Happy Halloween Weekend!!!

My college roomate and I freshman year before our hall went trick-or-treating.

Many girls dress up as a skanky Snow White or a slutty nurse for Halloween. Not us...we opt for Wal-Mart costumes meant to fit children 2 and under.

Ann Claire - you're welcome.

as seen on t.v.

There are lots of random things that I just can't do. I'm pretty stubborn when it comes to the "at first you don't succeed, try try again" adage, so I have more or less given up on ever being successful with the following:

- Doing a cartwheel
- Lighting at match
- Watching a full episode of Sex and the City
- Cracking and dividing an egg
- Curling my hair

Thank goodness the following products were invited to solve my hair styling and cooking woes.

Celeb Curls
Do yourself a favor and watch the video. Please.

For just two easy payments of $10, I can use a stick to place these ridiculous looking strips all over my head, look like an alien from another planet as I am drying my 'do, and step out with Hollywood-perfect curls.


And if for whatever reason I want my child to look pageant ready, she too can get her very own head of curls made from scrunchy foam tubes.

You have GOT to be kidding me.

Moving right along...

I love to bake. But I am a terrible egg cracker and divider. Again, problem solved with yet another "how did I ever live without it" invention.

The EZ Cracker.

Yes, the product actually uses the letters E and Z to emphasis just how simple their product makes the grueling task of cracking an egg.

Because we've all cracked an egg directly into our stove burner at least once before, right?


Some of the things that are invented these days absolutely blow me away. Especially in the midst of our country's economic crisis.

But my hair is curlier, and my muffins are egg-shell free because of it.

no explanation needed

My sister is currently living in a 4-bedroom apartment/university housing, with only one roommate.

Earlier this week, Grace and her roommate received the following email from a prospective tenant.

When Grace read it to me word-for-word over the phone, I knew I just had to pass it along. The last paragraph is a humdinger.

Subject: Hello, I am looking for roommates.


Hello

Glad to know you. My name is Taotao, from China. I am a new graduate student in Department of Education. I am looking for a bedroom in Gateway. Leasing office recommended you to me. I am quite and do not smoke. In spare time, I often study. I am on campus in daytime on weekday.On weekend, I always do some sports.
I know there is a big dog in your apartment. I like dogs.
There is one thing. When Chineses people cook, there would be some smell sometimes, but I can also control. Could you accept this?
I hope you will accept me as a new roommate.

Taotao

adventures in lunchtime parking, parts one and two

This is a two-part story. The 1st part happened back at the beginning of the summer -it was funny, but not blog-worthy. Only when it happened again, at the same restaurant, did I deem it "Angie" enough to share.

One day in June, I had taken my little car to get new tires and had to borrow a friends car to run and pick up a salad for lunch. For those of you familiar with the Nashville area...I ran to the Calypso Cafe on Thompson Lane. I was in her Tahoe - which is relativity bigger than my Honda. I parked with someone to the left, right and in front of me - but when I went inside there was no car behind me. Backing up and exiting should not be a problem.

I get my salad and proceed back to the car, only to find some dip stick has parked his car directly behind me. And cars are still on every side of me. Leaving me with absolutely no way to pull forward or in reverse.

So I do what anyone in my situation would have done - I got out of the car, ate my salad from the to-go box it was in, told work I was running late and waited until someone moved their car. The person parked in front of me pulled out, and I immediately pulled through. See visual below.


Fast-forward to a beautiful fall Wednesday in September. I met a friend for lunch, and to no surprise there was very limited parking. I found a spot that might technically not have been a spot, but it had painted lines and so I gave it a go. This "spot" was situated to the side of the restaurant, in front of the dumpster.

Again, I come out of the restaurant only to find a large, black Suburban completely blocking my car, leaving me zero room to move. I laughed hysterically to myself for like 30 seconds before I realized there was no way I could call in to work for the second time and tell them I was once again going to be late for being stuck in a parking spot at the same restaurant.

So, what do I do? I hightail my car over a pretty large chunk of sidewalk and proceed on. I got out to survey any damage I could have done to my car, which was thankfully none. Again, we have visuals.


If I am not careful - one of these will wind up on my bumper one day.


Does Calypso deliver?

mmm pumpkin bread

About a month ago, I posted more or less about how on-edge I was for fall to get here and get here fast!

According to my planner, today is the first day of fall. And yet by the looks of any thermometer, today could easily fit a typical June, July or August day in Nashville.

I'm over it!

