When life gives you lemons...

...blog about what a crappy day it's been and include a recipe for lemon bars!

It is 10:30 am exactly and it has been a fairly crappy day. The first person I talked to on the phone today told me exactly what I did wrong and how upset he was about it (granted...this guy wasn't as bad as he usually is...he has yelled at me before using lots of profanity...this time was a little more subdued with no swearing) and then the first file I opened to invoice today had a little note on it telling me what I did wrong...as though I did it on purpose. (Don't get me wrong...I can handle constructive critisism...I want to know what I do wrong...I just don't want it to be made out to be like I'm the only one who has ever messed up around here...and over something small) I'm the only one in the office today...so I get to deal with all the mistakes of the week...and to top it off...I've not had a Pepsi in 2 days and unless I continue to not have one until Sunday, I will owe Ashlie a quarter.

But...on to yummier things. Here is a recipe for some really really good lemon bars I made the other day.

1 lemon cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 c butter - melted
1-8oz block of cream cheese
3 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Mix the cake mix, 2 eggs, and the melted butter together and press into a greased 9x13 pan. Then mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and egg together and put on top of bottom layer.
Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until top is browned a little.

I overcooked this, so the bottom was a little too brown...but...oddly enough...we still managed to eat the entire pan.

I've got sunshine...

Nothing major to blog about...just thought I better get something up seeing how it has been 5 days since my last blog. Here are a few items of business...

*I have become a fan of Heros. Me and my roomate/friend/but not life partner Ashlie have a Netflix account and they have quite a few movies and TV shows that you can watch on your computer. So I have spent my nights watching the first season and a half of Heros. I really like it.

*I have been anxiously engaged in finding amazingly cool things to make for the 9 people that posted a comment on my Free Give Away blog (it's not to late to comment). I have a few good ideas so far...so if you commented on that blog...be excited...be very excited.

*My dad is doing amazingly well. He went back to work today after they told him it was going to be 2 months before he could. His stitches/staples are out and I think he is back to almost full capacity. I think.

*The weather is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G here. It is in the upper 70's during the day...and super nice at night. Just perfect enough that at night an open window and a ceiling fan to do the trick.

*I'm 26 years old...and I've never seen the ocean...amazing huh. Me and a few friends are making plans to go hopefully this spring/early summer. Very exciting.

* I accidentally use the word amazing...or a form of it...4 times in this blog.

Can't...stop...blogging...

I have wanted to post these pictures in a blog for everyone to see this super cute present I got from Tacy for Christmas...and I am just now getting around to it...

For Christmas, Tacy made me 12 pillowcases...one for every month! Cute huh! I'm sure pillowcases aren't much compared to her amazing button up shirt she sewed...but I still wanted to show them to everyone.

In the picture above is October, July, June (I think, I mix up April, May and June), January (because I 'love' unicorns and she couldn't think of anything else for January) and February, which is on my pillow right now.

Then in this picture is April, November, May, March, August, December and September.

And then here is something I need a little help with...

This is something I first noticed when I started doing my own laundry in college. I would put something in the wash that didn't have spots like that picture does, and it would come out of the washer with those 'grease' spots on them. I have no idea what they are and they usually come out if I wash it again (but sometimes it takes a couple washes, and that just wears out your clothes so I hate doing it) I was told that it was because I used powedered laundry soap, so I switched to liquid. Then I was told it was because I add the soap after I loaded the washer with my clothes, so I would fill the water and soap first, then add the clothes to the water. Then I was told it was because I washed T-shirts with jeans, so I do all my jeans seperately now. Then I was told it was because I use liquid laundry soap....

Needless to say I feel like I have tried everything and I am still nervous to pull my clothes out of the dryer because they might come out with spots on them. I have noticed that it is mostly my hoodies and cotton t-shirts that do this.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for me to try?

(This is in reference to the blog posted below this one: I have decided that since I LOVE giving things to people and making things, that I will make something for anyone who comments on that blog...since some of you don't have blogs to repost...the things I make are going to be so rockin cool that if you didn't comment on it you will regret it...period.)

Free-Fifty-Free

I found this on Tunas blog and thought it sounded like fun---hope you all agree!

I'm excited to see who the first 5 lucky ducks will be!

The first 5 to respond to this win something from me! But...you have to do this:

Repost this to your own blog and offer the same thing to your first 5 responders.The first 5 who repost it to their own blog will get something made by me! My choice. For you!

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make

2.What I create will be just for you.

3. It'll be done this year-no guarantees on when this year, but sometime in 2009!

4. You have no clue what it's going to be. the possibilities are endless.

5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The first 5 people post this on their blog and leave a me comment telling me they did, win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it! Sounds like fun right?!? So let's PLAY!

What now...

I turned on my favorite morning show to listen to on my way to work today...and what do I find out? It's going off the air...

No more pita's AND no more Adam Carolla in the morning?
There is not much more I can take...

Then my world came crashing down...

Me and Ashlie decided we needed to get a pita last night for dinner. We were both closing at Lane Bryant...so we were just going to stop right after work. We got there, walked in the door, and Ricky (Whose real name is Rudolfo, but we call him Ricky) says "Wait, you might not want to come all the way in, we are out of falafal and gyro (he knows that is what Ashlie and I always get)...then he adds this little tidbit of information "And...we are closing...like...going out of business." WHAT!?! He said they have just been really slow lately and they were going to be closing. We asked if he knew when they would be and he said "Well, it was supposed to be today." WHAT WHAT!?! So, we didn't even get a farewell pita...not one last meal to prepare us for a life without Extreme Pita across the street. I'm not quite sure what we are going to do! We went to Subway that night, since it is right next door, but it's not the same. The food is good, but it's not the same, and the people that work there are not friendly and nice like the guys at Extreme Pita were.

