Always a lady

I'm normally a very classy gal.

I only curse when I'm not around my grandmother.

I say "please" and "thank you" when I am too lazy to do it myself.

I consistently compliment others before giving them a good dose of reality.

And, I always use my indoor voice when inside a funeral home and/or church.

A proper lady, 23/6.5

Because, being a high class lady is such hard work, I occasionally reward myself  by letting my hair down.When I am feeling more exhausted than usual from all the curtsying and holding my pinky up whilst drinking tea, I invite my lady friends out for a night on the town and we proceed to paint it red.

Lady Kathleen and I sharing a spritzer. Nothing compliments a colored lazer show better.

Duchess Jennifer and I . Isn't my denim jacket fancy?

All this picture taking was wearing Lady Kathleen out. Always the thoughtful one,  I provided her with  the proper hydration to get her through it.

one of Countess Kristine's best, I'd say!

It is imperative that every lady know how to properly high five.

Mouth agape, looking at camera-Of course!

Music Monday + the best bread ever!

Before we get into my shenanigans (If you can call baking, shenanigans), here's a band I could listen to all day. This particular song has found some air time recently. Band of Horses, ladies and gentlemen:

This weekend Katie left me all alone so I did what I normally do when she's out of town, I baked. I like to bake. Mostly because I like to eat what it is I have baked, but I also enjoy using every bowl, spoon, and measuring in cup in the house too. Ha.

So, you know about the website Pinterest? Of course you do. Everyone knows about Pinterest.  I assume everyone knows about Pinterest because my husband knows about Pinterest. And, if he knows about it and you don't- well, I'd be really surprised is all. Husband is not really up with today's latest trends  and happenings.

 I have tried many many recipes I've found on Pinterest and I have yet to find a baked good recipe that dissapoints. Here is the picture I found:

Going off just how delicious this looks in this one picture, I decided to make it. 

Here's where you can find the recipe: The Keenan Cookbook

A couple of  side notes: 1) the batter/dough appears to be really heavy and thick. Don't get discouraged  Once you add in the meringue (egg whites and sugar) it changes the consistency and looks more like what you would expect. 2)It doesn't say to let the bread cool in the pan after removing it from the oven, but I think you should.

It wasn't the easiest recipe to follow but it wasn't exactly hard either. I would definitely recommend trying this if you like blueberries and you have two hours to kill. 

Here's what mine looked like:

It tastes as good as it looks!

Day #5

I'll spare the details, but I am going on day #5 of a serious stomach bug that just won't quit! I finally made it to work today (and returning to work wasn't the best decision) and I've got big plans for tomorrow, like eating an actual real meal. So hopefully my stomach cooperates.
I am doing some fun things in the coming days/weeks/months so hopefully I stay on top of this blogging business and write them all down

Music Monday: Chris and Thomas

Every Monday (or at least the Monday's I remember to do this) will be Music Monday here. Not because I think I have the most fabulous taste in music and my opinion counts for anything, but because I have found several great artists/songs from blogs that I read and I thought it a good idea to do that here. I think you can tell a lot about someone by their taste in music, so here it goes...

This is Chris and Thomas, circa 2006. Try and figure me out ;) 

Party time

Hello Blog! It's been awhile.

Just over two months, in fact.

Instead of coming up with excuses as to why I didn't blog for two months, I'm just going to jump right in with this post:

How to throw a good party

1. Make it a "white trash/redneck/we don't have the money to throw you b*tches a nice party" theme.
    By letting your guests know right off that bat that this isn't going to be a fancy party, you are automatically giving yourself the green light to do things on the super cheap, which includes (but is not limited to) having guests pay for their own food. Which brings me to our #2...

Its also gives your guests a reason to look like this

2. Make it a pot-luck
    We one-upped that idea and made the potluck a contest- the person who brought the best white trash dish won a prize. Why did we do that? So people would actually bring something. Because everyone loves contests-especially when there's a prize. Or is that just me?

Our fancy set up. Yes, we provided more than just Ritz and tortilla chips.

3. Buy a Keg
     I have thrown many a party, and if you want something that will please most party guests and not hurt the wallet, buy a keg. 1)The beer snobs can't remark about your poor beer selection unless they ask you.* and 2) It's cheaper than buying loads of different alcohol to appease all party guests.

