For the first time in 4 months we were finally all together for book club at Collette's house! And even though Jana's birthday was in May and Amy's birthday was 2 days before mine in July, we ended up celebrating my birthday with dinner, dessert and gifts.
I should have taken a picture of my plate before I started eating it, but Michelle made a great tri-tip roast, Jenn made gooey red potatoes, Collette provided Shirley's dreamy rolls, and Jana made a spinach salad with a dressing so delicious we wanted to finish it off with a straw! Amy didn't have a food assignment this month because she had just arrived home from vacation an hour before book club started!
After dinner we did some iPhone App talk and phone number swapping. Amy showed me a Paris Metro app she said I should have even though I have no idea when I'll ever get back to Paris. She's going again this fall (for her 5th time)!
For dessert Collette made some tasty chocolate chip bars with salted caramel ice cream and then we put Jenn's wonderful caramel on top of all that, plus Jenn sent me home with a cup of the remaining caramel! I ate some of it in the car on the way home with a spoon.
Mudbound was actually our book for July, but since only Collette, Amy and Jenn were able to get together that month (a first for us) they ended up just having dinner and talking that night and saved the book for this month. Next month's book is The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig, but I just finished reading it (and loved it) last week so I'm ahead for once!
We discussed the book for awhile and all liked the writing and the story. It got a little harsh at the end due to the touchy subject matter (race relations in the South), but 5 of us were fine with it and 1 was not. It made for a good discussion.
At the end of the night they presented me with 2 pedicure gift certificates (woohoo, woohoo, woohoo) and $50 for XPEDEX (they don't have gift cards there) so I can buy the super thick, expensive white cardstock I like to make my photo cards with. Plus they gave me 2 Twix bars...it's wrong how pleasing this is to me, but I never buy them for myself.
**Are you reading anything right now?
Do you buy candy bars for yourself?
Do you have a favorite app?**
Commitment Window Tidbit: I'm kind of in love with the Words with Friends game on my iPhone. Do any of you want to get a game going?
There are probably times when you have reminisced about and remembered the many birthday parties that you had as a kid and remembered how they were real fun for you and your friends! Today, kids still want to have fun at their birthday parties and there seems to always be some parents who want to throw their kids the birthday parties of a lifetime! If you're one of those parent's then you probably already know that you should not only keep the birthday party safe but that it should also be well chaperoned. If you are bound and determined to throw your child a great birthday party then there are always some tips to keep in mind to make sure that it's a safe and happy time for everyone.
First of all, if your child's friends are coming over to your house then you'll want to be prepared. One of the first steps in preparation for your kid's birthday party is the activities that'll be done. There are a whole host of activities that the children can do when they come over to your house to have fun at a birthday party! For example, you could turn the whole day into a big movie marathon with plenty of candy and popcorn to go around. If you want to go this route then a good idea would be to hold a vote with the children about which movies that they'd like to watch. Or, if you'd prefer, the birthday son or daughter can be the one to pick out the majority of the movies that everyone will be watching.
Aside from a movie marathon event, however, there should always be some backup activities. For example, having a piñata at your home is always a fun event for a children's birthday party, as well as traditional birthday party games, like "Pin the Tail on the Donkey." There are plenty of ways to get ideas for birthday fun; whether you research different birthday games on the internet or you ask for advice, there are plenty of activities to keep everyone busy for the whole time that they are at your house!
Another birthday party tip that you'll want to remember is to always have food on hand. Whether it's plenty of pizza to go around or a non-stop candy bowl, children are always going to be hungry. And what's better then being able to pig out at a birthday party! Kids are usually voracious little creatures, so be sure to have plenty of soda pop, food, and snacks around for everyone to enjoy! One safe thing to keep in mind, though, is food allergies of the other kids. You may want to ask each individual parent if their children are allergic to any food items so that you can be sure that it won't be served. This is the safest way to protect everything from anything potentially harmful!
