Best Dress(es)!

My friend K sent me the link to InStyle's compilation of the 100 Best Dresses of the Decade this week. She then blogged about her favorites. Taking her cue, I painstakingly scoured the list for my own favorites and share them with you here.

Kate Hudson in Versace, from 2003 is the # 1 dress.

Eva Mendes in Dior from the Golden Globes in 2009.

Gwen Stefani in Valentino at the 2004 Golden Globes

Cate Blanchett in Prada, 2000 BAFTA Awards

Kate Beckinsale in Givenchy, 2001

Halle Berry in Diane Von Furstenberg, 2006

A couple things I noticed right off the bat in looking at my choices, seems I prefer white/off white and sparkly. I'd wear each and every one of the dresses unaltered, except for the Eva Mendes dress. I'd have to take the front pouf off. The whole silhouette would be much more streamlined without it. It reminds me of a droopy flower. The only way I'd keep it on is if you could carry small items or snacks in it somehow. Since I doubt that, it's got to go.

The jewelry in all looks is very minimal, save for the Eva Mendes dress and she's rockin' the turquoise, which I LOVE! Halle's even got a simple strand necklace with turquoise beads.

While going through the list, there were a few dresses that came to mind that were not on the list and I thought should have been.

Michelle Williams in Vera Wang, Academy Awards 2006

Isaac Mizrahi, 2008

The yellow Vera Wang dress on Michelle Williams is one that sticks out of all the dresses and all the awards shows over the last decade. How could it not? She looked lovely and it's such a striking dress! A true stand out. The Isaac dress is a fun one because my sister in law M and I often choose a dress to "wear" for the Oscars. We'll ask, "who will you be wearing?" In 2008, this was my dress! I'd love to see it in person and OMG, to actually wear it for an occasion! I wish I had a dress up occasion coming soon! I guess I'll have to create one!

Christmas Eve

It's the eve of Christmas, y'all! I had to work a half day, which surprisingly was rather productive! Then ran to the grocery store to buy some fixins for dinner tonight and some things to nosh on tomorrow. The store was a little crazy, but not overwhelming. I talked to a few friends to wish them a Merry Christmas (a day early) and came home for a few last minute preparations. Tomorrow's the big day!

Here's a little of what I've been doing leading up to Christmas:

Sugar Cookie Cutouts with Royal Icing

Oreo Truffles

Fresh Ginger Ginger Snaps

I hope that whatever you have planned, you have a very Merry Christmas! Honestly, with family being all out east again this year (I'll miss them and all the hubbub of Christmas morning with kiddos), it's going to be pretty quiet here. And...there's an ice/freezing rain storm predicted, which would make things really interesting, no going anywhere! Glad I stocked up on snacks and DVDs!

Wonky

You know when you get a shopping cart with one wheel that's just a little off and it makes pushing or steering said cart a bit of a challenge? That's kind of how my day was. My day had a wonky wheel. Don't get me wrong, overall, it was a good day, it was just a little off.

On way out of house for second day in a row visit to the gym, I got temporarily stuck on some ice in the alley. I was able to free myself in a matter of minutes using my finely-tuned back-alley Houdini skills. Trip to gym back on.

I pull into the gym parking lot, score a pretty good parking spot. I'm gathering my things and realize an almost full bottle of Vitamin Water, Orange Orange in flavor, has decided that a trip south, out of the bottle into my gym bag onto the car seat and down to the car mat below in the back seat might be a good way to escape a trip to the gym. Plans for gym abandoned, due to wet shorts, wet shoes and a soggy attitude.

My next foray out of the house started a little better, I was able to get out of the driveway without sliding around on the ice. As you may know, I'm getting braces soon. I thought my driver's license expired in 2010, so I had the great idea to renew early so I don't have braces in a photo that will legally represent me for four years. I drive all the way to the Secretary of State before actually double checking my license. It actually expires in 2011!

I also had a sharpie decide it needed to be free to roam about the bottom of my bag uncapped. Luckily that only meant trouble for the inside of my bag.

The rest of the day wasn't so bad, somewhere along the line balance returned to the four wheels on the cart carrying me through the day.

I got to visit with two of my girls briefly.

I got to visit with my mom for dinner.

Snowy roads weren't any trouble on the way home.

Here's to a well-balanced day tomorrow!

