Berry pickin'! And recipes, too!

So today, to celebrate Memorial Day, we went to take advantage of a local farm chock full of our favorite blue fruit..

Blueberries!

We have a great little place right up the road where you can pick your own berries, and blueberries are in season. I love picking my own, so we took a little field trip this morning to get in touch with nature and enjoy some fresh, local produce.

Blueberries are one of the best-for-you fruits out there! Thanks to Reader's Digest, I'm able to tell you blueberries have the following health benefits:

• Good source of dietary fiber.
• Excellent source of antioxidants.
• Provide some vitamin C and iron.
• May help protect against some intestinal upsets.
• May protect against urinary tract infections.
• Anthocyanins may help protect against heart disease and cancer and may help prevent memory loss.

And, they're freakin' tasty! I didn't bring my camera along, so you don't get to see me with a bucket strapped to my waist, or skipping merrily down the rows and rows of berry bushes.

But you do get to see the end product...

FOUR pounds of berries! (Carrying them around my waist as we picked them was great cardio!) So, what do you do with four pounds of berries?

You make the most epic blueberry muffins ever.

I'm going to share with you my recipe for the yummiest, cake-iest, most decadent muffins I've ever made. It really is the best recipe I've tried yet. Here's whatcha need:

1 cup fresh blueberries
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line your baking cups with paper liners.

Combine your flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder until well mixed. Add your vegetable oil, egg, and milk and mix with dry ingredients until just moistened. Your batter will be VERY THICK!! It's supposed to be; it holds the fruit in place in the muffin cups so all your berries don't sink to the bottom of your muffin.

Fold in your blueberries gently and then fill your muffin cups right to the top. Since the batter is so thick, I used my hands for this step, but you could use two large spoons. I was able to fill 10 of the 12 cups on my tin, so if you want more, you can double the ingredients.

Bake for 20 minutes, and voila!

SUPER tasty. You could make these muffins with anything; blackberries, cranberries, chocolate chips... and you can bet I'll try this with chocolate chips!

And after that? Yanno what I made?

Blueberry iced tea.

First I made a pitcher of regular iced tea. (I like Lipton cold brew!) Poured myself a big old glass when it was done, into the blender, along with a handful of blueberries. Blend on puree. Voila!

You can leave the skins (like I did) or strain them out; personally, I find them v. tasty. :)

And that, my friends, is fun with blueberries! Hurrah!!

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You may or may not have noticed that I switched the comments on this blog to the Disqus system; I LOVE it because I'm able to comment back to the commenter right here in the comments, as opposed to email. So if you notice a different format when commenting, fear not, you're not in the Twilight Zone. ... Yet.

Football. No, not THAT football. The more important one!

This weekend thus far has been great! The days have been full of sun, we've been outside a lot, and we've been doing a lot of planning for our party.

What, party? Where are the invitations?? This isn't any ordinary party.

It revolves -- no pun intended -- around this...


That's one of the new South African soccer stadiums for World Cup 2010. GOOOOOOOAL! (I promise not to do that too many more times. ... Well, maybe.) Apparently, I'm shacking up with a soccer freak. I had inklings of this in the early dating process but nothing has manifested itself so fully until the past few months. The 'preperatory' months. (Is that a word?)

I'm now a registered user on Fifa.com, I'm playing in a fantasy league (huhwha'?), and my interest piques when I see Crouch do the robot after getting a goal. When did this happen?? Right now there are consecutive FIFA matches being played on the PS3. And I distinctly remember a 'joking' chat that involved drawing black hexagons on our white cats with a Sharpie.

Did you know there's 11 days until World Cup? Or that there's about a jillion formations you can make with your strikers and midfielders and defending dudes? (That's a technical term.) I know Rooney hurt his something or other and was going to be out of England's team, but now he's back and us Yanks are a little worried because they're our first group match. I know some dude from Germany hurt his something or other so bad that he's out, and that's gonna totally hamper their chances for being good. And I know the Brazilian coach didn't pick Ronaldinho (pronounced ron-ahl-deen-yo) for their team and the whole of Brazil may riot because of it.

I know all of this information by osmosis. I have no choice but to osmote (not a real word) it into my brain because that's all that's the word over here lately.

... Oh, party.

