are you from my brain

they ask me what exactly i'd like to get out of these guitar classes i'm taking, and i have to be honest, i just really want someone to wave a wand and *poof* i'll sound just like jimmy page, instead of what the instructor sees when he looks at me, which is a messy girl in pigtails, grimacing, who can't seem to wrap her fingers around the C chord (it hurts, man)... i'll also take just learning to play the beginning of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" or even "Iron Man." then i shall truly be cool.

the guiltiest pleasures

has and always will be American Idol. all my too-cool pals can make fun of me and call me a sell out to pop culture, but at the end of the day i will still be writing mock love letters to simon cowell. oh well.

prime real estate

this is the floor plan for the house we are going to purchase (with some modifications). we've upgraded it with a fireplace, solid hickory cabinetry, modified the master bathroom (we only need one sink and dont like those roman tubs - we got a big stand up shower instead), it'll be a gas instead of electric home, deluxe carpeting and kitchen/bathroom floor coverings, nice tile backsplashes throughout the house (kitchen and bathroom, i mean), canned lights in the kitchen, comes with all appliances except washer and dryer, there's so much room in the kitchen!!! etc. it's huge, brand new, and lovely. now if only the cunting snow would go away so we can get the land all dug up and ready to get the house built!!

oh big kitty

a lolcat waiting to happen ... that is some well marbled cat meat, no doubt. the vet was right when he said after her spaying she'd "gain a little weight." grossly underestimated him we did, but he was right ... hehe fat cat .. i love it ...




gourmet mona.




my obesity, let me showz you it ...

my dog is cuter than yours

... if only because of his pack rat-ting ... night before last i cubed up mozzarella cheese to stuff in my meatballs and tossed the leftovers to the dogs. "my, you are eating your cheese so fast, Cracker," i said as he took treat after treat into the next room ... the next morning we found a cube of mozzarella hidden neatly inside erik's boot ... i can only guess where he hid the rest ... with the collection of sticks and leaves in the far back corner of the dog house? underneath a stuffed tiger inside the toy box? under couch cushions? inside a shirt pocket? with a dog like that who mis-underestimates the shelf life of fresh cheese cubes, who knows ...

notes from the underground

and i do mean underground. there has been some speculation as to why i've been so quiet as of late; and when i say that i mean i'm the only one speculating :) i can't find, it seems, a good balance between everyday life, routine, work, housework, and what happens to my head when i pick up books, but fail to pick up a pen afterwards... it's starting to affect me personally and while i'm fretting over recommendation letters to get into graduate school (and feeling like a failure for not schmoozing enough with people to be able to call on them for said letters to apply) i'm also thinking what a stupid rule that is, recommendation letters. why are they so important to the application process? my work and VERY VERY VERY STRONG DESIRE to get into Grad school should speak for itself ... but meh ... rules are dumb ... i almost cried last nite thinking without them or anyone willing to do them, there's no way i'm going to get into grad school ... and i'm going to have to settle for a stupid bachelor's degree ... it all makes me feel very stupid ... anyhow ... work is slow, the weather is absolutely shitty (it's been negative 30 or so for the past week and i am sick to death of it) ... i hate wyoming with the fire of a thousand suns and i don't care if erik knows it ...

on a more positive note, i am now certified in CPR, thanks to a 3 1/2 hour course i took just yesterday. so uh, would you put your life in my hands? ;) it was all very interesting as i've never had a course like that before ... and the dummy's we practiced on are cool ... they smelled like alcohol and plastic ...

on another positive note, we are, in April, purchasing one of those personalized, pre-built homes to place on some land erik's parents bought ... we are getting 2 1/2 acres and will be starting on digging a foundation, a well, septic, and hooking up electricity in the spring ... as i am now currently living in a 900 sq. ft home, we will be moving into a 1376 sq ft place AND I COULDNT BE MORE EXCITED. we'll actually be able to freakin' MOVE in the new place. everything's so cramped and cluttered right now ... it definitely lends itself to my mood as of late ... i feel cramped and cluttered myself ... it's not a nice feeling ...

anyhow, while i'm fretting about school and freezing my ass off, i was given the opportunity to bake a kick ass birthday cake for my brother's 23rd birthday ... and as baking and decorating calms me immensely, i had a good time ...

the bottom sheet is basic yellow cake, the "s" logo tier is dark chocolate cake both baked by me, of course, everything is iced with my special and delicious homemade buttercream. erik handled the fondant work, draping the "cape" on the upper corner, and he also freehanded that "S" on the cake itself. we used the gel pastes to mix the icing colors and to knead the red into what was formerly pale pink fondant. erik also wanted to pipe the stars around the top tier. I piped the lettering and i obviously need A LOT more practice piping letters ... otherwise, i think between the two of us we did a smashing good job. :) and alex was quite pleased. and please ignore my messy and cluttered kitchen in the second photo :D

mona wore a cape for the occasion:


and then she tried on a hat:


i may not be able to get into school, but at least my cat makes me laugh... right? .... i guess ... :(

so angry ...

i can't hardly see straight ... this is why i cannot stand religion, or anything resembling it:

jackals and bastards and every bad thing i can think of, all of the people who would be involved in something like this, and anyone who would support it. and for those of you who ask me why i am so adamant against church, etc., this is why.

out, out damned cheez it!

of all the recipes i regularly tinker with, ingredients i omit, add, etc., the one i insist on following to the letter is our christmas chex mix. i don't know why i insist on adding cheez its to the mix of pretzel sticks, chex cereal, and pecans when i do not like cheez it. detest them, loathe them in fact. sometimes i'll pick one up because it looks buttery and worcestershirey and garlicky and might possibly be good, but then i put it in my mouth, chew it, make a face, and spit it out. then i go right back to tossing the wicked cheez its to the dogs. it'd be a lot simpler to just make it without said nasty cheez-y crackers, but i can't bring myself to do it. i dont know yet what this says about me. something bad, i'm sure. oh well. happy day after christmas :)