My Lifelong Love-A-Fair

Years before my first ever trip to Walt Disney World, I spent the day at the Erie County Fair in Hamburg, NY. And then we went back the next year. And the year after that.

Maybe. I can't say for sure that we went every year, but I know my grandparents and my dad loved it, so I'm sure we did. One year, we even ventured to Syracuse for the NY State Fair. I don't remember that, either. But I vividly remember the photo of me, holding my blankie, at the top of the giant slide before I went sliding down. And if I can easily dig it out, I will add it here. I know I have it somewhere.

I had the most incredible childhood. And the fair reminds me of that. When I'm at the fair, everything is right with the world.

My grandma would pack a picnic lunch and I would spend the morning begging to do the kid things while my dad and grandparents would want to walk through the buildings. We did it all. Riding rides. Playing games. I remember loving the rubber ducky game where you paid your quarter, and selected a ducky as it went swimming by. We would ride the tram. We would eat our picnic lunch and I would beg for one of the ice cream cones that had two sections for ice cream, was covered in chocolate, and dipped in peanuts. They called it a "walking sundae". I'm quite positive one year I won a goldfish. We would try to get on the local news station who had a booth set up. "We're (hold up four fingers) FOUR Buffalo!" And then we'd do it all over again until it was time to go home.

My memories from when I was younger are all jumbled together. I don't know what happened first, I don't remember all the food options (aside from those ice cream cones), and I don't even remember if we went to see the animals. But they were some of the best days of my life. When I didn't really want summer to end. When I didn't realize I was too hot. When the lazy, hazy days seemed to linger forever. When I didn't want to go home, but probably fell sound asleep on the drive home.

My grandma enjoyed the flowers (which was also a common them at Walt Disney World), and my grandpa loved the Indian Village. We would watch their dances and learn to love their culture, which for those who don't know is a big deal in Western New York.

Eventually, we moved away for a couple years. But we were still close enough to visit and one year, my dad took me and at least one of my brothers and a whole carful of the neighborhood kids to spend the day at the fair. We each had a couple dollars to play games or buy souvenirs. We were there all day and had a blast.

Every year, the fair had new things and I remember one year they introduced some type of ride that flipped you upside down. My grandma and I joked about riding it together, but I'm fairly certain no such event ever occurred!

Finally we moved back home, but not for long. My dad was transferred to a tiny little town in Pennsylvania in the middle of my sophomore year of high school. They had a county fair, but it was nothing like MY Erie County Fair (although that was probably the first place I ever had a blooming onion, so there's that.) Every year, we would come home for the fair. That was when Jim Kelly first started playing for the Bills and we started being really good. The local affiliated radio station gave out all kinds of Bills themed stuff, so I would travel back to Steelers country with Bills stickers, water bottles, and football cards. Thank goodness for the fair!

I was planning on going to college to be a teacher (which I did, although I don't currently teach.) Because of that, I loved the education building. It wasn't terribly popular with the kids though, as the fair pretty much marked the end of summer. So it's no surprise that the education building is no longer a thing at the Erie County Fair! But there are still lots of educational opportunities... they're just cleverly disguised as fun ;)

After finally coming back home one last time, I haven't missed the fair in at least fifteen years. The fair is the first place I ever had sweet potato fries, and for the longest time that was the ONLY place I could find them. These days, I avoid the rides like the plague, but I still enjoy seeing their bright colors spinning through the sky. I enjoy walking several miles a day. I spend an inordinate amount of time in the animal barns, wishing I had a goat. I eat food that's delicious, albeit not exactly healthy.

This year, I went four out of the twelve days. I saw a baby calf be born (finally!). I cried petting a horse. I almost cried when, for the fifth time, my number wasn't called to bottle feed a baby calf. I fed butterflies. I watched cooking demonstrations, I considered dropping six hundred dollars on a blender, I actively avoided talking to people about Direct TV. I spent a good twenty minutes chatting with a volunteer in the Heritage and History Center (which, for someone who doesn't like talking to people is pretty impressive). I saw my former neighbor's award-winning oil painting. I learned that Disney produced a WWII propaganda film to buy War Bonds, staring Donald Duck.

