2 People, 4 Cats and a Dream

Kristen's Baby Shower Cake

2014-01-25T22:12:00.000-05:00

My best friend, D, recently asked me to make the baby shower cake for her sister-in-law, Kristen. Of course I was incredibly excited to do it!

Kristen's mom had chosen a book theme, and had found some adorable baby shower decorations with a Dr. Suess theme.

I had an awesome open book cake pan that Becky and Linda had gifted me a few years ago, and I was excited to get to use it! I did two layers, one in the book cake pan, and another flat layer in your standard 1/4 sheet cake pan.

The cake was an awesome fudgy chocolate with ganache in between the layers. Then I iced the whole thing with vanilla italian buttercream.

I wanted it to look like the book was coming to life (not in a creepy way), so I made each fish progressively more 3D. Becky and Linda were kind enough to let me use their kitchen again, and Becky made those fabulous green fish!

We used a 50/50 mix of gum paste and fondant for the red fish and the mom and baby fish. It was a little bit of a challenge modeling something 3D after a 2D image, but it turned out to be a lot of fun and was pretty cute in the end.

My oh-so-artsy Instagram shot of the cake

Totes M'Oats

2014-01-25T18:32:00.000-05:00

Last week in PA we got some snow. It was cold, it was hard to drive in, it was uncomfortable. All of you out there who live in places like Chicago, Minnesota or Finland probably think we're a bunch of Pennsylvania pansies. And we are, I will not argue that point. I just really really hate being cold.

I went in to work last Tuesday before the snow started, and left at 1pm. It took me 25 minutes to get off the campus where I work, and an hour total to drive the 13 miles home. I'm not saying you should feel bad for me, simply giving the backstory. Just call me Dr. Doofenschmirtz.

When it snows, no one wants to go to the grocery store. It's one of the comforting things about winter in PA. Once you're home, it's perfectly socially acceptable to not leave your house again until you have to do something important... like shovel your driveway or go back to work.

Randy and I weren't low on groceries, or food, but we had eaten dinner and were binge watching season 8 of Supernatural. I got in the mood for ice cream, but we didn't have any, and I was NOT going back out into that snow to get some. I wanted something sweet with chunks of chocolate. Then I came up with a plan using ingredients we did have.

Looks a little weird, huh? It was SO GOOD!

I was thinking I could go for some peach cobbler, but I didn't feel like going to that much trouble, and what good is peach cobbler without ice cream? So then I was thinking of this dessert we used to make at Girl Scout camp when I was little. You take canned peaches, drain the juice, put some slices in some foil with part of a Hershey's bar and some marshmallows and throw it on a grill. It all melts together into this gooey yummy mess. I wanted something slightly more substantial, so I combined the peach cobbler and the chocolate/peach/marshmallow thing into one really fast dessert:

Totes M'Oats (Instead of Totes McGoats. Randy came up with it and it cracked me up)

1/2 cup quick oats
1/4 cup brown sugar (you can use white sugar too, the brown sugar makes it have a slight molasses taste)
1 ~15 oz can of peaches (don't drain!)
chocolate chips
mini marshmallows

I put the quick oats in the bottom of a casserole dish and poured in the can of peaches, juice and all. I sprinkled the brown sugar over the peaches, then I threw in a handful of chocolate chips and covered the whole thing with marshmallows. I baked it at 350 for 20 minutes, and didn't even preheat the oven. It baked in less than an episode of Supernatural, even without commercials!

It was so good, but rich! It made enough for 4 servings, so we each had two. Just kidding! We had some left over. It was screaming for ice cream, so the next day I stopped off at the store on my way home. Even though I just wanted to hibernate, I picked up some vanilla ice cream to scoop onto the reheated leftovers. Totally worth the effort.

:)

PS: My Mom put a post on Facebook this week asking what you WILL leave your house for when it's just too darn cold. She got a lot of funny (and unusual) responses. Her one thing was iced tea, and obviously mine was ice cream. What's yours?

Felt Bird Ornaments

2014-01-05T17:01:00.002-05:00

The felt bird ornaments were actually really nice and relaxing to make. They weren't quick, but they were pretty easy and mindless and therefore kind of meditative. I recommend this is you've had a stressful week at work and just want to veg in front of the fireplace with your Keller sandwich.

Between the tree and the fireplace, all four cats have been glued to the living room, and they've been uncharacteristically sweet with each other. It's a Christmas miracle!

I created this template from an ornament I saw in the Mexico pavilion down in Disney back when Dad told Randy he couldn't run a marathon.

I wanted to make six birds, one for every household coming to Christmas plus Bryan and Ashley (they were celebrating with Ashley's family this year). I created templates for each part of the bird, extending each one out a quarter inch. I folded the felt in half to double each cut, and cut out 6 sets of bird pieces from different colored felt. I wanted the beaks to all be yellow or orange, so I just cut out multiple beaks from the yellow. I also cut all the eyes out of acceptable eye-colored felt. Forgive me, but I think pink eyed birds are a little creepy.

Then I pinned them together with a sewn-together beak tucked backwards between the bird "faces". I sewed along the mid back, around the head and half way down the tummy. I had to leave it open enough to turn it inside and outside for embroidering (maybe I should have done this first?) and to later stuff them with fiberfill.

Now they're starting to look like birds! Notice for the yellow one I used an orange beak to keep things colorful.

Then I sewed on the wings using... my grandmother would be so disappointed... a slip stitch I think? and embroidered them according to the template above. I just did it freehand with no guide since I wanted them to look imperfect, like folk art. Then I stuffed them with fiberfill and added long pieces of different colored felt for the tail. Finally, I held the tail pieces inside the back end of the bird (sorry for the mental image) and sewed a straight line across the tails with my sewing machine, connecting my tails and closing up my bird. Then I made little parallel cuts to the end of the birds to create feathers into the end of their tails.

I tried to use all different shades of the colors to get some diversity into my tail feathers :)

I got the mini piñatas and red and green maracas from Oriental Traders (.com).

As it was, I got my six birds done by the skin of my teeth Christmas Eve, but I would have loved to have more birds on the tree.

How was your Christmas/Hanukkah/Festivus/Christmakkah? Did you make any home-made ornaments? We would love to see them!

Its Gonna Be A Long Walk Home

2014-01-04T18:52:00.000-05:00

Finally, Randy has returned to blogging!

While you read this post, I recommend that you listen to the Bruce Springsteen's "Human Touch" and "Long Walk Home."

If you live in the northeast region of the United States, you are experiencing one heck of a winter cold front. Thursday, as some of you may have experienced, was a snowy night.

This is my story of Thursday evening.

One of my coworkers brought in cookies. He had one left, so I took it for Jodi. She likes cookies.

I had decided to leave work on-time on Thursday. For those that know me, you may find that statement hard to believe. But, I wanted to be home before the snow started. Smart idea, huh?

By the time I got to the final stretch of the drive, it had yet to start snowing. So I decided to go to the gym. In subsequent posts, I will describe the training for another marathon. But I had wanted to begin the training again. Why sit at home, right? It wasn't snowing. How ironic.

During my workout, I saw that it was snowing. So I quickly changed and left. But, Jodi and I needed a few groceries... and with a Wegman's across the street from the gym... how long would it take?

The snow wasn't bad when I left. I had made it up the first of 2 major hills. I can get home, right? And so, the story begins...

My car slid out on the second hill. I smelled the transmission heating as my car tires failed to make contact with solid, dry road. Now, for the first time in my driving life, I was afraid. I called Jodi. I told her that I'm not driving home.

I made a K-turn on a highway. The traffic going in the opposite direction was very heavy. Luckily, my direction had no cars. Gee, maybe it was because it was impossible to drive. A man driving a utility truck stopped traffic to let me enter. I told Jodi that I'm going to leave my car in a neighborhood. So I turned right into the next street, found a good spot, and turned off my engine.

Jodi asked where I was. I have no idea. I walked up to the house and knocked on the door. A little dog barked and a man opened the door. Soon, his family (wife and 3 daughters) showed up.

"Sir, my car won't make it up the road. Do you mind if I leave my car in front of your house?"

"Do you want to call someone? Can someone get you?"

"Yeah, I'm currently on the phone with my wife. But I can't have her drive here considering I can't get home."

The mother: "Would you like to stay here for a while?"

The oldest daughter: "We're gonna watch Sharknado. Do you want to watch?"

I said, "Actually, I've seen Sharknado. And I appreciate all your kindness, but I just want to leave my car somewhere safe so I can walk home."

The mother: "You're going to walk?! Would you like to stay here?"

I said, "No, I really appreciate it, but I'd like to go home. I can walk. No big deal."
The mother: "Let me make you a sandwich. Let me give you some boots. Look at your shoes! You'll fall."

I said, "No, I really do appreciate it, but I'm gonna head out."

I moved my work computer and Xbox 360 (I just bought it at lunch) into the trunk with my groceries. I gave the key to my car to the family. I gave the cookie to the mom. Yes, it was for Jodi, but it was the only thing I could offer for her kindness.

And I was off. Flyers' ski hat, leather jacket, and gloves.

Jodi was on the phone (with my earbuds so I didn't have to carry it). She was on Google Earth helping me navigate. She was awesome.

I walked about 100 yards and fell. I laughed. The mother called it!

I am the luckiest person in the entire world. For all the doors I could have knocked on. Most houses... the people would hide from the unknown. They wouldn't help. Wouldn't want to get involved. But, I am so thankful that this family... a name I will not post... helped. And offered me more. All I took was a parking spot in their driveway.

So, the first song I thought of was Bruce Springsteen's "Human Touch." He sings, "There ain't no kindness in the face of strangers. Ain't gonna find no miracles here." But, as much as I love Bruce, he got this one wrong. There is a kindness in strangers.

I'll be honest, I felt really comfortable walking. I had no fear of being behind the wheel. No fear of hitting someone or being hit. I had my feet.
Let me tell you, it was 19 degrees, 15mph winds with wind chill at about 0 degrees, and 4 inches of snow and growing. This was the complete opposite of the marathon.

It wasn't a bad walk. I got to take some shortcuts because Jodi was navigating. She got me to Target. I needed stuff.

First, I bought 2 pairs of boot socks. My feet were wet and cold from trudging thru the snow. From my military trained friends, I was told to always change your socks when you have a chance.
I bought an extra large hooded sweatshirt because strangely, Target doesn't sell men's scarves. My neck was very cold from the wind. Look, I get teased for being cheap, but I'm not gonna risk frostbite over a few bucks. And I bought active wear long johns... blue... so I look like Spider-man. I changed into my new clothes and put my wet socks in my pocket. I was very toasty.

I started walking again. This time... the cold did NOT bother me.

Jodi and I had two very funny moments. Again, Jodi is on Google Earth. She sees where I'm going from a satellite photo. But I have eyes too. So, I'm walking and Jodi says, "Go through the trees."

"Uhh, that's thick brush."

"No, it just two trees thick."

"Uhh, you're not seeing what I'm seeing."
I did find a space and slid thru on my butt. It was too steep to try to walk... and heaven help me if I turn my ankle or something.

Now, I'm walking through someone's back yard. I'm through parking lots. I'm on side streets.

The other funny moment, "you know, Jod, the snow is actually pretty. I wish you were here."

"Shut up! Can I pick you up?"

"No, not yet... let me get somewhere closer. The roads aren't plowed yet. I'll tell you when you can come."

Finally, I got to the Wawa about a half mile from our house. I said, "Ok, now you can come get me."
I had walked about 6 miles... after my 2.5 mile run at the gym. Even when I got into Jodi's car, I didn't feel comfortable with being in a car. I wish I could have finished my walk. But, it was nice to stop walking.

First, I called the family to tell them that I was home. It was so nice that they were worried.

Next, I emailed my bosses that I was not working on Friday. I told them that I left my laptop in my abandoned car.

And then, I couldn't get Bruce Springsteen's "Long Walk Home" out of my head. No, its not about walking home in the snow... but the chorus seemed to be the easiest to fit into my adventure.

After all the stress that Jodi went through, she was not amused with my self-proclaimed "Tale of Huckleberry Finn and Samwise." She and I made cupcakes for the family.

The next day, she took me to my car. We had shovels in her car so we could shovel their driveway. We got to the house and I said, "Sonvabitch!"