If you opt not to hold your child's birthday party at your house, though, you can always take it upon yourself to take everyone to a bowling alley or other fun place. For example, Chuck E. Cheese is another excellent place to hold your child's birthday party. If you decide to go this route, though, making sure you have plenty of help and supervision is crucial!
All of these things are important to remember when thinking about holding a birthday party for your son or daughter! Your child's birthday party absolutely does not have to be a big hassle, but you do have to remember important advice about fun and safety!
If you are a parent then you probably know all too well about the messy living or family room with all the scattered toys around! Birthday occasions are certain to bring more of the same with your son or daughter receiving multiple gifts at his or her birthday party from all their friends. Of course, even if your child does get many birthday gifts from the other children they certainly still want to get birthday presents from their Mommy or Daddy! After all, the most special of gifts come from their Mom's and Dad's. But if you're going to buy presents for your child, which, of course you definitely should do, here are some important tips about buying presents that'll make the messy toys all the more easier to clean up!
Buy Easy Storage Toys!
There are plenty of toys on the market today that have a whole host of parts and little trinkets to take care of and keep track of. The trick to buying birthday presents for your son or daughter, though, is to find the toys that have minimal clean up! This doesn't necessarily mean that you should deprive your youngster from the popular toys that every other kid is buying them these days, but it simply means that you should look for toys and activities for your kids that will be able to be easily stored away when they are finished playing with them!
Guidelines for Certain Presents!
If you are going to invest in birthday presents for your child that includes a lot of smaller parts then there are also certain things that you can do which would make it easier for your child to store them. For example, if you decide to buy your son a box of legos then you may know that they'll sometimes end up on the living room floor scattered about! However, one of the creative storage ideas to get your son to clean up his toy mess when he's done playing with his legos is to buy him a child's luggage set. A child's luggage set is usually small enough to store some of the smallest packages of legos around and also offers an excellent solution when he wants to take them over to his buddy's house to play.
Buying Dollhouses as Birthday Presents!
If you are dealing with a girl's birthday and you are going to buy her a dollhouse then there are certain dollhouses that are on the market that have easy storage compartments that can also be easily accessed by your child! For example, some dollhouses on the market actually fold up so that all the small pieces are able to fit comfortably inside them and some even have a lock on the side so that nothing will escape!
It's doesn't take an absolute genius to be able to find some of these birthday toy products on the market, however, it takes a little searching to be able to find those fun and exciting toys that are combined with easy storage abilities for the parents of the child that will usually have to clean the toys up! All in all, though, is that these toys should make your son or daughter happy no matter the storage and cleanup factor that goes along with them!
Everyone deserves something a little extra on their birthday! What's better than getting a party started to celebrate the day of your birth? Certainly the 21st birthday has a milestone attached to it, at least in the United States, because of the fact that individuals are allowed to drink alcohol without the supervision of their parents! For many people that's a special and unique milestone to surpass, which deserves the occasion of partying your heart out! Many men and women take the occasion of their 21st birthday to hit up the clubs, bars, and whatever other drinking and party scenes that they can think of at the time. However, there are very dangerous situations that one can get into by celebrating their 21st birthday in this way. This is not to say that you shouldn't give yourself a little bit of fun, but your 21st birthday should be something that you deal with responsibly also.
So if you are about to turn 21 and you're thinking to yourself that you're going to hit the town the eve of your 21st birthday, here are some important tips and reminders to think about before having a night out on the town!
Bring a Responsible Friend
This is one of the most important messages that young adults turning 21 need to hear. If you do decide to go out to a bar, club, or other alcohol scene then a designated driver is a must! Many people use designated drivers as their way to get home and to help them if they accidentally get into trouble while they're intoxicated. You may be surprised to learn that hundreds of thousands of people already use designated drivers on their birthday, but many others still haven't learned the concept! Not only will a designated driver chauffer you home but he or she also should be responsible to either not have anything to drink at all or to have very little alcohol in their system!
Enjoy the Night-- Don't get Trashed!