People still pack picnic lunches. They actually set them down on picnic tables and walk away for hours at a time! You can still get a walking sundae AND a walking taco. The Indian village is still there. Last year I bought a dreamcatcher that hangs on a bulletin board near my bed. You can still be "FOUR" Buffalo and get on TV. With the technology that has changed in the forty years (ish) that I've been going, you can now get a text message when a baby calf is about to be born. You can get your ketchup delivered to you by a robot.

The fair is still the same as it's always been, and it's still new every year. And, if you spend enough time in the Creative Arts Building, you'll even get a little bit of Disney!

America on Parade

If you're a Disney lover like me, you probably have some Disney books. History books, guidebooks, biographies of Walt Disney, cookbooks... I have all of these. Not a huge collection compared to what some people may have, but a nice mix of Disneyana. My most recent book purchase is a cookbook, Kitchen Magic with Mickey that I got when I was in the Most Magical Place on Earth in April. It's my second Disney cookbook... the first one I bought is called Mickey's Gourmet Cookbook and I bought it for a dollar at a garage sale!

I'll feature each of my books at some point, but today I'm sharing one of the two oldest books in my collection. Both The Art of Walt Disney (the book on the very bottom of my stack; not sure why the photo is so blurry) and America on Parade have a copyright date of 1975 and, if my mom's memory is correct, these books were purchased by her mom for me from the Jewel Tea Man.

Now, I'm fairly certain that anyone reading this will have zero idea what I'm talking about, so here's a quick history lesson. Jewel Tea was a national company that went door to door selling all kinds of household items. Ironically, my research indicates that it started out as a individual who went door to door selling... wait for it... coffee beans! If you know someone who has the "autumn leaf" pattern of dinnerware, this originated with Jewel Tea. My mom and grandma had a lot of these items, and my mom generally would just say she got them from "the tea man".

So, back to Disney. I've loved Disney all my life and apparently I respected the main man himself so much that I referred to him as "Mr. Walter Disney". Because why wouldn't a child say that?! But, that's why my grandma bought me these books. With it being Fourth of July weekend (sort of, anyway... I still have to work tomorrow!) I thought it would be fun to talk about the America on Parade book.

To celebrate the bicentennial in 1976, Disney came up with the idea of this spectacular parade that was a celebration of our history. The parade was called, obviously, "America on Parade" and ran in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. According to the book, the parade consisted "of fifty units depicting milestones and important institutions in American history...". During the summer, the parade was held twice a day. The second showing was at night and concluded with fireworks.

It took almost a year to gather all the research necessary to put on such a huge parade. It was three quarters of a mile in length and lasted almost half an hour from start to finish. The parade featured giant doll-like characters, representing the people of the US. Part of the research involved making sure the costumes the dolls wore were historically accurate.

The cool thing about this book is that it's basically a history book. It tells the history that is depicted in the parade and includes illustrations and photos made by Walt Disney Productions as part of the parade planning. It also includes several pullout sections of photos that were taken during the opening week of the parade in June 1975. The pullout sections show Main Street USA, lined with people, watching the parade.

I love that I have this book in my collection. More than forty years later it's not only a US history book, but it's now also part of Disney's history!

On a side note, as I was pulling all of my books together I also flipped open a couple of my old Disney magazines and came across this gem from 1998. Further proof that nobody throws a birthday party like Disney! I tried googling to see which hometowns were picked, and the only I'm able to find was Sheboygan, Wisconsin (who doesn't like saying "Sheboygan"?!)

I hope everyone in the US has a fantastic Independence Day and that my Canadian friends enjoyed celebrating Canada's Sesquicentennial! And, if by some miracle, someone is reading this outside of either of those countries, I hope you have a magical day!