Not only did the family shovel their own driveway, they wiped the car off my car and reversed my car so I could easily get out. Can you believe that -ish!? Who the heck do they think they are?!

Jodi and I gave them the cupcakes and they returned my key. And we were off again. And I drove home with no issue.

I'm still sore from walking.

Mexican Christmas!

2013-12-29T21:43:00.000-05:00

So Randy and I haven't been very good about blogging lately, but we're back! I've recently started a new job (same company), but now I'm a supervisor. As if that isn't exciting enough, I'm the supervisor for a team that is a new initiative at my company, so it's kind of like a start-up and very entrepreneurial. It's super challenging and really fun, and I love it, but when I get home from work every day, I'm drained. Randy has something similar going on at work - not a new position, but he's working on a new objective for his company too. We're both getting confused about what day of the week it is because we've been working Saturdays, but have a random Friday off... I'm not making excuses, I don't believe in excuses, but I thought I owed an explanation at least to myself.

So anyway, let's jump into Christmas! It came quick this year, didn't it? With Thanksgiving so late and Hanukkah so early, it really threw us for a loop! But this is the Christmas we have been waiting on for a while... Mexican Christmas! And we're hosting! And I can't stop exclaiming!

You might remember Southern BBQ Christmas last year at my brother's house, and Cajun Christmas in 2011 at Randy's brother's. We have a tradition of hosting a themed Christmas every year based on a chosen culture. Since Randy's family is jewish, and mine is catholic, we decided to start creating our own traditions together rather than make Randy's family fit into our traditions. And I was totally fine with giving up the ham on Christmas day. Sorry, Mom.

So for Mexican Christmas, which later became Merry-achi Christmas, we started with this. I found the star at Target. It was pretty rustic looking, and it was $5. Sold.

Instead of our traditional red tree skirt with snowmen, I wrapped our Penn State blanket around the tree Linus-style, which the cats loved. If the cats puke on it, it washes very easily, unlike our tree skirt. I wanted to stick to the Mexican theme as much possible, so anything overly American I left in the christmas boxes. That means no red suited Santas, no snowflakes (does it snow in Mexico?), and no snowmen.

So Randy, Keller and Rocky took a break while I sorted through our ornaments and pulled out all the colorful ones, all the folk artsy ones, and the ones that could look sorta Mexican if you squinted at them sideways.

Who do you think he's talking to? I can't remember, but if I had to bet money, I'd say his mom.

So then our tree looked like this:

Feliz Navidad, right? Wrong.

Even with Camille posing for the camera, the tree just wasn't complete. But she is cute, isn't she? I ordered some mini maracas and piñatas from Oriental Trading Company, and DIYed some cute felt bird ornaments. More to follow on those.

In the meantime, I got the nativity set up, or as I like to call it, La Navidad.

Aaaaaaand just because, here is a picture of Keller when he cuddles with Randy.

He's such a sweet little monkey.

Anyone else celebrating a non-traditional Christmas this year? Have any cute kitties that like to snuggle by the tree? Awwww c'mon, who can't resist these little toes!

Tessa and Tom's Wedding Cake and Cupcakes

2013-08-04T14:43:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, Sugar Whim was hired to make a cutting cake and 150 cupcakes for the country wedding of Tessa and Tom. Tessa is the youngest in our buddy Carl's family (The Carl combination was named for his birthday cake a few years ago). Tessa is the last one of the 4 siblings to get married, and the 3rd sibling to have a Sugar Whim wedding cake!

You might remember Kat's cake from last October, or Billy's cutting cake from a few years ago. When Tessa asked me to make her cake, I was extremely excited! It takes a lot to get this:

from this:

But it was worth every second. With such a large order, I usually enlist the help of some friends. Linda and Becky recently had their kitchen redone, and it is GORGEOUS. Like seriously the most beautiful and functional kitchen I have ever seen. We will need to go and crash their house some day so you can see how fabulous it really is... these crappy iphone pictures really don't do it justice. So when they offered to let me use their new kitchen AND help out, I jumped for it. I mean seriously, I have some of the best friends ever.

Here is Linda pouring out the batter for the cutting cake:

And her daughter, Becky, taking a break from mixing cupcake batter to snap some pictures with her phone:

The chocolate cupcake batter had all three of us hopping at some points - we had to melt chocolate and butter on the stove, mix our dry ingredients and measure our buttermilk all at the same time to keep production moving!

The batter came out thick, like chocolate pudding. It took a lot of self control to not stick our fingers in to taste the batter!

Tantalizing, isn't it?

After we baked them and mixed up the icing, I packed up all of my cupcakes (we also made italian cream cupcakes), cake layers, icings and fillings, and Randy and I drove up to State College to Hannah and Derrick's house. I woke up really early Saturday morning to fluff up the icings in the mixer and frost my cupcakes and cakes.

Hydrangeas have been blooming around here, and I am amazed at the colors - pinks, blues, purples, whites... but they're not solid, their beauty is the the layers of color. I didn't want to have flat colored cupcakes, so I mixed up a few different colors.

My color scheme was blues and purples, so I mixed up a light blue, and blue purple, a purple and a pinkier purple, along with using plain white icing, and I layered them in my icing bag to get all the different layers of color.

I used my fat cupcake swirl tip to ice all of the chocolate cupcakes to look like hydrangeas, and I used the same colored vanilla italian buttercream to make forget-me-nots, roses, and sweet peas on the chocolate iced cupcakes.

It was warm and humid, so my cake started to develop some condensation, but overall held up great in the heat.

The chocolate iced cupcakes were italian cream cake with chocolate chip cookie dough centers. I used condensed milk to give it the doughy consistency without using raw eggs!

I think these white and blues and white and purples are my favorite.

Tessa and Tom liked it too!

I got some absolutely beautiful cake cutting pictures, so I can't help but share them here.

Aren't they an adorable couple?

The cupcakes were completely decadent and wonderful, and the flavor combinations were excellent choices by the bride and groom.

Congratulations, Tom and Tessa! Thanks again for hiring Sugar Whim, and for making that one-of-a-kind cupcake stand!!! It was a beautiful display.

A little visitor

2013-07-14T22:05:00.001-04:00

A funny thing happened when Randy and I were working on Mom and Dad's powder room: One day I was waiting for Randy to help me measure the walls (it's a 2-person job). I was sitting in the living room looking out the window, and I see this snaking through the flower beds onto the front porch, and nearly had a heart attack.

For those of you who have known me a long time, you understand. For those who don't, this back is the spitting image of my first cat, Van Gogh, who passed away a few days before Randy and I were engaged, and is buried in the back yard. Before you get to thinking this is a zombie tale (tail, ha ha), I saw her face. Definitely not Van Gogh. Phew!

She walked up to the front door and started pawing at it. Who is this cat? Do Mom and Dad know her? So I did what any other pet owner would do, I went out on the front porch to see what was going on.

The cat's name is Ursula, and she had a number, but no address on her collar. I figured she was scared and lost, so I got her some food, and Randy called the number.

Randy talked to the man, whom we call "Ursula's Dad".

Randy told him where we were, and Ursula's dad came and got her. I was holding her in the kitchen, thinking she might get scared and run away before her dad came to get her. He came, I handed her over, he says, "Ursula wanders, but she's never walked into anyone's house before..." Ooops. She didn't come in, I carried her in because I thought she was an indoor cat that got out! Ursula is an outdoor cat! He put her down on the porch, and walked home. Ursula followed him like she was on a leash.

So a couple days later, I get a call from my brother, Bryan. The first thing he says is not "hello", or "hey, it's Bryan", it's "So I hear you met Ursula." Bryan did the SAME THING I did, was over at Mom and Dad's checking in on the house, and he met Ursula. He called Ursula's dad, and said he had his cat. So Ursula's dad says, "I think I talked to your brother or dad or someone last week." Ha! Randy was so offended that the guy thought he might be Bryan's dad! So Ursula's dad says she'll come home on her own.

A couple days later over the next weekend, I see Ursula sunbathing on the front porch.

I open the door to say hello, and Ursula walks into the house! Like she lived there! She goes into the kitchen, looks all around, walks into the dining room and into the living room, and jumps up into the window through which I first saw her. Of course I understand this is completely my fault. I should have recognized that she was an indoor/outdoor cat, but I didn't because my cats are indoor cats, and none of Mom and Dad's immediate neighbors have outdoor cats.

I knew Mom and Dad's cats, Tango and Foxtrot, would be upset if they came home to a new cat smell in the house, so I wrangled Ursula and gently took her outside. I slid shut the rolling screen door, and with one flick of her paw, Ursula snapped it right open again and walked right through. I didn't like doing it, but she's not our cat, and she has a good home, so I had to put her back out and shut the front door.

I walked by again, she was still there. I walked by again a little while later, and she was gone. Whew!

Until we went out back to use the miter saw on the back porch, and she was drinking out of the pool! She got through the fence! So we e-mailed Mom and Dad, and told them all about Ursula, how friendly she is, that she's a wanderer, but she has a good home, etc. Mom was excited to meet Ursula, but since they got home, we haven't seen her since! Has this ever happened to anyone else - you think you're helping out a lost pet, and you find out they're outdoor pets? Better to be willing to help someone who doesn't need your help, than to not be willing to help someone who needs it, right?

Mom and Dad's Powder Room - Final Reveal!

2013-06-24T21:33:00.001-04:00

While Randy was picking Mom and Dad up at the airport, I was attending to some last minute details. By the way, Randy stayed at work until 11pm so he could pick them up at the airport at 11:30. Major son-in-law points.

Anyway, while he was lazing away, I was putting the finishing touches on the bathroom. See anything missing?

After I put the doors back on that darn vanity, hung the mirror and the other pictures on the wall, and brought in the stand over the toilet, the room was starting to come together.

Ooooo... All you family coming for the 4th of July, can't wait to use these facilities, huh??

Is it me, or is it like Mardi Gras in here?

I got all of the accessories at Home Goods, except the towel rack and the stand behind the toilet. We got those at Tar-jay.

Then I started getting goofy, and accessorized some more. I think I bought those parrots in Disney World when I was little. I remember saving and saving my money to buy something big on the trip. I actually expected Mom and Dad to take them down, but they haven't yet! The huge blue vase was a birthday gift from my buddy, Eric. Mom had it in her living room, and it looked nice, so I let her keep it. I'm sure it'll get moved around to another room soon.

Anything I could find in my color scheme went into the bathroom, including the flowers Ashley put in a vase for Mom and Dad.

I can't get enough of that mirror Randy made.

Now the toilet paper holder/magazine rack blends into the wall. The trash can is an ice bucket! It's the perfect trash can for this bathroom. Small, and has a little plastic liner so you can put a plastic bag in it without it hanging out the top of the bucket.

Let's go back and see what it looked like before:

Yay for new powder rooms!

This Sink is Sunk

2013-06-10T22:03:00.002-04:00

Jodi: So last we left off, the powder room was looking like this:

The we put down the baseboard, the same way we did the top molding. We cut each piece to size, put them in place, cut the notch out of the one board for the vent cover, and then nailed them into place.

Then I went around and caulked all the edges and spackled all of the nail holes to get ready to paint. There are tons of good blogs out there who can give you step by step instructions, but since we're learning as we go, I'll just say what works well for us. I caulk the seams so they disappear, and use spackle on the nail holes because I can sand them down (can't sand caulk, it gets like dried glue with little bits of sand paper in it, ha ha), and get a nice, smooth finish like there were never any nails there to begin with.

Which leads us to... the sink.

We figured we'd throw it in there to see how it looks, but not hook it up yet, since I hadn't painted the bead board yet. And it's a good thing we did...

Randy: THE SINK DIDN'T FIT! If you look at the picture above with the plumbing, the drain goes thru the floor. When you add the sink, the basin is about 4" from the wall.

Jodi: If we were ok with the basin being so far from the wall AND taking out the trap in the pipes, we could keep it. We had visions on people losing wedding rings down there, never to be seen again. Does anyone want to buy a beautiful pedestal sink on Craig's list? We have one for sale.

So while I was painting the beadboard, Randy was in charge of re-doing the old 1979 builder's grade mirror that we took down. We looked at Lowes, Target and Home Goods, and we couldn't find a mirror we liked. We were also looking at mirrors with nice frames in a comparable size for around $50. We were already over budget, so I asked Randy to frame out the mirror with extra molding from the bathroom. It was pretty, and it had that lip that fit around the mirror perfectly.

