I just can't wait

I usually try to keep my holiday celebrating within its respective month. Therefore, no sparklers until July, no Halloween candy until October, and no Christmas music until AT LEAST after Thanksgiving. I usually don't think about decorating my house for holidays until the appropriate month either but....the blogs. The blogs you guys! They are MAKING ME think about Christmas decorating way before I'm ready!

I'm really loving wreaths right now. Am thinking about covering the walls of my tiny house with them.

Clockwise from top left:

Tinsel Wreath via Red Velvet Art

Paper Wreath via the red thread

Book Page Wreath via Living with Lindsay

Gumdrop Wreath via Posie Gets Cozy

DIY Grosgrain Ribbon Wreath via iDiY

Felted Sweater Wreath via Wise Craft

The thing I love most about all of these wreaths is that I can make them with things that I already own. Yessssss! I knew that kitschy tinsel would come in handy someday.

I certainly won't be hanging any of these up until December; however, some of them may or may not be in the works in my basement at this very moment.

Crayola Doesn't Make A Color For Your Eyes

N8tr0n and I love to listen to A Prairie Home Companion on Sundays after church. Just another nail in the coffin of our young, hip, child-less selves. One day I was out of the house during most of the program and when I got home N8tr0n was excited to tell me about a great song he'd heard.

Any guesses as to whom he was thinking of when he heard the song?

I know what makes me happy.
Don't have to think for long....

My family is so totally rad.

Shoulda been a....

(Note: Yesterday Pioneer Woman linked to my blog FROM HER BLOG! Am incredibly flattered. It was so fun to watch my site reader climb to heights it had never seen before. Quite exciting for an itsy-bitsy blogger like myself. Thanks Ree!)

(Note x 2: So many thanks for your kind comments and emails regarding depression. You are all so sweet and supportive, and it is nice to be reminded that I am not alone. Blog hugs to all of you.)

And now...on to the regularly scheduled post:

This morning heralds the newest season of Sesame Street and Z-cakes and I have front couch seats, munching on our Me-meal (oatmeal) and Shredded Wheat, respectively. Am watching it right now as a matter of fact. We've been looking forward to this day for quite some time. Not that we haven't enjoyed the re-runs featuring Neil Patrick Harris, Brian Williams, and Will Arnett; we are just eager to see some new cameos and maybe watch Murray and Ovejita go to a new type of school.

Speaking of Murray, I must say that the sketch Murray Had a Little Lamb is one of my favorites. I love the way Murray interacts with the children and teachers at each school and can only imagine how over the moon I would have been if Murray had visited my school when I was a little girl. Not to mention the fact that I love yelling Escuela! the way Ovejita does when I am driving a little friend of mine to Kindergarten.

I was quite amazed at how an episode where Murray and Ovejita go to art school had my mind racing for the rest of the day. Art school! Yes! ART SCHOOL! Why didn't I go to art school? I found myself immediately jealous of the kids as they swept their oil pastels over the paper and dabbed at watercolor paintings suspended from easels. I TOTALLY should have gone to art school! That teacher is telling Murray about collage...I used to LOVE collage! My entire room was practically a collage from junior high until well, college...why did I stop doing that?

Now to be more precise, I ended up spending most of the day thinking about graphic design. Oh how I covet you graphic designers. Mastering InDesign and working freelance jobs while your baby naps...obsessing over fonts and perfectly placed text. I often think to myself that if I ever went back to school, first of all, it would be because I was crazy, and second of all, it would be to study graphic design. Then I think to myself, "now Miranda...you have a perfectly good *ahem* Master's degree that you barely even use! Why don't you wear that one out first and THEN you can think about going back to school?" Fortunately those practical thoughts don't stop a girl from dreaming. Dreaming of a job completely different from my current one; dreaming of learning something new; and, dreaming of turning an interest into a skill.

Maybe someday I'll have the motivation/resources to pursue this mild obsession I've acquired. In the meantime, I'll perfect my butterfly drawing skills fifty times a day as Z-cakes yells "fuffly!" and forces a crayon into my hand (she is a slave-driver I tell ya).

I'd love to hear what you all dream of doing. What would you do if you had unlimited resources to learn something new? Also, if you're a graphic designer and you'd like to take me on as your apprentice...I'd like to hear from you too. I'd like to hear from you very much. :)

Ack! Now I have to go...Sesame Street is over and Barney is about to come on! Must. change. channel.

