valentine's cookie party

Much success!

We had so much fun, we decided to have these cookies parties year 'round! And since I make sugar cookies for most big holidays- (easter, halloween, christmas, v-day) I don't mind sharing the decorating (and baking) with everyone! (less stress, more fun!)

Can't wait to start!

Handing out the cookies...

LaRue, Janeen, Dave, Becky, Kyle & Julian

Amber & Jennica

See the hot pink frosting pile going on in the left? That was Kyle's signature style. And one that I admire greatly- I love frosting!

So proud!

This has got to be one of my favoritest photos ever!

Ever wonder how to smile with a mouth full of cookie? Julian has it down.

He actually wanted me to take his picture! Frosting turns the creepy aunt with the camera (me) into the cool aunt with the camera (also me). What? Did that even make sense?

Seriously, every time I looked at James through my lens he had a picture perfect grin!

Empty frosting bags, awesome candy piled cookies.

Art.

I love that smile!

Look! I got a photo with all of them laughing! Love it!

Amber got really creative with the licorice ropes...

This kid was my bestie for the afternoon. Earlier I tried to get him to talk during lunch, but he just stared somberly at his nacho cheese dorito.

Give a kid a cookie, gain a friend for life!

James thought that frosting on his lil finger was the funniest thing yet!

Clockwise from top: Dave's U, Kristine's happy face, simple sprinkles, Amber's love knot, Kyle's happy face, Janeen's creations, Dave & Becky's collage, and (uh) I can't remember who's these were! (dang!)

Going through these photos- I don't have any of just LaRue! It was her party after all!

Well, I will just have to do better at delegating out the camera next time so there is a better mix! I also forgot to ask my husband to help me take photos. Oops.

(Photo lessons for Danny- priceless.)

happy happy love day!

Valentine's Day is usually no big deal around here. I usually make a nice candlelit dinner, and we stay in and watch movies. But this year, Danny's grandma invited us to a Valentine's party at her house- a cookie decorating party!

Oh, how romantic! A whole day to make and decorate heart shaped sugar cookies with the best frosting in the world? The best idea ever! And, she asked me to make the frosting and help all the kids decorate their cookies- I love it! (photos to follow)

I got home from work tonight and started cleaning, straightening, etc... I was in the bedroom hanging with the cow when Danny came in and asked if I wanted my Valentine. Well of course I said yes! But first I had to apologize to Danny for not getting him anything. Because of the party, I didn't plan a nice candlelit dinner. I thought about getting him something, but I didn't.

My Valentine's gift was a little jewelry box from Iris- of course I started squealing and saying "Awww! you didn't have to get me anything! You are so sweet and wonderful!" Because I knew what it was before I opened it.

I had been oogling some silver eyelet earrings a few weeks ago, but I didn't buy them because they were more than I wanted to spend. They are so beautiful and unique! A little fancy, but not over the top- so I can wear them everyday.

I have been wearing the same wooden plugs for the last 9 years or so- I have my very fancy earrings that I wore for our wedding, but I don't wear them very often cause I want to keep them forever.

Silver Fleur Eyelets

So amazing.

And so so surprised and delighted at my husband getting them for me for sweethearts day.

(as Danny's grandma likes to say)

Albert- on your way here, stop by the lamplighter inn for lunch. They have a cherry pie there- that'l kill ya!

who killed laura palmer?

I love t.v. (obviously)

Danny and I just finished watching Twin Peaks. (again)

I heart Twin Peaks. It's by David Lynch, and it's quirky, strange, nonsensical and wonderful.

It had a short run of 2 seasons, but the fact that a t.v. show that strange was actually on t.v. is enough for me.

Harry: do you think they spotted us? Cooper: give me a doughnut!

When I watch that show, all I want to eat are doughnuts, cherry pie, and coffee. So one night when we went to Johanna's for dinner, I ordered coffee and cherry pie for dessert. Being in a diner and all, I was in the spirit of things.

It was a HUGE disappointment.

So the next time I was at the grocery store, I bought stuff to make cherry pie. But I forgot about it, and never made it.