Since the mirror would be going over part of the wall that was not a flat surface, we decided to attach the frame to the mirror, and hang it like a picture, rather than attaching the mirror back to the wall, and installing the molding directly into the wall.

He did a great job! Since it would be sitting over the very same molding it was surrounded with, I knew we couldn't leave it white. I took a chance and sprayed it with oiled rubbed bronze spray paint, which is what I used to spray the door knob. I wasn't sure how it would look, but I had it on hand, and figured we could always paint over it again.

It's hard to tell here, but it ended up looking like a million bucks! Or a $50 mirror from Target, but free! Except a couple of bucks for the L brackets Randy used to keep the mirror in the frame, we had everything else already. Just wait til you see this baby up on the wall.

It matches the stand we got at Target (while shopping for mirrors) that will go behind the toilet. Do you see if coming together now? Just a little sneak peek :)

So as Randy said, the new sink didn't work. We considered buying a new vanity, but it just wasn't in the budget. So I rescued the old one that Randy was using as a saw horse on the back porch. I scrubbed it down, sanded it, and primed it.

Now if you were doing this for the long haul, you would want to use some sort of special hard-wearing cabinet paint. No offense, Mom and Dad, but I used the high gloss white I used to paint the bead board. If it looks crappy in a year, we'll revisit the sink.

I also sanded, primed, and ORBed the knobs and hinges and stuff. I even did the faucet. We'll see how it holds up.

So then came the reinstalling of the original sink, now all fancy again with the help of some paint and a magic eraser.

Randy: I'd like to tell you why I'd never say that I'm up to "Jewish plumbing." When I finally reinstalled the plumbing, I had leaks at the hot water intake, the cold water intake and the trap. Yup, that's everywhere! I quickly fixed the hot and cold water. One was not tight enough. One was threaded badly. But the trap... I made 2 trips to Lowe's. Finally, I asked this guy because we had 2 days before we're picking up Jodi's parents'.

"Do you have any plumbing experience?"

"28 years."

"If you help me, I will come back and give you a hug."

"What's wrong?"

"I have a leak at the trap, but the thread tape and putty didn't stop it."

"Try this gasket... and stop over-torquing it. Hand tighten... then a little crank."

"That's it?!"

"That's it."

NO F***ING WAY! I called Jodi over to watch what I thought would be my greatest failure. And sure enough... it worked!

That's a real lesson for you folks. It might not be entertaining, but if you're installing plumbing... there you go. It's a little tip.

Jodi: We'll be back with the wrap up and the final reveal!

It's so easy being green

2013-06-09T17:50:00.001-04:00

Randy: Once upon a time, we started this blog to describe the process of cleaning our house. Hmmm... how do I explain what we're doing? This is yet another distraction from cleaning... but this story by far less amusing than rock concerts or trips to Disney.

Jodi woke me up one morning and said the very Phineas and Ferb-esque, "hey, I know what we're gonna do today. We're gonna redesign Mom and Dad's powder room." Jodi went on Craig's list and found a beautiful pedestal sink with faucet. That would be the centerpiece of the new bathroom.

Here's the plan... we're painting the walls a nice bright color. We're gonna put in some wainscoting. We're gonna install this new sink (instead of their horrible fixture). Simple enough?

Let's start with the demolition. It was fun. I got to rip out this horrible fixture and toss it to the side. I did get to empty the contents. There were golf balls in it. There were soaps stolen from hotel rooms from Disney (probably in the 1980s). It was crazy. Jodi had the pleasure of ripping the tiling off the walls (that were used instead of molding (don't ask). We were off to a good start.

Then we went for the supplies. All those commercials that show happy people leaving Home Improvement stores have big SUVs or trucks. My Honda was not able to hold the wainscoting. So I tried to rent a truck. Cool deal! $19 for the first hour. Awesome, I'd need it for 20 minutes.

"Ma'am, I'd like to rent your truck for an hour."

"The truck has been seized by police for the investigation of a DUI."

"Then why is the sign still out there?!"

"Advertising."

"Advertising what? You don't have a truck."

Whatever.

So Jodi bought some twine and we tied the stuff to the roof of the car. And like clockwork... it rained on the way home. Not too badly, but enough to get this off to a wrong start.

Let's begin with the painting. I'm not even gonna lie... Jodi took care of most of the painting. I suck at painting. I don't know why.

3 freakin' coats! You can see that I measured the 5' mark where it would be safe to stop because the wainscoting will go. But it took 3 nights to paint. And let me tell you... we work. We have jobs. So this started on a weekend, but now, we're coming to the house during the week. Ugh. Do you know much it sucks to work 8-10 hours per day... then commute 1+ hours... then start working again? And we're running out of time because we have about 2 weeks before her parents come home.

3 freakin' coats! We were almost out of the green paint. I can't lie though... it does look nice and bright. You'll see.

This bathroom defies the laws of geometry, mathematics, and physics. I took my 2' level to the threshold of the door. Vertical. I took my level to the adjacent corner. Vertical. No gaps between the surfaces and the level. This implies the walls are parallel.

Law of geometry: Two parallel lines never intersect nor diverge. They remain equidistant.
Keep this in mind.

At the 5' mark... 36.25 inches apart.
At the 3' mark... 36.75 inches apart
At the 1' mark... 37.5 inches apart.

I ate a lot of corn chips struggling with this. I must have measured and remeasured this about 1000 times. I still cannot explain it. I am a damn engineer, for cryin' out loud. WTF?!

I cut the first piece. Jodi and I used a hammer and nails to install it. Do you remember the board and batten fiasco of 2012? Our nail gun died. We're not returning to that. So we went to Sears to buy a nail gun with an air compressor. What's another $100+ among friends, right? The nail gun made life a lot easier.

I think the picture below is pretty charming. You can see my precious level and nail gun on the toilet. There are not many occasion in my life that I can use that sentence.

Jodi loves using wood filler and caulk and putty. She's such a goof. Oh, it dries white. She's not color blind.

Jodi: Having used caulk and spackle last summer on the board and batten, I thought the spackle would create I nice, seamless transition between the two boards behind the toilet. Yep, I was wrong. But it's ok, I went back over it with caulk.

Randy: It appears that this bathroom will make Jimmy Buffet proud. If you are a Parrothead that needs to poop... do we have a room for you!

Below is my weekend. It didn't take long for this project to stop being fun. If you'd ask what I'd been up to... I'd say, "Jewish carpentry." I think it is funny. If you need to understand why it is funny... you must be a priest.

This project required a whole lot less swearing than most projects. Maybe we're making some progress!

Jodi: While Randy was cutting and measuring the beadboard, I worked on other mini projects. Then when he was done, I'd run back over and we'd glue the back of each board and nail it in place.

This is the old magazine rack/toilet paper holder. Mom and Dad have had it for as long as I can remember, and I thought Dad might cry if I didn't put it back in. It was stained a dark walnut color, but I didn't think it would look good that way. So I sanded it, primed it with spray primer, and painted it the same nice, glossy white as the beadboard, so it would blend into the wall.

I looked around for some tropical hand towels for the bathroom, and I had my heart set on the hot pink I found when we were looking at paint colors:

I looked at Ikea, Target and Home Goods. I could find tropical prints, and pink towels, but not tropical pink hand towels. I did, however, find this awesome beach towel. So I cut it into fourths and sewed the edges.

And we had four new hand towels for $12.

Then I walked around and took pictures of some of the flowers in bloom around the back yard. I thought maybe we could frame some of them for the bathroom later? They fit into our color scheme.

Then we started working on the trim across the top of the beadboard. We got some with a lip at the top so it fit over the top of the beadboard.

We cut all four pieces and put them up in the bathroom. Then we nailed each corner, as opposed to installing it one piece at a time. It was easier to prevent moving and "cheat" the trim a little if it was a half a millimeter too short. Which it was on one corner.

Then I caulked around the edges.

It's looking good so far, right? We still need to finish the trim, paint the beadboard, tackle the sink and put the finishing touches on!

Room & Bead board

2013-06-02T13:32:00.004-04:00

We have officially lost control of the house again. We're catching up on laundry and dishes, but we have four happy cats and everyone is fed, so we must be doing something right. You see, we haven't been home very much lately since we undertook a project at my mom and dad's house.

At some point, somewhere, Mom said she wanted bead board in her powder room. Since Mom is really hard to shop for, I made a mental note. Randy and I have not put up bead board by ourselves, but Randy helped our buddy, Derrick, install the bead board in our powder room. Still full of confidence from our Board and Batten project in our Family Room last summer, we figured we could put up the bead board for her for Mother's Day. Since Mom and Dad were out in Arizona for the spring, we could get the whole thing done as a surprise.

As we got closer and closer to Mother's Day, we had to kick it into gear to get the bathroom done before they got home. This would explain the bead board sheets tied to the roof of Randy's car. We had done several trips to Mom and Dad's house for measurements and devising our bead board strategy. The walls in the powder room had two parallel lines going around where the walls had settled against what I'm guessing are studs, so we decided keeping the bead board about 5 feet high would cover that up nicely.

It was a beautiful, sunny day when we went to our local home improvement superstore to pick up a few supplies.

We tried to rent a truck from the store (I won't say which one), but their truck was being held as evidence in a drunk driving incident. We would NOT recommend doing this, but we got it home with our arms out the window, holding the boards down, driving very slowly to prevent the wind from catching the boards. It brought back fond memories of Jill, Orrie and Daryl helping me move in T's house. It was about 12 years ago, with my mattress tied to the roof of Daryl's red Subaru, through the ghettos of Harrisburg. Good times.

Luckily we don't have to take any major roads from the store to M&D's house, and we got the boards in the house just before it started to pour.

Here are some before pictures of the bathroom:

Yes, that is my preschool handiwork on the door. It's been there for 30 years, you gotta problem wit' that?

In all fairness to Mom and Dad, I forgot to snap the "before" pictures before I ~~created the absolute chaos you see below~~ took down the shelf and all the pictures off the wall. Notice how Mom painted around the shelf rather than remove the shelf and put it back up later. I love you, Mom!!!!

I had also demo'ed the tile that was serving as a baseboard around the perimeter of the room with that mother of a screwdriver you see above, and a hammer.

Yeah, Mom and Dad didn't see this part. They're probably cringing now.

We even have plans for this hole in the wall. We got a door stop!

While we were back at the store to pick up something we forgot (isn't that how it always goes?) we got the crazy idea of repainting the bathroom too. I was looking at a fresh coat of blue paint, but Randy and I couldn't agree on a blue. I wanted a rich blue, he wanted a light blue.

So we went with Pantone's Macaw Green. I know, crazy. I jokingly pointed it out to Randy, and he actually liked it. Just like that, the simple bead board project turned into a total bathroom overhaul. The color seemed perfect for a couple of Parrotheads with a new pool in the back yard. So without bringing home a paint chip and taping it to the wall like we usually do, we picked up a gallon of Macaw Green.

...and some Emerald for the door, for some variation in the color and some interest. It's Pantone's color of the year, and they had samples available. I just couldn't help myself, since a sample was all I needed...

To make the door this bright and beautiful! I love the door, even with the blue paint still on the hinges. I think it gives it a casual elegance.

Then I did the first coat of the Macaw green on the walls. I only painted from the top down to a little past the 5 foot mark. I have to admit, I was nervous.

These walls are almost 34 years old, and even though Mom and Dad have been the only owners, these walls have been painted, wall papered, stripped and painted again and again. So even though I had spackled and sanded and spackled and sanded, I had to do it once more. Don't you love that spackle that goes on pink and turns white when it dries? Then I had walls that looked like a kid with chicken pox, covered in calamine lotion.

After the pink turned to white, and I sanded them down, I did a second coat. The walls started looking less like smashed peas, and more like lush jungle leaves. Here you can see one of the horizontal lines that went around the room.

I used paint with primer, but you could still see the spackled areas under the second coat. So I had to a do a third coat. If you had smoother walls, two coats would probably be just fine.

Anyone else do any special surprise home improvement projects for mother's day? Re-do a room in someone's house when they were far away and couldn't stop you? I think maybe I just wanted full reign to decorate the bathroom however we wanted! It's a good thing they're my parents and have to love me, no matter what I do to their powder room...

