Clear as Mud

Mini pie for one :)

2011-12-20T10:46:00.001-06:00

Tis the season I make kolache and always end up with some extra fruity pie filling. So if you have some extra pie filling or just some late night munchies for a pie, here you go!

Recipe for one mini pie (made in a regular cupcake pan)

3T flour

1T chilled butter

1/2t sugar

1–2t ice water

Mix ingredients with a fork to disperse the butter throughout. Add enough water to make the dough stick together. Now, in theory you could chill and roll the dough out. Or, if you are lazy like me just spray your little cupcake tin, and form the dough like you would a little clay pot and stuff it in the tin. If you want your mini pie to look fancy feel free to use a fork all the way around the top of the crust to make a crimp pattern. Fill with left over pie filling. Bake at 375F for about 13-17 min. I know this is going to sound like a grandma way of cooking, but just cook until you get that "pie smell". Then tadah! Pie for one :)

Also, because during the holiday season you can't have enough sugar, I sprinkle sugar all over the top of the pie and crust.

Enjoy!

i love fall

2011-09-28T11:29:00.000-05:00

Fall is my favorite season. Cooler weather, caramel apples, pumpkin carving, leaves changing color....the list goes on :) Presently, all my favorite inspiration is on pinterest. Have you seen it yet? I like to think of pinterest as visual bookmarking. For example, here is a link to one of my boards I've started about different typefaces I <3. One of my favs I've bookmarked is printable halloween bags. How great are these?

Click me to go to Oscar & Emma Designs print file

I'm thinking I'll need a make a few to decorate my office. Hope you are having a great fall so far :)

iphone 4 cases

2011-04-27T10:42:00.001-05:00

This summer I plan on upgrading my phone. I'm also ditching my plain black case. Time for something a bit more colorful. Turns out there are quite a few I like...good thing I have plenty of time to narrow it down to a favorite. All these cases are featured on Society6's shop. You can also get most of their art pieces as stretched canvases, skins for your devices, or prints :) If by some chance you are thinking of getting an iphone case in the near future for your fancy new white phone that comes out tomorrow, they are having a $5 off sale until Sunday.

Seahorse

Flight of the Elephants

Where the Hip Things Are

City in the Sky

babooshka doll folksy

30 day challenge summary

2011-04-25T10:57:00.000-05:00

Well the 30 day challenge ended last week and I passed with flying colors. Here is what I learned from that challenge:

1. It did encourage me to update the look of my blog, which I'm much happier with. Although, I see more changes coming in its appearance.

2. It is much easier to complete the 30 day blogging challenge with a smart phone. On days when I forgot to blog, I was able to type one up on the go.

3. I can do something for 30 days straight if I put my mind to it.

4. I'm still not a huge fan of blogging :P but, I do think I'll update more often than...well once a year.

Kolache revisited

2011-04-19T18:16:00.000-05:00

A few years back on my blog I posted my Grandpa Mudroch's kolache recipe. Well, after the holidays and having a blast baking them together, I have the new and improved recipe. Full of the secrets that only Grandpa knows :) And now you can know the secret to making perfect kolache as well.

Grandpa Mudroch's Kolache Recipe

"wouldnt be christmas without these. trick is to eat while warm, but not so hot that the filling burns your mouth."

1 cup softened butter (grandpa uses imperial margarine)
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
8 cups flour
1 cake compressed yeast OR 1 packet active dry yeast
2 cups lukewarm milk
1/4 tsp lemon peel
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp orange peel
sometimes Grandpa adds a dash of cinnamon, spices included just depends on what you like and what you have on hand :)
A can or two of your favorite pie fillings

This recipe works best with a warm bowl and warm eggs. Just toss an oven safe mixing bowl into the oven on the lowest heat it to warm everything up.

Put butter, spices and sugar in milk on oven on a low heat, you want the milk to be warm, not boiling...about 110 degrees F.

Put a 1/2c milk into the yeast and place both into a warm oven. You will know the yeast is ready because it will bubble up and start to look like a sponge.

Using your warmed bowl, cream butter, add the sugar, and the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Then add salt, spices, and the rest of the flour and the yeast mixture alternately. Mix well. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic and when pressed with a finger the indention pops back up.

Place dough in a bowl that has been sprayed with butter, also spray the top of the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm place to rise for an hour.

Note: It is very important that cool air not tough the dough while it is rising or it won't work properly. Grandpa used to make everyone stay inside or out while the dough was rising...no opening and shutting the doors :) For me I use my oven, I place the bowl on the lowest rack, (leave the oven off), and turn on the oven light, keeps the dough plenty warm.

After an hour has passed and the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough and roll it out to 1/2" to 1/4" thick on a floured surface. Cut kolache out with a cup or biscut cutter. Place your kolache onto butter sprayed cookie sheets. Cover once again and place back into a warm place to rise again for another hour.

After an hour has passed pull our your kolache and press in a thumbprint almost all the way thru the dough. Then and drop in filling (canned cherry, peach, apricot, etc.). At this point if you want you can add an egg wash to the kolache before baking to make them shiney.

Baking kolache in grandpa's kitchen, the dough has risen two times and I've started dropping in the filling.

Bake kolache at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on paper bags or cooling racks. Enjoy!

Crazy roommates

2011-04-18T11:44:00.001-05:00

I was just chatting with my friend about roommates and reminiscing about all the ridiculous roommates I had thru college. I am convinced the house I lived in had a beacon that sent signals out to crazy people to move in.

Craptastic chef: I had an HR major who turned out to be a horrible cook most of the time. Meals of canned beets and cheese were usual as well as a complete inability to create any box dinner. It's like the directions were in some ancient language and she magically destroyed any hamburger helper. If you walked into the house and there was an unusual smell...you know she was at the oven again!

Craptastic chef's biggest fail wasn't her cooking, no no...when she moved out she literally took every last role of toilet paper with her (including the ones currently in use by the toilets) because it had "sentimental value from a failed TPing expedition with her brother.

What cardboard? My only normalish roommate even had a cooking problem. Have a smokey smell coming from a pizza? Check to see the cardboard has been removed before the freezer pizza is tossed into the oven.

Still pink! I tried to cook pork for one of my roommates, she wouldn't eat it until it had been on the george forman for like 20 minutes...

Schedule queen: want to take a shower? well then you better write up when you want to use the shower on the handy dandy schedule on the shower mirror. and if you dare take a shower during an open slot on the mirror and DON'T schedule yourself in...be prepared for consequences.

Crazy roommates "painting edition": If you take away anything from this post, learn from my mistakes and don't let people paint their rooms. Things like keeping paint off the ceilings, clean lines around the trim, using more than one coat of paint to cover bright colors...I've learned these are not widely known painting rules. More interestingly I found that painting trim also has differing techniques. How silly of me to assume letting one of my roommates paint their own trim white while I did the rest of the house accordingly would turn out anything but a disaster. She literally painted around her furniture. So when she moved out I had nice big sections of peach trim.

Past roommates, thanks for making me appreciate my own place so much more, I'm sure I drove you nuts too as shower schedules and removing toilet paper made me a bit passive aggressive :)

Game of thrones

2011-04-17T21:13:00.001-05:00

As of episode one, seems like another excellent hbo show.

Springtime

2011-04-16T21:22:00.001-05:00

My house is becoming nice and clean. The grill is up and running for the first time this season. And I'm ending the day with Top Gear. Great spring saturday :)

Etsy Love: on the hunt for an iphone clutch

2011-04-15T09:19:00.005-05:00

I'll admit it, I love to have my phone with me. And although I do enjoy my giant red purse...sometimes, I just want to have the option of a clutch. Presently I have a teal clutch from Pier 1...no space for a phone. So I headed over to Etsy to start a search for some fabulous clutches. And instead of finding one I like...I found four. So without further ado, etsy love: iphone clutch style.

Rosebud Pleats Clutch by Lolos

Athena Clutch by lucends

Mindy Clutch (upcycled fabric) by cuppafog

Lydia Clutch by msnizbit

One of these days I'll narrow it down to my favorite of the bunch, I'll keep you posted. :)

Etsy Love: friedasophie

2011-04-14T08:57:00.002-05:00

I follow a lot of blogs. If you scroll thru my list you'll run across everything from design blogs to recipe sites, pretty things, hilarious ones, etc. Today I was playing on Bijou and Boheme and I had to show you the jewelry they are showcasing. (P.S. if you heart it, head over to her blog, she is doing a giveaway) As it is the last full week of the 30 day challenge, you're getting a double dose of etsy love :)

friedasophie, i'm in love with your green jewelry. if you want to see her other stuff hop over to Bijou and Boheme or her etsy store.

Limon prehnite green chalcedony gold raindrop earrings

Apple green chalcedony 14k gold pendant necklace

she does pieces that aren't green as well :) earrings

yummy stops in Irving

2011-04-13T09:25:00.000-05:00

Before I talk about food in Irving, lets talk road trip snacks. I don't know about you, but a road trip just isn't a road trip until I'm munching on Pull 'n Peel Twizzlers Cherry flavor. I don't think I've done a car trip since I was like five without twizzlers.

Yummy places to stop in Irving:
• La Madeliene i've got to find a recipe for their cold tomato basil pasta "salade"
• NYLO- The Loft Restaurant & Bar sit by the sushi bar, on a comfy couch, lounge outside, or in the pool. They have very tasty mozzarella & tomatoes.
• Corner Bakery Cafe giant pecan sticky bun...soooo yummy. breakfast of champions.

Any road trip favs?

One week to go

2011-04-12T13:28:00.001-05:00

7 days to go in the blogging challenge. Today I'm thankful for clariton and comfy okstate shorts. I'll be back tomorrow with a more thrilling post about places I ate in Irving.

Weekend in Texas

2011-04-11T10:00:00.001-05:00

Last weekend Nick & I visited Las Colinas, which is just a fancier way of saying...I went to Irving, TX. I have to admit, I picked the NYLO hotel because it looked cool and according to the map was 15 miles away from Six Flags and 12 away from Dallas World Aquarium. Little did I know what a charming, upscale town I'd plopped us in. If you are ever going to visit the Dallas area I'd highly suggest the NYLO hotel, it's right off the highway, and there are tons of shops and places to eat without having to fight terrible traffic :)

NYLO Hotel

The whole hotel is very modern, the lobby is flanked with these comfy egg chairs, I could have sat in them all day. So hanging these up in my dream home :)

Sunday we went to the Dallas World Aquarium. Their website leaves a lot to be desired...so I was expecting to walk into something like the aquarium near Tulsa, sooooo not the case! To get into the aquarium you have to go thru a winding path that goes thru a mini jungle they've planted outside. After you head up the stairs and open the door you are greeted with this, a giant atrium filled with hundreds of tropical birds and fish. The neat thing about Dallas's aquarium is they set it up like an eco system. So you see all the creatures native to the section you are walking thru, and a lot of the birds just get free rein of the place.

