Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Monday Monday...

questions via Good Intention Equals Nothing
Listening to
Knock You Down. I think that's my song for 2009. Love it.

Watching 500 Days of Summer.

Eating hummus. lots and lots of hummus.

Looking Forward To what the new year will bring. This one is ending quite nicely.

Dreaming of warmer weather

Planning my trip to Singapore, end of May. Can't wait to see K-Pat!

Just Beginning a new...thing. It feels like it's going to be around for a while. :)

she read my mind


Monday, December 28, 2009

I Heart faces photo challenge: Hilarious outtakes

Greetings! Hope everyone had a great holiday! Here is my contribution to the I heart faces photo challenge! This one was fun, and lucky for me, I snapped a picture of the nephew this weekend right as the other one made him laugh. Snot came shooting out of his nose. Disgusting, but hilarious. Enjoy!


Baptism outtake:
babies get tired too

attempt at a family picture.
I couldn't not post this picture

Check out more here:

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Things I've read this week you might find interesting

This is part of my "I really want to blog more" kick. The longest streak of blogging ever: 3.

1. I can't stop watching this cute little puppy. Seriously, cutest thing ever.

2. If this is marriage, no thanks.

3. I'll admit it. I love Glee. Wasn't the season finale awesome? My favorite of all the episodes.

4. A future purchase for Baby Emma. I'll wait a few months though. :)

5. The Big Picture is going through it's top photos of 2009. They're worth looking at--amazing pictures from across the world.

6. Feel-good movies I've seen lately that you should too: The Blindside and Invictus. Both true stories, both excellently portrayed. You'll root for the good guys through both movies.

7. What I have to say over and over in my head until May when this whole thesis junk is over!!

8 . So far, so true.

9. It pains me to say, but my cravings for the crack chicken have ceased. I had a bad experience with Chipotle. My loyalty is slowly switching to the adjacent sandwich shop. God bless you, turkey wich.

10. I love the end of the year, when the best of photos are named. Warning: Nerdiness alert.

11. GREAT textures posted on Pay it Forward for the Christmas season. Love these.

I think I want to blog more

I think I say that and do well for a couple weeks and then fall off the wagon. *maybe* this time I'm serious.

I think I'm going to start entering the I heart faces weekly photo contests. And for those of you with adorable kiddos, you should enter too! The contests are open to everyone and it's a lot of fun to look at the different entries. Check it out!

Questions taken from a cute little blog I've been lurking on, Good Intention Equals Nothing:

1. When exactly is your birthday?
June 18, 1982
2. What is your biggest passion?
I thought about this one for a while. But I think the answer is making people smile. There's nothing like seeing a good pair of teeth.


3. What are your expectations of the new year?
To get my masters in public health. After my advisor meeting yesterday, it's going to happen, as early as May, as late as August. But it's happening!

4. If you were given the chance to get something you want most in your entire life, what would that be? Why?
It would be more drive, more motivation, more passion. Why? Because procrastination sucks and having a little more drive, motivation, passion seems to be the secret to getting over the hump.

5. How would you complete this sentence below:

- I'm fucking pissed off when...
People wallow (is that a word?) in the negative and don't see how absolutely gorgeous the world is around them.

credit

6. What was the most interesting class you've ever taken?
This is going to show my nerdiness, but I think it was Legal Aspects of Environmental Quality. It was my first "Matt Class" (Mr. Berkheiser taught almost all my favorite classes in college). It was the first class that really sold me on making my career what it is today.

7. What is your favorite flower? Why?
You would think posies, huh? hehe but it's not, my favorite flower is the yellow rose, in memory of my favorite person ever.
Photo taken at Regent's Park on my last Europe Trip

8. Would you still love or be friends with someone that did you wrong? Why?
I can forgive, but I wouldn't trust them again. That might end the friendship.

9. Why do you blog?
Because why not? :)

1o. How would you describe your philosophy in life, if you have one?
focus on the good. The bad will happen, but accept it and move on. One of the last conversations with my favorite person ever, she said "it's okay to cry, but I'd rather see you smile." Words to live by people!!

Monday, December 14, 2009

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge: 9th place!

I've been a lurker for about a year now, but when I saw the Pet Week Challenge, I figured I'd give it a shot. I've said it a million times and I'll say it a million more: Rocko is the most awesome weenie dog in the entire world.

Congrats to all the other winners!




Sunday, December 13, 2009

Elena attempts to bake

I made cake balls! They're much easier to make than I thought. I was inspired by this post by Bakerella. There's no way I'm that talented with frosting though to make cute little reindeer. So I figured, maybe I can pull off some christmas ornaments. Here's what happened.

1. Bought all the ingredients yesterday while shopping at HEB. Unfortunately their sprinkle selection was not to my liking. Add to my list to buy sprinkles tomorrow at Target.

2. 2nd Quarter of the Texans game, getting bored watching the Texans run all over the Seahawks, decide it's cake ball time. Mix all my ingredients and wait for the delicious smell to wander from my kitchen.

3. Allow the cake to cool down, add a 1/4 cake at a time to mixing bowl and crumble to pieces until the entire cake is in the bowl. Mix in frosting. The smells at this point were almost unbearable. I confess, I saved myself a piece of cake. (=D)

the beginning of cake balls!

4. Cool mixture in refrigerator whilst gone on trip to target. Make a mental note to use whilst in everyday talk. At target, get sidetracked and buy all kinds of crap I don't need. Sounds about right. Finally remember what I'm there for and buy sprinkles.

5. Back, prepared and ready to get on with these cake balls. my house still smells like chocolate cake and I'm getting hungrier and hungrier. Melt some white chocolate in a bowl and add the food coloring. Ok, what the crap did I do wrong? When I added the food coloring, it looked like a globby mess and wouldn't become liquid anymore? So I wasted HALF of my white chocolate candy coating making booger trash. Darnit.

6. Next I use the rest of the white chocolate to cover as many cake balls as I can. I get 7 done. And my are they ugly. Bakerella I am not. I'm not even close. Like I could be the worst baker of all time. Feeling like a failure, I shove my creations back in the freezer and pout to randall's for more chocolate.

7. About 10 balls in, I got the hang of it. I had a system of adding sprinkles and worked as fast as I can. I made 45 balls and only messed up 3. By mess up I mean broke in half while trying to cut off excess chocolate to make them look like cake balls not cake blobs.

8. I chose the prettiest, roundest cake ball to show you what I did. I'm telling you, they're much tastier than they look. But I had 2. One covered in green booger chocolate and another that broke in my hand. I ate them 3 hours ago and I am JUST now coming off my sugar high. These things could be dangerous.

I think I'll take them to work and pawn em off on the guys. =)

When I was younger, aside from wanting to be a tornado chaser, I wanted to be a cake designer. I now realize why that dream never came true. I suck at baking.

Happy holidays, y'all.

my "they don't look anything like bakerella's" cake balls
cake balls!




Friday, December 4, 2009

how 5 words can make your day...

Sitting at my grandparents house talking to my aunts and my grandparents about my recent trip to Italy, I look over and see my grandpa with a smile ear to ear. Then I saw him lean over and whisper to my grandma in spanish "look how beautiful she is. " Then my grandma smiled.

Aren't they the best?!

grandma and grandpa
 

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