Turn Ons

Don't worry...this isn't x-rated or anything. Just one of those annoying email forwards I usually delete! But I needed to post so this is what you get!

I was asked to answer "turn on" or "turn off" for each prompt. Feel free to do the same!

Shopping: Depends on what I find!
Mysteries and surprises: Major Turn ON. Maybe the biggest one of all...
Dallas: hmmm- hot, humid weather- Off. Two stepping with a cute cowboy- On.
Firemen: seems too cliche for me!
Gossip: I like to call it "sharing information" and it's a Turn On to share, right?
Health Clubs: Off. Necessary, but OFF.
Cars: Off. Cars are great to get you from point A to point B- but who cares what kind it is?
ABBA: Turn On in a girl power kind of way.
Beaches: Turn On!
Fur: If we're talking about a cute pup with it's cute owner, then turn on. If we're talking about clothing, dead things, or slang for a hairy guy, then turn off.
Musicals and plays: Turn on.
Hats: Turn On...especially if it's a navy baseball cap with a white A.
Cigars: Off...the smell lingers forever!
Talk Shows: I'm kind of a sucker for a good Oprah show and Ellen makes me laugh. But not the trashy talk shows.
Leather: Turn Off.
Gambling: OFF.
Ambition: Turn On- gotta love someone that knows what they want!
Muscles: Scary body builders that shimmer in the light= major turn off.
Oysters: ON
Prince: William? Ummmm- Yes, please.
Gold: Turn Off.
Competition: Turn On- A healthy competition can be fun.
Bikers: Off. Except for Lance.
Glasses: Turn On- Unless they're transitional lenses.
Power: Turn On
European: ???

I'm Baaaaack!

I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend! I FINALLY got a new camera- so Grits and Gossip won't be so bare! What I've been up to...

• Baking from Scratch...

• Practicing my cake decorating skills...

• Celebrating Easter with friends!
  

• Bringing Spring to our porch!

• And trying to stop and smell the flowers! (tulips from our yard)
  

In Bloom

It was one of those really good weekends. The kind when I didn't have any plans or obligations. It all started with some veggie pizza and vegging out on Friday night.

Cleaning and errands on Saturday. Grilled out, watched Slumdog again, and went to the last showing of Sunshine Cleaning Saturday night.

Shopping, yardwork, and piano playing on Sunday. (Yep, haven't played in a while...something very soothing about it!) I conqured wiring the new cable box to my TiVo and TV. FINALLY got a new camera (let's just say I've been to Best Buy 4 times in the last week.) And the weekend was fabulously topped off by the Braves winning their first game! I even caught the last few minutes of the Academy of Country Music Awards and saw Taylor Swift win Best Album of the Year and Carrie Underwood beat out the guys for Entertainer of the Year!

I hope everyone enjoyed the nice Spring weather (while it lasted!)

We're celebrating the Cherry Blossoms in DC. They only bloom for about 2 weeks, but are such a beautiful sight. I'm cheating a little and sharing pictures I took from the past few years. As a friend, who is seeing the Cherry Blossoms for the first time, said last week, "Every tree is a bouquet of flowers!"

April Showers

Literally- all April has brought us so far are showers! Seriously though, what happened to March?

First- to close out March, I thought I'd share a picture of the birthday cake I made Shira. I made my grandmother's chocolate pound cake recipe (FROM SCRATCH) and decorated it with flowers I learned how to make in the cake decorating classes I've taken. I do believe that is the impression of Shira's finger in the side...she really likes the icing!

We celebrated with dinner at Mexicali Blues and had lots of fun.

There's a lot to look forward to in April...everything seems to come back to life! Most importantly- Baseball season begins! Hey, I warned y'all to brace yourself! You know where I'll be Sunday evening- Opening night- Braves vs. Phillies, so please do not disturb. I am not kidding.

Earth Day is also coming up later this month on April 22nd. I know, I know, some people get REALLY tired of hearing the Go Green stuff. But are you really going to argue that it's not important to be more aware of how we're treating our beautiful earth? We can all so something to decrease the waste we create and the resources we use. I heard a stat this morning that if everyone on earth used as much resources as Americans do, it would take 4 earths to provide for everyone! I've tried over the last few years to be more aware and take some small steps. I dream of the day I can have my own rain barrel in my yard, composting system, and own garden. But I know those aren't things I can realistically do right now, especially since I'm a renter and all. So I stick to the small things like recycling everything we can, turning out lights, unplugging things not in use, and using the reusable bags at the grocery store.

