Part of a Balanced Diet

I’ve had to work late the past few nights. That means I’ve had to skip the gym and enjoy several handfuls of pretzels for dinner. Actually, last night I tried to be sort of healthy and had a can of fruit cocktail in “lite” syrup for dessert when I got home. To top it all off, I’ll be spending the end of the week in Las Vegas, so I’m sure the buffets and free drinks will help ensure I’m at the pinnacle of health.

And wow! I’m awfully flattered that a few people have inquired about the tins in my eBay auction. To cover my costs, I think I’ll price them at $15 (without cards), $20 (with five assorted cards) and $25 (with 10 assorted cards). But people, you should take advantage of the eBay, cause right now you can get a $25 value for 99 cents!!

Sold to the Highest Bidder!

In case anyone is interested in purchasing my handiworks, I just posted my very first eBay auction! Check it out here.

We’ll see how this one goes. If I’m successful, I might be doing it more often!

Oink!

I made this cute little card today!

Other weekend highlights include:

· Got a bunch of photos developed
· Made a trip to the scrapbook store
· Did a few layouts
· Weeded and trimmed in my front yard
· Visited two Goodwill stores looking for an old-fashioned hutch to refurbish
· Had my new jeans hemmed
· Saw “Dreamgirls” at the movies
· Cooked orange chicken for dinner
· Watched “Jackass: Number Two” on DVD
· Went to the gym
· Cleaned the house

Big Announcement

I have some life-changing news to share.


I have brown hair.

In true crafty style, I died it myself on Tuesday night. It’s been kind of interesting to see different people’s reactions. From totally ignoring it to thoughtful compliments to “Oh, your hair is brown. Do you like it?”

Well, I do really like it. Except now that I took some pictures of myself, I think I look horribly ugly and that rhinoplasty needs to be next on the to-do list. But for now, it’s a nice change.

It's Greek to Me

I went to a cooking class with my mom tonight. We learned how to make chicken souvlaki and tzatziki. It was SO GOOD. I’m definitely going to be adding those to the lineup.

It's been a while ...

Lots going on this week. But since I haven’t really been proving that I “rock paper and scissors” lately, here’s a picture of some altereds I made tonight. On the right is a chipboard notebook. In the center is giant clothespin photo holder, and on the left is a lunchbox that I’m going to use to store cards. My desk at work needs some brightening up, so they will make their home there starting tomorrow.

The Evening After

Ugh. We had a houseful of people over to watch football today. It was so noisy. I was feeling festive, so I had a few beers. Now my head is pounding. It’s not even 9:00 p.m., but I think I’m going to bed.

It went from loud jubilation to absolute silence when the Patriots lost. So sad. But maybe now some yard work will get done in the lull before baseball starts.

It sure wasn't Woodstock's, but ..

I had a rough day at work.

So when I got home we walked to Round Table, ate the better part of a pepperoni pizza, and drank a whole pitcher of beer.

It felt like college. I so needed it.

Too Sweet

He he!! Check out what I would look like if I was an M&M! You can be an M&M too at www.becomeanmm.com.

I'm so excited about this year's love stamp! Almost as cute as the one with the conversation hearts from a few years ago.

Still, none will beat the one from 1999, which was die-cut in the shape of the image:

Did you know that this was the first and only stamp the USPS ever did in a die-cut shape? I think they should do more! How cute would this year's be if it was cut in the shape of a Hershey's Kiss?!

Another New Me

Oooh, look! Another, more whimsical, cartoon Ashley is fluttering around the Internet!

I made her on the Chick Machine at Bless This Chick. Can you tell that I’m a sucker for anything you can personalize?

Drinkable Art

I’ve been slightly obsessed with latte art for the past few weeks. If you search for “latte art” images online, you can see some truly amazing stuff.

Well, great minds think alike, so I guess that’s why my friend Martha devoted a very lengthy segment to the subject on her show last week. It included a tutorial on how to make a frothy snowman like this guy:

I didn’t think I was equipped to make him myself, as you need a milk frother that can reach 150 degrees. But I did some research, and I’m happy to say that my Coco-Latte can froth up to 167 degrees! I’ll be frothing up all kind of beautiful art in no time!

