New Favorite Commercial

So I was actually home tonight, and while watching TV, I discovered my new favorite commercial. I think it's hilarious!

Bree Tanner's Story

When this book first came out, I read a bunch on-line before actually purchasing the book, then I set it aside and forgot about it. Then, someone at Tidewater was ready it, so I thought I'd revisit it. "The Second Short Life of Bree Tanner" is a companion to "Eclipse," and definitely adds to the story. I'd finally watched Eclipse not too long ago, and wondered about some things that weren't in the book that were in the movie. Now I know where some of that comes from. And even though I knew how it ended, I was sorry to see it happen.

Dinner and a Movie

That's what Christmas was all about at my house this year. After opening up our gifts, Donnie and I headed out to our annual movie outing, with Tom in tow.

We saw Black Swan, which was good. I thought it started out a little slow, but it definitely conveyed the story well. The psychotic thriller aspect got me a few times, and I left the theater in deep thought over the meaning of some things, and whether or not other things actually happened.
When we returned home, I fixed dinner, and we ate and watched football. Donnie gave us lessons on penalties and the different positions, and I have a newfound respect for the sport and it's level of difficulty. Donnie left after the game, so as to miss the upcoming bad weather and holiday traffic.
Overall, a pretty low key holiday and a pleasant visit from Donnie. I hope your holiday was a happy one.

With This Puzzle...

Well, I finished reading "With This Puzzle, I Thee Kill..." by Parnell Hall today. It drove me batty. The story was decent, some of the characters pretty annoying, but what drove me batty was the wording. Argh! The author wrote the dialog the way people actually speak! Gonna, gotta, wanna - I wanted to pull what little hair I have straight out of my head!

Ravens vs. New Orleans

Today's game against the New Orleans Saints went well, much to my surprise. I was really expecting the Ravens to lose, but we won, 24-30.
For a halftime show, we did a Christmas show. The songs included You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch and Dig That Crazy Santa Claus. We did fine (all we had to do was march onto the field and stand there), but the cheerleaders messed up. They were supposed to get on the field and dance during Dig That Crazy Santa Claus, but they didn't until there was around 30 seconds left!

Ashley's Diaper Cake

At work tonight, since it was pretty slow, I spent quite a bit of time working on another diaper cake - this one for Ashley. She's due in a few days - there's nothing like pushing deadlines to the limit. I found out yesterday that she had moved out of her Dad's house, and in with Amie (another waitress from the Tidewater), and that noone from the restaurant had really done anything for her (except donate clothing), so I felt pressed for time to do something nice for her. I think it turned out kind of cool. She has a giraffe theme, so I found a giraffe print ribbon and some artificial poinsettas in matching colors.

After Amie took it home tonight, Ashley called the restaurant - she loved it!

Secret Santa

At Huber today, in addition to it being the day for our official Christmas luncheon, we held our Secret Santa gift exchange. I got my partner a fleece blanket, matching coffee mug, a bag of Lindor truffles, a small bag of Hazelnut Cream coffee, and two packages of hot chocolate. But really, I wanted to brag about what I got. One of the ladies at Huber sells Stampin' Up products, so my Secret Santa got me a gift certificate for those products. I can't tell you how cool that is. The only problem is, I have no idea what to get. Right now, I'm leaning towards the products pictured below.

I don't know, though, I'm such a bad decision maker...

Door Decorating Contest

Part of Huber's holiday celebration this year is a door decorating contest. Hilary decorated the door leading to both of our labs.

And this is what she did to her door.

Too cute!
This is what I did to my friend, Fitzgerald's door.

He wasn't planning on decorating, and I just had to use my wreath and leftover holly leaves for something.
And last, but not least, here's my door.

Linda found a picture on-line of someone's cubicle decorated as a gingerbread house, so I used that photo for inspiration. It turned out super-cute, and I'm really happy with it.

White Christmas Tag Swap

Today's mail brought the most pleasant surprise.

It was the tags from the White Christmas Tag Swap.

They were all wonderful - thanks to Jane for hosting this fun swap!

Fun Wreath

For the past couple of days, I've been working on a wreath inspired by Pam Garrison, and a class that she taught at Silver Bella last year. It was my initial idea for the door decorating contest at Huber this year, but Linda and I came up with a better idea for the door. I think the wreath turned out really well, and I'm glad I took the time to do it.