Everyone loves to get a little buzzed every once in a while and what better time to do this than your 21st birthday? However, you should remember to have fun on your birthday and not just get trashed because you're turning 21. So what if you're able to drink legally and without the consent of your parents? Certainly you will have plenty more days, months, and years ahead of you where you can drink legally without your parents, which is why the number one focus of your 21st birthday should be about yourself and remembering to have fun in the midst of this awesome milestone and celebration!
Of course, there are absolutely other great alternatives to celebrating your 21st birthday if you don't necessarily want to get drunk and be forced to hitch a ride from your D.D. For example, getting together with a bunch of friends and going to the movies, restaurant that serves alcohol, as well as many other fun entertainment ideas should be used. You could even celebrate your birthday by having a little alcohol in the house and sharing it with your friends!
These are all excellent ways to celebrate your 21st birthday and they are all important things to remember if you insist on going to clubs and bars on your birthday! A designated driver can be a good person to help you out, but remember: you may not even need to hit up all the clubs and bars on your birthday as long as you’re having fun and celebrating!
Both CDs feature ensembles of talented professional singers. Thrill to the magnificent sounds of the Dagon Tabernacle Choir. Marvel at the exsquisite harmonies of the Arkham Carolers. Tap your tentacles along with the Dunwich Children's Chorale. All numbers are professionally produced and recorded with the same maniacal care that made A Shoggoth on the Roof such a disturbing achievement in musical theatre. From beatific choirs to maniacal mariachis, there's something for everyone in the first-ever CD of Lovecraftian Solstice Carols. An Even Scarier Solstice delves into the musical styles of country, gospel, and things we cannot and must not describe. - cthulhulives.org
The Call of Cthulhu is a 2005 silent movie adaptation of the H. P. Lovecraft short story of the same name, produced by Sean Branney and Andrew Leman and distributed by the HP Lovecraft Historical Society. It is the first film adaptation of the famous Lovecraft story, and uses Mythoscope, a blend of vintage and modern filming techniques intended to produce the look of a 1920s-era film.
The film adheres very closely to Lovecraft's story, but there are a few changes. The sailors aboard the Emma first encounter the Alert abandoned at sea, rather than crewed by Cthulhu cultists as in the original story. Additionally, the film depicts the narrator present at the time of his great-uncle's death, who dies peacefully in his sleep, rather than being summoned upon the mysterious death of his great-uncle, who was presumably killed by Cthulhu cultists in the original short story. The narrator (Matt Foyer) notes as well that Inspector Legrasse, who had directed the raid on cultists in backwoods Louisiana, had died before the narrator's investigation began.
In the original story, the narrator does not seem to end in a lunatic asylum or experience any mysterious nightmares himself. - Wikipedia
An all-new ongoing Lovecraft-inspired supernatural horror series with a decidedly modern spin from superstar writing team Michael Alan Nelson and Johanna Stokes! A cruise ship comes to port, hundreds are aboard dead - but why? Clayton Diggs is a pharmaceuticals salesman who discovers his sister has committed herself to an insane asylum; she's checked herself in, fearing she'll hurt herself or someone else. All across the world, ordinary people in an ordinary world find themselves drawn by fate to see darkness and despair unlike anything they ever could imagine. Meanwhile, a cult makes its move, believing that there is a great one sleeping that will hear... The Calling! - Broken Frontier
Re-Animator is a 1985 science fiction horror film based on the H. P. Lovecraft story "Herbert West–Reanimator." Directed by Stuart Gordon, it was the first film in the Re-Animator series. The movie has become a cult film, driven by fans of Jeffrey Combs (who stars as Herbert West), extreme gore, and the successful combination of horror and comedy. It currently has a score of 92% on critic site Rotten Tomatoes.
At Zurich University Institute of Medicine in Switzerland, Herbert West brings his dead professor, Dr. Hans Gruber (Al Berry), back to life with horrific side-effects because, as West explains, the dosage was too large. When accused of killing Gruber, West counters: "I gave him life!"
In the emergency room of the hospital at Miskatonic University in New England, medical student Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott) tries in vain to revive a patient after other medical personnel have given her up as dead.