The Biggest Fan

Hooray! I’m so proud that I just sat through an entire football game. Well, I must admit that I read the last 10 pages of “The Debutante Divorcee” during the first quarter. And I did my nails during the second quarter. But I made a cup of tea at halftime and seriously sat attentively through the entire second half.

It was an exciting game! And now there’s just one more to go before we know if we’ll be hosting another Super Bowl party!

Big Day

Hooray! This is my 200th post! And it comes on an important blogger holiday: De-lurking Day! Well, there doesn’t seem to be a big online consensus regarding the actual date of De-lurking Day. Some people actually celebrate De-lurking Week. I’ve seen evidence that De-lurking Day is today, yesterday, last week and also in September. Hmmmm … I always thought it was January 13, so I’m celebrating today. You know what that means – If you anonymously read the site and would like to pop in to say “hi” by leaving a comment, that would be nice. If not, that is fine too! I’m not really in it for the comments anyway ;)

I spent several hours last night trying to figure out how to create multiple iTunes libraries on the same computer, and then how to transfer libraries from one computer to another. For all the user-friendliness that Apple touts, you’d think this would be an easy process. Not so. It was simple to create the multiple libraries, but now it seems we have to manually move our songs by burning them onto a CD on one computer, and then adding those songs to the library of the other computer. Annoyingly, when you do that, the song info (like title and artist) doesn’t come through, so then you need to manually type that data in for each song in the library if you don’t want all your music to be identified by names like “Track 085.” So, I think that’s how I will be spending a big chunk of my weekend, unless someone knows a better way?

In addition to the thrilling computer work I did last night, we went to dinner at Macaroni Grill (utilizing one of our many Christmas gift certificates) and watched a disc of “Big Love.” That’s the latest TV show we’ve gotten into via Netflix. It’s pretty addictive. I can’t wait till the next disc comes this afternoon!

The New Me

Isn’t the cartoon version of me so cute? I made her at Design-her Gals. I need to buy some goods that feature her picture, but I can’t decide what I want yet. Actually, I might make some gals in the likeness of my friends. I think that would be a terrific gift idea!

Exciting news today: We have a new niece named Kylie Jean! That means we have FIVE nieces and ZERO nephews (all on Steve’s side). I wonder how that stacks the odds for us when it’s our turn??!!

Taking Shape

I lifted weights at the gym tonight for the first time since my shopping-related elbow injury. I felt like the Tin Man – My elbow was practically creaking when I moved it.

I also went to spinning for the first time in almost three weeks. I think my butt muscles went into atrophy during the break, cause that was the hardest class ever.

My new FRx Prescribed Perfection jeans promise to “give the illusion that your body is perfection.” I hope they deliver on that, because I can sure use some help.

Magically Delicious

I had a scrumptious cinnamon dolce latte at Starbucks today. Since it was the highlight of my day, I was going to write about it, praising my friends Starbucks for giving us more sugar-free syrup options. But while searching for an image of the CDL (as those in-the-know call it), I came across this:

The leprechaun latte!

I discovered that these lattes are like their mythical namesake: elusive little critters. Starbucks only offers them for a month leading up to St. Patrick’s Day in the six New England states. F you Starbucks for crushing my creamy green dreams!

This reminded me of the sad saga of the Shamrock Shake. As a youth in Connecticut, I fondly remember rolling through the McDonald’s drive-thru to get my fix. But now they’re nowhere to be found. At least not in California – It seems those lucky East Coasters still might come across that pot of gold if they search hard enough.

Here’s what I have to ask the food and beverage industry: Why don’t you appreciate us? Why do you think it’s OK to play favorites, ignoring us when it comes to festive, seasonal beverages?? Is there anything you offer here that our northeastern counterparts can’t have?

Steve theorized that it all comes down to one variable: Dunkin’ Donuts. He thinks if Starbucks sold “pee in a cup” here, people would buy it. With a Dunkin’ Donuts every 10 feet in New England, offering such a fine array of treats, competitors need to really step up their game to attract customers. He’s probably right. Which gives us reason No. 38,847 why Dunkin’ Donuts needs to expand to California.

I didn't want to watch it. But it's sucked me in.

