inside tink's head

one of those dreams where you wake up and are so excited to be in your own bed!

2011-09-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

So i had one of my more disturbing dreams last night. I don't usually share my disturbing dreams, casue they're not usually as vivid as the fun and crazy ones, but this one was super clear.

It basically went like this, my dad had these friends from Guatemala who needed to get out of the country. I'm not sure why, but it wasn't safe for them anymore, like life or death not safe. So my dad, our friends Julie, Larry, and Michael, and myself, were going to help this family, which consisted of a mom, a dad, three teenage boys, and a young girl, get out of Guatemala and into the U.S.

Getting out of Guatemala was easy. We just put on these foamy pizza suits, were loaded into a van, and then my dad and Larry drove the van to the airport, loaded us all into the cargo portion of a plane, and then boarded the same plane. No problem, and easy as pie.

Getting into the U.S. was trickier.

For this portion of the trip, we split up into teams of 2 or 3, and each had a different plan to bypass customs. We weren't supposed to talk to each other or show that we knew each other in any way, so that if one team got caught, the rest could still get through. I was in charge of the little girl, we were passing her off as my daughter. She and I had no problems getting through customs, and out of the airport, no one even questioned us. But then we got into the parking lot, and this super skeezy guy walks up and puts his arm around my shoulder, trying to smooth talk me on the way to my car. I basically told him to get lost, and he was pretty pissed, but not complying, so I karate kicked his arm off my shoulder. My dad had seen everything that was going on, and was super concerned cause what if this guy filed a complaint against me to airport security? I shouldn't have kicked him. But right as my dad is telling me how stupid I'd been for kicking this guy, he comes back, looking like Gorilla Warfare Ken, complete with machine gun and ammunition belt.

In a panic, i dive behind some cars, bringing the little girl with me. He's following me with round after round, so i decide she'll be safer if I leave her behind the cars, and make a run for it. I tell the girl to stay perfectly still behind the car, and I dash around the parking lot, swerving this way and that around obstacles, until he losses me. For some reason, I'd thought that once he couldn't see me anymore, he'd stop shooting, but no, he just stands where he is, and spins in a circle, and just fires into the parking lot for several minutes, until he's hinally out of ammo, and then he disappears. i crawl out of my hiding spot and survey the damage. There's a dead animal, either a great dane or a deer, I can't tel which, but other than that, there doesn't seem to be any casualties. I go back to where I left the little Guatemalan girl. She's still there, right behind the car where, I told her to stay safe, and she's riddled with bullet holes, and some of her guts are spilling out. I'm devestated. Turns out the mother died as well, and one of the sons was injured. I had to go visit him in the hopital, where I learn that him and his brothers have decided to create a youth army, dedicated to hunting down the geeky skeez man with the giant gun and no qualms about killing.

Wracked with guilt and a deep sense of dread, I wrench myself out of my sleeping state, and then I looked around, saw that everything was as it should be, and snuggled back into my coziest of beds, safe and sound, only to fall back asleep, and continue to be plagued by dreams where I replay the first dream over and over. How fun.

a swirling vortex of confusion

2011-08-20T16:48:00.001-07:00

last night dream put connor, dustin, beth, and myself back in cabo. we were all on the beach watching the international cartoon x-games, where bart simpson was leading the u.s. team. i don't remember which country it was, but it wasn't us, but they built this crazy machine that was super long, and on one end there was a giant hoop which was really a fan that whirled air around in it super quickly, and then pushed down the rest of the length of this thing. each of the twenty or so team members from this other country stood in line, taking turns going up to the fan loop, and vomiting into it. the cartoon barf was swirled around , mixing with dust and sand, which of course turned it all into water, and created a giant spiral wave tube thing, which all of the x-game contestants then proceeded to surf.

