what's new, pussycat?

whoa whoa whoa
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Yikes, summer was way too busy! And fall is looking to be just as busy, but at least there'll be the routine of school, preschool, dance class, girl scouts to help keep us in check.

Aubrey started 3rd grade last week. Lauren starts preschool Tuesday. And Sasha will be in my class this year at Lauren's preschool, as I'm the teacher with the one year olds. (btw, for these little ones, it's really a mom's day out program - one year old is way too young for preschool! but we'll be learning as we play!)

Oh, and Sasha turned one on the 22nd. Weird, the past year went by so quickly, but at the same time, I can't imagine life before Sasha, seems like she's always been here.

Sasha is almost walking, but that girl will climb. Anything. Crap. Seriously, we're in trouble. In her high chair, buckling her up doesn't work. She squirms her legs right out of the buckle, even when it's so tight it's nearly cutting blood flow. So she doesn't sit there to watch the world go by, she stands there to eat (that stink bug!) while I keep one hand on her and eat my food one handed. (unless it's one of her favorite foods AND she's really hungry AND she's in the right mood, then she might sit. For 3.2 minutes.)

I smell trouble

I am about to gush over some food. Really, really unhealthy food, that should never be consumed. But it's just so dang good. Anyway, that's my warning, in case you need to just close this internet window and walk away. Go grab an apple or drink a glass of water. Because otherwise two things are likely to happen. First of all, you may hate me when the cravings kick in. And second, your keyboard may become sticky with all the drool.

Proceed at your own risk!!! ;-)









Back at Christmas time I got a cookbook. This cookbook. Because I read her blog. This blog. And she is funny. Freakin' hilarious.

Anyway, I had read rumors online about PW's cinnamon rolls. And I drooled all over the photos of them in her book. And then, for the sake of my thighs (and hips, and ass, and waist, and arms, and, well you get it) I blocked the recipe, and the fact that I had the recipe so close at hand, out of my mind. I was successful for 8 months.

But I was in the mood to bake something, and whined to Andy that I wanted to try these, but blahblahblah. And he said something to the effect of, "Well just do it. Just try it. Stop talking about it and decide that you'll do it." (I love to bake, but hesitate when recipes call for 9 cups of flour - you know it's gonna be a crapload of cinnamon rolls, and what if you screw up? Like really screw up and can't eat them at all? What a waste!)

So I halved the recipe. And right now, as I type, there are 23 sweet, cinnamon-y, perfectly delicious rolls sitting on my stove, waiting for breakfast. There should've been 24, but, for the sake of thorough research, I figured I should consume one hot. You know, it wouldn't be fair to not try one piping hot, with ooey, gooey frosting dripping off it. Because then I wouldn't know if they were suitable for serving warm, let alone serving at all. And, as it turns out, they aren't that good at all. Nope, not at all tasty. Not one of the most divine culinary creations I've ever enjoyed. Nope. Not at all. So I'll just make sure no one else in my house suffers through one of these tomorrow morning.

Too bad the house smells so heavenly, I don't think they'll buy it when I try to tell them the cinnamon rolls were a flop. ;-)

(and, for the sake of your hips, thighs, ass, waist and arms, I am intentionally NOT giving you a link to the recipe. I'm already toast, but I figure maybe I can save you from my destiny. But if you insist on checking it out, "pioneer woman cinnamon rolls" might be a good start on google.

itching (oh, and look, it's Tree Huggin' Tuesday - been too long, eh?)

I've been feeling the craft itch, so I've been scratching it. And having so much fun doing so. And learning that my sewing skills might be pretty okay. Check out my latest fun - it's so super green, and so super cute, and so super easy! Reusable sandwich bags. I think I mentioned them earlier, but I know I didn't have a picture to share. Velcro, vinyl (or mylar - you can totally use a potato chip bag or some other silver-lined food bag - I had no idea until after I'd made these - talk about green!), scrap fabric, thread, sewing machine, basic knowledge of how to operate the machine. Oh, and scissors. Easy, peasy!

I'd say that Aubrey'll be the only kid in her school with reusable bags, but my friend Judy's daughter goes to the same school, and Judy's the Bubba to my Gump (or the peanut butter to my jelly, or the TweedleDee to my TweedleDum, or or or I think you get the idea), so Aubrey and Jacki will be the only two kids with reusable bags. Until their teachers and friends see how cool they are. Trendsetters, that's what we'll be calling Aubrey and Jacki. :-)

tripping down memory lane

I've been tripping down memory lane this past few days. It all started when I happened upon a random stack of old photos. Like, high school and college old. So, not that old, but old.

There, in the middle of the stack, was my senior prom photo. I went with Jodie, a junior who attended del Norte hs. We were dating at the time, and though we were friends before and after, our 'dating phase' was just about two months long. But Jodie's the boy I think of as my high school boyfriend. The other boys I dated, I don't think of them as fondly. Not that I don't think of them fondly, but Jodie was extra awesome.

Anyway, I saw the photo, remembered how fun prom had been, and moved on with my day, not giving it a second thought. I didn't quite start tripping until the next day. When I got an e-mail from facebook that I had a friend request from Jodie. I had to laugh at the timing, because it had been years since I'd last seen that prom photo, and there was Jodie, wanting to be facebook friends.

So, now I keep remembering random adventures and crazy fun times. Oh, and as it turns out, Jodie is a talented, hilarious singer. Check out his music video if you want to laugh. And say, "eww!" at times. ;-)