Cozy

Hope everyone's having a snuggly Saturday night! We are (courtesey of the tree that fell down in our yard last year).

Mocha Choca Lata Ya Ya

My parents got me this little gem for Christmas, which we tried out for the first time tonight.

I’m in love.

You put milk or water in the machine and add hot cocoa mix. The machine swirls it around and heats it up, making it creamy and delicious. It has a special dispenser which guarantees that the top of your drink will be all frothy and lovely.

I made a drink with water and the Café D’Vita mocha cappuccino mix that they sell by the truckload at Costco. Steve made one with milk and some s’mores hot chocolate mix. Both were luscious.

It also comes with a recipe book that has all kinds of fancy concoctions listed. Before you know it, we’ll be giving Starbucks a run for their money.

It’s a good thing the Cocoa Latte machine made me happy tonight. I’m having a hard time coping with the sad news about the end of “The O.C.”

Resolved

I suppose I should publish my resolution for 2007 here. Perhaps that will make me accountable for completing it. I think that’s enough build-up, cause it’s really not that exciting.

This year, I resolve to spend less time doing things that I don’t want to do and more time doing things that I want to do.

Speaking of things I want to do, I’d like to drink more pomegranate martinis. I got this recipe from Oprah’s special holiday episode and made them at my family celebrations on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. They were so fabulous that word spread all the way to the family contingent in Florida, and I was asked to play bartender there as well. The most important thing to keep in mind when trying this recipe is that pomegranate juice is absolutely filled with antioxidants, so you really should indulge!

Here’s the recipe from Oprah’s Web site (with my comments)

-- 1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
-- 2 oz. Absolute Citron vodka OR white tequila (I used whatever cheap vodka I had in the house, probably Popov, and it tasted fine.)
-- 1 oz. Cointreau liquor
-- Cup of ice
-- Optional: Splash of sparkling water (Did not include this)
-- Optional: Squeeze of lemon (Did include this)

Shake ingredients in a shaker and put in chilled martini glasses. (I sort of guestimated on the quantities of the ingredients.) Put pomegranate fruit into glass as garnish.

Enjoy!

From Sea to Shining Sea

I’m glad to be home from Florida. It was a good trip, but exhausting. We did a ton of fun things, but here is my top-ten list (in no particular order):

1. I flew first class for the first time: When we checked in on the way there, they asked if we’d like to upgrade. Since it’s on our list of 100 things to do before we die, we decided to take advantage of the offer. It was totally worth it. We got as nice a dinner as you could possibly get on an airplane, and they were very generous with the wine refills. (The photo below was taken in first class -- Yes, we know we're dorks.)

2. I got to read: Finally!! Some quiet time on the plane. I finished Saffron Skies, which I had been working on forever because it was totally long and boring. I also finished Bed Rest, which was very cute and a fun read.

3. I had Dunkin’ Donuts: And they weren’t all smashed and melted!

4. I had authentic southern food: I had my first taste of red velvet cake, which I really liked. It was the flavor of the groom’s cake at my friend’s wedding. The cake itself was shaped like Darth Vader’s face! I also enjoyed sweet tea, alligator bites, fried pickles, sweet potato fries and crawfish at the Outback Crab Shack. If you’re ever in northern Florida, you HAVE to go there.

5. I played with my little cousins: We spent a day at the Fun Spot (which I don’t recommend) and also had fun playing with all their new Christmas gifts.

6. I went to the Mall at Millennia: It was big and had lots of good shops. I’m told it is THE destination for shopping in Florida.

7. I visited Jacksonville Beach: It has a cute little downtown right on the water. The weather was beautiful, so we had lunch outside and strolled around.

8. I went to a wedding: It was fun to hang out with all of my buddies from college!

9. I celebrated New Year’s Eve at Pleasure Island: They had tons of food and great entertainment. I bought a “bucket” so I could refill it at a discount all night. (The photo below illustrates the bucket's effects.) Steve and I got our groove on at a bunch of the clubs.

10. I got home in one piece: We had our fair share of holiday travel headaches, but none as bad as my friend whose plane had to make an emergency landing because somehow the airplane’s windshield got cracked and the pilot could feel air rushing into the cockpit. Scary, huh?!!!