Please Pray for Us

Tonight Mike and I embark on one of the final pieces of our pre-cana adventure with the church: Engaged Encoutner.

Engaged Encounter, aka church camp, is a weekend long event through the Catholic church which we must complete before we can get married. This begins tonight, promptly at 8pm and ends on Sunday around 4pm. Here's what I know:

1. This takes place in the middle of the woods north of Tampa in what looks like a very nice, fairly new church retreat center complete with "cottages", conference center, youth center, and ponds
2. We have to bring a snack to pass: cookies, chips, etc (We're bringing those cookies I sorta messed up the other day but turned out being fine)
3. We have to have a same-sex roommate with whom we share a bathroom. It sounds like there's 1 queen bed and 1 single hideaway bed in each room.
4. There will be activities/meetings/etc from 8:30ish in the morning until 9:30ish at night
5. We will be fed 5 meals over the course of the weekend: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner on Saturday and Breakfast, Lunch on Sunday
6. Cell phones are not permitted in meetings and must be left in the room unless special permission is granted
7. Mike and I aren't really "feelings" people so talking about our feelings could get interesting. 

Luckily, Kady has been very supportive with this so far: "I actually have a feeling that you are going to get so annoyed with it, that you will protest something really rude and get you guys kicked out. Mike will have to sweet talk them into letting you stay."

**Updates to follow**

The Night I Got Attacked by Lady Antebellum...

As many of you know, I'm the Maid of Honor in one of my best friend's wedding in December. Of all the MOH duties, the Bachelorette party was probably the one I was most excited about it!

After weeks of planning and spending $100's buying inappropriate, skanky Bachelorette decorations and games, which I can't detail because my Dad is an AVID follower of this blog (shout out to The Big Dog Daddy Dumont!), the Bachelorette Party was finally here on Friday night!

Keeping up with my food theme, I'll take a sentence to detail what I made: mini croissants with chicken salad, shrimp cocktail in individual cocktail glasses, veggie plate, baked brie, and chili cheese dip! My co-host, Sara Slugger, brought the booze!

We started the party at my condo (again, won't be detailing the activities - Hi Dad!) and then went out on the town. Everything was going as planned, each girl was completing her required tasks, the Bachelorette was having a blast, and the drinks were flowing.

That was until he showed up. Who is he you ask? I'm not quite sure his name. He has a beard, he's from Augusta, and, oh yea, he's a lead signer in the group Lady Antebellum.

Now, mind you, it is one of my BFF's Bachelorette parties! I wouldn't be a good MOH if I didn't try to get a photo of her and Lady Antebellum. And here goes the conversation:


Me: "Hi! Lady Antebellum (I didn't know his name so I just kept calling him Lady Antebellum). It's one of my best friends Bachelorette party. Do you mind taking a photo with her?"

Lady Antebellum: "Sorry I don't do pictures."

Me: "Um seriously? I didn't even know you were famous - someone had to tell me!"


I turn around and continue talking to his dumpy friend. Lady Antebellum follows me and grabs my arm pulling me aside leaving a bruise on my arm!


Lady Antebellum: "Listen I'm really sorry. I just don't take photos in a bar."

Me: "Again, I don't care! I was just trying to be nice to my friend. I didn't even know who you were!"

Lady Antebellum: "Oh, sorry."

Me: "Well since evidently you are famous - you must know famous people. Have you been on Regis and Kelly? I love Regis - he is my heart and soul!"

Lady Antebellum: "Yea I know Regis - nice guy."


Lady Antebellum's friend then proceeds to interject and tell me how he is not a Georgia Tech fan.


Me: "So you are a UGA fan? Figures!"

Lady Antebellum's dumpy friend: "No, not really a fan of anything."

Me: "So you stand for nothing!"


Then a groupie approaches me to inform me that Lady Antebellum (the group) won Artist of the Year.


Me: "They won artist of the year at the Country Music Awards! Not the Grammy Awards!"