Ravens vs. Pittsburgh

Well, another game where I'm conflicted. As you all know, I grew up a Pittsburgh fan, but now I play for the Ravens. Pittsburgh won, 13-10, so I'm kind of glad, but for the first time in my band history, I'm actually sad. I'm really getting hyped up about the possibility of the Ravens going to the SuperBowl this year. ("I want it, Daddy, and I want it now!")
Our halftime show had some good songs in it: I Don't Care, Black Dog/Kashmir, and Seven Nation Army. As usual, we were fabulous.

Rehearsal Dinner on Porch

The party tonight was on the enclosed porch. The theme was quite Christmas-y - poisettas for centerpieces and little frames pictures of Christmas-type items to direct people to their tables.

Their party favors were candle holders etched with snowflakes, filled with green and red M&M's.

Their wedding cake was really cupcakes (except for a small cake to cut and save).

And someone even made them a towel cake, which we displayed.

They even had a DJ and dancing, which made this one of the more fun reception parties I've done in a while.

Dining Room Wedding

The party that we waited on tonight was an actual wedding/reception. They decorated the tables with snowflake ornaments.

And had a very pretty candle for the centerpiece on their "Sweetheart" table.

They decorated the cake with the same snowflakes.

They also put up an arch in the room, which they got married under.

It was all quite sweet - most of the weddings we have at Tidewater are held out on the end of the land, with a view of the water.

Bound for Murder

So, I started reading this book a lomg time ago, and I finally kicked it up a notch and decided to finish it. I must say, I was disappointed. The ending had an odd twist that felt like it was just thrown in to finish things up. The book was fun for it's scrapbooking tips - but there weren't many.

Ravens vs. Tampa Bay

This game, our halftime show was an Ozzy Osbourne show. Why? He's in town for a concert, and there was the possibility that he might be in the stadium. When we planned the show, the game was scheduled for 1:00, but the NFL flexed it to a 4:00 game, so I seriously doubt that Ozzy would have seen (or more importantly, heard) it, unless he was there for the actual football game, which I highly doubt.
The Ravens also came up with a 10-17 win, against the Buccaneers. The game wasn't super exciting, but I'm actually starting to stay awake through the games. I've decided to stop bringing candy with me. I'm theorizing that I eat the candy in the first and second quarters, get a quick little sugar rush, then crash after halftime, which may be why I'm falling asleep all of the time. I'll continue to monitor the situation.

A Fun Filled Family Day

Today was a fun day, filled with family oriented activities. After going to work at Huber for a couple of hours, and finishing the paperwork, Dodo and I worked on building a gingerbread house. They'd bought a kit a few days earlier, so I thought it would be easy enough to do. We started with constructing the house.

After a good amount of time, we completed decorating it.

Unfortunately, the icing/glue didn't hold like it was supposed to, so the house fell apart before dinner.

After dinner, the whole family went out to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.

I, of course, cried, but I cried when I read the book, too. I can assure you that I will be a blubbering idiot when I finally see Part 2.

The Other Ankle

Can you believe it? After getting home from the Commisary, and putting away the groceries, Mom and I sat down have some lunch. I decided I wanted some kim chee, which was in the refrigerator in the garage. On my way down the two steps into the garage, I fell and twisted the other ankle. It was the same type of pain as the ankle injury in May, just not as intense. So I spent the rest of the day with my ankle up, icing it every hour. What luck!

White Christmas Tags

I finally completed, and mailed out, my White Christmas tags. Unfortunately, in all of the hub-bub, I forgot to snap a picture. I had painted the tags blue and white, then affixed glittery silver leaves to the top and bottom, and a white butterfly in the center. I hope the glue holds and all of the peices stay where I put them!

Silver Bella - Day 2

For the Second day of classes, I started with "Project Runway," by Collette Copeland. We made these adorable little dresses, and I'm dying to make more.

Lisa Kaus taught my second class, "The Secret Inside the Bottle." This project didn't turn out nearly as well as I had hoped it would.

And last of all, I had "Funky Felt Flowers," with Betz White. This class brought me completely out of the funk I felt from the previous class. I feel like I could make these flowers all day!

Silver Bella - Day 1

Today was the first day of classes at Silver Bella. My first class was called "Josephine's Jewels," taught by Kaari Meng. I was able to finish my project, and am quite pleased with it.

My second class was "Around the Ellipse," with Sally Jean Alexander. I finished my project in this class, too. I'm not as happy with this bracelet, but I still like.

Then there was Vendor Night. This year's theme had to do with hats, and I went crazy with mine.

People loved it! What was really great was to see people's expressions when then first saw it - or the double-takes!

