As you may or may not have noticed, I have issues with my oven.  Exploding potatoes, melting kitchen utensils, etc.  So I thought it would be a good idea to get a oven liner.

Seems like a smart idea right?  Well, in the hands of Julie, only disastrous events can occur.  I skimmed over the directions, thinking that the product itself is pretty self explanatory.  I handed it over to Ed, and he skimmed over the directions and agreed it would be safe to put directly on the bottom of the oven since we have no exposed heating element.  WRONG.

I put the oven liner in, and merrily used my oven.  Only to find noxious fumes coming from my oven.  And a white powder (which I found out was teflon powder) covering the entire inside of my oven.  You see, the oven liner is coated with teflon, and when teflon gets higher than a certain temperature, it melts and does not good things.  It puts out fumes that apparently kills birds, and is generally not a good situation to be in.  I found out that my heating element is in the bottom of the oven, and the fine print on the directions, the directions that Ed and I DID NOT READ, says that you should put the oven liner on the bottom rack if you have an unexposed heating element.

Moral of the story: read the directions.

And no, they are not raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.  Sorry, Fraulein Maria.

1.  Handy Gurugu by LUSH

My sister-in-law gave me this for my birthday last year, and it is the BEST hand cream ever.  I use it every night before bed, and now I’m out.  Must reorder..

2.  Rain boots

Call ‘em what you want, rain boots, galoshes, whatever.  I think they’re adorable.  See the black plaid ones?  Yeah.

3.  Girl Scout Cookies

Specifically, Samoas.  Mmm.

4.  iTunes

Sometimes, spending a buck to get an error free music file is just worth it.

5.  Aprons

Cute aprons make cooking more fun.  Um, hi Sur la table, when did you get such cute aprons?

6.  J. Crew flip flops

I know flip flops aren’t good for your feet, but these are hands down, the most comfortable flip flops I have worn.

7.  Date night with my husband

He always lets me have the last meatball.

One of the things on my bucket list, is to go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.

But until then, I will make King Cake at home.

Can you spot the baby Jesus hiding in the cake?

A RING POP!!

Ok, so this might not be exciting for some people, but it took me back to my elementary school days.  The days when the ring actually fit on a finger other than my pinky.  When I’d come home from school, I’d throw my backpack into the house and go frolicking with the neighborhood kids, and it seemed like it took eternity for winter break to come.  Back when schools weren’t “peanut free zones”, and we would sit “Indian style” not “criss cross applesauce”.  Remember slap bracelets, parachute pants, and doubling up your socks in two different colors?  Yeah.. those were some unflattering days..  but wasn’t childhood fun?

In the wee hours of the morning, Punxsutawney Phil predicted that there will be six more weeks of winter.  So don’t put away your winter boots just yet folks!

Chocolate chip oatmeal and craisin cookies.  I love oatmeal cookies, but don’t really like raisins, so I substituted dried cranberries.  Have I ever mentioned that crasins are pretty much amazing?

Chiffon cupcakes.  Baked in oven-proof cups.  I found the presentation charming.

I’ve gotta say, there is something comforting about the smell of baked goods wafting in the air..

Admittedly, the fries were pretty good, but we turned into the ultimate fat kids for dessert.  We made DEEP FRIED OREOS.

Battered and fried to a golden brown.  It was sinfully delicious.  Oh so bad, but oh so good.  I do recommend them for those occasions when you feel like being absolutely decadent.

I’m sure you already know what to expect.  And the sad funny thing is, we can all relate.  I would like to share with you, some of the awesome photos that I found.

Um, perhaps you should've picked out a different shirt..

just... speechless..

a touching moment at a wedding.. I mean for the guy adjusting himself

a family that role plays together, stays together

turn that frown upside down little girl, it's Christmas.

And, I saw this duvet cover that I am kind of in love with.

I might just have to say F it, and procure the salt and pepper shakers.  They are just too precious.

Stop taunting me Pottery Barn!

First, there is the Sonicare toothbrush that Ed and I received from my parents.  It is awesome.  You’re supposed to brush your teeth for 2 minutes, so it does a short pause every 30 seconds to let you know how long you have to go.  And your teeth feel super clean.. awesome.

The Snuggie.  I constantly made fun of the Snuggie, cause c’mon, it’s dorky.  It’s essentially a robe that you put on backwards.  But lo and behold, Ed and I use our Snuggies pretty much everyday.

Then there are the kitchen utensils.  For the last two years, I’ve been using random utensils that I think were from the dollar store.  That is two years too long.  So this year, I got some utensils, and I’m happy.  The first thing I did when I got home, was toss the old stuff.  Yay!

The EA Active game for the Wii.  This game actually makes you exercise.  Wii Fit is fun, but it was more comical, while the EA Active has actual workouts that make you do lunges, etc.  There is a 30 day challenge, you can set exercise goals, and it’s a pretty good indoor activity.

The Yudu.  I don’t know if I can say we use it often quite yet, but we had some fun with it for a few days.  We made a few t-shirts, and plan on making a couple more designs.  I think it’s a pretty cool machine, and fairly easy to use.

The Scentsy.  The wickless candle thing is pretty cool.  I don’t have to worry about Dot knocking it over, or even rubbing up against it and catching herself on fire.  I turn on the light bulb, and the wax melts and keeps the house smelling good.  I use it everyday.

And last, but definitely not least, the quesadilla maker.  We have used this bad boy so many times, that it might even need a permanent residence on the counter top.  So far, we’ve done plain cheese quesadillas, turkey, diced green chilis, and diced jalapeno quesadillas (YUM), and ham, refried bean and cheese quesadillas.  Ed has even toyed with the idea of a breakfast quesadilla.  The possibilities are endless.