We're having a soccer party! Matt's family and some of our friends are all coming over for a long weekend to watch the World Cup and shout GOOOOOAL at each other, and likely make up some drunken celebration dances.

I've taken on the role of C.D.O (Chief Decorating Officer) and have tasked myself with making small copies of every. Single. Flag. Of Every. Single. Country. Playing in the WC so I can slap 'em on toothpicks and stick them into the three+ dozen cupcakes we've custom ordered just for this occasion. It was cool when I started. But there are a lot of flags. And some of them have a shield with a snake on it, or some type of sunburst dealie or random star formation, that my artistic OCD kicks in and it's tough with Crayola markers on 2"x3" paper.


WTF, Spain.

I also had the bright idea of cutting out a metric crap-ton letter O's so I could tape the letters, GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! to our streamers that are going to majestically swoop across the dining area. I should learn to think on my ideas before blurting them out in 'HEY THIS IS COOL' excitement because now I'm envisioning lining each of my hundred O's in black Sharpie tediously. Hmm.

We have a soccer-ball-themed chip dish.

And a centerpiece with brightly colored foil streamer things and cardboard soccer balls. (Some parts of which may or may not become a snack bar for the cats. I'm hoping they'll go after the chips instead to be honest. Less hazard involved.)

Our party isn't until the 17th so I have some time. Phew! I'm rooting for the Netherlands to win it all, so I'm now the proud owner of a bright orange jersey with the Oranje lion on it, and NEDERLAND on the back, and a set of eyeblacks that look like their flag. Everyone's rooting for a different team to win it all so the fandom part is sort of fun; we've all gotten a shirt with our respective team on it.

So yeah, it's been pretty much Soccer Saturation over here. I'm holding up okay! I'm actually enjoying it because it's something new for me, and it's exciting to see all the different cultures come together every 4 years.

... But if culture just ain't your thing, check out some of the fine specimens you'll be able to glimpse on the pitch!

Clint Dempsey plays for us, the good ol' USA. He's from Texas! Land of snakes, cacti, and supposedly, soccer. He's a striker, therefore a goal-getter!.... Sorry, bad soccer pun.

Cristiano Ronaldo plays for Portugal. Uhm, humana humana. Did you know he's the highest paid footie player in the world? Trivia! Impress your friends.

Robin Van Persie! He plays for the Dutch! GO ORANJE!... ahem.

This is Kaka. He's a midfielder for Brazil, and honestly that's all you need to know. I mean, look at the GQ cover.

So you can either plan your match watching around the teams you want to win, or the teams with the humana humana guys playing for them! Either way, it should be a good time for all, so GOOOOOOOAL!! (one last time), and I'm off to draw up some 'O' templates.

We're going berry picking tomorrow! I'm excited!!

Saturday Centus #4

It's Saturday Centus time, hosted by the ever-wonderful Jenny Matlock, with prompts written by Mister Jenny. (What a team!) Done in 97 words this time, the supplied prompt is in italics.

“May I help you, miss? You look puzzled.”

“Mmmm… thank you, I’m just looking for my father. We came in together a moment ago, but he seems to have wandered off.”

A small smile curved my lips as the memories in my head faded. Dad always was such a scatterbrain. When I was little, I wondered how he didn't end up on the side of milk cartons.

Tips of my fingers pressed a little harder to the chilled headstone, and I sighed. The bowing of the tall grass in the wind seemed to echo my sentiments. Had it really been almost five years? I guess time flies whether you're having fun or not.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and I knew it was time to go.

My new project ... has begun!

My friends, it is with unbridled excitement and fond delight that I present to you, my new project; something I've had in my head for some time but have now finally brought to fruition...




My 52 self-portrait challenge! It will all be hosted and set up on Flickr, so if you have an account, please add me as a contact, or come and comment on my photos once in a while! (My profile is here; it will also tell you a little more about the project and its name.)

Of course, I will also be posting my photos here as well, so you all can keep me motivated if you're not on Flickr! (I may need the motivation.. tee hee.) It will likely be on the Friday, Saturday, or Sunday of every week, so I can keep a semblance of a schedule with this. And each photo will link to the Flickr page for it, which will have a title for each photo, and more of a description and details there.

So, without further adieu, week one...

