I'm a girl of many talents...

BUT baking a cake isn't one of them. That sure doesn't stop me from trying though! Behold, the hub's birthday cake!!!

Most 5-year old's could do better. Oh yes, and those are my piddly balloons I about lost a lung over. Certainly I will never be one of those moms who bakes birthday cakes for their kids' birthday parties. I so envy that talent... same with cookie decorating... but I've given up on it. I've got plenty a bakery on speed dial for such an occasion! Plus, hello, it's not like I can be *awesome* at everything. ;-)

The fire department's on high alert...

Today is the hub's 35th birthday! Whoah... I'm glad I'm sitting down. I mean, that's old. He can officially be president now. I suppose he better start acting all adult-like from here on out. And as a potential first lady, perhaps I better step up my game as well?

Nevertheless... Happy Birthday, dear hub of mine! You are my everything and I can't wait to celebrate this special day with you (and also drag it out as long as possible, as we tend to do)!


I've been up baking a cake this morning and *trying* to blow up balloons. I have a whole new appreciation for balloon vendors. I think I'll dog-ear that page in the phonebook, given that I about had a heart attack trying to blow up six measly balloons. Oh well, it's the thought, right?!

Not sure what the plans are for today (his actual birthday)... but Saturday night the two of us are going out for a swanky birthday dinner and then we'll get to celebrate again with my parents next weekend. My mom's birthday is about a week after the hub's, so we usually do a family birthday dinner out somewhere. Fun, fun! We loves birthdays.

I want to thank the Academy...

Were the Oscars awesome this year, or were they *AWESOME*? I'm a total awards show junkie, so I'll watch them anyway, but I just thought the Oscars were done SO well this year... the best show I can remember in years. The set was gorgeous, the host was fabulous, and I loved all the skits and bits thrown in there. Now, admittedly, I totally crashed around 11pm, so I missed the last hour or so. But I had tivo on high alert, so we'll be going back at some point this week to catch it all.

I loved Hugh Jackman (hello, Wolverine!) and I just adored the opening skit he did, especially when he pulled Anne Hathaway on stage! (Sure glad she changed for this - I might've screamed had he tried to pick her up in that red carpet number of hers.)



And I was ROLLING when Ben Stiller came on stage spoofing Joaquin Phoenix... omg. I love Ben Stiller.



I just thought the whole thing was awesome... the presenters were great and well chosen. And I REALLY liked how they did the acting awards with 5 previous winners coming on stage and each one speaking directly to the different nominees. That was really touching and you could tell the nominees loved it too. So much better than that crap they tried a few years ago where winners stood in the aisles to accept their awards. Who wants to accept an Oscar in an aisle? Um...

As for the red carpet viewing (which I explained to the hub is a sport after he commented on the "Nascar signs" pointing to the stars on E!), I was overall very impressed. Firstly, I was glad to see my main man looking rather dapper!


He's hit many a red carpet looking like a goof (a rather adorable goof though), so this was so refreshing and HOT! Again - hands off, ladies. He's been mine since Weird Science, so I don't want to hear it.

As for the gowns, my absolute favorites of the night were Marisa Tomei and Natalie Portman. It was so great to see Marisa looking fabulous (she's worn some weird stuff before too). Her dress was just over-the-top amazing. And Natalie is just such a classic beauty - LOVED her dress.




I also thought Anne Hathaway looked amazing!


And where was Cate Blanchett? I didn't catch wind of her anywhere. I thought she'd be there with Benjamin Button having so many nods. She's one I always keep an eye out for...

Oh but let's not forget the *misses* either... There were several, but I guess my #1 taker for "WTF?" would be Jessica Biel. It looks like she rolled out of bed and grabbed this number off the rack.


It's not the big bow-like fabric draped down the front that turns me off... it's the scraggly tresses and the ill-fitting skirt. For one thing, if you're going to wear a full-length fitted gown, you've got to get the length just right. And did anyone notice that she had black shoes on underneath? I don't like that. I like an unexpected pop of color on shoes, but when your dress is that dramatic, keep it simple, sister. And then the hair... it's not that the hair was overly awful, but it just didn't compliment the dress. With that big blossoming bow, a more sleek updo would have served her better. It's all about balance, and this libra is not impressed.