A jungle in Dallas.

Can you find the sloth? He's another one of the animals they don't have in a cage, he just hangs around and you can walk right under him :)

I fed this bird a blueberry :) He's got it all figured out lol, he just bends his head left or right depending on which little window pops open. If you can, go in the morning when the animals are being fed.

The aquarium holds so many amazing creatures. I love all the colors that naturally occur in coral reefs. And although I don't have a photo here, the jellyfish tank is very impressive. The whole tank is dark and the only thing that lights it are the jellys as they glow iridescent blue and green.

Don't let this photo fool you, this Japanese Spider Crab is MASSIVE! This one was easily 2-3 feet wide. Supposably they can grow up to 12 feet.

One of my favorite little guys, he was all about getting his picture taken :)

las colinas weekend

2011-04-10T20:35:00.001-05:00

I just got home from a weekend trip to the las colinas section of Texas. Great trip I'll put up some pics in the next few days :)

Poolga

2011-04-09T19:54:00.008-05:00

Feeling your iWhatever could use a better wallpaper? Tired of all the super lame ones online? Take a look at Poolga. I like to think of poolga as wallpapers by creative people for creative people. Now I understand not everyone has apple products...but either way the art on this site is a fabulous collection of illustrations. Constantly being updated with new illustrations, you can search by the device you use so only illustrations that will fit your device will be shown. I've even printed a few for my inspiration board in my office :) Below is just a sampling of the illustations. Have a great Saturday!

New Friend by Octavi Navarro

New Foe by Octavi Navarro

Pinocchio + Hansel and Gretel by Simone Massoni

Etsy Love: Restyleshop by handz

2011-04-08T09:00:00.043-05:00

Happy Friday! We've come to that time of the week again, etsy love :) By now you get the drill, so without further ado, this weeks etsy love is Restyleshop by handz. Based out of the Czech Republic, he creates bold colored illustrations that have a great since of humor.

Star Wars The Empire Strikes back, Scandinavian style

Have a great weekend!

social media done right

2011-04-07T10:13:00.000-05:00

National Geographic should win a prize for their new twitter accounts. You may remember last week on April Fools when I posted that I had found a yeti. I posted the same pic on twitter saying:

I have found a yeti, just took some cotton candy to lure him out http://yfrog.com/h42d9aqj

About an hour later the Abominable Snowman replied! Think you've found me? Prove it! http://on.natgeo.com/ifk0Wz

The link goes to NatGeo's Expedition Week (a series that has run this week on their cable channel) which includes an episode on finding the Abominable Snowman. I love when social media gets it right, how entertaining to advertise your show by responding to tweets. I assume they have some sort of google bot looking for hooligans like me claiming to have found a yeti, but it is still hilarious. Sign me up for the job of playing a yeti on twitter! If you go to MrAbominable on twitter you can see he has replied to hundreds of people. I particularly love how each tweet is unique, not some mass tweet to anyone who mentions yeti/abominable snowman.

MrAbominable is just the beginning of the new twitter accounts from NatGeo, they're also behind: TheJackRipper, HungryCannibal, and TheGladiatorMan.

Hats off NatGeo, you gave me a good laugh while advertising a series that interests me :)

Happy Wednesday!

2011-04-06T14:37:00.001-05:00

Today I'm off to the salon to update my "wild orchid" hair color. love the name of the dye, it is about the same vibrant pinkish purple that my jitterbug lip stain is from Josie Maran :)

I love salon days! Catch up with my stylist and leave lookin' sweet. Hope you are having a great day. The weather is so fabulous I can't wait to go play outside, a few hours to go!

green skittles

2011-04-05T14:16:00.000-05:00

taste the rainbow by Scarleth White

today i got into my candy dish full of easter themed funsize skittles, opened a bag and no green skittles were to be found! how dare they. vengeance was mine when i opened another one to rectify the problem ;)

a day at the park

2011-04-04T15:40:00.000-05:00

1. Raindrops applique shirt
2. Comfy sandals
3. Herringbone Roll-Up Shorts
4. pair of polarized smiths sunglasses
5. sun bum sunscreen
6. great color of nail polish, mad as a hatter (retired OPI color)
7. if you like pina colada...
8. del sol ring or 2...just for the color changing fun of it :)

Chopped all stars

2011-04-03T20:34:00.001-05:00

Ending the weekend with chopped all stars...can't wait to see who wins :)

fantastic sunscreen design: sun bum

2011-04-02T18:34:00.000-05:00

I can't tell you how many times I play on packaging websites like thedieline.com and find myself wishing I could buy a product because of its awesome packaging...and am instead stuck with an ugly version. Either thru large cooperations not being brave enough to try a new packaging design or so many people screwing with a design that the initial concept is lost. (see a great comic of how designs go wrong at the oatmeal).

Not so with Sun Bum! I ran across this display today at Summit. And although I haven't extensively tested their products yet (pool opens Tuesday), I have high hopes for the relatively new sunscreen brand (est. 2010).

Sun Bum is a small company based in Cocoa Beach, Florida with one concept in mind, "protect your lazy ass." They take pride in creating products that they trust to use on their own family and friends. I like how they don't sell tanning oils or tanning sunscreens since they aren't recommended by the skin cancer foundation. All the bottles have a woodgrain texture, and I love how when you look at their packaging it is easy to tell which bottle you want. The darker the woodgrain the less protection (lowest offered SPF 15), lighter woodgrain higher protection (up to SPF 70). Lastly, I ran across Lucky Bum...and decided...he needed to come live with me as my car mascot :) Rub his belly for "sunny days and better waves".

Sonny's happy to be my car's mascot :)

Etsy Love and a bit of fooling around

2011-04-01T11:41:00.000-05:00

I don't normally do too much on April Fools Day. If I do, I prefer the harmless entertaining types of pranks. Last year, one of my coworkers was gone the day before 4/1...making it just too easy. I took all his family photos out of their frames, scanned them, and gave them little tweaks. I Hasselhoffed a hiking pic, blackened out a few teeth in another, and put the spooky owl from The Fourth Kind in the background of a wedding pic. Hilarious. If you ever get a chance to photoshop your coworkers photos 4/1 or not, I'd suggest it for a good laugh :)

Now, onto Etsy Love.

This week I love the photography of elgarbo's Fine Art Prints. Based out of Sydney, Australia, this shop has a variety of prints ranging from surfing to Paris. Perhaps it is the super nice weather today, but my particular favorites are from the carnival series. I love the vintage feel of the photos and how I feel I can just hop right in and enjoy the festival. Right now the shop is running a buy one get one free sale on all 8x8 and 8x10 prints :)

Balloon Crazy, it's like UP only better! I'm ready to go run around with a pile of balloons :)

Lastly, while we are on the carnival theme...I figured out the secret to finding a yeti. Cotton Candy. They happily trot out of the woods for a photo op if you give them their favorite culinary guilty pleasure. :P

Happy April Fools!

Image links 1, 2, 3

My favorite sweets

2011-03-31T21:17:00.001-05:00

With all the lists popping up lately on the 30 day blogging challenge here is one of my favorite sweets. In no particular order...

1. s'mores
2. Lava cake (in the raw makes it best)
3. Salt water taffy (whatever flavor I got from sea world)
4. Frozen yogurt (orange leaf)
5. Orange thin mints...no longer sold, lame
6. No bake cookies (chocolate)
7. Arrow cookies
8. Chocolate covered peanut butter rice crispy balls (my grandmas)
9. 5 cent cinnamon candy canes
10. Mango keylime cheesecake (cheesecake factory)
11. Pecan pie (cosmo cafe's is the best)
12. Baklava

Do you have any favorites?

It's time for a mini celebration

2011-03-30T09:19:00.002-05:00

30 day bloggers...we are officially 1/3rd of the way thru! As a reward to myself, I'm going to print and assemble my next calendar of the month. What? Haven't heard of the Calendar of the Month Club?

Say hello to Curiosity Group. They are the brainchild behind the little foldable calendars of the month that I've had on my desk since January. Based in Portland, OR these guys put out little foldable crafts for everything from Megamind to college mascots. For those curious, they do non-foldable things too :) Check out some of their work here.

This month's calendar is in honor of Jazz Appreciation month. So celebrate your success and have fun making a record player.

Jazz Calendar

P.S. I plan on cheating and using my martha stewart circle cutter on the records, got to get some use out of the toys I bought for graphic design projects back in college ;)

a makeup palette

2011-03-29T13:54:00.001-05:00

This is my favorite makeup palette. My face is just another canvas on which I play.

1. Tender Rose Mineral Powder SPF 15 by Laura Mercier

2. Black Full Action Extreme Effect Mascara by Sephora

3. Zero 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil by Urban Decay

4. Original Photo Finish Foundation Primer by Smashbox

5. Orgasm/Laguna Highlighting/Bronzing Blush Duo by NARS

6. Jitterbug Magic Marker Lip & Cheek Stain by Josie Maran

7. Sweet Pink Super Shiny Lip Gloss by Burts Bees

8. X Eyeshadow by Urban Decay

9. Deluxe Shadow Box by Urban Decay

Do you have any go to makeup favorites?

Painting, my medium of choice

2011-03-28T09:14:00.000-05:00

Painting to me, is the most rewarding form of art. I may spend my days playing on the computer and putting out educational designs...but given the choice, I'd love to spend my days with a paint brush, some comfy clothes covered in paint, and my current playlist of choice. Admittedly apartments aren't the most accommodating for my favorite type of painting, murals. The last mural I did was actually years ago. Nowadays I do "smaller" pieces...maybe 4 feet across instead of an entire ceiling.

What makes painting more rewarding?
Instant gratification and the knowledge that no one else will ever be able to make what I've created. Painting is an experience. I get lost in the moment as the brush hits the canvas. I love manipulating the colors so that what is in my minds eye can be seen on canvas...and although I never know what the exact ending will be, I'm happy with the end creation. Graphic design is rewarding in that what I work on helps people, but it still doesn't have the same tactile experience as painting. I will admit to wishing I had photoshops "undo" button on numerous occasions painting...graphic design wins in the ease of fixing mistakes :P

Here are some pics of the last large mural I worked on, say hello to the then accurate solar system...since then Pluto has been removed from "planet"...but Pluto will always be a planet to me :)

While I have no idea if this painting is still around, I do know that the most rewarding moment for me was when we sold the house, the little boy who was moving into that room thanked my mom for his new "space room" and his parents said they'd bought him a bunch of space books. Educating thru art...truly more rewarding than the experience of painting for me.

