Archives for July 2010

Sometimes I have a bit of an identity crisis on here. 

Sometimes I feel like a mom blogger.  I blog about the funny things my kids say or I write them birthday letters.  There are some mammoth mommy bloggers that I read and I think oh, I really need to steer my posts that way.  Even more than that, some of them are super involved in their local blogging community.  My mind goes a mile a minute and oh, wouldn’t a Charlotte mommy-blogger group be so much fun! 

Other days I feel like a geek girl.  I’m a professional programmer and love techie stuff whether it be my iPhone or just some cool thing I found online.  I found some rockstar geek girl bloggers yesterday and I thought man, wouldn’t I love to be a rockstar geek girl like that..I really should write about all this coding and techie stuff I’m immersed in.

Other times I feel like a fan girl, writing about celebrity meetings or celebrity photos.  Sometimes I feel like I could turn my blog into a Grade A (or at least D) celebrity news site. 

Sometimes, I’m simply a Christian blogger.  I put my heart on the line over and over and my soul is satisfied when I share that.  There are some great Christian bloggers out there and I know I could write about that every single day and be happy. 

I love to be the comedian.  I can’t tell you the satisfaction I get when someone can laugh at something I wrote.  Because sometimes you have to be there and sometimes you can write it well enough for people to feel like they were there.  I read other blogs that are super funny and wonder if I could do that every day. 

I’m also a writer, a cyclist, a fashionista, a designer, a photographer, a couponer, and a cook. 

I guess sometimes I just feel like I need to peg this blog into one thing and be really good at that.  Because that’s what the blogging experts say to do and those expert blogs look like so much fun.  Some people have said they like coming on the blog and not ever knowing what type of post it will be.  I’m sure some are turned off when they are expecting a spiritual nugget and then have to read about my new hair cut.  I’d really like to find my niche.  But I can’t.  I am all those things.  Some days I’m only one of those and some days I’m all of them. Usually on those days, I don’t even have time to be a blogger.  I guess when you get to it, the thing I’m good at, the thing I know the most about, the thing that is my niche, is me.  And as self-absorbed as that sounds, I can’t change it without losing some part of me. 

I don’t think I have a pretty bow to put on the end of this except to say to those that stick around, I can’t thank you enough.  I would write this blog (and did for 6 years) with no one reading it, but it sure makes it fun when you do.  I hope you’ve learned a little, laughed a little, cried a little and one day, remember all those a lot.

Hang in with me here…it’s a funny one…

So my dad’s 55th birthday is today.  Happy Birthday, once again!  For his birthday he got up early and did a 55 mile bike ride.  Wow!  Well, this morning Heather and Mom call and “suggest” that I make dinner tonight. Which is fine by me but I tell them I have absolutely nothing.  We get on speakerphone and decide on one of my dad’s favorite, baked spaghetti.  They ensure that I’ll have garlic bread and my mom pipes up “I’ll make salad…do you mind picking up the lettuce?”   Really, mom?  We all start laughing…I’ll get salad…buuut do you mind getting the lettuce?  For the record, I completely forgot to get the lettuce at the store and then my mom said she’d get it, fixes it at home and then completely forgets to bring it to my house and has to go back and get it.  That salad was did not want to happen!

So this afternoon I go with the girls to Walgreens to pick out his card and in my mindset I decide to go with something funny…about being old(er – Dad, I don’t think you’re old!).  The girls are intent on helping out.  I turn down the purple Barbie birthday card that Lexi picks out first but then she hands over a card that actually made me laugh out loud.  And I say perfect, Lexi!  The outside said “You don’t have to take your birthday lying down!” And the inside says, “Unless you want to!”  So I’m thinking perfect!  He’s probably so tired from his long bike ride and it makes a joke of him being old…this couldn’t be a more perfect card!

I should add in here that Dad is NOTORIOUS for not reading his cards.  If it’s more than like 5 words, he skips right to the signatures.  So he opens all his cards tonight including ours which Lexi was SUPER proud of…

opens his presents

We take birthday photos

I light the cake with a near-blow-torch

And he blows out the candles

And then Mom says, “Did you get what your card is suggesting??”  I’m thinking yeah, he’s old and tired.  She starts laughing and then hands the card over to me:

Gah, I completely skipped over the “Honey” and all the hearts and THE BED.  Yes, that is the card I gave to my dad for his 55th birthday from his daughter and granddaughters.

