Best Birthday Day Ever!

So yesterday we celebrated my birthday. (It's not actually until the 30th. I'll be 30 on the 30th - my golden year). It ended up being a surprise party and I was totally shocked! I knew Jill had a day planned for us and then I thought we were just going out to dinner with a bunch of friends...because that's what the email said that she sent out to everyone. Apparently this planning started back in April. Everyone had me totally fooled!

So our day started out with a lovely brunch at The Pantry. I love this place! Normally I would go with the omelette (because they are baked and delicious and fluffy and cheesy), but I decided on the cherry cheesecake crepes. So good!

Then it was off to get my haircut. Apparently Jill had planned for us to get a mani/pedi, but in passing conversation I mentioned that I'm not all about the "spa" type events. So I sort of put a damper on those plans, but I did get a nice trim on the hair and bangs. She got the pedi.

After that we stopped by Sonic to pick up a delicious cherry limeade and then it was off to Catching Fireflies. Cutest shop ever! I ended up getting a headband to wear at dinner (which I obviously totally didn't end up needing)...

and a cute little crystal to hang in my window...

On the way to our next stop, I received this gift...

It's a garden stone so I need to find the perfect place for it. Every time I look at it I'll remember my awesome birthday day!

Next stop was the International Gem and Jewelry show. (Oh, and by the way, with each planned stop, Jill had a little note card that I opened that sort of had a clue in it. Best idea ever! Those little note cards made me all excited and Jill thought that was hilarious).

So we stopped by the show and I picked up 6 more glass rings...

And apparently at this point, we hadn't quite used up enough time to let everyone prepare for the surprise back at her house so she was trying to keep us at the show longer. By this point I was pretty beat and just wanted to get back to her house to chill for a few, change and go out to dinner. Little did I know she was stalling.

After the jewelry show we stopped by Caribou Coffee for a little caffeine burst and Jill needed to "just sit and relax for a few". Oh, you mean stall?! LOL

So we finally start heading back to her house and I decide to text Jim and ask him what he's up to. He was heading over to Jill's, along with some of my other friends, to have a few drinks before we went out to dinner...or so I thought. So Jim tells me he had just left at it was like 6:45. I know in the fake email that Jill sent that everyone was supposed to meet at her house at 7:00 so I was kind of like, geez, way to leave so late.

So we get to Jill's house and there's a few cars in the driveway (including Jim's, hmmmmmmmmm), but nothing out of the ordinary since I knew people would be there already. But then Jill tells me I have to go around back first because those few people might want to say hi to me before I dart off and change. So I walk around back and I'm greeted with about 30 people all yelling surprise! My parents were there (which I TOTALLY did not expect), friends from work, everyone! It was so awesome! And I did get a little choked up (which is why I didn't take off my sunglasses Rachel, lol).

So yeah, they pulled of a surprise party and it was so much fun!

They even rented one of those bouncy/boxing ring things...

And then of course there was the delicious cake...along side my custom koozie which reads "it took me 30 years to look this good" lol.

Everyone put a lot of work into this and I'll never forget it. Thanks everyone for a very memorable birthday!

Super cute appetizer plates

Go ahead and add these to my list of things I have to have but don't need in the slightest.

oliver appetizer plates

Everything's better with bacon

A friend of mine sent me this link today:

Bizarre Bacon: 12 Weird Bacon Products You Won't Believe

And I know Jill will love this! See, whenever Jill travels, she usually ends up having dinner at The Machine Shed. (I have had the pleasure of visiting this fine establishment once). The front of the restaurant is sort of like Cracker Barrel where they have a bunch of stuff you can browse through and purchase if you'd like. Well...Jill always ends up coming back with some sort of bacon product. Last time it was bacon band-aids and before that it was bacon chapstick. Oh and Jim has received some bacon toothpicks too.

Well... I am now the proud owner of Bacon Gumballs...

...they look tasty don't they? Yeah...not so much. They taste like a combination of the worst fake bacon flavor and dental tools.

I must say though, I did buy Jill some bacon mints. I couldn't resist!

I want this purse

I want this purse. I love that it is both a cross-body AND a clutch.

I mean seriously...how awesome is that?

It comes in quite a few colors and I've seen some pretty decent prices on various websites...hmmmmm....thinking about it.

Moving on...

On the house front...we're still set to close this Friday. What I found out today though, is that the seller will probably use all 60 days occupancy we gave her.

Part of the contract states that we give her 60 days occupancy in the house after closing with her paying us $XX/day. So I know we'll get our payments eventually but I was hoping she wouldn't use all 60 days. Oh well...I guess that gives us even MORE time to clean and pack and get ready to move out. At least the weather will be nicer 2 months from now.

Oh and check it out...I actually updated all three blogs in one day today! Can you believe it?

And yes...a shameless plug for my own blogs, my food blog and my photo blog.

