16. Wear Something of My Mom's

You know what? It's really hard to start a blog post after not having written anything in almost 4 weeks. I've started and restarted this twice, because the first draft sucked and I hate when things suck. I think I'm feeling pressure now for this whole blog thing to be good. Before, I just said whatever the hell I wanted. But people KNOW about this now. Seriously. My blog was a topic of conversation at Christmas. I went on a girls' weekend to Chicago and it was discussed there. My blog and my list have essentially become a way of life, and, as far as I'm concerned, my way of life is boring. And the last thing I want is for my blog to be boring. So, I've decided to spice it up a bit today and let you in on the inner workings of Steph. Enjoy.

A few months ago, one of my friends gave me a copy of "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)" by the great Mindy Kaling. Don't know her? She plays Kelly Kapoor on The Office. If you still don't know her, I'm ashamed. Anywho, I read her book in about a week. It. Was. Great. I highly recommend it. I'm also thoroughly convinced that if Mindy Kaling and I ever met, we'd become instant friends. But I digress. There was a chapter in the book devoted to Mindy's most common daydreams. After I read it, I thought, "What a great idea! Someday when I have nothing to blog about, I'll do that!" Well folks, that day is today. Welcome to the land of Steph's daydreams.

Basically, I have three main daydreams that I float between on a daily/weekly/hourly basis. Long car ride? Can't fall asleep? Weirded out by "Cabin in the Woods?" These are my go to dreams.

1. I'm being interviewed for a magazine. It's usually Cosmo or Glamour, but sometimes, People or Marie Claire. Anyway, they're doing this lengthy article on me. Why? Well, you know, I have 3 movies coming out in the next month, just landed a recurring role on Modern Family as Lily's nanny, there is a lot of Academy Award buzz about me, I've been doing lots of charity work, all while doing my dance job in Iowa. The interviewer and I burn through several topics: my success at such a young age, how I manage to teach and film at the same time, how often Emma Stone and I get together for lunch, and am I really dating Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which I politely decline to talk about, since I don't want my love life to be everyone's business. Before wrapping up the interview, the interviewer comments on my great outfit and how down to earth I am. Yup. Even in my daydreams, I don't let fame go to my head.

2. I'm starring in a movie. Usually something "Inception"-esque with a small love story built in. It changes every time. This is usually before I fall asleep at night.

3. This one is my favorite. A bunch of my talented guy friends decide to form an a'capella group to compete on "The Sing Off." (Yes, I realize it's cancelled, but it's my daydream.) They want to stand out from all the other all-male groups so they ask me to join. Here's the thing: I can't sing. Even in my daydream, I can't sing. So I spend a year training as vocal percussionist and secretly take voice lessons on the side. We make it on to the show and do well the first two weeks. All the judges love us, but tell us they'd like us to take a risk the next week. So, we do. The guys convince me to sing lead on the chorus. I say no, since I'm afraid I won't be up to par, but I finally give in. It's our best performance and the judges rave about my vocals. We end up winning the competition, and in the finale, I get to sing "You Don't Know Me" with Ben Folds and a duet of "Gravity" with Sara Bareilles. Boom. Best daydream ever.

So, when Ria gave me my list back in March, the original wording of #16 was: Wear Something of My Mom's or Something She Made. My mom knitted me a scarf a year ago, so I just planned to wear that around for a day and that would be that. Too easy, right? Yeah, I thought so too. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how to accomplish this one until the answer came to me on December 22. My family was at church and I noticed halfway through mass that my mom had a pretty necklace on. And that was it. That was the solution to my problem. I would wear one of my mom's necklaces to Christmas Eve mass.

This was kind of a big deal. See, I don't like jewelry. (I can hear my future husband rejoicing...) I don't wear earrings, I don't like short necklaces, I don't like bulky bracelets, I don't like rings. I have about 2 long necklaces and a handful of bangles that I like. The end. So, incorporating a necklace into my outfit, my CHRISTMAS EVE outfit, was a huge deal.

Here was the winner:

Isn't it pretty?!

 

On Christmas Eve, we do the same thing every year. We play cards and hang out all day. Christmas dinner is at 5:30. Same menu every year, and my favorite meal of all time. Steak, baked potatoes, 7 layer salad, cherry sponge salad, biscuits, and cranberry salad. I told my grandma that if I'm ever on death row, I'd like her to come cook this meal for me for my last meal. She wasn't amused. After dinner, the adults do the dishes and then we open presents. Then, we dress up and go to mass. After mass, my mom insists on hundreds of photos, so I have plenty of pictures of me in the necklace. Despite me generally hating jewelry, I really liked wearing this necklace. It made me feel grown up. :)

 

Me and my sistas!

 

The whole fam for Christmas...don't we look nice?

 

 

So, I spent an evening in a necklace and I didn't die. Success! Last week was the official start of my home stretch...I have 3 more months to complete the list. So get ready for 90 days of cupcake baking, church-going, portion control, and the things you don't even know about yet...

 





6. The One Where I Lost...

This is going to be the shortest blog post I've ever written, but I needed to brag a little. Ok, I needed to brag a lot. Since the beginning of April, I've lost 13 pounds! I'm within sight of my size 6 goal and I'm feeling wonderful. Eff yeah! Ok, that's it. The end. Bragging done.

10. The One with the book that might have changed my life...?

Here's the thing...I promised you another number checked off my list. It didn't happen. I blame myself. (And my sister, Mal...but I'll get to that.) My Thanksgiving break was very full and I just didn't have time to do the thing I was going to do. (I'll work on it, I promise.) I went home for a few days, which was lovely. I ate lots of food, did lots of shopping, watched Jumanji (holla!), made my mom blush in Menard's, and played an insane amount of euchre with my dad and sisters. Cards are a big thing in the DeLacy fam; I just recently jumped on the bandwagon and I. Love. It. When I wasn't doing all those things, I was busy getting hooked on "American Horror Story." Mal is a big fan of it, and thought I would like it so we watched the first episode...and the second, third and fourth. I can't stop watching...which is a problem, because it scares the shit out of me. Seriously. I'm fine when I'm watching it (in broad daylight, with a kitty on my lap) but later on, when my house is dark (like it is right now) and I hear something creaking (which happens all the time), I freak out that there's a ghost walking around in my attic. And I don't even believe in ghosts. I've managed to make it through all but two episodes of the first season, but that's all I'm going to watch. I don't think I can handle another season, even thought it's a crazy-good show. If you can handle scary (or even if you can't), I highly recommend it.

