Weekend of the Cupcakes

So, cupcakes are one of my favorite things in the whole world. We were talking about how the kids with the cool moms used to bring in cupcakes in a cone when it was their birthday at school. My friend Cat said she had never witnessed this phenomenon. So, of course, I made them for her birthday.
I have never made cupcakes in an ice cream cone. I assumed you just put the batter in the cone and baked it. On the box of rainbow funfetti cake mix I bought (bringing in the funfetti--I know) the directions said to put the cake batter into the muffin/cupcake paper cups and then put the cones on top.

So, I tried it both ways. Heh heh.
And, interestingly, the box did not tell me that the result of the ones placed on top would be:

MORE THAN A LITTLE LOPSIDED!

It is like a hat...or a tumor. Terrible.
The ones that I poured the batter into standing up faired much better and were decorated beautifully with blue and green icing. I used my favorite icing tip, good ol' number 22.

The other thing is, you only fill the cones halfway, so instead of making 24 cupcakes, you can make a zillion cupcake cones! Or 24 cupcake cones and 8 regular cupcakes (which is what I did).
And since the birthday girl is fairly shy, I am submitting a picture of her super wonderful dog, Tara, who allowed me to take tons of photos of her (for the price of one pretzel):

Then, Sunday, I made some cupcakes for my friend Theresa's birthday. Theresa turned four years old, and loves pink. So, I made pink (vanilla) and brown (chocolate) cupcakes which were beautiful! I toot my own horn aplenty! And they totally tasted great, and I took a ton of pictures because I think all cupcakes are beautiful.

Up close:

Oh, yeah, and a Happy Birthday to my little Bones:

She's so old!

Jackie at My House

Jack the Greyhound., originally uploaded by feathermar.

Jack came to spend some days with me this week. When he is not suckering me into taking him for a walk at 6:45 in the morning or whining about why he has to be at MY house, he lays. Anywhere he feels like it.

I love this dog. Seriously.

So, what it comes down to is this:
I'm disappointed.

I thought more of you.

And, you padded again, this time in Gail's favor. I know for a fact that 270 people did not vote in the past two days.
Hang down your heads, Card Sharks.
You are a fly-by-night game show. (Aside to Mark Goodson-thanks for dumbing down America--you should've had a disclaimer about your play-on-words that everyone took seriously).
A sad, misheard repetition that keeps going and going and going,
perpetuated by people like my sister.
I have written to those foolish idiots at Dictionary.com (the only "dictionary" to back up Flail's crazy claim), and asked them just what kind of cheap labor they get to write their fake dictionary--twelve chickens? Twelve monkeys? An industrious four year old with decent hunt-and-peck skills?
I cannot help but wonder about the education of the Gen X kids...what happened to you?
So, with a ridiculous vote of 188 out of 270 votes, Cardshark wins the poll.
But America loses.
Hopefully, for those of you who voted for the WRONG word, you look smarter than you are.
You may think I'm being harsh.
But I'm just being right.

Ceiling Pictures



Well, the second one is very blurry.
Taking pictures in a mirrored ceiling is not easy. But, as I told Flail, it is the essence of us.

Also, because I do not want to express bias in either way, please take the following poll (closes Tuesday at 8PM EST.

Jackarooney

Jackarooney, originally uploaded by feathermar.

This is Jack. This is an old picture of Jack, really. He is my sister and brother-in-law's dog. And sometimes, he is my dog. He is gi-normous! Also, he is one of those beings that cheers me up when I am at my saddest.
I am a mopey-mo. I'm sick again, even though I was just sick, and it stinks. I'm a Stinky McLoserpants, and cannot help but mopey-mo all over the place. Bad fake allergies. Bad back. Bad saddies. It's the worst (except, really, in the scheme of the world, it's not so bad).

In the words of Sean Meagher: "Gar!"

Chicks

Chicks, originally uploaded by feathermar.

Happy Easter

Miss Mady is Here!

and I've got a brand new baby to love!

Oh, babies! They are superfun when they are other peoples! And, they are superfun when they belong to Annmarie and Roly Boyon, two wonderful people who have already become wonderful parents. Gail and I met this munchkin today. She's bigger than she was, but she's still pretty tiny. Seven pounds and change...let me tell you, no one ever remembers how tiny babies start out...but they are tiny!

Here's Mady and her mama getting the gas out:

(I, of course, mean the baby's gas)

Here is proud papa:

Gail with that baby:

Hey, does that baby look bored? Hmm, give her to me! She'll perk right up!

Just kidding, Gail! well, sort of...

