Hil’s Blog

Holy Monstrous July 22, 2008

It was that time again that I dread. The time when I am getting ready for the day and putting my make up on. As I am doing so, I reach in my make up bag for my mascara. I pull the wand out only to find that I am running out. I panic. I start into cold sweats. I begin dreading the fact that I am going to have to wander up and down the make up aisles for who knows how long. There are way too many options. Do you want volume or length? Brown or black? Waterproof or not ? Skinny or fat?

I dread thinking about getting the same old pink and green bottle that I always get. The only reason I get it is because it is always just right there at the check out stand. You don’t have to go through the mess of trying to cypher through the hundreds of options. It is chosen for you, and although I love the pink and green…there comes a time when you just need a change.

After having a brief anxiety attack, I ventured off to Target to pick up some baby formula. I knew that baby formula wasn’t the only thing on my list, so as I bit my lip and held back the urge to hyperventilate, I made my way over to the make up aisle. The first aisle I went down, I didn’t find anything that really caught my eye. I decided to give up. I didn’t need this. But as I came to the end of the aisle. There it was. It was big. It was orange. And IT WAS ON SALE! Two for $10! That’s almost as good as the pink and green one. I was very excited and plopped it in my basket feeling as though I could conquer the world because of my great find.

When I got home I opened one of the tubes to try it out. As I brought the brush up to my eyelashes, I immediately flinched. The brush was HUGE! Seriously, it had to be 3 times bigger than the one I am used to. However, I proceeded to put it on. The result was fantastic! I had long, thick, voluptuous lashes! I am a big fan of the big orange tube with it’s big monstrous brush that produces big voluptuous lashes. I am afraid to say that if I had paid the original price for one of these bad boys… I probably would have felt some guilt, but not a whole lot.

I had survived that time that I dread once again. The best part? I bought two of them, which means I will be able to prolong that awful, dreadful time.

This was NOT a paid advertisement. FYI.

Happier Times July 14, 2008

I have had quite the day today.  It started early due to the fact that my 9 month old son is teething and having troubles sleeping lately.  In between nap times I had several errands that I had to run before we left on our family reunion, including a trip to Wal-Mart.  I really don’t want to get started with that place again but, unfortunately, I can’t help it.

For those of you who know me, you know I hate that place with an absolute passion.  I wouldn’t have gone were it not due to the fact that our car needed an oil change and I needed to get a few things at the store.  Seeing how I didn’t want to sit in some Jiffy Lube with a child who is into everything for 45 minutes and then head to the store for another 30 minutes, I chose to kill two birds with one stone.

Amidst the children screaming, the jam packed isles, the weirdos and the long check out lines, I tried to think of happier times. This was a little easier, seeing how the happier time is tomorrow.  My family is getting together for a little family reunion in a resort town that we used to vacation at a lot growing up.  We will be spending the week biking, playing tennis, golfing, eating great food, swimming, playing games and just relaxing.  As I thought about this great vacation ahead, I was able to blur out some of the commotion in Wal-Mart.

Even though I hate the place, if I am going to be fair I have to mention the two things I like about it.  Yes, I said like.  FIrst, is their return policy.  We have never had a problem returning anything to Wal-mart, as long as it rings up in their system, they will hand over the cash.  Second, is the fact that it always makes me contemplate about my own life and how blessed I am.  It was brought to my attention today that I have an angel child who just stared at the other children screaming their faces off while the parent told them to shut up (real classy, I know).

My Luxurious Apartment July 2, 2008

Growing up, I always could tell if we were staying at a nice, luxurious place on vacation if they had a sauna. It was a given that if there was a sauna in the house, cabin, hotel, etc. in which we were staying then we were really livin’ it up. I am not really sure why I thought this, seeing how I am very intolerant to heat. But, I guess it is because they were so uncommon and you really only saw them in mansions and amazingly monstrous cabins.