So, I read a book. It was excellent! But I'm unsure if it actually changed my life... One of my college friends, Ashley, recommended it to me. It's called "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green. Without spoiling anything, it's about a girl named Hazel who has cancer, but thanks to a "miracle drug," her tumors are shrinking. Through her cancer support group, she meets a lovely guy named Augustus. The book basically follows their friendship, it's evolution into something else, and them dealing with their life circumstances. It was beautiful. I laughed, I cried, I felt their pain, I cheered at their victories. It was really a lovely read...but I don't know if it changed my life. It definitely gave me a different perspective on love. It made me even more thankful than I already was for my good health. It made me appreciate my parents even more (if that's even possible.) But changing my life? I'm just not sure. There weren't any bells. The sky didn't open up and God didn't yell down to me, "Your life is forever changed!" To those of you who have had your life changed by a book, how did you know it changed your life? How did you feel? When did you know? I need some help, blog readers. Please, please, please give a girl some help! I really want to cross this off my list, but I want to know that my life has been changed. So...go! Tell me everything...and suggest more books.

22. Discover a new band

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I know I'm a few days early, but by this time on Thursday, I'll be curled up under a blanket in my snuggliest PJs, maybe drinking a glass of wine, definitely in the largest food coma anyone has ever seen. I. Can't. Wait. Anyway, I hope you're all having a lovely week! I've spent the beginning of mine being a mom to not only my two fur babies, but to my three favorite dogs in the whole world. My friends, Elizabeth and Tyler, are on vacation so I'm watching their kids for them. As far as dogs go, they are the some of the sweetest, best behaved I've ever encountered. I mean, just look how sweet!

 

So, I've been loving up on dogs, snuggling my girls, watching ridiculous amounts of "The West Wing," had a Thanksgiving-episode "Friends" marathon with my friend, Erica, had my first white chocolate peppermint mocha of the season and, somehow, had time to clean my house. I'd say every week should be Thanksgiving week.

 

So, I've been mulling over #22 for awhile because I knew it needed to be good. In my opinion, music is a lot like politics. Everyone has their own thoughts and thinks their thoughts are better than other peoples' thoughts. Here's where I stand, because I know you're all dying to know. I like just about every kind of music out there, except for country, bluegrass, and some classical. Ideally, I'd love to hole up in my house and just listen to Sara Bareilles, Coldplay,  and The Fray, but, thanks to a) me being a hip hop teacher and b) having roughly 60 students under the age of 10, I've also learned to embrace Flo Rida, Nicki Minaj, One Direction, and J Biebs. Because music is so important to my job, I usually spend hours searching for new songs for class or recital. So, really, discovering new bands is something I do all the time. I decided to pick my three favorites I've discovered in 2012 and share them with you. Get excited!

 

1. Foster the People

I'm guessing most of you have heard of them by now, thanks to a little song called "Pumped Up Kicks," but they were pretty new to me earlier this year. I have my friend, Bryan, to thank for that. Being the lovely friend he is, Bryan let me borrow his copy of "Torches," which I immediately fell in love with and listened to in my car for hours on end. Ok, that's not honest at all. I listened to "Houdini" for hours on end. Once, my sister, Mal, and I were waiting to turn at an intersection and we decided to see how many times we could play that song before we could turn...I think we made it 3 and a half times through. Anyway, I love Foster the People and want them to put out another album now. Right now.

 

 

2. Kimbra

Ok, so technically, it's a "she," not a band, but it's my blog, so my rules. I know what you're thinking, and no, I didn't discover her because of "Someone That I Used to Know." I have my sister, Kaylee, to thank. Kaylee went to see Foster the People in concert this summer (mega jealous) and Kimbra was the opener. I haven't listened to all her stuff yet, but she's quirky. I like her. Bonus: I love this song and I played it in my advanced jazz class a few weeks ago and they LOVED it! Also...this video is wack. But the song is excellent.

 

 

3. Imagine Dragons

This is my most recent love. (Thanks Mal!) I actually listened to these guys awhile ago when I was trying to find recital music, but they weren't quite what I was looking for, so I forgot about them until Mal was nice enough to send me a whole bunch of their music. I like them because they kind of have a Coldplay-ish vibe. Woot. Enjoy.

 



 

So, there you go. But that's not at all. Since I'm such a nice person, I thought I'd share a band with all of you so you're one step closer to completing your list...or something. Technically, I discovered these guys last fall, but who really cares?

 

4. Pentatonix

NBC used to have this badass show called "The Sing-Off." It was an a'capella group competition and, aside, from having a douche-y host (I'm looking at you, Nick Lachey!), it was awesome. I mean, how can you go wrong with Ben Folds, Sara Bareilles, and Shawn Stockman judging? You can't. You just can't. Anywho, Pentatonix was on the show last season (which turned out to be the last season, despite it being one of the most watched shows on NBC...whoever made the call to cancel it is an idiot) and they were my favorites and they won (because they were my favorites.) They are insane...like, I want to BE them. I tried to introduce them to anyone who will listen, and, so far, everyone has seemed to like them. They have a self-titled EP out, and just released a Christmas EP, so check them out! I couldn't pick a favorite video of theirs so, I picked three. The first two are from the show and the last is a cover of "Starships" by Nicki Minaj.

 

 

 

 

 



 

Yay! I hope you all enjoyed. Have a wonderful holiday week/weekend. If all goes according to plan, I'll have something else crossed off my list before Sunday...



