The Big Move

This is my first blog post using pictures from my new camera!

Today, Dave ditched the storage unit in favor of using my house to store his furniture. I can't complain much because I suggested it... It will save us the cost of renting the storage unit for five more months and the hassle of moving everything in closer to the wedding.

Before loading at the storage unit

Shortly after arriving at my house

My living room now looks like a storage unit...

Thank goodness for craigslist!

Christmas Cookie FAIL

On the eve of Christmas Eve, I headed home from work with intentions of baking Christmas cookies for my family. I figured I'd start easy: chocolate chip cookies with M&M's instead of chocolate chips. The batter was a little gooey going into the oven, but I didn't think much of it until I pulled out the cookie sheet after 10 minutes.


Instead of a dozen cute Christmas cookies, I had a caterpillar-like blob. After a couple of calls to my mother debating what I could do to rescue this recipe, I decided to force the cookies into perfect circular shapes using the best cookie cutter I could find--a drinking glass.


Despite my best hopes, I had to concede FAILure on this particular recipe and moved on to something different. I made a batch of red and green sugared snickerdoodles (which turned out perfectly), and went to bed with hopes of regrouping in the morning for round two with M&M Christmas cookies...

I found a different chocolate chip cookie recipe and was determined to follow each instruction perfectly to limit the possibility of another FAIL. I also discovered a cookie scoop in my kitchen gadget drawer which quickly became one of my new favorite kitchen toys. Since I was low on M&M's due to the FAILed batch, I made these with mini chocolate chips in the batter and one M&M on top.

See the difference? I now have a new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, and hopefully I won't have to endure another epic cookie FAIL any time soon!

Merry Christmas!

Since I will probably not be blogging much between now and next week, I just wanted to wish my few loyal readers a very merry and very blessed Christmas!

Ball!

It's my niece-puppy, Layla, and her squeaky ball!

Friday Funny

It's hard to believe that Christmas is only a week away!

LibraryDiva's Family

I can't help but think of LibraryDiva's fantastically funny family in Mississippi whenever I see a plastic light-up Nativity in someone's front yard... and I've seen three of them so far this Christmas (one even had a burnt-out Joseph!)

Monday Morning

Some Monday mornings really make me feel like this. Today is one of them.

Friday Funny

How About Them Apples?

The weekend after Thanksgiving, Dave and I took Mom up the road to Jaemor Farms to check out their apples and other natural goodies like cider, honey, and homemade pies and fritters --yum!


I got a bag of Pink Lady apples (right). Mom got a bag of monster-sized Mutsu apples (left).

Hiking in the Fall

I know this seems like a long flashback since we jumped from Thanksgiving into the Christmas season in the blink of an eye, but in reality, it's only been two weeks.

The day after Thanksgiving, Dave an I went for a hike. That was just before the weather turned from "brisk" to "freezing my buns off". Our wanderings in North Georgia took us out to Duke's Creek...
I apologize for the tiny low-resolution pictures, but my ancient digital camera has been having battery issues lately, and this was one of the days that it chose not to work. But never fear, there is always the cell phone camera that works as back-up!

Upgrade!

I have ditched the dial-up!
Dave has upgraded my internet!

However, my computer has outlived four hamsters--basically it's older than dirt in computer years--so it won't connect to the fancy high-speed internet boxes that have made a home in the corner of my dining room (see below). I somehow survived Thanksgiving break without internet (though I was overjoyed to check my email Monday morning at work! And renew my library book. And pay my credit card bill. Oh, and pick out Save the Date magnets for the wedding...)

I made a valiant attempt to make my home internet accessible--I purchased an ethernet card and installed it on my computer all by myself! But for some reason, I still can't do anything online, even though the computer registers that there is a connection...


In a fit of internet-deprivation induced insanity, I located the ethernet card for my super-ancient college laptop (Windows 98, baby!), but it won't talk to the internet, either...

Friday Funny

Yes, it looks a bit photoshopped...

But the hamster looks like Garfield's predecesor, Arby!

Hammie News

My foster-hamster, Trevor, died this past summer of old age.

My fuzzy punk, Garfield, joined him in the hamster burial plot in the backyard the weekend before Thanksgiving. He was one of the youngest hamsters I've lost--he would have been two in March.

I will try to find pictures to upload when I get a computer at home that connects to the internet...

Wannabe Friday Funny

It's essentially Friday since I don't have to work the rest of the week!

My Zamboni Obsession

Yesterday was Dave's hockey buddy's birthday, so how could I turn down a weeknight Thrashers game to celebrate?

While the boys went to order new beverages, I snapped a few pictures, including the one below. See the Zamboni jersey? I want one of those to wear to hockey games so I can cheer between periods when the zamboni(s) come out...