Dan is secretly dating Megan (Barbara Crampton), daughter of school dean Alan Halsey (Robert Sampson). West arrives at Miskatonic in order to further his studies. West rents a room from Dan and converts the building's basement into his own personal laboratory. There is an instant animosity between West and faculty member Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale). West declares that Hill stole the theory of brain death from West's late mentor, Dr. Gruber. Dan discovers that West has re-animated Dan's dead cat, Rufus, with a glowing reagent. West recruits Dan as his partner in research to defeat death. Megan dislikes West, especially after discovering Rufus re-animated in a state of dismemberment.
Hill manages to turn Halsey against both West and Dan. Barred from the school, West and Dan sneak into the morgue to test the reagent on a human subject in an attempt to salvage their medical careers. The corpse revives and goes on a rampage, attacking the duo. Dean Halsey stumbles upon the scene originally to force them out of the morgue for trespassing and, despite attempts by both West and Dan to save him, is brutally killed by the re-animated corpse. Armed with a bone saw, West finally manages to dispatch that which he has only just brought back to life. Hardly fazed by the violence and excited at the prospect of working with a freshly dead specimen, West injects Halsey with the reagent. Halsey returns to life, but in a zombie-like state... - Wikipedia
@ Demonoid (Extra) Re-Animator (1985) Anchor Bay Collection 2 Disc This is only the first movie, The Re-animator, but you might be interested in the Second disk for the extras. Cut scene, interviews and more!
The Resurrected (aka Shatterbrain) is a 1992 horror film, released direct to video. It was directed by Dan O'Bannon and starred John Terry, Jane Sibbett, Chris Sarandon and Robert Romanus. It is an adaptation of the H. P. Lovecraft novella The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.
Claire Ward (Sibbett) hires private investigator John Marsh (Terry) to look into the increasingly bizarre activities of her husband Charles Dexter Ward (Sarandon). Ward has become obsessed with the occult practices of raising the dead once practiced by his ancestor Joseph Curwen (Sarandon in a dual role). As the investigators dig deeper, they discover that Ward is performing a series of grisly experiments in an effort to actually resurrect his long-dead relative Curwen. - Wikipedia
From Beyond is a 1986 American science fiction/ body horror film directed by Stuart Gordon, loosely based on the short story of the same title by H. P. Lovecraft, and was written by Dennis Paoli, Gordon and Brian Yuzna. The film stars Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and Ken Foree and Ted Sorel.
From Beyond centers around a pair of scientists attempting to stimulate the pineal gland with a device called The Resonator. An unforeseen result of their experiments is the ability to perceive creatures from another dimension that proceed to drag the head scientist into their world, who returns as a grotesque shape-changing monster and preys upon the others at the laboratory.
The movie opens to Dr. Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs) working on a machine called The Resonator, which stimulates the pineal gland, allowing those within range to see beyond normal perceptible reality. He powers up the instrument and soon witnesses strange creatures in the air. He reaches out to them but is bit on the cheek, and runs to alert his partner and head scientist, the sadistic and deranged Dr. Edward Pretorius (Ted Sorel). Meanwhile a nosy neighbor phones the police upon witnessing strange lights and noises emanating from the scientists' study. Her dog, Bunny, runs outside and into the open door to the scientists' house, where upstairs Edward is feeling the vibrations all through his pineal gland in his brain from the machine. He tells Crawford that it is like an "orgasm of the mind." Bunny runs up the stairs and as the pursuing neighbor grabs him, Crawford smashes down the door of the attic laboratory with an axe, screaming and running outside, with the neighbor at his heels. Bunny has gone up into the attic and is licking the blood off the decapitated corpse of Edward, as the police swarm the house, arresting Crawford.