But this afternoon, as I was taking a little cat nap with the cats, I was struck again with the desire for cherry pie. But I didn't feel like making pie. So I thought that cherry cobbler might just be perfect.

So I made it for dessert.

psst...I haven't baked since Christmas.

Winter is passing. Slowly, but surely.

(sigh)

Through the darkness of future past

the magician longs to see

one chance out between two worlds:

Fire Walk With Me!

i did not, part two

Monday

While packing up my stuff for Sewing Tuesday I did not drop my very full pincushion on the border of the wood floor/carpet in the living room, scattering my new 250 glass head pins everywhere, but mostly into the white carpet.

After finding (hopefully) all of the pins, I did not find cat poop peeking it's grotesque head out from underneath our bathroom rug at midnight. After cleaning all day on sunday, meaning floor, rug, and the damn cat box.

Empty cat box, bathroom rug- well, since I love to sleep on the rug all day, I choose that one. Cow! (said like jerry says newman!)

Tuesday

I wasn't talking to my mom about my sister when she walked in the door and totally heard something that I said very loudly out of context. (I still feel bad, sorry Mal.)

Thursday

I did not call in sick to work an hour before my shift, making my boss go in for me. I did not then lay in bed all day, feeling miserable and sorry for myself.

Saturday

I did not eat a twinkie when we got home from our friends house at 1:30 a.m. And then I certainly did not proceed to go straight to bed without brushing my teeth. Nuh-uh.

Sunday

While doing the weekly laundry, I did not impulsively decide to wash our mattress pad at 8:30 p.m. So we definitely won't have to listen to the dryer wheezing into the night trying to get the huge still wet thing dry. (At least it's not clunking.)

saturday night is bowling night!

Nan & Mike, Me & Danny kickin it at a somewhat ghetto bowling alley. So much fun! We love hanging with our only couple friends! And since they might not be here for much longer, we want to keep it going as long as we can!

We went to the Ritz first, (because their sign is so cool) but the line was long and full of unattractive smoky people. Also, it was Cosmic Bowling. You know- black lights, Metallica. Not a very good environment for hip photo taking.

So we left, and found a regular lit, no music playing bowling alley. We waited for an hour & 15 minutes- good thing we had a lot to catch up on! and then got called up. Yea!

As we were all picking out our balls (ha), I heard my name being called. It was Lindsey, a girl I used to work with! Her and her husband were out on a double date too. It was so great to see those 2, they are so adorable together! (great minds think alike, and it was Nan's idea to go bowling. Thanks for getting our lazy asses out of the house!)

The cute-est shoes ever.

Nan.

Mike.

Me.

Danny.

Nan won, I lost.

Look how freakin long Danny's hair is!

Since I always take the photos, and am never actually in them, I asked Danny to help me out and take some pics of me. This is what I ended up with. Well. Not quite what I was thinking...

Mike and his famous kick, that made him fall into the lane. Twice. Wish I had caught it!

Nan.

Mike purposefully makes this face whenever I try to take his photo. Who? Me?

2nd game, Danny won, Nan lost. And I even got some strikes!

A little game of Deer Hunter to wind down the evening.

It was a really fun night. I felt like a normal person, out with DH and some good friends- I haven't been feeling so normal lately, with the winter blues and all. I even think Danny & I as a couple have the blues, so we have been trying for the last 2 weeks to get out more together, so last week we went out to eat every other night- we used up the stack of gift cards we have been forgetting about for the last year or so. It's been so nice, being a part of the real world, and we definitely feel better! Getting out of the kitchen without spending any money? Perfect!

today is (technically) our 2 year anniversary

2 years ago today, Danny and I got married at the courthouse for 2 reasons. (I know I know, you didn't know that- cause we kept it a secret.)

Reason #1- I had quit my job that had health insurance, and the only way to get onto Danny's was if we were married.

Reason #2- We really wanted my best friend Mike to perform the ceremony, but he would have had to join and become a priest of an online church, and after talking with his bishop about it, he decided that it was a conflict of beliefs.

