We are redecorating our kitchen!!!

Tonight I decided to make a pot of chicken tortilla soup. Oh boy. It ended up being a huge process and then the lid flew off the blender and tortilla soup exploded everywhere. Baffled, I pulled myself together and refilled the blender and pressed the button and it exploded again. A ha! When you blend hot liquid you have to leave room for air or else the heat creates too much pressure and it just blows up. Who knew??

I contemplated leaving the splatter. It was quite colorful and I thought maybe Katie and I could start a new fiesta theme in our kitchen. But then I climbed up on the counter and started wiping off the ceiling, and the light bulbs, and the cabinets, and well...everything...

Mom used to hate it when I cooked. She would find batter and splatter in the most random places, days after I had used the kitchen. I thought of my mom tonight. She would have laughed at me, and then she would have sighed with relief that this was my kitchen and not hers!

just a typical tuesday morning.

This morning it was hard for me to pull myself out of bed. When I finally finished my shower I had exactly 17 minutes before I had to leave for work. I started blow drying my hair...and Katie started blow drying her hair...and gosh-diggity we blew a fuse! How lame is that? We can't even use two hair dryers at the same time?! And then to our luck the building is out of fuses. Good grief!
Since it was still dark, I had to use candles in order to find clothes in my closet. I did find matching clothes, but I think it was pure luck.

In all of the chaos I had to postpone my coffee break which then postponed my waking-up-ness, which meant that my usual "Good Morning!!!" self was more like "...hey..."
So I finally escaped over to Starbucks and while standing in line this woman said to me "That's a really nice red coat!" I said "Thanks". Then she said "You know, if you put potatoes in a red box they won't go bad, but if you put potatoes in a blue box they will eventually go bad."

Hmm...interesting...

I met someone!!!!

Meet Mr. Lego. Hmm...Mrs. April Lego. It has a nice ring to it doesn't it?

I'm not kidding when I say I like a guy with a good build. This guy is definitely built! Never mind the fact that he won't look at me.

getting 5 people to agree on something is NOT easy!

What did it take??? 2 hours?!!! to decide on the perfect Christmas tree? I liked one but it was too fat. Dad liked one but it had tumors on it. Nick liked one but...well...I won't comment. Mom liked one but it was too skinny, Stacey liked one but it was too tall. Good grief! When we finally decide, no one really cares any more. All we are thinking about at that point is the hot chocolate waiting for us in the barn.
But see below, the Perfect Cardinal Family Christmas Tree for 2007!


It was really cold.


But not too cold for dad to do a little Christmas Tree jig.

i ate a banana today

Bananas make me happy.

favorite thing about autumn #32

A scrimmage in the sky. I wish I knew what these birds were really doing. With such excitement and pride they dive up and down and around. Thousands of birds, soaring together as one big united blob :) Is it the bird military doing their drills? Is it a bird dance team performing to the music of downtown traffic? Is it a race? Is it a party?
These birds have been out nearly every night for the past month. They have been making circles in the same spot of sky, right above my office building. They play, and then they are gone...until tomorrow. How many more tomorrows will they come?
Yes, this is one more reason for me to love this season. Hah, I didn't intend to make that rhyme :)

Three Times Now!!!

So I know I'm not a morning person but I usually have en0ugh focus to control myself. This morning however I am beside myself! My words are coming out all jumbled and it's really annoying!
I am sitting at my desk, savoring my winter blend coffee from Einstein Bagels, and working on some projects. The phone rings (it's my job to answer it) so I pick up the phone, press the button and say "Good na na..."
Baffled, I try to recover. "Good M-O-RNING" I say, forcing myself to enunciate. I can only wonder what the caller is thinking.

And this would be fine if it happened once, a little slip of the tongue...we all have our moments right? But I've done this THREE TIMES already and I've only been here for an hour! Good grief!

dog attack

On Friday evening I went walking. I decided to take my favorite 8 mile loop along the lakefront, stopping at a great coffee shop to write some letters. There I was, minding my own business, listening to Craig Morgan sing "The Redneck Yacht Club" and all of a sudden I was startled to a scream by a big black dog! It ran up behind me, jumped on my back and started barking and growling. It cornered me into the bushes and kept it's stare fixed on me with a vicious teeth-bearing growl.
Now, I like dogs a lot. I lowered my voice, got down on my hands and knees and started to talk gently to the irritating beast. I was without success. I was on his territory, or too close to his territory, or I was just ugly or something.

A moment later I heard some shouting. I noticed three people across the street calling the dog to come back. The dog wasn't listening. Then, just as suddenly as it startled me, it ran back towards it's owners, only to be slugged by a passing SUV. It was a terrible terrible thing to witness. The dog yelped, was knocked out of it's nerves, rolled over a few times, and then brimming with adrenaline it got up and ran off. The cars continued to pass almost as if nothing had happened. The family was screaming. I stood motionless for a few moments. Then I continued on my walk.

it came!!!

It came!!! My most favorite Christmas album ever!!! This man makes Christmas official for me. It makes me think of the car ride out to Richardson's Tree Farm, all bundled up to search for the perfect Christmas tree. It makes me think of big hearty dinners, freezing cold weather, family togetherness, and all of the real joys of life.
I know, this is a bit early, but I wanted to be prepared this year. My normal rule is that Christmas music waits until the day after Thanksgiving. Maybe I'll make an exception this year, but I'll hold out as long as I can.

I know I'm not the only one who cherishes this particular album. Give a shout out if you are a fan! What feelings/memories stir in you when Roger Whittaker sings?