17. Be completely silent for one hour

Can I just say one thing before I talk about me shutting up for an hour? I love "The West Wing." Love, love, LOVE IT! Love it. I got hooked at the end of my senior year in college and spent most of my first year as a working adult watching it. There's really nothing negative I can say about this show...Aaron Sorkin is a writing god. Martin Sheen is...perfection. Perfection with a side of chocolate. If President Bartlet was a real dude, I'd vote for him. This show introduced me to Allison Janney and Kathryn Joosten, made me fall in love with Rob Lowe and Bradley Whitford, and makes me extra excited when I see the guy who works at Target that's a spitting image of Josh Malina. I actually went through a period of time where I wanted to be press secretary for the White House. Or maybe I just wanted to be Allison Janney...I'm still not sure. Most importantly, this show turned me into a nerd who enjoys learning about politics. Anyway, this series has been on my "to buy" list for the past three years. I was going to buy it with my tax refund in 2011, but I ended up buying a new car instead. Tax refund 2012 went toward my house...and I never seemed to have $200 just lying around to buy something that would contribute to my hermitdom. (Not a word...definitely not a word. But I kinda like it...hermitdom.) And then something glorious happened... I was supposed to go to Minnesota this weekend to visit some family, but due to an evil germ invasion, a three and a half hour car ride while dizzy seemed like a bad idea. So, I came home from work, slept for two hours, and decided to make a quick run to the store for groceries. As I was leaving Target, I decided to stop at Best Buy and get the next season of Desperate Housewives, since I'd probably be spending most of the weekend on the couch. As I walked into Best Buy, I was ambushed by three employees back to back, asking if they could help me, so I politely said no, and walked down what I thought was the TV aisle, but alas, it was not. I turned the corner into the TV aisle, and there, sitting right in front of me, was one complete series of The West Wing...ON SALE. For $89. Regularly $230. Let me say that again...$230, marked down to $89. I'm surprised I didn't pass out right there in the aisle. I picked it up immediately...then put it back...picked it up...put it back and tried to walk away...told myself I didn't need it THAT much, it's just a show, afterall...picked it up and grabbed the next season of Desperate Housewives...put them both back...and then called my sister, Mallory, to act as my moral compass.  She didn't answer, which I took as her giving me the ok to buy it, but just in case, I called my other sister, Kaylee, who gave me the ok. I bought it and literally skipped all the way to my car. I just finished watching the first episode and I'm typing this as fast as I possibly can so I can get to the second episode. I. LOVE. THIS. SHOW.

I can almost hear some of you giggling about the title of this post. I'm not a quiet person. And my house is almost never silent. I always have the TV on, or music, or am talking to Stella and Charlee. I knew this was going to be a tough thing to cross off my list, which is why I've put it off for so long. A few days ago, I made a list of the things I had left and figured it was time to cross this one off. I also did some prep work to make sure this would go a little smoother. First, I accepted the fact that I was probably going to have to try this several times to get through the whole hour. (Again, I'm just not a quiet person.) Second, I made some tentative plans of things I could do for my hour. (Read, paint my nails, read, make a to-do list, etc.) Then, I got a great idea. Since it's November and Thanksgiving is coming up, I decided to make a list of 60 people/things I'm thankful for. It seemed like a good way to fill the time, so tonight at 6:55, I sat down on the couch, turned off the TV, closed my laptop, put my phone on silent, and set a timer for one hour. I got out my notebook and started to write. The first 25 people/things came pretty easily. For each one, I wrote what made me thankful for them right now. This took up about the first ten minutes. At this point, I started to debate whether or not I should post my list on my blog. Initially I thought yes, I should just post whatever I happened to write in my hour, so you could all have an honest account of my time. And then I started to think, what if I accidently left someone off the list? Or what if someone was upset that they were #46, and I had thought of 45 people before them? And then I thought...it's my damn blog and if people are bitching over nice things I'm saying, they can bite me. I decided to stop thinking about it for a bit and came up with 5 more things. At this point, I decided I needed a snack break, since I was working so hard so I went into the kitchen and got some dessert. I also fed Stella and Charlee...and almost talked! I had just filled their water dish and was lowering it to the ground when I spilled water all over Charlee's head. She was not very happy and I felt bad, but I bit my tongue, and patted her head in apology. I came back out to the couch and checked my timer. I had 29 minutes left. I jotted down some more things I was thankful for, ate some dessert, wrote a few more things, ate some dessert, wrote that I was thankful for my dessert, you get the idea. With 10 minutes left, I finished my list. I was planning to post it, but it ended up being nine pages long, so I thought I'd spare you. I also made a list of who I needed to shop for for Christmas, figured out my budget for the next month, snuggled with Stella, and boom, time was up! And on my very first try, too. I was pretty proud of myself. So proud, in fact, that I may go have more dessert.

Well friends, we are 9 days away from being 75% of the way done with my year. Ahhhh!!! Can you believe it? I sure can't...I'm starting to freak out a little about getting everything done. Here's a quick recap of where I'm at:

Things crossed off my list: 12
Things I've started, but haven't finished: 8
Things I need to get my ass in gear and start working on: 5

Ahhh! Not too bad. I've got a few good things planned, so be on the lookout for new posts soon. And, as always, thanks for sticking with me on this crazy journey! xoxo

5. The One with the Crappy Cupcakes

It's 7:45pm on a Friday and I'm totally ready for bed. I suppose the glass of wine sitting next to me isn't helping matters, but hey, what can you do? Yesterday was a long day. Thursdays are always long because I have preschool in the morning, a short lunch break, and then teach three jazz classes. But last night, we had our recital theme reveal party AFTER my three jazz classes, so I'm totally wiped. Our recital themes are a huge deal. Like, bigger than Twilight. Our last recital was June 2, and the girls were asking what this year's show would be on June 1st...and every day since then. See, we don't do typical dance recitals like "Shoot for the Stars" or this one that I found today, "Songs That Are Inappropriate, But Awesome"; we put on actual productions. Each year, we choose a show for the ballet "half" and a show for the tap/jazz/hip hop/modern "half", which is the half that I work on. We work out our own storylines, assign classes to parts, audition for soloists, pick out music and costumes...and that's all before October! Anyway, since revealing the theme has become such a big deal, we have started having a "reveal party." Our dancers come to the studio after classes are over and we announce the shows and watch clips from whatever we are using as inspiration. There's snacks and ice cream...it's a blast. This year, we had 86 dancers sign up...yes. 86. Thankfully, not all 86 showed up, but it was still a long, tiring night with the 50ish dancers we did have. All in all, it was a blast and a huge success. By the way, since I'm sure you're dying to know, our ballet this year will be "Sleeping Beauty" and my half will be "The Wizard of Oz." I'm beyond excited...which means you'll definitely be hearing more about the show as time goes on.