I spent a week straight up on a ladder. I'm fairly certain Michelangelo used scaffolding on the sistine chapel...wimp ;)

painting supplies and a finished ceiling, the walls are Buzz Blaster Blue (best paint name ever?)

my sister's arm makes a cameo

as my brother is very scientific...we researched the exact number of moons for each planet. the sun is in the middle and from there the planets rotate out in order.

Spiced Aztec Cookies: baking day

2011-03-27T18:17:00.001-05:00

Today I got out my giant cookie roll and started cutting out my Spiced Aztec Cookies. For me I found the edge of my cookie roll to be very very crumbly...but after trying a few knifes...steak, saw, I settled on whatever the kitchaid aid one is called below...I find just slowly pushing the knife thru rather than sawing made cookies instead of crumbs pile.

just part of the crumbs pile...for a bit I wondered if I'd be making cookie crumble instead of cookies.

kitchenaid knife wins for cutting actual cookies...into the oven they go!

I'll admit that these cookies are a bit harder to tell when they are done than less chocolatey ones...for me I knew they were done because the kitchen really starts to smell like hot chocolate about 8 minutes in...9 minutes and out they came! (The recipe suggests 10...but my oven always runs hot...I can't tell you how many batches of cinnamon rolls I've burned when I forget that early in the morning lol) Ideally cookies are done when they start to brown on the bottom.

done cookies!

Like aztec hot chocolate...in a cookie form, when straight out of the oven you get a real kick of the cayenne pepper.
yum! I bet these would taste excellent as mini ice cream sandwiches.

Spiced Aztec Cookes: prep day

2011-03-26T16:44:00.008-05:00

Happy Saturday! I've loved all things Aztec since my first anthropology class...so when I saw a recipe called Spiced Aztec Cookies....I knew I had to try and make them. In Aztec stories chocolate, or xocolatl as they called it, was thought to be from their god Quetzalcoatl. Xocolatl was so important to the Aztec culture that the beans were even used as currency.

Below is my attempt at a step by step photo journal of Spiced Aztec Cookies. You'll note that mine are slightly different from the original recipe...I use MarieBelle Aztec Hot Chocolate, instead of chocolate chunks.

ingredients for Spiced Aztec Cookies

softened butter: if you are like me and forget to leave your butter out to soften,
just toss it in the microwave for a bit on low power...genius idea from my sister

add lightly packed brown sugar to softened butter

it's so fluffy!

I like to throw all my dry ingredients together and sift them, works to mix
dry ingredients and keeps there from being any clumps.

Just imagine a picture of dry ingredients mixing with the rest
of the wet ingredients (egg, vanilla) here.

MarieBelle Aztec Hot Chocolate....yum.

After adding in the Mariebelle Aztec Hot Chocolate my dough looks quite different
from The Three Cheeses....which I'm sure resembled....well cookie dough,
mine I feel looks like ground beef :P

Ground beef ....I mean chocolate cookies being formed into a log and tossed into the fridge.
Pretend my kitchen is spotless like Giada de Laurentiis would have hers at this point ;)

Will these taste good? Will the Aztec gods be pleased with my baking? Who knows, I do know that chocolate cookies would be a new flavor for them, as the Aztecs didn't add sugar to their xocolatl, nor was it used in baking.

Etsy Love: My Lavaliere

2011-03-25T09:01:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday! Welcome to the 3rd week in the Etsy Love series where I show things on Etsy that I love. Who knows, maybe you'll find some Etsy loves as well. Today's Etsy Love is My Lavaliere, this shop specializes in handmade vintage inspired trinkets. She has necklaces, rings, headbands, etc. While I find a lot of shops try to make this style of art, for me hers stands out since the trinkets always feel balanced. The colors and scale of the coordinating charms work together to create a work of art that tells a story on their own.

Here is some of her work:

I love this necklace, in fact, it made a great present for my hairdresser :)

Scissor necklace vintage style brass long

Explorer compass ring brass filigree

I hope you guys have a great weekend! Assuming I can drag myself from reading Chocolat and playing Little Big Planet 2 I'll be back tomorrow with some baking. Aztec chocolate chip cookies based on a recipe from The Three Cheeses, I haven't made them before...so it will be a fun experiment :)

50s illustrations with a side of dark humor

2011-03-24T14:56:00.000-05:00

I absolutely love 1950s advertising. The cheesecake factor to me is just hilarious. The artistry involved...fabulous, no photoshop back then kids!

1949 Maidenform ad I found ran across searching for firefighter pics

Not that these ads need help being hilarious...but, bluntcard.com has taken the 50s imagery and given them a new dark humored life. Below is one of my favorites. Happy Thursday!

In my imaginary closet: H&M edition

2011-03-23T16:46:00.000-05:00

After seeing Creature Comforts blog create an "imaginary closet" post, I decided to do my own. Mine differs slightly in that instead of being "wishful thinking price is no matter" mine is, "If I had an H&M near by....these things would be in my closet." H&M fans that don't live near a store (like me) you'll be happy to know that according to their twitter online shopping in the USA should be up and running either late 2011 or early 2012 :) You bet I'll have that online shop bookmarked!

I played on their online fashion studio that lets you be the fashion director. I'd be set for the office or a day playing in the park in this comfy outfit.

P.S. In my imaginary closet, shoes are always comfy and fit size seven wide feet.

What is in your imaginary closet?

Caffeine for the Creative Mind

2011-03-22T15:08:00.003-05:00

Caffeine for the Creative Mind

When I need something to get my creative juices flowing, this book is fabulous! Full of tons of little activities to get you going. I find a little doodling can go a long way to jump start my day. So far my favorite was my restaurant design. "Kiss the Lucky Egg Eatery" based on Cool Runnings. I think of it as an breakfast eatery with egg shaped chairs, and a quirky jamaican vibe brought thru in bright accent colors that bounce off the walls. The outside, white like the lucky egg.

Need a jump start to your day? In the book they have a paragraph followed by your task. Here is a paraphrased example: Make a list of 30 things you would find in a mad scientist's lab. Here's mine! Highlights include having a cd & mp3 of Skullcrusher Mountain by Jonathan Coulton, squid launcher, and brain freeze ice cream.

(click image to enlarge)

And as I hit "publish post" I will officially have broke my record of the last 30 day challenge by making it two days straight :)

30 day challenge: take 2

2011-03-21T11:14:00.000-05:00

The 30 day challenge is here! Lets see if I can break my record of one day last time around :)

Do you tweet and like scavenger hunts? Then you should join me in a photo scavenger hunt hosted by playlookit.

Playlookit's website shows everyones pics and you can vote on your favs!

All you have to do is sign up, take a picture on your cell phone, and email it from your phone to their site. I've set it up so my photo then uploads automatically from playlookit to twitter. Rules are you have to take the photo the day of the challenge and don't take photos of screens (computer/tv/etc). Other than that you can't make a wrong choice. Todays challenge is bowl...and I'm on the hunt for a great one :)

Etsy love: yeti

2011-03-18T13:35:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday! I hope you guys had a great St. Patrick's Day, personally I watched Destination Truth live from Ireland :) Destination Truth is a show on the SyFy channel that goes hunting monsters like the banshee or yetis. I like how the show finds the humor in what they do, while still leading a serious investigation. You also learn great travel trips: like if all else fails you can always find Pringles to eat anywhere in the world. Watch Josh Gates, Ryder and crew starting next Tuesday at 8pm.

Since we are on the topic of Monsters, meet Harry Larry the Yeti Monster from blupony808, this weeks Etsy love. Monsters have never been so cute until Katie started creating them.

This yeti is a bit cuter than the one Josh Gates and crew found evidence of near Nepal.

Have a great weekend, I'll be back Monday with the start of the 30 day blogging challenge.

happy friday!

2011-03-11T10:13:00.006-06:00

Ever heard of a 30 day blogging challenge? Well starting on March 21, I, along with some other blogging hooligans are going to blog for 30 days straight. Want to join in the fun? Leave a link to your blog and I'll add it to the list of people to follow. Lets see if I can beat my last attempt in 2009 where I didn't even make it 2 days straight :P

Blogs to follow:
There's Only Ever One Bonnie
The Naked Wife
MattieLynn Media

So lets dust off the old blog and start a new friday feature. Etsy love. Visit every friday and get introduced to an artist on etsy whose work I love. Who knows, maybe you'll be introduced to some new of your new etsy loves :)

For our first etsy love let me introduce the work of Blanca Gomez, you can check out her shop cosas minimas on etsy. All of her prints just leave me smiling. Below is her print "Mademoiselle under the rain", I love the rainbow of colors falling from the sky :)

Have a great weekend!

I love baking

2011-02-16T10:39:00.001-06:00

As Monday was valentines day, I thought I'd share my newest love...baking...with you :) Here are a few fun things I've done since January. Let's just say...when I get snowed in, I bake.

Kolaches: updated recipe coming sooner than the 6 months or so I normally have between post.

Mini pies! Idea from not Martha's blog. When I make them, I like to use criso's pie crust recipe. Depending on how many mini pies you want to make, you can choose how much pie crust dough you'll need. Normally, I just make a few so I use the single crust recipe. For fillings I either use premade pie filling, or just toss some fresh fruit in some corn starch and sugar.

Green bay packer cookies, because my team totally rocked this year. I may have brought a bunch of packer helmet cookies to work after the superbowl...GO PACK GO!

Hot pink rice krispy treats :) If you ever want to cut out rice crispy treats in shapes, I like to use metal cookie cutters sprayed with some pam to keep them from sticking to the treats.

New blog look, now with pages!

2010-06-18T10:46:00.000-05:00

To get me moving on blogging I've revamped the site. I'm really into lomography photos and subtle backgrounds now...as such, ta-dah new ruth blog! I'm still working on getting all the kinks out, like all the photos in the design slides to be the same width :P

Happy Friday, lets get the weekend rolling with Snoop Dogg's tribute to Sookie Stackhouse lol

Oklahoma summers

2010-06-17T10:24:00.011-05:00

Well, I'm not going to win any awards for blogging regularly...but, I'm back :) I just uploaded the blogger app to my iPhone, so we will see if that facilitates more updates, for more Ruth friendly 140 character updates you can visit my Twitter.

And now for some of my favorite parts of Oklahoma summers :)

P.S. I have no clue why there is so much space between pics...if there still is after this update lol

It's been a while...

2010-04-12T13:07:00.000-05:00

It's been like forever since I've updated un here. So, hows about a quick game of catch up?