it was nasty and cool all at the same time, but it turns out that this other country cheated in some way. while the judges were debating on what to do, our little quartet decided to go up to the cabin next to our resort, where a giant party was raging. it was a nudist party, which is pretty much exactly like a regular party, just that everyone is completely nude. so we're all , doin our thing in the buff- with the exception of trenton, who made a brief cameo in this dream, at the party, fully clothed and looking super uncomfortable talking to a bunch of dudes he didn't know. we all head downstairs, with the exception of beth, who's run into a friend and stays in the kitchen.downstairs is the entertainment room where a movie's playing. connor's off doing his socializing thing a little bit away, and trent's up in the kitchen, but i'm tired, so i decide to use dustin as a pillow. and as i'm thinking "isn't it great that dustin and i are such great friends that we can just lay here completely naked and there's nothing sexual about it" when all of a sudden, he's kissing me, and then i'm realizing he's kissing me, and i'm pushing his face away, and connor's storming off all pissed, and i'm yelling "what are you doing!?!" and dustin is slowly turning into turk from scrubs.

so after my initial protest dustin/turk starts being all "no, i've been thinking about this, and i really think that we could work really well, and i think we should get married."

my response: "well, shouldn't we give this a try for at least a week or so before getting married?"

turk/dustin does not agree. he thinks we should get married right away. so, we head down to the below basement basement, where an entire wedding party is already set up for me.

by this time turk is fully turk, complete with green scrubs and everything, and scrubs' carla is there being my maid of honor, and i'm in a fairly hideous snow queen 80's wedding dress, walking down the isle toward a catholic priest, surrounded by baby aspen trees covered in twinkle lights. but instead of the traditional vows, turns out i'm basically signing a contract saying i'll honor and obey turk to the end of my days, and i guarantee to bring about as many children as he decide's he wants.

but here's the catch- i'm not actually physically capable of having children, i'm completely barren. when turk finds this out, he goes completely nuts, and he's hitting me, and i'm running away, out of the nudist party cabin, and back out onto the beach where the cartoon x games are being held.

remember those?

well, since the whole cheating debacle, everything at the x-games has just been blown into a giant whirlwind of riots and chaos. and i hate riots and chaos! so i hightail it out of there, into the town, where i run into my good friend dallin. and i'm surprised he's there in cabo, until he explains to me that we're in a gay pride parade. so i join him in the parade, and am having a grand old time, when i realize that in addition to the normal rainbow banners, there also a ton of purple flags with one red stripe and one orange one. i'm wondering about this new flag, when i see a whole slew of reporters going around interviewing people about the 'silent partner' flags. apparently these flags are a secret symbol of support from people in high ranking positions of power who don't quite feel comfortable publicly supporting gay rights, but that doesn't mean they don't support them. i'm wondering how this will stay a secret symbol if it's going to be broadcast all over national television, but then as i look around, i notice that both the new flags and the faces of all the owners of the flag are blurred out, so no one will be able to tell anything about it if they aren't there.

and that's when the puppy woke me up.

sometimes i wonder how far my crazy dreams will go if i'm allowed to just go with it, and sleep and sleep until it's over!

kids vs zombies

2011-06-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

ok, so it’s a zombie apocalypse, and i’m only like 15 years old, and all of my sisters are aged accordingly, meaning 12, 7, and 5, and we need to get out of our house and into a safe place. luckily, we already had our zombie apocalypse survival packs, now i just have to make sure we all have warm coats and that everyone’s holding as much food as they can carry. i send zoe to find boxes of ritz and bunny grahams, cause those are the best survival foods, and i try to hunt down warm jackets. however, all that’s to be found are some of my tattered old hoodies and sweaters. i decide that some warmth is better than no warmth and wrap little alexa and little robin into tattered hoodie bundles, and it actually works pretty well, cause i’m so much bigger than them, and because i’m such a great bundle-up-your-sister-so-she-won’t-freeze-to-death-er. when zoe gets back with the food, we divide it all according to carrying capacity, and head out on our sneaking, dangerous trek to the safe place where all kids know to go when the zombie apocalypse hits- the movie theatre in the joseph smith memorial building.

oh, i should probably mention that all of the adults in the entire very isolated city in which we live, have already been annihilated. this is why i am taking care of my sisters. it’s also probably why i am 15, 22 year olds are technically adults. also, the younger the sister, the cuter the bundle.

so we get to the theatre, which is only like 2 blcks away from our neighborhood, and first thing i do is make sure that all of the neighborhood kids are there.

hafens, check. petersons, check. kraczecks, check.

