33... feels good!

Yes, today is my birthday... it was a great day! I was really surprised! Not sure why, but I was. Here I am with my squeeze at the ripe old age of 33... not too bad, eh?





Anyway, my day started with Chris waking me up with one of my presents... a garnet (my birthstone and favorite) tennis bracelet... isn't it pretty?





At work, our Admin put a sign on my cube for my birthday, so everyone was acknowledging my special day (which I LOVE)! A co-worker sent an email out to invite folks to lunch, and mentioned "Happy Birthday Kelly" thus causing an unprecedented 15+ people to all go to lunch together (that is a huge number for IT folks, if you didn't know that already), and he picked up my bill for lunch! Yay!

I also had a plethora of email, voicemails, phone calls, text messages and Facebook (holla!) notes wishing me a Happy Birthday which was really nice.

Chris took me to dinner at Roy's on Orlando's "Restaurant Row". It is a Hawaiian theme restaurant and was oh, so good! When I got home, he had a yellow cake with white PUBLIX icing birthday cake with plenty of roses on it (MY FAVE). Finally, he had one final gift for me...





A new color printer! I've been wanting one for quite some time... honestly, I'm not sure which I like more... the printer or the tennis bracelet! Does that make me a geek?

Good Grief!

Long time, no post! Let me catch up... So, for November I read Girls in Trouble by Caroline Leavitt as mentioned below. It was quite good. It was a story of a young girl who, as a teenager, is pregnant and decides to give her baby up for adoption. Specifically, an open adoption. It is a VERY interesting read.

Following that book, in December, I read Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright for book club. It was a very easy read, good for the holidays. My only complaint is that things were too "convenient" at the end.





I then indulged my Twilight craving and read New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. OMG, LOVED it! I can't wait for the movie to come out, and I can't wait to read Eclipse...





...but first, I have book club commitments. January's book was Molokai'i by Alan Brennert. A story set back in the 1890s in Hawaii where lepers were hunted, arrested, and sent to the island of Molokai'i for seclusion. The story follows the life of a young girl... admittedly, I didn't get all the way through the book, but I plan on finishing it soon!





Next up for book club is The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. At this point, I am not very far in, so I don't have a real opinion of the book just yet.





My task for today is to come up with a short list of books for a poll for my book club for March's discussion. The book club leader has decided that each month we're going to have one member pick a short list of books that the rest can vote on. I think it is a GREAT idea!

...and the #1 reason why sub-freezing temperatures in Florida SUCK!

Check out my Garden Blog for the answer.

Death and Destruction...

...thanks to a Florida freeze! This past week we had temperatures below freezing for 3 or 4 days in a row. I realize that the rest of the country was much colder if we were in the low 30s, but this is not temperatures that Florida is used to. In fact, it causes all kinds of problems with our plants, being that we have different plants all over our yards than people up north do. Anyway, here are some pictures of what I hope will come back at some point...

Hibiscus:












Marigolds:




Impatiens (this goofy thing was so hearty and strong, and had been growing since March '08!):




Crown of Thorns:




The only plants that made it through unscathed were the Pansies and the Violas...

Pansies:






Violas:




...for the most part :( (here are a few pansies that didn't really do so well)

Friggin' AWESOME!

I love the Steelers :) :) :) :)

1. The Pop Rocks Steelers song
2. Roll With the Steelers - NEW STEELER FIGHT SONG 2009
3. Steeler Sunday 2009
4. Steelers Tribute Pump Up the Black and Gold 2008 / 2009
5. The Puhlahmalu Song by Mr. Devious

And, last but certainly not least, the song to become my ring tone:
6. Pittsburgh Steelers Here We Go Theme Song (2008-2009 Season)

...there are MANY more if you go to YouTube and put in "Steelers Song".

SHEESH! Seriously, Cold is Relative, people!

Ok, so I've now talked to FAR TOO MANY people who poo-poo the cold weather that we've had here in FL the last few days. "Cold" is a relative term, people!

The low today in Orlando was 32. THIRTY TWO! For Florida, that is pretty darn cold! I know it isn't as cold as it has been in Seattle, Buffalo or Pittsburgh, but c'mon, 32? That's freezing! You don't hear me tell you about how wimpy you are when you complain about 90+ degrees for a few days straight in the summer, do you?

FYI, tomorrow's low is going to be 34... that's three days in a row that we're in the 30s for a low!