We needed 2 witnesses- so I asked my mom since she had the day free, and Danny asked his dad cause he works downtown and could get away from work easily.

Since this wasn't the real wedding, I didn't want it to be a big deal. But getting married, even at the courthouse, is a big deal. So when we got out to the car to go to the courthouse, my mom, dad and lil sis were all there. (We met Craig at the courthouse.) My cute mom had made me a bouquet, and Danny a corsage. She also brought me something old (her mom's wedding ring) borrowed (a silver bracelet of Loo loo's), new (the bouquet), and blue (ribbon on the bouquet).

( I wasn't planning on having any photos taken, so I didn't put any makeup on, and I wore a tee shirt and jeans. So classy.)

I just love elevators...

Wow, that's a great look I have on my face!

So serious!

Vows

Kiss

Mr. & Mrs. Coates

I love my mom!!!

Craig, me & Danny

Mal & I

Making it official...

So tonight, to celebrate (not really) we went out to Red Robin for dinner! (I LOVE the bonsai burger!)

So...

I can't wait for our real anniversary!

animal crackers

Have you ever had one of your favorite people surprise you with something you love?

My mom texted me while I was at work to say that she was in town and wanted to stop by. It was almost time for me to leave, so it was perfect timing. We were kind busy, so she had to wait for me- luckily she loves the store and got to look around for a bit. I grabbed my coat and she handed me a little red box- animal crackers. My childhood favorite! And a bottle of Dr. Pepper, of course.

Isn't my mom just the best?

I certainly think so!

(there is a really cute quilt pattern that my mom and I want to make called animal crackers.)

Just a thought: Some of the parents that come in with their kids on a regular basis buy them a little toy or book or something every time they come in. These kids are often hyper, they throw fits, and they usually leave screaming, despite getting a shiny new toy.

When we were little, (my brother and I) we sometimes got a shiny red box of animal crackers if we were good.

Oh, how I looked forward to being good and getting that precious box!

i did not, part one

I did not encourage my 19 year old sister to move out of the family nest and into a dank, minuscule basement apartment in the Avenues with or without her amazing boyfriend to help pay bills and protect her in the night. I don't want my baby sister to grow up and have to start learning how to be a grownup in a shit hole that reeks of cigarettes and, well, lurking danger in the form of bad skanky girls and stoned losers. "Save your pennies", I think to myself, "and move into a nice place where there is no crime or bad people". What, do I think I can talk her into living in a padded room? Sheesh! Oh, I just need to drop it for now.

Yesterday, I did not open a shaken Dr. Pepper bottle in my car. It did not explode all over my leather gloves, the steering wheel, and my right side- coat sleeve, pants, seat, gearshift, etc. And then I did not go grocery shopping at Target with huge dark wet spots on my jeans and a sopping wet sleeve. I certainly did not try to dry my pants in the bathroom with the high powered hand dryer. Not me.

And I did not proceed to finish off that Dr. Pepper on the way home. I did not use half a container of Clorox wipes just on the steering wheel, to no avail. Still sticky.

When I got home I did not forget that I left my coat to soak in the washer until midnight. Then I did not let it finish it's cycle and then put it in the dryer for over an hour while it clanked and clanked so it would be dry the next morning so I could wear it to work. And the clanking did not keep my wonderful I Don't Have To Take 2 Different Medications To Fall Asleep Like You Do So Let's Just Hope That Our Future Kids Get All Of My Genes And Not Yours husband awake into the wee hours of the night, while I peacefully slept with the Cow on my head. (that stream of Capitalized Words is an product of MY brain, not Danny's. Just sayin.)

Today I did not go to the grocery store after work and buy a slice of cake and a small bag of salt n pepper pistachios for lunch. And I did not eat the entire bag of nuts while watching a whole disc of Buffy Season 5 because our cable was broken.