of course, the kraczeks are mostly who i was looking for. i head over to trent, make sure he has all 6 of his siblings, and that they're all safe and sound. he does. so, we leave all of our siblings in the very capable hands of john and landon, and trent and i find kadin, devan, and derek, cause they’re our zombie-raid buddies. we’re a team. not only are we a team, but we are an officially established zombie fighting team, and we're in charge of this safe haven.

once we’re sure we have everyone, we get cots set up for our families, make sure the heads of all the other households and the little kids who came by themselves all have places to sleep, and then settle in to watch the film that’s playing. it’s about duck squirrels that water ski.

yep, that’s basically exactly how you’re picturing it, cute litte squirrels with duck bills on water skis, going down white water rivers. oh, and this is a documentary. an educational documentary. these guys are totally real.

i’m laughing at the funny little squirrel’s duck call, when i hear my mother giggling, and i look over, and she’s on the cot next to me! she and my dad both escaped from the fancy ball that all of the adults had been attending when the zombies attacked, and somehow had escaped before the building was totally overrun by zombies and their brains were eaten. but she didn’t want me to make a scene and alert all of the other kids, and even worse, the zombies, so she winked at me with a sneaky little smile on her face, raised her finger to her lips and continued watching the squirrels.

Drag Queens, Shower Sewing Caves, and So Many People!

2011-05-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

Let’s start off with a fancy schmancy dinner party/theatrical production. I’m sitting there with my new gay best friend, who I’m just meeting for the first time and who doesn't have a name but is fantastically well dressed, and he’s so excited cause it’s his boyfriend’s directorial debut, and I’m going to be SO excited when I figure out what they play is! But he won’t just tell me, he wants to see the look of joy and surprise when I first realize what it is.

The curtain goes up, and who is standing there but a 7 foot tall, red headed Frankenfurter. I am, I’m joyous. The Rocky Horror Show! I love it! And not only is Frankenfurter a giant, his identical twin brother is playing Rocky. They look exactly the same, crazy facial hair, costuming, everything, except Rocky’s hair is bleached blond. I think playing up the twin thing is a weird costuming choice, but meh, sometimes people just have different ideas, and it’s still full of singing, dancing, and drag queens. I’m in heaven.

Then, at another long banquet table, I spot my mother sitting there with my two youngest sisters, and I’m not so sure how child appropriate this play is. I mean, I wasn’t allowed to watch Rocky Horror until I was 16, even though I fell in love with it on my 13^th birthday when I discovered its existence, and here’s Robin, watching it at twelve? Oh well, I guess my mom’s the mom, she can let her kids do whatever she feels is best.

After the play, I was running into so many of my favorite actor friends at the after party, that I was ok with the fact that I had been separated form Best Friend and his boy. I even ran into my friend Jon, who I was so excited to see, since I had seen him in a play a little while back, and hadn’t been able to stay after the show to speak with him. We were just settling down for a nice chat, when all of a sudden I find myself in my parent’s kitchen.

And it is pandemonium in there.

There are sisters and Kraczeks and nephews and nieces all over the place! There is a big game of Castle going on, where one of the nephews and one of the Kraczeks are in cardboard box suites-of-armor, and there are several princesses, and the littlest nephew is a dragon, and he’s running around ‘ROAR’ing at everyone and giggling in delight, as the knights try to vanquish him and the princesses scream and run away. I'm pretty sure Zoe was stuck in the cardboard castle they'd made, somehow she'd gotten in, but couldn't get out without breaking it, cause it really wasn't Zoe sized. Kind of like in Alice in Wonderland, when she goes into the house and then eats that cake and turns huge.

And sitting at the kitchen table is my Connor, who I haven’t seen in so long, and I’m so happy to see him! But he’s helping some Kraczek brothers make pancakes, so I leave him be and go off in search of my mother.

Guess where I find her? In my old shower, which she has turned into a sewing room. Up until this point in my life, I’d never noticed how large and cavernous my shower was. It easily fits my mother, her sewing machine, and her boxes of fabric, at least 10 times over. Oh! And my puppies are there! And we wrestle for a minutes, cause we’re always excited to see each other. After wrestling, I look up to see my mom fitting Robin into a dress while chatting away with Julianne, who’s son is upstairs being a dragon, and instead of interrupting (i’m not into interrupting throughout this whole dream, it seems), I go out of the shower, and find my old closet, where I have a ton of clothes I need to go through and see which ones I still need, and which I need to give away. Here, I come across my favorite grey pants, which just don’t fit me anymore. Back into the shower.

