White Trash

Dear Neighbors Three Houses Over,

Trash Day is Monday. Today is Thursday. In case you hadn't noticed, your trash can is still at the end of your driveway.

How could you not notice, though, considering I have personally watched you maneuver your vehicle around it no less than six times in the last four days. Also, you have been within 10 feet of it the last three mornings when you picked up your newspaper. (Congratulations, by the way, on that accomplishment - I think it's a record for you!).

I understand that it has been raining for four days straight but the rest of us braved the rain so that our street does not look like a trailer park. We would appreciate if you would do the same. Perhaps you could send one of your three able-bodied children to do the dirty work? What good is having kids anyway if you can't force them into manual labor, right?

Sincerely,
Sara

Gummy worms women

Oh, yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is what you think it is.

Nate's coworker went to Germany and brought back a bag of naked gummy women. Seriously? I know they are a little bit more open than us 'prudish' Americans but still...who wants their kid to run through the grocery store yelling, 'Mummy, can I have naked women after dinner?'

Tuesdays at the Table

I know you guys were heartbroken when I didn't participate last week, but have no fear, I am back, tastier and easier than ever!

I love desserts but guess what? I hate to bake! Shocking, I know. This dessert is so easy, it barely qualifies as 'baking'. You don't even need a mixing bowl. But hey, if I have to punch the buttons on the oven, I call that baking.

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Cherry Pineapple Crunch

Ingredients:
1 yellow cake mix
1 can cherry pie mix
1 can crushed pineapple in pineapple juice
1 stick butter or margarine

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Use a 9x13 pan but no need to grease it.
2. Drain the crushed pineapple and pour into pan.
3. Pour the cherry pie filling in with the pineapple and mix to them together.
4. Spread the mixture evenly in bottom of the pan.
5. Layer the dry cake mix on top of the fruit.
6. Thinly slice the butter and place in a grid over the top of the dry cake mix. I cover the entire thing with little tiny squares.
7. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Seriously, this stuff is ridiculously good. I made it for small group once and it was wiped out in a matter of minutes. That happens every time.

I'd source it if I could, but I have no idea where the recipe came from. It came handwritten in a recipe book I received as a gift.

Miss me?

My, oh my, it's looking a little dusty and desolate around this place. I know I've been neglecting you, but I've been busy living unwrapping life. That is what this blog is supposed to be about, right? Well, when I actually make the time to blog about it, that is.

It's been a busy week for me, so I'm going to do something I swore I'd never do - the dreaded bullet point post. Hopefully that doesn't mean this blog is jumping the shark. I swear I'll go another 300 posts before I use bullet points again.

• My baby sister Emily came to visit last Monday. The trip was her graduation/birthday gift from us.
• We worked on a super-top-secret Father's and Mother's Day gift for our parents.
  
• Indy had a ridiculous hail storm and damaged Nate's brand new car to the tune of $4500. Nice.
• Mani for Em, pedi for me. Very happy feet.
• Flew to SC for Emily's graduation. Scored two crack rocks espresso brownies a the Chicago airport.
  
• Stayed up until the wee hours every night we were in SC. Exhausting? Yes. Worth every minute? Absolutely.
• Drank my weight in Cheerwine and Sonic Cherry Limeade.
  
• Went to my dad's softball game. I did this weekly as a kid so it was super fun to do it again as an adult.

• Managed not to yell obscenities at the idiot who was standing up and talking on his cell phone during the graduation ceremony.
  
• Climbed a fence in a dress and 4 inch heels at Emily's graduation.

• Stuffed myself full of Bermuda Triangles at Red Bone Alley, all in celebration of Em's accomplishments, of course.
• Showed my Aunt Jo that it is indeed possible to take a decent (albeit cheesy), centered picture of yourself with your own camera.

• Learned that I totally suck at the spelling game Third of a Ghost, despite the fact that I'm an excellent speller. Long story short - if you score three points, you're out. I never made it further than four rounds....
• Stuffed myself full of Stuffed French Toast at IHOP. Realized that I have a thing for pastry stuffed with stuff.

By the time we hit the airport to come home on Sunday afternoon, I was tired. Just how tired, you ask? As we're making our way to our gate, I noticed a girl coming toward us wearing a really cute top. I started to point her out to Nate when I realized we were walking towards a mirrored column. The girl in the cute top? Me.

You know you go to Starbucks too often....

....when even the baristas are passing you job leads.

Yes, that really happened.

We have a winner!!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a giveaway winner!

Timestamp: 2009-06-01 10:54:53 UTC

1. Kimberly
2. C
3. Mel
4. Jennifer
5. Pat

It's the ever fashionable Kimberly of Fab Finds Under $50! Kimberly is a follower, left me a question, blogged and Tweeted about my giveaway - the girl really wanted to win! Kimberly can mix patterns like nobodies business and can often be seen on her blog rocking a scarf. I'm happy to be able to add one to her collection; I can't wait to see what she does with it!