By this time, I'm annoyed and Lady Antebellum is killing my buzz, so I say my goodbyes. The night continues on and I have forgotten about my horrific experience with Lady Antebellum.

I woke up Saturday morning in a haze (take a wild guess why?) to an aching arm. Then it suddenly hit me "I WAS ATTACKED BY LADY ANTEBELLUM AT THE BAR LAST NIGHT!"

A few Tylenol later and a hand print on my arm, I've got a good story at least! And someone else to hate besides Justin Timberlake! KTBSPA!

Ciao yall!

Kristin

Please Note: Forgive me if I sounded rude, I was over served and was utterly offended that Lady Antebellum wouldn't take a picture with my BFF on her Bachelorette night! I know Cohutta would have done it..................

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

A few years ago I discovered God's gift to the fall: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. After making a few tweaks to the recipe I started with, they've become a mainstay to my fall baking endeavors. But, if you know anything about me at all, it's that I'm prone to disaster. I'm a klutz and there's no disguising it. And if you know anything about cooking and baking it's that it's ok to play around a little when you cook but not ok to play as much when you bake. This was a lesson I heard loud and clear the summer I tried to invent my own strawberry daiquiri cookies (don't try that at home, it was one of the biggest mistakes of my baking life).

So here I sit, 7 minutes and 45 seconds away from pulling my 2010's first pumpkin chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. I'm anxious and nervous...because I screwed them up...

First I spilled the oil as I was dumping it into the bowl. How? I don't know but I did so of course I guessed at how much I spilled and just dumped it right back into the bowl. Unfortunately this happens a lot so I'm not concerned about that.

Second, I learned an awesome lesson: baking powder reacts with egg white in a similar fashion as baking soda and vinegar. I learned this when a little baking powder hit the sink where an oozy egg shell was hanging out and the combo began sizzling and bubbling.

Third, another lesson although not as awesome: the cooking spray which was used to grease the cookie sheet should not be ingested...it's nasty.

And finally, my biggest potential mistake. 4 minutes and 35 seconds away from the verdict. The recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Always having this in my cupboard because I'm an avid baker, I grab it without thinking and add it into my 90% complete cookie mixture, the last step before chocolate chips! As soon as I measure and dump it into the mixture I smell something. Hmm, I don't remember vanilla having such a strong odor. I panic and realize what that smell is without even looking at the bottle. It's the secret ingredient for one of my other famous cookie recipes: ALMOND EXTRACT! and 1 teaspoon of that stuff is A LOT!!!! It's very potent.

I'm 2 minutes and 32 seconds away from finding out if I actually screwed up all of my cookies or if I've made a new discovery. Here's to hoping almond extract can't overpower pumpkin!!!

**UPDATE** I screwed up. 1 teaspoon of almond extract CAN overpower a cup of pumpkin. I almost want to throw that almond crap away because it ruins another recipe! The cookies don't taste bad, just not as pumpkiny as I would like...

She's stalking my life on the boardwalk...

A Jersey Shore quote that I always found hilarious, yet hoped would NEVER apply to my life.

Here's to hoping..

My roommate from my freshman year of college is literally stalking me. I haven't talked to her in about two years (when her son was born to congratulate her). I did not keep up with her during college and up until a couple of weeks ago, haven't thought about her at all. We are facebook friends (duh) but we don't exchange messages or wall posts. I don't look through her stuff because she is very private (still trying to keep that two year old son hush hush).

A few weeks back she sent me an e mail out of the blue "heard this Christmas song and though of you, since its after my birthday (Oct 12) its time for Christmas music to be in full blast". Ok, I didn't respond (rude I know) but what was there really to say?

Last week. I get an e mail asking me to confirm things only my closest friends know. Weird. How did she know these things? Apparently there is a rat out there... someone who is obsessed with me and talking about me constantly. My stalker admitted that I come up in conversation quite a bit. She even went as far as using a nick-name that only THREE people use and was developed WELL after she transferred from Albion. Then, she went as far as to name drop someone from Albion, saying they were her source but followed it up with a "just kidding haha". That person did not go to Albion when Stalker went there.

