cheeeeeese

i ordered this today. can't wait for it to get here.

the one. the only.

dear h.j. heinz -

please allow me to thank you for being a genius. thanking you is simply not enough, but i fear that i do not have to the words to express my gratitude to you for creating the best. ketchup. ever.

although my love handles and thunder thighs might not appreciate my insatiable desire for your perfect condiment, i can't help but often satiate my cravings for your ketchup, most frequently complimented by fries or burgers.

my taste buds owe you a lifetime satisfaction.

always your loyal consumer,

miss rikki

(1957 heniz ad recreated in 2008 by don henderson)

d'oh!

turns out it really isn't good to drink too much soda.

i want to live . . .

here. saw this house in bend over the weekend. amazing.

(photos from john l. scott)

yes, more cupcakes . . .

i spent a good chunk of time yesterday baking cupcakes from scratch. the hubs liked the sweet lemon with raspberry buttercream better, but i liked the red velvet with extra creamy cream cheese frosting. both recipes still need tweaking, though. suggestions?

one sweet day

i'm feeling a bit nostalgic tonight. the hubs and i are in bend, oregon for the weekend: we're hitting the lake and the trails - what a blast! but the gorgeous mountain surroundings reminds me of lake arrowhead where we got married. here's a picture of us on our big day . . .

i am a chicken shit

i am so thoroughly disappointed in myself.

despite the incredibly empowering decision i made last month to quit my job, i am staying. inside my head, i'm kicking and screaming, trying to talk my logical self into realizing that this job is absolutely murdering my will to live. with each and every un-stimulating moment i spend glued to the computer, this job is eroding my intelligence. pleeeeeease quit! pleeeeeeeeease!

yet, my logical mind prevails. sure, we can afford for me to not work for a little while, but what if i can't find another job? i have been looking steadily for several months, and haven't had a single nibble. not-a-one. apparently, the portland market is one of the five worst in the nation for finding a job right now. and a job that pays the nearly 80k i make now? yeah, not so much.

i don't want to be this logical person. i want to live carefree. i want to disregard the bills and the loans, and do what makes me happy. isn't that what life is about, after all? not real life. real life sometimes means doing what you don't want to do so that one day, you'll be able to do what you want to do. i'm just tired of waiting for that one day. and scared that it may never get here.

musicians i love: amos lee

it's been too long since i posted my adoration for musicians.

today's post is about amos lee. you may recognize his song "sweet pea" from those horribly annoying at&t commercials, but don't be fooled: his talent is much deeper than that little ditty demonstrates.

his style can't be defined by a single genre: he's a bit folk, a bit blues, a bit jazz, a bit acoustic rock, and a lot creative. when i'm feeling uninspired, down, unsure - amos is the man i turn to. his lyrics ooze truth and his melodies help me float away.

a few of my favorite lee tunes include:

- southern girl
- love in the lies

and

- arms of a woman

"I am at ease in the arms of a woman

although now most of my days are spent alone

a thousand miles from the place I was born

but when she wakes me she takes me back home

A thousand miles from the place I was born

But when she wakes me she takes me back home"

tasty tasty

ah yes. my irreverent sense of humor rears its glorious head. so funny to ME!!

america got it wrong

i want to keep this short, as we all know it was an upset last night on idol. but since i had a bit of insider knowledge this season, i've been asked a zillion times what i think. here's what i think.

this was a bad year for idol (which is ironic since adam lambert is the best contestant the show has ever had).

the production was bad. the new format was bad. the "save" card was bad. kara was bad - worse than bad - she was terrible with all of her "honeys" and "sweeties" and annoying condescension.

i can't help but think that as the show nears its tenth season, it is trying to self-sabotage. sure, it makes a lot of money, but all think all those involved in the idol world are sick and tired of idol. so am i. and so are a lot of people after last nights robbery.

the handey man

"playing dead not only comes in handy when face to face with a bear, but also at important business meetings." -- jack handey

i don't know why i find jack handey so funny. probably because my high school friends and i liked to quote the handey man to each other in the hallways at s-k-y-l-i-n-e (go EAGLES!). i still roll when i hear a piece of his sage advice.