Anyhoo, this little Mady has already got a slew of people wrapped around her tiny fingers. Some of you may know that I called her White Chocolate in the womb, so I made her a superhero onesie with the infamous:

Gail also took this wonderful picture of Mady squishing up her face:

I will leave you with that bit of adorableness! Congrats, Ams and Rol! You did it! She's beautiful! And already very smart!

As you can see, Gail was responsible for Rainbow Shirt Number One, an Iron-On Transfer design. That T-shirt received 62 out of 151 votes, 41.1 % of the votes. I made Rainbow Shirt Two, which was hand embroidered. I received 89 out of 151 votes, which was 58.9 % of the votes.
I will say, though I only voted once, there may have been some padding, so I cannot in good conscience, accept this victory.
We did present them to Carter today.

Which one won?

The Play-doh Fun Factory!

Yeah. Carter didn't really care. I guess she forgot about the rainbow t-shirt. She did, however, remember about the "trowing up". She was super cute. Gail and I got to decorate tiaras, while Grandpa and Uncle Joe received pens with feather plumes and heart-shaped sunglasses, respectively.

Also, there was some feather-boa-wearing.

And Pops took us to Friendly's for lunch, where I took what could possibly be the CUTEST PICTURE EVER!

At the end of the day, we played a little play-doh, we saw a little dancing (Cass knows how to cut a rug), and then we went home:

Thank you for your votes. Since Gail and I both received tiaras today, along with feathers, you may picture us waving grateful and graceful waves to you from a balcony with long sparkly dresses.

You like me, you really really like me.

Here's the thing:
We've done it again! The Meagher girls are having a dispute, and getting everyone else involved!
Here's how it started: Carter puked on a rainbow shirt. I said I'd make her a new one a certain way, Gail said that was not a smart way, why didn't I make a rainbow shirt Gail's way? I said, "Why don't you make one your way?"(imagine it all with a lot snottier of tones). Gail said, "Maybe I will". And here it is: Meagher vs. Meagher. Or Meagher vs. Beyrer. I cannot reveal the ways of the shirts, as that would be giving away too much, Gail says.
So one of us made Rainbow Shirt Number One:

One of us made Rainbow Shirt Number Two:

We have, supposedly, asked you to vote for whichever t-shirt makes you feel happiest inside. Whichever one is, in fact, better. Now, you could take this as: which one is better for Carter, which one is better for you (should you enjoy the occasional rainbow shirt), which one is the super-duper-est...it's pretty much up to you!
We just ask that you vote.

Now, this may not be as vicious as the old "fussbudget vs. fussbucket" argument, but it does involve rainbows...voting closes on Sunday at 11:00AM EST.

You Are Olive Green

You are the most real of all the green shades. You're always true to yourself. For you, authenticity and honesty are very important... both in others and yourself. You are grounded and secure. It takes a lot to shake you. People see you as dependable, probably the most dependable person they know.

What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorgreenareyouquiz/">What Color Green Are You?

I'm olive green!

Who knew?

Colleen's Big Birthday!

IMG_4278, originally uploaded by feathermar.

It was Colleen's big birthday. We went to El Mariachi.
Tacos+moustaches (moo-sta-shes)+margaritas=SUPERFUN!

Flowers from my Flail

Flowers from my Sister, originally uploaded by feathermar.

This week I was very sick. Well, I guess it was last week actually, seeing as this is now Sunday. So, from Tuesday until yesterday, I didn't really get out of bed. Yesterday I missed a lot of fun things, including the awesome Wii Baby Shower of our forthcoming baby White Chocolate. For that I am very sad.

My lovely sister Flail gave me these tiny parade roses in a tiny little tin. They are quite tiny, and she thinks I did not properly thank her, since I was without fever at the time we talked. So, here's to you, my Sweet Potato! I loveys you and your presents. Always!

oops i did it again

IMG_2762, originally uploaded by feathermar.

Gail and I disagree over what this picture says. She thinks it says "Don't tell, I'm swiping some icing." I think it says "I may vomit." Take from this what you will.

Picture taken at Tatter's wedding.

All Bid-ness with Lochlain



Scooting with Seanie



Granting Wishes with Carter

Seriously, a Nicey Nice Christmas

Right now, I am sitting at work.

No one is coming to the library today, and by no one, I mean about twenty people in the past four hours.

I am thinking about:
The stools I have to varnish.
The scarf I have to knit.
The cake I have to make.
The gifts I have to wrap.

Maybe I just won't wrap the gifts...
Maybe they will just be unwrapped gifts.

