Further proof that she's really a child

You know that picture your mother took when you were 2 and had managed to unroll the entire roll of toilet paper? My mom's still proud of that shot, and now I've got one of my child ... er, cat.

Her tail got wrapped around the toilet paper tonight and I happened to have my camera close enough to grab it and snap this picture before she got completely untangled.

Maybe it's just because it's past 3 a.m., but Anna running out of my bathroom with toilet paper chasing her was the funniest thing that happened all day. Yes, I'm probably just delirious, but I wanted to share.

If you're not going to laugh, at least smile. You know you want to.

'What do you want for Christmas?'

It's the single-most dreaded question I'm asked every year. And every year around this time it seems as though it comes from every angle.

* Family member No. 1: "So if you don't think you have a place for a sewing machine, WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
* Family member No. 2: "I know you hate it when we ask, but what can we get you this Christmas? ... Besides a house, Stacey. "
* Friends: "Come one, you HAVE to want SOMETHING ... "

Don't get me wrong, I sincerely appreciate being thought of. But it never seems to end.

Honestly, this is my Christmas wish list:

1. An end to all the fighting and sadness in the world.

Sounds a little "Miss America," but really, I would give up everything I have if the news from around the world were a lot less violent and a lot more loving. I am just so frustrated with the state of our world, and here at Christmas we seem to turn a blind eye to what is happening.

I know that it's impossible for everyone to get along, but how hard can it be to stop being so bull-headed?

(A less grouchy post will pop up soon, I'm sure.)

Turkey Day with goats (and friends)

I spent Thanksgiving with Jim's family, who live somewhat out in the country. His aunt and uncle have goats, which I found to be absolutely fantastic. They make the funniest little noises and are pretty much adorable. Don't you agree?


Two of our interns joined us for dinner and were equally as amazed at the idea of having 6-8 goats as pets. Jamie, who is from Kansas City, Mo., was a little skeptical about actually touching a goat, and hence this Thanksgiving will go down in history as the day I took the best picture ever. (I swear she was not posing. She was exactly as freaked out as the look on her face implies.)


Jim, on the other hand, was not freaked out.


And here I am with Jamie and Amber after stuffing our faces with a delicious dinner.

When Thanksgiving dessert goes awry

Had there been a video camera rolling in my kitchen tonight, I am convinced I would have had the $100,000 grand prize winner for "America's Funniest Home Videos." ... Well maybe not because I'm sure there were more than a few not-so-nice words uttered.

With the best of intentions, I was attempting to recreate a wonderful dessert made by a co-worker last Christmas. But, needless to say, I fell flat on my face in the execution.

Here's what happened:


First I combined all TWO ingredients ... crushed Oreo cookies and cream cheese. Then I rolled them into little balls. They don't look too appealing here, but trust me, I could have eaten them ALL. So yummy.


Next I melted milk chocolate in a double-boiler. This is where it all went wrong.


My chocolate creations got stuck in the chocolate and in an attempt to fish one out, I knocked over a plate that promptly split into several pieces. Great. ... Notice the other packages of (fake) Oreos? Yeah ... those were supposed to be used, too, but I didn't get that far.


Because THIS is what my dessert looked like in the end. It looks just like some unfortunate creature sat down on my counter and um ... well, used the bathroom. Pretty unappetizing.

So, I will be showing up to Thanksgiving dinner this year empty-handed. I feel like such a schlep. But it's 3 a.m., and I've got to get to some rest. Otherwise I may just fall asleep in my mashed potatoes tomorrow.

I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving ... and I hope your efforts in the kitchen are much more successful than mine!

The holidays are upon me

All the fattening yumminess of the season is already hitting me hard. I am not one to turn down a good sugar rush. And forget passing me by with some high-calorie mashed potatoes and gravy.

Fried chicken? Of course!
Sweet potato suffle? Gimme, gimme!
Pumpkin pie? Extra whipped cream, please!

Basically, I want it all.

But sadly, everything that tastes good sticks to much more than my ribs. So I can't have it all, and usually even just a little fattens me up so much that I look like I should be the one that's carved and served for dinner.

Put. Down. The. Oreo.
Put. Down. The. Oreo.
Put. Down. The. Oreo.

I've had to repeat this to myself about 50 times tonight as I thought about reaching into one of THREE Oreo packages I bought for a fantastic dessert that will be made for Thanksgiving Day.

All the weight that I've lost is tapping me on the shoulder, ready to pounce at any moment. Why has it got to be so hard to eat right? Gah!

This rabbit's going to multiply

So, I'm reversing course a little on my ornaments.

I wasn't completely thrilled with the round ones, so I think I'll be sending out little rabbits this year.

What do you think? Do you like the rabbits or the rounds? (Scroll down a few posts to see the others.)

Red hot

I live in an apartment, and everybody knows that means my walls are that gawd-awful off-white that makes you want to paint them any color in the rainbow just to get away from the blandness.