25 Random Things About Kelly

...I took this from my friend, Aleece's (again) Facebook page. Post a comment and let me know if you've learned something new about me! For a little twist, 24 of these are true. One is a lie... can you guess which is the lie? Post your guess in the comments. I'll reveal the answer in a few days.

1. It recently took me over 6 hours to organize my yarn stash.
2. As a rule, I really don't like chocolate much.
3. I don't like coffee at ALL.
4. I hate raw onions... so much so that I won't let Chris NEAR me if he's eaten them.
5. I once owned 16 dwarf frogs at once.
6. When I was a kid, we had a tuxedo cat (black & white) named Scooby.
7. I can wiggle my ears.
8. On a good day, I can touch my nose with my tongue. (I'm sure my parents are proud!)
9. I can tie a cherry stem in my mouth. (I'm sure this makes my parents even MORE proud!)
10. I prefer to bake rather than cook.
11. Banana cream pie is probably my favorite kind of pie.
12. I read quite slowly.
13. I had a teensy bit of a studder when I was a kid... only manifesting itself when I read out loud (which, by the way, terrified me to have to do when I was in school).
14. I just hosted book club at my house... everyone left within the hour.
15. I've recently been "slummin'" it at the drug stores for makeup to compare to what I've been wearing that costs way more (fyi, eye liners and lip glosses are awesome!)
16. I'm propagating about 40 African violets on my back porch (and I covered them with a blanket this evening due to the freeze that is supposed to come overnight).
17. We have 5 televisions in our house (if you count the computer monitor hooked up to an HD antenna in the front room).
18. With those 5 TVs we have 5 DVRs, three on one TV and two on another.
19. I have been in love with Jack Bauer since the TV show 24 began.
20. Big Bang Theory is probably my favorite comedy on TV right now.
21. I had two imaginary friends when I was a kid. Their names were Babe and Lori and they were always going to New York to visit their grandma.
22. I prefer a Whopper to a Big Mac.
23. I prefer McDonald's fries to Burger King's
24. I've been known to make two stops for dinner for my favorite fries and burger at separate drive throughs (see above :) )
25. I prefer to have photography on my walls as opposed to art. We take lots of pictures on our trips, and we have interesting angles of all kinds of things hanging around our house (Notre Dame's ceiling, side shot of the Eiffel Tower, a weird bird giving us the "stink eye", etc).

I'm just so happy :)

Meme

Meme stolen from my friend Aleece. The rules are simple: bold the things you’ve done. Explanations are optional. Fun is guaranteed.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (not "more than I can afford")
7. Been to Disneyland/World (Um, ya think??)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (do computer languages count?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (someone did a caricature of me once...)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (only the middle :( )
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I'm O-negative. They call and BEG for my blood!)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (it was raining when we were at Buckingham Palace :( )
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (I'm Catholic, so, that would be a "no")
86. Visited the White House (not the inside)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Fish?)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (I was a lifeguard and had to go in a few times)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Competed in a triathlon
101. Adopted an animal from an animal shelter
102. Been to the top of the Sears Tower
103. Traveled to at least 3 continents
104. Stood up in a wedding

I'm adding a few:
104. Rappelled off a cliff
105. Eaten buffalo

Check :) No Check :(

- Updated main blog look and feel: CHECK!
- New interesting post: NO CHECK
- Updated other blogs: NO CHECK

...oh, well. One for three isn't terrible, right?

The road to Super Bowl XLIII...

...yet again goes through Pittsburgh! GO STEELERS!!!

No excuse...

... I really have no excuse for not updating my blog. I need to find a new template and write another post, but I've been lazy. Stay tuned...

Franco's new toy...

Franco got a great present from his "Grandma" and "Grandpa". A wind-up penguin!

"Hello new friend!!"




"Lemmie see here..."




"Ah! Here is where I wind you up!"




"Muahhh!"

Merry Christmas

OWIEEEE!!!

Earlier today I suffered a Christmas cooking mishap. Let's just say that you should be careful and pay attention when you are using a meat tenderizer mallot...







I was trying to crush up a Heath bar for a pie I was making and wasn't paying attention and THWACK! I tumped the nail side of my pointer finger on my left hand with the mallot, full force! It immediately hurt, and within minutes the nail had a purple mark... now the under side of the finger is really bruised, swollen and very sore :(

The bird ate Chris' lunch...

Chris made two turkey, roast beef and cheddar sandwiches for lunch for himself this afternoon. As he turned around to put the "ingredients" back into the 'fridge, Franco flew down to the counter and helped himself to part of Chris' sandwich. He totally shredded 1/2 of the top piece of bread on one of his sandwiches. It was really funny. The weirdest part was, Franco, a bird, was eating a turkey sandwich!!! I mean, isn't that cannibalism?


