Happy Halloween!

We are going to a party tonight in town. We've decided - well, I've decided - that we are going to dress as mummies and go as Mummy and Deady. I've even bought pillow stuffing to make it look as though I'm pregnant.

Second choice in costumes was going to be as Doodle Bugs. Scribble all over our shirts and then wear antennae. Feel free to use that one if you are in a bind.

Hope you all have a ghoulish time tonight!

More Bugs!

We have these little beauties all over the outside of our windows. Attached to our screens. And continuously managing their way into our apartment. One of them fell on my neck while I was watching tv the other night. You have never heard such screaming nor witnessed such flailing.

If it's not one bug, it's another...

Bugs!

When we got home from work yesterday - there was a note from our apartment management company. Saying that they had called exterminators to be here this morning from 9 - 10am and that we had to remove everything from our upper and lower cabinets in our kitchen. And that we could talk to the exterminators about the chemicals they were going to be using and what, if any, effect said chemicals would have on our kitties. This is less than 24 hours notice! In fact, the notice is obviously a fax from the main office (about 25 minute drive from here) and 2:17pm is printed on it! Way less than 24 hours.

So we left a message with the mgmt company saying that this is unfair - not enough notice, we don't even know what kind of chemicals they are going to be using, etc. etc. Didn't hear back from them all night.

My hubby and I drive together in the mornings to a town that is about 1/2 hour from here. We have one vehicle. He is getting his degree at the local University and I'm a wage slave.

We had no choice but to wait until this morning to call the mgmt company to try and reschedule. And by the time they opened - we needed to be on the road. So, I emailed my boss and said that I might be working from home in the morning depending on what happens.

Luckily, he was understanding (not typical).

The mgmt company said they were sorry, but we couldn't reschedule as there are cockroaches in our building. And if they don't do our apartment today, the cockroaches will all flock here.

So I frantically starting removing everything from my cabinets and drawers and laying it on sheets and towels in our living room. Kitties are very confused.

And now it is after 2pm and the exterminator JUST got here. And he says that the apartment next to us had a pregnant female cockroach. And that another apartment down has swarms!!! We haven't seen any yet - but man - YUCK! To know that they are just a couple of apartments down.

Now I have to wait while he puts this gel bait in all of our cabinets and drawers - pulls the refrigerator out, the stove out, etc.

And then put all my dishes, food, pans back in the cupboards. And I have a lot of pans and dishes and food. Ugh.

Exorcist

Subtitle: what an evil person am I.

An awful, awful prank I played on my long-suffering hubby. We found out that one of our friends had never seen The Exorcist. So we convinced him that he had to see it. And my hubby - although tall and seemingly tough - was sure he could handle watching it again. Which we did. The prank didn't happen until a couple of days later.

Let me preface this next part by telling you that my hubby was, at the time, working nights and did not get home until at least 1 in the morning.

So, knowing that he was freaked out to his core about the movie, I pretended to be asleep. And he came up to bed (we were living in a duplex at the time) and I waited until he was almost asleep. And then I started scratching my fingernails on the wall. I could hear him turn to look at me, so I again pretended to be asleep. As soon as he started to fall back asleep, I started scratching the wall again. He looked over at me again, and then I sat up really fast, turned my head to him and yelled "FUCK ME!" in a very deep voice. I've never seen anyone run out of a room so fast.

Photos!

For anyone who is curious, here's the part where I show you some photos of my little family.

My sugar pie honey buns

B.F.O.C (big fat orange cat), a.k.a. Otto

Miss Tabitha

Both kitties hungrily staring at birdies outside the window

And finally, me letting my husband know how much I love being at the Patton museum

Boo!

I just redid the color scheme and logo banner with a new Halloweeny feel. And I figured out my css problem in Mozilla. The banner is in homage to my hubby's dream in which I was a zombie. Trying to eat his brains. We had boarded up our apartment to keep the zombies out and then he went to the fridge to get something to eat and it was full of sculls and severed heads. He turned around and there I was all zombied-out. With all the other zombies I had let back in the house.

Parking Ticket?

I just received an overdue notice from the City of Boston for a parking ticket. The interesting thing - I was in Boston that night (for this first time since moving back to the East Coast), but not in that part of town. And not at that time of day. At least as far as I can remember. My hubby and I drove to Logan to pick up a friend of mine who was going to be in Boston on business. And then we drove to her hotel (which shall remain nameless for the time being). We got terribly lost on the way due to all the crazy construction and by the time we got to her hotel - I did not want to drive any more. The hotel did not have its own parking garage and the doorman kindly offered to let us park in front of the hotel for 2 hours while we went to dinner. He would only charge us $20 to watch it - sort of valet parking under the table. After the craziness of trying to find the hotel, $20 seemed like a good deal to us. And my friend said she'd expense it. So - off to dinner.

We came back after dinner and the car was still in front of the hotel.

We paid the doorman and left.

And now, a month later, I get an overdue notice for the parking ticket in the mail! We were parked by the Freedom Trail and the ticket says my car was in Cambridge. Not in the same part of town, for those who don't know. And I didn't either, so don't feel bad. I loathe Boston and try to avoid it at all costs.

I called the hotel this morning and talked to the GM. And explained that maybe his doorman actually took the car and parked it away from the hotel until he knew I would be back for dinner. And the GM explained that the location of the ticket was the other side of Boston and it could not be possible. He was very nice and asked me to fax him the ticket so that he could look into it.

How the hell did I get a ticket that I didn't know about? I really don't have any evidence that I wasn't in Cambridge - so I don't think I can dispute the charge. And I don't want to rack up late fees because I can't afford it.

Makes me hate Boston even more.