This and That: November

:: This is possibly the best pumpkin pie I've ever made. Labor intensive (shocking since it's America's Test Kitchen right?) but so worth it. It is still the classic pumpkin pie taste which is exactly what I was after. Am a traditionalist when it comes to pumpkin pie. Am going to hold off on making another until Thanksgiving.

:: Last week I had a pie crust tutorial with my favorite baker, Charlotte. Very informative...just what I needed. Notice the crimped edges in the photo above? That means that I did not 1) buy the pie crust and 2) haphazardly roll it out until I was about to throw it across the kitchen and instead throw it into the pie tin sans crimped edges. Hooray! I even caught a little of Charlotte in action with my flip so that I can watch her masterful hands roll out crust after crust, over and over. Now all I need to do is make a million pie crusts until I can do it as easily as Charlotte can. As she always says, "(pie crust, bread, cakes, everything I could possibly want to do) is a skill born of experience."

:: So, you've all been watching Glee right? Oh good. Well while you're waiting for the new episode to air you should check out Rachel's new hugely popular blog: Emma Pillsbury's Box of Baubles. Here she chronicles all of the swoon-worthy adornments that the character Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays) wears on the show. Trust me...ultimate jewelry inspiration is just one click away.

:: As usual, November has me thinking of what I'm thankful for. Am glad that I have Marta's Project Thankful available for periodic posting of thankfulness. Marta has kindly offered her blog as a place for ongoing comments about being thankful. She describes it as her "version of twitter!" Be sure to check it out and include what you're thankful for!

:: This post from House on Hill Road from last month has been on my mind for a while. The Pyrex dish in the last picture is making me crave some thrift store shopping. Anyone care to join me?

:: Am planning on running the Turkey Trot this year on Thanksgiving day. So far, the only thought that comes to my mind when I think about running a race at 8:00 AM in Idaho in late November is...Burrr-zies.

:: Friends, I am sad, embarrassed, and very frustrated to say that I think my depression is back for real. Though this time is not as severe as previous bouts, it has certainly been difficult to pull myself out from under the blanket, put down the knitting, and quit being cranky. Am working on deciding on a favorite mantra to get me through my day (great advice my dad once gave me). Am also very thankful for N8tr0n whose patience and support never seems to cease. I don't plan on going into a lot of depth about it on this space...I just wanted to put it out there. For reasons I don't understand. Blogland seems to have that effect on me.

:: My red ruffly scarf is almost finished! I bought some Addi Turbo needles for the middle portion that is worked with a smaller sized needle. Oh my lands those are some glorious needles! I have to admit that I scoffed when I read the words "the perfect needle" on the package but I stand corrected. Those are some magical knitting needles. Now if only they were magically cheaper.

:: Week one of Project: Take control of household chores is complete, and I can soundly say that things are coming along. Am starting to feel like our house is more put together. I actually did all of the dishes before bed every night this week. I'm not sure that's happened (for so many consecutive days) in the five years that N8tr0n and I have been married. I KNOW. Am turning over a new leaf. Have learned that it is not fun to do dishes at 11:00 PM. I've had to get all 'mom' on myself and have to be all like, "well, I'm sorry that you're tired and that you have things to do tomorrow, but you're the one who chose to knit for two hours instead of doing the dishes and this is where it got you." Seriously, am such a mean mom. It's like sometimes I'm trying to ruin my life.

:: I'm pretty sure that I could go on like this for quite some time so I'm going to cut it off here. Happy Monday everyone.

Reasons I Love Denver 001

My backyard, October 29, 2009

Park by our house, November 3, 2009

I honestly love Denver's weather. Snow boots one day, flip flops the next. It keeps things interesting. N8tr0n would tell you that it is too dry, and for the overcast/drizzle lover, it certainly is. Be sure to pack plenty of your favorite moisturizer if you're coming for a visit. But since I am a desert girl straight through to my core, I adore the dry wind wicking the moisture off of my lips and the hot sun on my neck in early November. Coloradans never stop boasting about the "300 days of sunshine a year," and if you ask me, they never should.

Guess who I met!

That's right friends. The Pioneer Woman came to Denver to sign her new cookbook and I WAS THERE! I can't believe I actually made it to be perfectly honest. It's the kind of thing that I think about going to, don't plan well enough for, and don't go to. Then I'm all pouty when everybody is posting pictures on their blogs detailing the fabulousness that I missed out on. But not this time!

I love this picture. It looks like I'm totally swooning over her; because, let's be honest here, I totally was.