The setting changes to a schizophrenic ward, and we now see the bitter Dr. Bloch (Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, the director's wife) being introduced to a new brain doctor, Dr. Katherine McMichaels (Barbara Crampton), who would like to see Crawford. Dr. Bloch introduces them, and Crawford begins to explain The Resonator and what all happened the night of the murder, making it sound as if he's crazy. They decide to have a brain scan and notice that his pineal gland (in the brain) has grown, and Katherine decides to have him return to the house and show them The Resonator. Dr. Bloch is extremely jealous and refuses, but a detective who is on the case of Dr. Pretorius's death overrides her authority, releasing Crawford to the supervision of Dr. McMichaels. Katherine tells Crawford that she believes him and together with the tough-guy detective, Bubba Brownlee (Ken Foree), she takes Crawford back to the house... - Wikipedia
Lovecraft's Fear of the Unknown is a feature length documentary that looks at the life, work and mind behind the Cthulhu mythos. The film features interviews with Guillermo del Toro, Neil Gaiman, John Carpenter, Peter Straub, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Ramsey Campbell, Stuart Gordon, S. T. Joshi, Robert M. Price and Andrew Migliore. Written & Directed by Frank H. Woodward. Produced by William Janczewski, James B. Myers, and Woodward. Lovecraft won Best Documentary at the 2008 Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival. It was the official selection at: Cinema Du Parc in Collaboration With The Fantasia Festival 2008; Erie Horror Film Festival 2008; Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre Festival 2008; Shriekfest Horror Film Festival 2008; The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival 2008; TromaDance 2009 and Porto Alegre, Brazil's Fantaspoa Festival 2009.
The film was released on Blu-Ray and DVD in the United States on 27 October 2009. - Wikipedia
H.P. Lovecraft's: Necronomicon is an American anthology horror film released in 1994. It was directed by Brian Yuzna, Christophe Gans and Shusuke Kaneko and was written by Brent V. Friedman, Christophe Gans, Kazunori Itô and Brian Yuzna.
The three stories in the film are based on three H. P. Lovecraft short stories: "The Drowned" is based on "The Rats in the Walls",[1] "The Cold" is based on "Cool Air"[2] and "Whispers" is based on "The Whisperer in Darkness".[3]
The film stars Bruce Payne as Edward De Lapoer, Richard Lynch as Jethro De Lapoer, Jeffrey Combs as H. P. Lovecraft, Belinda Bauer as Nancy Gallmore and David Warner as Dr. Madden.
The film is broken into four separate features, "The Library", "The Drowned", "The Cold", and "Whispers". "The Library" segment is the wrap-around story, which begins and ends the movie.
"The Library" Part 1
In the wrap-around story of the film, H. P. Lovecraft (Jeffrey Combs) learns of a monastery where a copy of the Necronomicon is held. Having been a regular here for his research, he sets up an appointment to read through one of the monasteries books, his cab driver told to wait outside. Taking insult when the head monk calls his work "fiction", he insists that all his writings are true. Requesting to read the Alchemical Encyclopedia vol III, Lovecraft steals a key from a monk, and waits until no one is watching before fleeing to the cellar where the Necronomicon is being held. Unknown to him, a monk has seen him. Unlocking the vault where the book is held, the door closes behind him unexpectedly, which surprises him and he drops the room key down a grating and into the water below. As this takes place, one of the seals is opened.
Sitting down to read and record what he is reading, Lovecraft starts writing various stories (although it is never specified if he is being fed visions of the future through the book, or if the book itself contains future accounts, it is quite likely that the stories are stories which will come to pass and for the Necronomicon have already passed, alluding to the Necronomicon's timelessness, as all the stories take place in a time well beyond the 1920s).
As Lovecraft begins inscribing on his notepad, the name the drowned can be seen, and Lovecraft begins to write the beginning of the narrative to the story before the movie shifts into the story...- Wikipedia
I'm NOT 38 any more............................. I feel like I just had a birthday.................................... Does that mean that I'm getting old??????? Nah...............you're only as old as you feel and I feel HOT. hahhahaaaa Ok.................enough with the jokes. I had a FANASTIC birthday weekend at the coast with my family. We were a little slow getting out of town on Friday. I worked till 1-ish. Wasn't packed at all (I'm starting to slack in my old age). Went to lunch with my mom and Aunt Michelle (when I should have been home packing). Then we had to go to the library so the kids could check out some books and I needed to rob the bank....(I mean make a deposit)..... I think we rolled into Newport around 7:00. Weather was gorgeous. Left town at an icky 98 degrees and it was 62 degrees in Newport. Perfect. We remembered pillows......that's all we need....