glee

watching this made me wish that show choir existed for adults. sigh. sometimes growing up sucks.

tasty treats!

on my way into work this morning, a couple of radio djs were soliciting calls from listeners about their vices. the most common vices included smoking, and video game playing (really? war of the worlds is THAT interesting to men in their 40s?!?). lucky me that neither of those appeal to me. but i am not vice-free. you know about my addiction to mcdonald's breakfast sandwiches. but i also cannot live without my diet coke. or mini cupcakes. or cheese fries. which makes dieting a bit difficult. :P

(photo credits: photobucket, ohjoy from whiskey bites, and broadstreet cafe)

brinner

love me some brinner. hubs made scramby eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and sourdough toast for dinners. i didn't eat the bacon or toast, but i did sneak a few taters. so tasty.

photo via amazon

ewwww!

i am SO grossed out by men in uber-tight pants! ill fitting clothes don't look good on anyone, but men in tight pants - so revolting. i so don't dig the current skinny-jean-for-emo-men look, but at least its not this guy.

(thanks for the photo girlyman1313 from flickr)

rainy day happiness

have you seen a cuter umbrella? love this brelly by felix ray - AND its on sale on blue fly.

10 things that make me terribly happy

naomi has been featuring 10 things that make me terribly happy series. i've loved reading the series, and thought i'd post my list.

1) when the husband surprises me by coming home from work early

2) argyle socks

3) watching my puppies dream (they make cutest little sounds and movements)

4) the smell of babies

5) coming down the driveway after work and seeing a package has been left on the porch

6) hosting summer barbecues, full of grilled burgers, corn on the cob, watermelon and bottled sodas chilling over ice in our large galvanized bucket

7) eating TFDs (tin foil dinners) made over the campfire after a long day of outdoor recreation

8) the smile on the face of a little lemonade stand hostess when she realizes you're going to stop and buy a glass of her refreshment

9) talking my way out of a speeding ticket

10) peep toe heels: sweet but sexy at the same time

photo: southern living

bridesmaid's hair-do

i'm trying to find the right hair accessory for my friend's wedding in june. she wants all of her bridesmaids to wear their hair back, but i'd like to add a little something to spice up the look. our dresses are a dark navy and our shoes are silver, so i have to keep that color scheme in mind. do you think any of these accessories from uo work?

boots

i'm wearing my boots today. don't know what boots i'm talking about? click here.

with these boots on, i feel:

sexy

powerful

untouchable

amazing what a good pair of shoes can do for you.

i love . . .

sleeping in. especially when it starts to get warm enough out that you have to keep the window open a bit. the fresh breeze, the sounds of the earth, the tangled sheets, the smell of the hubs freshly washed hair, ths delicate nighty - what's better?

can't. wait. for. saturday morning.

today is the tomorrow

i haven't been the best blogger lately. i've been busy at work with the rikki road relaunch - still not sure when its going to happen, but i've been a-workin' hard-all-the-livelong-day. :P

i read this quote today and thought it so perfectly described where i am lately . . .

"remember -- today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday"
- dale carnegie

and the cycle continues.

allergies, much?

today, lucky me got to visit the allergist. they stuck me with a zillion needles to determine what i am allergic to. here is a picture of my arm a few hours after all my tests. i'm allergic, among other things, to grass, weeds, dust and more. the best part - i get to go back in a few weeks and do it all again! woop woop!

new look

look to your RIGHT. yeah, over there! what do you think of the new logo for my shop? i love it! katie put the design together, and i couldn't be happier. here is another version of the logo.

i also have a new e-mail address: rikkiroadjewelry@gmail.com! send me a shout out anytime!

cupcakes galore!

the weekend was filled with cupcakes:

these tasty lovelies from the farmer's market.

this adorable metal cupcake stamp from beaducation for new hand-stamped rikki road jewelry.

these dingo mini-cupcake rawhides for the pups.

you can NEVER have too many cupcakes!

happy mommage day

to my wonderful mommage.

you are so beautiful, inside and out. thank you for showing me the beauty in life.

you are an incredibly hard worker, no matter the task. thank you for teaching me the value of hard work.

you are the most generous soul alive. thank you for giving me the world and more.

i love you. happy mommage day!

we'll be here . . .