I have N8tr0n to thank for my presence at this event. I was washing dishes feeling sorry for myself because I wasn't going to see PW. N8tr0n came into the kitchen and was all, "just go." Actually, he was all: You never go to these things. You think about them, and then you don't plan for them, and then you don't go. And you need to just go. Go down to the basement, print out directions, and go. Don't worry about parking. Don't worry about going alone, just go.

It's like he anticipated all of my excuses. Like he knows me. Like he's married to me. (!)

Thankfully, I didn't have to go alone. My sweet friend April decided to come with me -get this- just to hang out with me! What a great friend right? (I should note that I'm convinced she had no concept for the amount of time she was about to commit to this outing.) She also decided to buy me the cookbook for my birthday so that I didn't have to feel silly getting Ree to sign the recipe of hers that I had printed out on the computer. Because April is that kind of friend.

The story of how I procured said cookbook is somewhat miraculous. April and I did not arrive at 4:00 for the 7:30 signing like some of the more devout/responsible/crazy? fans so, by the time we got to the bookstore all the cookbooks appeared to be spoken for. April spotted what looked like a "hidden stash" behind Ree and she was determined that she would get her hands on one of those books. I had no doubt in April's ability to follow through with this plan. I pretty much had no doubt in April's ability to rip one out of some lady's hands if she needed to...that's the kind of faith I have in April. But while I was upstairs talking to Rachel (who stopped by after work and fled the insanity [plus she was hungry]) I noticed a lone book on top of a stack of newspapers. It was just sitting there. No receipt. No owner in sight. I snatched it like mom grabbing a Vtech on Black Friday...and then looked around confused. This lone book was very puzzling indeed. Why would anyone just leave it sitting there? Did it belong to that lady looking at the magazine? Did somebody already buy it and now I was stealing it? I think Rachel finally got annoyed at myconfusion and said "it looks like you found yourself a book."

Yes. Yes I had.

Tattered Cover was in no way, shape, or form prepared for the amount of people that would show up for this book signing. Check out this craziness:

This is just the small section I could capture with my camera. There were LONG lines going up both staircases and around the store. I was totally disappointed in the lack of planning on the part of Tattered Cover.

Apparently when they have larger book signings, they hold them at their larger location. The women that were trying to organize this enormous (dare I say, sometimes catty, and crowdy) group of women kept saying that they "just didn't anticipate this big of a crowd." I'm quite surprised that at some point during the planning stages of this event somebody didn't click on over to PW's site and say "Wow. This last giveaway PW did got 36,000 comments. Do you think we should maybe put out a few more chairs?" It's like that time that Oprah gave out free meals at KFC and KFC TOTALLY RAN OUT OF FOOD. Like they thought nobody watched Oprah? Or that nobody's mom/neighboor/high school friend who still has you on the forward email list watches Oprah and wouldn't be sending the coupon to every person in the country? Seriously. Disappointed in the lack of planning you guys.

Okay but this post has nothing to do with KFC. Their chicken is gross. Yuck.

Pioneer Woman, on the other hand, has a recipe for fried chicken that looks delicious and that I will someday be making.

Aaaanywaaaay...After a brief Q & A, it was time to wait. And wait. And wait. For like, a really long time. Fortunately, April found a little Twilight porn to pass the time...

(It wasn't really porn. Just like...not...literature. April doesn't read porn. Or smoke as you may recall)

And I took out my knitting. Isn't my red scarf coming along nicely?

After almost THREE HOURS of waiting, it was almost my turn!

And then it WAS my turn!

Look how interesting PW thinks I am!

I knelt down next to her to talk. Is that weird? It was just awkward standing there and leaning over her. I didn't really think about it at the time...but now the picture looks weird to me. Oh well.

In case there is any question in your mind...she is just as sweet as you can imagine. Her voice is beautiful and sincere. And she has great hair. And beautiful skin. And couldn't you just die over those earrings? And she had been signing books and making small-talk with complete strangers for over three hours (and had AT LEAST an hour to go) and was showing no signs of fatigue or annoyance. Amazing.

Amazing. Wonderful. Fantastic. Thanks for coming April (your PW inspired thank-you is on its way). Thanks for convincing me to go N8tr0n. Thanks for the inspiration Ree. I can't wait to spread the cowboy cookin' love!

Happy Birthday Brother

I've always really liked you a lot. Remember how you would never just smile in pictures?

Hope you had a happy birthday.

P.S. For those of you who may be wondering...this is the same dude.