My Two Days as a(n) [Almost] Trucker

Wednesday was the absolute worst day I've had in a long time.  Besides dealing with some personal matters, I was having trouble getting my Internet connection to cooperate. This is frustrating no matter what your situation, but the frustration levels skyrocket when your livelihood depends on the connection (I'm a telecommuter). My only option after the third time of losing service was to head out to the McDonald's/truck stop in town (if you want to call where we live a town).

When I got home the Internet was still out, so I had to go back for most of the day today until I actually saw the Internet repairman eating lunch. He told me he was on his way to our house next.

Here is a glimpse into the world of being a fly on the wall at a McDonald's truck stop for a work day and a half. In other words, here's what I tweeted.

I'm pretty sure Santa Claus is here writing his nice/naughty list on his VAIO.

Not used to working in an environment where the loud speaker announces whose turn in the shower it is.

Santa Claus thanked me for watching his stuff while he got up. I didn't even know he had left.

OMG Happy Birthday Candace! Whoever you are.

Day 2 of McDonald's internet. Here we go.

Old guy just belched so loud I could hear him through my headphones with loud music.

Fanny pack sighting!

Fanny pack woman bought a coffee, sat down, and poured it into a coffee mug. Alrighty!

Large man in overralls with side buttons unbuttoned. Gross.

I must be intolerable to sit next to. Fanny pack woman got up and moved.

Three soldiers walked in and a guy let them go ahead of him. There's something still right in the world.

Turns out the fanny pack had a tablet in it. Oooh, she's a tech savvy fanny packer!

Dude ate biscuits & gravy then went back up to order more food.

People keep looking at me like I'm an alien. I'm probably the only person in this town with an Apple computer.

An employee just asked me if everything was all right. I said yes, but come on, I'm working at a truck stop.

Just caught myself whistling out loud to the beginning of "Young Folks" by Peter, Bjorn, & John.

Here come the community college students. This should be fun.

There is a guy that looks like an ethnic Rodney Dangerfield getting his burger on. I can't make this stuff up!

Employee at McDonald's is on the phone and he has now said, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" TWICE.

Large man in red sweatpants. Not easy on the eyes.

Someone's eating a Fish Filet and it smells terrible.

Dude put MORE SALT on his fries and is now shaking the bag like crazy.

The Frontier dude saw me sitting here when he came in for lunch & said, "You having trouble with your Internet?" Nope. I enjoy sitting here.

3 guys just came & sat down that smell like pure garbage. 1 of them has what looks like a giant booger on his sleeve.

 Finally, I tweeted: This tweet brought to you from the safety of my own home. #hallelujahtweet

The source of our problem? Mice. Little boogers chewed up the wires in our outdoor box. 

A Song I'm Currently Loving: "Colors"

Just popping in for a quick post of this video. You might have heard it on the Lowes "Sans Cans" commercial. The artist is April Smith & The Great Picture show. Her whole album is great! I've been listening to it on Spotify (follow me here) and I just can't get enough! She's got attitude, for sure!

Down to the Wire - 59 Days to Go! (And a Bunch of Other Randomness)

Well, guys, we're down to the wire. In less than 2 months, we will officially be Mr. & Mrs. I guess that means I'll have to redesign the blog again. Darn! Let me add that to my list. :)

I am beginning to get to the point where I "break out in a rash," as a former professor of mine would say, any time someone asks me a wedding related question. I am repeatedly asked during the day, "What about this," "What about that?" and I know they are valid questions that should be addressed, but it stresses me out past the maximum that I can handle. Isn't this day supposed to be fun? I suppose it will, but the days leading up to it just might not be.

Maybe I am just having a 10-o'clock-at-night-house-is-quiet-freakout, but I'm hoping for some relief from the stress soon. Maybe spending some time over the holiday ironing out some more details will be good for my health.

Here are some totally random thoughts (because I really would have hated to leave you on such a negative, whiny statement) is that I really love the new Blogger interface. The text box for posting is so much bigger, and I can see my whole post at once. That's awesome. 

In other news, I finally got my Silhouette Cameo back in early December! I found an awesome deal I just couldn't pass up and used some of my graduation money on it. I've worked on a few projects with it, but I'm hoping to be able to do some freelance work making decals/etc. If you are looking for any of that, or any other design services, please let me know. If I can't help you with your project, I probably know someone that can.

Also, over the holiday, we helped set Michael's mom up with a new blog, Craftin' With Suz. If you haven't checked it out yet, you definitely should. She'll be posting lots of great stuff for all your crafting/organizing needs! Plus, you'll get to see my handiwork with the design!

