The Last Straw

I think this sums it all up for me today, and yesterday.

the MAD Knitter.

I wonder what in the world could I be so mad about while knitting? Is it really that hard? Maybe its that cute little monkey sitting next to me.

New York

I spent 6 days in New York and I was at work most of the time. So I only got 4 pictures. I was lucky becuase everyone at my branch was very nice. The branch has been there for a very long time. The vault looked like it was over 100 years ago. The wheel that closed the vault looked like the stering wheel from a ship. It is on the end of a Korean neighboorhood. I ate Korean food for lunch, I have no idea what it was, but it was GOOD! There was a Starbucks just .03 miles away. I got a new pair of shoes just for my trip. I thought everyone talked funny, but then they thought I talked funny too. The car rental place was out of cars so I had to have a MiniVan, there was no way I could parallel park it. I ate sushi, greek gyros and at IHOP. Some nights my dinner selection was limited by my parking options which is why I ate at IHOP, not to mention that the road to my branch had 3 IHOPs and only 2 Starbucks. I am so glad to be home!!

Mary Jane Hot Dog Buns

My Mother-in-law is making and selling her own hot dog buns. I would have never known if I hadn't gone to Virginia.

Eight States. 7 days.

We had a wonderful trip! We were blessed with beautiful weather everyday. We had a really good time! We saw the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. We ate North Carolina Pork BBQ sandwiches with the slaw on top. We saw Ruby Falls and went spelunking into Lookout Mountain. I put my feet in the Atlantic Ocean. Knu got to hear Jaxson's heartbeat. We stayed in a scary Louisiana hotel room that still makes my skin crawl and when the toilet flushed it sounded like a Harley Davidson in the water closet. We had ice cream cones on the beach. We watched some of Brandie's movies including Walk the Line, Fried Green Tomatoes, and the Notebook and cried our eyes out. Brandie got a (2nd) Lazyboy. We tried to see Colonial Williamsburg, Knu got a bonnet instead. We got a couple of pounds of peaches. We went around the Ocoee River which is where Knu wants us all to go on vacation next year. We went into a cranky old lady's yarn shop in Blowing Rock (yes that is Falling Rock's big brother) N.C. who all but asked us to leave. We celebrated Joe's 23rd birthday. Knu mailed her bills from Appomattox which is where Robert E. Lee surrendered. We saw some wonderful farmland and country life with lots of moo-cows and goats. We saw people white water rafting. And Christmas tree farms. We ate at Cracker Barrel like 17 times. I like the Chicken n' Dumplins.

Momaknu's Wild Ride!

Knu and I are leaving tomorrow after work for Norfolk VA! Look out Joe here we come!

Papa Woods

This is what Ethan is going to look like in about 50 years. I am going to try to find the tie and glasses to match. I think he already has the pocket protector.

Stupid Car!

Stupid car, costing too much money. $3500 to fix something that seems soooooo silly. Knu and I are leaving next week for VA. And I took my car in to get an alignment and an oil change. They called me back to say the alignment didn't work because the back axle was bent. How do you bend a back axle? So half of the bill is to fix the back and the other half is for four new tires. I'll be shopping around for the tires, but still, who wants to pay that much for their stupid car!

L and T Wedding

What a wonderful night after a beautiful wedding!

Family Resturant in Munich

Mrs. Boettner was my Grandma's Grandma. And if you eat at this restaurant in Munich, you might just enjoy a divine dinner next to this painting of her.

Are there Starbucks in Utah?

I got this lovely birthday card in the mail from Tiffany. Inside was a drink sleeve from Starbucks that was to prove that Starbucks does exist in Utah. But I don't see how that proves anything. After all you could have picked it up in Texas before you left. I don't understand how, with 75% of the population not drinking caffeine, Starbucks would survive in Utah. Anyways Tiff, if you want to prove it, maybe take a picture of yourself at a Starbucks with one of those cream drinks that don't have any caffeine in them. Make sure to have something with the date in the picture, that way I can know for sure you didn't just dig up an old picture of you and Jason at Starbucks here in Houston. See how much you are missed. I am still working on the Eday street for you too.

What a WONDERFUL Birthday!

This is just a sampling of all the wonderful gift I got for my Birthday. I am soooo blessed and I can already tell this is going to be a great year. Number 29!

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!

Happy Birthday Stephanie!

I DYED!