As I mentioned, Thursdays are just horribly long days. By the time I get home, I usually throw together something that resembles dinner, curl up on the couch, watch "Grey's" and "The Office," and go to sleep. The end. Last Thursday, however, I sacrificed my super awesome (lazy) evening for "Pad Thai and Cupcakes" with Tyler. Let me just say this: I love Tyler. He will eat literally anything I put in front of him and tell me it's awesome, even when I know it's not. (Ty, if you're reading this, I'm still sorry for that awful pasta carbonara I made last year.)

Here we are. Yes, I know...we're adorable.

 

Anywho, I owed Tyler cupcakes for his birthday and he told me he'd make pad thai if I checked out Pinterest, which I've refused to do (and actually forgot to do...oops.) So, we decided to do it all in one night. (That's what she said...but seriously.) Ty requested pumpkin pie chai cupcakes, so after hours of perusing, I settled on a pumpkin pie cupcake recipe and chai buttercream frosting. Things didn't get off to a good start...and by that, I mean, Tyler bitched about the frosting not having cream cheese and that it wasn't going to taste good. What a whiner. But once I started mixing up the cupcake batter, he shut up.

Pad thai goodness!

 

Mixing up some pumpkin cupcake goodness...or so I thought.

Cupcakes!

I ate an obscene amount of this. Obscene.

 

The food was ready before the cupcakes were, so Tyler and I settled in with Modern Family and ate...a lot. I had put the cupcakes in for the maximum amount of time, but when the timer went off, they didn't look done. I put them in for more time...still didn't look done. So after ten extra minutes, I took them out. Then, I proceeded to make the frosting. Now, I'm not a tea drinker. I love chai tea, but I just have the chai tea stuff you keep in the fridge and mix with milk. It's lovely. Anyway, I used that instead of brewed tea which, in hindsight, was a mistake, but hey, you live and you learn. I decided to double the amount of chai and scale back slightly on the amount of milk in the recipe to even things out. I added the butter and powdered sugar and started mixing. I ended up with something that looked a lot like milk or soup or...well, I won't go there. So, I added a little more powdered sugar...and a little more...and a little more, until I'd added about 3 more cups. Then, it finally resembled something close to frosting so I decided to be done. I frosted 2 cupcakes and brought them to the living room so Ty could finally have his birthday cupcake.

 

It all happened so fast...the middles of the cupcakes weren't quite done, but weren't raw either. The recipe had called for me to spray the muffin papers with cooking spray, but the cooking spray made the papers pretty much melt into the cupcake...thus, I consumed a good deal of pink muffin paper. The frosting was pure sugar and still a little runny. Ty said they were good and I'll admit they weren't terrible, so naturally we had seconds. I packed up half of the cupcakes for him and kept the rest for me. I tried to eat one the next day, but it was mushy and I was afraid the cupcakes from the night before would come back up, so I threw the rest out. Tyler told me yesterday he ate two of his, but that the frosting had separated (ewww!) And he ate them anyway. That's why I keep him around...to make me feel better about my baking. Needless to say, I will NOT be making these again. Maybe Ty was right...cream cheese would have fixed everything. 



13. Paint Something

I think I've lost my mojo...I haven't been wanting to blog. I know, I know, I was doing really great for awhile there, and then I dropped off the face of the earth. I HAVE been working on my list, quite a bit actually, but I just haven't been in the mood to blog about it, which is weird. I love blogging. I love blogging as much as I love getting real mail, which is really rare between the Toys R Us ads (not mine), anti-Obama flyers (not mine), Iowan Democrat flyers (mine...but that's not fun mail), and bills. Maybe me wanting to blog is actually tied to me getting good mail...quick everyone, send me a letter! Or a present!!! Presents are good too. Or money. I always like money. Or if you do happen to find my mojo, please mail it back to me. I suspect it's probably sparkly, pink, and sarcastic.

On another note, it's Halloween! I also love Halloween...so maybe that's why I'm in the mood to blog. I didn't go out for Halloween last year, so I was crazy excited to get to dress up this year. One of my best friends, Bryan, threw a Halloween party last night. Bryan and I decided on our costumes awhile ago...I'm not sure how exactly my costume idea came up, but it's one of the best costumes I've ever done. I decided to go as Miranda this year. For those of you not familiar with Miranda (which I'm guessing is most of you), click here. The girl who plays Miranda, Colleen Ballinger, is actually
a very talented singer, which makes it even funnier. Anyway, my costume was a huge hit!

The real Miranda!

And me! (With my friends Seth and Bryan)

 

So...paint. I'm sure when Ria put it on the list, she intended for me to paint a canvas or something. While I did consider that idea (briefly), I decided that any "artwork" I created would most likely end up in the garbage and I didn't want that. I also considered doing some elaborate fingernail painting and calling it a day, but I decided that idea was a little lame. So I decided I wanted to paint something for my house and that something was a bench.

 

My mom had this bench made for me after I moved in and it's been sitting in my parents' garage ever since. Mostly because I couldn't decide on a color for it. (I suck at making decisions...especially unimportant ones.) After a lot of thought, I finally decided I wanted a yellow bench since none of the rooms in my house have yellow in them. And if my house has red, green, blue, and purple in it, I obviously needed yellow too. This yellow.

 

Awesome, right? So my dad set up the bench in the house and I got to work priming it, with some help from my mom.

 

 

All primed!

Paintin' my bench!

 

So I seriously underestimated the amount of time it would take me to paint the bench, so I only got one coat done before I had to leave. My mom finished it for me...and here is is:

 

I am in love with it and can't wait to bring it home! It's going to go in my mudroom so I'll post pictures as soon as it's here.  Since I didn't get to paint the whole thing myself, I'd like to paint something else for my house. Suggestions are welcome!









 



 

 

 

5. The One with the Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I feel like it's been a long time since I've posted. I mean, in reality, it's only been two weeks, but I was on such a roll in September, so I feel like I dropped the ball. Honestly, I've done a whole lot of nothing with my two weeks, but since I know you're all dying to know what's going on in my life, here's a quick update.