We caught a picture of how happy the girls were to give it to him.  Lexi thought it was HILARIOUS and didn’t catch the real meaning at all.

After I figured it out, I was like, “Birthday Card FAIL!”  Mom says “Oh but Lexi picked it out.” And I said, “Yeah, but I screened them all first!  I turned down the purple Barbie one.”  Heather, always one to quip, “Then, yeah, that’s a big FAIL.”

So…Happy Birthday…Honey!

*shudders*

ugh

This post was written at the behest of all those involved with the warning that it would be all over Facebook if not.

So for several years, since Heather bought me these two pictures for my birthday, they’ve been on the wall here –>

They are the two behind the couch.  I had to go back in photo archives 2 years to find a picture of them at this angle.  Well, I’ve had some other unused wall art sitting around the house and I decided to make use of it all in one wall collage.  I wanted it to be cool like something like these from Pottery Barn:

But it didn’t happen.  However, I did what I could:

Not ideal, but I’m calling it a win.

Becky has been singing the praises of Amelie’s Bakery, even Pioneer Woman has sung the praises of Amelie’s after her visit to Charlotte but Melissa and I finally made it to Amelie’s last night.  It’s a 24 hour bakery in NoDa made for the young and hip.  Well, I don’t know if it was made for the young and hip but it certainly is.

The bakery is almost as much about the experience and environment as it is about the yummy French pastries.  Off the main bakery room there were several lounge rooms were many people were ensconced in laptop work or group chats.

I was shocked to find every single table and couch full save one two-seat table at the door that Melissa and grabbed and spent the next 2 hours chatting away. 

I had the salted caramel brownie and wow, it was delish!  I loved the thin crunchy layer in between the two very moist and chewy chocolate and caramel layers.  PW agreed and recreated the recipe after returning from Charlotte.

I couldn’t go to Amelie’s and not return without something for the family so this is what I got: Lexi got the salted caramel brownie, Emma got the mixed berry tart, I got a cream cheese puff for breakfast and I got Scott the raspberry chocolate tart.

OK, I have to be honest here and say while the salted caramel brownie knocked my socks off, I wasn’t very impressed with the cream cheese puff.  I found the whole thing to be a little dry and lacking in the cream cheese department.  The raspberry chocolate tart got thumbs up from Scott and the same from Emma’s berry tart.  Please don’t ask me to rate any dessert that has fruit in it.  However, ALL of us raved over the brownie.  I’m declaring that our winner!

If you’re in the Charlotte area or ever visiting, make sure to check it out but be sure to plan lots of time to hang out an enjoy!

So I’ve tried to give myself some space to blog about this concert on Friday.  No need to sound like a raging fangirl at 32.  But you know, space…

hasn’t

really

helped. 

In fact, I’m not sure what can help.   Probably another post for another time. 

The fact is, Danny and Tim blew me away in concert.  Danny’s voice gets better every time I see him (which is, let’s see, 4 times now).  I will argue until I’m blue in the face that he has the chops to do what he is doing.  He’s a legit guy and deserves whatever comes his way.  We were able to talk to him at a meet and greet before the concert and an autograph signing afterwards.  If you super-duper details, please hop over to my recap on the site.

Tim surprised the heck out of both Dani and I who were first-timers.  I knew and loved his music but I had no idea he sounded exactly like that in person so much so I had to listen and watch very closely to see if he indeed was lip-synching.  Something caught his funny-bone about 3/4 through the concert and he laughed.  The fact that the singing stopped and the laughter came through is the only thing that convinced me he wasn’t.  And he certainly has entertaining on a stage down to an art.  Which pretty much means he just has to stand there and all the women are entertained.  I mean, just sayin’.  I’m sure if Faith was up there the men would say the same.  Speaking of, we kept hoping she would show up on stage and were still disappointed at the end of the night when she didn’t.

All in all, a super great, very fangirly fun night with Carla and Dani.