Wednesday's What's Up With That - Season 13 of Dancing With the [Quasi] Stars Announced

Yes, I know it's Tuesday, but I couldn't wait. HA!

I feel like a broken record as I believe I posted a WWUWT last season about this same issue.... Oh wait I did, you can check it out here.

Monday night the "stars" were announced for this upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars (DWTS). 

Yet again, the show has used the term "stars" very loosely.  Remember when they broke the story about how DWTS was trying to recruit A-list actors? Ya, apparently they failed.  Rather miserably.

So without further ado, I bring to you the recently announced cast list for DWTS Season 13 and my amazing thoughts on same.

Chaz Bono - So apparently this is the child of Sonny and Cher - and he used to be a woman, and is now a man. I've never even heard of this person. This isn't even a B list celeb - not even a D list - more like a Z list.  This is lame. Ridiculously lame. LAME!

Nancy Grace - Okay, I can't stand her, but secretly love her. Does that even make sense? Anywho, she's not A-list, but perhaps B-list.  At least she's not a local TV personality (like the local radio personality last season) - she does actually appear on national television.  She might be interesting.

David Arquette - quasi A-list although he's been out of the limelight for some time.  I'll give them some credit for getting him. 

Ron Artest - basketball player for the Lakers - nice. Athletes always do pretty well. 

Ricki Lake - is she A-list? I'd go with B-list. Doesn't she have dance experience? I think she will probably be pretty good.  My prediction is she will be in the top 3.

Chynna Phillips - Who on Earth is this? I don't recognize her photo or her name. NO idea who this is.

Kristin Cavallari - I thought that article (see above) specifically made fun of the fact that reality stars are NOT A-list stars and that they were LAME. I've never watched The Hills (that is the show she is from right?) and I don't like her because of the mere point that she dated Cutler, who I can't stand.  Cutler looks like an escaped insane asylum patient.  Anyone who would date him has to be desperate.  Did I hear rumors they were getting back together? If he shows up in the audience I might throw up.

Carson Kressley - No idea who this is either?

Rob Kardashian - So I didn't even realize they had a brother. This is lame. Almost as lame as Chaz Bono.  At least one of the 3 sisters are more well known. C'mon. Sigh.

JR Martinez - A soap star and Iraq vet - it does pull at my heart strings with him being a veteran and all, but I had no idea who this was.  I believe they picked him because of his disabled vet status to hopefully get more sympathy viewers.  He is definitely not an A-list celebrity. Not even close.

Hope Solo - So she was in the limelight for like 2.5 seconds when the ladies soccer went to the championships - had anyone even heard of her before that? I get that they like to have athletes on the show, but at least get well known athletes for crying out loud!

Elisabetta Canalis - so her claim to fame is that she USED to date Clooney? Oh and she allegedly was some kind of model? Not A-list. Not at all.  For some unknown reason I haven't found any of the past models to be very good - its like they have no coordination whatsoever - or maybe they look like bobble heads because their bodies are ridiculously skinny. Shrug.

So there it is.  The Season 13 cast of Dancing With the [Quasi] Stars.  Anyone else have any early top picks? Mine is Ricki Lake.

Thankful Thursday - Kudos to BJ's Brewery

I am so lucky and thankful to live in California where BJ's Breweries are abundant. 

I LOVE BJ's and was so thrilled when they added the GF pizza last year and even more thrilled when they recently added the GF pazooki.  I love them both - the pizza is more like a thin crust pizza rather than their usual deep dish style.  I prefer deep dish style, but this is still delicious and the best GF pizza I have tried to date (much better than the new California Pizza Kitchen gluten free pizza in my humble opinion).  The pazooki is also fabulous.  However, my 2 non-GF friends did not care for it - perhaps its because they have the regular one to compare it to, which I do not.  Whatever, more for me and I scraped my pan clean :)

I also love that they have made the gluten free pizza and pazooki available for their Party for Two promotion (which my friend Jenny and I took advantage of on Tuesday night), however I was bummed at my birthday celebration (back in June) that they do not offer the GF pazooki in the free birthday size so we had to pay for it in order for me to have my birthday treat.  It was still worth it.