But yeah... what a great show, huh? So glad I tivo'd it so I can revisit it whenever. Not sure I've ever said that about any awards show! Did y'all enjoy as much as I did? What were your personal hits and misses?!

On another note... someone asked how I liked Confessions of a Shopaholic. I LOVED it! Now bear it mind, I haven't read the books yet, so I can't attest as to how it compared to the book. But by itself as a film, I thought it was super cute. Isla Fisher was great! It's sure to become part of my DVD collection in the near future.

Alright gals, I'm off to hop in the shower and start yet another day of number crunching fun! Happy Tooooosday! :-)

Shecky's is back!

Hey girls! Hope you all had a good week. Mine was kinda long, but good! We actually went to see my doctor today to discuss our gameplan for Buford Baby. It was great to get caught up and back in the swing of things. I was telling my friend, Jill, that it's kind of a weird mix of emotions. It's super exciting and encouraging to get a plan laid out and know what steps are next, but there's always frustration and sadness mixed in there... wondering why the heck we have to go through all this crap to have a freaking baby. But no, overall, it's all good and we're really excited. We're still laying low till tax season is over, so our first go with IUI will be in May. Good stuff!

OK so on to other fun things happening in May... Shecky's Girls Night Out is returning to Atlanta! Once again, it'll be at the gorgeous Biltmore Ballrooms in midtown. You may've caught my post a few months back when they were here last fall. This is a great, great event and girls, the price is right! You can get in for free as a Shecky's insider, but trust me... pony up and get the goodie bag ticket! Remember how honkin' huge I mentioned they were last time? Lots of fun stuff in there and definitely worth the few extra bucks. Plus you're getting free cocktails... hello. And I know we're all pinching our pennies... but remember, I didn't spend a dime last time (aside from my ticket price and parking), and we had a blast. I was sold on the goodie bag and free drinks. We loves free! So grab your girlfriends and make a night of it! Click below to learn more and purchase tickets...

Alright... y'all have fabu weekends! This weekend is my slumber party with Lucky and kuntry bride. We're going to see Shopaholic tomorrow afternoon and then we're heading back to Lucky's for an equally delicious girls' night *in*... and funny thing, we're apparently not the only ones! Hmmm... maybe we're on to something!

Dollhouse.

OK so is anyone else super excited for the premiere of Dollhouse tonight on Fox? As if I need another TV show to follow... But as a total goob for all things Buffy, I am super excited to see what this new show of Joss Whedon's is all about. I just love his writing style and quirky humor. Buffy always CRACKED me up. I hope it's a great show because I haven't been able to fill my Buffy hole, you know.

Plus the main chick on Dollhouse, Eliza Dushku, was on Buffy for a couple of seasons...

And you remember her from Bring it On, right?

Can't wait! And you know, I must say the Buffy alum have done rather well. Momma's so proud...

Mmmm... I miss the sharp teeth, but I daresay Angel's looking good. Bones is a really good show... don't watch it regularly, but it's a good one.

And Oz... what hasn't he done? I love him. He made werewolves cool long before Jacob Black ever existed.

Buffy's lil sis is all grown up! Didn't she do a few episodes of Gossip Girl?

And hello... who knew Willow could be so hot? I don't watch it regulary, but How I Met Your Mother is a super cute show.

OK girls... I'm off to make some dinner for me and the poochies. The hub's working tonight, so it'll just be me, a glass of wine, the remote, and the doggies. Doesn't that sound dreamy?

One week and two days.

That's how quickly we got our Fed tax refund! Woot woot! I e-filed that puppy last Wednesday and this morning the hub nudged me in bed to tell me our refund hit our account. Yay for e-filing! The craptastic year we had in 2008 was a strain on the wallet (ahem, townhouse), but it looks mighty purty on a tax return. So watchout, debt snowball, you're about to get your arse kicked! (Or at least heavily bruised.)

Hope y'all have a fabulous weekend! And of course, a wonderful Valentine's Day too! The hub and I are doing our usual fondue dinner at home tomorrow night in our Valentine jammies. There's just nothing better! Lots of mushy, mushy love to you all! :-)

Rue La Lilly.