Then I did not pour liquid laundry detergent all over the recycling bin and some of the recyclables when I tried to fill the cap to the appropriate line. I did not previously wash the cap with the laundry so many times that it cracked and formed a huge hole in the bottom that I wasn't aware of. I then did not spill dissolved Oxyclean all over the washer lid and my hand when I overfilled the jar with hot water to dissolve it in. And I definitely won't get gross, dry and cracked fingertips and painful peeling cuticles that take forever to heal from being exposed to Oxyclean.

And finally, my downstairs neighbors did not hire a dude that they don't know to "hook up cable for a year for $40". (too good to be true, you say? No!) And that dude did not buy a cable splitter from radio shack, unscrew our cable, attach it to their cable, and then forget to screw ours back in. And Danny did not spend 45 minutes on the phone with ***cast, trying to convince them it was their fault, all the while they were trying to convince him that it was our fault. And Danny did not have to go outside with a flashlight in the cold to find what he thought to be a deception on our neighbors part. Nope. (but we worked it out. Danny was nice and told them that he didn't mind if they kept the splitter on and got our cable for free. I am not so nice and reminded him of the few times he has tried to convince me to live without cable so he could stop paying an arm and a leg for bad t.v. and Internet.)

And to top off? I did not watch half of the lame Should Of Gotten Cancelled Instead Of Conan Jimmy Fallon show, where the lamest Beatle of all was on- Ringo Starr, while I am talking to the t.v. telling Ringo to shove it and Jimmy that he sucks and that I hate him, when Danny says this:

Ringo Starr, just buy an island and leave the world alone.

I love my husband.

Thanks Allisen, this is a fun way to blog!

* just a little side note, after posting this, I got a comment from a ***cast representative inquiring why our service for cable and internet is bad. Big Brother is watching. I had no idea they pay people to watch blogger. Never making that mistake again!

(sorry if I offended any Ringo fans, I just don't like him. And then when he butchers a freaking Beatles song on t.v.? And he is a freaking Beatle? No excuse.)

five

5 things I always have in my fridge:

Dr. Pepper

water

butter (salted & unsalted)

lemon lime gatorade in a pitcher (danny's thing)

cream cheese

5 things I always have on(or in) my nightstand: (next to the bed, I don't have a nightstand)

burt's bees chapstick

sleep mask

tiny bottle of spikenard & lavender essential oil blend

bath & body works black amethyst body cream

heating pad

5 things I always have in my bathroom:

sensodyne toothpaste

md skincare daily alpha beta peel

md skincare blemish solution

q-tips

dial foaming handsoap in plum

5 things I always have in my car:

my re-usable shopping bags

cd's I never listen to

bath and body works car scent thingy

candy wrappers

deposit envelopes for the atm

5 things I always have in my purse:

my iphone

a little bottle of bath & body works black amethyst lotion

advil

burt's bees chapstick

nail clippers

m. i. a.

I am still here.

I haven't fallen off a cliff.

I have been busy, with *new* sewing tuesdays, housecleaning, sleeping in, and working.

Sewing Tuesdays are awesome. My mom and her friend Hazel invented it so that we would all get our gazillion projects that we started years ago finished.

So the last 2 tuesdays I have packed up my sewing room and gone over to her place for some quality mom/daughter time, as well as getting some serious sewing done. I got a whole pile of aprons done, but I have been too lazy/busy to take photos of them. I will...later.

Clucky

(photo from melly & me website)

Yesterday I worked on a silly little project called Clucky. It's a little chicken that has 4 little chicks that go in her "wing" pockets. It was supposed to be an easy little project in between aprons. No so. I had to take apart what I had sewn according to the instructions, and finish the project using just my amateur skills. (translation: the instructions are crap. this lady makes super cute patterns, but obviously does not make her own stuff from her patterns.) The beak is crooked, and if you look hard, a lot of mistakes. I won't be making another one anytime soon, but the one I made is very cute. (I will post a photo later.) I have a few more aprons to make, and then I am done for awhile. With aprons, at least. When I am done, I will have 15!

My next project is going to be a quilt. It is just in the planning stages for now...but it's gonna be awesome!

Oh and BTW, have you seen the new commercial from Mc Donalds?

Barf.