On the other hand, painting these stools has made for many off-color jokes (as my sister's nephews would say "potty talk"). I have to check on my stools. I hope my stools aren't sticky. Should I be worried that my stools are green? This has been endless entertainment at home.
My sister bought giant decorations last year at Target. They look like the round ornaments you would put on the tree, just gigantic.
These are her Christmas balls. Do you think my balls should be in a cluster? I have re-hung my balls! How do my balls look? And believe it or not, she doesn't even do it on purpose...

On a sad note, I went entirely through Target last night, and filled a shopping cart. Then I left my cart at the end of an empty aisle so I could manuver through the over-populated CD section. And then. Someone TOOK MY CART. I almost cried. I would have to battle all over again. I was hungry. There were more people from before. I got the last one of a couple of items. Boo. Hiss. I said the words I never, ever thought I would utter about the greatest store in the world: "I hate this place." Yes, friends, for a moment, I hated what must be the most happy place in my heart--my special love, Target.

Merry Christmas

Thanksgiving!

Carter Girl, originally uploaded by feathermar.

We went and hung out with Rich, Cass and Carter for T-giving!
Carter and I ran and ran and ran around kicking the leaves. Cass makes SUPERIOR stuffing.

Excellent.

so today

Sunset, originally uploaded by feathermar.

Was a weird day.

Where Candy corn comes from

Where Candy corn comes from, originally uploaded by feathermar.

It is born of the earth.

Gail and I were discussing how we still eat it color by color, trying to discern the contrasting flavors (if they exist).

second place

IMG_0187, originally uploaded by feathermar.

So, Seanie gets Second place.
Second place?

Dude. Let me tell you. This picture is cute. There is no cuter picture on the face of the earth. Not now, not ever.
More eloquent? Maybe.
Sweeter? No way, Jose.

Scarf in Progress

Scarf in Progress, originally uploaded by feathermar.

Burnsie's scarf. Looks a little uneven, but that is, in fact, part of it's charm. Actually, it's handspun wool, which is thick and then thin and then thick again. Blech. I no likey. But I didn't pick it out, Burnsie did. So she'll have to live with it.

Knit -a-rific!

Knit purse, originally uploaded by feathermar.

Well, kids, get your jealous hats on!
I have knit myself a purse! Could it be a knurse? Or a yurse (yarn purse)? I do not know what the name will be, but I do know that it's the cutest darn thing I ever did see.

and I made it.
Take your hats off now. They're making your head sweat.

Seanie and Loch

Seanie and loch, originally uploaded by feathermar.

The top is Seanie, on his first time to Squam Lake. I watched him eat for half an hour, straight. When Bean started to pack up the food, Seanie started to pump his arms and say "Gar!" like a displeased pirate. He got one more cracker. Seanie's favorite thing was to eat--the cheese, the crackers, the lake bottom--it didn't much matter.
Below is Loch, at Squam Lake for the first time a couple of years ago. He was younger than Seanie at the time, so though he did enjoy playing in the water, he pretty much sat and then fell asleep.

One thing in common? Chubby arms.

Gummy in the spotlight

Gummy in the spotlight., originally uploaded by feathermar.

Shannon wants some pictures of orange things to put in her brand new room in her brand new apartment. So, I get to find things that are orange and take pictures of them. It's been super fun for me.
This may be a gummy orgy, but I perfer to think of them as performing modern dance.

I heart Bacon!

IMG_7103, originally uploaded by feathermar.

my friends Michelle and Valerie gave me this gorgeous truth-telling tanktop. What could be better than to proclaim my love for all things Bacon?

The Case of the Missing Baby Bag

IMG_4560, originally uploaded by feathermar.

So, do you see that green bag slung so happily over my shoulder? It's the Baby Bag. Big enough to hold a baby. Big enough to hold anything and everything I have ever loved. I love the Baby Bag the way some ladies love their Manolo Blahniks or Coach Bags. It was stolen from the car I'm currently driving. I say "currently" because, well, my car is residing in Massachusetts as we find out whether this weekend's accident has totally totalled it. So, I borrowed my lovely (and generous) sister's car. And someone stole the baby bag. Gail (aforementioned lovely sister), Alicia (quite lovely also) and I (slightly intoxicated to deal with the tragedy) started looking in the dumpsters down the sketchy alleyway behind where I work, as well as climbing some fences that line the other side of the sketchy alleyway. Nancy Drew (a.k.a Gail), her friend George (a.k.a. Alicia) and Bess (my slightly intoxicated self) located the Baby Bag in a dumpster during the investigation. Not too worse for wear, sans wallet.

Did I mention that it's my birthday today?