1. Preschool: It's official. I have the cutest class EVER! Every time I think they can't possibly get cuter, they do something to top it. Adorable. This week, we are doing a unit on Goldilocks and The Three Bears. (Say it with me: awwwww!) Yesterday, we read the story, tasted porridge, and did an art project with crushed cereal. Tomorrow, we're going to go on a bear hunt around the museum and then acting out the story. I mean, really...how great is my job?! Also, my class has decided that I'm going to be a cowgirl for Halloween. Awesome.

2. Dance: Everything is going so well! My classes are awesome, I'm getting in good shape, and I'm just having a blast.  I'm getting to do a lot of work with our dance company this year, and I'm loving it.  I just choreographed the cutest tap number for seven of my older girls and it might be one of my favorite pieces I've done.  The piece is acting-based and the girls are just hilarious! This weekend, my co-workers and I are going to a tap and jazz workshop and then going to a dance costume preview show. I'm excited to be taking class, but a little nervous that I'm not in as good of shape as I think I am... be prepared for a post written in a hospital bed, where I'm recovering from a shattered ass.

3. My house: I'm falling more in love with it every day. I've turned into one of those ridiculous people who wakes up and says, "holy crap, I get to live here!!!" I haven't done anything new lately, BUT I did decorate for Halloween this weekend. I grew up in a house that was always decorated for the holidays. My mom rocks at decorating. I was so excited to finally have my own space to decorate and although I don't have a lot of decorations right now, I like how it looks.

Everything else is good. Stella has been laying on my face to keep me warm at night, Charlee is storing up for winter, I'm sad that I'm going to have to put my TOMs away for winter soon, and I finally got around to watching "Puss in Boots," which I highly recommend. My life is awesome.

Last Sunday, I went home for the day to visit my parents. I love going to visit them, but I hate the drive. I think I mentioned in a post that my parents moved two years ago. They're a little under two hours away, but it's the most boring stretch of road ever...and I've seen a lot of boring roads in my life. But once I actually get there, it's beautiful.

My parents' house! Complete with our outhouse on the right side...

Our street!

The backyard!

 

I had a really nice day at home. My mom and I baked (which I'll get to in a bit!), we worked on a project together (new post coming soon...), and we sat around and watched Modern Family. My dad was home, but doing dad-things, like mowing, touching up paint, etc. I also got to spend quality time with all my kitties! Yes, I have more than just Stella and Charlee...

 

This is Baby. We got her when I was 11.

This is Molly. She's 7, but thinks she's a baby. She was so excited that I was home that I had to hold her to get a good picture.

This is Wilson. He likes pink, food, and anything sparkly.

This is Bailey. She's one of our outdoor cats. She "came with the house" when my parents moved.

And lastly, this is Squirt. She is my Charlee's mom! (Although she's about half Charlee's size...)

 

So, my day consisted of lots of kitty love and mom time. It was great! When I told my mom I was coming home, I offered to make a batch of cupcakes since I've never made them for my family before. I picked a peanut butter cupcake recipe. Now, to be fair, this was the third time I've made the recipe, but so far, this is my favorite one! I made them two weeks ago at a girl's night with my friend, Jessica, and her daughter, although I didn't do much work. Jessica shared the recipe with me and I made a batch this past Saturday since Elizabeth and Tyler were coming to dinner. Later, I shared with my other Tyler. I got wonderful reviews from all three! I like this recipe because it is simple, quick to make up, and only makes a dozen cupcakes, which is nice for my waist. 







 

So jealous of my mom's mixer...one day I'll have my own!

Lots of peanut butter....yummm

Mix, mix, mix...

In case I haven't mentioned before, I love chocolate and peanut butter. In almost the same way I love Joseph Gordon-Levitt...but not quite.

The finished batter

...And my finished product!!! Yay! I was feeling lazy and just used a store bought frosting, but it was still delicious. I think it would taste really good with the cocoa buttercream I made for the peanut butter filled cupcakes.

My beautiful mom

My dad, posing with his cupcake. After I took this, he wanted to know what "all this cupcake business" was about. I told him it was for my blog. He said he knew about the blog, but didn't know what all the cupcake fuss was about. Five minutes later, he asked for a second cupcake. I guess I made a fan out of someone. :)

Oh, and a fan out of Wilson, who sat by my feet the whole time I was making them. That's some serious cupcake love right there.

 

So...these are my favorite so far. By a long shot. With all the other recipes I made, I couldn't eat more than one at a time, but I would gladly eat the entire batch in one sitting if it was socially acceptable and wouldn't contribute to my belly. Actually, I don't care about being socially acceptable...they're effing delicious cupcakes. My next cupcake adventure is going to involve pumpkin and chai, just in time for Halloween. And also because Tyler won't stop bugging me about it. Get excited, people.

 



5. The One with Nutella Cupcakes

My basement and I are officially at war. And, spoiler alert, it's not going well.  Like, if this was the House Cup, the basement would be Gryffindor and I'd be Hufflepuff.  Yes. That awful. I don't think I ever mentioned this, but I initally ruled this house out when I was looking because of the basement.  It was dark and cold, and looked like something out of one of the "Saw" movies.  I got over that, of course, but still wasn't loving the basement.  My dad was awesome and painted it white to brighten it up.  I got brave and wiped down about half of the cobwebs coating the ceiling.  I figured it'd be fine and I could live with it.  But then, I discovered that my basement was also home to an insect zoo and, as you all know, I hate, hate, HATE bugs. First, it was the house centipedes, then it was the spiders. I'm Ron Weasley when it comes to spiders.  I've gotten ok with small ones (you know, the ones that are easy to kill) but if it's bigger than a 1/2 inch, I'm done.  A few weeks before all my friends came, I went downstairs armed with a can of Raid and sprayed the shit out of my basement. I was thrilled for about 5 minutes, and then realized I'd just exposed my cats to poison, so I moved all their stuff upstairs and kept the basement shut up for 2 days. Then, I powercleaned everything to the best of my ability, and life resumed.  My friends arrived...and all the spiders that hadn't died came out to play.  It was awful!  They climbed up the vents and were in my living room....bleeeeeeeh, I'm grossed out just thinking about it.  Oh, I also found a dead mouse in the basement that week. That was fun...  Anyway, the past few weeks have been relatively creepy-crawly free.  Until last night, of course. I had a decent day, but I was tired, cranky, and completely unprepared when I turned on the basement light and found this guy on my basement floor. Well, not him exactly.  I didn't have time, nor did I want to take a picture. I grabbed one of my Converse and crept slowly downstairs.  I edged around the spider, who didn't move and tried to figure out what to do next.  I think that spider and I stared at each other for about 5 minutes.  My biggest concern was that I wouldn't be able to take him out with one smack.  He was seriously huge. Probably about 2 inches in diameter at least. I finally decided I just needed to go for it, so I slammed my shoe on the ground. I knew he was dead, but found it necessary to scream about five times anyway.  I grabbed a huge wad of paper towels and pushed him off my shoe and into the trash. That's when I turned around and found his two buddies, dead already. More screaming. Thank goodness they were dead.  I don't think I had it in me to kill anymore.  I probably would have ran upstairs screaming and locked the door permanently. I hate you, basement.

