Happy Birthday!!

Today is Anne's birthday! Since Anne has basically been taking care of all of us for as long as she's been alive, it's no real surprise that she's moved into her newest role as new-mom-extraordinaire like a champ. (It doesn't hurt that her sweet, sweet baby is just about the cutest thing in the world.) She definitely makes 31 look good. Happy b-day Anne!

Let Your Crazy Out

In the week since I read Laura's post and decided that I, too, should jump on the Pinterest train, it's become something of a time-sucking, know-it's-probably-wrong-but-can't-quite-make-myself-stop obsession instead. Kind of like I thought it would be. (Thanks a lot Laura, this is all your fault.)

What's it called when you become interested in something and then suddenly it's all around you? Well, whatever that's called, that's what's going on. Last Friday (the day I read LB's post) there were multiple posts on Facebook about Pinterest (strangely, some people seem really confused and/or intimidated by it). I've also gotten some good tips from friends. Like Sarai, who explained that if she REALLY loves something she doesn't pin it because she doesn't want people to steal "her" idea. (Helllllll-o, my friends are so smart.)

It's also been interesting to hear from people who aren't so into the whole thing. Like Lundy, who referenced Jackie's comment on LB's post and felt the same --- basically, just not really understanding the point of it. It's certainly a valid point. BUT. For. The. Record. After our chat on Sunday afternoon, Lundy ended up pinning her heart out on Sunday night. SUCKAA! (If I happened to check Pinterest while writing this post (psycho!) I might have also seen her post again. Right now. Hehe.)

Now that I'm just rambling I'll point out a few of my favorite things so far:
1. Getting to dream and be creative and "cyber have" all the things I like without spending a penny.
2. Feeling really cool when people like or re-pin my stuff (um, yeah, pretty sure i could pin something that's completely fugly and someone, somewhere would think it was great, but whatever). 
3. Joining in on stuff that's not really kosher considering my current life stage (i.e., a wedding board when I'm not even engaged), but that – in this universe – is pretty widely accepted. I will admit that this became slightly more awkward when Matt's sister liked one of my pins on that board. Oopsies. My sisters recommended that I try to keep my craziness a little more concealed like Lizzi, who's just as crazy but thinks if she titles her board "parties" nobody will notice all the white flowy gowns and diamonds. Good thing Matt already knows I've got a little crazy in me. On a related note, I read this blog post and loved one quote, in particular: "For the love of God, men, PLEASE stay off of Pinterest. Not only will it scare the shit out of you, but it will also convince you that every girl you know is absolutely insane. Do us all a favor, and let us be needy/romantic/delusional hot messes in the privacy of our own gender."

This chic has it so right. And since reading her post I've suggested that Matt never ever ever ever look at my board again.  Cheers to all you other hot messes our there.

Mmmmm Good

One of my goals for 2012 is to cook more often. Cooking for one just isn't all that great, plus by the time I get home from work I'm usually ready to eat whatever I can get my hands on so I tend to make something that's QUICK. But, I really like cooking, it's usually less expensive and healthier* than eating out, and the more I do it the better I'll get, so I'm going to try to cook a "real" meal (I'm defining this as needing a recipe and most likely requiring the stove and/or oven) at least every other week. Not all that often, I realize, but I'm all about realistic goals and that's certainly more than I'm cooking now. Plus, there's no saying I can't do more if I get into it.

The lighting in my apartment at night isn't
the greatest, but you get the idea.
*Also, this one probably doesn't qualify
as a "healthier"option. Oops.

Last night was my first shot at it and I had the perfect incentive – one of my good friends at work recently had a baby and I signed up on the "CareCalendar" to bring her dinner. (By the way, I think this idea is amazing, baby or not. If anybody wants to volunteer to bring me dinner on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays for the next few months, please leave a comment and I'll get that rocking.)

This week's dish – prepared last night to be delivered tonight – was a recipe from Anne that we made when we were in Bermuda. I'm really not a fan of enchiladas, but this chicken enchilada casserole recipe was really good and pretty simple. Especially when you buy a rotisserie chicken instead of starting from scratch. Again, baby steps, people. Maybe by the end of the year I'll have cooked my first real chicken. (Ever.) Or maybe not. There's a reason boneless, skinless chicken breasts/tenders exist and same goes for rotisserie chicken. Let's not make this more difficult than it needs to be. Bon Appetit!

It's The Little Things

How buying a calendar for 2012 can get me so excited is a little crazy, I know, but I've always been a sucker for new school/work supplies. Thanks, Paper Source, you never disappoint.

Happy 2012!

In the spirit of the new year, I thought I'd pop in to say hello. And, if all goes according to plan, you'll be hearing from me a bit more often in 2012! Just like the rest of 2011, the past couple weeks have been a flurry of fun, family, traveling, and all-around good times.

Matt's Holiday Party Extravaganza
(yes, Foxy pants is wearing a tree skirt around his neck)

Celebrating Christina's awesome gift of Radiohead tickets...what what!!

Yummy Christmas Eve dinner with Lizzi and her Danish muffin

Lots of smiles at the Doak family Christmas

Lizzi with the always-stylish & adorable Graham

Fun night out in Breckenridge

Skiing in Breckenridge with my fave
(I'm not crying, so chances are we were sticking with greens at this point)

Babies Babies Babies

As the newest addition to the family, Graham has gotten most of the attention lately, but Anne & Mark are definitely not the only ones with a little sump'n sump'n going on in baby-land.

Mike & Laura's little girl is going to be here in no time flat --- like the next couple weeks!! Since they live in Bermuda, I really haven't seen Laura's baby bump grow, so it doesn't quite seem as real (I know she'd say otherwise), but the big day is going to be here so soon and I'm going to have my first niece! There are just way too many tutus and tiaras and pink sparkly things in this world for her not to be spoiled rotten, so that's just going to be a fact of life. Tough, right? Laura posted some pics of the nursery last week and it's (of course) so cute. Sweet and baby but modern and Mike & Laura-esque all at the same time. And what about Laura? She's going to deliver a baby in no time and she looks like that. I want those genes!

 

A little closer to home there's even more baby news. Double the fun. Twice as nice. Two times the par-tay. Get it? Get it? Okay, so, about six(ish) weeks ago, Pat and Stacy made a big announcement - they're pregnant again. With twins!!! They headed to Midland this weekend for a gender reveal party and what color were the cakes? BLUE! Both of them. Two more precious little boys on the way. How fun is it going to be for them to have 3 little monkeys running around? The Doak brothers. Again. Watch out world. How sweet is this pic of their little (growing) family? I love Jack's "big brother" shirt.

Which brings me to Jack. Decidedly not the baby of the family anymore, but the first baby of them all, and the one who's at that perfect wanna-eat-your-face-you're-so-deliciously-cute stage. (That was weird, I know.) These pics are of him a few weeks ago when we got together to celebrate Lizzi's b-day. Look at his curly locks! The first one is cute and precious, and the second one cracks me up because it's what he does when Stacy or Pat says, "Jack, do your silly face!"

My family rocks. xx