Mini Me.

Please note: Finn is turning into YKW. What you don't see in this pic is that his other little arm is in the exact position of YKW's arm, it's just under the covers. They were both conked out from a big day of Toys R Us, Chuck E Cheese (Happy Birthday Andrew!), Macy's, & The Anderson's.

Love party planning? Want to laugh? Buy this.

My fabulous mother bought me this book a couple of Christmases ago and it made me laugh so hard, I nearly peed my pants. Amy Sedaris is highly amusing and she throws one hell of a party, however irreverent it may be. Yes, Brittany, I used the word irreverent to describe her too.

You can purchase it here, from Barnes & Noble. Happy Reading.

Tigers Home Opener Tomorrow!

In preparation for the big game tomorrow, YKW bought the bug a brand spankin new Tigers hoodie. In case any of you don't have plans tomorrow at 1:05 you can do some cheering for the Tigers as they kick Kansas City's ass.

*PS, it must be noted in this post that mommy is a Braves fan, but she is still supportive of daddy's (mostly) delusional hope that Finn will play for the Tigers one day.

*PPS, This post is dedicated to my husband's crush, DentaLori and her mad love for the Tigers.

10 Birthday Gifts I'd Love #2

I'm going to be needing this purty green Dell Inspiron 1720 please. The 3 GB of memory would be nice. PLUS, it will mean you can have your laptop back. BONUS! I would even take the 15 inch screen instead of the 17 inch screen. What is 2 inches among friends?

Oh and a little note: Don't forget to go through myPoints for all of these lovely birthday gifts.

Sax in the bedroom OR 5:37 at our house

The enchiladas are out of the oven.

The bug is still obsessed with his celly.

YKW is impressing us all with his musical stylings.

US vs. Mexican Coke

It all started with this blog entry at Food Handler that my friend Britt suggested reading. Make your own Coke?? I think not. But I was intrigued by all of the comments and debate about Coke bottled in the US and Coke bottled in Mexico.



And so, what else is there to do besides recruit YKW to take part in my blind taste test?



At first, he couldn't taste the difference in the two, but upon further tasting he said the Mexican Coke was more "bitey," well whatever that means. Apparently YKW is no Chris Kimball. He won't be working at America's Test Kitchen anytime soon.



Bottomline, they do taste differently, but there isn't a huge difference. The US Coke is sweeter. And if nothing else, pick up a bottle of Mexican Coke in the international food aisle and try it out for yourself. It makes for a rather amusing Wednesday night activity.

Orange t-shirt & cauliflower to match.

Today the little bug and I were at the grocery store and we came across orange cauliflower. It matched his shirt! It was a sign and a lesson on colors. What is a mom to do but, purchase said treasure and roast it immediately?

If you haven't tried roasted cauliflower, get thee to the nearest store and pick up a head. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut all of the florets from the head. Rinse. Put on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, then season liberally (remember cauliflower doesn't have a whole host of taste on its own), don't forget the salt. Roast for 25-35 minutes and enjoy.

For you science loving readers, check out this Cornell University article about the origin of this tangerine hued vegetable. Or this article from the USDA.

If you haven't read this book, go out and buy it.

This is my favorite personal finance book. It isn't for dummies, but it isn't over the average person's head either. It is a great middle of the road book that will inspire you to get your finances in order.

If you haven't read it, go check it out here at amazon.com.

If you're married, you can check out Smart Couples Finish Rich, also by David Bach. I recommend reading it BEFORE you get married so you start off on the same financial foot. It is also a great vehicle for having "that" discussion.

What happened to the Sprint guy??

What ever happened to that geeky sweet faced "Sprint guy" on the Alltel commercials? I know! I know!



According to his blog on mySpace (now set to private)...


Not in the new Alltel commercials

I've had a lot of people write and ask me about this, so I thought it'd be easiest to just write a blog. I hate that word, I don't know if I've ever typed the word blog before. it even looks dumb. Anyway. I'm no longer 'The Sprint Guy' in the Alltel commercials. Basically, Alltel wanted to sign me (and the rest of the guys) through the end of 2008. Everyone else signed on except me. I didn't want to be known as that guy at the expense of other things I'd rather do, like TV and movies. It may not have hurt, but who knows. Also, Alltel was unable to offer a contract that addressed specific concerns my representation had with it. So, we decided it would be best to move on. I think that's about it. Thanks for the messages from friends and strangers, glad you found me entertaining in those commercials, or at least recognized my presence and consequent lack thereof in said commercials.

