On Thursday night, I joined a bunch of ladies for a Girls Night Out at the
Taste of Home Cooking Show. So fun! Before the show we wandered around the showcase room and stuffed our faces with yummy samples from dozens of food vendors. I think I ate my own weight in pretzel chips and jalapeno havarti...which may have added to my swollen ankles a little. I did have my feet propped on a chair in front of me during the show, but it didn't seem to help. The swelling has since settled down a bit....I still have cankles, but at least my shoes fit.
The funniest part of the evening had to be waiting in the crowd to get into the show.
MY goodness. I've never seen so much
blue hair outside of a nursing home. I think the crowd covered every shade of L'oreal from blue to purple to "ash". Grandmas in rhinestone studded velor pantsuits everywhere you look! And BIG diamonds on those wrinkly fingers...these ladies brought out ALL their bling for Taste of Home! When the doors finally opened, about 1000 people rushed the door...the kind of pushing and shoving you expect to experience at a rock concert, not a cooking show!
It was like WalMart at 5am on Black Friday!Ok...so the video is only like 2 seconds long...I ran out of memory on my camera. But it gives you the idea of the crowd we were standing in when the doors opened. Crazy hungry ladies!
In fact, there
WAS a little old lady that either passed out, or was mowed over and trampled in the crowd.
SERIOUSLY.
Took. her. right. down.
We saw her later on a makeshift stretcher with oxygen, surrounded by a gaggle of EMT's. She was all sweaty and mad. It was a horrible situation, and yet
I couldn't stop my giggles...to the point that I
tried holding my breath so I wouldn't laugh out loud and ended up
SNORTING wildly when my will power gave out.
So embarrassing. 
Anyway, I can't wait to try some of the recipes and cooking techniques we saw. I
was disappointed that we didn't win one of the 100+ door prizes they gave away throughout the night. I think I could have put good use to the 3 night stay in a condo on Holiday Island, Dinner for 2 at Colton's, $300 spa package, or even the giant box of Ziplock Tupperware. Thanks girls for a fun night!
We purchased this changing table for $15 right before Reese was born. It's totally ghetto, but it was cheap, and has worked just fine. It even looked kind of cute with the little red curtains I had hanging to cover the bottom shelf. The contact paper is now nasty and peeling, the paint is worn, and the table itself is missing a few screws and is pretty wobbly. 
Too. Many. Cookies.
The funniest part of the evening had to be waiting in the crowd to get into the show. MY goodness. I've never seen so much blue hair outside of a nursing home. I think the crowd covered every shade of L'oreal from blue to purple to "ash". Grandmas in rhinestone studded velor pantsuits everywhere you look! And BIG diamonds on those wrinkly fingers...these ladies brought out ALL their bling for Taste of Home! When the doors finally opened, about 1000 people rushed the door...the kind of pushing and shoving you expect to experience at a rock concert, not a cooking show! It was like WalMart at 5am on Black Friday!
Anyway, I can't wait to try some of the recipes and cooking techniques we saw. I was disappointed that we didn't win one of the 100+ door prizes they gave away throughout the night. I think I could have put good use to the 3 night stay in a condo on Holiday Island, Dinner for 2 at Colton's, $300 spa package, or even the giant box of Ziplock Tupperware. Thanks girls for a fun night!
Since I finished the bathroom remodels, I haven't had many reasons to go to Lowe's. Tonight I ran into a few of the employees that actually know me by name. They were all surprised to see me looking all big and pregnant, and wanted to see pictures of the completed bathrooms. This was when I realized that I need to get a life. I guess we spent a little too much time at Lowe's this summer/fall. I also realized how boring it must be to work at a hardware/home improvement store. This is a job I would THINK I might enjoy...but the life of an old guy working a 10 hr shift at Lowes must not be too terribly exciting, because Lloyd, Tim, and Dean all knew WAAAY too many details about mine and Kasey's bathroom remodels. Lloyd asked if Kasey had sold her house yet, and Tim even asked how Ross' kitchen floor turned out. It's sad when the employees not only recognize you, but remember what projects you were working on and where. I DID get 5 star Hollywood Red Carpet treatment, though! Need good service at Lowe's? Take a pregnant woman! I think every red vest in there offered to carry my wimpy little wooden dowel and tube of caulk for me. So nice!
Here is a pic of the mini shelf so far.
AND I love Hillary for knowing where to shop and having the love of the hunt, and patience with me while I searched for something we thought would be impossible to find! 
Now I have these. 
I believe the proper term is CANKLES. Tonight, my feet and legs were so swollen that they actually spilled over the tops of my shoes. Seriously. Aaron took a picture of my puffy sausage legs...and if I had shaved them in the last century, I might have posted the picture. 