I've often fantasized about the colors I would choose for my apartment if I were granted the luxury of diverting from straight-jacket white. I've decided my bedroom would be a petal pink, my living room would be a butter cream yellow and my kitchen would be tomato red. Yes RED. I love the color - especially on walls.

Last year when I first stepped foot into Chad's house ("House," as in he owns it and can paint the walls chartreuse if he desires), I immediately knew where the red should go. I pestered him to no end about painting the one wall in the living room. He agreed that it would look great, but never had the time. ... That is, until this weekend!

Check it out: Here's the before shot:


And behold the power of the red wall:


It only took one coat of colored primer and two coats of the red paint. So it wasn't a complete nightmare. But, we painted the rest of the living room a creamy taupe color, so we were quite busy all day (and all night) Saturday. And today, well, my muscles are SO sore.

But it is worth it. That living room looks fabulous.

This is why I'm not married

I just caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and suddenly it all made sense.

CHECK ME OUT!

Granted, I don't make it a habit to go out in public this way, but it's not uncommon for me to bum around the house, take out the garbage or check the mail looking this fierce.

And I wonder why I'm still single.

What big eyes you have

It's another one of those days when I'd love to stay at home curled up like my ultra lazy, yet adorable, cat.

Stupid decision No. 1 million

I'm sure I won't be upset with myself in February. I'm sure by then I'll be quite pleased. But right now I would kick my own fanny if I could reach it.

It's mid-November. Christmas is right around the corner. I've bought a grand total of 1 gift. And yet I thought it was a good idea to book a cruise two weeks ago. ... A cruise that has to be paid off by Dec. 5.

The math is not looking good for me. How did I not stop to think this would affect my gift buying this season? Granted, I am very stressed lately at work and I stare at my pictures from the last beach vacation I took on a regular basis, but am I really that selfish?

Hopefully I'll win the lottery (if I ever get around to buying that ticket) and the rest of my friends and family will join me in February on my trip to Mexico. Until then, I'm hanging my head in shame.

Ornament madness

It's that time of year again, and I'm knee-deep in felt, buttons, ribbons and loving every minute of it!

I'm not completely thrilled with my design this year, but I tried making clay ornaments and they turned out just terrible. (One of the clay ornaments I made is in this picture on the right.)

So, I'm going back to what I did last year.
Generic? Maybe.
Less stressful? Definitely!

Confused

So now I'm rethinking the education degree.
Graphic design has ALWAYS been a major interest of mine.
The Art Institute of Atlanta has ALWAYS been in the back of my mind.
They're calling me tomorrow to answer my questions.
I am so nervous, and I don't know why.

It's finally here!

Remember last year when my time was all but consumed with wildly colored felt ornaments? Remember how excited I was to reach into my mailbox every day to find gorgeous hand-crafted ornaments from all over the world?

Well, this year's ornament swap is just beginning, and the excitement is back! If you're crafty, sign up! Head over to Cake & Pie or Freshly Blended, where you will find all the information you need to get in on the fun.

This year I'm trying something completely different, but I'm not yet ready to reveal my creations. They're not exactly the way I'd like them to be at the moment. But hopefully soon I'll be on a roll with them, and you can let me know if they're too dorky!

On a side note, today is the first day since I got sick that I can tell I'm getting better. Thank you all for your happy thoughts. I think they helped!

The suckiness of sickiness

I've got the flu. ... THE FLU!

Everything makes me want to puke - except cookies. I really, really want some yummy chocolate chip cookies. Mmm ...

It's a beautiful day outside and I've not stepped foot outside my front door. This makes me very sad.

One of my friends is opening for Angie Aparo tonight in Atlanta. Instead of seeing him play, I get to stay at home in my PJs hoping I can keep my supper down. Hooray!

My arms ache, but so do my legs, and my back and my butt. What is up with this?

I've been transformed into one of those people who complain about being sick on their blog.

Such a disgrace.

But I'm not supposed to get sick!

I admit it. I've been a little cocky about not catching a cold over the past few winters.

It was impossible for me to get sick because I took all the proper (neurotic) precautions. And if the world would just listen to me, we could be rid of the common cold.

When my mother was sick just before our cruise last year, I lectured, "Just take your vitamins, buy some Zicam and drink plenty of Airborne and you'll be well in no time."

When friends have had spouses who were sick, I warned, "Make sure you use Purell after touching anything and take lots of Airborne." And when they were sick a few days later, I followed up with, "Did you not take the Airborne??"

Now it's their turn to wag their fingers at me. I am sick, and it's a doozy. I don't know how this happened. I haven't been around any sick co-workers, family members or friends. I've used Purell after touching shopping carts, bathroom doors and other public germ-infested places. I've of course I've taken my vitamins!

And still I'm wide awake at 4:30 a.m. because I can't breathe lying down.

Where did I go wrong?!? I guess I'm not Super Woman after all.