I was going to offer these pants to Julianne, but then I realize that M'Recia is there as well, and she'd fit equally well into these pants! So I go off in search of another pair of ill-fitting pants to share with my other friend. I find some! And back in the shower/sewing room, they fit Angela perfectly.

Yes, M'Recia turned into Angela. That happens in dreams sometimes.

All of us girls are now talking and giggling, and then for some reason, it's just Julianne and I outside of a coffee shop in the most colorful part of downtown Salt Lake. All of the buildings in this corner of town are set up like building blocks, super colorful building blocks. And we’re going to a coffee shop to meet with my friend Dallas, who I haven’t seen in forever! Probably because he’s moved to New York, but he’s back visiting, so we’re all getting together in this most colorful back alley. When we actually meet up with him, Dallas says that he’d love to go get coffee still, but only after he shows me something, so we walk around the corner to a giant costume shop. Turns out, the reason he’s in town was to see Rocky Horror, which he was going to the next night, because a really good friend of his had done all of the costumes for it, and Dallas had thought I would enjoy looking around his shop.

Which I totally did.

There was so much to look at, frills and ribbons, and fluffy skirts everywhere! And there was a definite Drag vibe going on- probably from the whole Rocky Horror, sweet transvestite thing. It was a blast. And then off to coffee. And then back to my parent’s house.

My parent's basement hallway to be exact. I'm basically teleported there, and I pretty much run smack into a boy. But not just any boy- Trenton! I hadn’t realized it, but it’s August, and he’s come back for his birthday! I’m so excited to see him, I give him a big ole kiss. That’s when I realize his face is really gaunt, and his whole self looks tired and worn and stressed. But I don’t dwell on that for too long because TRENT’S HOME! I run up the stairs to tell everyone, and everyone’s already there!

Kaden and Brayden and Jadryn, and all of those ‘en’ names, as well as Derek and Val, and all of the Becks, including old Stephen- not mission Stephen, and Danielle, and Kelsey, and Devan! Devan took leave from the Navy to celebrate Trent’s birthday with us! And everyone who was previously in the dream, they’re there, and their families are there.Even Cassidy and Trevor and Julie, who don't even know Trent are there to celebrate. Just so many people.

And looking around, I realize the only person who’s missing is Connor. But then some arms wrap around me, and basically everything is perfect. Everyone I love is in one room.

And that was my epic dream from last night.

it's amazing what people will believe

2011-05-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

the other night i had a dream that i ran away with my friend ricky so that we could live happily ever in san fransisco together. our lives were going to be perfect in every way. only, i needed my friend kelsey to come with me, and she wasn't allowed!something to do with having an extra chick on the honeymoon being awkward, and there being a rule that said only 2 persons per household in my apartment building. with some quick thinking on my part, i was able to convince both ricky and our landlord that kelsey was my pet cat, therefore allowing her to live with me in my new, perfectly peaceful, san fransiscan home.

the end.

all the stress in my brain

2011-04-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

my life is kinda hectic right now. i'm working two jobs, I’m trying to start working for myself on the side as an amazing crafter type gal, i have a thriving band that i'm devoting a ton of time to, i'm going on vacation next week- which is awesome, don't get me wrong, but it means time off of work, which means a slight shortage on the income front, and on top of all that, i'm moving the week after i get back.

like i said, a little hectic.

also, a little stressful.

i think last night’s dream touched on some of those stresses.

right before retiring for the evening, i received the go ahead from my soon to be landlord/roommate to paint my bedroom, as well as set my photowall in the new room. very exciting.

as i fell asleep, thoughts of wall colors were floating in my head, and landed in my subconscious, where i decided that i didn’t have time to move/decorate, so i would have to hire a stylist. you know, a house stylist. it just so happened, i was great friends with one of the best house stylists in all of dreamland, who later turned out to be my dear friend Erik- who may not be super flamboyant in real life, but was double super flamboyant in this dream.

also, he looked like tobias from arrested development.

