, Thanksgiving will now include celebrating little Tristan's birthday and I couldn't be happier. I have only met this little guy twice, once last Christmas and again this summer, but boy did he love his cousin Lindsay. He gave me lots of snuggles and cute little smiles.
Then it was time for cake! He seemed to like the whole cake and icing combo and took his time enjoying every ounce of sugar. He did not seem to like the sink bath that quickly followed.
Later in the evening, when we ran back by their house so Jennie and Jamie could see all of them, he reached for his fun cousin Lindsay as soon as I walked in the door he reached for me. Smitten!

From the party, we headed to see the other side of my family, who were congregating at the lake. After some good food (cough MY CHEESECAKE PIE cough), I joined the men behind the barn and shot clay pigeons. Raise your hand if you got two in a row! Watch the video for proof. I am sad the part where I yelled "PULL!" is not on film but oh well.

It was home for final preparations and then Jennie and Jamie as well as Fred rolled in. We had dinner together and enjoyed Pie Number Two before calling it a day.

Contrary to what I told you a few weeks ago, I did not participate in any Black Friday shopping this year. Sat it out altogether. Once I saw that what was on sale did not interest me in the least (an iPod touch that had the same memory as what I have now), I decided not to even get out. So I slept in Friday before heading out in the pretty weather to help my sister with her Christmas card photo. We got a great one highlighting l'petit chéri and even got a few of the four of us, thanks to that handy timer function:
I followed them home to see the little guy's nursery, which is absolutely adorable. Blue and green and perfect all over. There's still lots to be done, but seeing that crib ready to go made my tiny heart grow three sizes larger. I attempted to help hang curtains but proved no help at all, so I settled in to do what I do best: eat leftovers and watch TV.

I briefly went back to my mom's house, only to hop back in her car to go to dinner and movie with J & J. We saw Tower Heist and I loved it. It was off to bed quickly thereafter because the next day...

TO BE CONTINUED!

HAMMED

This time last year, I was in DC! They day before Thanksgiving, my mom, my sister her mother-in-law and I were out running final pre-holiday errands, including loading up the trunk with Georgetown Cupcakes and picking up one small Honeybaked Ham.

Have you ever seen what kind of line is outside the Honeybaked Ham store the day before Thanksgiving? Even though you should have called and reserved your ham, you still have to wait in line to pick it up. And that line made Walmart on a Sunday look like a cake walk. It was so bad that there were policemen patrolling the parking lot and store. Yes, law enforcement was needed to keep order.

So we parked the car a block away at CVS, got in line and waited... and waited... and finally made it into the store to pick up the small, bone-in, spiral cut ham.

We helped ourselves to the samples while waiting in yet another line to purchase the ham, then headed outside. I don't know what made me think to do it, but as we walked by the long, long line and saw one lady rushing through the parking lot, intent written all over her face, I spied an opportunity. I shouted to her "They are all out of ham, we got the last one!"

Heads turned. Fists clenched. My family burst out laughing. "WHAT?!" she exclaimed as she stopped dead in her tracks.

"We got the last one! They are all out!" I repeated.

Before the lady could accost me or steal our ham, I told her I was kidding and they had plenty of ham for her. Despite her visible relief, it was clear that she did not think this dialogue was 1/10th as funny as my mom, sister and I did. "Yeah, Happy Thanksgiving." she muttered as she continued towards the store.

In an instant, I knew I had stumbled onto something amazing. The next person we passed in the parking lot: "They're all out of ham; we got the last one!" This gentleman also was indignant. "WHAT!?" "Just kidding, sir! Happy Thanksgiving!" I don't remember what he said as he stalked off but it wasn't laughter.

I was ready to spend the next hour outside that Honeybaked Ham store, telling people they were out of ham but my family feared for our safety so they made me leave. But, you are reading this and have some free time today, I encourage you to go to your local Honeybaked Ham and tell the herd of ham hopefuls that they are S.O.L. It will be the funniest thing you do all holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving!

HUNTERED

Christmas came early, kids:
Actually Christmas did not come so much as the rain did. And came. And came again. It rained yesterday, rained today and will rain again tomorrow. When I leave work tonight I expect to pass animals filing by two by two.

True to my word, I finally bit the bullet and marched into our new Nordstrom yesterday and pulled the trigger. Relax, I had done my homework on these puppies. I was confident in my purchase. And walking to work has never been so much fun. I practically danced my way here.

WET

Can I complain for one second? Just one second on this topic and I won’t mention it again.

Walking to work SUCKS. I can think of about four days total that I got here and wasn’t sweating. It’s been hot as hades until about last Monday. Walking to to work in the heat = sweating when I get here. Then it got cold for basically a week, requiring use of my cute yellow coat, which means guess what? Sweating when I get here. My walk, which is slightly longer than everyone else’s since I walk from home not the off-site garage, is just long enough to work up a sweat no matter the temperature, my clothing or my pace.

I can deal with sweaty. Definitely not my preferred look but I can make do. Windblown? Also not my favorite look but I can make do.

BUT THE RAIN!? THE RAIN. IS. KILLING. ME.

If I wanted to walk to work in the rain and be all cute and metro about things, I would move to New York City. I cannot deal with it. Today when I woke up and heard the rain, I seriously contemplated calling a cab. This was on top of my idea yesterday of just calling in sick and staying home altogether (didn’t do it).

My only rain shoes are Crocs and that’s another whole post in and of itself. But I bit the bullet and wore them in today, after nearly ruining my new boots yesterday trying to get home in one soggy piece. But don’t forget that crocs have holes! I’ve been here for three hours and my feet are STILL drying off. You know what? I hope I get sick. I could use the down time.

My North Face jacket and my cute little Old Navy pink and giraffe print umbrella are not cutting the mustard. This weekend, I’m going to buy an umbrella the size of a dining room table and some rain boots so thick you’d need a drill bit to get through them. I may even buy a poncho for good measure. Or maybe I should just man up and get one of these:

A raincoat, waterproof trousers and umbrella in one. Yes, I think I need one of those. If you're driving downtown and you see me crossing the street in a black Hazmat suit, don't worry, we're not under attack! It's just raining!

MARCELLED part 2

Remember this cute little thing from more than a year ago? Well, he's back! With a second video, a book AND a TV show!



This shell guy is like 800 times cuter than that hermit crab I used to own.

EXCITED

It appears I have established a new Christmas tradition:

Christmas Eve service followed by Christmas PJs photo followed by unwrapping Beyoncé’s newest DVD!

I don’t think I will be able to wait a full month for this one when it comes out. She was in her second trimester when she did these four shows! #STARPOWER