To help encourage working out I got EA Games Sport Active, I love it. I've also enjoyed all the nice weather that has finally returned making walking around the lake and reading outside both very appealing activities. This month I've finally started cooking most of my meals from scratch, and what do you know, I'm loving it! There is something fun about doing everything yourself instead of buying it premade. Better portion sizes, healthier, fresher, cheaper. All wins in my book! I love having fresh produce on hand and have been making sure to snack on that instead of other less healthy alternatives like my kryptonite, Reese's Pieces.

In other news CS5 was globally announced today, looks to have some interesting features if any of them actually work the way they are supposed to. For me, I'll have to use the trial version before I decide how much I need the upgrade. Presently my computer at home is too old to run it anyways. Long live my Powerbook G4. I'm fairly certain it would crash with CS5.

Have a great week!

snow days!

2010-02-01T12:48:00.008-06:00

Until today the last day of work for me was Thursday ending at noon. As such, I found myself iced into my apartment for almost 4 days. What to do? Well, let me tell you I have no trouble amusing myself with snow and lots of free time. In no particular order...

1. Obligatory photo to my friend in Iowa to prove to her that I indeed had more ice (3 inches thick outside) than she has in her freezer.

2. Testing take-out and icy weather. I phoned up Papa Johns Thursday night and sure enough crappy weather can't keep them away. In fact, they did record breaking time and got my pizza to me in not 1 hour 15 or an hour (as they'd guessed) but 30 min! And, of course it was very tasty.

3. I found when I have an abundance of free time I love baking! I made homemade garlic bread one night. I used the bread machine for the bread and then mixed up my own garlic spread with a myriad of spices in my cupboard. Not going to lie, creating my own butter shaped like a cube, was fabulous. Just takes softened butter, spices and then shape with saran wrap and chill.

4. I took advantage of the snow running around like a 1st grader, making snow angels, and having a few snowball fights with Nick.

5. Still in the baking mood I looked through the cupboards and made oatmeal raisin cookies with some disgusting Kashi oatmeal packets I bought a while back thinking it was "healthy". While the cookies where not my favorite, (as I could still taste the Kashi honey flavoring) they turned out surprisingly well and Nick likes them. :)

6. I beat all the levels of the puzzle levels on Scribblenauts (Nintendo DS), now to go through and do the levels that have the starlite showing to begin with...

7. I actually cleaned the place! Like grandma clean (aka so very spotless) I even took apart the vacuum and fixed the stupid thing to work ~~better~~ at all.

Now I just need it to warm up a little bit so I can go make a nice big snowman with my snowman making kit.

German apple pancakes

2010-01-16T13:49:00.002-06:00

This morning I made Nick and I German apple pancakes. My mom often created these at my house on Sunday mornings when I was a kid. I also went all out and made fresh squeezed orange juice and am feeling like quite the chef :)

And as I've learned from previous tasty posts, here is the recipe in case you want to enjoy one of our household favorites.

Today I made it with 3 apples (pick any of the red kinds) in an 8x11 pan. The edges will puff up (in my case today the corners puffed up above the pan) and brown like the pic below when they are done.

German Apple Pancakes
4 eggs
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c. margarine or butter
2 medium apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Heat oven to 400, Place 2 round layer pans, 9x1-1/2 inches, in oven. Beat eggs, flour, milk, and salt in small mixer bowl on medium speed 1 minute. Remove pans from oven. Place 2 Tbsp. margarine in each pan; rotate pans until margarine is melted and coats sides of pans.

Arrange half the apple slices in each pan; divide batter evenly between pans. Mix sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle 2 Tbsp. of sugar mixture over batter in each pan. Bake uncovered until puffed and golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Serve immediately.

P.S. for extra sugary goodness, we always eat these with some syrup.

A year in review

2010-01-04T14:39:00.003-06:00

The past year I've done quite a few things

Was a new graphic design graduate, looking for my "big girl" job. Worked at Stillwater Living Magazine and the PR office at OSU's Edmon Low Library. Got my big girl job and started at Fire Protection Publications as a senior graphic designer on 4-20.
Got to meet Chip Kidd!
Lost a little weight...if anything I didn't gain any more :D
Moved to my own apartment with Nick.
Put up my first christmas tree at said apartment with my great-grandma muds ornaments
Bought my first car 2009 Honda Civic, I love it!
Made a bunch of new friends at my new office.
Kept in touch with my old friends.

2010 is a time to start even more fun, thoughts for the new year.

Stay up to date with new designs.
Join a design group or hell, maybe start up my own in Stillwater. I know I'm not the only designer here :)
Work on my patience/keeping positive...perhaps I'll do a joy drive down Main Street during rush hour for fun.
Send out more letters, mail is becoming an art form of the last century, I'm bringing it back! receiving letters is fun and besides, even though the stamp price has gone up hand delivering something for $.44 is really quite amazingly cheap.
On that same note, I'm thinking of sending some cookies to people, just for the fun of it.
And as with everyone else on the planet, I'm going to work on being a healthier person.

Designer Wish List

2009-12-17T14:22:00.013-06:00

Otherwise known as, nifty things designers like me like :)

To be fair, Nick and I have already celebrated christmas and I love everything. But, if ever you wonder "what does a designer find nifty?" now you'll know what at least one of us finds very fun. Will I ever get these things? Most likely no, but that is why it is a wish list.

1. "Control z" pillows. The one thing on this list I actually do have. Fun story, I had them custom made on etsy from PillowHappy, and now she sells them! I knew I wasn't the only one who would find these pillows nifty :D www.etsy.com/shop/pillowhappy

2. Really though, "control z" anything, like these resin necklaces from Plastique. www.etsy.com/shop/plastique

3. Kernie! He's a adorable, huggable, type loving monster from www.veer.com Problem with veer.com? too expensive! As such, he'll stay on the wish list forever :D

4. Typography calendar from Pentagram. Every year the design firm Pentagram puts out a clean calendar with different fonts featured each month, complete with font bios!

http://pentagram.com/en/new/2009/10/pentagram-2010-typography-cale.php

5. Another veer.com find that will stay on the list forever, uppercase scarf. It comes in black or white and is laser cut out of the fabric. Very nifty :)

6. Another plastique item from etsy.com is the kern rings...I find the hot pink ones the most adorable, but I haven't seen them in that color for a while, so to get them you'll probably have to get them custom made by the seller.

Kolache recipe

2009-12-16T14:38:00.007-06:00

By popular demand, I give you Grandpa Mudroch's kolache recipe :)

"wouldnt be christmas without these. trick is to eat while warm, but not so hot that the filling burns your mouth."

1 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
8 cups flour
1 cake compressed yeast (also called cake yeast, wet or fresh. I couldn't find it and just used regular fast rise yeast packet last time...tastes fine...just doesn't make the kolache as light)
2 cups lukewarm milk
1/2 lemon rind, grated (i just zest most of a lemon)

Crumble yeast, add milk, and a cup of the flour and set aside to rise in a warm place. Cream butter, add the sugar, and the eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition, then add salt, lemon, and the rest of the flour and the yeast mixture alternately. mix well, and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Set aside in a warm place, until doubled in bulk. Punch down, roll 1 inch thick on floured board, cut with biscuit cutter, and place close together in a buttered pan. Let rise until very light. Dip fingers in flour and make a cavity in the center of each biscuit, and drop in filling (canned cherry, peach, apricot, etc.). Back at 375-400 degrees for 15- 20 minutes.

Notes: I put the temp at 375...the kolache turn a light golden color when fully baked. Larger ones take 20 min, smaller 15. Be sure to butter the pan instead of using something like parchment paper, I don't know why but, they are yummier that way. Also...1 inch thick for the fast rise yeast yielded some rather large kolache (see previous post, I have to admit the size was also due to me using a larger circle) 3/4 inch thick is plenty. The filling is just any pie filling you like, the ones I made are blueberry, but cherry is also very popular at my house. Lastly, when you take them out of the oven, we always set them on brown paper bags to cool. You can get paper bags free at places like Food Pyramid with your groceries, just cut them open to lay flat :)

kolache

2009-12-15T22:13:00.002-06:00

made my mudroch grandparents kolache today. it was the first time i made them and i learned the recipe has a few kinks...like the size of them being technically smaller than what the recipe says. but, they do taste good :) i just have some that are large enough for godzilla himself.

forgot day 2

2009-12-10T08:28:00.002-06:00

so i'll post this morning to try to keep my missed days on the low end :)

yesterday i taught my friend to use ILL :) now there will be another cool kid not buying books.

I love being a graduate

2009-12-08T14:58:00.005-06:00

I'd like to take a moment of silence and reflect on how much I love no longer studying for finals.

*pauses a moment*

yep, I love being a graduate :D it's been a whole year and I still am excited to not have finals anymore. I guess that is a side effect of this being the first year I can remember without school.

Today I put snuck into Nick's car while he was at work and placed inside his favorite Peach-Os and Strawberry Puffs candies with a "good luck on finals" note. I always remember treats making finals week more bearable.

Best of luck to anyone with finals, you'll be done before you know it!

Who needs a road?

2009-12-07T13:26:00.005-06:00

Currently reading:

Who Needs a Road: the Story of the Longest and Last Motor Journey Around the World.

This book, which I got on loan from ILS is a great, true story following a couple guys as they drive around the world. Interestingly, although the book was most recently printed in 1999 and the South Carolina library that I rented it from got it in 2000 I appear to be the first reader of its stiff, soft-cover bound genius.

A great story about a group of guys back in the 60s who were the last guys to drive around the world. Presently a guy named Nicolas Rapp is trying to do the first Trans-world expedition since those guys went. Nicolas was an art director at the AP before he decided to take a year hiatus for the trip. As of this morning he was in Huehuetenango Guatemala. One of the guys from the original expedition told him the trip could no longer be done...I personally believe they enjoy being the last ones to go around the world. However, there are a lot of things that could happen. If you want to follow his journey his blog is: http://transworldexpedition.com/

Nicolas is also on twitter, he updates as he hits different towns, his twitter account is: Trans_World

He is taking a different route, and a different technique. Whereas the guys from the 60s took 2 cars for a lot of the trip and a pop-up camper. Nathan is taking a Toyota Landcruiser, which, already in the first few weeks of his trip has given him a lot of grief. Then again, compared to how many times the 1960s group were fixing the camper in just the first 120 pages of the nearly 500 in the book...I think he'll have better luck. He has a tent that pops up on-top of his Landcruiser, which you can see pictures of on his blog that he updates at least a couple times in a week.

