Whining Wednesday is Back - just for a split second though - so don't blink

It's nice to be thankful, but sometimes you just need to whine a bit...

Whine 1 - It is way too cold here.

(and by here I mean the entire world it seems

and in particular my bedroom which hubby likes to keep at a bone-chilling 58 degrees

although our huddling together for survival in the middle of the bed in the dead of night is probably one reason we have managed to stay married all these years)

Whine 2 - The mall during the holidays

(I could probably stop right there and you would all know what I mean)

But in particular, let's just say I spent 30 minutes of the very last hour of the very last shopping day of the season

(not Christmas Eve, I am not quite that lame)

trying to save my Bubble Tea Lady from demise at the local mall where they are out to evict her or at least I spent 30 minutes listening to her whine about it- I find listening to other people whine to be a bit draining, don't you ....

(so, anyhow- if you have a couple extra minutes email the management at the Monmouth Mall and just casually mention how much you like the Bubble Tea Lady)

And then I made the mistake of walking into Sephora for stocking stuffers

(ie gifts for myself)

which meant I spent another 30 minutes of the very last hour of the very last shopping day on a stool as their almost-perfect sales associate tried gamely to pair each of my facial imperfections with a neatly packaged product designed to make me look more like her.

She spoke in a soft voice I had to strain to hear and had the slightest hint of an accent, reflecting some sort of exotic heritage or maybe a summer as the hostess of the Olive Garden next door.

"You could benefit from what we call an eye brightener," she said, pulling a $28.00 white crayon thingie out of her pocket, "because you look like a dead fish".

OK, she didn't really say that last part, but it was kind of implied ....

When little miss almost-perfect turned to greet another customer, I bolted for the back corner of the store to erase some of her handiwork and it was there that I saw the star of my most favorite poorly written crime drama - advertising the only product in the store that I desperately needed.

Oh yes girls, I'm now proudly wearing a long-lasting shade of lipstick named for Mariska Hargitay, giving me the power to stay smudge free through the longest kisses (hubby's 58 degree nights do have some positives) and the greasiest of french fries (I might just have snuck back to Sonic again). I think it also allows me to carry a concealed weapon and arrest anyone who looks kind of rapey, but I'm not sure.
my lips sort of look like this now ------>>


Whine 3 - I don't want to get organized.

I feel like I am under alot of pressure to 'get organized' or at least to want to get organized after the holidays. I mean, I actually do want to be organized, but I don't want to get organized.

(do you see the difference?)

I am just way too lazy right now.

(I think it is the cold)

Maybe next month which is my birthday month and always feels like the new year to me anyway.

Yup, next month I will be a ball of energy and whip this place back into shape ... and oh, yes, I am thinking of legally changing my name to Mariska so I don't get into any trouble over this concealed Uzi .....

2010 Resolution GIVEAWAY - Rini and Faith Slouch Hat CLOSED

AND THE WINNER IS .... chosen by random number generator Min: 1 Max: 741 Result: 44 - Alex Keller!

Rini and Faith
is the gorgeous work of graphic designer, photographer and crafter Irene Carole.

Irene's flowered headbands and wonderful slouch hats are amazingly flattering and just stunning. Irene's photography can be viewed on her website Ica Images.

She hopes you will enjoy sharing her handmade bliss with those you love as well!

She just had her first magazine spread and yes, that is her in those amazing photos (we will try not to hate her for this).


We are so lucky to have one of her gorgeous slouch hats for our first giveaway of 2010!!

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive Rini and Faith's gorgeous slouch hat in grey!




HOW TO WIN:

Visit Rinni and Faith's amazing shop and take a look around and then pop back in here and let us know one of your 2010 RESOLUTIONS (we want to be inspired plus are very nosey and want to know what everyone is doing)!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:

MIDNIGHT on Sunday, January 10th! CLOSED

Happy Almost 2010!


Can you believe it will be 2010 in 2 days- how is this possible? Wonderful card by The Beautiful Project.

Mistakes happen ... or prying the cookie corpses off your cookie gift trays

So, when a 24" snowpocalypse had me homebound the weekend before Christmas and it was too late to shop on Etsy anymore without some serious postal fees, I thought it would be a good idea

(ie cheap and easy)

to make a few cookie trays to give as last minute gifts.

I had been to Williams Sonoma a few weeks back and picked up some icing tubes and holiday sprinkles that I thought could make my cookies look amazing plus I really wanted someone to see them. My daughter and hubby are both salty snack people and I really wanted some oohs and aahs .. plus I was short about 4 gifts this year.

My cookies always smell amazing and usually taste pretty good , but are not always servable to people who can actually see them - something always seems to go wrong with the presentation plus I have some serious cookie makers in my family who make cookies that smell, taste and look good, so I always face some serious cookie challenges.

I chose a recipe from the Martha Stewart website listed as easy that did not require a mixer or a cuisinart or any of the other appliances I do not own since I never bothered to piece together a wedding registry

(how many years can you be married and are still allowed to do this anyway?)

So anyhoo, my cookies smelled good, they looked good and they tasted .... well, let's just say I had shoveled in enough cookies to require an afterschool purging and family intervention if this had been a Lifetime movie, before I realized that they actually ... didn't taste all that good...

But, the important thing was that they looked good

(this is America and 2009 and looks are all that matter anyway plus no one actually eats the cookies people give them, right?)

and I gave them out proudly on my little repurposed trays on Christmas and heard the oohs and aahs I had waited all these years to hear

... until ....

3 days after Christmas, the cookie emails began to come in

(tales of cookies permanently adhered to my repurposed trays, tales of chisels being needed for removal, tales of chipped teeth, tales of pretty little cookie corpses)

from friends and I use that term loosely feeling the need to remind me of that one time that their kids caught salmonella or had their stomachs pumped or something silly like that after a summer barbecue

(some people need to pick up a Bible and learn about forgiveness for pete's sake)

So, anyhoo - I am determined not to let this get me down because it is the thought that counts and some people should just be happy they got gifts that were not made of cork or car parts (finally) this year, if you know what I mean.

Wishing everyone a tummy full of amazingly scented, colorful and tasty cookies in the New Year (next year mine are shipping out with chisels and mouthguards and they will still look damn good).