Kimberly's question was whether or not I've been thrifting since she introduced me to it last summer. She is a thrifting queen and I was *ahem* a first-timer. Well, girl, I have been exactly once since then, during my unemployment a few weeks ago. While I admire all the ladies who can thrift and shop at places like TJ Maxx, I am sadly not one of them. Try as I might, I just don't have the patience for it. You have to wade through a lot of bad to find the gems and apparently I have the attention span of a gnat when it comes to thrifting.

The recently un-anonymous Mel at Just Fine, Just Dandy asked about my favorite hobbies. If shopping counts as a hobby, that would be #1. I also love to scrapbook, read mysteries, plan parties and wrap gifts. I love to give presents and wrapping them is my favorite part. I spend hours wrapping my Christmas presents, happy as a clam in mud.

Fellow Indianian Jennifer of Pour L'amour De wants to know my favorite vacation destination. That's a hard one! We spend most of our vacations in South or North Carolina visiting our families (like this weekend!). But if that weren't an issue, I love any kind of beach resort where I can be totally lazy and the drinks are pre-paid. We did the Mayan Riviera for our honeymoon and Jamaica last year for our five year anniversary.

My mom wants to know if we want to move back down South someday. Want has nothing to do with it. If it was that easy, we'd already be there!

My dad wants to know how I got so cool. All he needs to do is look in the mirror.

Emily from Caleb Mama Drama went to college with me in SC. She asked what story or joke always makes me laugh. The short answer is Sonic commercials. Yeah, yeah, I know they are stupid, but they never fail to make me laugh like a lunatic. As for a story that always makes me laugh, this one is rather appropriate since the instigator happens to be coming to visit me today. This happened one summer when I was home from college. My mom had this emergency intruder alarm thingie that was basically a little black box with a pin stuck in it. If some one tried to attack you, you could pull the pin out of the box, setting off an ear-splitting alarm to draw attention. One day, I go out to get in my car, open the car door, and am greeted by that eardrum shattering squeal....inside my car. Someone had tied the little box to one door and the pin to another, so that when you opened the door, the pin pulled out of the box and set off the alarm. The only way to turn it off was to get into the car with the alarm blaring and put the pin back in the box! Emily was all of eight years old when she came up with this diabolical plan. Ten years later, I am still waiting to get my payback.

I have two questions left, but I am saving those for another day. Ally from Cute on the Cheap wants a day in the life of my furbabies. A very good idea but one that will take some time to pull together! Jules over at Chic & Pink wants to hear more about how Nate proposed. I love to tell this story but it deserves it's very own post. Stay tuned!

It's like rain on your wedding day

Dear Friends who were at the pool with me yesterday,

If ever again you hear me say that I chose not to apply sunscreen because we are 'only going to be here for an hour', please slap me silly and then refuse to speak to me until I go home and lather up.

I am now paying for my shameful inattention to proper sun protection with a ridiculously painful sunburn that has turned my chest, stomach and legs a most hideous shade of lobster. To add insult to the (literal) injury, the combination of late day setting sun and my attempts to read a few pages of my book have resulted in a funky trapezoidal design. My shins are burned, but not my thighs. My right shoulder is burned but not my left. The line across my tummy is at a 60 degree angle. Classy.

My plans to wear a strapless dress to this weekend's graduation festivities will have to be scrapped. I do not even know where to begin to fix the hot mess that is currently my upper half.

The ironic part? I skipped my carefully planned MysticTan appointment to go to the pool with you instead.

Painfully yours,
Sara

Just when you need it most

Sorry for my silence this week, I've just been feeling a little less than my normal sunny self. Lazy. Unmotivated. Blah.

Which is why I signed up for this today. Crazy? Yes. Necessary? Very.

I need something to get my rear in gear. I know once I get motivated and start seeing results, I will be able to continue on my own. Someone just has to give me a good swift kick in the pants.

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I also got some delightful awards this week - always guaranteed to make you feel all warm and gooey inside.
Mmmmm......warm and gooey....wonder if there's any cookie dough left in the fridge....

(See why boot camp is so very necessary?)

Sorry, where was I? Oh, yes - awards.


First, from the lovely Leah and the sassy KT, the Love Ya award. Leah is one of my oldest friends and we found each other again last year through the lovely world of Facebook. She is expecting her first baby in just a few weeks and has the cutest baby bump ever! KT is a girl after my own heart - she reads two or three books a week and is always game to share the book-love. If you don't already know these ladies, you are missing out!

These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbon of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.