On a totally unrelated, happier note, I bought Pixar stamps at the Post Office today. Score.

So, the Nutella cupcakes. And Nutella frosting. I think it's safe to say that these were my best cupcakes yet...no exaggerating.  I made them on Sunday.  For those of you who aren't up on pop culture, Sunday was the Emmy's, so my friend, Erica and I had an Emmy-watching/cupcake baking party at her place. I wasn't really thinking about transporting everything when I chose my recipe and it wasn't until I had my stuff loaded up that I was like, "shit, I'm going to look ridiculous."  So, I drove to her apartment (which is on our local college campus), unloaded my car, and walked to the center of campus with my stuff.

 

This recipe was relatively easy, despite all the ingredients.  I was guilty of not accurately measuring again, but it turned out fine. The frosting was to die for. Seriously...I just wanted to float away on a Nutella frosting cloud and eat nothing but that for the rest of my life. I still might, depending on how the rest of my list pans out...

 

Mixing together all the cupcake goodness

Frosting!

Erica, with her pumpkin pie cupcakes, which were AMAZING!

Nutella cupcakes! Yummm!



Not a great picture, but this was the final product

 

I ate one of them immediately after being frosted and I had zero complaints.  They were delicious and I love them. I'm sad because I only got to have one...haha. The recipe made three dozen, so I left 12 with Erica, and took the rest to work without setting aside any for myself.  They were a big hit at work and I got a few requests to make more soon. Yay! I have some fall cupcake recipes lined up for the next few posts, so get excited! 

11. Figure out something new about myself and share it with someone

I'm having Monday morning guilt.  You know what I'm talking about...you have all these plans for things to get done over the weekend and then, before you know it, you're waking up on Monday and all you've accomplished is watching Joseph Gordon-Levitt gyrate on the SNL stage.  (Which, in retrospect, is not a bad way to spend a weekend at all...) I just feel bad because I had four people I wanted to call this weekend and I didn't call ANY of them...not a one.  I know they'll forgive me and it won't be a big deal, but I hate that it didn't happen.  To be fair, I had a ridiculously busy weekend.  On Friday, both of my sisters came into town.  The last time all three of us were in the same place was almost 2 months ago, so it was a big deal.  It was also a REALLY big deal, because we had tickets to see Anthony Rapp in concert! For those of you who either live under a rock or don't like awesome things, Anthony Rapp played Mark in the original cast, as well as the film version, of RENT.  He also had a hilarious role in "Adventures in Babysitting." (Thanks for recommending it, Aunt Sarah!) The concert was amazing and we got to meet Anthony afterward, get his autograph, and Kaylee crossed "hug Anthony Rapp" off of her bucket list.

 

Friday night also involved me seriously contemplating getting another cat.  The verdict is still out on this one, pending a few different factors, but when/if I decide, I'll fill you in on the full story.  Saturday was a much needed lazy day.  We got up, made a massive brunch, decide to nap off our food comas for 20 minutes, 20 minutes turned into 2 hours, you get the idea.  We did get to the store and found Kaylee some professional wear for her upcoming interviews and then came home to eat a ridiculously awesome dinner, prepared by yours truly.  Saturday night was also my friend Tyler's classy birthday party, so I got dolled up and went out for martinis. 

