Martha Stewart here I come...

So last week I tried to make Halloween sugar cookies in the spirit of the season and all. Being that I hate dressing up I have to celebrate in other ways (e.g. cookies, forcing people to attend the Haunted Hotel, etc.). I bought this special food coloring in black and orange to decorate my festive cookies. Of course, I did not read the box and when I went to use it I realized that it was "convenient gel." WHAT? The convenient gel ended up splattered all over my kitchen after I had to use a fork to basically fling it into the homemade frosting. Even though it made a ominous black color, I would venture to say that its execution was less convenient than handy liquid coloring drops. And I wasn't too blessed about the stains it left all over my fingers. All in all, I guess it was worth it because Josi accused me of trying to outdo everyone's favorite homemaker convict extraordinaire with my creations. A small scale food coloring disaster is little price to pay for cookie beauty.




And in other, much more exciting news...

Don't worry, my mom only wishes this one was mine. Sunday, 5 peas in a pod became 6 as we welcomed little baby Audra into the world. The cutest baby in San Diego had a multitude of instant fans, me included. Isn't she so sweet? See Amy and Aaron's blog for more details! Congrats A-team, thanks for taking one for the team and giving us all a new mini cuddler!

Tragedy at home

Today before I went to work, I went to Qualcomm stadium to donate some goods. This was one of the most emotionally conflicted experiences I have ever had. Amidst sadness, great tragedy, and a feeling of hopelessness the strength of the human spirit and hope shone through. Neighbors helped each other in a parking lot full of tents and camping chairs. Children and pets were cared for as San Diegans lined up to donate blood. The line of people waiting to drop carloads of supplies was as long as the line of people coming for refuge. What appeared to be a modern refugee camp was also a giant support group. Armored trucks, Wal-Mart semis full of donated supplies, a makeshift hospital, and free concession stands were all present as this community suffers together and works toward healing.

I have lived here all my life and this is the greatest crisis I have ever seen. All our San Diego family who have lost so much are in our prayers.

Yeah RIGHT

Somebody needs to get this thing checked out...Flattering but totally unrealistic. Hey, I'll take it. Props to TJ, Krystle, and myheritage.com. Sorry for being a copy cat but the dang site wouldn't let me save this unless I put it in a blog.

Also this may be the only time in my life someone tells me I look like Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Tag

See I was always the fat kid that got tagged in Elementary school. Being the easy target did not make me overly fond of this game. Now I've been cyber-tagged by Christy who no doubt was the skinny girl in hip Guess jeans that made my life miserable.

Alright fine, I'll play. I've lost a little weight since then, maybe it will be fun.

I'm supposed to divulge 6 little known facts about myself. Then tag some of you lucky bloggers to do the same.

1)I'm afraid of dinosaurs. This may not actually be "little-known" but it is embarassing enough that it should be. I hate Jurassic Park, and the sound of velociraptors makes me cringe. Bryan keeps trying to convince me to go to a dinosaur IMAX movie. Apparently he wants me to die from cardiac arrest.

2)I cried in kindergarten soccer. I hated playing and threw a tantrum every time Mom put me in the van to go to practice. The only way I would play is if I had ribbons in my hair to "match my outfit." Even then playing mostly entailed picking dandelions.

3)I once had a male cat I named Flower. Wasn't really fair to the poor thing. I thought he looked like a skunk.

4)Once in college I sprayed adhesive on toilet seats in the bathroom down the hall. Those girls were really mean and ornary. T-Hall girls will support me on this. They deserved it. I know, sweet innocent little me? I'm not proud of this action, but I must confess it.

5)Everyone in my family is taller than me. They call me "midge" (short for midget). Apparently all those grape-nuts instead of sugared cereals didn't do much. By the time the younger ones came along Mom had given up that battle and they've grown as tall as weeds on a diet based in processed sugar and complex carbohydrates. See photographic evidence.

6)I have been goosed more times than I can count by old demented men. And if I had a dollar for every time they tried to touch my hair...

Ok, so I guess I'll tag some of you, if this is a second tag then please ignore. On second thought, you have to divulge a second set of 6 things...

I tag:

Bryan

Lisa C.

Evan

Hilary/Casey

Natalie

TJ

Good luck...

What not to wear...

...for blogs.

My blog was nominated due to its extremely shoddy appearance in public over the last 5 months or so.

Finally it was chosen.

THANK GOODNESS. All of blogdom cheers for the fact that this blog is now pretty.

Mighty props go out to Jenna for helping, couldn't have done it without her. As I'm sure you all have noticed since the blog's inception.

Avian Flu

I think that Avian Flu has in fact, made its way to La Jolla. On Monday night we were having a bonfire (for FHE of course) at the beach. Bryan and I arrived to find Andrea and Josh happily cooking their dinner on the fire while a large seagull was keeping them company. They proceeded to tell us it was "just getting warm." Well when it didn't move whilst Josh picked up wood right next to its head, I informed them that I thought things were worse than they imagined. Growing up in Southern California, I realize that seagulls are good for only two things--pooping on your head and stealing your sandwich right out of your hands. Those birds are not your friends. Spare me with the cricket story right now, they are good for more in Utah apparently.

So, obviously, I concluded that this bird was on its death bed. Andrea became slightly hysterical at this prospect. To make matters worse, when the bird hobbled off a few feet, a large pitbull came and proceeded to try to make our "friend" his after dinner snack. When the owners finally pulled the dog off the bird, it was barely moving its wings but managed to hobble off. Sometime between then and when Bryan and Josh went to look for it, the bird apparently disappeared. This is a mystery. Regardless, a bird carrier of Avian flu is likely unaccounted for. That is no joke. (Disclaimer: This really is a joke. The bird story is real, the Avian flu is not.)

Some other recent findings:
1)I am not a good soccer mom. I drove the twins' carpool last week as the parents were off to the land of General Conference. I did ok until I realized that the 3 texting teenagers I was picking up had puffy-painted shirts at soccer practice. Apparently this is a new trend. When I was younger we just practiced soccer. Anyway, upon my refusal to allow them to bring said shirts inside Dad's truck, they were forced to put them in the bed. And put their cleats on top to hold them down. By the time we got home we had 3 very smeared shirts and 6 cleats covered in neon paint. Whoops. The girls were slightly upset but tried to play it off in order to not crush my hopes of being a successful soccer mom one day.

2)I had my first real run-in with irrational electronics. As a general rule, I have always believed that electronics/computers always act rationally. When they don't work, it is us who are acting irrationally. But the other day, this foundational belief of my universe was proven fundamentally flawed. I was trying to set up a projector with my laptop attached to show a movie at a large Relief Society function. For 1 hour I plugged and unplugged, reset, read manuals, and generally stressed. I knew I was doing it right because I had done 2 such setups successfully that week at work. Well, when I had finally HAD IT, I slammed my laptop closed and it proceeded to work. All the sudden the laptop was connected. WHAT??? The girl that was trying to help me was just as puzzled, her explanation being, "sometimes it just needs a hard start." Irrational behavior from my computer, who knew?

APERTIVO!!!!

So last night we ate at the greatest restaurant. It was a birthday celebration for both Darcie and Josi, and we loved this quaint little place. I, of course, had a fun walk down memory lane eating tapas (though they be Italian and not Spanish). I think the girls were fed up with my reminiscing about sitting at tapas bars in Spain with Emily and eating champinones and croquetas to our hearts' content.

However, if you are not familiar with the concept of tapas you should be. They are basically appetizers, but you order several and create a full meal. It's one of those ways of eating that leave you perfectly satiated (a rare find when going out to dinner).

Check out the website for more details:

www.apertivo.com