Sunday, September 28, 2008

Happy Birthday Chandy! (sorry for the lame party)

Andy & Chade (a.k.a. "Chandy") both turned 30 this week. For months, I've been thinking about how to celebrate this momentous occasion. I knew it needed to be something special. After all, they are two of my best friends, we've been friends for years, and 30 is a big deal. Plus, they helped carry out a surprise party for me when I turned 30 err ... I mean 25.

So I called them up and said "Are you ready to party?!!" Ok, not really. The actual conversation went more like this:

Me: What do you have planned for your birthday tomorrow?
Chandy: Nothing. Our employees already threw us a huge surprise party. It was awesome.
Me: But we have to celebrate! You're turning 30! What do you want to do?
Chandy: Why don't you make that delicious dessert for us?
Me: Errgg. Ok, I guess. Then I suppose I should make dinner for you too?
Chandy: Sure.
Me to myself: (Dang it. Now I have to figure out something good to make.)

So what dish just screams "special celebration"?
Chicken and broccoli casserole of course.

Fine. I admit it's a lame birthday dinner -- but I've been sick and I was feeling tired and lazy. And for whatever reason, I was craving the casserole and I thought it would be delicious with rotisserie chicken. Unfortunately, the store had sold out of their freshly-made rotisserie chicken, so I had to use plain old chicken breasts. Lame. But I was proud of myself because everything was on the table and ready to go when they got here. Before I dished it out, I decided to make sure the rice had cooked. Good thing I did. I took a bite and crunch, crunch, crunch. CRAP! Apparently, and hour-and-a-half wasn't long enough to cook the long grain rice. In fact, it needed an additional hour to cook. We ended up eating nearly 2 hours after the time I told them to be here.

Woo hooo! Happy 30th!

Let's get all crazy and eat a dry, chicken casserole!

Thankfully, I talked my mom into making the dessert they wanted so at least they had that to look forward to. She brought it over and ended up staying for dinner. So it was Andy, Chade, my mom and me. I'm telling you, this party was off the chain. It was crunk. It was all crazy up in here.

(What do you think they're wishing for? I bet they're wishing for a cooler party next year.)

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Necklace Solution

Faithful readers will recall that I've blogged before about my necklace issues before.The string of beads pictured above is a lost cause of entanglement but I have long searched for a solution to my overall jewelry situation. I have several jewelry boxes and I've tried various hanging methods. A few years ago I got this big jewelry case for Christmas. It's okay but the doors on the sides aren't long enough to hang a lot of my necklaces so the doors had to stay open PLUS I have way more necklaces than pegs.
Old Jewelry Case:
Recently, I just started laying my jewelry on top of my tv armoir because it was easier.
But then ...
Ta da!!GENIUS!

I can't take full credit for this. My friend, Ami, who makes very cute jewelry uses the small hand towel holders to hang her necklaces and bracelets. I went to Home Goods to buy one and they were out. So I saw this full-size towel hanger. (To give you perspective it's about three feet tall) I am impatient so I decided to buy the big one instead of waiting for the smaller ones to get in stock -- and I love it! I finally have enough hanging space for all my necklaces. I thought I'd share in case some of you were having similar jewelry hang-ups (or lack of hang-up places for your jewelry). The towel racks are the perfect solution! The necklaces don't get tangled with each other and now my earrings have the jewelry boxes all to themselves.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Storm Supplies and Soft Soles

OH yeah, we're tracking Ike. The good news for us (sorry Houston!) is that it seems to be tracking more to the North which would put it mostly to the East of us. Now, these things can change -- so of course we're all still on alert.

Last night, when the hurricane was still aiming straight for us, I decided it might be a good idea to stock up on a few supplies for the house (like food). I bought some bread and peanut butter. I figure I can live on PB & honey sandwiches for a few days if I needed to. Unfortunately the store shelves were completely void of bottled water and flashlights. So I decided to buy another must-have for the 72-hour kit ... the Pedegg.
(Oh, come on! You know you've wanted one.)
Sometimes when we're faced with a crisis we have to prioritize our values. And during this time of emergency preparedness I decided I REALLY needed soft feet. I took it for a test run last night and I think I'm going to like it. I must admit that the collection of powdered calluses is quite nasty. But my feet are significantly softer and smoother than before.

So if/when Ike comes howling ... I may be sitting in the dark feeling quite parched ... but at least I'll have soft feet.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Apple Anger

Oh, I'm really hating Apple right now. Remember a couple months ago when I purchased a new Nano? I debated over that purchase for months. I kept searching the Internet to make sure Apple wasn't going to come out with a new Nano in the next few months that would be cheaper and better. And WHAT DID THEY DO TO ME????? They've come out with a new Nano that is cheaper and better just a couple months after I bought my Nano. Fuming. Furious. Super Annoyed.
Did you ever see the SNL skit about ipods where they keep getting smaller and smaller until they are finally invisible? If not, you can watch it by clicking here. It's not that far off. I should boycott Apple by not buying their products. But I want them. I want them bad. As Rihanna says, I hate how much I love you.