Kudos to BJ's for keeping up with the need for gluten free alternatives! They are definitely on my short list of restaurants which have REAL gluten free menus - PF Changs and Melting Pot round up that list.  Outback and Lonestar I enjoy too, however when you order its more like you are ordering from their regular meal without all the good stuff like seasonings and marinades - I like the PF Changs, Melting Pot, and now BJ's have SPECIAL items just for Gluten Free folks like me where you don't feel like you're missing out on anything. Although the Outback flourless brownie is bomb-diggity (ya I said that). 

Happy Thursday everyone, and thanks for reading.  If you're gluten free - where is your favorite place to dine out and your favorite menu item to order there?

Wednesday's What's Up With That?

Have you ever noticed how dentists/dental hygienists/assistants/etc. LOVE to talk to you? Particularly they love asking you questions while they are working on your teeth.

I had a dental appointment (joy) this past Monday.  The dental hygienist was very sweet and friendly.  She begins the cleaning with her tools all up in my grill (literally) and immediately asks, "Are you married?"  Luckily my response of "uh huh" didn't require her pulling the tools out of my mouth, but her next question of "for how long?" did. 

I'm not sure why she didn't know that "or un eer" was "for one year", but she pulled the tools out of my mouth and looked at me all irritated like "why are you talking when I'm working on your teeth?"

YOU ASKED ME A QUESTION.  If you don't want me to talk, don't ask questions.  Or at least don't look irritated when you have to stop working on my mouth so that I can respond to YOUR question! What's up with that? Sigh. 

I made the next mistake of asking if she was married - to which her reply was "well, kind of" and then I was forced to listen to her marital problems for an hour while she cleaned my teeth and checked my gums and took x-rays.  She was very sweet, but I feel uncomfortable listening to people's marital problems when I'm not at work (since I work in a divorce firm and all).  Keep in mind she does NOT know what I do for a living - but nevertheless elicited my commentary on whether or not I think her "husband" is controlling, or how she should respond to her friends when they call him controlling, etc.  I told her to listen to Dr. Laura's book, "The Proper Care & Feeding of Marriage", and that only she could determine if her husband was just being a man, or if was actually overstepping his role and attempting to control her. 

My husband and I are currently listening to this book on audio.  Each night at dinner we listen to about a half hour of it together.  It's interesting - talking about the male and female roles in a marriage/relationship.  Although I may not agree with everything that is said, I have learned a lot and she makes a lot of good points.  Anyways, totally got off on a tangent - maybe I'll post about this book in another post when I'm all done.

Back to the subject - is it just my dental hygienist that does this, or is this a universal problem?

Our photo shoot with Cean One in Laguna Beach, CA

Tim and I had the privilege to do a photo shoot with the amazing Cean One down in Laguna Beach a few weeks ago.  I thought I would post a few of my favorite images from the shoot. 

This one is my favorite - I'm thinking Christmas card?

 This one is the one we are going to have blown up as a canvas for our bedroom - Tim doesn't want one of us looking at the camera in our bedroom - he's crazy - LOL.  I think the colors will go nicely with our bedroom and its theme as well.

Thanks for looking and if you are in the SoCal area and need an amazing photographer, check them out!

Tutorial Tuesdays - a diaper cake

I know that I have posted diaper cake ideas in the past - but as I was making my dear friend, Christy's, diaper cake back in June, I decided to take a few photos along the way and do a mini tutorial for all of you faithful readers :)

Supplies

1 large bottle of johnson and johnson baby powder - or any brand, I just use this as its a preferred brand among most moms

A small round medium sized object such as a medium sized bottle, or bath wash, etc. for your top layer

2 large glue dots, foam adhesive, etc. to adhere the layers

1 box (80 count) of Pampers Swaddlers Size 2 - I use these because they have the least color on them so that your cake appears white, and most people get size 1 as gifts, so this way you know yours will be used for sure - both ladies I have made cakes for have thanked me for giving size 2 instead of 1.