For the Herb Lover

I saw this nifty little tool in a magazine and thought it was so cool.

"Easily identify and enjoy the most common culinary herbs. Move the tab to reveal which parts are best to use and how each herb can add life to your favorite foods. See the reverse side for helpful preservation and storage tips, a few easy recipes and some quick ideas to inspire you as you begin to experiment with fresh herbs."

An Illustrated Guide to 40 Culinary Herbs

OK, time to update

So...Friday I got a haircut. I decided to go with bangs again. I got bangs like 2 years ago and I really liked it, but I decided to keep my hair long this time. She said she was going to cut off about 3 inches (which was fine with me since my hair was pretty long) but I think she cut off more than that. Doesn't matter though because I like it. I really like the way she layered it. It's weird though, I'm still getting used to the bangs.



Saturday morning I went to Eastern Market with my mom and Jill. Jill and I had never been and I brought up the idea, so we just decided to go. It was cool...I didn't go crazy buying a bunch of stuff, but I did get some cool pictures.

After we got back from Eastern Market, I went to my parents house to help price stuff for their garage sale. I have a bunch of my own stuff in their sale so I mainly went there to price my own crap. I was there til about 3:30 and then went home. Then Jim and I went to a nursery to get some flowers for the pots for out patio. And I just realized I haven't taken a picture of them yet! I'll have to update that later.

It was Jim's turn to make dinner and he found a recipe for Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage which was so delish! Then we plopped our butts down on the couch for the rest of the night to catch up on some of our shows on the DVR.

Sunday we celebrated a belated Mother's Day dinner at my parents house. Prime rib was on the menu, can we say yum? We also watched the Red Wings beat the Chicago Blackhawks in the first game of the Western Conference Finals. Good stuff.

It was a good weekend.

you UGLI baby

So yesterday we picked up some Ugli Babies at the grocery store. These things are practically all juice! They were pretty yummy. Although from the looks of the outside I expected some really crazy, exotic inside, but not really...just kind of looks like an orange.

cute crunchy candy

While at Meijer yesterday shopping for tonight's dinner, I went on the search for these delicious little conversation hearts. I realize most people absolutely despise them, but I just can't get enough.

All about my bag

My friend Rachel over at American Beauty tagged me with this and it seemed like fun, so here it goes.

1. Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. And whats in it? No cheating!

2. I want to know how much it costs. And this is not to judge. It is for entertainment purposes only. So, spill it. And, if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I'd love to hear it.

3. Tag some chicks. And link back to this post so people know why the heck you're showing everyone your bag.

Ok, so here's my bag...

I actually JUST switched this out the other day. I've been carrying the same big black leather bag for a few months and needed a change. Plus I wanted to try and downsize and organize. I found this bag online for 60% off, so what was originally $65 was only $26...plus shipping of course.

So here's the inside...

And here's what I carry in it...

• A smaller purse - this is where the downsizing came into play. The larger tote holds everything I MAY need on a daily basis, and the smaller purse holds what I need if I run in somewhere like my wallet, sunglasses, cell phone, lip gloss/chapstick, keys. Plus I can add and remove things as I need them.
• Gloves
• My badge for work
• A compact
• An inhaler
• My other wallet that holds a bunch of cards I hardly ever use and my checkbook
• Sharpie, pens and a pencil
• The bowling scores from the other night
• A planner
• Various lip glosses
• Brush
• Feminine products
• Motrin
• Hand sanitizer
• Right now a banana, orange and some nuts - the food items change daily
• Always some type of gum
• Bottle of water

And now I tag:

Jill at Here and There
Meredith at La Buena Vida
Julie at Simply Me
Julie at ...backto the basics...

What's the point of a Lean Cusine?

As I sat eating my lunch today, I was going over the "nutrition" information on my Chicken Fettuccine Lean Cuisine.

6 grams of fat
3 grams saturated fat
40 mg cholesterol
690 mg sodium

I realize that anything pre-packaged like this is going to have high amounts of sodium. That being said, I do still buy them when they're on sale because it's something quick to grab when I need lunch and didn't make anything ahead of time. But they aren't healthy at all...lol. I realize it's only 270 calories which is way less than running to say McDonald's or something, but I don't really see anything Lean about them.



Oh and I didn't like this one at all. The chicken was all spongy and gross. I should've known! I usually HATE chicken in frozen meals.

My 100th post!

I can't believe I've made it to 100 blog entries. I'm just proud of myself for actually keeping up with this. When I started this blog I had no idea what I was going to post about. It's pretty much just a mishmash of topics, but it's my life, and now I can look back on my posts and see where I was, how I got there and where I'm going. I'm looking forward to keeping up with this and can't wait for my 200th blog post...stay tuned :o)

Oh and I must leave you with a treat. Last night we tried to go to the Sonic that recently opened near us, but yet again, to no avail. The lines are still ridiculously long. So I still wanted a sweet treat and we headed over to McDonalds. Their $1, 150 calorie, reduced fat, vanilla cone is my favorite! I could seriously go there once a day, if not more to get one. Oh how I love thee sweet ice cream. Some people debate whether or not it has 150 calories or more, but I'm going to stick with the 150 calorie figure and enjoy my ice cream.