P.S. Maybe if I would post more regularly, I wouldn't have to be so random. Oh well. :)

Retro on a Friday

Just for fun on a Friday...Karen Carpenter in all of her retro goodness!

DIY Christmas Gifts

Since the holidays are over, I can now post pictures of our DIY Christmas project from this year! This summer, my wonderfully talented friend Mallory took engagement pictures for us and everyone is still raving over them (us included). I slacked, and didn't get copies made for a long time. Finally, Christmastime came, and I knew the perfect idea for our parents and grandparents! DIY Picture frames with our engagement picture inside! We bought the unfinished frames from Oh My Crafts! and decorated them to suit each intended. We also made one for my sister, but didn't add a picture of us so she could use a picture of her and her boyfriend instead.

for michael's mom & dad,

my mom & dad,



michael's granny & grandpa,


my grandma & grandpa,


& for my sister.

Starbaux (a Starbucks fake out)

I hate hate hate coffee. But I LOVE the Salted Caramel Frappucino coffee-free drink at Starbucks. I'm so thankful for the coffee-free options there, because otherwise I'd just have to watch Michael drink his boring cup of plain coffee. Plus, I really enjoy the whipped cream they put on top.

Anyway, I live a bajillion (ok, 40) miles away from a Starbucks, so I don't get to have it very often. But when I do, I so enjoy it. I got to thinking earlier that I could replicate the drink pretty easily, and I was right on. Here's how I made it, so you can try it for yourself! You can also add coffee, if you're one of those people. ;)

Starbaux Salted Caramel Coffee Free Frappucino

You will need:

1 tbsp. Hot Chocolate Mix
1/2 c.(ish) Milk
1/2 tray Ice Cubes
Couple splashes of Heavy Cream
Whipped Cream
Caramel Syrup
Turbinado Sugar
Sea Salt

In a blender, combine hot chocolate mix, half the milk, and ice cubes. Blend until ice cubes are crushed, adding more milk as needed. Add in splashes of heavy cream and caramel syrup to taste. Pour into a glass and add whipped cream. Add just a smidge of sea salt and sprinkle some turbinado sugar on top. Enjoy!

My Rigatoni Recipe

I love this dish! It's a mashup of spaghetti and lasagna! More fancy than spaghetti, but faster than lasagna for those quick week night dinners! I stumbled upon this recipe while cooking one day and decided it was a keeper! Here's what you'll need:

Please excuse my guesstimated measurements, I'm not one to use measuring utensils unless I have to. :)

Approx. 1 lb Rigatoni pasta, cooked/drained
1/4 lb Ground Meat of your choice (we love venison around here!), cooked
1 jar Prego Roasted Red Pepper & Garlic spaghetti sauce (the flavor this gives is integral to the dish!)
1tsp - 1tbsp Basil
1tsp - 1tbsp Oregano
1tsp - 1tbsp Parsley
1tsp - 1tbsp Minced Garlic
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
Optionally, you can add cottage cheese, or fresh Mozzarella to the dish at the end.

I cook nearly this entire dish in a wok, including the pasta! I boil the pasta in the wok, then drain and add ingredients. Add your spices first, then ground meat, then sauce. Stir to mix and adjust seasonings according to taste. Heat on low to warm sauce. Add either 1 cup cottage cheese, or some slices of fresh Mozzarella cheese. Either is delicious. If you are low on liquid, you can add some reserved starchy water from the pasta for more liquid that won't make the sauce to runny. Also, feel free to adjust any of the ingredients to fit your tastes. This is simply what I prefer. Enjoy! You better believe we do!

Brinner: Whole Wheat Pecan Pancakes

Tonight we decided that breakfast for dinner, or Brinner, sounded yummy. I Googled a waffle recipe for a quick put together meal. We are out of all purpose flour, so I decided to make them with whole wheat flour. Here's the recipe I used, with my modifications italicized.

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (whole wheat flour)
  
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used 1 tsp to compensate for the gritty whole wheat flour taste)
• Couple handfuls of chopped pecans
  

We had everyone's favorite breakfast companion, BACON, with our waffles, which I topped with a homemade praline syrup and cool whip. The syrup is made from the Praline Syrup from Savannah Cinnamon company, and brown sugar.

We HAD to have hot chocolate with our breakfast, because it's so nasty out and all.

Hope you enjoy this Brinner as much as we do.

Zooey Deschanel

Yesterday I was listening to Spotify trying to come up with a playlist for our wedding. I came across this song by Zooey Deschanel (apparently it was for Winnie the Pooh? Who knew!) and thought it was sweet. Enjoy!

Marcel the Shell

I am in love with Marcel the Shell. He's sooo cute!!

Check him out: