introducing: ryan

he has lived approximately 6 houses down from my family for 15 years.

he likes golf.

and funfetti cake.

and my older sister jessica.

and as of last night is about to become the newest member of our family.

WE ARE SO EXCITED! :D

graham cracker contest '09

rules:

1 hour time limit

use whatever is on the table

must use graham crackers

must also use the runny, in-adhesive icing to hold everything together (no offense kate, it was the recipe, not you) it was the x-factor. it made things intense.

teams:

steve & lou

jess & ryan

me & mike (we dominated)

jen & jord

jeff & syd

and kate. who was brave enough to go solo.

kate was little tricky. the front was neat and tidy and structurally sound...

and then the back was BAM! in your face gumdrops. with a snowman for good measure.

jeff and syd started by building the tiniest midget house possible (for lou we assumed).

and then threw everyone off by going vertical. (don't breathe, it's not too stable).

my side shot was super blurry, but it was less than 2" wide. very impressive.

steve and lou built a home for suicide gummy bears

balcony or diving board? you decide.

ryan and jess went modern / contemporary. it is called "the Graaaa-Hom Craquer."

jen and jord went a little tim burton on everyone

check out those creepy marching snowmen

and cannibalistic gummy bear trees

and then there was us. i almost feel bad for our sheer domination - that's right lara - we totally won!

all credit due to monette and her first class supply of sprinkles, sparklers, and pretty much everything else under the sun. we love you monette!

we had bigger, grander plans to make it a more authentic fenway, but the one hour time limit killed us. just wait until next year...

country singers. fail.

you know that song by tim mcgraw, "live like you were dying?"

well, i feel like i'm dying today. and i wouldn't wish it on anyone. even the boy who stole my awesome atrium the last day of third grade.

(and yes, i do know what the true meaning of this song is. but i am in a foul mood today.)

feelin the love

this is us the night we were engaged. i think we called everyone under the sun. happiness.

i am 22 years old today.

it has been a good day. so good that i might have cried a little. because what else do you do when you are doused with emails, texts, phone calls and happy thoughts from people you love? you have a happy cry. and then you say a little pray of thanks.

life is a wonderful thing.

dear j. crew,

please only notify me in the future if you are having a real sale - no more of these fake sales you have been trying to lure me to your site with. i have two suggestions i think might be helpful in convincing me to bust out my locked up credit card and splurge:

1) mark things down to under $75 every now and then (idea: not everything has to be made out of cashmere. just a thought.)

2) throw in some of the actually cute regular priced items in once in awhile too. i have been stalking the same sweater for six months and it has not budged one cent.

i still love your coats,

sara

p.s. i can buy the same flats you have for sale for $99 at target for $20 and sharpie j.crew on the inside. and i will. but know i will be back drooling over your site again tomorrow.

i should blog surf with the husband more often...

i'm trying to blog with more photos. even if they are old and have nothing to do with anything. like this one.

as i was perusing my usual blogs today mike came over and peered at my screen. i was looking at a friend's blog who is expecting a baby and has the baby countdown [you know the one where the baby bounces from side to side in the "womb"] along the sidebar. mike's reaction:

"I hate those fetus tickers."

i am still laughing. i hope i'm not the only one who thinks it's funny. and for the record, i like the fetus ticker.

dave ramsey says americans are like monkeys.

well. sort of.

after my last post i became very curious. obviously i don't understand finance. which is why the idea of credit cards didn't make any sense. so i started doing a little research. i read a few books, opened up the very trustworthy wikipedia, and ate an ice cream sandwich. and i became a bit more knowledgeable. and i highly recommend this book. most of his principles line up exactly with what the church teaches, and it made mike and i sit down and set up some financial goals so that we can make millions. and i'm not joking, we want millions. to save humanity of course :)