There’s nothing like spending 8 hours in a car driving to and from the Florida pan handle to pick up your kid. Especially when it’s your birthday. Also? Every single one of these photos was taken from inside a moving vehicle because someone only asked once if he needed to stop.
Clock
Clouds
Rusty
Hot Peanuts
Gas Station Signs
I’m just really glad it was such a pretty day for a long-ass drive.
I finished the second bobbin!
What’s that? You want to know what my bobbin is sitting on?
Bobbin for Scale
My new spinning chair from Crate and Barrel. Happy Birthday Week to me! Still!
Next up, plying!
Look ma! I'm still spinning!
In case you were wondering, it’s my birthday week and I’ve been treating myself to birthday presents.
That cup? It’s not really floating in mid-air. I haven’t suddenly developed the power of telekinesis (bummer) or magical powers (double bummer).
I got my wheel a cup holder! It’s pretty rockin’ awesome and is pretty damn close to magic. It’s going to hold my cider(s) while I knit at the beach. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Anyway, if you are so inclined to buy me presents for my birthday, roving wouldn’t be out of the question. I mean, at the rate I’m going, I’m going to need to replenish my stash, right? Right.
I am also partial to apple ciders (the very tasty adult beverage variety). You know, in case you were wondering what to get me. For my birthday. Week.
BAD Boy: What’s for lunch?
Me: I don’t know. There’s leftover pizza from your birthday party last night if you want some.
BAD Boy: There was pizza?
Me: Yes. Don’t you remember?
BAD Boy: I don’t remember anything last night except the limo.
I am not one to spent $175 for an hour ride in a stretch H2 limo no matter how cool it might be. However, there was a groupon a few weeks back for an hour limo ride for $45 and I was totally down with that so I bought it specifically to surprise BAD Boy at his birthday party. Plus, between our two cars, B and I didn’t have enough seat belts to haul 8+ kids from the skating rink to Yogurt Mountain. But with a limo? PLENTY of space. So much space, in fact, that the girls who “crashed” his party got to ride with them. Not to brag or anything (but I totally am), BAD Boy’s party will be the most talked about event of the school year. Or at least until the end of the year school party.
We made sure all the other parents knew that the kids would be riding in a limo after the skating part of the party and that it was a surprise for the boys. (I always think it’s a good idea to let folks know about stuff like that in case they’re not comfortable with it. We also have great parents in our community who are quick to offer a hand or car if needed.) And man was it ever! Two of the boys we invited rode with us to the skating rink (the rest met us there) and my little Civic only holds 5 people. We were at max capacity. When we were leaving the rink, one of the boys who rode with us asked me if everyone was going to fit into the one car. It was the perfect set up. We were walking through the doors of the rink right at that moment to leave.
Him: Are we all going to fit into the one car?
Me: Yeah. Don’t worry. We’ll have room for everyone in the car. ::points to limo:: We’ll all be in there.
The kids went ballistic and ran for the limo. It was awesome. BAD Boy, however, only heard his friend ask about the car. He missed what I said and was also the last kid out the door. (I think he was preoccupied with the cell phone he finally got for his birthday.) You could say he was a little unprepared for what came next. And well…you can see his reaction for yourself. It was absolutely priceless.
Just so you know, I made B ride in the limo with the kids. I drove my car and followed the limo. My car? Blissfully silent.
I’m sure most of you are aware of the phenomenon of celebrating a birthday. Some of you may be familiar with the birthday week-long celebration. I have decided that it is now time for the birthday month celebration. Because, well, I can. That’s why. Plus, when you’re born in a month that involves fireworks, you just need to claim it. All. So I started out my birthday month right before the weekend. And renamed July as DramaPantsapalooza. Or Pantsapalooza for short. What says Pantsapalooza better than starting the month off with a long weekend and hanging out at the lake?
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Nothing, really. Except maybe fireworks.
Oh yeah, I did that, too.