I also received the Queen of All Things Awe-Sum award from the vivacious Valentine. V blogs with her sister about all kinds of randomness, including their love of all things vampire, the necessity of being grammatically correct and the origin of the phrase 'that took balls'. I mean, who doesn't want to know where that phrase came from?

My Queen Duties are as follows:
1. List 7 things that make me awe-summm.
2. Pass the award onto 7 bloggers that I think are awe-summm.

Seven things that make me awe-summm (this part is harder than you think!):

• I've got mad organizational skills. All of my jewelry is kept in little clear plastic bags, sorted by color, and stored in craft cases according to type. (OCD, much?)
• I'm a pretty cool big sister (in my own *ahem* humble opinion).
• The tips of my fingernails grow out white, like I always have a perfect french manicure. I don't have any idea why or how this happens, it just does.
• I have a very unique birthmark on my neck. I hated it when I was a kid. Nate has a smaller one in the exact same place on his neck. Kind of seems meant to be, huh?
• I can wiggle my ears.
• I tend to speak my mind. I will always give you my honest opinion if you ask for it. (But I'm not much for giving unsolicited advice - that's just rude.)
• I spell check every post. Nine times out of ten there isn't a single error. I'm oddly proud of this fact. (Sad but true, folks. Sad but true.)

Since I don't have the time nor the inclination to list 15 blogs between the two awards, I'm just going to list a handful of new ones I've discovered recently.

Little April Rose - B is very pregnant with a beautiful baby girl, April Rose. April has some complications and may not live outside the womb. B is already an amazing mama and April is lucky to have her.

I'm Living Proof - Helene has not one but two sets of twins. Her adventures in multiple baby juggling are hilarious.

OMG! We're Pregnant - I can't remember how I happened upon this unexpectedly expectant duo, but these two are too freaking funny. And they're European, so they say cute stuff like mates, wags and arse. Love it!

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Last but not least, I have not forgotten about the giveaway. I just haven't had a moment to enter you all into Random.org and answer your burning questions. This weekend, I promise!

Tuesdays at the Table

You can barely call this snack a 'recipe' but I have been obsessed with it ever since I had it at Bunco last week. So incredibly yummy and so ridiculously easy!

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Ingredients:

Sour cream
Brown sugar
Strawberries

Instructions:

Put a small amount of sour cream in a snack size bowl. Stir in a heaping spoonful of brown sugar. Voila! The yummiest fruit dip you've ever tasted. I've been eating it with strawberries all week but I think it would be good with pineapple too.

She warned me not to try pre-mixing a bunch of it because the brown sugar tends to glop up. But it's so easy, it only takes a minute to make up a snack size portion. Perfect summer snack!

Sweet Carolina

Two weeks from today, I will be kicking it here

where I plan to stuff myself full of this

and drink copious amounts of this

and this

all while spending quality time with these people

in the only place that you can find signs as klassy as this

And I can't wait!

ETA - And yes, that is an actual sign posted in front of the local museum the last time I was home.

xoxo

Did you think the blogiversary celebration would stop with just a giveaway? No way, Jose! We have way more fun around here than that.

Big announcement...drum roll, please....

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Nope, sorry, still not knocked up. Keep scrolling.
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Unwrap Life now has a sister blog! So I guess it's kind of like having a baby, but not as cute and way less expensive. I would like to introduce my brand new blog, xoxo, Closet Girl. Now that I am back to the office after two years of working from home, I am super psyched to be getting dressed every day. It's like playing dress up in my very own closet! I have been so inspired by the fashion blogs that I read, that I wanted to join the fun.

Don't worry, this blog's not going anywhere! You just get more of me! Hopefully that's a good thing...

Happy Blogiversary

Guess who's turning 1 today?

It's hard to believe it's been one year since I started this little blog to keep our families updated on our house building adventures. I had no idea what I was doing and certainly didn't anticipate how much fun I would have doing it.

What I really didn't expect was how many new friends I would meet along the way. I don't know how you found me or why you keep coming back, but I appreciate each and every one of you. Nate calls you guys my 'imaginary friends' because I talk about you like I know you personally. Which I kind of do - just in a different way. That's what makes blogging so amazing. You come here from (at last count) 32 states. All different ages. Mommies, newlyweds, college students, bosses, long lost friends and fellow Starbucks addicts. Chances are we would never have made it to 'friends' in real life because we are so different. But here in blog world, where you share your heart, or your fashion, or your coupon-clipping prowess, we have become friends. And I learn something different from each and every one of you. So thank you for sharing with me and letting me return the favor.

And to the 60 or so of you who visit every day and never ever leave a comment, I know you are out there. I can see you. I have Analytics and I'm not afraid to use them. Give a girl some comment-love and let me get to know you, too.

Okay. Enough with the schmaltzy, sappy crap. On to the presents!

Even though it's our birthday here, and technically we should be getting the presents (which btw, feel free to send), I thought I'd take this opportunity to do a little giving - as in the very first Unwrap Life Giveaway!

