A fake-out, a crazy lizard thing, and a future bunny cake

First off, my brilliant plan to cook and watch the Top Chef finale? Foiled- not because I didn't cook (I totally did for once!) but because this week wasn't the Top Chef finale.  Does anyone ever remember there being MULTIPLE SHOWS set in the Top Chef finale locale?  I remember one to weed off a person that probably shouldn't have been invited in the first place but the producers wanted a "twist" so there they are! We are on our third show in the Bahamas now.  I say "our" like I have some sort of claim on this show.  I like to think of all Bravo shows as "my" shows.  I like to claim things that aren't mine. Kind of like my friend Rhiannon decided that a hooker that lived near her host family's apartment in France was "her hooker" and named her "Desiree."  Fun times.

I have decided to add this pretty picture of flowers because a picture of a hooker named Desiree would not be very classy.  However, it was the area where all the diplomats lived so maybe she is a classy gal, I don't know her life.

Anyway, Dan really wanted to see Rango this weekend, and I had nothing against it, so I put on my cowboy boots and off we went! I like to dress like the movies I go to see.  Of course right now I can't think of an instant in the past when I have done this but wouldn't it be great if people could dress in period garb or something without it being strange?  Well, I wore my boots to a cartoon western about a lizard.  Let me tell you, that movie was awesome and it wasn't really kid-friendly.  There was a line about pooping out spines, I kid you not.  I was shocked the little kids in the audience weren't screaming in terror at some points but maybe kids are just hardier than I thought.  I have none, so I cannot judge.  Long story short, go see Rango, it is better than I thought it would be!

The grand plan for next week.... fake Easter! My brother will be in town (yay Phil!) so I think we might just do the whole Easter thing a few weeks early.  I would like to point out that Easter is WAY late this year.  Like practically in May.  How is that even... I cannot get into this.  The Easter calendar counting issue has always been a problem for me.  I know that there is a formula for this.  I have yet to learn what this formula is.  Why can't Easter be on a FIXED DAY? I mean this rhetorically.  At any rate, the big highlight of Easter in my family has always been four things things: 

1. Awesome Easter baskets- my mom LOVES Easter and I love all things rabbit-themed, so we have had some INCREDIBLE Easter baskets in my family.  It is always so fun to do the Easter egg hunt and basket reveal. This year I might have traded in my Easter basket privileges for a shirt from Anthropologie... hey it was a cute shirt (see my last post about quitting my day job).
2. Dyeing eggs at my grandparents' house- my dad's parents used to invite us over to decorate eggs every year.  We would come home dyed about 15 different shades of green and purple with half-cracked eggs decorated terribly every year, but my goodness did we love decorating those eggs! Fortunately, over the years our egg decorating skills improved (with the exception of my cousin Patrick, who always manages to break his eggs...).  Sadly, most of us don't live at home in Texas anymore and my grandmother, the great egg dye mixer, passed away about a year and a half ago, but we carry on the tradition in our own homes!
3. My grandfather's egg-hunting capabilities- I have many cousins and we have always hunted eggs at my mom's parents' house.  Each grandchild has an assigned egg color- mine is purple. The younger ones had their eggs hidden in more obvious places, while the older kids could have their eggs hidden anywhere in the yard.  I mean anywhere.  Hidden up drain pipes, buried in holes in trees.  My grandfather is the king of egg-hiding and it is further complicated by the fact that he doesn't always remember where he put them (did I mention that there are a lot of eggs to hide for a lot of cousins?).  Sometimes we find the eggs the following year and I am pretty sure there are some that will live forever in the front yard under the ivy. I think the record was my cousin Gregory's egg- three years? Somebody will correct me if I am wrong, I am sure.
4. Last but not least.. THE BUNNY CAKE!

This is before the nose ring was added... damn you, Phil, and your alterna-bunny antics! Notice also the unibrow...

Phil and I have plans to make another bunny cake while he is in town.  It is strawberry cake baked in two round cake pans.  One round pan is for the face, the other supplies the bow and ears.  I prefer a very traditional cake.  Phil likes to give them unibrows and nose rings.  It is a fight to the death! Who shall win? We will see next week!!

P.S. My apologies for the random combination of topics, sometimes these things just happen.

The Next Step in Being Happier?

Well, folks, I have done the unthinkable.  After the whining, bitching and moaning, I decided to act.  In an attempt to streamline my life, get some sanity back, and get more sleep, I quit my day job.  You know how everyone tells people not to?  Well, I did. 

One of my favorite wallpapers from Foxy Blunt perfectly captures the mood, as always. (http://www.foxyblunt.com/goodtimes.aspx) 

So far, I have slept. A lot.  I have od'ed on HGTV.  Did I also mention it is spring break?  That means that, aside from an interview for a summer clerkship I had on Monday and my normal head shrinking appointment yesterday, I have had no appointments, no meetings, no requirements.  One would think that would be liberating?  I have been just... watching Georgia run back and forth.  I should be studying, but I am tired.  Overwhelmingly tired.

Even Georgia needs a recharge.

I went and saw the King's Speech in the middle of the afternoon yesterday and now I am thoroughly convinced of two things.  1. That movie deserved the Oscars it won and 2. England is basically Baltimore in March all of the time.  It is grey. It is rainy.  Why did I leave Portland if it is at least GREEN there?!  In Baltimore, it is rainy and I am just more likely to get murdered here... in the rain.  There is a gutter outside my house I could make good use of!

So, in short, my "Be Happier" plan is faltering.  There is only one solution to this problem.  Change perspective! Tonight is the Top Chef finale and I am going to cook something!  Tomorrow, I am getting up, getting dressed and getting to the art store to get watercolor paper.  I will take Georgia for a walk and paint my nails and get my homework done.  Then I am doing something fun.  Freedom will be great, I think I just need to adjust.