Oh.................an my little mini-bar..................we made white cosmopolitans :)
We sat out on the deck and ate chips and salsa for dinner (and LeRoy and I had a little drinky to go with ours).........................Can't think of a better way to spend a Friday night. All planned by my husband.........for my birthday............thanks Big Poppa................(Oh.....Donna- you were invited and didn't come....so I had one for you too.)
It was clear and the sun was setting after we got unloaded. We had an ocean view with a balcony.
We walked around for awhile. Watched the ocean. The beautiful sunset. Just enjoyed each others company. Just me and my husband and kids. Enjoyable. After the sun went down Nicole and I went to the workout room (I know we are a little crazy) and worked out while LeRoy and Tyler headed to the indoor pool. After we worked out we joined them and sat in the hot tub too.
It must not have helped out much because Nicole and I were both wide awake at 3:00 am. I hear "Mom, are you awake?"........"Ummmm, yes.....are you? Why are we awake at 3 am?" So we talked and she played games on her ipod..........I guess we eventually fell asleep. I never sleep good away from home. The next night it was Tyler at 2:00 am. "Mom, I'm hot and I have a tummy ache." So I said "Strip down to your boxers and go out on the balcony and get some fresh air and cool down". Another sleepless night. But my darling hubby got up both mornings and got me a latte at Starbucks so that made it all better...............
Oh, and he was flipping thru the TV channels when we couldn't sleep and found Big Brother After Dark on Showtime. Yipppeeeeee................Spoiler Alert.............
Saturday we got up and went to Newport Farmers Market. HOW FUN! And it took us all of about 14 minutes to go thru it. But we got kettle corn (yummy) and watched all the hippies. Then we took the kids to the Hatfield Marine Science Center. I can't believe we have never taken them there? It was educational and reminded me of the last time I was there about 25 years ago! The kids did enjoy it and knew alot of information. I guess public school isn't so bad. They are learning something! We enjoyed a scrumpcious lunch at the Rogue Brewery. and free beer.....
I found this speciman lurking around................I took him home with me. hahhahaaaaaa
Then we went to chach-ki shops for little treasures. Nye Beach shops. 2nd hand/thrift stores................Fun to just look around. We decided to drive to Lincoln City to the outlets (2 stores only.......Hollister and American Eagle) and Nicole wanted to check out the Goodwill in Lincoln City. YES...............my daughter............officially a Goodwill shopper! I love it! And she found a cute dress, brand new, with tags on it....for $6.00.. I am teaching her the thrill of a bargain........and plus then you can buy more clothes. hahhahahaaa I took the pirate home with me too.................
After our long day of shopping and walking around, we went back down to Nye Beach to a little Pizzaria I spotted earlier in the day. Very eclectic. Live music. Hippie. Homemade pizza. So worth it. Best pizza ever. Then we went back to the hotel and Nicole wanted to work out again (work off the pizza!). I didn't feel like it....So I went to the workout room with her........after I put on my pajamas and read a magazine while she ran 3 miles on the treadmill. hahhahahahaaaa.........and there was a TV in there so I watched BB after dark on Showtime. hahhahaaa..
Usually when we go anywhere............I'm super prepared with food, healthy snacks etc. Ummmmm.........this time................not so much. Tyler was cute and said I should have brought along my griddle and made "egg in the hole toast" for breakfast. No..............it's my birthday weekend and I'm NOT cooking..............so they had to settle for the restaurant in the hotel. Nicole and I split a bagel and a banana and I had my Starbucks...............so I was good. And they brought their food back to the room and ate on the balcony. Nothing wrong with that!The weather was PERFECT! 58-62 degrees the entire time. Shorts and sweatshirts. Perfect. Sunday the beach was a little foggy, but that didn't detract us from going down and walking. Nicole was complaining the entire time that she "hates sand". And it was getting her feet dirty. And it was foggy. And she wanted to go back to the hotel. That makes me laugh and just tease her. She got over it...................And the stairs back up to the beach were a good buttocks exercise.