Where Everybody Knows My Name

There's a coffee shop in town, one of the first, that I used to go to all the time. I felt like I was a regular. Apparently I didn't go quite often enough to warrant regular status in the barrista's minds, because everytime I went in there, I was still faceless, nameless. They didn't even know my regular drink. It was kind of off-putting, but after a while I just chalked it up to the fact that they were not proficient in warm customer service and they had no desire to brush up on the finer points.

I had an experience with genuine customer service last night that truely warmed my heart. I've been in sort of a funk for the last week or so and this was exactly the kind of thing I needed.

I went to my favorite restaurant, Marie Catrib's, one I've been going to since they opened. Marie, the owner, and her son know me by name. I have a fondness and such gratitude for them and the food they create. I took at seat at the counter. My server, a guy named Mike greeted me with a smile and some water. As he hands me the menu, he remembers something about me that made my night.

"We've got just one serving of tomato fennel soup, I know it's your favorite. Do you want me to get it for you?"

It was such a simple thing. It meant a lot and completely characterizes the way Marie's operates. I got to have my favorite soup! And through a simple gesture, they guaranteed (again, as they have continually over the last five years) my return.

I also had a small chat with a girl that sat down a chair away from me at the counter. We talked about soups, studying and our common name. This visit to my favorite restaurant not only fed my hunger for food, it also fed my human longing to be known, to be recognized as someone who matters simply for being me. When so much of our personal interaction these days is via some electronic form of communication, I know I can be left feeling like I know all these people, but so rarely interact with them on an in-person basis. It feels lonely sometimes.

This is one local establishment where I can go when I feel adrift in a sea of technology and am in need of some true humanity and a wholesome meal. I feel grateful for this space and the people who make it feel like home. I hope everyone is lucky enough to have somewhere like this, a place that even if they don't, you still feel like everybody knows your name. (Cue the Cheers theme...)

the corner of blizzard and crazy

It's still snowing here in Michigan! I haven't left the house since coming home after dinner last night. Work at home days are great! I'm trying to get into the spirit of winter, but sub-zero temperatures and blizzard-like conditions aren't really helping. I'm already feeling a little cabin fever-y already as I head into four days off of work. Not good. Egads what will I do?!

If my plans work out properly tomorrow, I'm actually thinking I'll go into work for our holiday luncheon and to secure my share of some homemade vendor Christmas cookies. Crazy, right?! If you had these cookies, you'd know what I'm talking about. Really. These cookies are ridiculously good - same vendor brought them in last year and over the past year we've periodically discussed how good they were.

I've also got big plans for cookies of my own...holla for some Christmas cookies! Can't wait to get baking. I've got an easy new recipe I want to try and I'm going to bake a couple of other favorites - frosted sugar cookies (I just bought my first set of cookie cutters!) and ginger snaps.

What's your favorite holiday treat?

Wintry Day Work Outfit

This is basically what I wore to work today...comfy and warm for a wintry day in Michigan with a little color from the handbag. Mine is from Target a while back, but I thought this one was fun and reminiscent of my own!

Wintery Day by starrfish featuring DKNY Jeans

That time of year

It started snowing here in the midwest - and it's sticking. I'm not particularly fond of snow and cold. Like I just told R, everything is just better in the summer. It's warmer, obviously. More day light. Cute clothes. More shoe options. More activities. I'm going to have to make a concentrated effort not to fall into winter's cruel trap of isolation. Tonight I feel like I just might want to hibernate until April.

I sent off a box to my brother and sister in law who are expecting my baby niece any day now. I'm excited for her to arrive! Sending out packages though reminded me I've got a few more things to pick up and ship out to the East Coast in order to have my holiday ducks in a row. Ugh!

I have a few cookie recipes I want to try out for the holidays. I'm contemplating playing Santa for myself and picking up something that will make baking even MORE fun. I'll let you know if it comes together. There are some pretty good deals to be had right now.

Tomorrow night is the UICA's Holiday Artist's Market. R and I are going to check out that scene. Looking forward to going since it's been a few years since I've gone. From what I've read, it looks like there will be some cool stuff! We may even go to the tree lighting ceremony in front of the GRAM. Maybe all that will help me feel more at peace about the fact that it's actually winter again!

Tuesday Before Thanksgiving

A list of random things in my head as I prepare for my journey north for Thanksgiving:

What kind of snacks should I bring on the 7-hour road trip? I usually don't like to eat an entire meal since that makes for sleepy driving.