erik was going through his blue and white phase, so i left for work expecting to come home to blacks and greys with splashes of color (you know, the way i would have done it) and instead came home to this:

except shabbier. and not only was my bedroom all blue and white and pristine looking in a shabby sheek type of way, the living room/kitchen area was as well, which was NOT what i asked for.

all of dustin’s red and black had gone away. the painting of trent resnor that had been done by a friend was gone, the gun print was gone, the couch and the tv and the x-box were gone, the kitchen was pretty much non-existent, reduced to a tiny corner, all replaced by urban decay furnishings accented with thrift store finds, made to resemble a cramped manhattan studio apartment, and painted over with super white white and bluer than the ocean blue.

dustin was going to kill me.

in a panic, i started begging erik and his entourage to help me put everything back the way it was, which he ‘simply did not do, but’, he said ‘for you darling, anything.’

so we’re scrambling to haul all the new stuff out, and all the old stuff back in, which included tearing down the exposed brick wall, and repainting the normal ones underneath, and a couple of friends come to help out, one of them being my dear angela.

and angela, in my dream, walks right up to erik and says, ‘erik, i love you with all of my heart. we should be friends again.’ and she hugs him.

and that’s where this dream ends.

2 Dads

2011-04-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

Last nights dream was pretty weird.

I lived in this giant mansion, filled with the children of rock stars. It was kind of like a boarding school, i had a room that i shared with a couple of kids, all about high school age- I'm pretty sure I was high school aged too- and it had tall locker like cubbies for us to hold our things, and was attached to a giant bathroom with these fancy shower stalls and 4 sinks in front of this giant wall long mirror. And since we were all the children of rock stars, i guess we were super vain, cause that's where we spent most of our time. Well, in the giant bathroom, and this downstairs rec room.

All of our mothers lived there, and they mostly just hung out and partied, and left all of the older kids to look after the younger kids, and it was always a bid deal when one of the dads came home. We were all really close, and kind of all had favorite 'parents' that weren't really ours. My favorite parent was a rocker mom's current husband, who was named Chaim, and was a mix of Gene Simmons and Mick Jagger. In my dream, I knew this, he was both people combined. And he was super cool, and we were pretty close, and he came home, and we're all pallin it up and chattin and laughin, but I felt strangely empty.

So, Chaim/Gene(who's real name actually is Chaim, by the way)/Mick goes to bed, and it's super late, so I'm climbing the stairs out of the rec room to go to bed as well, when one last dad comes home. I get super overcome with emotion, cause I know who it is. It's my biological father,I haven't seen him face to face in years. His name is Tyler, and I know he has another name, and my brain was searching so hard for it, but I couldn't find it, and I decided it was ok, cause he doesn't need two names. I'm running up the stairs as he's putting his bags down in the kitchen, and he hears me, so he starts down them(this is one of those forever staircases that only happen in dreams) and I crash into his arms, and he's holding me on the stairs, and I'm glad, cause my head settles right under his chin, and anywhere else we would be the same height. I'm kinda sad because of how old he looks, and I giggle cause he's dyed his hair red, and he kisses my forehead with his huge, monsterous lips, and I burst into joyful tears, because I love him so much, and I am so relieved to have him home, and I just feel so safe.

At the same time, I'm kind of amazed that he knows me, and that I'm his daughter, cause he has all of these legitimate daughters that he spends all of his time with, and we don't see each other much, and sometimes I'm afraid that he'll come home and not recognize me. But we're best friends, and as I talk to him, he really listens, and cares, and again, I'm just overwhelmed by all of these emotions, and the feeling that he loves me, just as much as those other, a little more legitimate daughters.

I tend to feel things ten times more strongly in dreams than I ever would in real life. Do you do that? Is in normal to feel super strong emotions in dreams? Cause I can't remember the last time i was so content and calm. So much so, that even in my waking hours, where my dad's name is David, and he's not really and international rock god, and I'm not in high school, and I don't have a couple hundred half siblings that I live with in total opulence, I'm still carrying this awesome sense of calmness and security, and I've kind of got this feeling of 'I can do anything", all left over from this dream last night.

Dreams are just crazy like that I guess.

Especially when they're about Steven Tyler being your father.