Silver Bella - Opening Night

Today was a busy day. After eating breakfast, I had to get serious about finishing my last swap items. I had crocheted all day yesterday while travelling, and my hands were sore, but I was able to finish most of what I needed for the swap exchange. Then Wanda and I found Bianca, and walked around Old Market for a little while. We ate lunch at Wheatfield's, where I had Cheesy Tomato Soup, a small Swiss House Salad, and an Angelfood Muffin. They were all quite yummy. Then we found the Bliss Bakery. There was going to be a Cupcaketini Party later in the afternoon (with the Cupcaketinis from Bliss), and we wanted to check it out. I picked up a Butterbeer Cupcake, and although it wasn't quite what I was expecting, it was tasty. We headed up to the Caketini Party soon after that, where I tried a delicious Pink Champagne Caketini. Not too long after that, the Opening Dinner commenced. After dinner, we participated in a group project, which I didn't finish, then went on to the swap portion of the evening.

Sentimental Sachet Swap

Tiny Trim Tag Swap

Custom Charm Bracelet Swap

Baker's Dozen Cupcake Book Swap

Vintage Bling Charm Bracelet Swap

What great stuff!

You Have Got To Try...

Wanda and I arrived in Omaha tonight for Silver Bella, which starts tomorrow. After we checked in to the hotel, we met up with Bianca and went to Second Chance Antiques. Afterwards, we had a late snack at the Twisted Fork Grill & Bar. We ordered three appetizers to share, and it was some of the most fascinating food I've had in a while. The first was an Artichoke-Spinach Dip - kind of standard fare. The second was Buck's Fried Pickles - I've heard of fried pickles before, but never tried them - they were excellent. And the piece de resistance, Chicken Fried Bacon. Oh my gosh. Who would have thought bacon could taste better?

The Next Big Thing

If you understand anything about my fascination with certain children's songs, you know why, on my last phone, my ringtone was "The Hairbrush Song" by Veggie Tales.

Well, tonight, I was exposed to my next great obsession - "The Gummi Bear Song." Without any further ado, here it is - I hope you find it as infectious as I have.

I find the underwear and facial hair quite disturbing, but it works. Enjoy!

Ravens vs. Dolphins

Today's game was quite interesting. We were reminded of the records of both teams before the game started (Miami 4-0 on the road, Baltimore 3-0 at home), so I was a little worried. The game was relatively exciting, and I stayed awake for the whole thing! Now that's unusual. But, I didn't bring any candy, so maybe there wasn't the usual sugar crash.
For halftime, the band performed a U2 medley, to advertise U2's upcoming 360 Tour. It turned out okay.

Vintage ABC Book Swap

The long awaited Vintage ABC Book Swap package arrived today, and boy, was it adorable! Marian put each of the books in a personalized canvas bag.

One letter is supposed to be coming late, but Marian did an excellent job with the whole thing - from the covers, to the table of contents with school pictures of each participant - thank you, Marian!

MDIFT Show

Yesterday, I was invited to the Maryland Institute of Food Technology Show that was happening tonight. I figured that it would be a good career move, so I shifted my restaurant schedule and made sure to go. It was definitely interesting. Aside from the open bar and free munchies for the last hour of the show, there was plenty of interesting stuff to see. I got to try a lot of different flavors and dips, and I even won a door prize! Of all the things there were to choose, I chose an iPod Shuffle. Overall, I'm glad I went.

Soldering Attempt #1

Well, I made my first attempt at soldering a charm today. With the help of a soldering kit that Wanda bought for me, and a blog post on Clever Karen (which acted as a "pep talk"), I finally sat down to create. Here is my resulting charm:

I think I might need to use more solder, and I want to figure out how to even out the edges, but overall, I'm quite pleased.

Fun With Pumpkins

Tonight, Mel, Adrienne and I carved the second pumpkin that Mel had brought in the other day. It was great. Between waiting on tables, we traced the design and cut it out. In the end, to finish the eyes, we broke out the power tools.

See what you can do when you improvise?

Fall Dessert Day

This afternoon, at Huber, we had Fall Dessert Day. People brought in a fun assortment of desserts to celebrate the season. I brought in two items - a Brownie Pumpkin Cheesecake and Soft Ginger-Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting. They both turned out really well.

Halloween Preparations

I had fun at work tonight. We helped with preparations for the Tidewater's Halloween party on Saturday. Bret, Mike and I carved a pumpkin that Mel brought in. I think it turned out really well.

Then, I made radish and olive eyeballs with Mel and Julia. They turned out well, too. Later, Mel and Julia moved on to making Jell-O shooters. It was a good time.