Don’t Shaft the Craft

My friend Natalie suggested a while back that we have a friendly craft extravaganza.  Let’s get one thing straight, I am not a craftster.  I usually don’t like to be associated with crafts.  When I hear the word crafts I usually picture a table of older women painting wooden cut out scarecrows … using raffia, glitter glue and googlie eyes.  These awesome images also pop into my head. (please don’t be offended if these delightful creations are adorning your home this moment)   

 

I was thankful when Natalie arrived and raffia, glitter glue and googlie eyes were not present among her crafting supplies.  Natalie has taste, I had no need to fear.  So we gathered together around a bowl of awesomely good organic homemade granola (thanks to Seara) and began a craftin’.  And here are the end results ….

I’m super in love with my necklace I made …. It isn’t quite finished but here is what it will look like when I am done ….  tutorial found here http://pretty-ditty.blogspot.com/2009/10/beaded-fabric-flower-necklace-tutorial.html

and we made these super simple headbands…… http://racheldenbow.blogspot.com/2009/11/braided-headband-tutorial.html

and something similar to this …..

I will no longer shaft the craft.  I am not ashamed.

Strike 1 1/2

3 job interviews … in 3 days … all in Salt Lake City.  After sending my resume to a million quadrillion companies (okay, maybe only a million) during the month of January … I finally began hearing back from people last week.  The first of these three companies was Deseret News.  Deseret News … how cool would that be?  Working downtown … in a tall building .. wearing smart business clothes all the time.  I walked into the interview room and the layout looked a lot like something you would see on American Idol.  The room was empty except for a long table with 3 (the chief editors of Deseret News and The Church News) very intimidating people sitting at it …. and one lone chair in front of that table.  I took my seat and endured the interview, sweating and wincing the entire way.    I knew immediately I would not need to find any business clothes to add to my wardrobe.  Strike 1.

My second interview was with some trucking insurance company on the East side.  These people seemed a bit uptight for me.  I wish they would have thrown in a nice fluffy question amidst the deep soul searching questions …. like “ If you could be any animal what would like to be?” The tension was pretty thick in that interview and it was suffocating me.  Possibly strike 2 … haven’t heard back yet. 

Lucky interview #3 was with a wireless broadband equipment company … sounds riveting … I know.  The first interview went well enough they thought they would call me in for a second round.  I had my second interview yesterday … with their corporate offices in California … a webcam interview.   Nice.  Who knows what will come of this interview but as I drove home, Bob Marley serenaded me with words of wisdom … “Don’t worry … bout’ a thing. Cause every little thing … is gonna be alright.”  Maybe those were the drugs talking … but either way … thanks Bob.

 

Riff Raff

riff·raff
/ˈrɪfˌræf/ Show Spelled[rif-raf]
–noun
1.people, or a group of people, regarded as disreputable or worthless: a pack of riffraff.
2.the lowest classes; rabble: the riffraff of the city.
3.trash; rubbish.

I'm pretty sure the people of Odgen Athletic Club now consider me to be ..... riff raff. I wake up at 3:00 am, stumble into the shower, stumble out of the shower, throw some clothes on (without paying too much attention to my clothes), eat breakfast and I'm out the door to open the gym. I'm required to wear khakis and when I get home from work ... I'll be quite honest with you .... I usually drape them over the end of our bed. Well Mitchell and I were in bed the other day when he took a glance at my pants at the end of the bed and made an observation .......

Now, this may look small ... but trust me, its big enough to be embarrassing ... and its right on my .....bottom.

And just when I thought the worst was over ... Mitchell discovered ANOTHER one. A two finger width hole. What the heck? It's not like I'm working on a farm, taming tigers ... or climbing over barbed wire fences .... I sit at a desk for heaven's sake. Who even knows how long my pants have been in this state. Oh well.

Speaking of pants .... The semi-annual Savers "everything is 50% off" sale happened last Monday .... and boy did I find a steal. The moment I saw them I knew they had to be expensive. The detailing, the type of distressing ... and the style and placement of the back pockets .... you really can learn a lot about a pair of jeans thanks to the rear pockets. I got them for $5.00...brand new condition .....

I brought them home and told Mitchell I was sure they were worth at least $80 .... he doubted my judgment ever so slightly. We did a little research ......

You better believe they are posted on eBay this very minute

Wood You Be Mine?