Chris: "What did you do? That was MY sandwich!!"


Franco: "I don't understand you... I'm testing it out to make sure it is good before you eat it. You should be thanking me!"

Carrie Underwood Rocks!

We went to the Carrie Underwood concert last night at the UCF Arena. She was great! The arena is a relatively small venue and we had great seats. Little Big Town opened for Carrie and they were good, and then Carrie was GREAT. She brought up a 6 year old little girl to help her sing the last little big of All American Girl, played her guitar for various songs, brought Little Big Town back out for a song with her, and my favorite was her encore... she sang Paradise City by G-n-R! Chris enjoyed the concert too... What guy wouldn't? Carrie came out initially with a short SHORT dress on and thigh high nylons. Very sexy :)

5:10 AM and still up...

...I'm going to be soooo much fun later today :(

I'll try to get some sleep now...

Oh, boy...

Awake at 3:30 AM... ew.

My name is Kelly and I have a yarn problem.

I've been up in "my" bedroom in our house (the room with all my old bedroom furniture in it) since probably about noon trying to reorganize my yarn stash. Calling it a "stash" is quite the misnomer... it is more like a yarn store, all collected in bins and shoved in my closet... oh, and the closet under the stairs. But, I'm going to get it all in "my" closet in "my" bedroom. Only three more boxes to go! lol...

Total time today on this project... about 6 hours. Yes, six hours.

Pumpkin with Candied Ginger Cake

Here is a picture of the pumpkin with candied ginger cake that I made for yesterday's Thanksgiving dinner. Isn't it cute?

It shifted ever so slightly in transport, so that's why the base of the cake is a little messy. Also, I forgot to take a picture before it was cut, so we spun the cake around... pay no mind to the missing slice towards the back ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Things I am thankful for (big and small, serious and silly):
1. My Husband
2. My Family
3. My Friends
4. My Health
5. My Dogs
6. My Bird
7. My Job
8. My Co-workers
9. My House
10. My Car
11. My Volunteer Group at Work
12. My Book Club
13. My Fiber Arts Club
14. My iPhone
15. My Mad Crochet Skillz
16. My "Library" of Books at Home
17. My Garden
18. My Clothes
19. My Shoes
20. My Makeup
21. My Handbags
...I may update this today as I remember more...

I saw it...

We just got back from seeing the movie, Twilight based on the first book of the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer.





I was pleasantly surprised to see that the movie was pretty true to the book, overall. Of course there was a good bit left out or left unexplained, but you have to expect that for a 2 hour movie based on a 400+ page book. They only added a few things that weren't in the book at all, and what was added I personally think enhanced the story instead of ruining it (which most of the time happens when the movie has taken liberties of the book). I think that people who have read the book will enjoy the movie a lot... there is just something about seeing the people "in person" and hearing their voices that makes the book even better for me.

The theatre was packed with probably a few hundred young teens/tweens (mostly girls) that cheered when Edward made is entrance on screen... they also cheered the credits. :)

Obsession

I'm completely obsessed right now with this lipgloss by Too Faced:





The color is called "Envy Me" and when you put it on it is no way as dark as it looks in the tube. It is such a pretty color on, just a hint of color on my lips, enough to even out the coloring and give me lots of shine. Plus, it isn't super sticky or anything.

If you called me a pansy...

...I'd take it as a compliment!

The mums weren't doing so well along the edges of my flowerbeds, so I pulled them up, deadheaded them, and planted extras in the hanging baskets on the front porch, the large planters on the front porch, and around the tree out front. They really don't have many open blooms right now, so I didn't take pictures of them. I'm hoping that in the next week or so they will pick back up and I'll have pictures of bunches of blooms!

In their place, I planted Pansies. Look how pretty they are! November is typically a favorite time of the year for Florida gardeners - just because of these little beauties!












I also planted some Violas. Violas are actually a species of violet (hence, the name), but they grow similarly to Pansies.:





Oh! And our Azalea bushes have bloomed again for the first time since I've moved into the house (3+ years)! I think the excavation we did of the area that they're in back in the spring gave them some room to breathe, so to speak :)

We...watched...liftoff!!!

...from our back yard! Chris set up the camera on the tripod in the driveway last night to take a few pictures of the shuttle launch. It was really cool... when we heard the countdown on the portable TV, you could watch as the cypress head behind our house started to glow a brilliant orange. Then, you finally were able to see the shuttle. So cool!!