How to Eat a Cupcake in Ten Easy Steps

Today is my nephew's fourth birthday. He is the youngest of all my nieces and nephews and I haven't seen him (or any of the other, either) in nineteen months. *sniffle* In honor of this I will be buying a red velvet cupcake from Panera for my dessert today! And just for fun, I decided to post these pictures I took three years ago on his first birthday. At the time, I turned them into a Facebook album with the same name as my post title. I also included them in this same format in a photo book I made for my sister. My Disney albums are my favorite albums on Facebook, but these pictures rank a very close second!

Just a quick note.. Sydney is my youngest niece, and the birthday boy's older sister.

Enjoy!!!

Step 1:
Go to McDonalds with Daddy and Sydney while Mommy makes an awesome cupcake cake

Step 2:
Wait patiently while everyone sings "Happy Birthday" and then blow out the candle (with a little help from Sydney)

Step 3:
Gently poke your fingers in the frosting

Step 4:
Forget about being gentle and just pick up a huge handful

Step 5:
Shove as much into your mouth as you can

Step 6:
Make sure you get it all!

Step 7:
Smile at the camera because you know Nanny Sue wants to post this on Facebook

Step 8:
Smoosh some of the frosting in your hair

Step 9:
Leave nothing behind

Step 10:
Wash it all down with a big drink

The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

Happy Thanksgiving, blogosphere!

I've been doing the "attitude of gratitude" challenge on Facebook.... every day I post something I'm thankful for. Some days it was profound, other days it was goofy (yes, I AM thankful for the entertainment industry, thankyouverymuch)... and on the days I had to get needles stuck in me, it was a struggle. Not because I wasn't thankful for anything, but because typing it out just felt so fake. But yes, I am incredibly blessed. My favorite day was the one where I said I was thankful that I had a family that I missed instead of one I didn't want to be around. And I've said that many times since they moved away, and it keeps me going when I'm feeling down!

Right now, I'm just sitting here... reading trip reports on the Disney message board and watching it snow. It's a very light, beautiful snow. Most of what we got yesterday is melted, which makes me sad. Because LOOK at this:

How do you not look at that and just see beauty?

Speaking of snow, I just got back from seeing Frozen. I am so completely mesmerized by it! I wanted to stay and watch it again. I've been looking forward to it for some time now and it was well worth the wait. I just feel all warm and fuzzy, which is pretty impressive considering the name of the movie. *grin*

Next Saturday, I'm signed up for a 5K called the "Holly Jolly 5K". We all get to wear Santa hats! Hooray! Of course, I will once again be walking... not running. And who knows what the weather will be like. But I'm excited for it. Should be a good time, mainly because I needed the push from myself to just go out and LIVE.

I've had my moments since the diagnosis where I feel like I'm just spinning in circles, afraid to do anything. I feel like such a fraud when my friends call me strong. I definitely don't feel strong. I feel like I want to close my eyes, sleep really well, and then when I wake up it will all have been a dream nightmare. I mean, seriously. An entire season of Dallas was able to be wiped out that way! Is it really too much to ask? I'm really good at sleeping!

The title of this post is from the song "Let it Go", which is from my new second-favorite Disney movie. Hmm... I wonder what that could be? *giggle* Idina Menzel sang it beautifully in the movie, and I really like Demi Lovato's version as well. I don't necessarily agree with all the lyrics, but I try very hard to just embrace the "let it go" mentality. I can't change what I can't change. And that applies to more than just a chronic illness. It applies to life in general.

And to quote my favorite marketing slogan ever...

{Life is a special occasion}

"Oh, Brain Lesions are Fascinating."

"Unless they're yours. Then they're a drag."

***
I was watching The Big Bang Theory on Thursday night when Amy Farrah Fowler uttered that little gem. I immediately paused my DVR and called my mom to tell her that I am now convinced that the BBT writers follow me around to get material for the show. Everyone knows I love Sheldon, because we are very similar. Things needs to be in the correct spot. Including myself. I sort my M&Ms by color (which, after the episode where he arranged Howard and Bernadette's closet, I'm convinced he would do as well if CBS and the M&M company would just agree on the product placement!) So many times I'll do something at work and everyone will be like, "Okay, Sheldon!"