And did you know he was from Mentor, OH? Check out this article from The Plain Dealer. And here is an article about Chad's Circle from Buzz about all of the original guys.


And so my dear readers, as all good things must come to an end... let's hope they don't replace me with someone with a bad (read fake) afro. It's the poor man's Sprint guy for us from now on, but you're still getting the REAL THING here at So Wonderful, So Marvelous.

Happy Birthday Stace!

Everyone go over to my friend Stace's blog and wish her a Happy Birthday. And while you're there, check out that adorable baby belly she's got!! She is so freaking cute!

Egg pie a la mode.

Ok, so it isn't really a la mode, but it is egg pie. Quiche is one of my most favorite dinners and it doesn't do too poorly as a breakfast food either.

Here is the recipe I've developed after much trial and error. It is adapted from this one from Williams-Sonoma.

I use a prepared (frozen) deep-dish crust.

half a package of breakfast sausage

8 oz of fontina, gruyere, or swiss cheese

3 eggs - room temp

1 cup heavy cream - room temp

1/3 cup milk - room temp

3-5 dashes of Tabasco

thyme, rosemary, and black pepper to taste

Brown the sausage, crumble and allow to cool. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the pie crust on a cookie sheet in case the quiche runs over. Shred the cheese and put half of the cheese in the bottom of the pie crust. Layer the sausage on top of the cheese, then pour the egg mixture on top of the cheese and sausage. Layer the rest of the cheese on top of the egg mixture. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the center is slightly firm to the touch. Allow to cool for approximately 10-15 minutes.

10 Birthday Gifts I'd Love #3

I almost forgot that my Real Simple subscription is about to expire. This is my favorite magazine of all time and a yearly subscription would be a GREAT birthday gift!

10 Birthday Gifts I'd Love #4

This! Ok, so this is another one of those crazy dreaming birthday wishes, but what the heck... we may win the lotto (if we ever played) in the next month. This would look fancy just outside our bedroom. Oh and can you knock a hole in our bedroom wall and install french doors. Oh and while you're at it, a nice poured patio for it to sit on. Oh and we will need a privacy fence as well.



Such a small price to pay for naked hot tubbing I'd say.

Candlelight suppers are better

with these $99 chairs from IKEA. OK, so the cost is a teeny bit prohibitive since the table I am in love with seats eight. I do love them still.

Happy Birthday Meme!

and Happy Easter to the rest of you fools.

The cake turned out prettier than I had imagined. Now if it tastes half as good as it looks, I will be a happy girl. A huge thank you again to Jen for the top secret recipe. I added toasted coconut to the top because Meme loves coconut and I thought it might go well with the lime in the cake. I will let you know how it goes over after our Easter lunch.

10 Birthday Gifts I'd Love #5

New cell phone! Mostly because mine is beat to pieces thanks to a certain little midget. It has been dropped, scraped against the fireplace hearth, thrown, kicked, slobbered on, and who knows what else. This one is the KATANA® II by Sanyo. It's pretty in PINK. I also love the gold color. The only thing that would be better is if it came in orange.

10 Birthday Gifts I'd Love #6

Want. Need. Must have. THIS pillow from Etsy seller joom.




It would be a fantastic $28 pop of color against our white bedding in our freaking awesome bedroom. It has YELLOW, it has a bird, and it has cherry blossoms. Could it be more perfect?

10 Birthday Gifts I'd Love #7

Adobe® Photoshop®. Even a version that is a few years old will do. I want to learn it. And yes, this might mean that you see my head buried in the laptop 24/7... but really, how is that different from now? Plus, think of all the cool things I can create!

** UPDATE! Thanks a million trillion bazillion times over to my friend Lisa for an early birthday gift! You totally and completely rock. Rock you like a hurricane, rock. Rock me Amadeus, rock. You. Are. Awesome. For realsies!**

10 Birthday Gifts I'd Love #8

Paris.

You. Me. The Seine. More than one bottle of Bordeaux. A lovely stop at Bertillon.

Ok, so this one is a bit more complicated and a little more expensive, but a girl can dream, no? Remember that little place we stayed? It's available on my birthday.

I won't even make fun of you for kissing Sevrine. and her mom. and her sister. and almost her dad.

10 Birthday Gifts I'd Love #9

I've been wanting to read The Secret for months now and haven't gotten around to it. You can find it USED at Amazon for about $7. Incidentally, that is a fantastic way to buy books if you speed through them like I do.