UPDATE: I emailed my friend and she wasn't even there that night! We went to visit her the weekend before!!! AAGH! And now the hotel called and basically hinted that I'm crazy. God I hate Boston.

Christmas Cards!

I just received my Christmas cards from loobylu! And they are beautiful. Hopefully this year I'll be good and actually send them out. ;)

Over the river and thru the woods...

We are heading up to my parents' house momentarily. They live in a small town, on top of a mountain, on a dead end road. They own the land beyond their house - about 90 acres of forest. This is where I grew up. It is just beautiful, but it requires a lot of work. And since it is not raining out, I have a feeling we are going to be put to work. And by work, I mean wood. Chopping, splitting, stacking wood. On my birthday. So, in protest, I've done my hair, my makeup and am wearing my nice clothes and shoes. Hopefully all this will prove to be enough of a deterrence. The same cannot be said for my hubby. He is a tall, strong guy who can't say no. And since my dad just cleared a section of the land behind their house to put in a barn to house more of his antique tractors; there is a lot of wood to be dealt with. My brother and his wife have cleverly told my mom that they have a prior engagement this morning and probably won't get up there until later in the day. And we owe my dad because he is a veterinarian and he just gave us a great deal on our cats' yearly vaccinations. But can I say that I'm just not in the mood?

Birthday

Well, I'm now officially 32. Don't feel any different yet.

We went to see Kill Bill Vol. 1 last night. And it was so violent and bloody and cheesy - but I loved every minute of it. Felt so guilty for laughing when people had their heads cut off, etc. Tarantino is excellent with the over-the-top dialogue and his music choices are always fun.

We blasted old Violent Femmes on the way there and back. Lots of fun had by all. Well, by us.

Winery

Just got back from our drive to the winery. It was in a town called Colrain - which is in a lovely New England area. Along the Mohawk Trail near Greenfield. I'm sure it was just gorgeous out here a couple of weeks ago when the leaves were in their full flora-escent spendor. I had forgotten how neon some of the color combinations look. And the smell of Autumn is just the best. Pumpkin and apple farms along the route. And the winery was very interesting. There are apparently a lot of artisal cider winerys in this region. And the apples are grown specifically for making hard cider because of the high tannin content in their skins. Next weekend is the big Cider Fest - there are going to be lots of tastings and demonstrations all throughout that region. We might just have to head back there.

We also stopped in Shelburne Falls - another beautiful New England town. On the Connecticut river - they used to power the town with water. We had some excellent chili at Mother's and then my hubby humored me while I checked out the antique stores. I bought a beautiful leaf-shaped trivet and a hat hook and an old brass key plate. It is a gorgeous day - the air is crisp and the sun is shining. Perfect day for walking around the town.

New Layout

I've been playing with the layout because I wanted it centered on the page instead of spread out. That way it more closely matches the site for my delicious cakes.

So, the name of this site came about because my pre-marriage initials were e.l.f. And I loved those initials. But I had to go and marry a man with a "w." I've been doing special occasion cakes for a couple of years now as a side "hobby" and my brother suggested the name elfcakes. Loved it.

The hubby and I are going to be heading to Colrain to go hard cider tasting. There is a winery (although shouldn't it be called a cidery?) there that we've been meaning to check out. This is going to be the main birthday excursion as we are going to my parents' house tomorrow for my official birthday. And my mom has promised that I won't have to rake leaves or stack wood or throw wood or any of that. They heat their house with 2 woodstoves so most visits to their house involve wood in some way or form. And they like to take advantage of my brawny husband.

Who are you?

And since I haven't decided if I'm going to add an "about me" section to the site, I thought I'd write a little synopsis. I'm from a very, very small town in Massachusetts. My grandparents owned a dairy farm (guernseys) on which my dad grew up. My two sisters and brother and I showed cows at the local fairs all summer long. From the time I was a little girl to when we all started heading off to college. As hard as the whole experience was (getting up very early to head to the farm to milk the cows and then not getting home until very late), I think we all agree that it made us better people by instilling a strong work ethic from a young age.

Other interesting notes. I love Halloween. Partly because my birthday is this time of year, but I also love the idea of dressing up and making that an excuse to have a party.

Still reading? ;) I love Halloween so much that I convinced my husband to have a Halloween-themed wedding. I'll have to post pictures later. Pumpkins, witch boots, candy corn, etc. I even had my hairdresser make my hair look like the Bride of Frankenstein. Complete with a white streak up the side.

I love to read and I love to watch tv. I'm fascinated with some of the trash shows on television - like Charmed or Melrose Place.

I've been married for almost 2 years to a lovely, long-suffering man. He puts up with my craziness and my practical jokes with a lot of patience and humor. My siblings can't believe I found someone who can put up with me.

We also have two of the best cats in the whole world - Otto and Tabitha. Both calicos and both very talkative. Otto is the teddy bear - he follows us around our apartment and talks to us all the time. Tabitha is a fierce hunter of little yarn mousies and flying bird toys.

And, to end this rather long post - we lived in California for about 6 years and just moved back to Massachusetts in January. We drove across country with our two cats and ended up living through one of the worst winters on record for this area.

TGIF

I'm in a bit of a funk at the moment. Maybe it is because I've been playing with the look of this thing all night and yesterday. And I'm back to white and basic. Or maybe because it just hit me that I'm going to be 32 on Saturday. I certainly don't feel 32. Or maybe it's because I haven't been eating well the last few days. Aw, who knows.

Why not start a blog?

Well, apparently, gawker has declared that weblogs are over.

So it seems like a perfect time to start one. I've never been that up on the latest trends.

Plus, I was inspired by Anna who just celebrated her first blog and 27th birthday.

And since my 32nd is on Saturday...well, you get the idea