Yesterday Knu and I practiced dying. We decied we want to go peacefully in our sleep. (That is just one of many dying jokes. I'm sure you can come up with a few on your own.) Look at this lovely rainbow of colors. I learned that just using one color isn't that pretty (see the green). So I would immerse the wool into one color then with a dropper I would highlight with another color. That gave the yarn and the color some depth. Hey Knu, what are you going to make with all that yarn? Please no rainbow rugs from your rainbow goats.

Ethan wanted me to make sure to get his friend the spider got on the blog. This spider is bigger than my hand, maybe even my whole face. And I think there may have been one of her eggs near by that was bigger than a golf ball. There is an investigation pending and pictures will be forthcoming. Ethan wants me to disclose that I tend to exaggerate.

Hey, Check out Tiffany's blog at http://utahan.blogspot.com/ She has just started posting pictures so we can see what Utah looks like. Missin' ya Tiff!

Otis the professor

Here is Otis looking like he's about to give a lecture on tennis ball physics. Hey Brandie, smell ya later!



Today we spent the day on the funny farm. We saw huge spiders, lots of hey, Steph got stung by a bunch of yellow-jackets, and dyed(yarn). Don't forget the goats! Some of the woolies are braver and come up for treats. Louie Louie is so sweet and he just loves to eat figs.

The race is on!

Today, Joe's ship will port somewhere off the coast of Florida. Brandie will be there waiting to have lunch with him. Hopefully she dosen't challenge him to a milkshake race, like Grandpa did. And we wonder why Joe is all about gaming.

Mega BABY!!

Ah, isn't she cute! This is our little niece, Katie. Her nickname from her big sister Lela is, baby D. She has the sweetest little drunk smile in the whole world. Keep it up girl, you'll make it!

Happy Accidents.

Cake trail number 2. I thought the vanilla cakes were pretty good. Some of my feedback was that the cake should be sweeter. I thought the cake could have been moister. I think next time I am going to do a little less butter and sub it for oil. But the sweetness issue. Feels like I am opening a Pandora’s box. This could be a debate that last centuries and centuries. Should the cake be on the main stage? Or should it be the canvas playing a much more subtle role? Anyway, this recipe went like this:
3 cups cake flour, sifted
1-tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1-cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
1-cup butter, softened
4 large eggs
So after making two batches, I added 4 squares of bakers chocolate. The resulting cakes had a crisp delicate crust. The cake itself sunk below and was very moist. I called them brownie cupcakes. I told E there was no way the delicate top could hold any icing, but he insisted. And then when he was trying it, he said it was wonderful!! I thought he was going to roll around on the floor.

Hopping down the cupcake trail.

• I am starting down my cupcake trail. I need to refine my recipe for the cake because before I was using the box mixes. Ethan, Danielle and Sharon all said how silly of me to not make the cake from strach. I did not like this one at all!! I made some of them chocolate by adding some cocoa powder. This is how the recipe went:
  2-1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
  1 tablespoon baking powder
  1 teaspoon salt
  1-1/2 cups sugar
  1/2 cup butter, softened
  1 cup milk
  1 teaspoon vanilla
  2 eggs
  They didn't rise very much, they were very dense and alot like pound cake. I am hoping to find a recipe that I can change the yellow or vanilla cake batter into chocolate. We will see. I may even get all the way up to trial number 409, ya think? I am trying another one tomorrow morning while Ethan sleeps in. Then we will be off to Knu's to play with the goats. I think its about time to get a picture of m-m-m-my Ramona on here.

Going to the chapel...

Say Brandie, when you and Joe get married, is he going to be dressed in his Navy blues? He sure does look handsome in his uniform! Hope you are doing great, feeling great and lookin' great. I'll be seeing you soon. Love, Steph

There she goes...

And I have never eaten so much in my life as I did today. I had cupcakes, pie, we ate out at Olive Garden and I had soup, salad, and breadsticks, then another cupcake and then I took Tiffany out to NIKO NIKO's for dinner and overate there too! And tomorrow is the ice cream party at work. Candice, you have some big shoes to fill. I hope you are up for this crazy job!

I'm gonna miss you Tiffany!

Here it is, 10 o'clock and I am just finished with all my millions of cupcakes for Tiffany's good-bye party tomorrow. Part of me didn't want to make them. You know maybe then she wouldn't leave. But we will always be knitten buddies. Her knitting is really good and I think I just taught her like 3 weeks ago. And she is already braver than I am. Already tackling a major project for her Great-Grandma's 100th birthday later this year. (IT'S A BEAUTIFUL LAP BLANKET. I knew I could spoil the secret here because her great-grandma most likely doesn't read my blog.) I sure do love cupcakes. I hope my friends like them too. I even made enough for E the share with his co-workers. Tell me what you think. I think they are beautiful, but then, I am just a little bias.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMAKNU!!