. . . this weekend. i'm excited. and a little scared. have any of you camped in these mini-cabins?

AI on AI

i'm bummed she was eliminated last night. allison is incredibly talented. and she's super cool in person, too - more so than most of the idol contenders this year. i hope she gets signed quickly.

mid-week weigh in

well, at least the scale is moving in the right direction. although not by much. this morning i weighed in at 159.6. progress is progress, no matter how slow!

sick day

i'm home sick today. i slept in until 11. amazing. but being home all day has made me wonder - am i doing the right thing to leave my job? i don't know. i don't think that either answer is the right answer.

i don't have to decide today. all i have to do today is burrow myself under the covers, and listen to the plump rain drops crash against the roof. how wonderful is that?

the photo above was taken by the hubs. he thinks i look beautiful when i sleep.

update

i didn't realize that my bold new-mind-spirit-body post didn't actually post when i wrote it on friday. i blame our finicky wireless router. and, enabling comments didn't take, so let's see if it does on this post.

anyhow, as a quick update - the weekend went well. the hubs, pups and i went on a nice long hike on saturday - a good part of which we jogged. it felt SO good. sunday i busted out the stair stepper and hiked while watching tivoed episodes of private practice. and i definitely ate better - not perfect, mind you, but better.

only four weeks left of work as of today. i'm thrilled. but terrified, too.

dating genius

remember when i went on that lengthy diatribe about the kosher-ness of discussing past relationships? well, i'm going to make good on my word, and talk about one of my dating propensities: dating genius.

i'm a smart girl. i did well in school. but i'm no mensa material. i'm not even ivy league material. and i'm okay with that. but in high school, i wasn't. i felt like i'd drawn the short straw because i really wanted to be one of the super-smart kids - one of the kids that didn't have to work at it, like i did. i studied every minute of every day and still got an A- in my first semester calculus class. it killed me. moreover, it killed me that other students who didn't spend a fraction of the time studying as much i did, easily earned an A in calc, or a perfect 1600 on their SATs. you know the kind.

i know the kind. i dated the kind. i dated a literal mensa genius in high school, and another in college. i suspect a third bf was mensa material, too, but he "didn't want to be labeled." some girls go crazy for the bad boys - i went crazy for the nerds.

here's my dime-store psychology take on why i dated genius: i was looking for something in someone else that i had insecurities about in myself. i was insecure about my intelligence. sure, i was smart. but i wasn't the smartest. and none of us like to settle for second best, but by dating the smartest, somehow i was part of the club.

turns out, though, that dating an intellectual genius equates to dating an emotional retard. while these boys excelled academically, they had the emotional depth of my neighbor's kiddie pool. when interacting with acquaintances, those shallow social skills performed just fine. but when it came to an actual relationship, where you have to give of yourself, learn from your partner, be a team: big fat failures.

i don't want to make it sound like these guys are bad guys: they are good people. they are just not good partners (for me, at least). i prefer a man to tell me i look "pretty" instead of "healthy." i prefer a man who would rather spend some of his free time with me, rather than reading the latest publication on quantum physics or post-cold war political analysis. i prefer a man who understands non-verbal cues and doesn't say "what a perfect day" to a family who has just lost their grandmother. i prefer a man who knows that there is more to life than knowing facts.

i guess emotional intelligence, like intellectual intelligence, is something you have or you don't. you can work at it all you want, but eventually you're going to reach your god-given limit. my god-given intellectual limit was an A- minus in calculus. and the boy geniuses' limit in the emotional department: a D+, at best.
i think i'm the one that drew the long straw, after all.