The Art of Girliness

2010-01-29T08:03:00.000-08:00

my shower is currently being used as a drying station for random articles of clothing that i've spray painted.

great use for a shower, by the way.

anyway, this means that every time i've walked into my bathroom this morning, i've been greeted by a fluffy, lacy, pink and white underskirt i made last night. it's joyfully sitting around, waiting to be put under a skirt that's equally girly. and the prospect of wearing this adorable article fills me with joyful anticipation.

now yesterday, a friend of mine asked me who my dad's tom boy was. i told him it was me, like i always do. but within the last twenty four hours i've come to realize that this is not necessarily true.

ture, he did teach me how to throw a football and to hit a baseball when i was a kid. he did teach me how to play basketball, which i would actually be pretty good at if i were competitive or could run at all. i am the daughter who goes to all his sci fi movies and bloody war movies with him when he wants company.

like that one time when everyone went to 'my prince and me'. gag. we watched 'hell boy'.

that was awesome.

i'm the daughter who wears men's clothing on a regular basis. 90% of my friends are guys- congrats to those 3 girls that i actually consider friends- and there have been many occasions when i've needed to remind those guys that i am, in fact, a girl.

early in my life, i caught on that to be gentlemanly, you open doors for others. you use manners. you help your mother with things like taking out the trash. he taught me that real men know how to dance, use handkerchiefs, take pride in their appearance, and stand up for what and who they believe in. and i've tried to live all of these things i've learned from my father.

but absolutely none of this makes me a tom boy. it really just makes me a giant daddy's girl.

my dad has always been the coolest guy i've known. growing up, i totally idolized him. he knew all the coolest music! in high school he was the lead singer in a band! and he had a motorcycle, and he had peirced his ear! my dad was tall and powerful, and super strong! he gave the best, safest hugs. he traveled the world, and he was the smartest person i knew. i mean, he knew absolutely everything!

and my dad is still one of the coolest people i know. now, we don't always get along. i now realize he's not perfect. i think i realized that one somewhere around age 10. occasionally, i have a question he can't answer, and i'm sorry to say that i've outgrown him. his hugs aren't quite so utterly and completely safe anymore. but he is still the only person who can make me cry. which i think might be a good thing. i need to feel things on occasion. it's healthy.

i secretly love watching football with him. but not because i enjoy the football. i just like watching him get uber excited over great plays. i love listening to him yell at the players.

i love how my dad taught all of his girls to be strong and independent.

sometimes i feel that us gals have forgotten how to be ladies with the whole feminist movement. that just makes it so i love that my dad taught me how to be a gentleman even more. i feel that not only does it help me to be a better person, it also helps me to truly appreciate when i meet a gentleman in my life.

today, i'm planning on spending a quiet day in salt lake by myself. i'm dressing up, doing my hair, putting on a skirt. i'll be fun and flirty looking. a complete girl.

and i'm going to be the complete gentleman that my father taught me how to be.

for all of you men who don't have as amazing fathers as i have, here's a site for you to check out:

http://artofmanliness.com/

Magic of Goop

2010-01-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

Such a silly girl am I to be so excited over something so simple as glue, but I have a new love, and it's called Amazing Goop. And truly, it is amazing!

With it, I have fixed my mother's large soup tureen which split right in half, made a fabulous wallet, earing, everything! this glue does everything! Flexible, easy to clean, it dries clean- and no matter what, the lid never sticks. Never! Which is fabulous for all you crafters like me, who know that most good glues you can use once and then the lid will never ever come off.

So, there you go. Amazing Goop, to be found at your local craft store and to be used for all things which need sticking.

for all you folks going green...

2009-09-24T18:03:00.000-07:00

"Welcome, sulfer dioxide, hello carbon monoxide

the air, the air is everywhere.

breath deep, while you sleep, breath deep"

-Air, from the musical Hair

Tink's Falltime Cake!

2009-09-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

Usher in the most fabulous of seasons with this amazingly delicious cake : )

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 packet instant chocolate pudding
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour one 9x13 inch pan.
Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add flour mixture alternately with milk, beating just to combine. stir in vanilla.
take about a third of the batter and pour it into a seperate bowl. mix in the instant chocolate pudding
mix the pumpkin pie spice into the remaining batter.
pour the pumpkin flavored batter into your pan. now pour the chocolate batter on top. marbelize the batters with a knife.
bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes
A nice chocolate or pumpkin glaze goes well with this, as well your favorite cream cheese frosting. It's even good enough you can eat it without the frosting! Enjoy!