Also- have you seen the ads for Disney's new movie called Earth? It's coming out on Earth Day. The directors are from the Planet Earth team- which I LOVE. This will also be the first film in the new Disney Nature series- so there's more to come!

Happy Friday to everyone!

Show Some Love

It's been a while since I had a random post....about any and everything.

I had a nice first weekend of Spring...the roomies and I grilled out last night for the first time this year and it got me super excited about cook-out season!

I started a few projects that you'll hopefully hear and see in the coming weeks. And by started I mean I got the materials and thought through the projects. But it's a first step, right? I'm attempting to conquer that domestic side I talked about a few months ago.

Tonight is my last cake decorating class for Course 2- these classes fly by! Course 2 was all about flowers. We learned how to make rosebuds, rosettes, victorian roses, apple blossoms, pansies, daisies, mums, violets, and some others I can't recall right now. I will do my best to get a good picture of my final cake tonight. I seriously need a new camera!!!!

I've been meaning to put out a request from all of you for some good tunes for working out. My playlist is a bit tired! Comment and leave your suggestions...please, for the love of bathing suit season!!!

Don't be shy about commenting...you can do it anonymously and just leave your initials and I'll probably know who you are. Comments make this blogging thing more interactive, is a way to share information, and gives me feedback. Plus it helps me to know that people are reading and are interested. Simply click underneath this post where is says # Peeps Showing Some Love and tell me some songs that you rock out to for starters!

I hope your week is off to a great start!

Farewell Winter

Do you hear the Hallelujah Chorus? Cause I do.... IT'S SPRING!!!

Time to shed all the winter baggage, get outside, and enjoy all the new life around us. Soon the Cherry Blossoms will be blooming here- which have a way of waking up the city. It's still a bit chilly here, but I'm doing my best to ignore it. It's technically spring and that's enough for me to come out of my winter hibernation. By the way- you know that I love all of you southerners, but stop rubbing your flip flops and nice weather in my face by your facebook status. We get it- you have nice weather...and don't forget how short your spring typically is and how humid it's about to be. So there. (You can see that I'm not at all jealous.)

Of course spring means one more fabulous thing- BASEBALL. We are now officially 16 days away from opening day. Brace yourself.

Weak

I've been waiting for some divine inspiration for something to blog about. When life gets busy and/or boring, I don't feel the need to share in a blog post. But, waiting around on something exciting to write about could mean a long hiatus so my trusty fall back is TV! There have been waaaaay too many reruns for my liking, and our cable has been acting up- preventing me from watching not one, but two weeks of Big Love! I'm hoping things will be running again soon and I can catch up.

With over a month of Gossip Girl reruns, and no Big Love and US of Tara (a new favorite), and DO NOT even get me started on the Grey's nonsense. So what have I been watching- you may be asking? I've done what I told myself I wouldn't do this year. I've been sucked in to American Idol. I haven't watched every season, I usually only get into it every other year. But those smart folks at Idol have a good idea to start the show when the others are showing repeats. I'm weak, I tell ya....fell right in their trap.

After a wierd "wild card" show last week, America now has it's top 13. It's an interesting group...but thank goodness the judges came to their senses and gave wierdo Tatiana the boot. I couldn't take watching any more of her. I have a handful of favorites after seeing them only perform once- Scott, Lil, Megan, Adam, Anoop, Jorge, and Matt. Maybe that's more than a handful.

There are way too many commercials in this show, Ryan really annoys me, and the judges are all over the place. Despite all of this, I'm looking forward to see what drama Season 8 has in store for us! Now, if only I can resist Dancing With The Stars (which starts tonight)....

Front Porch Friday

A while back I blogged about wanting to explore my domestic goddess side. Well- I kinda did! In February, I took a the Wilton Cake Decorating Class at Michael's. I surprised myself with the outcome of my cake in the final class this past week! It's not the best picture b/c it's from my phone. And I know it's a little cluttered- as my mom so tactfully pointed out. But I was practicing all the different things we had learned- writing, shell border on the bottom, drop flowers on the sides, roses (which are HARD), sweet peas, stems and leaves.

(Not the best picture- it's from my phone.)

I'm planning to go ahead and start the second course in March. I lucked out because Michael's offered half off of the class price in February and March! Next stop: Ace of Cakes!!!