This time I'm going to have to find out when the shuttle is supposed to land. Last time I had no clue and when the BOOOOOOMMMMMMBOOOOOOMMMMMM sounded as the capsule re-entered the atmosphere, I was scared outta my mind!

Cuddlebugs

So, right now, Chris and I are in our computer room and Mrka's "beddie" is on the floor next to my desk. It is usually upstairs, but since we were out of town for a few days (don't worry, we had a pet sitter!), we brought down their upstairs beddies so they could be comfy and blocked the steps with a baby gate.

Anyway, I look over, and Bauer and Al were cuddled up together in the one beddie. Mrka's beddie. No prompting, no posing, they got into the beddie together on their own... too cute!






...while Mrka looked on... probably P.O.'d :)




I just told Chris that we may have to start looking for new beddies for the boys :)

A survey 'cause I'm bored...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Basics:
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Name: Kelly
Date of Birth: A day in the month of January :)
Birthplace: Pittsburgh, PA
Current Location: See above
Eye Color: Green
Hair Color: Auburn
Height: 5'3"
Heritage: Hungarian, Croatian, Austrian, German, Irish and Scottish
Piercings: Two earring holes in my left ear, and six in my right.
Tattoos: One around my ankle.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Favorite:
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Band/Singer: Great Big Sea (band)
Song: Too many to list
Movie: Top Gun
Disney Movie: Too many to list (heh)
TV show: Friends
Color: Purple
Food: Pizza
Pizza topping: x-tra cheese
Ice-Cream Flavor: Banana Split (not an actual one, but the ice cream flavor)
Drink (alcoholic): Beer or Wine
Soda: Cherry Coke Zero
Store: TJ Maxx!
Clothing Brand: Michael Kors
Shoe Brand: See Above.
Season: FOOTBALL SEASON!
Month: January :)
Holiday/Festival: My birthday :)
Flower: Daisy
Board game: Scattegories

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
This or That
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sunny or rainy: Sunny
Chocolate or vanilla: Vanilla
Fruit or veggie: Fruit
Night or day: Day
Sour or sweet: Sweet
Love or money: Love
Phone or in person: In Person
Looks or personality: Personality (the good looks is a plus :)
Coffee or tea: Tea
Hot or cold: Hot

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Your:
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Goal for this year: Finish an afghan for my husband.
Best physical feature: Eyes
First thought waking up: Is today Saturday?
Fairytale alter ego: KP (taken from Kim Possible, but also my maiden name)
Darkest secret: Now, why would I post this on a blog for the world to see?
Strangest received gift: A personalized plaque with an insignificant date other than the date that the plaque was engraved.
Worst habit: Chewing my cuticles

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Do You:
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Smoke: No
Drink: Socially, but not so much.
Curse: I try to keep it at a minimum, but that doesn't always work out so well.
Shower daily: Yes, unless I'm sick or something
Like thunderstorms: Yes
Dance in the rain: No
Sing: Yes, not very well though.
Play an instrument: Does Rock Band Guitar/Bass count?
Get along with your parents: Yes!
Wish on stars: Sure
Believe in fate: No
Believe in love at first sight: No

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Can You:
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Drive: Yes
Sew: Yes
Cook: Yes
Speak another language: Do computer languages count?
Dance: Yes (not well)
Sing: See above.
Touch your nose with your tongue: Almost, but not quite.
Whistle: Yes
Curl your tongue: Yes

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Have You Ever:
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Eaten Sushi: Yes
Been in Love: Yes
Been in a Car Accident: Yes
Been to Another Country: Yes
Driven a Motorcycle: No

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Other Questions:
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
What annoys you most in a person? Bigotry
Are you right or left handed? Right
What is your bedtime? 11:30 PM - 12:00 AM
Name three things you can't live without: Chris, Yarn, Books
What is the color of your room? Greenish
Do you have any siblings? Yes (younger brother and lots of in-laws)
Do you have any pets? Yes, a bird and three dogs)
Would you kill someone you hate for a million dollars? No
What is you middle name? My Maiden Name
What are you nicknames? Kel
What is the largest amount of popsicles that you have eaten on one day? 3?

Not much to say again...

...but we're very happy. :)

Twilight is AWESOME!

So, I just finished the first book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. The book was ay-may-zing! OMG! I can't wait to read the next one, New Moon.

But, I'm going to move on to the November book club selection for my club, Girls in Trouble: A Novel by Caroline Leavitt.