did i mention...

i won!

my friend mrs. L over at pages, pucks and pantry hosted a giveaway to celebrater her second blogiversary and i won one of the prizes. the numbers were drawn by her adorable kitten tiggher.

and this is what i won:
the paper crafts gourmet book!

If you love both food and paper crafting, Paper Crafts Gourmet is the perfect recipe book for you! In this mouth-watering publication, you'll find over 50 original recipes from the family and friends of Paper Crafts magazine. Then the country's most talented paper craft designers whipped up over 110 projects to complement these incredibly savory recipes. Projects include clever containers, gorgeous tags and wraps, fun food markers, cards to accompany your food gifts, and much, much more! If your favorite foods include Soups & Stews, Breads, Appetizers, Main Dishes, Beverages, Desserts, and Snacks, then the variety of recipes inside is sure to satisfy the pickiest of eaters!

and the emmy goes to...

christian's dad won this emmy for one of the pieces he edited. it's just sitting there on his desk. how cool is that?!?

aww shucks...

i have just been awarded two very great honors!



I've been tagged by Irene over at Magazine Smiles for the Kreativ Blogger Award. Thanks, Irene!


I'm supposed to name 6 things that make me happy and then tag 6 fellow bloggers....

1) Moo kitty!

2) My family of choice. NotSoccer Mom and her son have seen me through many ups and downs.

3) My friends. Both old and new. In person and blog. Every one of you has touched me in some special way.

4) Being healthy enough to be physically active.

5) Cooking.

6) Having a cool place to call home with cool roommates too!

Now I must tag and bestow the Kreative Blogger Award to 6 creative people so...
Brian of It's a Bri Wise World.
Mrs. L of Pages, Pucks and Pantry.
Carrie of Draw Circles.
Judy of Imagine what I'm leaving out.
Lee of Pink Granite.
Carmi of Written Inc.

AND



The "Superior Scribbler Award" was created by a high school journalism teacher for exponential love sharing and recognition for our fellow bloggers. It came to me from extra pretty in pink blog friend Brian of It's a Bri Wise World.

The awards creator also laid down some rules for recipients:

- Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.

- Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.

- Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to This Post, which explains The Award.

- Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we'll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor!

- Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

I registered my award with Mr. Linky through Superior Scribblers site and I am recipient number 321!

Here are my five!
Mrs. L of Pages, Pucks and Pantry.
Carrie of Draw Circles.
Judy of Imagine what I'm leaving out.
Lee of Pink Granite.
Carmi of Written Inc.

it lives!

race recap in pictures:

the infant that checked me in on thursday night:


shot inside the expo on thursday night:

shot inside the expo on thursday night:

the course map hanging inside the niketown store:

me, pointing to my name on the huge wall outside the niketown store. they had a huge sign with the names of all 20,000 participants (18,900 women and 1,100 men):

just before i cross the starting gate:

it's official:

i'm almost there! the people on the sidelines are clapping and cheering me on as i stumble past them sobbing with relief that the end is in sight:

forget just do it... i just did it!

front of the tiffany necklace features two women running:

the back of the necklace reads NWM (nike women's marathon), with the nike swoosh, SF and 2008:

the hard earned finishers tee:



i thought going up the hill in mile 7 was going to kill me. then when i got to the top the realization hit me. what goes up, must come down. the downhills are SO much worse than the ups.

besides the hug i got from an american red cross volunteer at mile five along with the advice to keep my head up and set mini goals (just to that stopsign, just to that fire hydrant) the thing that kept me plodding along was the text message i received from notsoccer mom and her son that read "go barbie, go barbie. (her son) says he hopes you win!" crossing that finish line was my win.

when i got off the shuttle, back at ATT park where i had left my car, i thought to myself "i'll just get in the back and take a rest before i drive home". unfortunately the wind blew hard on the hatchback and i was trapped in the back-back of my car. i had to lean one of the back seats forward, push the back door open and call to a passerby for help. thankfully she heard me and had a good laugh at my expense.