Oh man... did anyone hit up the Lilly boutique at Rue La La this week? Definitely had one of those "I wish I could be irresponsible" moments. Some killer deals for sure! If you snagged anything, tell me about it so I can live vicariously through you! I'd been after Rue La La to do a Lilly boutique from the beginning... and of course by the time they do it, we're on a tight budget and I have to restrain myself! OH well... next time maybe!

Today's Forecast: A Drop in Temperature with a Chance of Showers

So I have to say this basal body temp thing totally fascinates me. Why I brushed it off before, I have no idea. I guess the thought of having to remember to take my temp every morning didn't appeal to me. But hello, it's free, and of course... my chart is the freaking poster child for how it works. Of course! But really, that's a good thing because I can toss those expensive ovulation predicter kits. Anyway, so I completed my first cycle with success recording my temps everyday (translation: I started today, so forgive my foul mood). I knew it was coming as I noticed my temp starting to drop. And when I saw a bunch of my facebook friends filling out the "mommy survey" and I wanted to throw cement blocks at the computer screen, I really knew it was coming. I especially love the first question: "Was your first pregnancy planned?" Vomit.

Speaking of, CB is preggers. And until she revealed the news to her fam recently, I was the sole person who knew about it (besides her and her husband of course). Now, as I've said many times, I don't want my friends to ever feel like they have to tip-toe around me for fear of hurting me with their own happy news.... but it's still a bit of a punch in the gut, no matter what.  But here's my real dilemma... I'm pretty confident she's expecting me to offer to host a shower for her. So that's where I'm stuck. I feel compelled to offer. Which, all things being equal, I would normally jump at because, hello, I LOVE throwing parties. But in case you don't know, we prego-challenged effing hate baby showers. It's the ultimate celebration of everything you can't have. Baby stuff exploding everywhere followed by "ooohs" and "ahhhs" and the inevitable mommy club discussions comparing labor experiences and breast feeding challenges. Now I won't speak for all prego-challenged because I wasn't always like this. Never thought I'd hate baby showers (I used to LOVE them)... but time wears on you. No matter how positive I generally may be about the whole thing, there are certain things I try to separate myself from and I think that's OK. No matter how at peace I am with where we are when we're in our own little world, baby showers and kids' parties are like flashing billboards reminding me that I've been left behind. I always put on a brave face when I'm forced into these situations, but I do try to avoid them.

So what should I do? I would rather suck it up and host one than hurt her feelings. So I'm guessing, knowing myself, that I'll eventually break down and offer it up. Kuntry bride and Lucky said I should just lay low for a bit and wait it out. Maybe someone else will host one. But how long can I wait? She's right at 3 months. (And keep in mind that I'm a planner... I like to "book" things way in advance.) I thought about offering to host a couple's shower... at least then it would be more of a party mood vs. a traditional baby shower that would be over-the-top oooey goooey. Thoughts?!

Again - sorry for the woe-is-me crap post! Just one of "those" days. I hope y'all have a fabulous Friday! I get to wear jeans today and that always put me in a better mood - why is that?! It totally does though. And sorry I've been so slack catching up on your blogs lately - as I mentioned, my work banned us from blogger, so my bloggy time has been kinda sparse. And after staring at 4 computer screens (yep, 4) for 10+ hours each day, the last thing I wanna do once I get home is get on the 'puter. But I'm still managing to hop on here and there! Well have a wonderful weekend, all! I promise I'll come back with a better 'tude. ;-)

Hello out there!

Just a quick *hello* as I'm sippin' my morning coffee in my robe here... been a bizzy bee you know. And did I tell you I can't get on blogger at work anymore? Oh the horror. And I can't stream radio anymore either so it's like dead silence at my desk. I have a radio, but the signal sucks where I am, so no use there. I need to get one of those iPod docking station thingees... do any of y'all have one of those? If so, what kind? I don't need a fancy one... just something that will work. Doesn't even have to be cute. But for now, I'm resorting to my Harry Potter audio CD's... by the way, if you're a HP nerd like me and you haven't experienced the audio versions of the books read by Jim Dale, you totally need to get a hold of them. They're incredible. And don't be like, ohhhh I'm a reader, I don't do audio books. No, no - I am too. Just trust me!

OK I'm off to go dry my hair and head out for another long day... hope y'all are having a great week! :-)