Daring Embarrassment

EDIT:: agonizingly blurry photo of my finished braid


and not so blurry, but equally tasty - the pinwheels.


I filled them with home-made cherry filing, and iced them with an almond hinted simple glaze.
we very much enjoyed the chomping of these...


I got a phone call yesterday morning. My mom's eldest brother passed away. She needed family and love and a good strong shoulder, so I spent a good part of the day over there. By the time I got home, I was drained... and, in spite of being distraught, baking just didn't appeal.

So - I started, this morning, making this month's challenge.... which is only half done... well, not even that... but getting close.
I neglected to factor in the "let refrigerate 5 hours or overnight" element when I started this morning.

Tomorrow evening , I will have lovely photos of my Daring Learning Experience posted.

Until then, please check out the other FABULOUS creations using the blogroll as a guide.

pseudo tagged by pinkdot

she did this. i liked it.
i tried it
(took a LONG time to find photos whose titles answered the questions)
so i cheated a little, but I wanted it to make sense.

Here's what you do:

• type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr search.
• using only the first page, choose an image.
• copy and paste each of the URL’s into the mosaic maker over at FD’s image maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you attend?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. Where is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. What is one thing you must do before you die?
12. One word to describe you.

1. Nif-aaahr!, 2. Ribs, 3. Statue: Father Gabriel Richard--Detroit MI, 4. Fiery Sunset, 5. Colin_Firth_003, 6. Tanq n Tonic, 7. ...Zanzibar..., 8. Angel food, 9. Her name is Housecat, 10. She loved being a mom., 11. Legacy Extended, 12. Dichotomy

meet otto

last friday elliot was caught in the middle of a 5 car pile up
in the middle of a construction zone
in the middle of a very busy interstate
(though I don't know how they can call it that since it doesn't cross any state lines)
this is how he came out of it:


i have spent the better part of the last week "working" with my insurance company (Farmers) in an attempt to get some idea of what is going on, how long it will go on, and when i can wash my hands of all of this and have my life back.

today i finally got the call that my claim has been approved (etc) and that all i have to do now is sign a bunch of forms and DHL them to the company and wait for my check. that's all. ask me to WAIT and see how well i do.

today we went to look at a new vibe... didn't like it so much... there are things i love about it, and always will - - the ac plug, the plastic back end (that is NOT a trunk), the gas tank cover release, the fold down flat front passenger seat, and the air vents. but the new one is squishy in the back seat. and the gear shift is offset to nearly horizontal (weird) and nostalgia for elliot is NOT going to make the new car the old car.

we also went and looked at the saturn astra. 5 door xr. i found one - - ONE - - with a manual trans and a moonroof. we took it for a test drive. we checked out the bits and pieces. we're bringing him home just as soon as i get the check.
meet otto.

fluff and nonsense

it's been too long since i've logged in to say - more or less - nothing.

it's not that life is boring. it's just that i feel like it's just a normal (not necessarily) boring life - the kind that most folk have. i'm feeling very ordinary. and not even in a bad way.

i'm going through some changes at work - - a new position in my same company, in my same department. it's a growth opportunity, and i'm excited. i can't remember the last time i've had a "growth opportunity" in front of me, but i'm pretty sure I liked it the last time too. I'll have a new boss (who reports to my old boss) and I've really enjoyed working with her in the past. And a sort-of new kind of work... sort of. i'll be doing a lot of what I've always done, it's just that now, for the most part, i'll be doing it for myself. and a lot of other cool new stuff to boot. what that other stuff is, i'm not quite sure yet, but i'm glad to be learning something new. in spite of departmental changes (3 years ago in september) i've been doing more or less the same job since 1999. needless to say, i'm pretty darned good at it, and i definitely felt comfortable in the position i left yesterday. but it's time for change - - or as my ladybug used to say - - shaking the snow-globe.

my home life is good. the garden is gorgeous, the baby is getting bigger, smarter, funnier, and even possibly prettier (she always looks SO good in the sunnytime - the fresh air and sunshine do her a world of good and happy). oh sure, i have mountains of laundry, dirty dishes in the sink, and dust on the window-sills, but i don't think that those things REALLY detract from a happy home (except, maybe, on cleaning day).

if it rains tomorrow, I have shelves to assemble for my bedroom clutter (i'm very excited about this). if it's sunny, i have plants to get in the ground (i've given up on my initial plans - which required additional funds) and have found alternate locations for them (i.e. in place of the burning bushes which the rotten rabbits won't stop eating).

see - - fluff.
and nonsense.

have a great day!