Thumbs down on New Year's resolutions

I hate New Year's resolutions. I never make them because I know I'll never stick to them. I don't know very many people that have stuck to their resolutions either. Like earlier this year I didn't tell anyone that I wanted to quit smoking but I just did it...for about 6 months. I know, why did I start up again?? Who knows. But I didn't want to make some big deal about it being my resolution because if I failed (and I did) I didn't want people all up in my face about it being my resolution and shame on me for not sticking to it. So no resolutions for me, but I am going to set a few goals that I'd like to reach.

1. Quit smoking...again. I'm going to party it up NYE, but then I'm going to try and be a good girl again. I know I can do it. I've done it in the past. There's just certain things that make me want to smoke. Like being with certain people, or hanging out at the bar. It's such a STUPID habit too!

2. Exercise more. Once again, at the beginning of this year I was pretty good about exercising at least 2-3 times a week. I'd like to do that again. With quitting smoking and exercising I realized how much more energy I had and how much better I was sleeping.

3. Try running again. Jim and I both started the C25K program back in September, but then I screwed up my ankle. He continued on for a few more weeks, but then he stopped too.

4. Get up earlier for work. See, right now I work 8-5:30. But sometimes I don't get in until almost 9 so I have to stay until almost 6:30 some nights. Then if I want to work out after work, that means I'm not getting home until like 8:30-ish. So if I start working out and quit smoking, then I'll be sleeping better and hopefully will be able to get my ass out of bed earlier. Then I can go in around 7:00 a.m. and work until 4:30 p.m. which lets me work out earlier and get home earlier. See, I have a plan :o)

5. Help out more around the house. I realize this sounds kind of stupid, since I'm the woman and that's my job (HA!) but Jim really does almost all of the cleaning and laundry. He doesn't complain (he actually likes cleaning), but I know I should be doing more. I don't think I show him enough how much I appreciate him and everything he does. I was thinking about maybe having a cleaning schedule or something. More for me to follow than him...lol.

6. Save money. Jim told me recently that we need to buy new tires for our truck, and I'm still waiting to get my new camera, but after that it's going to be save, save, save!

7. Experiment with different recipes. I already have a food blog, and I'm not the greatest cook in the world, but I'd like to start branching out and trying new things. I'd really like to try some gluten-free baking since a friend of mine found out this year that she has Celiac Disease. And just a note...Jim used to do most of the cooking too, so I've gotten better with at least helping out there.

Well that's about all I can think of for now. I'll just make another post if I feel like adding to it.

You know you want it - IX

I know it's been awhile since I've posted any of these and I have some serious catching up to do on my magazine reading. So here's a few of the things that caught my eye in some of my Real Simple magazines.

Rubbermaid Produce Saver
Keeps fruits and vegetables fresh and crisp up to 33% longer
Fresh Vent™ allows produce to breathe
Crisp Tray™ separates produce from moisture


After all the cookies I made this Holiday season, this probably would have come in handy.
Bakers Sto 'N Go


Microwavable Booties...need I say anymore??
Anti-Stress Microwaveable Comfort Booties



One-Day Financial Makeover

Holiday Season Finally in Swing

I don't know what it is, but I just feel so behind in all the Christmas stuff this year. We FINALLY got our tree up last Sunday. We got a real tree...a Fraser Fir. It's so purty...

And I still have to do some Christmas shopping. I have to get something for my niece, for my friends' son, more stuff for Jim and a few other things for some other family members. And I'm not even too sure what I'm getting everyone yet...lol.

Last Saturday I made about 15 dozen cookies. I made Snickerdoodles, Spritz cookies, Chocolate Chip, Gingerbread and these Cranberry Orange cookies which didn't turn out at all. I don't know if the leavening agents were bad or what, but they weren't fluffy and delicious like the picture shows...they were flat and gross looking. They still tasted good though! I just didn't take any into my coworkers to share with them...lol.

Yesterday we had our work Christmas party which is always a good time. Drinks, friends, fun...and the First Annual Tacky Christmas Sweater Contest. Like it?

You know you want it - VII

Subscribe and save from Amazon - Our new Subscribe & Save program is a great way to save an extra 15% on items you use routinely--coffee, shampoo, laundry detergent, and more--while helping to make sure you don't run out.

For all your furry woes
Scotch Fur Fighter

This coffee table is so cool - plus you can order it in a multitude of colors
Maine Cottage

How to recycle anything, from A-Z


And here's a way to get your digital photos custom framed
Real Memories

How about a bunch of recipes for all of that fall produce?