More green goodness to come!

Lyla's First Birthday

2013-04-20T23:42:00.000-04:00

I'm a little late posting this, but better late than never! Back in December, our goddaughter, Lyla, turned one. Randy and I got to go up to State College to celebrate, and I made her a big cupcake cake. I love love love to do children's birthday cakes, and it's extra special when I get to make one for the kids of my very dear friends.

Some resemblance, right? This is a smash cupcake (and a spare) for Lyla.

Lyla LOVES cupcakes. I know this because while we were in Ocean City on vacation back in September, I was working on test cupcakes for Kat and Brandon's wedding, and the kid, at 9 months old, almost ate an entire pumpkin cupcake. She is highly motivated by food; a kid after my own heart.

She is just all around a happy kid!

So when Hannah started carrying out the cake...

Lyla was enthralled.

...But we had to finish singing...

and the song was just too long.

I've seen kids at their first birthday cry because they were overwhelmed by the attention and large groups of people, but Lyla just wanted that cake!

Happy girl!

The cake was vanilla (but I dyed it purple to keep things interesting) with lemon buttercream

All done!

Hotel Crashing

2013-03-31T20:44:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter, everyone! We hope you are having a wonderful holiday spent with family, good friends and good food! That's what we are doing today... and watching Game of Thrones in between taking turns making dishes for dinner tonight.

We're not doing too well on our New Years Resolution of posting twice per month. I blame Randy. We all know he promised us two more posts:

2. The funny parts of the marathon race

3. Next Year - Inspiring Others

So maybe all of you out there could virtually (or non-virtually) remind him that he owes us two more posts. Yeah, I know I could have written and not waited on him for more of his unique brand of humor... oh the shame.

So that's what I'm going to do. Post about something near and dear to my heart. I'm going to gush over the decor of our hotel room. No seriously, I am.

We stayed at the Saratoga Springs Resort on the Disney property. I have never stayed there before, but all of the hotels in Disney are pretty nice, and I like checking out new places. The designers who decorated these rooms did such a great job. It made you feel at home, comfortable, and relaxed, which is just what you need when you're on vacation! I think I may steal some of these ideas for our own house. Someday.

Pretty cute, right?

The whole place had this New York country race track/equestrian kind of vibe. Which is something you would expect from a place called Saratoga Springs... unless you are me. I didn't make the connection until we got there.

What makes each Disney hotel unique, in my opinion, is the attention to detail. I love the faux leather corners on the velvet pillow that you usually just throw on the chair the moment you walk into your hotel room. It just makes the bed. Not really, I had to do that myself, ha ha.

But anyone with a sewing machine and a strong needle could probably replicate this at home.

I loved the bed spread. The colors and the details were so fun.

Here's a close-up of the detail in the toile print. I don't usually go for cartoons on my comforter, but in Disney, you sort of expect it. I'm guessing you can't get a couple of yards of this at your local JoAnn's. Maybe there's another print out there with similar colors.

I also loved this lamp. I bet you could DYI something like this with a nice bird house. Or with modeling glue and a lot of tiny pieces of wood if you were really handy.

I actually have an awesome bird house that one of my friends gave me as a house warming gift. I never hung it outside because it was just too beautiful. It would make a nice lamp!

This was the little kitchen nook with custom cabinets and breakfast bar. Love it!

I like that they kept some modern patterns mixed in to keep it current.

Isn't the love seat fabulous? I would love to have something like this in my kitchen someday.

Now my absolute favorite thing... the curtains in our room. They're nice, block the light when you need a nap after an early flight... but look at the detail.

What are they, bits? Anyone out there know? I'm working on some curtains for the living room and I would love to add faux leather ribbon or another type of nice ribbon and whatever these things are.

BAM! Close up!

I've looked online on ebay, equestrian stores, etc., and the closest thing I can find are bits. If anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them!

Jodi's Marathon

2013-01-29T20:53:00.000-05:00

Randy asked me to write my account of the marathon. While he was running those 26.2 miles, I was scrambling all over the Disney site trying to stay in front of him so I could be there at every possible point. No easy task with all of the roads blocked off for the marathon.

So the days before the marathon, Randy and I went around the parks and did what we felt like doing. I wanted to keep his mind off the marathon, but not run him into the ground gunning it through all the parks.

Even though we have not seen Wreck-It Ralph, Randy wanted to have his picture taken with the characters. I have to admit, Disney really makes standing in line an experience. While we were waiting, we were serenaded by the sweet, sweet sounds of 80's video game-inspired music. Like Pac Man Fever. Randy was pumped.

As you saw in Randy's blog post, we had our pictures taken with Ralph and Vanillope. This makes the Sarah Silverman Matt Damon song that much funnier. Warning: it's edited, but remember, it's Sarah Silverman.

I was trying to get my mind off the marathon as well. The betting pool at Randy's work where people were trying to guess which injury would keep him from finishing the marathon, my brother and my dad talking about how the first man to run a marathon died, the idea of pounding the pavement for 26.2 miles.... I was so nervous that Randy wouldn't be able to breathe with a cold, or twist his ankle and not finish the marathon. I mean, not finishing... it's not a huge deal. Sure we spent the money on the entrance fee, the flights, the park tickets... his parents and brother flew down, his aunt drove up from Miami, my parents were there... We wouldn't care if Randy didn't finish. We were already proud of him. We wouldn't remind him of how much money we spent to see him not finish, but Randy would remember. It would bother him until he completed that marathon. So it was in our best interest to keep us both moving and occupied.

Just in time for a little motivation, we got our pictures taken with my favorite characters, Phineas and Ferb! Carpe Diem! Don't quit! Let's build a roller coaster twice!

I like how I sort of match Phineas and Randy matches Ferb.

I'm going to skip over Saturday. You can read of Randy's account of that fiasco on the previous post. All I will say is that when you go to the parks with my dad, you have to be on your toes or you get yelled at. Really. He had us trained at a very young age the most efficient ways to go through the parks, which rides to go on when, which ones had short lines even on busy days, etc. I wasn't going down to Disney to witness one of Randy's biggest accomplishments and end up getting in a tiff with my dad. I will also say that I'm obviously not the one who said he couldn't have his pictures taken with the characters, and that he definitely wasn't thinking about the race as he learned to bob and weave through the crowds. That skill came in handy later!

So the morning of the race, we woke up extremely early and we knew what we were gonna do today. I knew there were a lot of people running in the marathon, but I didn't really grasp how many 25,000 people were (plus friends and families) until we got there.

I stood with Randy while he stretched. As each group was called, I was glad Randy was in the H corral so he could stand with me a little longer. As D&E were called, Randy decided he wanted to go get in his corral early. That's probably the last thing I would do, but it's Randy's marathon so I walked out to the main road where everyone was supposed to run by. I got to see the finish line, which was cool because it was way too crowded to get anywhere near it by the end of the race!

Families were lining the main road 5 or 6 people thick as far as I could see. I realized that I would be standing there for a while considering it was around 5 and Randy wasn't starting until 6:30. I didn't want to be fighting all those people to get to the next spot, so I walked over to Epcot, hopped a monorail, and staked a claim on a charming little spot around mile 3 where I could watch the sun come up and the runners go by.

For starting a marathon, people were pretty laid-back. There were runners cheering the spectators on, people running by slapping hands, and this guy ran by on his cell phone.

Disney really did an excellent job of having entertainment the entire 26.2 miles. My first stop had these people riding fancy old fashioned bikes.

The juxtaposition of the girl on her bike queen-waving to the runners made me laugh. I got bored, so I started posting Randy's progress on Facebook. Since no one else got up to watch the marathon with me, I knew someone in Facebook land would be awake at 6am on a Sunday morning.

As you can see, I had to sit there for a while before Randy came by. It's not because he was slow, it's because he started running an hour and a half after the first runners started, and then he had to run 3 miles before I saw him.

Jodi

January 13 via mobile

There's a guy running this thing in a full Mickey tuxedo suit

But he finally ran by. I ran along with him until the trail lead away from the barricades and snapped this quick picture. Then I turned on my heel, hopped back on the monorail and rode to the Magic Kingdom.

Jodi

January 13 via mobile

Randy just passed, he looks good and is in good spirits. Heading to the next stop.

The monorail was a little slow, so I hopped off and booked it to Main Street in the Magic Kingdom. Once again I ran along with Randy as much as I could until there were too many people in the way. My hurdling days are over.

Jodi

January 13 via mobile

Randy just finished mile 5

As Randy headed towards the castle, I hopped on the next monorail back to the Transportation and Ticket Center. The path goes along the Cast Member's parking lot on the other side of a tree-lined creek. Guess who stood there hidden in the trees at mile 9? Yeah, this girl. People probably thought I was weird, the girl in the trees. It was off the beaten path and everyone needed cheering, right? There was no one else there to slap hands or wave signs, so I stood there belting out affirmations until I saw Randy. Then I went wild. Randy looked shocked at first, then he saw me, smirked, and kept on truckin'.

Jodi

January 13 via mobile

Past mile 9!

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Diana, Katherine, Hannah and 5 others like this.
Jodi He still looks good. Every time I see him he yells, "NO PAIN!!!"

January 13 at 8:28am via mobile · Like · 1
Mike B He's a lucky dude!

January 13 at 8:31am via mobile · Unlike · 1
Jodi He's working hard!

January 13 at 8:36am via mobile · Like
Bryan Go Randy! Tell him to start throwing elbows at anyone trying to pass him!

January 13 at 8:45am via mobile · Unlike · 3
Donna GO RANDY!!!

January 13 at 8:52am · Unlike · 1
Jodi I haven't seen anyone pass him yet, Bry!

January 13 at 9:12am via mobile · Like
Bryan He must be throwing them elbows then. Brilliant work, Randy!

January 13 at 9:15am via mobile · Unlike · 1

Then I had a choice. I could go fight the crowds in the Animal Kingdom, I could find a bus to The ESPN Wide World of Sports. The buses going to those places looked crowded and I worried that by time I got there, Randy would be gone. I was also nervous about getting stranded at either of those locations since they were only reachable by bus (Disney transportation is awesome, but not always reliable in big crowds) and I wanted to stay mobile by foot. So I hopped a bus directly to Hollywood Studios.

Jodi

January 13 via mobile

Just got the update for mile 10! Will be a while until I see him again, he'll be kind of off the grid

My dad... always a class act.

See that shadow of the girl taking a picture? Yeah that's me!

Jodi

January 13 via mobile

Halfway done! That's what a half split means, right?

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Nicole, Mike B and 2 others like this.
Amy I can't believe this! We're so proud of Randy! Can't wait to keep following his progress!

January 13 at 9:46am via mobile · Unlike · 1
Ashley Go Randy Go!

January 13 at 10:23am via mobile · Unlike · 1
Kate Awesome job to him! I'm doing the Princess Half next month and hope to work up to this marathon one day. He's amazing!!

January 13 at 11:02am via mobile · Unlike · 1
Jodi Haha he loves princesses and we have an annual pass now. Maybe he'll come back and run it with you.

January 13 at 11:18am via mobile · Like · 2
Kate Ooh he should come run the Wine and Dine half with me in November! I did it in 2011, but then last year I did the Twilight Zone Ten Miler in September instead because it was the inaugural one. The night races are awesome. I don't do any other timed races, just Disney, because I'm not competitive with my running and their events are so fun!

January 13 at 12:08pm via mobile · Unlike · 1

I knew Randy has a while before he got to Hollywood studios, so I snaked around the path of runners and headed over to Star Tours. Randy and I had alr eady been on it twice, and since there's different scenarios you can have on each ride, I figured it was a good use of my time.

At this point, the parents and Aunt Barbara were awake, but they weren't out to the parks yet, so I had to ride Star Tours by myself. It didn't bother me until I boarded the ride. I won't give it away, but in each tour there is one rider who has their picture up on the screen, and everyone in their group points and laughs. This one time I rode by myself, my picture was up on the screen and no knew me so no one laughed. Oh sad, sad Jodi.

Then the worst thing happened. I didn't get an update for a while from Run Disney. I started to get worried. I never doubted that Randy wouldn't finish, but by now it was hot. It was really hot. I was starting to get sunburnt and I knew Randy didn't do well in the heat.

Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnn........ to be continued...

Just kidding, I couldn't fit it all in one post

Jodi's Marathon: The Cliffhanger Is Resolved

2013-01-29T20:46:00.000-05:00

Mom and Dad showed up and found a spot on a bench down the main drag of Hollywood Studios. Joni, Murray and Aunt Barbara positioned themselves at the Beach Club, and Jason and Lori were at the finish line.

Jodi

January 13 via mobile

I haven't gotten an update for a while, but I guesstimate he is around mile 20 now

Then the text came that gave me every confidence that he was fine.

Jodi

January 13 via mobile

Just got the confirm for 20. Go randy!!!!! He's keeping his pace really well!

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Kate, Diana, Julie and 3 others like this.
Amy You're updates are so awesome, I feel like I'm running it too! Except that I just ate bacon and French toast. So similar though!

January 13 at 11:22am via mobile · Like · 1
Jodi Haha I know! I'm sitting here like gosh, I'm getting hungry... Poor randy!

January 13 at 11:23am via mobile · Like · 1
Hannah Woo Hoo Randy!! Almost there!

January 13 at 11:32am via mobile · Unlike · 1
Jodi I'm guessing he's around 21 miles now. He's been doing 14 min miles. I'm sitting at mile 23 and they have mike wyzowski and sully here to take pictures with the runners and people are stopping and lining Up. iIt's so funny

January 13 at 11:37am via mobile · Like · 1
Hannah Wait I thought it was 22 miles... Gotta love those crazy monsters!

January 13 at 11:46am · Like
Jodi 26.2. Crazy, huh?

January 13 at 11:47am via mobile · Like
Hannah Ohmgosh! He's still so close! And going to be sooooo tired! Tell him when this is done, he has to start training for the boardwalk pizza challenge...

January 13 at 11:50am via mobile · Unlike · 1
Mike B How long has he been running?

January 13 at 11:50am via mobile · Like
Jodi 5+ hours. He's doing great

January 13 at 11:52am via mobile · Like · 1

As I sat there at mile 23, I knew about where he was and starting figuring out where we should be and when. If it doesn't make sense, that's ok, it made sense to me at the time. I was wrong though... not sure if it was my math, but I thought Randy would be at mile 23 at 11:45. When he wasn't there right at 11:45, I got panicked phonecalls from his mom every 5 minutes.

When he finally went by a little after 12, I had his sunglasses ready for him. Then I turned and dodged strollers down the Pixar lot to get to parents. Unfortunately I just missed him. Darn kids.

Jodi

January 13 via mobile

He looked good at mile 23. He was walking but looked good. He was running again by time he passed my parents in the front of MGM.

Dad and I dragged Mom out of MGM and as we were debating trying to catch Randy with Joni and Murray at the Beach and Yacht Club, I realized with traffic we would probably get to the finish line right before Randy. So we practically picked Mom up and carried her to the car (she has little legs) and Mom asked if we could stop somewhere and get some food. Dad and I both looked at her at the same time. "No!"

We got to the finish line, but we couldn't get close. We found Jason and Lori and Jason and I hopped up and down trying to see over the crowd until we saw him:

Jodi

January 13 via mobile

6 hours 33 mins!!!!!!!

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Daniel, Jillian, Michael G and 28 otherslike this.
Gina Way to go, Randy!

January 13 at 1:13pm via mobile · Unlike · 1
Mike B NOOOOOOOOOO lol

January 13 at 1:16pm via mobile · Unlike · 1
Mike B Congrats brother!!!

January 13 at 1:16pm via mobile · Unlike · 1
Gina Tell Randy he is my inspiration!

January 13 at 1:17pm via mobile · Unlike · 1
Ashley Yay, that's awesome!! Tell him we said congrats! Now you all should go celebrate with the Kitchen Sink at Beaches N Cream

January 13 at 1:19pm via mobile · Unlike · 1
Lee Ann That is awesome!! Tell Randy congrats

January 13 at 1:41pm via mobile · Unlike · 2
Kathleen Yea big hugs

January 13 at 2:48pm via mobile · Unlike · 1
Hannah Yay Randy!!!! So proud of you!!!!

January 13 at 2:48pm via mobile · Unlike · 1
Mike O Well done, Randy!

January 13 at 4:31pm via mobile · Unlike · 1
Rebecca Congrats to Randy! A marathon is on my bucket list!

January 13 at 7:41pm via mobile · Unlike · 1
T Congrats. Very proud of him.

January 13 at 10:31pm via mobile · Unlike · 1
Michael G Adventure? Excitement? Randy needs not these things.

January 14 at 10:11am · Unlike · 1
D Whoo hoo!!! Congratulations!!

January 14 at 11:40am · Unlike · 1

Then Randy went behind a big wall and came out the other side with his medal. It reminded me of the sneetches without stars upon thars going through the star machine by Sylvester McMonkey McBean. I hope my mom isn't the only one who gets that reference. Disney probably does it that way on purpose so it's more magical. Maybe the woman giving out the medals was Tinkerbell.

And the rest was history.

Randy and his dad, Murray

Jack, Becky, Edie and 8 others like this.

Nicole You crazy kids

January 13 at 6:12pm via mobile · Like

Nathan Congrats Randy

January 14 at 12:19am · Like · 1

Jan COngrat U Lations Randy!!

January 14 at 9:39am · Like

January 14 at 11:42am · Like

Gina Ken said "Good job, Randy!"

January 13 at 5:04pm via mobile · Unlike · 1
Mike B I'm impressed. Great job buddy!

January 13 at 5:58pm via mobile · Unlike · 1
Bill What a great job!!!

January 13 at 6:01pm via mobile · Unlike · 1
Nicole That's awesome!!! Congrats! Now you can train the rest of us!! Btw- where's the megadeth shirt?????!!!!!

January 13 at 6:11pm via mobile · Unlike · 1
Carolyn Let's have a shirt made saying "The greatest pleasure in life is doing what Dr. N says you cannot do."

January 13 at 6:51pm · Unlike · 3
Carolyn BTW, way to go Randy!

January 13 at 6:51pm · Unlike · 1
Donna Oh Randy, I am so freaking happy for u! And I love the shirt. I just downloaded this pic cause I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo proud of U!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

January 13 at 7:36pm · Unlike · 2
Elizabeth Wow! I'm impressed. That's a long way from the Ramen Noodle and Cheese Randy that I remember!

January 14 at 11:11am · Unlike · 1

Marathon Man

2013-01-25T22:03:00.000-05:00

Randy:

Ok... sorry it took so long to write about the marathon, but I was very busy. First, I was recovering. Then I was working too much. And most recently, I was playing with the cats. It's not very often I can get three of the cats to play together... especially since one of the three hates the other two.

My next apology is going to be how long this takes... so if you like stories... here it is. I call this story... Marathon Weekend.

Thursday:

I was starting to catch a cold prior to leaving for Orlando. I work with a bunch of jerks that come to work sick during one of the worst flu epidemics. What idiots! You know who you are (Not you, Megan... you're good in my book). But you other jerks! I was already anxious about completing this stupid race... now I'm worried about having the opportunity to at least run healthy.

Jodi and I took off to Orlando on a 6am flight. So, seeing as we live about an hour from the airport and we're still under the delusion that one should arrive 2 hours before the flight because the Taliban wants to check a bag or something, Jodi and I were awake about 30 minutes after we went to sleep. But luckily, there were no issues with the flight. There were quite a few marathoners on our flight of both genders and all age brackets. These people looked like they could finish a marathon. The flight was uneventful except for one part. Whoever you are, flight attendant on the trip to Orlando, you are awesome!

Jodi didn't want to sit next to me because the last time we went to Orlando, I was sick and when the trip was over, Jodi was sick. Luckily, we sat in a row with three seats and no one joined us. As it became clear there were no more people boarding the flight, Jodi moved to the aisle so she wouldn't have to breathe my air. As soon as she moved, the flight attendant screamed, "What are you doing?! That's my seat!"

Immediately, Jodi slides back and apologizes. People in our area are staring. The stewardess laughs and says, "Just kidding. My seat is back here."

Awesome! You punked Jodi just for the heck of it. Yes... it's funny. And yes, that does make me a bad husband.

By time we get the car and head towards the hotel... its about 9am. Why is the time important on Thursday? Because at 7pm, the Disney Marathon Expo will close. That's where I pick up my number, my bag of stuff, the gifts I purchased, and submit my waiver. Are you thinking time is a factor?! Stop foreshadowing and read!

We couldn't check into the hotel because it was too early. So we went to IHOP for breakfast. Very good idea by Jodi. FYI... our car SUCKED! It was a Suzuki POS. When Jodi told the people that she just wanted a car with nothing... man, they delivered! But I'm straying. Kudos to the breakfast people.

Across the street, I was tricked. The store read "Adult Disney T-shirts." I must go. And Jodi agreed. That should have been my first clue. Jodi would never go into a porn shop. Not even a Disney porn shop (if there was one) that sold more provocative versions of "Lady & the Tramp" or "Sword in the Stone."

Yup... I was wrong... it was t-shirt shop in adult sizes. Nevermind. I'm dumb.

It's now 11am when we decide to go food shopping for the few days that we're here. Now, I can't argue about this. I need to stay hydrated during this heat wave in Orlando. Its in the 80's in January. Record heat for the time. We need to buy water, Gatorade, pre-race meals, breakfasts, etc. This trip was the most attention I ever paid to my urine. It was!

We got to the hotel at 1:30pm. Now, Jodi wants a nap (which I could use also, but I won't tell her).

We wake up at 5pm.

OK... let's go get my number!

Now, Jodi and her dad are trying to troubleshoot why we don't have internet in the room. C'mon, we're on vacation... who cares?! We'll fix it later! I dragged Jodi out at 5:30.

The ESPN resort was mobbed at 6pm. It was like a Penn State game in the parking lot. We parked a mile away on the grass and walked. It was 6:20pm when I got my number. Now, time to get the rest of my stuff. The expo was incredible. As you can see, they had a wall with all of runners' names.

They had tons of great exhibits. There was only 1 problem. By the time we got there, it was closing. Aw man, this expo looked like a lot of fun. We should have come earlier.

Friday:

Jodi and I went to Hollywood Studios. It was a fun time. We met Wreck-It-Ralph and Vanillope. We met three women also competing the marathon, who warned me about the heat. It was hard to understand at the time.

Saturday:

Jodi's mom is sick. So we invite Jodi's dad to the Magic Kingdom. If you want to see 2 peas in a pod... OH MAN! They are just dragging me along as they use their iPhones to track line times at rides. I might as well have worn a kid leash. The 3 best parts...

1. "Randy, what do you want to do next?"

"I want to take pictures with the characters."

"Yeah, we're not doing that."

That's Jodi's dad taking pictures of the Little Mermaid Ride behind my head

2. And the three of us got on the Haunted Mansion ride in the same cart. Three adults in the same car. Terribly uncomfortable, and I couldn't stop laughing at how weird this was.

3. Finally, Jodi and her dad... very competitive people... ride the Buzz Lightyear shooting game together... competing to the death for the higher score... while I sat behind them shooting my laser at them.

At dinner, Jodi's dad said, "I can't wait until tomorrow when Randy proves me wrong." This dude never likes to be wrong... I really appreciated it.

Saturday night, my dad was down and my aunt was up from Miami. Yes, ha ha ha, a Jew living in Miami... you're so original. My mom was coming down the next morning. And my brother was in the area at his chick-friend's house... FYI... Lori is awesome. She's a former Miss Kentucky and is everything a Miss America contestant is... and she likes my brother. That might not have won her the crown, but she definitely deserves an award for tolerating that weirdo.

Sunday:

I recommend that Jodi re-writes this entry from her own point of view. I could not have completed this race without her. In reality, I couldn't have done the year of training and the race without her. But she needs to explain what she did during the race.

From all the anxiety, I had slept about 3 hours per night all week. But that night, I slept about 1/2 hour. Really. My mind wouldn't shut off.

We were up at 2:30am. I put on the Runner's Glide in places that can't be described. I taped up my nipples. Yup. I got dressed. And by 3am, we were on the bus to go to the starting line.