30 day blogging fail

2009-12-06T08:58:00.000-06:00

Was having way to much fun playing with a Wii and forgot to blog yesterday. However lame that is I'm still proud of myself for doing waaaaay better at the challenge this time around than the last.

happy friday!

2009-12-04T14:03:00.007-06:00

i find my biggest problem with daily blogging is that i don't always have anything interesting to say daily that require more than 140 characters of text, like say twitter uses :D

so, i'll do 5 things that prove i'm a dork, as if I needed any proof.

1. I love Mariah Carey's christmas cd

2. I plan on watching "Holly's World" on E! this weekend, it's a new show about hef's ex-girlfriend Holly Madison. yeah, i'm that awesome :D

3. the other day I was at hastings cheering about Spore being available for Wii, not 20 seconds later a 2 year old walked over and jumped up and down cheering about, you guessed it! the same game as me!

4. I bought a box of $.86 candy canes for my tree, not because i particularly like them, more because i like the way they look on a christmas tree.

5. I can't pronounce the name of my favorite candy, but the peach gummy candy awesomeness is too great to care...here is a pic of the bag though :P Each yummy gummy is about an inch in diameter and comes individually wrapped in a pink package with more letters I can't read.

my yummy peach gummy awesomeness as seen in front of my alphabet wall.

Have a great weekend!

Another day at the office

2009-12-03T15:04:00.000-06:00

Say hello to Pussy Galore, she is one of 6 Bond girls that decorate my office :)

fireman hat

2009-12-02T15:06:00.004-06:00

Today I've spent making a lot fireman hats via trial and error. About half way through the project I remembered when my mom used to tell a story about johnny who wanted to be a sailer. You tell the story while you fold a piece of paper back and forth. It works best with a large piece of paper, for my examples i'll use 11x17, which is really too small. When you use a larger piece of paper you can put the hats onto a kids head while you tell the story. Which, coincidentally, makes the hat look more "fireman like" than it does by itself. The story:

Once upon a time there was a boy named johnny and he wanted to be a sailer.
(fold sailer hat out of paper)

But Johnny's mom wanted him to be a fireman
(fold up one side of the hat)

But Johnny really wanted to be a sailer.
(fold up other side of hat)

But Johnny's mom really wanted him to be a fireman
(fold up one end of hat)

But Johnny, he decided to be a sailer.
(fold up other end of hat and pull out sides to reveal boat)

Johnny sailed and sailed around but one day a big storm hit and he lost the front of his boat.
(rip off one side of boat)

But Johnny was such a good sailer he kept sailing, and then another huge storm came and he lost another part of his boat.
(rip other side of boat off)

Johnny, he was such a good sailer, he kept on sailing anyways. But then, another storm hit Johnny's boat.
(tear out the middle point inside the boat. Let drop to floor and unfold)

Now all that is left of poor Johnny is his t-shirt.

this is truly a morbid story thinking of it now lol, but I loved it as a kid! I guess the lesson is listen to your mom or go to Davy Jones' locker. ;)

Post for posting sake

2009-12-01T18:06:00.006-06:00

here is a post for postings sake. i am half way to making a whole month blogging! Which will be the first time i've ever blogged this much in my life. I'm proud.

I'm so happy the holiday season is here, I love christmas. Last year I made the worlds greatest gingerbread house, courtesy of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer gummis!

Here is the abominable snowman :)

and Rudolph! (a great name if you ask me...even my dad's middle name! and my grandpas name)

Oh Christmas tree...

2009-11-30T10:39:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I bought a $35 prelit 6'5" tree from walmart to put in nick and my apartment. It pains me to admit walmart had the best tree size for our place (very narrow) but I got over that quickly once I put all the decorations up :)

Admitably I first bought a prelit tree at lowes only to get it home and find 1/3 of the lights not working...ugh, cue angry eyes from me. At least I hadn't put the ornaments on yet.

Anyways, here is our tree :) I'll get better pics later, these are from my phone.

And here is one of my great grandmas ornaments, I have a bunch on the tree from my grandpa Mudroch

a cruise boat ornament nick got us a while back, it finally got a tree

Finally, since I put up a big tree, mini-me tree is now taking refuge at my office :)

Almost to Stillwater

2009-11-29T14:48:00.000-06:00

I am on the last leg of the journey. I'll be glad to sleep in my own bed tonight. I'll also be glad to be out of spotty Internet so when I write a long blog, say about how much the taco bell/kfc place sucked outside Kansas city...it will actually post.

- Posted from the road, car trip status :)

Family car trip going well

2009-11-28T11:42:00.000-06:00

Trip is going great, everyone survived so far :) grandmas 80th party went off without any major issues. Only thing that happened was we blew a fuse with the pulled pork.

Next up Williamsburg outlet center.

- Posted from the road, car trip status :)

9 million people at walmart

2009-11-27T05:42:00.000-06:00

Well I didn't know there were this many people in and around platteville. But, we got my dad and nicks bluray players :)

We successfully navigated the sea of carts!

- Posted from the road, car trip status :)

Last post not so much working

2009-11-26T19:50:00.000-06:00

No connection, maybe this will work, maybe not.

Happy thanksgiving! Tomorrow off to black Friday sales :)

- Posted from the road, car trip status :)

On the road again...

2009-11-25T12:47:00.000-06:00

We just made it into Iowa. Car trip family bingo is a hit, no winners yet but as soon as someones electronic device has a battery failure nick will get a bingo :)

A pic of the weary travelers:

- Posted from the road, car trip status :)

Mudroch Family Vacation

2009-11-24T11:05:00.004-06:00

It's that time of the year! To wisconsin!

I need to finish packing, running errands and get everything in the car and ready to go. I finished family bingo today, that should be exciting. I'll keep you posted on how people like/don't like the cards :P

Oh mini me Christmas tree

2009-11-23T17:29:00.000-06:00

It's my mini me Christmas tree!

Stockings were hung by the chimney with care

2009-11-22T15:01:00.002-06:00

Yesterday my mom and I went shopping all over town to finish finding things for my brother's Christmas presents. We also found some new Christmas decorations on sale at khols. Check out the new and improved stockings :)

We got a bunch of stockings and a matching tree skirt. Looks great! I used my iron skills to put names on them.

Today I'm just spending cleaning and cleaning nick and my place. Can't put up decorations in this pit!

Twilight zone..que the theme song and the kanamits

2009-11-21T00:04:00.000-06:00

Tonight was a great evening with Nick before I head over to my parents to help set up holiday decorations this weekend. We hit up Thai Cafe and decided to go see a new release at the theatre. I know what you're thinking...must be Twilight!!!

That my friend is where you'd be wrong. If I'd been smart I'd have taken photos as I maneuvered my way through the crowd at Carmike. It was so stuffed I felt like I was at a mosh pit for some rock concert, only instead of happy faces all I saw was glares as I said "excuse me, excuse me No! I'm not here for Twilight!" I think in fact I said that exact line about 50 times as Nick and I were there to watch Planet 51 and all the Twilight fans were convinced that I was out to get better seats in their theatre. I proudly shoved them out of my way with the "I'm not here to Twilight" line, and I'll tell you the closer you get to the front, the more you hear things like "How rude!!!" and general whispers of annoyance at my lack of Twilight friendly conduct. You'd think I was K-stew sleeping with sparkle man himself from the looks Nick and I got. But, alas we made it into the threatre along with like 8 other people. (of the 8...2 were snoring by the end of the flick and laying out across numerous seats, but I have to admit that is preferred to screaming children any day. And to clarify, those sleeping were NOT CHILDREN) I thought Planet 51 was a cute movie, there is something funny about us being the aliens out to eat brains and destroy civilizations. :)

Anyways whenever I wake up in the next hours of this Saturday I'm sure to have a fun day at the family house. I always love setting up the christmas tree. Have a great saturday!!!

This time next week: 80th Birthday time!

2009-11-20T08:43:00.006-06:00

First, I'd like to announce that I have totally dominated this web-coding and now "read more" actually takes you to the rest of the post. Ok...back to 80th Birthday fun! Thanks to working a couple years at the Edmon Low Library through the Cobb dinner series, I know how to throw a party :) The last months have been spent making lots of phone calls on everything from booking the location, to invite design (hey, just because I design them doesn't mean I get no design input), and catering and the list goes on.
Grandma (Margaret Graves) senior photo recolored. I love photoshop!

Luckily I found an AWESOME caterer who is pretty much able to do everything from the food to cakes (like a giant angel food cake!) which, makes my life much less stressful seeing as I have no way to go to Wisconsin to see if everything is going as planned. I figured my grandma knowing who the caterer is and raving about her was a good sign, my grandma the chef...if she likes someone then I am good to go! We're heading up on tuesday night (by we I mean Dad, Mom, me, Lynn, Robbie, and Nick) I'm not sure we're all we are going to stop, but I'll be sure to keep all the highlights like car bingo, the giant toilet brush in cedar rapids (city of 5 seasons tree...when you see it you'll understand!), and me eating my weight in cheese curds up for your entertainment. I'll try to get a pic up of my grandma's invite before the day is out and special thanks to the library for letting me borrow the orange berry branches!

Christmas music album covers...

2009-11-19T15:22:00.013-06:00

Is it possible for them to have anything above terrible design?

I'll give you there are a few exceptions but on the whole Christmas albums are HORRIBLY designed. ~~Designers~~ Macrap artists...CEASE AND DISIST! I rest my case in the images that follow.

1. clip art+terribly creepy bluish dead toned face=

2. I have no explanation except that I think I ~~might~~ will need therapy to get this image out of my head.

3. I think he's thinking..."what kind of candy is best for picking up children in my white van with no windows this season?"

4. Why give any attempt to cut out an image when you can use microsoft paint instead!

5. The phrase, "just because you can doesn't mean you should" comes to mind.

New blogging competition:new blog design

2009-11-18T11:23:00.003-06:00

I decided it was time for a new blog design...stay with me, I'm sure it will take a few days to get all the kinks out of it. I found a blog template I liked the main design and now I'm taking their parts into photoshop one by one and remaking them to my liking...aka no red and no weird looking snake that says "cracked blog design out his mouth. You'll notice the top has already been changed to say "clear as mud" sans snake :P

So, at this point as I haven't fixed the entire background image the blog will be best viewed at 1024 width, but, I figure I'll get the rest straightened out soon. Having very little web skills my blog redo is defiantly going to be trial and error.

Vendors in the mall make it more lively

2009-11-17T13:01:00.006-06:00

Yesterday night my sister and I decided to go to Edmond, pick up my mom and head to the mall for some christmas shopping. Anymore you can't walk anywhere without the mall guys haggling you over trying their new hair extensions or cosmetics or as the case may be weighted pillows.