10 Birthday Gifts I'd Love #10

Let's begin the count down for Michelle's birthday with 10 lovely items that I would LOVE to be the proud owner of.

Number 10 on the list, this little gem from Old Navy. The pink swirl printed scarf bag is a STEAL at $19.50 and will look oh, so cool for my summer wardrobe. Plus, it's roomy enough for all those mommy items I am forever carting around these days. Thanks to Em for the find.

Chickity China the Chinese Chicken. Not really, he's from Buffalo.

My friend Jen, yes of the Degrassi post, has been on my ass to meal plan. Ok, so she's only mildly tyrranical about it, and it was at my request that she keep me on track. Anywho, so on Sundays I'm supposed to actually write out what our dinner plans are for the week, do my weekly shopping and STICK with it.

This week I was completely uninspired. Completely.

What do I do when uninspired? Ummmm catch up on my blog reading of course. I ran across this little gem from Brittany and suddenly my Wednesday had a "Buffalo Chicken Pizza" scrawled in it.

OK, so I messed with the recipe a bit. I always do. Oh, and I rarely have a recipe, more of an approximation of what I threw together.

Here it is in all of its chickeny goodness.



So, I made the crust in the bread maker, a white flour version of the whole wheat crust I blogged about here. Then I put a layer of the bleu cheese, mixed up some rotisserie chicken with some Kroger Wing Sauce until liberally coated, then put that on. Then I covered the whole thing with a bag of pizza cheese and a liberal amount of parsley and a little olive oil. I baked it on a pizza stone for about 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Garnish with some celery and you're all set.

It was AWESOME.

What the f*ck are you taking pictures of?

The alternate title to this post could be, "My husband knows I'm crazy." I would love to dedicate it to my friend Kelly.


Allow me to set the scene for you darling readers. It is approximately midnight on a school night for YKW. He has just dealt with a screaming baby and watching the news and gone to bed. I am rummaging, rummaging, rummaging through the newly tidied linen closet.


him: What are you doing?


me: Looking for something.


him: Uh, yea... WHAT are you looking for?


me: That Body Shop masque I bought you a long time ago.


him: What?


me: FOUND it! Yesssss.


*5 minutes go by*


me: I'm going to just put this masque on and you have to let it dry for 20 minutes. Then I am going to jump in the shower. I'll be in bed in like half an hour.


*He knows full well I will most definitely not be in bed in half an hour.*


*I put the army green masque on my face and pass him in the hall.*


me: *talking with minimal lip movement* Don't make me laugh, you'll crack it.


him: *sigh*


*15 minutes pass*


*diddle-eeep* *diddle-eeep* *click* *diddle-eeep* *diddle-eeep* *click* *diddle-eeep* *diddle-eeep* *click* *diddle-eeep* *diddle-eeep* *click*


him: *looking totally disheveled and yet adorably "Dave" in a sleepy sort of way* WHAT the FUCK are you taking pictures of?


me: *jumping a foot and a half, then I immediately start cracking up AND cracking the masque* I thought you were sleeping!


him: All I kept hearing was diddle-eeep diddle-eeep click diddle-eeep diddle-eeep click diddle-eeep diddle-eeep. Just when I thought it was done, there it went again. Diddle-eeep diddle-eeep click diddle-eeep diddle-eeep!

Bottomline dearest readers, I am dead SEXY. And he knows it.

NeW LooK.

This is what I do at 1:57am on a school night. Hope you like the changes. If not, tough tatas.

I love VistaPrint.

Finn's invites are done, ordered, and should be on their way in the next week or so. I may do fun envelope liners if I have the notion, but let's face it, that probably won't happen. If you're not lucky enough to get one of these babies in your mailbox, don't fret... here they are (minus the details)!





We decided to have a brunch with just family to keep it relatively easy and not to stress him out. Hell, even with the family in town we're talking 30-40 people anyway. Now we just have to decide what kind of cake to let him smash all over himself.

When Irish eyes are smiling?

Finnegan, have you been hitting the Guiness this morning?  Happy St Patrick's Day from the angry little leprechaun.

Birthdays birthdays everywhere.

March and April are birthday season in my family. In no particular order we have:

1. Meme's
2. my nephew Dylan's
3. my cousin Morgan's
4. mine
5. Finnegan's
6. my aunt Judy's
7. my step-mom Lori's
8. my great uncle Jim's
9. my uncle Jimmy's
10. my BFF Jackie's

and I am quite sure I'm forgetting someone (or two) in there. Really. That is like the fricken birthday lotto crammed into two months with a winner at least each week.