Disney does this right. It was like a party scene with DJ and lights and all the entertainment. But, its 3:30am... I have to wait until 5am to get into Corral H (the last corral for slow pokes)... and the race starts at 5:30am... I don't start until 6:30am. I went to my corral early and just meditated. I did talk to people and make jokes, but my nerves were on edge.

Let's be honest... a year of training... a year of never doubting... it's go time.

I ran the best 5K, 10K, 8 miles, and 13.1 miles of my life. The shorter distances were not my fastest time because I have to negotiate thru all the people not to mention I had to pee in the bushes when I crossed the starting line.. but my energy levels were the highest ever. And yes, it was my best 8, 10 and 13.1 mile times ever.

Then the sun came up. And so did the temperatures. At 6:30am, it was in the mid 60's. By 9am, it was in the 80's... and it was hot from above and from the pavement.

I had been drinking Powerade at every water station... like recommended by doctors for hydration in this heat.

At the 1/2 marathon point, people are cramping. People are throwing up on the side of the road. The medical tents are like MASH units. Strangely, for a guy that doesn't traditionally do well in the heat, I feel ok. Now, I am drinking 2 cups of Powerade at each station.

Disney does this so right. They had characters all over the place for you to take your picture. Now, if I'd run this in 3 hours, I'd stop to take my picture... but I am on a mission.

I saw Chip N Dale. Uh Oh. My favorite characters. As I ran by, I screamed, "Don't go anywhere! I have to finish this! But then I want my picture!"

By the 3/4 marathon point, running is more like shuffling. I'm mostly walking. I'm up to 3 cups of Powerade at each station. It's just HOT. And more people are sick and drained... and I'm still chugging along.

Finally, I get out of Hollywood Studios. It is mile 24. You've seen pictures from our trip to Disney over the summer. There was a night that Jodi and I ran from Hollywood Studios to the Beach Club for dinner. We ran because the boats were closed due to thunderstorm. It occurs to me...

"I've done this before. All the talk of 'I can finish this race' is over."

I AM GOING TO FINISH THIS RACE.

And I start to choke up. It is emotional. But it occurs to me... I didn't finish this yet. But I know that I will and there is no bus coming to pick me up. And I enter EPCOT, the last park and finish of the race. At the entrance, finally, I see my mom, dad and aunt.

Man, EPCOT is big. And around the world, I went... finally making the right towards the big golf ball and the exit.

I see the finish... strange that I don't have the tears now. I actually never did break down like my coworker described. But across the line was the chick with my medal. How sweet it is!

6 hours, 33 minutes and 48 seconds.

I am a marathoner.

Jodi met me at the finish line. "You should see Facebook. It has exploded with support."

I don't have a Facebook account, but she read me some of the comments.

Her dad comes up to me and says, "Ok, let me have it."

"Sir, I just want you to know... the only thing more powerful than your brain is my heart. And next time we argue about what I'm capable of, f*** it... you're right." And we shook hands.

Will I do it again? Probably.

There is a lot more... I have some great stories about the race that I want to tell you. The funny stuff... not the internalization of the run.

But, I have a lot of people to thank for their support. And this is genuine. I appreciate all that attention, but I have to thank some folks.

Jodi's dad - for getting me to find my physical limits and crushing them

Jodi - for constantly encouraging my success and being everywhere that day that I didn't know I needed

Mike G - for watching from afar

Mike B - for betting on success

Katie and Joe - for telling me all the right things to do (even the gross stuff)

Karyn - for being the virtual Mickey

Bob - for describing this experience EXACTLY how it would be

Megan - for not thinking my reason for running a marathon was dumb

Adidas - for providing the best gear

Duff McKagan - my inner rock star who described self-confidence as "knowing that you can run a marathon without actually having done it." That is why your autographed picture hangs on our wall.

To be continued in 3 segments:

1. Jodi's Marathon

2. The funny parts of the marathon race

3. Next Year - Inspiring Others

Everyone Needs a Girls' Weekend

2013-01-21T17:39:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I hosted Girls' Weekend at my house. I have a group of girlfriends that I'm not even sure how we all grouped together, but we meet up at one girl's house for a weekend every couple of months. This is not Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants here, I'd like to think we're a little more mature that that. We're not quite Sex in the City either, but somewhere in the middle. I haven't seen Girls on HBO yet, so I'm not sure how we measure up there. The fun thing about a group of girls is that the sum of or entity of the group is an ever-evolving thing depending on the changes and experiences of each girl in the group.

Crystal, Me, T, Amy and Jill at a girls weekend that Amy hosted in 2008

We have five girls in our group. Every group is different, and is it made up of all of my best friends? Not originally, but they have all become that level of friend through the group. Of course I have extremely close friends outside of the group too. What I argue is that meeting up with your group is at the least beneficial, and at the most, life-saving.

Jill, T, Crystal, Me and Amy, Crystal's Wedding 2009

I'm sure you have those out there, friends from college, friends from a first job (which is where my group stemmed from), mom groups, etc. where groups have formed of girls that hang out together, and as life changes and we move, get new jobs, have kids, get married, whatever, start to drift apart. Here are 10 reasons why you have to keep that group getting together, at least periodically, forever.

T, Jill, Amy, Crystal and Me at Jill's bachelorette

Your group is a support system. Yes you have parents, families, husbands, wives, kids, whatever, but your group of girls can support you in a way no one else can. At least one person in the group has probably had a similar experience and can share advice or empathy. The other girls in the group may not have had that shared experience, but they can still be a phone call when you need to talk, or in my case, show up for an impromptu girls weekend when Randy was on a business trip to Germany. We've all been there for each other through break-ups, engagements, pregnancies, mother in laws from hell (not mine of course, Joni is the bomb), loss of jobs, etc.

Crystal carrying one of my first cakes, Jill's Birthday 2008

Your group can teach you things you don't do well. I'm a baker, not a chef. In fact, back in 2001 when I lived with two of my girls, Jill and T, I made a chicken pot pie that still comes up in conversation accompanied by peels of laughter (don't add that can of water that the cream of chicken soup can recommends). But from watching T and helping her in the kitchen, I have picked up some tips. Crystal has given me tips on how to improve upon things I have made. Now I can follow a recipe and cook chicken that isn't dry. Am I a master chef? Heck no, but I have seen vast improvements in my kitchen confidence and abilities. And I have given them demonstrations in baking and cupcake design.

Jill, T and Crystal in Crystal's kitchen 2009

Your friends encourage you and offer business and career advice, as well as boy advice or interior design advice :) In our group we have a Marketing VP, a Proposal Writer, a Stay at Home Mom/Vet Tech and a Marketing/Creative Manager. We have some overlap, but for the most part, vastly different educations and backgrounds. If I throw an issue out about my job, or ideas for Sugar Whim, they listen and give constructive comments. They even come to my cupcake tasting parties and give me honest feedback, even though they know I know their handwriting. It's because they want me to be better, just like I want that for them.

Jill, T, Crystal and I at Crystal's Bridal Shower

Your friends can help you network. This one is really obvious, but worth mentioning. Your friends know people who know people who might be able to help you find a new job. They may know of a reliable mechanic, a good insurance company, or a good hosting company for your first company website. Their experiences are like gold when you are getting married, having a baby, or launching a small business.

Jill and T, bridesmaids at my wedding in 2006

Your friends remind you not to take yourself so seriously. I've known T, Crystal and Jill since I graduated from college. I've known Amy not quite as long, but for a pretty long time as well. I've worked long on hard on my education, but they can look at me blankly after supporting me for years and years and say, "I have no idea what you do. Can you explain it to me?"

Jill modeling some boxers

You can talk about all those things in Cosmo that make you blush, or the weird things that happen to your body when you're pregnant (or hitting menopause, etc.) This one is self explanatory. I won't go into any cringe-inducing details for any men out there.

Crystal, her son, me, Jill, Ames & T at Jill's baby shower

Your friends are your benchmark. I don't mean this like you should compare yourself to your friends, or be jealous of things they have. Seeing their successes reminds you to keep striving towards your goals and to keep setting new ones. This is the old adage from high school. Having hard working friends encourages you to work harder too.

Limelight, the eco-friendly clothing company Crystal and I started before we realized we didn't like to sew that much.

Your girls are like Pinterest in real life. Crystal always has awesome shoes, good organizational tips and creative business ideas. T is very efficient in her life, her speech and her cleaning. Amy always knows the place to get the most luxurious, laid-back and comfy blankets, shoes, rugs, etc., and will go shopping with me looking for anything and everything. Jill is extremely organized and also, like T, good at cleaning quickly and thoroughly, and like Crystal and Amy, gifted with interior design.

Conan O'Brien and Crystal

Getting together is funnier than old episodes of Friends. Saturday morning I got out of the shower and thought Randy was watching a sitcom with the laugh track turned up. No, he was downstairs telling the girls stories about God knows what, and they were laughing so loud, it echoed in the bathroom upstairs. We have a tradition that every Friday night of girls weekend, we gather at the home of choice, have dinner and tell stories and catch up until we're all completely worn out and have to go to bed. There have been many times where we have laughed so hard, we had tears streaming down our faces. I can see these girls after months and months and say a choice word or two and we'll all be cracking up again.

Jill and her dad at the Temple/Penn State game with my family in 2007

Your shared experiences will continue to grow. The chicken pot pie fiasco and my vacuuming of dog hair off of T's area rug (I couldn't get it up in the vacuum, and knowing T was a stickler for a neat house, I was using the vacuum attachment and vacuuming the carpet inch by inch) will always be funny. But T freaking out over bees at a winery a few years ago, or visiting Crystal in the hospital when her first baby was born are newer great memories.

Us at the winery where T had the run-in with the bees

Have anything to add? Please share your comments!

An Offer We Couldn't Refuse

2013-01-05T22:14:00.000-05:00

Back in September, Randy and I spent a week in Ocean City, NJ, with our awesome friends, Hannah and Derrick, and their super smart little girls, Chloe and Lyla. We had an awesome time down at the shore. We celebrated my birthday, we had lots of relaxation, we caught up on Once Upon a Time on Net Flix when the girls went to bed, and we logged some seriously fun beach time, complete with sandcastles, a sand super slide, and great shell hunting. The highlight of the week? Hannah and Derrick asked Randy and I to be Lyla's godparents.

Now you may be asking, a Catholic and a Jew? Godparents? Or more realistically you're thinking, "Who would let those two crazies be responsible for a child's religious upbringing?" We actually asked all of those questions ourselves, when I stopped crying and hugging everyone. Since Lyla would be baptized in the Methodist church, Derrick and Hannah could choose Godparents of any religion. Those Methodists, pretty progressive thinkers! Count us in!

Now as far as asking us to be Godparents, I won't question Hannah and Derrick's sanity on that one because I'm just so honored to BE Lyla's Godmother. In fact, we now have nicknames, Randy is "The Godfather", and I am Lyla's "Fairy Godmother".

Here we are, one big happy family, looking all respectable at the church. Randy even wore a sports coat and tie!

To say that we were honored would be an understatement. We're so excited to share our religions with Lyla and help her to be strong in her own. Maybe Lyla needs some convincing. She seems to be trying to get away from Randy here.

Here we are with the minister, who was so wonderful. She used a scallop shell to baptize Lyla and gave it to Derrick and Hannah afterwards as a symbol of Lyla's faith.

After church, Hannah's parents hosted a fabulous brunch at their home. We all took turns holding Lyla in front of the fireplace. Isn't she adorable? Definitely the cutest goddaughter we've ever had. And yeah, this is back in October. We have a lot to catch up on!

Here's an outtake. We couldn't get Lyla to turn around, so we turned around ourselves.

The dress was handmade by Hannah's grandmother. Both of Hannah's sisters, her cousins, and Chloe were also baptized in the same gorgeous dress. Hannah's mom "bustled" it so Lyla could walk.

The proud family. So beautiful.

We weren't expecting to receive gifts as godparents, but Hannah and Derrick got Randy this great shirt, and I got a beautiful picture frame that says "Godparents". I'm going to put one of the top pictures in it and hang it on our wall of things that make us happy.

As co-godparents, Randy and I talked about what to get Lyla for her baptism. Then Randy went behind my back and got her a plush Torah. I'm not sure why he didn't tell me about it. Everyone thought it was awesome, including Lyla. Now she can get in touch with those judeo-christian roots.