Just something simple and fun for my first shot! :) That is the comfiest scarf in the world, for the record. And it's really hard to shoot without a tripod and a remote. Maybe not hard, but tedious. So some accessories may be in order! ;)

Let me know what you think!! I have some photogenic issues -- I think I look goofy in most candid photos of me -- so hopefully this will help in getting over that. I'm enjoying the project already!

A revelation.

Guys.

I realized something today. Something that made me do a Keanu-style "whoa".

I got up pretty early today to head out and run a bunch of errands. I had a great time; the weather was lovely, as the sun hadn't been out for too long and it wasn't burn-i-nation out, not much traffic on the roads... yep, perfect.

Wait, what?

... Perfect? Morning?

I'm a MORNING PERSON?

I sat at a stoplight, stunned. Me, who HATES mornings, who would rather eat a cactus than get up before 8:00 for non-essentials.

It's true. I used to love staying up late and watching movies or what have you, but I just can't stay up like I used to. Even on a day where I'll sleep in (to 9:30-ish) once 10:30 hits, zzz. See ya!

I now find it much more fulfilling to get up, get out there early in the gorgeous pre-10:00-hot weather when no one's out and enjoy the morning. This is a big change for me.

I'm even planning on getting up early tomorrow -- yes, the official start to Memorial Day weekend, when everyone and their MOM is gonna be out and ... going to the beach -- and head out there myself around 8:30. I'm hoping to beat the rush and that most people will be travelling tomorrow morning. We'll see, I'll let you know how that goes.

I'm also almost ready to start my 52 self-portrait project! I've taken my first set of photos and narrowed it down to a few I like, so I'm going to think on it and likely post them during the weekend once I clean my Flickr account up. I need to think of a good name for the project, too. Not just "sum piktrs" or the ever generic "Project 52". Something ... fun, biff, pow!, like that!

But now, I need a nap, because I got up early.

LOST, and my rebound relationship.

As you may or may not know, I love LOST. It ended recently, as I'm sure you know, as the internet has been a virtual a-bomb with people who are upset with the ending. I mean, REALLY upset. Going as far as to write page after page rants including every single wibbly question they don't have an answer for. Some people are even going as far as to create a class-action lawsuit on Facebook suing the LOST creators for six years of "emotional damage and duress", among other ridiculous things.

You can't be serious, right? Let me put down my coffee and I'll get you a nice tranquilizer.

I'm not going to write a bullet list of grievances or debate my side into the ground, but I loved the ending. I thought it was fitting for a show that had such amazing characters and storylines between them, that the ending should bring them all together again in such a beautiful way that yeah, I'll admit it... I totally cried no less than four times. Bawled into the blankets.

Here is one of my favorite quotes from my favorite forums that I would frequent while the show was going on...

It wasn't ever about being lost on an island; it was about being lost in life and finding your way through tribulations and the help with those you care about. Everything else, the mythologies, the scifi, that's all insignificant compared to the true moral of the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed the ride of this show; the mystery, the mythology, the tension and drama. It had me hooked from the start! And I think it's okay if we never find out where the polar bears come from, or where the electromagnetism came from, or the story behind the giant statue on the shore, or what the light was, or why the smoke monster sounds like an old gate opening up with it's clankity clanks and AWOOOO~... *takes a breath* :) You get my drift.

The show itself had so much imagination, amidst the same ol' cop dramas and legal dramas and hospital dramas, and reality show Bachelorette/Survivor/Dancing With (insert your favorite type of famous folk here) clones that it was SUCH a breath of fresh air. The imagination this show had was boundless, and that's why I think I enjoyed it the most. :)

And I can honestly see why some folks would be upset with it. But remember the moral of the story - 'let it go'. Don't create Facebook groups to sue people. Don't create flame wars on the internet. It's entertainment, and although it may be flawed, it is what it is.

It's okay. At least, I'm okay with it. I had all those questions in the back of my brain but after the finale it was just like... it didn't matter. The people mattered, and the journey mattered. I didn't bawl because I never figured out the Man in Black's name. I bawled when Sawyer and Juliet remembered their life (and her death) together, and clung to each other in front of that vending machine after he said "I got you, baby"... that's what it's all about.

ANYWAYS.

The show's over. It's up and left me all alone in my viewing world, so I needed to find something new to latch on to. A rebound relationship, if you will! And it's presented itself nicely.

