Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Way too much fun

Before I left Jersey to come back to the comfort of the south where I belong, my mom and I had way too much fun making cookies.  Here is a picture recap of our fun/competitive nature...




We started by baking a bunch of normal sugar cookies.








Well, normal except for the misshapen gingerbread men...










After icing and decorating most of them, I (shockingly) got inspired by all of the colorful crystalized sugar.







The more you know!







Which then inspired Mom....







...to make the gayest cookie in the bunch.








Which appropriately ended in a snowman decorating contest...because nothing is ever really "just for fun" in our house.  There is always a competition waiting in the wings :-)





Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did!

Friday, December 26, 2008

Today is brought to you by the letter M!

Sesame Street flashback anyone?

Ok, SOOOOOO, I joined in their reindeer game (sorry I couldn't resist, go ahead and roll your eyes) courtesy of Shea who joined from Hope.  Now, I was supposed to ask Hope for a letter, but I don't know Hope like that, so I asked Shea.  CLEARLY from my title I have the letter M, so without further adieu.....

10 Things I love that start with the letter M: 
(alphabetically as to not show partiality)

1. Macaroni-and/or all types of pasta.  Let's be real, pasta just makes the world a better place.
2. Math-it sounds as wierd as it is.  Math is concrete; it has a right and a wrong answer.  There is very little gray in math and especially living in a world of gray and frequent misunderstandings, math is there to tell you, "Hey, there is an answer out there!  There is a right and a wrong!"  Yes my math talks to me, don't judge.
3. Me time-it may sound selfish, but I love me time.  The time I have by myself to reflect, process, journal, read, etc.  I not only love it, I need it.  Without me time I'm not much fun to be around...ask my roommate of six years.
4. Mind-blowing books-it's no secret I love to read and a mind-blowing book is one I can read repeatedly and still find new things I love each time...some examples are The Pearl, Brave New World, and Body.
5. M&Ms-peanut not plain.  I seriously think I could live for a week on peanut M&Ms and black coffee.  I say a week because I don't think my internal organs would be very happy with me only eating these two things and would demand I add #1 into the diet too.
6. Mom-I love my mom.  It's corny.  I don't care.  When I look back on my life if I'm half of the mother/person she is I will count my life a success.
7. Mornings-specifically sunrises.  What out in nature makes you feel smaller, more insignificant, and in awe of God than watching the sun rise over the ocean?
8. Music-I heart music.  Each genre/artist has its own specific purpose in my life.  Classical=study/reading time, classic rock=cleaning the house, etc.  Music lifts your spirits, lets your anger out, makes you reminisce and laugh...and you can listen to it anywhere courtesy of the ipod.
9. Mutts-i.e. my puppy.  Simply put, he is a mess.  I wouldn't have it any other way. :-)

Last but certainly not least....

10. My people-ok, so this is a slight copout...but it's my list so whatever.  I love my people.  My family, my friends, my gay posse, my blogger crew (i.e. Shea and Carolyn), my students, my people.  I'm a very blessed chick.

And for the record I'd like to clarify about my copout. I could have gone on and on with things like monkeys, mint chocolate chip ice cream, mugs, marsupials, minor league baseball, mangos, mountains, etc. but my people needed to be on the list!  If you want to play along get a letter from Hope (if you know her like that), Shea (if you know her like that), or me (clearly if you are reading this you fit into #10 and know me like that).

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Quick Question Y'all

Ok, I thought I was done posting until after Christmas, but seriously, this cannot wait.  It's topical, time limited and consuming all the empty space in my brain I need to think about more pertinent things.  Now I have heard about these in way too much recently in Christmas songs, seen them at nearly every street vendor, and smelled them blocks away.  However in all of my 25 years of life I have never gotten up the courage up to try them.  What is it you wonder?  What could I  hear about at Christmas time, see everywhere and smell around the block but refuse to try?  
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.  Let's be real people, they f*cking stink.  They just do.  I feel like they are seriously pimped out in Christmas songs and by street vendors but I have never actually seen someone eat them.  

All of this brings me to four questions in numeric order:
1) Have you ever tried them?  
2) What do they taste like?  DO NOT SAY ROASTED CHESTNUTS!
3) Do they sell them by you or is this a distinctly northern thing?
4) Which state do you live in?

I'm seriously curious about this strange and smelly tradition.  So, now that you have read this leave me a comment below (anonymous if you so desire) answering the aforementioned four questions.  Even if you have never posted before, or wound up here by some convoluted blogger chain of links from other people's pages, please respond because I have been thinking about this WAY WAY WAY too much and need some outsider help!  

Gracias mis personas y Feliz Navidad!