Laughter

So last night, before writing that extremely depressed post, I bunched up some test data and sent it to one of my coworkers for some last minute work on a project we have. I think my email (and the quality of the data/scenarios) is a really good example of why one person should not work 7-6 (or 6-6) multiple days in a row and then still try to get back online at 11pm). TOTALLY INCOHERENT. Luckily, she speaks "tired" and was able to translate.

Today I am totally laughing about it. A weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I really doubt anyone actually read my previous post and prayed for me in the time that has passed, but I really feel relief. PTL! So I'm going to share a few more UK photots I forgot about yesterday.

Cambridge - An Ostrich burger!!!

More Jousting (This one is for the nephews)

Watching the England/USA World Cup game

Great title for a pathway on the Royal Gunpowder Mills campus

Here is what the "Long Walk" looked like: (it got curvier later)

Good night!

*Updated*
The story of my life:

Time for bed! I tell myself! 10:00

I just need to finish this email.
I'll check a few blogs before I go to bed.
I'll put away the things I bought couponing yesterday.
Oh no! My bin is full! Time to reorganize.
Oh! I'm visiting Dad this weekend, and I intended to put together a Fathers's Day assortment of coupon freebies. I'll put those things aside.
I'll give some to Tim, too.
Oh! So much more space in my bin for my other freebies!
Whoops! If I'm celebrating Fathers day this weekend, I need to get in gear for my gift/project. I better paint my canvas tonight.
Paint.
I'll paint these other wood anchors I found downstairs too. That'll be great for the Rhode Island party.
I'll wrap dads freebies up cute. After all, they have to transport somehow.
I'll wrap Tim's too. Oh man! He graduates from high school next month! I'll need a gift for that! Yikes!
Oops! Wasn't it bedtime?
11:41 pm

*Updated, 2:10am* Before above mention of 10:00 bedtime, said individual consumed 1 pint of iced tea. It was refreshing and delicious. At 12:15am, still wide awake in bed, said individual got up to continue on her many projects. She got MANY things done for the party decorations. This makes her very glad. She knows she is tired, because when she uploaded files to FedExOffice online (prints much nicer than my skewed inkjet), she had to do it THREE TIMES. THREE TIMES, PEOPLE! (4 separate documents). Ok. 2:12. Updating blog and going to bed. (With a hungry rumbly tummy!)

Craziness

I'm going back to the Yucatan this summer with my church. Did I already say this? Zach is going too. We are having a party to fundraise for his trip costs. (And maybe some of mine?) The party is 100% Rhode Island themed. This is really fun, but a TON!!!! of work. What have I gotten myself into? What is a quahog (I'll remember it for scrabble now) and how the heck do I cook one??!!

Oh dear, oh dear...I may be in over my head...

Frosting: Better than Stroganoff

Last weekend I took a break from the obsessive couponing. I had all these women pictured over to my house! We created 11 10 fantastic frostings and 1 mishap. My goals for the morning were to spend time interacting with all these awesome ladies and know be able to test a bunch of frosting recipes at once. We had mixers running from every plug in the kitchen!!

Now the next time I make brownies, or cake, or cupcakes, or anything that needs frosting...I'll have some great go-to recipes! We dyed each one a different color so we could tell them apart later. We sampled them on graham crackers then decorated cookies and cupcakes to take home. I have the recipes in a .vsd file, as soon as I figure out how

We've already agreed that we have to repeat this idea on both salsa and spaghetti sauce.

It took a lot of organizing to figure out exactly which ingredients we would need for the recipes I planned. These are the ones I was in charge of bringing.

I also hid all of our various kitchen counter clutter and even mopped the floor!

It was CRAZY with so many people in the kitchen at once! But we all had fun!

Notice the double boiler action in this picture. Talk about complicated! Wanda's recipe called for using a handmixer for 7 minutes while double-boiler-ing the frosting. I was skeptical about the results from such a complicated recipe - but it was amazing! So light!

Here is my favorite recipe in the mix: Janelle's Chocolate Cake Frosting. MMMM.

Krista and Christina had the other very complicated recipe. Double Boiling, Kitchen-aid, and an ICE BATH!! Amazing results though!

I can't remember which one this is, but Marian tried 2 easy recipes with cool-whip and marshmallow fluff. They got devoured like the rest!

And for some of the results shots, including decorating:

The pink one is buttercream and that one was my biggest surprise. I loved it! I've always thought store-cake buttercream was awful. This one was even shortenting instead of butter! Next time I'll try butter.

Irish Wheaten Bread - Sweet snack or curse word?

I have Irish Wheaten Bread in my oven. This is my first official attempt at bread. Considering this isn't even a yeast-based recipe, I'm not sure it even counts. But I had leftover buttermilk after making these, so I used it on the bread.

My motivation behind the non-yeast bread is...I'm a little afraid of the process. Warm water over the stove while mixing in yeast...wait XYZ hours for dough to double...etc etc garble garble...net result: Christy is confused. So, I gave this a try, even having to learn how to "cut butter into the mixture" and buying a pastry cutter. (Which may be my only take-away of this whole experience!) I did buy some instant yeast to try in my next big baking endeavor.

Did everyone have a nice Easter? He is risen...He is risen indeed!

Easter Egg Decorating - its not too late!

I did this little activity last week and wanted to post it soon so that you have time to craft it as well (if you'd like!)

Sara and Kate definitely explain WAY better than I can (and with better results) how to do this here.

I started with these 100% Silk ties from Goodwill:

And created these eggs:

More Running Treasures!!

Maybe this is a sign I need to run more often. After coming back earlier this month with dozens of lemons, todays run yielded more "treasures." (aka, other people's trash.) March is the month when the Santa Clara area dumps all their big trash on the curb, no holds barred. I've checked out a few piles (one had a scrabble game box, but no tiles) and saw an AMAZING desk I was not brave enough to look at more closely, plus a TON of nasty matresses, wood, and quite a random assortment of items.

Today was a no different. I committed to carrying a picture frame home (why always so far from home??!!) which is 18x20 or larger, just the frame, to potentially be used for artistic purposes. (Tabitha, this means you.) Then I found a spot where a house had been forclosed and someone just put EVERYTHING in the garage out here. So I scored some new pillow cases, a little crafting fabric, LEFT a lot of nasty fabric and hand-knitted blankets there, and...this Moo Cow Creamer. It was so tacky, it looked vintage. I was right! Its from the 1960's! These sell from $1 to $15 on ebay! Not bad for free. It seems to be in pretty good condition. I'm not sure how I'll use it yet, but it seems awesome!
Now the other thing I did today...I will post about when I upload the pictures!