The De-junking Begins

Brad and I have lucked out in our marriage and neither of us area pack rats. It's a quality I definitely appreciate in my husband. We like to keep only the things we'll use mostly because we hate moving stuff unnecessarily.

We moved pretty suddenly 6 months ago and really took advantage of the opportunity to get rid of an amazing amount of stuff, especially considering the tiny size of the apartment. The dumpster at our building sure came in handy and anything we didn't use got tossed.

As we prepare for our next move we've started the process early and things that came with us in the last move but haven't been touched since are going to be the first to go.

It started on Tuesday night as we both went through our dresser drawers. It was time to admit that most of those cute clothes neatly folded were never going to fit but someone else would enjoy them so off to Value Village they go. Last night I pulled down my box of CD's. I tossed all the cases, threw out burned CD's and we made room in Brad's CD binders. We're already two boxes down and there are 3 more that didn't ever get unpacked in the new house.

I'm excited to be even more junk free in the future!
L

What Kind of Cupcake are you?

This seemed appropriate after my latest cupcake post.

You Are a Vanilla Cupcake

You are very sweet and mellow. You are easy going and easy to like. You are drawn to those stronger personalities. You get along with powerful people. You are like a cupcake because you appeal to almost every type of person. You are friendly and accepting. You bring out other people's best qualities.

What Flavor Cupcake Are You?

Cotton Candy Fail

I saw a recipe not too long ago for Cotton Candy Cupcakes and thought it sounded amazing. I love cotton candy ice cream so how can you go wrong with a cupcake version. For flavouring all they did was throw handfuls of cotton candy into their icing but I figured I could do better than that.

First hurdle, where do you get cotton candy in May? After a surprisingly low amount of looking it turns out you can buy small bags of it at Superstore, good thing I was paying attention that day.

So here was my brilliant plan, take a bunch of cotton candy and dissolve it in water and then reduce it down to a thick syrup to concentrate the flavour. Then add that to my icing for yummy cotton candy goodness.

Sadly it did not turn out as well as I had imagined… I followed the plan, boiled the liquid until it was a thick (brown) syrup and then added it to the icing. I gave it a taste, fully expecting carnival yummy-ness… what did I actually get? Buttercream. Ugly, brown, yet tasty buttercream icing. I still had more cotton candy so I threw some pieces in hoping it would help but sadly no, in the end it was still just brown buttercream. It was time to make the best out of bad experiment so I coloured the icing pink and blue and swirled it together on top the cupcake, I garnished with more cotton candy (which today is all shrivelled and crusty) and called them done.

Work will be happy to eat them even if they don’t taste a thing like cotton candy and they sure are pretty.

My next attempt will involve finding cotton candy flavouring on-line.
L

A Music Q&A

Stolen from Denise

1. What song do you sing in the shower?
   I've never been a shower singer. When I lived at the Rosehill house we used to hear the boys next door singing in the shower, I always got a chuckle out of that.
2. What's your best karaoke number?
   I don't think I've ever done Karaoke. I hate being the centre of attention so I'm always pretty quick to turn down the mike.
3. Favorite Christmas/Holiday song?
   I LOVE Christmas music, I start listening to it early and continue far past Christmas. My favorites are almost all done by MOTAB, I especially love their O Come All Ye Faithful and they have a Christmas Processional with handbells that I repeat often.
4. Best song for getting psyched up?
   Some by a girly pop group, like Untouched by the Veronicas or My Life Would Suck Without You by Kelly Clarkson. I realize they're not great lyrically but sometimes I can't get enough.
5. Best melancholy, rainy day mood song?
   It Looks Like Rain – Jann Arden
6. What song did/will you dance to at your wedding?
   "The Sun and the Moon" – Mae. That song has stuck with us so much that we're giving our little girl the middle name Mae. The Lyrics were just so appropriate for us…
   "I can not say that I was ready for this.
   But, when worlds collide,
   And all that I have is all that I want.
   The words seem to flow
   And the thoughts they keep running.
   And all that I have is yours.
   All that I am is yours."
7. Best breakup song?
   Already Gone – Kelly Clarkson
   Lost - Anouk
8. What song takes you back to High School?
   Kiss From a Rose – Seal. I can't tell you how much I hate this song. The Lethbridge station, The River, would play it all summer and it reminds me of working at the hot, smelly lunch counter in the Trading Company and it makes me feel gross all over.
9. Do you sing a certain song to your kids?
   My Mom has the best memory for kids songs and will need to teach them to me because I'm not sure I know any of those fun songs. I do want to sing Primary songs to my kids because I think it's so cute when the Sunbeams can sing along. You've got to start early though.
10. What song makes you cry?
    I'm embarrassed to admit that there are a plethora of songs that have made me cry. If I'm into the song enough then I'll start to tear up. Usually first dance songs at weddings make me cry though, they're always so loving and sweet and the bride and groom can't get enough of each other. I like weddings.
11. What song do you want played at your funeral?
    Goodnight Trouble – Sarah Slean
12. What song do you wish would start playing when you walked in a room?
    Today – Joshua Radin (if Brad's in the room)
13. What's a song you know every word to by heart?
    There are lots but I remember I was really proud of myself when I learned the words to Garth Brooks, Ain't Goin' Down (Till the Sun Comes Up). I always wished I knew all the words to Vanilla Ice, Ice Ice Baby. I was pretty sure it meant you were cool if you knew all those words.
14. What was the first 8-track/cassette tape/CD that you owned?
    I'm sure it was some church tape/CD, I used to listen to those a lot. The first non-religious music I remember is Celine Dion.
15. What's your work-out jam?
    Work out… ha! I did go through a phase last summer where I started to jog occasionally (it didn't last long) but my music choice was always the same, The Veronicas. It'll definitely get you going in the morning.
16. Best road trip song/album?
    Chicago – Best of CD. There were many road trips taken to that soundtrack. It will always remind me of trips to Idaho and my sister Jennifer.
17. Ever had a song dedicated to you?
    It seems like along the way there must have been at least one but I can't think of any.
18. What song gets stuck in your head that you can't stand?
    Any really over-played radio song
19. Favorite classical piece?
    I love Yo Yo Ma, Especially when he plays Prelude #5 by Chopin
20. No. 1 favorite artist?
    Jimmy Eat World, although Sarah Slean is making her way up there on the list
21. No. 1 favorite album?
    Futures or Clarity by Jimmy
22. No. 1 favorite song?
    That changes often and there are way too many to list but I never fail to be amazed by how much I love the song Kill, by Jimmy.
23. What's the last song you listened to?
    There was something playing on the radio in the car this morning but I think that hardly counts. I was listening to Kelly Clarkson, I want you, on my bus ride home last night.