We also got Lyla the same Golden Book children's bible that I had when I was little. I remember learning some of my most formative and basic tenants of religion from that book. It's written at a child's level and edited by a priest, a minister, and a rabbi. If that doesn't get the Good Housekeeping seal of approval in this situation, I don't know what does.

We also got her this sweet children's bed time prayer book. My friend Jill told me about it, and I ordered it from amazon when I got the Children's Bible. I highly recommend it.

I think Lyla loves her fuzzy Torah!

Has anyone else been completely surprised and felt totally honored to be a godparent? I know baptisms and godparents are not a big deal (or even existent) in some religions, but to me, it's one of the highest honors!

New Years resolutions

2012-12-31T22:58:00.001-05:00

Jodi: We've never made any New Years Resolutions before, but I think it would be motivating to have something holding us accountable. All you readers are our witnesses!

1. Post at least two posts a month. We started off really well last year, but got sidetracked around July... About the same time we started on that Board and Batten.

2. Paint our Shining master bath

3. Actually clean the upstairs of our house. We've been doing a pretty good job of maintaining the first two floors, but no one goes up to the 3rd floor. Shhhh, that'll be our secret.

4. Keep our resolution list short so we can maybe accomplish something.

Anyone else have any New Years resolutions they want to share/document?

The Ghost of Christmas Present Past (and Present)

2012-12-31T01:14:00.000-05:00

Jodi: I know we said we'd be back next with amusing stories on iPhones. We can and will get to that.

Part of cleaning and organizing and altogether de-cat-ifying the house, is getting rid of some excess baggage. No, we're not getting rid of the cats. We're listing some of our junk on ebay.

Want to see our junk?

OK, that was immature of me. Sometimes I just can't help myself. So this is the stuff we are listing on e-bay.

Medieval Knight Helmet

World War II Helmet

Pinky and the Brain 3-Sided Resin Desk Plaque

If you said, "Hey, those first two look like gifts that Bryan gave to Randy," you would be correct. Ding ding ding!

Randy: Let me be honest. Bryan and I go out of our way to find the most bizarre presents for each other. I am just as much of an offender as he is. I did get him the 1977 Star Wars Christmas Special. If you've never seen (or heard) of it, ugh, its brutal. The whole dinner scene with Chewbacca and his family... who thinks of this stuff?!

But, let's take each of these objects one at a time. First, the medieval helmet. I very much appreciate the idea that Bryan wanted to get me a diver's helmet. And I would have felt terrible if he spent hundreds on it, and I spent $22 on the DVD. But, what the heck am I going to do with this? I've also been given the Green Bay Packers Cheese hat (and I'm a die hard Eagles fan). I've been given the hat with the spinner that apparently will make me sterile. C'mon! I want less stuff... not more stuff that will collect dust. If I wanted something to collect dust, I'd buy Jodi a Valentine's Day present. If I could have smelted the stupid helmet and used the metal as a door stop or a soda can or some prop from Terminator 2, I would have. Jodi wouldn't let me ~~ruin~~ recycle it. No offense, Bryan.

Then there is the war helmet. So, Bryan gives me this present and tells me that it's a French WWII battle helmet. He was so excited. Wait a minute! Why is there a German flag in the box? Let me get this straight... my Catholic brother-in-law bought his Jewish brother-in-law a German WWII battle helmet?! Really? Now, before I say anything... he genuinely didn't know. Bryan can be a goofball, but he'd never be that offensive. I did ask that question when I opened it. I am not one who believed the apocalypse was coming, but what practical purpose will a battle helmet have in my world? I have a hockey helmet. I have a viking helmet (which I think I gave to my brother). I have a Flyers Winter Classic knit hat. If you follow the link and buy the hat, please tell me. I promise to write a story about the origin of the helmet. You can even pick which country it came from. Please stick to either the French or the Germans. I am creative, but I'm pretty sure I have no idea how a Chilean WWII helmet came into my possession.

I have nothing to say about the Pinky & the Brain piece. Jodi had it before me. And until she lets me sell Camille on Ebay, she can do with her stuff from before we met however she feels. I'm just kidding... kinda.

Finally... the Ghost of Christmas Present Present... I am now the proud owner of an iPhone. For those that know me... this is a big deal. AT&T tricked me into getting an iPhone. We went because Jodi wanted to upgrade her iPhone. I think my flip phone is the greatest piece of technology ever created. Yes, its a remedial phone compared to the smart phones. But it freakin' flips open and closed. Can your POS smart phones do that?! I didn't think so. Sure, my phone has a 0 Megapixel camera. And yes, all of my pictures from the Stone Temple Pilot shows look like nursery school finger-paintings, but I KNOW what they are. Sure, I don't have a ring tone, but I have one friend... and that's Jodi... which explains why I'm not on Facebook.

We hadn't upgraded our phones in about 3 years. So Jodi was given this great deal on an iPhone 4s. We took advantage of it. Yay! But then Bobbi (she was super nice) told me about the deal I could accept. I could get an iPhone 4 for $0.99. To upgrade my flip phone (to something with a giant antenna or something that Zach Morris would carry) would cost me $19.99. Really?! Who runs this scam!? Jodi claims that this special deal is to lock me into some data plan. But what is this crazy Wi-Fi and why do I want it?! Yes, I have a tablet, but its the same tablet that the 10 Commandments were written on (sorry to end on a preposition. I'm a disgrace). I felt like I was backed into a corner. I started to sweat. I accepted the offer for one reason. My company has a partnership with AT&T that basically didn't raise my current rate by very much. Now, I can text people. Let's be honest, I'll be texting Jodi. I already practiced Face-Time with Jodi... but I was in the kitchen while she was in the living room. She could see me. I'm so alone.

Anyway... that concludes Christmas. Next stop... New Years! I will be posting from my iPhone... LOL... BRB... :)... :(... cya... bff... ABC... BBD... the east coast family. (If you don't get that reference... you're not allowed to read this anymore).

Jodi: Actually if you read this far, you get my utmost respect.

Southern BBQ Christmas

2012-12-29T19:29:00.000-05:00

Jodi: I hope everyone had a Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Christmakkah/Winter Solstice filled with joy and the spirit of the holidays.

Randy: Finally, Randy has returned to blogging!

Christmas is my favorite time of year. Yes, it is the truth. It is the one time of year that people all around are trying to be genuinely nice to each other. I don't understand why it has to be called the "Christmas Spirit." Heck, I'm Jewish... what's the deal?! You never hear about the "Purim Spirit." Whatever, I guess this is for another time.

First, I'd like to apologize for my hiatus from cyberworld. I am 15 days away from the marathon. Between working my tail off and training the remaining nub of my tail... I've been busy. And no offense, if I have a second to breathe... the blog is not my first thought.

But this is about Christmas... not my personal feelings about other random stuff.

Jodi: We were running a little behind with the holidays this year. We had the tree up a few days after Thanksgiving, but only got a few decorations on the actual tree at that time, and then never actually finished it.

We celebrated Hanukkah, but only made it through the first couple of days before we ran out of candles. We didn't even get our nativity set up... which may be a good thing as we didn't have any visits from Dusty the GI Joe sniper this year. We did however, get Mary, Jesus, and Joseph up on Christmas Eve. There they are on the fireplace, right next to our menorah. We're such a multicultural procrastinating household. Actually, we did get all of our Christmas shopping done early this year, so that's a check in the "nice" column. I also made tons of Christmas cookies and hosted a Christmas cookie exchange. We didn't get our holiday cards out on time, naughty us. Christmas came anyway, just like it did in the Grinch.

Randy: My company has a shutdown from Christmas thru New Years. They figure its easier to send everyone home than to be less productive during that time. Before you get all jealous... I have less vacation throughout the year and barely get the important national holidays off.

But I have been in awesome spirits for quite a while and that's caused me to be more generous which makes my spirits better and then I'm more generous. You should totally try it. It works.

So I was off for 3 DAYS IN A ROW when Christmas Eve rolls around. Jodi had to work and we (her parents included) were going to Christmas Mass. HOW AWESOME! And even better... I had to make dinner! Is this holiday about the Jews in Egypt?! I'm noticing some similarities. Just kidding. So first, Jodi and I went mad food shopping and then I made a great chicken parm dinner. Ok, I cut corners and used a lot of cheese. Cheese makes food better. But while this is going on, its snowing.

Jodi: A funny thing happened Christmas Eve. As we were driving to the grocery store for last minute BBQ Christmas ingredients, it started to flurry. By time we got out of the store, it was all-out snowing! Totally unexpected, we got a white Christmas!

By time we had dinner and piled into the car a full 45 minutes before mass started, the snow was probably about an inch or so deep. We drove through the neighborhood and while I was admiring the Christmas lights and snow on the pretty houses, Randy said, "I wonder how many people will be deterred from going to church by this snow?" Dad replied, "Hopefully a lot!"

As we turned out of our neighborhood, Karma got them back.

Dad's car wouldn't go up the unsalted, unbrined, unplowed hill. We had to glide backwards down the hill into a driveway, turn around, go back through the neighborhood of pretty little houses all blanketed in snow, out the other exit from the neighborhood, made an illegal left onto the plowed, salted and flat main road, and made it to church right as it started. In a Christmas miracle, we even got seats. Lesson? Make that illegal left first. Check for cops, make sure you're clear, then go.

Just kidding!

Randy: They put us in the 4th freakin' row at Church. I promised to behave. I did sneak out to the bathroom and ran into the Monseigneur. We exchanged some "Merry Christmas's" and he asked how I was doing. I wanted so badly to say, "As Bruce Springsteen would say, 'its hard to be a saint in the city.'" A promise is a promise.

Jodi: We have a tradition every year where we go to my buddy's house for Christmas Eve after we're done all the family festivities. Eric and I have been friends since first grade, and his birthday is on Christmas Eve (every year, Mom!) Unfortunately I didn't finish up my Southern BBQ dishes for Bryan's house until after midnight and was falling asleep in the kitchen.

Randy: We didn't go to our friend's, Eric's, birthday. Eric is great. And his parties are always fascinating. FYI... vegan cookies suck. In case he reads this... I won't ruin what his birthday present is. I picked it out.

Let's talk about Christmas.

I got Dunkin Donuts because I love their coffee and the people that work there are the best.

Anyway, Christmas morning with Jodi's family is funny. I called it the [Jodi's last name] Christmas Present Opening Extravaganza. Why? Because how long do you think it should take to open presents with 6 people? If you guessed 4 hours... you'd be correct. First, we sing the national anthem. Then we name a chairman of the presents. That person is responsible for identifying the location for each person to sit. Also, they must organize the presents by person and by location. Then, we open 1 present at a time in order of ascending age. I KID YOU NOT! We deviated this year by just going in a circle.

Jodi: You may remember the tradition from last year of Bryan buying Randy a funny hat each year. That tradition continued, as well as lots of other funny gifts. Here are some highlights:

Randy: I wanted nothing this year from anyone. Its not really a joke. I really wanted nothing. But I did get 3 awesome presents. First, I got a combo pack of beef jerky. Second, I got a case for my Google Nexus 7 table (I am afraid of breaking stuff so I leave it in the box until I get a protective case. Shut up). And the best present... I got a sheep. The donation of the sheep for charity is the best. I am putting the card at my desk at work. Hopefully, she'll tell you what charity it was and I recommend it...[note from Jodi: Heifer International] you donate money to buy sheep, goats, oxen, whatever in third world countries. That made my whole Christmas.

Jodi: Ashley got a scarf from Grandma, and in the end, all of the ladies received gorgeous scarves from Grandma. We had a great photo op to send thanks to Grandma for her wonderful handiwork.

A classy wine glass for the Red Solo Cup Fan Club:

Randy got Bryan a full-sized pair of adult Batman footie pajamas from webundies.com. I'm not kidding. Incriminating pictures to follow.

Randy got some fancy undergarments as well. He said no underwear, but he actually picked these out at Target for himself. I am usually against Christmas lists and people picking out their own presents, but this year I was a little desperate, and I needed something other than the sheep.

Bryan and his framed autograph from Gina Glocksen. Remember when I said I would get that framed back in May/June? Hahahahahahaha!

Then Ashley said, "Does that mean we have to hang a picture of Randy in our house?"