So my friend Jen, one of my super amazing guest bloggers gave me her super top secret LIME CHIFFON cake recipe. I have been appointed by my mommy dearest to be in charge of Meme's birthday cake on Easter. Yea, no pressure there for chrissake. So here it is in all of it's glory, the cake I am going to attempt, with lord knows what results...



Wish. Me. Luck. (Because I am going to need it.)

Currently working on...

Finnegan's 1st birthday invitations. It seems like only yesterday we were seeing his sweet little face for the first time. It's surreal that almost eleven months has past.

My heart became full this very minute when I held you for the first time Little One... and you keep expanding it's capacity every day.

Because I am a slack ass blogger...

Read THIS interesting article. Then tell me your thoughts in the comments.

Our (first) Tech Free Day

It was remarkably easy to have a technology free day. Both Dave and I were surprised by how easy it actually was. We thought that by 7 pm we would both be itching to turn on the tv, but we weren't.

I apologize in advance for not having any pictures to post, D convinced me that a gadget like our Cannon counted as technology. I gave him that since he agreed, without any fight, to give up his cell phone for the day.

So we turned off the tv at midnight in the middle of Saturday Night Live. It helped to close the tv armoire and the laptop as a not so subtle reminder that those things were off limits the next morning. We woke up Sunday morning, and after a brief conversation with my Dad about our Tech Free Day, went over to his house for breakfast. He was fairly happy to comply, although he thought the "no music" rule was insanity. We stayed for several hours just talking and laughing and it was really nice not to have any distraction.

We came home and all three of us had a much needed nap. Normally at that point, D and I would have busied ourselves with some inane task. I would have been on the computer and D would have watched This Old House. It was really nice to just slow down, take a nap, and recharge.

We cleaned the kitchen. We pondered dinner and realized how much we rely on the net for recipes. Dave decided that he had a craving for enchiladas and we didn't have a recipe so we had to invent our own. So off to the grocery we went. A big batch of homemade guacamole and yummy enchiladas later, our bellies were full and it was bath time for the munchkin.

All in all, it was a great success for our family. We paid closer attention to the little idiosynchrasies that our son is developing. We laughed more, we talked more. We hugged and kissed more. Give it a try... even when you think it might be impossible for you to do. The benefits of slowing down and really taking some time to enjoy your family are worth it.

Technology Free Day

Sunday is our first Technology Free Day. We were a little late joining the challenge. It was started over at the Elements In Time Blog if you want more information. You can also find a great article here from US News & World Report. I'll be sure to report back on Monday on how it went.

Springing Forward

Don't forget that tonight we "spring forward" and move our clocks ahead one hour. While it's nice that our days are becoming longer, someone should alert Mother Nature that 6 inches of snow doesn't really put us in the springy mood.

Sleep tight for that one hour less.

Dearest Andersons...

Your cranberry walnut chicken salad rocks. I don't even mind paying $6.99 a pound for this deliciousness.

Ode to Oster

Everyone brings things to their marriage. A commitment to the person you're marrying, love, a healthy dose of humor and understanding... my husband brought all of those AND an Oster Bread Maker.

All of these years in our marriage and he was always the one to suggest and make bread from time to time. The maker has happily taken up residence in our basement, to be brought out on occasions when Dave gets the notion to do some baking. Truthfully with all of its buttons and complicated recipes, I've been a little leery of it. I am happy to say that I've conquered my fears and successfully made whole wheat pizza dough yesterday afternoon. Here it is in all of it's rising glory.


Turns out, it's much easier than I had anticipated. I followed a great recipe found in this book.

So if there is a kitchen gadget you've been meaning to master, go ahead and give it a try!

Ohio, you disappoint me.

We had our primary yesterday. It did not go as I (or Obama) had hoped. Sucksville.

Cobb Salads

Dinner tonight was excellent! This was Dave's version, as mine was tomato-less We were making use of the grill during the whole 12 hours of warm weather we've had in months...

Read the history of the Cobb salad here.

While You Were Out

Our bedroom has been the bain of my existance since we moved. In a word, awful is how I would describe it. We successfully painted the walls a boring taupe color and never did anything beyond that. Please take note of the dark ceiling and trim. We have lived without outlet covers (now with a 10 month old in the house!) for five years. Ummmm yea. Not my finest decorating moment.

So I used the opportunity when D was on a scheduled business trip to re-do our bedroom. While You Were Out style. You will see the folly in this thinking when I explain the following:

1. It was sofa city for me. Our couch, while nice, isn't my bed.

2. I have a 10 month old to care for 24 hours a day without a break while Dave is gone.

3. Right before he left I showed him a swatch of the color and mentioned that I might like to paint our room this color later this summer. He, in no uncertain terms, told me it was hideous and there is no way he'd like that. Then he said we could worry about that later.... uhhhh, yea.... later. Right. Insert MAD dash to find a new color that doesn't suck into my list of things to do.

4. Again, 10 month old. Did I mention 24 hours a day, no breaks? Oh and he decided while daddy was gone, he didn't want to sleep through the night. Wooooo!

5. It was about 20 degrees out, all the better for open windows while painting.

6. I don't know if you have met me, but I am an ideas girl... D is the one that makes things happen. I tell him my hairbrained schemes and he has the plan to get it done.

7. There was a horrendous snow and ice storm in St. Louis when he was gone, so I got a phone call on Thursday afternoon... "They cancelled the conference for today and tomorrow, flights aren't getting out, so we're driving home right now." Ummm.... sure, come home Thursday instead of FRIDAY NIGHT. Yea. Great idea. At this point, there still wasn't a single thing moved back into our room. Yep, see ya soon, honey.

So thankfully, I have the most amazing family in the world. I mean really. Everyone from my mom helping me unload the room, to my little sister & Midge coming over to watch Finn, to Lori painting AND cleaning my entire house, to Lyndsey and Britt spending an entire day helping me, to my daddy-o hanging every picture (and moving them and re-hanging them), to my Gram hemming and sewing detail onto the curtains. D arrived home at about 3 am and I was passed out cold from exhaustion, but he re-enacted his suprise and delight at the room for me the next morning.

Here are the results!

It is gorgeous, I love it. Dave loves it. The wonder baby loves it. Monty and Dex love it. It is painted a cool grey, the ceiling and trim is now white. It is artsy, clean, and makes us feel like we're in a fantastic hotel.

Oh, and D, you can rest easy... There is no way in hell I am planning anything else for the next (or the one after that) business trip.

Cake in a Cup

Sometimes it is ok to be a cupcake whore. This was the "taste" portion of the Valentine's Day Challenge gift from Dave. We have been meaning to try Cake in a Cup for months and he used the challenge as an excuse to make that happen.

D had gone in the day before and they were sold out of all but one flavor, so we got there the next day shortly after they opened. Each day they have a different mix of flavors, usually between 6-8 different kinds. So we decided to try one of each flavor that they had in for the day & review each. Our scientific method consisted of splitting each cupcake in two and using a fork (blasphemy!) to each eat a half.

First up is Peanutbutter & Jelly. This is the one we were looking least forward to trying so we decided to get it out of the way first. It ended up being my favorite and right up there on D's list as well. The cake was moist, the jelly is subtle, and the PB frosting was light and fluffy with a definite PB taste, but not overwhelmingly so. YUM.

Oreo was too heavy for me. D thought it had a really strong Oreo flavor that he liked. The cake has a hidden Oreo cookie in the center and it is frosted with an Oreo buttercreme frosting.

Carrot was moist and fresh tasting. The cream cheese frosting was light and very well done, less sugary than most. It was a fantastic compliment to the (real) carrot taste.

Pretty in Pink was strawberry flavored. The cake was a little dry for both of us, but the fresh strawberry frosting was amazing.

Vanilla wasn't extraordinary and could probably be substituted for any standard vanilla cupcake anywhere. The buttercreme frosting was nice, but again, nothing suprising.

Cafe Latte was also a little dry, but the frosting was amazing. It was incredibly light with a hint of cinnamon. It was garnished with a piroline cookie.

Chocolate, again like the vanilla, this wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

Red Velvet had that amazing creme cheese frosting. The cake was moist and was almost too RED looking. The color was a bit off putting, but the flavor was delicate.

We'll for sure go back, if for nothing else than some more of those amazing Peanutbutter & Jelly. They would be a fantastic dessert to a dinner party featuring your childhood favorites, with a grown up twist.

Welcome back to So Wonderful, So Marvelous

Welcome back to the So Wonderful, So Marvelous archive, courtesy of Michelle's most excellent husband. I'll let her tell you how I resurrected the old blog from my news reader cache later.

Enjoy the classics until the new, improved, and stalker-free, blog gets up and going!