Life as I know it is over.

Here We Go...

I get really nervous to change my blog around. I want people to find my blog as a cozy little place...so I am worried that the backgrounds I choose are too distracting ... (you know those blogs that you read that have such a fancy background and it takes forever to upload it all?)...I don't want people to not want to read my blog for that reason.

So tell me if it is too busy. Is the white words on purple annoying? Too hard to read? Is the font too tiny? Do I look like a lesbian in that picture? (I get that alot...and not just about that picture.)

I also like my lists on the side to look organized. Do they? I am always worried about my list of friends and families blogs; who I should put on my list and who I shouldn't. Not because I'm stuck up and don't want to include everyone...I just don't want to come off like a friend hoarding weirdo.

I am putting way to much thought into this...but I'm still a little nervous.

But, on the funner (more fun?) side. I thought I would do that 'tag blog' where you post the 5th picture in your 5th album from you My Pictures files.

Um...nevermind. That wasn't fun at all. I have no idea what this picture is of. It must be in Idaho somewhere because it was in my 4th of July folder. Tacy or Rodney...does that look familiar to you at all?

The Week In Pictures...

I am back in Arizona now...and I wanted to get the pictures up quickly...which is why I'm doing it at 2 in the A.M...

When they shaved his head for the surgery...they forgot a little bit...but I think they did that on purpose.



My mom playing nurse and taking my dads pulse...

This was the day after we got home...4 days after the surgery...his eyes swelled up, but this picture doesn't really show it very well...

Our dumb dog has to be right on top of you sometimes...it's out of control.

Just so everyone knows...he is recovering very well. He has never taking any pain medication because I guess he isn't in pain. He can't bend over or lift anything heavier than a half-gallon of milk for the next month...and he can't go back to work for a month either. He did call the doctor on Tuesday though to see if he could go back to work for a few hours...he said no.

Surprise surprise.

It can't only be Thursday...

I feel like it has been an eternity since my last blog...
I've been trying to think how to post my recent blog because I think sometimes I get too wordy when I tell stories...so I'm going to try to do it chronologically...

Monday 8:30ish: I'm having my usual chat with my mom on my drive into Phoenix. She tells me that dad has been off of work for a week or so with a bad headache and dizziness. They thought it was an ear infection...but the doctor said it wasn't and that it would pass. She said it hadn't passed so they were going to go to his regular doctor (who was out of town for the first doctor visit) and see what they could do about it.

Monday 12:15: My mom calls me and says that Joe (his doctor) called the Neurologist over in Quincy and he said to bring my dad in right away and admit him to the hospital. They weren't sure exactly what was wrong, and they were going to run a bunch of tests. She told me to call my sisters and let them know. Not fun...

Monday 4:45: My mom calls and lets us know that the results of one of the tests shows that he is bleeding in between his brain and his skull. They were going to do an MRI in the morning and see how bad it is and what they should do about it.

Tuesday morning: My mom says the neurologist came and said that he is actually bleeding in two spots and that they would know more after the MRI.

Tuesday 4:45: She call and says that there are two clots in his head...one is considerably large and the other is not small. They are definitely going to need to do surgery to remove the clots. He tells her they will have to shave his hair. He also says that he is amazed at how well physically my dad is doing. For someone with the clots the size that he has he should of been in extreme agony or probably passed out.

Tuesday between 5-11:30: All of my extremely supportive friends (some of whom are going through their own family medical drama) are telling me I need to go home. We go out to eat then come back to my house to look at plane tickets. I don't call my mom to ask because she will talk me out of it.

Tuesday midnight: My friend Whitney books my plane ticket to leave the next day and come back March 11th.

12:01: Whitney is on the phone with Frontier airlines moving my ticket from March 11th to February 11th. Oops.

Wednesday 11:30: my flight leaves Phoenix.

Wednesday 6:23: I arrive in St. Louis where Nathan picks me up and we head towards the hospital.

Wednesday 9:00: We arrive at the hospital where I surprise my mother and she just keeps saying over and over "I can't believe your here. You just paid off your credit card and this couldn't have been cheap. You can't afford to be here."

Wednesday 9:30: my mom is adjusted to the idea that I am here, we visit my dad for a while. He is bald and has tubes coming out of his head with icky drainage coming out of them. Quite a sight.

Nothing much after that. We spent the night in a hotel and I came home this afternoon (Thursday) . My mom showered and went back up with a friend and I stayed home...finished taking down Christmas decorations (yes...it's true...but we'll give my dad a break since he was bleeding in his head and everything)...did my brothers and his wife and her nephews laundry...and just cleaned and stuff.

Tomorrow I am going to go to my dads work and make sure none of his plants are dead then I'll probably head up to Quincy.

Just writing this blog has exhaustified me. I'm going to bed.

I could get into this...

I have never watched a football game in my life. Maybe a clip here and there when I am at my Grandpas house or at Curt and Charlenes house...but never a full game from beginning to end...
Until yesterday...
And I have to say it was probalby a good game to start with...even though we lost.
Here are a few things I learned from the Superbowl...

1. There are alot of rules. I felt bad for the guys that would get fouled for the way they ran into a someone. Sometimes I think you are just running and you have that momentum and you can't help the way you plow over a guy. But I understand the need for the rules...or else it would be like hockey.

2. Commercials during the superbowl are WAY overrated. I only laughed out loud at maybe two of them.

3. Bruce Springsteen @ Superbowl = Aretha Franklin @ Inaguration. Yikes.

4. I've decided to become a football fan. I am going to pick a random team and become a follower fo that team. I'll get back to you on who I end up choosing. Alayna suggested the Detroit Lions.

5. I think that no matter how much of a fan I became...I would NEVER pay to go to the Superbowl.

6. The Steelers head coach is the most beautiful man I've ever seen.