Do you have trees? and a Contest!

Do you have trees? I was asked that question yesterday at work.

This was a question asked by a new homeowner, someone who shares almost the same predicaments i do when it comes to being a first time homeowner. My co-worker and I swap stories about the perils of being a homeowner. We shake our heads, laugh, kinda cry, and point and each other and say, You too? I KNEW you would be the only one who understands my leaf hell!

At least i am not in this alone.

Do I have trees? Yes, I do. One big giant maple tree that loves to shed its leaves creating the most monstrous display of leaves one has ever seen. Although I try and keep up, there is no end in sight!

This is the public enemy number 1:

This is the first bag of leaves:

This is what i will be doing for the next 10 years:

I have now raked 2 bags of leaves. If you can guess how many bags it will take to rake up my whole yard, You will win a prize. A really good prize... like your own leaf collage that i will be making and you can proudly display on your wall in remembrance of me and my former life of a girl who once had a life.

Actually there will be a prize.. Like a gift card to Target, or something similar. I'm serious about this. I dare you to guess how many bags it will take me to do the job!

TWD~Lenox Almond Biscotti

Oh Biscotti you are so very Naughty.

Today for Tuesday's with Dorie, I was to make Lenox Almond Biscotti.

I followed the recipe to a the "t" and so far so good. The biscotti were easy to make, smelled wonderful and I even got to use my jar of cornmeal that had been sitting, sulking on the shelf since 1985. I think these would go great with some coffee. But as a lot of you know, I can't drink coffee or hair sprouts from my chest and I howl at the moon. Maybe if I'm feeling spunky tomorrow morning i will stop in at Starbucks and get a DECAF (oh i am so my mother right now) and then drink that with my naughty biscotti. ciao

Orchards

If you live in a state that doesn't have apples I don't know if you do this autumn ritual called, Going to the Orchard. Well us Minne-soh-tans go ga-ga for apple orchards. So every weekend in the fall you can find scores of people running through orchards, corn mazes, pumpkin patches, going on hay rides, chasing after their kids, yelling, and threatening to put them in the car and going home. I do not have children so I get my Baby Bjorn out and put my cat Marius into it and go for a frolicking good time at ye ol' orchard. I don't really do this, but the thought sounded so ludicrous i just had to write it. I went with my pal Shannon and we spent a lovely day at the orchard. Mostly stuffing our faces with apple brats (bratwurst sausage, i didn't want you to think we are eating the bad little children in the apple fields) apple doughnuts, caramel apples, apple cider, apple butter, apple salsa, apples. Just call me Bubba.

Shannon, the apple of my one good eye.

Operation Baking GALS update

Operation Baking GALS Round 3 was a success! Team Superfluous went crazy and sent one deserving soldier some fantastic goodies! Thank you to everyone who participated, your kindness and generosity was amazing!!!

Last Monday I sent out some Snicker doodles and Chocolate Crinkles... and to be festive some Candy Corn!

Here is Team Superfluous:

Theresa Evans-Wooten

Christine Busby of Please don't call me a Foodie

Carrie of Carrie's Sweet Life

Mary K of Alpine Berry

Randy & Val Monday

Morgan Cartusciello owner Four Corner Catering and Dessert in San Diego

Amanda Jagla-Onstott

Elizabeth de Saint-Aignan who made chocolate brownies, choc chip cookie bars, molasses gingersnaps and peanut butter cookies.

Kim Onstott of Your Place Gourmet

Jennifer Grimes of An Intern's Insanity

Nanette Taho

Barbara Cohen

Dolores Ferrero

Giraffes It is...

Because I really like this girl named Mary and I totally want to impress her, I will write about giraffes. This is how it will work: I will type whatever comes into my head about the subject of giraffes. Ready... Go!

