I Don't Know Much...

However, there are a few things I'm sure of this morning.

1). It is completely horrid and unnatural for a night-shift person to have to wake up at 6am. We should not be asked to wake up that early unless it is for an extremely good cause or of our own will. [Neither of which is the reason I am awake right now.]

2). Night shift people are sure to be utterly grouchy for the rest of the day if woken up against their will before noon.

3). It is just not right to be hungry for lunch at 10a and ready for bed at 2p.

4). A good game of Farkle is sure to improve one's mood. However, a bad game of Farkle can add to the awfulness of this early hour.

5.). If it weren't for things like friends, lunch, possibility of ice cream and a DCL later today, there would be no reason to get up and start this wretched day.

Until.................

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"Sometimes You Wanna Go Where Everybody Knows Your Name"

This morning after I got off work my mom and I went to Bob Evans for breakfast. One, because we hadn't done that in a long time, and two because I was craving some sausage gravy and biscuits. Yum!

Since we went right when I got home we were there by 8 o'clock and there were barely any cars in the parking lot. Shocking since they open at 6 o'clock. :) We got inside and were seated almost immediately. It didn't take long for me to feel completely out of place. I kid you not everyone in that place knew eachother by name except for me and mom. Can we say outsiders? I felt like I was being excluded from their breakfast club or something. Everyone knew Douglas, who was sitting the booth next to us. All the waitresses and customers that passed by said "Hey Douglas" or "Douglas, I thought you were going to shave that scruff off your face last week." or "Well, Douglas, how are you today? I see you still have that list you've been working on." In my effort to fit in I almost leaned over the aisle and said "So what kind of list? You going shopping later today, because I am." However, there just wasn't enough time between ordering, shoveling our food in our mouths in under 10 minutes and getting our check. Darn.. he seemed like a super cool guy too.

I wonder how many times you have to go into a place to get people to know and remember your name like that? Do you think more times than my biannual (sometimes only annual) visit?

After breakfast my mom and I ran to Walmart for laundry detergent and to look for patio chairs to place under our brand new pergola. No such luck on the chairs, but we did get the detergent and I picked up some cake mixes so I could make some more Death by Chocolate cupcakes. Yum!

Then, I came home for a quick 2-hour "pick me up" and got ready to go shopping with Holli. I was very excited about this. I think it's been weeks since we did something together that lasted longer than an hour. Our schedules are a little opposite with me working nights and mostly weekends this past month or so. It was very nice to just relax and catch up even though between the two of us there were only two shirts purchased (one for each of us).

I have this whole weekend off so tomorrow us girls are going out to lunch, then to a friend's birthday party and lastly, to round it all out, a movie. Oh the sweetness of having an entire weekend off. I almost forgot how it felt. It's beautiful outside too, so that's a perk!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and get that chance to "take a break from all your worries" and get a chance "to get away" to somewhere where "everybody knows your name"....

Until....................

Vacation = Painting

Well, in my parent's minds anyway. Vacation = beaches, or sight-seeing in my books. However, for my parents nothing says first-day-of-vacation like painting the entire outside of the house. Woo! They really know how to party and let go!

After an attempt to use a paint sprayer (which didn't work) dad ended up starting the job by hand. Thankfully Holli took off work early to help and Lisa just arrived to help as well. Mom has been cleaning the inside of the house, which apparently needed it, and I got up a little after 3p because I have to work tonight. :)

Well, just wanted to update on all the fun things happening at my house. Don't you feel jealous? Now I'm inhaling the grill smoke. How enjoyable...

Until...............

You Can Call Me Susie...

Can I just tell you how much I am loving my new cookbooks? Because I am! The recipes are delicious and oh so simple! Not to mention they are healthy for you! :) [I can't stop using exclamation points!]

Today I ventured to Walmart, because I had a lapse in my grocery-list-making-judgement when I left off a very key ingredient for one of the things I was going to make today. And no, I did not make a special trip all the way out to Walmart just so I could drive by one of my favorite places as of late, to get one of my favorite things as mentioned in previous blog posts. I mean, of course that was a perk, and pretty much the deciding factor of the spontaneous drive, but it turns out as I was walking in those sliding glass doors my dad called and needed me to pick up some Mucinex and a Cool Mist vaporizer and thus, my trip had a bigger purpose.

However, I was then the idiot walking around Walmart holding 25 items in her arms as people gave me the 'Why-didn't-you-get-a-cart?' look. Believe me, if I had known when I walked in that I would be getting more than a box of cake mix and a few bananas I would have atleast gotten a basket.

I digress. So, once I left Walmart and got my sweet nectar of heaven I headed home to bake away. First on my list was 'Yum Yum Brownie Muffins'. These were the easiest things I've ever made. It only had TWO ingredients! TWO! I was astonished. Even in the cookbook the author said "...you might be tempted to add in other things to make the batter smoother. Do not do this!" She was right. I felt like I was stirring cement near the end, but the end result was fantastic!

Next up, 'Death by Chocolate Cupcakes'. Oh. My.Word. These are so good!! I can not even begin to tell you the goodness that these cupcakes possess. The funny thing is that they don't have any icing. They are so moist though! Granted I was a little confused by the concept of no icing. Hello, what is a cupcake without icing? I don't know how it happens, but the cupcake forms a little frosting-esque top to itself, all of its own accord, and I couldn't be more delighted.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to make some 'Fab-five Banana Pancake Minis' and 'Caramel Pumpkin Pudding Cupcakes'. If for no other reason than they taste fantastic, the titles alone entice you to make these fun little recipes. :)

Until................

God of This City...

I can't get this song out of my head. I've practically been singing it non-stop for the past two days (or atleast my mind always wanders back to it).

And just because I'm so obsessed, here are two videos. The first one has the lyrics and the second one has one of my favorite idols (Kris Allen) leading the song during worship service at his church. 

[Reason #496 of why I love him so.] 

Seriously, was it not worth listening to twice anyway? Or, you know, 32 times...whichever. Plus Kris' version has an extra verse. :)

Until................

We Are the World...

Well, unless you are living under a rock, you saw or at least knew that Michael Jackson's memorial service was on television this afternoon. I wasn't really planning on watching it. In fact, I was invited to go to a friend's pool, but woke up with a dreadful headache and ended up bumming around the house instead. 

It was odd to watch the memorial, because while there were people sharing stories about MJ and singing his songs, there were cameras flashing everywhere, tickets and bracelets were needed for admission... It was just odd to me. 

Several celebrities spoke and shared personal stories. Of course many sang his ever popular songs. Jennifer Hudson did a wonderful job with "Will You Be There". However, all I could think was she looks like she could give birth any second. The part that got me the most though, was at the end when several artists sang "We Are the World" and Michael's family joined them onstage. I definitely got a little teary, not only because that is a good song, but because no matter what you thought of Michael Jackson, he was still a person and his family is deeply saddened by the loss. 

What got me even more choked up was when his daughter spoke. She is a mere eleven years old, and it was heartbreaking to see her bawling up on stage. I'm surprised she even spoke given the sheltered life that she and her brothers led. I guess this is a new beginning for all involved.

I'm sure we will still be seeing coverage and unfortunately battles in the next few months, but hopefully all of the people involved have those kids best interest at heart, because Lord knows they don't need to go through anymore heartache than necessary right now. 

Until...................