Annoying mall haggler: Would you like to try one of these weighted pillows?

Me: No thanks I already have like 7 or 8.

Annoying mall haggler: really? which ones?

Me: oh, i have them in all sorts of designs.

I'm sure I left him scratching his head thinking he's never sold any of these let alone 7 or 8 to one person.

My mom has these "weighted lap pads" in her classroom, which are literally what he is selling. They are soothing for the autistic children to have the weight on their laps...but all of her kids like them.

Wouldn't that guy be surprised if I showed him not only do I have like 7 or 8, but really I have like 20-30, in different colors, holiday patterns, and sizes :D He ought to know that his real competition is my grandma, who makes them for my mom for free lol. We kept walking quickly the other way so my mom could laugh over me already having "7 or 8".

In other news, had lunch with Bonnie and Val, they are always full of hilarious stories and I'm surprised we got any eating done between giggling.

Testing

2009-11-16T10:12:00.000-06:00

Decided that blogging daily would require the use of my phone seeing as Internet is not going to be an option for the 12 hour car trip.

P.S. Take that blogging challenge (assuming this app works that will be 2 posts in one day) :)

Photo from last weeks Ruth and mom car trip :) you can hear more about that from my Twitter

Monthly blog take 2

2009-11-16T08:15:00.005-06:00

Well, seeing as I've neglected my blog for...months, Bonnie & Val's thought to start another monthly blog seemed like a great excuse to start up again. So here I am.

This weekend I pretty much finished christmas shopping, which, for someone like me who usually is more of a last minute shopper is a new accomplishment. On the topic of christmas shopping, I thought what fun it would be to get Nick a non-corny scuba diver ornament. (It just sounded like fun) little did I know what site I would run across trying to find one! I kept finding blogs/forums suggesting "December Diamonds" as a great place to find said ornament. They had a scuba ornament...although between his glittery blue speedo and rhinestone incrusted air tank I had to pass. But then I came across this gem...feast your eyes on Clint the Cowboy-merman. His 8" tall glory is sure to be a real winner for all your holiday needs!

Apparently this site makes mermaids out of just about anything you can think of...ranging from Blaze the firefighter merman to golfers and a mojito drinker (he comes complete with all the ingredients as well as a yellow flowered lea)

Lest you feel left out, it appears every year they hold a contest for new ideas! This years winner was some hippie mermaid.

Happy Holidays and let the one month blogging challenge begin!!!

Ken for Leah!

2009-08-17T14:20:00.023-05:00

Convinced I can find a better "guy" for my friend Leah than the last few winners, I went to look for a Ken doll at Wal-Mart...to my dismay they all look like Zach Morris, tools.

Which spurred on the idea to look on eBay, where I found these GREAT finds!

1. Sun Lovin' Malibu Ken, with Peek-a-boo tan lines.

2. Shaving Fun Ken(who I'm convinced looks like Spencer Pratt and his creepy flesh colored beard).

3. Glitter Beach Ken (the cut-off shirt really adds back the manliness that the glitter takes away).

4. Jewel Secrets Ken (perhaps he unveils the secret of where Ken's Jewels have been all these years).

Decidedly, I think the reason Ken has so much trouble looking manly, could be his complete lack of parts in his nether regions.

Conclusion: Finding a manly Ken doll is impossible...on to GI JOE.

Take that power outage!

2009-08-11T08:40:00.004-05:00

Last night right before the storm hit, I ran in for a quick couple items at Food Pyramid.

As I checked out the power flickered...ergo rendering the card swipe machine unusable.

The cashier said I could use a check.

I wrote it in record-breaking time...and the instant that the check went through the power went out.

SUCCESS!!! I am the power outage winner. Take THAT Oklahoma weather!

(and yes, in the complete darkness that was Food Pyramid, I threw up my arms victoriously and cheered)

however, I did still get to stay in the store a few minutes while admiring the waterfall cascading on the inside of the windows of the store. Lovely water feature really :)

Cheers!

Ruth

p.s. to the gal behind me in the checkout line from Maine who has been here a whopping day or two before seeing what Oklahoma weather can do, Welcome to tornado alley!

The Things I'll do for a Cake Pan...

2009-08-08T23:20:00.004-05:00

It all started off with Nick's usual birthday request...an angel food cake. This year I decided that since he has asked for it every year we've been together, it is time I get my own damn pan :)

Who knew that would be so difficult??? I give you the condensed story of my travels for a cake pan.

It all started off at regular stores in Stillwater, Wal-mart and Food Pyramid. I go to these places early in the week on a search for Nick's angel cake pan. Since I plan on making these often, I decide I want a cake pan with the little feet so I don't have to try and balance the cake pan on a wine bottle while it cools for the rest of the duration of that cake pan's life.

I want: this cake pan...

complete with it's convenient little feet. Well Wal-mart and food pyramid only have the cheap/crappy cake pans without the little feet (if one at all). So I move on to Murphy's in Stillwater...fancy cookware place. They are all sold out of all angel cake pans. At this point Nick assures me that we'll just get one this weekend while we are in OKC for his birthday dinner.

Problem with that idea that I don't realize until I'm in OKC Saturday (today for 30 more min) that it is TAX FREE weekend....again...didn't realize.

So we go to OKC from Stillwater today straight to where I know I'll find my trusty cake pan. Penn Square Mall's Williams Sonoma. After driving around the parking lot for a frustrating 45 minutes I give up...this is when the tax free thing starts to hit me...so I figure we'll go to Quail Springs mall, less busy. After fighting traffic and a couple stop lights that were broken we make it there, actually find parking and head into the mall. I tried every store that could have our cake pan...Sears, Dillards, Macy's, JcPenny...etc. They to either don't have it at all, are sold out (what is this angel cake day??? or have the cheap crappy wal-mart ones with no feet. I didn't drive all the way to OKC for a cheap crappy angel cake pan).

Getting aggrivated Nick and I head back to the car and do the only sensable thing when an angel cake pan is no where to be found in town #2, we head to town #3!

Calling ahead to the Williams Sonoma in Utica Park in Tulsa the lady thinks I am critically insane for driving from OKC to there for just the pan.

"Do you realize we have a Williams Sonoma right near you at Penn Square Mall?"
"Yes, but I drove around for 45 minutes and couldn't find any parking....do you have my pan???"

So we make it into Tulsa and SUCCESS they have our "fancy" angel cake pan with its little feet. At that point I also buy their fancy cake mix for the pan, I figure I'm not driving all the way here for just the pan :)

At this point the cake is just out of the oven and I go looking for my Tupperware container made just to hold cakes like it...cake container apparently got lost in the move....lame. I guess that just gives me a new excuse for another adventure for cake.

Cheers!!!
Ruth

---on a side note. As I got into town a few hours ago I headed over to Food Pyramid for a few ingredients, I see an employee running across from the other side of the shopping center. Then I see what he's chasing...a skunk headed straight for 2 ladies standing outside the entrance for Food Pyramid. The skunk hid under a palate holding something for $9.99

When I left about 15 minutes later the skunk was apparently still under the palate and I see said employee with his head on the ground staring under the palate...I'm thinking he is at most 2 feet from the thing....all I have to think is that can't possibly end well :)

4th of July weekend fun :)

2009-07-05T10:02:00.002-05:00

Spent the day with Nick in Tulsa yesterday. First we hit up none other than...Best Buy, since we can't go to Tulsa and not stop to see all of the new toys :)

Then we went to Cinemark and saw "The Proposal". That movie was hilarious :)

Dinner at in the raw. Dunwell sushi is very yummy. And also yummy? Their baked when order lava cake of sorts was patriotic, blueberries, strawberries, and whipped cream, see I got red/white/and blue in. The fun part about being at in the raw for during the 4th is that you can see fireworks going up all over the town. They may not officially be allowed in Tulsa county, but it was very amusing seeing them go up everywhere. Luckily we didn't wait to see the 21st Street fireworks seeing as they got canceled. Apparently one firework went rogue and set a truck on fire! Yikes, no one was hurt, but the fireworks were to be no more.

For Nick and I though, we saw lots of fireworks. As we started the drive home at dusk (still in Tulsa) I watched fireworks shoot over the roads...right above our heads, across fields, in the rain, with lightening...for us we had a fireworks show the entire way home. Only interrupted for about 20 minutes when the rain was really coming down. Funniest thing to me is it was like Stillwater waited for us to get home for their show, we made it home in time to watch the finale from our place, a block away from the lake.

Hope everyone had a great 4th!

House #3...or should I say #1 in Iowa

2009-06-23T13:36:00.004-05:00

Big move happened in 2nd grade...Ohio to Iowa. This is our first house (other than the one we rented for a few months that I remember being on 25th ave and peach).

I give you 3475 24th Ave, Marion Iowa

(yes this is the first one I actually remembered the address too...not bad)

Explaining numbers above :)

1. This is the second house we moved from after my dad completed some form of a deck...at this point we consider it a curse. He built the 3 season porch, complete with skylights, all by himself.

2. Those trees were much smaller :P

3. Dad built a playset for there...but as you can see it is now gone and replaced with my stick figure rendition.

Memories from this house

1. Those fences around our yard were a real nuisance for throwing frisbees. I don't know how many times we got to go around the block to get them out of someones yard.

(Speaking of fences, one of our neighbors put a gate between our two fences...and then a few years later put a lock on it and a planted a bush infront of the gate entrance. I think that the deadbolt was a big enough hint to stay out of their yard...but hey the bush sealed the deal i suppose.)

2. This is the house of all the infamous Robbie stories. They include such favorites as:

Robbie mashing a bunch of bananas with dulpo legos and calling it "cooking".
Robbie using a steak knife to get donuts out of a box.
Robbie programming the cd player to play his childhood favorite songs.
Robbie coloring on piano music.
Robbie coloring on a wall.

all of the above done when he was a little munchkin with curly blonde hair that was fun to put headbands in. (I feel Robbie stories are soooo appropriate seeing as he turns 16 today). :P

3. Another awesome playset by my dad. This would be the first wooden one he creates. The best playset for using Robbie's neon orange matchbox car track and ramping cars.

The first home...I think

2009-06-23T09:30:00.007-05:00

This is our first house. I never realized that this house was so close to the Walnut Street home...to me they seemed a million miles apart. In reality, oh a good 15 minutes at the most.

The memories that I have/have been told that I did...after all, I was very little.

1. As soon as my mom had painted the kitchen I created a huge mural all over it with my colors. Apparently I've always had an affinity towards creating artwork on walls :)

2. When my sister was using baby bottles they would all mysteriously go missing. My mom realized the reason why is because I would toss them over the fence to the neighbors dogs to chew on.