After that, the gifts begin to arrive. To start out the month, I bought myself a little something I’ve had my eye on for a long time. A laptop bag. This bag
Pantsapalooza Present Are the Best
Why, yes, that would be a W00t! box on top. But we’ll get to the big box first. It had my bag! See?
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The W00t! box contained the present that B got for me. He’s really lucky that I send him links all the time with stuff I like. Sadly, he only really seems to pay attention when it’s close to my birthday, Christmas or our anniversary. Or when I REALLY REALLY want something. My life, it is so hard.
ANYWAY.
In case y’all hadn’t heard, W00t! was recently acquired by Kindle Amazon and to celebrate, the W00t! of the day was a Kindle. And I might have sent B a text message on the first day of Pantsapalooza that might have said something like “Have you seen today’s woot? WANT!” (For the record, I did not plan that. W00t! apparently knew that it was the first day of Pantsapalooza and surprised me with the deal of the day being the Kindle.)
B, being a wise man, got me one.
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I am completely enamored. Especially the part where it came preloaded with the New Oxford English Dictionary. And that I can listen to my audiobooks on it. And that I can carry a library with me everywhere I go. How cool is that?! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a few hundred books I’d like to read.
Due to time constraints, exhaustion levels and well, that’s it really, I didn’t have a chance to color my icing so this is the best you get. It’s still sad, but I guess it’s more recognizable as a bear? Either way, it was delicious.
Last year after BAD Boy’s birthday, we were in Bed Bath and Beyond and saw this and he and I both had to have it. He thought it would be awesome. He to have it made for him and me to make it.
I mean, look at it! It’s gotta be easy, right? And it’s so cute! How could you not want to make that? The answer is simple. You just have to do it. And so today, that’s what I did.
Oh, did I mention that Saturday is BAD Boy’s birthday? And that his party is tomorrow? Yeah, that’s also why I decided to start on the cupcake bear cake today. And so I mixed up my cake mix and baked the cupcakes and followed the directions just like it said. See?
Yummy yummy cupcakes. In shapes!
Look at my lovely cupcake humps! Lumps? Whatever. They smelled divine. I patiently waited for them to cool down. I even went and visited my parents while they were cooling down. My aunt and uncle are visiting from Korea. They got in yesterday to today we went by to see them and say hello. It was really nice. I haven’t seen them in about 8 years.
We came back home and I reviewed the directions for the cupcake bear cake. I wanted to make sure I got it right.
I’ll be honest. At this point, I was still ridiculously optimistic about how great this bear was going to turnout. I had bought icing decorating tips, bags, food coloring, decorating icing. I went all out for this cake. I was going to do it right. It was going to be AWESOME. I just knew it! And so I forged ahead and assembled my bear.
Tragic Foreshadowing
I even threw in an extra balloon. I stepped back to admire my handy work and document my progress. And that’s when I noticed the gaps. They’re kind of big. Also, the “neck” area where the head connects to the body looks awfully small compared to the picture on the box. And whoops, that bottom left “foot” isn’t quite so round since I did a crap job of getting rid of the excess cake that overflowed.
But I still had faith that the icing would, you know, even things out. So I got started on the icing. Now I bought Wilton Decorator Icing. It’s good for making roses! And other such things. And I figured it would be perfect for what I was doing. Also, it was white icing so I had to add cocoa powder and milk to the icing to create chocolate icing for the bear’s main color. And I managed to do it. And the icing tastes FANFUCKINGTASTIC. Nice and chocolatey, too. Though I may have possibly burned the motor out of the little hand held mixer. But let’s not talk about that.
Let’s talk about this. Right before I started on this endeavor, I tweeted this:
Attempting to make this: http://short.to/1gquq I really hope I don’t end up on @cakewrecks.
Well, I may have jinxed myself, folks.