A nights stay at a 4 star hotel? Nah.  Dinner at a fancy restaurant? Snooze.  Roses? No thanks.  Heart shaped box of chocolates? Barf.  All I wanted for V-Day was … an outdoor picnic in the woods with Mitchell … and I got it.   We packed up and headed into the great outdoors.

  We wanted an intimate setting without a lot of spectators … so we had to do a bit of trailblazing.  Thigh highs … snow style.

 

Mitchell lead the way through the frozen tundra (thigh deep snow ... seriously) and we found a cozy little nook amongst some friendly looking shrubs and trees.  We did a little dance on the snow, packed it down tight and made ourselves at home. 

Plastic bags worn on feet are all the rage over in Europe … I’m sure it will catch on over here soon.

A little mood lighting ……..

fancy pants beverage …..

Cheers. Our picnic consisted of avocado potato salad, chips and salsa, cinn-a-lips, candy orange slices and sour gummy worms…. we’re fancy like that.

 

Mitchell poured himself a tall glass of landscape.

I personally think this should be part of a new cinn-a-lips ad campaign … Mitchell definitely has a future in modeling.

Slimy … from Sesame Street paid us a visit

heavenly husband

 

Recipe Ruiner

We began our fast yesterday with a nice healthy serving of …… mud.    Earlier that morning, Mitchell had gone to help paint a fellow ward member’s home and I thought a wonderful dessert should be waiting for him when he arrived home.  Mitchell loves chocolate mud cake.  I have made it once before and it turned out….. mediocre at best.  How hard could it be? Honestly.  Throw a bunch of ingredients into a crock pot and let it sit for several hours.  I used a lot of luxurious ingredients … chocolate chips,  a cake mix, a pudding mix, etc.  It definitely looked unique, but there was no way that all those great ingredients could turn into something repulsive.  I have a major sweet tooth … in fact I have a mouth full of sweet teeth … and I couldn’t even finish my bowl of mud.  We even piled on ice cream and chocolate sauce thinking that we could right the wrong I had done. FAIL.

Best description: an eggy “chocolate” sponge

 

Whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhy?!

T.K.O.

Tom vs Jerry. Tyson vs Holyfield. Wile E. Coyote vs Road Runner.

Kitchen rug vs Bathroom rug. Our rugs duked it out yesterday in the washer...

Kitchen Rug	Bathroom Rug
Boxing Stance: Orthodox	Boxing Stance: Orthodox
Length: 4’6”	Length: 3’8”
Fight Reach: 24”	Fight Reach: 20.5”
Number of TKOs: 3	Number of TKOs: 1
Total Career Fights: 7	Total Career Fights: 4

 

The bathroom rug didn’t stand a chance.
Once a nice shade of ice blue ... now a lovely violet.

Please Pass the Shmear.

February 1st is a beautiful day. "Why so beautiful?" you may ask. February 1st marked the day that our Einstein Bagel coupons became legit. We wandered on over to our local Einstein's and got our free bagels (one per person). No names were taken, no phone numbers recorded, no retinas scanned .... it was easy like a Sunday morning. Not only were our coupons good for one free bagel .... a free shmear of our choice was also included. A shmear? What in the world of Einstein Bagels is a shmear? When I heard we would get a free shmear ... the first thing that came to my mind was an uncomfortable procedure only women are familiar with ..... if you get my drift....and I didn't want any part of it. Probably not the smartest move on behalf of the advertising team at Einsteins. I was relieved to discover that a shmear is simply a gourmet spread .... no worries. Phew.

Mitchell's beautiful bagel eyes are one of the first things I noticed when I met him.

On another note ......

A victorious Erin. Wait, what is that pin she is proudly displaying? Let's take a closer look ....

No, I did not get a new job at the Olive Garden, nor am I Italian. But I am hospitable apparently. My supervisor told me I scored an 83% on my test. I informed her that I was not aware I had even taken a test. Apparently Human Resources made mystery calls (pretending to be a student with a question) to each department to test our phone skills and rate our helpfulness. An 83%? What did I do to be docked a whole 17%? Maybe I put them on hold for too long ... or maybe my voice wasn't pleasant to their ears ... a bit too nasally for their liking. Either way I am grateful I was not the poor sap in the Athletics Department who scored only a 30%.

FYI: I found this nifty button in the gutter while walking home today. It was meant to be.