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Here are the rules:

1. The contest is open until Sunday, May 24 at midnight (Eastern).

2. One entry for leaving me a comment below this post. If you want to make this super fun, ask me a question and I'll answer all your questions in a future post. Here's your chance to get answers to those burning questions like how I acquired the world's largest collection of yoga pants, how I successfully avoid vacuuming for weeks at a time and how exactly I got so dang cool?

3. One entry for becoming a follower (lurkers, I am talking to you) or letting me know you already are one.

4. One entry for tweeting about the Giveaway with a link back here. Make sure to come back and let me know you tweeted!

5. One entry for blogging about how fabulous I am the Giveaway on your own blog. Make sure you come back and leave me the link.

6. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced here early next week.

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So there you go, four easy ways to enter. Want to know what you're playing for? (Said in my very best Jeff Probst a la Survivor voice).

A gift basket of my very favorite things, hand picked by me! All the things I love to talk about here, in one delightful box delivered directly to your door. A good summer read by one of my favorite authors, a pair of earrings from my favorite downtown store, a super cute summer scarf, my favorite lip gloss that lasts all day, and a little treat from the crack den itself happiest place on earth, Starbucks.

Worth playing for? I think so! Get to commenting!

FML

I hadn't been home (from my first day at the part-time gig) for more than an hour when I got a call about an interview for a full time job. You have got to be freaking kidding me.

Mixed Bag

Today I am...

Nervous: The first day at a new job is like the grown-up version of the first day of school. Will they like me? Will I like them? Will I fit in?

Excited: The job description sounds really interesting and fun. I don't think I will be bored.

Anxious: I could tell you where I bought every single pair of shoes in my closet, but I am exceedingly bad at remembering names. Luckily, I am Southern and know how to use Honey, Sugar, Darlin' and Ya'll, so maybe no one will notice.

Disappointed: In myself for not being able to find a full-time job. I keep trying to ignore it, but it's true. I'm working on it.

Guilty: My poor, sweet Lola will be locked in the laundry room for half the day. Oliver gets the run of the house, but Lola cannot be trusted. Neither of them will know what to do without me here for most of the day. Sad.

Nostalgic: It's the end of an era. I have worked from home for the last two years. Going back to an office is harder than I thought it would be.

Smokin': Choosing something to wear, on the other hand, was not hard at all. Hello, my lovely business clothes. Nice to see you again.

One of these days I'll learn my lesson

Apparently I am a glutton for punishment, having not learned my lesson the last time I took the furbabies to the groomers. That, or I'm simply dumber than a box of rocks. Take your pick.

The dogs were in desperate need of grooming and seeing as how my time as a Lady of Leisure is drawing to a close, I sucked it up and made an appointment for this afternoon. If you will recall from our last grooming adventure, car rides with my wee ones are about as fun as having your teeth drilled sans Novocaine.

The puppies can always tell when I'm getting ready to leave the house. Mostly because I put on real clothes (as opposed to my daily uniform of track suits) and am wearing more than basic lipstick. If they are so lucky as to be allowed out of the house with you when you look 'ready' to go somewhere, they will run immediately to the driver side door of the car and wait to be let in.

Oliver in passenger seat. Check.
Lola in lap. Check.
Wallet in pocket. Check.
Leashes in car. Check.
Keys in ignition. Check.

Just as I move to close the driver side door, Lola chooses that exact moment to leap to her death out of the car. Hello? You just spent the last fifteen minutes driving me bat crazy trying to get into the car. And just my luck, I totally caught her tiny body in the car door. She let out the most terrifyingly shrill shriek. OMG I just closed my baby in the car door! I am officially the worst puppy mommy ever.

Immediately I scooped her up, trying to assess her for damage. She's crying at a pitch I'm sure only other dogs and puppy mommies can hear. I can't tell if it's from fear, indignation or a crushed rub.

Do I rush immediately to our vet? Is that overreacting?
Do I cancel the appointment and just watch her at home and hope she doesn't die?
Do I take her anyway and politely inform them that, as World's Worst Puppy Mommy, I closed her in the car door and would they kindly mind watching her closely for internal bleeding while they clipped her nails?

In the end I decided to head toward PetSmart. If she stopped crying by the time we got there, I'd poke and prod her until I was convinced she was okay. If not, PetSmart has a vet right there and I'll beg them hysterically to please save my baby.

Fifteen minutes later, after much wailing and gnashing of teeth panting (a sure sign of a punctured lung!), we arrived at PetSmart. I set her gently on the ground so as not to jostle any displaced organs...and she took off running after another dog in the parking lot.

Um, yeah....clearly she's just fine.

I swear, this time is it. From now on, I'm shaving these dumb dogs at home.