Today was a vintage day.

2009-09-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

I felt like forties. Shoes, hair, clothes, makeup, the works- all tied up with an adorable, floppy white bow.

Ashley was the twenties, complete with pin curls, a bob, and doey eyes.

I have also found a new love. It's called dailybooth, a website that allows me to share my life through pictures. I love and adore it, for as I always say, if you didn't take a picture, it never happened.

Your wish is my comand!

2009-08-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

So, my dear Trenton and I are playing the genie game. Basically, he gets 3 last wishes before we part forever. And they been fun. Really fun. We've been hanging out more- ok, really we're back to a normal hang out level, but we didn't see each other for a while there- because of wish #1. And I had a blast with wish #2- finding a big bag of all green M&M's. That was definatley good times for everyone involved! So now I'm just waiting for wish #3.

And he's thought of it.

He just won't tell me what is is.

And that totally freaks me out! Because it can be ANYTHING! And i have to give it to him!
And by have to, I totally mean want to.

So, I had a dream. And now I know what he should ask for, even though it may not be what he had planned.

I dreamed that he asked me to grow a mustache.
And i was frustrated, because I didn't know how! But he basically just laughed and told me I could do it. So, me being the genious I am, decided to grow my hair out really long. And then i braided it, and stuck it on top of my lip. I asked trenton if that would work, but no, he wanted a full handle bar moustache.
No problem! I'm a genie, I can do it!
So, I cut a couple inches off of my uber brais, and fashioned it into s gorgeous handle bar moustache, and super glued that bad boy to my face.
And Trent got his third wish, and was happy.

Thought I should let you all know in case you see me sometime in the near future and I've got a big moustache.

words of love warm and tender

2009-07-11T00:03:00.000-07:00

" Like a straying baby lamb

With no mama and no papa

I'm so unhappy, I'm so unhappy yeah

...But oh so glad"

-Mamas and the Papas

oh my back-flippin' goodness

2009-07-04T16:42:00.000-07:00

so, let me start out by saying, i'm pretty.

i know, a horridly self centered way to start things, isn't it? but let me explain.

i hate to be told that i'm pretty. it makes me uncomfortable. it makes me doubt myself. it makes me feel gross and all sorts of negative things. why? i don't know. but up until probably a year and a half ago, i couldn't even think that i might be pretty before going into a total meltdown.

but now i can state the fact that i'm pretty without feeling any negative emotions at all. well, at least until i think about it too hard and start loathing myself. but that's not really the piont. the piont is, i know i'm pretty, but in a subtle little way. i'm not drop dead gorgeous, or even regular gorgeous, i'm just a simple pretty. maybe even just not bad looking. that's good way to put it!

anyway, normally i don't get admired by anyone other than the random homeless man or crazy person on the streets. but today, the men of salt lake city went crazy.

it started as i was walking to my bus stop after work. a car passing had a whistler in it. i smiled.

then i got to my bus stop. there was a man sitting on the bench. let me describe him. mediun hight. white mustachy thing, grey hair. sunglasses that don't let me see his eyes. sun browned skin and calloused hands that suggest that he spends a lot of time working out in the sun. I guess contruction worker. later i find that i've guessed correctly. i'd say he's somewhere in his early 50's. so, naturally, i sit next to him, smile, and say "hi!"

i need to learn to stop smiling. it always gets me into trouble.

so he strikes up a conversation. he's waiting for bus 217, which bus am i waiting for? i tell him.

oh! that one goes way out there to ogden!
yes it does
well, i feel sorry for you.
no need
do you make this trip often?
no, usually i take the frontrunner
how's that work for ya?

i tell him.

he asks where i work. joseph smith memorial building.

so, you're mormon. do you believe in Christ?
i smile and make a non comital noise. i'm not in the mood to discus theologywith a complete stranger. it's too hot for that.
he takes this reaction as a no. and freaks out a little.
i learn that he's lds. has been his entire life, but he's just recently accepted Jesus as his Savior, and if i don't believe in Christ, well that just breaks his heart.

