Domestically Challenged....NO MORE!

People who know me well may agree that I'm a tad domestically disabled. But once in a blue moon I get a strong urge to either clean something or cook/bake something. Lately, my baking urge is strong.

So, my friends, I have decided to develop a list of things I must learn how to bake before I tie the knot. I don't want to be the wifey who shows up to every gathering with grocery store bought cookies. BO-RING! (fyi - no one is getting married yet. I'm just sayin'...)

Here are the things that I have already tackled:

Sugar cookies - these stuck to my counter top when I rolled them out. Then I decorated them. Badly. They tasted great though.

Banana bread - This was excellent if I do say so myself.

Pumpkin bread - This was very good, although I already know what to do differently next time.

Crepes - made fresh this morning. No small fires, no cursing, no mess with flour. I'd say a valiant effort!

Things I must tackle:

Pumpkin pie - this is my boyfriend's fave!

Cupcakes - any kind, but the key is to make sure it does not look like a 6 year old did the icing.

Cheesecake - the springy pan intimidates me.

Sourdough bread - warm & delicious.

Homemade blueberry muffins - another favorite of both mine and boyfriend's.

Mom's 'Monkey Bread' - cinnamon-y buttery goodness in a bundt pan!

Booze and Boos!

I had a wonderful and long weekend with my man. The deal was that we (by "we" I am referring to me, my man, my sister, and her man)... anyhoo, we were all going to watch the big Red River Rivalry game together in Dallas and party hardy and then go State Fairing. That plan shifted when my man's dad's cousin unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack. It was a rough week for his family. Long story short, the only option I had to spend time with him was to go stay with him while he dog sat for the weekend.

So I go to Austin, where I proceed to meet all of his lawyer co-workers for happy hour on Friday night. They were really fun. I am glad that they all seemed to like me. (Or perhaps they didn't. These are lawyers we're talking about. And there was alcohol involved).

Then we spent Saturday watching the big game. I will admit, this is one of the few football games that I have watched from start to finish and was truly interested in. I know...I'm shocked too. I even sported my new burnt orange #10 jersey and may or may not have screamed at Colt McCoy a few times.

Then I proposed the brilliant idea of carving pumpkins and he obliged. I should mention that after some time, he was more excited about this idea than I was. Tee hee.

So, on Sunday we went to the pumpkin patch!

Then we started the long process of carving. We agreed on our two favorite stencils: the haunted house with a ghost and the little goblin guy, and we carved away while briefly pausing to pose for pictures.

The momma and baby pumpkin.

Deep concentration is key to a successful design.

Using the big boy knife.

We are officially nerds. (And I'm NOT holding a knife, that is a spoon everyone!)

Finished product!

And we patiently waited until dark to light them and show their awesome-ness. I'm not gonna lie. We were pretty impressed with ourselves.

Don't act like you're not impressed ;)

Happy trick-or-treating, everyone!

Note: don't bother baking the pumpkin seeds unless you like the taste of incinerated gourd.

Hooray for Awards!

Thanks to CJR at the wonderful, entertaining, and educational Busy Bookworm Reviews, for my second EVER blog award (which I probably don't deserve, but I'll take it)!

The rules of accepting this award is that I have to answer the following questions and then pass the award on to six other bloggers. So...

1. Where is your cell phone: as always, by my side.
   
2. Your hair: in a ponytail and wet from a shower.
   
3. Your mother: my personality twin. Love her.
   
4. Your father: my personality opposite. Love him.
   
5. Your favorite food: Mom's chicken and dumplins.
   
6. Your dream from last night: involved flooding and books. Analyze that.
   
7. Your favorite drink: not too sweet. Alcohol is a plus.
   
8. Your dream/goal: feel like I gave it up 2 years ago. I don't wanna talk about it.
   
9. What room are you in: upstairs living room.
   
10. What is your hobby: lately, reading, scrapbooking, paying bills, searching for jobs..
    
11. What is your fear: not having enough to get by, never finding a job, losing a loved one.
    
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years: married, kids, house, and job.
    
13. Where were you last night: home. Watching Bruce Almighty because my tv is screwy.
    
14. Something you are not: lately, productive.
    
15. Muffins: yes please. Blueberry.
    
16. Wish list items: A place. A treadmill. A job. Perhaps some earmuffs too.
    
17. Where did you grow up: a small suburb outside of Houston.
    
18. Last thing you did: check my stuff I'm selling on eBay.
    
19. What are you wearing: a tee shirt and comfy pants. What? It's raining and I'm stuck inside.
    
20. Your TV: honestly freaks me out. Changes channels on its own.
    
21. Your pets: I love my chihuahua. Dogs are truly the greatest companion.
    
22. Your friends: I wish I could see them so much more than I do :(
    
23. Your life: an adventure
    
24. Your mood: a bit more dark & twisty than usual (lately)
    
25. Missing someone: my man.
    
26. Vehicle: SUV.
    
27. Something you're not wearing: shoes. Who needs 'em.
    
28. Your favorite store: I'm pretty happy in a Super Target.
    
29. Your favorite color: greens, blues, pink..
    
30. When's the last time you laughed: yesterday.
    
31. When's the last time you cried: can't remember when or why.
    
32. Your best friend: knows me better than most.
    
33. One place you go over and over: no where (lately). Otherwise, I'd say Starbucks.
    
34. One person who emails me regularly: mom, sis, karen... crap, that's three.
    
35. Favorite place to eat: at a table.

And the six bloggers I have deemed worthy of the blog award are....

godsongsgal at DreamSpirations

CJR at Girl v. The World

NatureCat at Pacific Chatter

V at *uncorked

Tia at Clever Girl Goes Blog

AmericanTribal at The Daily Tribal

Spring...Er...Fall Cleaning!!

So, it's officially Fall!

Whether I like it or not, fall has fallen! Spring is well past sprung! Old Man Winter is on his way!

That's enough of that...

All I know is that for the past 4 days, the weather in Texas has been a bit chilly. All I have whined about is wanting a pair of earmuffs, but had to settle for a beanie (also know as a toboggan, which I think is a really odd name) to cover my ice cube ears. And because I needed a beanie, I had to go digging in my under-bed storage where I keep my scarves, gloves, and hats that I pull out once a year, if that.

This digging up my winter goodies started a domino effect.

A very rare domino effect (for me).

I decided that my winter things needed a nice place to live for the season. And my strappy tanks have no place here anymore, so why don't I put those away? So that's what I did. I traded my (light & airy) summer clothes for my (bulky & annoying) winter clothes.

I then stood back and realized how unsatisfying that was. Here were my winter things, all neatly folded in a closet that looked like a twister just tore through it. Ugh.

Observe...

This will never do.

That's when I decide I must clean out the whole mess-of-a-closet. And here's the thing: I scare easily from organization projects. Even the mention of a good closet cleaning is enough to make me run away screaming, "Save yourseeeellllves!" So I devise a master plan.

I will need sustenance:

And I'll definitely need an assistant:

...but beware, he also scares easily.

Also, a live band wouldn't be a bad idea.

I find some interesting things during The Great Closet Cleaning of 2009...

Observe...

Ahh, my pretty black pumps I never wear.

Hellooo 5 year old lip balm!

Is that a feather boa? Why yes it is..

Bunny costume anyone?

How about a naughty maid costume? (last year's Halloween costume. Judge away.)

Girly tools!

And last but not least..

Ahh memories. I will never get rid of this thing. I hope I have a daughter.

About 2 hours after messing around with random closet findings, I finally finished. Observe...

Glad you could experience The Great Closet Cleaning of 2009. This rare event probably won't happen again for another 2 years.

The end!