3. The neighbors in the blue house next door gave us all their antique Barbies to play with. We still have a few around the storage area...although these skippers/ken dolls are far from collectors items :)

This house on Catawba Ave, has by far the most interesting background story of any of the homes we have lived in. Things I have only now learned :)

The previous owner used to climb on the roof in his underwear and use a golf club to chase the squirrels according to our neighbor across the street.
The swat team busted in the house while the previous owner lived there...and seeing that there were fluorescent lights in all the closets down the halls upstairs...I can only guess why.

Childhood Homes: First stop Walnut Street

2009-06-17T08:31:00.007-05:00

Well, to start I don't remember the address/street for the first house I lived in until I was about 5...I think it was on Grover something or another, but I forget. Will add that one later after some help from the mom.

So, we'll start with photos of places I remember more clearly. First up Walnut Street in Westerville, Ohio. I lived here from right before kindergarten until the middle of second grade.

1. Somewhere in that general vicinity is where my sister got stuck in the mud fetching our frisbee out of the neighbors garden. Before we were let back in the house we were promptly hosed off. :)

2. Where my sister and my super awesome sandbox was. My dad built us basically a little sand house. Complete with screened in windows (to keep the bugs off), a roof, a door that latched and bench incase we didn't feel like sitting directly in the sand. I loved that sandbox, and it is still one of my fondest memories creating little sand cakes in the neon green frisbee and setting them outside to "bake".

2...continued. This house would also be the driveway where my mom delicately painted a shelf with little metal poles and cubbies that spun around 360 degrees. When my mom went inside to wash up the paint brushes/etc she heard the hose go on...but, it was too late. I had hosed off the entire shelf she painted. As she says, "that is why that shelf never did look good".

3. Across the street is surprisingly still fields, my dad used to drive us around in the trailer of his riding lawn mower. I remember that being a lot of fun :)

Unique things from this house:

The guy before us had a ton of smut, everything from nude chicks on stationary to sleazy magazines. They were all promptly thrown away. Now seeing as heafty super strength bags were not around, well, when the garbage men tried to throw that particular bag away it tore open. Lets just say apparently they stayed a bit and checked out the magazines.
We had pet ducks. They'd come over from the dam and we'd feed them.
Eagles Pizza (right down the road from us) had the biggest cookies known to mankind. Well, given I'm sure if I went back there they'd be the size of any normal cookie, but they seemed the size of my head as a kid :)

updated True Blood is back! and AT&T still sucks.

2009-06-15T14:13:00.012-05:00

***Update***
Nick picked up the internet box from UPS and now, we're set. Hooray! Here is Tru:Blood, muddypebbles style. Not the same style box as in the show...but that will be fixed before the finale :P
***

True Blood is back, and since I am in love with the show/books, Nick and I had a watch party. Aside from putting up blood red streamers, our menu included Red Velvet Cake, Lafayette's Famous Burgers (which are amazing!!!! see recipe below), red salsa/chips, and of course bottles of Tru:Blood. (What can I say...you can't be a graphic designer, have a party and not be tempted to strip the labels from bottles and make your own case of blood.) And for those who were not brave enough for bottled blood (red wine) we had a variety of red sodas to choose from. We even got our shirts that go with the show...Nick in his red Fangtasia tshirt and I in my "I ❤ Bill Compton" top.

Pictures of the above will be on later as I STILL DO NOT HAVE INTERNET! ooh this is driving me so crazy. I'd be going less nuts if I didn't find out the reason the internet box never got delivered was because they forgot our apartment number on the address. So, now I get to go pick up the box myself from UPS, whom tried to deliver it last week.

Cheers!

Ruth

P.S. Quick side note here, if ever you get to call UPS or AT&T I find the quickest way to get through all the computer animated bull shit is to say or yell...depending on my mood...gibberish words and sounds. To which the computer will reply that they do not understand you, and to repeat yourself. To which again you say gibberish words/sounds/etc and they then connect you immediately to a human.

P.S.S. or is it P.P.S.? either way, here is the recipe complements of Loving True Blood in Dallas's Blog for Lafayette's Famous Burgers :)

Lafayette's Special Sauce

1/4 c vinegar
1/2 c water
1/2 t salt
a dash of cayenne
1 medium onion, chopped
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T brown sugar
1 T prepared mustard
1/2 t pepper
1/2 c ketchup
2 T margarine
l lemon, sliced extra thin (optional)

Saute the onion (and lemon, if you choose to use it) in the margarine. Then add all the other ingredients. Simmer about 20 minutes. Then place the broiled hamburgers (or leftover roast slices) in the skillet and steep them in the sauce over very low heat for a few minutes. Serve with extra sauce spooned on top when you're ready.

who's a good vampire guesser? me!

2009-06-09T10:48:00.006-05:00

in the midst of all the drama caused by moving I forgot to mention, I totally won a shinny new red iPod nano from HBO's vampire blog "Bloodcopy". Not going to lie, I am totally excited. It just came in a few days ago...I find it the perfect bribery to finish putting things away ;) Nick teases me that, it takes a vampire to know one...it isn't my fault I am constantly pale and my office has no windows to the outdoors. :P

at&t....you give me angry eyes...

2009-06-09T09:54:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Nick and I stood in line to set up our internet for the apartment. I should have taken the first clue that the internet site was down for ordering and turned and ran...but, I didn't.

So, we finally get done there and they tell me internet will be ready on Friday.

This morning I get a phone call, from at&t (and aparently the only true english speaking at&t person) to tell me that the internet order will be ready on the 15th, ok, whatever. I hang up.

Then it hits me, it was supposed to be ready on the 12th! I know all you have to do is hit a switch to turn the stupid thing on...not like you are sending someone out there. So I decide to call the "help" desk. Worst idea ever.

First off you have to go through this elaborate talking to a computer man's voice as he asks you long questions...that have nothing to do with your order, and try to figure out what to say to hopefully get an operator. The whole time avoiding giving my cell number because, as soon as you do they go from being the internet helpers to "whats wrong with your cell phone" and if you have nothing wrong with your phone that the computer asks you about, then they hang up.

So I finally get to someone to talk about my internet, (some heavy, non-american accent) comes over the phone and tells me they need to transfer me to orders. Then after a few more transfers I get transfered to "James".

AT&T, I am not stupid. I know you have call center people make up names that sound american since you know Krishna...not very american, but seriously...changing names, doesn't change accents, or aparently their ability to understand mine. "James" asks me which state I got my plan in, to which I reply Oklahoma. After being bombarded with more computerized voice ads (which is what AT&T uses instead of hold music) I get a very cheery woman on the other end of the phone. She has an even heavier accent.

"Can I have your Berlin phone number please"

"Uh, my what?"

"Your Berlin phone number, what Berlin phone number is on this account?"

"Wait did you say...Berlin??? Like as in Europe?"

"Yes"

****speechless me****

****still speechless/confused/irate/now finding this funny me****

"Um, I'm trying to get to Ok-la-homa. I have no Berlin phone number"

****confused Berlin lady on other end of phone****

"Can you transfer me to some sort of help desk that I can talk to about my internet set up in Oklahoma?"

****she then tries to transfer me, to which I get to listen to more computerized ads, and then am abruptly hung up on.****

This senario and similar play out for over an hour until I finally get some help, help that took only about 1 minute of some persons time. Go figure the person who could help me WAS IN THE US!!!

AT&T if I could find a way to strangle your computerized voice I would, the longer it tells me about useless products that I do not want, the more irate I become. Your customer service is useless.

Moving...almost complete.

2009-06-08T10:07:00.003-05:00

Since Friday I have been moving and packing along with Nick non-stop. It is almost a relief to be at work because it gives my back a much needed rest. This weekend I carried boxes up and down countless stairs and only now is the end in sight. I'd say we are 90% moved in...now comes the whole unpacking and setting up everything stage.

Setting up identical shelves from Staples I'd say was the closest I came to loosing my mind this weekend. Between slamming my fingers between the glued/pegged sections and trying to hammer in little tiny SCREWS, I about went crazy. They look nice now that they are done...but I think I'll have to take a double communion next weekend if I ever want to even out all the things I said under my breathe putting those damn shelves together. My mom laughed and said those shelves were just payback for all the years of them putting toys together for me as a child for christmas :P

I'm happy with the way every room looks aside from our bedroom...at some point I think the boxes that I am currently using as a nightstand will need to be upgraded and a headboard found for the basic metal frame...but hey, they work.

I think the fact that Nick and I didn't kill each other off moving ourselves is further proof that we make a great couple :)

Good Morning Moving Day!

2009-06-05T08:29:00.003-05:00

It's 8:30 and already I've been at work for a bit, packed my car and somehow put on a matching outfit.

Today while I'm at work, Nick gets to finish packing...then around 11:20 we will get our keys and he'll get to move...while I'm at work. This work thing is a pretty sweet deal ;) Actually, Nick lucked out and got the next few days off. Moving will be...interesting to say the least seeing as we are bringing in things from all over the state. The schedule goes as such.

1. Move things from Nick's Apartment...in Stillwater

2. Move things from Nick's Storage Unit...in Tulsa

3. Move things from my garage...in Stillwater

4. Move things from my parent's garage...in Edmond

yeah, what would be the fun of moving from one place to another when you can choose LOTS of places and move into one. That being said when it is all done and over with...assuming no one keels over from going up and down too many flights of stairs, it will be great.

Hooray and thank you to my friends helping us move. We would not be able to get the couch up stairs without you ;)

Wish us luck, and if you're bored...I bet I can find you a box to pack or carry in the next few days :P

memorial day weekend

2009-05-26T08:09:00.003-05:00

i have to admit it was difficult to come to work this morning after my only activities in the past 3 days have been working out and going to the pool.

i could use a holiday every monday ;)

why drive up pharmacy at Walgreens may want to be avoided...

2009-05-15T08:46:00.003-05:00

this happened yesterday around 5:30pm, I just got sidetracked and forgot to share! so, here we go :)

yesterday, at Walgreens some guy...who will remain nameless...was at the drive up arguing about how many pills that the insurance should be covering on his script of VIAGRA! lol. I now know that his insurance only covers six of a thirty day prescription.

Lesson learned? Perhaps you think you are talking not that loud through the speaker and that the person on the other side of the window talks quietly too...but, truth be told your voice rings over a loud speaker and the lady on the other side of the window has a voice that carries well away from your little conversational place.

needless to say I wasn't the only one about to die of laughter as this older fellow was arguing about how many viagra should be covered. and as if that wasn't bad enough, when he went to leave she said something to the effect of "thank you very much Mr. First-name Last-name. So if you didn't know who he was by just looking out the window at him, now you know his name too. *giggles* best Walgreens trip ever!

baking with Ruth

2009-05-13T22:11:00.003-05:00

Tonight I learned the reason why you really shouldn't try a new recipe you plan on bringing somewhere for the first time without a trial run.