Giraffes

Giraffes are my favorite animal. They are graceful and friendly. I once watched a documentary about a giraffe preservation in Africa. They would roam around freely. The house on the preservation had big windows and while you ate your biscuits and drank your tea a giraffe would stick its head in the window and you could feed it. Giraffe's have long necks. They like to neck. Their coat is colorfully brown and tan and it is cooler than wearing zebra stripes. I don't like zebra stripes as much as i like giraffe squares. How cool is it that they are so mod they get squares. God is Mod. Be careful when you are around giraffes. They might not see you and trample you. They are really strong so they could potentially kick the crap out of you. I once had a frou frou drink and they put a plastic giraffe on my glass. I kept it. And now I have it in my animal menagerie. I always feel like Laura in The Glass Menagerie. Because my mom is desperate to marry me off, and my mom has lots of animals and I am weird. When boys come to my house to meet my parents I think they get scared. Or they call my family Hobbits. My ex boyfriend said that about my family once and they were all offended. My dad said when we broke up that he thought my ex bf was a know it all! and not in a good way. My ex bf was tall too like a giraffe. But he would never stick his head through a window to get fed. Although he did like fast food drive throughs. So actually he would stick his head out the window to get his food. I think that counts.

The end.

Reader's Choice!!!!!!

I've been meaning to post something, but I also need to post my Operation Baking Gals Team Update. And since I do not have my pictures at work to post, I will write about that tonight.

I have a great idea, since I always blog about what I like, I decided to stop being Selfish Sabrina and ask YOU to tell ME what to write. Just throw out a topic and I'm going to free style write ala Mr. O'Brien circa 7th grade. No subject is off limits. So throw something at me and watch the magic unravel.

The fabulous life of....

Friday after work i went to a funeral. I got really dressed up. My co-workers were shocked. I even got a 'hubba-hubba'... i guess its better than getting a 'tubba-tubba'. Actually I didn't feel that dressed up, because in real life i dress up, i just don't try very hard at work, because who do i need to impress? no one.
The funeral was sad. I mean how do you talk about a funeral? It was very sad.
I saw a lot of people i hadn't seen in years...
For some reason a lot of people were under the impression that i had gotten married. Um no. Someone even said I was a fussy girl for not just sticking with one guy and settling down. Really? I felt like i was in a movie. Small town girl goes back home for a funeral and everyone questions why she is 31 and not married. So i compensate by saying, Well i just bought a house and I have a good job.... does that count? egads!


Shannon Tweaker had a party that night, and all my BFF's from high school were there. We talked about all the guys we used to date and how it was like kissing each other because we had all kissed the same guys. gross.


Saturday I met Ellen for a little flea market action. But this flea market was like a glorified garage sale. Although i did fill up 2 bags for $6 of totally awesome junk.


Saturday night i went out by request with Heather of the EO, you may have heard of her and Female K of K and\or K. Plus a bunch of other really rad ladies. Like one named Katie who i liked a lot and she doesn't know this but I'm kinda stalking her now via facebook. And there was Lana who is cool and Ellen of the flea market and McKenzie. We drank margaritas on the rocks and pointed at each other with our middle fingers.


Sunday i woke up feeling not so hot... and totally bailed on my cousins birthday brunch. sorry k.
So i laid on my couch, watched Super Troopers, read my book club book, got bored, made a 'jewelry area' in my bedroom, watched the leaves fall, decided not to rake them, cleaned up cat puke, did a load of laundry, made tilapia, talked to Shannon, baked cookies, watched Crazy\Beautiful, wondered why Kirsten Dunst never once wears a bra in that movie, baked more cookies, talked to my dad on the phone, laughed to be nice when he told me this joke:
Chelsea Clinton asked Bill, Dad what are your 3 biggest fears?
Bill said: Osama, Obama and Yo Momma.
Then i baked more cookies, packaged them up for the troops, clipped my cats nails, (but not near the cookies), got into bed, tried to read, fell asleep with the lights on, turned the lights off, decided i needed to check my email one last time, went back to bed.

TMI, but i learned from the best.