The cats are going to on a "holiday" at the kennel. They've never been in a kennel. R jokingly said they're going to jail. Some of their behavior does almost warrant a light sentence. I found a brand new loaf of my favorite bread on the dining room floor this morning. Through the hole chewed through the little cellophane window you could see a sizable chunk of bread missing. Do these cats really think they're going to starve? Or do they just have a thing for bread. This is the second loaf. Note to self: keep bread in a cat-proof bunker.

When we're in Marquette, I want to look at the eyeglass place I got my glasses. They carry Jean La Font frames, which is what I have now. Technically, I'm due for new frames, but I'm kind of in love with my current frames. If I can find something spectacular, perhaps I'll go for something new. I'm going in for an eye exam next week. I hope my Rx hasn't changed that much if at all.

Another stop in Marquette is Getzs. They have the most North Face gear I've ever seen and the last two or three years we've been going to Marquette for Thanksgiving I've been able to score amazing deals. Here's hoping.

I'm supposed to be packing for the trip, but clearly this blog entry seemed more pressing! The blogosphere needs to know what's going on in my head!

I wish everyone in my family could be together this Thanksgiving. We're kind of all spread out and I will miss those who won't be with us!

Happy early Thanksgiving! I really need to go pack!

What Gives?

Maybe it's the weather or the fact that it gets dark by 5:30 p.m. now, but I've been feeling kind of low. Technically there's nothing wrong with me. No drama. Nothing to feel melancholy about.

Late last week, I did something that if I did more often wouldn't need to be done at all, I cleaned out my office closet. It's a single door closet with a five foot tall metrowire shelf inside. It's been packed to the gills with all sorts of office type materials: photos (actual hard copy photos!), books, tons of paper & images for projects and notes, my sewing machine and all that entails and other stuff that I haven't found another suitable home for.

Doing anything orgizational like this is very theraputic for me. It's one of those projects that you can get lost in, focusing only on the details in front of you. I'm not really sure what's going on, other than neglecting said closet for too long, but I felt compelled to work on that closet Thursday night. I've read that, from a feng shui perspective, an overabundance of junk/clutter can cosmically weigh us down. Maybe that's what it was. Maybe it was something more. When I was basically done with the closet I started noticing other areas around the house that I could apply the same declutting energy to. I want to feel lighter. I want to have more energy. I'm going to declutter.

R says getting back out to run might be helpful. I've only run a couple times since the Grand Rapids Half Marathon on October 18. A running deficiency could have something to do with my mood. The thing is, I don't want to run. Yet. I know at some point soon, I'll feel compelled to get back on the road. I guess I'm just waiting for that moment when my head is too full of clutter and I HAVE to go. Just like the closet. It will happen. I'm thinking sooner rather than later.

NYC Scenes Captured!

big moves, big eats

I'm in the process of making some pretty big moves with my grill. Just under two weeks ago I got upper and lower fixed expanders installed in my mouth as the first step toward getting braces. If you've had expanders, you know the exact level of frustration I've been going through learning how to eat anything other than soft foods and speak without sounding like I have a mouthful of marbles. Try saying "Peter Sarsgaard" with your best fake slur and you'll know what I'm up against.

The installation came just three days before I hopped a plane to visit my brother and sister in law in my favorite city for eating. After my first attempt at a meal at home, I was quite worried about my prospects for eating my way through the City. Food was getting caught where I didn't want it. Swallowing anything other than a smooth soup was quite difficult. I was feeling pretty sure I'd be eating/drinking all my meals for the next three months.

The trip to NYC proved to be exactly what I needed in order to overcome my eating with expander frustration. I was determined to try most everything I would normally eat on a visit, rather than just sticking to soup, oatmeal and yogurt.

Here are some highlights of how I did:

Mulligatawny Soup with flat bread from Cafe Medina

The bread was a little difficult to eat plain, but I got by with ripping off small chunks of bread and sprinkling them in the soup. Soup was delicious! I so wish we had a place like Cafe Medina in Grand Rapids!

Chocolate Chunk cookie and Vanilla Latte from Starbucks. This was late afternoon on my first day. Sister in Law and I had been shopping all afternoon and needed a snack and some caffeine. The cookie was a little hard around the edges and the chunks of chocolate in the cookie were a little difficult to manage without getting stuck in the upper expander.

Without even knowing about the extent of my challenge with hard foods, my sister in law made soup complete with a swirl of pesto that we ate my first night in town. After a long day out and about, it hit the spot! The perfect consistency and taste!

Breakfast on day two. English muffin with Earth Balance. I had to take small bites, but this went down rather easily.