I'm glad I can find humor in all this, because a little over a month ago I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and the brain lesions on my MRI were a contributing factor to that diagnosis. So whenever Chuck Lorre wants to send my royalty check, that would be most appreciated. And I'd love to be able to get that quote on a tshirt!

The following is the write-up I did for my personal fundraiser page for an event for the MS Society. You can see it here if anyone is interested in making a donation.

On Saturday, August 17th I woke up bright and early to participate in an event I had been looking forward to for six months... the Color Run! It was an amazing time with good friends. And if anyone had told me a year ago that the most fun I would have all summer was participating in a 5K, I would have told them they were crazy. But it was! (Please note that at no point in time did I actually RUN.) I went to bed that night happy and content.

The next morning I woke up with a headache and some pressure in my right ear. I was a little dizzy, too. Dizzy because my head was spinning... not just my normal dingbattiness. I'm sure that is totally a word. I wondered what they had put in all that colored cornstarch to make me feel so weird. Bazinga! Just kidding. I figured my sinuses were mad at me for some reason and didn't really think anything of it. I did some stuff around the house and when I went outside, I noticed that I was seeing a double image of the writing on the dumpster in my parking lot. (Usually it says "NO PARKING". On this day it was emphatic... "NO PARKING! NO PARKING!" All right already.) As the day went on, the double vision got worse. I took some Sudafed and went to bed early.

For the first time in a decade, I called in sick two days in a row. When it hadn't gotten any better by Tuesday (yes, I'm stubborn) I had a friend drive me to Immediate Care. I fully expected to be sent home with a lecture and a strong antibiotic. Instead, the (ahem, nasty) doctor told me she was sending me to the hospital for tests. At this point, I completely freaked out because I don't do hospitals, I don't do needles, and I was terrified I had a brain tumor.

I was blessedly surrounded by friends at the hospital. Eventually, I was sent for an MRI and was totally blindsided with the MS diagnosis. My friends kept me from falling completely apart and kept my family (who live out of state) updated on the situation because I wasn't really in any shape to do that. The hospital gave me steroids to help with the double vision and sent me home with an appointment to see a neurologist the next day. She sat with me for about five minutes before promptly sending me to another hospital. She was signicantly nicer than the Immediate Care doctor, but freaked me out even further with the words "admitted" and "spinal tap". I hadn't spent the night in a hospital since I was in first grade. And as far as I'm concerned, "Spinal Tap" is a fake rock band and nothing more.

While some of my family members were getting into town, I won a three-hour cruise in the MRI tube. I made it through that only completely hyperventiliating once and the diagnosis was confirmed. Luckily, they were able to accomplish this WITHOUT the spinal tap. For the sake of every single person in the hospital and within a ten-mile radius that day, I am very thankful that wasn't necessary. I was admitted to the hospital for three days... getting more steroids through the lovely IV that was now growing out of my arm. (For the record... steroids leave a very nasty taste in your mouth. And needles are just plain evil. How anyone uses either of these willingly is beyond my comprehension. Not judging. Okay, yeah, I totally am. And my dreams of being a Major League Baseball star have just been shattered.)

I was incredibly relieved that I didn't have a brain tumor. And I'm also very hopeful (and so is my doctor) that things will be just fine because MS is highly controllable. What I'm less than thrilled with (and what currently actually stresses me out more than the actual diagnosis) is the WAY it is controlled. (See the "I don't do needles" comment above). Great strides have been made in the treatment of MS and WNY has some amazing resources.

Thanks for reading! My life has definitely changed, but *I* have not. I'm still doing all the things I love (and some of the things that I have to do that I don't love as much! Haha.) I'm still planning my Disney trip and looking forward to it now more than ever. Most importantly, I'm reminded daily that I am blessed with amazing family and amazing friends. And that being compassionate and kind is the most important thing in the world.