Randy and his instant grits:

No self-respectin' Southerner uses instant grits. I take pride in my grits. Name that movie!

Calvin even got a gift.

The 2012 Christmas hat. There was actually a warning on the brim that it contains chemicals known by the State of California to cause cancer and sterility. Mom made him take it off right away and after the pictures, it got tossed. Sorry, Bryan.

Randy: Here's the weird thing... every year, I end up with the most presents. I super appreciate it all, but first, I'm Jewish. Is this some way to convert me with wrapped goodness? Second, I don't want anything. How can people find me presents if I don't want anything.

We finally finished... and the closing ceremony signified another successful Christmas. Don't laugh... if we had 1000 Chinese kids playing the drums like the Olympics... we would.

Then my family came. But everyone was on their best behavior so this must be special.

Jodi: As the name "Southern BBQ Christmas" suggests, we had southern BBQ for Christmas dinner. Bryan made pulled pork and ribs (shout-out to Cousin Mary who gave Bryan the awesome pulled pork recipe!), Ashley made pulled chicken, and cheesey broccoli casserole, Mom made corn bread, sweet potatoes, and corn on the cob, I made Mac N' Cheese (Thanks, T, once again for your awesome recipe, my family LOVED it), and Paula Deen's Apple Upside down Praline Cake, Aunt Marlene made sausage, Jason made banana pudding, and Randy's parents brought the biggest tray of treats I've ever seen from Sweet Eats in Cherry Hill. It was the most decadent meal I think I've had since Thanksgiving! Everything was just. so. GOOD. Kudos to Bryan and Ashley for organizing and making the hard stuff!

Randy's dad spent time in the Peace Corps in the Marshal Islands back before he met Joni. That is actually grammatically correct, because it is several islands, but considered to be one place.

Randy: My brother is awesome at gift giving. He doesn't spend a lot of money, but the phrase, "its the thought that counts," he does more than everyone. His gifts took effort.

Shih-Tzus are like potato chips, you can't have just one.

For me... a t-shirt that says, "the greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." I will wear it after my shower after I finish the marathon. It was the perfect gift.

Jodi: Perfect to wear as I push him around in a wheel chair.

This is my shirt from Jason. As you can tell by my face, I found it hilarious.

Randy re-enacted his parents' first Christmas as a married couple in a shadow box. Murray hung an old army sock, and Joni hung a stocking, and the Pillsbury dough boy was Joni's gift. Randy found a 1972 Pillsbury Dough Boy on the boardwalk in Ocean City in September. It was at "awww" gift of the night. Yeah Randy's a sensitive guy.

Calvin was cute, as expected.

This is adorable. If you can't read it, it says, "Dear Randy, What do these three things (lunch meat, sour cream and cheese) have in common besides being scotch-taped to a shoebox - give up - they all need to be refrigerated! Our gift to you is in our trunk - a refrigerator for work! Happy Chanukah! Love Mom & Dad

This was my other gift from Jason. It says "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind! Dr. Suess"

Aunt Marlene, Ashley, Me, Mom and Joni, all wearing our new Christmas scarves. Thanks, Grandma!

Then it was on to dessert and my Apple Praline cake with Jason's banana pudding and little bite-sized cheese cakes, brownies, blondies, etc. etc. etc. Yum!

Randy: Anyway... the things you missed include the conversation between my dad and Jodi's mom about what pain killers Jodi will use when delivering a child. Nope, we're not pregnant. But what do you expect from 2 overly-opinionated people who are extremely not-patient about being grandparents?

We did NOT talk about economics, gun control, or politics. It was a miracle!

Jodi: Next year will be a Mexican Christmas! I am already on the hunt for mariachi Christmas music!

Next time: iPhone upgrades

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Family Room Reveal

2012-12-29T13:32:00.000-05:00

Anyone else home from work this week trying to get things done around the house? We haven't actually gotten anything done yet, but we have very good intentions.

So on with the show! Here is the completed-for-now family room.

After Randy and I screwed in all the vent and outlet covers, we were all ready to....

Take care of those annoying little bits of white paint that we got on the gray.

This one will get covered when we get brave enough to attempt crown molding. Like I said, completed-for-now.

Looks much better, right?

That mirror was a $40 find at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Coatsville, PA. I love it and can't wait to hang it over the couch.

This is our first ever project that we did all by ourselves (with Becky's help and mad spackling skills), so let's do some before and afters so we can bask in the glory of a job ~~well~~ done.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Good bye blue splotches! You know what this means... we will probably be painting something else blue very soon. That's to come!

Hope you are all having a safe and happy holiday season!

Optimus Prime-r

2012-11-27T21:57:00.000-05:00

Back to all the board and batten goodness. Besides the fancy-schmancy tools we used below, Randy used a table saw that we borrowed from my dad to cut all the MDF board planks to the right length. He probably could have used my box miter saw just as well. Anyone who has just basic equipment could do this, and that is why it was so exciting/rewarding for us. It took a long time, but it was significantly cheaper than having someone else come and do it, and when we have people over we can say we did it without having to lie.

This is me in my very sexy dust mask sanding the edges of all of the boards. That is my luxurious purple sand-paper holder thingie that I mentioned in the last post.

Then we went around with the Dyson and sucked up all the saw dust. I'm not sure if this step was necessary or not, but I wanted the paint to last for the long haul, so I also deglossed the boards to make sure we got all of the dust off using an eco-friendly liquid deglosser we got at Home Depot. If Sherry and John of Young House Love fame say it helps adhesion, I'll do it. Yes, I refer to them as Sherry and John. No, I have never met them. Randy thinks they're my imaginary friends. I think they have a lot of good DYI tips and the blog posts about their daughter, Clara, crack me up. Ashley is similarly enamored with them, and is actually the person who first told me about their blog. People who name their sofas with great taste in home design? I'm in!

Then Becky and I started the primer. I had previously purchased no VOC high gloss white paint for the dining room shadow boxing, but due to my previously mentioned frustration with caulk, it had sat unused under the sink in the hallway bath. So I decided to use what we had and got a can of white primer instead of forking out more dough for the paint and primer in one (although we did LOVE it for the gray $6 oops paint we used above).

To my dismay, the primer didn't cover the blue swatches so well. That's ok, I assume most people don't try to paint white right over dark blue swatches on their walls, and maybe that is an unrealistic expectation for my non-so-optimus primer.

Take a look at the sides of the MDF board. See how they soaked up my primer like a sponge? I expected a little suckage, but wow, they looked like they were never touched! Tip for everyone else out there, spackle the sides of your boards before you prime. It keeps the MDF board from soaking up all your hard work! Unfortunately I didn't figure that out right away, but did it all along the top edge of the horizontal boards and it worked great.

Unfortunately cats don't go down for naps, so if you have a pretty persistent feline, it makes it hard to get work done. Keller likes to be involved with everything we do, and will sometimes sit patiently and watch, but most of the time he cries until you to pick him up and cuddle him. Otherwise he'll stick his nose in the paint or rub up against a wet wall. We have needy cats.

Here's how it looks with the first coat of paint! It's starting to get there.

Here's one with the blue swatches. You can still see it, but it's looking a lot better, right?

Anyone else out there tackling a project that makes a huge difference in a room with very basic tools? We want to hear about it!

Board and Batten Down the Hatches

2012-11-25T15:04:00.000-05:00

Here is the family room with newly gray walls in the sunlight.

The color looks good with the white door frames and vents, which will work nicely with the board and batten that we planned to install and paint a nice, shiny pure white. We wanted to add some architectural interest to the room, but keep it casual, simple, and wipe-able due to the crazy exploits of our four monkeys (and hopefully kids down the road).

Randy and I used Mandi's post on Vintage Revivals as our board and batten tutorial. I won't pretend we really knew what we were doing, we just followed her very straight-forward instructions. We used MDF board instead of wood at Mandi's suggestion. Home Depot cut our MDF boards into 3-inch-wide planks. When we returned home, we were welcomed by this sight in the foyer. Which one of these things is not like the other?

Randy and I started installing the pieces. Yes, we had to use a hammer because our nail gun crapped out... and we learned that Randy doesn't have a lot of patience for the set-backs that are the joys of DYI.

We used our level to make sure everything was nice and straight. Then my friend Becky and I spackled the edges where the planks came together for a seamless look.

After we sanded, it was nice and smooth, like a baby's posterior. I also spackled my nail holes and sanded those too. I knew from previous experience that caulk shrinks and you have to go back and cover up all your little nail holes TWICE, and I just don't have the patience for that. One of these days when we tackle the living room, I will do another round of caulk in the molding I put up around the windows. Hopefully I can just fill them in with spackle!

Randy went around the room installing the boards. Becky and I would help with with the level and to get the first couple of nails in, and he'd finish each one off. Then we followed him around the room spackling and sanding. Don't let us fool you... this took a long time! Several days since we are not professional DYIers (our bosses expected us back at work Monday morning).

Whenever there was something in the way, we just board-and-battened around it. Is that a verb? We kept our boards the same distance apart from one another and ended up with some funny cut-outs like this. I figure it adds character to the room.

We tried the nail gun again several times. To no avail. RIP nail gun. You were great while you lasted.

I went around and sanded all the edges, so we didn't have any hard right angles to smack ourselves on. We're quite accident-prone around here. Well, actually that's just me! I used a nice hand-held sanding thing that looks like a fondant smoother, but with high grit sand paper, not smooth plastic, on the other side.

Then we were all done! Doesn't it look great?

Just kidding!

We put the curtains back up to prevent them from being cat-nap bedding and getting more furred-up than they already are, but we still have plenty more to do.

So anyone know what the sanding thing is called? I don't think it's a sanding block because it wasn't actually a block. It was a nice purple, ergo-nomic-handled plane with sandpaper fasters. There was also this nice, smushy layer of like non-skid padding between the sandpaper and the sander-thingie. It was definitely worth the $7 I spent on it! Now that's sandpaper luxury.

Family Room Re-do

2012-11-18T17:16:00.000-05:00

You may remember, our little living room on the first floor looks like this. Last year, we got a cute microfiber couch and two red leather chairs from Raymour and Flanigan on major sale. This is a high-traffic kitty area since it is the warmest room in the winter, and it leads to the litterboxes in the laundry room, so we needed furniture that could withstand a tornado.

Yes, our cats are bad. Yes, that is why the blog is called what it is called. All home improvements and big (and little) purchases have to be considered with the four feline family members in mind.

Randy and I wanted to paint the room a fun color, but keep it cool and relaxing. I wanted to make it a yoga studio. Randy wanted to make it a man cave. We agreed on blue, and had painted swatches of several Benjamin Moore colors on the wall. A year later, they were still there.

Everyone who came over would stop and look at the colors, pick one, and then ask which one we liked. We had two favorites, and we were leaning towards the second one from the left.... but we never pulled the trigger.

It was starting to get embarrassing, so we decided to do something about it. Something that wouldn't compete with the red accents in the room.

Something nice and soothing, that would maybe tie in this painting and everything else in the room. A tall order, I know.

So we painted it gray. Surprised? So were we.

We only painted the top parts of the walls because we planned to do something fun underneath.

We picked up a can of Behr Paint and Primer in One from the Home Depot's "oops" paint cart for $6. Can't beat that with a paint stick. It looked like a nice purple-ly light blue color at the store, but when we put it up on the walls, it was gray. A nice happy gray though, like the darker part of white, fluffy clouds right before a summer thunderstorm. I liked it, Randy liked it. Six bucks. Score!

We came down later that night to check on it, see how it was drying, and make sure we still liked the color. We found this little man in the window... and little gray paw prints all over the floor. Luckily they were pretty well-covered with drop cloths, and the few footprints on the hard wood came up easily with water on a rag. Phew! Another Keller-induced heart attack averted. Unfortunately, he was not happy when I wiped the paint off his tiny feet.

Here it is, all dry, after two coats. Yep, you can still see the blue paint swatches, but don't worry, we have plans for them!

So what do you think? Anyone else with paint color paralysis? Sometimes I think you just need to buy some oops paint and throw it up on the wall and see how you like it. That seems to be how I make decisions like that. Agonize, agonize, agonize, then just pick up a gallon of paint on a whim. Probably how my bathroom turned out red. Ugh, that's next on the agenda!