Whole wheat bagel with sun dried tomato tofu cream cheese from David's Bagels. There's nothing like a New York bagel. I've heard it's because of the water in New York City. I believe it! Always a must when I visit the city. The bagel's chewy nature provided quite a challenge for me and my expanders, but I made it about 3/4 of the way through. Luckily my brother was more than happy to finish the remaining 1/4 piece.

Sister in law made two amazingly delicious salads for dinner Friday night. The one in front had red onion, new potatoes and peas. The other one had bulgar, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, garbanzo beans and greens. Both had the same balsamic, olive oil and mustard type homeade dressing and were so good I asked for the recipes. Because of the small chunks of food, both were a little difficult to eat with my expanders, but well worth the challenge!

Plantain Bajji from Saravanaas in Murray Hill (aka Curry Hill because there are so many Indian restaurants in the neighborhood). Quite flavorful with the different chutneys. Definitely not a challenge to eat! We were quite hungry, so this appetizer didn't last long.

Masala Dosa from Saravanaas. I've had dosa before, but it's been awhile. This was somewhat difficult to eat because of the crispy consistancy of the dosa. Loved all the chutneys though and did my best!

Ah, Burritoville. You used to be a NYC favorite, but it seems you've undergone a bit of a re-branding. I'm not so sure it was for the best. The burrito I had tasted more corporate cardboard than I would have liked. Nothing like it used to be! Not the easiest meal to eat either, with small bits of brown rice and tomato to get stuck!

Monday afternoon back in the City for my last day. We went back to Cafe Medina for another soup. This one was Tuscan Tomato Bread soup and it was a winner. Very flavorful, a little sweet. Not so chunky that I couldn't manage it with the expanders.

I talked for days about wanting to get a real NY slice of pie, but it didn't work out how I wanted it to. I ended up having this slice of cheese pizza at the Sbarro while waiting for my flight to leave LaGuardia. Yeah, not ideal, but it was a slice and much better than my alternatives. Had to avoid the super crunchy crust with the expanders, but that was the only trouble.

Emergency Landing

If you've ever had the slightest feeling that something might not be right, you're probably right.

I had a 6:00 a.m. flight to New York's LaGuardia airport yesterday. We boarded on schedule. I was half asleep and wanted to be all the way asleep, so I tucked myself into my seat and closed my eyes waiting to pull away from the gate. Once away from the gate, it seemed like we were dinking around too long on the tarmack. They kept revving the engine and then letting it wind down, with no take off. I've been on enough flights to know what seems normal and this activity did not seem normal. We eventually took off though.

They gave the green light for electronic devices. The i-pod got clicked on and I was that much closer to dreamland. Until the announcement came...

"Ladies and gentleman, we're going to have make an emergency landing in Buffalo, due to a problem with one of our engines."

The announcement was so matter of fact, like they'd just announced they'd be bringing the beverage cart along. At first I didn't really think anything was seriously wrong.

"It's gotta be like when your check engine light comes on in the car. It doesn't mean you have to stop immediately, it means go get this situation checked out when you get a spare minute. I hope it's just something like that."

Then they started reviewing the safety procedures...AGAIN! Not good.

I started thinking that maybe this Emergency Landing was more than just a check engine light scenario. We made a pretty rapid altitude descent into Buffalo. The lights flickered. The guy next to me started talking about how we might have trouble landing if there's something wrong with one of the engines. That's when my palms started to sweat and I starting thinking about the fact that I got on a flight this morning not thinking it might be my last...EVER.

Safe and sound. Safe and sound. It was my mantra until wheels touched the ground in Buffalo. We were met by numerous fire trucks and police cars. They said that was just routine procedure, but I overheard one of the other passengers later on when were waiting to be rebooked say that something was actually on fire and the plane was being hosed off. I don't know if I believe that.

Regardless. I did get right back on another plane and finally made to NYC to visit my brother and sister in law. Safe and sound. Just another reminder to live each day to the fullest and with purpose and to cherish the people you love because you never know when you might have to make an emergency landing.

Yummy Yammies!

I don't even call them yams. I prefer "sweet potato", but I do call them delicious. They're pretty versatile. You can do something simple like peel and slice up a few, french fry-style, then toss with olive oil and your favorite seasoning (simple like kosher salt or more adventurous use your imagination) until evenly coated. Then put them on a cookie sheet and bake for 25-40 minutes at 425. Voila. Sweet potato fries!