And we were already checked out of the hotel so I had some other adventures in mind.
We went to the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. Rumor has it that it's haunted................I can't believe I have never been up there. Or taken my kids. Every time we have attempted, it's been closed. So we went to the top. Reminded Nicole and I of all the old places we went last year in Washington D.C/Virgina/Maryland..............so cool. And the view from the top was gorgeous of the ocean. And the stairs were a good workout for the buttocks.
We dilly-dallied for awhile longer. Went and got smoothies and stopped at one more consignment shop and then headed home.(and found out later our good friends the Lynn's were right next door at the Shilo for a softball tourney!!!) A great weekend that was completely planned by the hubby...............Good job Big Poppa!!!! Awesome weekend. Thanks.. I love you..................Then we were back to reality and it was hot when we got home!
And my "real" birthday was on Monday. I took the day off work. Because I can.
Day was pretty normal. If you call going to the gyno and eating lunch by myself a typical birthday. lol. But we went to Corino's for dinner. And my hubby and kids got me lots of lovely gifts. I'm not used to being showered with gifts and attention for my birthday. I LIKED IT!
This romper was the sole purpose we had to go to Hollister in Lincoln City. On 4th of July she saw it and we never made it back for it. So we made it there. It was on clearance ($6.00!) and they had her size. Life is good. And she wore it to my birthday dinner.
I was tired (from NO sleep this weekend!) and just wanted to lounge on the couch and not go out at all. But I'm glad we did. Food was good. Company better. Gifts were sweet. Love of my family is the best...................
Still can't believed another year flew by so fast. Busy year. School is about to start. Crazy sports schedules. And I'm another year older................
Next year is the BIG ONE! I'm already planning my party. Seriously.
Maybe if I hide it won't come as fast as the last one.........
As I was thinking of a title for this cake, I realized that I don't know if this is a jungle cake or a safari cake. Hmm, any thoughts on that? In any case, it's a cake with wild animals on it :) Jennifer wanted a cake for Caden's 4th birthday and she said that once he saw the animal cake, he was sold. While we were in the planning and designing phase, Jennifer emailed to say that Caden has been drawing sketches of his own. I was SO impressed! Caden suggested adding a snake crawling up the tree and I thought that was a genius idea. Perhaps more kids should draw their own cake sketches more often. So I decided to make a monkey, giraffe, lion, zebra, tiger, and elephant for little Caden. All of the animals were made out of fondant as were the leaves for the palm tree.
For those of you that are curious, I made the palm trees by wrapping fondant around a thick straw and then adding the palm leaves after they dried into shape. Easy, right? :) haha. The top tier was actually a fake tier and the bottom was a Chocolately Chocolate Cake (chocolate cake layered with rich chocolate buttercream). I know Jennifer loved the cake and I just hope Caden was impressed by the cake. I wonder if it matched his sketch...
Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of updating this blog. This is my last week of summer so I'm gunna try and post as much as I can before I go back to . . . ugh . . . school. Oh and there aren't gunna be pictures of the actual party because my camera sorta broke so I didn't wanna risk permanently damaging it during the party by having it near the water. Plus, I was having too much fun!
As I stated in my previous post, I had a pool party intended for the celebration of both me and my sister's birthday's (her's was June 1st, mine will be August 25th) and let's just say, the beginning was wack. First of all, when we got to the pool area in my apartments, there was a freaking FUNDRAISER going on by Statefarm T___T And there was music by a freaking DJ, free food, games, omgosh it was ridiculous how happening that place was. I've never seen that pool so full of people before ever since we moved in. They couldn't have picked a better day to do this.
