Day 12: Mouth guards...not sexy

You get to read two of my new blogs in one day! No, you didn't win the lottery. I just couldn't get yesterday's blog to post. So here is today's daily list of randomness:

1.) "Tiny Dancer" by Sir Elton John will dig its way into your brain and stay there for hours. Here is a picture of me at 3 a.m.

2.) I now have to sleep with a mouth guard to keep me from grinding my teeth at night. I am very distraught about this. What if my house catches on fire and a hot fireman has to save me? How embarrassing will it be when I have to pull out my mouth guard to say "thank you"??? I might as well purchase a flannel floor length night gown and adopt a bunch of cats.

3.) I AM GOING TO SEE GEORGE JONES ON SATURDAY! <----- Do you see how excited I am?? Epically excited!! Yes, I said epically.

Put on your floaties, Readers. It's about to get deep. 

Today's blog challenge is about something I believe in. I thought about going my normal sarcastic route by pulling out an R. Kelly song about believing I could fly.

But I think I am going to be semi serious today. So here we go....a list of things I believe (because I couldn't pick just one).

I believe that God is real and there is a Heaven.

I believe in giving second chances.

I believe that we were all created equal, regardless of the color of our skin.

I believe in the power of prayer, even when they go unanswered.

I believe in soul mates.

I believe a smile can make someone's day. 

 I believe that you really do catch more flies with honey.

I believe in forgiveness, but the forgetting part is hard.

And finally,

I believe Oreos are 100x better than any Girl Scout cookie.

Oh come on. You know I couldn't be totally serious! Well I hope you enjoyed reading what I believe in! I tried to keep it short since there were not any pictures! Have a fabulous day, or what's left of it. And remember...Reader of the Week is announced tomorrow. You still have time!

And that's the way the cookie crumbles....

Day 11: A day late and a few pictures short

**I wrote this yesterday but it wouldn't post**

Well, today is my Monday

 Do you sense my excitement?

I'm not very enthusiastic today so without further ado here is the daily list of randomness...

1.) Chief Bowen and Officer Dye rode with me on my Meals on Wheels route today! They were helping me promote March for Meals.

2.) Taking a nap 30 minutes before you are supposed to be at work is never a good idea.


3.) Cover Girl has millions of females to choose from and they picked Taylor Swift. Really? She puts her eye liner and mascara on so thick she looks Chinese!

你好我的名字是泰勒

For all of my non-Chinese speaking readers this says, "I am crazy and like to sing songs off key about boys who broke my heart and then I stalk them."

<>Now on to the blog challenge for today. Day 11 requires me to tell you about my favorite t.v. shows. Since I only get to watch t.v. between the hours of 8 a.m and 2 p.m I have a very strange mix of things I watch. Mostly all I get to see are re-runs of 90s and early 2000s sit-coms, but sometimes I can catch recent shows on Mondays and Tuesdays when I am off. Here are some of my favorite shows...

<>You might be surprised at my TLC and Lifetime "reality" show obsessions! (No pictures available due to blog.spot being dumb) 

What Not to Wear
Four Weddings
Say Yes to the Dress
Project Runway
America's Next Top Model (re-runs)

Weird choices for the girl who doesn't wear makeup, jewelry, or dresses huh? Moving on to my Lifetime sit-com re-runs....

How I Met Your Mother
Reba
New Adventures of Old Christine

And finally, here are my favorite, current t.v. shows.

Criminal Minds
NCIS
Grey's Anatomy
Private Practice

That's all for today! Sorry abou the lack of pictures. I have no idea why it just stopped loading pictures. I guess my blog is mad at me for even mentioning Taylor Swift.

And that's the way the cookie crumbles...

Survey thingy!

 I don't know why I can type on this blog but it won't let me type on the other one?? Frustration! Anyways, I was tagged by my sister so I decided to participate....



1. What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?

I'd have to say that  my entire freshman year of high school is the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me. I tripped up the steps in front of the most attractive guy in school. I tripped while running in gym. I stuttered in class. So pretty much all of 2003 was one giant awkward moment.

2. Favorite holiday and why?


I gotta go with Fourth of July (when I actually get to enjoy it). I love fireworks! I also love the food that comes along with the 4th. Hot dogs, chips, baked beans! I like that food more than Christmas dinner!
 
3.What's the weirdest thing you think you eat?