*To deter beer snobs, simply put out a sign that reads "What kind of beer is this? Free kind" in front of your keg. That'll stop the haters.

**I have also found that the more parties you have, the more you find random bottles of mostly un-used alcohol  left at your house. Stash these bottle away until you throw your next party. You'll save load of cash.

4. Have music
    This is fairly obvious, but nothing goes better with inebriation like some good ol' dance music.  When in doubt, just put on some hip hop from the 90's. That will get your party started, guaranteed!

5. Have something for your guests to do
     Our party area-also known as Katie's house- allowed for plenty of room for people to dance, sit and talk, hang out by the fire-pit, play beer pong, or hang out in the kitchen eating.

These two preferred to do the later

6. Don't be sad when your party started at 6:30 and your first non-related party guest shows up at 7:10
     Start drinking early, so you wont feel inclined to give the poor schmuck who showed up first shit for being late.

We take pictures while we wait for our guests

7. Have fun!

 

Way to go, Pinterest!

This Thanksgiving, I'm giving thanks for Pinterest. You know, that nasty little website that makes you feel inadequate when it comes to all things creative, thoughtful, resourceful and home maker-ish? I generally find this website uber depressing because I have zero time to make all of  the cute things people pin. I do have to have time to look at it all, though. Hey, don't judge me, I'm generally "pinning" while on the train and I've found that public transportation is generally not the place you want to start reupholstering furniture using up-cycled baby clothes and used milk cartons.

But, Pinterest did manage to redeem itself by giving me the most delicious Thanksgiving cake recipe. 

 It tastes as delicious as this picture looks. True story.

If you're not a big fan of pumpkin, its okay. It is not overwhelmingly pumpkin-ish. It is however, a great alternative to that pumpkin pie no one ever eats Thanksgiving afternoon.

Four Layer Pumpkin Cake

1pkg.  (2-layer size) yellow cake mix

1can  (15 oz.) pumpkin, divided

1/2cup  milk

1/3cup   oil

4 eggs

1-1/2 tsp.  pumpkin pie spice, divided

1 pkg.  (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup  powdered sugar

1 tub  (8 oz.) Whipped Topping, thawed

¼ cup   caramel ice cream topping

¼ cup  chopped Pecans

HEAT oven to 350°F.

BEAT cake mix, 1 cup pumpkin, milk, oil, eggs and 1 tsp. spice in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round pans.

BAKE 28 to 30 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min. Remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely.

BEAT cream cheese in medium bowl with mixer until creamy. Add sugar, remaining pumpkin and spice; mix well. Gently stir in COOL WHIP. Cut each cake layer horizontally in half with serrated knife; stack on serving plate, spreading cream cheese filling between layers. (Do not frost top layer.) Drizzle with caramel topping just before serving; top with nuts. Refrigerate leftovers.

This is the something

I have been thinking a lot about cancer. a lot.

It started when I began  reading The Emperor of all Maladies by Mukherjee-a book all about the history of  cancer, cancer treatments (or lack thereof), and the amazing doctors who have made incredible discovers in chemotherapy and rallied together to create awareness and generate public and government funding. Then I found out my step-grandmother and a  family friend were diagnosed with cancer, I started reading two blogs by mommies whose sons had Neuroblastoma (which really opened my eyes about how little we really know about cancer). All of this was really weighing one me for some reason.

When I found out that the little boy I blogged about in my last post passed away, I had myself a good cry.  I listened to "Ronan" by Taylor Swift and I cried some more and decided I needed to do something.

Next September I will be wearing gold for Ronan, and Ty, and every little person who has lost their battle or is battling cancer. Next October I will be wearing pink for Trish, Peggy, Carla, and every woman whose life has been affected by this ugly disease. And hopefully the year after that, I will return to school to become a pediatric oncology nurse. It will be a long road, but I think God has handed me a road map with my destination clearly marked and all I have to do is buckle up and  follow his directions.

My heart is telling me that this is the something that was supposed to come out of all of this.



Until next post, which I promise will be more fun and upbeat, here is the saddest and sweetest song. ever.