I'm Back!

A little bit. I'm trying to back into the swing of my blog. I know I was never really in full-force before. I mean, c'mon! Once a week blogging? It's for blogging wimps.

I am a blogging wimp.

I love my blog, I love sharing things with you, and I LOVE reading your comments, but sometimes blogging is a little bit of a labor of love. I kind of enjoyed my summer off. I may do it again. Watch out!

Anyway! Let me start off with a super short post about what we've been doing a lot of lately:

Which is, mostly, laying around this house in different places, trying to find the coolest place possible in this UN-RE-LENTING HEAT.

Because we moved! Yay! But we have no air conditioning! Boooo!

Today was ONE HUNDRED. AND THREE. Because just one hundred degrees is just not enough. So nature threw in an extra bonus three degrees. Damn you, nature.

Anyway, Penny has found her perfect spot. On the cool stone next to Norman the Meditating Gnome. I may kick her off soon because that most definitely looks cooler than my place on the couch.

Tomorrow is only supposed to be 94 degrees. Don't be jealous.

3 Things

1. New Blog Header

Did you notice? Did ya? Did ya? I did it all by myself!!! I used this awesome tutorial (just liked I used to make this header) and it was really easy! I find myself checking my blog just to look at its beauty and happy colorfulness.


2. Rainbow Cake

Do you remember when I first made a Rainbow Cake and it totally rocked it out?

The holiday season is crazy for everyone, of course, but it's a little extra crazy for us because Peyton's birthday is December 17th (he turned 8) and Ella's birthday is January 9th (she turned 6). Oh, and our wedding anniversary is December 15th (we made it 10 years!), but that's beside the point.

The point being: Rainbow Cakes are awesome!

Usually we do cupcakes for our birthday parties because they're so easy, but ever since The Rainbow Cake came into our lives, things have changed for the better. Peyton wanted a rainbow cake for his party, Ella wanted a rainbow cake for her party, and we were Rainbow Caking it up all over the place this winter!

The best part ever is when you cut into the otherwise-normal-looking-cake and suddenly everyone realizes that there's something special going on in there. Oh man! Kids are amazed, parents are amazed, it's all kinds of awesome. And I loved watching my kids bask in the glory when their friends saw the uniqueness of the cakes. Peyton and Ella LIT UP when they got to tell everyone how they picked their own colors. I loved that!

But really, what I wanted to do here was to peer pressure you into making a Rainbow Cake of your own. And this is why: No matter how imperfect your Rainbow Cake is, people will still think you are a Rainbow Caking Rockstar.

Example 1 - My first Rainbow Cake - Didn't even have enough frosting to cover all the sides. See all that side-cake sticking out? Didn't matter - Rockstar! (When I said side-cake did you think of side-boob? Admit it - you totally did!)

Example 2 - Peyton's Rainbow Cake:

Not even a real Rainbow Cake. He wanted blue and green stripes. Look at how uneven the frosting layers are - fail! Doesn't matter - as soon as the party kids saw the inside...

Rockstar!

You'll notice these pictures are a little messier than my First Rainbow Cake. It's one thing to carefully slice a cake when you're at home. You can make your family wait on the sidelines for five minutes while you get a good photo. It's a completely different situation when bunches of loud and crazy party kids are sitting around a table at a bowling alley or Chuck E. Cheese's waiting impatiently for their fair share of sugar intake.

Example 3 - Ella's Rainbow Cake

She chose her colors, too, and she wanted them in a very specific order. Look at that huge layer of frosting in between the purple and blue layers - fail! I didn't actually cut this one, the host from our Chuck E. Cheese party did. As soon as she cut into it, she said, "Whoa! Is this rainbow striped!?! Cool!" And you know she cuts into all sorts of homemade cakes for a living, soooo...

Rockstar!

What I'm saying is this: I'm not a baker, I've made lots and lots of Rainbow Cake mistakes, but it doesn't matter!

So, go! Go forth and make a Rainbow Cake! If I can do it - ANYONE CAN DO IT!


3. Family Portrait

Yesterday, I gave Ella a canvas, some paint, and paintbrushes. She grabbed some paper craft hearts that I was working on and some glue. Then she disappeared for a while to create her masterpiece.

She's obviously very talented - I mean, C'MON with the mixed media fantasticalness! - but just in case you have a hard time recognizing us, from left to right we have: Peyton, Ella, Mommy, and Daddy.



Seriously, I love it so much!!! Drawing with actual paintbrushes rather than markers or crayons is difficult - I think it's pretty impressive for a just-turned-6-year-old!

I framed it and put it on our Valentine's Day mantel and I'm going to keep it forever and ever.

Happy Valentine's Day decorating!

Guess Where We Went!

James planned a little mini-vacation for us on the sly! Sweet, sweet, sneaky husband! We were only there for 3 days but we had soooo much fun!

See how many clues it takes you to figure out were we went! 