Today is my Momaknu's birthday, & what a happy day it is!

HAVE A WONDERFUL YEAR, KNU, AND FULL OF HAY!

Will Ethan's birthday ever be over??

Today was our LEO birthday party with Ethan's parents. Ethan, his Brother, Jason, his Dad, Marc, and I are all Leos. Ethan collected enough in Circuit City bucks to afford his mega gift...The Gateway FDP2185W (whatever that is) Monitor. Well I don't know what it is either, but here is a picture of it. Hey E, that doesn't look like homework? I got a cool tee-shirt, some gift cards, well lets just say I made out like a bandit. Candice, did you name your dog bandit? or outlaw? I couldn't remember. We had a good time hanging out with our family and being around our nieces For the birthday cake, Mary Jane made an ice cream cake with a layer of raspberry sherbert, a layer of lime sherbert and angel food cake frosted and frozen. It tasted like a margarita and was YUMMY!! Two weeks til' my birthday!

I took a picture while no one was looking.

Saturday night E's band played at Kickdawgs, my least favorite bar...ever! And breaking all laws in regard to being there with the band, I took a picture of the band. I didn't use a flash, as to not be detected, so forgive me but the picture didn't come out very clear. I did clean it up a bit with my computer and now you can even see Ethan in the back. So here you have it...Tony on guitar, Ethan in the back with the drums, and George (my grandma's favorite singer) up front. I swear I will never go to Kickdawgs again. I gave it a second chance, and I just hate it. The joke of the night was that this is the only place where gay is contagious.

"Cupcake Conundrum"

Hey Brandie, is Joe ever not talking? He is telling us a story about some dumb guy in his boot camp who couldn't salute with the correct hand. Omigod!!!
Today my brother Joe went out to sea for a month. Don't worry, he'll be back in a month. But my heart is with Brandi, I know she will be missin' him. Not to mention that I sleep better when Joe is home. Tomorrow is Samy's last day at the bank. He is going to work for another bank...Loser! And next week Tiffany moves out of the state. So tonight I am baking cupcakes for Samy's farewell day. See. Yummy. Someday I want to open a store called "Cupcake Conundrum" and sell only cupcakes. You know, just little bits of heaven and portion control.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ETHAN!!

Hey Ethan, its your birthday. Wear this balloon with your picture on it and let me take your picture. Wow you look thrilled about getting your picture taken on your birthday. What am I bugging you with the camera? I can't believe no one brought you a birthday cake. Maybe the birthday balloon will remind them. Okay fine, I'll leave you alone.
Have a great day and wonderful Birthday!!

PARTY!!

Homer and Abby.

HEY JOE! Your dogs wanted to say Hi to you!! Homer and Abby look very nice on the tile floors Knu and Dad put down. They are both wishing ya'll a wonderful day.

Official Dinner Club Property.

Friday night was Dinner Club and there was a special guest, Karen. We had a lot of fun. The topic for the evening...The best men's undershirts to sleep in. We ate at the Post Oak Grill. D and I shared the Sea Bass. WOW!! Best fish I have ever had, I could have cried and D said she could have started singing. Afterwards we went to the Desert Gallery where Linda and I split the Chocolate Moose cake...mmm. The cakes were so beautiful it was hard to choose. Later that night Ethan's band played at Mike's Place where Candice, Misty and my Dad all met up with me. The band has a new bass player and Ethan was showing off!! They sounded great! Sorry no pictures, when you are married to the drummer there is an unspoken rule about taking pictures of the band. Maybe someday I'll get someone else to take pictures for me.

I'd like to teach the world to knit...

I just learn to knit just a few months ago, and I am far from knowing all there is to know about knitting. I am still only knitting things that are square, but it sure is fun. And here I am, teaching other people to knit, sounds dangerous. First I taught my little brother's girlfriend, Brandi. And far as I know she is still practicing (I hope). Now I have taught my friend and co-worker Tiffany. She is moving soon and it snows where she will be living. I told her she will need to knit all sorts of hats and scarves for her and her husband. The amazing part is I taught her right-handed and she is left-handed. She must be a natural because she has just taken off with it. I wonder who I'll pass on this addiction to next? Danielle Nations?

Montgomery Goat.

Momaknu and I found the GOAT. This is a memorial statue placed in the Historic area of Montgomery, TX. The story goes that over 100 years ago this goat would hang out by the town well. Everyday he would pitch a fit until one of the towns-folk would fetch him a pale of water. Who knew?