Twenty-Five Random Things About Me

I was cleaning up my Facebook page earlier and came across this. Remember when we all did these "notes"? And then you tagged people and they were supposed to answer the same questions. Well, I thought this was fun and decided that I didn't want to let it die completely, so here it is! These were my answers from January 2009. The majority of this stuff is still true. If anything has changed significantly, my updated randomness is next to the old randomosity in bold text.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. I cheated... I don't think I picked 25 people... I'm such a rule-breaker. Ha.

*****
1. I am an obsessive sports fan. (I guess that's not so random... I think everyone already knew that!!)

2. I'm a foodie but I'm also a junk food junkie. I love to cook, I love to bake, and I'm obsessed with the Food Network. BUT.. I'm just as happy eating McDonalds.

3. French fries are my favorite food.

4. I would love to go to cooking school. I'm a recipe cooker/baker and would love to learn how to come up with my own recipes.

5. I have a nephew and five nieces but no kids of my own. The thought of such a thing terrifies me. I now have two nephews.

6. There is nothing more important to me than my family.

7. I have a cat named Kenobi.

8. I'm a major Star Wars geek and have been since I was about eleven years old.

9. I was a nanny in the DC area after I graduated from college.

10. I ♥ Jake Ryan. (Sixteen Candles)

11. I think Jessie's girl was a fool.

12. Perhaps I'm a little 80's crazed :)

13. I love to scrapbook... it's my creative outlet and my entire ktichen table is covered with scrapbook supplies. Haven't done much scrapbooking lately.

14. I carry a camera in my purse... 'cause you never know when you might run into someone famous.

15. Awards shows make me happy. On Oscar Sunday, I watch E! all day long for the pre-Oscar coverage and then stay up and watch the entire ceremony, regardless of how it lasts.

16. I'm pulling for Robert Downey Jr to win the Best Supporting Actor award, even though I know Heath Ledger is a shoo-in.

17. I fell asleep in the theater watching The Spirit...

18. I walked out of the theater during Talladega Nights...

19. But I thought the worst movie I've ever seen was The Break-Up.

20. I'm really pretty boring... and having a hard time thinking of 25 things!

21. I love hair bands and entertained the thought of going on Rock of Love. Okay, maybe not. But I still love hair bands.

22. I've seen Loverboy in concert more than any other band. I think at this point, I've ssen Poison more than Loverboy

23. I've only seen Bon Jovi twice. Isn't that sad???

24. This may surprise some of the people I tagged, but I hated high school with a fiery passion. You couldn't pay me to go back.

25. I'm kinda sensitive and my feelings get hurt easily. Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm working on it :)

My Lightbulb Moment

"So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains, and we never even know we have the key."

At some point last month, I had an epiphany. I rely too much on other people to make me happy and the majority of those people aren't nearly as invested in my happiness as I thought they were. I believe they care about me; I truly do. But they aren't giving me the support I so desperately crave.

On the other hand, I have a couple of really amazing people in my life who support me strongly and fiercly. Why was I wasting my energy being hurt by the people who can't be bothered when I should be focusing my time on myself and the people who are there for me? And when this epiphany took place, I think it may have changed my life. At least for one small speck in time, I decided that I am in control. Of MY happiness.

It's gonna be a great life!

Heartbroken and Shattered

I should be getting my house ready for company tomorrow, but I can't focus on anything except the thoughts of everyone impacted by the shooting in Newton, CT. My heart aches so badly for everyone. Thinking of those little lives lost is tearing me apart. And if this is how I feel, I can't even imagine how the families of those sweet babies are coping.

Easily Amused

Oh the joys of adulthood.

I noticed that my front tire was losing air, so I was a good girl and made an appointment to get that baby patched up. So I showed up for my appointment and I waited.

And I waited.

And I waited.

And then I was told that it couldn't be patched and that I need a new tire.

So I said okay.

And then they told me that they didn't have the tire in stock and would have to order it.

So I said okay again.

So they told me they were going to put the little fake donut on and that I shouldn't really drive it.

So I cried.