Clue #1

We stayed in our home state of California, but we flew on an airplane. This was Peyton and Ella's first plane ride, so it was a super big deal!

On our plane ride we saw typical plane stuff:

And The Simpsons:



And a storm a-brewin':

Pretty cool, right?

Clue #2

Our hotel room had this view (hmmm...is that an island back there?):

Clue #3

We took a tour of a submarine:

I'll tell you, every single time Peyton came home from the school library last year, he either had a book about skateboarding or some sort of warfare - aircraft carriers, battleships, tanks - you name it. So seeing the inside of a REAL SUBMARINE was really cool!

Clue #4

We walked down a really, really curvy street!

Clue #5

We went to the best smelling bakery in all the land - Boudin Bakery: 

And we ate in their restaurant. And had clam chowder. In a sourdough bread bowl.

Clue #6

We went to an Aquarium where we got to see all sorts of sea life, like Sharks and Sea Stars and Sea Nettles:

And why the H E double hockey sticks does a sting ray need to look like this? It's just creepy!

The Aquarium also had some really useful information in their women's restroom:

Clue #7

We went to a Fisherman's Wharf where there were lots of sidewalk food stands:

And we had dinner at Nick's. Lobster bisque. In a sourdough bread bowl.

Clue #8

We saw A LOT of sea lions! 

I love this guy:

You know what? Sea lions are SUPER STINKY.

Clue #9

We took a bay cruise and saw this island close up:

And this bridge:

Did you figure it out yet?

Here's the final clue!

Clue #10

We spent $15!!! 

(On this souvenir picture. Totally worth the money because I love this picture!)

How many clues did it take you? :)

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

And by few, I mean 2. 

I just found this trailer yesterday and I can't stop watching it. I think it may be my new Make My Day Happy Video. (Click on the title at the top of the preview to see it larger. It's best viewed full screen.)

This next one is my classic Go To. I've watched it a zillion times and it ALWAYS make me laugh. 

So, yeah, pretend drunk babies and lots of swearing. That's what makes me happy.

Do you have a Go To funny video for brightening your day?

Fail.

Hey, Life Insurance Medical Test Guy, I've done this before, so I know how it should work. Someone comes to your house, asks you some medical questions, has you pee in a cup, takes some blood, gives you the lamest medical exam ever, and leaves.

That's when it's done the right way. And then there's this guy.

Strike One:
The appointment is a 9:00 a.m. I have to fast - no breakfast and no coffee. I could have called the whole experience a fail just for that, but it gets worse.
When I get home from dropping Ella off at school, WAY BEFORE my scheduled appointment, there's a phone message. The medical test guy is somehow unable to find my house. I immediately call him back, but he says he's already left to go back to his office and won't be able to get to my house until WAY AFTER 9:00. I call shenanigans on that nonsense. Shenanigans!

Strike Two:
I need to give some blood. As I get older, I'm getting better at this needle thing, but I still freak out a little. My heart races, I get a little hot and sweaty, my brain enters the Twilight Zone. But I deal with it. I'm a grown-up now, for crying out loud. I deal. So the guy gets the needle ready and I look away to try and find my happy place.
"Are you nervous?"
"A little bit, but I'm okay."
He sticks me with the needle. I deal.
"Oops. I missed the vein. I'll have to do it again."
I start to freak out the tiniest bit more. My pain tolerance is low, yes, but it's the fear of more pain that kills me. I take a deep, shaky breath and look down at my arm. The vial is filling up with blood.
He didn't miss.
"Just kidding." And there's some sort of sick gleeful spark in his eyes.
What is the matter with you, guy? You see what I'm going through! I don't understand why this is funny to you. Have you NO SOUL?

Strike Three:
He finishes with the all the blood letting and is putting away all the materials. Hey, Mister! I'm not sending you a thank-you note! Gather up your fear-inducing humor and your medical torture devices and get out of my house!
He takes out an empty vial and looks at me.
"Uh-oh. I forgot to fill this one."
I stare back at him. I am no longer playing with you, guy.
"Just kidding."
Yep.
Hey, life insurance medical testing jackass, I just want you to know that this whole game would be sooo much more fun for me if not for the potential of another needle being jabbed into my arm. The fear and the pain and the racing heart and the sweat and the Twilight Zone brain.
And, by the way, REALLY? THIS IS FUN FOR YOU?

Strike Four:
He needs to measure my height and weight. He takes out the scale. This could be strike four all on its own. But it's not. Oh no, not by a long shot.
I go to stand on the scale and he says:
"Let me guess."
Whoa! No No No No No No!
And before I could tell him how completely inappropriate it is for anyone I have not paid $2 at the town fair to try to guess my weight, and without going into all the gory details, I'll just say that he guessed 20 POUNDS ABOVE my actual weight.

But he did take off his shoes when he came into my house to be polite, so how does that make sense? It doesn't.

You, sir, have failed.