Simply put, Mayan Bundt Cake was a disaster...to put it nicely. When I would put the wooden poker in to see if it was done at 40...then 45...then even another few minutes later it would always come out looking not even close to done. Then I just decided at 50 min that this thing is going to burn before it finishes and, sure enough, as it cooled 10 min and then was flipped it came out in alternating uncooked and overly dry parts. It came out looking like a heaping pile of dirt. Not so much the bundt cake shape that I pain-stakingly criscoed/floured.

Mayan Brownies are in the oven now, hopefully these don't become another FAIL, or I give up. At least these don't have to be flipped into a fancy shape.

Although, I am disappointed that the $5 cake holder tubberware thingy I bought today will not get used. Ce la vie.

Links Countdown

2009-05-11T11:37:00.003-05:00

Let the countdown to me living in the links begin...by this time next month I will be moved in, hopefully somewhat organized and enjoying life sans roommates, aside from Nick :)

It will be nice to be away from regular apartment furniture and into a place with all of our own things. Couches, bed, desks, tables and chairs all of which I'll be able to do whatever to. I'm also excited about being able to put up art work that I was a little hesitant on putting up while I lived in a college home for fear it would be knocked off the walls.

As for packing to get there, well...I'm half way there. My stuff is all packed aside from clothes. Now it is just down to getting Nicks stuff packed in the next month so that come June we can start the trek down 3 flights, across town, and up one to the new place :)

Cheers!

Ruth

Speaking of trek...Star Trek was aaaaaawwwweeeesssoooommme. Nick and I went to it opening day and I have to admit, I liked it better than I thought I would. And no, I'm not biased towards liking it just because James Kirk in the movie is from Iowa...that's a bonus ;)

The Tales from the Crypt

2009-05-06T23:03:00.001-05:00

Today I had my first combined editorial and graphics office meeting. After a while of teasing about the crappy rainy weather it was joked that we all needed UV lights in our office, health reasons since there has been a major lack of vitamin D.

Then it was brought up that I really needed the UV light, since my office had no windows, followed by...

"Actually when we hired Ruth, she requested an office with no windows as part of her deal to work here...vampire and all, she'll burst into flames if she sees the light"

love it! hehehe

Wonderful Wacom

2009-05-05T15:06:00.003-05:00

Today my fancy new wacom tablet arrived. I now look super awesome with wacom tablet on my left and mouse on my right. I learned today that if you use both mouses at once the one on the right overrides wacom's. (would I say I have two mouses? or two mice like the animal?....hmmm....)

Anyway, I don't think i'll ever photoedit again without using the pen and its varying widths depending on how hard I press it. That makes it so much easier! I might be a bit spoiled hehe

I feel uber fancy.

Come thursday will be my first "OSU Orientation". I look forward to seeing if during the history section I learn anything new. Doubtful, I'm pretty sure when I worked as an assistant to David I learned it all, but we'll see :)

Happy Tuesday!

greatest feeling ever?

2009-05-04T11:28:00.001-05:00

knowing it is finals week and not having ANY!!!!

i love being a graduate :)

Fail again, aparently i lack competitive drive.

2009-05-03T08:06:00.003-05:00

Well, I forgot to blog yesterday...officially I think I'm about to give up daily blogging and go for 6 out of 7 days a week blogging. Seems to be closer to what I can keep up with :P

Valerie and Bonnie are much better at this competition, it will be interesting to see who wins in the long run. I'm keeping my eyes open to see who the winner will be:)

I guess I should have known competition would have been an issue for me, I mean in softball, I cheer when I miss the ball as well as actually hitting it...maybe that should have been a hint, a red flag of my pending doom with this competition.

blogging daily starting over...for the billionth time

2009-05-01T21:45:00.001-05:00

I figured since i forgot to blog 2 days back, i'd just start at the beginning of the month...so here I go. last try for daily blogging for 30 days.

Today I watched "The Spirit". It will now stand as my least favorite graphic novel to become a movie.

graphic design is a tiny bit different from police officers

2009-04-28T22:26:00.003-05:00

helping nick with his resume and cover letter. since i am using mine as a template, i'm laughing myself to tears. graphic design has nothing to do with a police force cover letter and resume that i'm helping him with for class. something makes me think stuff like "I look forward to discussing what I can do to help with your fashion line" and ending a letter with "warmly"...just not the thing to do.

I don't have time to blog, I'm reading!

2009-04-28T12:44:00.008-05:00

I've become completly addicted to the eighth Sookie Stackhouse book, From Dead to Worse. This book has been the end of me doing anything productive at home these past few days. Which, I suppose is kinda bad timing since I should really be focusing on packing. Good thing the next book in the series comes out in May, otherwise I might cry not knowing what Sookie will do next.

Raining cats and dogs.

2009-04-27T16:01:00.003-05:00

Just a thought for today. Through my observations on my iGoogle weather versus what it actually has been ouside...well lets just say its been the exact opposite all day. If it says rain, its dry. If it says dry it's raining. All in all, google weather predicting skills=FAIL

Packing

2009-04-26T21:15:00.003-05:00

Today I spent the day, you guessed it, packing. Lots and LOTS of packing as I get myself ready to move into my new apartment. I think packing could be a full time job for me...I totally did it from about 9-7 today...and I'm close but not done.

On a side note, I noticed yesterday I was like 15 min late for hitting my Saturday blog...ugh, I'm so not good at this. Twitter is so much easier :)

Well, this marks Ruth's Round 3 for the beginning of a month of blogging.

the great escAPE

2009-04-26T00:12:00.004-05:00

Tonight Nick and I went to the OKC zoo's Great escAPE event, proceeds are going towards Sumatrian orangutans. It was so fun to see the apes and orangutans up close. Nick bought me a picture of one of the gorillas. She is so cute! Her name is Kalila, apparently she is very friendly and sometimes likes to spin around. Next time I go to the zoo, i'll have to look for her. She's in gorilla pen three. :)

True Blood: Season 2 sneak peek.

2009-04-24T11:31:00.003-05:00

As I go into further True Blood withdrawl, I find myself trying out louisiana spiced foods, reading (and LOVING) the rest of the Charlaine Harris books, and keeping up on all the True Blood gossip blogs can supply.

I just noticed HBO put up a sneak peek of season 2 on their YouTube channel yesterday...so for your enjoyment I bring you the maenad attack :)

Employee Benefits and lack of left hand gloves

2009-04-23T18:06:00.002-05:00

Today was the employee benefit seminar. I can wrap it up in a brief statement, "OSU has great benefits, however if you get divorced and you forget to change your beneficiary your ex-wife will be getting your benefits if something terrible were to happen to you."

Also, Hilbrett or whatever that sports store that is...total FAIL, they suck at keeping left handed gloves on hand.

Landry's Frozen Custard=Frozen Yummyness!

2009-04-22T21:16:00.005-05:00

I now proclaim that Landry's (Laundry's???) Frozen Custard=very yummy. I had the Trevor Special...which is just a chocolate overload of goodness. I'm fairly certain that the excercizing that I did today was totally undid by the sundae, but I have no regrets.

I decided I really needed ice cream today...particularly soft serve, after talking about the budget for next year and Missy teasing we needed a soft serve ice cream machine. I totally agree! :) hehe However, I said that I would be fine with a stocked Ben & Jerry's fridge. ;)

Cheers!
Ruth

P.S. Here is the day 3 addition to the office, my new fancy rice paper lantern. Admitably the picture made the lamp look a lot harsher than it is....really it is just a nice white glow :) Side effect of cell phone camera lack-of-awesomeness :P

Prank called by the director

2009-04-21T18:08:00.004-05:00

What is a sign that you work at a nice place? I'd say getting pranked called by the director is a pretty good hint :)

He claims to be a person from the physical plant. Speaks sounding like he isn't the brightest crayon in the box, and calls to tell me that "They heard I didn't have no windows, and that they were gunna make my office real pretty."

I was given several choices of poster type things to add to my wall...ocean being the most popular.

Geh, I feel for it! lol. I'm so gullible.

Day 2: I still love my new job, everyone is great. Today I got teased for having nothing in my office...I should have said, "Just wait until the moving truck comes!" ;) lol

P.S. Got the Chip Kidd Batmanga poster up today :)

Clear as Mud

Mini pie for one :)

i love fall

iphone 4 cases

30 day challenge summary

Kolache revisited

Crazy roommates

Game of thrones

Springtime

Etsy Love: on the hunt for an iphone clutch

Etsy Love: friedasophie

yummy stops in Irving

One week to go

Weekend in Texas

las colinas weekend

Poolga

Etsy Love: Restyleshop by handz

social media done right

Happy Wednesday!

green skittles

a day at the park

Chopped all stars

fantastic sunscreen design: sun bum

Etsy Love and a bit of fooling around

My favorite sweets

It's time for a mini celebration

a makeup palette

Painting, my medium of choice

Spiced Aztec Cookies: baking day

Spiced Aztec Cookes: prep day

Etsy Love: My Lavaliere

50s illustrations with a side of dark humor

In my imaginary closet: H&M edition

Caffeine for the Creative Mind

30 day challenge: take 2

Etsy love: yeti

happy friday!

I love baking

New blog look, now with pages!

Oklahoma summers

It's been a while...

snow days!

German apple pancakes

A year in review

Designer Wish List

Kolache recipe

kolache

forgot day 2

I love being a graduate

Who needs a road?

30 day blogging fail

happy friday!

Another day at the office

fireman hat

Post for posting sake

Oh Christmas tree...

Almost to Stillwater

Family car trip going well

9 million people at walmart

Last post not so much working

On the road again...

Mudroch Family Vacation

Oh mini me Christmas tree

Stockings were hung by the chimney with care

Twilight zone..*que the theme song and the kanamits*

This time next week: 80th Birthday time!

Christmas music album covers...

New blogging competition:new blog design

Vendors in the mall make it more lively

Testing

Monthly blog take 2

Ken for Leah!

Take that power outage!

The Things I'll do for a Cake Pan...

4th of July weekend fun :)

House #3...or should I say #1 in Iowa

The first home...I think

Childhood Homes: First stop Walnut Street

*updated* True Blood is back! and AT&T still sucks.

who's a good vampire guesser? me!

Twilight zone..que the theme song and the kanamits

updated True Blood is back! and AT&T still sucks.