My latest favorite recipe:

Two sweet potatoes peeled and cubed. Boil with a little salt for about 10 minutes until almost tender. While potatoes are boiling slice up red onion and saute in olive oil. Drain your sweet potatoes and add them to the onions. Add about 2 Tsp cumin and 2 Tsp coriander and saute for a few more minutes. Looks like this and is delish:

I've been eating this with a big scoop of my black beans (canned black beans mostly drained, with salsa, chili powder and cumin to taste.) I made it into a burrito one night, but am really digging it just in a bowl with the black beans!

Book/Food Review

The book is "Skinny Bitch", by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. It's been around a while, but I picked up the book on CD last week and listened to it while I was working at home on Thursday. It goes by quickly and has an entertaining voice, so if you're into audio books and you're looking to re-evaluate the way you eat, you might be into it.

Basically the book perscribes a vegan diet, so no meat, dairy, eggs. They also bag on caffeine in the form of sodas and coffee. And they basically say white refined sugar and many sugar replacements inlcuding aspartame are the devil. They go into detail about why each item is no friend to the Skinny Bitch. There's more to it than that, of course, but those are the key elements I identified with.

For the last few weeks, even before listening to the book, I've been thinking about what I eat and why. The book reminded me of several things I already knew, but was not wanting to do anything about. Sugar. Duh. Butter and cheese? Um, yeah, if I say we're all "just friends", you'll know I mean it in the way I used to tell my parents that my too-old-for-me boyfriend and I were "just friends". I think we all know how that turned out.

Where I'm at: I've been a vegetarian for about 15 years. I basically feel like I eat rather healthfully, but am always looking for ways to improve. I'm also a runner who wants to fuel her body properly for maximum performance. I'm beginning to accept the whole idea that my body is my engine and that if I put crappy, processed food in as fuel, I'm not going to perform as well as if I were eating more healthfully.

The no meat part is done. Giving up meat was not an issue when I did it because it just made sense to me and I never really ENJOYED meat like some folks do.

Caffeine and aspartame? I've played around with my addiction to Diet Coke for a while. I'll be on it then off, then back on. I recently had a couple weeks back on the chemicals after almost nine months off it. I totally loved the taste, but felt guilty about enjoying it, knowing that it's ultimately not good for me. I knew that in no time at all I'd be buying it by the case and drinking at least two cans a day. My main issue is the aspartame. Skinny Bitch does a great job laying out why it's probably not the best substance in the world to be digesting on the regular, which served as a reminder for me, all reasons why I have given it up in the past. So, I put the kibosh on my re-emerging habit before it could get out of control.

I love cheese and butter and think everything tastes better with copious amounts of both. I also am a giant fan of the sweets. I don't have just one sweet tooth, I have an entire set that's rather fond of all kinds of sugar.

I've been thinking too about adding more healthy things into my regular cooking routine, so I don't have to fall back on less than good for me choices. It's also helpful for me to not think "I'll never be able to eat that again," like removing something from the go to menu is a form of punishment. We get to make choices about everything we eat. I want to be able to celebrate my choices.

While I'm not considering giving up on dairy and sugar entirely, the book did make me rethink what I am eating and why. I guess you could say everything's up for review.

Kitten at Play

Since R's two cats have started staying with me, they have equally entertained and annoyed me. Fortunately, I've caught Junior being his entertaining self. This is my very first attempt at video editing in i-Movie. It's just a short clip, but it was fun to put together.

Enjoy!

thinking about...

...in the wake of ArtPrize I have an intense desire exercise my own creativity and/or be around more creative people on a daily basis.

...the big moves I'm making with my grill. Braces are not coming as soon as I thought. Turns out we have to make some room to move my chiclet teeth around first.

...wondering about Halloween. Will I be required to don a costume for any reason? There's always the Zombie Walk.

...then I'm wondering about Thanksgiving. Where will I eat non-turkey this year? I don't even remember what I did last Thanksgiving. I think I went to Marquette. Pretty sure.

...I'm somewhat obsessed with leggings lately. I bought two pairs this weekend. I wonder though do people realize you're wearing leggings or do they think you forgot your skirt and are trying to pass off a pair of tights as a pair of pants? I know wearing longer shirts/tunic-style tops is the way to go, but still...just wondering what folks think? Also, is this appropriate for work or more of a weekend-y type style?

...finally going to get out of Dodge for a bit in November. Can't wait! Have I mentioned that I have time off that I'll have to carry over to next year because I did not and will not be able to use it within the short time that remains in 2009! Going to have to start planning NOW on how to use up my days in 2010.