Cake plate - cardboard or plastic, 10" or 12"

Rubberbands - lots of them, the normal size, not super large or small, brown so it doesn't draw attention just in case your cover doesn't cover them all the way

6 extra large rubber bands to hold each layer together

pearl head pins (this is what I use to pin the items on)

topper - something to top your "cake" with to tie in your theme

1 bag of raffia (any color) - I use this to add a little more texture to my cake by putting it between each layer.

Ribbon/receiving blankets/designer paper, etc. to cover your rubberbands - I use a combo of ribbon and receiving blankets, but may try paper in the future

goodies - goodies to adhere to your cake, they should be small, socks, pacifiers, gift cards, small toys, washclothes, etc. Anything too large will distract from your cake and cover your masterpiece!

Instructions

1) Adhere your powder to the cake plate using a glue dot or foam adhesive. Adhere your smaller object such as a bottle on top of the powder bottle using the same thing.

2) Roll your diapers.  Diapers should be laid out flat on their back sides (like you were going to place it on a baby) and rolled tightly from one end to the other.  Then secure the roll by wrapping a rubberband around the middle of each diaper - do not wrap too snuggly so that it distorts the shape of your diaper. 

3) Start with your base layer by placing diapers one by one in a circle around the powder bottle - diapers should all face the same way, seam in (towards the powder).  Your bottom layer should have 3 layers of diapers (so 3 rings around the bottle).  Secure each ring should be rubberbanded using one of the extra large rubberbands.

This photo is an example of one ring around the powder bottle for my base layer.

4) Once your base layer is completed, begin your second layer, which will have 2 rings. (Note, It also helps to drink a margarita while you assemble these assuming you are not expecting yourself, as you may notice in the back left of my photo, HA!).

Base and second layer assembled.

5) Assemble the third layer as described above with only one ring of diapers.

6) Here is where I add the raffia between by base and second layers and second and top layer. I find it easier to add at this point so that you can tuck it in and it easily stays in place without any additional adhesive or supplies.

7) You know will cover the rubberbands by wrapping either ribbon, decorative paper, receiving blankets, etc., or a combination thereof around each layer.  Generally by bottom layer is too large for the average receiving blanket, so I use ribbon on the bottom layer.

8) Decorate your "cake" with the goodies by adhering them with pearl head pins or ribbons. Make sure they are small and do not detract from your cake. 

9) Add your cake topper and voila! DONE!

I hope you all enjoyed my mini tutorial, and feel free to check out my girls version of my diaper cake here.

And a bonus photo of the shower invitation I made for the same shower, which was rubber ducky themed - simple but fun (IMO):

Oh and more photos from the shower taken by other people who attended:

My friend Jen made the cookies, aren't they adorable!? 

I also made the little silverware holder. Geez I love my Cricut.

Go-to meal: Impossibly Easy Chicken 'n Broccoli Pie

This is one meal that is a go-to for me when I want to cook something yummy, cheaply, and quickly. It is Betty Crocker's Impossibly Easy Chicken 'n Broccoli Pie.  It's also surprisingly relatively low-calorie.  I of course substitute the Bisquick with the Gluten Free Bisquick as recommended on the glutenfreely.com website. 

Enjoy the photos and here is a link to the recipe and nutritional info.

Getting the oven ready.

These onion goggles really do work!

Ingredients all ready!

Ready to put 'er in.

Voila!

Stamp Camp creations

I attended two Stamp Camps courtesy of Stampin' Up demonstrator Lis Ljung over the past 2 months.  We created 12 GORGEOUS projects and I just had to share with you some of my favorites. 

Altered Notepad

 Butterfly card

 These are post-its on a ring!

 Adorable gift bag (we also made a matching card).

 I just love how elegant this card turned out.

To see all 12 projects, take a looksie at my post on my craft forum, Miss Imagination, here.  PS: Membership is free to join Miss Imagination and we would love to have you!

Well the hubby and I decided to have an impromptu yard sale today, so wish us luck!