I like to put peanut butter on pretzels. Now I was not under the impression that was weird until two people at work told me it was. I was also told it's weird to put cheese on hotdogs?? Any thoughts on this?

4. Favorite brand of makeup?

I don't wear makeup. That was easy.


5. If you had to choose a color of a crayon to be out of the color box, which would be you...and why?


Indigo! I love that color. It is a mix of purple and blue which are two of my favorite colors.

6. Favorite hobby?

You mean besides being awesome? I'd have to say fishing. I wish I could do that all year long.

7. Biggest Fear?

Tall bridges. I can handle smaller ones but i can't stand to cross over the long, tall ones. *shiver*


8. Best present you have ever received?

I have absolutely no idea. I love my new running shoes I got for Christmas this year. I still wear my watch I got for Christmas when I was 16. I cherish the Bible my grandmother gave me in 2003. It's too hard to pick just one!! Don't make me!


Well that killed 10 minutes.

Day 10: President Roosevelt was WRONG!

Hello readers! Here is the daily list of randomness...

1. While I was pumping liquid gold into the Jeep, this older lady approached me and asked me where my coat was! Really?! How old do I seriously look? Is that what she saw?

2. As I was reaching for the pump today at the gas station something caught my eye. Could it really be? I though that surely my eyes were deceiving me!

Yes, it says gas is $1.098 per gallon. Now I am a big believer that if something says it is one price you should get it for that price. The little foreign man behind the counter did not seem to agree with me! So I proceeded to knock over his gum stand in a fit of rage!

Okay...I never actually went inside. BUT, I thought about it!

3. Oatmeal cream pies might have just surpassed Oreos this week. I know...shock and awe!

It is now time for Day 10. Today's challenge requires me to tell you something that scares me. President Franklin D, Roosevelt told everyone that the only thing to fear was fear itself. Well he lied. If he had feared polio and avoided it he would have been in much better shape! And that is why I fear bridges. If I avoid them, I also avoid this...  

 

And this...

I'll admit I am being dramatic but I really really really don't like bridges. I get physically ill driving over a bridge. I can't explain it. I wish I could because then I could tell the little child curled up in the fetal position inside my brain to shut up and get over it. Until I figure out why I'm scared of bridges I will just continue to avoid them. But when I can't avoid them I just drive very quickly while holding my breath and thinking of bunnies and kitties instead of death and destruction.

 

Yes



No



That is all for today. I kept it pretty short and sweet since I rambled yesterday! Until tomorrow....

That's the way the cookie crumbles.

Cookbook Mondays: Butter cake with caramel sauce

Welcome to Cookbook Mondays! Last Monday I baked Cowboy Cookies. Today is Butter Cake with a caramel sauce. Here is how my adventure went...

Well, I definitely understand why my great-grandmother named this Butter Cake. This recipe called for 2 whole sticks of butter! Like most cakes it called for flour and eggs as well. Most people could probably add all these ingredients with no problem, but I am clearly not most people...

The whole counter was covered with a while film where the blender kicked everything back out that I had just put in. Then I had a massive overflow of flour which resulted in the above picture. You can see where I made a feeble attempt to clean it up.

The cake was fairly easy to make once I finally got it all mixed together. The batter was not as thick as I was expecting, but I think the cake turned out okay.

The hard part of today was definitely the caramel sauce. The recipe was extremely vague. Plus my lack of knowledge of how a double boiler works did not help either. I thought something was terribly wrong when I smelled smoke. That, thankfully, was just a cheerio I had dropped in the burner.

The recipe said to cook it in the double boiler until it was thick. Well....I think I did indeed end up burning it. I'm not really sure! I poured it on the cake anyway. I thnk it is supposed to thicken up once it cools.

Today's experiment did not exactly turn out like I wanted it! I'm not sure how it tastes, but it doesn't look too tasty. I was fully expecting a beautifully baked cake with a creamy caramel topping. But, I knew when I started, that I was not going to be able to make everything perfectly just like my great-grandmother did. I am hoping next Monday will turn out a little better!

Butter Cake

1 cup        butter

2 cup        sugar

1 tsp          vanilla

4                eggs

2 1/2 cup    self rising flour

3/4 cup       milk

Cream butter and add sugar. Gradually beat until fluffy. Add vanilla. Add one egg at a time and beat well after adding each one. Add flour and milk alternately. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes in a 13x9 inch pan.