...spent an arm and a leg at the VW dealer again yesterday. It's the only place that I routinely spend what I deem to be an obscene amount of money. I did a mental list of the $ I've spent there just this year and it was enough to make me sick. When I think about what I could have purchased instead. UGH! How about this? Or this? Or about five pairs of really sick designer shoes. Hello Jimmy Choo, YSL and Louboutin we could have been friends! Ok, in reality it wouldn't have gone down like that, it's just a diversionary thought tactic so I don't stay focused on what really happened yesterday. I am grateful I have a safe car to drive. I'll just leave it at that.

...candy corn.

Last Day...

...of ArtPrize! So the official winner was Ran Ortner with "Open Water no. 24". This piece was my number two pick. My number one pick was Imagine That by Tracy VanDuinen. All in all I was quite pleased with how everything shook out. I'm hoping to get to the Federal Building today to see Open Water one more time, but have heard there's a line with about a 30 minute wait. Maybe a bit later on. I also want to check out the gift shop. The ArtPrize merch was pretty cool!

ArtPrize

So it's been awhile since my last post. I've been wrapped up in all things ArtPrize here in Grand Rapids. Our city has been turned into a giant museum with over 1200 pieces of art scattered about in various venues including actual galleries, restaurants, churches, bridges over the Grand River and even in the Grand River. The founder of ArtPrize said he wanted to "reboot the coversation about art" with the creation of ArtPrize. I'd say he's been successful. I've talked to more people about art in the last few weeks than perhaps ever.

We had one week to view and vote thumbs up or thumbs down to all of the pieces we could take in. I went out every day/night during the initial week of voting. Went to the Top 10 Announcment and then went out a bit more before casting my vote. It's been interesting to hear/read all the chatter online and in print about which pieces are worthy for the top prize. There's been discussion about whether the public is sophisticated enough to pick a piece worthy of the top prize. I think art that endures has to resonate with the viewer. When I was voting for my top pick, I thought back to how I initially responded to my top three choices. Putting all other voices aside, I wanted to vote for the piece that I had the strongest emotional reaction to. It was one of the first pieces I saw. When I read the artist's statement. I felt good about the choice I was making. The piece is beautiful and I like how the community was somewhat involved in its creation, which is a common denominator for this particular artist's work.

I won't tell you which piece I picked. Yet! I'm going to go to the winners event tonight so I can hear firsthand who the winner is. I want to see how my choices stacked up with the actual winners. I'll let you know!

oops. you're a jerk.

This afternoon I received an e-mail that was clearly not meant for me. Our company e-mail system has an address book that allows you to type in the first few letters of someone's last name and it will autofill if you're close to the actual spelling. This can be a convenience if you're careful, and it can get you in trouble if you are not careful. Underling Dude the message was meant for has the same first three letters in his last name as me. Dude who sent the message is clearly a d-bag. Neither of these individuals even works anywhere near here - completely different party of the country - so I have no actual knowledge of either of their characters, just a few lines of text.

message 2 @ 2:21 p.m.
Did I stutter???????

message 1 sent @ 2:18 p.m.
Get your A - - in here!!!! Where are you !!

The original message (which I did not include here) was sent by Underling Dude to Mr. D-bag telling him news he perhaps did not want to hear. I don't think it warranted such a tone, however. Who talks like that so someone they work with? Especially if its a direct report? I sent Mr. D-bag a reply that merely said:

You did not stutter, but you DID send your message to the wrong person.

Best of luck.

And if e-mail had an "under the breath" feature it would have said, "Best of luck... learning how to speak to people, treat them with respect and not suck."

Life is too short to be deliberately rude to people. Mr. D-bag must be awesome to work for! I thought about saying more to him in my reply e-mail, but I'd rather do something that could be considered a random act of kindness for the Underling Dude.

Let's all do our best to be nice to others, shall we?

Cookie Fail

I can't tell you how many times I've made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. More than I can count, probably. I always use the same recipe - it's the one off the Quaker Oats box. The dough came together without a problem. That's the good news. The bad news, when I put them in the oven I set the timer for making cookie bars, 30 minutes, without even thinking about it. They normally bake for 10-12 minutes! I think I invented a new cookie, they're called chocolate chip snaps. They're ridiculously over baked. I'm bummed about the mishaps and that Quality Control won't let these cookies out of the house. I've always said there's no such thing as a bad cookie. These might be close.

Note to self, pay attention to details even when you're doing something you've done a million times!