So there you have it, a look into my musical tastes
Sorry for the boring post but why should you be entertained when I'm terribly bored :)
L

Craving #3

It's interesting how these cravings pop up… at some random moment I'll have a thought, "I've got to have some candy". Or "Chicken wings would be perfect right now". I wasn't even thinking about food at the time and then all of a sudden my head (stomach?) wants these very specific foods. Well craving #3 has appeared and it's no less weird than the other two, right now it's all about Pop Tarts. Remember how they used to be so yummy fresh from the toaster, how the icing would burn your mouth and the filling would be sweet and warm, well they're just as good as you remember so go out, buy a box and enjoy.

I've started on Strawberry and plan on moving to S'mores later this week.
L

(as I was looking for a suitable photo of Pop Tarts I came across this... homemade Pop Tarts... they look yummy and someone should make me some because it sure won't be me)

The Grass Hoppers

This season of softball has been a little discouraging for me. We've played some teams that weren't very fun, there have been arguments and I've had to find subs often so I wasn't really looking forward to playing yesterday. The weather was gross and I was worried people wouldn't show up on time.

Turns out this game was exactly what I needed. The opposing team was a lot of fun, everyone had a great time and we even ended up winning. I generally don't mind when we lose but I sure enjoy winning.

It's been interesting how quickly my energy level decreases, by the end of the game I'm completely wiped but it's a good kind of exhaustion and I'm glad I'm playing, I'm crossing my fingers I'll make it through the season though.

Hopefully the rest of our games will be as much fun as last night (even if we did get rained on).
L

A Perfect Long Weekend

Shopping
Softball
Settlers of Catan
Sleeping in late
Getting locked out of the apartment
Driving to and from Magrath
Yummy food
A little more Settlers
L

Kicking

It seems lately that Catie has become a little less active. I don't know if that's normal but I used to feel her lots in the morning, evening and night. I still feel her so I'm not worried but she definitely kicks less these days than she did a week ago.

Brad and I were talking about how it's hard for him to feel a connection with her, I feel her growing and moving and she makes me hungry and grouchy (not so much anymore) but Brad doesn't have any of that. We've both been looking forward to the time when he can feel her move so he can start to develop some sort of physical connection. The slow down in her movements has made this take a little longer than I thought it would.

I had him try to feel her move a couple days ago but it was disappointing so I wanted to wait until I was sure there would be positive results. This morning she was giving some good kicks so I thought we'd try it out. There were a few little ones that he didn't feel but after a good size punch I asked if he felt that… he got the cutest smile and said yes, he thought my stomach muscles had twitched, didn't know it was her. So Catie kicked for her Daddy and I'm so glad! They're going to be such good friends.

No one will love her quite the way that he will. He can't wait to nibble on her toes and her fingers and her nose. We're hoping they'll watch hockey together and we're determined to build us a softball player. I can't wait for this girl to meet her Daddy.
L

Second Lunch

I think I've started to notice an increase in my appetite... today my lunch just wasn't enough so I'm now working on second lunch.

Time to brown bag a little extra.
L

Memories of Jennifer

In celebration of my sister's birthday I thought I would pay tribute to her via blog…

A few memories

• Jell-O Popcorn (lime was always a favorite flavour)
• Listening to Chicago on the road trips down to Idaho
• We used to share a room and tickle each others back. I would always fall asleep and she'd have to wake me up so I could continue.
• Cream Puffs
• Pickles… occasionally we'd have pickles with dinner and together the two of us could polish off a jar
• Playing ducks and geese in the snow in the backyard
• When the neighbor kept stealing my bike she came up with the great idea to tie it to the tree

She's creative, smart, amazing with her kids, and a great writer.
She has a fun sense of humor and I'm sad she doesn't live closer, I wish we got to spend more time together and that we knew each other better as adults. She could teach me to make yummy re-fried beans and those bread bowls she makes and could answer all of my baby questions. I'd take her cupcakes and insist she play on our softball team.

Happy Birthday Jenn, I miss you!
L