So that got me a bit pissed but I was really hot trying to get everything out of my sister car to the area we decided to host the party at. What didn't help was that we were pretty behind on setting everything up. By the time it was 6pm we decided to say screw it to all the decorations we originally intended to put up for the party because at this point it was too late to rush through them especially while this extravaganza that was going on not too far from where we were at. We didn't wanna look pathetic in comparison, and trust me, we would have. The cupcakes and ice in the cooler were starting to melt, so we pretty much didn't bother with the food because it was all useless at this point. Only thing that ended up making it were the drinks thankfully.
My friends started coming around 6:30ish which made me glad because at least somebody showed up. Speaking of people showing up, I had initially invited well over 20 or so people to come but about 13 or so showed up which wasn't so bad to be honest. At first I thought it would be a lot less than that but to my surprise more people came as the night went on than I expected. My only problem was that some of the people I did invite honestly could give a shit if they let me know whether or not they were coming and that pissed me off. I know that people have other plans going on throughout the week that they cannot get out of but for you to completely blow me off is like a smack in my face ESPECIALLY since I've definitely been there for you whenever you were having your little "shindig". But it's cool, because honestly the people who did show up made that night unforgettable! And for those that I could tell genuinely wanted to come but couldn't, I still got lots of love for you! At least they tried, although I can't speak for others.
Back onto the actual night, the Statefarm group left around 7pm however the big crowd of people were still lingering around. A lot of them were college kids so I felt intimidated by being around all beer cans, cigarette smoke intoxicating the air and those muscley tatted up men . . . oh so muscley . . . .heh heh wha? Oh but yeah we kinda just chilled in one corner but they kept begging us to join their volleyball tournament. We all said no at first but then later joined because we got kind of bored so we thought, eh what the hell? I sucked to bad at it! Even when we later switched the ball to a bigger one I still stunk XD Everyone was teasing me but I ended up being on the winning team so in their face~
We partied on till about 11:30 and then as majority of my friends were already gone we decided we had to end it. Overall the night was so much fun. It was probably the best summer night I've had so far. Yes, even better than when I was in New York because I experienced this with my friends :] What else could you ask for during the summer, right? Anyway, I'll spam pics of the presents I got and end the rambling here. Thanks for reading!
From my boyfriend's sister. They knew me and my sis love gummies! I finished them the next day :]
Crazy cool gifts from Erika! I've always wanted a fragrance from Harajuku Lovers. And the mask...omg. It gets a close up of it's own.
Just look at it! I've never owned one before and I love that it has red and black accents. I can't wait to wear this for some fun occasion :D
Cute charm teddy bear from Katherine. She got it from H-Mart and I can't wait to put it in my car when I get it this December ^ ^ Yes, the perfume bottle wanted to join in on the pic. lol~
This gift was from Danielle and I definitely needed more studded earrings but my pierced holes are too small :( I have to try *cringes* breaking them in > < Ugh! It's gunna suck.
This is from Odely. Her presents and even the card all looked like they were handmade and it just seemed so thoughtful of her to take the time to do all of this.
She even drew the cute little tokidoki icons around it and made little paper stars and origami inside of it. It's so cute!
Lizhen and my bro arroved at 5.30pm when the kids just woke up from their nap. They came with 2 big helium balloons: Full sized Elmo for Jia'en; Mickey Mouse for Jiayi. They also bought the bautiful Doreamon cake and not forgeting birthday presents for Jia'en.
The kids especially Jiayi loved the cake cutting toy. She insisted that that cake belonged to her as there were 4 candles on the cake which coincided with her age. On seeing the enormous elmo bolster, Jia'en was nonchalent about Jiayi's posession over the cake toy.
After an early dinner of home-cooked fried rice by grandma, it was cake cuting and family photo snapping time. Finally, Grandpa presented their present to the birthday girl. It was a shopping cart toy. Fortunately there was a shopping basket on top of the shopping trolley and so the 2 kids could play along with each other instead of fighting over each other, allowing us to finish watching the movie "The Karate Kid".