Well I have to say that I now live in one of those luxurious places that has a sauna. In fact, it is even better than any sauna I have ever seen. It isn’t one of those tiny rooms with wood benches and some coals in the corner. Nope. Instead, my entire apartment is a sauna! How lucky am I?! We live on the upper level with no A/C, no huge trees to shade the sun away, and no ceiling fans. Since the weather has finally decided to heat things up a bit, our apartment can get up to anywhere between 80 and 95 degrees. Now, before you go and get all jealous on me, let me just say this… Sitting in a sauna all day long with a 9 month old who is crawling and walking EVERYWHERE and getting into EVERYTHING may make you sweat your brains out and and even help you lose a few pounds, but it is NOT luxurious. One of these days when I build my own mansion, I think I will just have to leave the sauna out of the plans. I have already lived my life of luxury thanks to my apartment.

My New Swimsuit June 23, 2008

I was on vacation this past week and spent most of my time out in the pool. It was a lot of fun, however I couldn’t help but feel self conscious about my new body. My old swimsuits from before I was pregnant still fit, however I have curves in places that weren’t there before. So, I decided it was time to get a new suit. Here is the one that I got. I absolutely love it! It totally disguises any flaws that might be still hanging around. It was a bit expensive… but in my opinion it was well worth the money! Modbe has a ton of cute suits this season and if I can justify it, I may just have to get another one!

I married a pie guy. June 15, 2008

When I received my cake decorating kit I immediately started searching for an excuse to make a cake. I pulled up my calender on my desktop to see what holiday was the closest. The first one I saw was Flag Day… I thought that might be a stretch but kept it in mind in case nothing else came about. Then I looked just a couple of days further down the calender and found the perfect day to feed my cake decorating appetite. Father’s Day. It was perfect.

I searched the web for days to find the perfect cake. I came across all sorts of golf cakes, remote control cakes, recliner cakes…(pretty stereo-typical right?). Well there also happened to be a ton of shirt and tie cakes and when I stumbled upon a certain one, that was just a tie all by itself, I had an excellent idea. I had bought my husband a tie for Father’s Day and thought it would be fun to decorate the cake to look exactly like that tie. I know, I know, I’m a genius right?

I planned things all out a couple of days in advance. I even searched for “the best chocolate cake recipe” and found one (thanks to my mom)! Finally, Father’s Day had arrived. I woke up a little early and decided that I was too excited to sleep (well, that and my 8 month old son decided he didn’t want to sleep anymore either… I really didn’t have a choice..) so I started gathering the ingredients for my perfect cake. As I was doing this, I asked my husband what kind of frosting he wanted on his cake. He didn’t sound too enthused and so I asked him if he wanted something other than cake. It was then that I remembered something that I always seem to forget. I married a pie guy.

My husband loves pie. This would be completely fine if I were a pie girl. However, I am a cake girl and I am horrible at making pies. When we were dating, my husband told me that his family never had cake on their birthdays, they always had pie. I honestly had the hardest time imagining that anyone would rather have a piece of pie on their birthday than a big ol’ slab of warm chocolate cake with a big scoop of ice cream melting on the side. I have tried to secretly convert him to the dark side, but he still loves his pies… and I love him!

So, I decided that I needed to put my selfish desires of decorating a cake aside and attempt to make a pie. I knew it wasn’t going to be nearly as good as my cake would be, especially since I was going to have to use a ready-made Pillsbury pie shell (which is close to a carnal sin in my husband’s household.. with good reason!). Despite my lack of experience in making pies, I did it. I made a “Lumpy Chocolate Cream Pie”. What was the lumpy part you ask? Flour. Yep. I make lumpy pies. My poor pie loving husband.

Chunky Dunk June 12, 2008

Here are a couple of my first layouts using Photoshop Elements. I am still a beginner (as you can see) but I just thought I would get these posted for those of you who are wondering what on earth digital scrapbooking is. I have had so much fun playing around with Elements and I am very sad that my trial will be up in 9 days. The best part about this is that I have been able to get everything for free! I am pathetic and check Digi Free and IKEA Goddess everyday for cute stuff. I also love Shabby Princess and have downloaded everyone of those kits. It has paid off because I now have hundreds of kits and templates that were freebies! One of these days maybe I won’t be so cheap… but not for now!