To hopefully push fall along, at least in the food category, I am sharing with you a recipe for the BEST pumpkin bread you'll ever eat.

Last year, I made this for the first time on one of the first cooler days of fall. I went after work to grab some of the ingredients I did not have on hand, which included canned pumpkin.

One hour and four (that is not a type-o) grocery stores later, I found canned pumpkin at Wal-Mart. So I bought every can they had left, which was only like 5.

Hopefully with it still being warmer out, canned pumpkin isn't as hard to find as it will be when it cools off in a few weeks.

If you do find it, this recipe is a must - it makes two loafs.

YUM.


Courtesys of the Mountain Brook Country Club Cookbook

1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 cups sifted flour
2 cups (or one can) of pumpkin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
2 (3 oz) boxes of cook and serve vanilla pudding (not instant!)

Beat together oil & sugars, adding eggs one at a time. Blend well. Add pumpkin. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Pour into two bread loaf pans that have been greased and floured. Bake at 350 for 45 to 50 minutes. Inhale the wonderful aroma! When it's done, sprinkle the top with cinnamon & sugar and slice.

Closet dork? or just particular?

I am particular about a few things.

O.k. well let's be honest...a lot of things.

One of them being pens.

For my fellow FRA alumni: remember the big Barney-purple bag I had full to the brim with every pen you could imagine? Black ink, blue ink, gel pens, clicky pens...? I don't quite know how I collected so many throughout the years, but I did.

At work, my silver pen can (from college) is so full of pens that you can hardly take one out.


I don't know what my obsession is. Clearly, I can only use one at a time (although it would be pretty funny if you walked in and saw me trying to write with 5 pens in my hand).

A while ago I went out to eat and upon signing my check, I held in my hand the most amazing pen ever. It was made by Bic, called the Atlantis. Sounds like a strip club to me.

But OMG was it ever amazing.


As much as I don't want to admit to it, and am ashamed and embarrassed to say...I took the pen. I strategically acted like I accidentally dropped it in my purse. And off I went.

Don't judge. She got a good tip.

Well said pen eventually ran out of ink, so I ordered some from our office supply distributor.

Again, the best pen ever.

I gave one of the pens to my friend Todd, who wrote the following for me to share.

When Awkward informed me of the most awesome pen ever I had to give it a shot. I'm not a total pen snob but I worked as a server and you become very protective of them. People steal them which sucks and they'll break the clips off which is annoying. Finding a good pen is always nice. Here we have the Bic Atlantis 1.2. I was gonna make a crack about how stupid having a version 1.2 was, but then I realized that it means a 1.2mm width. Well, what a wonderful width to write with. I don't know what other writing devices' widths are, but here...1.2 mm just feels right. Overall its a buy. It writes like a gel pen even though its a ball point and has a very comfortable grip. Gripes? Only downfall is its not a clicky pen. So for a pen at the desk go for it. Have a ball(point). But if your gonna carry it with you or have it in the car, its gotta be a clicky pen. Nobody wants to fiddle with a cap at the bank.

We may or may not have had an 8 minute conversation about the Bic Atlantis on G-Chat this morning. And I may or may not be a closet dork. Or am I just particular?

fancy was my name

Before there were honky tonk badonkadonks and hillbilly bones, there were these two:



The King and Queen of country.

I've listened to country music my whole life - I have memories of my grandmother's kitchen radio playing Dolly and Tammy on Saturday morning as she was making country ham and eggs. Everyday on the drive to school, Mom would have the radio on country. I remember being mezmorized by Reba's Fancy video. And, of course, I was born in the country music capital of the world. And while I could listen to Billy Joel on repeat 24/7, I've always been partial to country.

So when the opportunity came to go see George & Reba in concert this past Saturday...two country staples that I have never in concert before but have listened to longer than I can remember, I decided to go.

And boy was I glad that I did.

It was insanely good.

What's that you say? You thought my heart belonged to him?


Well DUH! It does.

But George Strait is a legend. He has more number one hits than any singer in any genre of music, ever. Reba is the 2nd highest female country singer of all time. They are the ones that everyone in country music today looks up to. So put the two together, playing songs you have been listening to for ages, and it is bound to be a good concert.

Their stage was set in the middle of the arena, and they literally played for almost four hours total - no frills, no animation. Just music. They never sang together, but they have enough number one songs (he has 57, she has 34) to hold their on. I think between the two of them, there was only one song I didn't know the words to.

I almost chose not to go, to watch my Vols play Oregon... but we all know how well that went.

I think I picked the better choice.