i went to watercourse way this morning for an hour in a hot tub. i feel a million times better but i am still in some pain. and you should see the blister on my left pinky toe. oh yeah, and the bruise under my left big toenail. OUCH!

rank 11423 time 05:09:55.260 min/mi 23:39

tell me again why i ever thought this was a good idea???

good new, bad news, stuff and nonsense...

first the good news: in the war between my body and iron, my body has won this round. at my check up last week, i was expecting my iron levels to be down but they were up from my visit in march. march level was 12.8 and last week i was 13.3 so maybe something has finally kicked in within my body and started breaking down iron and absorbing it.

the bad news: i got laid off today. i am a little bit bummed about it but then i found out that the leprechaun got laid off too, so i guess what goes around really does come around. i would also like to believe that this is the universe's way of kicking me in the ass and telling me that when i make my big announcement on saturday that things are going to go well with it.

stuff: on saturday i will be making a big announcement.

nonsense: on sunday night i stayed up until 10:00 pm making my version of a "mock hostess cupcake" as a challenge from someone at work. a third person at work had brought in some that they had bought at a local bakery that were supposed to be really delicious. i tried mine and my first thought was that the ganache on the top was WAY too thick. it was almost two inches thick(ick!). the cake itself was leaden. it sat like a brick in my stomach all the rest of the day. so when faced with this challenge i was quite confident that i could beat it. i used my family's special chocolate cake recipe as the base for the cupcake. i made a simple white buttercream for the filling, and a bittersweet chocolate ganache for the topping. the squirlyques on the top were an icing trick i learned in my cake class.

the result to me is that the cake was light and fluffy. much better than the challenger. my cream filling was a little too thick but it tasted better. my thinner ganache was better than the piled high ganache.

scale of 1-5

category competitor barbie
ganache 2 4
cream 3 4
cake 1 5
total 6 13

winner = barbie!

because the doctor said so...

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein says that this blog is rated E for excellent!



and now, i am supposed to give this award to 10 people. but, like him i am giving it to my blogroll because you all are the reason i never get any work done. :)

A Dress A Day
BAAAHHH
Birdie
Charmed and Dangerous
Dohiyi Mir
Dooce
Draw Circles
Herding Kittens
It's a Bri Wise World
Jemima
Kenju
Life & Times of NotSoccer Mom
Magazine Smiles
Meg Fowler
Mental Meatloaf
Michele
Nota Bene
nothing but bonfires
Pages, Pucks and Pantry
Petite Anglaise
Pink Granite
Post Secret
Rockstar Mommy
Simply Pink
The Daily Kitten
Want Not
Written, Inc.
WWdN: In Exile

autumn pie...

these are some pictures of the process of making the pastry leaves for the top of my "AWARD WINNING" pumpkin pie.

it's not what you know....

it's your power to schmooze!

the other day notsoccer mom awarded me the power of schmooze award for inspiring her. how cool is that?

now, it's my turn. since i can't give it back to NSM:

first up is Maria of baaahhh because she and her partner stefano have taken a dream from just that into fruition. the NY Fringe festival isn't going to know what hit them after Baaaaahhh.

next is Ilva of Lucullian delights because her photos make me want to weep with their beauty.

then there is Irene from magazine smiles who inspires me to get my big butt moving every day.

there is also the lovey birdie whose writing and crazy new mexico life keeps me laughing all the time.

and no list would be complete without anita from this, that and the mother thing who remains funny in spite of her infertility struggles. you rock, girl.

i'm a rocker...

i have been nominated as a rockin' girl blogger by my sweet blogfriend Maria over at Baaahhh. thank you, maria for the honor!

and to return the favor, i nominate Notsoccer Mom because she is an inspirational single mother of an incredible 8 year old.
and while i am at it, there are two other rockin girls i want to nominate.
holly over at Nothing But Bonfires and meg from MegFowler.com both are writers that inspire me and make me jealous at their wit and talent.