*eyeroll*

I'm not a big fan of cars. I think the main reason is that I don't like things that I can't fix myself. I told a friend today that's also the reason why I hate teeth. Ah yes, the lost art of self-dentistry.

When I came home I decided to do some blog-hopping and was happy to see that there was a new post on one of my favorite new blogs, Positively Present. There were some great links, including an article titled "19 Signs You're Doing Better Than You Think". Soundsd like something I *really* needed to read after my little meltdown.

So I clicked.

And I giggled:

Losing friends. A sure sign that life is going smoothly. Haha. Yep, told ya I was easily amused!

The article is good... you should read it! After you figure out who ditched you!

Five Things I'm Thankful For

Right now, to be totally truthful, what I'm most thankful for is that Thanksgiving is almost over. That's uplifting, huh? It's very hard spending the holiday HERE while my family is THERE. And I spent it by myself. That's a long sob story that I won't get into right now. And I've been avoiding Facebook like the plague today, because I'm just a million shades of cranky. So I thought this would be a good place to post my list. (And I have no intention of making that title grammatically correct, even though looking at it kind of makes me cringe.)

It wasn't a totally wasted day. I went to see Wreck It Ralph, which was adorable. Probably one of the most clever premises for a movie that I've seen in a long time. I really enjoyed it. And after that, Michaels opened at 4:00 so I headed there to kill some time. Bought some fun stuff, including these cool ornaments that you put on your artificial tree to make it smell real:

And yes, that *is* my tree in the background. It's been up for over a week now.

So, here are five things I am thankful for right now. (I never said all five of them would be deep and philosophical):

1. MY FAMILY I have the best family in the world and when I'm really sad and missing them like crazy, I remind myself how lucky I am to have a family worth missing. Not missing them would be so much worse than missing them.

2. SOME PRETTY AMAZING FRIENDS I would have fallen apart a long time ago if it weren't for the love and support of a couple incredible people.

3. CHRISTMAS Yeah, that's a pretty broad topic. But I love everything about it and it makes me incredibly giddy. My entire house apartment is decorated and I just smile looking at everything.

4. BUSINESSES THAT ARE OPEN ON HOLIDAYS I never, ever thought I would feel this way. Spending a holiday on your own sure changes your perspective.

5. PINTEREST When I wasn't killing time at any of the aforementioned businessed, I spent a good deal of time on my favorite website. I truly do love how convenient it is to have all of my favorite stuff organized on a fun website. It was also helpful to be able to pull up a recipe on my cell phone using the Pinterest app when I was in Michaels today!

So it all comes full circle. LOL.

I hope everyone had a happy day with family... or friends... or Pinterest.

Having Fun @ Work

A couple months ago, I met a friend for lunch and she presented me with two baggies of cookies. They were essentially the same cookie, but she made them with two different recipes and was trying to figure out which one she liked best. So she let me judge. (They were both delicious!)

Well, that got my little mind working and I decided that it would fun to have a cookie contest at work! Now, I work with some pretty awesome people and we have a lot of fun. I wasn't sure if anyone would really want to play along, but it turns out that we had a blast.

We had eight people who baked, and I let everyone taste and pick their favorite. I was the only one who knew which person baked which cookie, so I didn't judge and I'm kind of glad because they were all delicious!

This is the ballot I made:

(That cute little chocolate chip cookie is courtesy of the Sugar Coma dingbat font.)

I wanted to make something slightly unique that I hadn't made for my coworkers before. So I found this awesome recipe for Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies on Pinterest:

Source: seaweedandsassafras.com via Sue on Pinterest

They were really good with a little bit of heat! This was such a fun way to break up the week a little bit.

Fall Into Autumn

Yes, I know. Completely corny. Candy corny. Ha.

And I also know it's not technically fall yet. But the weather this week has been glorious and except for this morning, my AC has been off all week!! The crisp air screams fall to me... and I was able to enjoy a Pumpkin Spice Latte last weekend, so I say ignore the calendar. Fall is here!