Caramel Sauce

2                eggs

1/2 pt         cream

1/2 tsp        salt

1 cup          brown sugar

Beat eggs well. Stir in salt and cream. Add brown sugar and butter. Cook in double boiler until thick.

Day 9: Longest post yet...sorry!

I've done this for every other post so I think I'm going to keep it up. Here is the daily list of "random things that you don't care about but I still tell you anyway!" I am working on a shorter name.

1.) I decided to pay my car note early, but I was not aware of the two other bills I needed to pay out of the same check. Due to this oversight, I am being forced to continue eating the $.58 Banquet meals I bought in bulk. After my last episode with the "chicken nuggets" I was just going to throw them all away, but poverty has forced me to reevaluate my decision. Please feel sorry for me at any time.



Is chicken supposed to be brown on the inside?

 2.) I need suggestions on how to raise money to last me for the next 2 weeks. I was thinking about setting up a lemonade stand since I can pass for 12, but I would have to buy the supplies. Then I thought about hosting a car wash at my house, but I would still have to buy the supplies. So please place any suggestions into the comment box below. Also, if you have no suggestions just make out a check payable to me which will then place you into the nomination box for "Reader of the Week."

3.) The Jeep is starting to get low self-esteem. She thinks no one wants her. It's really kind of sad.



I hope you are prepared to look at a lot of pictures today. This particular challenge requires me to show you a picture of my best friend. But, because I am awesome (and my mom pays them), I don't just have ONE best friend. So what I'm going to do is show you a plethora of pictures of people whom I consider to be my biggest blessings in life.

The Lord has graced me with 4 built in best friends. I feel so lucky to be able to consider my family as my friends as well. I'll keep this short and sweet since I have already told you about how great Meredith, Jeffrey, Levi and my mom are, I'm sure you don't want to hear it again. So here are the first 4 people I consider my best friends....

In 2003, I made the unfortunate decision to attend Friendship Christian School for my freshman year of high school. Long story short, I hated it. I hated it with every fiber of my being. BUT, the silver lining to the dark cloud I call my freshman year, was meeting my best friend Hope Sampson. Hope was actually forced to be my friend when my sister told her I was awkward and shy and needed friends. Embarrassing, I know. We clicked though! We decided to switch schools, and in 2004 we started our sophomore year of high school at LHS. We scheduled most of our basic classes around each other so that we wouldn't be wandering the huge halls all by ourselves. Eventually we got brave and started attending separate classes but for the most part we spent 3 years in all the same classes. Hope is 10ft of amazing inside a 5ft body. She has the ability to make me laugh even on my worst day. We can go two weeks without seeing each other but pick back up where we left off when we do get to hang out again. I love this girl very much and I'm so glad I made such a bad decision in 2003 because it has brought me 8 years of friendship!



Grand Ol Opry



Random night at the drive-in



Cruise in 2010





Senior trip







Hope and I have three other friends who are the most amazing people you will ever meet. We don't all get to hang out anymore due to schedules and distance, but this post wouldn't be complete without me showing you one of my favorite pictures of all of us. Evan Owens, David Layne, and Samantha Ferrell I love and miss each of you so much.



Okay next is my best friend Cory. Cory Cook and I have been best friends since 2009.  Besides my bulldog of a sister, I couldn't have a  more fiercely loyal best friend. I know that when the chips are down Cory will always have my back. Our one downfall is that we have entirely too much fun when we are together. My mama has to constantly get on to us at restaurants for causing scenes. I have to say, he is the most obnoxious friend I have but I think that is the quality I find most endearing. And I knew he would be reading this so I didn't mention his small hands or the fact that he is 5'3 because I didn't want to hurt his feelings. Oh wait....

Eating fried twinkies at the fair



Last night as an LPD officer



Garth Brooks concert







I also have to mention that Cory and I have a brother! His name is Donnie and if you mess with me or Cory he will not take it well. I don't suggest doing it. He is scary. But in a lovable teddy bear kind of way. Love you, Donnie!

See! Doesn't he look cuddly!

That ended up being waaaay longer and more serious than I meant for it to be! I know I lost you somewhere along the way and you just looked at the pictures. I do the same thing so don't feel guilty. But all you really need to gain from this post is that God has blessed me with a lot of remarkable, loving people in my life and I thank Him every night for that.

And that's the way the cookie crumbles!