The guy Mr. Zamboni Jersey is talking to is the organist. He's pretty cool, too! And we had a pretty good view of him and his keyboards.

A Hint for Dave

Friday Funny

I wonder if these squirrels are related to the NGCSU bunch...

Bulk Mailing

Sometimes I curse my organizational tendencies. My employers seem to think it makes me really good at bulk mailings...

The 2,000+ piece mailing I printed, stuffed, and sealed pretty much by myself at SCC last December right before Christmas

The letters (organized alphabetically) for the RMA mailing that went to the mailhouse yesterday morning--thank goodness we paid someone to stuff and seal the almost 5,000 pieces!

Friday Funny

I saw an episode once at a 2-year-old's birthday party... so much scarier than Teletubbies!

Foster's Big Boy Bib

Back when I was still working at SCC, Foster spied one of my many hand-knit baby bibs and requested one for himself. I told him that I could take a bunch of my yarn remnants from my baby knits and make him a "Big Boy Bib." I sorted out my non-girly yarn remnants at least a year ago, and they've been gathering dust on top of a half-completed jigsaw puzzle for a while...


Well, last night I finished up a set of dishcloths (the other half to Angela's wedding set, which she'll receive for Christmas), so I decided that it was high time to start on Foster's bib!

My PC

My home computer was a college graduation gift, and I am still on dial-up since I do most of my internet use at work. Sometimes I feel like this when I combine my 7-year-old PC with insanely slow internet...

Book Club and Zombies

This month's Book Club selection was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I brought the veggie tray with a side of cauliflower (aka fake brain bait for zombie traps). It was more of a small family affair this time around due to low turnout, but that doesn't mean that we didn't enjoy ourselves talking about books... and zombies.

HistoryDiva's mom peruses the Awesome Wall O' Books.

Old Married Couple

This will be me and Dave someday...

Da Bears

Can you tell that my fiance is a Chicago Bears fan?

Check out the pictures of his beer belly taken outside of the Georgia Dome.

Sadly, I did not go on the fan bus with Dave last night--the game started at 8:00 pm, and I had to be at work bright and early this morning. However, there are some great pictures of the back of my head taken before the bus left (Check out #19, 20, 38)! Hint: I'm wearing Dave's Bears cap ;-)

Friday Funny

Is this the doing of an Astronaut Ninja Flipper Baby?

A Finished Project

Every so often, I do meet up with the Monday night knitting group for a couple hours. I occasionally finish a knitting project as well, though it's been over a month since I did either.


But last night, I did both. The pink and white stash yarn "Fluffy Ruffle Scarf" (top) has been an off-and-on project through the summer, so I was happy to finally finish it. It is supposed to be a donation to a local battered women's shelter--one of many that I had envisioned finishing before Christmas. But in the end, it's quality, not quantity, right?

The bottom scarf was supposed to be a September birthday gift for Aimee, our fearless Book Club leader. Since I missed the actual birthday deadline, I'm hoping to finish it before the next Book Club meeting later this month.

Friday Funny

This may be me by the end of the work day...

Zamboni Season

When Dave and I started dating almost a year ago at the beginning of the 2008-2009 hockey season, he asked me come to opening day for the Atlanta Thrashers the next season. Who knew we would actually still be dating, much less engaged to be married?



It's not a real hockey game until there is a fight--and we saw two good ones at this opening game!

Pumpkin Patch

Dave and I went with his family to help his nieces pick out their pumpkins this weekend.

Sorry, Dave. No wheelbarrow for you!

Maybe they're edible, too?

Warty pumpkins--eww!

Check out those muscles on my man! LOL

Friday Funny

Since Kristine and I were playing Lego Star Wars on the Wii last night...

Curb Appeal

In a small effort to improve my home's curb appeal, I planted some azaleas in the planter leading to my front door. I did not want your typical white or pink flowers, so I found three that are supposed to have red-orange flowers when they bloom.

See the giant blue-green blobs in the flower bed? I've been finding these paint-peels in my front yard since I bought the house, so I knew I would eventually have to take care of my badly peeling shutters. At the urging of the homeowner's association, I decided that it was finally time to take care of this problem. Luckily, one of my neighbors has his own painting business, and since he was already making the shutters all pretty, I decided that it might be nice if the green of the shutters matched the green of the door and the green of the roof over the bay window on the side of the house...

Cheap! Cheap!

I got to take a road trip down to Jonesboro yesterday after work to meet with Dave and a deacon to start planning our wedding. Before I could head home, I had to get gas...


It's been a couple of years since I've gotten gas for this cheap!!! I got 10 cents off per gallon thanks to Mom's propensity to shop at Kroger... a lot...