I spent a ridiculous amount of time in Target yesterday looking for some gifts. I couldn't pass up a couple for myself while I was there. My favorite purchase? This cute little guy... for $2.50! That is not a typo! :)

Source: via Sue on Pinterest

Tomorrow I have grand plans. Mini golf and food with a friend and then I'm headed to the Christmas Tree Shop to find some new autumn decorations. I'm having some friends over for brunch next Sunday to celebrate first day of fall and I think I need to get myself a few more harvest-related goodies. I don't really do Halloween... but I love fall decorations! I might even hit up the General Store that's not too far from here. They have tons of cute stuff!

I'm working on planning out my menu, courtesty of Pinterest. I'm pretty excited. Once it's all set, I'll share it along with reviews of what everyone liked.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Labor Day!

In Western New York, Labor Day pretty much signals the end of summer even though we still have several weeks to go before that's official. Kids go back to school tomorrow, people put their boats away this weekend and many of them closed up their pools.

I wish the weather would cooperate! We're looking at a high of 88º today which is signicantly hotter than I would like it. I'm ready to walk outside and smell fall *Ü*

Today I'm headed to a friend's house for a cookout and I'm very excited to hang out with my peeps. Here is what I'm contributing to our culinary cause:

Bacon and Cheese Potatoes

Source: momswithcrockpots.com via Sue on Pinterest

I followed the ideas in the comments and instead of using the crockpot, I have these babies in the oven as we speak. I figued it would be easier to transport. They smell delicious.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Banana Bread

Source: recipeboy.com via Sue on Pinterest

I managed to find the container of the mushiest raspberries in the store. But the bread looks awesome, so I'm hoping it won't matter. I wasn't about to go back. Ha.

I'm also making some Ramen Noodle Salad, which is one of my favorite things in the world. Not gourmet quality by any stretch of the imagination but I never claimed to me. Sooo good. Have a great day everyone!! And happy eating :)

Lightening Up the Mood

So heartbroken over the shooting in Colorado this morning. And that's all I can really say about it, because it's just so utterly senseless.

It's the weekend, and I'm ready for some fun. Not sure where I'm gonna find it, but I'm ready for it! Ha.

Found this funny little card on Pinterest... and I have a feeling it was created because of Christian Grey (althought I really have no idea):

Source: iwastesomuchtime.com via Clarissa on Pinterest

Personally, I'm not a fan. Haven't read the books, have no intention of doing so. But I totally get the concept of being in love with a fictional character! I have a loooong list of those I've become smitten with throughout the years:

Steve Andropolous on As the World Turns was probably my first fictional crush. He was followed by other TV characters: Lujack on Guiding Light, Alex P Keaton on Family Ties, Dylan Walsh on 90210, Joey Tribbiani on Friends, Peter Petrelli on Heroes.

*sigh*

I'm a huge Tony Stark fan... and as much as he was criticized, Anakin Skywalker holds a very special place in my heart ♥

My current fictional crush?

Dr Sheldon Cooper.

Bazinga!

Who is your fictional crush?

Identity Crisis

Soooo... it appears that my blog doesn't know what it wants to be. I have had more names for this thing:

Seize the Daisies

The Boring Life of a Star Wars Geek

A Sprinkling of Pixie Dust

A Geek in the Kitchen

I know there are others! I just can't remember them all. I really wanted to have a foodie blog, but that didn't really work out so well. I did keep a couple of my favorite recipe posts though (mainly so I know where the recipes are when I want them.)  So I'm back to having a blog just about me and my likes and dislikes and just somewhere to record my thoughts. And I sure do have a lot of them!! And maybe somewhere to share the fun stuff I've discovered on that wonderful time-sucker known as Pinterest. This sums up the new blog title (for now... until it changes again.  *giggle*):

Source: theberry.com via Sue on Pinterest

Hope you stay a while... maybe I'll update more often than I did with the foodie blog. Or maybe not... depends on how much time I have left after pinning.  I think it's time to go watch Batman Begins so I can get ready for The Dark Knight rises this weekend!