Yep. The new Doctor Who, featuring (for now) Christopher Eccleston and I Have Total 80's Hair Billie Piper. I used to watch the original version of this show with my dad when I was a wee kiddo, and it's only taken me 5 years to realize hey! They're continuing the story! Thank you, Instant Netflix. :) For all its cheesiness this show is AWESOME, and my phone now rings the Doctor Who theme. Bwahaha!

A bit behind, and a few other things.

Yesterday I had the migraine from H-E-double hockey sticks. I've only had two migraines before in my life, and yesterday was one of them. Oh, it was miserable! If you've never had one before I don't recommend going and looking to get one, either. It really is gnarly. I can compare it to millions of tiny men inside your head, either doing one of the following:

A) Grinding a tiny pestle repeatedly against your skull, as if it were a mortar, and they were very intent on crushing a lot of fresh herbs,
B) Clunking a tiny pickaxe against the the inside of your skull, trying to form a jailbreak and get the heck out,
C) Celebrating Memorial Day a little bit too early, complete with whizz-bang firecrackers, a 50-piece marching band mostly comprised of a percussion section, and barbecuing hotdogs by lighting many tiny fires on the inside of your skull.

I spent the most of yesterday sleeping, and when I wasn't asleep I was curled into a little ball under the blanket making noises like "mrrrghhhghgemmm". Thank goodness for Advil Migraine, though! Once I had that in me it was no contest. Take that, evil little skull-kicking men!

So suffice to say I am a bit behind in all the things I've been meaning to do, so today and tomorrow are my catch-up days.

The floor hasn't been Swiffer'd in over a week, and let me tell you, when you own animals whos fur is the exact opposite color of your floor... well, it gets a bit noticeable. It looked a little like we were walking on a cloud cover, and while it may sound whimsical... not so much. Also, Swiffering now that we have a table and chairs on the floor is infinitely much more work than Swiffering a large empty square area. Move the chairs... Swiffer where they were... now move them back... Swiffer the rest of the floor... attempt to Swiffer under the table and lose half of the fur you've collected... yup. It's an exercise in skill and dexterity, I tell you!

My good friend Gabby has also inspired me again with her endless creativity (Seriously, where do all these great ideas come from? Sometimes I think someone dug my creativity well in the desert!) so I'm going to be starting a new photography project. It's something I've wanted to do ever since I became interested in DLSR photography (so it's been quite a few years), and it's going to be a series of self-portraits over the course of a year, one for every week, or a 52 as some people call it. A lot of people do 365's, which is a photo for every day of the year... not only do I have the attention span of a sea lion, but I don't want to feel obligated to get a photo every day. I think a week's time will give me a nice amount of time to figure out what I want to do, take the time to do it with the right posing and shot, post-process it at my leisure, and not feel like my creativity is stretched or burnt out.

So, yay for that! I don't have a name for my meme yet, but I will be posting it here weekly, so you'll get to see my results and hopefully, progress. (And my ugly mug. Bwahaha!!!)

And one last thing; thank you for all of your wonderful, inspiring comments on my Saturday Centus! I really enjoy the weekly challenge of it, and I'm happy to be writing again, and that people are leaving me their feedback. :) So, thank you thank you!

Saturday Centus #3

It's Saturday again, and you know what that means... :) Jenny Matlock's Saturday Centus!

This one is amazingly on time today because I knew right away what I was going to write about. The prompt is below in bold... and my 100 words (exactly 100 this time!) comes afterwards... heehee... enjoy... :)

I look back over my shoulder, squinting into the late afternoon sun, gawking with stunned alarm at the broad rolling muddy waters of the Mississippi.

I was soaked to the bone; had I really just crossed that river? I paused for a moment to catch my breath and wring the dirty water from my hair, but I didn't have much time. It seemed everything was going awry... and the rivers flooding were just the tip of the iceberg.

A moment paused was too long, and I heard them before I saw them approach the opposing river bank. The lumbering, shambling undead. Their eerie, unearthly groans.

I grinned wryly, slinging the shotgun over my shoulder. Time to hit the road. I was safe, for now.....

