countdown to hunger games: week 9 of 16

I am in constant awe of my friend Danielle and her amazing taste and awesome blog. She also has one of my very favorite tumblrs on the internet. She was just destined to be a Hunger Games/Peeta Mellark lover too...right? Right. Enjoy the glorious post, and return tonight to find the long overdue giveaway winners!

I was so happy when Lauren asked me to do a Hunger Games inspired guest post for her blog. One, because it was her who got me hooked on The Hungers, and two, because I absolutely love The Hunger Games and it's nice to nerd out with other fangirls.

Honestly though, when Lauren first asked I had no clue what to do so I decided to stick with something I love to do. Every month, I make a free downloadable desktop for my readers so why not do one for the month of March that is Hunger Game themed? I asked Lauren to send me some of her favourite quotes either about Katniss, Peeta or Katniss and Peeta. Of course, I picked one by the lovely boy with the bread himself, Peeta.

Now with this on your desktop, you can easily remember the premiere date and plan accordingly, because if you are anything like me, you are going to be pre-hunger gaming it up a couple days before the premiere. What else would you be doing anyways? And as you adventure out into the mayhem, may the odds be ever in your favor!

2560 x 1440 / 1440 x 900 / 1280 x 1024

baby shower for sierra!

My best friend who just happens to be my sister-in-law, is going to be having a baby boy soon!

I have been over the moon excited about his arrival, so I just had to help throw a baby shower!

Me, my mom, Sierra's mom, and her sisters put together a shower today with a "british rock-and-roll invasion" theme! We knew we wanted to do something out of the norm for a shower, but that really fit the personalities of Ty and Sierra and their future little rockstar :)

Since I have had all sorts of sickness this month (WHY DO I ALWAYS GET SICK IN JANUARY?!) and a recent case of pink eye, I was very happy that Sierra's mom and sisters took on the role of preparing the food...all I needed to do was the decorating. I think it turned out marvelous. I hope you had fun taking a little peek at the fun day!

Now it's just waiting for baby to arrive!!

yay for ted!

This morning as I was driving to work, I started tearing up with pride for my husband. You see, the Air Force process has been a long time coming, but yesterday Ted was able to take the entrance test that would determine what kind of job he would get. This test has been somewhat of a stress in our lives, because we knew that the top paying, most desirable jobs that Ted was coveting, would require him to get at an almost perfect score on his exam. The exam is made up of many different areas, and a lot of the times, the jobs only require for the person to pass a certain part of the test. However, the jobs Ted wanted? He would have had to excel in ALL of the areas. It's a bit of a stresser when some of the areas happen to be mechanical and electrical...things Ted had never dappled in before. 

For the last couple months Ted has been studying and we have been praying. Hoping for the best job he can get to support our tiny little family. And most importantly, something that would make Ted excited to go to work, and really enjoy his job. 

Last night Ted received his test scores back, and lo and behold...a perfect score on the entire exam! After talking to his recruiter, and the recruiter almost busting a gut at his scores, he informed Ted he can have any job in the Air Force. 

So, basically...there has been a lot of rejoicing in our house. Yay for Ted! And me too...obvi. HA!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?!

all i want for my birthday is a new pair of tap shoes. specifically these black capezio taps from discount dance.

did you know i spent my entire growing up life tap dancing? i should probably show you some of my skills sometime.

on a similar note...anyone in the valley know of any adult tap classes for advanced tappers? i only ever see classes for beginners or intermediate.

it's so frustrating. i'd love to tap again other than on my kitchen floor tile.

also, can someone please hint to ted that i want these tap shoes? my birthday is in a week and a half!

countdown to hunger games: week 8 of 16

You guys, my girl Emily is the cutest girl in the world. And she has the cutest blog. And when I found out that we were soul sister book friends, I died a little happy death. Today Emily has THE BEST guest post for you. You will love!

raise your hand if you're going to the midnight showing of hunger games.

is your hand up?

i thought so.

the last time i remember feeling this excited for a book series to turn into a movie was twilight.

and can i just say- my midnight showing experience was so much less than epic.

here i am, deep in the throes of my twilight obsession.

you know- living team edward to the fullest, rereading the books eight times each, and getting into heated debates about the characters and who plays them in the movies.

(i see some parallels to hunger games here)

but the midnight showing- oh, that was an entirely different experience.

being harassed in our seats by feisty team jacob-ers, getting elbowed as people clawed their way past you to get to a seat, and fights breaking out by the concession stand? not my idea of a good time.

i think i have blocked out most of the painful memories.

since the first twilight movie came out, i had sworn off midnight showings.

not even for breaking dawn did i break my self-imposed pact.

not even for HP7P2.

i know!

only a series as epic as the hunger games could break me out of this funk.

i am committed to attending the midnight showing, and i am committed to surviving.

i have volunteered as tribute and i am headed into the arena.

while a full-body makeover, flaming gown, and fighting lessons seem like a plausible way of preparing, i see my skills here as more in line with peeta than with katniss.

i will not shoot the crazy people at the midnight showing with arrows (because that is frowned upon, i've heard).

instead, i will camouflage myself among them on a sugar high of chocolate-y berry cake goodness.

as peeta is the boy with the bread, i will be the girl with the cake.

i consider these cake jars to be the silver parachute-streaming survival kit to myself.

when i'm shoved in line by someone behind me who was saving ten spots for her friends, a spoonful of cake will be my antidote.

when we are trying to enjoy the movie and the row behind us breaks into loud arguments and occasional clapping during an important scene (true story), my friends can count on the girl with the cake to get them through.

so i'm preparing for the games the best way i know how:

baking this chocolate cake, with this chocolate pudding, topped with this frosting and fresh blackberries, and layered it into a survival package i'm sending to myself in the arena.

and since i'm acting as peeta here, i'm suggesting you do the same.

imagine your name as the selected tribute on that slip of paper above.

i'm willing to wager there are few obstacles that a jar full of cake can't overcome in this arena.

if all else fails, the cake will be my poison berries- a way to escape when things go wrong.

"things" here referring to people who cheer loudly in your ear during the climax of the movie.

fellow midnight attendees,

may the odds (of not getting elbowed in the face at the concession stand) be ever in your favor.