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Rapunzel’s Tenth Birthday Party
My niece, Rapunzel (not her real name) is turning ten on Memorial Day but nobody ever can come to her party on Memorial Day so she had her birthday party today. Most of her class couldn’t come today either but that’s because unbeknownst to us, another boy in her class had a pool party at the exact same time. Pool parties seem to trump everything when you’re ten.
Nevertheless, I think the party was a huge success! I’m starting to think I like smaller parties better anyway. You get more time to play games and interact with all the kids. The children who came are the same kids who came last year and the year before. They’re keepers. I hope she stays friends with them forever.
We didn’t go crazy with decorations or party games. We could have but time sort of ran out. My sister-in-law, CC, was going to make malasadas (Hawaiian potato doughnuts) but they fell by the wayside and were not missed a bit.
CC made her famous bundt cake (It’s so yummy! The recipe is on her blog) and we decorated it like an island. I’m particularly proud of the palm trees. They are pirouette cookies stuffed with apple flavored sour punch straws on one end. Getting the “foliage” to stay in the pirouette cookies wasn’t exactly easy but some thread and a toothpick seemed to do the trick. The sand or “coral pebbles” are just rice crispies and the “lava” is chocolate ganache.
Besides more food than we could ever possibly eat, there were more presents than anybody could ever want. I didn’t include any pictures but I’m sure CC will link some later. My niece now has enough clothes now to go a whole year without ever wearing the same outfit twice. Yeah, I’m jealous. But she’s been growing a lot so this is a good thing. I remember those tween years well. I think a lot of clothes would have made it a lot easier for me back then. Don’t even get me started on the homemade jumpers my mom used to make me wear.
birthday party obstacle course from comfortablycrazy on Vimeo.It was a really fun party. Especially the obstacle course. I was supposed to make a mermaid tail for the kids to jump in gunny-sack-style but I sort of forgot to get around to that. I don’t think anyone noticed. We found an out-of-date mail bag in the ever-present junk pile that is my mom’s carport. I know. Who has mail bags sitting around? Apparently we do. Along with everything else under the sun. But that’s another blog post.
For now we are going to sit around and be fat and happy that another party is in the can. The mess will still be there tomorrow.
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a Starbucks post
Since I don’t have much to report today, I’m thinking it’s about time I wrote a Starbucks post. I go there a lot and if I thought about it, I bet I could think up a bunch of anecdotes. You probably could too.
I sometimes have my clients pay me on my Starbucks card instead of with real money. This is really cool because $100 worth of lattes lasts a lot longer than $100 worth of groceries. It lasts for months, in fact!
I’ve noticed lately that our Starbucks is Gay Central. I’m fine with that. I can hang out with the most fabulous of the fabulous and that doesn’t bother me a bit. I love being surrounded by men who are prettier and more fashionable than I am.
What I have a problem with is the gay barrista who works there. He is a swell guy. Always friendly, quick with drinks…he’s great. The thing that bugs me is he keeps giving all the men free shots!!! The guy in front of me will get a free shot, the guy in back of me will get a free shot but when I get to the front of the line, what do I get? Nothing. No free shots for moms. I call prejudice! I want a free shot too!
I don’t really mind. Maybe he gets a lot of dates that way. More power to him. I don’t want to date him. I just think it’s kind of funny. One of these days I will get up the guts to tease him about it.
While we are talking about Starbucks…why am I the worst with spilling my coffee? You’d think the paper cups with the tiny little hole to sip from would be spill-proof but I have spilled coffee in every way imaginable. If there was an Olympic event for fastest way to get coffee through a little hole, or fastest way to dislodge the lid, I would win the gold.
I am all thumbs when it comes to holding my coffee. I have spilled coffee down the front of me. I’ve spilled coffee on other people. I’ve even spilled coffee three feet sideways when I caught a cup falling in midair and pinned it against the handle of a shopping cart. Sploosh went my coffee all over the grocery-store linoleum, narrowly missing a checker. I was so embarrassed.
I should not be allowed to hold coffee. I should just wear it on my back in one of those wineskin things and drink it through a very long straw. Thankfully, I take forever to drink my coffee and it is usually lukewarm or cold when I spill it. I have never yet (knock knock on my wooden head) spilled hot coffee on my baby.
I know I said I don’t mind hanging out with fabulous men who are prettier and more fashionable than I am… BUT I have to admit it is pretty sad when I show up at Gay Central (aka Starbucks) in my morning work-out attire (dumb-looking too-short sweats and baggy slouchy top that covers my not-so-tight mom-belly) and then I spill coffee all over my frumpiness too. Maybe that’s why I never get a free shot. Mr. Gay Barrista knows it would be wasted on me, literally.