To wrap this up nicely with a bow, I'm completely creeped out.

Has anyone out there ever had a stalker? How do you deal with them?!

We'll never "figure it out"?!

Finally taking a much-needed, 5 second break from the daily grind I stumbled across this article on cnn: http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/11/09/generation.thrisis/index.html?hpt=C2 It mentioned "thrisis" in the title and all I wanted to know was what the hell a thrisis is. Turns out it's basically that moment of panic you feel when you realize you're 30, or almost thirty. A cousin of the mid-life and quarter-life crisis, this is a 30-crisis...aka thrisis.

Funny enough, turning 30 has been popping up into my head a lot lately. No, I'm NOT almost 30 although I'm now less than 3 years away as I entered my late-20's this year. But my "pre-hubby" (as he was appropriately named earlier today) will be the big 3-0 in a year. Every year, around my birthday, I wonder "maybe this is the year I'll 'figure it all out'". Luckily I no longer have to wonder when that'll happen because the article tells me I won't figure it out. Ever.

At what point does someone become an adult? It's certainly not 18. Nor is it 21. You can't really be an adult when you're in college, it just doesn't work that way. Plus, I don't know about you, but I was a total moron in college. A lot's changed since then. I don't get carded as much as I used to. In fact, the only people who card me are the people at the grocery store who have to scan my license in order for me to purchase wine so it will allow them to scan the next item in my cart. Does that make me an adult? Nah, probably not.

Hmm...welcome to my thrisis.

Annoyed in NY

I'm in Long Island this week for the annual kickoff meeting for work. It's always nice to get together and see everyone in person that I secretly praise or bash all day long in the comfort of my own home. The problem is that I'm cold and there's a frost advisory tonight. Actually, I take that back, that's not the problem at all. The problem is that I'm tired and this hotel (aka grandma's house cuz it's decorated so awfully, complete with decorative plates hanging on the walls of some rooms) is the worst ever.

I have a room with twin beds. Yep, 2 twin beds. WHAT?! YES! ugh. I'm not June Cleaver (God rest her soul), I don't need a pair of twin beds with a nightstand between them. To make matters worse, my OCD is out in full force because the ceiling isn't quite right so it's kinda saggy. This means I'm basically walking around with my eyes closed to avoid the annoyance I get by looking up and the anger I get by seeing my 2 twin beds. I don't even had a nice TV. It's like a 15 inch tube TV and, for all I know, it might be black-and-white. I wouldn't know though because I don't do tube TVs. Then last nightt, after a day of traveling and an extra long dinner, I just wanted to crash but my phone was almost dead so I needed an outlet. The most accessible plug was near the other twin bed but the bed was partially covering it so my charger wouldn't fit. I went to try to push the bed over a smidge but it wouldn't budge. My next attempt was to just lift the bed slightly to get the headboard to shift like half an inch so I could get to the plug. Much to my surprise, I ended up taking the headboard right off the WALL!. Needless to say, I found a plug, located behind my bed, duh. If they had hotels during Little House on the Prairie, I imagine they'd be like this and I imagine I would not stay in them if given the choice.

Here's the icing on the cake though. As I nestled into my twin bed tonight, I went to check the time so my OCD could lull me to sleep while I counted down all the minutes I wouldn't be sleeping tonight. After a quick glance around the room, I realized there was no comfortable red glow. In fact, there's no glow at all. In shock, I turn on the light thinking the annoying alarm clock must be hidden somewhere odd and blocked by something. Nope. Of course not. There's just no alarm clock. Great.

Twin bed. Saggy ceiling. No clock. And I'm pretty sure I have bed bugs because I have all of these annoying bites that keep cropping up on my ankles and it's really obnoxious. Thanks LI, you never fail to impress me.

Two more days...I think I can...I think I can...

Election Day

GET OUT THERE AND VOTE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!