and i'm in a theological discussion with a complete stranger.

right about now, another guy comes up, asking me if i have 75 cents. i have 80, which i cheerfully give to the man, who, by the way, completely ignores the first man, telling me that i have a very pretty dress and a beautiful smile. i say thank you, and the man walks away.

that was a very nice thing you just did.
i smile.
thanks.

and of a sudden, the guy gets choked up.
why?
because Jesus has sent me to him. why else would a beautiful young girl sit next to him and start talking like there was no problem at all? he can just see the spirit coming out of every fiber of my beautiful being.

and there it is. he said i was beautiful more than once. i am now uncomfortable.
and i learn the man's name is kevin.

kevin continues to talk. tells me about his job. tells me he grew up here. wants to know where i'm from. i pause. he takes this as the begining of a great story, smiles, and encourages me to go on, but appologizing. he doesn't mean to pry.

so as i name the major cities i've lived in, male #3 drives up. he's stopped at the light and i can feel him staring. so what do i do?

i smile at him.

and what does he do? starts sending me kisses from his car. i give a goodbye wave and turn my attention back back to kevin. i'm not going to encourage this behavior. he doesn't care whether i'm encouraging him or not, the kisses continue until the light turns green and he drives away.

by now i'm annoyed that my bus hasn't come by yet.
but what can i do? i have no other way to get home, so i continue to sit on the bench.
and wait. with kevin. who keeps repeating himself. i was sent to him from Christ. God works in mysterious ways. i have all the answers. so, girl with all the answers? what does he do next?

i have no idea. he doesn't believe me.

and now he's crying. quite litterally crying. i don't know what to do. he excuses himself, scooting to the far end of the bench. i look away.

we sit in silence until males #4 and 5 show up. they are also stopped by a red light. the driver honks, which means i automatically look up at him. he smiles and waves. i smile and wave back. i'm just friendly that way.

do you know those guys?
no.

the driver boy is trying to talk to me, but i can't hear him. i do however have my first thought of how weird my afternoon is turning out. then i hear
hey! get out of here!

it's kevin. i turn to him. he looks angry, then sheepish. he apologizes. he doesn't mean to be rude. i shrug. no big deal. then he scoots a bit closer to me.

tell me something
...um...
tell me something i want to know
...um... i don't know what you want to know
well, why don't you start with telling me how you got to be so beautiful. because you are damn beautiful. i mean you>he lowers his voice for this< ...you are fucking gorgeous

i blame my mom. the conversation turns to how big of a knock out she was in high school, and how she's still really pretty, even if she doesn't think so.

but by now, i'm officially uncomfortable. not because of the strange man, or the fact that he's slowly getting closer to me, oh no. it's really because he keeps telling me how pretty i am. that makes me really uncomfortable.

and now he's back to his spiel about how i've been sent to him. i'm delightful; i've made my mark; i've got so much life ahead of me; i can do no wrong; God lives within me- he can see it. you know-all that jazz.

and i realize that we are now really close to each other. and he's touching my arm. and then he says
i'm about to do something that's gonna make you angry with me

now, up until this point, i've been pretty much all smiles. but no longer. i have turned into steely faced tink. and i tell him, no, he will not be doing anything to make me mad, though in truth, i am already angry with him. he tells me might like it. i inform him that no, i will not. am i sure?

yes i'm sure.

we sit there.

let me see your eyes

i look toward him. he touches my face. i tense.

relax

i relax. i turn and look directly at him. and i say in my calmest, least tink like voice:
and now, would you kindly take your hand off my face.

he does, sighing, if that's the way you want it.
steely tink says, yes, it is.

and guess what i see right at this moment? my bus!
i pop up out of my seat, smiley tink right back again, turn to kevin, smile my biggest smile, and chirp, well, this is my bus! nice meeting you kevin. and i hope you have the most fabulous life!

then i proceed to hop onto my bus, give a big smile to the bus driver, flounce down the isle to the very back row-there's more leg room there- and plop myself next to a boy who turns out to be crazy male #6, who i of course had to smile at.

it's been an interesting day.

and so it starts...

2009-06-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

"what do you think if I sang out of key, would you stand up and walk out on me?" The Beatles