Sunday was...beyond crazy.  I got up, made a batch of my buffalo chicken chili, said goodbye to my sisters, and then went into work for a jazz and hip hop workshop with guest teacher, Rachelle Ochsner.  Rachelle used to dance with my boss, Jessica, when they were younger and now has her own studio and competition team in Chicago.  We've brought her in before to work with the girls and it has always been a success. Yesterday, however, was extra special.  Firstly, our girls have improved A LOT since we first brought Rachelle in, so it was nice to see them picking up the choreography.  Second, I always get good ideas from Rachelle as far as describing how you should hold your body, or how you should be moving in individual steps, and yesterday was no different.  I think the thing that set yesterday apart was a talk that Rachelle gave about confidence.  Rachelle does a lot of "self talk" whenever she visits, but she spoke several times about the need for confidence in every aspect of your life.  She told a story about herself auditioning for one of Janet Jackson's tours.  She said that it was pretty much down to her and another girl, and the other girl was having an awful time picking up the choreography.  Rachelle, on the other hand, was killing it and thinking to herself that she totally got the job.  However, the other girl stopped dancing, and strutted past Rachelle and in front of the judges, with an insane amount of confidence.  The judges all cheered and in the end, it was the other girl who got the job.  Rachelle also talked about being a cheerleader for yourself and telling yourself daily how great of a dancer you are, or how beautiful you are, or what a good cat mom you are. (Well, she didn't actually say cat mom, but work with me here...) She talked about how good confidence feels and how great it feels to be confident in your dancing.  And the whole time she was saying all these things, I felt like she was talking directly to me.  I think I mentioned in my last post that I was feeling more confident in my body, and that's true, but confidence is something I've struggled with my entire life, especially when it comes to dance.  Those of you involved in any kind of performing art know it's a harsh world; you're told all the time that you're not good enough or can't do it.  I heard those things...and I started to believe them.  See, I was never the best dancer at my studio.  I wasn't the most flexible, I wasn't the most graceful, I wasn't the best turner/jumper/anything.  But I was musical and I could learn choreography and so that's where I knew I could shine.  I loved dance.  Love, love, loved it.  When I got the job I have now, I was overwhelmed and thought about quitting a few times.  How could a mediocre dancer be a great teacher?  Both of my co-workers have dance degrees, but I didn't.  I didn't have a ballet background, which is so important in the dance world.  The confidence crusher struck again and, honestly, I've been struggling with it ever since.  I used to think to myself on a weekly basis, "maybe my dance girls would be better off with a different teacher.  Someone who was the best. Maybe I'm holding them back."  But then, one of them would tell me they loved a combination, or how great of a teacher I was, or would even thank me for class, and my confidence would be restored.  I'm not sure what happened over the summer, but a huge amount of confidence set in. I don't know where it came from, but I don't care.  It was there, and I was loving it.  I spent almost the first three weeks of class feeling amazing.  I was teaching with confidence and it felt FUCKING AWESOME.  I was on top of the world...and then I had a bad night last Wednesday.  I had to have a chat with two of my classes about negativity towards me (yes, me) and their peers.  I hate having to talk with my classes about things like that.  The cherry on top was one of my advanced classes.  It's one of my favorite classes of the week, and they were just not in it that day.  I felt like everything I tried failed or didn't resonate with them, and almost instantly, that confidence was gone and the old, familiar, "I'm not a good teacher" feeling sunk back in.  So, when Rachelle was talking yesterday, and I was listening just as intently as all of my dancers, it hit me...why am I making myself feel like shit? Why? I mean, it's not a great feeling, it doesn't make me a better teacher, and when it happens, those are the nights that I end up taking work home with me.  I needed to change.  I needed to start telling myself that I AM a great teacher.  Because I am.  No, I may not be able to perform every step perfectly, and yes, my splits are embarassing these days, and no, I don't have a degree I can point to when things get hard, BUT I have joy and I have passion for my job and, in my opinion, those two things are worth more.  In some ways, I felt like I had to work harder as a dance student to keep up with my more talented peers and I know I've had to work harder at my job to keep up with my amazingly gifted and talented co-workers, but I've realized that that has made me a better teacher.  My fight has made me a great teacher.  My compassion for my students, my listening ear, my ability to laugh at myself when I fall on my face or screw up a combination or have to ask my girls what a certain lyric in a song means, make me a great teacher.  (Note to everyone out there: "3" by Britney Spears is a dirty, dirty song.) The fact that my students not only learn about dance from me, but about life, makes me a great teacher.  And, the fact that when I think about ever leaving this job and leaving "my girls" and leaving my two wonderful friends who also happen to be my co-workers...when that makes me physically sick, I know that I'm a great dance teacher.  And I know I'm in the right place.  Rachelle said something else yesterday that really resonated with me.  She said, "God wanted you to dance in your life...maybe just for now, maybe as a teacher, maybe on Beyonce's next tour...but he wanted you to dance."  And you know...I KNOW she is right.

 

Well...this is actually not at all what this post was supposed to be about...haha.  I was all set to write a hilarious post about the Nutella cupcakes I made yesterday...but as I'm sitting here in my dining room, crying over this post, I just learned something great about myself and I wanted you all to be the first to know.  I am a damn good dance teacher.

The One with the Halfway Point

I'm in love with this day.  Aside from the fact that it's not the weekend, it's been SO great!  I had a good morning of preschool, I chatted with Jessica at lunch, my dance classes went super well, my tap rehearsal was wonderful, I talked to Emily after work, briefly talked to my friend, Ross, my favorite girl won "So You Think You Can Dance," AND...the Friends episode with "the five" is on, which is one of my favorite episodes. Tuesday, you are rocking my face.

So, tomorrow is the big day...the halfway point of my list, the halfway point between 25 and 26.  (I despise the fact that the last sentence rhymed. I generally hate rhyming.  Future husband prospects: writing a poem will get you nowhere fast.) This is the point where I start panicking about how badly I've been procrastinating and how I'm getting to be so old... Yeah, I realize I'm not THAT old, but having a sister in grad school and a sister that's almost a senior in college makes me feel that way.  To distract me from thoughts of hip hopping as a senior citizen and eating excessive amounts of Jell-O with my false teeth, I thought I'd recap my list to see how badly I'm failing.

Things I've Checked Off My List

1. Close on a house

2. (I'm still not telling...)

3. Skype with my best friend from our special spot

7. Write a blog

12. Buy someone random an anonymous coffee

14. Let go of something (It's done...and I couldn't be happier!)

15. Visit the Farmer's Market and buy myself flowers

21. Make pizza from scratch

24. One time when I feel like crying, don't; dance instead. Crazy dance.

Total Things Crossed Off the List: 9

 

Things I'm Still Working On

5. Make so many cupcakes and find my specialty

6. Get down to a size 6...this one is going really well, actually.  I was bad about tracking my meals while my friends were here, but I'm getting back on track with that.  Starting dance has also helped.  I'm getting about an hour minimum of dancing a night myself, and I can feel the difference.  Plus, I bought myself a lot of new clothes at the end of the summer, so I feel a lot more confident too.  Check me out!

This was the end of July, when I went to see "Rock of Ages" with my fam.

 

8. Have my job NOT be the center of my life...this one is also going really well.  I'm actually about ready to cross it off the list, but I wanted to get back into the swing of classes and see if I'm still doing a good job of leaving work at work.

 

9. Get my yard looking presentable

10. Read a book that changes my life

19. Go to church consistently

Total Things I'm Working On: 6

 

 

Things I Haven't Started Working on...Yet: 10 

 

 

Well, damn. I'm not sucking at this as much as I thought I would.  And, despite the fact that I have 10 things left to cross off my list, I've given several of them a lot of thought.  It's just a matter of actually doing them.  But, I guess I still have 6 months to get it done. Thank you all so much again for all your support and for reading about my crazy life!  I appreciate you all. :)

 

 