You know what the saddest part is about the bear? It’s not the lack of smoothness of the icing. Or the tiny neck. Or the fact that the “arms” are two different sizes. The saddest part about this bear is that if time were not the constraint it is, I would have continued on, mixed the different colors and finished the damn bear. AND the balloons. But, I’ve got to get up and get to work in the morning so I stopped after this. Which really, after looking at this sad, sad picture is probably for the best.
I’ll be stopping at the Publix bakery on my way home tomorrow to get a BAD Boy a birthday cake that DOES NOT look like this.
I turned 31 yesterday. I celebrated by getting a drum carder last Saturday, giving a work table a makeover, downloading Storm Force narrated by James Marsters on Tuesday and going to see Harry Pottery on my actual birthday. (I had them arrange the movie opening on my birthday. You’re welcome.)
And for your entertainment, I am going to post some pictures I found.
So the first picture is from my first birthday when I was as bald as the day I was born. My dad was so upset by this, he threatened to buy me a wig for my 2nd birthday if I didn’t grow some hair. I grew some hair.
The pony photoshoot…I’m not really sure what’s going on there. I think this was my Uncle Frank and Aunt Maxine’s pony and I think this might be at their house. But I have no idea where the outfit came from, why I’m not wearing a shirt or who took the pictures. But this probably has a lot to do with why I want a pony.
DRUM CARDER!!!!
(click to make bigger)
It’s my early birthday present from B. I’m so stoked! I’ve been wanting a drum carder forever and ever and now I finally have one! It’s a Louet Fine Cloth Drum Carder.
A few days ago on Ravelry, there was a thread in the Knittin’ in Dixie forum by MightCouldKnits who was having a yard sale and she was selling her drum carder. So, we got up way too early this morning, drove to Tuscaloosa, bought the drum carder and drove back. I got a quick lesson/demonstration on how to use it. She even still had the manual that came with it and then threw in some fiber for free with the carder! SQUEE!! Happy Birthday to me!
That is all. I’ll get back to you after I’ve played with it. I just wanted to share my joy.
You turn 9 today. It’s your last year in the single digits. So this birthday is kind of bittersweet. And you seem to have chosen this year to have a growth spurt. At times, I think you might have been purposefully? growing out pants just to spite us, but I know you can’t help it.? Your dad is tall, so it’s obviously his fault that you’re growing so fast and so tall. And you are still growing up to look so much like him. It’s kind of freaky, really.
You’re becoming so much more of your own person. You’re really starting to develop your own tastes in what hairstyle you want, the clothes you want to wear and what kind of music you like. These are just a few things, but it’s neat to watch you develop your sense of style. You’ve got quite the sense of humor, too.
We’ve worked hard this year at expanding your horizons and to venture out to try new things. You’ve come quite a ways on this, but it’s still a work in progress and your dad and I appreciate your efforts. I can’t even begin to tell you how proud of you we are for all the times you’ve taken the initiative and tried new things on your own and without any prompting from us. Even though it takes you a little while to warm up to new things, you’ve learned quite a few this year: origami, drawing, and using a telescope and microscope to name a few.
You’re also becoming quite the responsible person. You’ve handled taking on chores quite well and your father and I would like to thank you for taking them on with minimal fuss. You’re doing a good job, monkey. Keep up the good work. You’re also started to learn to problem solve on your own. This is still in the beginning stages, but you’re catching on fairly quickly, which is great.
I’m really glad you’ve started to take an interest in Charlie as well. We all know Chloe comes first in your heart, but it’s nice to see that you can make room for others. Even if it is only so you can “share” his bed with him.
It’s still nice to see that you actually like the dog. Which is good, because if anyone can teach you to be more aware of your surroundings, it’ll be that dog.
I’m looking forward to watching you play soccer this season and see you get your black belt in karate in the next year. And I’m looking forward to seeing you get excited about trying new things and realizing they’re actually pretty cool and you like them despite your best efforts not to. Especially when we take you on the big roller coasters. Mostly, though, I’m looking forward to getting to share the next year with you and watching you grow.
I love you.
Love,
Me