Credits: Wordart from Words by Bethany, Papers and Elements: Dulce Sophia Collection by Izabel Mendez

There is no longer an excuse… June 8, 2008

…to not continue with cake decorating. My sister-in-law, Hannah (who happens to be one of the most talented, amazing and thoughtful people I know), got me the following gifts for my birthday. I can hardly wait to make a cake.

Speaking of cake… does anyone have a wonderful chocolate cake recipe?? I have several sheet cake recipes but I wasn’t sure if I could use those for the round pans. Let me know. Thanks again Hannah!

I’m in love.. May 27, 2008

…with Photoshop Elements 6. I realize that those of you with THE photoshop will roll your eyes at this post, but I truly do love Elements. I suppose one of the reasons why I love it so much is due to the fact that for the past 3 years I have had to edit my photos with Microsoft Office Picture Manager. I was ’somewhat’ able to fix red eye (except you could totally tell that’s what I had done with the end product) and allowed me to crop. That is about it. Needless to say, I have been having a blast with Elements. Unfortunately, it is only a 30 day trial. I have 26 days left and I am trying to use it as much as possible until then! I am also starting to save my nickels and dimes to eventually buy the program once my trial is up.

Elements has also created a digital scrapbook monster out of me. I spent my entire Memorial Day weekend downloading as many freebies as I could find! However, I have come to the conclusion that I will just have to fork out some money to get some decent kits.

I’m back… and embarrassed May 21, 2008

When I started this blog, I was so dang excited to finally have a blog all to myself. I couldn’t wait to post all of my ideas and crafts and hobbies and whatever else I wanted. Well, it turns out I don’t have a whole lot of ideas, crafts, hobbies, or whatever else. Nevertheless, I am back and posting, but embarrassed that it has taken me so long to update! Please bare with me!

My latest thoughts have been on these insane gas prices! I know that everyone is talking about them (especially the news.. ugh) but I am really bugged! Not only have we felt the pinch from these prices on a weekly basis, but they are also preventing us from taking our Memorial Day vacation to visit my family. We figured it would end up costing us over $200 to drive (and that is in a Honda Accord which gets really good gas mileage!) just for a 3 day weekend. That is just plain insane. So, we are stuck here with the rainy crummy weather instead.

The good thing that has come from this whole gas price crisis is that I have gotten off my derrière and actually used other methods of transportation. Methods that require no gas whatsoever. Methods that have been around for ages. Methods that even help me get rid of my mom butt! Those methods are walking and riding my bike. I can’t believe what this has done for me! Not only does it lift my spirits a bit to get out and enjoy the outdoors, but it also allows me time to think and not be distracted by the radio in my car or the jerk that just cut me off!

This made me laugh.

My Addiction May 12, 2008

I have an addiction.  It is really quite pathetic actually.  I’m not sure when it started and I don’t see it ending any time soon either.  My addiction is cookie dough.  I love it.  I can’t survive without it.  I love it in ice cream (cookie doughn’t you want some with cake batter ice cream from coldstone is absolutely amazing!) or even in little candy bite size pieces, but I especially love it just all by itself, right out of the bowl!

While I was pregnant I think I made cookies at least once a week toward the end (sometimes even twice…shhh…don’t tell) just so I could have some cookie dough.  Now that I am not pregnant, I am not able to justify making it as often.  I search for opportunies to make them.  If there is ever a sign up sheet in Relief Society to bring a dessert, I am all over it! 

Well, last night I had a weak moment.  I had had a pretty rough week this last week and decided I needed a “pick-me-up”.  I caved in and made some cookie dough.  Let me tell you… I was on cloud 9!  The second that spoon full of ooey gooey goodness reached my mouth, my eyes rolled back into my head and I was in heaven.  It is so pathetic what that stuff does for me. 

So tell me, I am curious, what is your addiction?