* * *

... Braaaains....! Couldn't resist the chance to use zombies somewhere, so that quota is filled! Have a happy undead-free weekend y'all!! ♡ ♡ ♡

Mailbox at the Beach - An Excursion

It's no secret that I live on the coast. (Blog title sorta gives that away!) It may, however, be a secret that I live very close to Wrightsville Beach, about 5 minutes away and over the drawbridge. It's a cute little place, very cozy and home-y in the off season, and a perfect summer beach in the on-season. It's your typical coastal, island town.

Our beach has a mailbox *somewhere* on it. I'm not going to tell quite where, as it will add to the mystery. ;) But it's a mailbox with a set of wooden steps on a certain area of the beach, and there's something really ... neat there. I'm not going to give THAT away yet either, but you'll find out, as yesterday morning I decided to finally head out there and see if I could hunt this place down.

There really isn't much about this mystery locale on the internet, so what little information I had I'd gathered up from Google searches and a local magazine that published a small article on it last year. (Yes, I still had the back copy of that mag. And coincidentally enough, the local news also posted a small story on the mailbox that can be found when Googling now, although they don't give away the location! ;) So I grabbed my camera to document my adventure, hopped into the car, and headed out!

I made it! The public access was somewhat empty this morning, so I managed to get a shot of it. It was also REALLY bright out this morning, so I did a little post-processing on most of these photos so the colors would pop more. :)

Ahh, a nice clear sunny day! This area of the beach isn't a real popular 'touristy' area, so it was quiet, clean, and awesome. It's also not really 'tourist season' yet, so we'll see how it gets in a month or two!

I couldn't resist taking a photo of a few shells. :) I was also here to pick up some shells and sand for the winner of my giveaway, so it was a multi-purpose trip! Nothing wrong with digging around in the sand once in a while...

Ah, the beach! I love the beach! The water was pretty nice today, and I was wishing I had brought my bathing suit, beach chair, and book... maybe next time, though. I was here on business this time! And I had a ways to walk too...

This little guy was happy to point me in the right direction... and also to remind me, KEEP OFF THE DUNES! He was really noisy, and it was so funny to see him sitting on this sign, honking away, that I came up from the shoreline to take a photo.

Taking a break... aaaaaahh. I had been walking for a -long- time at this point! (A sidenote; after my excursion was over, I realized that I actually parked a lot farther away than I had to. Oops!) So I took a break to try and snap a photo of some relaxing seagulls. This guy seems kind of wary; actually, it was hard for me to get close without them standing up and walking away!

... Okay, almost there now... I think...

I knew I was almost there when the people started to dwindle to a few lone wanderers, and I stumbled upon this bird sanctuary. It was roped off, so I took this photo over the ropes. What a sweet place for the beach birds to nest... :)

Now I *know* I'm almost there, because I'm at the very end of the island! I took this photo across the inlet, of the big fancy houses on the other side! Aaahhh, that's the life. :) I was amazed how much bluer the water was here, likely because it's shallow.

... Okay... walk a little bit more ... turn around and ... !!

I found it!!!! Nestled in the dunes is a mailbox with a set of stairs -- they weren't always this short, the stairs used to be a full set, but the sand has covered nearly all of it. So now the steps are more of a seat. :)

And I have to admit, I feel AWFUL that I didn't get a shot from farther away of this, because it looks so cool. I turned around from taking the last shot of the sound to see this almost behind me, and I was overwhelmed with giddiness and almost childlike excitement that it totally slipped my mind.

It really was like a treasure hunt, because this place has been here for years but you really have to go a bit off the beaten path to find it, a little bit of an adventure. :) It was exciting and exhilarating to get out there and experience the sun and the sand along with searching for something iconic yet tucked away from the majority of people that visit the beach. Something special for sure.

But okay, back to the photo adventure!

You can see on the face of the mailbox door, it's scrawled with, "LEAVE A NOTE". And it has a cool starfish handle! The mailbox itself wasn't very large, probably a little bigger than my camera bag. I opened the door...

... and there it is! A notebook and pens, just ready for you to leave a note. :)

I don't know who exactly maintains the mailbox (although I have a hunch), but there is always a fresh notebook in here with some pens for people to write down their thoughts, pour out their hearts, or just draw a nice little picture. Here is what I wrote...