Fanciful Friday

Today is going to be about furniture, not just any furniture, homemade furniture.  I recently happened upon the most amazing site ever, Ana White homemaker. She features TONS of furniture design ideas AND the specs, tool list, and instructions on how to make it yourself! Could like get any better? I think that it could not!

I have mapped out a design idea for my currently empty living room and printed instructions for my dear hubby on the furniture I would like made.  He has said that he will build it, the question now remains, WHEN? I can be patient, and hopeful.  So fingers crossed and I will post pics if and when any of these furniture items are built!

Click on the description to go to the link.

Table and hutch

Pallet bookshelf

Side table (I want a round top tough).

Entry table

I also plan to have a pallet coffee table which I believe I have previously posted about and can't find plans to, but it looks fairly easy, I'm sure hubby can figure it out :)

Well thanks for looking! Feel free to browse her site and post here what your favorite piece is if you could build any of them! 

Thankful Thursday

This may seem a bit obscure, but today I am thankful for all of the volunteers and organizers behind the website Find A Grave.  This website's purpose is to allow people to search for graves of their family members/friends/ancestors/celebrites/etc. no matter where the grave is located in the world.

According to their website:

What is Find A Grave?
Find A Grave is a resource for finding the final resting place of family, friends, and 'famous' individuals.

With millions of names and photos, it is an invaluable tool for the genealogist and family history buff. Find A Grave memorials can contain rich content including photos, biographies and dates. Visitors can leave 'virtual flowers' on the memorials they visit, completing the online cemetery experience.

Find A Grave's primary purpose is a graves registration website.

Find A Grave's secondary purpose is a memorialization/remembrance site.

Find A Grave's tertiary purpose is a genealogical resource.

Memorial contributions to Find A Grave should at the least fulfill the primary purpose, registration of the final resting place. If a memorial contribution corresponds with only the primary purpose, it has fulfilled its part of Find A Grave's mission and is not required to correspond with the secondary and tertiary purposes. Fulfilling the other two is welcomed, encouraged and deeply appreciated, but as far as Find A Grave's mission goes, a memorial page isn't lacking if it does not.

Find A Grave has grown to be a wonderful and valuable resource for genealogy and genealogists, but that is adjunct to its main purpose.

As I stated back in June, I have been working feverishly on my family history and this website has been very helpful in locating grave stones of my ancestors which have in turn assisted me in filling in the missing pieces such as dates of birth, death, and sometimes even marriage dates.  However, this site would not be possible without the volunteers who sign up to help with photographing and documents grave sites. 

Since using the site I have signed up as a volunteer at my local cemetery.  How it works is when someone requests a photo of a particular person's grave at the cemetery I am registered with, I get an email notification and can claim it if it has not already been claimed by another volunteer in the area.  I would then go to the cemetery, locate the particular grave, clean it and photograph it, then upload the photos and any other notes from the grave such as an inscription to the website. 

This is such a great service and relies on the kind-heartedness of all of the people. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

Wednesday's What's Up With That?

So I love SYTYCD (for those of you living under a rock, that's So You Think You Can Dance).  Last week, Lady Gaga was the guest judge. 

I know she's strange, but she brought it all out in her appearance in which she judged the contestants last Wednesday.

I don't know about you, but I have been in the "dance community" since I was four years of age.  At no point did I ever see, or hear of anyone throwing a shoe on stage.  However, Lady Gaga insists that in the "dance community when you do a really good job, what you do is you throw your shoe on stage" and then she proceeded to take off her heinous shoe and chuck it on stage at Sasha and Melanie. 

Not only that, but her show was gigantor and probably weighed 20 lbs., if that throw had been a little off she could have hurt someone. 

I wonder who got to keep the shoe? I wonder what one would do with ONE Lady Gaga shoe... not that two would have been any better because I sure as heck wouldn't wear them.  SO what would YOU do with one gigantor Lady Gaga shoe?

I would sell it.  For sure. 

ps: If you missed the action - here is a look on youtube.