2. and 25...The Ones I Could Share With You...But I Won't

So, the day I was dreading finally came...all my friends left to go back to their lives and I was forced, kicking and screaming, back into mine.  To say it was awful is definitely an understatement.  You know that moment in the LOST finale when Kate realizes she will never see Jack again and they have a wonderfully dramatic good-bye? Well, that makes me sick and want to cry...but this is worse.  I think I'm having an awful time mainly because everything happened here.  See, my friends get to leave, but I'm still in the same place that all the fun happened, minus the fun.  It's quiet, clean, and organized, just like it was before.  Only now I've experience the house as loud, mildly messy, but always full of great conversation, hugs, food, and laughing. I want it back.  I will say that we all had an AMAZING last weekend together (that may have included me getting thrown in a pool, fully clothed) and that I wouldn't change it for anything. To Emily, Rachel, Seth, and Ryan: I love you guys insanely and I will let you live at my house for free. I will make you cupcakes every day and we can all cram into my bed and just laugh at each other.  I miss you guys more than you will ever know.  xoxo

Anyway, back to the blog.  I've been purposefully holding off on writing about #2 and #25 because frankly, they are WAY too personal for me to share with you all and I wasn't sure how I would handle addressing them.  These are also the two things on my list that I thought might not happen at all. The only people who know about #2 and #25 are Ria (of course), and a few friends...that's it. "Letting go of something" was pretty personal, but these are even more so.  After a lot of going back and forth on whether or not I should tell you what they were, I decided not to. Besides, they don't really involve an opportunity for hilarious failure and I know how much you all like to laugh at the crazy shit I do. So, with all that being said, I'm going to keep #2 and #25 to myself...BUT, I will tell you that in the past two weeks, I was able to cross #2 off my list and I'm so happy that I did! :)  Anyway, enough of me being mysterious!  Next week is the halfway point for my list...6 months down, and 6 months to go!

5. The One with Butterbeer Cupcakes

It's official...I'm going to be a hot mess when my friends leave. I'm already getting teary-eyed thinking about it, which I did not think would be the case.  Don't get me wrong, I love, love, LOVE my friends more than I could ever explain, but I was a little nervous about them coming for a few reasons:
1) They would be here for my last week of summer and first week of class, which is, understandably, a crazy busy time and I sometimes turn into the dragon lady when I'm super stressed.
2) I haven't had roommates since college.  Completely my choice.
3) I guess this technically falls under number 2, but I'm gotten used to not having people here and fully abusing that privilege, i.e. showering with the door open, walking around without pants, you get the idea.

But, aside from having a particularly stressful day last week that had nothing to do with them, it has been a wonderful time!  It's been so great to hang out as ADULTS. Yes, I said it. I still don't believe that I am one, but I guess owning a home is a pretty adult thing to do.  Today, we decided to have a small Labor Day cookout since I had the day off work and they didn't have rehearsal until later.  Initially, it was just going to be me, Emily, Rachel, and Seth.  We asked our friend, Megan, to join us, and then my friend, Tyler.  And then Ryan...and his friend, Justin, was in town, who also happens to be an old friend of mine...anyway, lots 'o people.  It. Was. A. Blast.  We grilled out, laughed until our sides hurt, watched movies...it was the perfect day.  But don't worry; all perfect days also have cupcakes.

I found this recipe online a few weeks ago, and given my Harry Potter obsession, I knew I needed to give them a whirl.  Why I chose to do that on a day when I would be hosting seven other people, I have no idea.  See, not only was this a recipe I hadn't made before, but it also called for ganache (which I've never made before), using a pastry bag (which I've never done before), and filling the cupcakes after being baked (umm yeah...haven't done that either.)  Despite the cards being against me, things started off well. I made the ganache right away in the morning and let it cool while I showered.

Mmmm...butterscotch.

 

Then, I made up the cupcakes.  That part was easy.  I put them in the oven and made the frosting, which I was nervous about.  See, I don't measure when I cook...never.  I've been trying to break myself of that when I'm doing cupcakes, but I guess I got side tracked because before I knew it, I was pouring powdered sugar straight into the bowl...shit.  However, the odds were totally in my favor, and the frosting was effing fantastic!  Seriously, if this cupcake shop doesn't pan out, maybe I'll open a frosting shop...

 

Cupcake batter, ya'll!

 

Emily and Tyler, "helping" me out

Magically delicious frosting

 

Then, everything turned to shit. (Just one of many bodily function references that was made during this process.  Also, lots of "that's what she said.")  You know in "Bridesmaids" when you're introduced to Rose Byrne's character and you just know that shit is going to get crazy?  Yup...my ganache was Rose Byrne and it wasn't messing around.  I was getting ready to do the filling for my cupcakes when everyone came out to the kitchen to see if I needed help. I asked Emily if she could fill the pastry bag with the ganache for me.  I forgot to tell her I'd already cut the bottom of the bag and that she needed to either cover the hole with her finger or twist the bottom closed.  Major ganache explosion.  We decided to use another bag.  Once it was tipped and filled, I took over.  Now, a lot of recipes I've seen with filled cupcakes have you cut out a small piece of the cupcake before you fill it. This one didn't...I was just supposed to stab the cupcake and fill.  So I did...or I attempted.  Now, some of you may not know this, but when you stab a cupcake with a frosting tip with a large hole in it, the cake gets stuck inside the tip, which forces you to squeeze the bag even harder.  I'll spare you all the details, but let's just say I ended up getting ganache all over my hands from the top of the bag, someone was saying, "no, you need to be firm and gentle," and I'm pretty sure Betty Crocker was rolling in her grave.  Then, to top it all off, I squeezed too hard, the tip came out of the bag, and ganache started flowing. (That's what she said. To all of the above.)

 

...This is what happens when you have an open bag of ganache.

 

Filling the cupcakes

...And then the tip broke.

So I improvised.

 

We stopped taking pictures for a little bit after this one.  Let's just say I ended up with frosting all over me and then things just got too inappropriate to post.

Check me out, bitches. I just frosted those cupcakes!

 

The final product

Ryan took over frosting for me.

This is how I SHOULD have made them...with my awesome Ron Weasley wand.

 

 

Despite all the crazy, I was pretty happy with the final product.  All my friends LOVED them! (Again, their exact comments aren't quite appropriate to post, but just think along the lines of, "I love this cupcake so much that I (add "The Lonely Island" song title here)." I liked them too.  I thought the cake part was good, but not great.  They seemed like they were missing something, maybe cinnamon or butterscotch chips.  The ganache was tasty and the frosting was unreal.  I'll definitely be making these again...but maybe when it's just me at home! :)