Not the most profound or mind-boggling, but it's true! I'll tell you though, earlier in the week I had worked up in my head what I was going to write in here, but once I actually got out here it all seemed to have fallen out of my head and so I had to go the impromptu route. ;)

The notebook is like a Postsecret, but a little bit neater I think. I sat here for about 20 minutes and flipped through the book, just reading. Some people had written pages upon pages of what they were going through at the time, some just a few words. Grief, sadness, fear and worry, to happiness, elation, joy and hope -- emotions spanned the gamut in this little book, and I couldn't resist photographing a few other entries.

It was nice that there really weren't a lot of people around (granted, it was about 11:00 am on a Thursday) so I could take my time and relax in this little haven. I had such a blast flipping through this notebook, and wondered who was collecting them all and replacing them with new ones... wouldn't that be fun...?

It's become something of a tradition to leave seashells behind at the stairs. This tree was covered in them, some attached by ribbon, some attached by string. Larger ones that couldn't be hung up were left on the sand and scattered around the stairs.

Here are some more shells, and the surfboard here... I don't know if that's always here, or if it was left recently. Either way, it's pretty neat. :)

Ta-da! This is the best photo of me I could get as a photographer without a tripod on a really sunny day! ;) I kinda like it, I think it mirrors the mystique of all of the notebook entries by only being a shadow.

All right, time to get out of here... wait, one more shot of the ocean!


Ahh, that's better! NOW I can go!

I hope you enjoyed my adventure of seeking out this little local treasure. I was happy to finally get out there and look for it; I had been meaning to for some time. And now that I know where to go, I'll surely be back for more in the future. And if YOU ever happen to be in the neighborhood, drop me a line, and I'll take you there! :)

Winner winner chicken dinner!

Mmm, chicken... wait, I already HAD chicken for dinner! Coincidence?? Hmmmm....

Sorry, I'm getting to the winner of my one year giveaway! Random.org hand-picked this number...

And lucky number 3 is...

Amanda!! WOOHOOOOO!!! Confetti and disco lights and the clanging of pots and pans, you've WON! :D Drop me an email at nikineu@gmail.com with your address and I'll ship you your lovely beachy giftjars ASAP!

. . .

Speaking of dropping lovely things in the mail, I was going through some of my crafty boxes today and realized I have way too much cool stationary for my own good! I know handwritten letters are, like, SO primitive, especially with the invention of e-mail and Twitters and iPads (that I really REALLY am not ashamed to admit that I covet badly), but if you'd like a handwritten letter on some really rad stationary, feel free to drop me a line -- again, at nikineu@gmail.com -- and let me know. :)

I have a really fun post lined up for tomorrow ... I took a really awesome and uplifting excursion today, and I'm going to post aaaaall about it tomorrow, complete with many nifty photos!

Wordless Wednesday - Sprouts and Tables and Dresses, oh my..

Finally, some photos! How exciting! Anyways, remember those flower seeds I planted? (It's okay if you don't, I won't hold it against ya.) Well here are some sprout photos...

These are the Cosmos, and they've gone BONKERS! Three days after I'd planted them, baby sprouts were shoving their way up through the dirt, and about a week and a half later... this! The flowers are in very beginning blooming stages (you can see them if you squint, maybe) but they're on their way! I can't wait to see the colors, and set them on my front porch in full bloom. :)


Here is a close up of the marigolds, and you can see the little flower sprouts in the leaves!! :) I like this photo, I am really learning how to take a decent macro photo with my stock lens.

Look, it's me! I wore this dress last Friday and I kept getting COMPLIMENTS on it... what the heck! I bought it at Kohls in 2005 for 15 bucks! Anyways, I figured I'd document this momentous occasion, and also document the fact that continuous P90X is making my arms look awesome.

Here it is, the Table Set of Doom!! We're thrilled with it and it fits our decor perfectly. And, I'm writing this post from the chair directly in front of the curtains! How cool is that?? And no, there is not a plant in my purse, it's an illusion!! ;)

Yup, another one. See, the plant is a separate entity! You can see on the island counter to the left the crappy books I've subjected myself to reading, and will review them shortly. No really, they're really bad. I decided to dabble in 'chick-lit'... bad plan, Sami. Blargh.


Last one. I HATE our wastebasket. Bluh. But it serves a purpose. The signed doodlydad on the wall is actually a menu from Emeril's restaurant in Orlando, and it's signed by Chef Bernard - we got to meet him! I was pretty flabbergasted, but mostly drunk. Heehee...

This concludes (not-so) Wordless Wednesday!